All Hallow's Eve (41 page)

“
I saw no reason to
inform
you since
I had no
idea
of your returning,
Caroline
.
I
invited
the
Bennet family
to
stay here whil
st
repairs are
being
carried out
o
n
the roof at Longbourn
.”
Charles searched Elizabeth’s eyes to see what she wished for him to say next.
Should he tell
his sisters that
they were
all
leaving?

The last thing they needed was to have
more people that are innocent
in the path of danger, and Elizabeth
knew very well that Caroline and Louisa would not
be
immediately returning to London no matter what Charles told them to do.
I
f
they
were to
move into
Longbourn
now
, Caroline would have
a number of
guests here within the few
days
that it took her to
arrange
for their comfort
.
Elizabeth
suspected
that Charles
would not be able to avoid a ball
,
either,
bringing
even
more people into the
neighbour
hood
.
The
Olc
would be foolish not to
take advantage of
such a
situation.

Elizabeth looked directly at Charles while saying, “
We are
quite
grateful for your excellent hospitality, Mr. Bingley, and I am afraid
that
we have little choice but to
trespass upon your kindness for an extended visit
.
This morning
w
e
a
re planning a short trip
to Longbourn
to
inspect
the
progress
of the
repairs
and to retrieve
a few
additional
items
that we
will most likely
need
during our stay
here
.”

Charles
, whose thoughts had been travel
l
ing along the same path as had Elizabeth’s, was clearly
relieved to hear her proclamation.

William finally
permitted
himself to speak
once again
.
“I would like to observe the repa
i
rs, if Mr. Bennet would not mind
my
company.
I believe my cousins would be interested as well.
”

“I am certain that the gentlemen
are welcome to accompany
us.” Elizabeth smiled up at him, then turned to the others, curtsied and bid them a good morning. William bowed to those assembled and led Elizabeth toward the stairs.

As he watched
,
Caroline’s eyes narrow
ed
even further
as
they
followed the couple
,
Bingley sighed
,
knowing that he would
have to stay
behind
with
his sisters
—
a
n
experience
that
he
was not looking forward to
.
When
Caroline was unhappy, it was a certainty that all those within earshot would be made
positively
miserable.

Normally,
there
w
ould be nothing better
than
to
suggest t
hat
Caroline
spend time in London during the season, but he could see that
his sister
wished to take advantage of this opportunity to show off her
hostess
ing
skills to the
ton
.
Even
he
was aware
that
by now the
London
gossips had spread the news that
Lady Susan
expected
Caroline
to
hold a ball
, and
her plan to attend
would guarantee
that
all who received one must accept the invitation
.
In a way, it was a blessing that the o
thers would be on a short trip to
Longbourn
this morning
during th
e
discussion
that must come next,
since it would limit
the number of witnesses to
h
is sisters’
second rant of the day.

Bingley
could see that
he would have
his brother-in-law
’
s displeasure
to
contend with as well
.
With
having to organize
such
a
grand event as a ball for the highest members of London
society
, t
he
ladies
would have been
so completely
occupied
by hundreds of details
that
most likely
Hurst
had rushed to Netherfield as
quickly as he
could manage
it
, looking forward to several hours of
peace
each day
.
His
true
situation would be very different from what he had expected, and his
understanding
of
this
was plainly visible upon his face.
But then, Hurst was usually satisfied as long as there
was
brandy enough to keep him unaware of his wife and sister-in-law’s level of discontentment with whatever they could find to complain about at any given moment, and Bingley had quite the stock of
fine
brandy in the cellar.
Having a few snifters might even help Hurst sleep through their return trip to London.
Perhaps he
w
ould
slip
several bottles into his luggage.

As soon as they turned the corner of the corridor, Elizabeth and William could hear Caroline’s protests begin
anew
, and William said
softly
, “
Elizabeth,
I was unsure of what you would wish and felt it best that I remain quiet. After what Mary had
announced
,
I
apologize that I
had not
thought of
plann
ing
for the possibility of being discovered in a situation that would be compromising to a
single
lady.
”

Elizabeth smiled saucily.
“I am not
the least bit sorry that the thought had not occurred to either of us
since w
hat little time we have had since the wedding has been employed in a much more
interesting
manner
!
”

~%~

Soon after they arrived at Longbourn, the group
stood by
as
Mr. Bennet
scaled
the ladder
in the library
and pull
ed
a book from the uppermost shelf
.
H
e
carefully
handed it down to
Mrs. Bennet
, who
placed it
gently
up
on
the desk
.
Mrs. Bennet
sat
before the
opened text
as she
explained
to those who did not already know
,
“
During ancient times, t
he
Fili
us
e
d
herbs for healing, but
also used them to perform
magic
.
The practicing of magic has been
forbidden
to
the
T
ribes
for the past
three centuries
—
except
for traditional ceremonies
, of course
,
or in
case
s
of extreme need.
Our situation
is
probably the most serious instance
of the latter
that has ever presented itself to our people
.
W
e
alone,
here in this room, along with Charles, are responsible for ensuring
that
,
from this moment on,
everything
is done
exactly
right.
Jane and I will use this text
to
guide
our use of herbs so that all proceeds as smoothly as possible.
”

Jane and Mrs. Bennet poured over the book, making notes
and sending the others in search of specific plants from the garden
and dried herbs from their stock
,
until they came up with a
n exact
plan
.
Mr. Bennet, Elizabeth, and Mary were consulted on several occasions when the two
Fili
were unsure of how to translate certain passages.

Later, a
ll were called to attention
and Mrs. Bennet announced,
“
Tomorrow night,
t
he moon will be
gin the
waning.
It
i
s
the best
time
to
perform the binding
of the
E
vil
S
oul
.
”

“Tomorrow!
” William exclaimed.
“So soon?”

Mrs. Bennet nodded.
“If we do not, the task must wait a full month until the next waning.
” She hesitated several moments before continuing, “
William
,
since
you
are the only person who will be able to witness the
ritual
, we will depend upon you
to
dispense
the herbal mixtures
as we all know that
Elizabeth will be too busy with the
Song to worry about
adding
herb
s
to the fire.
Jane and
I will give you
several
sachet
s
with specific blend
s
to use at
precise
time
s
during this trial.
The
colour
of the
material of the
bag
will help you recall the
ir
sequence
—
the
first be
ing
black
,
with each
phase
, you will use the contents of a
lighter
coloured
cloth
.

“
First,
all
of you
will
fill your canteens with
a brew
which
Mrs. Hill
is already cooking
in Longbourn’s kitchen
.
It consists
of
c
oriander
,
to
assist
you with
the
fight
against
mystical e
vil
, sweet basil for protection and courage, and red c
l
over for success
and
additional protection
.
You all must sip this tincture as often as possible during the
next two days
.