Chapter 12
“ Did you sleep well?” Frederica asked Elizabeth the next morning in the breakfast room at Matlock House.
“Tolerably well, I thank you.” But she had dreamed of being in Darcy’s arms. She had barely seen him at Rosings after Lord Matlock’s heart paroxysm. He had always been off with Anne de Bourgh or meeting with the other mages. He did not come to the Dower House again. She had seen him only for a minute when he came to bid his aunt and uncle farewell, and she had been able to speak only a few sentences to him. Her chest had ached all the way to London.
“Good. You will need to be well-rested. Mama is planning to take us to the modiste today to discuss our costumes for the revel. The designs are likely to take hours, and Mama also wants to order a dress for you.”
Elizabeth’s shoulders stiffened. “That is kind of her, but I am not in need of a new dress.” In truth, she was greatly in need of new garments after losing what she had in Kent, but Lady Matlock’s modiste would be far more expensive than the seamstress in Meryton.
“I would not recommend fighting her on it, or she will claim to be heartbroken that you will not allow her to buy you a dress after saving her husband’s life. When it comes to my mother, it is better to save your stamina for important battles. Besides, she intends for us to attend a few soirees while you are here, so a new dress will be useful.”
“I suppose there is no point in saying I have no particular desire to attend a soiree.”
“No point at all. She is determined to make certain the ton knows that you are here under our protection. She has already prepared the ground by writing to a friend with a propensity to gossip, telling her in strictest confidence that Lady Catherine has run mad and thrown wild accusations at a poor girl who tried to help her with some herbal simples.”
“Is there truly any point to this? You can defend against Lady Catherine’s accusations, but soon enough everyone will know that I have been to Faerie.”
“Hence the herbal simples. Mama plans to claim they were faerie potions.”
“Is this what a sheep feels when confronted by a particularly persistent sheepdog?” asked Elizabeth. “Well, I have no fixed plans for the next few days until my mother arrives in London. Then I will need to visit her and start dropping hints about binding spells.”
“Will you tell her about Aelfric?”
“Not immediately. I think it would be better to lead up to that gradually.”
Frederica fiddled with her fork. “If I were a mother who believed my child was dead, I would want to know immediately that he was alive.”
“I wish it were that simple, but in this case, telling her Aelfric is alive also means informing her that her husband has lied to her all these years about it. What a tangled web we weave, indeed!”
“Perhaps the quote should be ‘Lord, what fools these mortals be!’ Do you wish to go alone to visit your mother, or would you like me to come with you?”
Elizabeth considered. She was not eager to expose Lady Frederica to her mother, but her presence might provoke better behavior. “If you have nothing else to do, I would be happy to have your company.”
A tall, tousle-headed young man smothered a yawn as he entered the breakfast room. “G’morning, Freddie. Sorry, I did not know you had company. ”
Frederica rolled her eyes. “Miss Bennet, may I present my youngest brother, Jasper Fitzwilliam? Jasper, this is Miss Bennet of Hertfordshire. She was at Rosings with me.”
“A pleasure, Miss...”
“Bennet,” said Frederica wearily.
“My apologies, Miss Bennet. I’m not good at remembering names, or much of anything else, for that matter.” He had an engaging grin.
“I am glad to make your acquaintance, Mr. Jasper. You may not know my name, but you have doubtless heard your father complaining about me,” she said wryly.
“Oh, I never listen to his complaining. He does plenty of it about me.” Jasper tossed two slices of toast onto his plate and speared several pieces of cold meat. “I’m the Fitzwilliam family failure.” He did not sound in the least perturbed about it.
“Jasper,” Frederica warned.
“Oh, Freddie, you know it’s true, and I’d rather admit it openly than slouch about trying to keep it a secret. And don’t tell me that it would be different if I would just think for a minute before I opened my mouth, because I can’t do it.” He cut his meat into large chunks and stuffed one into his mouth.
“I am not going to throw stones,” said Elizabeth soothingly. “You should hear what my father says about me these days.”
Frederica said, “Mother has invited Miss Bennet to stay here at least through midsummer.”
Jasper swallowed his food. “I hope you enjoy it. You won’t see much of me. I generally don’t eat with the family. Can’t stand sitting still for two hours. The food gets cold, too. I don’t care for cold fish. Do you like fish?”
Elizabeth cocked her head and turned to Frederica. “Your brother is a Sidhe in a mortal body! ”
Frederica shook her head. “He cannot use his magic.”
“That is not what I mean. He acts just like one. Mr. Jasper, someday I will have to introduce you to my Sidhe half-brother. You would get on splendidly together.”
“You have a Sidhe brother? Oh, you must be the one who went to Faerie! You are so fortunate. I wish I could go to Faerie. I love the fay. There is a gnome in the garden at our country estate and I used to leave out biscuits and milk for him. He would grumble whenever I talked to him, but I think he liked me. It is too bad there are no fay in London.”
Frederica choked on a sip of coffee. “You can see the fay?”
“Of course. Can’t you?”
She set down her coffee cup with care. “I could not before I went to Faerie with Elizabeth. Now I can see them again. Why did you never tell our father?”
“Tell him what?”
“That you can see the fay!”
Jasper looked bewildered. “He never asked. You went to Faerie, too? You have all the luck!”
Elizabeth smiled. “Mr. Jasper, if you would like, I would be happy to take you on a visit to Faerie.”
His eyes lit up. “Would you? Oh, that would be marvelous!” His face fell. “It might not be a good idea, though. I always say the wrong thing, and someone will be offended.”
Elizabeth laughed. “Definitely Sidhe! You would be welcomed there. The Sidhe men think it is a great virtue to blurt out whatever happens to be in their minds. Do you like horses?”
He beamed. “I love horses.”
“Then I definitely must introduce you to my Sidhe brother.”
IT WAS AFTER CALLING hours when Phipps announced Viscount Eversleigh.
Finally! Elizabeth had been wondering and worrying about what might be happening at Rosings Park for the last three days. Perhaps now they would get some answers.
“Lord Eversleigh, it is a pleasure, as always,” said Lady Matlock. “Do sit down. I hope your journey back from Rosings Park was an easy one.”
“It was uneventful, thank you, which was a great relief after my overly eventful stay there. I hope you are all in good health?”
Bother. They would have to sit through a quarter hour of social niceties before she could ask about Lady Catherine’s fate.
“Very well, I thank you. The weather has been a bit dreary, but we have entertained ourselves with plans for the revel. I am happy to report Lady Jersey has agreed to join me in hosting it,” said Lady Matlock.
“That is excellent news. I trust she will be handling the royal invitation, then?”
“Yes, although I will, of course, send the Prince Regent a card.”
“You are inviting Prinny?” Frederica blurted out.
“Do not worry; it is unlikely he will bestir himself for an event that is not in town,” said Lady Matlock. “He must be invited, though. It would be most improper to have visiting royalty and fail to invite our own.”
As if it were not difficult enough to deal with the constant mentions of this and that aristocrat, now they were bandying about royalty! At least this was better than discussing the weather.
Eversleigh said, “I have news from Titania. She says Oberon does not wish to attend the revel, but as a gesture of good faith, he will halt the attacks on mortals until then.”
“That is excellent news,” said Elizabeth. But it still did not tell her what had happened to Lady Catherine. Was she to be executed? Had it already been done?
Eversleigh ostentatiously placed his hand over his ear and directed a mock reproachful look at Elizabeth. “Lady Matlock, could I ever hope for forgiveness from you if I rudely proceed to a matter of business? I fear Miss Bennet may deafen me with her silent questions otherwise.”
Elizabeth’s cheeks grew hot under Lady Matlock’s quizzical gaze. “You must forgive me, Viscount Eversleigh. I fear I have been thinking too loudly.”
Lady Matlock turned back to Eversleigh. “Doubtless there is some explanation for that odd interchange.”
“Forgive me, your ladyship,” said Eversleigh. “Among the fay, it is possible to communicate a thought simply by directing it at a certain person and putting a degree of force behind it, or, as Miss Bennet so aptly puts it, thinking it loudly. She shows a particular aptitude for it. Because of our bond through Prince Aelfric, I am susceptible to her thoughts, with the result that I am aware my life may be in danger if I do not quickly assure Miss Bennet that Lady Catherine is alive and as well as any strong-willed lady who is forced to submit to being blindfolded and having her hands tied.” He inclined his head towards Elizabeth.
Lady Matlock did not appear amused. “You are able to have conversations which exclude the rest of us completely?”
“Not conversations as such,” said Elizabeth hurriedly. “Only very general concepts. If I were thinking hard about being hungry, Viscount Eversleigh might be aware of that, but not what I was planning for my next meal.”
Eversleigh nodded. “In this case, I perceived Miss Bennet as pounding at the door of my mind with both fists because she was desperate to know something. I was able to guess what that something was, but she could not have told me that. It is much like our mortal ability to tell when someone is angry with us, but not necessarily why they are angry or what they wish us to do about it.” He nodded to Frederica, even though she had said nothing.
Frederica met his gaze without flinching. “It is quite possible that I might become angry if you do not tell us what has happened at Rosings Park. I assume you have already informed my father.”
“I did, but I thought you might like to hear directly from me rather than secondhand, hence my presence here.”
“That will be enough from both of you,” said Lady Matlock disapprovingly. “Lord Eversleigh, might I hope that you could be prevailed upon to relieve our ill-bred curiosity about the recent events?”
Eversleigh shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Frederica looked as if she would have run from the room if she had not been even more eager to hear the news.
“I would be honored to do so.” Eversleigh’s words were polite, but his voice had gone flat. “The three mages who were to examine Lady Catherine arrived shortly after you left Rosings Park. We searched Lady Catherine’s rooms thoroughly, but the only incriminating item found was another spell written in Sir Lewis’s hand which she had hidden inside her pillowcase. She apparently took the precaution of removing it from her bedside table but was unwilling to destroy it. It appears to be a spell to insert a particular thought or belief in someone’s mind.”
Frederica’s indrawn breath was audible, and even Lady Matlock paled.
“From questioning her, they believe she has no knowledge of how to develop sorcerous spells on her own. The mages have determined that the sorcery of Sir Lewis and Lady Catherine should not be made public to prevent a general panic about sorcerers living among us. Certain influential members of the Collegium and the government will be told. No doubt rumors will spread, but they hope to limit that.” It sounded as if Eversleigh did not agree.
“What will happen to Lady Catherine?” asked Elizabeth .
“Since she has not actively pursued sorcery, they feel execution is inappropriate, not to mention difficult to explain. They cannot prove she does not know any other spells, so she will need to be kept away from people. Initially she will be sent to a remote hunting lodge where she will be guarded and warded at all times, but eventually they wish to find an isolated island where she would have less opportunity for contact with innocent people.”
Lady Matlock raised her delicate eyebrows. “She will be very unhappy about that.”
“She shows no remorse over what she did, only regret that she was caught. This sentence is extremely lenient. They are not only allowing her to live, but also to keep her vision. Blinding her would be the best precaution, since she cannot cast spells if she cannot see.”
“Has Miss de Bourgh expressed an opinion about it?” asked Elizabeth.
“Miss de Bourgh continues to believe execution is the appropriate option, but she has agreed to accept the judgment. The blood wards we set are still working, so those people Lady Catherine had bespelled are free from her influence. The servants – well, they appear to be taking it calmly. The only difficult case has been Miss Bennet’s cousin, Mr. Collins.”
Elizabeth’s mouth went dry. “What has happened to him?”
Eversleigh straightened his cuffs. “When the spell stopped affecting him, he became furious at himself for submitting to Lady Catherine’s demands and angry at his wife for doing the same. Knowing of your concern for Mrs. Collins, I spoke to them both and told them the truth.” He paused. “I cannot say it went well. Mr. Darcy brought Mrs. Collins back to London with him, but I think she would prefer to tell you the rest of the story herself.”
Elizabeth’s hands flew to cover her mouth. “Where is she?”
“At Darcy House. If you would like, I can take you there on my way home. It is but a short walk.”
“I would be most obliged.”
EVERSLEIGH STEERED Elizabeth into Grosvenor Square. “Sit on the bench, shurinn , and tell me what is troubling you.”
“Do not shurinn me! I am in no need of assistance. I just want to see Mrs. Collins.”
“Perhaps you do not need assistance, but I suspect you will help your friend more if you are calmer when you reach her.”
Elizabeth huffed, but sat down without her usual grace. “Does it not become dull, always being wiser than everyone else?”
He hooted with laughter. “Shall we ask Lady Frederica if I am always wise? I defy you to outdo my ability to say the wrong thing in her case.”
Elizabeth’s lips twitched. “You were indeed impressively unwise.”
“She does not seem to have forgiven me.”
“She still believes you proposed only as a matter of honor.”
Eversleigh’s lips formed a straight line. “Well, I will simply have to persist until she realizes that is not true.”
“A little wooing might not go amiss.”
Eversleigh groaned. “The one skill I have never learned. But you are distracting me from the question of what is distressing you.”
She could not tell him it was the prospect of seeing Mr. Darcy made her stomach churn, but she could explain the rest. “Mrs. Collins’s suffering is my fault. Had I refrained from showing my magic when healing Lady Catherine, none of this would have happened. Charlotte would still be contentedly married. I would still trust my father, and I would still have my family and my reputation. I would not know of my mother’s infidelity or my father’s use of binding spells. I am well punished, but Charlotte does not deserve to suffer for my error.”
Eversleigh folded his hands over his knee. “You have suffered for it, but Miss de Bourgh has her life back because of it, and the servants at Rosings are no longer slaves. Mrs. Collins’s marriage has been damaged, but that would have happened eventually at Lady Catherine’s death when the spell died with her. You simply moved the date forward. You are now caught between your parents, it is true, but we have a chance to stop the war with Faerie before more people die. And that is without considering the most important benefit of your choice.”
“What is that?” she asked guardedly.
His teeth glinted as he smiled. “Aelfric now has three Bakewell Black mares to breed with Sidhe horses. That alone should be worth the rest.”
The gurgle of laughter escaped her tight throat. “Someday you must explain Aelfric’s obsession with horses to me. He tells everyone else about it, but he just scowls at me.”
“He does have a very nice smile when he remembers to use it.”
“I will never understand him. The day Aelfric removed the spell on Miss de Bourgh, he came back to Titania’s bower looking for me. He wanted me to tell him more about my mother crying over his supposed grave. Do you know how very little there is to add to the description of someone crying over a grave? She knelt. Occasionally she would lie on it. And she cried. Her eyes became red, and her face was blotchy. But he kept asking for more. I would have made up some details, but he would have known I was lying. In the end I just kept repeating the story, and that seemed to satisfy him.”
Eversleigh shook his head with a smile. “Aelfric has yet to learn wisdom about certain things. I hope you will not hate him for what he represents. The sins of your parents are not his fault. But what am I saying? This is not the time to worry about Aelfric.”
“Still, I am feeling a little better. Where is Darcy House? ”
“Less than two streets away. Come.”
“MISS BENNET TO SEE Mrs. Collins,” Eversleigh told the butler at Darcy House. He bowed to Elizabeth. “Until we meet again.”
Elizabeth barely managed a distracted curtsy because she caught sight of a familiar figure that made her heart pound.
As the butler closed the door, Mr. Darcy’s deep voice said, “Hobbes, I will escort Miss Bennet upstairs.” He did not look happy.