“I refused her. I have no need of servants who wish to be elsewhere. This healing was a gift to your dragon, who helped me find your Nest, and to you, for the hospitality you have shown me.” She said it almost grudgingly, as if she resented owing anything.
Elizabeth swallowed and said, “You could not have chosen a gift I would treasure more. I will always remember what you have done.”
Rana Akshaya gave a curt nod and walked out without a word.
Darcy gathered Elizabeth in his arms, with little Jenny between the two of them, his heart overflowing. She sobbed in his embrace, but he could tell it was tears of happiness. They were together again, and now they were a family, too.
Then Jenny began to cry again, a good, healthy cry, and Darcy released Elizabeth.
Elizabeth’s eyes were glistening with happiness. “Could you ask Mrs. Sanford to come in and help me to feed her?”
“With pleasure, my love.” At that moment, Darcy would have considered it an honor to jump over the moon for Elizabeth and their Jenny.
Chapter 39
In the morning, Darcyemerged from the cottage, bleary-eyed from lack of sleep while at the same time floating on a cloud of joy. Little Jenny was in Elizabeth’s arms, both sleeping peacefully.
He almost stumbled across Roderick, who rose from a stool by the tent outside. “Good to see you back, Darcy. How are they doing?” He tipped his head towards the cottage.
Darcy beamed. “Both are well. And my deepest thanks, both for sending word to the Nest that I was needed here, and for getting my horse out to meet me.”
The Welshman laughed. “Easily done. Dragons do not understand why we make such a fuss about childbirth. When it is their time, they simply lay their eggs and then go on with their day.” He seemed more light-hearted than Darcy remembered. “I am glad you made it in time.”
“No one could be happier than I about that,” Darcy said fervently.
“Rowan heard from Cerridwen that you plan to do the land bonding, and I wondered if you would like any assistance with the preparations,” Roderick said. “I know the ritual, at least as we perform it in Wales.”
A year ago Darcy would have refused, but he had learned hard lessons since then. “I would be glad of it. My right hand is still not strong, which will make it a challenge to dig.”
Roderick nodded. “So I have heard. Dragons are terrible gossips, you know.” There was something about the off-hand way he said it that raised an inkling of suspicion in Darcy.
“You and Rowan…” he prompted.
He grinned. “Yes, we bonded while you were gone. I hope you do not mind that your house is overrun with dragon companions. Soon enough I will be returning to Wales, though, once the Nest here can spare Rowan.” A fleeting shadow crossed his face.
“Congratulations,” Darcy said, and to his surprise, he meant it.
“He says you took on a lesser bond, too. An interesting experience, is it not?”
Darcy stiffened. In the chaos of childbirth and the aftermath, he had forgotten completely about the potion he was supposed to drink each day. “Excuse me a moment.” He tiptoed back into the cottage, hardly daring to breathe lest he wake Elizabeth and Jenny, and fetched his worn satchel.
Once outside, he plucked out a vial and downed the contents. The sweet taste, redolent of wildflowers and slightly spicy, warmed him deep inside. Suddenly it felt as if the great red healer dragon was standing beside him, beaming down at him with pride. He let out a long breath as a feeling of peace grew within him.
Roderick stared at him in shock. “What is that? I can feel the power of it from here.”
“The dragon I bonded to made it for me. I am supposed to drink it every day for a fortnight.”
The Welshman frowned. “I have never heard of such a thing for the lesser bond. Well, no doubt they do many things differently in France. If it brought you home, that is the most important thing.”
The tincture had cleared Darcy’s thoughts, too. “The Nest here seems to have had a sudden change of heart about taking companions.”
Roderick glanced to each side, as if making certain they were not overheard, and then he said in a low voice, “It is because of what has happened. If a Nest is attacked, a dragon with a companion can escape and find a new Nest. Suddenly it is a great advantage to bond to a mortal.”
Darcy nodded slowly. It fit with what Coquelicot had said, about the young dragons in the French Nest trying to take on companions quickly.
They were all preparing for war, humans and dragons alike.
Darcy chose a spot in the center of the oak grove. His own afterbirth had been buried near the house, like his father’s before him, but it seemed correct to do the rites here, in the heart of Pemberley. It would be easier for Elizabeth, too.
