Burning Bright (3 page)

“I’m sure I beg your pardon, Elinor,” Amelia said. “We none of us can help the way we’re made.”

Whether that was an apology, or another, subtler dig, Elinor could not decide, but she chose to let it pass. “I apologize for my quick words,” she replied. “I think I am more tired from the journey than I realized. May I retire early, papa?”

“You are clearly overwrought, so I will excuse you this once, daughter. We will speak tomorrow.”

“Do not forget, Elinor, we
will
be attending to your wardrobe after Selina’s visit is completed,” Mrs. Pembroke said as Elinor was about to leave the room. “I think it is not too much to ask that you take an interest in your appearance.”

“Yes, mama,” Elinor said, and escaped to her room.

The fire rose up in response to her entrance, and she soothed it as she would an anxious puppy. She knew it was not truly alive, but it amused her to pretend it was; she refused to entertain the notion that she did so only because she was so desperately lonely now that Selina was married. If only she had had a Speaker’s talent! She certainly did not envy Amelia her talent, since Shaping, unless one had the Extraordinary gift of Healing others, was useful only for making oneself pretty, and Elinor was accustomed to being the plain one. But to speak to Selina every day…

Elinor stretched out her hand to the fire, and the flame mirrored her gesture. Where had this strange talent come from? Her father had not discovered a single Scorcher in his lineage for a dozen generations. Her mother, talentless but pretty, was out of the question as a source for Elinor’s talent; Mr. Pembroke thought too well of himself to believe his wife had ever played him false. At any rate, Elinor resembled her father too closely for that to be possible, with her chestnut hair and heavy, dark brows, her iron-grey eyes, her too-strong chin that on her father looked manly and on Elinor looked stubborn. Her heritage was a mystery, and one Elinor had no interest in solving.

She drew back from the flame and undressed, awkwardly fumbling with the lacing of her stays until she could wriggle free of them. She was to be launched on society in the manner of one of the Navy’s ships of the line, rigged and outfitted for the duty of marrying well and producing dozens of talented babies for her noble husband, all thanks to this unexpected talent—and yet she could not say, if she were given the opportunity, that she would ask for it to be taken away. The fire was like a part of her that had been waiting all these years to awaken, and the idea of losing it, even after only four months’ time, made her feel ill.

The sheets were still clammy because she had come to bed before the maid had brought the warming pan, but she rubbed her bare feet together to warm them, then bade the fire bank itself. She felt as if she were in two places, her solid body here in the slightly damp bed, her ghostly self snuggled securely into the fireplace. It was a strange but comforting feeling, and she lay awake enjoying her dual state for close to an hour before falling asleep.

Elinor rose early the next morning and went quietly down the stairs to collect the newspapers. Her father never failed to arrange for their delivery, no matter where he was. She settled into an overstuffed chair in the unfriendly drawing room decorated in mauve and eggshell blue and opened
The Times
. Such ghastly news out of Nottinghamshire these days, those men striking in darkness, burning and smashing looms in the name of their “General Ludd.” And now Parliament was talking of making those actions a capital offense. Napoleon’s men overrunning Spain, his ships armed with Scorchers wreaking havoc on the Royal Navy’s proud fleet. Reading the newspaper certainly put her own problems into perspective.

She heard the faint sound of the door opening, the murmur of the butler’s voice—she had no idea what his name was—and then, more clearly, “I know perfectly well Miss Pembroke is at home, and you need not trouble yourself inquiring.”

“
Selina!
” Elinor threw the paper to the floor and leapt from her seat, meeting her sister halfway down the stairs and nearly bowling her over in her enthusiasm. Selina, Lady Wrathingham, laughed and embraced her tightly. “I’m so glad you’ve come,” Elinor said into her ear. “I have missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you too. Now, shall we sit and talk? I knew you would not mind if I came early, but I wanted you all to myself for an hour.” Selina pinched Elinor’s cheek gently. “And I intend to breakfast with you, which I realize is a shocking imposition, but if one is a viscountess, one is allowed to break with tradition, especially in the bosom of one’s own loving family.”

“I can think of no greater pleasure,” Elinor said, taking her sister by the arm and leading her upstairs to the drawing room. “I will tidy these papers away—sit, sit, and feel free to remove that horrid bonnet.”

“You think it horrid? It’s new.”

“Puce has never been your color, Selina.”

“You may be right. Oh well, I suppose I’ll have to order another.” Selina handed Elinor a loose sheet of newsprint and removed the offending bonnet, revealing dark-blonde hair that shone in the diffuse light from the windows. “I don’t know how you can bear to read about all the misery in the world. I know it makes me positively ill with anxiety.”

“I like knowing things. And it’s not all miserable. The Royal Navy has just announced the commission of half a dozen new ships, smaller and faster to fight these awful pirates coming out of the West Indies.”

“You see? Horrible pirates preying on our shipping lanes.”

Elinor laughed and shook her head. “I see there is no convincing you. But there are far more interesting things to talk about. How are my dearest nephews?”

“Very dear indeed, though poor Jack has had a terrible cough all week. Colin is beside himself at being deprived of his favorite playmate.” Selina cast her eyes down demurely and smoothed her fur-lined grey pelisse over her stomach. “And I expect to give them another companion before the year is out.”

Elinor threw her arms around her sister again, laughing in delight. “Such wonderful news! John must be bursting with pride.”

“He does dote on his sons fiercely,” Selina agreed. “Though I believe he would be just as happy with a daughter.”

“Of course he would! You are so lucky in your family, sister. If I believed I could be half as happy—” She stopped, biting her lip.

Selina took her hands and squeezed, gently. “I know why mama and papa have brought you to town,” she said. “They treat you differently now that you have an Extraordinary talent.”

Elinor nodded. “All these years of being the non-talented one, and then one night… I don’t understand it, Selina, but there it is. And now nothing will do but that I marry some duke or earl I neither know nor care for—” The tears she hadn’t shed for four months choked her. She swallowed hard, and went on, “This is not the life I wanted.”

“What life did you want? Certainly not to be Miss Pembroke, spinster daughter of Josiah and Albina Pembroke, living in their house and eating their food with no home nor portion of your own.”

It felt like a rebuke. “You sound as if you agree with them.”

Selina shook her head. “I apologize, dearest, that’s not what I meant at all. I’m simply asking what you
do
want, if it’s not living with papa for the rest of your life or marrying some chinless duke.”

“I want…” Nothing sprang to mind. “I want to be free to do as I choose. If I marry, I want to marry someone I can at least respect or even love, not because he has the right talent—and I certainly want to marry someone who cares for me and not this…this
gift
, I suppose you could call it, though that raises the question of who gave it me. God, possibly. But mostly I want not to feel I owe my every breath to someone else. I don’t want to be
grateful
all the time, Selina, and papa never fails to make me feel as though everything I am and have and will be is due to him.”

“I wish I knew how to give that to you.”

“So do I.”

Selina patted her hand compassionately. “Do you not think it even remotely possible one of these titled lords might be someone you could love?”

“I suppose.” Elinor shrugged. “But with papa spreading the news of my valuable talent as if he were advertising a horse for sale, I doubt any of them will look at me as more than a breeding animal.”

“Oh, don’t, pray don’t talk like that! You are breaking my heart.” Selina’s enormous fur muff fell off her lap and rolled a little way across the floor. “Elly, you deserve so much more than that!”

“Tell it to papa. He might listen to Lady Wrathingham. He is certainly not interested in Miss Pembroke’s opinion.”

“If I thought it would do any good…you know he has only your best interest in mind.”

“Or what he believes is my best interest, which coincidentally aligns in perfect harmony with what Josiah Pembroke wants.”

“You cannot think so cynically of him.”

“Can I not?” Elinor sighed. Selina was right; he might terrify her, but he did believe he was securing her happiness in helping her attach the right man—even if his definition of right failed to match hers. “I beg your pardon, Selina. I am simply so discouraged. You know how miserable my first season was. Mama assures me this will be different, but I fear it will simply be miserable in a different way.”

“Well, you needn’t fear, because I intend to introduce you to many men who will see you for yourself and not for your talent,” Selina said. “And papa cannot force you to marry according to his wishes, you know.”

“I know. But he’s threatened to protect me from ‘undesirables,’ which makes me want to find one of them and propose marriage immediately.”

Selina laughed and bent over to retrieve her muff. “I should like to be there when you do!”

“For shame, Selina, intruding on a private moment like that. Hand me that muff, and do remove your coat. I think it is late enough that I can demand breakfast from the staff. Will you join us afterward in our tour of the warehouses? I shall be so much happier if I am not left alone with mama and Amelia, who I am certain will find a way to be included in the party.”

“Has our darling sister changed much since I last saw her?”

“Her cheekbones are higher and I believe her waist is narrower, not that anyone will notice. If she is not careful, someone will snap her in half like a piece of straw.”

“I’ve often wondered what it must feel like, to a Shaper, shifting bones and muscles around like that.” Selina linked her arm through Elinor’s as they descended the stairs. “Like snakes slithering around beneath the skin, I imagine.”

“The snake is certainly a creature I associate with Amelia.”

“I should probably reprimand you for being so cruel, but it’s hard to do so when I agree.”

In which a ball turns out to be a disappointment

The chaise rattled and jounced over the cobblestones, forcing Elinor to cling to the edge of her seat or be tossed into her mother’s ample lap. She wished her father had not hired this shiny, expensive carriage that exposed her to the gaze of everyone they passed. Anxiety was making her stomach churn as if she had eaten something poisonous.