Bespelling Jane Austen

by Mary Balogh

  “But you speak as if you know him.”

  How she’d gathered that from what I’d said I didn’t know, but I was convinced in that moment that she had guessed at least part of the truth.

  “I met him once, in New York,” I said.

  “He goes there often on business. How did you meet him?”

  “At a party.” That was the truth, wasn’t it?

  The intensity in her blue eyes reminded me far too much of her brother. She stroked her hand over the surface of the desk. “Do you mind if I ask…what is your name?”

  Someone else answered for me.

  “Miss Elizabeth Bennet,” Darcy said, walking into the room. I expected him to be disdainful, if not furious, but as his eyes met mine I saw only surprise and consternation. “I did not know you were in England.”

  “I didn’t know you were at Pemberley!” I stammered.

  “Elizabeth Bennet!” Georgiana cried, clapping her hands. “How wonderful!”

  Darcy, dressed in an ordinary but superbly cut business suit, seemed more off balance than ever. “You have met my sister, Miss Elizabeth,” he said.

  “Yes.” I smiled at Georgiana, not wanting her to feel the excruciating tension in the room.

  “I’ve heard so much about you,” Georgiana said, linking her arm through Darcy’s.

  “You have?”

  “Yes. So many good things.”

  Darcy had been talking about me? Why? And why had I been so stupid as to risk coming here if there was any chance he’d be here, too?

  Whatever Darcy was thinking, he didn’t let it show. He smiled at his sister and stroked her hair. “It’s time for you to rest,” he said.

  “Oh, but I want to visit with Miss Bennet!”

  “You will have your chance.” He glanced at me and quickly looked away again. “You may play for Miss Bennet after dinner.”

  With a sigh and a nod of acquiescence, Georgiana left the room. Darcy cleared his throat.

  “If you will forgive me, Miss Elizabeth, I must see to my sister. If you would be so good as to wait in the small drawing room at the end of the corridor…”

  “I shouldn’t be here at all,” I said. “I should get back.”

  He turned to face me full-on, and all the bones in my body threatened to melt. “My sister would be gratified if you would stay to dinner,” he said.

  “Oh. Well, thanks, but I’m with my aunt.”

  “She is also welcome.” He didn’t smile, but his eyes weren’t cold. Quite the contrary. “I would not ask for myself, but Georgiana will be most disappointed if you refuse.”

  Not for himself. Okay, then I was safe. Just like all the other times I’d told myself I had nothing to worry about.

  “In that case, my aunt and I will be honored.”

  He stared at me a moment longer, bowed and left the room.

  I collapsed into the desk chair. Was this really happening? Hadn’t Darcy made it clear he didn’t want anything more to do with me?

  He didn’t exactly welcome you with open arms. But I didn’t want him to. Did I?

  Finding my strength again, I rushed into the corridor and through the door to the public area, searching frantically for Aunt Sally. She was shocked at my appearance and worried that I had taken ill. When I told her about the invitation, she shook her head in amazement.

  “Jane told me about Mr. Darcy,” she said, “But I was under the impression that you and he didn’t like each other.”

  “Well, I…I don’t know what to make of it, Aunt Sally, but I don’t think it would be very polite to refuse, would it?”

  She agreed, and so when a dignified gentleman—a Mr. Cavendish—met us at the front door to confirm that we were to attend dinner, we accepted. We returned to the bed-and-breakfast we’d booked for the night, washed and dressed (I’d brought one decent outfit with me, thank God) and were on our way to my rental car when a limousine pulled up, sent from Pemberley.

  On our arrival, I clutched my aunt’s arm as the driver escorted us to a side door used as the family’s entrance. Mr. Cavendish led us down another hallway to a room that reminded me of Charles’s grand salon at Netherfield, but much more glamorous. Sitting on one of the sofas was Caroline Bingley, and across from her in a Directoire chair was Charles.

  I stopped, stock-still, and only my aunt’s urgent whisper kept me going. Charles got to his feet with his usual, exuberant grin.

  “Elizabeth!” he said. “I’m so glad to see you!” He pumped my hand, nearly detaching it from my arm. “You remember my sister, Caroline.”

  I nodded in the woman’s direction, and she gave me an icy nod in return. She didn’t look at all happy.

  I soon began to understand why. When Darcy and Georgiana walked into the room, Darcy ignored Caroline, and Georgiana walked right past Charles with only a brief glance in his direction. Not exactly an indication of the kind of “adoration” Caroline had implied she felt for Charles. Maybe he didn’t want to marry a sixteen-year-old girl (who wasn’t really sixteen). Or maybe they had never intended to get married at all.

  I’d been prepared to be very mad at Charles, but it wasn’t possible to maintain the feeling. He asked several times about my family, and the way he skirted around any mention of Jane, in particular, told me that she was very much on his mind. He spoke ruefully of the good times we’d had together, and when I introduced him to my aunt, he seemed ready and willing to keep her entertained. Part of me was starting to hope that he was so interested because he still cared for Jane.

  While Georgiana chattered gaily, pelting me with questions about America and my life there, Darcy stood by the mantel-piece and watched me. This time I didn’t feel any judgment from him, only a kind of melancholy. I felt the same way myself. I’d clearly misjudged him on most counts—I’d never done anything but mock him—and yet he’d wanted me to share his life.

  The dinner was incredible. A round, cheerful woman served the dishes with the help of the butler, Mr. Cavendish, and the mood was almost relaxed. Even Darcy seemed in better spirits. He and Georgiana ate along with everyone else. Neither brother nor sister seemed to feel any particular urge to run out and find some willing mortal to bite.

  Does Darcy keep a harem here? I wondered, determined to torment myself into indifference. It didn’t work. I was more aware of Darcy, and my attraction to him, than ever before.

  Near the end of the meal Georgiana swayed in her seat, and Darcy jumped up to catch her. I helped lift her out of her chair, and Darcy’s hand brushed mine.

  “She must go up to bed,” he said. “Please make yourself comfortable in the drawing room. Ask Cavendish for anything you require.”

  I could barely finish my dessert because the hand he had touched had gone numb. When we all went to the drawing room, Aunt Sally sat down next to me.

  “There is something very interesting in the way Mr. Darcy is staring at you,” she whispered.

  “He does that,” I said, flustered by her perceptiveness. “And not just to me. At home—”

  “Come off it, Lizzy. He’s obviously taken with you.” She lowered her voice. “He must be in love with you.”

  I sputtered some answer, but she only gave me a knowing look and took the coffee Mr. Cavendish offered. At some point my cell phone rang; I was so discombobulated that I didn’t answer. When Darcy returned, we all went for a walk in Pemberley’s extensive gardens. Darcy set out to charm my aunt, smiling more than I’d ever seen him do before.

  Could he be in love with me? He’d never said anything about love at Rosings. I’d wondered if vampires were even capable of the feeling, but Darcy and his sister clearly loved each other very much.

  It wasn’t until we were back at the B and B and I, in a state of total confusion, was drifting through the evening’s ablutions that my cell rang again and I forced myself to pick it up.

  Ten minutes later I was pounding on the bathroom door. My aunt came out, a towel wrapped around her hair.

  “What in heaven’s nam
e is it, Lizzy?” she asked.

  It took a few minutes, because I was crying and had to start over twice. I explained everything, from George’s revelations about vampires to my own personal confirmation of their existence, finishing with the part about Wickham and his attack on Georgiana.

  I didn’t expect Aunt Sally to take it all in as quickly as Jane had, but she surprised me. There had apparently been legends of nightwalkers in that part of Derbyshire for centuries, which she’d believed as a child. The Darcys had always had an aura of mystery about them that had led to much speculation through the years.

  “I never thought it would be real,” she murmured. “But as vivid as your imagination can be, Lizzy, I know you are not insane. If you say it is true, I believe it.”

  After a grateful hug, I told her the worst part. She got up, went downstairs and returned with a bottle of wine and glasses supplied by the innkeepers.

  “Here,” she said. “We must think clearly, but first we must calm down.”

  I gulped the wine and told myself I wouldn’t start crying again. When Mrs. Rainsford came up to tell us that we had a visitor, I dashed downstairs in a loose shirt and jeans, praying it would somehow be more news of Lydia.

  Darcy was waiting in the sitting room. He jumped to his feet when I barreled in.

  “Miss Elizabeth!” he said, starting toward me. “Good God! What is the matter?”

  Unable to contain my worry, I repeated what Jane had told me, which she’d learned from Dad only a few hours ago. Lydia had run off with George Wickham in L.A. She’d sent an e-mail to Kitty boasting about it, and how George had promised to show her a new way of life that would make her rich and free her from the necessity of ever working again. Dad and Mom were upset, though not really worried yet. I was the one who knew the truth.

  “When I think that I might have prevented it,” I said, pacing around the tiny little room. “I knew what he was. If only I’d told Lydia, my family—” I collapsed onto the sofa. Darcy remained where he was, and I was grateful that I couldn’t see his face.

  “I am grieved,” he said. “Does any of your family know where she is?”

  “No. Oh, God.” I pushed my face into the upholstery. “Even if I tell everyone the truth, how can they possibly stop a vampire who has already destroyed at least one life?”

  He was so quiet that I thought he’d left, but he wasn’t quite ready to abandon me to my misery. “I am afraid you have long desired my absence,” he said. “If only there were something I could do that might offer consolation.”

  I choked out some kind of thanks, and he drifted away. I had the feeling I’d never see him again. If it hadn’t been for my fear for Lydia, I might have raided Mrs. Rainsford’s kitchen for every bottle of wine she had.

  But Aunt Sally was right. I had to keep my head. I ran upstairs and told Aunt Sally that I had to get to London at once, collect Jane and take the first possible flight back to New York.

  We were packed and ready in half an hour. Aunt Sally went down to speak to Mrs. Rainsford while I went to get the car.

  I didn’t hear the footsteps coming up behind me. I wasn’t prepared when a woman’s voice called my name, and I turned to see Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

  “Elizabeth Bennet,” she said, baring her teeth. “How convenient to find you here.”

  And then she bit me.

  CHAPTER 13

  I WOKE UP IN A DAMP, DARK ROOM, MY MOUTH tasting like mothballs and my neck aching like the devil. I touched the little puncture wounds. They weren’t very big, and they weren’t bleeding.

  But a vampire had bitten me. I didn’t feel as if I’d changed, but then again I didn’t know how long a conversion would take…if that was what Lady Catherine had intended.

  Oddly enough, I didn’t panic. I struggled to my knees and looked around. I seemed to be in some kind of cellar; the only light came from a half-blocked window set in one of the dank brick walls. From what I could see, the room was nearly empty except for a pile of rope, loose bricks and some broken pieces of wood. I heard squeaking and tried to pretend I hadn’t.

  Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Last time I’d seen her, she was lording it over the vampire drinking club. She hadn’t shown any liking for me then. Now she was in England, and she obviously had it in for me. How she’d known where to find me, or what she wanted, wasn’t as clear.

  George had said she’d converted Darcy, and Darcy had pretty much confirmed that. But Darcy had also made clear that he wasn’t under her control, and he hadn’t behaved as if he took her very seriously.

  Still, this had to have something to do with his relationship to Lady Catherine. Maybe she was jealous of any woman, vampire or mortal, who got near him. It was all wild speculation at this point. And all the speculation in the world wouldn’t get me out of danger now. I knew in my heart that Darcy wouldn’t save me this time. Lady Catherine wouldn’t have done any of this if she thought I might be rescued.

  Okay, Lizzy, I thought. What will get you out?

  I got up, groaning at the stiffness in my legs. How long had I been here? Hours? A day? I had no sense of the passing of time, but my mouth was bone-dry and my stomach was growling.

  Feeling my way, I explored the room. I crouched to examine the wood pieces. Several of them had been broken into sharp points. The rope, while a little mildewed, was still in one piece.

  Maybe, as George said, it would take a lot more to kill a vampire than a stake through the heart, but I was willing to give it a try. Lady Catherine wouldn’t leave me here indefinitely. She’d be back, and I’d be ready.

  Gathering up the stakes, I hauled the rope to the back of the room. I knew Lady Catherine was twice as strong as I was, if not more; I’d have to rely on the element of surprise. If I had to go, I’d go knowing that Darcy wouldn’t think I was a helpless little human female.

  After a few hours the room got darker, and I guessed that night had fallen. I fell asleep, jerked myself awake and listened, my nerves stretched well past the breaking point. The door opened and a pair of hulking men came in, lifted me by my arms and dragged me out of the building. The sticks and rope stayed behind.

  There weren’t any streetlamps in the vicinity, and I had no hope of breaking the men’s painful grip. I had the idea that I was still in the country, and I was convinced of that when the men half carried me across a field, past a tiny country road and through a wood to an estate at least as big as Pemberley.

  Lady Catherine was holding court in an immense drawing room dripping with gold paint, red velvet and black drapes heavy enough to smother a dinosaur. Several young men lounged around her chair, all of them startlingly handsome. Lady Catherine’s daughter sat on a smaller chair beside her.

  “So, Miss Bennet,” Lady Catherine said as the men threw me at her feet. “You can be at no loss to understand the reason for your being here.”

  “All I know is that you’re guilty of kidnapping,” I said, climbing to my knees.

  Lady Catherine snorted. “It is much more than that, my dear.”

  I stuck up my chin. “You should know that people will be looking for me. My aunt—”

  “Your aunt,” Lady Catherine said scornfully, “has been taken care of.”

  I got about a half step toward her before her thugs hauled me back. “What have you done to her?” I demanded.

  “She is unharmed. And you may remain so, should you give me certain assurances.”

  “I still don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You ought to know that I am not to be trifled with. Do you deny that you have, by your arts and allurements, seduced my nephew into offering you his patronage?”

  I laughed weakly. “Why would he do that? He’s been working against my family since we met.”

  “I saw you at Rosings. I observed the nature of his infatuation, which would never have come about were he in his right mind.”

  “You know him better than I do. Is he in his right mind?”

  She surged to her fee
t. “Miss Bennet, do you know who I am? Mr. Darcy is my kind, bound to me. As he is shortly to be bound in matrimony to my daughter, Anne.”

  Anne de Bourgh gave me a blank look. I stared back. “How lucky for him. Are you sure Darcy wants it?”

  “You are an ignorant mortal of no understanding. While in their cradles, his mother and I planned this union. It was meant to be for a lifetime; now it will be for eternity.”

  I was able, for a few seconds, to feel sorry for Darcy. “What do you want from me?” I asked, my teeth beginning to chatter.

  “Tell me once and for all if Darcy has attached you.”

  “I’m not anyone’s ‘attachment,’” I said.

  “And will you promise me never to enter into such an engagement?”

  I was too angry to be smart. “I will not promise anything.”

  She descended from the platform, stretching her thin lips wide. “You have made a mistake, Miss Bennet. A very serious mistake.”

  There wasn’t much hope of my escaping. The logical part of me knew I’d be lucky to be alive five minutes from now, and if I were, I wouldn’t be much more than a slave.

  The emotional part of me was stronger. I turned and ran straight for the thugs, who were too astonished to stop me. The door was only a few yards away. I could hear the whisper of feet behind me, feel hot breath on my neck, a hand reaching…

  I hit a hard, warm surface. Darcy steadied me and pushed me behind him.

  “Kindly stay where you are, Aunt,” he said.

  Lady Catherine skidded to a stop, her long skirts swirling around her legs. “Darcy!”

  “Good evening, Lady Catherine. Had I known you would be inviting Miss Elizabeth to your little gathering, I would have been sure to make myself available.”

  “But…but my dear nephew…” I peeked around the implacable barrier of Darcy’s body, and Lady Catherine smiled at me sweetly. “Miss Bennet and I were only having a pleasant tête-à-tête.”

  Darcy glanced at me, unmistakable worry in his eyes. “You do not deceive me, Aunt. I know you too well.”