“I will not stand for it,” said Darcy. “Come, Elizabeth. We will have a tray brought to my room.”
Lord Matlock took one look at Darcy’s tempestuous expression and addressed the elephant in the room.
“It looks like your servants have made a mistake, Catherine. They have muddled the seating arrangements.”
“My servants,” she said emphatically, “never make mistakes under my supervision. It was I who requested it.”
Lord Matlock gave a deep sigh. “Your peevish attitude, Catherine, is quite absurd. You are punishing your nephew because he did not marry Anne, and you are punishing Mrs.Darcy because she agreed to marry him. However, that is not what happened. I will testify that Elizabeth Bennet was unwilling to marry your nephew. She even asked for an annulment and went home. Both she and Darcy were forced into this marriage by the Council, I am sorry to say. They did their duty because they were required to, nothing more. You cannot blame them for something they themselves resisted.”
Lady Catherine glared at everyone. “Not only was my daughter wronged and the sanctity of my home invaded, but now I am to be lectured by my own brother! I will not tolerate it.”
She started to rise from her chair, but Matlock put his hand on her arm. “Catherine, this is your chance to make peace with your nephew. He has not done anything wrong. It will reflect ill on you if you continue this senseless quarrel. And if you leave, I will miss the chance to have dinner with my favorite sister.”
“I am your only sister,” she replied, in a quelling tone, but she sat down. “Very well, I will stay, but only because you are my brother, and I rarely see you.” She looked down the table at the Darcys. “They may stay, but I will not put my servants through the trouble of rearranging the whole table for their sake. If you are still here tomorrow, we shall see.”
“Thank you, Catherine,” said Lord Matlock, “I commend your generous spirit.”
Mr. Bennet hid a smile with his table napkin and looked at Elizabeth, his eyes brimming with laughter.
It took Elizabeth all her self-control not to laugh, and it was only because she did not want to hurt Darcy.
When the table cover had been removed, Elizabeth went outside, leaving the gentleman to their after-dinner port and theirdiscussion of the scraps of news they had received from the telegraph tower. She went to fetch her mirror and went outside. Maybe tonight, she would hear from Riquer. By now he should undoubtedly have arrived at his destination, if all had gone well.
As she stepped out of Rosings, she carefully cast out a faint thread of magic to make sure there was no one lurking around. The countryside was peaceful. Nothing unusual stirred. She recognized the magic signatures of the two lesser mages who were working with Colonel Fitzwilliam to stand guard around Rosings and to pass on messages. They would raise the alarm if there was anything wrong.
She considered asking someone to fetch a chair she could sit on, but that would involve the servants, and she did not know if they would be receptive. She would ask Darcy to arrange for one tomorrow.
The night was a pleasant one, with a bite in the air that spoke of autumn. There was a freshness to the scent of rain and earth that she welcomed. She walked a short distance along the road, holding her candle high, and treading carefully. It was good to be outside.
After a while, it grew cooler. Holding the mirror ready in her hand, she found a low wall settled down to wait. Two hours was a long time. She could be spending time with her sister, or Darcy, or be in her bed, sleeping.
Not for the first time, she questioned whether Mirror magic had any useful purpose. The Prince Regent had such high expectations of it, but it had so many limitations. The relay towers were far more practical. They could be manned at all hours, and anyone could be taught to interpret the messages.
With Mirror magic, everything was more complicated. You needed two people to have their mirrors available at the right time. Then there was the fact that they had to wait outdoors. Apart from the vagaries of the weather, there was the fearof exposure or attack. For a young lady like her it felt uncomfortable to be sitting in the dark, out in the open, when anyone could attack.
And it was definitely easier for Riquer, who did not have to wait at all. He could choose a time that was convenient for him. She chided herself at the uncharitable thought. It was not exactly convenient to put oneself in danger to send a message.
She stared at her image reflected in the mirror.Where are you, Riquer? Are you still alive?
She was startled when a voice broke into her thoughts. "Are you admiring yourself, Lizzy?” said Mr. Bennet. “I would strongly suggest you wait until daylight. Moonlight can distort your features."
She had to laugh. "Papa, there is no moonlight. And you know exactly why I am out here. What about you? No brandy and cigars?”
“I may be a lackluster father, Lizzy, but I am not so heartless as to be drinking with the gentlemen while my daughter is fighting for her life. You have not yet heard from Riquer, I assume."
"Not yet," she replied, trying hard not to let her anxiety show, but her voice quivered.
He nodded. "Remember that they will be keeping a close eye on him. He will need to prove he is worthy of their trust before they allow him any freedom."
"What if they have executed him?"
"They would be foolish to do so. According to Riquer, his magic is unusual even in the large pool available on the Continent, which was why they resorted to blackmail so they could force him to work for them. And now his brother Luis has also been recruited by threatening that if he did not join the Imperial Mages, they would kill his mother. Apparently, she is being held hostage by a distant relative who is assisting the French.”
Elizabeth already knew the French had blackmailed Riquer, but she did not know about his brother. She was surprised he had talked to Papa about it.
“Do you trust him?” she asked.
“I do trust him,” replied Mr. Bennet, readily. “I will be sorely disappointed if I am proven wrong.”
