The grim turn of Darcy’s mouth revealed that he had been considering this possibility. “I was about to wake you up to ask if you could sense anything. I cannot, neither can your father, but I wanted another opinion.”
Fully alert now, Elizabeth carefully probed with her magic, doing her best to be inconspicuous.
“I cannot detect anything unusual,” she said. “There is no sense of concealed magic.”
“Perhaps we should offer our help,” said Bingley. “Then we can be on our way a bit faster. I would like to arrive at the inn in Maidstone before the young ladies.”
Elizabeth smiled inwardly at his obvious eagerness to see Jane.
“Do you think it is safe to use magic?” said Mr. Bennet.
Darcy shrugged. “It cannot be more unsafe than being stuck here in the carriage. We are like sitting ducks. I will go. I can use a weak Elemental magic spell fromThe Compendiumthat any mage could do.”
“I can help, in that case,” said Elizabeth, readily. “I know all the standardCompendiumspells.”
It was a standing joke between them. When Elizabeth had first arrived at the Academy, she did not know any spells fromTheCompendium,and he had looked down on her for that reason. Now she had memorized every single one of them, she looked for every opportunity to rub it in his face.
He grinned back as he opened the door. “Under any other circumstances, I would have said yes, but I would rather you did not. The powerful magic we would use together may draw unwanted attention. Leave it to me. Besides, there is still a possibility that it is a ruse by some highwaymen. It would be better if you could keep an eye out for unusual magic signatures and prepare to set up Wards quickly.”
Elizabeth huffed but settled back into her seat.
"I could assist," said Mr. Bennet. “You had better not go alone. We do not know what to expect.”
Hesitating, Darcy considered the possibilities. If by any chance it was a physical ambush, having Mr. Bennet with him might be useful. Bingley could stay with Elizabeth to assist her in case of trouble.
He nodded. “As long as we are careful not to draw too much attention. There is still a possibility – however remote – that we have been followed.”
As he walked down the queue of conveyances blocking the road, he compared it to one of society’s London events during the Season. The difference was, in London, there were other roads they could take to avoid the crush. Here, there was only one road, and no other way to go. In addition, there were trees on both sides, which made it a perfect spot for an ambush.
Darcy soon dismissed the idea. It was obviously market day. As well as carriages and carts, there were sheep, hogs and horses, with their owners trying to squeeze them through any gap they could find. As he overheard snippets of conversation, it quickly became clear what the problem was.
“—I have never seen anything like it. Trees and tree branches everywhere—”
“—found my wagon on its side this morning—”
“—wind howling all night. Couldn’t sleep a wink—”
“It seems there has been a bad storm,” he remarked.
“A good thing we did not set off yesterday.” Mr. Bennet looked amused, as usual. Did he ever take anything seriously?
“Yes, but it looks like we will have to deal with the after-effects.”
It took some time for them to reach the source of the blockage in the road. A grand oak tree, its trunk as thick as a wagon wheel, had fallen across the road. Several men were taking turns to swing at it with axes to break it up and make it easier to remove. Darcy took stock of the situation. The men were strong, and they were working quickly. They had already made some progress,but at this rate it would perhaps be hours before they were able to remove the whole thing.
It was something that could easily be fixed with magic.
He strolled over to where the man in charge, a gentleman farmer by the look of his clothes, was giving orders.
“My good man, allow me to see to it.”
He turned to Darcy in surprise, looking him over in disbelief.
“You wish to take charge, sir? You think we should be quicker? I assure you, these men are working as hard as they can. No one here wants to be stuck on the road. Everyone’s livelihood depends on getting their animals and other purchases home safely and before it rains.”
He pointed to a woman in an apron and hand driven cart with baked pies and buns who was trying to push her way past the fallen tree trunk. “Do you think she wants to delay and have all her pies ruined?”
Darcy realized he had riled up the gentleman unintentionally. “I don’t doubt that. We are not here to complain, we are here to lend a hand. I am sure everyone will be happy if we clear the log much faster. We have other means of lifting it off the road.”
