“It is still possible that he is hidden very deeply.”
“Itispossible, I suppose.”
Darcy’s tone was flat. He did not believe her.
“How can the Healers determine his fate when it has only been three days? It is preposterous. I think they should consult with other Healers outside the Academy.”
She did not mention Rogue Healers. She was only too aware of the knife’s edge she was treading, particularly when there were some who thought of her as a Rogue mage.
“That is precisely their next course of action.” Darcy sighed. “Though only indirectly. The Waltons will be taken away tomorrow by their family. Who will, naturally, do everything they can to find a Healer who knows something about their affliction. If they succeed, they will bring that Healer here to help Bingley.”
“There is hope, then.”
“I suppose so. But we are running out of time. He is unable to eat or drink.”
It was clear she was not going to change Darcy’s view of the matter.
“It is my fault,” said Darcy. “I should never have left.”
“If you had stayed,” she replied, “you may not have been alive now. You would not have come to fetch me, and we would not have arrived in time to stop the fireball.”
This time, she knew her words had struck home, because Darcy looked startled. She did not need to explain further. He did not know how to link minds as she did. Without a Janus Mage to support him, it was unlikely he could have withstood the fireball attack.
Especially since they had not even known it was coming.
***
THE NEXT MORNING, THEREwas a scratch at the door of Elizabeth’s bedchamber, and to her delight, her lady’s maid Emily appeared in the doorway.
Elizabeth beamed. She put out her hand to Emily, who took it and curtseyed.
“You are a sight for sore eyes. I am so glad they sent you to me.”
“If you will pardon me, it was not quite like that, Mrs. Darcy. I asked for it. As strongly as I could. They could not think of an objection, so they sent me here. It is a pleasure to be back with you, ma’am.”
“Well, then. I am very fortunate to have you.”
Elizabeth had always liked Emily’s lively, chatty manner. She reminded her of her sisters.
Apart from Emily, Elizabeth did not have a chance to see anyone in the next couple of days. All the mages—with the exception of the Healers—were too busy outside the house to keep regular hours, and cold meats, tarts and pies were the order of the day. She hardly saw Darcy. They slept in adjoining rooms, but he returned after midnight, too exhausted to do anything but sleep.
So far, Elizabeth was excluded from the frenetic activity. They had not yet assigned her any mage-related tasks. It irked her that the others were out every day while she stayed at home, but she did not bring up the issue. The reality was, dispersing that fireball over Founder’s Hall had drained her of energy. She had not fainted or become ill, but she had not fully recovered her powers yet. She suspected that Darcy had arranged for her to take some time to recover.
It was kind of him to think of her, but Elizabeth was still determined to be useful. The obvious place was in the library, sorting out the books Lord Matlock had brought from the Hall. They had been hastily tossed into a cart and were all jumbled up. For two days, she worked on classifying them again. She had no idea where they would be sent next, so she sorted them into small piles and tied groups of connected books together with string, ready to be transported again. Then she set them on the floor with the spines facing outward in case someone needed to consult them.
Once she was finished, the next logical step was to make herself useful in the Healer’s Hall. As she stood outside, the Healer’s Circle called to her. She could sense the threads of magic as they joined together. The ritual soothed her, and she found herself longing to practice magic again, albeit on a lighter scale. She did not think herself ready for anything complex yet.
As she entered, she braced herself to face the sight of Mr. Bingley in his strange slumber. Several of the Healers were in a healing circle around his bed, and Miss Bingley was sitting on a chair next to him.
Elizabeth nodded at Miss Bingley, then joined the circle as unobtrusively as possible, doing her best not to disturb the others. Very carefully, she reached out with the threads of her magic to link with theirs.
The Circle disbanded instantly, cutting her off so suddenly she found herself gasping for air.
Elizabeth blinked in confusion as all the Healers turned to look at her. One of her friends, Mr. Westwood, took a step towards her.
She smiled at him warmly. He was one of her favorite Healers, and he had always supported her.
“Please accept my apology. I did not mean to interrupt the Circle.”
