All Hallow's Eve (60 page)

Elizabeth closed her eyes and took a deep breath before
admitting
, “I was
wondering
if there
were
something you could
do.
”

Mrs. Bennet nodded.
“Elizabeth, the
Fili
who have contacted Mary
from the
Otherworld
have stressed
that you must not sle
ep again until you have had at least two
measure
s
of the draught.”

“I will make certain
she does not
,” William
spoke up
.

“
You should also consume t
h
e
blend
,
Mr. Wickham
, but since your situation is so different
...
I am sorry, but
I
do not believe it will be as helpful to you as it will be to Elizabeth
.”

“
Any
degree of
re
lief
would be welcome
, Mrs. Bennet.
I thank you
for your willingness to attempt to help me
,
”
George said quietly.

“We are to reconvene in my sitting room whe
n
Mr. Bennet
returns with
the herbs. I must
return to
Jane
.
”
Mrs. Bennet rose and
left the room.

~%~

Notified of Mr. Bennet’s return,
Elizabeth
,
William
, and George
arrived at
the
Bennets
’
sitting room.
Jane stood near
a
window,
arranging
several
vials
and bottles
strewn across a table.
H
er mother
was nearby,
ma
king
up
sachets of dried herbs
,
though the better part
of her attention seemed to be devoted to keeping watch over Jane’s preparations.

Mr. Bennet was standing before another window, a sense of urgency radiating in waves from him as he examined the dimming light outside.
He
turned and
nodded to them in greeting
.
T
he ladies did not
give an
y
indication
of
detecting
their
entrance
.

Mrs. Bennet was saying, “Make certain to measure out the flower oils according to the recipe for the
first
day.
Now
,
and later tonight
,
Elizabeth must receive
larger dose
s
than
should
Mr. Wickham. Beginning tomorrow, we shall dispense the same amount to both.”

Nodding, Jane answered,
“
Yes
, Mama.
”
After measuring carefully,
Jane replaced the
dr
opper in
a v
ial and laid it on the table, recit
ing
the virtue
of
the selection
s
.
“
Th
e
oil of the
flowers of the
w
hite
c
hestnut
will
prevent
the
distressing thoughts
that the
Olc
left behind
from haunting
Lizzy
’s
and
Mr. Wickham’s
days.
”
Jane
paused
while she poured
liquid
from another bottle
.

“
Bath
a
sparagus
will
facilitate the fading of
traumatic recollections from
their
minds
.

“
Honeysuckle
is used
to
restore
the equilibrium
of
the m
emor
y
,
help
releas
e
past
recollections
, and
encourage
the dwindling of
nightmares.
”

“I am glad,” Elizabeth
remarked
softly
, so that only
William
could hear
. “I would prefer not to become a widow,
and
especially
not
by my own hand!”

William lifted her hand to his lips, his eyes shining with
love and
forgiveness.

Jane continued, “
And by a
dding s
weet
c
hestnut
, we shall
help them to
recogniz
e
that
all
can
be well.
”

“
Excellent
, Jane!
Pour in a little wine to help it go down easier, and mix it well.
”
Mrs. Bennet
tied a ribbon, securing the last of the sachets. “
The
dried l
avender
and
chamomile
should
be
scattered
around
the
rooms
that both
Lizzy
and Mr. Wickham
frequent
to
soothe
their
mind
s
further
.
”

“
Soon,
t
hey
should
be able to
find peace.
”
Jane smiled.

Noticing that the others had arrived,
Mrs. Bennet
glanc
ed
at the
orange-tinted
light filter
ing
in from the window
. L
ift
ing
a cup
, she
turned toward
her daughter
. “
Lizzy
, you must drink this immediately!”

~%~

T
he door
to the dining parlor
opened and Mr. and Mrs. Hurst
entered
—
followed
by
Caroline Bingley
.
It was
obvious
that the guilt of what she had done had not lasted very long
.
T
here was
arrogance oozing from her every pore
as she strode into the room
.
Almost as if it had been planned, as the newcomers approached the table, none of the gentlemen stood, lest their gesture of civility towards Mrs. Hurst be
misinterpreted
as a sign of respect for Caroline.

Bingley
shouted,
“Louisa
!
I told you to keep her
away from
us
.”

The feathers in
Mrs. Hurst
’s
headdress quivered
,
and
she seemed
to be
preparing
a
reply
, but Elizabeth
interjected
, “Charles
—
it
is
just as
well
we resolve this now
.”

Bingley raised his e
yebrows and
stared at
Elizabeth.
Their being in the company of
some who were
outside the
T
ribes usually meant that the group would follow the rules of British society, but this
situation screamed of being
a T
ribal matter.
Should he pay deference to her role as
High
Priestess
and his leader
,
or treat her as the wife of his friend
, keeping in mind that
he
wa
s
the master of the house
?
He
looked at William
to let his reaction be his guide
, but
William
was too
involved in
staring daggers a
t Caroline to return his gaze.
Sighing, Bingley
simply
stated
,
“
T
here
are
no seating arrangement
s
this evening
.”

A
footman helped
Caroline
take a seat
. As t
he Hursts
settled in
across from her
,
they
received
a
halfhearted
greeting
, but
the
assembled
group
ignored the other lady
.

Caroline’s voice sliced through the tension pervading the room. “I see you have returned unharmed,
Miss Elizabeth.”

William’s nostrils flared.
“You
will
address
my wife
as Mrs. Darcy!”

Caroline
raised an eyebrow
, but did not correct her
“
error.
”

Other than the sound of utensils clinking against china, a
ll w
ere
silent as the first course was served.
Elizabeth noticed that William’s jaw was clenched t
ightly in an attempt to keep his
comments
to himself. Elizabeth caught his eye,
and
William only shook his head in response.

About half-way th
r
ough the first course, t
he door
opened again.

“I apologize for our being late
;
we were detained by
an express from London
...”
Richard stopped
short as he walked toward his customary seat
next to Mary
and
notic
ed
it had already been taken.
He
point
ed
directly at
Caroline.
“What in blazes is
she
doing here?”

Caroline
raised her chin and her
eyes tightened.
“I have every right
to sit at my brother’s table
.”

“
You
have ‘e
very right
’
?
” Lord Reginald laughed without humo
u
r. “
Madam, you should be thankful that it
was
not I who spoke to the magistrate
today
,
or else you would be
behind bars
by now
,
with a dinner
o
f
mere
bread and water
sitting upon your lap
!”

“
Behind bars
?
” Caroline tittered
, fluttering her eyelashes at the viscount
. “
Whatever
could you mean
?
”

Everyone at the table
gaped
in
astonishment.

“
Have you forgotten that y
ou
supplied
information to kidnappers
?
”
Richard
asked
through
gritted
teeth.