Vampire Darcy's Desire (50 page)

Satisfied for the moment, he returned to the house. He would check again tomorrow before he would believe Darcy completely. Wickham had witnessed the love Elizabeth Darcy tried to conceal even before the man married her—as far back as those initial meetings in Hertfordshire and definitely when she followed him to the Netherfield Manor House. She did not fear Wickham, even then, because the woman knew Fitzwilliam Darcy would protect her. Darcy had given her that damnable crucifix, and Elizabeth Bennet put her trust in the symbol of her God and in the man she adored. Wickham avoided touching the necklace that day because of the love associated with it. Darcy had never…never…succumbed to any of the women who threw themselves at his feet, but a saucy maid from a country estate had brought the man to his knees. Originally,Wickham had thought she would be a weapon he could use to defeat Darcy. Little had he known at the time, the reverse was true: Elizabeth Bennet Darcy would give her husband the strength to bring about closure for all of them.

Wickham took up his favorite chair and observed the ritual
movement about the room. The mesmerizing mist filled the hall. These souls belonged to him, and he controlled when they hunted and when they fed. As the first streaks of dawn lit the upper panes of the windows, they drifted away. They would return that night, leaving their graves to congregate in his home. The only disciples remaining throughout the day were Lydia Bennet and an opera singer he brought to his house a little more than a year earlier. Neither woman had a grave to which to return. They had never known the blessing of a funeral. Instead, they were among the walking dead—those who would have no peace.

Elizabeth hurried from the room she shared with the colonel. She had put away all the bedding had managed to get the various maids to bring her, knowing that her husband’s cousin had spent the past five nights sleeping on hard floors. She was thankful for the man’s intrusion, but tonight she wanted to sleep in her husband’s arms and feel his breath on the back of her neck.

The colonel met her in the open dining room, took her hand, and pulled her towards the private one. “Is something amiss?” she whispered when the door closed behind them.

“The carriage has a problem. A mail coach lost a wheel, and it struck our livery, breaking some of the spokes. It will take several hours to repair.” He still held her hand, expecting Elizabeth to respond impulsively.

“This cannot be!” she protested, breaking for the door before the colonel tightened his hold. She spun back on him. “We have to go today! Fitzwilliam is there, and we both know what danger he is in!”

With his thumbs the colonel wiped away the tears now streaming down her face.“What other choice do we have? My cousin is a strong man; he will not do anything rash.We will make it to Stanwick today, but it will be later than we anticipated. Luckily, we are on the eastern side of the shire, traveling along the coastal way,
whereas Darcy had to cross the entire country. Possibly, he was detained, as well.”

Elizabeth strode away from him in agitation. “Why do we not take the horses? I can ride.”

“We have but one saddle, the one from my horse, and even if we could find another, it certainly would not be designed for a lady.” He moved to where she now stood looking out the window. He was absolutely certain she was terrified by what she could not control.“Be reasonable, Elizabeth.We are seven to eight hours away in the carriage. That translates to around six hours in the saddle. Even an experienced rider has difficulty maintaining such a pace.”

Elizabeth now bit her bottom lip, considering all possible scenarios. Finally, she made her decision. “I will give it two hours. If the coach is not repaired by then, I am hiking these skirts to my knees, and I am riding off on the best horse I can acquire.You may join me or choose to wait for the coach, Colonel.”

He laughed at the stubbornness he heard in Elizabeth’s voice. “Two hours, Mrs. Darcy,” he repeated. Then he took two steps towards the door. “Elizabeth,” he said to her back, “my cousin is wealthy in more ways than one.”

Elizabeth heard the door close behind her. Darcy’s cousin was an exemplary man, someone to whom she would always be grateful, but he did not understand. When a person loved as she loved Darcy, a life without that love was impossible. How could she explain that she could not breathe without Darcy? Could not exist without him? He was her other half. Elizabeth’s whole heart belonged to Fitzwilliam Darcy.

“Yes, Ma’am.” The innkeeper bowed to Elizabeth upon her entrance. “May I be of assistance?”

“I am looking for my husband, Sir.” She demanded immediate attention with her tone.

The innkeeper gave her a critical look, thinking her a spurned wife seeking to catch her husband in the mix of a dalliance. “I assure you, Madam, I do not tolerate such use of my establishment.”

Elizabeth looked momentarily confused, and then she flushed with color, recognizing the innuendo.“You misunderstand, Sir; my husband is not that type of man.We were to meet him here.This is his cousin.” She gestured to Colonel Fitzwilliam as he stepped up beside her.

“Of course, Madam.”The man bowed once again to guarantee he offered no offense. He took up a position behind the registration book.“Your husband’s name, Ma’am?”

“Fitzwilliam Darcy.”

The man ran his finger down the page to find Darcy’s name. “Yes, Ma’am. Mr. Darcy is a guest. Might you wish to join him?”

“Naturally,” Elizabeth said, “and my cousin will also require quarters.”

Colonel Fitzwilliam took control. “Please see that the lady’s luggage is placed in Mr. Darcy’s room, and that our carriage and coachman receive proper care.”

“Immediately, Sir.”

“Is my husband in his room?” Elizabeth now felt the anticipation of finding Darcy and of assuring herself that he was well.

The man looked about for a servant to retrieve their baggage.“I do not believe so, Ma’am. Mr. Darcy walked through the village earlier today, and then he took a light meal in the private dining
room. I believe he was going to enjoy the evening at the assembly hall. It is an acknowledgment of ourViking influence in these parts. Our village is recorded in the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicles
as the site that saw the beginning of the Viking Age. We take our heritage very seriously. St. Cuthbert’s body was once entombed on Lindisfarne Island, and we do not forget it.”

Colonel Fitzwilliam looked amused. He turned his head to the side to whisper in her ear, “Did he just use the words
enjoy
and
assembly hall
in the same sentence with Darcy’s name?”

Elizabeth laughed lightly. “They seem incongruous terms,” she said without moving her lips.

“It appears, Cousin, that we will be attending an assembly in the good village of Stanwick.”The colonel brought her gloved hand to his lips. “I hope, my dear, that we have something appropriate to wear. I will meet you here as soon as you freshen your clothing.”

“I suppose we will simply have to attend the dance ourselves to determine my husband’s motives.” Elizabeth reached for his arm.

The colonel patted her hand.“Let us be about it, Mrs. Darcy.We did not travel this far to falter now.”

Elizabeth rushed after the boy toting her baggage to Darcy’s room. She shook out one of the clean gowns, working the wrinkles free. In less than thirty minutes, she rejoined the colonel in the inn’s entranceway.“Do you suppose Mr. Darcy will be surprised by our appearance?” For some reason, Elizabeth’s courage wavered.

“If Darcy is surprised by the fact that the woman who loves him traveled halfway across England to find him, I am sure it will be pleasantly so.”The colonel placed her hand on his arm.“To the next adventure, Mrs. Darcy.”

They walked the quarter mile to the village assembly hall. Light filtered through every window, and the sound of instruments, sometimes poorly played, filled the chilly night air.

“Do you see him?” Elizabeth stood on tiptoes, hoping to spy Darcy.

Although the colonel was not as tall as her husband, he still cut a fine figure. “I have a better idea. In a crush like this, we could
circle each other for hours. Darcy hates cards more than he does dancing, so we will not find him in the game rooms. I suggest we take to the dance floor and let
him
find
us.
”

“Will it work? I do not see Wickham either, although he can change his appearance. I could be looking right at him and not know it to be him.” Elizabeth took the colonel’s proffered arm.

“If not, we will try something else,” he guaranteed.

The music changed suddenly to a waltz, and Elizabeth looked about in surprise.“A waltz? At a country assembly?”

“Maybe the Scottish are more progressive than we Brits—even northern England must be a bit less censorious,” he teased. “Will you still honor me with a dance, Elizabeth?”

“My wife waltzes only with me, Cousin.” Darcy stood in his usual haughty stance, waiting for the colonel to relinquish Elizabeth’s hand.

The colonel chuckled.“You always claimed the pretty ones for yourself, Darcy. Where am I to find another partner who knows how to waltz?”

“I fear I do not care, oh cousin of mine.” He took Elizabeth’s hand and led her around the edge of the floor and brought her close, resting his hand on the small of her back.

When the music began, only six couples dared the dance; however, all eyes remained on the Darcys. Darcy held Elizabeth next to him, but she arched her back so she could see his eyes, and then they stepped into the dance, and magic happened. They were in each other’s arms once more.“I missed you,” he murmured close to her ear as they swirled around the floor’s corner.

“I feared I had lost you.” Elizabeth’s eyes drank in the face she craved.

“You are mine, Elizabeth Bennet Darcy.” He spoke softly, but there was no doubting his words.“When you waltz, you waltz with me; and when you love, you love only me.”

Elizabeth’s face lit up. She let her hand inch up to his shoulder, where she could play with the hair at the nape of his neck. “I will waltz only with you, my Husband, and our love binds us across
time.” She tilted her head back farther, as if to accept his kiss. Darcy lowered his head....

 

The coach jostled her awake. Elizabeth shot a quick glance at her husband’s cousin. Although he pretended to sleep also, Damon Fitzwilliam scrunched his eyes shut; it was not the relaxed face of someone truly asleep. She realized she had spoken the words of her dream aloud, and the colonel had heard her declaration of love, but he pretended ignorance of it. Such speech should embarrass her, but Elizabeth was beyond denying her love.

Elizabeth had waited three hours for the wheel’s repair, but not before she had tried to let or even buy a horse of her own.Without an alternative, she reluctantly yielded to the only choice available.

Ignoring the colonel’s pretense, Elizabeth asked, “When shall we reach Stanwick?”

The man sat up immediately, overlooking how they had both chosen not to speak to her discomforting intimacy. “I estimate it will be several hours after dark. Peter is a skilled coachman and will get us there safely, but even he will need to exercise more caution on unfamiliar roads after nightfall.”

“Will Fitzwilliam be there?”Again, Elizabeth bit her bottom lip in distress.

The colonel wanted to lighten her mood by telling Elizabeth that her dreams always came true, but his earlier deception precluded it. “I am incontestable in my belief of my cousin’s speedy arrival in Stanwick; yet I cannot warrant his safety in doing so.”

Elizabeth looked out the window at the passing countryside. “This land has a savageness about it—not necessarily sinister—but definitely a harsh, unbroken fierceness.”

“Aye, it does. It is as if a person steps back in time to when life itself was ruthless.” Fearing he had said too much, he tapped on the carriage’s roof to tell Peter to pull up.“I think I will spell Peter for awhile; I want him well rested for the last part of the trip.”