He shifted. “Yes, it can, and yes, it likely will be like that, especially in the beginning, but I would not want to sleep with you merely to have you near for convenience’s sake.” He shifted so she could see his face. “Elizabeth, I love you. With all my heart. With everything I am. I want to be near you, for no other reason than to bask in your presence. Don’t you see that by now?”

“Fitzwilliam,” she whispered. She felt overwhelmed by his words and reached out a hand to touch his face softly. She ran her fingers over his nose, along his jaw, and traced his lips lightly, all the while keeping her eyes trained on his as they grew blacker by the second.

Slowly, he bent his head to hers. His lips were surprisingly soft and tender. He had kissed her before, but this kiss was different somehow. She felt it in her toes, if such a thing were possible, and quickly realized the difference between this and every other kiss he’d given her.

This time, he had no intention of stopping.

Chapter 23

When Elizabeth woke a little after dawn, she felt terribly awkward. Fitzwilliam was in her bed, sleeping with one arm outstretched and taking up an inordinate amount of space. She saw her robe lying on the floor and quickly put it on, wincing a little as she walked. He had been gentle and kind and patient, just as everyone thought he would, but she had been right about it being a little painful, though thankfully not too bad. It was, nonetheless, so very strange.

She tiptoed to her dressing room and saw the tub being filled and sat gingerly at the dressing table to brush her hair while she waited for the remainder of the water to be brought up. The two maids carrying the buckets were quick and efficient, nodding in her direction but not looking at her. She must remember to learn their names.

Her maid, Molly Sanders—chosen because of her motherly, Jane-like qualities, bustled in and poured a few drops from a small bottle into the steaming water.

“Are you ready, Mrs. Darcy?”

“Yes, thank you, Sanders. What was that you added to the water?” She was helped out of her robe and into the steaming water.

“Lavender, madam, to ease the muscles.”

Elizabeth sank into the water slowly. “Very thoughtful, Sanders. Please come back in a quarter hour to help me wash my hair.”

“Yes, madam.”

Elizabeth sank down and leaned her head back on the towel that rested on the tub’s edge. The copper bath was one of the refurbishments Darcy had seen to before her arrival. She must remember to thank him.