Darcy groaned. “Are you intending to test the craftsmanship most vigorously, my lover?”
She pulled away, her grin devilish as she peeled the robe off his shoulders and watched it fall to the carpeted floor as her eyes leisurely scanned over the masculine figure exposed. She sighed happily, hands skimming lightly over his broad upper torso and then downward over his flat, solidly muscled abdomen with feathering touches until reaching the juncture of his thighs, the pressure applied there quite firm.
Darcy shuddered, his knees flexing while the rest of his body tensed and arched at the electrifying pleasure. “Elizabeth,” he grated, clasping her face in his hands and bending to kiss her.
But she twisted in his arms, leaning backward against him with her arms again draped over his shoulders and playing with his hair. Darcy adjusted speedily, cupping a breast while his mouth busily applied nibbling caresses to her arched neck.
“I am definitely feeling the urge for aggressive, enthusiastic lovemaking and sense the same from you, yes?”
Darcy muttered a harsh yes while adjusting his posture and hold upon her body. Some minutes passed before they relocated to the bed, which held up miraculously well through what was assuredly not a gentle interlude but one of crazed passion.
Darcy collapsed beside his panting and still moaning wife, stretching alongside her shivering flesh. Lizzy sluggishly wiggled closer, laying an arm over his heaving chest and kissing his shoulder. It was several minutes before either was capable of coherent speech, but then they began to talk in soft voices about the wonders of the caverns and the delightful holiday they were having thus far. In time, Lizzy propped her head on one hand, the other lazily caressing his body. He, meanwhile, removed the decorative comb and idly played with the long tresses spilling over her back and onto his chest.
Their passion reawakened gradually as the aimless caresses roused the desires perpetually lurking under the surface. Darcy moved first, pulling her onto his body for a long kiss before rotating her onto her back to commence a focused assault. It began slow and gentle as they rolled about the bed, but eventually the heat escalated to inferno magnitude when the need to unite overwhelmed. Darcy grasped her bottom, sliding forward in a measured pace and releasing a long groan of bliss.
“William!” Lizzy gasped, clutching his head to her bosom as spasms of pleasure instantly burst through her body.
“You wanted me,” he said, impassioned voice thick and breathless near her mouth, his eyes a steaming azure as he stared at her flushed face. “God, how I love that! Feeling your release while in my arms. Lord, my Lizzy, there is nothing to compare!” He kissed her, hard and deep, lost in the moment and regulation gone as he plunged farther and fiercer with a rapidly accelerating tempo.
Abruptly, he rolled to his back, taking Lizzy with him and maintaining their connection. He grabbed onto the edge of the headboard, arching his entire back and shouting gruffly between the heavenly quakes wracking his body. Lizzy’s delirium matched his, again succumbing to the euphoria of amazing lovemaking.
Jests about the solidity of the bed, especially the hardiness of the cherry wood headboard against Darcy’s formidable potency and strength were a while in coming. But eventually, they rallied enough to assume their customary sleeping position with Lizzy embraced within her husband’s arms, a light coverlet over their love-warmed skin, and sharing a smattering of teases and declarations of eternal adoration. Tradition held with their final whispered words as they fell into satisfied, tranquilized sleep, “I love you.”
The next day they changed their tactic, deciding to drive northeast and investigate the stunning vistas and wonders found above ground.
They borrowed the Logans’ landau, the top completely folded down, loading it with necessary supplies: a large basket of food and liquids, freshly brushed blankets, and infant requirements. It was a fair day with the sun shining brightly in a brilliant blue sky with streaks of wispy white clouds. A light breeze tempered the heat, although Darcy warned that the wind in the higher elevations could be quite brisk. This only brought a wide smile to Lizzy’s face.
Within minutes, they left the sloping, rocky landscape of the Hope Valley, entering the equally sloping and rocky terrain of the Edale Vale. Initially the scenery was unchanged, but as they gradually began to climb toward the higher elevations, the subtle differences were noted. The air was cooler with the gentle breezes augmented by occasional blusters. The rock formations were not just the rubble of gritstone and limestone noted before, but often fashioned into such oddly sculpted statues that were so incredibly beautiful one felt God Himself must have touched them with His hands.
Mr. Anders drove slowly over the rough roads cut into the hills and moors. They were well traveled, but the rugged land did not always yield easily to carriage wheels, even time and traffic not noticeably smoothing the path in places. Darcy held an awake, bouncing, and bonneted Alexander in his arms. They occupied the bench across from his wife and Mrs. Hanford, both women enraptured by the view. Mrs. Hanford, especially, was glowing with an exuberance that shaved ten years off her age. Mrs. Hanford’s joy at joining the Darcy household nearly a year ago was primarily due to two factors. One, she was relieved to be dwelling near her extensive family and friends. She was born in Baslow, living there until she married Mr. Hanford when seventeen, whereupon she moved to his tenant’s cottage on the Pemberley estate. Never had she traveled away from Derbyshire; it was the only home she knew.
Therefore, her second fount of joy was in being able to continue serving the Darcy family. Proudly, she proclaimed the Hanford association with the esteemed Darcy landowners. She considered it a miracle and the greatest of honors to be granted the chance to not only maintain that connection but to do it in such a personal way.
Mrs. Hanford had contentedly raised six children and was blessed with a dozen grandchildren, so knew that caring for the Darcy baby would be a delight. Mrs. Hanford loved all children, her gift one of easy affinity with youngsters of all ages. Yet, one can’t deny that some children are easier to love and tolerate than others! Alexander was a handsome child physically, but his temperament was so carefree and amiable that falling in love with him as an individual was impossible to resist.
Her only unexpected consequence to her employment as nanny was the travel. It had never entered her mind that caring for their son and heir meant she would be accompanying them wherever they went! Of course, many aristocratic families did not travel so extensively with their children, a reality Mrs. Hanford knew to be so even if she did believe to be sad, so if Mr. and Mrs. Darcy had gone on their journeys while leaving Alexander in her care at Pemberley, she would not have been shocked. However, their devotion to Alexander was pronounced and just another of the numerous reasons she respected them and was gratified to be a peripheral part of their family.
When Mrs. Darcy had first asked for her learned opinion on how best to travel with an infant, she was utterly at a loss as to what to say. Finally, she pulled herself together, stammering that she did not possess a “learned opinion” as she had never traveled far with her children, summer or winter.
“That may be so, Mrs. Hanford,” Mrs. Darcy said, “but I still trust your instincts in the matter. We have some two months to plan our trip and I am confident that your expertise with infants in general will aid in securing a safe, smooth journey for my son.” Then she leaned forward and affectionately squeezed Mrs. Hanford’s hand, smiling sincerely. “I am just glad that you will be there to assist us. Between all of us I know it will be well.”