Their Glory Continues

Part III – An Evening’s Entertainment

Darcy was proud of his wife and was eager to show her off, so he planned a night at the theatre. They had made moderate progress in achieving that combination of intimacy and propriety required to avoid embarrassing themselves or others and they felt ready to appear in society at large. It was decided that the theatre would be the venue of their debut as a couple. It would allow them to be seen in public with a minimum of social interaction.

Mr. Darcy was concerned about how he would react to his wife in a public setting. They had yet to leave Darcy House and the longest they had gone without expressing their passion for each other was four hours and at that time they had their own duties occupying their thoughts. To add to his worries was the fact that he found Mrs. Darcy with clothes on almost as arousing as her without them because all he had to do is think about her in their chambers and her clothes could not cover what was underneath them. Deciding that an ounce of prevention was worth a pound of cure, he whisked his bride off to their chambers after lunch on the day of their planned outing and spent the afternoon making love with her. After all, if they were well satiated, the less likely it would be for anything untoward to happen to them once they were away from the house.

As they parted to ready themselves for their night out, Elizabeth was already running twenty minutes late. She had barely enough time to prepare herself for their seven o’clock departure. Her husband had calculated that if they left the house at seven, they could make it to the theatre with a few minutes left to greet any of his friends that might be in attendance before retiring to their private box to enjoy the performance that was to begin at eight-thirty.

Elizabeth hurried her bath; her delay had caused the water to cool a bit. Afterward, she sat in her dressing gown as Nancy, her maid, arranged her hair. Since she had not been out of the house since she arrived in London, Nancy had only set her hair in the simpler styles but now Elizabeth was quite impressed with the girl’s talent. She had never seen her wayward mass of curls so beautifully coiffed.

As she stood admiring her new hair style, she did not notice that Nancy had only dressed her in her stockings and other than that, she was nude. Having spent most of her time in the house naked, she was no longer modest about her body and it felt perfectly natural to stand there with her body unclothed. Then Nancy brought a beautiful midnight blue velvet gown and slipped it over her mistress’s head. That is when it dawned on her why Nancy had not put a corset or chemise on her; they would have been unsightly underneath the gown. While her figure did not necessarily need such items, except for her breasts, she was shocked that the fit of the gown was such that those items would be unseemly.

The gown was cut such that a slender piece of fabric resting on the area where her shoulder met her arm supported a small cap of a sleeve. It went down her back exposing her shoulder blades before scooping about mid back to extend up to her other shoulder. Having nearly her entire back so exposed was somewhat disconcerting but it was the front that gave Elizabeth pause, that thin line of fabric went down from the tip of her shoulder to her underarm before a small piece of that same fabric rounded more than halfway down the slope of her breasts until it meet with a V, no, make that a U, with the rest of the dress. The amount of fabric used to contain her bosom seemed to be inadequate to do the job as her nipples were barely covered and a great deal of her skin above and to the side of her nipples was exposed to the evening air. Instead of the high-waisted style that gathered underneath the bosom, the gown fit her quite snugly until it began to flare slightly above the waist. The snug fit along her upper body would definitely show the outline of any undergarments.

She looked at herself in the mirror, shocked. She wondered how on earth she came to own such a dress but she knew how she came by it. She could just strangle her mother. Eager to spend time with her fiancé, she had allowed her mother to manage her trousseau. She should have known better. Her mother’s directive on how her daughters should put themselves to their best advantage had gone a little far a field in this case. She had to believe, though, that if her mother had seen her in this dress, Mrs. Bennet would agree that there was too much on display.

Elizabeth looked down as Nancy pushed and prodded and lifted and hefted Elizabeth’s bosom so that it was securely contained with those sparse pieces of velvet. Looking at Nancy through the reflection in the mirror, she said, “Do you not think that my bosom is too much on display? I am sure my husband will not appreciate so much of me being so…so…” looking down at her bosom she realized that all she could see was her bare bosom as it overflowed the cloth that was attempting to hold her breasts in place. In fact, she had to bend over slightly just to see the dress as her breasts were pushed up and together that she could not see over them when she looked down.

“Mrs. Darcy, this is the latest French style. I saw it in one of the ladies fashion periodicals thinking that it would take a daring woman to look well in it. But I must say, you do that dress proud,” Nancy said as she made more adjustments to her mistress’s unruly breasts.

“Nancy, I think this may be a bit too much. It feels as if they are not covered at all,” Elizabeth stated as she again examined her décolletage.

“Mr. Darcy will be proud of how you look,” Nancy continued trying to convince her mistress that she had chosen the appropriate gown for her mistress’s debut in society. She was sure that Mrs. Darcy would catch everyone’s eye in this dress. The fashion periodicals said that the more cleavage shown in the evening the better and if Mrs. Darcy had anything, it was cleavage!

Elizabeth thought that Mr. Darcy would be proud but was sure that he would not be willing to share with the other gentlemen what he considered the most prized asset of his wife’s body that was so freely displayed in this dress. “Nancy, I think we had better find another dress.”

“It is too late, Mr. Darcy awaits you downstairs. The carriage is waiting. You will be late if you change gowns now.” Nancy went to get the gloves and the fur-lined cape to complete the ensemble.

Elizabeth glanced at the clock and noted that she was indeed late. Watching Nancy button up the cape to cover what she was sure was a quite indecent gown, she just sighed in resignation. While she did feel exposed, she also knew of her husband’s appreciation of what was displayed. After all, he did say he wanted to show her off, although she did not think he intended for so much to be showing.

Against her better judgment, she did not force the issue. Well, they would be in a dark box at the theatre, no one would see her and there was nothing she could do now without missing the opening curtain.

As they were running late, Darcy had not had a chance to view her in her gown. Had he had that chance, he would have called the evening off.

Waiting impatiently to be off, Darcy’s impatience ceased as he watched his wife descend the stairs all bundled up to meet the cold winter night. He was bewitched at how lovely she was. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, he leaned in and whispered, “You are very beautiful. Every eye will be on you and I will be the envy of every gentleman present.” Oh! How accurate he was with that statement.

Offering her his arm, he asked, “Shall we?”

Beaming with happiness, she looked into her husband eyes, took his arm, and nodded. Then they made their way out the front door and into the waiting carriage.

Arriving at the theatre, Darcy proudly escorted his wife into the lobby. They headed to the coat check.

Fumbling with the buttons of her cloak as she viewed her husband removing his overcoat, Elizabeth was struck by the sight of him in his black formal evening wear. Why he was almost as handsome as when he is wearing nothing at all. Feeling desire beginning to build within her, she averted her eyes and concentrated on unbuttoning and removing her cloak.

Poor Darcy, he was quite unprepared for what was about to happen when Elizabeth removed her cape. The reaction to seeing his wife in that gown was immediate. His jaw dropped and other parts of his anatomy rose. After regaining his senses, he looked around and realized that the normal din of the lobby had quieted to a low murmur and all attention was focused on them or, as he saw it, his wife’s décolletage.

While he had been excited to show off his beautiful wife, he had not anticipated that so much of her would be on view. She was stunning in that dress, he had to admit, but he did not like the looks on the other men’s faces as they viewed what was his. No, he did not like it at all. His male possessiveness took root as he took his wife’s arm and started to make his way to the stairs that led to their box. Nodding curtly to any of his acquaintances that he thought might wish to accost them, he continued steadily on his way. For him, it was a long, arduous journey across the lobby floor. Reaching the stairway, he let out a sigh of relief as he proceeded to escort her up the stairs and into their private box.

Those in the lobby, who had been lucky enough not to have left to find their seats, watched the couple until they reached the top of the stairs and were out of view. A myriad of thoughts raced through their minds but the one common thought on everyone’s was the explanation of why Darcy would chose a simple country gentleman’s daughter over the beauties of the ton.

When the Darcys reached their box, Mr. Darcy settled his wife in her seat and went to stand a few feet away and slightly behind her. He was glad of his dark clothing and the dimness in the box, as he could not conceal his predicament and he needed time to gain some control of his emotions. He did not want to have Elizabeth aware of his failure; he would discuss it with her later at home if she did not find out before they were able to leave the theatre.

“Fitzwilliam, will you not have a seat?” Elizabeth asked.

“Not at the moment, my dear. We will be sitting for awhile once the play starts. I wish to stretch my legs while I am able.” He did not like the little half truth he had spoken but he could not admit that sitting right now would be quite painful. He wanted to delay the pain as long as possible or hopefully find a way to reduce that part of him that was so painful. Furthermore, he was not sure he could make it through the first act. He prayed that the play was interesting enough to take his mind off his dilemma or else…several scenarios ran through his minds but none would have been proper in a crowded theatre.

Elizabeth began a running commentary of her impressions as she looked around the theatre.

That was helping take his mind off what was troubling him – slightly, very slightly.

“Oh, look, there are the Hursts and Miss Bingley!” she exclaimed.

Looking over to their box and seeing that they were looking at them, he gave a brief nod of acknowledgement before moving his attention to another part of the theatre and waiting for Elizabeth to resume her commentary. Not even Caroline Bingley and her snide remarks could quash that what ailed him.

The house lights were dimming and he realized that he would have to try to sit down without giving too much of his struggle away. Making his way to his seat, he gingerly lowered his body onto the chair. Sitting so close to her nearly-naked breasts was not making things any easier. Why it would not take a moment to reach over and free them from their confines! Imagining them spilling forth was not helping his situation and he needed to concentrate on what was in his trousers that was aching to spill forth. Soon his thoughts turned back to ways of achieving that dearly needed release, unfortunately, he could not let those thoughts take root but he had to do something soon else he would embarrass himself and soil his trousers.

Since this was the first time that the Darcys had appeared out since their marriage, it was not surprising that most of the audiences’ attention was directed at their box instead of the stage.

The women envied Mrs. Darcy for her wealthy husband, whom she had plucked from the marriage market right from under their noses. They were also jealous of the fact that she had so successfully pulled off a gown that they had admired but did not have the courage or the figure or the age to have made the same impression as Mrs. Darcy. To have a newcomer, and a country nobody at that, pull off a fashion coup on her debut was unheard of and that was another reason that a few ladies had their noses out of joint.

The men, on the other hand, envied Mr. Darcy for his wife’s bodacious set…her beauty. The guilt they felt at the twinge in their loins of arous…admiration experienced at coveting another man’s wife did not belie their appreciation of her… generous…er…gorgeous face.

As attention was primarily focused on the Darcy’s box, concern for the couple developed as it was noticed that Mr. Darcy was in some discomfort with frequent grimaces gracing his mien. Why he looked positively in pain! Apprehension for his health grew as they witnessed Mrs. Darcy’s concern for her husband had caused her to draw the curtains to their box.

Those of a more lecherous mind might have speculated that Mr. Darcy was going to have a diddle with Mrs. Darcy and who could blame him. Any speculations along those lines were soon discarded when they realized that the reserved and proper Mr. Darcy would never contemplate doing such a wicked act in such a public place. If those with the amorous speculations had been able to lay down a bet, they would have walked away with a bit of coin in their pocket.

Elizabeth sensed Darcy’s restless shifting about in his seat. Looking over at him and seeing him grimace; she became concerned and leaned over toward him to inquire, “Fitzwilliam, what is wrong?”

Lowering his head, he hissed, “Nothing!”

Knowing that he was lying, she reached over and unobtrusively placed her hand in his lap to confirm her suspicions.

With his head still lowered, he softly begged, “Elizabeth, please no.”

Realizing his situation, she quickly drew the curtains to the box. Then she went to bolt the door. When she returned, she found that he had unbuttoned his trousers and slipped them down past his hips to relieve the pressure on his erection.

Holding his shaft at its base, he looked pleadingly into her eyes, and begged, “In vain I have struggled, please?”

She looked at him as if he had lost his mind. What was he thinking proposing such a thing in front of hundreds of people? Then looking at his manhood, she inquired, “How long have you been in this state?”

Sheepishly he responded, “Since you removed you cape.”

“Do you mean…” Realizing that she was talking quite loudly, lowered her voice, “…that you walked across the lobby in front of half of London with that,” she indicated his massive erection, “bulging in your trousers?”

“Elizabeth,” he said quietly, “Half of London’s attentions were focused on your naked breast.”

“My breasts…” again she had to lower her voice, “are not naked. My nipples are covered.”

He just stared at her. Now was not the time for an argument as he urgently needed a resolution to his predicament. “Please, let us not argue about this right now. Can it not wait until we get home?” Extreme anxiety was evident in his tone and facial expressions.

Noting the desperation in his eyes, she cautiously looked around. She could not deny her husband anything, especially a sexual encounter. But this was highly improper and most awkward. Finally relenting when she saw that he was going to retrieve his handkerchief, she raised her skirts and stepped astride him.

As Darcy felt her lowering herself upon his painfully aroused member, he immediately pulled her into his embrace and began kissing her as he sought his relief. She was kissing him back as she hoped it would mute the vocal approbation that would certainly be expressed considering what they were doing. But she was not happy about this situation.

Having reached the end of his control, it only took Darcy a minute to find his release. Only after completing himself did he realize that he had not even begun to satisfy his wife as his own need for release had been so overpowering. The one person who was gracious enough to come to his aid had not been thanked.

Tightly holding his wife in his embrace, he whispered in her ear, “Elizabeth, I am so sorry.”

“As well you should be,” she whispered back.

“I promise I will make it up to you,” he said and then continued, “Right now if you like,” as he moved his hand up to fondle her beast.

“Fitzwilliam Darcy, do not touch me there. It was hard enough to get them contained as it were and here is not the place to try to right an errant breast or repeat what we just did,” she admonished as she moved his hand away from her.

She pulled back to look at him, “As for your promise, you may be assured that I will hold you to it but not here. I think it is time we took our leave.”

Rising up, she straightened her gown and made her way to the rear of the box and pulled the bell for a footman. Stepping into the corridor, she closed the door behind her and waited. Soon a young man in livery appeared and she requested that the Darcy carriage be brought out front.

Making her way back to her husband, she saw that he had righted his clothing and his manhood was safely concealed in his trousers. Turning she opened the curtain and re-took her own seat.

Darcy was miserable. He could not believe he had allowed such a thing to occur; then to take his own satisfaction with no regard to his wife’s needs. He felt awful, just awful.

Elizabeth was mortified. Lowering her head she looked out at the audience between her lashes and saw them all staring at her. Did they know what she and her husband had just done? Or were they all just looking at her exposed décolletage? She flushed at those thoughts. Casting about for some way to relieve the embarrassment, she remembered what her husband was like before they had married. If these people did not know him, they, at least, knew of him. Would the old Mr. Darcy have done such a thing? No, he would not. The proper and honorable and reserved Mr. Darcy of a month ago would not condone that kind of behavior. Maybe those looks they were receiving were at her bosom. She wished she had thought to bring a shawl so that she could cover herself. If she were to leave this theatre with a modicum of dignity, she would have to go with the thought that they were admiring her ample breasts because the thought that those people knew what she had just engaged in with her husband completely mortified her sensibilities.

Leaning over to her husband, she inquired, “How long do you think it will take the carriage to be brought around?”

“About ten or fifteen minutes if they are not too far away,” was his reply.

“It looks like intermission will be soon upon us,” she observed.

“Yes, gather your things, I do not wish to become involved in an intermission inquisition, even if we have to wait outside in the cold,” he stated.

It was not long before the Darcys departed their box leaving the audience to speculate on what had happened with them and where they were going before intermission.

The most curious were making their way to the lobby before the curtain for intermission had hit the stage floor. They were sadly disappointed on reaching the lobby to see the Darcys backs as they exited the theatre to climb into their carriage and drive off.

In the carriage on the way back to the townhouse, both Mr. and Mrs. Darcy quietly sat reflecting on their outing to the theatre and what a disaster it had become.

Looking at his wife as she gazed out the window of the carriage, Darcy knew he needed to say something. An apology would not be enough considering the precarious position he had placed them. He deserved her anger and was preparing himself to spend the first night of their married life in separate beds.

He could not gauge her mood. She seemed calm enough but sometimes that did not express her true thoughts. She had always been so free with her thoughts and opinions since their wedding that her silence after this debacle worried him.

Cautiously, he inquired, “Elizabeth?”

When she turned her gaze to him, he continued, “I am so very sorry that I let things get so out of hand and placed us in such a dangerous position.”

Noting her husband’s contrite expression, she could not help realize that she was as much to blame as he was. Had she not worn a gown that she knew bordered on indecency, if not actually crossed the line? She knew that she could never deny him her sexual favors regardless of the circumstances even if she thought it wise not to partake in those pleasures. While she did not like the situation they had been in, she had been a willingly participant regardless of whether she was happy about it or not. Now that it was all over, she could help but feel a twinge of excitement about what they had gotten away with or, at least, she hoped they had gotten away with it. Her only response to his apology was to begin laughing.

Darcy looked sharply at her. He was glad that she had some of her humor back but this was more than he expected and he was curious as to why.

Raising an eyebrow, he sought an answer, “Mrs. Darcy, just what do you find so amusing?”

Controlling her laughter, she settled herself and stated, “Well, the story of our first public appearance as Mr. and Mrs. Darcy is not a story that we will be sharing with our children or grandchildren.”

He chuckled, “Yes, I believe you to be correct. In fact, I do not believe it is a story we will be sharing with anyone.”

Sobering a bit, she asked, “Fitzwilliam, you have been so diligent this week. This afternoon you spent the whole afternoon making love to me just so this would not happen, what caused such a loss of restraint in you?”

Darcy closed his eyes and sighed, “Your evening gown.” Opening his eyes, he continued, “How could you wear such a low-cut gown when you know the effect your bosom has on me? With so much of those wondrous and succulent orbs displayed and with my intimate knowledge of them, regardless of whether or not your nipples were covered, all I saw was your entire naked bosom as if you were walking around our bed chamber. What possessed you to purchase such a gown?”

Huffing a bit at his mild chastisement, “I did not purchase this gown. I did not even know that I had it. Nancy found it and thought it would look well on me.”

“It does look well on you; you are absolutely stunning in it, however all that I saw when I looked at you was your bare bosom. But how did you not know you had such a gown?”

“If you remember back to our engagement period, you encouraged me to let my mother handle my trousseau. I recall you saying that it would give us more time together and keep my mother out of our hair.”

Guiltily, he nodded, “You did not try it on or have fittings beforehand?”

“No, our seamstress in Meryton has been making my clothes for years. She has my measurements and never once have I received a gown from her that did not fit perfectly the first time I put it on. So when the gowns that my mother ordered arrived, they went directly into my trunks. There were so many of them that I did not take to time to examine each one individually. That is why I was not aware I had such a gown.”

“I cannot believe that your mother would have ordered you such a gown,” he stated.

“You should know my mother’s maxim by now as much as she proclaimed it in front of you.” Giving an impersonation of her mother, “I always make sure that my daughters are displayed to their best advantage. In all fairness to my mother, I really do not believe she meant for so much of me to be displayed.”

He laughed, “She sure hit the mark with that gown. But when you saw how revealing it was, why did you not change your gown?”

“Because I was delayed in attending my toilet by a certain gentlemen!”

He looked at her sheepishly.

“By the time I had donned this gown it was already past time to leave. If I had changed it, we would have been extremely late. I know how you are about punctuality. Besides, after seeing this gown, I was afraid of how indecent the other gowns might be.”

“Maybe it might be wise for me to join you in the last stages of your toilet just so I know how to prepare myself. I was completely blindsided tonight when we got to the theatre,” he said.

“Well, if you had been in my dressing room tonight, we would not have made it out of the house.”

“And why is that?”

“Because there is nothing between this gown and my skin; I have no undergarments on. Besides it took quite a bit of effort for Nancy to get my breasts into the tiny bit of fabric that was allotted to cover them. And if you had watched how she had to manhandle my wayward breasts, you would have either been upset or aroused or both.”

He gulped, “We are almost home. Maybe we should curtail this discussion until we reach our chambers.”

“If you wish, but there is still one point we need to discuss before we put the events of this evening to rest,” she stated.

He nodded his head, “You want to know why I just did not leave the theatre once I realized my condition?”

“Yes,” was her reply. “We had just entered the theatre, no one would have known we had been there if we just turned around and left.”

“That was my first thought but as I looked around, I realized that every eye in the lobby was glued to us, well, to you and then decided our best recourse was to go our box. There would be some privacy there. I knew with your stunning beauty that no one would be paying attention to me and, at that point, my only objective was to get you away from those people as quickly as possible,” he explained.

“I believe ‘by my stunning beauty’ you meant my indecent décolletage?” she raised an eyebrow.

“No, it may have been your indecent décolletage that caught their eye but it was your stunning beauty that held their attention,” he said sincerely.

Rolling her eyes to defuse her embarrassment at his comment, she changed the subject, “What are we to say to people who ask us why we left the theatre before the first intermission?”

“The truth!” he stated.

Astonished, she exclaimed, “The truth! Are you mad?”

“Lizzy, you know that disguise of any sort is abhorrent to me. The truth is always the best way to go lest we weave a tangled web of deceit,” he calmly stated. Grinning he continued, “We will tell them that the play did not hold our interest. I believe I proved where my interests lay and I do believe that it did not take for you long to lose interest in the play as well.”

She laughed. Her husband was an amazing man as she admitted that the truth was the best way to go.

“Fitzwilliam, you are absolutely correct and once we get to our chambers, I will be happy to show you where my interests lay.” As she reached out to stroke his upper thigh, she said, “Besides you need to make good on the promise you made me earlier.”

“It will be my pleasure to honor my promise.” He closed his eyes as his anticipation of that event was beginning to affect his body.

When they arrived back at the townhouse, Hudson was surprised to see them return so early, “Mr. Darcy, Mrs. Darcy, you are back early?”

Darcy’s sharp, “Yes,” was said in hopes of deterring any further conversation on the subject. Softening his tone, he smiled at his wife and then addressed his butler, “The play just did not hold our interest and we saw no point in remaining.”

Hudson was about to query further when he saw Mrs. Darcy removing her cloak. The answer to any questions he might have asked was answered at the sight of Mrs. Darcy’s bosom overflowing that gown. Hudson surmised that if he had a wife and his wife filled out a gown in the way Mrs. Darcy did then he would not be interested in a silly play either.

“Have a good night, sir, madam.” Hudson said as he watched them cross the foyer to the stairs, greatly admiring the Master’s choice of wife.

When they reached the stairs, Darcy turned back to Hudson, “Hudson, would you have the kitchen send a cold supper up to Mrs. Darcy’s chambers? It seems our little excursion tonight has left us quite famished.”

“Yes, sir, a cold supper in Mrs. Darcy’s chambers. I will see to it immediately.” Hudson replied.

Mr. and Mrs. Darcy said in unison, “Good night, Hudson!” as they quickly ascended the stairs.

Hudson could not praise Mrs. Darcy’s appearance enough as he spent over an hour describing it to Abernathy later that night as they sat in the butler’s pantry sipping sherry.

Needless to say, it was quite a while before the Darcys were ready to embark on another night out.

Later that night, less than a mile from the Darcy’s townhouse, sat the house of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Hurst. Also residing in the house was Mrs. Louisa Hurst’s sister, Miss Caroline Bingley. These three had all been witness to Elizabeth Darcy’s debut into London society and had just returned home to rehash the events of the evening. Well, at least, Louisa and Caroline were rehashing; Samuel Hurst had a different mission.

Mr. Hurst, having heard all that the women had to say about Mrs. Darcy at the theatre and during the carriage ride home, had excused himself and made his way to his chambers. Finding his valet napping in the dressing room, he dismissed him for the night. Samuel wanted to be alone. He had thinking to do and plans to make, for he was about to embark on the re-seduction of his wife.

Re-seduce his wife! The same Mr. Hurst who is the drunken fool? Who could barely sting two words together? Who ate too much and drank too much that it took two footmen to cart him off to his rooms at the end of an evening? That Mr. Hurst? It is a wonder that he had ever seduced her in the first place. But appearances can be misleading.

The Hurst’s have been married almost six years, the first two spent in absolute bliss as they tucked themselves away at the Hurst family estate in Yorkshire. Yes, Louisa and Samuel were an extremely happy and passionate couple. That was until three events coincided to send Samuel into his downward spiral; bad investments, lack of an heir (and it was not like he had not tried, in fact, trying to conceive a child had been his main activity), and Miss Caroline Bingley arriving on their doorstep demanding that her sister help with her debut into society. Mr. Hurst was a man who had strength of character, however, that strength was not as finely honed as that of, say, Mr. Darcy. So faced with such tragedies all at once, well, it does not take much to understand why Samuel Hurst found solace in a bottle.

Mr. Hurst was ashamed of becoming such a fool and laughingstock, deeply regretting the alienation with his wife that he loved so dearly. Sunk in such a depression, he found it hard to rise above it. Granted he had tried but nobody seemed to take him seriously any longer and so the cycle continued.

Having had the acquaintance of Mrs. Darcy for well over a year, Mr. Hurst had not taken much notice of her. After all, she was but a country gentleman’s daughter of little or no consequence. Hearing Louisa and Carolina disparaging Miss Elizabeth Bennet and her family, he saw no reason to give her a thought at all. Yes, he was surprised to hear that Darcy had engaged himself to her but he also found quite a bit of humor in that engagement. His sister-in-law, Caroline, had spent the better part of the past three years flattering and making herself available to Mr. Darcy in hopes that he would chose her as his wife. Mr. Hurst may have been in a drunken haze most of that time but he did know that Mr. Darcy would not pick Caroline for that particular honor. It had amused him to no end to see his spoiled, self-centered, arrogant, and snobbish sister-in-law be denied what she most wanted.

His brother-in-law, Charles Bingley, was married to Elizabeth Darcy’s sister, Jane. Jane Bingley was considered the beauty in that family of five sisters. Tonight, however, Elizabeth Darcy would have put Jane Bingley in the shade. When Samuel Hurst laid eyes on the new Mrs. Darcy, he felt a stirring in his loins that he had not felt in some time as before him was the most voluptuous body that was barely encased in a dark velvet gown. She exhibited a mix of sensuality and elegance and he knew that every man in that lobby had had the same reaction to her that he did. But there was something else that caught his attention; it was her smile and a look in her eyes that was familiar to him because it was the same smile and look that his Louisa had bestowed upon him all those years ago. He knew then and there that he wanted to see his wife smile at him and look at him just the way that Elizabeth Darcy did on viewing her husband.

Watching the Darcys cross the lobby, he noted that Elizabeth Darcy’s eyes never left her husband. For all he knew, she did not even know there was anyone in the lobby much less staring at her with a great deal of admiration on the gentlemen’s part or envy on the ladies’. Once the couple had ascended the stairs, he looked down into his half-full glass of wine and quietly set it aside. Then he went to escort his wife and sister-in-law to their box.

If you had asked Mr. Hurst what the play was about, he would not have been able to tell you because his interest, along with everyone else, was focused on the Darcys’ box. When they left, he shifted his attention to his wife.

Sitting naked in his bed chamber, he waited patiently for the sounds of his wife retiring for the night.

Louisa Hurst stood in her chamber staring into the fire. She was a sad and disappointed woman. When she married Samuel Hurst, she was so happy and so in love with her husband. But then everything fell apart. She tried desperately to salvage their marriage but it was to no avail as her husband sank farther away from her. Now she could not help but be embarrassed by him as well as abandoned. She wanted her Sammy back because she still loved him but it seemed that he no longer wanted her. So she had resigned herself to living with a shell of a man and a catty sister and she would just have to make the most of it.

When she heard her husband softly call her name, she was startled. Then thinking she just imaging things, she remained staring into the fire until she heard him call her name again and she turned to see him standing in the doorway with his dressing gown hanging open. She could see that he was naked underneath the gown and highly aroused. A flash of hope sparked through her but then the memory of the past years extinguished it.

“Mr. Hurst, what are you doing here? You know you are not welcome when you have been drinking,” she stated.

He walked toward her, stopping when he was but two steps from her, “I have only had less than two glasses of wine all evening. You have been with me all evening, have you seen me drinking?”

She thought for a moment and then shook her head. “No. But that does not answer my question as to what you are doing here.”

He took a step closer and with great sincerity requested, “I have come to ask for your forgiveness. I have been a fool these past years and threw away the most precious thing that I have, you.”

Louisa looked at him shocked. Could he actually want to come back to her? Was he truly asking for her forgiveness? Was he in earnest? She was confused and scared. She wanted her Sammy back but she was afraid it would not last and she would be left miserable and disappointed, again.

She narrowed her eyes, “Are you sure you did not have a nip or two in your chambers just now?”

“Yes, I am sure. Louisa, I want you back. I have wanted you back for a long time but I was afraid to ask for fear that you would reject me for being such a fool.”

“I do not know, Samuel. I do still love you and I do want things back like they were but I am scared.”

“Louisa, I am scared, too. I am resolved to do everything to make things better between you and me. I will do whatever you wish, please give me a chance to prove myself to you.”

Tears welled up in her eyes and she stepped closer to him, “Oh, Samuel, please do not hurt me again.”

He pulled her into his embrace as his eyes went a little misty. “Never, my dear wife. Thank you for another chance.”

As their embrace tightened, they started to kiss gently. Gradually the kisses became more passionate as the years of abstinence needed to be assuaged. Soon Louisa’s dressing gown and night gown lay on the floor. Lifting his wife up into his arms he carried her to bed.

Later as they lay entangled, Louisa raised her head and looked at her husband, “Samuel, what made you come to me tonight of all nights?

Samuel smiled at her, “I am afraid that you will get mad at me if I tell you.”

“Why would I get mad at something that has given me so much joy?”

“Because I know you are not especially fond of Elizabeth Darcy,” he said.

“Elizabeth Darcy! What has she got to do with this?” She sat up incredulous as to what he just said.

“Tonight I saw the look in her eyes as she beheld her husband. It was the same look that I would see in your eyes and I wanted to see it again. I want to see you look at me like that for the rest of my life.”

“You really believe that the Darcys’ made a love match.”

“Oh, yes, especially after what happened in their box. And it has nothing to do with what you and Caroline were speculating on. Mrs. Darcy is not trying to poison her husband.”

“Then what did they do?” challenging him for more information.

“Mr. Darcy diddled his wife behind those closed curtains.”

“No! I cannot believe that, not Mr. Darcy.”

“Believe me! I know when a man is so consumed with lust that he cannot contain it. Darcy was struggling to keep from taking his wife then and there. It would not have matter who was watching. He needed to stick his prick in her so badly that if she had not realized his situation and closed that curtain before accommodating him, we would have witnessed quite the bawdy show.”

“Samuel! I just cannot believe that: Prim and proper Mr. Darcy forsaking propriety to fornicate with his wife in front of hundreds of people. NO!”

“Believe it! I will stake my life on it.”

“But there is no way to prove it. I doubt that they would ever admit to doing something so naughty.”

“Probably not. Let us not talk about them anymore and do something naughty ourselves.”

Samuel and Louisa spent until the wee hours of the morning doing just that.

The next morning at eight o’clock, a tired but happy and satisfied Louisa Hurst was rudely awakened from her much needed slumber by her sister.

“Louisa, wake up! We have not a moment to lose.”

Lifting her tousled head from her pillow, “Caroline, why are you up so early?” Glancing at the clock, she stated, “It is only eight o’clock. You are rarely out of bed by ten o’clock.”

“Louisa, we have a mission of mercy to attend to. Hurry!” Caroline was quite agitated.

“What are you talking about?” Louisa asked.

“We must get to the Darcys at the earliest possible hour. We must warn Mr. Darcy that the country chit he married is trying to poison him.”

“Caroline!” Louisa chided.

A disembodied male voice piped in, “Leave the Darcys alone, Caroline. You do not know of what you are speaking about.”

“Mr. Hurst, what are you doing here?” Caroline exclaimed.

“It is my house and this is my wife’s bed. I have the right,” he said as he poked his head from under the covers.

“Have you started sleepwalking? Louisa, you should have warned me. I will take extra care to make sure my doors are locked and secured.”

Louisa struggled to suppress a giggle as she heard her husband mumble, “That will not be necessary as I can assure you that you are safe from me.”

Caroline, anxious to talk to her sister privately to plot their strategy, demanded, “Mr. Hurst, please leave immediately as Louisa and I have urgent matters to discuss.”

Louisa looked over her shoulder to see Samuel’s flabbergasted expression and then she looked at her sister, “Caroline, Mr. Hurst is not suitably attired to leave this bed. Perhaps it is best that you wait for me downstairs.”

Caroline looked at her sister and then at her brother-in-law.

Mr. Hurst looked at his sister-in-law and said, “Yes, Caroline, we must not offend your maiden sensibilities by viewing the male body in its natural condition.”

Caroline looked back to her sister in horror. Then realization struck her, her eyes widened and her face screwed up as if she had just taken a bite of a sour lemon. Turning quickly, she made her way to the door.

In the meantime, Samuel had reached over and pulled his wife closer to him. While fondling her breast, he made known that he had an urgent matter that needed her attention.

On reaching the door, Caroline called over her shoulder, “Hurry, Louisa, we have not a moment to lose.” She exited the room.

Louisa with her eyes rolled back, called out, “Yes!” Whether it was in response to her sister or her husband, it was not known.

After Caroline left, Mr. Hurst asked, “My dear, you are not planning on going with her?”

Laying her arm on his, “Yes, I must. I know she will make a fool of herself; that cannot be helped. But I need to make sure she is not insulting to the extent that Mr. Darcy bans the whole Bingley family from his presence. Charles would be very disappointed if that happened.”

“Yes! I understand,” was his rather morose reply.

Turning on her back, Louisa grinned at her husband, “Besides I might just be able to find out if your theory about the Darcys is true.”

He laughed, “I doubt that!”

“Mr. Darcy is well renowned for his honesty. He just cannot lie. It is not in him. But he is a clever man and I have seen him speak the truth in such way as to direct its meaning along another course.”

He smiled, “So do I get a prize if you find out that I was right?”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Spending the rest of the day in my chambers with me having my way with you.”

“That sounds agreeable. But what if I find out that you were wrong?”

“What do you have in mind?

“Spending the rest of the day in your chambers and letting me have my way with you.”

“That sounds agreeable to me. Either way promises to make for an interesting afternoon and evening.”

“Yes, it does,” she said as she spread her legs indicating that she was ready to attend to his urgent matter.

Positioning himself atop her, he made his urgency clear.

The morning after their night at the theatre found Elizabeth in her study going over household accounts and Darcy locked away in his study with his solicitor. After their trip to the theatre the previous evening, they expected callers—callers asking pointed questions. So it was not a surprise that at ten o’clock sharp, Hudson knocked on Mrs. Darcy’s door announcing that she and Mr. Darcy had visitors. Normally Elizabeth would decline receiving visitors without her husband’s presence to make any introductions but, as she personally knew the visitors, she asked that they be shown into the drawing room.

Elizabeth entered the drawing room with some trepidation. The Bingley sisters were both condescending and insincere in their addresses and were quite trying in the best of circumstances but Elizabeth greeted her guests politely and requested that tea be served.

After exchanging news of their brother and Elizabeth’s sister and the foul weather of late, Miss Bingley made polite inquiries after Elizabeth’s newly married status which was chosen to lead into the main topic of her visit, how to embarrass her hostess and make Mr. Darcy look at his wife as quite unappealing.

Miss Bingley still had hopes of securing Mr. Darcy. All she needed to do was to show Eliza in such a bad light as to cause him to annul their marriage or institute a divorce proceeding against her. Caroline Bingley could live with the scandal if she could have Mr. Darcy and his wealth. And would not the scandal be focused more on the wife than the husband? In this society, a gentleman’s behavior is always tolerated, regardless.

Realizing she needed Mr. Darcy present to accomplish her scheme and hoping that Miss Bennet…er, Mrs. Darcy (that appellation sat sourly in her mouth) had not harmed him, Miss Bingley turned to Mrs. Darcy and asked, “Is Mr. Darcy well today?”

“Yes, he is quite well. His solicitor is with him now and that is why he could not join us,” Elizabeth replied.

“Really, he looked positively ill last night at the theatre. We were all concerned for him,” Miss Bingley said sympathetically as she fished for more information.

“Yes.” Elizabeth was stumped for how to respond to that statement. “He is quite well today. In fact, once we returned home, he was much better.” She thought to herself, he was in fine form last night and this morning.

At this point, Mr. Darcy having heard that the Bingley sisters were in the drawing room had quickly made his way there in hopes of deflecting some of Miss Bingley’s derogatory remarks toward his wife. He knew that Elizabeth could easily handle Miss Bingley but he would give her his support nonetheless. Besides he always enjoyed watching Elizabeth politely put someone in their place while they thought she was giving them a compliment. She was quite the master of polite conversation.

Leaving Andrews with the solicitors to hash out some finer points of the documents they were working on, he went to enjoy watching his wife deal with the Bingley sisters. After greeting the guests, he sat down in a chair near his wife.

Miss Bingley said in a surprised manner, “You look well, Mr. Darcy!”

“Yes, Miss Bingley, I am quite well,” he responded. Then he gave his wife a questioningly look as to the purpose of Miss Bingley statement.

Elizabeth just gave him a small smile and looked down at her hands which rested in her lap wondering how he was going to be truthful with Miss Bingley’s line of questioning.

Miss Bingley still wishing to pursue what she believed to be discord in the Darcys’ marriage, as well as a possible attempt of Mrs. Darcy to do Mr. Darcy in since she now had access to his wealth, could not help herself and turned to Mr. Darcy and continued, “But, Mr. Darcy, you looked quite discomforted at the theatre last night. And when your curtains were closed, we just knew you had taken ill.”

Mr. Darcy blushed, as did Mrs. Darcy. Mr. Darcy was unsure as to how to respond to Miss Bingley. Turning to his wife and then back to Miss Bingley, Mr. Darcy tried to determine how best to reply to Miss Bingley’s observations. How was he going to be truthful? Telling her that they found the play did not hold their interest would not fit as an answer to her inquiries. Looking to his wife for support was useless as her face was still flushed and her eyes were on her hands that were clasped in her lap.

Finally, he was able to come up with something that might satisfy Miss Bingley and hopefully put an end to this topic of conversation, “Yes, I was a bit discomposed but Mrs. Darcy was able to adequately attend to my needs.”

Louisa let out a small gasp as she believed she had read in the undertones of that statement a meaning that coincided with her husband’s assessment, especially as she noticed the flushed countenance on the faces of both Mr. and Mrs. Darcy. Looking up, Louisa realized that everyone was looking at her and tried to cover her shock at the revelation, “I believe I swallowed wrong, please excuse me.” Then she lowered her head trying to regain control of her countenance.

Caroline not realizing what was going on and intent in her beliefs that she was better able to attend to Mr. Darcy than his wife chose to make matters worse. She turned to Mrs. Darcy to offer her advice on the matter, “Mrs. Darcy, you really should speak to your cook about serving spicy food before you go out of an evening.”

Darcy, now realizing what Miss Bingley was about, decided to put an end to this. Looking at his wife, he asked, “What spicy food? I do not recall Mrs. Ashworth serving any spicy food lately.”

Elizabeth smiled at Miss Bingley and then at her husband. He had set her up brilliantly. She said, “I believe Miss Bingley was referring to your inconvenience last night at the theatre.”

Mr. Darcy blanched at the thought that she might reveal something that best be left unsaid. He looked at his wife with a look that warned for her to be careful.

Smiling at her husband, she then turned to Miss Bingley, as she finally had come up with a somewhat plausible excuse for their behavior, and explained. “Miss Bingley, it seems that the weather of late has kept us indoors. Last night was our first evening out and I believe the change of moving between the cold, damp night air into the warmth of the theatre precipitated Mr. Darcy’s discomposure.”

Mr. Darcy relief was palpable. “Yes, that was the problem. I believe I was a bit overheated,” he agreed.

Caroline looked blankly at Elizabeth and then at Darcy. How was she ever going to show Mr. Darcy what a mistake he had made in marrying that piece of baggage if they were always in agreement?

Louisa coughed so that she could use her hand to cover her smile at Mr. Darcy’s admission. Overheated, indeed! Samuel, I am truly looking forward to this afternoon.

Soon after that, the Bingley sisters made ready to depart. Caroline was in quite a pique at not being able to cause disharmony between the Darcy’s but Louisa was amused at their audacity.

On the way out, Louisa took Elizabeth aside and said, “Mrs. Darcy, thank you.”

Elizabeth looked confused, “You are welcome, though I am not sure why.”

Leaning closer to her so as not be overheard, Louisa say, “One day when we are better friends, and I hope we will be friends, I will explain.”

Elizabeth smiled, though still confused, “Mrs. Hurst, I hold that wish as well.”

As the door closed on the callers, Elizabeth turned to her husband, “Mrs. Hurst just thanked me.”

“Whatever for?” he asked.

“I have no idea.”

He just shrugged and headed back to his study.

Elizabeth stood for a moment pondering on her encounter with Mrs. Hurst. Not being able to make any sense of it, she just shrugged and went to attend to her account books.

Louisa was impatient to get home. The minute upon arriving at her house, she quickly made her way to the stairs.

“Louisa!” Caroline called to her. “Where are you going?”

“Upstairs,” was her curt reply as she was not anxious to spend any more time with her sister when she knew her husband was impatiently waiting her return.

“Wait, I will come with you. You are right; your sitting room will be more private for our discussion anyway.”

“No, Caroline, I am not going to my sitting room and we have nothing to discuss.”

Caroline pouted, “But, Louisa, we must find a way to get Mr. Darcy to see reason. You must help me.”

Turning to face her sister, “No, we do not. The fact that he did not chose you for his wife does not mean that he is not reasonable. He seems perfectly happy with his choice and you would do well to leave the Darcys alone and look elsewhere for a husband. Please excuse me; I have something important to attend to.”

Leaving her sister furious and about to launch into a full-fledged temper tantrum, Louisa raced up the stairs. She was tired of dealing with her sister’s obsession with Mr. Darcy especially now that she had her husband back.

Entering her dressing room, she quickly undressed and put on a dressing gown just in case the odd servant was about. Hurriedly she made her way to her husband’s bed chamber. On entering, she saw him lying on the bed, naked and asleep, with the evidence that he was having an erotic dream clearly visible.

Slipping off her dressing gown, she made her way to the bed and climbed on top of her sleeping husband. Running her hands up his torso, she leaned in to kiss him.

With his eyes still closed and a big grin on his face, he said, “What a wonderful feeling to wake from a dream to find it a reality.”

“I am glad that I could make your dreams come true,” she whispered in his ear and then she pulled his earlobe in her mouth.

“Since you are having your way with me, I assume I was wrong about the Darcys?” he queried as he wrapped his arms around her.

“On the contrary, do the words ‘I was overheated’ and ‘my wife was able to see to my needs’ and the flushed faces of Mr. and Mrs. Darcy sound like you were wrong?” she said.

“Well, no,” Pushing her up, he grinned at her.

“I was just anticipating how you would have your way with me. Besides you were asleep and I was anxious to get started.” Smiling, she began to slide down on his erection until he was deeply ensconced with her.

They proceeded to rekindle their lost passion through the afternoon and evening and into the wee hours of the morning and all the next day as they had nothing better to do as Mr. Hurst had found an activity more pleasing to him than drinking. And then again the day after that, they just kept going on and on. It is to be said that they lived happily ever after and be done with it.

Unfortunately for Miss Bingley, with her sister’s desertion of her in lieu of Mr. Hurst and Mr. Darcy’s unwillingness to let Miss Bennet…er…Mrs. Darcy go, her future did look too rosy.

Onto Part IV – A Normal Life???

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