Chapter 26

Darcy opened his eyes slowly, trying to ignore the searing aches that rippled through him with every tiny movement. He grimaced slightly and turned his head to the side. The curtains had been drawn over the one window in the room, something that Darcy was grateful for. The only light in the room came from a small lamp that had been lit on the table beside his bed, the soft glow coming from the lamp washing the white-blue walls of the modest bedroom in an orange glow. Darcy leaned back into the pillows that supported his head, his broad shoulders relaxing for the first time in a while. His feeling of relaxation lasted for only a few moments before the he remembered why he had been tense in the first place.

Elizabeth. Where was she? Was she alright? Had Wickham…? No, Darcy was sure that Wickham had been killed… wasn't he? Darcy thought that he and Elizabeth had impaled Wickham before he had blacked out….

Darcy sat up in bed, only to fall back down immediately as the pain overwhelmed him. Ouch, maybe moving hadn't been a very good idea.

Darcy looked around the room again, his eyes narrowing as he tried to place the room. Was he in Pemberley? No, they hadn't been close enough to Derbyshire to reach Pemberley; and besides, he would have woken up in his own rooms if that had been the case. Could he be in Netherfield then? Darcy didn't think so; he hadn't seen this room before while he was staying at Bingley's house.

Someone knocked lightly on his door before opening it slightly so that they could peer into the room.

Darcy raised an eyebrow and tried to straighten up in his bed. He winced again and gave up when the pain hit him again.

"If you want to come in, you can," he said finally, his voice cracking from disuse.

The door opened even more and Elizabeth Bennet slipped into the room, not quite able to achieve a guilty expression.

"James and Georgiana will be relieved to know that you are awake," she said quietly. "They were afraid that you wouldn't recover."

Darcy nodded, his ice-blue eyes taking in the bandage that was wound around Elizabeth's neck and the small cuts and scrapes that marked her face and wrists.

"How long was I out?" he asked softly.

"About a fortnight," she replied, her green eyes slightly pained. She glanced at Darcy sharply, her expression hardening. "Why did you come after me?"

"Why did you?" Darcy retorted. "I saw the letter that Wickham sent you."

Elizabeth blushed and looked down at the wooden floor of the bedroom.

"I-I just did," she muttered, embarrassed.

Darcy watched her for a long moment, his thoughts going back to the conversation he had had with Mr. Bennet.

"Do you always want to be a vampire hunter?" he asked.

Elizabeth stared at him, slightly taken aback by his question.

"I'm- I never really thought about it," she admitted.

"Would you- would you ever want a normal life?" Darcy asked instead.

Elizabeth thought for a moment, a small glow of understanding brightening her eyes for the first time in days.

"I think that normal lives are over rated," she said playfully. She turned to leave the room, only to hesitate by the doorway for a few moments as she turned back to face him.

"I was worried, you know," she murmured. "I didn't know if you would wake up either."

Darcy smiled slightly when she closed the door. Was Mr. Bennet always right?

"Mr. Darcy is awake," Elizabeth called as she walked into the parlor room of James Fitzwilliam's estate in Kent.

Georgiana, James, and Bingley looked up immediately, their faces transfigured with relief. Mary and Jane walked forward quickly, concern for their sister written across their faces.

"How is he?" Georgiana demanded quickly.

Elizabeth shrugged.

"He seems fine," she said. "Although I think he might still be in pain."

Georgiana's relief faded slightly but she smiled.

"I'm going to talk to him," she announced. "James? Do you want to come with me?"

James hesitated, his blue eyes flickering to where Mary stood beside her sister.

"I think I'll let you and Darcy have a few moments alone," he said slowly. "Mary? Would you like to accompany me on a walk through the grounds?"

Mary nodded solemnly, ignoring the knowing looks that Jane and Elizabeth exchanged behind her back. She glared once at her sisters before James escorted her out of the room, although her brown eyes were bright with expectation.

Bingley looked up as the two left the room, a wide grin twisting his lips.

"Your mother is going to be a happy woman when we get home, Miss Jane," he said cheerfully.

Jane nodded, her pale face flushing slightly. Bingley had proposed to her shortly after Elizabeth had regained consciousness. Though he still needed to be transformed into a human again, Jane had said yes immediately. The couple was planning on announcing their engagement shortly after Bingley was returned to normal, which, according to Mary, would be soon.

Elizabeth smiled slightly and walked out of the room to give her sister some privacy.

Georgiana grinned at her brother as she settled into the chair beside his bed, her blue eyes excited.

"So?" she demanded as soon as she had stopped hugging him. "Have you proposed yet?"

Darcy frowned at her, too amused to be angry.

"For goodness sakes, Georgiana," he said exasperatedly. "I only just woke up."

Georgiana's face fell slightly as she remembered how frantic she had been only minutes before and she nodded.

"But you are going to, aren't you brother?" she insisted.

Darcy sighed and smiled crookedly at his sister.

"You are quite concerned with my social life for a younger sister," he noted wryly.

Georgiana rolled her eyes.

"Please, brother," she said impatiently. "If I'm not concerned, who will be?"

"You sound like James," Darcy muttered. Then his smile faded and his expression grew serious. "What happened?"

Georgiana's face darkened at the memory.

"James told me that Bingley came just in time to help them defeat Wickham's guards," she said quietly. "They followed your trail and found you and Elizabeth with Wickham's corpse. Both of you were unconscious when they arrived, although I think Elizabeth passed out from blood loss. They took both of you here to James' estate since it was the closest. I was waiting for them there with Mr. Bennet. Oh please, Fitzwilliam, you didn't think that we would keep this from him, would you?" she added impatiently when she saw Darcy's expression.

"Jane and her father cared for Elizabeth until she regained consciousness three days later. Mary, James, and I, meanwhile, took charge of you. You were lucky, you know," Georgiana told him. "If Elizabeth hadn't weakened his powers with that vile stuff that she was drinking, both of you would have died."

Darcy nodded, thankful once more that Elizabeth was alive.

"Mr. Bennet left after he was assured that Elizabeth would be alright," Georgiana continued. "He took Miss Charlotte with him so that they could keep an eye out for other vampires in the area. He promised to send us word if there were any other vampires in the area, although he doubts that there will be too many since Wickham is gone. He gave his permission, by the way," she said pointedly. "Just in case you had need of it."

Darcy felt his face go red but he nodded eager for Georgiana to move on with her story.

Georgiana smiled slightly and shrugged.

"That's about all," she said thoughtfully. "You didn't miss much…Oh! Jane and Mr. Bingley are engaged. He proposed to her after Elizabeth woke up."

Darcy smiled slightly, unable to curb his joy at his friend's happiness. If anyone deserved a wife like Jane Bennet, it was Charles.

"How are they going to deal with the fact that he's a vampire?" he asked quietly.

"Mary and Elizabeth discovered a way to reverse the transformation before Elizabeth left," Georgiana replied. "The mixture that weakened Wickham can also turn a vampire into a human again, if it is used correctly. Mary has actually been giving you some of the mixture to help weaken your connection to Wickham's blood."

Darcy nodded and leaned back against the pillows again, his eyelids heavy.

"Do you want to rest, brother?" Georgiana asked gently.

Darcy nodded slightly, his eyes already half-closed.

Georgiana kissed him lightly on the forehead and walked softly out of the room. Like Elizabeth before her, she paused before leaving and turned back.

"Don't wait to long, Fitzwilliam," she advised him. "Elizabeth may become impatient and propose herself."

Darcy smiled sleepily. He would have liked to see that.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters! All of the credit belongs to the amazing Jane Austen! Thanks to all of the people who reviewed! See, I'm not that evil!