Chapter 29
It started with an odd sending from Quickthorn to Frederica. I think you should call on Lady Anne Darcy. Now.
Frederica raised her eyebrows. This was not like her dragon, nor had she realized Quickthorn had any interest in Darcy's mother. Why?
I am not certain. Something is wrong with her. Her familiar thinks it is important and that you can help. Quickthorn's sending was laced with puzzlement.
She could not think of anything in her ability that would be helpful to Lady Anne, and even if there was, her ladyship would refuse to admit she needed the assistance. What can I do? And why is Shadow asking you?
We have been communicating since he returned to her at Pemberley. It seemed a good idea to have some knowledge of what the King's Mage might do. But he is not good with words; he is only a cat. And he does not know that you are the right person, but he can think of no one better.
Much like how Frederica had been chosen as Lady Anne's apprentice, the best of a bad lot! Very well, I will go.
By the time Frederica arrived at Windsor Castle and had gone through the usual rigamarole of being admitted, her curiosity was overflowing.
Unlike her purse; she had not brought sufficient funds on this journey to pay for hiring all these carriages.
She would have to ask Darcy for a loan, as her father would more likely try to imprison her in the house again and marry her off to that horrid Mortimer Percy.
But she held her head high as she waited in the anteroom while the footman announced her to Lady Anne, and even when he returned and said, “Lady Frederica, I regret that her ladyship is not at home to callers today.”
A long, wailing cat yowl penetrated the closed door. The footman did not glance back over his shoulder, though he clearly wanted to.
Frederica smiled at him sweetly, and a second howl came through. “Apparently Shadow does want to see me, though.” And she slipped past him and into the room without an invitation. What was the worst he could do, after all? Sometimes it paid to have a courtesy title.
A fluffy black cat stood before her. As soon as she shut the door behind her, he lofted his tail in the air and led her past the private sitting room like a well-trained servant wearing faintly ridiculous furry breeches.
Lady Anne was curled up on the settee, her face buried in a handkerchief, her shoulders shaking.
She must have heard Frederica's footsteps, for instantly she straightened, lowering her legs into a ladylike sitting position.
“Forgive me; I would prefer not to have company at the moment,” she said stiffly.
It might have been a more convincing act were her voice not shaking and her cheeks tear-stained. Frederica wavered, but a baleful glare from Shadow made her hesitate. Comforting people might not be her forte, but surely she could make an effort.
She made her feet move towards the settee and sat down beside Lady Anne. “I am sorry to disturb your privacy,” she said gently. “Shadow sent a message asking me to come to you, and I am more frightened of his displeasure than yours. Or at least of his claws.”
Lady Anne took in a sharp breath. “Shadow? That is nonsense. He cannot speak.”
“Mrrow,” remarked Shadow. He jumped up on Lady Anne's lap, turned in a circle, and settled himself. He might not talk, but he had clearly said she was not going to move.
“Apparently he can speak to dragons, and mine translated for him. Pray tell me, what is distressing you? You are the strongest person I know, so it must be something very bad.”
Lady Anne slowly stroked her hand along Shadow's back, as if even that small movement took great effort. “Strong,” she said bitterly. “Yes, I am that. If only I had been right, too.”
“About what?” Frederica tried not to sound shocked. Lady Anne admitting she was wrong was even more inconceivable than finding her in tears.
The words tumbled out of her, almost too fast to be understood.
“My sister took away everything in my life. My brother. My ability to have friends, to care about anyone but her. My chance to love my son, to be a true mother. Even Shadow, for many years.” She pressed her face into his fur.
“I lost it all, and the one thing I had left was my pride. The knowledge that even at my darkest moment, I did the right thing and stopped her.”
Frederica nodded cautiously. “She needed to be stopped.”
“Did she?” Lady Anne's voice was muffled by cat fur.
“If I had not intervened, she would have married Prinny, and we would have an heir apparent with the King's Bond, one who could protect Britain from our enemies and restore magery to the royal line. Instead we have a girl of sixteen and no defenses against the invasion. Because of me. Because I was wrong.”
It was an appealing picture, but... “Do you truly believe Lady Catherine would have left Jack unbound?
Or would she have turned the King's Bond to her own service, using it to intimidate and kill her enemies? All England would have lived in terror of her. And that is apart from all the other people, starting with His Majesty, whom she would have killed without you.”
Lady Anne seemed to stop breathing for a minute, and then she sat up. “There is something to what you say. Catherine's ambitions would not have stopped with a throne, would they?”
“From everything I have heard of her, no.”
“Then it is not a complete loss, the price I paid.” She nodded, as if to herself, then added softly, “I was never ambitious, you know. Not like Catherine. All I wanted was a baby of my own to love. I knew I was destined for a mage marriage where I would barely know my husband, but a child - I could dream of that. Then I had to send Fitzwilliam away to keep him safe, and he has no reason to love me. Jack was never mine, and after that Catherine did something to keep me from having more children. When she lost her powers, and then Georgiana was born, I thought I finally had my wish. A little girl I could lavish my love on. But it was already too late; I had too many bindings in place to be able to care, and then my baby turned out to be a changeling, another punishment for my sins. My true daughter is lost in Faerie, and I will never know her.” Her voice cracked.
Frederica had never expected to feel sympathy for Lady Anne, so the rush of it came as a surprise. “Your sister cheated you of so much.”
“Yes, she did.” Then she straightened, and the old, distant expression returned to her face. “But it is too late for anything else now. I have my duty, and that will have to be enough.”
“No, it is not too late!” Frederica said impulsively. “You have a granddaughter who never knew anything of this, and she needs you.”
Lady Anne's mouth twisted. “What can she possibly need from me? She has two parents who adore her, a dragonet of her own, and all the staff of Pemberley.”
“And she has mage Talent oozing out her pores, which is why she requires that baby dragon to keep it in check. Elizabeth and Darcy - pardon me, I love both dearly - but neither of them is one tenth the mage you are. She has nobody to teach her how to use her Talent responsibly, as you could do. Of course I will do what I can, though I am but a cousin who visits occasionally. She needs you.”
A breath seemed to catch in Lady Anne's throat. “I...see.”
“And it would be good if you would give your son a chance,” she added recklessly.
In for a penny, in for a pound. “Yes, he has resented you, because by all usual standards you were a negligent mother. But now he knows it was not your own choice. It will take him time to move past that childhood resentment, but could you not give him an opening? Perhaps express to him your regrets that things could not be different? You cannot change the past, but what do you have to lose in trying to build a future?”
With great care, Lady Anne turned her attention to the cat on her lap, petting and caressing him, while subtly hiding her tear-soaked handkerchief under his long fur.
“You are, as ever, ruthlessly frank with your opinions, Lady Frederica. But not incorrect. If I want people to see me differently now, I must take the first steps.”
“I am looking forward to making the acquaintance of the new, unbound Lady Anne Darcy. And while I always respected you, I like you better now. To new beginnings!” She raised an imaginary wine glass as a toast.
“To new beginnings,” Lady Anne echoed quietly.
Shadow added a heartfelt “Mrroww!”
“Now,” said Lady Anne briskly. “Tell me more about my granddaughter's Talent. Is she truly displaying it even as an infant?”
Frederica smiled with great satisfaction. The bait had been taken. “Yes, she is. And I am more than a bit frightened of how poor Elizabeth will deal with a toddler with that level of power.”
Darcy stared up at Frederica. His cousin had that look on her face which clearly indicated she had something to say - and expected him to listen. As if he did not have enough difficulties already with Jack!
“Darcy, there is something I must tell you. I have been speaking to your mother, and I think perhaps you should, too.”
“I fail to see why.” As far as he was concerned, Lady Anne had caused enough trouble for a lifetime.
“I understand that you resent her, for good reason. You are also clever enough to understand she was under bindings then. Is it not possible she is different now?” Frederica was clearly stalking him, like a hunting cat.
Darcy sighed. “It is too late for me. I will continue to be civil and proper to her, as always, but I have no desire for more.”
She pounced. “Too late for you, but what about Jenny? And any other children you may have. Does Jenny not deserve a grandmother - and does she not need a highly trained mage who can help her learn to channel that frightening Talent of hers? Would you deprive your daughter of having the best mage in England as her private tutor because Lady Anne never took time for you while she was under bindings?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. God above, but it was annoying when Frederica sallied forth on one of her crusades and turned out to be right, too.
Grudgingly he said, “It would be a fine thing for her to spend more time with Jenny, if she so wishes. But why have you taken this particular bit between your teeth? You are no fonder of Lady Anne than I am.”
“No, I never did manage to like her, but I understand what it is like to have everyone dislike you for something that is beyond your control. I never asked to be a truth-caster, but people still hated me because they blurted out embarrassing things in my presence. I can imagine how it would feel for her to suddenly be free of bindings for the first time, only to discover that everyone has already dismissed her as useless,” she said passionately.
Then she added, “I am not sure what I think of the new Lady Anne. She has an annoying edge of primness, but I am going to give her a chance.”
Darcy could not imagine ever feeling comfortable around his mother. “Very well. I will encourage her to visit us and to spend time with Jenny.”
“Do you know what she told me today? When you were a boy, she begged Shadow to find you a powerful familiar who could help protect you from Lady Catherine. So her cat went straight to the top and found a fae lynx, which was not exactly what she had in mind. Even less so after she met the Wicked King and discovered he has a pair of lynxes guarding him at all times, known for both their strength and their bloodthirstiness.”
“That is news to me.” His mother, responsible for his lynx? Astonishing. And all this time he had thought she did not care about protecting him.
It was a reminder, too, that Lady Anne had personal experience with the Wicked King. Perhaps she might have some useful information, too.