by Maria Grace
Maybe it was fitting that the Blue Order offices did the same.
Papa had once said what made the offices truly impressive were the labyrinth of tunnels underneath the building. Multiple levels of cellars had been dug out, extending the office farther underground than it was above. From the offices, a myriad of tunnels ran under the whole of London, connecting many of the great structures and houses to the Great Court and Hall of the Blue Order on the deepest subterranean level.
The Great Court was said to host all manner of Order events, both social and judicial. It was the one place where major dragons and Keepers could come together in large numbers with the dragon-deaf populace left none the wiser. If only she might get to see it someday.
Uncle Gardiner rapped at the door. A somber, blue-coated servant opened the door. Uncle presented his signet, the one all Blue Order members had, and they were admitted into a huge entry hall. White marble with veins of grey and gold lined the floor and the grand, sweeping staircase about twenty paces ahead. An oak railing, carved in the form of large wyrms, flanked the stairs. A minor dragon graced each spindle, but they were too far away to make out the fine details. April peeked out from her hood to look.
A blue-liveried footman met them and inquired after their business. Uncle explained, and the footman offered direction to his destination. “The little girl and her Friend should wait for you in the parlor.”
“I will escort her and chaperone her for the duration,” Rustle squawked.
“Very well.” The footman gestured for Elizabeth to follow Rustle. With Uncle’s nod, she obeyed.
He flew to the staircase and upstairs, almost too fast for her to keep up with him and certainly too fast for her to actually admire the carvings. How unfair! Worse still, it probably was not proper to run up the stairs, but if she lost track of him, how would she ever find her way in a place so vast? April barely managed to keep her grip on Elizabeth’s shoulder. Pray she did not fall off, lest they become totally disconnected from Rustle. Thankfully, he waited for her at the first landing.
“The parlor is not far. This way.” He pointed down the corridor with his wing and launched.
At least in the corridor, she only had to walk briskly, not run, to keep up. It still earned her a few stern glares from cranky-looking old men as she made her way to a very large, open door—one large enough that Longbourn, if he ducked, could pass through. A building designed for dragons! A chill snaked down her spine. Was there ever a place so wonderful?
She peeked into the room. The huge expanse seemed less a parlor and more a fantastical reading room, populated equally by humans and dragons. Windows covered the far wall. Light poured in through glass that seemed covered with a light coating of frost. No wonder she had not been able to see inside from the street. What a clever way to prevent accidental glimpses of those within.
The wall adjacent to the windows boasted bookcases extending to the ceiling, shelves loaded with tomes of every shape and size, some bowing under the weight. Opposite the windows, curiosities abounded. Shelves, cases, sideboards all bore so many wonderful things. Framed feathers and scales, teeth and claws, carvings of creatures familiar and not. If only she might look at them all! April cheeped and shuddered pointing at several of the artifacts—no doubt reminders of the predatory dragons which plagued her kind.
Tables and chairs, some near the windows, and others in clusters around card tables, filled the center of the room. Men played cards. A pair of drakes seemed to be playing draughts next to a trio of cockatrice playing at some kind of table top bowling that involved kicking a ball to and fro.
How unexpected. But then of course, it only made sense that dragons would have special games that they played just as men did.
“You are staring,” Rustle whispered in her ear.
“Pray excuse me.” She turned her gaze to the floor. Did dragons mind being stared at as people did? Papa had never mentioned.
Rustle led her to an overstuffed leather chair near the window, several books piled on the nearby pedestal table—a magnificent lindwurm, covered in ormolu, supported the round marble tabletop! “I am sure you can occupy yourself quite contentedly whilst you wait. I have some business to conduct. Stay here until I return for you.”
Had he not said he would chaperone her? But if she said something, would she sound ungrateful for this opportunity and be asked to leave? Best not to take the chance. She climbed into the chair and pulled the stack of books into her lap.
The topmost book boasted a magnificent green leather binding, tooled in a dragon scale pattern and edged in gold. The Society of Drakes: The Rules and Order Found in a Congenial Community of Minor Dragons Unremarked upon Elsewhere. Her heart beat a little faster. Minor drakes lived together? Was that possible? Dragon lore considered dragons solitary creatures who did not form communities.
She licked her lips and opened to the first chapter: The establishment of dominance in the social hierarchy. The author seemed terribly fond of using very long words, and as many phrases in Latin as he could fit in. That was a shame as it made the text very difficult to read. Perhaps Papa would allow her to learn Latin at some point—if only to make it easier for her to read dragon lore. Surely that would be a sufficient reason to justify teaching it to a girl.
April hopped to the chair’s arm to stare at the illustrations in the text, cocking her head to and fro as though she could read along. Maybe someday.
Even without those words she could not understand, the chapter was fascinating. This new information, together with what Longbourn had told her, made the concepts about dominance among dragons make so much sense! Of course, it was so obvious! How could she have missed the profound importance of what it took to establish territory in creating a pecking order among drakes!
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
She jumped and looked over her shoulder.
A slate-grey drake with sharp spine ridges stood on his hind legs close behind her and peered at the page she read. “The author has the basic notions correct, but I fear he oversimplified matters.”
“Indeed? In what way?” She turned to face him.
He beckoned to a blue-grey drake with a pair of short horns. “Come, help me explain, Cloudy. You too, Mist and Thunder.” A pair of pale grey, hooded drakes looked at him.
A moment later she was surrounded by four drakes, standing on their back legs, rendering them just about her height. April hopped back into her hiding place in Elizabeth’s hood. Without introductions, the group of drakes must have been very intimidating.
“Ah yes,” Mist leaned over the arm of the chair and peered at the book. “A very good, basic text on the subject, if a bit simplified. He misses some of the finer nuances of the matter.” She turned to Thunder. “If you will assist me?”
He nodded, dropping to all fours and turning his barrel chest toward Elizabeth.
The four drakes patiently demonstrated what the book had tried to describe, pointing out the finer details that had been glossed over, which, at least in this case, seemed to make all the difference. With their encouragement, she joined in the exercise, using her cloak to stand in for a frilled hood and the ability to puff herself up to larger proportions.
Mist and Cloudy, the smallest of the group, ducked under and around her cape, sniffing and ruffling it.
“Very clever, very clever, indeed. The use of such a garment would make communication much clearer under so many circumstances.” Mist turned over her shoulder and flared her hood open and closed whilst waving her tail.
A very large, very blue snake slithered from the darkest corner of the room directly toward them. What a spectacular noise it made as it went, like a company of men marching. A blue pa snake! Gracious, she had never seen one before, much less met one. What had that book on introductions said about snake-type greetings?
The pa snake stopped in front of her and lifted head and shoulders until he “stood” about Uncle Gardiner’s height. His eyes glittered like jet beads as his dainty tongue tast
ed the air.
Elizabeth dropped to her knees and pulled her cloak over her head. “I am honored to make your acquaintance.”
“I am Castordale. My territory’s Keeper is Sir Edward Dressler. Who are you?”
She peeked up. “Miss Elizabeth Bennet. My father is Keeper to Longbourn.”
Castordale flicked the back of her head with his tongue, and she slowly rose.
“She has been reading on drake society.” Mist bobbed her head slightly.
Castordale’s tail curled around behind him, and he sat back on it. “One of my favorite courses of study. Go on.”
The drakes began talking over one another with points they wished Castordale to explain and gestures they wished her to demonstrate with her cloak. He seemed only too happy for the society and launched into detailed, if occasionally confusing, explanations. His response to her cloak was entirely unexpected. He declared it exceptionally clever for a warm-blood, deserving of a monograph! Papa would never believe it!
Somewhere amidst the animated conversation, two footmen appeared bearing a tea service. Castordale urged her to partake with them. Having tea with dragons? What more could she possibly hope for? Who knew that they even enjoyed tea? Granted, not every hostess served dried cod, roast whole pigeons, kippers, and small beer at tea, which made it all a little peculiar. But there were also some lovely little biscuits called madeleines, brought especially for her, that made her feel especially welcome. Even better, they were sweet enough to please April who ventured out to sample them.
As they finished their tea, Castordale looked over his shoulder and beckoned someone toward them.
“Lizzy! I have been looking everywhere for you!” Uncle trundled up with a large parcel under one arm and an exasperated look on his face.
She swallowed back the lump in her throat. “This is where Rustle instructed me to wait. I have not moved from this spot, just as he told me.”
Rustle landed on the back of her chair. “Indeed, she is where I instructed her to be. I do not know how you could have become confused.”
“We have enjoyed her company greatly.” Castordale smiled, at least insofar as a creature without lips could. “You need not worry. Please, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, consider yourself very welcome in our reading room the next time you come.”
Elizabeth gasped and looked at Rustle who glanced away and shook his head.
“Come, now, Lizzy. It is late, and we need to return to Cheapside. I thank you all for keeping my niece company.” He bowed from his shoulders and took Elizabeth’s hand.
The walk home was a quiet one. Though she could feel no anger from Uncle Gardiner, there was a sort of heaviness—concern perhaps—that radiated from him. Perhaps she should not have talked to Storm, the drake who had approached her. But that would have been rude and ill-mannered. Truly, what was she supposed to have done? If only she could ask.
But conversation did not seem welcome at the moment. Perhaps at another time.
In the meantime, it would be difficult to keep the most remarkable day she had just spent all to herself. At least she would be able to record it all in her commonplace book.
Chapter 10
The next morning, after a breakfast that involved a great number of woeful remarks on Mama’s part, Uncle Gardiner invited Elizabeth and April to come to his study. One might have thought he simply invented the need to talk to her in order to escape the morning room, but such subterfuge was unlike Uncle Gardiner. He must have some desire for conversation with her, however small—perhaps just to ask after April and how she enjoyed her morning jam.
Once inside the tidy, sunlit room that faced the street, he led her to a plain, narrow door opposite the window, beside his tall, uncluttered bookcase. He was obviously a well-read man, but managed to keep all his books in order and on the shelves. Perhaps, when one had as many books as Papa, the task became quite impossible. Tucked between the bookcase and corner, with a coat-tree in front of it, the unassuming entrance would have been very easy to miss.
“I thought you might be interested to see this.” He pulled the coat-tree aside and opened the door to a very tiny, very plain room, with a single window, partially open.
The walls were plain boards, painted pale grey, as were the floor boards. A carved wooden perch stood in the center of the room, a few feather-scales on the floor beneath it. Though not nearly as ornate, it resembled the dragon perch kept in Papa’s study. A small table held an empty tin plate with a few drops of gravy left at the very edge and a bowl of small beer, half drunk. Below the table sat the package Uncle had brought home yesterday from the Blue Order.
“This is a room dedicated to Rustle’s use. Well, in all rights, it is more of a closet, but it is his nonetheless. This house has been home to many non-dragon hearing family members. It has served very well for him to have his own space where he might come and go as he likes. Though your mother grew up here, I am not certain she even knows about this space.”
April launched from her shoulder and buzzed around the room, checking out the cobwebs in the high corners. Was she looking for insects to eat? She had never shown any preference for them before.
“It is a lovely idea that he should have a place of his own. Is he able to open the window himself?”
“A builder affiliated with the Order crafted the window to swing open like a French door making it easy for him to operate. It is a feature incorporated into many dragon-friendly homes.” He winked as he sidled past her to retrieve the package. He pushed aside the plate and set the curious object on the table, untying the strings that held the wrapping. “I think you both shall find this very dragon-friendly as well. I had intended to bring it to Longbourn as soon as it was ready, but it seems you have come for it yourself.” He pushed away the brown paper to reveal a heavy quilted cover, like a tea cozy over the still mysterious domed object. “Pray, April come down and see. Go ahead, Lizzy, uncover it.”
She unbuttoned the quilted wrapper, revealing white wrought-iron filigree shaped into a tall dome. “A cage?”
April squawked and flapped. “No, no, I will have no part of any cage.”
“Let me show you. It is not a cage, although your mama and sisters will be persuaded, for everyone’s good, that it is.” He opened the little door and pointed at the lock. “Look closely. The lock is on the inside and can only be operated by a fairy dragon’s beak—see how tiny the locking mechanism is. No one can lock you in, but you may lock others out.”
April hopped toward it and pecked at the latch. It clicked, sliding out a bolt that would fasten the door in place. She pecked again, and it released. Cocking her head, she hopped to the other side. No, there was no such mechanism on the outside.
“How clever! You can come and go freely, but no one would suspect! That is brilliant and certainly not a cage.” Elizabeth tested the door herself. The ironwork proved not only very sturdy, but very fine, with no rough edges to catch tender skin.
“There is more. See how the base is very thick? There is a reason.” Uncle turned the cage slightly and revealed a sliding panel in the base. “Fairy dragons hate the cold. So you can slide a warm brick here, then cover the cage with the cozy to make it very warm inside, much like you might warm your bed before tucking in for the night.”
Apparently dragons were not the only ones who could be persuasive.
April twittered happily. “A warm place for me?” She hopped inside. “Oh, a nesting box, and it is full of soft!”
Elizabeth giggled as April fluffed the bits of cotton wool and feathers inside the box.
“And a perch! Oh, up there—does that swing?” April flitted to the top of the cage where a dainty white swing hung down from the dome’s apex.
Who would have known she would so enjoy flapping her wings and swinging?
“Oh! Oh! Is that a bath?” April dove toward a china bowl held in an iron scrollwork frame.
“Indeed, it is. I did not know whether you preferred water or dust, so it has not been set up yet, bu
t let me know your preferences, and I will prepare it for you. Likewise, these dishes are for your victuals. These perches,” he pointed to several small shelves affixed at various heights within the cage, “should permit you an excellent vantage point for anything you wish to observe from within. And—this is very special for the seamstress has only just worked out this design,” he wrapped the cozy around the cage, adjusting it with the drawstring, “the cozy is crafted so that you may adjust it from inside, closing it if you want privacy or warmth, and opening it otherwise.”
“I am astonished that anyone would have put so much thought and care into something designed for fairy dragons.” Elizabeth ran her fingers along the top edge of the pale blue cozy.
“They are very dear little friends. Not everyone is so impatient with them as is your father. There are a fair number in the Order who are very vocal in their support of them. I am glad you like April’s new room. I hope you both shall enjoy it very much.”
Elizabeth bit her knuckle. “I do not know that Papa will allow us to accept such an extravagant gift. I am quite certain it is not something he can afford.”
Uncle dropped down to one knee beside her. “Oh, Lizzy. I know your father has been very difficult recently. It is complicated and difficult to understand, but pray, try to be patient with him. He is not a bad man—”
“Mr. Gardiner! Mr. Gardiner!” The housekeeper banged at the study door.
“Pray excuse me a moment.” Uncle pulled the door closed behind him. Perhaps the housekeeper was persuaded not to be aware of this room so that Rustle might have his privacy.
The hinges on the study door complained as it swung open.
“Sir, pray. Mr. Bennet has come. What am I to do with him?”
“Gardiner!” Papa boomed. “I must speak with you immediately.”
“Good morning, Thomas. Let us go to the parlor—”
