All Hallow's Eve (40 page)

She j
oin
ed
him
before
the growing
blaze
and
said,
“Usually Hanna does as well.
Last night, I took the precaution of locking all the doors.”
H
e arched an eyebrow
, and she smiled widely
. “I did not wish to be interrupted.”

Closing
the gap between them
, William
took her into his arms.
“Good thinking, Mrs. Darcy.
But
I believe we
were
interrupted
.
”

As he pressed his lips to hers,
a knock sounded out once more
, this time from her dressing room
.
William sighed.
“
Your
bath
must
be ready
, my love
.”

Elizabeth smiled
mischievously
.
“I have an idea
.
”

~%~

Quite
some time
later, William knocked on the door joining their rooms
.
Elizabeth called out for him to enter
.
He
wandered around the room
as the maid
f
inish
ed
arranging h
er mistress’
s
hair
,
and then
Hanna
bo
bbed a curtsey, leaving
th
rough the door to Elizabeth’s dressing
room
.

Elizabeth
rose and
said, “
You, sir, h
ave
caused me to
work up quite an appetite.
”

He gestured toward the door, and Elizabeth stepped toward it ahead of him. As she
passed through
into the hall
,
William
answered
, “I must admit that I, too, hope we did not miss
the morning
meal
since
I am very hungry
. A
l
though
if we did, I cannot say that I am sorry.
I
will never
think of a bath
in
the same way again
!”
William caught her and pulled her into his arms.

“What of the others?”

“We have this wing to ourselves, my temptress.”

“In that case...”

Just as her lips met his, a woman’s screech fille
d the air
, and another voice shout
ed
,
“Jezebel!”

Elizabeth
found herself facing the last two people she
had
expected
to see this morning
:
Caroline Bingley and Louisa Hurst
.

Chapter 12

Silly
of
me
to think that I might
enjoy
a
full
day
of being
Mrs. Darcy before
having to
revert to
being
Miss Elizabeth Bennet
once more
!
Elizabeth thought.

Looking down the hall
way
, she saw Mr. Hurst standing against the wall,
obviously
finding amusement in
the predicament that
was play
ing
out before him
.
Charles
was rushing toward the group
;
evidently
in the midst of dressing when he heard his sisters’ screams,
his
fingers
were
busy
at an attempt to
fasten the remainder of the
button
s
on the lawn shirt
which
was
hanging loosely about hi
s waist
.
Charles’
flustered
manservant
was
trailing along behind him
, holding his coat and cravat
.
A very
distraught butler
could
also
be seen
further down the hallway. Clearly,
Miss Bingley and the Hursts had gotten past him
upon their arrival
,
and he had
immediately
gone to warn his master
.

Lovely!
A
full complement of witnesses to my “dis
grace
”
!
Elizabeth sighed as she hid both h
er hands behind her back, removing
t
he wedding ring from her left hand and plac
ing
it on he
r
right.

Momentarily,
William
had been
too shocked to speak
but
was
about to explode
in anger
at the two ladies when he saw his wife’s actions.
Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath to calm himself.
I
nstead of
selfish
ly enjoying my time alone with Elizabeth,
I
should have
prepared for this possibility
!

Upon hearing Bingley call out to his sister,
he
opened his eyes
just in time to see
Caroli
ne
’s hand
moving through the air.
William
caught
her arm
just
as it began its descent to
ward
Elizabeth’s face
.
Elizabeth had
reacted just as quickly and had
begun
to
move in her own
defence
but had ceased her motion upon William’s successful interference
.
His
deep
voice
resonated at
a volume
which
caused the walls to
vibrate
,
“You would not
dare
strike
my lady
, Miss Bingley
!”

As the memory of one of their training sessions came to mind,
he tried not to smile when he pictured what Elizabeth
’s lightning-fast reflexes
might have done to
avert
Miss Bingley’s
slap
had
he
not
intervened
.
You know not how lucky you are
that I stopped you
, Miss Bingley
!

Caroline countered
,
“Mr. Darcy,
you are
too
honour
able for your own good
!
We
saw
the two of you come out of that bedchamber!
” She pointed to the door to Elizabeth’s room. “
The hussy
deserved
a good slap for what she has done
!
Besides,
there is no telling
just
how many
men she ha
s
attempted
to entrap
using
a similar
manoeuvre
in the past
!
She is damaged—
used
!
You
cannot
marry
a woman
such as
her
!
”

Glancing at her husband, Elizab
eth could see that his attempt
t
o
follow her lead and remain quiet was becoming too much for him as insults continued to be thrown her way.
His colour was rising to a danger
ous level, his nostrils flaring. S
he was sure that fire would be streaming from his eyes if it were in any way possible.
William’s temper would erupt if something
was
not done to control the situation soon.
She slipped her hand into the crook of his arm.
As he met her gaze, Elizabeth smiled slightly to answer his silent
query—she was well—and she shook her head almost imperceptivity.
His look softened a degree or two before
Hanna stepped through the door of the mistress’s chambers and curtsie
d, keeping her eyes directed toward her feet
.

“Beggin’ your pardon, but
I
was
with
Miss Bennet this mornin’
.
Mr. Darcy
show
ed
’
er the writing desk
what’s in the mistress’s chamber
, sayin’
’
twas was like one
’
is mother used at
’
is estate.
They
’
ad only just left me when I
’
eard noise in the
’
allway.”

Brilliant
!
Hanna
had
told
a
ll
truth
s, creatively arranged. She had
quot
ed
a
comment
that
William
had
made
whil
st
she arranged Elizabeth’s hair
.
A double bonus for you!
Elizabeth
’s thoughts changed direction
as she saw how Caroline glared at the maid.
It seems
that Hanna
will
require
a
new position
.
I
do
hope she
will
not mind relocating to London or Pemberley.

Louisa
spoke up
,
“
Th
at does not excuse
her
shameful
behaviour just now
in the hallway
, and the fact that she agreed to accompany you unchaperoned
, Mr. Darcy
!
We
saw
her
thr
o
w herself at you.
And just
what
is she
doing
at Netherfield at this hour of the
morning
?
”

“
Enough!
”
Bingley barked and hesitated long enough to witness the shock upon his sisters’ faces
in reaction to
his raising his voice
with
them
for the first time in his
adult
life
.
“
Just why
are you here
?
Y
ou
are supposed to be in
London.
”

It was several moments before
Caroline
recovered her
senses.
“
W
e
were
in London, Charles
,
and whil
st
there,
Lady
Susan expressed a desire to visit
Netherfield
,
suggest
ing
that
we host a ball.” Caroline turned to sneer at Elizabeth. “O
f course, o
nly
those highly connected
within
the crème of
London society w
ill
be included in the invitations
.”

Bingley repl
ied
,
“
This is
not
a good time, Caroline.
As a matter of fact,
I forbid
that
you
even unpack your trunks;
y
ou must return to London immediately.”

Astonishment radiated from
both of his sisters.
Caroline
straightened her back even further
.
“Return to London
a
nd c
ompletely d
is
reg
ard
Lady Susan’s advice?
What utter n
onsense! I
refuse
even
to
consider such a course of action
!
”

“
Oh
,
yes
,
you will, Caroline.
I am the head of this family
,
and I have told you that you
cannot stay
.
You should not have come
uninvited
and unannounced
.
”

Louisa
exclaimed,
“Really, Brother!
The time you have spen
t
in
the company of
certain
people
has taken
a
toll upon your manners!
”
She looked purposely down at the shirt that was still hanging
untucked
about his waist
.
“
You are behaving
dreadful
ly
—
and
towards your own family
!
”

“Mrs. Hurst, Miss Bingley,” Elizabeth began, “
I am afraid that at this time t
here would not be room enough for your guests at Netherfield
.
M
y family is already occupying
several
bedchambers
.
”

Caroline directed a
scowl
at her brother that would have
caused
most people
to
cower.
“The
Bennet
s
?
S
taying here
, at Netherfield
?
Whatever for?
W
hy was I not notified, Charles?
”