Netherfield: Rogue Dragon (Jane Austen's Dragons, #3)

by Maria Grace

“Considering you gained what you most wanted whilst I have lost just as much and perhaps a great deal more, is it too much to ask that you would remember my situation?

My mother and Kitty have been successfully persuaded that it is right and proper that I take over at Netherfield for Lydia, who is now visiting an ill relation.

Silliness and intelligence are not mutually exclusive. Remember, her family actively encouraged her ridiculous behavior. An intelligent girl could easily work that to her benefit—and I think she did.”

They were dealing with a large blue lindwurm, possibly from the continent, who did not like to fight and was cowed by Longbourn’s temper, but was creative enough to find some way to placate him.

I took your suggestion and scratched a message to the Netherfield Dragon in the soft cellar dirt, asking him why he was persuading Mary to be disagreeable. He wrote back to me: Because I do not like you.

“Partners.” She leaned her head against his shoulder. “I like the notion of being partners. Yours is a rather uncommon attitude, I do confess.”

Does it say what you need to know that the days here have been increasingly lonely, and when I have considered what company I would most desire, I have come to the conclusion it is yours?”

How kind of him to question the most treasured memories of her childhood, the events that shaped her into who and what she was today.

“Oh!” She nearly stumbled over the long, half-furry, half-scaled body that wove around her feet near the garden gate. “Rumblkins!”

One really should be careful when telling a tatzelwurm to hurry. They were surprisingly fast, even nimble creatures. Though unladylike, she had to run to keep up with him, nearly tripping as she hopped over the stiles. He slowed just as she was ready to call for him to stop and let her catch her breath.

Though she wore only a simple shawl and gown, she was easily one of the most beautiful sights he had ever seen.

“Why are you so insistent upon confusing understanding with approval? They are hardly one and the same. Longbourn was childish, petulant, and throwing tantrums. I do not approve of those behaviors and have the intention of teaching Pemberley otherwise.”

“Pemberley will live five hundred years! Five hundred. What kind of influence will she have in that time? With her rank, it will be tremendous. At least five, maybe as many as ten generations at Pemberley will be her Keepers. What more worthwhile effort is there than shaping the kind of dragon they will Keep?”

That is the advantage we have over dragons: we are nimble and able to adapt and adjust in ways they cannot. Their opinions are formed early in their lives, and they do not change. It rests on men to exercise forbearance and creativity to find ways to make it all work. That is what brought about the Pendragon Treaty in the first place.”

April stared up at him, tiny and miserable. “Is your promise enough?” “It will be, my little friend. It will be.”

“If he has harmed her, I will help you slay the beast. Both Fitzwilliam and I will—damn the consequences. But we have no sign she has been harmed. Muster the little dragons of your Keep to scour the tunnels for any sign of her. When we know where she is, then we can mount a carefully considered rescue. It is Elizabeth’s best hope.

“It is kind of you to have both overlooked my complicity in this circumstance—I should have brought you into our confidence and committed to developing a more suitable plan—and that you have taken it upon yourself to determine not only how I feel but how I should act.”

“Which, of course, you know so well, you are able to discern it without my speaking a word.” “Any reasonable man would—” “I am not a reasonable man!” She took half a step back. “I do not know where you ever got the notion that I am a reasonable man, but I am not. I have never been, nor do I ever expect to be. I can give you quite a number of people to apply to for confirmation on that point, starting with Fitzwilliam.” “Whatever do you mean?” “I am a man who hears dragons; that alone is enough to set me apart from the normal, sensible sort. I also happen to like their company more than I like most people. That certainly is not sensible.”

“What will it take to make you believe the very qualities that make your father most annoyed are those I most admire in you? I do not want a woman who cannot think for herself, who relies upon me for every scrap of information, and to form her every opinion. Yes, I would like you to do me the honor of talking with me and sharing your thoughts with me, but I relish your ability to leap from one specialty to another, drawing connections and conclusions others would never see.”

“I do not want you to change. I have never wanted that. I know our life together is going to be challenging. Little Pemberley alone will more than ensure that. No one has raised a firedrakling in centuries. You will be writing the book on the matter in a very literal sense. How could I not want to be part of that?”

His lips found hers in a kiss that lingered as his fingertips caressed her throat. “Pray, are you convinced now that I still intend for you to become Mrs. Darcy?” “You have almost persuaded me, sir, but not quite yet.” “Fear not. I am a persistent man and am not easily dissuaded.”

“Are you teasing me, Mr. Darcy?” “Absolutely and without reservation. Have you a problem with that?” “Only that you are not kissing me.” “Permit me to remedy that immediately.”

It should not be too difficult to persuade Jane that Talia was a rabbit.

“I am entirely in favor of the idea, though I confess my reasons are not nearly so noble.” Her eyes twinkled just a bit. “Who said all of mine were?”

A home could not have too many dragons, and a home built by a man who said that was precisely the place she belonged.

“You have proved yourself ignorant, even willfully so, and a danger to dragonkind. Moreover, you are not trustworthy, making it impossible to leave you alone for even an instant. You will be committed to a Blue Order girl’s school in the north of England until you reach majority at age twenty-one. If at that point you are still deemed a danger, you will be condemned as a career criminal and assigned to a managed home in Scotland for the rest of your natural life.”

“Your lives will be linked for all time. Fitzwilliam, your progeny will serve as Keepers. Netherford, you will hold the territory on their behalf, and your offspring will hold it for them after you. This relationship is not just for now, but for all the future generations. With that in mind, I name you Dragon and Keeper. Let the Records show this new bond.”

“By decree of the dragons of the Council, we create a new officer of the Blue Order and appoint you to serve in that role: Dragon Sage. As such, you will be responsible, with the Chief Scribe, for reforming the education of all Dragon Mates, both Keepers and Friends, and for consulting with the same in all matters of draconic difficulties.”

By the power conferred to me by Uther Pendragon through the Blue Order, I make you Dame Commander of the Pendragon Order.” He tapped her shoulders with the sword.

“April will persuade her that she attended a ceremony, and a breakfast hosted by Lady Matlock that was everything she could have wanted for her daughter.” It was very kind of Lady Matlock to offer the ruse to mollify Mama, for it would mean she had to admit Mama and Kitty into her acquaintance.

“With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow: In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.”