Page 36 of The Dragoneers of Longbourn and Pemberley
To hear Mr. R— tell the tale, this is an act of wonderful generosity on his part. He will welcome them into his home and employ them in his nest. Their status will not be that of lowly servants, but nearly of dragoneer indentures (though not quite, of course). They have knowledge of dragons, after all, and could be of some use.
However, I was able to discuss the matter with a servant of the R— nest (who wished to remain anonymous). They reported the W— family have no practical talents, and have proven useless in everything thus forth assigned to them. They have now been relegated to unskilled housework. Miss W— now waits at the table and scrubs linens. Even her performance at these simple tasks is pitiful. Mr. R— has been heard saying if they don’t contribute to the household, he’ll throw them out.
At least the W— family has a roof over their heads. It really is embarrassing how far they have allowed themselves to sink. It started decades ago, for lack of proper management of their nest, and will hopefully end here (and not sink even lower): as the lowest of servants.
Chapter twenty-eight
Valeraine had convinced Alyce to take the coach home with their family so she could have some time alone. The travel hadn’t been restful this time: it had given her hours of anxiety, free from distraction.
Two days of flying later, upon seeing the familiar fields and buildings of Longbourn estate, Valeraine’s dragon cheered. He flew more confidently, and his heart filled with joy. This is where they belonged: the grand Longbourn house. Returning home brought him peace.
It cheered Valeraine, a little. A larger part of her mind was contemplating how she might never fly in a derby again. Who would accept a woman, after all?
Valeraine took a small detour to fly over Netherfield, and saw both a pale blue and a deep red dragon tethered there. The men had returned. Perhaps she would be able to finish her discussion with Pemberley, after all. Now, with her temper cooled and thecontent happiness of Lelantos washing through her, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to reopen the argument.
She would need to, as a last effort at preserving all of this. Perhaps the news still hadn’t broken.
The next time Pemberley said to her she was “wholly unsuited to dragoneering,” she would tell him of the bond she shared with Lelantos. Let him chew on that piece of evidence: a dragon had chosen her, and not him. Dragoneering was in her blood, and now her soul as well. The magic had claimed her.
When they returned to the nest, Valeraine groomed Lelantos like she never had before. She scrubbed and cleaned his scales. She cleaned under his claws. She rubbed oils into his wings. He purred in happiness, and fell asleep more content than she had seen him in years; returned to his nest, and overjoyed with it.
The rest of the Longbourns, in their slow carriage, arrived at home two days later. Alyce, knowing exactly where Valeraine would be, went to the nest. She said, “Papa is terribly upset. He means to talk to you.”
Valeraine grabbed her hands and squeezed them, reassuring and seeking her own reassurance. “What does he know?”
“He won’t speak of it. I think he means to keep it all a secret from Mamma, but even she can see that something is bothering him, and that it must center you.”
A servant came shortly after to summon Valeraine to Papa’s office. She went alone. Did Papa know it all, or had he merely heard she had been alone with two men a few nights ago, one of which in a bedroom?
Papa sat behind his desk, stewing and silent. The room was gloomy, with the curtains half drawn. Valeraine took the chair in front of the desk, which was plain hardwood. She adopted a meek expression — a person with nothing weighing on her conscience. She would not speak first and incriminate herself with something Papa didn’t know about.
How had she gotten in this mess, where there were so many things Papa might be angry about?
“I received a letter from Mr. Pemberley,” he said.
He knew far too much, then.
Papa paused, waiting for her response.
She gave none, still hoping for his ignorance.
“He tells me that you, not Kesley, have been the rider for Longbourn. He tells me that you sustained a serious injury, and that you threaten the safety of your person, Lelantos, and Longbourn house.”
They sat in silence.
Papa was so rarely angry, not like Valeraine. He was good at laughing at his ridiculous wife and daughters. He was good at making accurate sums of their holdings. He did not regularly maintain a temper. But he had one simmering now. His arms were crossed and his eyes flinty as he said, “Please, tell me he is incorrect.”
She had lied already to her father, when she and Kesley had told him who would be racing. She found that she couldn’t do it again. She held her silence instead.
“I see. In that case, you will not race again. You will not even touch Lelantos.”
“Papa!” Valeraine protested.
“Valeraine.” Now with an opponent to argue with, he brought out more of his anger. His voice was deep and sharp. “You riding in the derbies is unnatural, and will only result in ruin. In the past, I allowed you to care for Lelantos because you were of great help to our house. I thought your dragoneering skills might even help you to attract a husband who valued that. It has instead twisted you into a woman whom nobody will marry; you encroach too far on the realms of men. I will not see you destroyed by this. I will not see Longbourn destroyed by this.”
“There is no danger in me caring for Lelantos.” Valeraine tried to say it levelly, logically. But her voice broke on the sentence.
“How can you say that, when it has led to this?” Papa put his hands down on the desk, sharp and slapping. “I know I cannot practically keep you from entering the nest here at Longbourn. And so you will be sent away.”
