An Unnatural Inheritance: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Page 18

  “Why indeed,” came Mr. Bennet’s deep voice from the doorway, causing all the women to jump. Mr. Bennet looked past his wife and directly at Elizabeth, who was sitting slightly hunched in the back corner, looking truly distraught. “I’m sure I cannot think of any reason the gentleman would be so suddenly forthcoming, can you?”

  Elizabeth looked up hesitantly to meet her father’s eyes, and instead of the twinkling merriment that had danced in them not half an hour ago, she found only cold fury, disappointment, and accusation.

  XVIII

  “Do you have any idea of what you have done?” Mr. Bennet demanded, his voice rising. He slammed a hand down on his desk, causing Elizabeth to flinch in her seat before him. “I expected far better of you. You are meant to be a teacher to your younger sisters, and instead you employ them in your ill-thought schemes! I am so disappointed in you.”

  Elizabeth hung her head, the threat of tears stinging at her eyes. Never in her life had she experienced her father’s anger. Even when Lydia and Kitty were at their worst, they had never been scolded as she was being spoken to now. Beside her, Kitty had abandoned any attempt at composure and sobbed openly. Lydia paced in the back, causing the small jars on the nearby shelf to rattle gently each time she passed, while Mary and Jane were perched off to the side. Mary, at least, looked deeply troubled, though Jane’s expression was unreadable.

  “I’m so sorry, Papa,” Kitty hiccuped at last. “It is my fault. A truth spell should wear off in an hour, it should not stay so long! It has been days and Mr. Wickham is still enchanted, and I know it is because I helped. I am so clumsy with my magic, it never goes as it should.”

  Mr. Bennet fixed Kitty with a withering look, but did not attempt to offer solace.

  “Indeed, your magic does have a way of backfiring, Kitty. But do not worry; at least now you have a sister whose magical endeavors will always be worse than yours,” Mr. Bennet said sardonically, causing Elizabeth to cringe again.

  She had not wished to tell him of the disastrous effects of Mr. Wickham’s truth spell, but she had felt compelled to. And, as such things went, one confession led to another, and she had, most unwillingly, divulged the accidental banishment of two gentlemen from the countryside.

  “Father, I am willing to take any punishment given to me, but please help. We must unspell him. I fear to think who else he has told, and poor Miss Darcy! Oh, to think, he has told everyone. Should the gossip travel, she will be ruined, scorned, and miserable!” Elizabeth exclaimed. Mr. Darcy’s worst fears will come true, and it will be entirely my fault, she thought.

  “Miss Darcy? How can you be thinking of her at a time like this?” Lydia exploded from the back of the room.

  “For once I agree with your sister. You have attempted to trifle where you don't belong; you have banished Mr. Darcy and forced Mr. Bingley from his home; you attempted dark magic beyond your abilities, and now you have revealed yourself and your gifts to a man who is magically compelled to tell the truth. You have more serious problems than the reputation of some stranger!” Mr. Bennet thundered.

  The room was silent as all five girls held their breath, waiting for the next tirade, but it did not come.

  “Kitty, your clumsiness with spells is punishment enough. Mary, I expected far more from you, but I suspect you will punish yourself. Lydia…” Mr. Bennet paused. “Honestly, I expected far worse from you. From now on magic is prohibited in this household without my consent. My library will be locked, so there will be no more stealing of books. I will not have my daughters running reckless with their craft! Lydia, Kitty, Mary, leave us. Jane and Lizzy, stay here.”

  The younger Bennets practically sprinted out of the room in their attempt to escape, not once looking back in pity at their elder siblings. As the door closed behind them, Mr. Bennet sighed heavily and sat down behind his desk.

  “I will unenchant Mr. Wickham, but there are other things to put right. Jane, I will write to your uncle Gardiner to request you stay with him in London. Call on Mr. Bingley, see if you can repair your sister’s damage. A banishment can only be reversed by another witch. Lizzy has driven the man from his home, and it is your responsibility to correct this. If you meet Mr. Darcy, you are to break the spell on him as well, though I am less concerned with that gentleman. Can you do that Jane?”

  Jane nodded silently, a flush creeping up her cheeks.

  “As for you, Lizzy, I cannot say enough how surprised and disappointed I am with you. Our cousin, Mr. Collins, has invited you to visit him in Kent, and I intend to accept his offer. You will go to Hunsford, where you will be disconnected from Longbourn’s magic and unable to practice,” he said sternly. A heaviness settled on Elizabeth as she nodded in agreement.

  “You will maintain a friendship between the Bennets and the Collins, and if we are fortunate maybe some continued relationship with the family will help you girls keep your gifts when I am gone. Though the Lord knows you do not deserve to!”

  Mr. Bennet stared down his daughters for a long moment, then waved his hand.

  “Be gone, both of you. I have handed out more discipline this day than I have in many years, and I wish to retire to my books now, for they are never troublesome.”

  Elizabeth and Jane both rose to leave the room quickly, and were silent as they made their way back up the stairs to their bedroom. Elizabeth went straight to the seat in front of the window and wrapped her arms around her bent legs as she stared out of it. The sunny day from earlier was gone, and the weather had begun to turn again. A chill came off of the window glass but Elizabeth ignored it as she allowed herself a brief moment to wallow.

  “I have been such a fool, Jane,” she whispered at last. “I have gotten so many things terribly wrong, and I have hurt so many people. Especially you. Can you ever forgive me?”

  A silence filled the room for what felt like years before Jane finally spoke.

  “I do not understand. You say you spelled Mr. Wickham because you did not trust him, and your banishing of Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley was a mistake. But why? Father obviously understands the spell you attempted, but I do not. I feel as though I have been dropped in the middle of a story.”

  Elizabeth sucked in a deep breath and braced herself.

  “Jane, it was so much worse. At the Netherfield Ball. Lydia and I attempted a spell that would help unlock you and Mr. Bingley’s true feelings for each other. I did not tell father this, but I was sure that if you just admitted to yourselves that you were in love, then surely you would never accept an offer from Mr. Collins,” Elizabeth said. Across the room, Jane gasped, and Elizabeth turned to face her, still hugging her knees.

  “But I already knew how I felt about him. And Mr. Collins had no intention of asking for me,” Jane said quietly. Elizabeth let out an exasperated sigh and threw her hands in the air.

  “Yes, but I did not know that! You seemed so determined to do right by the family, so chained to a sense of duty, and I could not watch you forsake a chance at true happiness.”

  “What happened with the spell?” Jane said, her voice still low. Elizabeth closed her eyes for a moment as she thought back to those moments in the dark alcove and the painful spark that had traveled between her and that gentleman.

  “It affected me and Mr. Darcy instead.”

  “Mr. Darcy!” Jane exclaimed. “But you hate him!”

  Elizabeth let loose a bitter laugh.

  “On the contrary, I find that I rather love the gentleman. Quite deeply, in fact,” she whispered. Jane gasped again and moved from her place on the bed to sit opposite Elizabeth. “I know, I was as shocked as you are. More so, in fact. I realized at the Netherfield Ball, and I was greatly distressed.”

  “So you caused the candles to go out?” Jane prodded. Elizabeth nodded.

  “I had so much anger for the man and I was so upset with myself for falling in love with him. He’s horribly rude, unbearably arrogant, and thinks himself better than all. He has little patience for anyone,” Elizabeth said, laughi
ng again. “He is why Mr. Collins did not offer for me, though in retrospect it is hard to see that as a great disappointment.”

  Jane was silent, so Elizabeth continued.

  “I was also led so wrong by Mr. Wickham, who I believed entirely. And he had told me that Mr. Darcy loathes magic and those who practice it, so I felt that the man would shun me if he knew my dearest secret.”

  “But Mr. Wickham was lying, wasn’t he?” Jane asked. Elizabeth shrugged.

  “I do not know! Through my own conversations with Mr. Darcy, I was ready to believe it. He has made comments on occasion that lead me to believe he thinks witchcraft a great sin. I am convinced now that he is not as terrible as I thought him to be, but I confess that I hardly know him. I know he is intelligent and strong, caring toward his sister and friends, and I think he has a dry humor in him. But I spent so much time despising him that I never sought out his better half. I truly believe him to think meanly of me, though. He was always so silent, always staring at me with great disapproval.”

  “Mr. Bingley said he is very shy,” Jane ventured. Elizabeth’s head shot up. “He said that Mr. Darcy and I are very similar — we neither of us wear our emotions on our sleeves, but we feel very keenly.”

  Through the setting light Elizabeth stared at her blushing sister in wonder.

  “I had not thought of it in that way before,” she murmured, before shaking her head. “But it does not matter. I was so upset, so full of self-loathing and so scared of accepting Mr. Collins while loving another that I acted rashly. I attempted to banish my feelings, to discard of them so I never had to think of the man again, but I failed. Instead of driving him from my heart, I sent him from the country, and I’m afraid I sent Mr. Bingley with him.”

  “I cannot imagine you loving such a man, especially loving him so deeply after so short an acquaintance. I have to confess, I do not understand where the spell called such deep affections from. It does not follow reason,” Jane whispered as she reached for Elizabeth’s hands.

  “I suppose the feelings were already there,” Elizabeth said quietly. “And over time I would have become gradually aware of them, easing into and growing to accept them. It only seemed so violent and sudden to me because I rushed the process and forced them to the front too soon. As such, their very presence and strength caught me entirely unprepared. I had not yet even realized that I liked him, and then suddenly my heart was telling me that he had taken over its sole possession.”

  “If you love him, I will seek to as well,” Jane said after several moments of surprised silence. She smiled sweetly. “I confess I did not think he could be as bad as Mr. Wickham says, not if he is friends with Mr. Bingley. And father did say he was dreadfully helpful that day at the farm, even though he had no reason to help.”

  Elizabeth turned and allowed her forehead to rest on the window.

  “It is easy to follow why you love Mr. Bingley, dear Jane. You are both the happiest and most charming of creatures,” she said with a sad smile. “I suppose it is very easy for you both, as Mr. Darcy and I have already claimed all the prejudice and cruelty there is to be had.”

  “Lizzy, you have been foolish, but you are not cruel,” Jane admonished, but it was too late, and Elizabeth could already feel the thick tears falling.

  “I have separated you and Mr. Bingley, I have used magic against the man I love, and now I have aided in divulging his dearest secret to the entire world. His sister means everything to him, Jane, and I have ruined her,” Elizabeth cried. “I hold very little hope of seeing him again, but to know that I have caused him and his sister such harm, I cannot bear it. I have felt his hurt and pain before, I could not stand to know I inflicted more.”

  Jane, who had been running her thumb over her sister’s hand, froze.

  “What do you mean you have felt his hurt and pain before?” she asked softly. Elizabeth sniffed.

  “I feel some connection to him. When he first saw us with Mr. Wickham, I felt his emotions. He was so hurt and angry, and I didn’t know why. I suppose I do now,” Elizabeth whispered.

  Abruptly, Jane dropped Elizabeth’s hand and paced to the back wall.

  “How did you know it was him?” she asked quickly. Elizabeth glanced up and shook her head, wiping her sleeve against her eye.

  “I do not know. I cannot explain. I just… I felt him, I suppose. I knew it was him. Why?”

  Jane’s pacing continued, and pulled her hand to her mouth.

  “Several nights ago, I woke up feeling so desolately lonely. It was terrible. I felt so miserable and truly helpless. But it wasn’t me feeling it. It felt like… you. It felt like you, Lizzy, and I did not know what to do. I cannot explain it either, but I knew that it was you.” Jane looked up. “Does that sound truly impossible?”

  Elizabeth shook her head and gave her sister a sad smile.

  “It does not seem impossible at all. Mary said some witches are able to sense others emotions, especially when both parties are magical. We didn’t fully understand how I came to feel Mr. Darcy’s emotions, but perhaps this is connected. I am sorry that you had to feel that way on my account though. I did not want to bother you with it.”

  Jane returned to the window seat and took Elizabeth’s hands again.

  “Lizzy, why did you not tell me this?” she asked sternly. “Why ask the aid of all your sisters but me?”

  “I suppose I did not want to burden you. You had your own heartache. And I did not mean for the others to find out as they did. I planned to do my spell in solitude, but they found me in such a terrible state…” Elizabeth trailed off and sighed. “It was nice, having someone who didn’t know. I could look at you and know that you had not seen me at my worst, that you had no inkling of the feelings I was grappling and struggling with. I could pretend things were as they once were.”

  “Promise me, no more secrets,” Jane admonished, and Elizabeth nodded her head vigorously.

  “I promise. Now come, let us speak of happier things, such as Mr. Bingley and what all you discussed at the ball!” Elizabeth said, shaking her head and sending a firm but gentle message to her sister that Mr. Darcy was no longer a subject for discussion.

  ***

  Within a fortnight, both of the eldest Bennet daughters departed from Longbourn — Jane first, on her way to London with the Gardiners, then Elizabeth, packed into a carriage with Sir William Lucas and his daughter Maria. While Jane was setting off (much to Mrs. Bennet’s delight) to hopefully capture a husband, Elizabeth couldn’t help but feel like she was being banished herself.

  Mr. Bennet had instructed Jane and Mary to search Elizabeth’s trunks for any hidden magical ingredients or books, and Elizabeth had stood by with patient humiliation as Mary carefully ignored the small vial of dirt that Elizabeth had stowed away. She intended to follow her father’s instructions to not do any magic while she was gone, but old habits were hard to break. In Kent, so far removed from her home, Elizabeth would struggle to find enough power for even the simplest of spells, and the Longbourn soil helped act as only the smallest of amplifiers, for emergency.

  Standing up, Mary announced that she would inform their father the act was done, and quickly quit the room.

  “I understand father’s reasoning, but I hate to see you go,” Jane said as she took Elizabeth’s hand. “I know he has said you cannot do magic, but I hate to see you go off so alone. Here, I have made you these rune cards, so that you may have someone to advise you.”

  Jane pulled a small satchel from her pocket and opened it to reveal a neat stack of thick parchment cards, each embroidered prettily with runes and protective sigils. Elizabeth gasped, bringing her hand to her mouth.

  “Oh, Jane, they are beautiful. However did you get such an idea?” she asked. Jane smiled coyly.

  “Truly, Mary gave me the idea. I think it is terrible to separate a witch from her coven, and we do not wish you to be on your own. We both spelled it, so that you may take a bit of us with you.”

  Elizabeth let out
a laugh that felt more akin to a sob and threw her arms around Jane’s neck.

  “Thank you, Jane. I have nothing to give you, but I’m very sure you will soon have all that you wish for,” she said with a wry smile. “And when I return from Kent, I demand to be the very first one to wish you joy. I insist that you and Mr. Bingley get married as soon as possible, so that you may have a hundred babies and I may be the luckiest aunt in the world and raise them all to be impertinent and read their tea leaves badly.”

  Jane smiled prettily and blushed while shaking her head.

  “Take care of yourself, Lizzy. I hope that Kent will be restful and uneventful for you, and you will have no cause to repent your visit.”

  XIX

  “I wish I had never come,” grumbled an exceedingly unhappy Colonel Fitzwilliam as he and his cousin rode down a dusty road in Hunsford.

  Mr. Darcy was inclined to agree, but he remained silent.