“I may be one-eyed,” he said, “but I can still ride in a carriage. The Rochester Healers told me I am in the best of health, apartfrom my eye and nose, of course, and Bingley put me in a carriage, so here I am. Put me to work.”
Elizabeth swallowed down the lump in her throat. “I am happy to see you, Papa. Your task is simple. Bring the balloons down.”
It was a never-ending process, but they soon fell into a rhythm. One by one, Mary pointed out a balloon, Miss Bingley revealed it, and it was taken down. By now, many mages had come to join them, and soon Miss Bingley was given a reprieve as other Illusion mages lent their assistance.
Elizabeth looked around at the gathering of mages. It warmed her heart to see them all gathered here, all working together. Even the crowd was part of it. With the hope of a reward, they were eagerly capturing the French mages alive and taking them to the Tower of London, where they could be safely enclosed and their magic dampened.
They took down around two hundred balloons. According to Mary, there were about two dozen more, but they fled in the direction of France before being revealed.
It was the one flaw in Napoleon’s clever plan. He had not counted on anyone being able to see the balloons, and that, in the end, was his downfall.
Chapter 30
It is a truth universally acknowledged that, after a victory, there must be a wedding. On this particular occasion, there were two. The weddings were the talk of the town, and anyone who was anyone hoped to receive an invitation to them. This was partly because it was a chance to rub shoulders with the heroes – and heroines – of what was now being called The Battle of the Balloons. It was also partly because everyone was curious to see the changes the Prince Regent had made to his accommodation at Buckingham House, particularly the triumphal arch that the prince had commissioned to celebrate his victory over Napoleon.
It had all started when the Prince Regent heard that Colonel Fitzwilliam had taken out a special license to marry Anne de Bourgh, since Lady Catherine was opposed to the marriage. The Prince Regent had immediately rejected the idea of a hasty wedding and insisted that someone who had saved the prince’s life could not be allowed to marry in haste or in secret.
“We will host your wedding,” he said, using the Royal ‘we’. “We will not hear otherwise.” Then, becoming less formal, hecontinued. “It was you who dug me out before the building collapsed, and not a moment too soon. I owe you an enormous debt of gratitude. A wedding breakfast is nothing to me. You deserve far, far more. In fact, I already have an estate in my sights for you. It is old, but I will send John Nash to do his architectural magic on it. That way, you can choose whether to live on your new estate, or at Rosings Park.”
On hearing that Elizabeth’s sister was engaged to marry Mr. Bingley, he immediately extended the offer.
“We will make it a double wedding. It will be an excellent way of introducing the Bennet family to Society, though of course Mr. Bennet is already known to us.”
Jane and Bingley’s natural modesty had shied away from having such a public event, but the Prince Regent would not take no for an answer. Nothing was too much for Elizabeth’s sister, and the Prince insisted on it as a way to repay Darcy and Elizabeth for saving his life.
“It is the least I could do. You already have a large estate, Darcy, so I will not offer you another. I am, however, prepared to grant you a knighthood. That would mean you, too, Mrs. Darcy, would benefit from the title. And I will provide a dowry for each of your unmarried sisters.”
It was all very overwhelming. Elizabeth was delighted, of course, but she would have been happy with a simple recognition of her role, and having her name carved into the wall at Founder’s Hall. Instead, she was suddenly thrown headlong into participating in planning a wedding, which mostly involved trying to prevent Mrs. Bennet from causing everyone embarrassment.
One of the benefits of being involved in the double wedding was that she had the opportunity to become closer to Anne, whose company both Jane and Elizabeth enjoyed. To her uttersurprise, Anne proved instrumental in preventing some of Mrs. Bennet’s excesses.
“I am accustomed to dealing with Mama’s excessive interference, Elizabeth. I am quite capable of dealing with Mrs. Bennet’s. The two are quite similar, wouldn’t you agree?”
Elizabeth did not quite see the resemblance, but she was content to give Anne free reign. Mrs. Bennet was too intimidated by Lady Catherine’s imperious manners to make trouble for Anne, but Jane blushed frequently when Mrs. Bennet spoke to her in a loud whisper that everyone could hear.
As for Lady Catherine, one look at Mrs. Bennet had confirmed her worst fears that Darcy had married someone who was his inferior. Consequently, she continued to tell anyone who would listen that Darcy would have done much better if he had married Anne.
All the invited wedding guests had arrived at Buckingham House, except for the Prince Regent himself. People were mulling around and standing in groups, awaiting the prince’s arrival for the breakfast to commence.
Elizabeth drifted from group to group, chatting and smiling, before going to sit next to her father on a sofa.
“How are you doing, Papa?”
“My eyesight is improving daily, though it will never be the same. Still, as long as I am able to read with one eye, then I cannot complain. Besides, I like looking like a pirate.” He indicated the black patch he wore over his right eye.
“I am glad you are improving. And I am delighted Jane’s health has been fully restored. I supposed she would be left with a limp, but the Rochester Healers deserve their excellentreputation.” Elizabeth gave a contented sigh. ”And she looks so joyful.”
“I am glad your sister is having her chance at happiness, and she has been able to choose her own husband. As mages, we do not always have that choice. You did not. Neither did I.”
Elizabeth looked at him in surprise. “You did not choose to marry Mama?” It made no sense. Fanny Gardiner had no magic Talent – unless there was some information Elizabeth was not privy to.
“I did, and I didn’t,” he said, “just not the way you think.”
It was another of her father’s cryptic utterances. “What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said.”
“You cannot throw me a tidbit, Papa, then sound vague and hope I forget. For once, can you give me a straight answer to a question?”
