Elizabeth thought it might be useful to remind them at this point that Jane had no reason to think that Netherfield was anything but a home for injured soldiers. There would have been no reason for it to be Warded.
But when she began to explain this, Matlock cut her short.
“Would anyone else like to question the young lady?”
“I would,” said Lord Sudbury. Elizabeth had been introduced to him. He was a civil gentleman with an agreeable manner.
“Miss Bennet,” he said, gently. “You say your talent lies in Elemental Magic?”
“No, sir. I do not practice Elemental magic. I am a Healer, and my healing abilities are often drawn from the elements, but I cannot manipulate them.”
“And you felt nothing at all when you rode through the Wards?”
“Only the blowing of the wind and the rain. They almost knocked me off my horse.”
“Any more questions, Lord Sudbury?” Matlock was beginning to sound impatient.
“No.”
“Then we will move on to the next issue, the question of whether to send the young lady home, or to keep her here. If you are in favor of sending the young lady home, I have spoken personally to Mr. Bennet, and he has given me his word that she will not speak to anyone at all about what has happened here, including her mama and her sisters.”
“You tell me you are relying on Mr. Bennet’s word.” Devereux was not going to back down on this. “What makes you think he will not betray us? Was he not cast out of the Academy?”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Devereux,” said Grayson. “I can vouch for Mr. Bennet. I taught him some of his skills. You have my word that he is a man of principle, and that he would never do something that would put his fellow mages—let alone his own daughters—in danger.”
“It seems I am one of the few people who have never met Mr. Bennet,” said Lord Sudbury. “As such, I can neither vouch for him, nor discredit him.”
“I have not met him either,” said Lady Ashcombe. “But it seems to me that, while we can trust a gentleman to keep his word, there may be situations when he may not be able to keep it, if something accidentally slips out. I say Miss Bennet should not be allowed to leave.”
Jane stared at them with wide eyes. “So I am to be kept here as a prisoner?” She spoke softly.
“Of course not.” Darcy’s voice was gentle as he gave Jane a reassuring smile.
Darcy’s categorical denial was immediately contradicted by Devereux.
“Precisely. And if you try to escape, we will hunt you down.”
Darcy narrowed his eyes. “There is no reason to use such language with a well-bred lady.”
“This is war, Darcy, not a lady’s parlor.”
Darcy stiffened.
“Our very existence is at stake!” Devereux thumped his fist against the table.
Darcy’s eyes were glittering with suppressed anger.
“Our very existenceas civilized gentlemenis at stake when we treat innocent young ladies like that.”
Elizabeth wanted to cheer. She could see now why it was necessary for Darcy to be on the Council, and she certainly did not envy him the task of having to deal with people like Devereux every day.
“I do agree it would be better to keep Miss Bennet here. If we do not let her out of our sight, she cannot give away our location. And like Grayson, I am confident that Mr. Bennet will not betray our trust. He will come up with a good explanation to account for her sudden absence.”
“I do have to stipulate, however,” said Lord Sudbury, “that Miss Bennet should not be allowed to join the Royal Mages. She has never even been tested. We do not know if she has any Talent at all.”
“I should think we already have enough proof of her Talent,” said Grayson.
“Oh, really?” Devereux fixed his heavy gaze on Grayson.
