Darcy caressed her cheek, feeling the warmth of her skin against the coolness of his palm. “Elizabeth’s loyalty remains true, which will strain her relationship with her parents and her sisters. She cannot tell them the reason for Lydia’s demise or admit her share of the blame. I know Elizabeth; she will exile herself from her family. She will need someone to whom to turn. Be that someone, Georgiana; Elizabeth will respond in kind.The two of you will be a formidable pair. I have outlined what must be done for the estate and for your future.You and Elizabeth will want for nothing; I have seen to it all.”

Georgiana’s tears escaped, although she fought to be strong for him.“Do not go,” she whispered.

Darcy wiped away her tears with his thumbs. “I will make you one promise before I leave you, my darling girl. If somehow I survive this confrontation, I will find Elizabeth, and I will beg her on bended knee to return to us. I will humble myself at her feet and not take no for an answer.”

“You do love her? I knew you did!”The tears began again.

“With all my heart.” Darcy pulled his sister to him. “With all my heart that I have not given to you.” He kissed the top of Georgiana’s head.“I will journey far and the weather may not hold, so I

Elizabeth traveled for nearly two hours, but the previous night’s rain, leaving large ruts in the road’s normally smooth surface, slowed her progress. She asked Peter to stop at the next inn; she desperately needed to stretch her legs. A dull headache remained from the nightmarish images, which had haunted her aborted sleep. She could not shake the image of a bloody Darcy speaking her name. How much of the dream is true?That question troubled her waking hours. With the other dreams, parts of them were predictions that were fulfilled, and parts were events that had already occurred. She could not bear the thought of what she had seen happening to Darcy.Yet what could she do? She needed to go to her family. Besides, her helping Darcy only put him in more danger—dividing his priorities.At least, that was what she told herself.

The carriage, thankfully, rolled to a stop. As Peter scrambled down from the seat, Elizabeth righted herself and straightened her clothing. Peter jerked open the door and let down the steps.“Here we be, Mrs. Darcy.” He offered her a hand down.

Elizabeth took a few gingerly steps, testing her legs. “Thank you, Peter.” She patted his hand before stepping away. “I promise that I will not be long. I just need some tea to settle my stomach.” She motioned to Hannah, her maid, to follow her once she checked on the belongings.

“Of course, Mrs. Darcy. I will just be tendin’ the horses.We can start out again whenever you be ready.”

“You get something, too, Peter. Tell them to put it on my account.” She walked stiffly towards the inn. Few horses or carriages were in the yard, and Elizabeth thought she might find the peace and quiet refreshing.The rattle of the carriage seemed deafening today.

A stout innkeeper rushed forward when he saw her enter.Well-dressed women tended to demand immediate attention, and the

“I just need some refreshment. Be sure that someone aids my driver and my maid, and see that they get something also.” She took off her gloves and her bonnet.“I will sit over there.” Elizabeth gestured to a table along the wall.

“Yes, Ma’am,” he said and gave a thick-waisted bow. “Me wife will be right over.”

Elizabeth settled herself at the table, placing her outer garment on one of the chairs. She shrugged her shoulders several times to loosen the tension. It was not a big inn, but everything appeared clean and well polished.

A stout woman waddled towards the table.“What might we be gettin’ you, Ma’am?”

Elizabeth recognized that it was unusual for a woman to travel alone, and it was important to let everyone know with her tone that she was no fool when it came to proper service.“I would like some tea, and if you have some sweetmeats or tartlets, that would be wonderful.”

“I be findin’ you some of the best sweetmeats in the country, Ma’am.”The innkeeper’s wife took off at a trot.

Elizabeth sighed deeply. She really did not care for the sweet refreshments, but she would eat a few and box up the rest. Her maid had a sweet tooth and would appreciate the gesture. In only a few minutes, the tea arrived, and she sat stirring it mindlessly.

Engrossed in her own reflections, Elizabeth took no note of the gentleman striding purposefully towards the door upon leaving the taproom, but just as he reached the exit, he realized he had dropped one of his gloves. Turning quickly in place, the man searched the floor in the direction from which he had come.“Ah, there it is.” He bent to retrieve the item, but then his eyes drifted to the woman seated alone. Shocked to see her there, the words burst from his mouth. “Elizabeth…I mean, Mrs. Darcy?” He made a quick bow from across the room.“What in the world are you doing here?” He came forward as he spoke.

Elizabeth jumped to her feet upon hearing her name.“Colonel Fitz—Fitzwilliam!” she stammered.

Immediately, he took her hand in his two large hands and gestured to the chair.“Please be seated.” He looked around, as if expecting Darcy to come through the door.“May I join you, Ma’am?”

“Certainly, Colonel.” Elizabeth looked away in embarrassment. She would need to explain to Darcy’s cousin why she had left Pemberley without her husband.

Damon Fitzwilliam sat next to her.“I am in amazement to find you in this out-of-the-way inn, Mrs. Darcy. I would not think my cousin would allow you out of his sight so soon after your nuptials.” He gestured to the innkeeper to bring him another tankard of ale.

Elizabeth stalled; she took a sip of her tea before she answered. “My mother is ill, and my papa is distraught.We have experienced a family tragedy, Sir.”

“I offer my condolences.” She acknowledged his words with a slight nod.“Yet I am still at a loss as to why your husband does not travel with you.There are many things one might say about Darcy, but ignoring his responsibilities is not one of them.”

The reappearance of the woman with her sweetmeats and his tankard gave Elizabeth a moment to decide how to answer. The truth—as much as she could offer—seemed the best bet. Obviously, Darcy’s family would soon know of their separation. “How candid might I be, Colonel?”

“Personally, I can think of only one reason for your separation from my cousin. I asked Darcy before he married if you were aware of his unique situation, and he assured me that you knew everything. Darcy loves you. Otherwise, he would not have brought you into his life.” His words demanded she speak honestly.

“My husband, I assure you, Colonel, owns my heart!”

He took a drink of the ale and studied her closely. She was not what he had considered her to be when he met Elizabeth Bennet in London.“I have all the time in the world, Mrs. Darcy, and sometimes it is best to get another opinion.”

Elizabeth nibbled on the sweetmeat, and although it had nothing to do with the woman’s cooking, it certainly tasted bitter. “May I assume, Colonel, that you know of the pox which haunts my husband?”

“As I share guardianship of Georgiana with Darcy, he confessed his concerns to me about the Darcy legacy. No one else in the family knows. My father is a Fitzwilliam, as was Darcy’s mother. The aberration travels through the Darcy line, and I doubt my father would welcome the knowledge of what James Darcy did to his sister. It would explain Lady Anne’s withdrawal from her husband and also her weakened condition.” He leaned forward to ensure secrecy.“My cousin has not infected you, Madam?”

“No…no, Colonel. My husband refuses to continue the family curse over to another generation.” She blushed thoroughly at sharing such intimacies. “Mr. Darcy is a man of honor.”

“Then you must explain what caused this sudden departure. You do sound as if you wanted this removal. I will not judge, so please be honest. I cannot imagine how both of you must suffer with such an arrangement.” He cradled her hand in both of his as he spoke.

Tears misted Elizabeth’s eyes. It would be helpful to share some things with another, even one of Darcy’s family—to speak some of her thoughts aloud. “Do you know of Mr. Wickham, Colonel?” Her bottom lip trembled with the memory.

“I am aware of the menace that Mr. Wickham created for my cousin.” He guarded the emotion shooting through him.

“Yesterday, I received two letters from my eldest sister, the one you met at the wedding. She reported the disappearance of Lydia, our youngest. A man disguised as Colonel Forster, the commanding officer of our local militia, convinced my father to allow Lydia to attend Christmas festivities in London with him and Mrs. Forster. Through putting details together, it is quite obvious that the man who took my sister was no man at all; it was George Wickham. My family, at first, suspected an elopement. But as another officer is accused of a heinous murder similar to the ones his own.”

Colonel Fitzwilliam added cautiously,“And this brought unfair accusations on both your parts?”

“Oh, Colonel, I said the most hurtful things to Fitzwilliam.” Her tears flowed easily now. “How could I have been so stupid? It was not my husband’s fault, but I stormed out, and now I know not what to do.”

“I suspect we should order you more tea, and you will tell me everything.” He handed her his handkerchief and motioned the innkeeper over.“Mr.Witherspoon, Mrs. Darcy is my cousin’s wife.” He needed to prevent rumors as to why they might be together. The colonel stopped regularly at this inn, and he wanted no gossip about an assignation. “Imagine my meeting her along the London Road! We will catch up on family news for a few minutes, so please freshen the lady’s tea and ask your good wife if she has any of those delicious rolls I love.”

“Immediately, Colonel.”The man made his way to the back of the inn.

For the next hour, Elizabeth told Darcy’s cousin how her own family was part of the curse, how she had met Darcy, how Wickham had killed the bar maid and Miss King in Meryton, how she and Darcy fought Wickham and Amelia Younge in London, how they had studied the books for knowledge of vampires, and how Mrs. Annesley believed that Elizabeth’s dreams were the key to defeating Wickham. “The dream from last night haunts me even now. Fitzwilliam fought Wickham’s followers and lost. It was so real, Colonel, that I expected to see a bloody body at the foot of my bed.” She shivered in remembrance.

“Where is Wickham?” Colonel Fitzwilliam demanded.

“His carriage was seen leaving London and heading north. Recently, Mr. Darcy received a report from Bramwell’s men saying that Wickham has a house in Stanwick, above Chillingham. Fitzwilliam did not want to follow Wickham there; he feared putting

“Then my cousin has left for Stanwick?”

Elizabeth froze with his words. “He would not! Fitzwilliam cannot face Wickham alone!” She started up from the table, but the colonel’s hand on her arm stayed her.

His words were ominous.“Mrs. Darcy, you know my cousin as well as anyone. Can you imagine his sitting at Pemberley while Wickham flaunts his possession of your sister?”

“I taunted him about removing Lydia’s head to release her soul.” She sat down, as if in a trance, as she recalled her cruel words. “Fitzwilliam said he would do whatever was necessary to end her wanderings.” Elizabeth grabbed the colonel’s hand. “We have to help him. Fitzwilliam cannot defeat Wickham by himself. My dream says so. I must return to Pemberley immediately.”

“Darcy is not there!” His words spoke the truth that she did not want to acknowledge. “If you left Pemberley by noon yesterday, I would venture to say that Darcy left for Northumberland shortly afterwards—by this morning, at the latest. Our going all the way to Pemberley would be fruitless.”

Agitated, Elizabeth asserted,“I must go to Northumberland.”

“We will go,” the colonel said, taking command. “First, we need to lighten your coach so we travel faster. Have your maid pack you

“I have my pin money, and Fitzwilliam had Mrs. Reynolds bring me five hundred pounds.”

“Perfect! We will leave your maid and the excess baggage here. I will send word to Pemberley for someone to come and retrieve her and the baggage.Your coachman and I will take turns driving the carriage. Even with that, it will take us four to five days to reach the Scottish border. Hurry, Mrs. Darcy. We must be on the road.”

He took over the dismissal of the maid’s services, over the woman’s protestations. Elizabeth paid for their food, the horse’s feed, and a room with board for the maid for two days. She asked the innkeeper to make a basket out of which the three of them—she, the colonel, and Peter—could partake on the road.

Within thirty minutes, they were headed north. “Thank you, Colonel.”The words broke the smothering silence.

“My dear, no thanks are necessary. Darcy is my family.” He changed his seat to sit beside her.“What I am going to need, Elizabeth, is for you to tell me everything you know about vampires. I want to know what the books say, what your intuition tells you, and what Mrs.Annesley believes to be your role in Darcy’s fate.”

Elizabeth realized the colonel had assigned her a job in asking for her insights. He would keep her focused on the task at hand, and she was thankful for his interference. How much she had learned of vampire legends and facts amazed her. After two hours, he took over the reins, and Peter climbed into the carriage.The coachman made his apologies to Elizabeth, but explained that the colonel

Elizabeth followed suit. She had slept very little the night before, and she would need all her wits to help Darcy defeat Wickham. She settled back into the luxurious seats of Darcy’s coach. They reminded her of him—warm and comfortable. Automatically, she turned her head into the material and inhaled deeply. She fancied that she could smell the man she loved—sandalwood and masculinity. Breathing in deeply again, she closed her eyes and tried to feel Darcy around her—the muscles of his arms tight and pulling her closer—the heat of his breath hot on the back of her neck—the hunger of his mouth as he kissed her.“Please, God,” she whispered, not wishing Peter to hear her prayer.

That evening, the colonel registered them as man and wife at a rowdy inn along the main road. They took a room over the bar, both of them expecting little sleep because of the noise.They had dinner in a semiprivate room with two other couples, so their conversation remained on mundane subjects—mostly his family in Matlock.

“Will they not wonder what happened to you?” she whispered.

“I sent word that I was called to Newcastle unexpectedly. My parents are used to my position interfering with family obligations.”

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