All Hallow's Eve (26 page)

“
Ah
,
you remain
a member of the Darcy household
,
then?
”

“
Yes, sir.
I am the butler, sir.
”

“
Well,
he
could not have chosen a more trustworthy man. And how is Mrs. Reynolds?
”

Reynolds beamed at the praise.
“
Margaret is
well.
She has been the
housekeeper
at Pemberley
these past fifteen years, Mr. Bennet.
”

“
Fifteen years!
Has it been that long since I have seen you?
”

Reynolds nodded.
“
Closer to
sixteen, sir
.
”

“
Well
!
N
ow
that
is
disconcerting
!
”
Mr. Bennet scowled for a moment, but his demeanor changed as he saw the young people coming closer.
“
How many
daughters
did I have when you were last here, Reynolds?
”

“
Four
, sir.
”

“
Ah, well, now I have five
.
I have
long
been outnumbered!
”
Mr. Bennet rolled his eyes a bit.
“
Until
this past week
at any rate.
”
He gestured to
ward
the
approaching gentle
men.
“
With you here, today the
ladies
are outnumbered.
You
will
stay for luncheon, will you not?
”

Reynolds’
eyes opened a bit wider
as his back stiffened
at the request.

William
and Elizabeth had joined them just after Mr. Bennet said the last.
With an overly enthusiastic tone,
William
said,
“
Reynolds!
It is good to see you!
I hope you had a
pleasant
journey?
”

“
Yes, Mr. Darcy.
It was very good, sir.
”
Reynolds bowed
,
showing none of his
surprise at his master's warm greeting
.

“
Is that it?
”
William
gestured toward the package the older man held.

“
Yes, sir, it is.
I apologize for having been delayed a few days, Mr. Darcy.
”
Reynolds handed the package to his master.

William waved off his apology.
“
This was not a planned journey, Reynolds, nor is this a usual duty of your position; I
appreciate your
being able to
take time away from your family to
com
e
all this way to
make th
e
deliver
y
.
Although
we have an excellent staff at Pemberley, I would not have trusted anyone else
with
this
.
”

Reynolds stood a little taller.
“
Thank you,
sir
.
”

After smiling at Reynolds,
Elizabeth
turned to
William
as her
curiosity got the better of her.
“
What is in the package
?
”

William
asked for Reynolds’ assistance
,
and the two men unra
veled
the many layers of cloth surrounding the ancient weapon.

“
My
S
word!
”
William
proclaimed
, lifting the weapon from its wrappings
.
“
I had always admired it, but
my father had told me we were holding it for another until it was sent for.
”
He turned to Elizabeth and displayed his dimples, stunning her for a moment.
“
O
nly recently did I learn that it
i
s mine.
”

As Elizabeth recovered from the depth of feeling she had seen in
William
’s eyes, she came closer to examine the
S
word.
“
It is magnificent
!
But
,
it
is
almost identical to
mine!
”
Elizabeth blurted out.

In the deep shadows of the trees that surrounded the meadow, a dark, shapeless figure moved off, unnoticed by the group.

The
butler’s
jaw dropped open as his eyes darted from his master’s broad smile to the lady
’s surprised countenance
.

Before his death,
Reynolds’
father
h
ad
train
ed
his son as
a footman in the Darcy household
, and b
oth men w
ere on duty the day that this
S
word
had
arrived.
The elder Reynolds
, knowing that his son could be trusted
and
confident that
he would
surely
move up even higher in the household than had h
is father
,
explained to
him the
true
meaning
of this special S
word,
including
the sad reason that it had come to the Keeper
’
s family
. Th
e
Soul
M
ate of the
current
High
Priestess
had passed on to the Otherworld
and t
he Darcys would hold
the S
word
until the mate of her successor was identified
.

The day
that
his master’s
express had arrived
requesting
it
be brought to him
,
Reynolds
knew that the
Soul Mate
of the
present
High
Priestess
had been found and that his master
—the head of the Keeper
of the Sword
’
s family—
would
now
deliver it
to its rightful owner
.

Reynolds
had never expected that it should be
come
Mr. Darcy
’s
S
word
,
or
that he would actually
meet
the High
Priestess
.
This
was an
honour
of the highest
calibre
!
Reynolds
paled as he realized that soon he
would be the ranking male servant in the house of the High
Priestess
.

Did everyone
here
know who she was?
He did not know the protocol
;
w
hat should he do—bow
low
?
Should he behave the way that he had heard one would in the presence of
a
British
Queen
?
If he did, would he be
revealing
her secret
identity to the others
?

After watching the
myriad
of emotions pass over Reynolds’
features as
these
thought
s raced through his mind
, Mr. Bennet began to laugh
and pulled the gaping man away from the
group
.
“
Reynolds,
I can see that
you unde
rstand the significance of the S
words
.
”

“
Yes, sir. I do, sir.
”
Goodness, Mr. Bennet
is
the father of the High
Priestess
!

“
Everyone else here does as well, other than John there.
”
He nodded at the servant who was
arranging
their meal.
“
As soon as he leaves the area, we will discuss the matter further.
Now you have no choice—you
must
stay for luncheon.
”

“
Mr. Bennet
, sir
… may
I speak plainly?
”

Mr. Bennet nodded.
“
Yes, please do.
”

“
W
hen I was here many years ago
to train
, you
graciously
asked me to
share your
meals
with
you
r family
.
I was quite
honour
ed, and I accepted your hospitality.
When
earlier
you suggest
ed
taking
a meal with you,
I
admit that I
felt uncomfortable at the thought of sharing a
table
with my employer, his noble cousins, and his friends.
But,
now
,
kn
owing what I
do
… I—a mere butler—
cannot
sit at
her
table and share
her
food!
I simply cannot, Mr. Bennet!
”

“
You would be welcomed by
Elizabeth, my friend.
You forget, Reynolds,
that
you have
already
sat at her table and shared
more than one meal with her—
and her grandmother, who held the position when you were here
years ago
.
”

Mr. Bennet did not think the poor man’s skin could
get any paler, but it just had.

“
But, sir!
There is a difference
—
back
then,
I did not
know
!
Now, I
do
!
And to
break bread
with my master and future mistress!
”
He shook his head.
“
No, sir.
I cannot
do it
!
I would feel
more comfortable
serving
them their meal.
”

When
Mr. Bennet
realized that
the other man’s
hands were trembling, his
own
came down
softly
on
Reynolds’
shoulder.
“
Nonsense!
You are
my
guest
, Reynolds—you are
not
a servant wh
il
st
at Longbourn.
”
He could see that Reynolds was not
to be
convinced.
“
There, there, my friend.
I do understand
your point
.
Fret not; Mrs. Bennet
and
I will
join you
away
from the
young people.
Will that help you feel better?
”