He made a face. “I suppose you will not be able to answer me until Monday, then.”
“Yes. There is nothing I can do about that. But we have waited this long. What is the hurry? Another few days will not make much difference.”
“A few days is a long time for me to wait, my love,” he murmured.
It was clear that Darcy was impatient to get going, but she still did not know if it was what she wanted. Was Darcy taking her agreement for granted? Should she talk to him about her uncertainties? But what if her answer was yes? Why cause him unnecessary apprehension when he was already on edge?
In the end, she decided not to start a discussion she was ill equipped to deal with at this moment in time. They would cross that bridge when they came to it. “I know, but I need to be certain that my decision is right. I do not want to do anything I will regret.”
She hoped her words would at least give him something to think about.
As the date of Riquer’s departure drew closer, word came from Carlton House detailing how his ‘escape’ would be presented convincingly. During one of their training sessions, Riquer was asked to join Matlock in the Council Chamber. Left to her owndevices, Elizabeth took the opportunity to look for something to eat. She returned an hour later to find the Mirror mage lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling.
“Is something wrong?” she asked in alarm.
“No. I have just understood some of the bad effects of this whole business.” He sat up on the floor. “I am not allowed to tell you any of the details, of course, but the plan is for me to escape from the Tower of London, with two dozen mages in hot pursuit. I will use my mirror to contact one of my fellow mages in France. I had thought it would all be discreetly done, and that it would all be very secret, but no. There will be a reward posted for anyone who can find me and capture me.” He shook his head in disbelief. “I will be in all the newspapers as the villain who ran away to France to join Napoleon. They have even hired an artist to draw a caricature of my escape. My reputation here will be utterly destroyed. Who will trust me after this? I will never be able to show my face in the Kingdom again. Whoever came up with this plan ought to be hanged.”
Truth be told, Elizabeth had not thought much about the matter until now. She had assumed they would come up with something plausible that would explain his sudden reappearance. But now, she was shocked that Riquer would be so thoroughly discredited.
“I am sorry. That is not how I imagined it, either. It seems very unfair to do that when you are actually doing this to help them.”
“They have gone too far, trying to make everything convincing. I must admit, they have taken care of all the details of my escape very well. But still—”
“What is important is that you will arrive safely at your destination, and that no one suspects you. You must consider what is more important: your life, or your reputation? Do you think the French will accept the story?”
He thought about it. “I think so.”
“Then that is all that matters.”
“I suppose so.” He looked more unhappy than she had ever seen him. His pride was injured, and Elizabeth hoped it would not have undesirable consequences. Elizabeth did not question his loyalty, but if he felt he had nothing to lose, why would he want to risk his life to help the Kingdom?
“Are you still happy to go back to France, under the circumstances?”
"I amnothappy to go back to France. I thought I had escaped. I may never have been completely welcome here, but at least no one has compelled me to do anything I do not want to do. Lord Matlock was even kind enough to offer me a choice about going to France. He said he would understand if I thought is was too risky going back." Riquer gave a lopsided smile. "It would have been cowardly of me to refuse, would it not?"
How could he make a joke out of it?
“Being a coward is a better option than being dead in certain circumstances,” she said.
"It must be my gentlemanly upbringing,” he said, with a lazy smile, “but I take offence to being called a coward.”
“I am not—” she started, then caught the look in his eye, “—oh, you are joking.”
“It was always a risk, deciding to stay here,” he remarked, with studied casualness. “If the French attack Founders’ Hall and realize I am fighting with you, they will target me and make certain they eliminate me. If I return to France, they might suspect me of collaboration. So far, as far as I know – and that is, according to my brother – they believe me to be a prisoner being held in the Tower of London. They do not know I have been teaching you or anyone else magic. It seems they still do not have spies inside the Academies, unless, of course, you count me. Let us hope they continue to believe that. It depends on whether theplan the Prince Regent’s people have come up with is convincing enough. Otherwise—." He gave a gallic shrug.
There was a long silence as they both contemplated the possibilities. Elizabeth squirmed uncomfortably. She did not want to think of anything going wrong.
"Besides,” he continued, suddenly. “I have a selfish reason for going back. Napoleon has my younger brother in his clutches. There may be a chance I can rescue him and bring him back here. Or at least take him somewhere out of harm’s way. So, as you see, I am willing enough to go back."
“Well, then,” she said, trying to sound cheerful, “we will just have to hope you will succeed.”
"Of course. And you should stop blaming yourself, Mrs. Darcy. Many things happen that are outside our control." He gave her a lopsided smile. “You must promise that if something unpleasant happens to me, you will not decide it was all your doing.”
“If you phrase it that way, I am happy to promise that much,” she said. “It is not all my doing. But it does not mean I will not feel guilty.”
“In any case,” he said. “I will try to communicate with you as soon as it is safe to do so. And, naturally, the Prince Regent will be waiting for a report from me.” He stood up and brushed down his robe. “But for now, we had better practice some more, to improve your skills. You have come a long way, but we are still not quite where we need to be.”
By Monday, Elizabeth had become reasonably proficient at communicating with Riquer over a long distance, but she still lacked confidence. Accordingly, she sent word to the Prince Regent requesting an extension of one day. The extension wasgranted, with a proviso that she could not postpone it any further.
