“You are not well trained, but your Talent is strong,” Coquelicot disagreed. “And stirred up at present. I would recommend not using it unless you must, lest it misfire. At least until you are more yourself.”
Not that Jack would hesitate to employ any tool at his disposal, should the need arise. But there was nothing else to be done for now. “Perhaps inthe morning this will all be gone,” Darcy said, hoping rather than believing it to be true.
“It most certainly will be, and if it is not, I will not be telling you about it,” Jack grumbled. “Fuss, fuss, fuss. I do not know how your wife puts up with you.”
“What the devil is it this time?” Jack was the last to arrive, stomping into the room Darcy shared with Roderick, in keeping with his valet disguise.
Frederica was already there. Once Darcy would have been shocked at the very idea of a young lady alone with three men. Now it was just the way things were.
But her presence still made Darcy tone down his language. “Wait a moment. I will trigger the Artifact.” He fiddled with the locket until the buzz of magic filled the room.
“Well, Darcy? What is this new problem you wanted to talk to us about?” Frederica demanded. She had been impatient about waiting for Jack, but the effect of Artifact did not last long.
Darcy rubbed his hand on his forehead. “Coquelicot says my mother cannot face Lady Catherine. Which was our entire plan.”
Roderick frowned. “Why not? What happened?”
“Lady Anne asked Coquelicot to check her one last time to be sure all the bindings had been removed. Coquelicot found only traces, which she does not think will be a problem, but she cannot be certain. More importantly, she learned that my mother is terrified of seeing Lady Catherine again, to the extent that Coquelicot fears she will be unable to oppose her when the time comes.”
“You must be joking!” Frederica exclaimed. “Lady Anne? Nothing frightens her.”
“I admit she has seemed perfectly calm about the whole endeavor, yet I must believe Coquelicot,” Darcy said. “Our scheme depends upon LadyAnne convincing Lady Catherine to go outside into a private garden with her. If she cannot, we might as well turn around and go home.”
Roderick shook his head. “If need be, the dragons can take her down in public. It would be risky, given that anyone who sees it will interpret it as evil dragons attacking a helpless woman.”
“To the devil with that,” snarled Jack. “I'll do it. I can call on the evil witch and drag her outside where the dragons can do their part. No need to convince her to go anywhere.”
Frederica sniffed. “IfLady Catherine agrees to see you, given that she apparently hates your very existence and might kill you as soon as you walk in the door. Besides, you cannot simply barge into Carlton House through all of Prinny's guards.”
Not to mention that Jack no longer seemed able to think clearly for ten minutes running. Darcy said, “The same arguments would apply to me, unfortunately.”
“Which leaves me,” Frederica said cheerfully. “Just as well. She will be glad to see me, once I tell her my story.”
Roderick's eyes rounded with worry. “What story is that?”
Frederica's grin reminded Darcy of a cat. “You shall see.”
Frederica presented her card to the butler at Carlton House, dressed in the stylish finery she had collected from her father's house, and with two uniformed footmen standing behind her. Darcy and Jack, to be precise. Roderick had volunteered, but he was not tall enough to fit into the Matlock livery. Her father prided himself on the height of his footmen. Roderick was standing on the back of the carriage in the groom's uniform.
Not that they would be coming in with her. This was just to get them in place near Carlton House.
“Pray come in, Lady Frederica,” the butler said. “I will see if Lady Catherine is at home.”
She gave him her most winning smile. “How kind of you.” Now all she had to do was to avoid being blinded by the gilt surrounding her. Prinny was a great believer in excess when it came to decoration, and it always gave her a headache.
She rubbed her hands together as she took a seat in the anteroom the butler had indicated. Two perfectly matched footmen stood on each side of the door, their eyes straight ahead, as if she did not exist. It was a struggle to look relaxed, not out of fear, but because she was excited. This would be the performance of her life, and she was looking forward to it.
The butler returned surprisingly promptly, though his expression was strained. “Lady Catherine will see you in the Rose Satin Drawing Room. This way, your ladyship.” He led her along the familiar path to the state apartments, between the towering Ionic columns of the magnificent entrance hall, into the richly ornamented Octagon Room, and then to the First Antechamber beyond. Good heavens, had Prinny redecorated it yet again? It had been a startling teal blue when she was last here, only half a year ago, and all the artwork and statuary were new. No wonder he was always begging Parliament for more money.
But she had no time to examine it, as the butler threw open the door to the Rose Satin Drawing Room, with its huge swag curtains of rose damask covering the walls and an enormous crystal chandelier which always looked as if it would come crashing down at any moment. The spectacle was so overwhelmingly opulent that Frederica almost missed the woman sitting in one of the gilded red chairs.
Surely this demure, kindly-looking lady could not be the wicked Lady Catherine de Bourgh, mistress to the Prince of Wales and former dragon companion! She could easily pass for a housekeeper, were it not for the quality of her attire. No face paint, no jewelry, just a simple, well-cut silk dress.
And the Fitzwilliam cheekbones. It was definitely her. A prickle went up Frederica’s spine. This was the most powerful, ambitious, and dangerous mage in all Britain.
Lady Catherine rose to her feet with an expression of sheer delight. “Is that indeed you, my dearest niece? After all these years! You were still in the nursery the last time we met. How very kind of you to call on me!” One might have thought this meeting was her fondest dream.
Frederica hastily recalculated her approach. Why had no one warned her that Lady Catherine hid her villainy under a cloak of warmth? She must have learned early that it was to her advantage to be underestimated by everyone.
