Mr. Darcy’s Enchantment

Chapter 13

“ I will be happy to do my best to help you,” Eversleigh told Mrs. Bennet. He had received his unexpected guests with his usual grace. “Pray make yourself at home. I must ask Miss Elizabeth a question first.”

Elizabeth hoped it was not about her father’s spells. “Of course, my lord.”

He took her into an anteroom. “I actually have two questions. Does your mother know Aelfric is my half-brother?”

“I told her only that you were his friend. I hope that was the right thing to do.”

“Very wise. She does not know, then, that she and I are shurinn ?”

“Oh, dear. That had not occurred to me,” said Elizabeth. “Will that be a problem with removing the spell?”

“No. Shurinn can perform magic on each other since we do not share blood. It may feel more natural to her because of it. She will likely learn about me from Aelfric, which brings up my second question. Is Pepper nearby?”

She had not expected that. “I have not seen her today, but she usually is.”

“Do you think she would be willing to carry a message for me to Aelfric?”

Elizabeth could not help smiling. “My lord, she is a cat, so there is no telling what she is willing to do. I will be happy to ask her. Is there a window I can open, preferably one not on the street? ”

“Certainly.” He opened a window into the garden. “Will this do?”

“Admirably.” Elizabeth leaned out the window and called, “Pepper! Can you hear me, Pepper, my love? I have a question for you.” She turned back to Eversleigh. “Now we wait.”

Eversleigh nodded. “Thank you. I imagine you would prefer it if I did not invite Aelfric at this stage, but I must. It would be a violation of our blood bond for me to fail to do so.”

“Blood right again? I wish I could say I understand completely, but I do believe you. As long as you remove the spell, I will be happy.”

“It should not be a problem. I cannot keep it a secret, though. I will have to write to your father to inform him I have removed the spell. Since he should not have placed it himself, I can use that as a reason and tell him that if he wishes to restore it, he must follow proper procedures and find another mage to do it. If he does that, there will be little I can do.”

“I hope he would not, but I cannot say. Look, there is Pepper.”

The white raven managed to fly in through the window despite it being no more than half her wingspan. She perched on a chair back and regarded Elizabeth quizzically.

Elizabeth gently stroked the top of the raven’s head. “Pepper, you are very prompt. Viscount Eversleigh would like to know if you would be so very kind as to bear a message for him. He is about to remove the binding spell from my mother.”

Pepper cawed.

“Yes, it is about time someone did,” said Eversleigh with amusement. “It would help me greatly if you would bear a message to Prince Aelfric that I am doing it and guide him here. Aelfric would not be able to manage London on his own. This is a very great favor I ask.”

Pepper tilted her head to one side as if considering the matter.

Recognizing the signs, Elizabeth said quickly, “Lord Eversleigh, does your cook make ginger biscuits?”

“She makes excellent ginger biscuits, and I shall ask her to make an entire batch for Pepper – and what is more, I shall not give Miss Elizabeth even one of them.”

Pepper spread her wings, pecked at Eversleigh’s perfectly arranged hair, and flew out the window.

Eversleigh shook his head. “Phouka humor.”

EVERSLEIGH KEPT HIS fingers on Mrs. Bennet’s wrist. “Tsk, tsk. We must review our training for mages, I see. There are three spells layered atop one other. The first is a binding spell, the second limits speech about certain topics, and the third is an attempt to remove the first spell. Naturally, that only entangled the first two spells together. The first spell should have been removed before the second was placed.”

“Can you still remove it?” asked Mr. Gardiner, since Mrs. Bennet stood in too much awe of a genuine viscount to speak a word.

“I can. It will simply take longer, and I must remove one spell at a time. Miss Elizabeth and Lady Frederica, might I ask you to close your eyes? It will be simpler if there are no stray bits of magic about.”

“I must be thinking too loudly again,” whispered Elizabeth to Frederica.

“Indeed you are. Mrs. Bennet, shall I begin?” At her nod, he spoke in sonorous Latin, making it sound almost like poetry. “There, the second and third spells are gone. Mrs. Bennet, how do you feel?”

“Odd,” she said calmly. “I do not know why I was so distressed before.”

“That was most likely from the entangled spells. Now let me see about the original spell.” The Latin began again.

When he ceased speaking, Mrs. Bennet asked, “That is all? ”

“That is all,” Eversleigh agreed. “You may feel as if your thoughts are tumbling over each other because there is nothing holding them back. After a binding spell is removed, there is often a period of euphoria at first, followed by intense anger. That is normal.”

Instead of brushing off his words as Elizabeth expected, Mrs. Bennet nodded. “I thank you for the warning, as well as for removing the spells. I feel as if my wits have been addled for years. Lizzy, come let me look at you. How odd it is to have a grown daughter and to feel as if I do not know her.”

Her mother’s voice had never sounded so calm, and even the lines on her face seemed softer. Tears pooled in Elizabeth’s eyes. “I look forward to knowing you better.”

The butler’s aggrieved voice came from outside the room. “Sir, you cannot simply push your way inside! You must permit me to announce you.”

“That will be Aelfric,” said Elizabeth dryly.

Mrs. Bennet – the new, seemingly younger Mrs. Bennet – jumped to her feet. “He is here? Now?”

Aelfric burst in the double doorway of the drawing room. His breeches and boots were passable, if old-fashioned, but his coat had the silver lacings and large turned back cuffs that had been stylish twenty years earlier.

“Oh, dear,” drawled Eversleigh. “Wrong decade, brother.” He waved his hand and Aelfric’s clothes melted into an outfit similar to his own. Not that it made him fit in any better, since now his disguised features had dissolved to reveal his tip-tilted cat’s eyes and flying eyebrows.

Aelfric’s eye raked the room, going past Elizabeth and Frederica, and paused briefly on Mr. Gardiner before freezing on his mother.

Mrs. Bennet stepped forward and held a tremulous hand to his cheek. “Are you my boy? You must be, with such a look of your father.” She shook her head. “If only I had known you were alive!”

“You...you did not hate me for being Sidhe?” Aelfric asked.

“Good heavens, no! I had never dreamed of such an honor, and I was grieved you would have to live in Faerie where I could only visit, but I was so proud of you! I could not wait to present you to Oberon. And then when I was told you were dead...” She turned her face away and covered it with her hand.

Eversleigh stood behind Mrs. Bennet and mimed embracing someone. Aelfric took the hint and hesitantly held out his arms to his mother. A moment later she was sobbing into his chest. A tear ran down Aelfric’s cheek.

Elizabeth bit her lip hard. Had her mother ever held her like that?

Eversleigh materialized next to Frederica. “Shall we adjourn to the library? I believe we are somewhat de trop .”

Yes, that was it. Her mother and her brother were weeping together, and she was de trop . Lydia had always been their mother’s favorite child and Elizabeth her least favorite. Aelfric might have usurped Lydia’s position, but Elizabeth’s was unchanged.

Elizabeth turned to follow Eversleigh, Frederica, and Mr. Gardiner from the room, but before she could go out the door, Aelfric’s arm snaked out and caught her, tugging her to join the embrace. She allowed herself to be seduced into it, the feeling of her mother’s arm around her as strange as Aelfric’s. They were both strangers to her.

She gently disentangled herself. “I have been with her all my life,” she said to Aelfric. “You have not.” And because for once it was not Aelfric’s fault – he had even tried to be kind – she stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek.

“I will never forget what you have done,” he said, a Sidhe way of thanking her without saying those dreaded words.

She slipped out of the room. A footman directed her to the library where the others were waiting .

“Was there a problem, Lizzy?” asked Mr. Gardiner. “Lord Eversleigh has assured me your mother is safe alone with Prince Aelfric.”

That was the one thing which had not worried her. “Aelfric will not hurt her.” She walked past the chair by Frederica that clearly had been left vacant for her, perching instead on a windowseat between two tall bookcases. That way the others would see nothing but her profile.

She listened abstractedly as Eversleigh answered Mr. Gardiner’s questions about Aelfric, but none of it seemed real.

Eversleigh approached her and held out a glass of wine. She took it with quiet thanks.

He said softly, “You have been thinking loudly again, or perhaps feeling loudly would be a better description.”

She took a sip of wine to cover her discomfiture. “My apologies. I will try to be quieter.”

“Perhaps instead you could tell me what the matter is. Are you sad over the years your mother spent under the spell?

Elizabeth gave a bitter laugh. “I suppose I should be, but I am not. No, I am being a selfish soul, grieving over the mother I knew and will never have again.”

Eversleigh looked pensive and then nodded. “Because she is so different now?”

“You saw her at her best. My mother was silly and nervous. She regularly embarrassed me in front of our neighbors. She had no idea of proper manners, and she encouraged my younger sisters to be ridiculous flirts. We had little in common, and she never liked me, but she was the only mother I have ever known. Now she is gone, and I am the one who killed her.” Her voice broke.

He pulled up a small chair and sat beside her. “It must seem as if she died. I am sorry for your loss, and even sorrier that you never had the chance to know the mother you should have had. The woman you remember – she was not real, just a distorted reflection in a cracked mirror, but that must be little comfort at present.”

“No,” said Elizabeth bleakly. “But as I said, we were never close. It will be harder for my sisters.”

Mr. Gardiner had approached silently. “It will be difficult for all of you. It is a shock even for me, and I knew all along she was not herself.”

Elizabeth dabbed her eyes. “I never thought past having the spell removed. I am glad for her that it is, and I hope she will have slightly warmer feelings towards me after bringing her Aelfric, if nothing else.”

“That speech savors strongly of bitterness, Lizzy,” said Mr. Gardiner. “I always wondered why your mother kept saying you were her least favorite child since you are the one most like her original self. I thought you must be a reminder of all she had lost.”

“No doubt.” Elizabeth strove for a nonchalance she did not feel.

The butler entered carrying a silver salver to Eversleigh, distracting the uncomfortable attention on Elizabeth.

Eversleigh looked at the calling card. “Show him in.”

The butler disappeared. On his return, he announced, “Mr. Darcy.”

Elizabeth’s head snapped around. Yes, it was him, with Pepper in raven form riding on his shoulder. But it did not matter. After the sleepless nights and long hours without him, not knowing if she would ever see him again, he was here.

“Darcy, this is an unexpected pleasure,” said Eversleigh. “We are in the midst of a certain amount of upheaval, but you are already aware of some of it.”

Darcy frowned. “I do not know what is happening, but Pepper seemed to feel I needed to be here. She appeared on my windowsill, pecking and scratching at the glass until I let her in. She insisted I follow her if I did not want my ear ripped off. This is where she led me.”

Pepper cawed.

“Really?” Eversleigh asked the raven in surprise .

Pepper responded with more cawing.

“If you say so, I will believe you,” said Eversleigh dubiously.

Darcy asked, “You speak the language of ravens as well as cats, Eversleigh?”

“No, it is only the language of phoukas,” said Eversleigh absently. “Have you met Mr. Gardiner? He is Miss Elizabeth’s uncle.”

“I have had that honor.” Darcy shook Mr. Gardiner’s hand. “He helped to heal my injured arm.”

“Healing powers?” Eversleigh eyed Mr. Gardiner speculatively. “Interesting. He came here with Miss Elizabeth’s mother. I removed the spells on her, and she is now in the drawing room becoming reacquainted with Aelfric. The rest of us are as you see us.”

Elizabeth turned her face towards the window. Would he be able to tell she had been crying?

Darcy greeted Frederica, and now he was coming towards her. Surely she could keep her composure for a few minutes.

Even without looking at him, she could tell when he noticed the traces of tears.

“Elizabeth, what is the matter?”

His concern was her undoing. The tears started to pour out uncontrollably. Her shoulders shook as she choked back silent sobs.

The cushion on the window seat shifted as he sat beside her, and warm hands surrounded hers. “What is the matter? Is it your mother? Did Aelfric upset you?”

She could not get the words out, but Mr. Gardiner spoke for her. “Her mother is much changed, and the mother she knew is gone.”

Darcy’s arm came around her. “I am so sorry. Is there anything I can do for your comfort, anything at all?”

All she wanted was to be in his embrace, but how could she when she should not be allowing even this much in the first place? His love could never be a safe haven for her. One by one everything she had depended on had disappeared – her father, her idea of her family, her own past, and now even her mother – and she could not have Darcy without ruining them both. It was hopeless, and she was all alone. She stole the opportunity to rest her forehead on his shoulder and his arm held her more tightly.

“Forgive me,” she managed to choke out, her words muffled by the handkerchief pressed against her face.

“Shh. There is nothing to forgive.” In a voice only she would be able to hear, he added, “I want to be here when you need comfort.”

If only she could allow herself to depend on that! But his words reminded her of where they were, and that Frederica, Eversleigh, and Mr. Gardiner were all witnessing her improper behavior. She had to find the strength to compose herself.

Slowly she straightened and took her hand from Darcy’s. Missing its warmth already, she scrubbed the remaining tears from her face. “Lord Eversleigh, is there perchance a room nearby where I could retire briefly?” Her voice hardly quavered.

“Of course,” Eversleigh said gently. “Just up the stairs and to the left. Perhaps Lady Frederica can accompany you.”

Elizabeth hurried from the room without a word, not looking back at anyone. How mortifying to have lost her composure so badly, and to have allowed Mr. Darcy to take liberties in front of the others!

Frederica’s voice said, “I think this is the room he meant.”

It was a small bedroom, richly decorated, but the only thing Elizabeth cared about was the ewer of water and a basin. “Thank you. You need not stay. I only need to wash my face.”

Frederica did not move. “Do you think I would be allowed to return? There is a reason Eversleigh sent me with you. Men never want women witnessing these scenes.”

Elizabeth splashed water on her face. “What scenes?”

“Holding Darcy to account. There is no need to worry; Eversleigh would not break the law by challenging him to a duel. Most likely they will settle it with their fists at Gentleman Jackson’s.”

Foreboding filled Elizabeth. “Settle what?”

“Oh, come now. Darcy’s familiarity with you. Even your phouka seems to know all about it.”

“No!” Elizabeth grabbed a small towel and scrubbed her face dry before running down the stairs and back to the library.

EVERSLEIGH’S VOICE was icy. “Just because I am part fay does not mean I can overlook this sort of thing, Darcy. Give me one reason why I should not pummel you into dust.”

Darcy stared at his friend in shock. “What?”

“It is a good question,” said Mr. Gardiner grimly, “although I believe I should be the one asking it.”

Good God, they were talking about his behavior with Elizabeth. “I was simply offering her comfort, nothing more.”

“And only a fool would believe that was the first time you have touched her.” Eversleigh’s scorn was clear.

Elizabeth burst into the room. “Stop it! He is not at fault!”

“This is not a matter for women,” Eversleigh grated. “Pray be so kind as to leave us, shurinn .”

“No! You listen to me, shurinn .” Elizabeth sounded furious. “Darcy is not at fault. He made me an honorable offer, and it is not his fault I could not accept him, nor that I allowed him to comfort me.”

At least her rage was not turned on him. “Elizabeth, I can handle this.” Bad enough that the situation had arisen. He did not require a woman to defend him.

Elizabeth ignored him, continuing to glare at Eversleigh.

Silence weighed heavily for a minute before Eversleigh said tightly, “In that case, you must accept him.”

Darcy held his breath. Could this be enough to convince her? She always listened to Eversleigh, damn him.

Elizabeth looked heavenward as if for inspiration. “Do you think it is a good idea for him to marry a woman rumored to be a witch who refuses to be bound? How will the Collegium feel about that, especially when they have concerns about him already, and his uncle and aunt have just been revealed as sorcerers? And the life of that sorceress aunt was saved by that self-same witch at Darcy’s express request? If we lived in a different world, a world where there was no shame in a woman using magic, perhaps I could marry him. But the world will not change, no matter what Lady Matlock may hope, and we must pay the price.”

Eversleigh turned his face away, clearly considering what she was saying. Finally he said, “It is true that Darcy is not in a position to protect you by marrying you, and it might well put you at greater risk by doing so. But he can still damage your reputation. You must be more careful. Avoid each other’s company.”

Darcy glared at him, seething. If Eversleigh agreed with Elizabeth that their marriage was impossible, they were probably right.

“I must ask one more question,” said Mr. Gardiner coolly. “Viscount Eversleigh, what is your relationship to my niece that you would risk your own safety to defend her reputation?”

Eversleigh looked completely unflustered. “Aelfric is my half-brother, and he would expect me to defend his sister’s honor.”

“Your half-brother as well? Interesting.” Mr. Gardiner looked thoughtful.

It was easy for them to look unconcerned. They had not just had every hope torn away from them. Darcy stood jerkily and bowed to Elizabeth. “Miss Elizabeth.” He did not trust himself to say anything more, so he walked out of the room, out of Eversleigh’s house, and out of Elizabeth’s life.

WHEN MRS. BENNET PAID an unexpected call to Matlock House, Elizabeth had the presence of mind to suggest a walk in the square to take advantage of the fine weather. Frederica had already met Mrs. Bennet, but Elizabeth would prefer to keep her away from Lady Matlock until she knew more what to expect from her mother now that the binding spell was gone.

The fretful look that had characterized Mrs. Bennet all these years had vanished, replaced by a certain confidence. She even dressed differently now. The excessive lace and ribbons were gone in favor of simpler lines with an elegant cut, although she clearly still preferred bright colors. Mrs. Gardiner must have taken her to a milliner. Poor Mrs. Gardiner, to have to accustom herself to a new sister-in-law!

“I hope I am not imposing by calling on you,” her mother said as they crossed the street into the square.

“Not at all. I hope Jane and Mary are in good health.”

“Yes, and so are your aunt, uncle, their children, and most likely all of their servants. The weather is lovely for this time of year, although the clouds on the horizon look ominous. Now that we have covered the weather and everyone’s health, may we move on?”

This was definitely not the mother Elizabeth knew. “You will be quite a surprise to everyone at Longbourn, not to mention Meryton.”

“Some of them, no doubt, will think I should be bound again.”

“I hope they will not.” But Elizabeth could understand why they might. She herself would be happy for her new mother to turn back into her old self. “What did you wish to discuss apart from the weather and everyone’s health?”

“First of all, I appreciate your assistance in having the spells removed. Had you done nothing, I would likely have lived under them the rest of my life.”

“I am glad to have been able to do it. I wish I had realized you were spellbound sooner, but I was unaware of it until Uncle Gardiner said something to me about how different you were before you had children.”

“It did not pass my notice, though, that you went to great lengths to get the spells removed, and as soon as that was accomplished, you fled. Your uncle tells me you do not even plan to return to Longbourn.”

“I always planned to return to Matlock House after calling at the Gardiners, so it was hardly fleeing to do so. You did not need me; you had Jane, Mary, and my uncle. I do find your new speech rather disconcerting, though, as if you are a puppet and someone else is speaking your lines.”

“You forget, Lizzy, how much time I spent among the fay. I recognize your strategy – you said three true things without addressing my point.”

Elizabeth would need to remember that she could not fool this woman as easily as she once had. “Once you were free, Aelfric was naturally your first priority. I was glad to bring you together, but he is usually angry with me about something. Mary was already furious with me, and doubtless is more so since she has seen how much you were changed. I am no fonder than anyone else of being in company with people who are angry at me, and I had accomplished what I came to do. As for returning to Longbourn, that is not about you.”

Her mother studied her. “I did not want any more children after Aelfric. Every pregnancy, every childbirth simply reminded me that I had, as I thought then, caused my son’s death by my own irresponsibility. I did not want to care about any of you. Jane was an easy baby and caused very little trouble, but you were more difficult.”

“I already know this part,” said Elizabeth sharply. “I cried all the time, got into mischief, and ruined your favorite handkerchief. If this is to be another litany of why I am your least favorite daughter, I have no interest in hearing it.”

Her mother winced. “I would not have said those things if I were in my right mind, although the handkerchief incident stung. It had been a gift from Oberon. As for the rest, your behavior was your nursemaid’s problem, not mine. Your trips to Faerie were what I could not forgive. I could no longer quite remember Faerie, but I knew it was a place I wanted to go, and almost every day Bluebird came to take you there. When you stopped going there a few years later, I was even angrier that you did not appreciate the privilege you had.”

“I stopped because Oberon decreed that I must.”

Mrs. Bennet frowned. “Aelfric did not mention that to me.”

Elizabeth shrugged. “He may not know. I do not remember much of that time.”

“Titania must have been furious.”

“She was. She still is, for that matter.” Elizabeth paused. “Do you plan to return to Faerie?”

Color rose in her mother’s cheeks. “No. The Sidhe love youth and beauty. I want Oberon and Titania to remember me as I was, not as I am now. Someday I might go there just for a few minutes to breathe the air again, but only if I were sure no one would see me.”

“You still have Aelfric,” said Elizabeth uncomfortably.

“Simply knowing he is alive is a great relief. You lifted an enormous burden from my shoulders with that news. I cannot begin to tell you how much that means.”

“But why did you think you had caused his death?”

Her mother’s face fell, making her look like her old querulous self. “When I saw that he was Sidhe, I knew he must never leave my side until I could take him to Faerie. To most people he would be an abomination, and to your father he was proof that he had been cuckolded. Most men would smother such a baby in the cradle. But I was so tired and so weak after childbirth, so I let the wet nurse take him just for a little while. I never saw him again. I had known better than to do that. To this day I cannot understand why I allowed it.”

“Perhaps that was when my father set the spell on you.”

“Or it was just my weakness.” Her expression was anguished. “Even now, knowing he is alive, I despise myself for it.”

“Did you think my father had killed him?”

“Yes,” she said bleakly. “It was what any other man would have done. I am still surprised he allowed him to live.”

Horrified at her mother’s calm acceptance that her father would have killed Aelfric, Elizabeth asked, “Why did you remain at Longbourn when you thought your husband had murdered your child? My uncle would have taken you in.”

“I had treated your father very badly. I knew I was increasing, and I intended to pass off Oberon’s child, whom I assumed to be mortal, as his. How could I blame him for wanting to dispose of the evidence that I had been unfaithful to him? He could have punished me for what I had done or even sent me to an asylum to live out the rest of my life, but he never said a word about it. How could I have left him then?”

“You do not consider the binding spell a punishment?”

Her mother sighed. “Lizzy, you do not understand. That is what men do when their wives have magic. They have them put under binding spells. I do not like what he did to me, but I would not have expected any less. I deserved it for what I had done and to prevent me from doing it again.”

Her mother had changed, but Elizabeth had nothing in common with this woman, either. “If you choose to forgive my father, I cannot stop you, but pray do not expect the same from me. Will you be returning to Longbourn, then?”

“Yes. I wish to see Aelfric once or twice more before I go, since it will be more difficult for us to meet at Longbourn where your father will be watching me. I do not want to hurt him again. ”

Elizabeth did not care about her father’s pain. “Does he know you are no longer under the binding spell?”

“I wrote him and told him so, but, as you know, he rarely replies to letters. We will no doubt discuss it once I am back. But I am also worried about you. You look wan, and you have lost weight.”

This was a new experience, both that her mother would notice her mood and that it would worry her. “I am simply overtired. Lady Matlock insists that I attend events that go on half the night, and I have never been able to sleep late in the morning as everyone in the ton seems to do.” It was no one’s business but her own that the loss of any future with Darcy kept her awake and in tears long after the household was in bed.

Her mother looked at her keenly. “Perhaps you should tell Lady Matlock that her schedule is too much for you.”

“Perhaps I will.” It was beyond disconcerting to be listening to this woman who looked like her mother but sounded so little like her. “It must be very different for you at Gracechurch Street now. I hope the changes are not too trying for Jane or Mrs. Gardiner.”

“Jane, as always, is certain it will all turn out well. Mrs. Gardiner sometimes stops short when I say something, and then she laughs and goes on. But what of you? If you do not return to Longbourn, where will you go?” To her credit, Mrs. Bennet sounded genuinely worried about her.

“I have not decided. I may return to Rosings. Miss de Bourgh has said I am welcome there as long as I wish to stay or to work as her companion. My uncle Gardiner has offered me a home as well, but I worry about causing harm to the family’s reputation or causing a rift between the Gardiners and my father.”

“You sound very unconcerned about your future.”

“That is because I am unconcerned. I am waiting to see how various things turn out over the next few months, but I know I will not be left without a home or food. If nothing else, I imagine Viscount Eversleigh would help me.”

“Elizabeth Bennet, do not tell me you have an improper relationship with Viscount Eversleigh! Has he offered you carte blanche ?” Her mother sounded horrified.

Elizabeth could not help laughing. “What an imagination you have! Viscount Eversleigh would help me because he takes his duties as my shurinn seriously, and he would not let me starve.”

“You are shurinn ? But how?”

Aelfric must not have told her. Perhaps her mother could keep a secret now, but Elizabeth would not wager on it. “I am not at liberty to tell you that, but I assure you that he has no improper intentions at all towards me.” Her mother would be able to figure it out given a little thought, but it would be better to leave it uncertain.

“That is good. I would not want any more scandal right now. Yesterday Mr. Bingley left his calling card for Jane while we were out. I came here today in case he called again. It will be easier for Jane if she does not have to explain the changes in me.”

“Mr. Bingley? That is good news indeed.” And it could not be coincidence that Bingley had called only a short time after Darcy said he would speak to him. At least she knew he was thinking of her. The thought warmed the frozen waste of her heart a little, but it could change nothing. Apart from the revel, she doubted she would ever see Darcy again.

“GEORGIANA, I WOULD like to speak to you for a few minutes,” Darcy said.

The girl stiffened. “Did I do something wrong?”

“Not at all. This is more about me. ”

Georgiana set tentatively on the edge of her chair. “About you?” She sounded dubious.

“Yes. A situation has arisen which may force me to leave England for a time. I –”

“May I go with you?”

“I am afraid not. I will be with the Army in Portugal. I hope none of this will come to pass, but I want plans in place in case it does. I just met with my solicitor, and he is drawing up papers that declare Richard to be your guardian while I am away. He will also be responsible for Pemberley. If for any reason I have not returned within five years –”

“Five years?” Georgiana quavered. “Oh, no!”

He forced himself to forge ahead. “I think it unlikely, but we must be prepared. After five years, the revenues from Pemberley will start to be paid into your account, with Richard as trustee until you marry.”

Tears began to roll down her cheeks. “What did I do?” she whispered.

Why must she always blame herself? He moved to sit beside her and put his arm around her shoulder. “Georgie, you did not do anything. Nothing at all. It is because of trouble in the Collegium. There are some men who were determined to prove I have been misusing my powers, and someone has been trying to make it look as if I have. Viscount Eversleigh, who is now Master of the Collegium, knows I did not do it, but until I can prove it, I must go away.”

“But why would they do that?”

He shrugged. It would be better to leave George Wickham out of it. “They dislike me.” It sounded like a very weak reason for them to start a vendetta against him. He could not understand it himself. Most men who befriended Wickham could not be bothered to do anything that took much effort.

“Does it have something to do with George Wickham?”

Damnation, how did she guess that? “These men are friends of his, and that is why they dislike me. Somehow I will resolve this, but it may take time, and that is why I must leave.”

Georgiana’s shoulders trembled, but she said nothing. Her stillness reminded Darcy of how he often felt when controlling his powers.

Abruptly he asked, “Georgie, do you have magic?”

Her eyes darted back and forth as if the answer might be written on the walls. “Women do not have magic,” she whispered.

“Actually, they do. Our father was a mage and our mother was a mage’s daughter, so it would be more surprising if you had no magic than if you did.” Why had he never considered this before?

She licked her lips. “I never use it. Never.”

“Would you like to learn to use it?”

Her eyes widened. “That would be wrong.”

“Some people think so, but I do not. Cousin Frederica has learned to use her magic, and Cousin Anne is starting to as well. Even Lady Catherine has magic, though she misused it.”

Georgiana looked down. “I do not know.”

“Perhaps you should take some time to think about it. I am sure Cousin Frederica would be happy to teach you.”

“Could... Could you teach me?”

Darcy sighed. “The rules of the Collegium do not allow me to instruct a woman. It is a foolish rule, but I agreed to abide by the rules when I joined the Collegium.”

“Oh. It does not matter.” But obviously it did.

How could he explain it to her when he did not understand it himself? God, he hated it when Georgiana pulled away into herself like that. If only Elizabeth were here. She would know what to say.

As clearly as if Elizabeth had been whispering in his ear, he knew. She would ask him why he was still a member of the Collegium if he disagreed with them. And she would not think it a good reason if he said it was because his father and Lord Matlock had expected him to be.

He would not be looking to flee the country if it were not for the Collegium. Why was he part of it?

“But I plan to resign from the Collegium, and after that is done, I will be able to teach you.” He could not believe he had said it.

“You will?” Georgiana’s eyes were shining. “Thank you!”