All Hallow's Eve (45 page)

William
’s expression altered drastically
during the last
part
of her speech
.
Elizabeth
had to
b
it
e her bottom lip
to keep from
laugh
ing when he actually pouted
.

“Elizabeth, I had thought we would spend our time alone
in a more
affectionate
manner
than sword fighting would
entail
.
”
H
e hesitated, and his eyes began to sparkle. “Though, I would not mind
it
if
,
when you change your attire
, you
chose
your
T
ribal gown
to wear
.
If you would
wish to
practice som
ething, perhaps
it
could
be
the
Sanun
D
ance and
S
ong?
”

She smiled
a little sadly, knowing that th
is second
night
of their marriage
might
also
be their last.
“I was only teasing, William. I had not really meant to do anything related to the Tribes
tonight
.
I
—”

He interrupted,
“Elizabeth, I have often
thought
of
the way you moved
when
I
saw
you
carry out
the
Sanun
,
and I
have longed
to see you do so again.
You perform
ed
it
so
beautifully.
” He closed his eyes momentarily and then looked at her very seriously. “And
I
would
feel a great deal more comfortable if you
rehearsed
the
new
S
ong
once more.
”
He did not wish to ruin their evening completely by saying it aloud, but he noted to himself,
I cannot
allow myself to
think of what might happen
to you
if
Cher-nog
escapes.
Th
e
rite
must
be successful!

There was no sense dwelling on his last sentence, so she dismissed it from her mind.
“
Did you e
specially
enjoy
th
e
D
ance
last time
,
in the ballroom
?
”

He took her
lovely
face in his hands and traced
the smooth skin of her cheek
with his thumb
, then lightly brush
ed
her lips
with his own
. “
I must admit that y
ou tested
all
of
my limits that night, Elizabeth.”

She raised her brows.
“
There are no restrictions this evening.
”
Elizabeth
turned her head,
kiss
ing his palm
lightly
before
heading
for her dressin
g room
.

“Elizabeth?”

With t
he door
still half closed, she pee
ked her head back into the bedchamber. “Yes, William?”

“You will dance for me
here
, will you not
?
I d
o
not wish
to
run the risk of being detained by anyone we might
come across
in the hallways.
It would take some time to explain what we were doing there.
After all, we are both supposed to have gone to bed.”

She smiled
provocatively
.
“Worry not, husband—
I am certain it will not be long before we
do so
!” She closed the door
behind her
.

~%~

The sound of
mens’
laughter
men
echoed through the woods surrounding
the
two men
who
were
crouching behind a bush.
The
abandoned
cottage could barely be seen through the fog that had been progressively thickening as they rode from Netherfield, but they could still make out the candlelight from the window of what Denny knew was the great room in the front of the building.

“How many?” Richard asked
quietly
.

“
T
here
a
re
six
all together
, sir
, including Wickham
,
al
though t
onight
he
was planning to go to
the
tavern
and return to camp
.
I
also saw
two
in
the village earlier
this evening
,
” Denny replied.

Richard n
odded and motioned
for Denny to stay where he was.
Moving
quickly
,
with the stealth of a soldier
who had
much
experience
in
scouting
reconnaissance,
he
paus
ed
only
when he reached the cover of
the thick trunk of an ancient tree
closer to the neglected cottage
.
The lieutenant
watched him
examin
e
the building for
a minute or two
before disappearing behind it
.

On the way
there from Netherfield
, Denny
had
informed the colonel of
what he knew of the layout of
the
cottage
from the two occasions that he had been inside
it
.
He also
had
explain
ed
that he
did not have complete information since he had not been in all of the rooms.

Hearing heavy footfalls on the path that ran several yards to his left,
Denny ducked dow
n lower
.
He
recognized
that
the uneven rhythm of the
ir
steps was
mostly likely
due to the
two
m
e
n having
indulg
ed
in too many tankards of ale
.
Denny was preparing to
sound
out the
pattern of
owl
hoot
s
that the colonel and he had arranged as a warning signal
when
one of the men
stumbled
and the other began
cu
r
s
ing
loudly
.
He became c
ertain that there was no need to warn the colonel
since
,
as
the
y
continued walking toward the cottage,
they began to sing,
slurring
the
verses
of a
ballad
which
he
had
often
heard the
locals s
i
ng at the tavern in Meryton
.

Denny found himself beset with a
strong urge to laugh
at their drunken attempt at the song
.
Knowing this
was a natural reaction to
relieve some of
the
anxiety he had been experiencing all evening,
he
was able to choke it back.

All within the house suddenly became quiet
at
the onset of
the tune
.
The m
e
n wandered unsteadily toward the door and knocked three times,
and
then
paused and knocked twice
more
.
They
waited
a few
seconds and then walked through the door.
Several voices
rang out in
greet
ing
as the door closed behind
the me
n
. T
he
sound
of rowdy banter within the cottage recommenced
more
loud
ly
than before
.

It was several minutes
longer
before
Denny heard the clicking
which
was the
colonel
’s
signal that he was
returning
to his location
.
Richard approached
from the direction opposite
that in
which he had departed, and then signal
ed the lieutenant
to follow him
.
They walked
just within the tree line along the p
ath
until a few yards
before
the path intersected with
the main road,
at which point
they moved
more deeply
into the
woods
to retrieve
their horses
.
Denny wondered how he was able to find the horses in the thick fog.

Once
their horses were standing on
the main road, Richard said, “Thank you for the information, Lieutenant
, and for leading me to the cottage
.
It will be very useful.”

“Colonel, if you should need any
thing
further
, please know that I would be
honour
ed to
be called upon for assistance
.
I must suggest one thing
before heading back to camp
—do not request
any
support
from Colonel Forster.
I do not understand the particulars of how he has managed it, but
Wickham has him wrapped around his little finger
.
I am certain that confid
ing
in
the c
olonel
would be as good as
reveal
ing the information directly
to Wickham.”

Richard nodded, “
Y
ou have confirmed my suspicions.”

The two took their leave and
departed
in opposite directions
; Denny
returned
to camp
whil
st
Richard
rode on
to Netherfield to
meet with the others
.
They would need
to plan their
strategy
for the morrow
.

~%~

About to respond to the
knock
at
the door, Elizabeth looked to make certain that
William
was
dress
ed
before
she
open
ed
it
.
Elizabeth
’s gaze
was arrested
by
the fact that he was not.
She could not help but stare; watching h
is
movement
s
, especially when he was unclothed,
had
recently
become a
favourite
pastime of hers
.
She enjoyed
stud
ying
how
his
powerful
muscles
moved
with as simple an act
as slipp
ing
on his trousers
.
There were times over the past two days
that
she had nearly wept at his beauty.
The memory
was very fresh in her mind
of the
sensation of
his
firm
flesh
brushing
against her skin
and
the way she could feel his strength
beneath her hands
as
she
explore
d
his
frame
.
Her breath caught every time she remembered the look
with which
he
would
gift her
at th
e
glorious moment
when he would fill her with his love
, and
the way he
would
call out her name
.
In that
instant, t
here was nothing but the
deep
est
adoration
and tenderness
in his
dark eyes
.
He was so passionate, yet attentive.
Her heart was
almost
filled to overflowing with her
feelings
for him.