Chapter 10
Darcy was chaffingat the bit. After his success at the Council meeting, he would have liked to rush over to tell Elizabeth that they could now train together again. He could hardly believe it himself. It had been many weeks since they had last done so, and he could not wait to start again.
But the Council meeting had taken more time than he had expected, and he was late for his lesson. And when he arrived there, Bingley was waiting for him outside the door with one of the apprentice Healers whom Darcy did not know.
“He has been very restless today. The only thing that makes him quiet is mentioning your name. Lady Hazelmere thinks he wants to be with you, so she sent me here.”
It was a good sign. It meant that he did understand some things at least.
“Very well. You may leave him with me.” He turned to Bingley. “I have a lesson to teach. Come with me and I will introduce you.”
The apprentices looked at Bingley mistrustfully when they saw him come in. Darcy supposed they were privy to the same gossip as everyone else. It was an opportunity to correct some misconceptions.
“You have probably heard of Mr. Bingley. Some of you might even have been taught by him. He was injured during the recent battle against the Imperial mages. He is a hero. He put his life at risk to put a stop to a fireball that would have destroyed us. That is the nature of war. A hero will make sacrifices to save the rest of us.”
Darcy thought of Devereux and hisbunglingjoke.
“If a soldier is stabbed by a sword as he is fighting an enemy, do we blame the soldier?”
Most of the boys answered no, the rest – the younger ones – seemed uncertain.
“The answer, of course, is no. In a battle, anything can happen, but if you fight with courage and conviction, then whatever happens, you are a hero. Like Bingley here.”
From the way they looked at Bingley, Darcy did not think his words had fully convinced them, but he hoped they would think about what he said. He would make a point of repeating every now and then, just to keep reminding them. He was glad of Bingley’s presence here. It might make them uncomfortable, but they might realize that Bingley did not deserve their mockery.
Throughout the class, Bingley hovered by him, wandering around the classroom and occasionally disrupting the apprentices’ concentration. Darcy watched him to ensure he did not come to any harm during the magic sparring exercise, but mostly Bingley stayed to the side of the hall and seemed happy just to be there.
***
AS SOON AS THE LESSONfinished, Darcy hurried over to the library, with Bingley in tow. Elizabeth was not there. The piles of books on the floor had been cleared, so Elizabeth must have finished arranging them. Pickering had taken her place at the table.
Darcy felt a pang of disappointment, but he could not be uncivil to the venerable scholar.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Pickering.”
The old man put on his spectacles with trembling hands and peered at Darcy.
