All Hallow's Eve (28 page)

Elizabeth
noticed that he had
substituted
Wickham
for
George
when referring to
him after
the change.
William’s
eyes were directed across
a beautiful
meadow
, but
she
knew
that
he was not seeing any of
what was before him
,
being
lost in his memories instead.

William continued,
“
Once we began to share rooms at Cambridge, I could not help but suspect that he was
a
truly
wicked man
.
I remember
two
nights
in particular,
after we had argued over his
lack
of
any sense of
morality
,
I was
actually
left feeling
afraid to fall asleep—
fearing
that
my
life
would be in danger
should
I
be
come
unaware of my surroundings
for even a few moments
.
”
He stopped walking, turned toward her, and took her hands in his own
whilst
looking deeply into her eyes
.
“
Do not underestimate him, Elizabeth.
”

“
I will not have the chance, William,
since
you will
always
be with me.
”
Elizabeth
intended
to
smil
e
reassuringly, but
the intensity of
his
grave
expression
prevented it
.

“
Being of a generous nature, my father provided
for his education at Cambridge
, and u
pon
his
death, Wickham
was given one
thousand pounds
.
A
dditionally
,
my father’s will bequeathed him
a valuable living if he took orders.
Since
there never
existed
a man
who was
less suited to become a
clergyman
, it was
a great
relief
to me
when
Wickham
requested
to be compensated for the living instead.
I complied, hoping that
as a result
we would rid him
from our lives
forever
, b
ut we
were
no
t
so fortunate
.
H
is
funds
were quickly squandered
, and he
came to
me to
demand more. I
declined
his request
with great
enthusiasm
.
”
William shook his head
, and his demeanor darkened further
as his eyes focused on
Elizabeth’s delicate
hands
resting
within his own
.

It seemed to Elizabeth that her touch was giving him the strength to carry on with his speech, but something about the way
William
had just
beg
u
n to hold
himself
caused
her
to
believe that he
was about to reveal something that made him feel even more uncomfortable than before
.

“
W
hen
Georgiana was fifteen
,
her
education
seemed
concluded
in all subjects other than
music and art
, which were taught to her by masters
.
I
found a new position for
her governess
and hired a companion
in her stead
.
”
His voice hardened
as
he said,
“
In
checking the references of Georgiana’s new companion
,
I did not do as thorough a job
as I had originally
thought
; in reality,
the woman I hired
, a Mrs. Younge,
was a
friend
of Wickham’s.

“
I sent my sister
and her companion
to Ramsgate
on
holiday
this pa
st summer,
and whilst
they were
there,
Wickham
met up with
them.
Between Wickham and Mrs. Younge
’s influence
,
my sister
was persuaded that she was in love and convinced
t
o elope with him.

“
I know that part of the
ir
goal was
to take possession of
her
dowry of
thirty thousand pound
s
, but I cannot help but imagine that it also must have been an attempt at retaliation for refusing him additional funds.
If he had been successful, his revenge would have been complete, indeed!
”

Elizabeth
held
his hand
s
tightly
, causing
William
to
look up at her
, but he immediately closed his eyes to block out
t
he
expression
of horror
he found
up
on her
countenance
.
Will I lose her good opinion once again now that
I have
revealed
my
fail
ure
in
protect
ing
Georgiana
from this vile creature?

His heart squeezed painfully as she pulled her hands from his, seeming to confirm his fears.
The last thing he expected was for Elizabeth to
cradle
his face
tenderly
between her hands
.
Opening
his eyes in response
to her caress
, William was
dazed
by the warmth emanating from Elizabeth’s gaze as she moved a step
closer to
him
. Her hands
slid
down t
o his
chest
.

“
Was this the
occasion
to which you referred
when
you
mentioned having to use your previous
t
rain
ing
o
f
how
one might
fight unfairly
?
”

William cleared his throat before answering
softly
,
“
Yes. When I arrived at
the house that I had rented for her
in Ramsgate
, I found
that
Georgiana had
gone
out
, so I took a walk along the beach
with the intent of returning later
.
As I pas
sed
a secluded
area
, I heard a woman speaking in a distressed tone of voice,
begg
ing someone to
‘
stop.
’
Moving to investigate the matter, I found G
eorgiana and Wickham in
a
quite
compromising
position.
I was furious, to say the least.
Hoping t
o stop me from harming her fiancé,
Georgiana immediately told me of their plans
to elope
.

“
Wickham di
d not even wait for my reaction;
he attacked
without warning
, but I had been watching him from the corner of my eye
.
..
”
William hesitated for a few moments before continuing.

“
The
training
you spoke of
most likely
saved two lives that day—mine
,
literally
—
and
I can only imagine that
,
had
I
not anticipated hi
s assault,
Georgiana
would not have been able to avoid
a life
time
filled with
misery being married to that
man
.
When Wickham realized that he could not
incapacitate
me outright and
force
Georgiana
to come
away
to Scotland, he changed tactics
, pushing
Georgie to the ground
.
She
cri
ed
out horribly as her head struck a
sharp rock
.
Without thinking, I
moved to her
aid
,
and
he
escaped
.
Had I followed,
I
could have caught him easily since I had only been
distracted
long enough for him to get
slightly
ahead,
but
Georgiana
’s
face
was
already
covered with blood
.
I could not leave her
in such a condition
, not knowing how severely she was injured
!
”
His tone was almost pleading toward the end of this explanation.
“
Now
, being aware that she was not
harmed
as
bad
ly as it
had
seemed to be at first,
I do not know if I
shall
ever forgive myself for choosing that option.
Had I caught up to him then,
you
would be safe
at this time
.
”

“
Oh, William!
You know that is not true!
”
Elizabeth stepped closer
,
wrapped her arms around hi
s waist
, and laid her head against his chest
.
As if desperate for the contact, William
lost no time in
pulling
her as close
to
him
as
was possible
, burying his face in the silkiness of her hair and the comforting scent that had called out to him on numerous occasions.

Elizabeth resumed her speech,
“
E
ven those
in
the Otherworld
cannot foresee what he is up to
,
though
they
do know that
it is
not
Wickham in charge.
If Wickham had not been available, his superior
would have chosen
another
to come
here
in his stead
.
That it is Wickham
can only be
advantageous
to our purposes
—you and your cousins know what he looks like and will be able to recognize the danger he poses from the very beginning.
”

After
several moments
of reflection,
William
took a deep breath and released it slowly
.
“
How
is it that
you
always seem to
say
exactly what I need to hear
,
Elizabeth?
”