Chapter 9

Elizabeth froze in her tracks and turned around slowly, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. One of the voices had sounded like-.

"James?" Darcy said with disbelief.

"Mary?" Jane gasped.

Mary Bennet and Colonel James Fitzwilliam regarded their relatives through steady eyes, their expressions surprisingly calm when compared to the wild eyes of the others.

"Elizabeth, Jane," Mary said quietly. "Mr. Darcy- and whoever the girl is- are not vampires. They are merely vampire hunters like we are."

"The same goes for the Bennets, Darcy," James added hastily. "Although, I'm still not sure about Caroline Bingley. I still think she's a witch."

"And I thought that I was the only one," Elizabeth muttered, her stake arm slowly lowering.

Georgiana Darcy laughed shakily and removed the knife from Elizabeth's throat. Elizabeth turned slowly and appraised her attacker with appraising eyes. Now that she could see the girl, Elizabeth was surprised to see that Georgiana Darcy wasn't much older than Mary was, if not younger. Unlike her brother, Georgiana had long, curling gold hair, although her eyes were the same shade of icy blue. Her heart-shaped face creased slightly as she smiled shakily. Elizabeth noted with distant interest that the knife that Georgiana had pressed against her throat was a small knife that fit neatly into the handle of her fan.

"Nice knife," Elizabeth said appreciatively.

"Thanks," Georgiana said shyly. "Fitzwilliam gave it to me, after…" Her voice trailed off as she cast a wary look at her brother. Darcy shook his head slightly, his face even paler than usual. Elizabeth raised her eyebrows at him but made no comment.

Jane looked between them for a moment before turning to James, looking almost suspicious.

"How is it that you know our sister Mary, Mr…?"

"Fitzwilliam," James said easily. "But please, call me James."

Jane's eyebrows rose with shock at the breach in conduct and she cast a surprised glance at Mary, who shrugged.

"I met him in the bushes," she said calmly.

Elizabeth smirked. If anyone else had said that sentence, it would've sounded scandalous; but with Mary, it simply sounded commonplace, like meeting in the market.

Darcy raised his eyebrows skeptically.

"And you were in the bushes why?" Darcy asked slowly.

"She was keeping watch on the house while we tried to track down the vampire," Elizabeth said shortly.

"Ah," Darcy murmured. "Is that why you were carrying a stake and a dart launcher?"

"Maybe," Elizabeth muttered, eyeing Darcy with a mix of distaste and amusement. "And maybe I was simply carrying it around in case a creepy man attacked me."

"Do you find me creepy, Miss Elizabeth?" Darcy asked softly, his eyes watching her intensely.

"Certainly not, Mr. Darcy," Elizabeth teased. "I rather think you mysteriously odd."

Georgiana and James stared at her with disbelief before turning quickly to Darcy to watch his reaction. Darcy simply smiled and turned back to James.

"And why are you here, James? Georgiana?" Darcy asked calmly.

Georgiana blushed and looked at James imploringly.

"We sensed that there was a vampire in the area, Darcy," James said. "His aura was… familiar."

"Familiar?" Darcy repeated with false calm, his blue eyes suddenly icy. "And you tracked him here?"

"I attacked him here," James said quietly. "He was just about to attack Miss Mary, here, when I found him."

Darcy's breath flew out in a gesture that was too tense to be a sigh. He turned away abruptly, his hand pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Who is this vampire?" Elizabeth demanded, her hand clenching around her stake. "Perhaps we can-."

"No," Darcy said abruptly, interrupting her. The others stared at him. "No, you will not help us," he continued firmly. "I forbid it."

"You forbid it?" Elizabeth growled. "I didn't realize that you were in any position to forbid anything, Mr. Darcy."

Darcy didn't say anything, merely turned away again.

"Nevertheless," he said quietly. "I forbid it."

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters here. All credit goes to the awesome Jane Austen. Also, thanks to all of the people who reviewed. I'm sorry that I sometimes take awhile to post, but thanks for having patience!