All Hallow's Eve (42 page)

“Jane and I will prepare a solution that should be given to Wickham before the Opening Song begins. If
Wickham
should awaken, all of our preparations will be for nothing. Not only will the
Sanun
be ineffectual, but also the
Olc
would know our plans and escape.

“
The mixture
you must use
constantly
during the day
will be in the large,
gold
sackcloth.
You must have a fire,
William
, and burn
this
echinacea and
wormwood
to
s
trengthen
the effects of
all
the other herbs
.
I would add this into the other sachets but the text states that this
blend
must not be added to the fire at the same moment as anything else.

“
O
nce
Cher-nog
is confined, we must make certain that this
Olc
does not escape ever again!
Knotweed
,
s
napdragon
,
and
w
ax
p
lant
are for
b
inding
the
S
pirit
,
and will be used
up until the time of the
new
Opening Song
of the
Sanun
.
During your journey to the meadow, you will use
an
incense pot to burn the herbs.
These will be in the
black
silk.

“
Lotus
, in the
blue
muslin, will be used
at the
very
beginning of the Opening Song
,
and
you will
continue to scat
ter it into the fire until Elizabeth stops singing
.
It is very important to make certain that you use enough to make a great deal of smoke!
Lotus
helps
with
doors
that are difficult to open
, and since it is not All Hallow’s Eve, opening the
portal
to the Otherworld will not be
an
easy
task
for Elizabeth
to accomplish
.

“
After t
he
O
pen
ing Song is complete
, a
grimony will
be
burned
to
dispel the
E
vil
Soul
,
and
banish
it.
That, in addition to the c
ayenne
with which it has been combined
, will help
to
return
the
negative energy to its source.
The concoction also includes
r
ue
, which
will
exorcise
Cher-nog
from Wickham
and get it moving towards the source
from whence it came
, which, of course,
is
the Otherworld
.
These
herbal elements
will
all
be in the large,
yellow
sachet.

“
Once the spirit has left him, you will then place one of
our
foul-smellin
g sachets around Wickham’s neck so that it cannot return.

“
It
is
absolutely
essential that Elizabeth begin
to close the portal
the moment
Cher-nog
passe
s
through
her
.
We cannot
take a
chance
that
any
other
Olc
will
com
e
through
to the living world
.

“
Only
after
Cher-nog
has passed through Elizabeth will
you
switch to burning the mixture in the
white
sachet.
Witch h
azel
will assist
her
in c
losing
the portal during
the Song of the Return
.

“
William, n
ever
forget that the herbs in the
gold
sackcloth must be burned
continuously
along with
all
of the others
to strengthen their effects
.
”

The room was
silent
but
filled with a tension so thick that it
was
difficult for William to
draw
breath.
It seemed a lifetime had passed before he was finally able
to fill his lungs
enough to speak.
“At no time should any of you doubt that I will do all that I can to assist my wife.”

Elizabeth cleared her throat.
“Mary? Did those from the Otherworld tell you if Wickham has taken residence somewhere other than the barracks?
He must be leading his men from a different location.”

Mary looked quite uncomfortable.
“
From what I ha
ve
been told, our friends in the Otherworld
have seen only the inside of the building
that Wickham has taken
,
and they
do not know where it is.
They did not give me the impression that they were concerne
d
.
I
believe
we
all
assumed that we would have more time to plan
and
more time to gather information.
”

Richard’
s voice was
next
heard.
“It seems impossible to ready a plan of action by tomorrow night, then!
Wickham
has
evaded
Reginald, Bingley
,
and
me
every time we have attempted to follow him.
If we do not know where he will take Elizabeth, we cannot allow him to capture her!”

“Perhaps
Lydia, Mary, and I
can learn the information we seek tonight at my Uncle Philips’ soirée
,
”
Kitty
suggested
. “
We have all
been invited, and I understand there will be quite a few of the officers in attendance.
W
e
would
be happy
to
be of some
assistance
.
”
Lydia and Mary both nodded in agreement to the scheme.

“
Good!
And
Wickham?
Will he be in attendance?
”
Lord Reginald asked.

Lydia answered with a nod.

“At least
if
his presence
is
accounted for
,
we can be assured of
Elizabeth
’s
safe
ty
at Netherfield with me
whil
st
everyone else is
at the Philips
es
’
.”
As Elizabeth opened her mouth to protest,
William took her hand.
“I am
certain
that you
can see
that it would be foolish to expose yourself to the
Olc
again
before we know where
it
will take you?”

Sh
e searched his eyes momentarily
and nodded. “
You are correct, of course.
”
A
mischievous light flashed
in
Elizabeth’s eyes. “Do you think that Miss Bingley and the Hursts will go along to my uncle’s, or
will they
stay at Netherfield with us?”

“Bingley will make sure they return to London.
Most likely they will be on their way before we return to Netherfield
,
” William answered.

Elizabeth smiled at her husband.
“Believe me this time,
William
, when I say
they will not be leaving today. D
o not force me to say ‘I told you so’
once
again!”

Chapter 1
3

Netherfield Park

When
the group returned
to the house
, the Hurst
s
’
coach sat near the front door.
William smiled widely at his wife.

Elizabeth laughed.
“Do not become overconfident, William.
The coach
as yet
has no trunks atop. You shall see.”

As they
remov
ed
their outerwear, they heard Charles’ voice echo down the staircase, “Caroline!
Louisa!
You are walking in the wrong direction! The staircase is
this
way.
As soon as your trunks are loaded, the coach will leave for London.”

Elizabeth and William began to ascend the stairs
as
a shrill voice answered loudly, “Do not be ridiculous, Charles.
If the coach must return to London, it can do so—
without
our trunks!
We will require them
here
, and that is final!
Perhaps tomorrow
.
”

Elizabeth slipped her hand onto William’s arm
,
giving it a
little
squeeze.
The way her eyes sparkled along with her self-satisfied expression was so attractive that it
almost
made him forget that he had just been proven wrong.

“But
,
you cannot stay in the family wing!”
Charles’
voice sounded panicked.

“And why should we not stay in our usual chambers?”

The smile fell from Elizabeth’s face
,
and her eyes widened.
William’s expression became stoic.

Elizabeth whispered, “That is
our
wing!”

He nodded
once
. “It
was
.”

Charles’
mind was obviously
engaged
in
formulating
something that would satisfy his sisters
and
keep the Darcys
’
secret safe. He sputtered, “
Well...
I thought... perhaps...” he hesitated, beginning again in a more confident tone, “I thought that perhaps you would try sleeping in the chamber where you plan to place Lady Susan when she
eventually
comes to visit
—
yes
,
to be certain that it is comfortable enough
for her
.
The Hursts can stay in your second choice.”

“Th
at is completely unnecessary, Brother
.
I shall order new mattresses for all of the guest rooms—to be changed
after
the Bennets go home!
Perhaps we will fumigate the rooms, as well!
”
Two l
adies
’
footsteps
were
heard walking away from the staircase.

~%~

The Philips
e
s
’
card party

Lieutenant
Denny could not help but
notic
e everything about
Jane Bennet
.
It had been so
from the
first
moment he had laid eyes upon her
.
Tonight
,
he
especially
noted
the way
her
face brighten
ed
when
ever
Charles
Bingley
’s name
was
mentioned.

If only...
but no, it could never be.
He had
never doubted that Bingley was the better m
an.
Denny
could not even dream of having
such a superior lady
for himself.

As he observed the way her rosy lips moved as she spoke,
Denny
reminded himself that he
was
, in general,
happy
for her
.
Bingley was
,
without a doubt
,
a man in love
—
and
a rich man at that
.
Jane would be well
take
n
care of—better than he could
ever manage
.
Yet,
he
had not been able to
stop himself from
falling in love with the golden-haired beauty
,
nor
could
he
help but
cherish th
e past several minutes
wh
ich
she had
spent
conversing with him
and only him
.
Genuinely interested in what he had to say, s
he had looked into his eyes
and had
even
smiled at him
.
He was certain that he would never forget the way
she
had
pronounced
his name
.

He
examined her countenance
as she
look
ed
down at her hands and blush
ed
ever so slightly, and then her eyes met his once again.
L
ovely
!

No, h
e would not allow
Wickham to
harm her sisters,
ruin her family,
and
destroy
her
,
as he had done to
so many
others.

Denny
’s eyes scanned the room to locate Wickham.
Giggles erupted from the opposite side of the room, and he identified the
scoundrel
surrounded by
a group of young ladies.
Normally, the situation would
have
put a knot in his innards, but just now he was glad to see Wickham so well dist
racted
.
Even so,
Denny
spoke in a hushed tone, hoping not to be overheard, “Miss Bennet, I have some information of great importance
to your family
.
I would wish to speak to your father, but I do not see him in attendance
this evening
.
Is there another
gentle
man
with whom
I m
ay I speak about a delicate matter?
It is urgent in
nature.
”

Jane
examined
Denny’s
features. The evening was almost at a close
,
and
thus far,
none of
her party
had come up with any clues as to
the location of
Wickham’s
hiding place
.
None wanted the
Olc
to remain in the area any l
onger than
was
absolutely necessary.
There was no telling how much damage
it
could do
over the next
month
, when
the moon was
once again
in
a
phase
favourable to their intentions
.

Twice this evening Wickham had cornered Lydia, alluding to a secret rendezvous sometime in the
very
near future, whispering of a place where he would have her all to himself but never
offering
any specific
s
.
Lydia
had hinted that
if the
group
, before the night was through,
did not
discover
where he would
likely
take Elizabeth
,
she
would agree to meet him
in order to find his hide-away
,
confident that she would be able to fend off his advances
, but
Jane was not sure
that Lydia
could
manage doing so without losing her innocence
. N
obody would want the youngest Bennet to
do such a thing
—e
specially
not Elizabeth!
After noticing Denny’s disgusted expressions whil
st
witnessing Wickham’s folly this evening, and his longing glances
directed
at Jane, Mary had suggested Jane speak to Denny.

W
ould
Lieutenant
Denny
be willing to help them?
He
did
seem genuinely concerned
for her family
, but
she had also noticed that
s
ince Wickham had come to town, Denny
had
not
been seen
in public without Wickham
by his side
—
al
though
tonight he
did
seem to be avoiding
the
Olc
.
Had
Lieutenant Denny discover
ed
information about Wickham that changed his mind about the man or was
his
distress feigned as part of
some sort of
deception
?

Jane
recognized
that
Richard,
being
a military leader
,
w
ould
likely
see through any facade that
Denny
could conjure up
.
“
Colonel Fitzwilliam is an excellent choice.
I am certain that he will be able to convey
a
message to my father with little delay.”

Denny bowed and thanked her
. Beginning to turn away, he
hesitated a moment,
wishing he did not have to leave her to forward his plan to protect her.
“Miss Bennet... I...”
For several moments longer, he b
ask
ed
in the feeling of warmth
that spread through him any time he was
the object of her
attention
.
“
Mr. Bingley i
s a
very
lucky man,” he whispered, and then walked away.

Moving
quickly
,
he approached Richard, bowed
,
and
spoke
quietly
,
“Colonel Fitzwilliam,
since I could not approach the subject in conversation with a lady,
Miss Bennet has
advised
me to speak to you concerning a
serious
matter
.
May I
have a word with
you
privately
, sir?”

Richard glanced at Jane, but she only nodded
once
and shrugged her shoulders slightly
,
indicating she had no idea what the conversation would entail.
“
I will m
eet
you
outside in five minutes
,
on the north side of the house
.”