“Oh, darling! Forgive me!”

Darcy chuckled, stroking her lips. “No apology is necessary, my love. Our child is demanding his mother rest and regains strength. I concur. Do you think you can tolerate opening one more?”

Lizzy nodded and gave him an indulgent smile and a loving caress. The next gift was an exquisitely rendered reproduction of Pompeo Batoni's Madonna and Child in an oval frame of ethereal and ornate Rococo design with copper gilding and inlays of marbleized enamel.

Lizzy was shocked, sitting up in her surprise. “William! It is… stunning! You incredible, amazing, dear, dear man! Remember my telling you how much I adore Batoni?!”

“You saw an exhibition of his works when you visited your aunt and uncle three years ago. Yes, I remember. Did you view this painting?”

“Yes, it was there. So beautiful. The Madonna's countenance inundated with peace and the babe gently touching his mother's chin as he gazes with love. I adore the colors he uses, the softness to his artistry, and the serene joy of this moment as he captured it. It moved me at eighteen but far more so now, with our baby growing inside.” She looked into his shining eyes, hers misty.

“I thought it would adorn the nursery becomingly.”

“William, I honestly am devoid of appropriate words to thank you. I love you so very much!”

He kissed her softly, pushing her gently until she was reclining against the plump pillows. “Save the words, my lover. Rather, free your mind and devise stimulating bedroom actions that will convey the depth of your gratitude.” He grinned lasciviously, Lizzy playfully slapping his arm.

Darcy read aloud for a spell until Lizzy fell asleep. He continued to read silently for a while, then took a short walk along the lake's edge to stretch his legs. The day was growing warmer, as the afternoon progressed, his pocket watch revealing it to be after three. He stood on the shore, skipping rocks across the surface like a child, smiling with peaceful satisfaction. Aside from Lizzy's emotional upheaval, which he fully attributed to her pregnant state, coupled with a lingering reservation regarding her new station in life, it had thus far been the perfect day. Exactly as he had so carefully planned. Hopefully, the remainder of her day's activities would proceed as flawlessly.

Lizzy woke after a refreshing nap to an empty pavilion. Another two gifts sat beside her divan, but she ignored them for the present, preferring to locate her wayward spouse. She grabbed two bananas, peeling one as she ducked under the tent flap. A quick glance about divulged him to be some fifty feet away, cutting bulrushes. She smiled, chewing as she approached.

“That looks to be strenuous work. I come bearing sustenance.”

“Why thank you, kind lady.” He took the offered treat, tossing the peel into the lake. “Do you figure ducks or fish eat banana peels?”

Lizzy shrugged, tossing her peel as well. “No idea. At least it is organic. What is the purpose for the bulrushes?”

“I like them is all. They are pretty in vases and last nearly forever; however, the best part is shredding the flower into fluffy bits and watching them float on air.” He demonstrated and Lizzy laughed.

“William, you are such a child! Here, give me one.” Soon the air was inundated with swirling cottony fragments, many of them lodging in their hair to be plucked later.

Lizzy's seventeenth birthday gift was a finely woven garden basket for gathering flowers, pruning shears with cushioned handles, two pairs of leather gloves, and two protective frocks. It was a gift Lizzy truly needed, as she had nothing like it at Pemberley and had borrowed from the groundsmen when working in the gardens. The other package contained two exquisite perfume bottles. One was of Murano glass in a rainbow of swirling colors and filled with pure lavender perfume. The other was divinely enameled in a night sky with crescent moon and bright stars so finely painted they actually appeared to twinkle. The perfume within was jasmine extract.

They sat on the divan and Darcy nestled his face into her hair and breathed deeply. “I will always associate lavender with you, Elizabeth, as it is your favorite scent. However, I also love jasmine so thought perhaps you would wear it for me on occasion.”

“Darling, you could ask anything of me and I would grant it. This is a simple request to fulfill.” She stroked his cheeks, gazing intently into his sparkling blue eyes. “I love you passionately, Fitzwilliam,” she whispered. “I know you believe it inconsequential, but I am deeply moved by all you have done for me today. Each gift has been selected with incredible forethought and insight, presented in dazzling fashion, and surrounded with exciting events and places. I do hope you realize how grateful I am.” She kissed him slowly, teasing his lips in the special way she knew thrilled him.

She then continued, “Yet, it is you, beloved, whom I adore and treasure most. Just as you are spared artificial gestures for someone whom you do not love, I am spared being the recipient of meaningless, duty-bound overtures from some man I had married only for security or to protect my family. We are both so very blessed. I promise I will not forget it.” Clutching his head tightly with fingers weaved in his hair, they kissed long and hard.

“Elizabeth,” Darcy eventually moaned, “we should take a walk before I throw all caution to the wind and make love to you here on this divan!” Still, he traveled his soft lips to her lovely neck as one hand stimulated a full breast until she breathlessly stayed him.

Eyes glazed, they stared, collecting muddled wits and panting heavily. “Perhaps we can forgo the walk and return to the house?” she asked pleadingly.

He laughed huskily. “Excellent idea, my lover; however, I foolishly desired privacy here and sent the carriages away until five o’clock.”

“Well then, I daresay a vigorous walk is the necessary remedy to pent-up passionate energy. My bonnet is over there, if you would not mind?”

Arm in arm, they strolled over the gravel paths meandering through an abundance of blooms and trees. Other pedestrians were encountered occasionally, with cordial greetings exchanged, but the park was vast and the garden pathways mazelike, so generally, they were alone. Despite the aborted passion being their preferential afternoon activity, they thoroughly enjoyed their walk. Lizzy especially, being an avid walker and having curtailed the pastime lately, reveled in her nearly total lack of fatigue and illness.

They returned to the pavilion as the carriages were arriving. Darcy assisted his wife into the landau, another gift inside.

The drive home took thirty minutes. “The strange thing,” Darcy told her, “is that our townhouse is two blocks from the Grosvenor Gate entrance to the park. There is a small pond, a splendid garden, and some wooded areas at that edge of the park. Georgiana and Mrs. Annesley walk there frequently. However, we picnicked quite a distance from the Gate and the road travels in a roundabout manner, so we must veer northwest a bit before turning east for home. With this in mind, how about another present?” He grinned.

Another oddity hid inside. It was an intricately detailed picture of a landscape: mountains, tall trees, a lake, and a meadow in the foreground with horses grazing. It was not an exact replica of a Pemberley pasture, but the resemblance was evident. Painted on a thin piece of hard oak, it had been cut into a hundred small, irregular shaped pieces designed to interlock.

Lizzy had no idea what it was and required Darcy to explain. “It is called a dissected puzzle. They have been around for some time as an educational device. We have several at Pemberley, packed away with the schoolroom furniture and supplies. If I recall, they are all of England geography, the countries, the alphabet, and the like. I found this and thought it would be entertaining for us to work on together.”

“What an astounding concept,” Lizzy declared. “It will be tremendous fun. We should wait until the winter, when it is snowy and I am too enormous to move!”

Darcy smiled. “I cannot conceive of you ever being too enormous to move. I rather believe I will be hiding the ice skates and all your coats to prevent you escaping outside.”

The house was quiet when they returned. It was after six o’clock and dinner with the Matlocks was scheduled for seven-thirty, just enough time to clean and dress for dinner. Arms about each other's waist, they entered their sitting room. Lizzy was blissfully happy. Her only shadow of melancholy was that currently she wanted nothing more than to slowly undress her husband and curl up with him in their bed for the entire evening. She adored the elder Fitzwilliams, had grown very close to them both over the long winter and spring, and knew they wished to celebrate her birthday with her. She was touched, and yesterday the idea of dining with them had been a greatly anticipated event. Now, as Darcy hugged her and spoke in his resonant timbre, which always sent rivers of tingles up her spine especially if she were touching him as his voice vibrated lushly in his chest, her desire to continue their marvelous day of solitude nearly overwhelmed her.

She opened her mouth to speak, ready to say or do whatever it would take to persuade him to acquiesce to her preference, when he paused in the middle of the room. Her attention, therefore, was deviated to the table before her on which sat by far the strangest object she had ever beheld. It was of brass, approximately one foot tall, and vaguely resembled a miniature telescope.

“What in the world is it, William?”

Darcy was again giddy as a child. Lizzy was struck suddenly by how many of her gifts had been unusual or rare. She had not previously realized how enamored Darcy was with inventions and marvels. He stood over the bizarre contraption breathless and jittery with fascination.