At that, Mr. Darcy released Elizabeth just long enough to check on the door to the corridor. The lock was twisted, as if it had been smashed by a hammer. He pulled at it a few times, but it would not move at all. He then walked to the door that opened to the servants’ entrance. It was in a similar state.
“What kind of ghosts are you? You brought me here, bound Miss Bennet, and made the locks unworkable, all in the name of matchmaking. Have you no shame? I demand that you fix the doors immediately.”
Mr. Knightley defended his wife, “Emma did not transport you here, nor did we bind Miss Elizabeth or damage the locks. It was all Churchill’s doing. He is a spineless ghost who enjoys playing twisted jokes on the living. And, although I am sorry to disappoint you, we do not possess the magical power to undo what he has done.”
Elizabeth gasped in distress. “Oh, please! You can pass through walls. Can you not take Mr. Darcy to his bedroom that way? He cannot be found in here in the morning!” she pleaded.
“We are ghosts, and so we can indeed go through walls. But Mr. Darcy is alive. He cannot. Do you want me to kill him and shove his body out of the window, all so that your reputation can remain unsullied?” Emma asked, baring her teeth.
“No!” cried Elizabeth and Knightley together.
Elizabeth ran back to Darcy and held onto him tightly. “Mr. Darcy is a good brother and a good friend. And he has many tenants who depend upon him. I would not have such a man harmed simply to protect my reputation.” Elizabeth said indignantly from within the sheltering curve of his arm.
Emma adopted a menacing countenance. “But you do not like him. He has seen you in almost your full glory. How can you marry another? Is it not better that he be dead?”
“No,” Elizabeth objected staunchly. “I was only prejudiced against him in the past, disappointed that such a handsome and eligible man found me lacking. Now that I know his true feelings, if he can bear with my family, I would be most happy to accept him.”
Emma clapped her hands. “Excellent! And what do you say, young man?”
Mr. Darcy held tight to Elizabeth, also fearing for his life, as there was no telling how a ghost might act. “Elizabeth, I apologize for looking down on your relations. I would be most honoured if you would consent to be my wife.”
She nodded and whispered, “It will be my honour!”
“Marvelous!” Emma cheered. “Now, young man, take her to bed and start making babes. I promise that we will not peek. I shall even keep Jane and Frank Churchill away. But I will not leave entirely until I hear her maidenly cries of ecstasy,” Emma declared, then disappeared in a puff of white.
Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth turned bright red.
Mr. Knightley cleared his throat. “I am sorry, Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennet. You need not do as Emma said. I shall try to keep her out of here. Either way, it is almost dawn. She and I will need to return to the land of darkness soon.” With that, Mr. Knightley bowed and disappeared, as well.
At that, Elizabeth fainted. Had she not swooned and required his strong arms, Mr. Darcy thought that he himself might well have fainted from fear, as well.
Rallying, he swept her up in his arms and placed her on the bed. Going to the wash stand, he dampened a cloth, then returned to the bedside to press it to her forehead and throat, his hands shaking.
Words rose, unbidden, to his lips and spilled forth, baring his deepest thoughts and feelings. “Elizabeth, I love you. Please do not fall ill from the shock of this night. I shall truly honour my promise to marry and cherish you. I shall learn to bear with your relations. Mrs. Knightley, though overbearing, was right. I have been a selfish being, all my life. As a child, I was taught to care for none beyond my own family circle, and to think lowly of all the rest of the world. Such I was, from eight to eight-and-twenty; and such I might still be but for you, dearest, loveliest Elizabeth! What do I not owe you! You have taught me a lesson, one that was hard indeed, at first, but one that is most advantageous. Please wake up, Elizabeth, and say again that you will be mine.”
Elizabeth’s eyes slowly opened. She had heard his entire whole-hearted declaration, and she now reached up to caress his face with the gentlest of hands.
“Mr. Darcy, you must forgive me, as well. I was blinded by prejudice about your character and behaviour only because you slighted me. I took every chance I could to challenge you, in an attempt to show you that I was superior to the elegant ladies you had known. I was vain and prideful, as well. I did not know my own mind. I feel honoured and gratified that you love me…but I will not hold you to your promise. After all, it was only made under threat from the ghosts.”
Mr. Darcy held her face and spoke with passionate regard. “Not so. My wishes and affection are unchanged. Elizabeth, marry me!”
She returned his gaze and replied, in a firm, clear voice, “It is my honour, Mr. Darcy.”
He lowered his head and gave her a passionate kiss…which led to another. And another. What better way was there to drive away fear with this, the most pleasant of pursuits? It was not long before Mr. Darcy was lying half atop of Elizabeth’s body, stroking her breast through the thin fabric of her night dress. He stopped and was about to steel himself to move away when she said, “Make me yours, Mr. Darcy! Please, teach me the pleasure of man and woman, just as in your dreams.”
“Are you certain that this is what you want, my love? Are you sure that you are not still frightened by the threat from Mrs. Knightley?”
Elizabeth sat up and shook her head. “I was actually…quite disappointed just now, when you stopped touching me.” Then she buried her head against his shoulder and murmured. “You must be disgusted by me. Such wanton behaviour! I declare, I am no better than Lydia!”
Mr. Darcy eased her back onto the bed and cupped her face again. “Ah, but there is no shame in wanting your beloved. In fact, it will make our marriage bed most enjoyable. But your father may demand a long engagement. I would not want to have to confess to him that I had taken your virtue, or that we are forced to marry immediately because I have gotten you with child.”
“Oh!” Elizabeth said, clearly disappointed.
He chuckled. “But I know of many ways to teach you about the pleasures of the flesh without endangering your virtue. Do you trust me?”
She nodded enthusiastically. Darcy smiled, and slowly removed her night dress. When she lay naked in front of his eyes, he was gobsmacked. She was beautiful, her manner shy and yet eager. He bestowed kisses upon her face, lips, shoulders, breasts, nipples, abdomen and down to her apex.
When he parted her legs and licked her wet womanhood, she squirmed and moaned aloud, letting him know the pleasure he was giving her, encouraging him to do more. He tasted her folds and pressed his tongue into her entrance, in and out, mimicking the mating action, while his hands continued to cup and stroke her bosom.
Elizabeth was overwhelmed. His hands and lips were like magic. She cried out loudly as she reached her climax. Her inner muscles convulsed and contracted, and she screamed in astonished delight, for the sensation was utterly unknown to her.
When she finally stopped shivering and trembling, he lay by her side to catch his breath. Her peak had shaken his control; indeed, he had nearly come when her leg accidentally brushed against his shaft.
As her wits returned, she asked, “May I… return the favour, my dear?” Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.
“Are you certain?”
“I am certain of nothing, unschooled as I am in these arts, and yet I hope that you will find me a most eager and determined pupil.”
Ecstatic that she was proving to be so brave a woman, Mr. Darcy asked her permission to take off his night clothes. Although she averted her glance, she did not shy away when he did so and then pulled her on top on him. He stroked the curve of her pert bottom and moved her body up and down to tease his manhood. When her wet folds rubbed against him, his arousal, which had already been substantial, sprang even to attention. His breath caught, and he devoted himself to kissing her mouth and playing with her gorgeous breasts.