“Then why can I not remember it?” Mrs. Bennet began tugging at her handkerchief.
Carefully Elizabeth said, “Do not let it worry you, Mama. You cannot remember Faerie or your magic because you are under a binding spell.”
“A spell?” asked Mrs. Bennet querulously. “How could I be under a spell? Your father would have noticed it.”
This was the moment. “I am sorry to say that my father is the one who cast the spell. He admitted it to me.”
“How can you tell such a lie, Lizzy?” burst out Mary. “Or is Lady Frederica again going to tell us that she heard it as well?”
It took more than Mary’s spite to ruffle Frederica. “No, I was not there, but Prince Aelfric, Oberon’s son, was and I can ask him about it if you like. The Sidhe never lie.”
Jane put a gentle hand on Elizabeth’s arm. “Perhaps you misunderstood what he said. I cannot imagine our father casting a spell on anyone, least of all our mother.”
Elizabeth hated to disillusion her tender-hearted sister. “I did not want to believe it, either, or that our mother has been under a spell since before any of us were born.”
“Lord, why must you say these things, Lizzy?” wailed Mrs. Bennet.
Frederica laid her hand on Mrs. Bennet’s arm. “I pray you, do not allow it to upset you. It is not a sin to be under a spell, and you are far from the only one. It takes great courage and strength to accept these things, but I know you have those.”
“I have no courage! Oh, my nerves!” Mrs. Bennet dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief.
“Forgive me for distressing you,” said Frederica. “I should notmake assumptions. I feel as if I already know you because Elizabeth has talked about you so much. Not all to me, of course. Mostly it was to Prince Aelfric, but I heard it, too, since I was there. I forget that you do not know me at all.”
Mrs. Bennet fanned herself frantically. “You are, oh, you are too, too kind, your ladyship.”
“Lizzy,” said Mrs. Gardiner in a voice that was a little too even. “Who is Prince Aelfric and why have you spoken to him so much about your mother?”
Frederica clapped her hand to her mouth.
Elizabeth glared at her. How could Frederica have done this to her? It had to have been deliberate. “Prince Aelfric of the Sidhe is King Oberon’s son. He has taken a special interest in me,” she said slowly. But what was the point in dragging the matter out now? “He was found as a newborn twenty-three years ago in the faerie ring near Longbourn.” She held her breath.
“Nonsense,” said Mrs. Bennet. “No one would abandon a newborn at Longbourn. We take care of our people.”
“He was a Sidhe baby, born to a mortal mother, the first Sidhe baby in fifty years.” Elizabeth’s mouth was dry. “That is why he is so very curious about my mother.”
All the color was gone from Mrs. Bennet’s face. “But he died,” she whispered.
A chair scraped the floor as Mr. Gardiner stood suddenly and went to Mrs. Bennet’s side.
“You were told he had died,” Elizabeth corrected. “He is very much alive.” She glanced around the room. Jane appeared perplexed, while Mary’s face was still red.
Mrs. Bennet burst into noisy sobs. Mr. Gardiner put his arm around her, glaring at Elizabeth.
Elizabeth contemplated killing Frederica.
Jane leaned towards Elizabeth. “What is all this, Lizzy?” she asked reproachfully.
It was hard to hear over Mrs. Bennet’s wails. Elizabeth said, “I will tell you out in the corridor. Mary, do you wish to join us?”
Mary stomped after them. Perhaps that had not been a good idea.
In the corridor Elizabeth took a deep breath. “I am truly sorry. I would not have chosen to tell you this way. As you may have guessed, Mama’s first child, the boy we were told had died, is still alive, and is one of the fay. Our father left him in a faerie ring and told Mama he had died. He used a binding spell to stop her from questioning it. Uncle Gardiner says our mother was very different before the spell, much less silly and nervous.”
“We have a brother? Could it be true?” whispered Jane.
Mary interposed, “Can he break the entail?”
Hysterical laughter tried to bubble up in Elizabeth’s throat. “He is our brother, but he is not human. I cannot imagine the courts even being willing to consider it.” After all, what would a prince of Faerie want with Longbourn?
