"You would not, Papa," she replied, playfully. "I begged you many times, but you always refused to leave your library. You have always avoided travel whenever possible. You only go to London when you have business, or in order to acquire a book."
Mr. Bennet shrugged. "There is something to be said for the comforts of home." He looked out of the window. "I hope for your sake the weather is sunny when we arrive there. But I doubtit. Clouds are rolling in from the northwest, and the wind is picking up.”
“How do you know?” said Elizabeth, surprised. “Do you have some Arcane ability to predict the direction of the wind?”
“No, merely the powers of deduction.” Mr. Bennet pointed to a weathervane. “And I can tell you from now. There is a storm coming. I doubt you will be able to see much of the sea.”
His words were prophetic. To Elizabeth’s dismay, as they drew closer to the coast, the weather took a turn for the worse. The wind began to gust, shaking the carriage as if in fury. Mr. Bennet set up a protective spell to encompass the carriages and prevent the dampness from seeping inside. She pressed her nose against the window to catch her first glimpse of the sea, but she could barely see anything with the rain lashing at the window. A barrier of gray obscured her view. Vaguely, she caught a glimpse of white froth that she supposed were the crests of the waves.
When they stopped at The Three Kings Inn in Deal to freshen up and change horses, they had to run inside to escape the rain. Their traveling companions were already there, as were Lord Grayson and Lord Harcourt, who bowed and inquired about Jane’s health.
They gathered around a fire, which had been lit for the purpose of drying their wet clothes, exclaiming over the howling storm.
Then Elizabeth heard a voice she had hoped never to hear again. Lady Catherine walked in, followed by another lady who looked wretchedly familiar. Lady Alice Enright.
There was a stunned reaction. Redmond did not know how to react to the sudden appearance of his aunt. He turned red and kept his eyes on the floor.
Lord Matlock was the first to recover. “What are you doing here?”
“I am here to see my nephew,” she said, indicating poor Redmond, who looked as if he wished the floor would swallow him up. “Am I not entitled to see my family? Even a prisoner is allowed visitors.”
Matlock turned to Lady Catherine. “This is your doing! What were you thinking? This woman is wanted for treason.”
“Arrest her!” said Darcy. He remembered only too well his last encounter with her. She could have killed him. He cast a look at Elizabeth, who nodded, ready to do battle.
“You can try,” she said, with a smile full of malice. She turned to Lord Matlock. “I assume you are in charge here. I have come to offer my services.”
“Much as we appreciate the gesture, Darcy is right.” said Lord Matlock, “You have been convicted of treason and I am authorized to arrest you.”
“Hogwash! You can hand me over to be tried after I’ve assisted you in fighting off the enemy. Rumors are that an attack is imminent.” She looked them over. “What is wrong with the Council? Do they really think this bedraggled group can defeat an army of Napoleon’s mages?”
“You want to join us? A traitor? Do you seriously think I will simply allow you to rejoin the Royal Mages after everything you have done?”
“I have never been a traitor to the Kingdom. I disagree with the Royal Mages's policies. That does not make me a traitor.” Her gaze turned towards Mr. Bennet. “Any more than it madehima traitor. If you must accuse anyone, you would have to accuse him.”
She turned back to Darcy. “You have never been a fool. If you fight with me, you may be injured. At the very least, your magic will be drained. Neither of those possibilities are desirable just before facing a battle. There are so few of you as it is, and your chances of success are slim. When Catherine told me what was happening, I decided to join her and to offer my services. I am one of the most powerful mages in the Kingdom. Perhaps the most powerful individually, Lord Matlock. Even better than you are.”
She held up her hand as Elizabeth started to speak. “You do show a great deal of promise, Mrs. Darcy, but you are not my equal, not without your Twin. Perhaps once you have lived as long as I have, you may become as powerful, but it will take time.”
“I was not about to argue that point,” said Elizabeth. “I have no intention of trying to prove who is the greatest mage of them all. What concerns me is that you tried to kill my husband. Do you really think I would trust you to fight next to me? How do I know you will not stab us in the back, when you have already tried to destroy us twice?”
“I had good reasons. I still believe in them.” She did not even pretend to be penitent. “But when it comes to fighting Napoleon, we are on the same side.”
She was certainly convincing, but she had used Persuasion magic on others before. Was this what she was doing?
Lady Alice looked around at everyone in the room. “You need me. You cannot deny it. And if it helps you make up your mind, I will give you my word that I will hand myself in after the battle. You can bind it in magic, if you wish.”
“If you give me your word as a lady,” said Mr. Bennet, unexpectedly, “that is enough for me.”
Darcy shot Bennet an angry look. Bennet had not seen the trouble Lady Alice had caused. He had not been at Netherfield.Was she weaving a spell around him as she had done with Lord Sudbury? She had stolen Sudbury’s magic.
“Very well,” said Lord Matlock. Clearly his uncle was taking a more easy-going approach.
“I disagree completely,” said Darcy. “You are all witnesses to that. It is a risk we cannot afford.”
“Do not allow your pride to come in the way of the Kingdom’s need,” said Lady Alice. “In any case, you cannot stop me. I will simply show up in the midst of battle and then what will you do?”
Darcy seethed, but she was right. There was nothing they could do to stop her. And as much as he hated to admit it, they really did need Lady Alice Enright.
