Beginning, Section II

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Chapter 10, Ending 2

Posted on Wednesday, 15 March 2000

I would like to ask that you turn your minds back to the beginning of Ending 1. Darcy and Lizzy have just found and listened to the tapes that prove Wickham and Collins guilty.

The tape ends with a soft click and Lizzy looks up at Darcy with a look of wonder and indecision. "What should we do now?" she asks.

Before Darcy can answer, the lights suddenly flicker out. A scream can be heard from upstairs. Darcy instinctively takes one of Lizzy's hands and blindly leads her out of the room. It is easier to see in the front hallway where the moonlight streams from the windows. Darcy returns his eyes to her face and notices her face has gone pale and her eyes are filled with fright.

"Miss...Scarlet," Darcy begins wishing he knew here real name. This is hardly the time to worry about that. "Are you feeling well?"

"Yes. I believe I will be fine in a moment, I'm just a bit startled," Lizzy replies.

"We need to find out how to turn the power back on. It seems that this 'blackout' was intentional since it has stopped raining and the wind has also died down. But don't worry, I won't leave you by yourself."

Lizzy nods and takes his arm for comfort as they continue down the hall.

Meanwhile...

After turning off the power, Collins knows he must be quick. He hurries to the study and opens the cabinet. It is unlocked and he assumes Wickham must have needed a weapon. "No bother," he thinks. "This candlestick will do quite nicely." After taking the weapon, he hurries to the back door in the conservatory. He had placed a few of his belongings there in order to make a fast getaway. He unlocks the door, replaces the key in his pocket and goes to search for Lizzy. "This time," he thinks out loud, "she won't get away from me." He continues walking towards the front hallway but stops abruptly when he hears someone coming down the steps. He hides himself in the shadows and listens intently. They are certainly women's footsteps. Collins takes a quick peek to see who it is. "Ah-hah! It is Miss Scarlet!" Collins thinks to himself. "This will be easier than I thought. As soon as she rounds the corner, I can knock her out and be on my way, along with her inheritance." Collins must try his hardest not to let out the evil laugh that is bursting within him. The lady is soon in the perfect position for him to swing and he does just that. She falls to the floor and a pool of blood slowly forms around her. "My job here is done," Collins mutters satisfactorily. He listens for the sounds of any guests and hearing none, makes his way towards the back exit. Suddenly, the lights flicker on all around him and he is brought face to face with Lizzy and Darcy.

"What!? I just killed you! Don't come near me you... what is going on? Oh my..." Collins suddenly comes to a realization. "You! You are a ghost!"

Lizzy and Darcy look at each other, bewildered. Lizzy begins, "Sir, I don't mean to..."

"Stop it! Don't speak to me! I do not wish to be haunted by you in any form!" Collins screams and falls to his knees to beg of her, "Don't do this to me! I surrender to you - I am guilty, I killed you! Please don't haunt me in this way!"

Darcy walks up to him and grabs him by the collar, hoisting him up. "Give me the keys," Darcy demands.

"Anything sir! They are yours!" Collins says as he hands him the keys.

Darcy opens the door to the cellar and pushes Collins through the doorway, locking the door behind him.

"He's gone mad!" Lizzy states.

"What's going on down here?" Bingley asks as he walks down the stairway with Jane.

"Wadsworth is crazy! He's babbling about killing Miss Scarlet and is afraid she will haunt him," Darcy tries to explain.

"Wait," Jane begins, "if he didn't kill Lizzy, then who did he kill?"

They try to pick out which one of them is missing, that has not already been killed, while Darcy simply contemplates how much he likes the name Elizabeth.

"Mrs. Peacock!" the three of them shout at once.

"What?" Darcy is shaken from his reverie. "What about her?"

"Wadsworth must have killed her!" Bingley explains.

"But how?" Lizzy replies. "Mr. Darcy and I have been on the ground floor the entire time and we didn't hear a thing."

"What's this?" Darcy says as he spots Collins' belongings.

"It seems like he wanted to make an escape after the murder. But why would he want to kill Mrs. Peacock?" Jane asks.

"He didn't," Lizzy responds. "He wanted to kill me, but he must have thought I was her and killed her instead."

"Luckily for us," Darcy says as he protectively wraps an arm around Lizzy's waist. Lizzy looks up at him adoringly, and Bingley and Jane smile at each other knowingly.

"I guess that would explain why Wadsworth went crazy when he saw you," Bingley states.

"Yes I suppose it would," Lizzy replies. The party walks towards the front door but stop when they notice Caroline's body.

"Oh my," Jane says. Having nothing else to say, they continue towards the front hall.

"I suppose we can go home now...finally," Bingley says exasperated. "I believe we have plans to make," Bingley says smiling at Jane.

"You don't mean..." Lizzy begins, "you're engaged?"

Jane and Bingley smile widely and nod. "Oh that's wonderful!" Lizzy says as she hugs them both and Darcy congratulates them. Lizzy takes Jane's hands and says, "We must keep in touch."

"Agreed," Jane says and then lowers her voice to a whisper. "I doubt it will be long before I hear similar news from you."

Lizzy smiles in response and declares, "You will be the first to know."

"Know what dear?" Darcy asks.

"Oh nothing," Lizzy smiles.

The party leaves the mansion and Darcy says to Lizzy, "May I offer you a ride home, Elizabeth?"

"Yes you may," Lizzy replies as they clasp hands and leave the house.

Chapter 11, Ending 3

Posted on Tuesday, 11 April 2000

Again, this ending begins after Lizzy and Darcy have heard the tapes.

The tape stutters and clicks off. Lizzy and Darcy simply stare at the recorder blankly, trying to comprehend all that they have heard. Lizzy is the first to recover. Turning to Darcy, she says, "Mr. Darcy, we must alert the others and find Wadsworth."

"Yes, you are right. But please, call me William."

Lizzy smiles and responds, "And you may call me Lizzy or Elizabeth."

"Very well, Elizabeth."

"Perhaps we should split up? It might make it easier for us to find them," Lizzy suggests.

"Split up? With a killer in the house? I don't think that's a very good idea."

"May I remind you that he hasn't killed anyone and he's not likely to if he had Wickham do it for him," Lizzy retorts.

"Let's stay on the safe side and stick together," Darcy suggests.

Lizzy sighs and nods in submission, taking Darcy's arm as they continue up the stairs leading to the second floor. Lizzy spots someone at the top. "Jane!"

"Lizzy!" Jane says, spying Lizzy's arm interlocked with Darcy's, and suppresses a smile. "Are you ok?"

"Yes we are well. Where is Mr. Green?"

"Who? Oh, you mean Charles. I'm sorry, I'm no longer accustomed to calling him by that name," Jane says and blushes, much to Lizzy's amusement. "Actually he is searching for Mrs. Peacock, who seems to be missing."

"And she was Wadsworth's partner, which is not a good sign," Darcy adds.

"What do you mean?" Jane asks puzzled, looking to Darcy and then Lizzy for an answer.

Lizzy explains, "It seems that Wadsworth is even more of a villain than we believed him to be. He is behind everything and used Wickham to do his dirty work."

"I had a feeling that he had something to do with it," Jane replies.

Before they can say anything more, Caroline's voice can be heard as she approaches with Bingley.

"Can't we just leave this horrid place? I do not understand why we are being forced to stay here. Where is that man with the keys?"

Bingley simply rolls his eyes and greets Jane, Lizzy, and Darcy. "So what news?"

Darcy replies, "Well, since we are all assembled, I should probably tell you the whole story." Darcy went on to explain Wickham's death and what they heard on the tapes they found.

"That would explain why Jane and I couldn't find you. We went downstairs to look for you and found Wickham's dead body and hoped you had gotten away alive. I did pick up the revolver though, so at least Wadsworth can't get to it," Bingley responds.

"Yes, but there's also at least five other weapons in this house that he can use if he finds one," Darcy says. "We need to find him. I suggest that the ladies stay downstairs while Bingley and I search for him and that you lock yourselves into a room."

Lizzy rolls her eyes and says, "William, dear, we'll be fine."

Caroline's ears perk up like those of a cat that senses an enemy nearby. "Did she just call him William, dear? Who does she think she is?" Caroline thinks to herself, all the while glaring menacingly at Lizzy.

"This ought to teach her," Lizzy thinks, suppressing a laugh at Caroline's facial expression. She moves closer to Darcy and whispers, "Be careful, alright?"

Darcy wraps his arms around her and whispers in reply, "I promise," as he kisses her quickly but firmly on the lips. Bingley and Jane were sharing a similar embrace. Luckily for Caroline, she is too busy fixing the bright orange feather in her hair to notice either exchange. The ladies reluctantly go downstairs as Lizzy attempts to come up with a plan. She knows she cannot simply wait down there for the men to do their job. She wants to help but she knows it is impossible to do so with their knowledge. She must find a way to do something.

They enter the library and Caroline obediently locks the door behind them. Lizzy rolls her eyes. "Jane, I must speak with you," Lizzy whispers.

"Of course Lizzy, what is it?" Jane whispers back as they move to a more secluded spot in the room.

"I need to do something about this. I can't just sit down here and wait. I want to help."

"Lizzy, that's not a good idea. You are Wadsworth's target and if he sees you, there's no telling what he'll do."

"But I have the surprise element on my side. He doesn't know I'll be looking for him."

"So what are you going to do if you do find him? Kill him?"

"No, but if I can keep him in one place long enough, William and Charles will find us and then they can take care of him. Besides, William needs to realize that I am not some helpless little girl who can't do things for herself. This is my fight and he needs to know what I'm capable of."

"Lizzy, if you're doing this simply to teach him a lesson and to boost your pride, you're not going to help anything."

"No, I don't mean it that way. I sincerely want to help."

"What are you two whispering about over there? Not that I really care, but it is incredibly rude!" Caroline interrupts.

Lizzy ignores her and pleads, "Will you help me Jane?"

"I don't know Lizzy..."

"Please!"

Jane takes one look at the pitiful expression on Lizzy's face and complies, "Alright Lizzy, but you better not do anything rash."

Lizzy smiles and says, "Don't worry, I won't. Now if you can keep Caroline occupied, I can escape through the secret passageway."

"The what?"

"There's a secret passageway that leads to the conservatory. From there, I'll check the cabinet in the study and get a weapon, and then go upstairs."

"Alright Lizzy, but be careful." Jane walks towards Caroline and asks her about Boston, and the latest styles of clothing there.

"Oh my dear, how unfortunate to be so lacking in resources to have no knowledge of the newest styles," Caroline begins.

Lizzy has no wish to stay longer to hear any of this conversation and slips out of into the secret passageway without notice. She quickly makes her way to the conservatory, exits and silently hurries to the study. She reaches the now open cabinet and sees the only weapon remaining: the wrench. Seizing it, she quickly heads out the door and up the stairs. She doesn't know which way to go but, on a hunch, turns right. She passes several dark and empty bedrooms before coming to the end of the hallway.

"Nobody here I suppose," she thinks aloud. She decides to go back to where she started and turn left instead. She makes her way past the bedrooms she had just passed but stops when she hears a door creaking. She doesn't have time to turn to see where the noise is coming from before she hears another: a loud gunshot. She turns back to run, not even knowing if she had been shot, but is unable to support her weight and collapses. She can hardly move and curses as she realizes where the immense pain is coming from. She can feel the warm blood flowing from her leg and she panics. Her mind is in a frenzied state and she hardly knows what to do to save her own life and how to confront her attacker at the same time. She hears footsteps, but they are running away from her. Her whole body seems paralyzed and it takes all her strength to look up to see Wadsworth hurrying away. "I knew it," she thinks, "Why did I have to do something like this?"

Within seconds, two more pairs of footsteps hurry towards her. "Elizabeth!" She recognizes Darcy's voice and is momentarily comforted, though the horror that is evident in the sound of it only causes her to worry about her situation. "Oh my G-d, Elizabeth, can you speak to me?" he says frantically.

"Yes," she whispers, taken aback by the weakness of her own voice. "My leg..."

Darcy looks at her leg and swears under his breath, although loud enough for her to hear and renew her panic.

Bingley wakes himself from his stupor and suggests that they dress her wound and take her to a bedroom where she can lie down.

"Of course," Darcy replies, momentarily dazed. He rips off a piece of his shirt to wrap her leg as Jane comes hurrying up the stairs.

"Oh my G-d! Lizzy! Oh dear, what's happened?" Jane cries.

Bingley offers her support as Darcy takes care of Lizzy. Taking her in her arms, Bingley says, "Don't worry darling. Lizzy has been shot in the leg but it may not be as serious as it seems. If we tend to her now, she is likely to overcome it. It's best not to worry her."

Jane slips from Bingley's arms and kneels to take Lizzy's hand. "Oh dear, Lizzy. I am so sorry. This is all my fault. I am entirely to blame for letting this happen to you. How can you ever forgive me?"

Even while in immense pain, Lizzy smiles at Jane's words. "I dare say, Jane, that this is all my doing. There is nothing to forgive, and I will not let you feel guilty about this."

Darcy interrupts, "I must get you to lie down, Elizabeth. Luckily, the bullet has only grazed you. I will bandage it for you but it looks like you will have to stay here for the night because I doubt you will have the strength to walk on it until the morning."

"I will do no such thing! It is but a small injury; I doubt it will hinder my walking ability at all. Besides, it hardly even hurts," Lizzy lies as she attempts to stand on her injured leg. "Aaahh!" Lizzy yells in pain and falls into Darcy's arms. Jane and Bingley immediately scold her for causing herself more pain.

"You are definitely going to lay down," Darcy states as he carries her to the nearest bedroom. Laying her on the bed, he says, "Now I ask only that you do not move while I bandage your leg." Darcy does this while Lizzy winces when pressure is put on her wound. As he works, Darcy playfully states, "You certainly act like a stubborn child when you can't do things for yourself."

Lizzy shoots him a glare, but seeing the playful grin on his face, cannot stay angry. "Perhaps you're right, but I do have a good reason."

"And what would that be, my love?"

"Only because I know you'll put up with it," Lizzy answers with a playful grin of her own.

Darcy smiles back to her but his face becomes clouded by anger when he states, "I'm assuming the shooter was Wadsworth."

"Yes. And unfortunately, he got away."

"I see. Remain here for a moment and promise me you will not move."

"I promise."

Darcy kisses her lightly on the mouth and attempts to turn away when he is grabbed by the collar. He finds his lips meeting hers again and enjoys a much more passionate kiss. His thoughts finally remind him of his initial intention and he reluctantly breaks away. "I must take care of this now, dearest. I promise that I will continue where I left off at another time."

Lizzy smiles and lets him go. The dizziness from the kiss momentarily takes her mind away from the pain in her leg and she attempts to bring her breathing and heartbeat back to its normal rate.

Darcy steps out of the room and approaches Jane who is speaking softly with Bingley. "I think she'd like to see you now," he says, smiling to her.

Jane smiles back, "Thank you, Mr. Darcy."

"Oh, please call me William."

"Then you must call me Jane. William, is Lizzy going to be ok?"

"Yes, she'll be fine as long as she doesn't irritate it by trying to walk around, for instance. She's taking it well, though."

"I'm glad to hear it. I'll go see her now," Jane says and slips into the bedroom.

"So, Darcy, what are we going to do about this?" Bingley speaks up.

"We're going to have to find Wadsworth. I wouldn't be surprised if he was gone by now...wait a minute...where's Mrs. Peacock?"

"Oh dear, I completely forgot about her!"

"Let's just hope she's still alive. Why don't we search for Wadsworth and then, hopefully, find Mrs. Peacock in the process?"

"Good idea," Bingley states and they head downstairs. The revolver has been left on the last step. "Well that doesn't seem too bright of him, to be leaving this around," Bingley mentions, motioning to the gun.

"Wait, shh..." Darcy whispers, straining to hear something. Bingley becomes silent, wondering what Darcy could be hearing.

"I hear voices," Darcy whispers again, "coming from the ballroom." Darcy quietly walks towards the closed double doors and motions for Bingley to follow. Holding his ear up to the door, he tries to make out some of the conversation.

Immediately he recognizes Wadsworth's voice saying, "It's done now. If she isn't dead already she will be soon because my aim is impeccable."

Darcy almost laughs out loud at this statement but then almost chokes when he hears the speaker of the following, "Oh my dear, it is so good to have that selfish upstart out of my hair," Caroline replies and then adds seductively, "Believe me, you will be rewarded handsomely."

Darcy is beginning to feel a bit nauseous, and from the look on Bingley's face, who has also been listening, he is in no better state.

The conversation continues with Collins saying, "I cannot imagine a better fate than to leave this place and spend my stolen inheritance with you."

"Nor can I, and we should make haste before one of them finds us still here. Though, I'm sure they are still mourning the loss of Miss Scarlet. Those fools! Though I will be sad to leave Mr. Darcy. He'll come crawling back to me soon enough. Not that it matters, since now I have you."

The voices are silent and Darcy can only imagine what is going on now. The two men glance at each other with looks of disgust.

"What do we do now?" Bingley whispers.

"I have an idea. When they come out of these doors, you grab one and I'll grab the other. Here's the rope. We can tie them up and lock them in the cellar until we can decide what to do with them," Darcy explains.

Bingley nods and they station themselves on either side of the ballroom entrance. Within a few moments, the shuffling of feet can be heard and footsteps approach the door. As the doors swing open, Darcy and Bingley lunge for Collins and Caroline. Bingley gets a hold of Caroline, but Darcy loses his grip on Collins and they both tumble to the ground. Striving for the upper hand they effortlessly try to pin each other. Although Darcy is must stronger, Collins has the advantage of having a pro-wrestling cousin who taught him what to do in this sort of situation. Bingley only watches, wishing he could help but cannot let Caroline go. In the midst of the scuffle, Darcy spots the revolver out of the corner of his eye, still sitting on the bottom step. He doesn't really want to kill Collins, but his anger for the man and the lack of any other alternative changes his mind. Darcy breaks from his partner and runs to get the gun. Collins realizes what he is doing and knows that the only way to survive is to run. He takes off towards the closest exit, but, unfortunately for him, Darcy really does have impeccable aim and Collins is shot in the back. To the surprise of Darcy, Bingley, and Caroline, sparks shoot from the wound and a mechanical psychotic voice, much unlike Collins', says, "You worthless slime! I...am...terminated..." With that, Collins collapses with a whiz and a spur as the others stare with shocked expressions.

"Does this mean..." Caroline stutters, "that I was about to run off with a robot?"

"I believe so," Bingley responds.

Caroline remembers something and asks timidly, "Um, how much of our conversation did you here?"

"Enough to know what you two were planning," Darcy glares at her as he replies.

"Oh. Well, perhaps we can forget the whole thing. You know I wasn't really going to run away with him. I was...trying to get him to...uh...trust me so I could figure out his plan and then stop him from carrying it out!" Caroline lies pathetically.

"Yes, I'm sure," Darcy says, though not believing her in the least. "As long as you swear not to pull anything like that again, we'll take pity on you."

"Oh, of course! I promise!"

"What should we do now? Are we going to stay the night or leave?" Bingley asks.

"I want to leave but it depends on how Elizabeth is faring. Regardless, I think you, Jane, and Caroline should leave tonight, and I will stay with Elizabeth," Darcy replies.

"Are you sure you wouldn't mind staying here by yourselves?" Bingley says.

"We'll be fine. I doubt we'll have any more trouble."

They walk up the stairs and enter Elizabeth's chamber. As Darcy pulls open the door, he is face to face with Lizzy who was about to exit the room.

"What are you doing out of bed? And where did you think you were going? You promised not to move," Darcy scolds her. Jane looks at Lizzy with an "I told you so" sort of expression.

Lizzy ignores it and responds, "My leg doesn't hurt that much and when I heard that gunshot I was worried for you and I wanted to..."

"It's alright, darling. We are all fine, though Wadsworth is...uh...dead."

Though puzzled by his response, Lizzy continues, "Now can we leave this dreadful place?"

"I think you should stay here the night. I don't think your leg has healed enough yet," Darcy replies.

"Believe me, it's not as bad as you think. I can walk on it and once I'm home I can worry about taking care of it. I don't want to spend another minute here."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Positive."

Jane interrupts, "Lizzy, I'll go get your things for you."

"Yes and Caroline and I will gather ours as well," Bingley says, taking the hint to leave the two alone. He also wanted to spend some more time alone with Jane as well.

Lizzy says, "Thank you, Jane, for everything." Lizzy smiles secretively to her friend, remembering how Jane revealed her recent engagement to Mr. Bingley. Lizzy was extremely happy for her, and grateful for all of Jane's advice, but sorry because they would be leaving each other. She knew, though, that they would be able to keep in touch and see each other often.

The three of them leave the room and Darcy turns to Elizabeth and says, "Now where did I leave off earlier?" He moves towards her and kisses her passionately, leaving them both breathless after a long period of participating in this action.

"Elizabeth, I realize that my first proposal to you was faulty, to say the least. I want to make it up to you. Dearest, loveliest, Elizabeth, ever since I first saw you I was struck by your beauty, your wit, and your liveliness, all qualities that make you irresistible. I don't think I can live another day without you. Will you do me the honor of marrying me?"

Lizzy was speechless. Finally, she choked out, "Yes!" and flung herself into his arms.

They remained in this embrace for several minutes until Darcy realized how long they had been alone together, "Perhaps we should join the others downstairs. I'm sure they are anticipating our arrival."

"Of course," Lizzy replies and they descend the staircase, holding hands. They reach the front door where the others are waiting for them. Immediately they realize what has happened between the couple simply by looking at their faces. Caroline, oblivious to the newly engaged, is already heading out the door. The rest of them follow her out of the disturbing house and into a new life.

The End.