Page 56 of Miss Bennet's Dragon
“You will perform for us.”
“I am quite woefully out of practice. You will not enjoy it.”
Lady Catherine frowned, again.
“Elizabeth sings beautifully,” said Charlotte, my so-called friend. I tried to kick her, but the table was too wide.
“Music and romance both require passion and technique.” Her ladyship’s rolling tones were reminiscing. “Anyone may develop technique with practice, but brilliance requires talent. If I had ever learnt, I should have been a great proficient.”
“At which, madam?” I asked innocently. This time, two men laughed. One must be Mr. Darcy.
Lady Catherine’s frown twitched. “Music, of course. Go, Miss Bennet. Perform with something other than your wit.”
22
A MILITARY EXPERIMENT
The next morning,while Mr. Collins visited his parishioners, I explored his garden. There were neat rows of sprouted peas, lettuce, and onions, a scatter of tiny white butterflies, and bright-green shoots too young to reveal a personality.
I was sniffing a fragrant bush with white-rimmed leaves—thyme?—when the maid arrived with Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam in tow.
After greetings, Mr. Darcy said, “If you are at leisure, we would appreciate your assistance on a professional matter.” His clipped tone suggested he did not approve.
“A military matter,” the colonel added, with a mysterious smile.
“Military?” I said.
“We plan an experiment with the Rosings wyvern,” the colonel replied. “It will be brief, but it is important to the war effort.”
“My gamekeeper, Mr. Rabb, suggested you attend,” Mr. Darcy said deliberately. “He feels you have an affinity with the wyvern that may help us judge her reactions.”
That left me a little nervous. I had hoped Mr. Rabb would keep our meetings to himself. But the colonel seemed unconcerned, and I could hardly refuse, so we set off toward Rosings.
Lady Catherine, the Pemberley gamekeeper, and a servant waited on one of the large lawns.
“Mr. Rabb,” I said with a severely cool nod. I was not sure about being proffered for wyvern experiments.
“Ma’am.” He touched his worn hat with an unrepentant grin. Apparently, a nod was insufficient to chasten a gamekeeper.
The colonel was casting bemused looks at the sky. “And now we require our wyvern! Should we place bait?”
The gamekeeper cocked an eyebrow at me. “I’m sure she’ll come down.”
So, Mr. Rabb knew the wyvern would come to me. But his manner suggested he had kept that to himself. That was reassuring, and I forgave him a little.
I let my mind drift outward. Feeling for her. I was not sure how I did this, or even if it was me doing it or the wyvern, but it had become easier each day.
South. I shaded my eyes, but she was too far to be in sight.
I concentrated.Will you come, please?
I felt her begin to move. I turned and squinted at a different stand of trees so I would appear uninvolved.
Her glide was silent, but I heard exclamations as she was spotted. Then she flapped powerfully, whipping my skirts and knocking my hair from its pins as she landed exactly at my feet.
She peered up at me, eyes glistening through a rainbow while she preened in delight. Everyone was staring at us.
“Yes, you are most clever,” I said. She gave an ecstatic coo.
