Dark Mirror Read Online Free PDF Page B

wretched magic, in her own way she would live with honor.
    As Tory turned back to her trunk, her maid, Molly, entered and asked, “Do you need help with packing, miss?”
    Tory nodded gratefully. “I’m having trouble thinking what I’ll need.”
    “Nothing too fancy. Sensible clothes that you can put on without a maid to help.”
    Molly opened the upper section of the clothespress and began choosing garments. “Pack your warmest things. Lackland Abbey is right on the English Channel, so there’s a cold wind from the North Sea.”
    “How do you know so much about the school?” Tory asked.
    “My cousin was in service to a family whose son was sent there.” Molly pulled two pairs of sensible shoes and a pair of half boots from the wardrobe.
    Almost afraid to know the answer, Tory asked, “Did … did he ever come home?”
    Molly nodded. “Aye. Then he went into the army and was killed fighting the Frenchies.” She set the shoes in the bottom of the trunk. “Such a waste. ”
    Catching the edge in Molly’s voice, Tory asked, “What do you think of magic?”
    Molly looked up, her expression wary. “Do you want the truth, my lady?”
    “Yes,” Tory said flatly. “There have been too many lies here.”
    “People like me think wellborn folk are pure fools to be so set against magic.” Molly tucked several pairs of stockings in the trunk. “When my pa was hurt bad in a wagon accident, the local healer saved his life and his leg. That can’t be wrong.”
    “Magic can also be used to harm,” said Tory, thinking of all the arguments against using magical power. “It’s unnatural. A dishonorable kind of cheating.”
    “How can magic be unnatural when so many people have it? I wish I was a mage. I’d earn more than I do as a maid.” Molly pulled several shifts from the clothespress. “What’s unnatural is pretending that magic isn’t real when it is. ”
    “I guess that makes sense.” Tory frowned. “I just don’t know what to think. My view of the world has turned upside down today.”
    “And ’twill change more.” Molly regarded her with sympathy. “Leaving home is hard, miss, but you’re strong enough for anything. That was something wonderful, the way you saved the lad. You could have decided that your brother and his wife are young, they would have more, and let the child fall. No one would have been the wiser.”
    Tory shuddered. “What a horrid way to think!”
    Molly nodded, her hands moving swiftly as she folded the shifts and placed them in the trunk. “Yes, but there are some folk selfish enough to put their own comfort over the life of a child.” Her upward glance was approving.
    What did it say about Tory’s life that she was grateful for a housemaid’s approval? But maybe a servant could be wiser than a lord.
    Together, she and Molly finished packing. When they were done, Molly said, “Good luck to you, my lady.” She hesitated. “I have a bit of the Sight, and I think you’ll do very well. Better than you can dream of now.”
    “Thank you,” Tory said unevenly. “I need to hear that my life isn’t over.”
    *   *   *

    Tory was slipping a book of poetry into her trunk when she had another guest, this time her sister, Sarah. They regarded each other warily.
    “Are you and Lord Roger still betrothed?” Tory asked.
    Sarah nodded. “I … I don’t know if I could have come here to say good-bye if he’d broken the betrothal. Roger was shocked to see you flying. Everyone was. But he admires how you saved Jamie. Though his parents will be upset when they learn about you, he is of age and has an independent income, so he can do as he pleases.” She blinked back tears. “Thank heaven, he loves me enough to marry me anyhow.”
    “I’m glad. It’s good that he has the courage not to blame you for my failings.” Thinking of what Molly had said, Tory continued. “If he had broken the betrothal, would you have wished I’d let Jamie fall? If I hadn’t acted, no