Page 16 of Triumph at Pemberley

Georgiana straightened to her full height, every inch the great lady her lesser fae called her. “Yes. The High King made me from a lock of your hair. That is why I look like you, because my mortal body is made from yours.”

Lady Anne blanched, and then she shakily sat down on the sofa, as if her strength had fled her. “He promised me I would have a child of my own body.” She gave a weak, hollow laugh. “Are you not a changeling, then? Were you the baby I gave birth to?”

Darcy did not know which option was more frightening. He crossed to pour his mother a glass of wine, not knowing what else to do.

Georgiana shook her head. “The High King has great powers, but even he cannot place an infant in a woman’s womb. I was exchanged for the daughter you bore.”

“Then she lives,” his mother said, as if to herself.

Darcy held his breath, waiting to see if Georgiana offered anything. It was a question he had always avoided asking her, whether she knew what had become of his trueborn sister, the one he worried about late at night.

But Georgiana only said, “I have not heard otherwise. One can but hope she was treated with kindness despite her differences.” It was like a knife-cut, given Lady Anne’s unkindness to her.

His mother raised her eyes to the girl she had rejected so many years ago. “I am sorry you have suffered from my foolishness in bargaining with the High King.”

Georgiana’s calm façade cracked, her hands clenched at her sides. “We are all of us his victims. You and I, your daughter, and even Fitzwilliam. None of us wished for this. But for Fitzwilliam’s sake, I will choose to move forward, instead of looking back.”

Lady Anne nodded slowly. “I will remember your words and try to do better in the future. For all of us.”

It was a truce, but not a resolution, and that was the best Darcy could hope for. Georgiana looked close to losing her composure, so he said, “I thank you both for speaking to each other, even though it was difficult. It is important, since you both want to spend time with little Jenny. Georgiana visits the nursery frequently, and Jenny is always full of smiles for her aunt.” An affection that was shared, since he could see his sister’s countenance brightening at the mere thought of her niece.

“Perhaps I will see you there,” his mother said, though her lips were tight. “I hope to know Jenny better.”

“She is a delightful baby. Now, if you will excuse me, I have some matters to attend to.” Clearly she had reached her limit for this conversation.

Darcy watched her go before turning back to his mother. Lady Anne’s face was buried in her hands. He studied her in silence for a minute before saying, “Do you wish me to leave?”

She lowered her hands. “No,” she said flatly. “At least that is over. I said what was needed. It was a blow, that part about my hair, though. I assumed she was glamoured to look like me.”

“Is this worse?”

His mother looked away, as if suddenly interested in something outside the window. “I told myself I bargained for a child to create another mage for England. The truth was I desperately wanted a baby of my own, one I could love, one I would not have to abandon to keep them safe from my sister. I did not realize the bindings would still stop me from being able to give affection. No matter how much I tried, there was always a distance. Until I was free of the bindings, I thought it was my failing, that I was too cold to care for anyone.”

It was an uncomfortable confession to hear, especially from his mother. If only he could say something soothing and innocuous in reply! But this cut far too close to home. He knew the opposite side, how as a boy he had assumed there was something about him not even his mother could love.

They had both been wrong, but those wounds might be too deep to move past. Elizabeth’s warmth had gone a long way to healing him, though. That was enough to keep him speaking to Lady Anne now, instead of doing everything possible to avoid this conversation. How he wished Elizabeth were here now to help him!

Instead, he had to do his own poor best. “I am sorry Lady Catherine’s cruelty cost you so much.”

She lifted one shoulder slightly, in what might have been a shrug in someone more demonstrative. “Compared to the High King, she was kindness itself. He knows how to twist the knife so exactly, to cause the most pain. To discover now that the changeling is, in a way, related to me – he knew exactly what he was doing. At least my sister had a reason, twisted as it might be, for hurting me. He did it for the sheer pleasure of it.”

So Georgiana was still the changeling to her, not a person in her own right. “She has a name. She has worked hard to overcome her shyness, which is worsened by her terror of the High King. He has been watching her – did you know that? He asked her to betray us, and she would not.”

“Or so she says.”

Anger rose in him. “She says so, and it has been shown to be the truth. He demanded a lock of my hair from her. She dared not refuse completely, so she gave him my father’s hair from her mourning brooch. It saved me from being entrapped by his spell arrow, which was designed only for the person with that hair.”

Her face went ashen. “So he is still targeting us.” Her voice trembled.

“That is why we first raised the wards around Pemberley, to keep him out, along with his High Fae.” He only just restrained himself from telling her about the prophecy. That could wait. She was frightened enough as it was, and there was still one more unpleasant subject to raise. “One other thing; you may see a woman here with a distinct resemblance to my father. Mrs. Sanford is Elizabeth’s midwife and friend, as well as a healer. We all know the truth of the matter, but I would not want her presence to take you by surprise.”

To his shock, his mother’s countenance brightened. “Oh, from your father’s other family?”

He tried to disguise his surprise. “You knew about them?” He had thought her husband’s infidelity would trouble her.

“Of course. I never minded, except when he refused to allow me to assess the children for mage ability. I would like to meet her.”

“And test her? There is no need. Lady Amelia is training Mrs. Sanford, and says she is making good progress.” Actually, she had said it was a pleasure to teach someone who had no bad habits to overcome, but it would hardly be tactful to repeat that to the woman who had trained him in those bad habits.