Page 17 of Triumph at Pemberley

His mother’s face cleared. “Ah, excellent. In that case, there may already be repulsion between this Mrs. Sanford and me.”

For once, repulsion could work in his favor. Lady Anne would almost certainly say something to upset his prickly half-sister otherwise. “I am glad her presence will not be a painful reminder to you.”

She shrugged. “I never knew your father, except for those brief, drugged moments we came together to attempt to conceive mages. Why would I want him to be lonely the rest of his life? Our only real disagreement was when he insisted on hiding his second family from me. He was against allowing commoners to learn magic, even his own baseborn children. Even that we had to argue about in letters, since it was too physically painful to be in his presence.”

He ought to have expected as much; his own brief mage marriage had been almost completely forgettable because he had never spent any time with Anne de Bourgh. It was still a shock to hear, though. “I am glad it will not distress you to see her. But enough of this; would you like to come up to the nursery to see Jenny?”

“That would be lovely.”

And then he was going to find Elizabeth, even if she was at the far end of the estate. He needed to be in her company.

The following day, Elizabeth sought out Darcy on her return from the Dower House. Since she had been away training with Cerridwen when Lady Anne arrived, she had made a point of calling on her mother-in-law that morning to welcome her.

And she had discovered an unpleasant surprise.

“I did not know your mother had a ward.” Elizabeth tried to make it sound like a question. She could see no reason William would keep it a secret from her, but she was still sensitive to the Fitzwilliams hiding their past from her.

“A ward? Not that I know of.”

That was odd. “When I called on your mother, I happened to see a girl in the garden. Your mother said she was Miss Brown, her ward, but she did not offer to let me meet her.” It had hurt Elizabeth’s feelings a little, since she had hoped they would be on better terms now. “I said she should bring her next time she dined with us, and she very graciously told me that would not be appropriate.” Which in turn had made her feel gauche. The girl looked to be sixteen or so, certainly old enough to attend a family dinner in the country, even if she was not yet out.

Darcy frowned. “She has said nothing of this to me. Why would she keep it a secret?” Then his brow cleared. “But I can guess at her reason. I suspect Miss Brown is the illegitimate daughter of someone with mage blood, and Lady Anne is trying to train her to use her Talent. She has always been desperate to find new mages.”

“I know that well,” Elizabeth said ruefully. “My entire family learned it the hard way.” Two of her younger sisters seemed happy enough to be learning to use their powers, but Lady Anne had given their family little choice.

“Being on the wrong side of the blanket would explain why she is keeping her isolated from us. My mother is conscious of social class.”

“Poor girl! As if it is her fault her parents did not marry. And she must know we would not care, since you told her Mrs. Sanford is here frequently.” Lady Anne’s behavior often mystified Elizabeth.

“She took that news remarkably well,” Darcy said. “But she and my father were barely even acquaintances. I was so fortunate to find you, my dearest Elizabeth, a mage with no repulsion to me. A true marriage like this was once beyond my wildest dreams.” He pulled her into an embrace.

She melted into his arms.

Chapter 7

Jack insisted on returning to Darcy House the next day. He had stayed at Windsor Castle after Roderick awoke his bond, but strange and unpleasant dreams had haunted him, full of mage power and images he did not understand. Now he wanted quiet and a good night’s sleep. He was not certain Darcy House would be far enough from the center of his Bond at Windsor, but it was something.

And it was good to be alone. The king kept wanting to talk to him, poor lonely old man, and everyone else kept giving him odd looks as if wondering what would explode from him next, uncertain whether he would be the savior of Britain or attempt to seize the throne for himself.

As if he would want to be King! Imprisoned in palaces, unable to do anything on impulse, always talking about politics and boring things. King George was welcome to it, and Prinny and Princess Charlotte after him.

The butler came into the drawing room where he had settled himself. “Sir, there is a woman here to see you. She claims to have known you in France.”

In France? The only women he had known there were servants in the Nest and a few dragon companions. Had one of them had also managed to flee? That would be good news. “Show her in.”

But the caller proved to be a stranger, an attractive dark-haired woman about his age. Her dress was of an elegant continental cut, but it showed signs of wear. She smiled warmly as she came in, but then her expression faded into confusion. “Pardon me, sir. I am looking for Mr. Darcy.” Her light accent was Germanic, not French.

He stood, as was only appropriate. “I am he.”

She paled a little. “You are not the man I knew in France. He said he was Mr. Darcy of Pemberley, but perhaps he dared not give me his true name.” The idea seemed to distress her, and for some reason Jack wanted to see her smile again.

“I believe you may have met my brother, Fitzwilliam Darcy.” If Will could truly be said to be his brother. “We were both in France last year.”

A crease appeared between her elegant brows. “The one I met had a sister, but he said his only brother was dead.”

“Then it was definitely Will, for he thought I had died in battle. Pray, will you sit down? I fear it has come as a shock to you to meet the wrong Mr. Darcy.”

She sank down slowly into the chair he indicated. “I have come a long way because he offered me refuge here,” she said slowly. “I have been depending upon his kindness.”