All Hallow's Eve (4 page)

William and his father moved toward each other.
The younger Darcy
hesitated
,
but his father grabbed hold of him and embraced his son for the first time.
When they parted, there was not a dry eye among
the three of
them.

“
All these years
,
they were not dreams, were they?
”

“
No, William, they were not
,” his mother answered. “
We allowed you to believe whatever would make you
feel
most
comfortable.
”

A pained expression fell over William’s features
,
and he
was
no longer able to meet their eyes.
“I have made a mess of things since I have seen you last year.”

“
William, we
do know what has been occurring in your life.
We
are often with you, son, but the
re is
only
one
night of the year
on which
we can take a form that can be seen by you
and speak to you
, with the help of the High
Priestess
of
Sanun
, of course
.
Sometimes we are able to influence you
to make choices
, but it takes a
great deal of effort to do so.
Whenever you feel an intuition, it is usually one of us.
”
His mother
smiled.

“
So it was you who made me feel the need to go to Ramsgate when Georgiana needed me
in August
?
”

Lady Anne placed her hand on his arm.
“
Yes, dearest.
I know you feel that you failed her, but y
ou did a wonderful job of
rescuing your sister and protecting her reputation
.
If you had not listened
to us
, she would have been in
a
dire
situation
by now.
”

“
And all that has happened with Elizabeth?
Do not tell me I have done anything right there!
”
His anger at himself was evident.

“
You did hear what was said then?
”
Mr. Darcy asked.

“
Yes, I heard it
—
in fact,
more than you did
.
” William chuckled without mirth. “
I have made quite the impression, have I not?
I have often cursed my inability to perform to strangers, but this is beyond anything I have experienced in the past.
I have been drawn to
Elizabeth
from the first time I saw her
;
never
have I
felt this way
about any woman. While I
hesitated and
plann
ed
so that I could
make a good impression
,
she h
as grown to despise me!
How is it that I can
manage
estates, be master to
more than a hundred
servants, oversee countless tenants, outwit masters in their fields of expertise, and yet I can barely put
together
an intelligible sentence whenever I am near
her
?
”

“
You cannot
use logic to
plan love the
same
way you
would
design
planting the estate
, son!
”
his mother chided
.
She
waited until he looked at her
before saying,
“
You have little experience with matters of the heart.
”

Mr. Darcy
cleared his throat.
“
William, we are usually not permitted to
reveal
one’s
Soul Mate
, but in this instance
,
it was essential
that
we d
o
so
.
In any other circumstances, w
e
would
have allowed
your relationship
to
take its course
naturally
, but
the High
Priestess
will
need your protection soon.
”

William’s entire stature
changed as he visibly
tensed.
“
Are you saying that
Elizabeth is in danger
?
”

His father responded,
“
There are some who are
what we refer to as
Olc
—
the
in
nately
evil
souls
.
They will hurt her by harming those she loves—offering to spare their lives to encourage her to cooperate with them.
We do not know how, but George Wickham will be able to recognize Miss Elizabeth for who she is.”

“
Wickham!
”
William growled.
“
How is he involved?
”

“We only know that he is not the leader, and it is imperative that you find out who is.”

An icy
shiver
ran down William’s spine
.
“
Is
Elizabeth
aware
of
any of
this?
”

“
No, and we cannot tell her tonight
,” his
father
responded. “
She must perform the second half of the ritual to close the
portal
after the souls return to the Otherworld.
You saw how involved the first part was
; t
he second part is no less complex.
After speaking to her grandmother
this evening
, she is
distressed
enough already.
We cannot risk upsetting her any further by telling her this
news
. T
his is the only night that we can communicate with her directly.
You will have to be the one to tell her, William.
”

“
But,
s
ir, Elizabeth
despises
me
!
Why would she listen to
me
of all people?
”

Lady Anne
looked off in the direction of the bonfire. A few moments later, she nodded and turned back to her son
.
“
Her grandmother has spoken to her, William.
She is willing to begin again.
If you
ca
n
just be yourself
with her
, you are guaranteed success
;
s
he cannot help but fall in love with you.
You must be aware of what it means to be Soul Mates, son. You are two halves of the same soul, like your father and I. When you are together in harmony it will make you both much stronger than you could ever be when apart. It is important that the two of you join together as soon as possible to combat the evil that Wickham is bringing to harm Miss Elizabeth.”

William closed his eyes before saying,
“
I cannot even find my tongue when I am near her.
”

“
You must, William!
”
Mr. Darcy replied forcefully
.

William
let out a
sigh
.
“
When will Wickham
arrive in
Meryton?
”

“
He will join the militia in a little more than a fortnight.
”

William stood up to his full height.
“
Al
l
right, then.
I have a fortnight to improve
Elizabeth’s
opinion of me.
I will put myself in her way as often as possible and speak to her as honestly and openly as is
permissible
within polite society.
”
He hesitated for a moment as a wistful expression overtook his features.
“
I will enjoy every minute I am with her and hope I
will be
successful.
”

“
You will be, son.
Of that we have no doubt
,
”
his mother responded sweetly.

“
Father,
how do I defend her from these
wicked
ones?
What methods of
defence
will work
best
against them?
”

“
D
o not
expect
that they will
follow the rules of society
,
or
even
the law
,
as
would be
you
r wont
.
You
may need to work outside the rules
of combat
to defeat them.
”
Mr. Darcy
offered
.
“
You
must
send
word to Pemberley immediately and have someone trustworthy bring
the
S
word
that you have always admired
.
Do you r
emember
when you were a little boy, I
had
explained that
we were holding it for another?
Throughout the ages, t
h
at
S
word
has been
passed down to the
Soul Mate
of
each
High
Priestess
.
Whenever a
Soul Mate
of the High
Priestess
dies,
the head of
o
ur family
acts as
the Keeper of
the
S
word until the next
Soul Mate
is discovered
. Before
your mother and I
passed on, we had no idea that
the successor
was to be
you
!

“
The High
Priestess
is
well
-
trained in the art of the legionary
, currently known as swordsmanship
.
Call on your cousins
Reginald
and Richard for assistance.
T
ribal legionnaires work best in groups of five
;
your friend Bingley will be contacted tonight as well.

“
You
all
can learn much from Mr. Bennet
.
When I taught you and your cousins, it was as an
Immu
n
—a weapons instructor for the T
ribes—but
in his role as
the Lead
Immun
,
Mr. Bennet
will train you in the ancient ways much better than I ever could
. H
e will fight by your side when the time comes
.
”

William
had been surprised to hear Mr. Bennet was an expert weapons instructor,
let alone that Elizabeth was well
-
trained in what he had always thought was a
gentle
m
a
n’s sport,
but then he realized not much around him was as it
had always
seemed to be!
“
Why had you not told me about this while I was growing up?
I had no idea…
”
he trailed off.

“
I must apologize, son
,” Mr. Darcy answered. “
Those who are Destined Ones must be told earlier so they may be trained, but
since the time of Great Evil several generations past
,
it has been
common practice to wait until a
child is of age to
explain
.
We had taught you some
of the ancient ways
,
such as longsword fighting
, but
a
s you
know, by the time you neared th
e
age,
your mother was gone
,
and
I
had already had
an
apoplexy and
was unable to speak clearly enough to explain it to you.
Believe me when I say as I lay there
ill
in bed, not a day went by that I did not censure myself for not
having told
you when you were younger!