All Hallow's Eve (3 page)

The meadow continued to fill with people who would bow to Elizabeth, transform once again into tiny lights, and then float off into the sky. Every time a light would leave, in turn, another would take its place, and the meadow would fill again. After a great number of minutes, the quantity of lights began to taper off.
it
seemed that soon he would discover her fate, and his fear for Elizabeth grew again. A small group of people remained in the meadow speaking to each other, some of whom lingered very close to
where she stood
. Finally, the flow of lights ended, and the glow surrounding her faded.

When he saw Elizabeth begin to collapse, William jumped up with the intention of rushing toward
her,
but he held his ground after noticing an older lady, who
suddenly
appeared
more solid than
she had
before,
moving
into position behind her. The lady caught Elizabeth and lowered her to the ground, leaning
her back
against a tree stump
. She
helped Elizabeth to drink from the cup that
he had seen resting
on the stump
when
he arrived. It was odd to see the lady’s hand that held the cup remain solid while the remainder of her body became opaque once again.

A few minutes later, Elizabeth stood and embraced the lady, crying, “Grandmama! How I have missed you!”

Movin
g slowly, William returned to sit on the fallen tree
in stunned silence as the two ladies conversed. A little while later, other people began to approach the pair. Each person bowed to Elizabeth and to her grandmother, and then waited to be addressed before speaking. Their
behaviour
reminded him of those in the presence of royalty when he realized that neither Elizabeth nor her grandmother had curtsied in return. Other than this, there was no difference in Elizabeth’s
behaviour
from the usual friendly, vivacious manner that he had become accustomed to observing.

Intermittently, lights began to return from their far destinations. Transforming once again into the forms of people, they would converse with Elizabeth and her grandmother or
with one another
.

Two of the lights in particular caught William’s attention. They seemed to be exactly the same as all the others, but to him in some way they stood out as different. When they transformed, he was shocked—there, just a few feet away from him, stood
his
parents
bowing to Miss Elizabeth Bennet!

William strained to listen to their conversation.

~%~

Elizabeth greeted the couple with a brilliant smile. “Good evening, Lady Anne, Mr. George! It is such a pleasure to see you both again! Have you visited your children already?”

Lady Anne answered, “We have just come from visiting our daughter and will see our son soon, High Priestess.”

Elizabeth blushed prettily. “Please, I do believe, as the parents of my Soul Mate, you have the right to call me Elizabeth.”

William’s breath caught in his chest.
Elizabeth is my Soul Mate?

Mr. Darcy bowed, “Thank you, Miss Elizabeth. After speaking to your grandmother prior to this evening, we have decided it is imperative that you learn our identities at this time. You have recently met our son, madam, and your relationship is not progressing as it should.”

Elizabeth’s eyes opened wide and
lifted
her eyebrows high upon her forehead. “Have I? I cannot imagine who it could possibly be!”

“Our son is Fitzwilliam Darcy.”

Elizabeth blinked a few times in surprise. “Surely you jest!” she answered with a chuckle in her
voice.
W
hen she
notice
d
that they
continued to look
quite serious
,
Elizabeth attempted to school her features
,
but
she
could not hide her embarrassment. “Well then, I feel it is my responsibility to inform you that what you suspect is
not
possible!”

William flinched.

At a look from the former High Priestess, his parents begged to be excused to visit their son.

As they began to move away, Elizabeth called after them, “Your son is quite close this year. He is staying at Netherfield Park.”

“Oh, we know
exactly
where our son is, Miss Elizabeth!” William heard his father assure her, his voice louder than was necessary. Knowing his father was speaking to him as well as answering Elizabeth, William closed his eyes for a moment.

Grandmama Bennet watched as the Darcys transformed into lights and departed the meadow
, then
turned to her
granddaughter
and said, “It certainly
is
possible that their son is your Soul Mate, Elizabeth. In fact, there is no doubt.”

“But, Grandmama, it simply cannot
be
possible that we are Soul Mates. Mr. Darcy dislikes me as much as, if not more than I dislike him! It would have been unfair if I had not put them to rights on the matter; their mistaken hopes must come to an end.
From the first moment of my acquaintance with him, Mr. Darcy’s manners have impressed me with the fullest belief of his arrogance, his conceit, and his selfish disdain of the feelings of others!”

“On
his
side, with my own ears, I have heard him say that he found me not handsome enough to tempt him to dance. In
fact he made it sound as if I were
so low that I was not worthy enough for him to take notice of at all! If that is the case, I cannot believe that he would ever consider me acceptable as a wife
.
Whenever we meet, he stares at me with a disapproving gleam in his eye. I can only think he stands near
by
listening while I am engaged in conversation to amuse himself by noting my style of conversing, which, judging by his reaction, I
am sure he finds ridiculous
.
No! I am sorry, Grandmama, but you are indeed mistaken in thinking he and I could be Soul Mates.”

The ache in William’s heart became too much for him to bear, and he no longer wished to listen. He began to back away from his seat slowly, hoping not to draw any attention to himself. When he was out of Elizabeth’s line of sight, he walked off in the direction of his temporary home, Netherfield Park.

~%~

Grandmama Bennet allowed her granddaughter to finish speaking before she
began,
“
Now,
Elizabeth
,
I must speak to you
of important matters
.
Y
ou
are
aware
of
the mask of serenity that your sister Jane wears in public
. I am sure that you realize that t
hose who do not know her well
often mistaken her
for
being cold and unfeeling
and that
many
people think her heart is not easily touched
. H
er quiet demeanor is sometimes thought of as indifference or arrogance, especially since she is touted as being so beautiful wherever she goes
.
Think, my dear, h
ow many women who are
as
lovely as our dear
Jane
would you expect
not
to be
self-absorbed
and
conceited?
”

A little surprised at her choice of topics after what had just been discussed, it took Elizabeth a moment
to gather her thoughts
before answering,
“
But Jane is shy, Grandmama!
She finds speaking to people she does not know almost painful
.
Jane
does not share her feelings with others easily
,
but she does feel deeply
,
and
she
is the best person I know.
Surely you know as well as I that i
t actually embarrasses
Jane
to be spoken of as so beautiful; it is
one of her gifts that
she sees
the
beauty in everyone
she meets
and feels
that
others
should be recognized as well.

“In the past she has trusted people too easily and has been hurt by them.
Men
have
used
her
beauty
, her good manners
,
an
d her
excellent
nature
.
Kn
owing
that she does not have a dowry,
they would never offer for her
—
but
still
they are so vain they wish to ‘be seen’ with her on their arm
s
.
Being treated in this manner makes her feel as if the veneer is all that matters
to most people
, not the person she is inside
, and so she
has learned to
protect herself
.
”

“
Yes, my dear,
I
know it
,
and
you
know it, but those who do
not
know her as well as we do—and you must admit she does not allow many people very close to her—
they
do
not
know it
,
and they see her very differently than we do.
”

Elizabeth had to
concede that
it was likely.

“
Now, what would you say about a man who is just as shy as
our
Jane, who is as rich as he is handsome, and who has been actively pursued by almost every single lady
of marriageable age
with whom
he has come into contact
?
H
ow do you think that man would present himself to a room full of strangers?
”

Understanding dawned upon Elizabeth
,
and she blushed deeply.
“
H
e would
likely
wear a mask, like Jane does
, and others would misinterpret his actions
.”
She hesitated several moments before continuing
,
“
I
have
never g
i
ve
n
him a chance
.
”

Her grandmother shook her head
.
“
You have not
, my dear.
”

“
Grandmama, I will begin again with Mr. Darcy
,
but I will promise you
nothing
beyond that
.
I mean no disrespect
,
but I will not marry him
only
because
others
tell me we are well
matched.
I
am resolved to
marry
only
for the deepest love.
”

“
I expect nothing less from you, Elizabeth
,
”
her grandmother replied.
“
Now
that it
is
settled
,
as time grows short, I must hurry off
to visit other members of our family.
I will return before sunrise so
that
we may
have time to
say goodbye
before I must leave you
for another year.
”

~%~

As he walked through the woods,
William
heard his mother’s voice call
ing
his name
,
and he stopped short, turning towards his parents.
His mother
’s form
became less transparent a moment before she
embraced him
. William was surprised that
she felt warm and soft
,
and
her scent was
just
as
he remembered.

“
Mother!
”
he breathed,
“
I am so happy to see you!
”