Georgiana and Lizzy spent a pleasant evening playing cards, but immediately upon saying good night, Lizzy returned to the front sitting room as she had done the previous night. After lighting a candle, she waved it in front of the window for several minutes and looked for any hint of movement, but after seeing none and hearing no howl, she returned to her room. It was her intention to sleep for a few hours before going to the study to wait for Mr. Darcy’s return. She was not sure if he would approve, especially since he had told her that he would come to her as soon as he had bathed, but he had not specifically told her not to go to the study. Either way, it did not matter. She was determined to be there when he came home.
When she awoke during the night, she jumped out of bed and crossed the room to view the mantel clock. It was only six o’clock, two hours to daybreak. Because she did not want to risk missing him, she decided to spend the rest of the night in the study.
After sliding out of her chemise and slipping on her green silk nightgown with its matching robe, she went to her dressing table, brushed her hair, and pulled her tresses back with the pearl combs Georgiana had given to her as a wedding gift. As she ventured down the hallway, she avoided those areas of the floor that squeaked, and although she was able to walk past Mercer’s room without alerting him, she suspected that he knew of her plan. Her hunch was confirmed when she went into the study and found a fire burning and a blanket folded neatly on the sofa. After draping herself in the blanket, she put her head on the arm of the sofa and was soon asleep.
As Darcy waited with Nell at the rendezvous point, he was trying to hide his annoyance. By her excessive whimpering, she let him know that she was not happy with his taking them so close to Pemberley or with his howling twice on the first day of nightfall. Obviously, she did not realize how important that candle in the window was to him. Or maybe she did, which would explain why she had chosen to hunt on the far side of the Darcy property. No matter. He did not have to see the candle to know that Elizabeth had lit another one for him.
Darcy signaled his displeasure with her sulking by leaving as soon as Lady Helen’s maid stepped out of the Granyard carriage. Usually, he would brush against her side or lick her muzzle before leaving, but she would receive no such attention from him this daybreak.
Despite the snow, Darcy made excellent time in reaching the cave where he would begin his transformation from lupine to human form. Because so much of the geology of the Peak District was porous limestone, the whole area was pockmarked with caves and caverns, and it was because of these natural shelters that there were still Darcys on the property.
During the Civil War, the Darcys, who had remained loyal to Charles I, had fled the manor house when Cromwell’s men descended upon the estate looking for royalists. After the Restoration of the monarchy, the family returned to Derbyshire to find the house a ruin, and a new Pemberley, built in the Palladian style, rose from the ashes. But with the war and their narrow escape a recent memory, a tunnel was dug leading to this cave, and after further alteration, it was connected to a stairway and a room accessible only from the study. Once Darcy reached the cave, he knew he was safe.
As he waited for his transformation to be completed, all thoughts were of Elizabeth. He pictured her in her bedchamber sleeping on his side of the bed while hugging a pillow and dreaming of those moments when they lay in each other’s arms. When they were finally reunited, perhaps he could convince her to keep to their room for the remainder of the day.
As he lay on a sheepskin cloth, he could feel the start of the last and most uncomfortable part of his return to human form. It was where his buttocks flattened so that his legs could lengthen. Once he was bipedal, he would have to spend several minutes stretching the muscles in his legs and lower back as daybreak was much harder on the body than nightfall was. But the greater challenge was to readjust his mind so that he was thinking like a human and not a predator.
After putting on his shirt and breeches and running a comb through his hair, he ate mint and rinsed his mouth, and then made his way to the study. As he looked at his pocket watch, he thought, just one more hour, a mere sixty minutes, and he would be with his bride.
As soon as Darcy slid open the panel, he knew Elizabeth was in the room. As eager as he was to see her, he did not want this. Because his mind was still in a state of transition, he would remain in the secret room until the mental phase of the transformation had been completed. But he made the mistake of stepping into the room to look at his wife, and in doing so, awakened her. She immediately stood up and started to come to him, but he held out his hand to keep her from getting any closer.
“Elizabeth, I want you to go back to your room and wait for me there.” He could hear the gruffness in his voice, but there was nothing he could do about that; the vocal chords were one of the last things to change. But his statement only caused her to step closer to him.
“I must insist that you leave. I am not yet fit company.” But her scent reached him and he could make out her form beneath her nightgown, and he felt his manhood growing. “Go now. Quickly. I could hurt you,” he warned. But she stood rooted to the spot, and so he stepped forward and grabbed her by the arm. “You do not want this.” With his member throbbing, he was now in agony, and he knelt down on the floor, pulling her with him. After shoving her on her back, he pushed her nightgown over her hips and knelt over her while he opened his breeches and then entered her immediately, and he had never felt more like a beast than he did at that moment.
Darcy was sure he was hurting his wife, but instead of whimpers, he heard soft moans and felt her pelvis thrust against his. Her movements sent a charge through his body, and he went from agony to ecstasy in a moment, and as he lifted his chest off of hers, he felt the full force of his release. Now, completely spent, he collapsed on top of her. Ashamed at his performance, he tried to withdraw, but he felt her tightening around his member, holding him inside her. “Please, don’t go yet,” she whispered and ran her hands up and down his back, and only when she felt his muscles completely relax did she unwrap her legs and free him.
Darcy rolled off of her and stared at the ceiling, refusing to look at her, and after seeing the tears in his eyes, she kissed him and told him how much she loved him.
“But I hurt you,” he said, the tears spilling over onto his cheeks.
“No, you did not hurt me. I swear to you that you did not.”
“You should not have come, Elizabeth,” he said, choking on his words. “I understand why you did, but you should have waited for me in your room as I asked you to do.”
“But I wanted to see your scar.”
Darcy rolled on his side and looked at her. “What?”
“Your scar. From when you were bitten.”
“But you have seen it a number of times now,” he said confused.
“No, I haven’t. I always look straight ahead—never down.”
Darcy nodded his head in understanding at what she was trying to do, and he started to laugh. “Well, then I must have been with someone else on the night of December 24th because that lady definitely looked at me.”
“All right. I confess. I did look at you—in all your majesty,” she said, smiling. Darcy, overwhelmed by the power of her love, pulled her onto his chest and held her against his heart.
After pouring himself a whisky, Darcy went and sat next to Elizabeth on the sofa. “Are you sure you don’t want anything?”
“No,” she answered, as she rested her head on his shoulder. “I have everything I want right here.”