“Wise of you.” He released her wrist.
She plucked two apples. “Would you like one?”
“In for a penny, in for a pound. Why not?”
She handed one to him and picked a third for herself. “I truly am very hungry,” she explained.
“Should we take more in case you are still hungry afterwards?”
“It will be hard enough to hold these without falling off Pepper.And I imagine Pepper can always create another apple tree if we need it.” She patted the horse’s neck. “You are very clever to produce a tree that bears apples in April. But I suppose nothing in Faerie follows the usual rules.”
The apple was one of the most delicious things she had ever tasted. Elizabeth devoured the first one quickly, then spoke to Darcy. “There is one thing that is not an old wives’ tale. You must always tell the fay the exact truth. They will know if you do not, and they will punish you with a fay trick. They will make your lie come true, but always in a manner that will be harmful to you.”
“I will keep that in mind.” He said nothing more until she had eaten her second apple and Pepper had started walking again. Then he added, “If I asked you how much time you spent here in the past, would you tell me the truth?”
Elizabeth hesitated. “That would depend on why you wanted to know, I suppose.”
“It is simple curiosity about your life.”
She wanted to be back on better terms with him, and there was no real reason to keep it a secret. “Like most people, I have forgotten a great deal of my early life, but I would guess it was many times. Bluebird enjoyed the human world where she could play tricks on people, but usually she brought me here. And I expect your uncle would be sadly disappointed by how very little I noticed of my surroundings at that age. I remember a sort of bower in the woods, a beautiful black-haired woman, and someone combing my hair, but not much more. Going to Faerie seemed much like going to visit a neighbor in Meryton. I did not realize how unusual it was until years later.”
“We think the oddest things are normal when we are children,” Darcy said.
“I have a question for you as well,” said Elizabeth determinedly. “When did you realize I had magic?”
He looked reflective. “It was at a gathering at Lucas Lodge. I knew someone there had magic, but not who it was until Sir William Lucas suggested that I dance with you. Our eyes met, and I could feel the magic in you. But look – I see something.” He pointed ahead of them.
Elizabeth squinted to make it out. There were three towers, made of something that looked more like silver filigree than stone. “That certainly looks like a laird’s court.”
THE PALACE, FOR THATwas the only term Darcy could apply, truly was made of silver filigree. How could it possibly stand? The walls should not be able to hold a roof, and the towers ought to have collapsed of their own weight. It was disconcerting to see the laws of nature so casually violated.
No one met them at the door. Elizabeth looked at him, shrugged, and entered. Darcy followed close behind her, hoping uninvited guests were not slain on sight. It would seem in keeping with the barbaric glamour traps.
A tall silver throne sat at the far end of an impossibly long hall, with an equally tall, equally impossible being slouched in it. He was surrounded by fay folk. Darcy recognized dryads and sprites in his retinue, along with some diminutive figures he could not name. Drawing closer, he could see that everything about the laird was longer than he expected – longer legs, longer arms, and long, tapering fingers. His cheekbones were prominent and his chin narrow, and he was dressed in a tabard made from cloth of gold trimmed with sea green silk. His hair was spun gold and hung nearly to his shoulders, making him a picture of unearthly beauty sitting in a beam of impossible indoor sunlight. Cuffs of silver filigree covered his lower forearms. Darcy had never seen a Sidhe, the most powerful fay, but he had no doubt the being before him was one.
Elizabeth halted a short distance from the throne and lowered herself into a deep curtsey. Darcy opted for the most cautious course and made his court bow.
“What brings mortals to my hall?” The Sidhe’s voice seemed to contain chiming bells.
Darcy’s throat was tight, but he said, “We have come to seek your permission to return to our own world.”
The fay lord stepped down from his throne and paced in front of them. Darcy was unaccustomed to having to look up to see someone’s face, and he did not like it, especially given the fay’s grim expression. There was something odd about his tilted, emerald green eyes, their pupils shaped in tall ovals not unlike a cat’s eyes, under eyebrows shaped more like wings than arches. His skin was pale and translucent like fine porcelain. The sight of him sent a shiver down Darcy’s spine.
“Why did you come here that you wish to leave so soon?”
Elizabeth seemed unperturbed by the astonishing sight. “I fled here to escape a powerful mage. Faerie was the one place I knew he could not follow me. I am told he is no longer pursuing me, so I may return home safely.”
“The doors to Faerie are blocked to mortals.”
She held out her stone. “When I was a child, I had a fay friend. She brought me to Faerie sometimes. She gave me this years ago in case I ever needed to return here. I did not know there would be glamour traps or that I would no longer be welcome. I should not have come here if I had.”
The fay lord loomed over her. “Years ago there were no glamour traps. They were created after the war with mortals began.” He whirled to face Darcy. “And you. Who are you?”
Absolute honesty. This would not be pleasant. “My name is Fitzwilliam Darcy, and I am a mage.”
“The one she was fleeing?”
“No.” In case that might seem less than honest, he added, “That was my uncle.”
