By Anna Liu
Part VII: A Vampire’s Estate
Read Part VI: The Letter here.
Elizabeth was very glad when Jane returned to Longbourn after her visit in London. Kitty’s only interest was in how much Lydia was enjoying herself without her and hearing about it all day was quite tiresome — nearly as tiresome as Mrs. Bennet crowing about Lydia’s prospects of finding a husband while in Brighton. Mary sulked by the pianoforte, and Mr. Bennet hid in his study. Needless to say, Longbourn was a very unpleasant place without Jane.
When Jane’s carriage arrived, Elizabeth hugged Jane tightly and took her pale, cold hands. “I have so much to tell you, Jane.”
Jane lifted an eyebrow. “Is it about Lydia and Mr. Wickham? She wrote to me, telling me all about how she’s been invited to some full moon ritual.”
Elizabeth paused. “Ritual? That doesn’t sound very respectable.” Not to mention all of the horrid things she’d learned about Mr. Wickham from Mr. Darcy’s letter.
The sisters went inside to their bedroom, where Elizabeth finally spilled the secrets she’d been holding in. Mr. Darcy’s proposal, his feud with Mr. Wickham, and his influence over Mr. Bingley all tumbled out.
Jane stayed very still the entire time Elizabeth was speaking.
“I’m so sorry, Jane,” Elizabeth said. “If I hadn’t seemed so disagreeable, perhaps you would be married right now.”
“Do vampires truly disgust you so much?” Jane asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.
Elizabeth rose to her feet and shook her head vehemently. “No, Jane. I used to fear them, but now I know I was being prejudiced. With the exception of Miss Bingley, I have come to respect vampires a great deal. And you, my dearest Jane, are nothing short of remarkable and lovely. Vampires are nothing to look down upon, I know that now.”
Jane sighed. “I’m not angry, Elizabeth. I suppose that is why I did not see Mr. Bingley once while in London.”
“What can I do to remedy this, Jane?”
“Just tell me this, Lizzie. Can you truly tell me that you do not love Mr. Darcy?”
Elizabeth didn’t know how to respond, but she was saved by Mrs. Bennet bursting into the room. “Girls, you have been invited to Pemberley by Miss Georgiana Darcy. She sent a carriage to fetch you. Most unusual, but the highest honor indeed. Girls, you must go at once!”
“Mother, Jane has only just returned from London,” Elizabeth protested. “We cannot go now.”
“That would be the highest insult, Lizzie,” Mrs. Bennet retorted. “I will not hear of you refusing Miss Darcy.”
“The invitation came from her? Not her brother?” Jane asked.
Elizabeth gave her a look.
“No, she wrote that he’s away on business, but she is delighted to make your acquaintances.”
Jane stood. “Lizzie and I will be out shortly. Thank you, Mother.”
As soon as Mrs. Bennet closed the door behind her, Elizabeth let her mouth fall open. “Jane!”
Jane seemed to be trying very hard to hide a smile. “What? Perhaps meeting his sister will help you find the answer to what I asked you.”
Pemberley was the most magnificent estate Elizabeth had ever laid eyes on. Even Lady Catherine’s home paled in comparison. The grounds were a wild sort of beautiful — not the manicured perfection of Rosings, but the best parts of nature allowed to bloom unchecked. Rose bushes spilled petals through the gardens, filling the air with their sweet, heady scent.
A footman escorted the Bennet sisters inside to where Georgiana was waiting in the sitting room. She rose to her feet immediately when she saw them, her face breaking into a pleased smile. Georgiana was a pretty young woman with dark hair the same shade as Mr. Darcy’s. She had shadows beneath her eyes, as if she hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in the past month.
“Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth, thank you for coming on such short notice. My brother speaks very highly of you both, and I just had to meet you for myself.”
Jane hid her surprise of the thought that Mr. Darcy praised her very well, saying, “Oh, please just call us Jane and Lizzie.”
“Then you must call me Georgiana. You must be hungry! I’ve had the servants prepare you a late breakfast.”
“How kind,” Elizabeth murmured. Her head was still spinning with the resplendence of Pemberley. The ceilings arched far above her head, dangling crystal chandeliers that caught the sunlight and scattered it across the walls.
The dining hall was as impressive as the rest of the estate. Large portraits stared at Elizabeth as she sat down beside Jane. Georgiana followed Elizabeth’s gaze and smiled. “That one is my father.”
The late Mr. Darcy cut a striking character, even as a painting.
“Handsome, isn’t he?”
The cool, amused voice made Elizabeth’s cheeks warm. She turned to see Mr. Darcy standing at the entrance of the dining hall. “Mr. Darcy, it’s a shame we keep meeting in these circumstances,” she said.
Jane’s eyes darted from Elizabeth to Mr. Darcy, then back and forth again.
“What sort of circumstances could you mean, my dear Miss Elizabeth?” Mr. Darcy went over to Georgiana and kissed the top of her head. His sister smiled up at him.
Elizabeth faltered at the display of affection. “The — the circumstances where you show up unannounced.”
“I decided to come home a day early to surprise my sister, and what do I come home to but two charming Bennet sisters dining with her?”
“Fitz, I was tired of only hearing about them from you. I wanted to meet them.” Georgiana flashed her canines. “So here they are.”
Mr. Darcy broke into a smile. “Once you get something into your mind, sister, nothing stands in your way.”
Elizabeth had never seen such a jovial version of Mr. Darcy before. Fitz? She was half convinced that he had been replaced by some strange twist of fate. He was no longer doing a fine imitation of a statue; no, he was behaving very appealingly indeed.
Mr. Darcy sat down beside Georgiana, and the servants hurried to prepare him a setting. “How are your sisters, Miss Elizabeth?”
“Kitty and Mary are still in Longbourn with my mother and father, but Lydia is in Brighton.”
“Brighton! The coast is lovely this time of year,” Georgiana said.
“If I may ask something that may seem insensitive,” Jane interjected quietly, “Lydia wrote to me about a full moon ritual with Mr. Wickham. Is that something we should be concerned about?”
Georgiana sipped her tea, looking anywhere but Jane.
Mr. Darcy narrowed his eyes. “The full moon ritual? You’re certain?”
“Yes,” Jane began, “but — ”
Mr. Darcy stood, his food untouched. “Werewolves used to invite hapless young women to their revels during the full moon. They have been banned for over a century. If Miss Lydia has been invited, I fear for her safety.”
Elizabeth clutched Jane’s hand.
“The full moon is tonight. Your sister must not attend that ritual. Mr. Wickham has only devious intentions, I am certain,” Mr. Darcy said.
“It’s too late,” Elizabeth realized. “We cannot possibly get to Brighton in time.”
“That’s not quite true,” Georgiana said quietly. When Jane had said Mr. Wickham’s name, she’d shrunk into her chair. She seemed half the girl that she had been moments before. “Vampires can travel through mirrors.”
It was such an impossible sentence said in such a matter-of-fact manner, Elizabeth wasn’t sure if she should laugh. She turned to Jane. “Is that true?”
“I have certainly never attempted such a thing.”
“There are many things I have failed you in, Miss Bennet,” Mr. Darcy said, “and teaching you all there is to be a vampire is one of them. I convinced Mr. Bingley not to tell you about this particular talent. I didn’t want to shock you. Now, I must retrieve your sister.”
“I shall accompany you,” Jane said.
Mr. Darcy shook his head, but not unkindly. “I appreciate that more than I can say, Miss Bennet, but packs of werewolves on a full moon are unpleasant company. I request that you stay here with your sister and mine.”
Jane nodded, but Elizabeth could see that she was disappointed. “Please make sure Lydia is unharmed,” Elizabeth said. “She may be foolish at times, but she is still our sister.”
“I know what it means to keep a sister safe,” Mr. Darcy replied.
Georgiana hugged him tightly. “Be careful.”
“I will,” he said. His eyes were on Elizabeth, full of an intent she could not make out.
Then he was gone, and Elizabeth had to face the realization that perhaps she was falling in love with Mr. Darcy.
Blood and Prejudice: Part VII was originally published in The Herald on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
