“You had no reason to suspect she was in London,” Mr. Darcy said.
Mr. Tinsdale cleared his throat. “Mrs. Darcy, I suggested that we meet because we agree it is inadvisable to escalate our war with the French. But the Council will insist that you be kept safe.”
“I wore a long coat and plain bonnet. I thought myself unrecognizable.” Her lips twisted. “One woman concealed in London…”
“Your husband is well known,” Mr. Tinsdale pointed out. “And rather apparent, even in a crowd.”
Lizzy looked up from the smashed vial, but she watched me, not Mr. Tinsdale. “I will be more observant. Assure the Council that I will protect myself.”
Mr. Tinsdale seemed dissatisfied. “I can arrange guards.”
Lizzy’s answer was a whisper. “I will summon guards.”
“What of that brutalized woman?” Mr. Knightley broke in. “Who did this? We cannot allow such conduct on English soil. It is an abomination!”
Mr. Tinsdale gave him a cool look. He made no move to introduce himself. That was an oversight for the higher ranked gentleman, bordering on rude. Or had they met before?
“Did you see the woman’s pendant?” I said. “She wore rags, but that was jewelry fit for a queen. A gold wyvern with a flaming breath of huge sapphires.”
Mr. Tinsdale’s fluffy eyebrows rose. “The Pendant of Fiery Justice! Thatisroyal jewelry, made for the first Queen Mary to celebrate her binding. But it is a dragon, not a wyvern.” He shrugged, abruptly self-conscious. “I am rather an aficionado of Tudor history.”
“I have read of the pendant,” Mr. Darcy said. “Some claim it gave Queen Mary mastery of draca.”
“Like the crawler venom you described,” Mr. Tinsdale mused. “We must recover the pendant.”
“The sapphires, perhaps,” Mr. Darcy said. “It was melted.”
“Oh,” Mr. Tinsdale said. Solemnly, he added, “What a loss.”
“There were worse losses,” Mr. Knightley said pointedly.
Mr. Tinsdale frowned but nodded. “You must be fatigued. I will leave you to recover while I attend to the Council.” He bowed and hurried out.
Immediately when the door closed, Lizzy said, “Emma. Why did you touch Darcy?”
Mr. Darcy stiffened, and his face whitened. I could not guess his emotion. Outrage? Embarrassment? My own feelings were more obvious. My cheeks were heating.
“I beg both of your pardons,” I said. “With the panic, it was an… impulse. I intended no impropriety. It will not happen again.”
She shook her head. “I am not accusing you. Or asking you to apologize. When you touched him, I sensed a… change. What did you feel?”
I pinched the seam of my sleeve, drawing my fingers to the cuff while thesilk whispered. “I thought I would faint. Then a scarlet strength drew me. It was like it spoke. It filled me when I… made contact.”
“It is imperative that you return with me to Chathford,” Lizzy said.
Harriet had recovered enough to fold away her handkerchief. “What about theriver?” she exclaimed. “The water froze. Like magic! Was that woman a witch, after all?”
Lizzy shook her head. “There is no such thing.”
I thought of how the river froze when Lizzy’s feet touched the ice.
10
ASIGNIFICANT MEETING
LIZZY
We left the school,and Darcy hailed a pair of coaches. He returned to stand beside me, stiff and chagrined.
