“On whom has she cast it?” Eversleigh sounded oddly distant.
“Mostly servants whom she felt were not sufficiently deferential. She cast it on the new parson, Mr. Collins, to stop him from arguing with her. She tried to cast it on Darcy many times, but it did not work. That made her furious.”
Lord Matlock said hoarsely, “You saw this happen?”
“How could I? Thanks to your spell, I fainted every time she began to speak Latin. The results were unmistakable, though. Have you never wondered why the servants are so slavishly devoted to her?”
Eversleigh said, “The spell was written on paper?”
Anne nodded. “Yes, in her bedside table. No one else is allowed to touch that table under any circumstances. When she pulled it out today, I unmade the paper. Why are you so concerned about this? Do you think I should not have destroyed it and simply let her cast the spell?”
Eversleigh shook his head slowly, but it was Frederica who answered. “Obedience spells are sorcery of the worst sort. We are upset tolearn Lady Catherine employed them.”
Anne’s eyebrows rose. “I assumed all ladies used them, but I have had no contact with other households. It appears there is much I do not know.”
Eversleigh frowned. “It also appears I must ask you some further questions. What other spells does Lady Catherine use?”
“I do not know. Perhaps it was only the one spell, or there may be more. I can only tell you what results I have seen.”
“That would be helpful.”
“It makes the servants obey her instantly, even if they are ill or exhausted, and they will not say a word against her to anyone, no matter how unreasonable she is. Mr. Collins stopped arguing with her and instead began praising her constantly. One time a neighboring landowner came to her with some complaint about her land management, and suddenly he no longer cared about the problem and apologized for troubling her. As far as I know, she has never sought out people to cast spells on as my father did, but only used them to make people around her behave as she chose.”
“Have you seen her use magic for other things? Does she light candles with magic, or cast illusions, or create a breeze?”
Anne tipped her head to one side thoughtfully. “I do not think so, but I would have swooned at any sign of magic, so I am not the best witness.”
“Does she read books on magic?”
Anne laughed scornfully. “She never reads books.”
Elizabeth gasped. She laid her hand on Eversleigh’s arm and pointed towards Lord Matlock with the other. The earl’s face was ashen, his eyes were closed, and he clutched his hand to his chest.
Eversleigh and Frederica were by his side in an instant, and Darcy not far behind. Eversleigh said, “Lie down on the sofa and breathe slowly, sir, as the doctor told you. Slowly. I know it hurts.”
“Not important,” muttered Lord Matlock, wheezing as he spoke. “Deal with Catherine. Tell my wife. Tell her. I am sorry.”
“You will tell her yourself,” said Eversleigh. “You have survived these before.”
“Not...like this.”
Frederica sank to her knees beside her father. “You must not die,” she said shakily. “Mama will be very cross with me if I allow you to die, and you know what Mama is like when she is cross.” Her voice caught at the end.
“I will try...not to subject you to that, child.”
Frederica covered his hand with her own and pressed her forehead against it.
That was a bad sign. Darcy had not been too worried until now, since his uncle had suffered these spells before, but he had not heard Lord Matlock call Frederica ‘child’ since, well, since she had been a child. He turned to Elizabeth. “Can you do anything to help him?” he asked desperately.
Elizabeth opened and closed her mouth before saying, “I do not know. Possibly. But cannot Lord Eversleigh heal him?”
“Eversleigh lacks healing magic. I beg you to do what you can.”
She hesitated. “Only if Lord Matlock wishes me to try, and I cannot imagine he does.”
“Healed Catherine, did you not?” Lord Matlock coughed. “I wish you had not.”
Elizabeth took a small step backwards, her cheeks flushed. “I will leave you, then.”
