He led her to a level area before the pond. “I am not the first to exploit the serene influences inherent here. Darcys for untold generations have retreated to this sanctuary. It is a family secret that I now share with you, my lovely wife, and we will share with our children.” He gently rubbed her abdomen and kissed her forehead as he hugged her. “Now, relax and I will return with the blankets and pillows.” He kissed her again then left.

Lizzy sighed contentedly, breathing deeply of the clean, fragrant air. She sat on a flat rock and removed her shoes and stockings, worming bare toes into the soft grass and damp earth. Without hesitation, she unbuttoned her dress and stripped to her chemise. The cool air with lightly dappled sunshine contacted her bare skin, raising tiny bumps of tactile bliss. She stepped to the edge of the pool, testing the water with one toe and finding it surprisingly tepid.

Standing with the lukewarm fluid gently lapping about her shins, she released her hair, braiding it loosely in back. Tiny minnows swirled by her ankles, testing her toes for edibility and tickling her in the process. She wiggled her toes and teased with her fingers on the surface, frightening the little fishes momentarily, although they rapidly returned for fresh nibbles, filling her with mirth.

Darcy reentered the grove to find his wife cavorting like a child, practically naked, and belly laughing. He paused unheeded and observed her antics, filled to bursting with an overwhelming sensation of love mingled with felicity and youthful vivacity. No one in all his life, even when he was young, had evoked such a well of joy and unadulterated verve as she did. She sensed his silent presence and turned, eyes vibrant and sparkling, and smile radiant. There was not a moment in Darcy’s day, awake or asleep, when her existence in his life was not a cause of awe and thankfulness. Yet, there were those odd moments, such as now, when he nearly fainted from the rapture that washed through his body at the reality that was Elizabeth.

“Remove your boots, my love, and join me. The fish are hungry and your toes are bigger,” she teased. He did as she requested, adding his jacket to the pile. A fresh swarm of minnows attacked his feet with relish. “Is the water always so warm?” she asked, “I was surprised. We could bathe! Did you bathe here when you were young?”

“Frequently, yes. The pool is not deep so the water heats quickly. It is rocky though, so tread cautiously, beloved.”

Lizzy splashed her way along the shallows, randomly selecting stones. “Oh, look William, this one has red and green swirls! It is lovely.” He trailed her happily, taking the collection of unusual rocks for safekeeping. Once his hands were full, she drew close and firmly clasped her wet hands about this neck. He gasped and she giggled, skittering away.

“Unfair advantage!” He laughed, meeting up with her on the grassy clearing where she began busily spreading the blankets. Dropping the rocks, he pulled her onto the blankets, tickling mercilessly until she was breathless from laughter.

“Desist, I beg you! You win.” She kissed him and then opened the lunch basket packed by Mrs. Langton. “Hungry, William?”

“Yes,” he answered as he ran his hand leisurely up her leg. She turned to see him smiling sensuously with food clearly not on his mind. He kissed her knee, proceeding slowly along her inner thigh with soft kisses as he ran a hand along the other thigh, under the thin chemise, and around her bottom. She sighed happily, fingering silky hair as his head moved over her lap. He kissed her lower belly and then murmured, “Pardon your father, little one, but I must love your mother.”

Lizzy laughed. “I do not think he yet has ears to hear you with, beloved.”

Darcy kissed her pubis again. “Merely being polite, Elizabeth. Never too early to bestow proper manners.” He traveled up her abdomen with kisses and caresses, lingering to peel the chemise away from her shoulders and access her breasts. “Aahh… so beautiful! Divinely appetizing.” He nuzzled his face between, kissing languidly over her skin as she moaned in pleasure. Cautiously he licked one nipple, which hardened instantly as Lizzy inhaled sharply.

“Alright, beloved?”

Her breasts and nipples were ultra-sensitive lately, often so tender that they were painful. Other times the heightened tactility led to an increased arousal. Such was the case now, evidenced by how she tightened the grip in his hair and drew his face to her breast, arching impatiently and moaning.

With tantalizing kisses and caresses over every available inch of flesh, they removed their clothing, reveling in the intoxication of sunlight and balmy breezes wafting over their exposed skin. Both of them had dreamed of this for months: the arousing pleasure of making love in the out-of-doors, specifically in Darcy’s grotto where many of his most treasured memories began. Their imaginings did not disappoint. Their union was stupendous and fulfilling, leaving them tingling and warmed to their inner souls, blissfully melded as one entity in a consuming love.

Afterwards, Lizzy lay stretched on Darcy’s front side, arms crossed over his chest. She rested her chin on one hand, the other stroking feathering fingertips through his wispy hairs while he played with one long tress. They admired each other in serene approval. Darcy smiled and murmured a soft hmmm as he brushed her cheeks.

“What are you thinking, my love?” she asked.

“I am watching the sunlight wave over your face and it reminded me of the day I proposed, successfully, that is.” He laughed lowly. “Many aspects of that day are rather dreamlike to me, but I vividly remember how the sun illuminated your beautiful face precisely at the instant you accepted me. It was as if God Himself blessed our proclamation.”

“William, you are such a romantic and a poet! You ceaselessly astound me.” She kissed the skin over his heart. “However, for the sake of clarity I am obligated to point out that your actual proposal occurred several minutes later,” she teased, playfully pinching a nipple.

“A technicality, Mrs. Darcy. I do believe, if my memory serves, that you kissed me preceding the sun’s caress, thus assenting to my declaration of love and wish to share my life with you.”

She laughed. “We should say that you proposed three times! Each one an improvement and the kisses increasing in intensity and delight.”

“Do not remind me, beloved. I nearly forfeited my right to the title of gentleman ere we were betrothed an hour!” They both smiled in happy remembrance. He grasped her shoulders tenderly and drew her closer, kissing passionately. “My Lizzy, my lover! It is fortunate I did not comprehend the ecstasy of our love prior to marriage, or I never would have maintained my restraint for those interminable two months. As it is, I was sorely tested. My ardor for you appears to be boundless.”

He spoke the truth as decidedly evidenced when she pressed her hips against him. With reciprocated moans of pleasure they gave in to their love again. The memories of the day they at long last proclaimed their love and blissfully shared first kisses augmented their passion.

Late September, 1816

“My affections and wishes are unchanged, but one word from you will silence me on this subject forever.”

How do you tell a man whom you have rejected and so wounded about your emotions for him? Can they be conveyed in a kiss to the hand? In a mumbled, nonsensical reply? Perhaps to a degree. He stands before her, impossibly handsome, declaring a love and desire for a life commitment that she does not deserve, yet now accepts as what she yearns for with every heartbeat. It will take all of my life, daily and hourly saying I love you, to wholly express the depth of my sentiments, she thinks, and by some miracle he has offered her that chance again. She grabs onto it as a drowning man clutches the rope, vowing never to relinquish as he is her salvation from a lifetime of emptiness and despair.

Darcy stands stunned and anxious as she steps close, taking the offered hand and bestowing a gentle kiss and caress. No words are necessary, the gesture a declaration of caring and acceptance. He understands this although the dream-like atmosphere and months of longing despair prevent him from instantly grasping it. His hand is on fire! In fact, his whole body is aflame, jolted by waves of heat emanating from her soft lips and fingers. His soul is renewed, and he knows it is a miracle purely and completely. The beautiful face that has haunted his dreams is now lifted upward. He touches her cheek tentatively and the world ignites.

For a horrifying second he suspects she will flinch or slap him or vanish into the mist. Instead, she closes her lovely eyes and leans minutely into his hand. Nothing in all his eight-and-twenty years has prepared him for the sensation of her velvety warm skin cupped in his palm. It is the most erotic, exhilarating experience of his life! At that instant, the sun lights her glorious face, rendering her mien angelic. It is a benediction from God Himself! Only her flesh anchors him to the ground.

Relief overwhelms and, with eyes closed, they surrender to the sublime delight of a tender touch. This is love! A profound heat rushes from their connected skin to the roots of their loneliness, disintegrating forever the walls of misunderstanding.

Time halts. They are dazzled. Enchanted in the rays from Heaven.

“I love you,” she whispers.

He inhales sharply and jerks as if stuck by a pin, eyes flying open. “Say it again,” he pleads softly.

She smiles, “I love you… Fitzwilliam.”

He shuts his eyes briefly, sighing with a sibilant moan. Then he flashes the brilliant smile she has so rarely seen, eyes sparkling and the palest blue. “Elizabeth. Lovely, precious Elizabeth,” he breathes as delicate fingertips trace a line of fire across her jaw and chin, finally lingering on her lips.

She holds her breath. He must kiss me! Her mind screams, I will die if he does not and likely die when he does! She trembles as he gazes at her with heart exposed and raw emotion written on his visage.

Oh, Lord, how I long to kiss her! His well-honed discipline and reserve dangles by the thinnest thread. Years hence he will recall this struggle as one of the harshest of his life; his very soul wars with the agonizing need to crush her to his body as he kisses her thirstily against the desire to show her the honor and respectability that is her due. How he manages to control his urges will remain a mystery. With a visible shudder he withdraws a pace, clasping both her hands securely in his.

“Elizabeth,” he begins huskily, pausing to clear his throat, “Elizabeth, there is much to say, much for me to apologize for, although I do not deserve your forgiveness. I did not plan this… rendezvous, and it is not how I intended to proceed in winning your affection. I wanted to court you properly and allot you time to improve your opinion of me and maybe, if I was so blessed, to have you love me. I never entertained the notion, even after my aunt restored my hope, that you felt a fraction of what I do.”

She squeezes his fingers, smiling up into his eyes. “I do,” she murmurs with a nod.

He exhales a happy sigh and shakes his head slightly in amazement. “Elizabeth, clever phrases and spontaneous conversation are not my forte, as you can attest. Therefore, Fate has gifted me with this adventitious opportunity and, considering how atrociously I botched my well-rehearsed proposal, Fate has proven the wiser.” They both smile and laugh faintly. “Simplicity appears to be Fate’s recommendation. Therefore, on that note…”