6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

T he next morning, Elizabeth entered the dining hall for breakfast. It had been a long time since she had the luxury of sitting down for her first meal of the day. It was a rare treat to have time to herself, even if it had not been intentional. If only she could enjoy it! After a night of intense turmoil, she had woken up to discover she had missed both her training with Darcy and the first morning session with Riquer.

She regretted neither. For now, she would not be able to concentrate, and trying to do magic would only exhaust her further.

Besides, she still had to face Riquer and tell him about the Prince Regent's intentions and her role in the Prince's decision. Granted, as Darcy had told her, the prince's mind was probably already made up even before she arrived, but she could not be sure. If it was really the case, why had the Regent asked them to come all the way to Carlton House, just to ask her that question?

She was still gripped by an intense feeling of guilt. And she was still upset at Darcy. She needed to sort out her thoughts before she saw him again. Perhaps after she had spoken to Riquer, she would be better equipped to deal with her husband. The sense of dread coiling in the pit of her stomach made her sick, and the food she had started to eat felt like a rock inside her.

She was about to push her plate away and leave when her sister approached, carrying her food.

"What are you doing here, Lizzy? Are you unwell? You look pale."

Jane was a welcome interruption to her unpleasant thoughts.

"I missed practice this morning."

"You did? And the skies have not fallen. The earth has not started to shake. And we do not have tempests and floods." Jane smiled gently. "It is not the end of the world. You are entitled to do so once in a while, you know, Lizzy. If only for the chance for the two of us to spend time together."

Another feeling of guilt replaced her guilt over Riquer.

"I am truly sorry, Jane. I have been neglecting you terribly," said Elizabeth.

"You have nothing to be sorry about. I know you have too many demands on your time." She smiled. "Though it would be nice to see you more often. I never thought I would say this, but I miss the days when you were treated like a pariah. At least we were able to spend time together."

Elizabeth could not help laughing. "I do not miss those days. I was very miserable. And I prefer Mr. Bingley as he is now, in full command of his senses."

Jane blushed prettily at the mention of Bingley's name. "So do I."

Elizabeth wondered yet again what it would take to bring the two together. She did not want to interfere, but things could not continue as they were.

"Do you regret turning Mr. Bingley down?"

If Jane was taken aback by the question, she did not show it. Perhaps she welcomed the chance to talk about it.

"Not at all. It was the only thing I could have done. I did not want him to marry me out of a sense of gratitude that I had helped him recover from his illness."

"You know that is not the case. He really cares for you. You should put the poor gentleman out of his misery. Just go to him and tell him you have changed your mind."

"Lizzy!" said Jane, pink with embarrassment. "Lower your voice. You are embarrassing me."

"You know I'm right."

"I do not," said Jane, giving Elizabeth a little punch in the shoulder.

"You do know it," insisted Elizabeth, returning the punch.

As they used to do when they were girls, they shoved each other, giggling as they did so. It was so nice to be carefree for once.

"Oh, I have missed you, Jane. My life has become altogether too serious."

"What are you laughing about?" said Mary, approaching them. "You sound like Lydia and Kitty."

Elizabeth did not want to make Jane uncomfortable by mentioning Mr. Bingley to Mary, so she reverted to their earlier exchange. "Jane wishes people snubbed me so that I could spend more time with her."

"Lizzy! That is not what I said!" Jane voiced her objection with a laugh.

Mary looked from one to the other. "That is not very kind, Jane. Poor Lizzy cannot help it that she is in demand. She is working so hard."

"I know," said Jane. "But I mean it, Lizzy, I do think the Prince Regent is pushing you too hard."

Elizabeth could not deny it. She had very little time to spend with anyone these days, including Darcy, but the Prince Regent had impressed upon her that it was crucial to develop a way to use mirrors that could help in the war. Sometimes she wished Riquer had never been captured. Her life before his arrival was far from perfect, but it was much less demanding than the present.

"There is no point telling Elizabeth what she already knows. She has to do whatever the Prince Regent commands. She cannot disobey his orders. Just as at the beginning Elizabeth did not want to marry Mr. Darcy. She had to do it, like it or not."

"True," said Elizabeth with a smile. "You are very fortunate, Mary. You can do whatever you choose. Are you enjoying your research?"

"I am, but it can also be difficult. Sometimes, I wade for hours through old illegible manuscripts copied by monks, only to find there is nothing relevant in them. Still, I must be methodical, otherwise I might miss something important. But I have found some new information. I have discovered there once was a category of mages called Disillusion Mages, but they were believed to have died out."

Elizabeth was gripped by excitement. Could Mary possess a long-lost magical Talent? How wonderful that would be!

"So did the Disillusion Mages have similar abilities to yours, then?"

Mary considered the question gravely. "Not exactly. From what I could tell – and I'm still at an early stage in my studies – Disillusion Mages were used to break illusions. I cannot deliberately do anything like that. I am simply immune to Illusion magic. It is not the same thing. One of the manuscripts I am reading right now—"

Elizabeth quickly lost interest. Mary tended to go into excessive detail describing what she was reading, unaware that not everyone shared her interest in minute and obscure descriptions of magic.

Her thoughts returned to Riquer. She could not postpone talking to him any longer. He ought to know the Prince Regent's plans at the very least.

The clock chimed the hour, and Elizabeth realized she could catch Riquer before his next lesson if she hurried.

"I am very sorry," she said, her chair scraping as she moved it back, "but I have to leave. There is something urgent I must do."

Her sisters looked at her in astonishment.

"I thought you were spending time with us."

"I have something I need to do. It can't wait. I will make it up to you, I promise," she said, hoping fervently that she would be able to keep that promise.

Elizabeth went in search of Riquer. As she expected, he was just finishing his first lesson.

"Can I talk to you for a few minutes?"

"Naturally. You know you can talk to me any time." He examined her closely. "Are you unwell? You were not at our training session this morning. I was worried you were ill."

Tugging at her sleeves, she took a deep breath. "I have something to tell you."

His expression turned serious. He looked worried about her, which made her feel even worse. "It is not about me. It is about you. Yesterday, we were invited to Carlton House to speak to the Prince Regent. The short of it is, he is planning to send you back to France."

He started to say something, but she interrupted. If she didn't confess quickly, she might chicken out of it.

Elizabeth felt the sharp dagger twisting inside her. "I am very sorry, Riquer, but it was partly my fault. It was not my intention, believe me. Let me explain."

The tension inside her threatened to bring up the contents of her stomach. She had never knowingly hurt anyone. If something happened to Riquer, she would never, ever forgive herself.

She told the whole sorry story. As soon as she finished, to her horror, hot tears began to pour down her face. She tried to hide it by covering her face with her hands, but Riquer had already seen her.

He handed her a handkerchief. She took it and wiped her nose with it.

"You must not cry. I am touched by your concern, truly, but I would not have thought you such a ninny , Mrs. Darcy," he said. "You see, I have been learning useful English words."

She looked up in surprise. He was doing his best to cheer her up. When she came to talk to him, she had imagined it would be the other way round.

"It is a useful word, but I am not a ninny," she replied, grateful that he had not called her worse.

"I have no idea why you think you were responsible for this. I have suspected for some time that the Prince Regent's interest in mirror magic involved using me as a spy in France," he said. "I knew the Prince Regent had a reason for taking interest in our practice Mirror magic. So it is no surprise."

"Why did you not say anything?"

He shrugged in his usual exaggerated way. "Perhaps because I did not want it to be true. Who knows."

She felt intensely relieved. Darcy had said something similar. She had only put the final nail into the coffin. It did not make the situation any better, but at least it was not her fault.

"Besides," he said. "Matlock already gave me my – what do you call them? – marching orders."

"So, you already knew."

"I knew, Mrs. Darcy. So stop taking on responsibility for everything that happens, and let us concentrate on the important things."

Elizabeth could not imagine what could be more important than Riquer risking his life, but he was right. It was done. No need to dwell on it further.

"And what are the important things?"

"We intensify our practice sessions. If I am caught by the Imperial mages, I do not want my death to be for nothing, just because we failed to communicate properly." He chuckled. "It is much more useful to me for you to improve your Mirror magic than for you to feel guilty. Trust me."

His grin made her smile. Her nature was more inclined to merriment, and it was not long before she had set aside her uneasiness and returned to the task at hand.

Later, when she left after an exhausting training session, Elizabeth saw Darcy push himself away from the wall where he had been waiting for her and stride towards her.

Now that she no longer felt burdened by what happened, and she could set aside her resentment, she could admire her husband once again. She marveled at his tall, elegant figure, his graceful flowing movements, the sense of purpose in his walk and the broad stretch of his shoulders.

"Elizabeth, may I talk to you?" He was looking very grave.

"Of course." Had he come to apologize, she wondered?

She slid her hand under his arm, wanting to enjoy his proximity, but he stiffened, discouraging her. He clearly had something unpleasant to discuss. She hoped he did not want to resume their argument about Riquer. She was feeling much more at peace now, and did not want to dredge everything up again.

He pulled her into a small training room and shut the door.

"What is it?" she said. "Is this about yesterday?"

He gave a quick nod. "I have something to tell you that has been worrying me for some time. You were upset yesterday, so I did not want to bring it up at the time. You will not like it, but we promised to be open about things, and I want to keep my promise." He weighed his words carefully.

Elizabeth braced herself for something unpleasant.

"I have specific reasons to distrust Riquer, and you ought to know about them."

Elizabeth was looking so worried, Darcy found himself hesitating. Still, he was determined to forge ahead. If he was going to disillusion her, then so be it. The consequences were too crucial for him to hold back.

He had rehearsed what he wanted to say before he met her, and had decided it was best to approach the whole topic indirectly.

"You may have noticed that at times, Riquer can be frivolous, that at times, he does not take anything seriously." Darcy paused, giving her time to consider what he was saying. "This may not be a problem normally, but in this situation, it is. Riquer is a cynic. And cynics have no loyalty. They do not believe in noble causes. They shift with the wind. Just as Riquer shifted allegiance to the Royal Mages when it suited his purpose, he may do the same with the French."

It was a logical conclusion.

A martial spark flared in Elizabeth's eyes. She was ready to do battle. Elizabeth was the exact opposite of Riquer. She was unwavering in her loyalty. That was one of the things he loved about her. It galled him that she was bestowing that loyalty on someone so unworthy of it.

"We cannot be sure he will do the right thing," Darcy added, trying to make her see his point.

She pressed her lips together in a straight line. Darcy's gaze lingered on them. He wished he could kiss away all her worries and make the anger go away, but that could not happen. He needed to convince her not to trust the villain.

"Is that all you have to say? Is that the basis of your condemnation? A vague assessment of his character? Based on the fact that you consider him a cynic?" Her voice had a hard edge to it.

Darcy took a deep breath. He had prepared her. Now it was time to tell her the truth.

"No. Of course not. I am basing it on something much more specific. A few days ago, the night of your Mirror exhibition, I was feeling stifled — for various reasons. I went out onto the grounds to take a breath of fresh air." He looked her in the eyes. "I encountered Riquer sneaking back from behind the trees. He was acting very suspiciously."

"In what way?"

Darcy quickly outlined what he had seen and heard. She listened intently, her brow wrinkling in concentration.

"And he was speaking in French?"

Darcy nodded.

"What does your cousin think?"

The question startled him. So, she had put two and two together. She had worked out that he had consulted Richard that night after he returned from the garden.

What should he answer? He decided on the truth. "He thinks I am jealous."

He expected her to be taken aback, but instead she regarded him closely. "Are you?"

He snorted. "Why would I be jealous?"

Why indeed? Perhaps because she spent too much time with Riquer. Or because Riquer could teach her the new types of magic she craved. Or because Riquer made her laugh. Or because he was more charming and more handsome than Darcy.

Maybe not more handsome. Definitely not more handsome.

A lopsided smile settled on her lips. "Why, indeed?"

Her smile warmed him inside, melting away his tension. A wave of protectiveness spread through him. He wanted to wrap her up and keep her from harm. She was too willing to see the good in people, but it worked in his own favor. After all, she had trusted him, when he had done nothing to deserve it. He had gone behind her back and asked for Redmond as her replacement. She had done everything she could to make their Bond work, when he had looked down his nose at her and derided her attempts. That was who she was, and he did not want her to change. He just wanted to make her happy. And he could not allow Riquer to destroy her happiness.

"I am not jealous," said Darcy. "I am concerned. There is a huge difference."

He did not elaborate. They had spoken about this before. She had objected to being treated like fragile porcelain and had made it very clear that she did not want to be cossetted and fussed over. He had come to understand that. He knew she could stand on her own feet. But he was a gentleman, and it was hard for him to overcome the instinct to keep her safe.

"Let us not quarrel, my love," he said. "You know your mind and I will not try to change it. You cannot convince me to trust Riquer, and I cannot persuade you to distrust him. Time will tell which one of us is right. But I would urge you to be cautious, and not to let your guard down. Will you promise me that, at least?"

She slid her hands around his neck, pulling him towards her.

"Very well." Her voice was tender, the corner of her mouth curling. "Just remember that you promised not to try to protect me. I am a strong mage and can protect myself."

Not against your kind heart , thought Darcy, as his lips touched hers.