All Hallow's Eve (46 page)

Watching him, a
now familiar
heat began to stir deep within her core.
Alt
hough she knew it was
a
useless
endeavor
, she
hoped that if she
were
to
delay answering the door,
whoever was knocking upon it
would leave
.
She
smiled, thinking
that it would take very little encouragement on her part to convince him that they should begin again.
But i
t had not been
many minutes since
they
had heard
th
e telltale
sounds
of
the others
returning from her uncle’s party
,
and
they both
knew how important it was
to discuss
what
had
been
learned there
.
Still
,
she
w
ished
that
it c
ould
wait until
morning
.

William took a few steps to
wards a chair
close to her in order
to
retrieve his shirt
.
Her expression must have betrayed her thoughts—she
had learned that nothing else
could produce th
e specific
smile
which
now
spread across his features.
His eye
s
left hers only for an instant as he pulled the material over his head
.

The knock sounded out again.
Elizabeth sighed and called out toward the servant’s door, “A moment, please, Hanna.”

William lifted a blanket
from
the
bed and
brought it to her,
drap
ing
it around her
shoulders
.
B
rush
ing
his lips against the nape of
her neck
sen
t
a
shiver
down her spine
.
H
e
whispered
into her ear
, “I
shall
be looking forward to accepting
that
invitation later, my love
,
”
before moving away to stoke the fire.

Elizabeth
pulled the blanket close around her and
inhaled deeply
.
I
t
still
held
the
rich,
spicy
scent
of
him
from
earlier
when he had wrapped it around his bare form
whil
st
plac
ing
more logs
upon
the fire
to ensure her comfort.

She opened the door
expecting to see her maid but found her sister instead. Motioning that she should
come in
, Elizabeth exclaimed, “Jane
?
”

“Lizzy
?
”
Jane
stepped
toward her, but a movement caught her eye
,
and she
stopped
abruptly
.
She
blushed
furiously
when she
realized that
William
was present
and looked
down at the floor
, near
Elizabeth
’s bare feet
. “I apologize for
interrupting.
” Her colour deepened
further
. “
I – I came to tell you that we will be
meet
ing
in
the ballroom
.
”
Jane turned to leave the room immediately.

Elizabeth stepped into the hallway and called after her sister,
“
W
e will be down shortly,
but
Jane,
why are you using the servants’ corridor?”

“
Oh, I
should have explained
.
T
hough they have
retired
after greeting us upon our return, Charles fe
ar
s that his sisters may still be awake
and would rather we move about the house in this way tonight.
If you
will use
the first staircase
on the right
, it will let you out near the entrance to the ballroom
,
” Jane answered and then hurried
away
.

Elizabeth closed the door.
“Poor Jane!” She
laughed
. “
Do you think she will ever recover from finding you
in my chamber
?
”

As William turned away from the hearth, a
ll of her amusement evaporated
.
H
is
haunted look
penetrated her
soul with a feeling of dread
. “William
, are you well
?”

William
nodded and struggled to
swallow past the tightness that had developed in
his throat. “
Cold r
eality
has
imposed itself
upon paradise
.
”

~%~

William stood
near
the
French doors
in the ballroom
,
star
ing out at the candlelight
that was reflected by
the thick fog
and at the
complete dark
ness
further
away
.
He had been
trying
desperately
to force himself to
think
more about
t
h
e concern he
had
felt
upon
hearing that
his
cousin
had
rid
de
n
out
in this weather
, but
instead
he found himself keenly aware
of the conversation
which
was taking place
behind
him
.

The
command
that
he
had
been
accustomed to experiencing over
his temper was
almost nonexistent
at present, and he
was well aware that
when pushed to
t
his limit,
it was better if
he
remain
ed
quiet.
In an attempt
to keep from speaking his mind,
he
ground his teeth
and flexed his fist
s repeatedly
at
his side
s
.
This is what Elizabeth must do.
I
shall
not
try to stop
it
from
happening
!

The sound of the ballroom
door
caused everyone to turn
toward it.
Richard
was
walking toward them
, and
al
though a
ll were happy to see hi
m return
safe
ly
through the fog, Mary’s smile could not be matched.
For a few moments,
Richard’s eyes danced in response
to her beaming countenance
before
he
remember
ed
his task.

“Reginald,
” he began, “
it seems th
at you were correct about Denny.
H
e
is
an honest
man;
he
led me
directly
to the cottage where Wickham plans to hide Elizabeth
, if only tempo
rarily.
It is ideal for his purposes, as well as our own
, as t
here will be no
neighbour
s to witness anything we must do to retrieve her.
There are two doors
;
one
is
in the front
of the house, of course,
and the other
opens into
the kitchen on the
right
side.” Richard continued to describe the outside of the house,
the approach,
as well as
what little Denny
had seen
of the inside. “On
my
return, I have been thinking
of the best way to go about
orchestrat
ing
Elizabeth’s rescue
and taking Wickham captive
.
Since we do not know where in the house she will be held,
I recommend we
separate and
enter through both doors
at once
.
I would feel more comfortable posting two
of
our group
outside, one on
each
end
of the house, keeping watch on all the windows and doors
at all times.
This will
prevent any chance of Wickham
’s
escaping with
Elizabeth whil
st
we are busy with the other men
.
”

“
Might he escape
alone
?
” Lydia
asked
. “I would like to turn my sword on the man who would
kidnap
my sister!”

“Lydia, if
that does happen, you must
not
forget how important it is that Wickham
not
be killed
;
the herbs that your mother and sister have prepared
must be
administered correctly.
We must bind
Cher-nog
to
Wickham’s body
until the portal is opened and
the
F
iend
can be
returned to the Otherworld
,
” Mr. Bennet
reminded his daughter—
and
everyone else
.

Richard said,
“
Addressing the first part of your statement, Lydia, I do not believe that the
Olc
will leave
the
cottage
without Elizabeth.
A
fter spending so many years
in
search o
f
the High
Priestess
,
It would not
take the
risk
of leaving her side
.
”

“And what shall we do to ensure that Elizabeth will be kidnapped in the first place?” Mr. Bennet asked.

“I propose the following,
though
of course I am open to suggestions for improvement
of
the plan.” Richard
shared the
detail
s
, and then said
,
“Wickham’s men are confident that they will hold her
only
until they collect ransom from
William
and
that
each will each get a share before she is returned
. T
hey will take advantage of this opportunity without a doubt.”

“How do we know that they will even ask for a ransom?
” Kitty asked, her concern written on her face. “
I have been wondering whether or not
Wickham will take Elizabeth away from here
the moment she is in
his
hands
.
”