Page 44 of Fitzwilliam Darcy Undone
“I’m glad you helped Miss Anne.” Lizzy set down her tea cup. “Now. About Papa.”
“Yes, your papa.” Mama smiled and a whimsical look crossed her face. “I fell in love with him the moment I saw him in Paris.”
“Paris!”
“It was at a royal ball and I was there guised as a lady in waiting to the Queen. He was so handsome and through gossip I learned he was leaving for England and moving to a small village called Meryton. I knew he was my soul mate without even touching his hand and made haste to find this Meryton and wait for him to arrive.”
“How did you achieve that? A single woman on her own would not be acceptable.”
“The Gardiner family had just lost their daughter Fanny in a boating accident and had yet to return to the village with the news. It was an easy feat to alter their memories of her death and carry on as Frances Gardiner, daughter of a successful attorney. When Mr. Benoit, or Bennet as he called himself arrived, all I had to do was meet him at a social function and let nature take its course.”
“No spells? You didn’t bind him to you with magic?”
“No, Lizzy. True love cannot be found through magic. When you meet your soul mate, nothing will stand in your path.”
“So, Papa has no idea that you are Ellorian?”
“None.”
“What of the spells he cast to make sure you did not have a son and ensure his daughters have no magic?”
The tinkle of Mama’s laugh had the clarity of a silver bell.
“As I stated before, your papa’s spells do not work on me. At least, not in the way he intended.”
“Then,” Lizzy began to unravel the puzzle of their family in her mind, “we all should have magic.”
“Very good!”
“But...”
“Your Papa’s spells and wards have dampened the girl’s magic. I’m surprised you haven’t picked up on their talents. Jane is a healer. She sees the good in everyone and you must have realized she has an uncanny ability with herbs and plants. Every plant or animal she touches, flourishes.”
Lizzy sat back in her chair and thought about her eldest sister. It was true. There wasn’t a flower or bush that hadn’t bloomed with health every year since Jane took over the garden.
“What about the others?”
“Well, Mary is so introverted. She has the gift of music but the poor dear doubts herself. She thinks no one notices her as the middle child. I’ve allowed her to delve into her books because she is so uncomfortable among a lot of people. When you and Jane marry and move out, I’m sure she’ll come out of her shell and blossom in her own right.”
“I fail to see what Lydia and Kitty’s gifts are, Mama.”
“Kitty is artistic. If allowed, her paintings would provide peace and healing for those who gaze upon them. I’ve not given her over to her potential yet. She’s too much under Lydia’s control.”
“Aha! You DO think Lydia controls Kitty.”
“Of course, my dear. I love my daughters, but I am not blind.”
“What of Lydia. She has no boundaries and is a determined flirt.”
For the first time Mama sank into her chair, her expression sober.
“Lydia is the only child I stripped completely of power. She is too much like my brother. She is loving and fierce in her loyalties, but in a fit of temper all it takes is one wrong word for lives to be irrevocably changed. I could not allow that to happen again.”
“Why have you not told Papa?”
“Too much time has passed and he’d feel like the fool if he knew the power I possessed without his knowledge.” She flicked her wrist and the doors unlocked. “I’m surprised he hasn’t figured it out. He’s quite brilliant you know and when you turned that vicious dog into a baby lamb, I thought for sure Jane would babble about it.”
“I turned a dog into a lamb?”
