Magical: A Pride and Prejudice Fantasy Variation by Elaine Burkett

Author:Elaine Burkett [Burkett, Elaine]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2023-09-16T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

That evening was one of the days Mr. Darcy came to dinner, and Elizabeth sat next to him at the table. She animatedly discussed all she had learned that day, and Mr. Darcy was able to give further details of how the device that controlled the flow of magic worked. She hesitated to ask him about his nature and earth magic in relation to his estate, but he had never yet shown reluctance to answer any question of hers, so she decided to go ahead and ask.

“One of the things Lady Matlock said was that, although earth and nature magic aren’t used much in town, they are very sought after in the country. Do you find that to be the case with you?”

His eyes twinkled with hidden amusement, although his face remained expressionless. “In a way, yes. In a way, no.”

She waited for him to continue. When he did not, she prompted, “Would you care to elaborate?”

He almost smiled as if he were teasing her. “My abilities are very much in demand in the spring and mid-summer, however, the person who is demanding them is myself, so I’m not sure if you could say they are truly in demand.”

“I see.” She sighed slightly in amused exasperation. “And why those particular times?”

“Without telling you all the secrets of my trade,” his eyes twinkled again, “I can say this much. Each spring I go around to as many fields as possible on my estate and cast my spells. The earth magic makes the field optimally fertile for whatever is being grown there, and the nature magic speeds growth and reduces weeds. Since the growth of the crops is sped up, we can almost always get in a second crop every year which is planted in mid-Summer.”

“And what do you get out of this arrangement? On my father’s estate the rents are flat fees, so there is no reason for him to take a direct interest in what the tenants choose to do with the land. I understand, though, that many landowners do facilitate the spread of new farming methods so that they have reason to raise the rents.”

“I have an unusual arrangement with my tenants. Instead of a flat fee, they pay me a percentage of what they earn. With that in place, it is in my direct interest to promote the prosperity of my tenants. It also makes it so that if there is a poor yield one year that they won’t have to spend all their money just to pay the rent, although that is unlikely with my magic around.”

“I like that idea,” responded Elizabeth, “unusual as it may be. Is that the only way you use your magic?”

“Not at all. When I am at Pemberley I find that not a day goes by without some demand on my magic. Whether that is recharging the water devices in my home, healing sick sheep or horses, or even occasionally assisting the local physician. I can’t heal people very well without a light magician, but I can do some things.

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