With mock dignity, Elizabeth replied, “No, sir, I embroidered acabbage leaf. There is a difference. Once I had mended the gray spot, I returned to the river. It was flowing the other direction, and I took the boat back.”
Lord Matlock tapped his fingers together thoughtfully. “This sounds like one of those strange, nonsensical dreams that wakes you in the middle of the night.”
“Strange and nonsensical perhaps, but not a dream. Wild magic is real.” Elizabeth held up her forefinger, displaying several pinpricks in the fingertip. “I am not fond of embroidery, and I rarely trouble myself to practice. I pricked my finger embroidering the cabbage leaf.”
Lord Matlock leaned forward to examine her finger. “Astonishing. Was it an ordinary needle?”
“No, it was made of silver. Wild magic dislikes iron, so anything metal is usually silver.”
“Ordinary thread? What color was it?”
Elizabeth’s eyebrows shot up. “Green, of course. Green silk. Nothing but the finest for your lordship’s cabbage.”
An unladylike snort came from where Frederica stood in the doorway. Darcy, standing next to his cousin, looked unamused, not at all like the man who had kissed her so passionately the previous night.
Elizabeth’s heart sank. “Now I will leave you to the tender mercy of your family. If you have more questions later, I will be happy to answer them.”
“What are the words to the shape-changing spell?” Lord Matlock asked.
She wrinkled her nose at him. “Oh, no. Besides, the spell would be of no use to you. Mortals cannot change shapes.”
“Bah,” he grumbled. “It was worth a try.”
AFTER LEAVING LORDMatlock, Elizabeth found Viscount Eversleigh leafing through a book in the drawing room.
“How is Lord Matlock?” Eversleigh asked her.
“Calmer, I think. We talked about wild magic, and that seemed to distract him.” Elizabeth hesitated a moment. “Why did you tell me to go to Matlock House instead of my uncle’s home? Was it to please Lady Matlock?”
“Not at all,shurinn. It was for your safety. If Lady Catherine proves to be a more powerful sorceress than we currently believe, we may not be able to contain her immediately. She blames you for her troubles, so I want you under the care of one of our strongest mages.”
“Would I not be even safer from her in Faerie?” And she felt oddly at home in Titania’s bower.
“You would be safer from Lady Catherine, but there is also the danger to your reputation. Assuming Lady Catherine’s sorcery was limited to a few spells she had written down, I suspect the mages examining her will be reluctant to recommend execution for her. The other option would be to have her declared insane and confine her for the rest of her life. If you are clearly under the protection of Lord Matlock, it will appear that you did nothing wrong other than to land in the path of a madwoman.”
“A lost reputation is not that easy to restore.” No matter how much she might wish for it. The loss of her good name had cost her any hope of a future with Mr. Darcy.
“Restoring it completely is likely impossible, I admit. Scandal tends to cling even when proven untrue. Still, it is possible to make you socially acceptable again, and if a few old biddies still whisper about you behind their hands, so be it.”
She bit her lip. “It is more than that. To remain respectable, I would have to go back to pretending I have no magic and living in constant fear of exposure. I have enjoyed these days of freedom when Ihave not had to hide who I am. I do not want to give it up.”
“I cannot blame you for that.” His voice was flat. “I feel the same way about hiding my fay connections. There is always a distance, even with my closest friends, because I am lying about who I am. These few days here have been a taste of freedom. I know it cannot last, and it will be that much harder when I return to keeping my secret, but I cannot regret it.”
“Why do you do it, then? Is it only for the sake of your ambitions?”
He gave a bitter laugh. “No, I have ambitions because I have nothing else. I keep my secret because I have three sisters who do not deserve to have their reputations ruined simply because my mother could not resist Oberon’s wooing.”
Her sisters. A lump formed in her throat. They were why she could not follow her dream of being a woman with magic. She could choose to destroy her own good name in society, even if it cost her Darcy, but she would drag down Jane, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia with her. Allowing Lady Matlock to present her in society would protect them. She said slowly, “I have no choice, do I?’
“No. But at least now we will both have the comfort of not being completely alone with our secrets. When I look across a crowded ballroom and see one of you, I will remember that there are a few select people who know me for who I am.”
If her reputation was miraculously restored, she might be able to marry Darcy, and she would not have to lie to him. She still did not think it could be done. Everyone in Meryton had already heard the news, thanks to Mr. Collins, but she would not give up Darcy without at least trying. “I still do not believe my reputation can be fully restored, but I will do my best.”
He inclined his head. “I thank you, both on my own behalf and that of your sisters. It would be a pity to lose myshurinnnow that I havefound you.”
“You are worrying about your othershurinnBennet sisters,” she teased.
“Naturally,” he said with a smile. “I used to think myself bedeviled by having three sisters. How will I survive with eight?”
