“I suppose there is no point in saying I have no particular desire to attend a soiree.”
“No point at all. She is determined to make certain thetonknowsthat you are here under our protection. She has already prepared the ground by writing to a friend with a propensity to gossip, telling her in strictest confidence that Lady Catherine has run mad and thrown wild accusations at a poor girl who tried to help her with some herbal simples.”
“Is there truly any point to this? You can defend against Lady Catherine’s accusations, but soon enough everyone will know that I have been to Faerie.”
“Hence the herbal simples. Mama plans to claim they were faerie potions.”
“Is this what a sheep feels when confronted by a particularly persistent sheepdog?” asked Elizabeth. “Well, I have no fixed plans for the next few days until my mother arrives in London. Then I will need to visit her and start dropping hints about binding spells.”
“Will you tell her about Aelfric?”
“Not immediately. I think it would be better to lead up to that gradually.”
Frederica fiddled with her fork. “If I were a mother who believed my child was dead, I would want to know immediately that he was alive.”
“I wish it were that simple, but in this case, telling her Aelfric is alive also means informing her that her husband has lied to her all these years about it. What a tangled web we weave, indeed!”
“Perhaps the quote should be ‘Lord, what fools these mortals be!’ Do you wish to go alone to visit your mother, or would you like me to come with you?”
Elizabeth considered. She was not eager to expose Lady Frederica to her mother, but her presence might provoke better behavior. “If you have nothing else to do, I would be happy to have your company.”
A tall, tousle-headed young man smothered a yawn as he entered the breakfast room. “G’morning, Freddie. Sorry, I did not know you had company.”
Frederica rolled her eyes. “Miss Bennet, may I present my youngest brother, Jasper Fitzwilliam? Jasper, this is Miss Bennet of Hertfordshire. She was at Rosings with me.”
“A pleasure, Miss...”
“Bennet,” said Frederica wearily.
“My apologies, Miss Bennet. I’m not good at remembering names, or much of anything else, for that matter.” He had an engaging grin.
“I am glad to make your acquaintance, Mr. Jasper. You may not know my name, but you have doubtless heard your father complaining about me,” she said wryly.
“Oh, I never listen to his complaining. He does plenty of it about me.” Jasper tossed two slices of toast onto his plate and speared several pieces of cold meat. “I’m the Fitzwilliam family failure.” He did not sound in the least perturbed about it.
“Jasper,” Frederica warned.
“Oh, Freddie, you know it’s true, and I’d rather admit it openly than slouch about trying to keep it a secret. And don’t tell me that it would be different if I would just think for a minute before I opened my mouth, because I can’t do it.” He cut his meat into large chunks and stuffed one into his mouth.
“I am not going to throw stones,” said Elizabeth soothingly. “You should hear what my father says about me these days.”
Frederica said, “Mother has invited Miss Bennet to stay here at least through midsummer.”
Jasper swallowed his food. “I hope you enjoy it. You won’t see much of me. I generally don’t eat with the family. Can’t stand sitting still for two hours. The food gets cold, too. I don’t care for cold fish. Do you like fish?”
Elizabeth cocked her head and turned to Frederica. “Your brother is a Sidhe in a mortal body!”
Frederica shook her head. “He cannot use his magic.”
“That is not what I mean. He acts just like one. Mr. Jasper, someday I will have to introduce you to my Sidhe half-brother. You would get on splendidly together.”
“You have a Sidhe brother? Oh, you must be the one who went to Faerie! You are so fortunate. I wish I could go to Faerie. I love the fay. There is a gnome in the garden at our country estate and I used to leave out biscuits and milk for him. He would grumble whenever I talked to him, but I think he liked me. It is too bad there are no fay in London.”
Frederica choked on a sip of coffee. “You can see the fay?”
“Of course. Can’t you?”
She set down her coffee cup with care. “I could not before I went to Faerie with Elizabeth. Now I can see them again. Why did you never tell our father?”
