Lucky Rabbit

“You’re an Avington?” Lady Frances said, looking like she’d just discovered raccoons were living in her attic. Arabelle’s fingers tightened on hers, but this time the formidable old lady didn’t back down. Her gaze went to Augustus. “You’re going to allow an Avington to teach here?”

To his credit, Augustus didn’t drop his face into his palm, though he very definitely looked like he wanted to. “Eurydice is… a distant relation. The former Lord Avington recently encountered some, ah, legal troubles, and was forced to pass the property on.”

“Oh,” the woman said, deflating slightly. Her eyes were still narrowed as they returned to Pandy. “How distant?”

“A… cousin?” Pandy said, at the same time Augustus said, “Very.” Then he sighed and added, “A very distant cousin. I doubt she’s even in the registry.”

Now both women looked shocked. “Not in the registry?” Arabelle said. “But then how will she know-” She stopped, looking from Pandy to her nephew, and a small smile kicked up one corner of her mouth. “That distant?”

They might as well have been speaking in Saskia’s language, for all Pandy understood of the conversation, but as soon as Augustus started nodding, she backed him up on the general principle of the thing. The lovely blonde lady focused on Pandy, her gaze surprisingly sharp. “So you’re going to fix up the manor?”

Pandy cleared her throat. “That’s the plan. It’s probably going to be expensive, though, so I’m not sure…” Both women looked faintly aghast, so she trailed off, leaving an awkward silence which Augustus hurried to fill.

“She just arrived in Knightmere, and found that the project is quite a bit larger than she expected, which is why she’s decided to take a position here,” he said, standing to hover protectively behind Pandy. He didn’t go so far as to lay a hand on her arm or shoulder, but there was no doubt he would prefer that his aunts stop following this particular line of questioning.

The other corner of Arabelle’s mouth joined the first, producing a small, satisfied smile. For a moment, she looked far more like Miss Cupcakes when the kitten was presented with a bowl of cream than Pandy was comfortable with. Placing her hands on the arms of the chair, Arabelle levered herself up, cutting off Lady Frances’ next comment.

“Well, my love, we should be going,” she said, holding out a hand so the taller woman quickly placed a bracing arm beneath it. Arabelle smiled at Pandy and Augustus. “We’ll leave you to finalize the details, then. I look forward to getting to know you better, Ms. Haupe.”

“Eurydice,” Pandy said, almost automatically. It just didn’t seem right to have this sweet old lady speak to her so formally.

Arabelle’s perfectly-made-up lips curved in something that might have been satisfaction. “Eurydice, then.” Turning to Professor Beeswick, who had watched all of this with far more pleasure than he had any right to do, she said, “And I do hope you’ll walk downstairs with us, Professor.”

If the Dragon looked ever so slightly put out that he wasn’t going to be allowed to stay and tease Pandy and Augustus further, he quickly wiped the emotion away. “Of course,” he said, turning back to the door, which someone had closed, thankfully. The last thing Pandy needed was a student or a parent popping in to witness this. Whatever this was.

Once the trio had vanished back down the stairs, Augustus let out a deep sigh and plopped back into his chair, taking off his glasses and placing them on the desk so he could rub his temples with both hands. “Well, that complicates matters,” he said, but in a thoughtful way, not an accusing one.

“What just happened?” Pandy asked, sitting down in the chair Arabelle had occupied. It was still faintly warm, and the scent of something herbal but light and refreshing surrounded her. “Who are they?”

The chancellor groaned slightly, leaning back in his chair, eyes closed. “My aunts. Well, Aunt Frances is my father’s mother’s sister, and Arabelle is her wife, but they’ve been married since I was a child, so I’ve always called her Aunt Arabelle.”

Well, that was new information for Pandy, on several levels, but Augustus said it so easily that he obviously didn’t expect any surprise from her, so she just said, “They seem nice?”

He snorted a laugh and sat up, giving her that wry grin she was becoming so fond of. “Don’t let appearances fool you. Arabelle used to be an actress, and she can still manipulate people as if they were puppets on strings, though she rarely bothers. She would have been an excellent… Could have done what I did, except that she’s a…”

“Dark mage?” Pandy asked, filling in the blank. It made sense that Dark mages wouldn’t be trusted to hunt down their own kind, though in every other way they seemed like perfect candidates, especially since they weren’t supposed to have elementals.

He nodded, seeming unsurprised that she’d guessed. “At one point it was common knowledge, but by now most people only remember her as a kind, elderly lady, so I’d appreciate you not mentioning it to anyone.”

Pandy gave him a ‘like I would’ look, and he chuckled, then shook his head. “They’re both good sorts, in their own ways, but they never had children of their own, so they spend far too much time nosing into the lives of their nieces and nephews. I’m the only one in my generation who remains unmarried, and every time they see me, they begin introducing me to every lady of their acquaintance who seems like they have the slightest chance of being a good match.”

“That’s why you ran away when you saw Lady Frances at the dress shop,” Pandy said, lips twitching. It really was funny, but she also had a sinking feeling in her gut. She knew why Augustus hadn’t married before now, and it wasn’t like he was old, but he was almost thirty, and he had finally settled down and gotten out of what was probably a dangerous line of work. He’d only almost died twice since Pandy’d arrived, and presumably that was an improvement?

“Indeed,” Augustus admitted, with a self-deprecating smile. “By this time next week, I expect they’ll have roped me into half a dozen dinner engagements, at which I’ll be introduced to various women with whom I have nothing in common except our marital status. Unless…” He leaned forward, eyes on Pandy. She froze, suddenly feeling like the rabbit she wasn’t. At the moment, anyway.

“Unless I can convince them I already have an interest in someone,” he mused, and his eyes began to sparkle as he added, “and that she’s equally interested in me.”

Pandy swallowed hard. “And who would that be?” she squeaked.

“Why, the lovely and talented new teacher at my school, of course,” Augustus practically purred, a smile playing around his lips. “One who’s entirely different from anyone else I’ve ever met, but is still quite eligible because of a recent inheritance. Not that they care that much about eligibility,” he hastened to add, as Pandy blanched. “Aunt Arabelle was… very definitely not wife material, and yet here they are, twenty-five years later.”

Pandy tilted her head. “Only twenty-five?” He had said they’d been married since he was young, but they had to be solidly in their sixties, at least.

He grinned, that focused look fading from his eyes a bit, allowing Pandy to slump as he glanced away. “Aunt Arabelle led Aunt Frances a merry chase, or so I hear. Arabelle is actually very well known, and she had no intention of ending her career and settling down. But then she had an accident, on stage, in front of hundreds of people. Of course there were Light mages in the audience, and they attempted to heal her, but,” he sighed, waving his fingers, “Light magic doesn’t work well on Dark mages. Everyone saw, and there was no hiding what she was. Aunt Frances was the only one of her suitors who stayed by her side.”

Pandy’s eyes widened. Someone had told her this before – that Light magic couldn’t be used to heal Dark mages. Who was it? Well, it didn’t matter. What did matter was- “So if I heal her, they’ll know I’m not actually a Light mage?” Pandy asked.

Augustus paused, then grimaced. “They’ll certainly know something is off about you.” He frowned. “Was that what Aunt Frances was trying to talk to you about? How does she know you can heal?”

Which was when Pandy realized she hadn’t ever told him the whole story of what happened in Needle and Tread. Quickly, she went over it, glossing over her own involvement in breaking his aunt’s nose and destroying the shop, though the amusement sparkling in his eyes said he was filling in the details on his own.

“Well,” he said with some satisfaction, sitting back again, “while I’m sorry Aunt Frances was injured, she’s spent a good bit of my life sticking that nose into my business, so I can’t say having it broken doesn’t have a certain amount of poetic justice, especially since it was so temporary. And,” his eyes narrowed in calculation, “since she recognized me immediately, in spite of my attempt to flee, it adds credibility to the idea that you and I are… involved.”

“Involved?” Pandy asked, and there was that annoying squeak again.

He positively beamed. “There may be some hand-holding involved,” he told her, entirely unrepentant. “I might have to loan you my coat on cold days.”

Just like Dorian gave Clara his coat? But somehow the idea didn’t seem so bad when she thought about putting on a garment that still held Augustus’s warmth and scent. And it might not even be filthy and/or covered in blood!

Struggling to maintain her composure, Pandy cleared her throat and said, “Do you think they’ll believe that?” At his raised brows, she stumbled onward. “I mean, you’re you, and I’m-” She waved her hand to herself. Admittedly, Eurydice wasn’t unattractive, but she was definitely older than Augustus, and, well, she was Pandy. Pandy had never been someone a romantic partner might introduce to their family. Or someone a potential romantic partner might introduce to themselves.

Augustus skipped that part and leaned forward, that unsettling warmth entering his gaze again. “I’m what, exactly?” he asked, and something about his voice sent a jolt of electricity down Pandy’s spine.

“Smart,” she blurted, “and funny, and kind, but a little bit sneaky. Maybe a lot sneaky, really. With a good job, and money, and a title, maybe, but definitely in a family with titles just floating around for the taking, and h… h… handsome.”

Lacing his fingers beneath his chin, the chancellor batted his lashes at her. “Tell me more, please,” he said, grinning.

“No, I don’t think I will,” Pandy said primly, standing and brushing at nonexistent skirts. As much as she enjoyed the freedom of wearing pants, there was something about skirts that allowed you to hide behind them. “I should get back to Thaniel.”

With a disappointed sigh, Augustus stood as well. “All right, then. But I will suggest that when I introduce you to the students, you don’t mention the Avingtons. They’re not well-known any more, but a good number of people have been taken in by Piers and his gang. They won’t be willing to admit it, but they’ll definitely be suspicious if you mention him or your new home, at least until you get a chance to renovate. Eventually it’ll become known that this new ‘cousin’ has no connection other than blood to the main line of the family, and then you’ll be safe, but that information needs to come from someone they already know and trust.”

“Your aunts?” Pandy asked hopefully, edging toward the door.

He snorted. “Yes, but no. They have a bit of a reputation as well, though now that they’re older it’s the sort that people want to invite to balls and tea-parties for the sake of exciting gossip. Unfortunately, you don’t really want to be the subject of that gossip.”

Pandy grimaced as she set her hand on the door leading to the hall. People had been talking about her all of her life, and none of it had ever been good. She’d actually been looking forward to starting over without any kind of traumatic or shocking backstory, and now here was an all-new one that wasn’t even true.

Augustus saw the expression and came around to stand by her side, gently resting a hand on her arm. “Don’t worry. My aunts can be intimidating, but they’re not unkind. I’ll speak to them, and they’ll keep what they think they know to themselves.”

Pandy let out a small, relieved sigh, but that reminded her of another question she meant to ask. “What’s the registry, and why does it matter if I’m on it?”

It was his turn to wince. “I’ve mentioned that the nobility tend to marry back amongst themselves, trying to get the best or strongest magic – especially Air, since Air elementalists marry into the royal family with fair regularity. Unfortunately, things happen, and sometimes children aren’t actually produced by a married couple. For that reason, the royal family keeps a secret registry of every member of every family, no matter how that child came to be. Isidor’s name is most certainly there, for instance, though his father’s family wouldn’t publicly admit to his existence. In order for a marriage license to be granted to a noble, this registry must be checked, to make certain the people involved aren’t, ah, more closely related than they suspected.”

Oh. That did make sense. Pandy pointed after the departed aunts, then to Augustus, and finally to herself. “So they were concerned that you and I…” Her voice trailed off as her cheeks flamed.

There was that teasing twinkle again. “Exactly. In fact, without being in the registry, you might find it difficult to get married at all, since you’re now a noble as well.”

“I am?” Her voice cracked.

He nodded. “Piers Avington officially recognized you as a member of his family, and his heir. Not only will he lose all claim to the estate once he’s convicted as a conman and murderer many times over, but the title goes to his next of kin. Which is you, according to the contract you both signed.”

She hadn’t realized he’d had a chance to read the contract, much less that he understood the language it was written in, but she probably shouldn’t have been surprised. “So I’m a… noble?”

“The noblest,” he said, leaning in, his eyes going soft, and she had a feeling they weren’t talking about titles any more. “Which is why, dear Rabbit, I would very much like to court you. Before anyone else gets the brilliant idea to do so.”

Something very hot climbed up her chest and over her face, and Pandy was absolutely certain she was turning as red as an overripe tomato. “For your aunts?”

He gave a sly little half-grin, his breath wisping against her cheek. “If you like.”

Pandy gave one more involuntary squeak, thought, <Cancel Shifting Faces,> and turned back into a rabbit.

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