Mrs Darcy (Complete)

Chapter 12

I stormed into my room and marched straight over to the trunk that I brought everything from Rosings in. I packed all the dresses I brought and a couple of the new shoes which were gifted to me by Lady Catherine so she would not be displeased and the many daggers I took with me on every trip. I strapped one to my thigh and tied the other around my waist in its leather sheath. I helped Annabelle pack after I was done, and between us and a seevant, we carried both our trunks down the stairs together like a chain and gave them to the boys to be loaded onto the back of the carriage. "That's it. Now what?" I asked the elder Mr Darcy who was standing with his hunting rifle across his chest.

"Now you go" He replied with raised eyebrows and opened the carriage door for us. "Annabelle, quickly" He urged my sister inside.

I hesitated to climb in after her. "But what about Fitz and Cedric?" I asked him with a worried expression plastered on my face. I was desperate for my fiancée.

"They'll follow you on horses with Mr Wickham. Your farther and I will remain behind and lock up the house from the inside" Mr Darcy replied to me with his head flitting in different directions as he spoke. The moonlight illuminated his white curly hair in the night air and our warm breaths were visible in the cold air. "Now go! There isn't time to wait for my son" He said and helped me into the carriage where my mother and Annabelle were already seated and waiting for me. As soon as I was sat down, Mr Darcy cried "Driver go!" And the carriage started pulling away from Pemberly, my second home.

Mother could clearly see I was distressed without Fitz by my side and so reached out her hand from where she sat opposite Annabelle and I and took hold of my hand on my lap. "It's alright, darlings" She spoke softly to us. "We'll be back at the safety of Rosings before morning and then we can all sleep well". She said with a comforting smile.

"Eve, I think I should tell her about the other night" Annabelle said to me with a flicker of fear in her voice.

I turned to my baby sister and gave her a reassuring look. "It's your decision whether you want to" I said.

"Tell me what baby?" Mother asked Annabelle. Her eyes looked expectant as she looked between us again and again.

Annabelle took a deep breath and swallowed her fear. "I have been to bed with Cedric before and become with child" She told our mother who's expression didn't change. There was a fearful exchange of glanced between us of what our mother might do.

Mother looked speechless. Her mouth dropped open and she shook her head then suddenly slapped Annabelle across the face. "Stupid girl!" Mother cried in a wave of rage. "Stupid stupid stupid girl! Why would you do that before your wedding?" She continued as Annabelle started sobbing quietly.

"Eve...?!" I heard Fitz's distant voice call from outside the carriage. I reached for the door to open it, but thought twice and instead moved the curtain back a tiny bit and peered outside. "Eve?" Fitzwilliam called again from outside as the legs of his dark horse came into my view.

I pushed the curtain aside once I was convinced it was him and opened the window to lean my head out of it. "Fitz!" I cried as my fiancée rode his black stallion along side the carriage. "I'm so glad you are safe" I told him.

"Me too to you" He replied with a beaming smile. I looked around at the night land and saw the lights in the distance of Pemberly going out one by one. It was now just a cold house in the middle of a valley. "What is it, Eve?" Fitzwilliam asked me he he rode his horse closer to the window so he didn't have to shout as loud and draw attention.

"Will you take Annabelle with you on your horse?" I asked him.

"No, Eve!" Mother said and pulled on my dress to make me come back inside.

But I refused and pulled against her, tearing my dress as I defied her. Suddenly I lost my grip and my hand slipped from the edge of the window sill I was hanging out of and I fell from the carriage and landed heavily on my arm on the cold ground. I tried not to cry out in pain as the ground hit me with such a force and I looked up to see the carriage moving away and Fitzwilliam riding back to me at a speed. I pushed myself up onto my knees and got to my feet as he approached on his horse to rescue me, clutching at my arm against my chest. I was so worried that a zombie was coming up behind me that I momentarily closed my eyes in silent fear then took off running in the direction of Fitzwilliam. He held his arm out to me as we approached one another and I grabbed him, then he pulled me up onto the back of his horse and kept the gallop of the horse the same speed all the while. "I was so afraid you wouldn't reach me in time so I started running" I said into Fitzwilliam's ear as I wrapped my arms around his waist and looked behind us to see if I was just being a fool. And I was, there was no zombie in sight behind us and I sighed with relief.

"It's alright now. But we must catch up with George and Cedric" Fitz replied while touching my leg briefly to comfort me. "Hold onto my tightly, Eve" He said and I did that as he urged his horse on faster.

Soon we caught and over took the carriage where Annabelle looked out the window at me with a desperate look before we moved past and continued as all five horses raced as fast as they could to beat the zombie hoard which was due to pass at dawn.