“No Healers yet?” she asked as she dried her face.
“Sadly not. I do not know if it is because everyone dislikes my aunt, or if it is simply bad luck.”
“Well, then,” said Elizabeth. “I suppose we have to do it.”
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“As ready as I will ever be.”
He had never seen Elizabeth so tense. She had always been even-headed, no matter what the circumstances, but now, it was clear she was terrified.
He took her hand and held it, trying to give her some encouragement. Her hand was ice-cold. He rubbed it between his own, trying to warm her.
“What if something were to happen to her?” she whispered.
“You must not think about what could happen. You have to anchor yourself, or your magic will not work. Let me cast a Calming spell. Perhaps you can draw on some of my magic to calm your thoughts.”
She gave him a sharp look. “I don’t think—”
The uncertainty in her eyes, in her whole body, was obvious. She was not capable of pretense, of dissembling, and he felt a wave of tenderness towards her. He wanted to take care of her, to shield her from harm, but she was in the middle of everything, and there was no chance at all he could do that. All he could do was give her strength and support her magic.
“My love, I want to help. You do not have to do everything alone, you know,” he said gently. “I’ll be careful. I won’t use too much magic.”
She nodded. “You’re right. I do need a Calming spell. I am too agitated to bring the Circle together.”
He closed his eyes and murmured the words of the spell, extending it to Elizabeth. At first nothing happened, then a calm sense of peace overtook him. He opened his eyes to see if Elizabeth was experiencing the same effect.
“Better?”
Her smile said it all. “Yes.”
He held the spell briefly, then let it go, satisfied that Elizabeth was calmer.
“Shall we go?”
“We shall.” She slipped her hand under his elbow. “Thank you. I feel much better now.”
Not long later, Darcy had reason to be proud of his intervention, when Elizabeth’s plan proved to be a success. With the aid of Elizabeth and Bingley who held the Circle together and the proficiency of the two Healers, Darcy and Mr. Bennet were able to extract the piece of branch embedded in Jane’s leg. Miss Bingley and Anne could not repair the underlying damage, but they were able to patch up the wound. It was by no means perfect. It would take the work of much more experienced Healers to enable Jane to heal, but it was a step to preventing the wound from festering until help arrived.
Their sense of elation was quickly followed by exhaustion, so that even Bingley was obliged to surrender his place by Jane’s side to rest.
When Elizabeth woke up, she was seized with a sense of panic as she realized that, with all her thoughts focused on Jane, she had completely neglected something essential: Riquer’s communication.
A sick feeling took hold inside of her. What if Riquer had tried to send a message through the mirror, and she had missed it? Her feeling of dismay intensified when she went in search of Darcy, only to discover that at some point in the afternoon, Lord Matlock had arrived. He was in intense conversation with Darcy, Mr. Bennet, and Colonel Fitzwilliam as she entered the parlor, but he stopped at once when he saw her.
“Ah, Elizabeth! Just who I was hoping to see! What news of Riquer?”
There was of course no news of Riquer, since she had not even gone outside the mansion since she arrived.
“No news,” she said, briefly, looking away, consumed by guilt.
“Well, perhaps he has not had a chance yet to discover anything.”
“Perhaps,” she said, and escaped as quickly as she could before he asked her more questions.
With Lord Matlock now at Rosings, Lady Catherine was obliged to provide a proper dinner which everyone was obliged to attend. It began with a great deal of awkwardness, particularly since Elizabeth, Darcy and Mr. Bennet were deliberately slighted by being seated at the bottom end of the table. It seemed Lady Catherine was determined to make a point of it, even though Darcy had tried to reason with her more than once.
Darcy was incensed, but Mr. Bennet thought it was a huge joke. “This is the best seat in the house,” said Mr. Bennet. “I can derive my amusement from observing everyone without being obliged to speak to them.”
