Blood and Prejudice: Part II

By Anna Liu

Part II: Tea with a Vampire

Read Part I: Vampires in Meryton here.

The afternoon was dull and cloudy. Elizabeth wished she could remember what it felt like to have sunlight touch her skin; the weather had been so dreadful and gloomy of late. She was interrupted from her musings when Jane came flying out of the house, waving a piece of paper.

“Elizabeth, you’ll never guess what this is!” she called out.

Elizabeth decided her sister’s news was a more exciting prospect than a dreary walk. “Tell me now, Jane.”

“Miss Bingley has invited me to tea! Mother says I must go at once.” Jane clutched the paper to her chest.

“Miss Bingley?” Elizabeth said skeptically. “I must confess I fear her intentions may not be pure.”

“Lizzie, you always think the worst of someone’s character. It is very kind of Miss Bingley to extend this offer,” Jane said. “This is a splendid opportunity for me to get to know Mr. Bingley.”

Elizabeth smiled at her sister’s joy. “Is Mother letting you take the carriage?”

Jane shook her head.

“Of course she isn’t. I’ll pray it doesn’t rain on you, sister.”

Jane hugged her. “Not even rain could dampen my spirits, Lizzie!”

The clouds held back their torrents of rain until the sun slipped below the horizon, and what a fearsome storm it was. Elizabeth leaned against the window in the front room, watching the lightning flash in the distance. Her mother and sisters reclined on the couches, squinting at their needlework in the wavering candlelight. Jane surely must have decided to spend the night at Netherfield Park, but Elizabeth waited just the same.

There was a sudden knock at the door, and Elizabeth opened it to reveal a bedraggled messenger. “From Mr. Darcy to Miss Elizabeth Bennet,” he said, holding out a mostly dry envelope.

Elizabeth took it from him with a word of thanks and read the contents. “Oh no,” she breathed, and looked up to beg the messenger for details, but he’d already disappeared into the storm.

“Mother!” she cried out. “Jane has fallen ill. I must go to her immediately.”

“Nonsense, Lizzie. I’m sure the Bingleys are taking splendid care of her. She must stay there until she is well.”

Elizabeth stared at her mother. “You’re happy this happened,” she accused.

“Why should I not be happy that my eldest daughter is being cared for in her time of need?” Mrs. Bennet responded primly. “This gives her more time to become acquainted with Mr. Bingley.”

Elizabeth looked at the letter again, at the urgency in which the words were slanted. “I must go to her,” she declared. “She needs me.”

She ignored her mother’s fussing as she laced on her boots.

“It’s madness to go out in such a storm, Lizzie,” Mrs. Bennet pleaded.

“My sister needs me,” Elizabeth said with finality. She braced herself and marched out into the rain.

It was a miserable journey. Her hair was plastered to her face and her cloak was dripping a puddle around her soaked shoes by the time she reached Netherfield Park. She knocked, hoping that someone would answer at the late hour.

To her dismay, it was Mr. Darcy. He looked her up and down with a solemn expression. “You’re soaked to the bone,” he finally observed. “Come in.”

Miss Bingley appeared and eyed Elizabeth disdainfully. “Did you walk here?”

“I did,” Elizabeth said. “Where is my sister?”

“You’ll catch your death. Change into dry clothes first.” Miss Bingley led Elizabeth into a bedroom, presumably her own. She selected a dress and presented it to Elizabeth. “I have no use for this one. It is suitable for you.”

“Thank you,” Elizabeth said uncertainly. She changed into the dress and met Miss Bingley in the hall. “Will you be changing as well?”

“Whatever can you mean?” Miss Bingley asked in a manner that indicated she knew exactly what Elizabeth meant.

Elizabeth pointed to a dark stain on Miss Bingley’s sleeve. “Is that . . . is that blood?” Cold fear suddenly gripped her. “Where is my sister?”

“Directly up those stairs,” Mr. Darcy said from behind her. “She’s resting. Miss Bingley, I think it is best if you go speak with your brother.”

Elizabeth rushed up the stairs, not caring how desperate she looked. It was no time to worry about her appearance. She stepped into the first bedroom at the top of the stairs. “Jane?” she whispered.

Jane did not answer. Her lashes cast long shadows on her pale, still face. Elizabeth took her sister’s hand. It was cold. Tears welled up in Elizabeth’s eyes.

“Miss Bennet is sleeping, not dead,” Mr. Darcy said from the doorway. “There was an unexpected turn of events this afternoon, after your sister arrived.”

“What happened?” Elizabeth asked. She did not know if the answer would be something she wanted to hear.

“Miss Bingley invited your sister unbeknownst to myself or Mr. Bingley. She did not like the attention Miss Bennet got from her brother, it seems. So she . . .” He hesitated.

“Please tell me, Mr. Darcy.”

“Miss Bingley preyed on your sister and drank her blood. It was a careless decision. Her anger — ”

Elizabeth stood up straight. “A careless decision, Mr. Darcy? Why will my sister not wake?”

“I smelled the blood and immediately came to your sister’s aid. She was so weak, I feared she would not make it. I did the only thing I could to save Miss Bennet’s life.”

Elizabeth rested her head on Jane’s shoulder. “Oh, Jane,” she whispered. “Why did you have to go?”

Mr. Darcy pressed on. “I turned her into a vampire. She would have died if I had not. The two bite marks you see on her neck are from me. The ones on her wrist are from the wrath of Miss Bingley.”

“This is the danger of allowing vampires to be a part of civilized society! I can only blame myself for allowing my sister to come here alone. I never should have trusted that such monsters could behave.” Elizabeth glared at Mr. Darcy.

“Your sister is one of us now. She’ll need time to adjust. Your family has pigs, I presume? Their blood should quench her thirst.”

“You speak with such arrogance, Mr. Darcy. My sister is no longer human. Pigs are not my immediate concern. All of Meryton will learn of Miss Bingley’s crime. She should be imprisoned.”

“On the contrary, you will not say a word,” Mr. Darcy said firmly. “You and your sister will not leave Netherfield Park until you both take a vow of secrecy.”

What a hateful, horrible man. Elizabeth could hardly bear to look at him. “Mr. Bingley would never agree to that,” she tried.

“Family is very important to Mr. Bingley. For all her faults, Miss Bingley is still his sister. He would not allow her reputation to be tarnished. You must understand that bond one has with one’s sisters.” His voice carried a weight that Elizabeth was too tired to inspect.

“What will I tell our mother? Our father? They’ll never believe that Jane became a vampire by choice.”

“You must help them believe, Miss Elizabeth.” Mr. Darcy turned to go, and then paused. “If there was any other way to save her, I would have done it.”

“You are not God,” Elizabeth said. “You are a fool to assume you have any say in the balance of life and death. You have turned my sweet, gentle sister into something she is not. That is no mercy. Leave us be.” She got into the bed and held Jane tightly despite the girl’s cold skin.

Mr. Darcy’s pride knew no bounds, it seemed. He had done his best to paint himself the hero, but Elizabeth knew better. This had likely been a plot between all three of them from the beginning, though to what end, Elizabeth did not know. Vampires were as vicious as the old tales claimed — Elizabeth at least knew that.

Read Part III: An Unexpected Visitor here.