All Hallow's Eve (57 page)

Elizabeth
could not help but
laugh when he
r husband
admitted that she smelled much better.

D
onning her Tribal gown
and cloak
, she proceed
ed
to
chew ginger
root
,
traditionally
lending her
S
ong power and
ensuring
success.
Carrying
the
ancient
cup that he had filled with water
from the stream
, William followed
Elizabeth
along a certain path
to the
meadow
as she picked the fresh
herbs and berries
which
were needed for the brew
she would
drink after the
Sanun,
the same potion
he had
helped her consume
once before
.

Her preparation complete,
they made their
way
back
to the
Thin Place
and said
farewells to
Mr. Bennet
and Richard.

Mr. Bennet pulled William aside.
“Wickham did not stir, but I gave him a little laudanum anyway.” He handed the vial he had used to William
.
“He had not swallowed a whole vial earlier, and I was concerned
that
he would awaken during the
Sanun
.”

William thanked him.

As William
used
the
pine branch to brush
down the path the
ir footprints
had made
, Elizabeth lit the fire.
He returned to her side with the bags of herbs that
he would need,
threw in a handful of the strengthening herbs,
and stood behind Elizabeth with his arms wrapped around her.
They watched the fire grow into a bonfire.

“
Tell me when you are ready
,
my love, and
I
will extinguish the incense pot and add the correct
herb
mixture to the fire.”

Elizabeth sighed. “This is the first time I am not looking forward to singing the Song.
Alt
hough I am happy to be sending
Cher-nog
back, I still fear the J
oining and am afraid that this attitude will affect the outcome. Perhaps I did not eat enough fennel seeds
for courage
!” She laughed without mirth.

Willia
m turned her around to face him
and gently took her face in his hands.
“You are the most courageous person I know, Elizabeth.
I have faith in you; I know you will do what must be done, and you
will
be successful.
Will you promise me that you will share any memories that you have
from
this experience
afterward
so that I
may
help you?”

She nodded.
“I promise.”
William kissed her gently
,
and she clung to him for a few
moments before stepping back and removing her grandmother’s cloak.
He took it from her
,
placed it
outside the area in which she would dance
,
and
then picked up the incense pot.
She nodded, and he took a handful of di
rt and poured it into the pot.

As he watched his wife begin to move gracefully in the dance, William threw a handful of the mixture that would help her “open the door” to the Otherworld. She began the altered Song, and he began to alternate between handfuls of that mixtur
e and the blend that strengthened
the other
s
.
Mrs. Bennet had advised him that at this stage, he had to continue
this sequence
.
Additionally,
he
was instructed to
cause
great clouds
of smoke during the entire
S
ong, so he continued to throw herbs
onto the fire every few seconds.

As the Song and
D
ance slowed, Elizabeth came to a stop and slowly raised her face and arms up to the sky. William switched to the bag with the blend that would expel and
banish
Cher-nog
from Wickham’s body
and
get
it
moving towards
the source from whence it came
—the Otherworld.

William’s heart raced as he watched for something similar to what he had seen when a soul passed through Elizabeth during the
first
Sanun
. He was not prepared for what he did see
leaving Wickham’s body
, but it made perfect sense—the
Olc
was not a beautiful
light
as had been the good souls
,
but instead,
a shapeless
,
dark shad
ow
that
lifted toward Elizabeth
.

He began to tremble as it
first
engulfed
her
and
was
absorbed into her body
.
El
izabeth’s breathing became erratic
,
and
she
shrieked in terror.

Afraid that if he touched her, he would destroy all that she was attempting to accomplish, William knew not what to do other than continue to follow Mrs. Bennet’s instructions. He placed a sachet of the foul-smelling herbs
around
Wickham
’s neck to keep
Cher-nog
from re-entering him
, and then
became ready
to burn the herbs in the final bag to help Elizabeth to “close the door” to the Otherworld.

At this point, Elizabeth was supposed to begin the Song of the Return, but she
had
not.
She cried out once again
.

T
here had to be
something
that he could do
to help
!

William moved closer to her and
very softly
said, “Elizabeth, love, I am here with you.
Y
ou are experiencing the memories of the
Olc
;
they are not your
own
.
It is time to sing the Return!”

Her breathing slowed slightly and then sped up once again.
Her screech curdled his blood
.

“You are Elizabeth Bennet Darcy, High
Priestess
of the
Sanun
.
Close the portal, Elizabeth.
You
can
do this!
You must close it immediately or others might come through.
”

William felt a
small
measure of
satisfaction
when Elizabeth
opened her eyes slightly and looked into his.
As she
commenced the movements of
the D
ance of the Return,
he backed away
a little
,
and
she
began to sing.
He
threw the proper herbs into the fire as he
sighed in relief.

It felt as if the
S
ong lasted forever, but eventually he
r last note faded, and she collapsed into his arms. Lifting her, he sat upon the tree stump nearby,
took the ancient cup in
to
his hand, and
help
ed
her to take very small sips of the brew
that
she had mixed earlier
.

F
inally
,
the cup was empty. Rocking his wife in his arms, he whispered
in her ear
, telling of his love for her, and all about what he imagined their life together would be like.
Eventually, her breathing quieted as if she
was
asleep, and he
was
contented with
simply holding her against his heart.

He knew not how long they had remained this way, but eventually he saw her eyes flutter
o
pen.
“William?” she whispered hoarsely. “How is
George
?”

Wil
liam had forgotten all about George Wickham
!
He looked over and examined the man.
“He seems fine. He looks
different
somehow.”

“May I see?”

William turned her body so that she was sitting upright upon his lap
, leaning her head against his chest.

Elizabeth sighed.
Her voice was a little stronger when she said, “He seems to be sleeping peacefully, William.
If anyone deserves it, he does.
What the
Olc
put him through...” she shook her head as if she was trying to forget.

“You do remember, then?”

“Yes, I do remember. I wish I did not.”
A haunted look passed through her eyes,
and she shuddered
.
“I
well
remember what George
exper
ienced.
He spent years completely terrified!
”
She shuddered again.

“My love, you do not have to
speak of
this now.
Wait until you are stronger.”

“There is much we will have to discuss.”
She
looked at him gratefully. “Thank you for all you did, William.
Cher-nog
fought hard to stay in this world.
There was a time that I had
almost
lost myself
,
but I followed your voice and found my way out of the darkness.
You saved me.”

Unable to speak, William gathered her against him and held her tightly.
Eventually, he said, “
You were screaming; i
t was
horrifying
—I did not know what I could do to assist you.”

“I did not even suspect that would happen, nor would I have known what to advise you to do if I had!
Now we know
,
but I do hope I never have to do
that
again!”

She wrapped her arms around his waist
,
and he pulled her closer.
They remained this way
for a while until
Elizabeth
straightened when she noticed
George begin to stir.

With great difficulty
, George
sat up and blinked a few times
.
“It is gone!”
He took a few deep breaths.
“I am alone!”

Elizabeth moved onto her knees
next to
George and took his hand in her own.

Not knowing what to expect
, William came down next to her
—prepared
to
protect h
er
if need be.

George
started to laugh
as a continuous stream of tears wet his cheeks.

Eyes
glistening
, Elizabeth began to laugh with him
.
William smiled and pat
ted
George on the shoulder.

“
It is gone!
I am free...
free
!
” Even
though he was smiling widely, his tears continued to fall
.
George
brought Elizabeth’s hand up
to his lips
and kissed it.
“Thank you!
”
h
e sobbed.

Chapter 20

“
I do not
pretend to
fully
understand
how it
has occurred
, but in addition to all of the
Olc’s
memories, I have
gained
George Wickham’s
thoughts, feelings, and
memories as well—up to the
very moment that
Cher-nog
exited
his body
th
at
last time
.
” Elizabeth
stood before her family and friends in the sitting room attached to the chamber where George Wickham slept
soundly
.
“You must all be conscious of the fact that
George
will require our understanding and a great deal of patience if he is ever
to
recover
.

“
For years,
George
could only observe
as
t
he
Olc
made use of
his body
in
ways that
disgusted
h
im
.
” Elizabeth met the eyes of several of those gathered who were included in that number. “
He
deserves a great deal of credit for not simply
accepting his fate,
as others did before him
.
I
nstead
, George Wickham
was determined to find
a way to defeat
the
B
east
and continued to fight
.
Unfortunately,
he
found
nothing t
hat would
enable him to
regain
command
over
his body.

“
S
ince he did retain his own principles and sense of ethics
,
he
suffer
s
from
an enormous amount of
guilt
and shame
.
I do not believe he will
ever be able to
be
come
the man that he would have grown into had
Cher-nog
never possessed him.”
She
closed her eyes
,
and her body swayed. William took hold of her elbow and helped her into a chair, breaking the
e
ffect.

Elizabeth took a sip of the wine that Bingley handed to her before continuing.
“His consci
ence is at war with his logic.
Believing that he is a failure, George does not feel he deserves
forgiveness
, but h
e
desperately wishes for
it
,
especially from
William,
Richard
,
and Lord Reginald
.
”

Richard stiffened.
Lord Reginald shook his head.

William
’s
emotions g
ave
his voice a little
too
much volume
.
“
I can attest to the fact that t
here
is
no way to
combat
the
Olc’s
control over
one’s
body
.
T
o
be put
through that
every moment
,
day after day
,
year after year
—
I
cannot imagine it.
” H
e
swallowed hard with
a
pained,
far-away look in his eyes.
“
George
did nothing t
hat
requires
my
forgive
ness
!”
h
e exclaimed.

A strange expression overtook Richard’
s features, but he remained silent.
Lord Reginald
crossed his arms over his chest and sat back against his chair.

Elizabeth sighed,
suspecting
that i
f the brothers
c
ould
ever
be able to
absolve
George
of blame
, i
t
would
come about
a long time
hence
.
She
was also aware t
hat it would take even longer for George to forgive himself.

“Should someone be with him when he wakes?”
Bingley
asked.

As she opened her mouth to speak,
William
met
Elizabeth’s
gaze and
shook his head. “You need to sleep, Elizabeth, and I will not leave you tonight.”

“I will sit with him
,
” Lydia volunteered.

“I do
not
consider
that
a good
plan
!” Lord Reginald protested.

Elizabeth said, “
Actually, it
would
be beneficial
, Lydia, as long as you are comfortable
doing so.
George
has never been a danger to the ladies
; he was appalled
at
the way
Cher-nog
treated them
.
”

“I believe a
gesture such as this would
demonstrate
that we are able to separate the
behaviour
of the
Olc
from his
own intentions
,
”
Mary agreed.

Kitty spoke up, “
May
I
remain
with Lydia?
”

Mr. Bennet
rose from his chair
. “
Thank you, Kitty, but
I
will
stay with
Lydia
.
Mrs. Bennet
,
you
and Kitty
will relieve us after
obtaining
a few hours’ sleep.
”

“You
would
allow your
women
in the
same
room with
that
man
?”
Lord Reginald asked, pointing toward the door to Wickham’s bedchamber.

For several moments,
Mr. Bennet
stared
at the viscount over the rims of his glasses
.
“
T
he High
Priestess
declares it
safe
, which is quite enough to convince me
.
Another’s
presence is necessary
only
to avoid the servants’ gossip.
”

~%~

Elizabeth watched
William lock the door behind Hanna
so that they would not be disturbed
.
Even though it was now
close to
dawn, t
he maid had wait
ed
up
to see
her
temporary
mistress
return home safely.
The
girl
helped Elizabeth change into her nightclothes before being dismissed
until midday
.

It was only natural that
Hanna
should be curious about w
hat had
taken place
.
Elizabeth
was certain that the servants must have overheard the Hursts and Caroline discussing her kidnapping, and
by now
they w
ould be
talking about it amongst themselves.
Elizabeth
had
returned
tonight
wearing
her
T
ribal g
own
,
clearly
not
accepted as
the
current
British
fashion
, and her bindings had left marks upon her wrists that required the maid’s attention
.
But
H
anna’s
questions
remained
un
asked.
Th
is
girl
would make a
n excellent
addition to
their
staff as long as
Hanna
did not mind leaving Hertfordshire
, or to Longbourn’s staff if she wished to stay
.

Alt
hough
Elizabeth had insisted Hanna
’s assistance
was not
necessary any longer
and
had sent
he
r
to bed
,
William
noticed
that
his wife
’s condition
was
beyond
exhaust
ion
.
He crossed the room and took the brush from her hand
.
As he
r
a
n it through her long locks
,
William wa
tch
ed
the small smile of
gratitude
dis
appear
quickly from
his wife’s
lips
as
her eyes
closed
.
When she
once again
opened
t
he
m
,
William’s
concerned expression
was
reflected
in the mirror.

Placing
his hands
gently
upon her shoulders
, he
turned her to face him.
“I can tell how troubled you are,
dearest
.
Will you tell me
what happened to you during the
R
eturn
?”

She sighed. “
Can you wait until tomorrow, my love?
W
hat I
truly
need most is sleep.”

He kissed he
r forehead
and
,
pulling her closer, he
rested his cheek
atop her silky curls
.
“Please know that when you are ready, I
am more than willing to
listen.”

~%~

Something
large
moved up from behind, surrounding her.
Elizabeth’s eyes flew open.
“NO!”
she
shrieked
a
s she
tried desperately to free herself
from the
assailant
.
H
er elbow made contact with
the s
olid
mass
pressed against her back
.
The roar of blood rushing in her ears muffled the sound of a pained grunt
.