“Where do you think you are going?” Lady Matlock demanded.
“To Faerie, where everyone agrees we are married,” snappedDarcy.
“Nonsense,” said Lord Matlock cheerily. “There is no need. I can fix this.” He left and a moment later came the sound of footsteps bounding down the stairs.
Lady Matlock placed a beringed hand over her eyes. “One hesitates to even wonder what he means. We will wait for him in the drawing room, though. Not here.”
They found Eversleigh, Frederica, Anne, and Colonel Fitzwilliam already in the drawing room, each with a knowing smirk. Elizabeth’s cheeks burned. Frederica must have told them all why she had sent her parents to Elizabeth’s room.
A quarter of an hour later Lord Matlock strode into the drawing room and dropped two papers in Darcy’s lap. “Signed and sealed. That should take care of it.”
Darcy read through the top paper and shook his head. “I do not know why you think it will help to have a letter from you granting your permission for Elizabeth to marry me. You are not her father.”
Lord Matlock settled himself comfortably in a large armchair. “Second letter.”
Darcy did not bother to look at it. “Tell me you did not forge her father’s signature.”
“I did better than that. I adopted her.” Lord Matlock looked smug.
Elizabeth’s jaw dropped. “You cannot just adopt me!”
“Of course I can,” said Lord Matlock. “I told you I would fix it, and I did.”
Elizabeth looked at Darcy. “That cannot be legal, can it?”
“Perhaps, if your father does not challenge the adoption.”
“He would not dare,” said Lord Matlock. “By the time he could, you will have been living as husband and wife. Too much scandal, and what judge is going to believe that an impoverished country gentlemanwith six daughters refused to give his permission when the Earl of Matlock wanted to adopt one of them?”
“Five daughters, and you ought to be careful, my lord,” Elizabeth said archly. “I might decide I like being an earl’s daughter better than getting married.”
Darcy and Lady Matlock spoke in unison. “Absolutely not.”
Lord Matlock guffawed. “No worries there. You would never agree to be in my custody for a second longer than necessary. Darcy will ride to London tonight, get the special license first thing tomorrow morning, and we will have you married before dinner. Tonight we shall drink a toast to this very short engagement.”
“And to celebrate having a new daughter for a few hours,” said Eversleigh. “Not to mention having claimed blood right. Did I tell you Titania is extremely excited about it? She says your children will betiarinnto her, which will make the two of you hershurinnas well.”
“Tiarinn? But that means shared blood kin. Our children would not have any of Titania’s blood,” said Elizabeth.
Eversleigh’s mischievous look intensified his resemblance to the Sidhe. “You were bound together by Titania’s blood, and apparently that gives something to your children. Your offspring may have interesting magical powers.”
Darcy took Elizabeth’s hand and intertwined his fingers with hers. “I have not had the chance to mention this to you yet, but if any of our children turn out to be elemental mages, I would want them to spend part of their childhood in Faerie. For years I dreaded having children and watching them suffer as I did. Even when I wear a ring of fay metal, there is still enough elemental pressure to be difficult for a child. In Faerie they would have a chance to be ordinary children.”
Elizabeth batted her eyelashes at him. “Allowing my children to spend time in Faerie? How would we ever get Titania to agree to that?”
Frederica and Eversleigh laughed, but everyone else, includingDarcy, looked puzzled. Elizabeth explained, “Titania has been asking for my children to visit her already. I believe she would settle for any child I could find on the street.”
Lord Matlock’s old look of curiosity was back. “How did Titania’s blood come into this? Tell me about this binding.”
“We are still discovering for ourselves what it means,” admitted Darcy. “Here is one effect of it.” He rubbed his thumb and fingers together and produced fire.
Lord Matlock leaned over to examine the flame. “Fascinating. How did you do that?”
“It is Elizabeth’s wild magic. Some of it transferred to me in the binding, and she now has some control over water.”
“Really?” Frederica eyed Eversleigh assessingly.
Lord Matlock pulled over a chair. “You must tell me about it this minute.”
