Chapter 22
It was a day of celebration, despite the looming darkness.
Jack entertained everyone with stories of his adventures getting back from the Vosges, which had included a stop off in the mountains of Norway to deliver eggs from the Vosges dragons to a Nest there, a tiny fishing boat over stormy seas to the Shetlands and then another to Scotland, and thence to England and Pemberley.
“We were almost out of money by then, so we flew by night and camped during the day. Gentiane wanted to stop at one of the Highland Nests, but I insisted on coming here first.”
“As well you might!” cried Mrs. Reynolds, whom Jack had invited to join them for the story, as she had all but raised him.
Today she was alternately beaming and wiping away tears as he gulped down and extravagantly praised every dish that came before him, swearing that there was nothing like true English food and drink from Pemberley.
“But how do you come to be alive?” Jasper demanded. “We thought you died at Salamanca.”
“I still have no recollection of the battle there,” Jack said soberly.
“I was pushed through the Gate to the Vosges, naked as the day I was born, holding a note that said, ‘My freedom is already forfeit to the Wicked King, but I will not give the monster a road to another Nest. Do not let this man go.’ The Gate was destroyed soon afterwards. The Vosges dragons believed Napoleon must have learned that I had survived the dragonfire unscathed and demanded the dragons deliver me to him. The poor doomed dragon decided not to cooperate, just in case I knew the location of another Nest.”
“Oh, my!” breathed Frederica. “And you knew nothing of this?”
“Not a thing, from the time I lined up for battle in Spain until I awoke in the Vosges. I did not even know the outcome at Salamanca until Will told me. What a shock that was, when the Nest sent me to rescue some unknown Englishman and it turned out to be our Will!”
Frederica rounded on Darcy. “You knew he was alive, and never told us?”
“Do not blame poor Will,” Jack said. “He was under a binding not to reveal my presence. Must have driven you moon-mad to have to keep that to yourself, old man!”
Darcy raised his glass to his brother. “It certainly did!” Thankfully, the binding seemed to have lifted, at least while he was in Jack’s presence.
“That explains a great deal,” Elizabeth said with feeling. “I knew there was something. How did you go from prisoner to dragon companion?”
“Desperation.” Jack took another huge bite of plum cake and washed it down with wine.
“Taking a companion was the only way the dragons could escape Napoleon when he found the Nest, so all the ones who were young enough were trying to bond with anyone they could find, even people with no history of Talent. Gentiane is a few years too old for it, certainly too strong to bond to an ordinary mortal, but he thought I might manage it since I had already survived dragonfire and gone through a Gate.”
“I thought they never bonded to soldiers,” Frederica said.
“Well, I had to promise never to fight again, which was hard, but since otherwise they were going to send me to a different Nest to hold me prisoner, it came down to the same thing. I will miss the Army, but it is worth the price.”
Frederica said, “You may not be able to fight, but how do you feel about rescue missions? Lady Catherine de Bourgh is up to no good, and we need to stop her before her antics destroy the war effort.”
Jack whistled. “The old witch is back? I never met her, even though she is our aunt. I think Mother believed she would be a bad influence on me. Never mind, though – I am happy to do anything I can to stop Boney.”
Darcy straightened at the reminder. “Oh, God. Mother. She is here, at the Dower House, and does not yet know you are alive. We had best make our way there post-haste.”
Jack grimaced. “I suppose we must. But is there any more of this cake first?”
“Perhaps you should borrow some of Darcy’s clothes,” Frederica said. “Lady Anne could cope with your present attire, but as it happens, the king and queen are at the Dower House, too.”
Jack gave her a puzzled look and then laughed. “You almost had me there, Freddie! For a moment I thought you were serious. Who is it, really?”
“Not a joke, I fear,” Darcy said soberly. “We have a great deal to tell you.”
Jack went to the Dower House alone, just in case Lady Anne actually showed an emotion on discovering her youngest son was alive. Darcy agreed that she would not want anyone else to witness such a reunion.
His brother did not return until well after dinner, late enough that Darcy was beginning to fret.
Not about his safety – Jack had made his way halfway across Europe on his own – but about what Lady Anne might be doing or saying to him.
It did not help when his brother finally appeared, his brow furrowed and looking fatigued.
“I hope she was not too difficult,” Darcy said carefully.
“Mother? Less than usual, in fact, no doubt because of the shock. The problem was… Let me rephrase that. His Majesty wanted to speak to me. At length. Great length.”
Darcy sighed. “I should not be surprised. He did that to both Elizabeth and me. He has been making up for lost time by quizzing everyone about what has been happening, and you have a great deal of new information.”
“God, yes. He wanted to know every bit of it, from my field rations in Spain to every detail about the French dragons – what little of that is not under binding, of course.” He yawned. “I hope it was useful to him. Does he plan to try to wrest power back from Prinny, do you know?”
“Yes, but not while Lady Catherine is at large. He has good reason to fear going near her.”
“I suppose. Oh, and Mother is completely against my involvement in the matter of Lady Catherine, but I do not intend to pay any attention to that.”
Good Lord, was Lady Anne still trying to protect Jack from the world after all he had been through? Darcy shook his head in disbelief.
“Will, could I speak to you privately?” Jack’s face was lined and his hair mussed, as if he had been raking his hand through it.
“Of course. Is something the matter? Are you having second thoughts about our plans?” They spent the last three days preparing for the journey to London and facing Lady Catherine.
“No, not that.” Jack paced around the study, spinning the globe on its stand in the corner. Abruptly he said, “Are you certain the king is in his right mind?”
That was not a happy thought. “He has seemed that way to me, and neither Mother nor Coquelicot have mentioned any concerns,” Darcy said. “But you have seen much more of him than I do.” For whatever reason, the king had taken a particular liking to Jack and had sent for him most days.
“Until today, he seemed perfectly well. But he finally revealed his plan to me, and I do not know whether to consider it an eccentric scheme, utter madness, or perhaps…something I must take seriously, no matter how strange and nightmarish it sounds.”
That sounded ominous. “Can you tell me about it, or are you sworn to secrecy?”
“He said not to tell our mother, but nothing else.” He straightened and looked up at the carved ceiling, as if there might be an answer there. “He has been speaking to me a great deal about Princess Charlotte.”
It was hardly surprising that the king would be thinking of his granddaughter, the eventual heir to his throne, especially as it was well-known that he adored the girl.
And the young princess, so beloved by the people, was a far more pleasant topic than King George’s own sons, each more dissipated and useless than the last. “What about her?”
“He is concerned for her safety. There is a plan to take her out of London when Napoleon arrives, but he does not think that is good enough.”
“Given the War Office’s tendency to underestimate the French, I would be inclined to believe him,” Darcy said.
“He asked what I would do. Not realizing he was serious, I said it might be impractical, but if it was up to me, I would toss her on dragonback and take her to the most remote Nest in Scotland. I thought he would laugh, but instead he just nodded and said that was what he hoped for.” Now Jack did rake his hand through his hair.
“I tried explaining the small problem of all her guards shooting at anyone who made such an attempt, but he waved that aside.”
Darcy frowned. “Does he want to have a dragon companion as her special bodyguard in case of war? I cannot see the dragons agreeing to it.”
“It gets worse. Much worse. Then he said that everything he has learned here has convinced him it was a mistake not to bring Talented blood into the royal family as soon as they took the throne.”
“That much is obvious in hindsight, but not a particularly helpful observation at this juncture.”
Jack leaned his hands on Darcy’s desk, his eyes wide. “And that is why he wants me to marry her, so we can breed little mage princes, and I can carry her off on dragonback.”
Darcy felt his jaw drop. “That is…that is…”
“Utterly ridiculous, is what it is!”
Completely ridiculous. His little brother, marrying the heir to the throne? Impossible.
And yet, given the extremely perilous situation before the royal family right now, he could see how the advantages of a dragon companion mage could outweigh those of some European prince. Especially when they so desperately needed the dragons as their allies.
But Jack?
He stared at his brother in disbelief. “What did you say?”
“I babbled something about not being worthy to be in the same room with Princess Charlotte, and that she deserves a royal prince. He said that his first concern was to keep her alive and capable of holding the throne. Good God, Will, I like to think of myself as a brave man, but I am terrified. He is the king.”
“I cannot blame you, but if you do not want this, we will find you a way out. Starting with Gentiane – not that you need his permission to marry, but he might well break your bond before agreeing to live in London.”
“Already tried it. He asked if the marriage would do anything to stop Napoleon. I said it would make it harder for Napoleon to win if we kept Princess Charlotte safe. And he told me I should do it.” The whites of Jack’s eyes were prominent.
“Tell me, are there any other unmarried male dragon companion mages? The only one I know of is Roderick, and Frederica would murder me if I even mentioned his name.”
Darcy could not believe they were even discussing it. “I have heard of one from Scotland who is at least tolerably well born, and there may be more. None likely to match your birth and connections, though.”
“But I simply cannot do it!” Jack cried.
Darcy studied his brother. Certainly marrying into the royal family, to eventually become the prince consort, would be a tremendous strain to anyone.
But this seemed like something more. “It would be a burden, there is no question of that. And it would put you in grave danger, at least while Napoleon lives,” he said cautiously.
Jack leaned forward, his hands splayed on Darcy's desk. “Do you think I care about danger?” His eyes were wild. “I could face Napoleon tomorrow without a qualm. But London society? The court?” His voice rose on the last word.
“That would be a bit much, I suppose,” Darcy said. He preferred the quiet of Pemberley himself, but Jack had always wanted to go out into the world, to be among people.
“You do not understand!” Jack spun away, taking a stride to stare out the window at the fog rolling in over the hills.
Facing away, his voice muffled, he said, “I was in London for a month when I took up my commission, and I hated every second of it. Too many people everywhere, all of them expecting something from me, all of them judging me. I felt sick the entire time. Literally sick, as if I might collapse at any moment. I cannot count the number of times I cast up my accounts, like a puking drunk. I was grateful to ship out to Spain where I could live in a rough army camp. To spend my entire life in court? I would truly rather die.”
Darcy blinked in surprise. “I thought you could not wait to get away from Pemberley, after all the years our parents insisted on keeping you here.”
Jack's shoulders dropped, and he collapsed into a chair. “I thought that was what I wanted,” he said hollowly. “But it was already too late. Everyone else knew how to deal with strangers and crowds, but I never learned, because I had been trapped here all my life.”
“You liked the army, did you not?” Or so he had claimed in his letters.
“Better than London, but even that was unpleasant. It was a relief when I woke up in the dragon Nest. At least there were no crowds there.” Defeat weighed down his voice. “How can I get out of this?”
Darcy had no idea. “What about pleading a secret engagement? Perhaps a woman in France?”
Jack sank down in a chair. “It might come down to that.”
“Or we could ask Mother. I cannot imagine she would like this idea, given how she prefers to keep you swaddled in cotton wool.”
“I assume she already told him it was a bad idea, and that is why he did not want me to mention it. I am not yet desperate enough to ask her for help, though. Not that I think she could dissuade him.”