Note: This is a sequel The Beating Heart.

Posted on 2009-10-31

'Have you heard that Kellynch Hall is going to be excavated at last?' Frances Bennet asked of her husband one day.

Mr Bennet replied that he had not.

'But it is,' his wife assured him, 'for Mrs Long has just called on me and told me it is true. And what a fine thing for our girls it is, too!'

'Why would that be?' Mr Bennet asked.

'Oh, how can you be so silly!' his wife said. 'You must know that I plan to have at least one of them participating in the excavations.'

'Why, have they been asked to?' her husband asked.

'No, of course not,' Frances said, 'but I will not see the thousands of pounds we spent on their education to have been spent in vain.'

'I do hope they pick me,' Lydia Bennet said. 'For tho' I am the youngest, I have the biggest shovel of all.'

'I do not think I should like to participate,' Mary Bennet said. 'I do not think excavating a measly old manor house from the last century is going to be very interesting.'

'Oh, but it is haunted,' Kitty said in a hoarse voice meant to be scary. 'It collapsed exactly a hundred and sixty-three years ago this Hallowe'en, and it crushed every single person in the house to death.'

'It was structurally very much unsound,' Mary said primly. 'I saw drawings of it. There is no surprise in that.'

'But they never found the bodies,' Kitty continued. 'They're still haunting the house. Hetty Golding and I saw them when we went there last summer.'

'I was there too,' Jane said, flicking her long blonde hair behind her back. 'The ruins had a beautiful aura. So peaceful.'

Elizabeth snorted. 'That was that day you took Frances' special brownies to your picknick.'

Adjusting her headband, she turned to her mother. 'No offence, Frances, but those brownies could knock a rhino down a drain.'

'I do not think you should eat these things,' Mary said. 'It's not good to let go of one's controls like that.'

'Why are you so negative, my little sunflower?' Mrs Bennet asked. 'Are you wearing that suppressive underwear again?'

'Mother!' Mary shrieked. 'It's called supportive, not suppressive! It gives a woman the comfort she needs!'

Fumbling with her starched collar, she stormed off.

'She's been shaving her legs again,' Lydia said. 'I saw her smuggling the razor into the bathroom.'

'So, Frances,' her husband said, stroking his beard, 'what did Mrs Long say who was going to excavate Kellynch Hall?'

'Oh, someone from some university or other,' Mrs Bennet said. 'A man, I suppose, or maybe several. Still, it will be worth it if it means our girls have a chance to see a proper excavation at last.'

'Establishment, huh?' Elizabeth said. 'Well, I must be off. I'm late for the sit-in already.'

Inside the caravan, they could hear Mary bang her head against the wall in frustration.

'Can we open a window?' Darcy asked. 'It's smelly.'

'Jeez, dude, it's only a plant, man,' Charles, smoking as usual, said from the back seat. 'Relax.'

'It's disgusting,' Darcy said. 'But I wasn't referring to the, err, cigarette.'

He threw a pointed look at Caroline's hirsute underarms.

'What?' Caroline snapped. 'I did wash, like I promised.'

'Yes, whatever,' Darcy insisted. 'Now can we open a window? It's hot.'

'Jeez, dude, just take off the suit, man,' Charles said. 'Relax.'

'Thank you, but I have no intention of turning up at the meeting with our prospective sponsors looking like a hoodlum,' Darcy said. 'It's bad enough we have to turn up in this – thing.'

He cast a look around the inside of Caroline's Volkswagen Bus. Bright orange pillows with sunflowers on them reflected the pictures Caroline had painted on the outside, a dreamcatcher hung from the rear mirror and one of Caroline's knotted fringes served as a Spanish Wall to the back of the bus, where Caroline usually slept. Darcy's gaze wandered on to Caroline, dressed as usual in a long, purple, tie-dyed something, her long henna hair tied out of her face with one of Charles' old school ties.

'What?' Caroline snapped, steering the bus through another sharp bend on the road.

'Nothing,' Darcy muttered, surreptitiously sniffing his cuffs to make sure the smell hadn't caught on yet, and thinking of his own school ties, safely tucked away in a box. 'Nothing at all.'

'Jeez, dude, man,' Charles said, scratching his beard. 'Relax.'

'Frances, do we have any more of the scented candles?' Elizabeth asked later that day, rummaging through a cupboard in the caravan.

'Why, my little carnation, I believe they're over there, in the box under your father's protest signs,' Frances said.

Just then, Jane danced into the caravan, her long hair flowing behind her just as prettily as her long white dress.

'Such a beautiful day!' she hummed. 'Such a beautiful aura! Almost golden!'

'That's wonderful, my little daisy,' Frances said, patting Jane's head. She turned to her second daughter again. 'How was your sit-in at the university?'

'Oh, didn't I tell you?' Elizabeth said. 'I met the archaeologists – or at least, two of them. Very nice people, a boy and a girl. They joined us for a while. I invited them for a potluck dinner tonight, I hope you don't mind? They might be bringing a friend.'

'The more, the merrier, little carnation,' Frances said. 'What are they called?'

'Oh, Carl and Charlene or something,' Elizabeth said, 'does it matter? What's in a name, after all?'

Mary screamed out in frustration and stormed out of the caravan.

'What is with her lately?' Frances asked.

'I think they've run out of starch at the launderette,' Kitty said as she and Lydia came into the caravan. 'Is it true, Lizzy, have you really met them?'

'Whom?'

'The archaeologists! Maria Lucas reckons Charlotte told her she saw you talking to them at the sit-in. What are they like?'

'Very nice. You can see for yourself when they come for dinner tonight.'

'A potluck?' Darcy exclaimed. 'A potluck?'

'Yes, it means everyone brings something to eat, and then you have dinner together,' Caroline explained patiently.

'I know!' Darcy seethed. 'I know what a potluck is!'

'Jeez, dude, it's all sorted out. Caroline and I made a meat-free chili, man,' Charles said. 'Relax.'

'A meat-free chili,' Darcy groaned. 'Potluck with these – these hoodlums I saw you with.'

'Jeez, dude, that girl was very nice, man,' Charles said. 'Relax.'

'Her legs were hairy,' Darcy pointed out.

'So?' Caroline snapped, thrusting her own leg at Darcy. Luckily, Charles was driving that evening.

'Nothing, nothing,' Darcy said quickly, comparing their weights. 'Where did you say they lived?'

'Oh, not far,' Caroline said.

'Jeez, dude, we're almost there, man,' Charles said. 'Relax.'

'Elizabeth said to turn right at the old farmhouse, then cross the field and their caravans would be just short of the woods,' Caroline explained.

'Caravans,' Darcy mumbled. 'Caravans.'

He fumbled with his tie. It was getting decidedly hot in the bus.

'Jeez, dude, you should have done away with the suit, man,' Charles said. 'Relax.'

'Elizabeth said not to make a fuss,' Caroline said. 'I didn't clean up either.'

'I noticed,' Darcy pointed out, wrinkling his nose. 'Can I open a window?'

'Jeez, dude, we're almost there, man,' Charles said. 'Relax.'

'This is Frances,' Elizabeth said, 'she gave birth to me and my sisters. Frances, these are – jeez, now I forgot your names again.'

'I'm Charles, man,' Charles said. 'Relax.'

'Hi, Frances, I'm Caroline, but call me Magnolia. Say, this is a nice caravan you've there.'

'Fitzwilliam Darcy, ma'am, at your service. I am pleased to make your acquaintance.'

'Jeez, dude, man,' Charles said. 'Relax.'

'Sit down, sit down,' Frances said. 'Now, you have met my little Carnation, and these are my little Chrysanthemum and my Cherry Blossom – my Sunflower has gone to the launderette in town and my little Daisy was dancing behind the caravan just the other minute – oh, and you must meet my Birch, of course – there he is.'

'Hiya, all,' Mr Bennet said, 'cool bus, that.'

'Thomas, these are Charles, Magnolia and Fitz,' Elizabeth said. 'I met them at the sit-in today.'

'Cool,' Mr Bennet said. 'Anybody care for a smoke?'

'Actually, he is my husband,' Frances whispered to Caroline, blushing in embarrassment. 'What can I say, it was 1947, I was young and I needed the money.'

Darcy yelped as a spider crawled up his leg. He jumped up and tried to shake it off.

'Jeez, dude, it's just a spider, man,' Charles said. 'Relax.'

'Have you ever seen such an amusing spider?' Mr Bennet chuckled, inhaling deeply. 'Cool spider.'

'There she is, my little Daisy!' Frances exclaimed.

Jane danced out of the woods, her long hair flowing in the wind behind her. The sun was illuminating the golden strands in her henna hair.

'Beautiful,' Charles muttered, awestruck.

Mesmerised, Jane sat down in the grass next to Charles.

'You've got a beautiful aura,' she said, stroking his hair.

'Jeez, thank you,' Charles said, patting her thigh.

'Cool spider,' Mr Bennet chuckled.

With a wild sort of jump, Darcy had managed to brush the spider off his leg without actually touching it. He wiped his sweaty palms on his trousers before he realised he was leaving sweat marks, then hastily wiped his trousers with a monogrammed, ironed handkerchief.

'So is it true you're excavating Kellynch Hall?' Frances asked Caroline.

'Yeah, we're really interested in what happened to it,' Caroline said. 'According to what we've found out so far, it simply collapsed in 1806, killing the whole family within. A baronet lived there -'

Elizabeth gave a snort that could or could not have been an ugly remark about the establishment.

' - yeah, well, those were the dark ages, you know,' Caroline said and shrugged. 'Anyway, he lived there together with his wife, his three daughters and his son-in-law, and -'

'They all died,' Kitty said.

'What?' Caroline asked.

'They all died,' Kitty repeated. 'Or rather, they were killed by the ghosts of Kellynch.'

'The ghosts of -'

'- the ghosts of Kellynch,' Kitty said. 'A ghostly army of young men crushed the walls of Kellynch at midnight.'

'A ghostly army -'

'Would you like one of our home-made brownies, Magnolia?' Frances asked. 'My little Chrysanthemum made them herself.'

'They were come to take revenge,' Kitty continued.

'Or perhaps a herbal tea?' Frances asked. 'My little Chrysanthemum mixes the best teas.'

'For they had been brutally slaughtered by the baronet, who bathed in the blood of young men. Hundreds of young men have disappeared in the vicinity of Kellynch -'

'Shall we sing?' Thomas asked and got his guitar.

Darcy groaned, then quickly checked himself. As the others broke into a particularly boisterous rendition of 'We Shall Overcome,' he smoothed his waistcoat, then fussed with his tie until the knot was just right. He was just about to take a sip from his hip-flask when he realised a second, even bigger spider climbing up his leg.

With an almighty cry, Darcy jumped up and tried to shake the spider off. It was then that he realised that he had been sitting right next to the anthill into which he had stepped in his anxiety to get rid of the spider.

He turned around only to find himself engulfed in a cloud of thick, foul-smelling mist. Coughing madly, he collapsed again on the slightly dirty picnic blanket Frances had spread on the grass.

'What was that?' he asked hoarsely.

'Insecto-Ex 3000,' Mary said, lowering the spray bottle. 'It is my favourite brand.'

'So what do you do, Miss Bennet?' Darcy asked.

He and Mary had settled themselves on two camping chairs Mary had brought outside. They were sitting away from the rest of the group, who were still singing occasionally, discussing demonstrations, politics and Kitty's brownies in between.

'I work as a secretary for the local newspaper,' Mary said, smoothing her twinset. 'I wanted to train as an accountant, but mother was against it. She is very -'

'Liberal, I think is the word,' Darcy said. 'Forgive me, I did not mean to insult your family.'

'You are forgiven, Mr Darcy,' Mary said. 'To tell you the truth, I am not completely happy with the way of life my parents have adopted, nor with the way my sisters behave. Quite frankly, their behaviour is -'

'Embarrassing,' Darcy said. 'It is the same with my friends, Miss Bennet. I can tell you, I feel it most acutely myself.'

'Would you care for a nice cup of tea, Mr Darcy?' Mary asked, then added hastily, 'Earl Grey, of course.'

'I have been reading up,' Caroline announced the morning after next, 'about what Chrysanthemum said the other day.'

They were sitting in the boarding house in the village where Darcy had insisted on taking rooms; all the Bennets' assurances that it would be perfectly alright for them to park their bus next to their caravans had not swayed him in his decision. Charles had not wanted to leave Darcy alone and Caroline felt compelled to go with them, since she did not want to be left out of their work. In the boarding house, however, she was completely out of place and the landlady had shot her many a nasty look this morning already. Darcy was only thankful that Charles was not with them this morning, having overslept after another late night at the Bennets'.

'I'm sorry?' Darcy asked, looking up from his Times.

'I've been checking what Chrysanthemum told me,' Caroline explained. 'You'd probably call her Kitty.'

'Oh,' said Darcy. 'The one in the yellow kaftan with the dirty fingernails.'

'No, Elizabeth was in yellow,' Caroline said, frowning.

'She had hairy legs,' Darcy said.

'Kitty was in green,' Caroline continued. 'Anyway, she told me that young men in an astonishingly large number had disappeared around Kellynch during the life of the last baronet, so I researched a little and I found out that she is right. If you have a look at these figures, you can clearly see -'

Darcy groaned. It was easy to forget, but in spite of the orange or purple bags she was wearing, and the state of her underarms, and her long, red hair, Caroline was a scholar, and not at all a bad one at that.

'Something was definitely going on there,' Caroline said. 'Although I cannot fathom a reason whether there can be any relation to why the building collapsed.'

She rolled up the papers she had been shuffling through and put them aside.

'I suppose we can always ask Chrysanthemum or Elizabeth if they know anything else about it,' she said. 'We're invited there for lunch, did I mention that?'

'I'm not coming,' Darcy said.

'Oh, come on, Darce,' Caroline said, scratching her leg. 'They're very nice people. I like Frances very much.'

'I have other plans,' Darcy announced, shifting slightly in his chair.

Caroline raised an eyebrow.

'I'm taking Miss Bennet out for lunch,' Darcy said. 'There is a very agreeable sort of tearoom supposed to be in the village.'

'Miss Ben- ' Caroline said, throwing one of her red braids over her shoulder. 'Oh, you mean Sunflower!'

'Her name,' Darcy said primly, 'is Mary. She is a very modest young lady.'

When Caroline and Charles arrived at the Bennets' trailers, Frances, Kitty and Jane were busy tie-dying cotton scarves in an old metal wash tub.

Upon seeing Charles, Jane rushed to him, not caring about the dye on her hands, and left his orange trousers with green hand prints all over.

'Lucky he wasn't wearing any shirt,' Kitty commented, then went to the water pump to get more water.

'We sell these at festivals, to make a little extra money,' Frances told Caroline as they were hanging up the scarves on a line. 'I'd rather we weren't forced to participate in the free market, but I cannot let my little flowers starve in the hedgerows, now can I?'

'No, no,' Caroline agreed. 'I get money from the university too. It's so demeaning, but what is one supposed to do?'

'Yes, I know what you mean,' Frances said. 'My little Carnation gets money too for the courses she teaches. She's working right now.'

Frances sighed.

'At least it is a respectable job,' she said. 'My little Sunflower, on the other hand – I must say I worry about her sometimes. She wanted to train as an accountant, if you can imagine. Then she wanted to work in a bank! Now she is a secretary with the local newspaper. I can tell you, I'm not very happy about it. It is a very conservative paper – I am sure she feels very restricted there -'

'More tea, Mr Darcy?' Mary asked. 'There is still some left in the pot.'

'Thank you, no, Miss Bennet,' he replied. 'I am sorry to be so impolite, but I must return to the excavation very soon. I think we are at a critical break-through. Miss Bingley has made some very interesting discoveries.'

'Has she, indeed?' Mary asked. 'Would you care to explain, sir?'

'Well, it appears the history of Kellynch Hall was unusually bloody,' Darcy began. 'From what we have been able to gather, an astonishingly large number of young, healthy men have disappeared in its vicinity over the last thirty years of its existence. We cannot help but connect the last owner, Sir Walter, to this. There is some rumour that he killed them to bathe in their blood -'

Mary looked at him in disappointment.

'- but of course that is utter nonsense,' Darcy continued, much to Mary's relief. 'You and I know ho these tales are spread, Miss Bennet. I think it far more likely that Sir Walter was either a sociopath, or influenced by illegal substances that lead him to imagine whatever it was.'

He paused.

'Miss Bingley does not agree there with me, I fear,' he added. 'But surely there can be no other explanation why a man of good family would turn out to actually kill people, unless substances were involved.'

'Quite so, Mr Darcy,' Mary agreed. 'My sisters believe that the house itself is killing people, if you will believe it.'

Mr Darcy shook his head in disbelief.

A blood-curdling scream rang out over the meadows around Kellynch later that afternoon. Frances paused in her tie-dying activities to see where it might have come from, but could discern no source. Her five little flowers and her tree where all clearly in her view, and she knew of no one else who was close.

Five minutes later, Caroline's van came to a screeching halt in front of their caravans.

'A telephone!' Caroline exclaimed, stumbling out. 'Do you have a telephone?'

'Gee, where's the next one, dude?' Jane wondered.

'I think the Gouldings have one,' Kitty said, then added, for Caroline's benefit, 'the old farmhouse down the next crossroads.'

'What has happened, Magnolia?' Frances asked.

'It's Darcy,' Caroline said. 'Something at Kellynch collapsed as we were excavating, and crushed him beneath. Charles is trying to dig him out and I -'

She paused and did the same as everyone else. They were all staring at Mary, who had got up in an instant, climbed into Caroline's van, turned the keys and raced off.

'Did you know she could drive?' Mr Bennet asked.

'Drowned?' Mary shrieked. 'How can one drown in a house?'

'Miss, please, sit down,' one of the paramedics said. 'This is no sight for a young lady.'

'In his own blood, man,' Charles muttered. 'Jeez.'

He was still ghostly pale in the face, clutching the glass of brandy someone had handed him.

'When the device in the cellars collapsed on top of him,' the paramedic explained in an undertone to Mr Bennet, 'one of his ribs punctured his lungs, and the haemorrhaging then led to his lungs filling up with -'

Mary fainted.

'That was not just a collapse,' Caroline muttered. 'Kellynch Hall has claimed another victim.'