The Gypsy Blessing (39 page)

“Excuse me, Miss Elizabeth, but you must permit me to carry you the rest of the way,” he said in no uncertain tone as he gathered her into his arms once again. When she did not protest, both of her companions suspected Elizabeth was feeling even more poorly than they had originally thought.

As they approached Longbourn, Jane suggested they enter through the kitchen. Mrs. Hill saw them coming and cleared a chair for Elizabeth to sit upon. “Mrs. Hill, will you call my mother into the kitchen, please?” Jane asked with a pointed look directed towards the housekeeper.

Whilst waiting, Jane explained to William that her mother was the more experienced
Fili,
and she was merely an Apprentice. She worried that perhaps she had not given Elizabeth the correct amount of the liquid.

When Mrs. Bennet arrived, she took in the scene and began to scold in her usual imprudent manner, “Oh, Lizzy! What trouble have you gotten yourself into so early in the morning? And inconveniencing Mr. Darcy, as well? Have you no sympathy for my nerves? Why, you…”

Jane interrupted as soon as she could, “Mama, there is no need. Mr. Darcy witnessed the
Sanun
!”

Mrs. Bennet gasped. “Mr. Darcy?” She hesitated, looking to Elizabeth for acknowledgement. After Elizabeth coloured and nodded, Mrs. Bennet could only say, “Oh!”

Jane quickly explained Elizabeth’s condition and verified the amount of medicine she had given to her sister. With a worried expression, Jane asked, “Did I do something wrong, Mama?”

Mrs. Bennet patted Jane’s hand. “Do not worry, Jane, you have done all that is usually necessary. Lizzy, did something unexpected happen? Were you under more stress than you have been in the past?”

Elizabeth turned bright crimson before saying, “Yes, there was a bit more stress than usual.”

William closed his eyes, and his jaw tightened.
Yes, learning I am her Soul Mate!

“Ah, well then, that is a problem easily cured.” Mrs. Bennet took the same medicine bottle out of Jane’s basket and explained how much additional liquid Elizabeth should receive should this ever happen again.

While this was taking place, Elizabeth watched William closely. She had observed his reaction to her words and had been surprised to find that the expression of pain in his eyes was painful to her as well. As he walked to the window to stare out, she noticed how he flexed his fists and jaw.
All this time I thought he was behaving in such a way to show disapproval of his company, but he is really overwhelmed with emotions and attempting to gain control.

William felt her eyes upon him and turned. The look in her eyes when he met her gaze astounded and confused him. His ingrained reticence warned him to withdraw. It was not natural for him to display vulnerability for all to see, and whenever he was caught in Elizabeth’s gaze he felt completely exposed—especially now that she knew he cared for her—but he could not help himself from searching her eyes for answers.

Mrs. Bennet inadvertently moved between them to administer the medicine, saying, “Here you are, Lizzy; drink this, and you should be feeling better shortly.”

Mrs. Bennet and Jane spoke at length about this specific tincture as William watched Elizabeth drink it. Suddenly it dawned on him that Mrs. Bennet was speaking quite sensibly, and his head snapped back in her direction. Elizabeth saw his stunned expression and nearly choked on her drink.

When he finally looked back to Elizabeth with a question in his expression, the light in her eyes danced with amusement in response. “All is not what it has seemed to be, is it, Mr. Darcy?” She tilted her head a bit and continued, “Which do
you
believe is the façade?”

After a few minutes more in discussion with Jane, Mrs. Bennet approached Elizabeth. “You do not seem strong enough to climb the stairs, Lizzy. I will call Mr. Hill and have him carry you to your bedchamber.”

“Excuse me, Mrs. Bennet. May I offer my services in assisting Miss Elizabeth with the stairs?” William offered.

Everyone startled when Mr. Bennet exclaimed, “And why would I allow
you
to assist my Lizzy, Mr. Darcy?”

“Mr. Bennet! A moment, please?” Mrs. Bennet rushed over to her husband standing in the kitchen doorway. What she whispered to him caused his eyebrows to arch in surprise and his eyes to lock on Elizabeth. After receiving a nod from his favourite daughter, Mr. Bennet mumbled to himself, “Why did not Mother inform me?” Remembering where he was, Mr. Bennet cleared his throat. “Thank you for your offer, Mr. Darcy, but
I
will carry Elizabeth if assistance is required.”

William bowed slightly. “Mr. Bennet, may I speak to you about an urgent matter as soon as possible?”

~%~

Mrs. Bennet led William and Jane into the breakfast room to join the remainder of the family. As he entered the room, the younger Bennet ladies stopped speaking abruptly. Mrs. Bennet offered him some food, and William replied, “I thank you, but we have already broken our fast, Mrs. Bennet. Though I would appreciate a cup of coffee.”

The absolute silence in the room, the younger girls’ questioning looks directed at their mother, and their frequent glances at himself made William feel quite uncomfortable. Eventually, Mrs. Hill entered to inform him that Mr. Bennet awaited him in his study.

Knowing Mr. Bennet would wish to ask him some questions at this juncture, William remained mute. The two gentlemen sat, one on each side of the desk, staring at each other.

Finally Mr. Bennet broke the silence, “May I ask how much of the
Sanun
you were present for, Mr. Darcy?”

“As far as I can tell, I was witness to part of the first half and the entire conclusion of the ritual.”

“What made you think you had the right to intrude?” Mr. Bennet asked.

“Sir, when I heard Miss Elizabeth’s song, I was drawn to the meadow. My most prevalent thought was to assure Miss Elizabeth’s safety, her being in the woods in the middle of the night. I did not understand the meaning of what I was about to see, as I had never heard of the
Sanun
before my parents came to me after the first part of the ritual was complete. I have learned a great deal since I left Netherfield for a walk to tire myself last night, Mr. Bennet. I admit to being a bit overwhelmed.”

“Yes, I can imagine.” Mr. Bennet hesitated several moments, studying the young man before him, trying to decide how much to reveal. “Do you understand why your attendance at the
Sanun
without disrupting the rite is significant?”

“Yes, I do.”

Mr. Bennet’s eyebrows arched high on his forehead. Taking a deep breath, he nodded. “I see.”

“Sir, there is much more to discuss. Last night I learned that
Olc
have discovered a way to identify the High Priestess and will soon be coming to Meryton.” Mr. Bennet jumped up out of his chair in alarm as William continued, “My parents have explained that you are the Lead
Immun
, and I must request to be trained by you as soon as possible, along with Bingley, and my cousins, Lord Reginald Matlock and Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam.”

“Ah, you are of the Darcy
and
the Fitzwilliam lines?”

“Yes, sir. I was informed last night that my mother was Priestess of
Imol
before she passed into the Otherworld. She was the daughter of the Earl of Matlock. My father began to train my cousins and me, but he has told me that we will need
your
expertise to be successful in protecting Miss Elizabeth from the evil that will soon be near. I am afraid we have not practiced much since my father passed on five years ago, sir, although we all have a great deal of experience in fencing. If I had understood the importance of it…” William’s forehead furrowed in concern as he trailed off.

“How long do we have, Darcy?”

“The man who can identify Miss Elizabeth will be here in a fortnight, sir.”

Mr. Bennet returned to his chair heavily. With a sigh he said, “I will require the remainder of the day to gather the correct equipment from the armoury located beneath Longbourn. We will begin training tomorrow at dawn. How soon can your cousins arrive?”

“I will send an express directly, sir, if you will lend me the proper supplies. I was told to request the Sword from Pemberley as well—
my
Sword.”

“So, apparently your father was the Keeper?”

William nodded, “I have only just last night discovered it, sir.”

After discussing some particulars about the training, Mr. Bennet retreated to the window to give William some privacy as he wrote his letters.

When William’s task was complete, he joined Mr. Bennet at the window. Without redirecting his gaze, Mr. Bennet began, “There are several subjects we must discuss. I do not know to what degree you are aware of Elizabeth’s feelings for you, but I must warn you that up until this time, she did not hold a very favourable opinion. I want to make it perfectly clear that I will not force her to marry you if she does not wish it. You must wait until she is ready, son. Be warned: Elizabeth does not alter her opinions without a great deal of effort to convince her.” Mr. Bennet turned towards him.

William surmised that Elizabeth had learned the habit of raising one eyebrow from her father.

Mr. Bennet continued, “It would be wise to begin by apologizing for stating that she was ‘tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt you.’” Mr. Bennet chuckled at William’s blush.

“I have become painfully aware of Miss Elizabeth’s less than ideal opinion of me, sir, though I had not an inkling of it before last night. I was told that since those in the Otherworld have become conscious of the trouble coming our way, it was required to make us aware that we are Soul Mates now instead of waiting for the natural outcome. It seems we both will be stronger working together than we would be apart. I, for one, did not need to know this information to improve my opinion of Miss Elizabeth, although perhaps that knowledge will help me feel a bit less tongue-tied in her presence.”

Mr. Bennet nodded and then said, “Although Elizabeth is High Priestess of the Tribes and you are, without a doubt, her Soul Mate if you were able to attend the
Sanun
without interrupting the ritual, Lizzy is still my little girl, Darcy. I expect you to follow the modern rules of propriety when in the public to protect
all
my daughters’ reputations.

“Another point of which you must become aware is that, though the servants at Longbourn know that we are of high rank in the Tribes, they do not know specifically what positions we hold. They
do
know that I am an
Immun
, but not Lead
Immun
, and they are aware that my wife and daughter are
Fili
—but nothing else. We do not doubt their loyalty; it is only that if
coerced
, they can honestly answer that they do not have that information to divulge.”

“I understand, sir.” William hesitated to speak further, but his curiosity got the better of him. “Mr. Bennet, my parents had little time to tell me all that I needed to know; therefore, I have been left with many questions. If you would be so kind to explain to me why most children are not told about the Tribes before they come of age? As far as I know, none of the people whose families I now know to be a part of the Tribes know that any of this exists.”

Mr. Bennet answered, “In times past, when all within the Tribes gathered together to celebrate whilst the Priestesses performed their rituals, the children were instructed in the ancient culture. All knew the identities of the four Priestesses, as well. But, fairly recently, there were several occurrences that caused these traditions to end.

“As modern times took shape and travel became easier, the members of the Tribes spread out across the world. With each succeeding generation, more of the ancient traditions were lost, except among the descendants of the families of the highest order.

“And then, several generations past, a great evil force quietly became powerful in Europe. These
Olcs
knew of our ancient rituals, and wished to control them. The Priestesses at that time understood that they and their descendants were in great danger. The protection of their identities became an absolute necessity.

“Now, even the Priestesses do not know who two of the others are, though I am told that if they happened to meet, they would recognize each other—probably similar to the way that my mother had recognized Elizabeth as the Destined One at the very moment she was born. While each of the four Priestesses are taught the rituals of the others to ensure that the most important of our traditions will be passed down to the next generation should tragedy befall any one of them, it is possible only for the Destined One for each position to carry out the rites they were born to perform.”

“You said that each Priestess would not know two of the others, sir. I understood there were four?”

“Yes, but due to the precautions, each Priestess and her closest relatives know the identity of one other Priestess. Should one of them die before passing on what she knew to an Apprentice, the other would be notified by the deceased’s closest family member. The search would then commence within the family of the deceased for the Heiress to the title. The Destined One would eventually be trained by the other Priestess.”