All Hallow's Eve (25 page)

William looked deeply into her eyes.
Whether he wanted to
discuss this subject
or not, s
he deserved
a
truth
ful answer
.
“
No
,
it
has been
a common occurrence.
”

Elizabeth shook her head.
“
As I thought.
I will never understand how
they consider themselves the
best
of society
.
”

He whispered,
“
I
am ashamed to admit that
,
just
before I met you,
I
had
almost
fully
resigned myself to follow their rules
concerning marriage
, forgo my own preferences, and callously marry
,
taking into account only how the
connexion
could improve my status and wealth.
Alt
hough
I have always
felt their way of arranging marriages was wrong
, Elizabeth
, I had lost all hope of finding a true mate
.
After having spent an enormous amount of effort convincing myself to accept this,
I could not help but resist what I felt for you at first
.
”

“
Having
been raised among
such
society
,
I
can
no longer
wonder why
you
behaved
as you did when we first met
.
It must have been difficult to
choose to
act
in the opposite manner
to
that
which
you had always
thought
correct.
At first,
I could not understand that sort of struggle
,
t
hough
all of my life
I had
been encouraged
to
behave
according to the company I was in
at all times,
i
t had always
been helpful
to have two sets
of rules to choose
from when deciding which
I should
privately
believe
in
.
More often than not,
my
beliefs
have
not coincide
d
with
British
society's expectations.
You
have
not ha
d
that luxury
,
until now.
Please know that when you are with me,
you
do
not have to pretend that you have opinions that are not your own
, William.
”

William nodded,
practically glowing with
happiness
at learning that
Elizabeth
had
ma
de
such
an effort t
o
und
erstand
and accept
him
.

At that moment, Sir William called for the company's attention
.
Elizabeth looked away from William, but feeling his gaze
remaining
upon her,
she could not help but return her eyes to his.
The
depth of his
feelings
held
her captive as Mr. Bennet announced their bet
rothal to the
neighbour
hood
, and t
he
couple
remained in this state
until the onsla
ught of congratulations began
.
As the first well-wisher approached,
Elizabeth
wrapped her arm around
his
,
and
,
to the gentleman’s great delight,
did
not
let go
until
the
individual
use
of their limbs was required to dine
.

Chapter 7

November 9, 1811

Following the party at Lucas Lodge, Elizabeth and William made a conscious effort to get to know each other better.
B
oth were pleased with the fact that they were getting
along
so splendidly
.
Although there was no repeat of the intimacy of that one morning,
there was no telling
which of
them
was
the
more disappointed at the lack of
an
affectionate display
from the other
.

For two days
after the party at Lucas Lodge, Mr. Bennet left instructions for the gentlemen’s training sessions and took the afternoon to make the rounds of the tenants of his estate
,
so that not
hing seemed to be too far amiss. O
therwise
,
all progressed just as it
had been
.

Late in
the morning on
the third
day after the announcement,
Elizabeth
suddenly
stopped mid-
stride
and
, eyes widened,
looked
at
William with
such
an expression that
he became
deeply concerned.

“
What is it, Elizabeth?
”
He approached her.

“
I – I do not know how to describe it.
I have never felt such a thing.
”

His hands gr
ipped
her shoulders as she swayed.
“
Are you
ill?
Shall I fetch Jane?
”

“
No
.
I do not know. I can
only describe it
—
it
is as if
there must be something
terribly
wrong in the Otherworld.
There is a vibration...
and a chill.
”
She shuddered.

William relaxed a little.
“
If something is amiss in the Otherworld, there is not much we can do about it.
Unless you have a suggestion?
”

“
I do not.
”
Several moments passed before
Elizabeth
gasped and turned quickly towards the woods, her hand automatically reach
ing
for he
r
S
word
,
but
she had
only a
waster
.
Dropping the wooden sword, s
he unsheathed her dagger.
“
We need
real
swords, William
!
”
she whispered.

William
reached for his own dagger and
plac
ed
himself between
her and
whatever danger
she
detected
lurk
ing
within the shadows of the woods
.
Alt
hough he could see nothing
, he trusted her
senses
completely.
Elizabeth
took hold of his arm and began to back
them away
slowly
, moving deeper into the meadow
,
toward the others
.

~%
~

Seeing Bingley’s late arrival,
Mr. Bennet
and Jane
were wa
lking to meet him
when
b
oth gentlemen saw
Jane freeze
in place
.

“
Jane
, are you well?
”
Mr. Bennet inquired
, his hand moving to steady her
.

“
Something is
very
wrong!
”
Jane exclaimed whil
st
beginning to
run
toward
the place
where the real swords were stored.

Both
Bingley and Mr. Bennet
ran after her, looking
in the same direction that she did,
searching for
what
had obviously
caught
Jane
’s attention.
S
eeing William’s
protective
stance
,
and that both he and Elizabeth
were facing the woods with
their daggers
drawn
, Mr. Bennet called out i
n
a
commanding
tone of voice,
“
S
words,
everyone
!
QUICKLY!
”

B
eing
very
close to the
arsenal,
Mary
had already armed herself and
was rushing across the field
carrying
swords for
both
Elizabeth and William
.
T
he entire party spr
a
ng into action
in
her
wake
.

Handing
t
he
m
their weapons
, Mary stood
so that
Elizabeth
was
between her and William
.
William sheathed his dagger and held
his
s
word at the ready, whilst
Elizabeth
kept both available for immediate use
.

Mary
asked
quietly
,
“
How many
do you think
, Lizzy
?
”

Not
tearing her eyes
away from the woods, Elizabeth replied
softly
,
“
I do not know.
I have never
before experienced this feeling
.
”

“
Neither have I.
It is so
cold
!
”
Mary whispered.

As
the others
approached
at
a
quick pace
,
t
he
y could see
Elizabeth and Mary’s stance relax just a bit.

“
It is gone!
”
Elizabeth said
more loudly
than she
intended
, startling
everyone—
including
herself.

William turned his body slightly toward her but did not
re
move his glare from the woods.
“
Are you certain?
”

Mary concurred,
“
It is no longer near.
But
,
how did it
move away so quickly
?
”

“
What was it
?
”
Mr. Bennet asked
as he caught his breath
.

“
I – I honestly do
n
o
t know, Papa.
It was unlike any
thing else
I have ever known,
”
Elizabeth
responded.

Mary nodded.
“
I agree.
It must have been very strong for me to be able to feel it
,
or very near.
Not even in a dream-state have I experienced the like.
”

“
Did
any of you
see
who it was
?
”
Jane asked.

Elizabeth and Mary shook their heads
.
William
replied
,
“
I saw nothing.
”

Bingley chimed in,
“
I think it is obvious that we are no longer safe here.
We should train at Netherfield from now on.
”
Everyone turned to look at him
.
“
The ballroom can be available at any time
, day or night
.
I will instruct my staff to stay clear of it.
”

“
But
w
hat of your family, Bingley?
”
Mr. Bennet asked.

“
The reason I was late in arriving this morning was that I
wished to
see them off
,
to
make certain that t
hey truly
are
returned to London
this time
and there were no more excuses
.
”

“
Then it is time for the Bennets to temporarily relocate
to Netherfield
due to Longbourn’s roof, as we had
originally
planned,
”
h
e said
with a pointed look
, and then added,
“
And from this moment on,
whenever we are not out in society, each of us
will keep a sword
nearby
at
all times.
”

A
s everyone
was
discuss
ing
what had occurred,
Mrs. Bennet and two men carrying several large baskets entered the meadow
from the opposite side
.
The matron was busy giving orders to one of the men before she turned and walk
ed
toward
t
he
group
.
Mr. Bennet moved to
meet her half-way,
intent upon
explain
ing
to her what had just happened
and the need to go home to pack as soon as they finished their meal
.
The other man
followed her
, carrying a long package
.

As they approached, Mr. Bennet shouted out,
“
Good afternoon, Mrs. Bennet
.
You have brought us
our
meal, I assume
.
”
He
glanced at her companion and then quickly looked
again
.
“
Reynolds?
Well, well!
Y
ou are a sight for sore eyes
!
”
He held out his hand
,
and the visitor shook it,
both men
smiling
from
ear to ear.
“
What on earth are you doing here?
”

“
Good day, Mr. Bennet
, it is good to see you as well
.
I brought Mr. Darcy
a
package
from Pemberley.
”