Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Higgledy-Piggledy No Bad Intent
Lizzy decided to walk back home, so she instructed the driver to return the coach to Longbourn. As she walked, Ben trailed behind her while Joseph remained behind for Mary and Jane. Then, halfway home, she met Butterball.
“Miss Lizzy, you be not happy when you know who make ice.”
Lizzy stopped walking, and from his subdued express, Lizzy knew the information would not be pleasing, but she was unprepared for the shock she was about to receive.
“Master Robbie makes it.”
“Robbie? My brother Robbie?” Lizzy asked in disbelief.
Robbie had never shown any ability to use the power in the past, so what had changed, Lizzy wondered.
“Tiddle tell,” Butterbell cut into Lizzy’s thoughts.
“Where is Robbie now?” Lizzy needed to speak to her brother as soon as possible, so she began walking quickly toward home.
“Master Robbie crying,” the brownie said as he skipped along to keep up with his mistress. “Down by river,” he hastily added causing Lizzy to veer from her course home and move toward the nearby river.
Lizzy knew exactly where he would be. It was a special place she had shown her brother when he was six years old.
There was a fallen tree trunk that Joseph and Ben had smoothed out to make a perfect seat.
Lizzy had found the place when she was six declaring it her retreat whenever she needed solitude from her family and later from her intensive labors of weaving wards.
It proved more secluded than the top of Oakham Mount.
As Lizzy neared the spot, she saw Robbie hunched over weeping into his hands.
She made a motion to Ben to remain back before she walked to the tree trunk and sat down beside Robbie.
Looking up only slightly, he saw his sister, climbed into her lap, and wept on her shoulder.
Lizzy slowly rubbed his back providing what little comfort she could.
Finally, Robbie sobbed, “I hurt Janie.”
“Did you mean to hurt your sister?”
“No,” he sobbed in response.
“Who did you mean to hurt?”
“Not hurt, humiliate.” Robbie’s sobbing slowed and he sniffed before continuing. “I did not know it would happen.”
“You did not know what would happen?”
“Butterbell told Tiddle there was ice, and Janie slipped on it. He said she was hurt. I hurt my sister.” A loud sob came out as Robbie realized he hurt someone he dearly loved.
“Robbie, how did the ice get there?”
“Tiddle told me I had the ability.” Her brother sniffed again but held back his sobs.
He wanted his sister to know the truth. Something he had meant to share with Lizzy but never found time to be alone with her to share his news.
“Tiddle began to teach me how to reach out to the power. It was slow, and it was hard to reach it. Then, three days ago Miss Bingley and her sister came to visit with their brother and Mr. Darcy. I sat near the sisters. I remained very quiet so they would not know how close I was. They said bad things about Janie. They said she only wanted his money. They did not want their brother to like Janie, and they spoke of ways to make Janie look bad. When I heard they had invited Janie to dine with them, I knew they were planning something bad, and I wanted to find a way to humiliate Miss Bingley. She spoke the worst about our sister.” Robbie paused, frowned, and shook his head.
“She should not speak so about my sister,” he mumbled.
Then, he went on to say, “When the rain started, I thought, if she slipped on ice when she went out the greet Janie, it would humiliate her. She would deserve that, but then I realized I could not make ice because I was not there. I did see the ice in my mind, but that was all. Tiddle later told me I have a way with water, and my thinking hard enough about ice forming must have caused it to form even though I was not there.”
Lizzy did not mention her belief that Robbie’s affinity to magic was stronger than she would expect in one his age.
Even Mary and Jane where older before they had a firm grasp of how to make the power work the way they expected.
Only Lizzy had a special harmony with the power at a very early age, but she always attributed that ability to her role as the next ward weaver.
“Robbie, did Tiddle explain to you what could happen if you misuse the power?”
Robbie turned his head so Lizzy could not see his face and mumbled softly, “Yes.”
Lizzy put her hand on her brother’s chin and turned it so he was looking at her. “What did Tiddle say would happen?”
Very softly, Robbie replied, “Tiddle heard that someone who misused their power can lost their ability for some time.”
Lizzy knew the brownies in the area would have shared with Tiddle the consequence experienced by Penelope Harrington.
“That is very true. Robbie, the ability to use the power is extremely special, and the power must be used only for the benefit of others. It must never be used for bad reasons, even if you feel the person you are using it against deserves to be punished somehow.” Lizzy paused, carefully examining her brother’s expression. Then, she added, “Do you understand?”
Robbie looked down at his feet as he replied, “Yes, Lizzy. Tiddle told me the same thing.” Robbie then looked up at this sister. “I really am sorry, Lizzy. I never meant to hurt Janie,” he said as tears again began to roll down his cheek.
Lizzy reached out with her hand wiping away the tears.
“Do not cry. You know you did wrong, and I know you will not do such a thing again. Janie is well. Mary and I helped her heal, but she will have to remain at Netherfield a few more days before she can come home. Mr. Jones says as soon as she can put weight on her leg, she can come home.”
“Will Miss Bingley speak badly about her again?”
“Mary is there to protect Jane against Miss Bingley,” Lizzy assured him.
“I wish you would stay with Janie. You are better at protecting us,” Robbie said, the tears finally stopping.
“I will see if Mr. Bingley will allow me to remain with Jane at Netherfield so you will not worry about Jane’s recovery,” Lizzy replied, “but now, I believe I should take you home before Mama begins to worry about your whereabouts.”
Robbie moved off his sister’s lap. Lizzy then rose and held out her hand.
“Come, Ben is in need of some tea.”
Robbie laughed at his sister’s comment before taking her hand and walking home with her.