Something solid smashed into him – fabric sweeping across his face, and he turned and grabbed it, thinking it was Lady Alice. It was just a piece of cloth. Darcy let it go. Frantic, he tried a spell to locate her, but the spell fell flat on the water.
Then he spotted a hand reaching upwards. He swam swiftly towards it.
“Hold onto me,” he said, gripping Lady Alice’s hand.
She clung to him with a powerful will to live. He struggled as the weight of her cloak and long skirts drove him under and entangled him. The water was pulling her away from him. He lost his grip, attempted to catch her clothing, anything, but she was thrown away from him.
He tried to find her again, but the waves welled up, saltwater burning his eyes and preventing him from seeing her. He dove under and held his breath for as long as he could, trying to find her.
The sea pulled him down. He thrashed, trying to surface. Water flooded his nose and lungs. Panic seized him. Was that how it was all to end? Elizabeth’s face floated before him and he was filled with regret. He would never have the joy of living with her as a wife, or of seeing their children at Pemberley.
Elizabeth stared at the place where two bobbing heads had disappeared under the water. There was no time to call for help. By the time any of the boatmen reached them, the two of them would have drowned.
Redmond started moving towards the water. “I can’t just stand here and do nothing!”
She took hold of his arm. He tried to shake her off. “Don’t be an idiot, Redmond,” she said, “Do you want me to have to rescue you?”
Mercifully, he didn’t fight her, just stared out at the water hopelessly.
Was there some magic she could do that was land-based but could reach Darcy? She quickly wove a loose rope, then reached out to Redmond to set up a Bond. Quickly, she used as much magical force as she could to toss the rope to where she had last seen them, hoping they would see it in the water.
It took all her energy to keep it stable, to keep a continuous line from the water to the shore. The dampening effect of the sea leeched her magic, weakening it. She drew more magic from Redmond, but it was not enough.
“Take some of mine,” said Mr. Bennet, appearing at her side.
She did not hesitate. Luckily, they had worked together in a healing circle, so she connected quickly. Even with her father’s aid, it felt as if her magic was being torn from her. Just was she thought it was hopeless, the rope began to glow. Now there was a chance Darcy or Lady Alice would see it.
“Darcy, take the rope,” she shouted, though it was unlikely he would hear her.
Then suddenly there was a tug. Someone had caught it. She had no way of knowing who it was, or even if there was more than one person, especially through the pounding headache that was drilling through her head, but she started to pull it back to the shore. It was heavy and her strength was fading.
Fortunately, she did not have to bring it in a long way. If it had been longer, she could never have done it. As it was, her vision blurred just in time to see someone being dragged up to the beach. There was a shout and some of the soldiers ran to help.
Elizabeth could only hope it was Darcy, because she could not hold on any longer.
Elizabeth awakened with a groan. The sun was burning her face. She could almost hear Mrs. Bennet’s voice chiding her about ruining her complexion. She opened her eyes cautiously. She was still on the beach. Someone had put a blanket under her and covered her with another. Why was she lying here? Had she been hit by a fireball? Everything hurt.
Then the memories came tumbling back, and with it the image of Darcy’s head going underwater. Darcy! She scrambled to sit up, ignoring the way the world tilted as she sat up.
“Easy,” said Colonel Fitzwilliam. “Take your time. I am glad to see you have returned to us. Thank heavens! I was worried.”
There was only one thought on her mind. “Darcy?”
“He is safe. Redmond as well.”
Redmond. She felt horrible that she had thought of Darcy, not of Redmond or Lady Alice.
“Lady Alice?”
The colonel shook his head. “No sign of her yet, but she has the habit of turning up like a bad penny.”
Elizabeth looked around her for the first time. Many people were sitting on the shingle. There were sounds of moaning and pain, with officers giving orders to groups of soldiers who were tending to the wounded. They were being placed in wicker stretchers and taken up to the castle.
“What happened to the French?”
“We don’t know,” he said, tightly. “They have paused their attacks for the moment.”
“Why would they do that? They were winning.”
