Chapter 4
Had he lost consciousness in the faerie ring? What had happened after Pepper jumped up at him?
Darcy was no longer in the glade in the grove, but wherever he was, it did not match his expectations for Faerie. None of the old tales had mentioned a forest so misty he could barely see twenty feet in front of him. There was no path or sign of habitation. Pepper had vanished.
This must be some wild part of Faerie. All he needed to do was to find his way out of the woods.
What had his father always said he should do if he lost his bearings? Find the nearest water, and follow it to civilization. Darcy reached out his senses and found...nothing. No water. No fire. No elements. It was as if he had suddenly gone deaf, disconnected from the world around him. Was this what ordinary people felt like?
But he still needed to find his way out of the forest. How did people without elemental powers find the nearest water? Go downhill, that was it. Downhill would lead to a stream, and a stream would lead to civilization. At least it would if there was any water in this strange world. The ground here seemed level as far as he could see in the mist, but perhaps he could find a slope.
He set off, choosing the route that seemed clearest. Occasionally he stopped to call Pepper’s name. He trudged for what seemed like hours, until his feet were sore and his legs were tired, but when he checked his watch, he found it had stopped around the time of his arrival in Faerie.
Surely there must be a hill somewhere. Perhaps he had been walking in circles all this time. How could he rescue Elizabeth if he could not even take care of himself? Would he wander in this mist forever?
Hunger gnawed at his belly. He had a little food in his pocket, but he did not eat it. He might need it more later if his strength began to fail him.
Perhaps a little rest might restore him. He sat down by the roots of a tree, leaning back against its wide trunk and stretching out his legs. What a relief to be off his feet! His boots had not been meant for a walk of this duration. He closed his eyes.
He awoke with a start, tree bark digging into his back. How long had he slept? He had not meant to fall asleep. The mist was still all around him, and silence was everywhere.
Silence. Complete silence. No animals rustling in the underbrush, no bird calls. He picked up a twig and snapped it in half. Still no sound.
It must be glamour. What a fool he had been not to see it! He closed his eyes and passed his thumbs over his eyelids, reciting the spell for clear vision.
When he opened his eyes, the sun was shining, and he stood beside a country lane. The grass was a little too green, and the air seemed to sparkle. A cluster of oddly shaped dwellings sat further down the lane. There was something not right about the horizon. The fragrance of gardenias was everywhere. This was more like the stories of Faerie.
Pepper clawed at his leg. She looked larger here, more like a small wildcat than a mouser, but otherwise she was unchanged. He felt an absurd gratitude at the sight of the familiar cat in this strange place.
Darcy detached her claws from his trousers. He had already wasted far too much time. “Pepper, can you take me to Elizabeth?”
With a swish of her fluffy tail, she rubbed against his boots and sauntered off behind his back. When Darcy turned to see where she was going, he spotted Elizabeth on a nearby hillock, sitting on the ground with her arms wrapped around her knees .
Thank God! The rush of relief robbed him of words and the ability to think. His pulses thrummed as if to say she is alive, she is alive . Darcy’s legs had already started carrying him forward before he consciously decided to move.
He ran to her side. “Elizabeth!”
She did not react, not even looking in his direction. He waved a hand in front of her face. She continued to gaze off in the distance.
He knelt beside her. With his fingers on her temples, he drew his thumbs slowly and lightly across her eyes, repeating the clear vision spell.
Elizabeth started, her gaze suddenly meeting his. “Mr. Darcy! What are you doing here... And what are you doing?” Her last words were pointed.
He snatched his hands away from her face. It must have looked to her as if he wanted to kiss her, and for once that had not been foremost in his mind. If he ever had the chance to kiss her, he wanted her to be an active participant.
“Forgive my presumption. You were trapped in glamour, so I put a spell of clear vision on you.”
Her lips pursed suspiciously. “A spell?”
“Were you trapped in a forest? It was glamour, and my spell allowed you to see through it. That is all. There is no binding attached, nor any other spell. I will swear to it on my mother’s grave if you wish.” The words poured out of him. What if she ran away from him as she had fled Lord Matlock?
The corners of her mouth turned up. “That will not be necessary. I believe you.”
Now he did want to kiss her.
“Pepper!” Elizabeth stretched out her arms to the cat. “I am so glad to see you!” She tried to hug Pepper, but the cat was more interested in chasing some invisible object. Looking up at Darcy, Elizabeth added, “I was afraid Lord Matlock might have caught her. ”
“Or that I might have told him about her?” He could not keep all the bitterness from his voice.
She flushed and looked away. “I did not know what to think, after learning you had told Lord Matlock about me.”
“Richard was the one who told him. I warned him you would be upset.”
“I wish you had told me.” Elizabeth looked around her. “So I did make it to Faerie. I thought I might not have. How did you come here?”
“Pepper helped me.” Somehow it no longer sounded like a silly idea.
“Then I do not need to fear Lord Matlock will appear next?”
“Not unless Pepper helps him, and that seems unlikely after she did her utmost to scratch his face off.”
She gave a delighted laugh. “What a clever cat she is! Although I suppose I should not say that to you. He is your uncle, after all.” Her smile faded away.
“He deserved it. But he would not put a binding spell on you. I do not defend his decision to put one on Anne, but her situation was very different from yours. She had killed a man with her untrained magic.”
Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “I think you believe he would not bind me, but I have my doubts. He was very free with his attempts to bespell me. I felt it as soon as he touched my hand.”
“I do not know what he was doing, but it was badly done on his part. Still, if nothing else, he has selfish reasons not to bind you. He wants to study you, and he cannot do that if you are bound.”
Elizabeth sighed. “I suppose I cannot disbelieve selfish motives.”
“In any case, he left Rosings yesterday morning.” If it had been yesterday morning. He had no idea how long he had walked through the glamour.
Her brow screwed together in puzzlement. “Yesterday morning?”
“You have been gone two nights and a day. Mrs. Collins has been frantic.”
“Poor Charlotte! I could not tell day from night in the glamour. I suppose I must return quickly, then. It did not seem quite that long although it was very long indeed, enough to leave me exhausted and famished.”
After all that time with no food, she must be ravenous, far hungrier than he was. Thank God he had not eaten what little he had! Darcy rummaged in his pockets and produced a waxed fabric pouch with two ginger biscuits, a piece of cheese, and a twisted paper filled with dried fruit. “It is but poor fare, but if you would like it, it is yours.”
She snatched it from his hands and began to eat. Between bites of ginger biscuit, she managed to say, “Pray forgive my manners. I was afraid I would die of starvation in that awful mist.”
“And so you would have, like those who came before you. We do not like uninvited guests here.” The speaker was a squat fellow who came only to Darcy’s shoulder. His wide mouth, tilted eyes, and leathery skin marked him as fay. His clothes were of a nondescript color in a style that might have been worn in the Middle Ages.
Elizabeth swallowed a bite of cheese and drew a stone out of her reticule. She held it out to him on her open palm. “But I was invited.”
The small man examined the rounded grey stone. “So you were,” he said grudgingly. He grabbed Darcy’s chin and turned his face to the side. “And you. I see the mark of the phouka here, so I suppose you will be allowed to live, at least for now.”
Darcy forced himself not to react. He was an invader in a strange country here, not the Master of Pemberley, and only allowed to live because Elizabeth’s cat had scratched him.
“We do not wish to trespass,” said Elizabeth apologetically. “We will leave immediately.”
“I think not,” said the gnome. “You must go before the laird and be judged by him first. ”
“Very well,” Darcy said, trying to establish a balance between confidence and submission. “Can you direct us to the laird?”
“There are many roads a man may walk, but none of them are for you.”
Elizabeth looked as bewildered as he felt. “Should we wait here for your laird?”
The fay put two fingers in his mouth and whistled. An elegant white mare trotted up in response. “She will take you.”
Darcy eyed the horse. No saddle, bit or bridle, and too small a horse to carry two people.
Elizabeth pointed to the horse’s face. “Look at her eyes.” One was blue and the other gold. Elizabeth tangled her hand in the horse’s golden mane. “Pepper, you beautiful thing, is that you?” The horse nuzzled her ear.
The gnome spat on the ground. “’Tis bad luck, a white phouka.”
Could horses look offended? This one certainly did.
Elizabeth kissed the horse’s cheek. “She has brought only good fortune to me. And what a lovely horse you are! The King himself would be proud to have you in his stables.”
Elizabeth had said the cat was vain, had she not? Darcy added, “The ladies in London would fight over who could ride you.” It was also true. He turned to the gnome. “But how can we ride her? I do not wish to overburden her. Perhaps I should walk beside her.”
“You have dirtied the ground with enough mortal footprints already. You will ride.”
Bareback, with no reins, and double. Darcy hoped Pepper’s gait was very steady indeed. Could Elizabeth ride sidesaddle when bareback?
Pepper obligingly turned her flank to Darcy. No stirrups, either. With trepidation he placed his hands on her back and vaulted onto her. Clumsily, even he would admit that, but successfully.
He held his hand out to Elizabeth. “If you put your foot on my boot, I should be able to bring you up in front of me. At least I hope so.”
Elizabeth took his hand. “I cannot believe I am doing this. I am no horsewoman, even when there is a saddle and reins.”
Darcy smiled down at her. “We will learn together.” Perhaps the air of Faerie was intoxicating. He certainly should not have agreed to this.
He managed to wrestle her up to sit sideways in front of him across Pepper’s back. Her perch was even more precarious than his. “I believe you would do best to hold on to me,” he said huskily.
After a brief hesitation, she linked her arms around him. “If I fall off, I suppose I will simply have to abandon all dignity and ride astride.”
“It might be safer.” Darcy made a valiant attempt not to imagine the sight of her exposed legs. He was having enough trouble pretending he was not intoxicated by the pleasure of having her arms around him.
“I trust Pepper.” She patted the horse’s neck.
Darcy turned back to the gnome. “How do we find the laird?”
“She knows the way.” He spat again and ambled off, muttering, “Mortals and a white phouka in the same day. Fah.”
Pepper turned her head back to look at them with her blue eye, as if asking whether they were ready. Darcy nodded at her resignedly.
It could have been worse. Neither of them fell off when the horse took her first steps, although it was a near thing. Darcy had to grab Elizabeth around the waist to keep her in place. He hoped it was not far to the laird’s...house? Manor? Castle? No, on second thought, he hoped the trip would take forever. Then he need not ever let go of Elizabeth.
Faerie was a very strange place indeed. Darcy was riding bareback on a horse who was also a cat, and Elizabeth was pressed against him, two impossibilities at once. At least Pepper was superbly smooth-gaited, and she appeared to bear the weight of them both easily.
“Do they always ride bareback?” he asked Elizabeth.
“The Sidhe use saddles and bridles, I believe. I had forgotten how hard it is to think clearly when you first come to Faerie. ”
“I thought it was only me.” At least that was reassuring.
“Fortunately, it passes after you have been here for a time.”
IF SHE WERE TO WRITE a book of advice for young ladies, Elizabeth decided, she would devote an entire chapter to how one should behave after refusing a proposal of marriage. Do not stay under the same roof as your rejected suitor would be high on the list, along with not allowing him to perform magical spells on you, and do not reveal to him – or to his cousin – secrets you have kept all your life. But the top spot on the list would have to be this: do not spend hours in close physical contact with him by sharing an unsaddled horse.
The list of words she could apply to this experience was extensive: mortifying, humiliating, embarrassing. With his arms circling her waist and the side of her body pressed against his chest, how could she pretend to forget how recently Darcy had been professing ardent love for her? A few days ago she had been shocked when he touched her ungloved hands to heal her burns, and now this!
There were other things it made her feel, too, strange and exciting new feelings like butterflies inside her, but she did not want to admit to those. Resting her head on his shoulder would not help her stabilize her position, so why did she have to keep fighting the urge to do it? Perhaps it was because she felt as if she had just awoken from the nightmare of the glamour forest.
That treacherous, frightening forest. Had she truly spent days there? The agonizing pain of Darcy’s betrayal of her had made the forest a nightmare long before she realized its dangers. Since learning he had known her secret all along, she had discovered the side of him she had always ignored, the part of him that could be generous, clever, well-educated, and all too attractive. He was still proud and occasionally disagreeable, but that could not outweigh the fact that he had been willing to accept a wife with magic. She had never dared to dream of such a future. But no sooner had she started to trust him, and even to have a few regrets about refusing him, than he had betrayed her in the worst possible way. How could he have said he understood her fear of binding spells and then exposed her to Lord Matlock? Had Colonel Fitzwilliam lied when he said they already knew about her magic to make her lower her guard while they sent for his father to bind her? Those few days of freedom from the fear of exposure had been such a relief, and it had all been lies. Lies that had broken her heart. She had been in tears more often than not during her time in the glamour forest, hating Darcy for betraying her, and hating herself for caring.
Soon, though, she could care about nothing but escaping from the forest before she starved, and that was Darcy’s fault, too. If not for him, she would not have gone through the faerie ring. Then Darcy had magically appeared before her, made the deadly forest go away, and saved her life.
Now she was in his arms, exhausted, on the verge of tears, and feeling things she did not want to feel for a man she could not entirely trust, stranded in this new, terrifying Faerie. It had been a welcoming place for her as a child. Now it was filled with dangerous glamour traps which could kill her, and the mere presence of her feet on the ground was considered pollution. She had run to Faerie for safety and found it anything but safe. She frantically blinked back tears before Darcy could notice them.
And, of course, her only mortal companion would have to be a mage. All those years she had worked so hard to stay far from any mage apart from her father, and now she could not get away from them. Her opinion of mages had not improved for the experience, even if Darcy had saved her from the glamour trap.
Darcy said something under his breath that sounded like a curse .
“Is something the matter?” she asked.
“Apart from the obvious, no, simply a foolish thing I did in coming here. I had been planning to sit by the faerie ring and read, and I just realized I left a century-old spell book outside on a day that was beginning to look like rain.”
Why did he have to choose that topic now when she was so anxious and exhausted? “It would make no difference to me if every spell book in existence was buried six fathoms under the ocean.” She regretted her words as soon as she said them.
He paused, as if thinking carefully before responding. “I was under the impression you valued books.”
“Books that I have even the slightest possibility of reading, yes. Books that are forbidden to me, even though the knowledge within them might be of great benefit to me, I cannot have a fondness for. I dislike the hoarding of knowledge. Sometimes I think the Collegium cares more about its own existence than anything else.”
“I wish you were permitted to read them.” His voice was low. “But the information in those books could be very dangerous in the wrong hands.”
She could not seem to keep the words from pouring from her mouth. “Do you not realize how arrogant that is? But mages never lack for arrogance, no matter how amiable they seem. When I was exhausted after healing Lady Catherine, Colonel Fitzwilliam took it on himself to pour his magic into me. I am sure his motives were good, and I might even have appreciated it if he had asked me about it first. And he asked you to heal my burns. You, not me. It was my hand. How would you feel about someone performing unasked spells upon you when you were in a weakened state? But you and your cousin are mages, so you think nothing of forcing your magic on me, and you consider yourselves generous for having done so.”
This time he was silent for longer, and she could feel the tension in his arm around her waist. “You were unwell, and we had been working together. But I acknowledge that we should have asked first. It was an unusual situation.”
“But that is what mages always do. As soon as Lord Matlock was introduced to me, he tried some sort of spell on me. When I tried to run away, he cast another spell to hold me captive. Where was my choice there?”
“He should not have done that, and I told him so. But Richard and I would have protected you. There was no reason to be afraid.”
“I had every reason to be afraid! Why should I have seen the two of you as my allies? You had schemed to summon Lord Matlock and kept it a secret from me. You are his family. None of the servants would have lifted a finger to protect me from Lady Catherine’s brother and nephews, and my paltry untrained power was no match for three trained mages. I will grant that you, with your better knowledge of your uncle, are likely correct that he would not have harmed me further. Perhaps if the three of you had explained what you were about instead of leaving me helpless, I might not have felt that I had to flee. You mages are not even aware of how high-handed you are.” She had said too much; she knew that, but she had spent such a long time dwelling on all this in the glamour forest. Oh, her cursed temper.
Darcy sucked in a long breath. “I could defend myself against some small parts of your charges, but there is no point. You have made your sentiments quite clear. May I suggest we put off any further discussion until we are safely back at Rosings?” His voice was cold.
She bowed her head. How could she have spoken so to him? He had come to Faerie to help her, and he had done nothing to deserve her ire apart from mentioning a spell book. She said quietly, “I do recognize you had no choice but to cast the spell of clear vision on me without my permission, and you likely saved my life by doing so.”
“Thank you,” he said stiffly, and then there was only icy silence .
Oh, why had she not held her tongue as she had for so long? He had tried to help her on more than one occasion, and even when she had not liked his methods of helping, his intentions had seemed good. But she was so hungry and so exhausted, and it was so hard being so close to him...
No. She would not start to cry. She would not.