“I wanted to tell you how wonderful you were,” he murmured. "But you were surrounded by admirers."
Elizabeth chuckled softly. "Little boys and little girls who are fascinated by an unfamiliar magic."
“What you did was already a huge accomplishment in itself. You should not be modest.”
“Not really. I am as willing as the next person to boast of my accomplishments. In this case, unfortunately, I fell short of what I had wished to achieve. But I have promised myself that next time I will meet my goals.”
“Are you certain you are not pushing yourself too hard?”
She sighed. “Do I have any choice?”
The words suddenly took on a meaning of their own. Darcy realized it had always been like this. She had not chosen to marry him, either.
His earlier frustration returned. They were at the beck and call of forces outside themselves. Did any of them have any choice about anything? Sometimes he felt like their lives were not their own.
“There will come a time when we will have to make choices,” he said, his voice deepening with feeling.
She gave him a questioning look. “What does that mean? Do you have something in mind?”
He did not know what he meant, only that things could not go on this way.
“Not yet,” he said, “but I will think of something.”
Just then a footman approached and handed Elizabeth a note. She opened it and sent Darcy a look of apology.
“What is it?"
“The Prince Regent wishes me to sit with him. And he wants me to join him for dinner."
Darcy wanted to object, to tell her to stay, but how could he? The knots in his belly returned twofold. He had hoped they could dine privately in his bedchamber for once.
“Well, then. You must obey his request.”
“Will I see you later?”
Darcy shook his head. “You have been asked to dine with the Prince, and after dinner, I will be on duty maintaining the Wards with Redmond. The Prince Regent’s presence puts us all in danger.”
Elizabeth sighed. “Tomorrow, then. I have missed you.”
“I have missed you too, my love.”
He watched Elizabeth as she went up to the dais and curtsied to the Prince Regent before she sat on a velvet-lined chair. He was pleased that she had won the Regent’s favor, but it was a double-edged sword.
Then Riquer joined her, and the knot became a tangle that was choking the life out of him.
Chapter 3
Later in the evening, when Darcy entered the Great Hall again, he was surprised how quickly it had been transformed back to its regular function as a dining hall. He spotted Bingley sitting alone at a table, and went over to him.
"Darcy! I did not expect to see you here. I thought you would be dining with the prince."
It was a sore point, and Darcy did not want to talk about it. He changed the subject, back to something hedidwant to discuss.
"Have you by any chance noticed anything suspicious about Riquer in the last few days?"
"Riquer? No, nothing out of the way. Why?"
“Do you see how close Riquer has grown to the Prince Regent? Do you not think it worrying that he has wormed his way into such a position when, not too long ago, he was an enemy?
