The dragon shivered. “Death. Destruction of the Nests. A return to enslavement. England in flames.”
Well. She had guessed as much, but it was still brutal to hear. Elizabeth stroked the dragon’s iridescent scales comfortingly. “And if we go?”
“It becomes less likely.”
In other words, either she risked her child’s bond to Pemberley, or she let it be born to a country under attack, a land in flames, where dragons were forced to serve Napoleon.
It was a terrifying choice, though every inch of her longed to find Darcy. But what of the risk of losing Cerridwen? “The dragon lodestone,” she said slowly. “Will the French not be able to hunt you down with that?”
“The Eldest says the lodestone can only find me when I am in my true form. As long as I stay a falcon, I will be safe.”
Elizabeth held up her hands. “But what of me? I do not even know where to begin such a journey. How to reach France, between the blockade and the sea serpents, or how to obtain the travel papers I would need.” The War Office had handled all of that for Darcy. How was she to find a ship to take her across the Channel? Suddenly it seemed quite impossible.
“The Eldest plans to help us.”
“How can the Eldest know?” she asked. “She has not left the Nest in centuries.”
“There are Kith who transport items between Nests, things that cannot go through the Gates, including a shipmaster in Hull who serves us. The Eldest has already sent word that he will be needed.” Already Cerridwen seemed brighter, as if she sensed Elizabeth’s agreement.
The Nest had already begun planning this, before she had even agreed to it, because Cerridwen had said it was necessary. That was the power ofa foreseer, even a young and inexperienced one. Goosebumps rose on her arms.
She was going to France in the middle of a war.
Chapter 26
And then the argumentsbegan.
Colonel Fitzwilliam led the way, absolutely determined that Elizabeth would not go to France, or, if he could not stop her, that he would come along to defend her. Never mind that he could barely speak French, at a time when Englishmen in France were being attacked on the streets merely because their fellow countryman had been part of the assassination attempt. But he would not stop insisting until Elizabeth said she would simply slip away without him – and that Cerridwen would cover her tracks if he tried to follow her.
She placated him with promises that she would do no more than locate Darcy and would then return home, give the colonel the information, and let him handle any rescue that needed to be done.
Then Frederica took a turn, insisting that she and Quickthorn should accompany her. There would be safety in greater numbers, and her truth-casting and illusion abilities could be useful, especially if Darcy was imprisoned. Quickthorn herself joined in the fray, pointing out how young and inexperienced Cerridwen was, and the importance of including a dragon with greater knowledge of the world.
It was harder for Elizabeth to deny this, because deep down she would have liked to have her friend with her. She almost said yes, but thenreconsidered. She herself was fairly confident of her ability to pass as a commoner, especially with the Marseille accent that colored her French, the one that had made Darcy’s French tutors wince. She had grown up traipsing the fields of Meryton, making friends with tenants and spending long periods of time living with the Arabic-speaking apothecary and his family. Lady Frederica Fitzwilliam was every inch the aristocrat, and that would show, from her perfect posture to her upper-class conversational French.
Frederica did not accept this easily. Quickthorn was even more argumentative and would not give in until Elizabeth agreed to let the sea-green dragon taste her blood, giving her the ability to track Elizabeth much as Cerridwen planned to do with Darcy. Not that Elizabeth wanted anyone to come after her if she got into difficulties, but if it would soothe Frederica and Quickthorn to think that they could, she would permit it.
Then Frederica and the colonel joined forces, with the argument that Mrs. Sanford should go with her. “She said you might reach your time in as little as two months. You may need her help, and she could support you as it gets harder for you to move about,” Frederica pleaded.
This time Elizabeth just laughed. “Two months at the very earliest, she said, and much more likely three months or more! I intend to be back long before the baby is born, and even if I fail at that, there must be plenty of midwives in France. Women there have been giving birth for centuries, you know. It would only make me look suspicious.”
It was not that she wished to go alone. In fact, the idea terrified her. But taking someone with her would only add to her danger. And she would have Cerridwen, if any problems arose. She steadfastly refused to think of the potential difficulties from which not even a dragon could extract her.
At least Mrs. Reynolds did not argue with her when Elizabeth told her she was going to France to find Darcy. “For everyone else, though, they are only to know that I am going to visit my family.”
“Of course, madam.” The old housekeeper bit her lip. “If I may ask, has there been any word of Mr. Darcy? I have been praying for him every night.”
Elizabeth hesitated, but she knew how much Mrs. Reynolds loved him. “We believe he is still alive, although likely a prisoner. Cerridwen, who can sense his location, says he seems to stay in the same place, as if he is locked up.” There was no point in distressing her with the news of his gunshot wound.
The housekeeper wrung her hands in her apron. “You are very good to go after him, madam. How may I be of service to you?”
“I will be traveling as a commoner. Could you find me a few dresses that would suit a farmer’s wife or a servant? Nothing fine or new; something that will keep people from noticing me.”
The housekeeper studied her from head to foot, no doubt calculating whose clothes might fit her, especially in her current condition. “I will arrange that immediately. If you want the staff to believe you are going to see your family, we will have to pack a different set of trunks for that, too.”
She had not even thought of that, but Mrs. Reynolds was right. “I will be taking Chandrika into my confidence, so she can work on that, too.” Which only raised another problem – how was she to explain her departure to Rana Akshaya? The Indian dragon kept to herself, but Elizabeth could hardly leave her without a host. Perhaps Frederica would be willing to stay at Pemberley in her absence.
“Very good, madam. And I will instruct Cook to pack up some local food for you – dried fruits and nuts. For the sake of the babe.”
