“We might as well confess, since I have already been caught out,” said Elizabeth with a rueful laugh. “Meggy wanted to see a dryad.”
Darcy eyed her doubtfully. Was she teasing him? “I have never seen a dryad here.”
“They are probably shy of you.” Elizabeth absently rubbed her neck just below her ear. “I see them here most days, tending to the trees.”
Was this a fanciful story she was weaving to amuse the girl? “I am sorry if I have chased away your entertainment. Is there something I can do to make the dryads more comfortable?”
She drew her brows together. “Will you promise not to hurt them?”
“Of course. They are doing no harm, are they?”
“No. Perhaps if you and Meggy sit on the bench, I can convince one to come out.”
Now she was definitely pretending. How could Elizabeth Bennet draw out the fay? “Very well.” He walked to the stone bench and sat down. Meggy timidly joined him, careful to sit as far from him as she could. At least the girl seemed to know her place.
Elizabeth went past them, off the path, and into the trees. “If there is a dryad here, I would count it a great kindness if you would permit yourself to be seen by my friends. The little girl is very worried about her ill brother, and she has always wished to see a dryad, even if only for a moment.” She returned to sit between the two of them.
Now Darcy appreciated the little girl’s presence, since it meant Elizabeth had to sit close enough to him that he could feel the pressure of her arm against his and catch the aroma of sweet lavender she wore. He would believe any faerie story she wished if she would stay this close to him.
“Will they come?” whispered Meggy.
“Perhaps they will, and perhaps not,” said Elizabeth kindly. “They are shy around mortals.”
“Look!” Wide-eyed, the girl pointed at a large oak, where several strips of turquoise silk fluttered in the breeze.
How had Elizabeth managed to set that up so quickly? It was clever, though. Now the girl would go home happy, thinking she had seena dryad.
Then Darcy caught his breath as half of a pale, elongated face with tip-tilted eyes and high cheekbones peeked out from behind the oak. An unnaturally slender arm, half hidden by floating silk, reached out and beckoned to the child.
“Go to her,” urged Elizabeth, who did not seem surprised by the apparition. “She will not hurt you.” Her hand descended on Darcy’s arm, warning him not to move.
Meggy’s mouth hung open in shock as she hesitantly tiptoed towards the dryad. The fay creature stepped out from the oak, dressed in filmy silks that only half concealed her delicate legs. She took the child’s hands and leaned down to press a kiss on her forehead. Then she disappeared behind the oak again.
Elizabeth called out to the empty air, “I will not forget your kindness and generosity.”
“How did you do that?” asked Darcy in astonishment.
A gentle smile lit Elizabeth’s face. “Just good fortune. I am surprised she did so much, as they never approach me. Perhaps it was because I asked on behalf of a child.”
Meggy returned to them, looking half mesmerized. “She was so beautiful,” she sighed.
Darcy said slowly, “I have never been so close to one of the fay. Usually I only see them at a distance.”
Elizabeth’s lips quivered. “Perhaps it is because you are a mage,” she said archly. Then she looked away. “But usually that is all I see as well. Come, Meggy, I should take you back to your mother now that you have seen your dryad.”
He did not want her to leave, not so soon after that magical moment. “May I walk with you?”
“If you wish,” she said guardedly.
“I would like to see the location of these cottages that need theirwards renewed.” That would please her, would it not?
She seemed to relax a little. “Very well.”
THE BOY TOMMY WAS FEVERISHtoday, a bad sign, but Elizabeth felt none of the tingling sensation of magic when she laid her hand on his ankle. Unwrapping the bandage revealed red, swollen skin above the wound and two red streaks traveling up his leg. She laid the back of her fingers against one of the red streaks. Burning hot.
“Infected,” she said quietly to Charlotte.
“Can you do anything to help?”
