There had to be a way to keep his family safe. And he would keep looking until he found it.
Chapter 4
AperfunctoryknockmadeElizabethlook up from Jenny’s cradle to see Darcy's head poking through the doorway. Was that a streak of soot on his cheek? And what was wrong with his hair? It looked as if he had dunked his head in mud puddle.
But she was still happy to see him, a surge of warmth filling her chest. “Pray do come in!”
He stepped inside, revealing clothes that were in no better condition. Not dripping wet, but definitely soggy and muddy. Yet the skies outside were clear; she could see that much from her window. “Good heavens, what happened to you?” she asked, amused.
He glanced at Chandrika, her maid. “No time for that now. Someone has broken through the wards, presumably a High Fae.”
A chill rushed over her. The wards were supposed to be impermeable. Could the French assassins get in now, too? Then the door, which he had left open, suddenly closed behind him. A shiver of fear ran through her. She pointed at it, her finger trembling. “Behind you! Could that be it?”
Darcy glanced back. “No. Pray show yourself to Mrs. Darcy, if you please.”
One of Georgiana's lesser fae popped into view. It was one Elizabeth had met before, a spindly brownie no more than three feet high, dressed in atattered leather vest and a black skirt. “Just me,” she said in a creaky voice. “'To tell ye if that evil one appears.” Her pointed ears twitched.
Darcy nodded. “Georgiana has asked her to stay with you. The High Fae cannot cloak itself from the lesser fae, so she can warn us if he is here. Quickthorn thinks he may be injured.”
The little dragon curled up beside the cradle rose to his full height, which meant just above Darcy's knee. “I will defend them,” Agate warbled stoutly. “I cast a protection over us as soon as the wards broke.” Then he glanced down into the cradle. “Or at least I tried. I am not certain it worked.”
The hatchling dragon had known something was wrong? “That was very brave of you,” Elizabeth praised. “Next time, though, pray tell me what is happening.” She turned back to her husband. “What can we do to stop the invader?”
“The dragons are trying to sniff out his location. Roderick and Frederica are working on a plan to capture him, while I organize defenses. Though Georgiana is no doubt the Fae's target, Mrs. Reynolds is gathering iron to surround Jenny's cradle.”
Elizabeth shivered. The fae had stolen Darcy's true-born sister at birth and left the girl they knew as Georgiana behind. What was to stop them from taking Jenny, too? Her body reacted to the horror even before her mind, and she was already beside the cradle, scooping up her newborn infant into her arms. “No one is taking Jenny,” she said fiercely. “I will not let them.” Not if she had to stay awake for days on end. The fae would have to kill her first.
Chandrika chimed in. “There will be at least one more set of eyes on her. I will make certain of it.”
Darcy gave them a sharp nod. “Good. I will try to return once I have seen to everything else.” And then he left.
Elizabeth had to stop herself from calling after him. What was wrong with her? Where had her vaunted independence gone? Perhaps it was another victim of giving birth, along with all the changes in her body.
No. She would not accept it, not when she had to defend Jenny. Not when Pemberley was under attack, and no one had even told her until now.
She was not alone. The lesser fae was perched in the window, keeping watch both inside and out. Chandrika quietly moving her chair to beside the door, ready to stop any intruder, and Agate, now pacing back and forth like an overgrown puppy. But none of them knew any more than she did of what was happening.
Elizabeth hated being left in ignorance.
She tried sending to Cerridwen, but received only the briefest impression of impatience in response, a draconic equivalent ofNot now. No doubt her dragon was much better employed in hunting down the intruder, but Elizabeth desperately wanted to know what was happening outside this room.
“Agate, are you able to send to the other dragons?”
“Of course,” the hatchling said, surprised. “What use would I be otherwise, if I could not call for help?”
She had to be careful how she worded this. “Were you to hear any news from them, even if it seems unimportant, I would be relieved to hear it.”
The little dragon seemed to swell in size. “I will see what I can discover,” he pronounced.
It was something, but not enough. She could not remain here in her bedroom like a swooning lady in an old romance while Pemberley was under attack. Yes, she was still tired from Jenny’s birth, and her spirits seemed to shift with each breath like a lovesick maid's, but she was also the Mistress of Pemberley and dragon companion to Cerridwen the Seer. She had made her way alone through enemy France while heavy with child, when everyone had told her to stay at home and rest.
She could do it again. Her nether regions might be sore and her physical strength somewhat sapped, but there was nothing wrong with her mind or her Talent. If she were a tenant farmer, she would already be out working in the fields again, with her baby strapped to her back.
It was time to step up and take her place again.
Darcy strode away from Elizabeth's room purposefully, as if he actually had some idea what important matters he was supposed to be seeing to. His breath hissed out between his teeth. What use was he in a battle against an invisible High Fae whose magic would far outstrip his meager Talent?
He had always been Georgiana's protector, but now his sister was organizing her own defense. Her lesser fae knew far more about what could help, and he would only be in the way. All Darcy could do was to put himself at the service of the dragons and hope they could find a use for him.
