25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

T hey had no way of knowing the position of the French mages. After a brief discussion, Miss Bingley decided to set up two sets of Illusions: one was on the beach, and consisted of a rocky landscape dotted with brush, and another a layer of mist that obscured part of the beach. They had to be careful not to block the cannons' view of the sea, in case the French vessels decided to come closer. The soldiers had to be able to mount a defense in case of a land invasion. Elizabeth left Miss Bingley to allow her to concentrate, while Mr. Bennet made his way to Matlock to ensure everyone on the beach was forewarned.

Elizabeth was growing more and more convinced that the French mages were observing them, though try as she may, the tendrils of her magic could not locate anyone. Darcy and Redmond returned with a similar report. Their search for magic signatures had yielded nothing. There was no evidence to prove it.

Elizabeth tried to dismiss it as a trick of her imagination, but the conviction persisted. It was more of an instinctive feeling, a prickling at the nape of her neck, the feeling that if she turned suddenly, she would see someone watching her.

She put out her hand to shade her eyes and looked out to sea, where the masts of the French ships bobbed up and down, waiting in the distance. What if they were being observed from the boats, and some signal was being passed to someone close by – a signal message of some type?

If they can see us, she thought, we can see them too. She went in search of a spyglass to discover whether that was the case.

Captain Laker removed one from his pocket and handed it to her. "Please return it quickly. I will need it."

He showed her how to extend it and then adjust her vision, then left her to it. It took her a few minutes to grow accustomed to using it. Meanwhile, Miss Bingley's first Illusion appeared above them. A dense flat cloud floated above their heads. It was, like all Miss Bingley's Illusions, perfectly executed.

Satisfied that they had one layer of protection from prying eyes, Elizabeth raised the telescope and focused it on one of the ships. There was no one at the helm.

She barely had time to look when something blocked her view. Frowning, she tried to focus the telescope but whatever it was, it was moving quickly. It looked like smoke, only it was too even.

A straight line appeared on the horizon, and the waves began to retreat from the beach. She wasted precious seconds before her mind grasped what she was seeing. She was looking at a giant wall of water moving rapidly towards them. Elizabeth stared at it in horror. Luckily someone shouted something, and it brought her to her senses. If the wall reached them, everyone on the beach would drown.

She turned at once to the Wards and found to her dismay that the wave that had tried to drown her had rammed its way through the Ward and torn it.

"Take shelter!" she shouted, enhancing her voice. "Go to higher ground." People stopped and stared at her. She waved towards the sea. "Quickly," she cried, urgency pitching her voice higher.

She frantically began to weave a Ward against water, reinforcing the Wards that were already there. There was not enough time. Even though it had not yet arrived, she could feel the terrible force of the sea bearing down on them, pushing against the Wards. It terrified her. The barrier had been set up against fireballs, or against mages trying to land, not against such forceful and uniform pressure.

Her warning must have reached them, because Darcy and Redmond came running towards her. They should have listened to her, but she could not spare the breath to argue. She felt the tendrils of Darcy's magic move to join hers. She gave a sob as the burden of keeping the wave of bay was lightened. Moments later, Redmond joined them.

Sweat poured down her brow and into her eyes. Her arms shook with effort, as if she was holding the force of the water back herself. But despite her efforts, the gap would not close. A few more minutes and they could have made it, but already the vast wall of water was bearing down on them.

It was going to breach the Wards. Already the water was finding openings and pushing against them, making them wider.

Then suddenly the wall turned into ice. Elizabeth staggered backwards as the wall expanded.

"Go back," said Lady Alice. "Lord Matlock and I will hold off the water. Keep the other Wards going."

It would do them no good to keep up the other wards if they all drowned. Already Elizabeth could see tiny cracks in the ice.

"We can help."

Lady Alice was too busy trying to hold the block of ice together. Through the bond, Elizabeth managed to hold the cracks together, but she knew it was only a matter of time before it broke.

"We can try to divert the water that comes through the cracks sideways into a stream," said Elizabeth, turning to Darcy and Redmond. "Set up some kind of barrier so it has to go away from the beach."

She could imagine it perfectly. A stream running parallel to the shore, the water gushing into it, then flowing out to the sea.

Darcy nodded briefly, not wasting energy by discussing it.

They threw themselves into weaving a barrier. Elizabeth hardly knew what she was doing. She let the magic form itself, to follow her image.

Elizabeth heard the crack in the ice before she saw it. Water began to trickle through. Lord Matlock put his hands on the ice, as if to pull it together by the sheer force of his will. He emitted a huge flare of magic and the ice fused together. Elizabeth had never seen such strong magic, not even when she Bonded with both Darcy and Redmond.

Lord Matlock screamed and tore his hands away. They were bright red with burns. He staggered backwards and stared at them in confusion.

"Go, Matlock. You can't do anything more. Your magic is used up." said Lady Alice. "I'll try to hold the ice long enough."

Another gap opened, and a plume of water spurted out. Darcy threw Elizabeth to the ground, protecting her with his body. The water continued to spill out, but Lady Alice somehow managed to keep the wall itself intact. Meanwhile, the pouring water encountered the barrier they had made and gushed sideways into Elizabeth's stream.

By now the force of the water was starting to diminish as the sea drew back. If they held on just a little longer, they would be out of danger completely.

Then, abruptly, the whole giant structure collapsed and came crashing down. Lady Alice was buried under the ice. Not for long. A waterfall swept some of the ice away, and with it, Lady Alice. Darcy tried to catch her hand, but with a loud sucking sound, the water picked her up from the beach and into the waves.

"My aunt!" cried Redmond, "I have to save her!"

"Stay back! You can't swim!"

Darcy had no time to think. Lady Alice was still close to shore. He waded towards her, but was swept off his feet by the tug of the water. He was a good swimmer, but the current was brutal, holding onto him and dragging him down every time he managed to surface.

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."

"The mages are saying they must have expended too much effort doing magic over water. Whatever their reasons, I am grateful for it. At least, we have a moment to recuperate and re-organize. Hopefully, when they attack again, we won't be taken by surprise."

Elizabeth snorted. "If there is anything I am sure of, it is that they will find a way to surprise us."

"We can only do our best," said the colonel. "Unfortunately, right now, all the mages are too drained to rebuild our defenses, so I'm just grateful for the reprieve."

A bleak expression crossed his face, but he quickly hid it and put his hand out to her.

"If you have the strength to get up and lean on me, I will take you to Darcy. He is in the fort, recuperating, but at least you will be there when he awakens."

As they walked up to the beach to Dymchurch Redoubt, Elizabeth looked around for the other mages. "Where is everyone?"

"Either wounded or tending to the wounded," said the colonel. "My father was injured when he overused his magic. His hands are badly burnt, and he has lost his ability to do magic."

She was dismayed. "Permanently?"

"It is too soon to know, but he has taken it very much to heart."

A large tent had been set up in the central parade. Beds had been brought down, but mostly the injured were on blankets on the floor. Miss Bingley, who was the only Healer they had, was moving from one patient to another.

As she passed the first bed, Elizabeth looked at the occupant. He had a bandage wrapped around his whole face, including his eyes. It took her a moment to register that it was her father.

"Papa!" Shocked, she sat on the edge of the bed. "Papa, what happened!"

"I was foolish enough to slip and fall, and part of the ice wall fell onto my face," he rasped, his voice sounding like a growl. "I think my nose is broken."

It did not explain why his eyes were covering. He was trying to play down the injury.

"Oh, Papa!" Cautiously, she touched his arm. "Are you in pain?"

"Miss Bingley controlled the pain, and one of the local Healers did the bandaging," he gasped. "She has been working hard."

"Don't try to talk, Papa."

With a quick nod, he turned his head away. "See to the others," he wheezed. "Matlock."

She stood up, trying not to give in to dejection. Colonel Fitzwilliam was leaning against a wall, waiting for her. He pointed at a bed in the far corner.

"Darcy's there, behind that column. Let me know if you need anything."

He bowed and left her to make her way through the wounded.

Darcy awoke with his lungs raw and his throat thick with salt, but his body was pulsating with a strange warmth. Healing magic. He turned his head to find Elizabeth and his cousin Richard standing over him.

"You're awake!" Her hand moved across his brow in a caress, her smile broad. "How are you feeling?"

"Too much salt," he said. "I feel like I've been salted and hung like a ham." He wanted to be light-hearted, but no one laughed.

"It will take some time for the healing to take hold," said Richard, "but you should make a full recovery."

Then he remembered why his mouth was foul with salt water. "And Lady Alice?"

"We did not find her," said Elizabeth. "Redmond is heartbroken."

A lump rose up in Darcy's throat. She had been a difficult person, but he still felt her loss.

Darcy looked around the tent. "Why is everyone here? Why are we not fighting the French? I must return to the beach."

He swung his legs over the side of the bed.

Colonel Fitzwilliam chuckled. "How very typical of you, Darcy, jumping up from your sickbed. Now I am sure you are perfectly recovered, I will leave you to your wife, and she will explain what is going on."

Darcy turned his gaze on Elizabeth, who quickly summarized what had happened.

"Your uncle is injured. So is my father." She indicated the room. "As are many others."

This was a nightmare. An absolute nightmare. Perhaps he should lie back in bed and wake up again to find out it was just a bad dream.

He took a deep breath. "We had better convene everyone and discuss the situation," he said. "The French may attack any moment."

They left Lord Matlock and Mr. Bennet to rest and gathered on the beach with their fellow mages. Darcy was relieved to see that the officers had the situation well in hand. The men were still on full alert, watching for any sign of activity.

Everything was much the same as it was when he left it, except that the sea was perfectly calm now. Miss Bingley's cloud Illusion was still in place, but the rocky coast had been dispersed, possibly because it had not proven useful. The ice that was scattered across the beach was beginning to melt. The enemy ships were still exactly where they were earlier.

Elizabeth took out a spyglass and looked across at them.

"There is no sign of movement," she said.

Darcy did not understand why they did not persist in the attack when it was clear they were winning. They had certainly achieved their objectives. They had inflicted damage, while remaining unreachable. Why, then, had they not landed? The unexpected reprieve did not sit right. There was something else going on, and he needed to get to the bottom of it. They were surely planning something else — something the Royal Mages would, yet again, be unprepared for.

"We have to try and envision their next move," said Darcy. "They cannot keep surprising us with the unexpected. We need to think like them."

"Easy enough to say that," said Colonel Fitzwilliam. "But it's very hard to guess. I've been racking my brain while you were all asleep, and I could not come up with anything."

"You are complicating matters too much, Darcy," said Lady Catherine. "The reason they have not attacked is that they are waiting for the rest of their ships to arrive, and they have been either chased away by the Royal Navy, or caught in the tide. That is the simple explanation."

He was not convinced some of the French vessels were being pursued by naval vessels. The wind had dropped, and without magic on water, the Royal Navy could not fill its sails, unlike the French vessels that were moving of their own volition.

"It is possible, I suppose," said Lord Grayson. "But foolish. If they have the advantage of being able to move their flotilla using magic, why risk being out there when an actual storm might be brewing. They must know they have caused havoc here. Why not press their advantage?"

"That is the crux of the question," said Colonel Fitzwilliam. "Our defenses are in tatters, our mages weak. They should be making the best of it. What could they be doing out there?"

The Royal mages all stared at the ships, as though they could discern their intentions. Elizabeth once again pointed the spyglass towards the ships, then lowered it, confusion and shock written on her face.

"I can no longer see them." Her voice was thin. "They're not there."

The older boatman with the beard pointed a gnarled finger to the sea. "Either my old eyes are deceiving me, or the French boats are gone!" he shouted to the other boatmen.

Everyone turned to gaze out to sea.

"They have slunk away like cowards," cried someone.

"Or they have all sunk! We defeated them!"

Darcy stared out to sea, scarcely believing what his eyes were telling him. How could they all have sunk so quickly?

"Very likely, like our mages, they were simply too exhausted to control the boats anymore," remarked Miss King.

The colonel shook his head. "But how could it have happened to all of them at the exact same moment?"

"What if they received a command to turn back," said Darcy, "and they are using some kind of spell to hide their departure?"

"A Concealment spell," murmured Elizabeth.

Lord Harcourt nodded. "Or the Navy has arrived to chase them away."

Darcy had already discarded that possibility. "There is no wind."

"They could be rowing," said Lady Catherine.

"I have the explanation, but I warn you, you are not going to like it," said Miss Bingley, grimly. "The boats were nothing but an Illusion."

A stunned silence followed.

Darcy felt as if his ribs were being squeezed. He struggled to breathe. His mind sifted through the implications. So, was everything that had happened for nothing? How could that be? Why would the French go through such an elaborate scheme? And why did they call it off when they were clearly winning the battle?

The answer hit him like the blow of a hammer.

"It was a decoy," he said, in increasing horror. "They had no intention of landing here at all. The real ships have gone somewhere else." He turned to Elizabeth. "And it was Riquer who told us to come here. He has betrayed us."