Soon between the three of them, they were carrying out all sorts of schemes to defraud others and take the spoils. They were all aware of the schemes and plans of each other. They knew of Wickham's scheme with Miss Georgiana and had planned out to the nth degree every aspect of the scheme, the only thing they weren't aware of was that Wickham hadn't entirely given the plan up. They knew that Caroline had planned to be the Mistress of Pemberley, although she was toying with the idea of offering herself to Darcy as his mistress now that he could not marry her. Bitterness and sorrow had become Caroline Bingley’s bedfellow and festered in her heart. Maybe if she were to kill the Woman who had become her rival, Darcy would marry her. Now that she carried the babe it was more important than ever that she do away with Elizabeth and that Darcy marry her….
Collins thoughts were more devious than the other two suspected. Collins father, Thaddeus, being of the Empty lineage, had taken his mother by force and when she was discovered to be expecting the little Collins, Thaddeus had blackmailed her father into allowing her to marry him. Thaddeus had also taken advantage of the bad feeling surrounding Thomas Bennet’s marriage to encourage the placement of the entail and manipulated it so that his line would be the one to inherit. Unknown to the anyone Mr Thaddeus Collins had bribed and blackmailed the local midwife that had Fanny Bennet given birth to a son, she would have immediately killed the child and told the Bennets that it was a stillbirth.
When William Collins made his way into the world, Thaddeus had seen him as a means to an end. To his father William Collins learnt to give the appearance of humility and deference. From his father, William learnt that being manipulative and cruel rendered results. William Collins had no respect and didn't bow to anyone anymore! Oh, he used people, and he gave an air of humility now, but he would get his own way at all costs, and that way was that he must marry and he must have Longbourne. Nothing else will do. Collins plan was that the attack on the Bennet’s, Bingley’s and Darcy's would be perpetrated by his coconspirators and that he would come forward as a witness against them, thus making it appear that he had nothing to do with the plot. However, he had underestimated his co-conspirators and his opponents.
When the Dastardly trio had first met none of them trusted each other. In fact, all three of them had no use for weaknesses such as trust, love and kindness. Even now they only revealed parts of their idea and plans to each other. They would, however, return that night and scout out Longbourne. Wickham and Collins both wondered if they might taste the delights of the ladies of the house, but that they decided was too risky…
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Preparation begins
Five days later the Blessed had gathered. “Welcome, Welcome, Welcome. We are all here to prepare for the coming war. A war that none of us would choose, but is thrust upon us." Lord Matlock began. "Some of us are aware of Christopher Bennet’s 1730 prophecy. A prophecy that so disturbed the elders that it led to a change in the situation of several of the Elders. For those who do not know the prophecy, it is thus When the houses of Darcy and Bennet unite, and Wickham's perfidy has reached its height. Then shall turmoil rage, leading earth to unite. However, that prophecy has now been partially fulfilled. My nephew Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy has been united with Miss Elizabeth Bennet. The rest will soon show itself."
All day the Blessed had been arriving, and now those who had come were sitting in the ballroom of Netherfield. Netherfield and Longbourne were full, the Bingley’s and Darcy’s had relocated to Longbourne to free rooms for those who were arriving, but soon Meryton was full. Other local manor houses were purchased for the duration. Still, the accommodations were not enough, and the full blood military regiment had soon set up camp on the edge of town. That evening the training would begin.
"So how do we prepare? Our warfare is not generally fought in the traditional way, yes we occasionally need to use traditional weapons and each one of you will be trained with a weapon of your choice, but in general, our wars are fought with words and on the energetic level. Words and thoughts have power and carry weight. By our words, we can build, and we can destroy. Whether for good or for ill every object we touch, every person we meet vibrates. In the instructions that Socrates left for us he instructs us that everything vibrates, and that vibration is what we use in our warfare. Every word we speak for good or for ill resonates and creates an outcome.
When we go to war, there will be no winners, just a general working toward some kind of peace. Our lives and very existence are held in a kind of balance. In the past, the Blessed have fought against the Empty, but it has been in our own lands and far away from the innocent who have no idea that either of our lineages is anything special. We must however remember that is not just ourselves and the people that we are fighting who are affected by our actions. The Earth holds a balance in it’s vibration. Too much of the high end of the vibrational scale is just as traumatic for the Earth as is too much of the low end of vibrational scale. The Empty find it difficult to maintain the balance due to their operating from low energy vibrations and that they cannot, raise their energetic vibration without some serious help.
Here in England, unfortunately, we are fully in the middle of those who are not of either lineage. The Children of the Past do not understand our ways, but they have the ability to learn. They will not care who starts the war but may wage their own war to wipe us all out in a mistaken idea that that will be their only protection. Therefore, we must keep this war secret. We must keep those who are known as Children of the past ignorant. However, some will be sensitive enough that they will feel the vibrational changes as we and the 'Empty' meet in battle." Lord Matlock continued his instructions. Children of the past trying to wipe out the Blessed and the Empty had been a constant fear throughout the ages.
"Begging your pardon, sir" Mrs Hill spoke up "I be neither of the Blessed nor the ‘Empty’ lineage, but my kind have always fought alongside the Blessed"
"Would you like to enlighten us of your kind Mrs Hill?" Asked Lord Matlock, who although aware of Mrs Hill's kind was also aware that only two generations ago the 'Empty' had under the guise of political had tried to eradicate her kind.
"Well, sir, I be of the 'kindred' sir. Our origins are shrouded in the mists of time, but it is our tradition that we were created before Humanity and that we were created specifically for the task of protecting humans, more often than not from themselves. We protect the children of the Past and the Blessed. When the Blessed came into existence the kindred were given powers to protect them, or rather I should say that our powers were enhanced. We have ever lived our lives as servants, even if we do not need to. At birth or shortly thereafter, before we can verifiably talk we will utter the name of the family that we are to protect. How this happens, we do not know. In the case of myself and my husband, two names came out of our mouths, which our parents could not understand. For both of us stated Bennet/Darcy. My mother was in service here, and so I grew up in the Bennet household." Mrs Hill stated.
"Are there others of your kind Mrs Hill?" Asked Darcy
"Why yes sir, you will find us anywhere that there is a family of the Blessed lineage" Replied Mrs Hill. “There are others of our kind who protect others, but by and large we are to be found amongst the Blessed.”
"How would I know anyone who was 'kindred'?" Asked Darcy
"Well, sir that's simple. You being a pureblood sir, do you have any of your servants to whom you feel an almost paternalistic bond, sir? Or perhaps someone who's like a mother or father? Generally, not always sir, you will find that these are those who are of the 'kindred'" Mrs Hill stated and then requested to be dismissed to continue her duties. Lord Matlock thanked her and dismissed her to her duties.
"The 'kindred' were hunted by my grandfather's generation because the 'Empty' had convinced the populace that they were nothing more than witches and hoaxers. This was easy because even the kindred do not truly understand how their gifts work.
A while ago I tried to find out the origin o
f the kindred, but everything is shrouded in mist as to their origins. We do know, however, that they have protected the Blessed almost since we came into existence. When they were hunted down, they went into hiding and refused to reveal who they were to those outside of their own ranks for fear that they would be wiped out. It is imperative upon us now to aid the kindred but we must allow them to protect us, it is their purpose in life. Darcy, I suspect that both your valet and Mrs Reynolds are 'kindred'. I am not sure about Georgiana's maid, though” Lord Matlock said
"Georgiana's maid is pureblood Blessed!” Stated Lady Catherine.
“Please would you call any members of the Blessed you may have in your households to aid us in this battle." Lord Matlock stated. From there a full timetable of training was devised that all of the Blessed would be battle ready as soon as possible, and for next three weeks this timetable was adhered to rigorously with no exceptions. Young, Old, frail, or hale all were trained and all gifts practised and utilised. Some had the gift that they could learn quickly, and they swiftly moved into the role of teachers. They trained in enhancing their gifts, in the use of specific weapons but most of all they trained in meditation, thought and vocabulary so that only the most positive and highly vibrational words and sentences were used to fight with. The lowest of these was love. Love was the cornerstone upon which the defence of the Blessed rested. However, forgiveness and Joy were two more that were highly effective. Often joyful laughter could be heard ringing through the rooms and gardens of Netherfield. During this time our two newest couples of the Bingleys and the Darcys became better acquainted with each other, and their unions were observed as pure.
Five days after the Blessed arrived, the Dastardly trio scouted out everywhere the Blessed were staying. Things were becoming more and more uncomfortable for the Dastardly trio, as they became more exposed every day. Seeing the Darcy’s, Bennet’s and Bingley welcomed into the bosom of the Blessed the jealousy of the Dastardly Trio heightened. On Sunday 14th July Lady Catherine summoned Mr Collins to Longbourne. The minute he walked in Mr Collins could feel that something was working against him, but he ignored this and blithely walked into the parlour.
"Mr Collins, you can be at no loss as to why I have summoned you here today" Lady Catherine began, to Collins utter bewilderment "I have called you here, to answer to the very grievous crime of inheriting Longbourne and being the means of throwing a widow and her children into the hedgerows."
"Indeed your Ladyship, I will indeed inherit Longbourne, and I dearly wish it were within my means to make restitution to my fair cousins for the grievous wrong which I am the means of doing to them. I would gladly have made the eldest Miss Bennet my wife, but she seems to have quite bewilderingly quickly made another choice. I am at a loss at to how it is that I am to make any kind of restitution to them now, without incurring great hardship myself. Why ma'am should I do anything else then it is my regret that I should likely be thrown into the hedgerows" Collins started to waffle on, trying to justify his not relinquishing the inheritance in its entirety back to the Miss Bennets.
"Do you hold my generosity in awarding you a handsomely paid living in contempt then? Perhaps I should have gifted the living to another who would be more grateful for my provisions for them? You seem to have forgotten that while you hold the living at Hunsford, you will not be in the hedgerows! Indeed, the living is yours for life, much as I might regret the award of it."
"No indeed Ma’am! I am very, very grateful for your generous gift. It's just ma'am that other than your gift, my only source of security is the inheritance of Longbourne itself" Mr Collins stumbled.
"I will state this Mr Collins and mind that you act on it immediately as I am not in the habit of brooking disappointment and should you go against me I can promise you that you will ruin yourself. You will find yourself in the position of facing those very hedgerows as I shall find a way to remove you from my Hunsford living" Lady Catherine knew that unless he committed a gross faux pas, then he would not be removed from the living, but she wished for him to be worried..."Now I want you Mr Collins to meet with Mr Bennet and Mr Philips, they are waiting for you, and I want you to relinquish your claim upon Longbourne in its entirety, but you must make it a stipulation that Mrs Elizabeth Darcy inherit the estate in your stead." Now it had to be said that at this point Mr Collins still had too much self-interest to immediately comply with Lady Catherine's wishes, and so instead he scuttled out of Longbourne as fast as his legs would carry him.
"I will not relinquish Longbourne. We must strike tonight!" Mr Collins complained later on as he sat with the other two members of the Dastardly Trio. “Perhaps we need to include Lady Catherine on our list to be killed; Then maybe I should persuade her daughter Miss De Bourgh to marry me instead. At least then I would have Rosings Park.”
"If things do not go well for us, then you know you will have to relinquish Longbourne. The witch won't let go until she has her way. Why you didn't at least make a show of following her directives I don't know" Wickham replied. The witch was the less than flattering nickname that Wickham, Darcy and Fitzwilliam had dubbed Lady Catherine in their youth, and was one of the few vestiges of the camaraderie that had once been between them.
"That's precisely why we must attack tonight! And we must succeed. I must come into my inheritance tonight! I cannot stand to be under the witch’s tyranny a moment longer! Husband and wife Mr and Mrs Bennet Must die!" Collins stated. “Also, that Bingley chap must die!"
"Miss Eliza must die also! I will have Darcy as my husband!" Miss B stated.
"We must Kill the witch and take Darcy's precious little sister. I will take her to Gretna Green and force her to marry over the anvil!" Wickham said. They all lifted their mugs of ale “Tonight!”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The Attack
Midnight had arrived. The last candle went out in Longbourne. Nothing seemed to move. The air seemed heavy with expectation, and the dastardly trio thought that their luck was perfect. They missed one lone candle burning in the parlour. They stalked around the side door and tried the servant's entrance - Locked. Wickham swore under his breath, but Miss B simply removed an elegant pin from her hair and expertly wiggled it in the lock until, groaning, the lock gave way. They stiffened and waited, but nothing seemed amiss, and so they carried on their way.
Collins, the clumsy oaf he was, knocked into the cook's table in the middle of the kitchen. "Hush! Be more careful, we don't want to alert anyone to our presence" Wickham whispered furiously. Now the Kindred just by touching objects and listening carefully can be alerted to when the house that they protect will be under attack, and Mrs Hill along with Jane had told everyone what was to happen, and the plan of protection had been put into place. The younger girls remained at Netherfield with Georgiana Darcy and the Matlocks for their protection. Mary had chosen to remain at Longbourne, thinking that she could be of use should things go awry.
Mr Bingley had remained in the parlour with Jane, instead of being separated as Jane saw in her vision. They heard the disturbance in the Kitchen and sent the warning Telepathy to the rest of the house. "There's nothing more we can do right now" Bingley whispered in Jane's ear and then proceeded to kiss her thoroughly. They continued to kiss and their kisses getting ever deeper until sinking to the floor they finally consummated their marriage, and their bonding became complete. Unknown to them their lights were shining bright and were as effective a shield as that the Darcys and the Bennets had. So consumed were they in their own world that it was only the scream in the master suite sitting room that brought them back to the world around them.
As they moved to the door of the sitting room, it seemed as if all hell had broken loose. The magistrate who had been sitting in the opposite parlour was now orchestrating everything. There were red coats on the stairs, with Mr Wickham and Mr Collins already being dragged down the stairs in manacles. Miss Bingley seemed to have totally lost touch with reality and stood in the sitting room screaming, and telling every
one that Darcy was her husband and that Elizabeth had stolen him from her. Miss Bingley seemed to lose herself in both a physical and emotional sense, and so the magistrate had no recourse but to restrain her and send her in a special carriage straight to bedlam. The fate of both of the men was to be decided before the assizes when they next convened, which would at the earliest be next winter. In the meantime, they would both be transported to Newgate prison in London.
The next day the 'Empty' officers had a discussion as the dastardly trio had put into motion a series of events that lead to war. The attack from half-bloods could not, in the minds of the 'Empty' go unanswered and the half-bloods themselves now being transported and out of the way, the 'Empty; found themselves with only the band of militia for their targets. Wickham had been wearing the uniform of the militia when they attacked. The Blessed were not so concerned about the half-bloods attack as they knew the half-bloods to be unruly and without restraint.
The confrontation of the militia and the 'Empty' happened in the late morning. Mrs Bennet had taken Jane, Elizabeth, and Mary to visit with Mrs Philips that morning and they had decided to combine a trip to the milliners at the same time. However, just they arrived at the milliner's so did Colonel Forster of the Militia and Colonel French of the _____ Regiment. Words were exchanged, and Wickham’s regimental affiliations were used to accuse Colonel Forster and the Militia of having something to do with the attack. Words soon escalated into swords until nothing could be heard except for the clanging of two expert swordsmen meeting each other with every stroke. Eventually, the Bennet clan could bear it no more, and Mary stepped into the fray, sending her Light sword straight into Colonel French. Turning to Colonel Forster, she threatened him with the same unless he went back to his regiment immediately, which he did. The Bennet clan returned home, missing the milliners and soon found themselves ensconced in the bosom of their family. The only problem..........Mary had declared war for the Blessed in attempting to end an awkward situation.
The Meryton War Page 12