Mary Simonsen - Mr. Darcy’s Bite

“Dark haired?” Darcy asked. “So what you are saying is that if Charles Bingley or Colonel Fitzwilliam were strangers to us, they would not benefit from our hospitality because they have red and blond hair?”

“That is correct, as those with dark hair tend to brood and scowl more than their fair-haired brethren, making them much more intriguing.”

“Oh, Will, Elizabeth is only teasing,” Georgiana again piped in, but Lizzy looked away from her husband, refusing to confirm that she truly was in jest.

*   *   *

Along with the three Darcys, Mr. Jackson, Mrs. Bradshaw, Mrs. Reynolds, Mrs. Brotherton, and Mercer waited for the arrival of 1812 in the upstairs sitting room. Mrs. Bradshaw used the opportunity to “suggest” that a Christmas dinner be served on Twelfth Night with a goose and all the trimmings.

“Of course we must also have a Christmas pudding, and Cassie, the stillroom maid, makes an excellent wassail. It is a Darcy tradition to have a complete Christmas dinner served in the servants’ hall as well,” Mrs. Bradshaw added, and before Lizzy could say yes or no, the cook had detailed everything that would be on the menu, but she did allow her mistress to decide if the family wished to exchange Christmas gifts.

Mrs. Bradshaw and Mrs. Reynolds, who were believers in early to bed and early to rise, chose to depart two hours before the clock struck midnight. But before returning to her kitchen, Mrs. Bradshaw whispered to Elizabeth, “I have known Mr. Darcy since he was five years old, and I have seen him grow from a sweet boy into a fine man. With all that he suffers, he deserves to be happy, and now that he has you as his wife, he will be.” Lizzy, caught completely unawares, was speechless and nodded her thanks.

Minutes before the new year, Darcy asked Mr. Jackson to pour whisky for the men and a Madeira for the ladies, and when the clock tolled the midnight hour, all raised their glasses and wished each other all the best in the new year, and when Georgiana mentioned again that this was the year she would come out into society, everyone laughed.

Lizzy, Darcy, and Georgiana were still at breakfast when Mr. Jackson announced that Teddy had returned to Pemberley and wished to speak to the master at his convenience.

“Thank you, Jackson. Tell Teddy that he should visit with his mother first, and then we shall talk in the library.”

As soon as Mr. Jackson mentioned Teddy’s name, Georgiana’s face lit up. Lizzy had suspected that she had a romantic interest in the son of her lady’s maid and that look had confirmed it. But there was nothing wrong with a young girl admiring a handsome young man, especially one who was her brother’s hunting partner and companion. Of course, Georgiana did not know that Teddy would be leaving for North America in the spring, and Lizzy knew that she would be unhappy when she learned of it. But once she had made her debut, this beautiful girl with her dazzling smile would have the young gents flying to her like moths to a flame.

While Darcy was meeting with Teddy, Elizabeth received a note from Lady Helen asking if she could call the next morning. Of course, it was impossible to deny the request, and so she wrote a response, her first on the Pemberley stationery. After signing her name as Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy, she handed it to Lord Granyard’s groom. When Darcy emerged from the study, she showed him Nell’s letter.

“Well, you may receive her, but I am still annoyed and have no wish to see her until next nightfall. So I shall go riding tomorrow morning.”

“Coward.”

“Sticks and stones,” Darcy said, laughing. “Besides, she asked to visit with you, not me.”

“Speaking of visits. What news from Teddy?”

Darcy gestured for Lizzy to follow him into the study because, with all the Darcys in residence, the junior servants were everywhere.

“Apparently, there is a war going on in Herefordshire. There are three groups of Frenchmen: the elite, the bourgeois, and a group of farmers and herders from the Pyrenees. It seems that the first two have been lording it over the other members of the pack, and there has been a peasant revolt. The farmers have elected to emigrate en masse to French-speaking North America, so that will bring the population down to a manageable size. The males will join Teddy and Rupert in the spring, and once they are established in Quebec, they will send for their wives and children. That should be interesting because there are no she wolves in the French delegation, so these men will have to cook and clean and do everything by themselves.”

“As you did,” Lizzy added.

“Yes, as I did, and I have no doubt of their eventual success as these are rough mountain men, but they are as quarrelsome a group as I have ever met.”

“This does not affect the two candidates for my lady’s maid, does it?”

“Well, we are down to only one candidate as the other has accepted a marriage proposal from one of the emigrating Frenchmen and will join him once the group is established in their new quarters.”

“The thought of working in your household scared off one of the women, did it?”

“It was not me who scared her off. Teddy told her frightful tales about the razor tongue of the mistress of the manor, displays of impertinence to your husband, and…” That was all he could get out before Lizzy punched him in the arm.

“I suspected you had violent tendencies, so I shall have to tame you.” He lay down on top of her on the sofa, and she made no objection.

*   *   *

Unsure of what Nell might say, Lizzy had secured Darcy’s permission to meet with Lady Helen in his study. Her purpose in coming was twofold. First, she wanted to know if Alpha was annoyed with her as he had given her that impression at daybreak and, second, had he met with her prospective groom?

“Both of those matters are pack business, and I have nothing to do with that. You will have to speak to Mr. Darcy.”

“I believe he is upset with me because of what I said to you here at Pemberley. I did not mean to give offense, but you can imagine my surprise when I learned that he was interested in you, and not just because of your lack of rank. You see, I was bitten while Mr. Darcy was away in North America, and fearing risk of discovery, my family insisted that I live in this dreadful, damp convent in Ireland. But when Mr. Darcy returned to England and learned of my fate, he came to Ireland and brought me home. How would you interpret such a generous gesture?” she asked Lizzy, but did not wait for an answer.

“And we get along so well in the wild. We never argue, and Alpha is so attentive to all my needs. He loves to groom me, you know. I merely have to look at him with what he describes as ‘eyes the color of a summer sky,’ and he comes and rakes his claws through my luxurious fur. I think it is his favorite thing to do.”

“I can form no opinion of his intentions as I never witnessed these kindnesses,” Lizzy said, trying not to roll her eyes. If Mr. Darcy was so taken in by her beautiful coat and summer sky eyes, then why was she Mrs. Darcy and not Nell? The woman was as dense as an iron skillet. “All that is in the past, so let us leave it there. We are neighbors, and we should be friends.”

“But will I continue to be your neighbor? What does Mr. Darcy say about Monsieur Reynard? I fear he has a pointy nose. All Frenchmen have pointy noses. I cannot abide a pointy nose.”

Lizzy could not help but laugh. An entire nation with the same physical characteristic? “You will have to ask Mr. Darcy for Monsieur Reynard’s physical description, but to say that all Frenchmen have pointy noses is like saying that all Englishmen are short with big bellies. They are both caricatures used in the press to ridicule.”

“Will you please ask Mr. Darcy for a detailed description about monsieur and write to me as soon as you do?”

“Of course. But I do know one thing about the Reynard family. They are all gourmands, and when they fled France, their chef came with them.”

“Really? Gourmands, you say? With their own chef? The Devonshires have a French chef, and we frequently dine with them. I am very fond of beef in sauce bourguignon, foie gras with truffles, confit de canard, cassoulet…”

When Nell finally brought her litany of French dishes to a conclusion, Lizzy could see that Lady Helen was in a much better humor, and she hinted to Lizzy that she might have had a culinary close call. If she had become Mrs. Darcy, she would have been subjected to Mrs. Bradshaw’s cooking, and although she was a perfectly good cook, capable of producing roasts and stews, she was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a chef.

*   *   *

“William, how would you describe my eyes,” Lizzy asked as her husband brushed her hair, a task he performed each night with great pleasure.

“Dark brown.”

“How would you describe my hair?”

“Dark brown and curly.”

Lizzy grabbed the brush out of his hand. “So Lady Helen has golden hair and eyes as blue as a summer sky while I have dark brown eyes, the color of bark, and curly dark hair?”

“I would not use the word ‘bark.’” Darcy successfully ducked a flying brush. “Are you in need of compliments, my dear?”

“This morning, Nell happened to mention how your favorite thing to do in the whole world is to run your claws through her luxurious coat and to compliment her on her seasonal eye color.”

“My favorite thing to do is to run my hands over your luxurious body and to gaze into your dark eyes, which are pieces of onyx carved out of the night sky.”

“Ahhh,” she said. “That was a good answer.”

“As I told you before, Nell is a beautiful woman on the outside, but because she is also selfish and conceited, little beauty shines from within. Since you are beautiful inside and out, there is no comparison to be made. As for running my claws through her coat, when Teddy is not there, I do it so that I might have some peace but also because it makes her drowsy. It is the same as telling children a story so that they will finally fall off to sleep. On the other hand, I hope to keep you awake for most of the night.”

“Ahhh, that is another good answer.”

After they had made love, Darcy asked Lizzy what she thought would happen in their first year together.

“You and I shall have so much fun getting to know each other better, and I shall learn how to be the mistress of this great estate. Georgiana will come out and will have a brilliant debut, but she will not marry, as she is too young, and I do so want her to marry for love. You and I shall become an uncle and aunt, twice over, with Lydia and Jane, and Anne and Lady Catherine will be frequent visitors to Pemberley. We shall have puppies, all black, running all over the estate, all named Wolfie. I shall succeed in getting Mr. Jackson to smile at least once a month with you present to witness it, and Mrs. Bradshaw will be open to suggestions from me regarding the menus. And by the end of the year, we shall discuss starting our own family.”

“All right, my turn,” Darcy said. “In the coming year, Nell will marry Monsieur Reynard, and the couple will eat their way to wedded bliss. David and Goliath will finally accept you, or at least stop grumbling when you walk by. As you said, Georgiana will make a brilliant debut, and I agree that she should marry only if she is in love. I shall not deny her what I have. I shall see you grow into your role as mistress of Pemberley, and I shall endeavor to be the best husband I can be. I could tell you that I will be more in love with you next year than I am at this moment, but that is an impossibility as I am filled to overflowing.”

As they lay in each other’s arms, they continued to talk well into the night about their future together, but neither thought to say anything about the other incarnation of Mr. Darcy.

William and Lizzy’s first year of marriage could only be described as blissful. The sole rough spot was Lizzy’s cool reception by the ton, but after six weeks spent in the company of women who were immoral and unkind and delighted in ridiculing those whom they considered to be beneath them, she decided it was a compliment to her character that she did not fit in.

It was during their second year that the couple had their first disagreement. Darcy steadfastly refused to come to his wife when she was fertile, and Lizzy knew his reasons. In addition to his fear of losing her in childbirth, he believed that his children would reject him once they learned of his other nature. She decided to take the matter into her own hands. With potpourri sachets scattered about her bedchamber, a nightgown covered with scented powder, and a body bathed in perfumed water, her husband’s ability to determine where she was in her cycle faltered, and Lizzy became pregnant.