Lady Catherine’s eyes were indeed wide open and staring straight up again, the pupils dilated. Elizabeth waved a hand in front of her face, but she showed no awareness, just as she had not when the elfshot was in her arm. “I wish I could tell you what that means, but I have no idea,” Elizabeth said.
Lady Catherine’s eyelids slid closed.
“How odd,” said Mrs. Collins.
Darcy said, “Mrs. Collins, I forgot to mention your husband is downstairs with Colonel Fitzwilliam. I imagine he is curious about your presence here. While I greatly appreciate your assistance, I can hardly expect you to stay longer.”
Charlotte glanced at her. “And Lizzy?”
“That is up to her,” he said in a level voice.
“I would think it wise for her to remain here. If something should change in Lady Catherine’s condition, it would be difficult to explain why you would come to the parsonage in the middle of the night to fetch Lizzy.”
How could she stay the night in the same house with him? But she had no excuse for refusing. “Very well; I will remain here.”
“Will Mr. Collins object?” Darcy asked Charlotte.
Mrs. Collins shook her head. “I will tell him Lady Catherine, in a brief moment of consciousness, expressed a preference for Lizzy to tend to her. He will accept that. I will stay here with her tonight, if that is not inconvenient.”
Darcy bowed. “Thank you. We would be happy to have both of you. I think it would be safe now to allow the maids to assist you. We have explained to them that Lady Catherine hit her head and has not yet regained consciousness. The surgeon should be here shortly, and we will ask him to use the same story.”
“Very well. I suppose I must speak to my husband before heannoys Colonel Fitzwilliam past his endurance,” said Mrs. Collins. “Would you accompany me, Mr. Darcy?”
He inclined his head. “I will be happy to.”
Elizabeth let out a breath she had not known she was holding. Suddenly she did not want him to leave, not until she had managed to thank him properly. By all rights, he should be bitterly angry at her after the acrimonious manner of her refusal, but somehow he had overcome that in an attempt to help her avoid her greatest fear. Surely that required some sort of acknowledgment, and if she did not say something now, she would never find the courage to do so.
But he was already following Charlotte out the door.
She had to stop him. “Mr. Darcy, may I ask you a question?”
He turned immediately. “Of course, Miss Elizabeth.” Was there some gentleness in his tone?
She bit her lip. A question. She needed to ask a question that showed he had earned some of her trust. “My cat, Pepper. Did you notice anything unusual about her?”
He shook his head. “Not apart from her name and her eyes.”
“She is fay, or at least part fay. Is that something other mages might notice?” She watched him anxiously.
He stiffened, his eyes wide, and paused before answering. “It is not something I have ever considered. Richard is very sensitive to magic, and he did not seem to notice anything, so I would suspect no one else would. But I will give the matter further thought.”
“Thank you. I would prefer it if no one recognized her true nature. She is very important to me.” Would he understand that this was her apology for distrusting him?
“I will certainly do anything in my power to distract anyone’s attention from Pepper.”
She smiled in relief. He had understood. “I thank you.”
He hesitated. “I hope I will have the opportunity to meet Pepperagain now that I know this.”
With a playful look, she said, “That will be up to Pepper. Like any other cat, she makes her own decisions.”
Chapter 3
Darcy looked up from his book as Elizabeth entered the library. His heart lurched at the sight, even as the pressure of the elements receded.
She stopped short as soon as she saw him. “Pardon me. I did not mean to disturb you. I was looking for a book to read.” She stood poised like a doe preparing to flee the hunter.
How could her presence disturb him when he could hardly focus on his book for thoughts of her? He had not spoken to her alone at all yesterday, only a brief conversation in front of the servants about Lady Catherine’s health. Otherwise she had stayed in Lady Catherine’s bedroom all day. Since there had been no change in his aunt’s status, he could only assume she had been hiding from him, a bitter disappointment after the amicability of the end of their discussion of Pepper. “Pray come in and take your pick. I imagine it must be dull watching Lady Catherine sleep.”
