with married life and with one another.
Later in the day, the carriage slowed to a stop. The couple exited the carriage and Mr. Darcy nodded to his head coachman, who was also somewhat in disguise, being dressed in less than his usual elegant clothing so that he might appear as an ordinary post driver.
Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth walked the rest of the way down the river and soon arrived at a small village which seemed to fit the description that had been wrested from Miss Bingley’s maid. Darcy's men had previously scouted several villages along River Orwell before returning with reports of a possible sighting of the witch in this particular village.
The disguised couple walked along, examining the houses and shops in the small village until they came upon a depilated hut near the bend of the river. As they approached, they heard voices arguing from inside, and one of those voices sounded very like…
“Is it not Miss Bingley?” Elizabeth whispered to her husband.
“I believe so.” He said.
“Should we go in or wait?”
He looked around. As the hut was in an obscured location, away from the main village, she thought it prudent to wait. So decided, he signaled for his wife to walk quietly to the side of the hut. Through the slightly opened window, they were able to hear and see what went on inside.
Miss Bingley had her hands on her hips and was shouting loudly at an elderly woman dressed in rags. The old lady was sitting in front of a small table.
“You must reverse your witchcraft! I cannot have my eyes permanently criss-crossed and nose twisted. How am I to appear in public, or attend balls, or find a rich husband? I shall be ridiculed by the ton.” The angry voice of Miss Bingley was loud and clear.
“Follow the ritual or hell shall break loose. I told you that.”
“I shall pay you another sum to turn me back into a beautiful woman.”
“That you won’t. Yer body's been touched by the Devil. No witch can handle further.”
“Then I am going to kill you, you ugly old witch!” Miss Bingley screamed, and lunged onto the old lady. Outside, Elizabeth and Darcy gasped and were preparing to burst into the hut to rescue the elderly witch, but green smoke exploded from inside.
Mr. Darcy pulled Elizabeth back, away from the smoke. After they were a clear distance away from the hut, they saw Miss Bingley emerge, covered with green dust, coughing hard soon afterwards. The door of the hut banged shut behind her. As soon as she had caught her breath, she screamed and kicked at the door, continuing for a long while, until at last she was hoarse.
But her effort was in vain. The door would not open. Finally, she abandoned her futile attempts and stalked toward a boat tied farther down the river.
“What should we do?” Elizabeth asked her husband, after they saw the boat leave.
“We have come this far. Let us inquire as to whether the witch will see us.”
“But what if she hurts us?”
“The maid said she was a good witch. It appears she did not hurt Miss Bingley, even after she threatened to kill her. That green smoke was probably just a diversion to force Miss Bingley out of the hut.”
Elizabeth nodded and placed her hand on his, willing to trust his judgment in the matter. Together, they walked to the hut and knocked.
The door opened immediately, but nobody appeared near the door. They walked in cautiously. The green smoke had all disappeared, so they could clearly see the old lady sitting in front of the table just as she had been before — calm and collected.
“Pray excuse us, Madam, but we are wondering if you are Ipswich the Good Witch?” Mr. Darcy asked.
“Yes, indeed. Do come forward. It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy.”
The couple gasped, quite surprised that she knew who they were, even in disguise.
Darcy replied, “It is also our pleasure to make your acquaintance, Madam. I believe we have something of yours which we wish to return.” He took out the doll from a bag he was carrying.
“Ah, it is very kind of you to bring back the doll, Mr. Darcy. I like to reuse my materials as much as possible. It is good to the Earth for us not to be wasteful.”
“Then you are aware that Miss Bingley performed the… that wanton spell on my wife? We would be very much in your debt if you can assure us that there will not be any permanent effect upon her.”
“But, indeed, sir, there will be.” The old witch said.
They looked at each other and Mr. Darcy asked apprehensively, “What will it be?”
“Quite simply, the two of you will experience a forever-joyous union, well into your old ages.”
The couple blushed bright red and smiled at each other. Mr. Darcy then said, “Thank you, Madam. Although I do not think we needed a spell in order to be forever blissful together.”
“Perhaps not, but did Miss Bingley’s maid not tell you? My magic only works on people who deserve it.”
“Yes, indeed! Thank you, Madam. May I ask… what did Miss Bingley mean, when she complained that she was permanently cross-eyed and had a twisted nose?”
“She attempted to perform a second curse, but not according to the exact instructions, thus causing the curse to befall herself.”
“A second curse?”
“Miss Bingley came back here a day after she obtained the first package to ask for a second curse in particular. She was worried that the first one might not work. She wanted your wife to have crossed eyes and a twisted nose. But she performed the spell without any of Mrs. Darcy’s hair, so the last one to have touched the black candle bore the brunt of that second curse.”
“My Lord, I had no idea that she was so vengeful. Thank you, Madam, for explaining this all to us. We will leave you now.”
But Elizabeth interrupted, “Madam, is there truly no way to help Miss Bingley?”
“Bless you, Mrs. Darcy, you have a forgiving soul, in view of how badly the young woman wanted to hurt you.”
“She is, after all, the sister of my husband’s best friend.”
“Well, I am sorry to pain you, but she bargained with the Devil when she came for the curses in the first place. She still has to bear the forfeit of the bargain.”
“You are not saying… that you shall take her soul?” Elizabeth asked in a trembling voice. She had experienced so many losses and deaths recently that she could not bear to wish such a thing on even her worst enemy.
“Rest assured, I am a good witch… though a bit mischievous,” the elderly witch said, and grinned, “She will not ultimately suffer for her forfeit, provided she becomes a better person. Only then will the spell of that curse be broken. Now, off you go, the two of you.” The old woman then stood up and stepped into the other room.
Darcy and Elizabeth stayed in the neighbouring town for the night, for they wanted to make certain that Miss Bingley would not come back to harm the witch. But the next day, when they returned to the hut, the door stood open, and there was no sign of anything inside. It appeared that the witch had vanished.
Six years later
“Now, is it right or left?”
“Mother, you are hopeless! Come, William. We shall go and ask Papa to help her out.” Five-year-old Thomas ran away from the maze, with his three-year-old brother following hard on his heels.
“Wait!” Not being able to follow her sons, Elizabeth called after them “Do not let your Father know! Ask Mrs. Reynolds to come.” Elizabeth bit her lip and took a deep breath as she heard her sons running farther away, outside the maze, not even sure if they had heard her.
She had walked around the maze for a few more minutes, still without having found a way out, when Mr. Darcy suddenly appeared, a wicked grin on his face.
“Thomas and William asked me to come and rescue the damsel in distress.”
She walked past him. “I did not ask for you. I asked for Mrs. Reynolds. You should go back to the guests.”
He followed close behind her. “You know I cannot stand being in the same room as Miss Bingley. And by
