Page 61 of Midnight at Pemberley

Darcy meant to close the door, but Mrs. Annesley’s hand stopped him. “Find out something of Mrs. Darcy’s dreams,” she said. “Her dreams bear moments of truth.”

“How can you be so assured?” Darcy implored. “Have you seen something else?”

“No, Mr. Darcy, I have not, but Mrs. Darcy has.”

“I do not understand. Does Elizabeth also have the Sight?”

The old woman paused for a long moment before answering. As if in a trance, she said, “Not in the traditional sense. Your wife is not just your future. She has the ability to see the future. Look at her eyes. Nearly catlike at times, are they not?”

Darcy’s mind flashed to the many times he considered the compelling effects of his wife’s eyes. “Yes, they are, Mrs. Annesley.”

“Ask Mrs. Darcy to relate her recent dreams, especially ones of Mr. Wickham. Something in them is the key to this madness.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Annesley.” He watched as the elderly widow followed his sister to the suite they shared. As he turned back to find Elizabeth curled up in their shared bed, he thought about what his sister’s companion had claimed.Years of fighting the unknown alone told him to listen to both his intuition and Mrs. Annesley’s advice.

Chapter Sixteen

THE DOOR TO THE EDWARD STREET ADDRESS STOOD AJAR, AND THEY slipped in unnoticed. Darcy had hired a hack rather than taking his private coach to avoid being noticed by Mrs.Younge’s neighbors. Elizabeth called out to servants, but none responded as she and Darcy made their way from room to room.

“Someone is in the kitchen,” Darcy whispered into her hair. “Let us see whom.”

He pushed open the door, and the smell of porridge filled the air. An old woman with white hair stood with her back to them, fussing over the food preparation. Darcy cleared his throat, and she turned quickly. “Oh, goodness gracious me.” The woman wiped her hands on her apron. “He’p you, Sir? Ma’am?”

“We are acquaintances of Mrs. Younge. Might the lady be about?” Darcy kept his tone amiable. He had no idea whether the woman was a vampire. He would take no chances with Elizabeth present. He moved to shield his wife. Elizabeth had shared part of her dream with him, and after Mrs. Annesley’s words of advice, Darcy knew not which “reality” to trust.

“Have yet to see her, Sir. Mrs. Younge come and go as she pleases. I he’ps out here couple days a week with cleanin’ and cookin’.” The woman adjusted the lid of the soup pot. “She be havin’ guests later. I fix soup for ’em.”

“Are there guests in the house now?” Elizabeth ventured from off Darcy’s right shoulder.

“Mr. George left hours ago. He be it.”

Darcy shot a quick glance to Elizabeth. “Mr. George?”

“He be an ole friend of Amelia’s. My, Mr. George kin sleep—sleep for two days straight and quite a bit after that, he did recently.” She chuckled as she turned out a flour mixture upon the work table. “You be stayin’ tonight, Sir?”

“We are considering it.” He took Elizabeth’s hand to edge her back through the door. “Would you mind if we looked around?”

The woman looked up suspiciously. “How be you know Amelia?”

Elizabeth responded casually, “She and I knew each other at Mrs. Lawson’s school for girls. She became a governess, and I taught school for a few years before I met with my mister.”

“This be you mister?” The old woman eyed Darcy appreciatively.

“Yes, he is. We just arrived in London. I thought Amelia might have a place we could afford until we got a little set by.” Elizabeth snuggled into Darcy’s arm in a possessive way.

“Well, seein’ as how you know Amelia, I be supposin’ you could choose yer room of those empty ones. All be clean ’ceptin’ Mr. George’s.”

“We will not bother anything,” Elizabeth assured the woman, “just look around.”

“That be fine, Ma’am.” The woman turned back to her work.

Darcy and Elizabeth slipped from the room and headed to the main staircase. “Does this resemble your dream?” Darcy wondered aloud.

“More than a bit,” she said tentatively.

“The old woman said Wickham is no longer above.”

Elizabeth murmured, “What if she was wrong?”