Finally, Mr and Mrs Gardiner arrived. Mrs Bennet's brother and sister in law were very close to Jane and Elizabeth, acting in some ways almost as second parents to the girls. Despite missing the wedding, the Gardiners would not miss the chance to congratulate their nieces.
As the friends and relatives were introduced, Bingley started to feel uncomfortable and out of place. The more Darcy and Bennet friends and relatives had made the trip the more conspicuously absent were any of his friends or relatives. He had not realised until now, how much damage Caroline had done to his social standing with both relatives and friends. Now though he could see clearly how much antipathy was held towards his sister, that they would ignore this momentous occasion simply to avoid his shrew of a sister. What transpired after introductions were given and received was an evening of subdued merriment of friends and relatives reunited. The morning would be time enough for melancholy and deep discussions.
Unknown to the Longbourne occupants, a storm was brewing. The wheels had been put in motion several months before when Colonel Forster of the Militia received orders to prepare his men to winter in the sleepy town of Meryton. The Militia being trained to defend Britain should the French attack on British soil had little to do, other than to train and socialise. Members of the regulars did not trust the militia, as it was generally comprised of halfbloods and ne’er-do-well’s, who were cruel, vindictive and the dregs of society. Wickham had enlisted upon the militia's arrival, hoping to use that as a cover for the dastardly trio being in town.
There had been a clerical mistake in the army office last week and two regiments of the regulars had also been ordered to make camp at Meryton; therefore on the same day as the carriage accident, three regiments of soldiers had arrived. The __Cavalry Regiment was comprised of pure blood Blessed. Animals worked best with the Blessed as they could feel the innate goodness that the blessed exuded. The __infantry regiment was made up of the Empty. The Empty were suited to being part of the infantry, because, like the halfblooded they could be cruel and vindictive, but because they were capable of feeling this was tempered with a kind of reserve in battle that left their victim wondering what just happened and how they had lost.
To have three regiments in the same town at the same time, was strange indeed, but since nobody seemed quite sure as to who had issued the orders to the two regiments of the regulars, nobody wished to countermand those orders. The problem was that this left Meryton in a vulnerable position. The antipathy between these regiments ran high, Both of the regulars regiments deeply distrusted the militia and with very good reason for that, however they also had their natural wariness of each other which in ordinary circumstances would not lead to anything worse that a little bit of heckling, however, with the militia in the mix they could easily be riled up into fighting each other.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
War is coming
The next morning dawned overcast and chilly. Mrs Bennet unusually had awoken before dawn. Her nerves calm, too calm; Her mind in overdrive. Something didn’t feel right. She had in her mind one word. WAR. Over and over again her mind would not leave that word. She could think of nothing else. WAR! It’s coming… Napoleon would lead the French against the English soon, she knew that the whole of England was expecting that. WAR! Suddenly she sat bolt upright, and screamed at the top of her lungs “THE EMPTY HAVE COME, WAR IS ON IT’S WAY!”
Three miles away Darcy too had awoken before dawn. His senses alert. Too many people were in danger, he felt overwhelmed. This was worse than anything he had experienced so far. His groan awoke Elizabeth who also immediately felt overwhelmed. She felt the warning that soon many people would need help. However this day she felt overwhelmed as her gifts relayed the message that a small army of helpers was needed. Helpers who would remain neutral help those who suffered.
Lord Matlock would be a blessing to the blessed. His gifts were that he could train a LOT of men ultra quickly in the ways of the Blessed. This gift was the reason for his quick promotion through the ranks of the army in his youth. Indeed until his son Colonel Fitzwilliam had joined the ranks, he had been the youngest colonel and was on the fast track to becoming the youngest General in the history of the Army. It was not to be though as his eldest brother had died two months before the opportunity for promotion would arise, and Lord Matlock had taken on the mantle of the peerage. Little did he know that his gift would be needed to raise a small army in a sleepy village in Hertfordshire when Sir William had summoned the Elders to Meryton. Lady Matlock had the gift to see future events, and so her whole family had left Matlock at the same time that Darcy had arrived in Hertfordshire. Lady Matlock was the one who had listed the banns to read so the Darcy/Bennet/Bingley wedding could take place legally.
Dawn was just beginning to lighten the sky when the whole of the English lineage of the Blessed was woken up with Mrs Bennet’s load scream, broadcast both vocally and telepathically. THE EMPTY HAVE COME, WAR IS ON IT’S WAY! Suddenly every man, woman and late teenager who was full blood seemed to be talking at once. Where are you? How can we help? Can you train me? How do we survive? Are these Napoleon's forces? How do we hide a war from the innocent who know nothing of us and our ways? How can we protect our children? War hasn't happened for a thousand years on English soil, none of us knows how to fight. The _____ regiment is ready we arrived at Meryton yesterday. There’s too many of them, how will we cope? There are half-bloods here also. They're dangerous. How many of our couples that are soul-mates have either not married yet and/or not bonded? The questions just kept coming thick and fast until eventually one man's voice raised above the cacophony.
ENOUGH! Colonel Fitzwilliam roared. The Lady who raised the alarm, what do you know?
Only that they’re here, and war between us is inevitable. Came Mrs Bennet’s reply. Several others who had the gift of foreseeing war and trouble confirmed that to be the case.
Training is what we all need most, the ballroom of Netherfield Park, Hertfordshire is an ideal place to carry out our drills, we can open the terrace doors and spill out onto the lawns, we can also use other areas of the house, gardens and woods surrounding. Training during the day could be too dangerous. Therefore we must train through the night, until just before breakfast. The Colonel ordered.
Please, can all soul-mates who have already met and their lights joined together, make sure that they have married and bonded by sundown two days hence. It is imperative for our protection that this is carried out. Lord Matlock commanded.
What if we haven’t met our soulmate yet? A timid voice asked Can we still train?
Of course. Every single one of us can train, and use the gifts that they have. However, once both married and bonded to our soulmate, our gifts are multiplied exponentially, and our innate shield becomes virtually impenetrable to the enemy. Lord Matlock replied.
What is the light, and how does it become impenetrable? Do we know? Asked a 15 year old boy, the youngest person to communicate.
The light is the energy that we generate. It acts as a force field around us. The Empty lost theirs centuries ago. Where we have maintained, even nurtured ours. It lives and breathes through love, and joy. The purer the love, the stronger our energy field becomes. What we inadequately refer to as soul-mates is when two people are sufficiently alike in mind and character, or complementary enough that they will not only love and respect each other, but they will magnify each other's gifts and skills.
Couples that have married, but were not soul-mates, may create a bond, that will still deflect the enemy, but it will be weaker than those who are fully bonded as soul-mates. The light we see is pure love. The colours of our ladies change with the different kinds of love. The enemy has only the one colour to their light because they are unable to feel and understand the power of unadulterated true love. Our telepathy is because we are fully open and balanced with each other. Our hearts and minds are totally an open book. We are not perfect, but we have our minds open. Half-bloods and the ‘Empty’ do not have th
at ability their minds are closed. The ‘Empty’ harbour hate instead of love. When we are at our most powerful is also when we are at our most vulnerable. We will await all who wish to train and fight by five days hence. Lord Matlock decreed. The morning went silent as those who were not in Hertford readied themselves to leave.
One last voice suddenly popped up; The dastardly trio is prowling. War is bad enough, they’ll hurt all of us for they have no loyalty...
Their day had been arduous. After Mrs Bennet had awoken all with the declaration that war was coming, None already at Netherfield and Longbourne could rest. Each hour of the day had to be utilised. Those involved in clearing the carriage wreck from the previous day worked hurriedly so that they could join the rest who had gathered at Longbourne. Those not involved with the salvage work had decided to work together in pairs or threes, and develop their gifts. Lydia and Georgiana had both shown great skill in learning Lady Catherine's gift of seeing the light surrounding each individual. Mary surprised all as she adroitly stepped up and managed to not just magnify her own light, but she transformed it into the shape of a sword. This rare gift had not been seen for nearly two hundred years and had almost passed into legend. Kitty stepped up unsure of herself but found that she too had a rare gift. Her gift was that by simply touching a person she could infuse new energy into them, but if abused her gift could be used to suck the life from a person. She first demonstrated her gift by healing the broken legs of those involved in yesterday’s accident, and taught her gift by simple demonstration and explanation of what she was doing. She taught all her gift and most managed before the day was out to use the skill to some degree, all were nervous about using it though as they knew that it could be disastrous should anything go wrong. Food was eaten while they trained as none knew when their skills would be needed, and all needed to be on their guard.
Elizabeth and Darcy found that while they could learn the gifts of those around them, teaching their own unique gifts was much harder. They did not know how to teach people to listen to intuition and to observe the way that certain things around you made you feel. Mrs Bennet, though, surprised the company. What she had thought for years to be a nervous disposition, she soon found was a similar gift to Elizabeth’s in that she could feel, not the needs of others, but when those around her were sick. As she heard Elizabeth and Darcy struggling to explain how to learn their gifts, she recognised what were trying to say and was able to do the explanations for them.
“LIZZY!” It was the voice of Lydia Bennet rending the air and the quiet atmosphere of Netherfield Park, at midnight! Instantly Elizabeth and Darcy were both awake and pulling robes on over their night clothes. Something was dreadfully wrong, yet Elizabeth knew that Lydia was not in need of assistance. The cry was something else. It sounded a mixture of excitement and fear….
Everybody had retired to bed exhausted. They all had so much to learn, there were so many different gifts that it seemed an almost impossible task that the Blessed would be ready for a war in only a few short days or weeks. Now at midnight Elizabeth and Darcy were wearily pulling on robes to go and see if they could find and help Lydia. Their slippered feet whispered along the corridors of the quiet Netherfield Park; they were amazed that nobody els seemed to have stirred out of bed from such a loud scream. The searched the house and then out in the close environs of the park, only to find nothing and no sign of anyone about at all. Ultimately they had to give up and go back to the house, and sleep. For now this was one mystery that would remain unsolved. Little did they know that Lydia had not left her bed at Longbourne that night.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Who am I?
The Dastardly trio’s day passed very differently. They stopped to rest a half days journey from Meryton, intending to carry on. However as they sat in their private parlour, they found they were arguing at cross purposes more than making plans. The selfishness of all seemed to make this inevitable. Collins was determined that all the Bennets, Darcys and Bingleys should be murdered, all that is save Jane, who he had determined to have as a mistress and to hold against her will. Wickham simply wished to debase Darcy’s wife or steal his sister away again as he saw that as the surest way to Darcy’s purse. Caroline Bingley had decided she wanted Elizabeth out of the way, Caroline had to be Darcy’s wife. All of them selfish, and each suggesting an ill-conceived and reckless plan. At worst it would see one or all of them losing their lives. The longer this went on, the more that they found themselves remembering how they came to be where they were.
George Wickham, who is George Wickham? He thought silently to himself. Son of Mr Horatio Wickham and Miss Prudence Grimage, the circumstances of his conception were blurred and hidden. All that was known (and would ever be known as both his parents had now passed on from this word) was that Miss Prudence was discovered to be with child approximate three months into her pregnancy, and to the last she declared the father to be Horatio Wickham. Horatio Wickham was not only pureblood of the Blessed lineage but was known to be pure and honest in all his dealings. That he was very good friends with George Darcy had cemented his reputation, however, in this one matter he took pity on the poor woman and said nothing that would confirm or deny he was the father. That there was room for doubt was a fact. Miss Prudence had a reputation as a fallen woman, and it was rumoured that there were two previous children that had been hushed up. Whether it was pity or whether it was guilt that spurred on Horatio Wickham's actions nobody quite knew, but he took responsibility for the child and married Prudence Grimage, pureblood of the Empty lineage, in a quiet ceremony at Kympton.
Five months after the wedding George Wickham made his way into the world. Lady Catherine, visiting Pemberley at the time, had callously stated that the trash should be thrown into the river, rather than letting him pollute the grounds of Pemberley and England. George Wickham truly was half-blood, and he lived up to the half blood reputation. Having very little restraint and lots of indulgence from his god-father Wickham took to a life of debauchery and gambling. The purebloods he thought a soft touch, oh not the Empty as they needed hefty and sometimes pricey incentives to do anything, but the Blessed? In Wickham's opinion anything that spoke of love, forgiveness and blessings were weak. He thought his father weak for marrying his mother when he didn't know the child was his. George Darcy was weak as his every whim was indulged: he’d often asked for and did things that were outrageous simply to see what George Darcy would do. It didn’t matter what he did, George Darcy would smile indulgently and gave Wickham whatever he wanted.
Wickham thought Fitzwilliam Darcy weak also. Wickham could not fathom why Darcy had covered for him and cleaned up after him so frequently. You could be forgiven if you thought Wickham grateful. He was NOT! All this indulgence and mollycoddling had done for George Wickham was that thought himself entitled to anything he put his mind on. He envied Darcy’s inheritance, and the canker of jealousy had slowly burned making him think that he was entitled to be the heir and not Darcy. He refused the living George Darcy has set aside for him, not for any good reason. Certainly, he had been in need of a steady income, but rather that he had come to see the living as being constrained and held back -- denied that which he most coveted: Pemberley itself.
When the plan to elope with Georgiana took root, he could not say, but what he did know was that if he had married the wretched girl, he would have made sure that Fitzwilliam Darcy was no more, and achieved the goal to own Pemberley. George Wickham shrugged as he came out of his revery, he would have to force Georgiana down the Aisle and then make sure that Fitzwilliam Darcy died childless. It was still possible. Wickham was not married yet, neither was Georgiana. He just had to make sure Darcy’s wife didn’t conceive, he must have Pemberley...
When Wickham had gone silent, Mr C and Miss B had gradually worn out all that there was to say, and then both lapsed into their own reveries.
Miss Caroline Bingley sat wondering how it was that she had come to be at this place and in this situation. Her father had
overcome so many challenges to become the successful trader that he was and leave large dowries for his daughters with enough left over for his son to buy an estate. Mr Reginald Bingley was pureblood and had married his soulmate, Christine Duncan. Christine had given birth to Louisa and then Charles, dying to give Charles life. This had devastated Reginald, who promptly married his housekeeper Mrs Arnold who was of the lineage of the ‘Empty’. Reginald had intended the marriage to be in name only so that his children would have a mother figure. However that was not to be, and a year after the marriage Caroline made her entrance into the world. Complications with Caroline's birth meant that her mother never conceived again, something her father was inordinately pleased with.
Growing up all three Bingley children were spoilt, but Caroline always felt that her brother and sister were favoured over her. This quickly led to Caroline looking for ways to manipulate those around her to try and gain more attention. This desire for attention was fed as she heard her father's instructions to them about being of the Blessed lineage, and how that meant there were abilities they possessed that the average person did not. Caroline watched Louisa develop her gift and then Charles gifts started to show also. Their father lavished excessive praise and reward on them as they wisely used the gifts they had been given, but try as she might Caroline seemed to not have any gifts, and couldn't develop any either. Jealousy reigned supreme in Caroline's heart, and she interpreted her father's words to mean that she would make a splendid marriage and would become a member of the Ton, the cream of society.
Her manipulations, machinations and jealousy just continued to get worse over the years. Then three years ago she had met Mr W and Mr C. Mr W and Mr C had met at Cambridge they saw in each other kindred grasping spirits — two men who could not accept their lot in life. Miss B found to her delight they were kindred spirits.
The Meryton War Page 11