Chapter 9
After dinner, we filed into the main room. Rather than sitting, many individuals remained standing, as though they didn’t want to sit until Lady Catherine gave permission.
I pulled Lizzy to the side.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Lizzy said. “Make your aunt angry with you.”
“Yes, I did.” I forced myself to meet her gaze despite my stomach still in knots from the argument.
“Well, thanks.” She softened, the tension in her posture easing.
“I need to pull Rosalie’s mother aside to speak with her. I hate to ask you this, but do you think you can distract Rosalie for a moment? I doubt she’ll leave me alone.”
Lizzy swallowed. “Sure.”
She approached Rosalie, who shot us a perturbed glare. Lizzy carefully engaged her in a conversation, and the other woman’s expression softened. Lizzy had a way with words and wasn’t afraid to confront a hard situation.
I walked over to Mrs. Trent, who gazed around the room with her calculating, no-nonsense stare. No wonder she and my aunt got along so well. “Excuse me. I was wondering if we might speak in private?”
A clever smile crossed her face, as if this was exactly what she wanted. “Of course, you don’t mind, do you, dear?” she said to her husband.
“Not at all, I’ll just sit down over here if Lady Catherine will allow it.” He winked at me and wandered over to a large plush chair.
We opened the doors and stepped out onto the back porch, a long, glass-sided enclosure that revealed the dark evening sky.
The panes were fogged at the edges, holding the warmth inside like a greenhouse meant for people rather than plants.
Thick rugs softened the wooden floorboards, and a pair of overstuffed chairs sat angled toward each other as if they were mid-conversation.
Potted herbs lined the walls, their leaves emitting a faint, comforting scent each time the warm air shifted.
I allowed a bit of magic to escape my fingers, releasing a subtle strand of warmth winding through the area until it seemed almost like a sun-filled winter dwelling.
Mrs. Trent faced me, her expression a mask of affability. But I knew better than that. Mrs. Trent had something that she wanted from me as much as I wanted information from her. “What can I do for you, Your Highness?”
“I spoke with John Rittle, and he mentioned you were the last person to speak to my parents before their death.”
“Is that what he said?” She settled into one of the chairs and crossed her legs.
I took a step toward her, remaining standing. “Are you aware of anything regarding my parents’ death?”
She rested her head on her hand and gazed at me, her eyes narrowed. “I doubt you want to know what I know.”
“I assure you, I do,” I said, though my heart pounded in my chest. Her words made it sound as if I wouldn’t like what I was about to hear.
She stared at me with a steady, calculating gaze. “Fine then, I’ll tell you.” She rose from her chair.
My heartbeat eased back into something normal, no longer thundering in my ears.
“If… you propose to Rosalie. Tonight.”
I blinked, my chest tightening in dread. “I’m sorry?”
“What I know… there’s a reason it has been kept a secret. And I can see you’re eager, so commit to marrying my daughter and propose to her tonight at this party, and I’ll tell you. Or at least show you.”
I ran a hand through my hair. This was ridiculous.
Fae could lie, but if they ever made a promise, they had to honor that agreement.
If I agreed to what she was asking, there would be no way out.
However, learning of the fate of my parents and finding the link to Moonrot and how to heal it took precedence.
Mr. Bennet’s life hung in the balance. Making Lizzy happy now was more important than my one-sided feelings.
It wasn’t like Lizzy and I were together or had any chance of it.
She was only working with me to solve the mystery.
Still, I spoke through gritted teeth. “Deal.”
“Please say it out loud to make it official.”
“I promise to propose to Rosalie Trent tonight at this party and to marry her, if she agrees, in return for you telling me what you know about my parents’ death.”
Mrs. Trent smiled in triumph. “Wonderful! Shall we get on with it?”
I stared at her, sickness churning in my gut. I walked back into the party. Lizzy was speaking with Rosalie, her eyes sparking with life as they always did. Her gaze turned to me, and I saw the curiosity there. She desired to learn what I’d discovered.
I turned away from her and took Rosalie’s hand, tugging her over next to Lady Catherine, who sat in her high-backed chair like the queen of the sitting room.
“Rosalie?” I asked.
“Yes?”
I stood, my body tense and unwilling. But I had no other choice. I’d already promised. I got down on one knee, her hand still in mine. Rosalie broke into a wide smile like she knew this was always coming. “Rosalie, will you marry me?” The words were acid on my tongue.
A sharp gasp sounded from across the room, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it came from Lizzy.
“Yes! Oh, of course, yes!” Rosalie threw her arms around me and kissed me.
I stood to break the kiss that felt all wrong. Enjoying it would be a betrayal. I spun to look at Lizzy.
She remained there unmoving, her eyes flashing with something deep. She whirled away. How did I explain? I’d just told her nobody would force me into marriage. I found myself stepping toward her.
“Lizzy…”
Mrs. Trent was there, hugging me as well. “Oh, what a glorious surprise! We are so excited for the two of you!”
She slipped a small piece of a fragmented mirror into my hand.
“Look into this when you’re alone and ask it to show you what I overheard on the night of your parents' death,” she whispered in my ear.
“I agreed to keep it hidden as long as a certain marriage event took place. When you said you weren’t marrying my daughter last night, his word was broken and I was free to make my own arrangements. ”
She stepped back. Her words were cryptic, but not cryptic enough. My entire chest squeezed tight at them. At the one person they pointed toward. Surely I was wrong.
Memories were rarely stored in mirrors. It took quite the magical knowhow to put it inside and get it to hold. But Mrs. Trent had a reputation for controlling magical objects. In fact, she ran a whole business that had to do with magical artifact repair.
Mr. Trent slapped me good-naturedly on the back, then shook my hand. When I looked up again, Lizzy had disappeared.
I hurried over to Anne, who was standing with Ernesto looking shocked. “Where is she?”
“She headed that way.” Anne pointed toward the entryway. “I think she’s planning on leaving.”
Forgetting everything and everyone, I went after her, following into the front foyer. “Lizzy, I know I said that I wouldn’t—”
“You don’t need to explain. It’s none of my business,” Lizzy said, stuffing her arms into her coat.
“It’s not what you think.”
“That’s what you said about last night.”
“I…” There was so much to tell her. I couldn’t do it here, inside Rosings. I still reeled from everything, and the house’s confined air felt like it would overwhelm me.
Grabbing my coat, I threw it on before taking her hand and pulling her out the door.
“Darcy, what are you doing?” Lizzy hissed, her cheeks pink and her eyes blazing with annoyance. But I tugged her after me. She deserved to hear the truth.
“We need to talk, but not in there,” I said. “You need to know what happened.” Or maybe I just needed to tell her so she wouldn’t think me a horrible person… again.
We both stopped in our tracks when we saw the large horse-drawn carriage sitting in the front driveway.
“Surprise!” Georgiana shouted, clapping her gloved hands with Henry by her side. “Don’t be mad, Darcy. It will be a quick trip around Rosings’ gardens. Remember, you agreed to this!”
I had agreed to it. Another fae promise. Although the same didn’t hold true for Lizzy as a half-fae, and considering how mad she was at me, who knew if she’d go.
The front doors of Rosings burst open. “Darcy, where are you going—” Rosalie cut off with a gasp as she beheld the large Valentine’s carriage. “Is this for me? Oh Darcy, how romantic!”
Rosalie headed straight for the carriage as her parents followed her into the freezing night air.
“Wait,” Georgiana said, looking confused, and I now realized she hadn’t been in the room when I came back in from talking with Mrs. Trent. Georgiana hadn’t heard me propose to Rosalie. “This isn’t for you. This is for Darcy and Lizzy.”
Rosalie threw a dirty glance at Lizzy, but then straightened her shoulders and faced Georgiana. “Lizzy isn’t Darcy’s fiancée. I am”.
Georgiana looked flabbergasted. She turned to me for an explanation. “Darcy?”
I didn’t have time for this. I had to explain to Lizzy what was happening. I needed to see what was in the mirror that Mrs. Trent gave me and calm the sick foreboding that squeezed the air from my chest.
Shutting my eyes, I dug deep into my power.
It caught hold with a familiar resistance, like pushing against thick water, and then the world around us went still.
Sound cut off mid-breath. Vanessa Trent froze mid-step, her coat suspended as if stitched to the air.
One of the horse’s tails hung halfway through a swish.
I’d frozen time.
It would keep my family and the Trents at bay, but not for long.
I pulled Lizzy over to the carriage and opened the door. “Get in.”
Lizzy tugged her hand from my grasp, glaring at me. “Don’t be ridiculous, Darcy. You shouldn’t be riding with me.” She wasn’t fazed by my magic. I’d frozen time once before in her presence several months ago.
“I think I know who killed my parents,” I murmured.
She pressed her hands to her mouth.
Heat crawled under my skin, pressure building behind my eyes. I swallowed and held it down. I wouldn’t be able to stall time much longer. “Please, Lizzy.”
She nodded and got into the carriage. I followed behind her. As I moved to shut the door, I saw the frozen enraged stares of the Trents and my family, all furious for various reasons.
I’d have to deal with that mess later. Right now, there were more important things to figure out, and I needed Lizzy by my side.