Darcy really did not want to continue this argument about Redmond. He did not dislike Redmond. The boy would eventually grow into a powerful mage, though Darcy had doubts about his ability to fight in battle. But in the here and now, his concern was Elizabeth, not Redmond.
“If any of you are able to convince Redmond to return, I would welcome him. He is my Twin, and we have Bonded. However, that is not the issue at present. The issue is that we have a dangerous prisoner we need to deal with. I really wish someone had consulted me before making a decision to bring de Riquer here.”
He remembered the conversation he and his uncle had at Matlock House. Had Darcy implicitly agreed to it? He might have, but he had not known at the time that he would not be permitted to Bond with Elizabeth.
He looked around the room. “We have a French captive who will be coming here shortly, and I cannot take on the responsibility of building the Wards to contain him, not alone.”
It seemed Devereux was not going to allow Darcy to get away with anything. He had been like that when they were apprentices at the Academy. He had always loved to pick fights and argue for the sake of it.
“You are not alone. There are three other Warders here.”
“Younger,weakerWarders. Most of the stronger Warders have stayed in London.”
Darcy took a deep breath and looked around the room, trying to determine if this was the right time to raise the issue. He plunged in. There would never be a right time.
“As it so happens, we do have a Janus Mage in residence. She has proved she is capable of Bonding with me, and—”
His words were drowned as the other mages all began to speak at once.
“You cannot endanger yourself.” Devereux’s booming voice rose above the others, and the rest fell silent.
“I think we should look at this logically.” Sudbury’s voice was calm. People listened to him. “There is something to what Darcy is saying. We need the strongest Wards to keep de Riquer in. From all accounts, he is a very Talented mage – one of the best.”
“It is too dangerous.” Devereux’s mulish countenance was more unyielding than ever. “Darcy may be willing to take a huge gamble because his head has been turned by the Bennet girl, but we do not have to agree with this folly. You have seen what happened to the Warder who was unfortunate enough to link with her. What was his name? Bungley?”
He burst into laughter. When no one else laughed, he decided to offer an explanation.
“Bungley, Bingley? Get it? Hebungledit?” He snickered. “Doyouwant tobungleit, too, Darcy? Are you willing to risk turning into—that?”
Darcy did not lose his temper easily, but he was coming close to it. He dug deep inside himself for some vestige of calm. Somehow, he would stop himself from plowing his fist into Devereux’s face. How dared he mock poor Bingley like that?
But he would not allow Devereux the satisfaction of knowing he had gotten to him. He forced himself to sound completely unruffled.
“I will not deny that there is some risk involved, but if Elizabeth was responsible for injuring the Warders she connected with, it was because she was under intense pressure to stop a fireball. That fireball was intent on destroying the Hall and everyone in it.”
Devereux smiled widely. “So you say. No one has seen this famous fireball. You were fooled by the French Conjurers’ tricks. It was anIllusion, Darcy.”
Darcy was about to make a heated retort, but Matlock put up his hand to stop him.
“The existence or non-existence of the fireball is immaterial and a discussion for another time. We are deciding what to do about the French Imperial Mage. He will be arriving in ten days. Unless you can somehow convince Redmond to be here within a week, we are faced with an awkward dilemma.”
Silence greeted his words. This was Darcy’s chance to get them to concede.
“We do have a Janus Mage in residence. Not very long ago, the Council believed her so suitable that you forced us to marry. Lady Alice Enright herself tested Elizabeth. Unless you have another alternative, I need her assistance in containing a potentially dangerous captive. The other alternative is to work with three lesser Warders. If I do that, I cannot be sure de Riquer will not break through the Wards. What will you have me do? Risk everyone’s lives with poor Wards, or risk my own?”
Lord Matlock spoke up.
“I think we should put it to the vote. Who votes to allow Darcy to test this Bond and find out if it will work?”
Five hands went up. Darcy, Matlock, Greystone, Pickering and Lady Ashcombe. Darcy was surprised at Lady Ashcombe’s vote. She was a Healer. He would have thought she would protest.
Matlock nodded. “Very well. You have the Council’s permission. Please proceed with caution. The meeting is dismissed.”
As he pushed to his feet, Darcy looked towards his uncle. Matlock’s expression was neutral, revealing nothing, but when Darcy met his gaze, he gave a quick smile.
Sothatwas what his uncle was up to. The wily fox had cleverly maneuvered Darcy into making his argument, then put it to the vote.
Darcy did not smile back. That would surely have given the game away.
