Chapter 38

"Psst!"

He gestured with his fingers to have the others speed up and his impatience was growing inside. He had to take in a few deep breaths because some of them were slow. He sighed when he remembered that a few of them didn't know the area as well as he did but he knew that if they didn't station themselves, the entire plot would be ruined. He was thankful that he had Oliver who was more like a sidekick and who could blame him?

"After all," he thought as the others caught up with him.

"He was the one who was with papa after he died and then he heard his instructions to tell me about the fortune,"

He smirked when he thought back to how cowardly he'd been back at the time and then to conclude that it boiled down to this: he was the one who knew every nock and cranny of the manor and from a palace to more of a prison, he was soaking in the reality that he was about to obtain the inherited fortune and one where neither of them knew anything about it! He was pleased with himself that he became unaware of a figure who poked his arm as he asked,

"Well… what's the plan?"

Fitzwilliam heard something and his eyes opened.

He swallowed but he struggled to sit up in bed when he felt a hand gently touch his shoulder. Glancing over to his right, he peered up at a woman's soft, tender expression and he knew it was his wife, Elizabeth, but her expression seemed to be a little different compared to the one he was accustomed to viewing. He swallowed when he heard her whisper,

"Fitzwilliam? Stay where you are."

"For… what reason exactly?" He asked. He was feeling that something was up.

And he wasn't liking this one bit. By the way Elizabeth appeared, he could sense that she'd heard the sound too and his heart was already thumping and he swallowed. His vision from the day before was visible but he didn't listen to his wife's bidding when he eased himself up on his hands and sat up. Much to his surprise, Elizabeth didn't object but instead, she remained frozen, and he watched as her left ear twitched.

"You can move your ears like that?" He asked in amusement but then he clamped his mouth shut.

There it was again.

It sounded like a rattling sound; as if someone was trying to open a secret lock, hidden away from view but the noise was obvious and both Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth could hear it. Both made their eyes turn in the direction of the fireplace and the crackling of the fire didn't seem to make the tension easier. He swallowed and with his hands he drew himself up to a better position as he asked,

"Elizabeth? Whatever is going on?"

Poof!

Then suddenly the light burnt out and Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth were left in the dark. Both held their breaths, waiting to see what would happen next, but then there was nothing but silence. Fitzwilliam's heart was thumping and pounding inside his chest and when he felt Elizabeth's hands clasp around his night shirt, he knew that she was afraid and something or someone was behind the secret passage and when he felt her do this, his chest grew and he rose to his full height. He wasn't sure if he was dreaming or imagining things but as he watched, he heard the sound of a hinge open and then, the frame of the fireplace drew back, and Fitzwilliam could hear the gears turn and the smell of oil met his nostrils.

"How was it that I was blind to that passage but never bothered to open it?" He asked himself as Elizabeth's arms wrapped themselves around his neck and he embraced her in return.

"Whoever in the world is entering my room?" He exclaimed in an angry voice. He could feel that Elizabeth wasn't liking this and the firmer her grip got, the more inclined he was to believe that she was more afraid and scared than ever. As he watched, Fitzwilliam held his breath when he watched as the opening to the secret passage finished moving and a tall figure appeared inside. He swallowed harder when a familiar voice spoke,

"Well, Fitzwilliam Darcy, we meet again."

The echo of a gun sounded from inside the manor of Hawkswood.

Evening birds, who were nesting in the trees, flew out towards the sky and the sound was devastating. A cry from within could be heard and it was a woman's cry. The sound wasn't too but it was in this moment when figures stepped out of hiding, dark shadows as if they were rats, running around, listening to the king and they knew what the plan was.

Some rushed towards the gate of Hawkswood and the soon, it was closed and locked shut. Two of them turned to each other and gave each other a high five, before they dashed back and followed a few others into the manor. There was four of them and the door was locked.

"Break it down!" One of the men shouted and two of them, who were quite muscular, took positions and rammed their shoulders against the wood. Before long, the creaking of the breaking wood could be heard and the pain which seared through them was ignored because they knew what had happened inside and one could hear the cries of a woman whose cries could be heard to the heavens.

"Break it down harder!"

The splintering could be heard a few bones were broken here and there but the two muscular men didn't care; they knew that sacrifice called for a few injuries here and there and when the doors were finally down, all four dashed inside. One of them called out,

"Station yourselves! Make sure that you follow through with the plan or everything will be ruined!"

"Right away!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Already on it!"

Fitzwilliam coughed and the blood soared up his throat and he could taste it.

He couldn't contain it and it poured out of his mouth; dripping down, he knew it touched his night shirt but Oliver's grip was firmer as he held him by his back. He was out of bed and he wondered how in the world the bullet had grazed through him; he was coughing more and his strength was beginning to leave him. He couldn't even swallow; the taste of his own blood was worse than that of cleaning a cavity.

Oliver's voice rasped.

"Now you get to taste how Mariah felt when I killed her in her sleep, only that time wasn't with a bullet and a gun," He laughed right in Fitzwilliam's ear that his ear drum rang. He could hear it ringing back and forth inside and Fitzwilliam wished that he would have been able to cover them with his hands but the previous butler's grip was tightening; as if he were choking him to death. Before he had known what had happened, after the secret door was opened, Fitzwilliam heard a bang and then something as sharp as a dagger and as hard as a knife seared through his left side of his body and the impact of the gun had caused the bed to slam hard against the wall but not through it. Then within moments, Fitzwilliam found himself being held tightly by the collar by Oliver, the White's butler who had been with the family since Elizabeth was small. But it wasn't him who had taken the aim and fired at him.

In the glare of the dark night, Fitzwilliam met the eyes of a man he'd known at university.

He coughed again and more blood dripped out but he managed to say.

"Henry Kingston."

"The one and only," was his answer.

Fredrick was gagged as well as his uncle.

He was upset with himself for not having known that Henry would strike that evening and how he growled under his breath when he heard the gunshot from upstairs. He knew too that his sister was up there but he'd been blind to the fact that Henry and his stupid, family's butler, Oliver, knew every nock and cranny of Hawkswood and he wished for the life of him, that he hadn't slept so soundly, allowing the enemy to sneak in and attack. His hands were tied behind his back and he knew that his uncle wasn't able to rush out and call more of the hands to aid them. When he had heard Elizabeth's cry, he knew that the target had been Fitzwilliam and he knew that it would only be moments before the rest of them would be either dead or left there dying. He wasn't able to speak when he heard one of the men say,

"Both are well secured and tied up."

"Not to mention that their gags have a few knock powders sprayed on them and it won't take long before they're out,"

"And what a shame."

The one who had tied Fredrick up spoke.

The man reached down and gave Fredrick a hard slap on his cheek. It burned and Fredrick's eyes watered and his uncle witnessed this and his eyes narrowed in angry. If only they could seek help and his mouth went dry. He was beginning to feel the effects of the knockout powder and he wondered if it was either poisonous or one where they would fall into a slumber.

He had to find a way to keep himself awake; he could hear his sister's cries upstairs.

"Leave them alone and hurry to the living room where that portrait is," a voice spoke.

All assembled in the room turned and the tall figure of Henry Kingston appeared. Then Fredrick's eyes widened when he saw who he was supporting with his hand: Elizabeth.

Fredrick let out an inward sigh of relief when he saw that she was unharmed but he knew that his brother in law wasn't. He didn't need to know why Henry was holding her by the back like that; nor did he need to know why he was dragging her along by the hair's roots. His uncle could sense what his intention was he wasn't like it one bit.

"Keep those two here and let the powder do its job," Henry's voice directed and Fredrick witnessed how firmly he was holding his sister's hair. He could tell that she was in pain and he was growing angrier and more protective of her.

"Oh, if only he hadn't shot Fitzwilliam, he would be here in a flash!" Fredrick's heart thought and he blinked; his vision was starting to blur and he was beginning to fight the temptation to topple over and out of the corner of his eye, he saw that his uncle was doing the same thing.

"I have to fight this and not fall asleep!" He thought and he struggled to move his hands free.

Then he heard the cock of a gun and he froze.

He swallowed when a voice rasped.

"Want to meet the same fate as your brother in law did?"

Fredrick remained motionless.

The door to the bedroom slammed shut and the lock could be heard outside.

Fitzwilliam's world spun around him and his loss of blood was weakening him. He found it hard to breath but the ringing of his ear drums, with the combination of the bullet which had run through him, hurt more than a thousand cavities he'd ever cleaned in his life ever could be counted. He couldn't even raise a hand up when he watched as Henry dragged Elizabeth out of the bedroom by the hair. His heart pounded and his protective side entered when she had cried out,
"Fitzwilliam! Save me!"

His eyes watered with tears and they poured down his face with that memory embedded into his brain. How had he allowed that rat to enter his house and he allowed him to take his wife away like that?! He swallowed but coughed; more of that nasty blood entered his mouth and he turned away and coughed again. His heart was pounding and he knew time wasn't on his side for much longer. He knew that he had to fight and his heart was still beating and this was a miracle. He started to pray to St. Michael the Archangel and he begged him for his help in this moment. He knew too that St. Raphael was the patron saint of doctors and medicine and he prayed to him, too. His heart was beating and that memory of Elizabeth's voice echoed inside his heart.

"Fitzwilliam! Save me!"