“Worrying? Not really. I am glad that the Prince Regent is taking more interest in what is happening at the Royal Academy, and Riquer has been working hard to train Elizabeth.” Heexamined Darcy closely. “You really have taken an unreasonable dislike to him, haven’t you?”
Darcy combed his hair with his fingers. How had he become the villain in this story?
“It is not unreasonable. I have good reasons.” He could not talk about it here, in the middle of the Great Hall.
Bingley shook his head and chuckled. “Riquer is a good sort. I think you are simply jealous that he is a good friend of your wife.”
Not that again. “This is no laughing matter,” he said angrily. “I tell you we may have a traitor in our midst, and you think the appropriate response is laughter?”
At this, Bingley started to laugh even harder.
Darcy checked himself as he was about to ask Bingley if he was touched in the head. Given that Bingley had been under an enchantment that had affected his ability to function, it would have been a seriousfaux pas. Then he remembered that it was Riquer who had freed Bingley from the dreadful spell, and that his friend was indebted to the former French mage for healing him.
As far as Bingley was concerned, Riquer could do no wrong.
Darcy sighed. He was letting his frustration get the better of him. "Never mind. I am sorry I brought it up."
But Bingley was not paying any attention to him. His gaze was fixed on the doorway, where Elizabeth's sister Jane was entering with Mary. Jane hesitated, looking around the room, and her gaze fell on Bingley. The transformation was immediate. Her face lit up and she smiled shyly, then started moving towards them.
"So that is the way the wind blows," he said, softly.
"What wind? Oh." Bingley turned red. "No. Not at all."
"But you already proposed to Miss Bennet. You cannot deny it."
"That was — different. It was the honorable thing to do at the time. I believed her reputation was at risk. And may I remind you, she turned me down."
"You should try again. She may be more receptive to the idea."
"Hush," Bingley whispered, as Jane drew closer. "Do not embarrass me more than I have already embarrassed myself."
Darcy noticed the deep blush on Jane's face and her shy hesitation as she approached Bingley. Her eyes were cast down. He shook his head inwardly at Bingley's blindness. If only the fool would realize that she was in love with him and get on with it!
Not that his situation was any better.Love makes fools of us all.
Elizabeth returned to her room exhausted. It had taken a tremendous effort not to yawn in the presence of the Regent. Somehow, she had managed it, but right now, all she wanted to do was drop into bed.
“I think I will just sleep in my robe,” she said when Emily came to help her undress. “If you will just help me undo these tresses.” They had been done up very tightly and were pulling at her skin, giving her a headache.
Emily looked horrified. “Surely you do not intend to sleep in your formal robes? They will be all crumpled.”
Which meant the staff would have to deal with the consequences. Elizabeth did not want to give them extra work. Already the Prince Regent’s presence was putting a great strain on everyone. Darcy was one of the people impacted. He would be up all night keeping watch on the Wards.
It was a small sacrifice to undress before she slept. “I suppose not. It is just that dining with the Prince Regent has left me drained.”
“But it is such a great honor! How did it go?”
“In the past, I have thought him charming, with good conversation. But today was not a social occasion. His Royal Highness was only interested in what we could accomplish using Mirror magic. He kept asking questions and making suggestions. He is expecting too much. I am being pressed to do the impossible.”
She should not be talking this way about the Prince Regent, but she was so weary, she did not know what she was doing any more. She felt like bursting into tears. "I cannot help feeling I will fall short. I will be a disappointment."
Emily clucked. “Now, now! Have you forgotten have far you have come already? How could you be a disappointment? And to think, when you first came here, I felt sorry for you.”
“You were my only friend then,” said Elizabeth, smiling. “Thank you for everything you did for me. You could have snubbed me like everyone else. I was very grateful for your loyalty.”
Emily preened. “Well, I am glad for it too, because now I can boast that I am the lady’s maid of the most powerful mage in the Kingdom!” They laughed together. “I crept into the hall to catch a glimpse of the prince, you know, and then I watched you doing what you do with the mirror. I was all agog. I've never seen anything like it, and I've been around mages all my life."
“That’s because it’s a new type of magic,” smiled Elizabeth.
