Page 18 of The Dragoneers of Longbourn and Pemberley
Alyce opened her mouth, then closed it. She finally said, “Val, you will come with me to Netherfield, won’t you? I do not wish to go alone.”
Selaide said, “I would be happy to —”
“Yes, I’ll go,” Valeraine said. They all ignored Selaide.
The next day, Alyce and Valeraine climbed aboard Lelantos to fly to Netherfield. Alyce had protested (“It seems somewhat showy, doesn’t it? We could take horses, or even walk?”) but Mamma had insisted (“We must be showy. Show Mr. Nethenabbi our dragon, so he does not forget what prestige you come from.”). Valeraine was happy to agree to a dragon flight, so it was settled.
Valeraine was dressed in her nicest of household outfits: a pretty blue divided skirt with just enough detailing embroidery to attract the eye. This was not an occasion for a ball gown, but it was not the time for her plainest brown dress, either. She would be seeing Nedine, who likely had a collection of day-to-day skirts that were both richly beautiful and practical for working in the nest.
Valeraine took up the reins and guided Lelantos out of the nest, with Alyce sitting in the double saddle behind her.
Mamma was waiting outside, fretting and dabbing her eyes with her handkerchief. “Oh Alyce. I will miss you.”
Alyce laughed. “We will only be gone an hour or two, Mamma.”
“But Mr. Nethenabbi will propose, and then you will move away from Longbourn.” Then, she said to Valeraine, “Do be courteous. You must support your sister.”
“Yes, Mamma.”
“And do not distract Mr. Nethenabbi with talk of dragoneering.”
“Yes, Mamma.”
With that, they took flight.
Chapter sixteen
As soon as Valeraine saw Netherfield manor, Lelantos descended. She could have sworn she hadn’t signaled with the reins, and yet Lelantos seemed to know her destination anyway. Perhaps he had sensed her anticipation.
In the field outside the manor, two dragons were tethered, comfortably far from each other: the pale blue of Nethenabbi and the deep red of Pemberley. Both dragons were much calmer now than they had been at the derby. They looked interested as Lelantos flew by.
Valeraine, wary of two dragons far from home, doubtless nest-tetchy, directed Lelantos to land on the other side of the gardens, near a manicured pond. A servant quickly took notice of the dragon appearing on the grounds, and ushered them inside. Valeraine hoped for a cordial reception. Or, at least, one that was not given by antagonistic Mr. Pemberley.
They were escorted to a sitting room, which contained Nethenabbi and Pemberley playing cards, and Nedine at thepianoforte. The men stood at their entrance. Nethenabbi gave a smile. Pemberley’s hair was excessively neatly combed, straight and golden. It sharpened his appearance, which was given no favors by his suit of a plain charcoal color.
Valeraine took a spot on the sofa next to Alyce.
The men sat back down.
Nedine stood up from the pianoforte and claimed a seat across from the sisters in an armchair. The movement displayed her dress, a spring green color, that was indeed resplendent with ribboned accents (matching a ribbon in her hair) and lace at the collar. “Is that your dragon I saw from the window? You didn’t ride him here?”
Valeraine was painfully struck by the realization that the flight would have mussed her hair, and she had given no thought to tidy it. She must look a madwoman. “We did. Your servants were very helpful and attentive, thank you. It must be your excellent managing of —”
“What interesting manners the people have here in the country, visiting unannounced with dragons.” Nedine’s voice was amused, but her eyes were something sharper. “When thrown together from different nests, they can be such dangerous beasts. There wasn’t any trouble?”
Valeraine could comment on the interesting manners at Netherfield, where visitors were met with immediate hostility. “I assure you, Lelantos is a gentle thing.”
“If he hasn’t been outside of Galsopshire in decades, how could he be different?” Nedine conceded.
“I doubt he could hurt one of our dragons,” Pemberley cut in. “There’s no harm in bringing him here, handled so admirably by Miss Longbourn. That dragon doesn’t have enough fire to cause trouble.”
Valeraine almost said that her dragon had plenty of fire, and would cause as much trouble as he wanted, then bit her tongue.
Alyce soothed, “No, our dragon won’t start anything untoward. Valeraine is highly experienced with him and handles him expertly. Like Miss Nethenabbi pointed out, he’s still close to his nest. It’s lucky we have such pleasant neighbors to visit. This really is an excellent sofa,” she said, trying to bring them around to pleasant matters. “It compliments the side table perfectly. Were they made as a set?”
Mr. Nethenabbi smiled, as if his favorite topic was that of furniture provenance. “No, actually. The sofa was commissioned to match the table, which was purchased at an estate sale.”
“You must pay my compliments to your housekeeper. It really does bring the room together. I particularly enjoy the scrollwork detailing on both pieces, and the use of the same shade of blue.”
