Dear lovely readers, sorry for the delay. On Sunday, I was not entirely sure about this chapter so I thought I would wait a little before posting here. Now, I'm still not sure. Let me know your thoughts. Thank you, Levenez, mangosmum, pemsnowy, Lisa, ChrisM0519, Colleen, lisyl, Nanciellen, Xpochakkox, Dizzy Lizzy.60, Jansfamily4, Joan G Brand, SereniteRose, Kiwipride, BingleyCrosby, Malous66, Another Lizzie, Motherof8 and guests, for the lovely comments. I fed on them! Happy reading and cold hugs from Sydney! Cheers Enid


Chapter Six

When George Darcy arrived back at Netherfield, Fitzwilliam noticed his father's countenance and his suspicions got kindled.

"Why do you look so bothered, Papa?" Fitzwilliam asked.

"I went to see the famous psychic in the wood," George responded and Fitzwilliam immediately got angry, although he expected the news.

"You did what!" Fitzwilliam cried out. His anger flared and he marched out of the house without talking to his father.

~P&P~~P&P~~P&P~

Fitzwilliam Darcy paced around the lanes surrounding Netherfield for some time until he unknowingly walked towards the wood in the direction of the familiar cottage. He might as well visit this Miss Zeath. He hated that his father had to fall for the woman and come here to see her. His anger knew no bounds because he felt like throwing her against something or worse. He wasn't angry at his father because at least Mr. Darcy senior was honest with what happened between them. His father was searching for the love of his life.

All his fury was directed at this mysterious fraud sitting inside with a pack of cards. Fitzwilliam barged open the door, pushed the table in front of her with a little too much force, and Elizabeth snapped back to reality.

Darcy watched Miss Zeath's calm dazed eyes change to confusion at first and then later, flashed to one of exasperation as she looked up at his face. Yes, that was good. He could deal with antagonism. He was not here for small talk and tea anyway.

Darcy glared at her steadily, and he was surprised when she began to speak. "Listen." Miss Zeath said. "The last thing I would allow you to do is walk over my entire being and embarrass me with your words again." She said with displeasure written all over her face. "The older version of you who came here showed a bit of arrogance, but he was not without manner. If you came here to hurl abusive words again, you had better gone back the way you came because I would not accept any of that for any reason whatsoever. See yourself out!" Elizabeth thundered with a loud voice. She stood and pointed at the door.

"My father is Mr. George Darcy of Pemberley to you. Show him some respect! And I won't leave today until you promise never to inopportune my father!" Darcy walked around the table and stepped closer to the psychic.

Elizabeth would never be intimidated by the man's size. She stomped to the door and cried out, "I. said. OUT!"

Darcy stalked to the door, stood within an inch of Elizabeth and looked down at her. He was seeing red. He was heir to Pemberley and had never been spoken to in such a manner all his life. He would rip the veil from this deceitful woman and see what this fraud was really about. When Darcy raised his hand and touched the woman's face through the veil, he felt a sharp burning sensation and cried out loud.

Much to Elizabeth's horror, she started feeling uncomfortable with her own body. Maybe the rage knocked through her head. But in her mind, she knew that was not what was wrong with her, considering how her body felt like it wanted to burst out and let her soul fly out of it.

She could see the look of bewilderment registered on Darcy's face, and he was saying something she could not make out. Abruptly, her body froze, not swaying this way or that, but just staying still till she felt she was no longer in her skin. She was leaving her own body. As crazy as it might sound, it was happening. She tried to do something to prevent that, but apparently, she was too helpless. No matter what she tried to do, nothing worked to hold herself back into her normal physical self.

Elizabeth finally drew in a few deep breaths and decided to not stress her being anymore by doing anything. She just calmed and watched the whole thing evolve right before her eyes like a spectator attending a pantomime.

The colours of her world whirled before her eyes, revealing another world entirely. She could tell that the place was not of her world because it looked nothing like the cottage or Longbourn. She waited and wondered what it was that brought her here. It had been a long time since she had out of body experience. The last time was when Elizabeth met her grandmother Gardiner when she was about 15 years old. She had never told Jane about the incident. Usually, when she conducted sessions at the cottage for Meryton and other villagers, she mostly saw images of the ghosts flashing through her eyes. Her spirit never left her body.

Where was the dead soul that needed Elizabeth's presence? She looked around. The colours became bright light. Maybe she would find the sad ghost soon and quickly go back to her world. She was sure she would look like a demented woman without any movement and a ghostly look on her face to the young Mr. Darcy. Then the dazzling light disappeared suddenly. Elizabeth tried to feel her way around the darkness. Another moment later, the lights returned. Her attention was snapped back to the current place she found herself. She did not have the perfect word to describe this place. Beautiful was a major understatement.

This place was one that Elizabeth had never been to before and not that she could recognise it. Squinting her gaze to adjust to the new view, she noticed she sat by a long, gleaming brown table with lit candles. The grand, well-proportioned room was handsomely fitted up. There were gentlemen and ladies, finely dressed and bejewelled, sitting around her. Everyone seemed to be minding their businesses, chatting, drinking, and eating, and no one noticed her strange appearance before them. The seats at the head of the table were empty. So was one of the seats. That was peculiar because although Elizabeth could see them, she couldn't hear their words. Her ears were filled with low muffling sounds.

From the looks of it, she surmised it to be some sort of family gathering or dinner, but she was not quite sure. Maybe a group of ghosts throwing a party or a reunion of old friends. She couldn't be too sure. But one thing was certain: how some of them glowed meant they were no longer alive.

She stood from her seat and decided to look around. If the ghost who conjured her to this interesting dinner party wouldn't appear soon and she would be here for a while, she had better drunk in the pleasing and beautiful environment. She might not see it again. It would make her happy still, knowing she had got to experience a place this elegant. She walked to a window and looked out. With the help of the dusk sunlight, she could see the hill, crowned with wood, receiving increased abruptness from a distance. It was a beautiful object. Every disposition of the ground was good. Elizabeth looked at the whole scene, the river, the trees scattered on its banks and the winding of the valley, as far as she could trace it, with delight. Her pleasure was suddenly interrupted. She felt eyes on her. The feeling made her a bit shaken. She tried to look around, and that was when she saw why she got summoned here.

A pale beautiful lady sat at the head of the table. Something felt wrong. Judging by the way, she did not fit in with the others and looked like she had gone through many troubles.

That was when it struck Elizabeth. This woman was young Mr. Darcy's mother. Lady Anne Darcy of Pemberley was here, now sitting at the head of the table. Elizabeth recognised the handsome lady from the likeness Mr. Darcy senior had shown her when he had begged her to communicate with his dead wife. Elizabeth had thought that the handsome mad man looked like Mr. George Darcy, but even that was a misconception. Anyone who had seen the late Lady Anne would know that young Mr. Darcy looked more like her. Elizabeth could see the striking resemblance the angry young man got from her, even with her pale face. Elizabeth wished that he believed in psychics, and then she would have told him that she had met his mother. He would never call her a thief or a fraud ever again.

Elizabeth tried to find Mr. George Darcy and his angry son in the room. But they didn't seem to be there at the dinner party. As Elizabeth got closer, she noticed that Lady Anne Darcy had clutched a bowl close to her person. Even without her gift, she would have easily guessed what Lady Anne was holding on to. The Forgetful Soup would grant her a peaceful transition into her next life. Right now, Lady Anne was still post-human, and she would be like that until she took the soup. Lady Anne looked like someone that was not willing to take it, and Elizabeth sighed. This would take a lot of persuading. She had done it too many times and urging the ghosts gently into moving on with their lives in the next world took a lot of time and strength. This was why she felt blessed using her gift, and she usually served as a connection between people and their sad ghosts. She made her way towards the lady nevertheless, and she hoped her persuasion would succeed.

"Your Ladyship," Elizabeth called softly as soon as she got to Lady Anne, making her take her eyes off the soup and stare at Elizabeth intently. Lady Anne passed her a soft smile filled with pain, and Elizabeth felt terrible. She wondered what could have made the lady this sad and restless.

Lady Anne said softly, "Yes?"

Elizabeth blinked twice as she smiled back at Lady Anne. Good thing that the lady acknowledged her. Most wouldn't. She took closer steps, and the lady did not flinch from her closeness; instead, she stared at her soup like she wanted to throw it away, but it was impossible.

"Why did you choose to put yourself through this, Lady Anne? You can just drink this soup and have a nice transition into your next life that is eagerly waiting for you to explore it. Hanging around here would do you no good. Creating fickle imagination is not worth as much as giving a new life a trial. Why did you choose to do this to yourself?" Elizabeth asked softly, and Lady Anne sighed softly. Elizabeth knew that she was not getting her point of view across. Her Ladyship looked even more worried after that.

"Do me a favour, young lady, please help me talk to my husband and my son Fitzwilliam. I need to pass on information to them; it might save their lives, and I want you to help me." Lady Anne pleaded, and her eyes got teary.

Elizabeth would have loved to help, but the thoughts of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy's vile mouth stopped her from imagining further. She would instead do anything else than speak to the Darcys. She would have to convince Lady Anne to take the soup and forget about her family that she left behind. They would survive without her.

"Lady Anne," Elizabeth started softy. She hated how the older lady stared at her with so much hope. It saddened her that she would have to refuse her and try to change her mind. "I'm sorry because this, I cannot do. Your family won't believe me, and they would call me a fraud and a thief. I have first-hand experience with your son, Fitzwilliam. It is an experience that I would not want to experience anymore. The best thing you can do for everyone is to drink this soup and continue your journey. Your husband and son would come around and understand themselves. They would live on with you in their mind. With time, they will live well. Being here with other enraged souls for too long is bad for you. Your family would not be happy if they find out you abandoned a possible new life to wait for them to die."

Elizabeth explained softly, and Lady Anne shook her head determinedly. This was not what Lady Anne wanted, and she was not making things easier for Elizabeth at all. But Elizabeth knew that she had to help her. That was the reason she got sent there anyway.

"Please," Elizabeth said, "drink the soup and continue your journey. This is what your family would want, and believe me, they would be grateful that you didn't put yourself in danger in this transient world for them. "

She was hoping that she would be able to reason with Lady Anne, but things didn't seem to be going her way. Lady Anne continued to shake her head. Her Ladyship was just as stubborn as her son, Fitzwilliam Darcy.

Lady Anne said, "No. I do not want to." Her voice was firm. "George and Fitzwilliam might be in danger. I cannot go."

"What kind of danger?"

"I can't tell you. I must tell them."

"Why can't you tell me? Did you not trust me?"

"I want to trust you, but something tells me I cannot tell anyone else, except my husband and son, this information."

Lady Anne drew Elizabeth's attention to a tumbled wine glass on the table with a gesture of her head. Then she swiped her head around the long dining table again, giving each guest at the table a long stare as if assessing their soul.

Elizabeth was frustrated that Lady Anne talked and acted in riddles. She was scared she wouldn't convince Her Ladyship further. She knew she had to do something before she got taken back to her world.

"Trust me, and it will be easy transiting into the next life. That's the reason for the Forgetful Soup. Please, Lady Anne. Just drink it." She pleaded one more time, thinking that maybe Lady Anne was afraid of what the transition would bring, but Lady Anne shook her head firmly, convinced of her decision not to take it.

"How about you help me?" Lady Anne asked with a persistent look, and Elizabeth shook her head. "None of the so-called psychics George found in the past years managed to get to me. You must be unique and skilled to be able to reach me here. We are connected. Please help me. You are here for a reason."

She did not even want to hear whatever Lady Anne was proposing, as it seemed that speaking to her son would be involved. Hence, it was definitely a solid 'no' for her.

"No," Elizabeth said. "I can't help you. Your son insulted me. He might send the authority for me. If I arrange for you to meet your husband and son, I could be in danger. Please drink the soup. Do it for them. The longer you linger here in this world, the higher the likelihood of you being stuck here permanently. You might not meet up with your family when they die." She looked at Lady Anne, who continued to shake her head. Elizabeth could see Her Ladyship's mind was made up. Nothing would change it, at least not easily. Then Lady Anne moved her head from side to side, noting that everyone was in a chatty and lovely space and having a good time.

Elizabeth saw fear in Lady Anne's eyes, and she noticed that Lady Anne wanted to say something to her. However, the moment Lady Anne opened her mouth to say something, the first head of the dinner guests rested with the thud on the table. So did another, and another. One slid off the chair. Elizabeth jumped up, moving from the dining table, and standing as far as she could from what was happening. They were all dead, or they became dead again.

"Lady Anne!" Elizabeth called out to the lady, but Her Ladyship was no longer there. In the next instance, Elizabeth had left as well. She was now back in the cottage, where she had earlier been, looking at Lady Anne's son, young Mr. Darcy, in the flesh.

"Miss Zeath!" Darcy exclaimed.

Elizabeth was still coming around, and her body felt limp. When she realised she was finally in control of her body, she felt relieved. How long was she out?

"How are you feeling, Miss?" Darcy asked with a puzzled expression.

"Thank you, Mr. Darcy," Elizabeth said, pondering what she had seen. "Goodbye."

Elizabeth rushed out and hastened her footsteps, not bothering to look back. At the same time, Darcy just shook his head, not understanding what all that happened was all about. As Elizabeth ran toward home, she wondered about everything she had just seen and what she would do.

When Elizabeth finally reached Longbourn, she panted for air in the servant entrance. Taking off the veil, she rushed to her room to pack her things and all the necessary items she would need to get away. The out of body experience scared her. The last scene she witnessed of the re-dead terrified her. Staying here in Meryton meant getting involved in this Darcy's family drama or danger and with people who have no regard for her or her gift.

She wanted to get away from here as fast as possible, and she didn't want to stay any longer. Considering how things went between her and the young Mr. Darcy, he probably thought she was a woman fit for Bedlam. With his late mother coming into the whole situation, things suddenly became worse. She wrote a note to Jane and her father. Luckily there was still time to catch the coach to London. She would go to her aunt and uncle Gardiner. They always welcomed her whenever she needed respite from her ghostly business.