The lieutenant shook his head. “You cannot trust the stories. Well, good luck to you. But take my advice – do not linger in the mountains.” He slapped Darcy’s good arm.
“My thanks for the tip.” Darcy pocketed his papers and headed up the street, feeling eyes on his back as he went. Up the hill, between the small houses, trying not to think of Elizabeth. He would find her eventually; Cerridwen would take care of that, with her uncanny ability to find them both. But he wanted to see her this minute, to reassure her that he was safe, to feel the comfort and delight of her presence.
He was hard pressed not to grin like a fool when he spotted her lingering in the doorway of the small church, as if she had gone in to say a prayer. She had not seen him yet. Her shoulders were slumped and her head down, no doubt terrified of what was happening to him.
He began to whistle a country tune, as if he were a farm laborer and not the well-bred gentleman he was, but it was enough to catch her attention.
She looked up, light blossoming on her face. And all was well in his world again, despite French soldiers and the menace of Napoleon’s war.
Chapter 32
Frederica touched her hairbefore she entered Rana Akshaya’s room, making certain nothing was out of place after her long hours at Roderick’s bedside. At least the dragon from India had agreed to see her, without Frederica having to resort to the various pleas she had planned to get past her servants. The dragon from India usually kept to herself at Pemberley, staying in her own room and interacting only with her entourage.
Whatever luck had made Rana Akshaya agree to it, Frederica was grateful for it. This was her last hope, and she needed it to go well.
She made a deep curtsy as she approached the large dragon. “Great Rana, I appreciate your generosity in seeing me.”
“What is it you wish, Companion Frederica?” The dragon had not been so abrupt when pretending to be a human mage in London.
“I do not know if you have heard about Rowan, the young dragon of the Dark Peak, who recently bonded to a human against the wishes of his Nest.”
Rana Akshaya stared at her with giant bronze-ringed eyes. “The young are often foolish.”
Frederica took a deep breath. “I am a mere mortal, so I cannot judge Rowan’s behavior, but the gentleman he bonded to is very ill. The DarkPeak healers cannot help him because they are unable leave the Nest, and they say it would be too dangerous to bring him there.”
“So you wish to avail yourself of the dragon healer who is under your own roof.”
Frederica could read nothing in her aura, but she did not sound friendly. “I came to throw myself on your mercy. You owe me nothing. But Roderick has been a good friend to dragons all his life, and he is very dear to me.”
“Everyone has someone whom they hold dear. Including the many thousands of people in my land who have been killed or enslaved by the English.”
Definitely not friendly. Frederica’s heart sank, and she bowed her head. “The British have given you many reasons to hate us. I never understood that until I met Roderick, who told me what the English have done to his people, and how even now they suffer from it. My ignorance is no excuse, though, nor does it make any difference that I am ashamed of what my government has done.”
“He is not English, this man?”
“No, he is Welsh. His country has been under England’s thumb for centuries. He despised me at first for being English.”
“Why are you pleading for the life of one of your country’s enemies?”
The image of Roderick lying so still rose before her. “He is notmyenemy. He is a good person, one of the best I have known.” Her voice shook, despite her best efforts. “We quarreled, and he thinks I despise him, and I cannot bear the idea that he will never know the truth.”
The enormous dragon set back on her haunches and stared at Frederica silently, her eyes filled with light and mist. The silence went on for a minute, two minutes, three.
Was she to take this as a dismissal? Or was the dragon waiting for her to say something more? Then Frederica felt a light sensation on her skin, like the brush of a butterfly’s wing. Not that she had ever been brushed by butterflies, but how she would imagine it.
Then it struck her. She was being read, without the touch required by the dragons she knew. Without being asked. But if there was any chanceof convincing Rana Akshaya to heal Roderick, she would accept it. After all, she had nothing to hide, no secrets apart from the one she had already revealed, her feelings for Roderick.
Though perhaps she ought to be nervous. Had not Quickthorn said that Rana Akshaya had powers beyond those of the Nest? Frederica’s mother always told her she had more courage than good sense.
“Does your dragon know you have come to me?” Rana Akshaya rumbled.
“Yes. She told me not to waste my time.”
“You enjoy hopeless tasks?”
Stung, Frederica snapped, “Should I give up on trying to save my friend, simply because it is unlikely to succeed? I would rather fail while trying to do the right thing than admit defeat without even an attempt.”
The dragon’s chest rippled. Did that mean amusement, as it would for an English dragon? “Tell my servant where your friend is. I will do what I can.”
