FREDERICA OPENED HERbedroom door reluctantly. She had been expecting her mother to corner her sooner or later. Lady Matlock had an unnatural ability to know when something was troubling her.
Lady Matlock did not trouble to disguise her intentions. “Distressing as it is to have learned that Sir Lewis and Lady Catherine were practicing sorcery – I never did like that man – I gather there is something else disturbing you.”
There were several somethings, in fact, and only some of them were safe to tell her mother. She sighed. “Everything is in such a muddle, Mama, and I see no escape from it, either for the fay or for my friends – or, for that matter, for myself. You say there is always a solution, but I defy you to find one this time.”
Lady Matlock seemed unperturbed. “Perhaps you should tell me about these problems, my dear.”
“Very well, but do not say I did not warn you. Cousin Anne will be ruined once word gets out that not only is she a sorcerer’s daughter, but she refuses to hide her magic after having been forced to do so for so long. We can attempt to save Elizabeth from ruin, but there is no guarantee it is possible. If I wish to protect my own reputation, I must abandon Cousin Anne and perhaps Elizabeth, and without her to take me to Faerie, I am exiled from it and unable to help the fay with their problems. Moreover, this has made me realize I am in an untenable position in searching for a husband. Am I to lie to my husband my entirelife about my magic? There are very few men like Papa who will accept a wife with magic, and even they would not marry a known witch.”
“Language, my dear,” Lady Matlock chided gently. “Those are serious problems, indeed. But what is this about the fay? Is it the difficulty with the groves?”
Frederica shook her head. “That is but part of it. I had a long talk with their queen. Even if the groves survive, the Sidhe will continue to diminish until only a few are left. The number is already far less than it was in the past, and almost no Sidhe are being born.”
Lady Matlock raised her eyebrows. “What has caused this change?”
“We have. The Sidhe were once able to travel freely through our world, safe in the knowledge they could heal from any wound inflicted by a mortal. That was before we had guns. Once rifles and pistols became common, Sidhe began to die. Now they rarely leave Faerie, and only in hiding.”
“Ah. They must travel in our world in order to have children?”
“Not precisely.” Frederica hesitated. “Pray forgive the unseemly topic, but they must have mortal men and women to have children. Two Sidhe cannot produce a Sidhe child. Only a Sidhe and a mortal can. Once it was an honor to be wooed by a Sidhe, and poets and artists sought out Sidhe ladies in Faerie, but very few Sidhe will take the risk to find a mortal lover now.”
Lady Matlock raised a delicate eyebrow. “You are not speaking of marriage, then?”
Frederica shook her head. “They are not Christian. They have something akin to marriage among themselves, but fidelity is not expected.”
“Why are you so concerned with saving them, even at the cost of leading mortal men and women into sin?”
Frederica chewed her lip. “I like their queen. She is beautiful, butit is not that. She is not selfless. Still, there is something about her. It is like watching an exquisite butterfly flit from flower to flower, and suddenly I want to write a poem about it. Like the butterfly, she is something beyond my comprehension, yet her presence makes me feel somehow more alive. She told me that the Sidhe bring inspiration to artists, musicians, and even scientists, and I believe it. Without them we would be less than we are.”
Lady Matlock’s lips tightened. “I hope you will not prove susceptible to the blandishments of Sidhe gentlemen.”
“Oh, no, Mama. I do not want a Sidhe lover. But I do wish I could spend more time with the fay.”
“I wonder if anyone has ever tried to bring Christianity to them.”
“I cannot say.” Frederica doubted the Sidhe would have any patience for missionaries, but if the possibility warmed her mother to the idea... But no. “We will never know for certain, since nothing will change. Their world and ours will continue to drift apart. People who are afraid of things they cannot understand will cut down the groves. The Sidhe will slowly die out, and so will we when our crops fail, our magic no longer works, and we are unable to conceive enough children because there are no lesser fay bringing fertility to our world.”
“Surely there must be some better option than that melancholy prospect.” Lady Matlock tapped her fingers together as if considering the matter.
Frederica stared at her hands. “I have been unable to find one.” Would the crops start failing in her lifetime, or would it be that of her children?”
“Nonsense. There is always something one can do.” Her mother looked thoughtful. “I believe I should host a grand soirée.”
Chapter 11
“Mama, you cannot possibly think a soirée will distract me from any of this!” wailed Frederica.
“I am glad you recognize I cannot possibly think that,” said Lady Matlock with some asperity. “This is a matter of fashion.”
“Ordering a closet full of new dresses will not make me happier, either.” Frederica jumped to her feet. “Pray forget I said anything.”
“Temper, my dear. Fashion goes far beyond clothing. The fay are out of fashion. Women performing magic is out of fashion. If you do not like it, you must be prepared to change the fashion.”
Frederica asked cautiously, “What do you mean?”
“We must make the Sidhe all the rage, so that no society hostess would dream of holding an event without a Sidhe or two in attendance. We must also establish that no young lady can be considered truly accomplished unless she can perform some feat of magic to delight an audience. I have not yet seen how we can tie the two together, but it will no doubt come to me.”
If anyone could accomplish this, it was her mother. “The Sidhe think it is barbaric that our women are not permitted to practice magic.”
