Chapter 19

Lizzy woke in the early hours of the morning, fresh from a dream of Winnifred hurting more people. She got up and made her way to her escatoire, pulling out paper and a quill, trying to commit the dream to paper before it escaped her. She talked to herself as she wrote, sometimes lining out what she wrote, then backtracking to correct something else.

Darcy woke and watched her until she finished with what she was doing. When she set the pen down he spoke, "What has you up, dearest?"

Lizzy looked over at him and decided that she should be right there beside him. She picked up the papers where she had written out the dream and took them to him. "I do not think the constable apprehended Winnifred Kraft. I think she was trying to do a summoning ritual on me again only whatever she is doing is not working."

Darcy blinked a few times. That was not what he wanted to hear. He had hoped the constable would take the woman into custody and with the charges of kidnapping she should meet the gallows. "What makes you think she is actively trying to summon you back to her?"

She handed him the papers before crawling into bed beside him. "There are a few elements there that feel like when I first went to London and we bonded. The desire to search for something, without a focus this time though. I have no need to search for anything. I have you and you are more important than any restless feeling."

Darcy read through the papers and asked a few questions to clarify what she was trying to say. "I do not know if you are feeling unsteady because of your ordeal or if anything is happening that we need to be concerned about. What I do know is that we can go visit Bishop Darcy later today and he might be able to help us settle our minds. I do not like seeing you distraught, darling."

Elizabeth accepted his logic and snuggled back down into the bed beside him. She tried sleeping but her mind refused to shut down. After tossing and turning for the better part of an hour she did what she usually did to relax. She began kissing and nibbling on her husband's neck until he rolled over on his back and let her do what she wanted to with him.

The sun was up the next time they woke. Darcy stretched and yawned before sliding out of Lizzy's bed. He made his way back to his dressing room and summoned Heath to help him get ready for the day. Elizabeth lay there in bed staring up at the ceiling for a few minutes before she stretched and called for her maid to help her dress.

The maid frowned at the full tray setting on the table and felt it was her duty to lecture Lizzy on skipping meals. She escorted her down to the breakfast room and personally set a plate of food in front of her. In between picking items for Lizzy to eat the maid commented that with a big husband like Darcy Lizzy needed to eat more to keep up her strength.

Darcy entered the room in time to hear Shelly comment on his size. He could not suppress the snort of laughter. Shelly whirled around and fled the room without handing Lizzy the plate. He studied the food on offer and placed a few more tidbits on her plate before handing it to her. Grinning like an idiot, he whispered, "Make sure you clean your plate, Mrs. Darcy. We have it on good authority that Mr. Darcy is a big man." Then he lowered himself into the seat beside hers and added, "What Shelly forgot to mention is that Mr. Darcy is very vigorous." After placing a kiss on her knuckles he added, "He is also very amorous when it comes to Mrs. Darcy."

She giggled as she set to on her meal. After disposing of most of it she wiped her mouth and placed her napkin on the plate. "What time do you wish to visit with Bishop Darcy?"

Wills considered the question before speaking. "I think we should go this morning. The sooner we speak to him the sooner we might find a better peace of mind." Then he gave her a slow kiss before adding, "Your father has also broken the news to the neighborhood that Thomas Gorden Bennet is his firstborn son and William Thomas is his grandson."

Lizzy gasped. "Is the town calling for blood?"

Darcy shook his head 'no'. "Actually, Dearest, you and Dr. Jones are being hailed as heroes. Between the two of you you managed to save Longbourne Estate and the town has also forgiven me for ruining you."

She shook her head in understanding. "Yes, Dearest, you did ruin me." Then she smiled up at him. "When can we…" She stopped speaking and began pacing the room. Finally moving back to Darcy she began speaking, "We cannot fetch William until it is safe to do so. With Winnifred Kraft moving around we have no idea what she will do next." Sitting back down at the table and picking up her tea cup to sip some tepid liquid she thought for a minute before saying, "Maybe we can take the whole family north to Pemberly for Christmas. We can introduce the idea that we want our son to stay with us while they are there, and he can choose who he wants to live with when they leave."

Wills sat back down beside her and took her restlessly twitching hands in his. "That sounds perfect, Darling. Now would you like to visit the bishop?"

Elizabeth nodded her agreement. Then she tried to explain some of what she was feeling. "I do not want to give credence to those women, but I worry that their beliefs are strong enough to forge a misbegotten reality."

"I will send a note to him and see how much time he has to talk to us."

Lizzy was in a better place when they got home from talking to the bishop. He gave them scriptural references along with cleansing prayers.