All Hallow's Eve (9 page)

For now, until he
determined
how to
manage
, he would have to attend
whichever
one
had the m
ore urgent matters
—and there was nothing more urgent
to him in either
“
world
”
than Elizabeth
’s safety
.

Of one thing he was certain
:
no matter which society he was in, he would
always
be required to
shoulder
the burden of secrecy
—a
difficult task
indeed
for one who abhorred disguise of any sort!

Mr. Bennet’s comments
concerning
adher
ing
to the rules of modern propriety when in public
made him think there were different rules of propriety when among
st
only
T
ribe members.
How far did these rules deviate from the ones he had known all his life?
Would he be able to adapt?

When
William
finally arrived at Netherfield, he found Bingley waiting for him.
“
Where
on earth
have you been, Darcy?
Did you not remember we were to go shooting this morning?
You must have left very early
for me to have missed you
.
”

“
I apologize, Bingley
.
You are correct
;
I did not remember.
I had some business to attend to
.
”

“
Business!
What kind of business could you possibly have
had
while rambling about the countryside without your horse
so early in the morning
?
”

William
eyed his friend closely.
Was
Bingley
contacted the previous night, as his parents had alluded to?
Would he have believed it was just a dream, as he
had himself for all these years?
What would it take to help
him
to
understand that
last night’s
visit
ors
had been real?
After witnessing
the
Sanun
, it was simple for him to understand, but how could he explain to Bingley what was expected of him?
William
realized he should have been anticipating
the answers to
these
questions on his return
walk
to Netherfield instead of those
on which
he
had
ruminated
.

“
You and I must have a
long
discussion
about
this
, Bingley,
for
my business
includes you as well,
but it will have to wait a little while.
I am in desperate need of a short rest and a bath!
Before I
retire
,
I
should
inform
you that this
sudden
business also involves my cousins, Lord R
eginald and Colonel Fitzwilliam.
I have sent an express
requesting
them to join us here
, but i
f it is an
imposition
, we can stay at the inn
.
”

“
Do not give it a second thought; o
f course they are welcome
to stay
at Netherfield, Darcy!
There is plenty of room, and besides,
Caroline will be thrilled to have a viscount
as a guest
. I should tell her immediately so that she can direct the staff
to make appropriate arrangements for their comfort
.
When shall we expect them?
”

“
Thank you, Bingley.
I hope
that
they will arrive
very
soon, but I cannot imagine that
it would be
before late to
day
, though more likely
not until
tomorrow.
I am unsure of how long they will stay, but it might be of some duration—more than two weeks for certain.
”

“
Shall I plan some sport during their stay or anything in particular for their entertainment?
Caroline has even mentioned
hosting
a ball
.
”

William
shook his head.
“
Please tell your sister that they will be here on business and definite plans should
not
be made—including meals, except
a
brief,
very early morning meal and
dinner.
She should expect us to
be out all day,
every day.
There will be plenty to keep us
well
occupied
,
but
do not
trouble
yourself with trying to puzzle out
the business
in which
we shall be involved
.
Your imagination could not come close to reality.
”
He rubbed his hand over his eyes.
“
Please, Bingley, may
we discuss
the remainder
later
?
At this moment,
I am
far
too
exhaust
ed
to concentrate
.
”

“
Certainly.
After speaking to Caroline
, you may find me
in the study for the remainder of the afternoon.
”

William
nodded and made his way to his chambers.
After
instructing
Hughes, his valet, to
begin
draw
ing
his
bath in two hours
and wake him when it was ready
, he collapsed into bed.

~%~

A little more than three hours later,
William
entered Bingley’s study.

“
You look much better, Darcy.
”

“
Thank you
,
”
William
replied as he
sat across the desk from his friend.
While he
had
readied himself for the day
,
William
had concluded that he should
get right down to business.
“
Bingley
,
I am not certain how
to
begin
. D
id anything out of the ordinary happen to you last night?
”

Bingley start
l
ed and then stared at
William
for several
moments, his forehead furrowed.
H
e seemed to be struggling to find an acceptable answer.
“
What if I said
that
there had
been something unusual
?
”

William
examined his friend’s concerned countenance before saying,
“
It was not a dream, Bingley.
”
The two gentlemen were quiet for a minute or two before
William
asked,
“
Was it your parents
who
came to see you?
Did they tell you what we must do?
”

Bingley let go a long breath as if
a
weight had been taken from him.
“
Yes!
How – how did you know?
”
His eyes opened wider.
“
You
,
too?
”

“
I have been having dreams of
my parents
since they died, but only on All Hallow’s Eve did they seem real.
Last night, I was awake when they came to me.
”
William
nodded
in response when
the young man sitting across from him seemed even more shocked.
“
What did they tell you, Bingley?
”

“
They said that generations ago, my family was a part of an ancient civilization, but their ways had long since been rejected by my ancestors in
favour
of a more modern lifestyle.
My mother insisted that it was imperative that I now rejoin the
T
ribes and that we,
”
his hand moved back and forth between them,
“
must protect Miss Elizabeth
Bennet
, for she is in terrible danger.
We must train to become her guard
. A
ll of this
is a great secret only to be discussed among ourselves.
”

“
It is all true, my friend.
I have seen a great deal of evidence
with my own eyes
, and I do not doubt the r
emainder of what I have heard.
My cousins will train with us and…
”
William
was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Bingley called out,
“
Enter!
”

I
n walked Lord Reginald Fitzwilliam and Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam.

“
Were your ears ringing
, gentlemen
?
”
Bingley asked
as he stood and bowed
.
“
Welcome to Netherfield, Lord Reginald, Colonel.
We were just speaking of you both!
”

William
walked towards the newcomers, shaking their hands heartily.
“
How did you manage to get here so quickly?
The express could not have arrived in London more than an hour
ago
.
”

“
We received no express, cousin,
”
Lord Reginald began,
“
not of the conventional sort, anyway.
You probably
would
not believe what
has
happened to us.
Neither
did
we
,
until we realized the same thing
had
happened to
us both
.
”

“
Let me guess
—
last
night
,
you were both contacted by someone who has passed on and
they
told
you
to come here?
”
William
asked.

Richard
replied,
“
Yes, cousin
,
your parents
,
in fact!
Did the same happen to you?
”

William
nodded.
“
In a way.
It seems that my parents were very busy last night.
What else did they tell you?
”

Between the two
newly arrived
gentlemen, they described
something similar to
what Bingley had
spoken of
.
William
knew he had to be careful about what he revealed since
t
he
Otherworlders
did not
tell them
the entire story
that he
now
knew
.

“
Who is this lady—Miss Elizabeth Bennet?
Do either of you know her?
”
Richard
asked.

“
Yes, we
have met
the entire Bennet family.
Miss Elizabeth is the second of five daughters.
A very pleasant and pretty girl,
”
Bingley offered.