All Hallow's Eve (11 page)

It was unclear whether Mr. Bennet could not hide his amusement, or did not even try
to do so
.
“
If that is your wish, Darcy, then so be it.
I will allow the other gentlemen to refrain from voicing their opinions until they have witnessed your match.
I believe y
ou will
regret it.
”

Shortly after this exchange,
William
found himself standing across from Elizabeth
with their
wasters
drawn
.
Mr. Bennet told him that he would first like to see his attack.

After several
moments
,
William
stated,
“
Sir, with all due respect
,
I
cannot attack Miss Elizabeth.
”

Mr. Bennet sighed.
“
All right.
Lizzy, show him how it is done
.
”

Before beginning,
Elizabeth smiled so widely that
William
cringed,
wonder
ing
if
this scene was fulfilling a secret wish she had had these past six weeks
as her dislike for him
had grown
stronger
.
His
mind wandered for just a moment
while
thinking
this
was not the sort of fantasy he had dreamed of reenacting with her.
She noticed his distraction and took advantage of it to make the first point.

William
had already vowed to himself that he would defend
but would not attack
, and she must have sensed this from him.
Alt
hough
Elizabeth
skillfully
backed him
against
the same tree
repeatedly
before making her
second
point
, he knew that she could have made it much sooner.
She was good—very good
.
How on earth was he to
protect
her if she was so much better at fighting than he?

After her third point had been gained
, Elizabeth became annoyed.
“
You do
understand
that you
may
come up against a woman in a re
al battle someday, do you not?
”

He knew
her statement to be
correct, but he also was unwilling to admit aloud that fighting a lady other than Elizabeth would be a very different experience.
Alt
hough he might still attempt to avoid
an altercation with
any
lady, when it came to Elizabeth, h
e did not wish to even
feign
harming
her
.

William
felt
he was
completely
correct
in
this matter
,
at least,
until she
spoke
again, voicing
a few words between each blow to his
wooden
sword,
“
Y
ou
must
participate fully in training, sir,
or else
you will not be fighting at your best in true battle
.
I realize that you are attempting to reconcile your need for training with acting the part of a gentleman, but you
must discard all of your preconceived notions while here on the
training
field
.
Maintaining
the rules of
British
propriety
during
our
training
sessions
is
selfish
, Mr. Darcy.
As part of my guard, y
our main task is to protect
me
.
Y
ou must see that
as a result
of your refusal to engage now
,
I
may
die
.
”

He
froze
. E
lizabeth could have made her fourth point easily, but she
expected
his distress
and waited for him to recover his senses
.
William
stood staring at her for a minute or two, breathing heavily
, either
as a result of their match or the emotions stirred within him by her
last
statement
—
even
he was not certain
of the cause.
Bowing his head, at length he replied,
“
Of course! I had not thought of it in that
manner
, but you are
wholly
correct. I thank you for pointing out my error
,
Miss Elizabeth
; I do not
comprehend
how I did not see it
sooner
.
”

Elizabeth’s expression
displayed
her surprise
and confusion.
William
had to
wonder
which
part of his speech had caused this reaction.
Did she not think him capable of admitting
that
he was wrong?

Though still hesitant at first, he began to fight
in a manner
closer to
the way
he would if he were in a match against a man.
As he did, he noticed
her
abilities appear to become stronger.

“
You were holding back
,
”
William
stated.

The sparkle in her eyes showed her amusement.
“
Of course
,
I was.
”

“
Why?
”

“
It was not hono
u
rable to do otherwise.
If you would not
engage fully, then I could not.
Besides, I did not have to!
”
She almost giggled.

William
made a move that was unanticip
ated
and
scored
his first point.
Alt
hough he cringed afterward
and seemed to have a difficult time forgiving himself for doing it
,
Elizabeth
knew it was progress.

“
Did your father teach you that
, Mr. Darcy
?
”

“
No,
you
did, Miss Elizabeth.
You made that move earlier.
”

Elizabeth smiled
widely
.
“
You are a quick study, sir.
”
She had to hold back a
chuckle
at
the result
of her small word of praise
.
William
was practically glowing in response
!
Had
she been that hard on him
?

Mr. Bennet called out,
“
I would like you
two
to move further away and continue on as you have been while the others display their skills.
”
H
e
r father
then
describe
d to Elizabeth
what he thought
William
’s tr
aining should consist of for th
is first session
.

“
I do think
you
would
do
better if you removed your coat, Mr. Darcy.
”
Elizabeth said as she led the way further from the group.

He
glanced
at her attire
and then proceeded to
remove his coat and waistcoat, leaving him clad similarly to Elizabeth
.
“
I suppose one of the differences in the two societies is formality of dress?
”

“
Usually women
within the
T
ribes
wear
gowns, but not the same
type
as
British
ladies
. You saw an example of a
T
ribal gown
at the
Sanun
.
Alt
hough we would rather not, at times we do wear skirts for training as well.
”

“
If you would rather wear trousers, then why
—”

Elizabeth interrupted
forcefully
,
“
Because
true combat
will probably come at a time when we least expect it.
For all we know,
a
challenge
could come during a ball
.
We need to be prepared for any
possibility
.
”

William
gestured
toward
the surrounding woods.
“
Are you not
concerned
that someone will see you
wearing
trousers?
”

Elizabeth stopped
and turned to him
.
“
My sisters and I remove
our gowns
after
we arrive here.
”
Her brow arched as she said,
“
We also have been known to train
wearing
pantaloons
and
a
chemise
!
”
Elizabeth
laughed at
William
’s
shocked
expression.
“
There are rumo
u
rs—begun by my ancestors, I imagine—
of
a curse upon the meadow and
the
surrounding woods.
People in this area are superstitious, which works in our
favour
.
Most people stay
very
far away from this meadow.
”

William
nodded silently.
She
could not know
how
difficult
it was
for him
to turn his mind away from the vision she had conjured up
with her words
—Elizabeth
undressing here in this very meadow
and
train
ing
in
her undergarments.
Though,
he tried to rationalize to himself,
she probably would not loo
k very different
from the way
she does
right now
.
Elizabeth
’s voice
barely
pulled him back to the present
.

“
You do not have
much experience with the
T
ribes
?
”

“
No.
”
William
’s tongue did not wish to
continue
on, but his mother’s words echoed in his mind, telling him
that if he would but
be himself
,
Elizabeth
could not
help but fall in love with him.
H
e
looked away while
forc
ing
himself to
voice his thoughts
,
“
I learned about
the
T
ribes
only
last night
after
I followed the sound of your voice and
came upon you here
.
”
He took a deep breath.
“
I had no idea what I
had stumbled upon
.
Your
singing
and danc
ing
w
ere
beauti
ful
,
but
what occurred next
became
quite
frightening.
I
feared that
if I interrupted
,
you would be injured
, and so I simply watched
.
”