Elizabeth had never before felt a desire to protect Mary. “Not foolish at all, only untutored, and that is no fault of yours.”
“Then I would like to speak to her.”
It seemed Mary was yet another person Elizabeth had misjudged. She ought to be used to this by now.
“LIZZY!” MR. GARDINER’Svoice came from the drawing room. “Come in here. Your mother has a question for you.”
“Oh, dear,” said Elizabeth under her breath, but she obeyed. Standing before her mother, she asked, “What would you like to know?”
Mrs. Bennet blew her nose. “If he is alive, why did he never come to see me?” she asked plaintively.
Elizabeth studied the toes of her slippers. “He knew he had been abandoned in the faerie ring, but not who had done it. Until he met me, he assumed you must have agreed to it, so he thought you wanted nothing to do with him. Once I told him that you believed he had died, he wanted to see you very much.”
“But he still has not come!”
Elizabeth grimaced. “He is angry that you were put under a binding spell. Furious, in fact. He wants to meet the mother who bore him, not the results of the spell.”
“You must take that spell off, then! This minute! Oh, my nerves!”
Elizabeth took a step back at her mother’s ferocity. “I do not have the ability to remove spells of that nature, nor does Lady Frederica.”
From behind her, Frederica said, “Eversleigh could do it, and he is here in London.”
“Then take me to him!” cried Mrs. Bennet. “I cannot bear this.”
Elizabeth held up her palms. “Mama, I cannot go to Viscount Eversleigh’s house uninvited and demand that he remove a spell!”
“I can,” said Frederica quietly. “I will take you there if you wish, Mrs. Bennet.”
“Oh, you are so very kind! I thank you again and again. But a viscount? Will he be angry?”
“Not at all,” Frederica soothed. “He will be happy to help you. Your son is a friend of his.”
“He knows my...my son?” Miss Bennet’s voice broke.
“He does,” said Elizabeth.
“I want to go this very moment!”
Elizabeth sighed.
Chapter 13
“Iwill be happy to do my best to help you,” Eversleigh told Mrs. Bennet. He had received his unexpected guests with his usual grace. “Pray make yourself at home. I must ask Miss Elizabeth a question first.”
Elizabeth hoped it was not about her father’s spells. “Of course, my lord.”
He took her into an anteroom. “I actually have two questions. Does your mother know Aelfric is my half-brother?”
“I told her only that you were his friend. I hope that was the right thing to do.”
“Very wise. She does not know, then, that she and I areshurinn?”
“Oh, dear. That had not occurred to me,” said Elizabeth. “Will that be a problem with removing the spell?”
“No.Shurinncan perform magic on each other since we do not share blood. It may feel more natural to her because of it. She will likely learn about me from Aelfric, which brings up my second question. Is Pepper nearby?”
She had not expected that. “I have not seen her today, but she usually is.”
