Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Humpty Had a Great Fall
Lydia stood in front of her father’s desk while Lizzy sat off to the side and waited. She had explained everything about the incident to her father, and now Lizzy waited to see what he would say.
Mr. Bennet, after hearing Lizzy version of the event, leaned forward in his chair, resting his hands on the desk, and asked, “Lydia, do you understand the severity of what happened?”
“It was nothing,” Lydia replied blithely. “Pen had control at all times. We all knew Billy was only pretending.”
Lizzy shook her head in disbelief.
“No, Lydia. Penelope Harrington did not have control. She has not had her ability long enough to develop full control of what she was doing. Billy was not acting. Billy was drowning.”
“La, why is everyone making such a fuss. Lizzy and Mary were there. They made sure nothing happened.”
Mr. Bennet shook his head knowing his daughter did not comprehend the full extent of what might have happened. Determined to make his youngest daughter understand, he decided to explain the consequence if the boy had died.
“Lydia, if Billy had died —”
Lydia blurted out, “But he didn’t. Lizzy and Mary were there.”
“Do not interrupt me!” Mr. Bennet said sternly. “If Billy had died, you and Pen would have been held responsible.”
“But I didn’t do anything. I don’t have any ability,” Lydia argued.
“You encouraged Pen to make the weeds wrap around Billy’s legs.” Mr. Bennet saw Lydia was about to speak and held up his hand while frowning at her. “Kitty, Maria Lucas, and Harriet Harrington all agreed that Penelope would never have used her ability in such a way if you had not provoked her.”
Mr. Bennet and Lizzy watched as Lydia stood straighter and stiffer, jutted out her chin, and pasted a defiant look on her face.
Mr. Bennet resolved to take his talk down a darker road.
“Billy’s death, Lydia, would have been seen as murder.
” To forestall his daughter from denying her culpability, Mr. Bennet quickly added, “Yes, Penelope Harrington manipulated the power, but she did it because you encouraged her to. That makes you just as responsible as her. Do you know what the penalty is for murder?”
Lydia shook her head but did not appear repentant.
“Murderers, Lydia, when found guilty are hung by the neck until they are dead.” Mr. Bennet watched for any change in Lydia’s express, but she remained undaunted.
Mr. Bennet looked at Lizzy and shook his head in surrender. He knew not what else he could say to move his young daughter to remorse.
“I think you should go to your room. You need to think about what happened and your role in the events of this afternoon. Kitty will sleep with one of her sisters tonight. You need this time alone.”
Instead of leaving, Lydia retained her stiff pose.
Taking on a firm tone, Mr. Bennet finally commanded, “Go to your room now.”
Lydia huffed and flounced out of the room slamming the door behind her.
“What can I do to get through to her the seriousness of what she did?” Mr. Bennet looked questioningly at Lizzy. He always felt she could help with any problem if he gave her time to think about it, but he was unsure if even she could get her sister to realize the true gravity of the situation.
Lizzy had been thinking about Lydia’s unflinching belief that she had done nothing wrong.
At the mention of hanging, Lizzy began to wonder if Lydia needed a visual depiction of how the event might have played out if she and Mary had not been nearby to help.
Then she remembered Peachy’s special ability.
Lizzy knew Peachy would be more than willing to help her.
“I have an idea that might help Lydia see her error,” Lizzy replied. “I do not know if it will work, but I think I will give it a try. We will know the results of my solution tomorrow.”
“I will leave it in your capable hands. You can explain to me tomorrow what you did. Even if it does not work, I want to hear about it,” her father said.
Lizzy used the rest of her afternoon visiting Mr. and Mrs. Harrington. She was welcomed by both parents, and she noticed neither of their daughters were present.
“Miss Lizzy, we have spoken to Penelope,” Mrs. Harrington began.
Mr. Harrington quickly added, “And severely berated her thoughtless actions.”
“Yes, my husband did reprimand her, and I honestly believe the situation seriously frightened her. Even though she put most of the blame on Lydia, we pointed out that she was the one who decided to misuse her ability,” Mrs. Harrington explained.
“I told her if I had the ability, I would take hers away, but I know that is impossible,” Mr. Harrington added.
“I do not believe she will ever misuse her ability again,” Mrs. Harrington quickly mentioned.
Addressing Mr. Harrington, Lizzy commented, “As to taking one’s ability completely away, I must admit I have never heard of it happening.
I am, however, working on a way to temporarily bind someone’s use of the power.
I am still experimenting with how it can be accomplished.
I have had a little success with the two brownies who are working with me. ”
“How long can you bind their use of the power?” Mr. Harrington showed marked interest in the Lizzy comment.
“As of yesterday, the binding held for almost a day before the ability to use the power came back.”
“Have you tried this on a human?” Mr. Harrington delved further into the Lizzy’s ability.
“No. I have not asked if anyone in my family is willing to allow me to attempt this binding on them,” Lizzy explained.
She noticed Mr. Harrington’s smile, but Mrs. Harrington only frowned at the thought.
“There is a risk with the binding. I have not had enough time to determine how to control the length of time the binding remains.”
“Maybe Penelope needs to be bound so she cannot use the power, even if it is only for one day,” Mr. Harrington remarked thoughtfully.
“Such a use of the power could be risky. I might bind her for one day or for a fortnight, and there is a chance that her use of the power might be bound permanently,” Lizzy warned.
“I am willing to take the risk,” Mr. Harrington replied. “If young Billy Lucas had died, Penelope might have faced charges of murder. Not intentionally, of course, but still an action that could have resulted in death.”
“No!” Mrs. Harrington interjected. “What if she never regains her ability?”
“That is the risk she takes for doing something so dangerous.” Mr. Harrington, who was sitting next to his wife, took her hands and continued.
“We have to look at what might have happened. Penelope needs to learn that there are consequences for all her actions. What better consequence than to have her bound.” He then smiled at Lizzy.
“Besides, I trust Miss Lizzy. She had been using her ability since she was a child. Her grandmother taught her all she knows, and I am well aware of the fact that she has not stopped learning. I have seen her out in the fields practicing her control of the power. I believe she will only temporarily keep Penelope from using her ability and this will be a learning experience for Penelope as well.”
Lizzy appreciated Mr. Harrington’s trust; she just hoped she would not make him regret his decision. “When would you like me to create the binding?”
“Now will be best,” Mr. Harrington replied. He then stood, walked over to the fireplace, and pulled the cord. As soon as the maid opened the door, he said, “Have Miss Penelope brought here as soon as possible.”
The maid curtsied and left. Mrs. Harrington, still upset about the punishment being spoken about, also left the room.
With his wife’s absence, Mr. Harrington was free to ask about the individual ward his brownies had been speaking about. As briefly as possible, Lizzy explained how it worked and why many people wanted their personal brownies warded.
While she was speaking, Miss Penelope came into the room. Lizzy noticed her head was down, and she was nervously playing with the skirt of her gown.
“You sent for me, Papa?” Lizzy noticed her lip trembled as she spoke.
“Yes. Miss Lizzy is going to bind your ability. It will mean you will not be able to access the power around you.” Mr. Harrington noticed the shocked look on his daughter’s face, something also noticed by Lizzy, so her father assured her, “It will not be a permanent binding, but will give you time to remember what it is like not to have such an ability, and allow you time to think about how important it is to use that ability properly.”
Miss Penelope only nodded her head in understanding, but Lizzy noticed she still appeared scared.
Lizzy sent everyone out of the room, for she never wielded the power in front of anyone who was not directly a recipient of the power she manipulated.
Mr. Harrington waited in the hall for his daughter to emerge.
For him, the wait was long and trying. He had no idea what was occurring in the drawing room, but Mr. Harrington retained his faith in Miss Lizzy’s ability.
Penelope had been the first member in the family to show any signs of being able to use nature’s power, and he knew the ability came from his family who had been landowners for many years.
Until marrying into the Harrington family, Mr. Harrington knew his wife Ruth had never seen a brownie, nor had she known anyone with the ability to draw upon the power found in nature.
Twenty minutes later, Lizzy walked out of the room. “Your daughter will be fine. She is just tired. Losing one’s ability to reach out for the power seems to have that effect on a person.”
“You know of others who have had their ability bound?” Mrs. Harrington, who had just walked out into the hall, asked.
“No,” Lizzy gave her a small smile. “I have, however, met two people who lost their ability to touch the power. The only thing I discovered that they shared in common was suffering a traumatic evert. For one gentleman, he had undergone a near death illness. For the lady, she had been in a life-threatening accident. I can only guess that profound trauma can separate one from their ability.”
“When do you think she will regain her ability?” Mrs. Harrington asked.
Of the two parents in front of her, Mrs. Harrington appeared to be the most apprehensive.
To calm her, Lizzy said, “I will visit next week to evaluate the effect of the binding. I did not use a strong binding, so I am hoping sometime within the next se’nnight she will begin to regain her abilities. ”
“We thank you Miss Lizzy,” Mr. Harrington spoke before his wife could say anymore. “This incident might have been more tragic if you had not happened to be nearby.”
“My sister Mary helped as well. She was able to inform me about the water in Billy’s lungs, and then she used her healing ability to make him breath again.
I am thankful we were both coming along the path near to pond so we could be of assistance.
” Lizzy was not going to address the issue of Lydia’s involvement, but now that she had attended to Miss Penelope, she was ready to address the steps to take to correct Lydia’s failure to see the potential harm of her so-called fun.
“We will expect a visit from you next week, then,” Mr. Harrington said as Lizzy began to walk toward the door.
Lizzy left feeling slightly pleased that her binding spell was working. All of her practice had paid off. Now the question remained, ‘How could she use it in the future?’.
That evening after everyone left to retire, Lizzy spoke to Peachy about her special ability to manipulate dreams. Lizzy shared exactly what dream she wanted Peachy to cause Lydia to have.
Butterbell, listening to the conversation, offered to help in any manner he could.
Once all the details were sorted out, the two brownies slipped up to Lydia’s room and waited for her to fall asleep.
Lizzy retired for the night hoping her plan would work.