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Darcy was chaffing at the bit. After his success at the Council meeting, he would have liked to rush over to tell Elizabeth that they could now train together again. He could hardly believe it himself. It had been many weeks since they had last done so, and he could not wait to start again.
But the Council meeting had taken more time than he had expected, and he was late for his lesson. And when he arrived there, Bingley was waiting for him outside the door with one of the apprentice Healers whom Darcy did not know.
“He has been very restless today. The only thing that makes him quiet is mentioning your name. Lady Hazelmere thinks he wants to be with you, so she sent me here.”
It was a good sign. It meant that he did understand some things at least.
“Very well. You may leave him with me.” He turned to Bingley. “I have a lesson to teach. Come with me and I will introduce you.”
The apprentices looked at Bingley mistrustfully when they saw him come in. Darcy supposed they were privy to the same gossip as everyone else. It was an opportunity to correct some misconceptions.
“You have probably heard of Mr. Bingley. Some of you might even have been taught by him. He was injured during the recent battle against the Imperial mages. He is a hero. He put his life at risk to put a stop to a fireball that would have destroyed us. That is the nature of war. A hero will make sacrifices to save the rest of us.”
Darcy thought of Devereux and his bungling joke.
“If a soldier is stabbed by a sword as he is fighting an enemy, do we blame the soldier?”
Most of the boys answered no, the rest – the younger ones – seemed uncertain.
“The answer, of course, is no. In a battle, anything can happen, but if you fight with courage and conviction, then whatever happens, you are a hero. Like Bingley here.”
From the way they looked at Bingley, Darcy did not think his words had fully convinced them, but he hoped they would think about what he said. He would make a point of repeating every now and then, just to keep reminding them. He was glad of Bingley’s presence here. It might make them uncomfortable, but they might realize that Bingley did not deserve their mockery.
Throughout the class, Bingley hovered by him, wandering around the classroom and occasionally disrupting the apprentices’ concentration. Darcy watched him to ensure he did not come to any harm during the magic sparring exercise, but mostly Bingley stayed to the side of the hall and seemed happy just to be there.
***
AS SOON AS THE LESSON finished, Darcy hurried over to the library, with Bingley in tow. Elizabeth was not there. The piles of books on the floor had been cleared, so Elizabeth must have finished arranging them. Pickering had taken her place at the table.
Darcy felt a pang of disappointment, but he could not be uncivil to the venerable scholar.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Pickering.”
The old man put on his spectacles with trembling hands and peered at Darcy.
“Is that you, Darcy? Come closer, lad. My eyes are not what they used to be.”
Darcy had not been called a lad for a very long time.
“Yes sir. I would like to thank you for voting in my favor earlier.”
“Voting in your favor? Did I vote for you? Were you nominated for a position?”
“No, it was about the Janus Mage.”
“Ah, yes. I remember.” Pickering made a dismissive gesture. “Waste of time.”
It occurred to Darcy that if anyone knew if there was a precedent to Bingley’s illness, it was Pickering, whose breadth of knowledge in such matters was legendary.
“Have you by any chance encountered a situation similar to that of Mr. Bingley?”
“The Warder with the affliction? Funny that you ask. There was a young lady here earlier who asked the same question. She helped me find a book I was looking for. I do recall a similar case. Let me search for it. Yes, here it is.”
Darcy watched hopefully as the old man looked through an old manuscript, licking his thumb to make it easier to turn the pages. He pointed at a passage with a trembling finger.
“There it is.”
Darcy came around to Pickering’s side of the table so he could read it. As far as he could tell, it was a spell that raised fog. Darcy read through it twice, puzzled.
“I do not quite understand.”
“It is possible that his wits are befogged.”
Darcy sighed. That was not helpful at all. A child could have told him the same.
“I cannot judge whether that is the case or not, but I would appreciate it if you could let me know if you find anything else.”
“Yes, yes.”
It was obvious that Pickering had already forgotten about him and was lost in his reading.
As Darcy turned to leave, he caught the scent of lavender in the air. Traces of Elizabeth. He needed to go and find her to tell her the good news. They would be training together again, at last.
***
IT WAS EASY TO TRACK Elizabeth down. Her magic signature was very clear to him. She was in the bedchamber he had chosen for her. Bingley trailed behind him, looking increasingly fatigued. Darcy would need to take him back to the Healer’s Hall after this, but he did not want to delay relaying the news to Elizabeth.
He found her seated near the window, reading. Her face brightened when she saw him. She smiled, then sat up straight when she spotted Bingley behind him.
“You have chosen the best bedchamber possible for me, Darcy. I have been delighting in the view. Come, let me show you something. Do you see that hill over there? That is Oakham Mount. It is a place I have walked hundreds of times with my sisters.”
He came to stand next to her, and she leaned her head on his shoulder. He inhaled deeply, drinking in her own unique scent, mingled with lavender and roses.
“I have been daydreaming, you know,” she continued. “I was imagining what it would be like to stroll there together.” Her eyes danced. “Do you think we could sneak out one of these days together?”
She looked so mischievous he simply had to kiss her.
“I would love to walk there with you,” he murmured, his lips close to her ear.
If only he could grant her such a simple wish!
She drew back and cast a pointed look at Bingley. A rush of heat flooded his cheeks. What must poor Bingley think?
Recovering from his embarrassment, he looked out onto the tempting landscape that was so out of reach. “You have been thinking of walking with me, while I have been imagining attending a cricket game with you.”
She tilted her head to look at him, amused. “Cricket?”
“Why not? Do you have any objection to cricket?”
“Not at all. I do not have much exposure to the game, apart from seeing children playing on the village green, but I am sure I will enjoy it, especially if you are with me. Though I warn you I will be asking questions.”
“I will be happy to answer them.”
He was buoyed up by the light in her eyes. It might seem like a forlorn hope right now, but who knew what the future might hold? He had never imagined when he joined the Council that his desire to reinstate Elizabeth as his Janus Mage would come into fruition so quickly. Everything was possible.
Which reminded him of the reason he was here. “I came because I have a surprise for you.”
Elizabeth looked towards Bingley.
“No, not about Bingley. About us.” He took hold of her hands. “I have talked to the Council, and they have allowed us to train together again. At least until Redmond makes an appearance. If he does.”
“Finally! I scarcely believe it!” Elizabeth’s eyes glowed. “You accomplished it that quickly? If I had known, I would have pushed you to join the Council myself.”
She laughed and flung her arms around his neck. He took hold of her by the waist and swung her around in a circle.
“So when do we start training? This afternoon?”
“I am working with my apprentices today. The timetables are fixed. But we can start tomorrow morning.”
“I hope you do not expect me to wake up at half past six again. I have grown indolent, and I am no longer used to waking up when it is still dark.”
“Then you will have to change your habits. We will be going back to our original training.”
“Very well, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. If that is what you wish.” The purr in her voice vibrated through every bone in his body.
“You know I wish it more than anything.” His voice was a rough whisper, full of need. He no longer knew what wish he was referring to. All he knew was that he had to control the impulse to throw all caution to the wind.
He forced his mind back to practical matters. “I need to accompany Bingley to the Healer’s Hall before my lesson. I will see you tomorrow then. Bright and early.”
She groaned. “I bow to the inevitable.”
“I am the inevitable.” He gave an exaggerated smirk.
Her eyes danced. “Never! Does your arrogance have no bounds?”
The playful quirk of her lips made his heart quiver, and an intense longing to stay with her gripped him. But even if he wanted to, he could not. He had responsibilities. He turned to his friend, only to realize with horror that Bingley was no longer there.
“Where did he go?”
He must have left while Darcy was preoccupied with Elizabeth. He assured himself there was no need to panic. Bingley could not have gone far. Darcy was about to give chase, when Elizabeth put a finger to her lips and looked towards the bed.
He blinked in confusion. Was that an invitation? Was she taking advantage of Bingley’s absence? “Elizabeth, I cannot. I have to find Bingley.”
For the second time that day, his face grew red as he realized his folly. It was not an invitation. Bingley was lying on Elizabeth’s bed, fast asleep.
***
THE NEXT MORNING, WHEN Darcy stepped into the practice room, Elizabeth was not there yet. He chuckled to himself. She really did not like waking up early. He would probably have to compromise if they intended to train together regularly. He was at his best this time of the day, but he could always practice alone until she arrived.
He decided to work on a spell as he waited, but quickly gave up. He would never admit it to her, but he was nervous. A small part of him whispered that the rumors could be true. He was taking a chance. He trusted Elizabeth, absolutely, but her type of magic was unusual. He could not predict how it would work, and that made him anxious. He had to depend on his faith in her abilities.
It was a leap into the unknown, no doubt about it, but a leap he needed to take. He could not function alone as a Janus Mage, and if Redmond was under the protection of Lady Alice and refused to cooperate, then his hands were tied. Besides he had entered an arranged marriage with Elizabeth for one reason. They were supposed to Bond.
The idea both thrilled him and terrified him, and it should not have done either. There was nothing emotional about Bonding. It was not an intimate act. He had Bonded for years with Cuthbert, and he had always thought of it simply as a way of combining the magic of two mages to enhance their abilities and make them both stronger. With Elizabeth, Darcy was entering uncharted territory. Their love made everything more intense, and he was not sure what the practical implications would be.
Their love. When had everything become so very complicated? He had already Bonded with her at Longbourn, even if it had not been deliberate. Surely nothing unpredictable could occur.
Then Elizabeth appeared in the doorway, and his breath hitched. Even being alone with Elizabeth, having her just steps away from him, already felt intimate. It would be impossible to Bond with her without involving his emotions.
He would have to set all feelings aside. That was all. He took a deep breath and cleared his mind. He drew on all the discipline he had learned over the years to drive away all distractions.
“Shall we start?”
He was relieved that his voice sounded matter of fact. That was how he needed to be. He took refuge in the most concrete thing he could think of. The Compendium. She would have his hide for this, he knew, but it was safe.
“Let us start with the spell for Bonding. You told me you have learned it?”
She looked at him sharply, half-exasperated, half-amused. Because he had expected it, he could not help smiling at her expression.
They had laughed about this when they were on their way to Founder’s Hall. In the enclosed space of the coach, it had seemed like a private joke. How innocent and carefree they had been!
He could not afford to think of that right now, nor to allow his discipline to slip. He took his time to focus his mind, then nodded at her.
“Shall we begin?”
His years of practice came to the fore as he slipped into the familiar spell.
He had faced so much resistance when they first tried to Bond, he expected the same now. He was aware of Elizabeth chanting next to him, their voices in harmony, the words blending together perfectly. He did not even notice when the spell took hold. The Bond was suddenly there.
He felt her magic flow into his. It was like the gentle trickle of two streams joining into a smooth flowing river. It felt so completely natural, so effortless, that he wondered how he could have lived all his life without it. He was filled with exuberance. He wanted to jump for joy, but he worried the Bond was still too fragile. He armed himself against emotion and reached out to remove any obstacles that may hold it back. It was like clearing debris and stones from a river.
The flow grew stronger and more powerful, gushing into a torrent. Alarm bells clanged in his head. If they were not careful, it would slip out of control.
“We need to mold the magic,” he said to her. “We can use the exercises to give it ways to flow. Do you remember them?”
“Yes.” She was too fully focused to say more.
Darcy now understood why Elizabeth’s magic was perceived to be dangerous. It was powerful magic that was difficult to channel in a particular direction. Blending his magic with hers required resolve from both of them. They had to wrestle to master it before it mastered them.
It took a while until Darcy was satisfied that they had accomplished their goal. The river settled into a steady current, strong and slow. It was hard work, it was terrifying, but it was also exhilarating. As they ended the exercise, they were both panting with the effort.
Having fully experienced the force and beauty of her magic, Darcy was even more in awe at her abilities. He wanted the Bond to last for ever, but magic had its limits. If they pushed too hard, one of them could break. Still, separating at the end of the Bonding session made him feel hollow, as if a part of him had broken away.
The connection with Elizabeth had evoked a strange sensation of wonder that was almost reverence. He watched as she bent down to tie a lace of her half boot. She was so magnificent, inside and out. Her hair was falling in a cascade of rich curls, and as she rose the curls lingered on the perfect curve of her damp cheek. One particularly errant tendril touched the corner of her mouth, and he could not stop looking at it.
“You have truly bewitched me, Elizabeth.”
He reached over to move the curl away just as she raised her hand to set it aside. Skin brushed against skin. Her eyes darkened and turned stormy at his touch. He told himself he was unwise to do this in the practice room, but nothing could stop him from leaning forward and touching his lips against hers.
It felt forbidden and dangerous to kiss her even when he reminded himself that she was his wife, and he had every right to do it.
They had Bonded now, and he had never felt so fulfilled, so whole, so utterly perfect. It was as if he had been waiting his whole life for this to happen. Two separate beings merging into a single soul. She had become a part of him, and he a part of her.
He would never be able to exist without her.
***
SOMETIME IN THE DEAD of night, Darcy woke up. There was no moonlight, and the room was completely dark, but someone was undoubtedly moving around. Bingley must have woken up. Still groggy, Darcy forced himself to sit up. He could not let Bingley leave the bedchamber and wander around alone through the house. He fumbled for the flint in the dark, then gave up and cast a spell of simple fire magic to light the candle.
His uncle’s face loomed out of the darkness. He was standing next to Darcy’s bed. So it was not Bingley who had woken him.
“Is there an emergency?” Alarm drove all traces of sleep from his mind and brought him to sharp wakefulness.
“Hush. Just throw on some clothes and follow me.”
“What about Bingley? He might leave the room and lose his way.”
“Unfortunately, you will have to lock the door. I cannot assign him a footman. No one must know that you left the room.”
“What is going on?”
“I will explain along the way.”
Darcy rose from his bed and started to pick up his candle, but Matlock blew it out. “I’ll conjure up a ghost light. No one else will be able to see it. Now hurry. Throw on some clothes.”
Darcy took the key from the inside and locked the door after him. He was not happy doing that to Bingley. He just hoped his friend would not wake up.
“We need Elizabeth as well. Which bedchamber is hers?”
“Are you going to explain—?”
“Quiet! And you had better Muffle your magic.”
When they reached Elizabeth’s bedchamber, Darcy crept softly in, holding Matlock’s ghost light and trying not to startle her by stumbling over the carpet or crashing into the furniture.
He also tried not to think about how delightful it would be if he could join her instead of going with his uncle.
“Elizabeth, my love.”
He touched her lightly on the shoulder. She jerked awake with a gasp, then relaxed when she recognized him. She put her arms out to him and smiled.
“You came.”
He swallowed hard.
“I am here because my uncle needs us.”
“Your uncle? Lord Matlock?”
Her voice rose in a squeak.
“Hush. He’s outside the door. Now please get dressed quickly.”
She nodded and stepped out of the bed. He looked away, not wanting to be even more tempted by the vision of her in her nightgown. How could a long plain cotton nightgown look enticing? He supposed she would look enticing in a sack.
“It will be quicker if you help me. Shall I wear my training gown?”
The last thing he needed at this moment was to help her dress. “Yes. It might be best.”
She disappeared behind the screen, then reappeared a few moments later.
“Why did your uncle not warn us? We would have been ready. What does he want?”
“I have no idea.”
The training gowns were designed to be practical, without hooks or buttons, but with a complicated series of ties. Keeping his mind strictly focused on the ties, not on the soft contours beneath the gown, he helped her tie the knots quickly. Within minutes, she was ready.
When they stepped out of the room, Matlock was looking impatient.
“You took your time.”
Darcy wanted to protest that Elizabeth had dressed remarkably quickly, especially for a lady, but Elizabeth gave him a nudge of the elbow.
“Follow me.”
Matlock hurried swiftly down the stairs, past the servants’ quarters, and to the entrance to the wine cellar. He produced a large key and opened the trapdoor, then locked it behind him as they descended the stairs ahead of him.
He spoke a spell and a bright blue light filled the space around them. The cellar was full of different types of magic, overlapping each other like cross stitches.
Darcy blinked in the sudden brightness. Next to him, Elizabeth shaded her eyes with her hands.
Darcy scowled at his uncle. “I hope you have a good reason for locking us in the basement.”
“A very good one.” He paused, then, to Darcy’s astonishment, he gave a wide grin. “Your captive has arrived. I have surrounded him with all kinds of Elemental magic, but you and Elizabeth need to Bond and set up Wards around him quickly. The Elemental magic will not last for long.”
Elizabeth shivered in the damp cold of the cellar, and Matlock cast a Warming spell. The worst of the cold receded.
“I had a room especially constructed for him. It has magic in the walls that will Muffle his own magic.”
He pointed to a table. “I have food for you there, in case you deplete your energy, and two armchairs.”
Darcy thought of Elizabeth’s question.
“Why did you not warn us? I thought he was not coming for another ten days.”
“You could hardly expect me to announce the time of his arrival to everyone, could you? Now, if you do not need anything else, I will leave you to do your work. I will return in two hours to make certain nothing untoward has happened. If for some reason you need to call me – and I hope that will not happen—your man Evans is standing outside. Knock on the door seven times in very quick succession, three times.”
“I shall take my leave now. Good luck.”
He climbed back up to the trapdoor, stepped out, then closed and locked it.
Darcy looked at Elizabeth.
“Well, that was unexpected.”
“It was. It is a good thing we practiced Bonding earlier, and that it worked. So shall we get started? I would like to go back to bed if at all possible.”
Going back to bed was a much more appealing prospect than working in a dark cellar, but Darcy doubted very much that they could accomplish their task that quickly.
It was going to be a long night.