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Elizabeth glanced at Mr Wickham. “Will your elders accept what happened?”

“They must. An attempt to compel the True Blood, corrupt her blood, or take her by force carries automatic extinction. He announced his intention, exposed his fangs, and advanced. You and Mr Collins witnessed the offence, and I felt the compulsion. Mr Collins acted in immediate defence of a protected human.”

Mr Collins stared at him. “Protected human?”

Mr Darcy turned towards him. “There are matters which must now be explained.”

“That would be welcome, thank you.”

“The officer you killed was a vampire.”

Mr Collins’s gaze travelled to the corpse. “I had reached a similar conclusion.”

“I am also a vampire. Bingley, Hurst, Miss Bingley, and Mrs Hurst share the condition.”

Mr Collins regarded Mr Darcy, turned to Mr Hurst, and then examined Fletcher as though uncertain whether servants should be included in the count.

“Fletcher is human,” Mr Darcy clarified.

“Thank you.” Mr Collins gripped the arms of the chair. “I should prefer a stronger chair.”

“This one is mahogany,” Mr Hurst assured him.

“I was speaking morally.”

Charlotte stayed beside him, one hand resting against the back of the chair. “You suspected the truth.”

“I suspected that Mrs Hurst and Mr Wickham were unnatural. This is why I carried the stick. I had not considered that Netherfield is a den containing an organised population.”

“We prefer household,” Mr Hurst responded.

Mr Collins twisted towards Charlotte. “You knew?”

“Yes.”

“And you came to the ball?”

“Elizabeth required a chaperone.”

“You knowingly entered a house containing five vampires to provide propriety?”

“Six, Mr Collins, before you reduced the number.”

Mr Collins returned his eyes to Mr Wickham’s remains. “I believe my original question concerning the chair retains force.”

Mr Darcy considered the sharpened walking stick. “Where did you obtain the weapon?”

Mr Collins became defensive enough to recover part of his former character. “It is my own property.”

“You were instructed not to arm yourself.”

“I was forbidden to carry a cross, holy water, or an ecclesiastical object intended for hostile employment.” He gestured to the ash shaft embedded in Mr Wickham. “My walking stick is secular.”

Mr Hurst inclined his head. “The distinction is sound.”

“It has a sharpened end, though.”

“I encountered a book in Mr Bennet’s study a few days ago. A learned Benedictine recommended the method.”