Chapter Five Fresh Blood in the Drawing Room #3
“Then we must warn them.” Bingley wheeled around, catching the brass fire irons with the tail of his coat.
They struck the hearth in a deafening sequence, and Mrs Hurst snatched her workbasket out of their path while Hurst protected the only object he considered irreplaceable.
“Darcy, those ladies are the jewels of the county. He will target them, I am certain.”
Darcy waited until the final poker had finished announcing the emergency. “What do you propose telling Mr Bennet? That a newly commissioned officer is actually an immortal predator who may drain one of his daughters and transform her into a creature of the night?”
Bingley’s hands remained suspended before him. The fire cracked into the silence while the practical difficulties assembled themselves inside his expression. “He might refuse to believe us.”
A short, bitter laugh escaped Mrs Hurst as she restored a spool of silk to her basket. “His wife would invite him to dinner.”
Hurst tested his bruised chin and winced at the reminder of his own recent encounter with the Bennet family. “She would ask his income first.”
Miss Bingley rose in a sweep of silk, only to state the obvious. “Then keep Wickham away from them. You are a master, Mr Darcy. You have power over lesser vampires.”
Darcy rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I can command him to leave this estate. I cannot prevent him entering public rooms, walking through Meryton, or accepting introductions from humans.”
Darcy could not warn Miss Elizabeth without revealing the world he had concealed from her.
He could not keep her at Netherfield once her sister recovered, nor could he place guards around Longbourn without Mr Bennet noticing an unusual growth in footmen.
The protective options available to a master vampire became surprisingly limited when the specific woman concerned did not know she required protection and already suspected him of hiding things.
Directly above them, Miss Elizabeth was moving in the blue chamber. Darcy tracked her steps until they stopped at Miss Bennet’s bed.
He had begun his stay in the county determined to avoid her. That firm intention had survived several visits, two tense dinners, one sincere apology, and a ridiculous argument with a punch bowl, but Wickham’s sudden arrival ended it.
Whether she welcomed his attention or despised it, Darcy would have to remain near her.
FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS, that necessity proved less burdensome than it ought to have done.
Miss Bennet came downstairs for the very first time on the afternoon following Mrs Bennet’s visit.
Mrs Nicholls supported one arm, while Miss Elizabeth kept close to the other without touching unless her sister faltered.
Bingley moved to meet them, stopped abruptly before concern carried him far too near, and clumsily redirected himself to the chair Mrs Nicholls had selected.
He adjusted the cushion, altered its angle, moved the footstool, and ordered another shawl despite the one already tightly wrapped around Miss Bennet’s shoulders.
Bingley gestured to the hearth. “Is the fire too warm? I can quickly have it reduced.”
Miss Bennet settled into the chair and smiled sweetly at him. “It is very comfortable.”
He hovered awkwardly. “You might prefer more heat. Or less.”
She patted his arm. “I believe the present amount is exactly right.”
Bingley withdrew from the fire, looked at her teacup, and remembered that she preferred weak tea with very little sugar.
Miss Bennet thanked him, and pure pleasure almost carried him into the chair beside her.
Her pulse quickened with delight when he approached, and his pupils widened in answer, one canine threatening to descend before he mastered it.
He safely selected a place several feet away.
Miss Bennet lowered her eyes to the tea, apparently interpreting the clumsy retreat as shyness. Miss Elizabeth observed it with a suspicious crease between her brows, but Mrs Nicholls distracted her by discussing the exact hour her sister should return upstairs.
Miss Bingley treated Miss Bennet’s convalescence with far greater warmth than she had shown Miss Elizabeth at any point during the long visit.
She politely enquired about her comfort, recommended a London physician, and offered to promptly send for a superior selection of books.
Mrs Hurst carefully arranged another shawl over Miss Bennet’s knees, while Hurst stood near the opposite wall and drank enough animal blood to prevent another brutal misunderstanding involving human extremities.
His bruised chin had darkened. A broken tooth, discovered after the Bennets departed, had not improved his temper.
“The tooth was sound,” Hurst muttered, pressing his tongue against the gap.
Darcy kept his eyes on Miss Elizabeth. “Its judgement was defective.”
“The glove was under the table,” Hurst said, scowling.
Darcy did not blink. “You remained under it after retrieving the glove, Hurst.”
Hurst adjusted his cravat. “I suffered a momentary confusion.”
“You were counting heartbeats.”
Hurst folded his arms defiantly. “The youngest one was loud.”
Darcy offered a flat stare. “Another lapse will cost you a tooth you widely display when warmly smiling.”
Hurst covered his mouth and retired farther from the company.
None of Bingley’s relations opposed his attachment to Miss Bennet.
Her loud mother lacked restraint, her younger sisters required a firm hand, and Longbourn offered no fortune capable of exciting Miss Bingley, but Miss Bennet was a gentleman’s daughter of a recognised family.
A happy marriage would give Bingley permanent standing within polite local society and provide Netherfield’s unusual household with human legitimacy.
Polite neighbours forgave many peculiarities in a married man, particularly when his lovely wife was beautiful, gracious, and capable of remembering which specific foods normal people ate.
If Miss Bennet eventually consented to conversion, the marriage might continue through centuries.
If she chose to remain human, Bingley would gain several decades of happiness and respectability before grief claimed him.
Either path required honesty, patience, and enough control to court her without draining her, which was the least reliable portion of the arrangement.
Their acceptance of Miss Bennet did not extend to Miss Elizabeth.
Miss Bingley repeatedly turned conversations away from dull local matters whenever Miss Elizabeth contributed. Mrs Hurst was polite but distant, and Hurst avoided Miss Elizabeth because Darcy had forbidden him to come anywhere near her.
Darcy compensated by developing an interest in tedious subjects he had never previously considered worthy of investigation.
He moved to occupy the large chair by the book table while Miss Elizabeth selected a volume. “How extensive are the grounds at Longbourn?”
She paused above the books, turning to stare at him. “Are you considering purchasing them?”
Darcy kept a straight face. “I am attempting to understand the neighbourhood.”
“You have resided at Netherfield for several weeks, Mr Darcy.”
“Bingley resides here. I am visiting.”
“Then the dimensions of Longbourn should trouble you even less.”
Darcy inclined his head. “Your argument is reasonable. Now, how extensive are the grounds?”
Her lips curved in delight despite her attempt to prevent it. “Large enough to walk without encountering one’s family, and too small to escape them permanently.”
The following morning, he discovered her in the breakfast room writing a letter while her sister rested upstairs.
Darcy stood in the doorway. “Which local walks remain passable after rain?”
Miss Elizabeth placed her pen next to the letter. “The western path beyond Longbourn dries first. Why do you enquire?”
Darcy stepped into the room. “I intend to ride extensively through the district.”
Miss Elizabeth smiled brightly. “Behemoth does not require a path. He could easily create one through a solid church.”
Darcy remained serious. “I do not think so. He dislikes consecrated ground.”
She studied him for several seconds, but he offered no amendment.
“Is that intended as humour, Mr Darcy?”
He met her gaze. “It is intended as information.”
Miss Elizabeth laughed. “I begin to suspect that the distinction is unreliable where you are concerned.”