Chapter 9

Darcy waited until his wife, sister, and son had reached the door of Mary's house before signaling for the carriage to continue on the road that led to London. He glanced out of the window, a sad smile twisting his features when he saw Elizabeth and Georgiana watching him go. He waved to them as the carriage pulled farther and farther away until at last they were only small dots in the distance.

"I will see you soon," he promised to the absent women. I hope, he added mentally.

Elizabeth watched the carriage until it disappeared around the bend on the way to London, a lump forming in her throat.

"He will be fine, Elizabeth," Georgiana assured her quietly.

"I know," she sighed. "However, that doesn't stop me from missing him."

Georgiana smiled in understanding before reaching down to grab Edmund as he made to follow his father's now absent carriage.

"No, Edmund," she said soothingly. "We are going to stay with your Aunt Mary while your father is away."

Edmund looked up at her with confusion before looking back at the place where Darcy had last been seen.

"Papa?" he asked quietly.

"No, darling," Elizabeth whispered. "Papa had to leave for a little while."

Edmund's lips trembled for a moment as tears welled up in his eyes. He buried his head in his mother's arms, his throat working as he tried to hold back his tears.

"Shh," Elizabeth crooned. She ran her hands through her son's curly red-brown hair and nodded towards Georgiana, who promptly knocked on Mary's door.

Mary answered almost immediately, her pale eyes concerned beneath her brown hair.

"Lizzie," she sighed. "Georgiana. What happened? I heard that Darcy was going away, only I do not know why-."

"Fitzwilliam is experiencing a few problems that can only be solved by a trip to London," Elizabeth explained quickly.

"He has been exhibiting some… vampiric tendencies," Georgiana added quietly.

Mary frowned and stepped back to allow the girls and her nephew in to the house.

"What kind of vampiric tendencies?" she asked cautiously.

"He has a thirst for human blood," Elizabeth said shortly.

"Ah," Mary murmured. She smiled down at her nephew and bent to pick him up. She grimaced and straightened up, her hand moving to her stomach.

"Mary?" Elizabeth asked, her voice suddenly sharp. "What's wrong?"

Mary blushed and looked back down at her abdomen.

"Oh my," her sister gasped. "Are you-?"

"I wish I knew if it was a boy or a girl," Mary murmured shyly. "It is quite difficult to think of names when the gender is unknown."

Elizabeth laughed and pulled her younger sister into a gentle hug.

"Does James know?" she asked.

Mary's face fell for a moment at the mention of her husband's name.

"I- I have not been able to tell him," she whispered.

Elizabeth frowned and exchanged a concerned glance with Georgiana across the room.

"Did you and James have a disagreement?" Georgiana asked cautiously.

Mary nodded miserably, her face pressed against Elizabeth's shoulder.

"I do not even know if he will come back," she mumbled.

"Of course he will," Elizabeth soothed.

"How do you know he will?" her sister whimpered.

"Because-."

But Elizabeth would never be able to tell Mary why her husband would come back, for at that moment the door was thrown open.

Darcy's head snapped up as the carriage came to an abrupt halt, his eyes narrowing as the sounds of a struggle reached him through the thin walls of the carriage.

"Mason?" he called sharply. "Is everything alright?"

There was no answer. Darcy's nostrils flared as the smell of freshly spilled blood reached him and tightened his grip on the wooden stake that had been hidden up his sleeve.

He reached slowly for the carriage door, his muscles tensing as he prepared to lunge.

A shadow passed across the carriage window for a moment before Darcy was thrown back. His head cracked against the corner of the opposite carriage door, making stars erupt in front of his eyes. He groaned and struggled to remain conscious as his eyes focused on the man now looming over him. Darcy's heart stopped for a moment as the blood rushed from his face.

"Miss me?" the vampire hissed.

James ducked away from the lights of the street lamps, his hand going to the swath of black cloth that he had wrapped around his face. Behind him, Bingley tensed as another figure crossed the nearly abandoned street and ducked through the door of one of the ram shackled houses that lined the street.

"Is that another one?" he whispered.

James nodded grimly, his jaw clenched. When they had set off to find the vampires that had taken his brother, he hadn't planned on there being more than Louisa Bingley being behind his brother's kidnapping. Now, after seeing at least three shadowy figures enter the building, he wondered how many more there were.

"Yes," he whispered. "There are more than I had planned on."

"Should we fall back, then?" Bingley hissed. "We could call Darcy or the girls-." Here Bingley stopped, for even in when he was outnumbered he was loath to bring his wife into danger.

"I'm afraid that will not be necessary, gentlemen," a voice said behind them.

James and Bingley whirled around, their gazes resting on the elderly woman who stood behind them, her face hidden by a swath of black muslin.

"Madam," Bingley began.

"Do not address me so informally, infant," the woman snapped. "I lived twenty life times before you were even conceived."

Bingley frowned and took a step back so that he was beside James, whose hands were already wrapped around twin stakes. James suddenly froze, his eyes widening in shock and recognition.

"Lady Catherine?" he gasped.

"Ah, that is more like it," she sneered. Then she lunged and the world descended into darkness.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters! All of the credit belongs to the amazing Jane Austen! Thanks to all of those who read/reviewed this story and I hope you all had an awesome Thanksgiving!