I am a SUCKER for the Col. Fitzwilliam character, always, in every story. Probably because I am married to a military man . . . . so yes, the plot is about to thicken as we bring it all to a simmer . . .
XOXOXO
Elizabeth Ann West
Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam's horse carefully negotiated the narrow alleys of Cheapside just as the day's heat began to amplify the summer's most displeasing smells. A city full of people and all of their waste were all a visitor to London could expect to greet him as the fashionable season came to a close. Richard counted the houses, as many of the numbers were obscured or simply missing, until he arrived at a town home that appeared in better condition than those earlier on the block. The door boasted a fresh coat of blue paint just as his cousin's letter from Scotland had described. Over the door hung a slightly rusty two and three to denote the residence. A groom from the carriage house behind shuffled forward to take the reins as the Colonel's boots landed in two inches of muck and he cursed under his breath.
After giving the young groom explicit instructions for his mount, Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam of His Majesty's Finest climbed the stone stairs to the front door stomping with each step to remove as much of the street's filth as he could from his boots. When his ring was answered, Richard introduced himself and asked for Edward Gardiner, surprised to find himself admitted right away.
The house of Edward Gardiner bustled with activity as the colonel was not the only guest to disrupt the daily routine. After being shown into Mr. Gardiner's office, the colonel felt confused as it appeared the room was empty. Shortly after the servant closed the door, a voice from the high wingback chair by the fire greeted him.
"I am impressed with your diligence."
"Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam of the — Regiment at your service. And whom do I have the pleasure of speaking to? Mr. Gardiner?" Richard continue to stand by the door as he had not been formally invited to take a seat. The man laughed.
"My brother sees to his business. I suspect you received a letter from Mr. Darcy much as I have, though I must say I did not fully expect you the same day. I received his missive just this morning, perhaps not long after the rider left your barracks." Mr. Bennet revealed his identity by stating he had received a letter similar to Richard's from his cousin.
"I came to call as soon as I might, I had morning exercises you see."
"Certainly, commendable, in fact, come in, come in. Might His Majesty's Finest indulge in a drink?" Mr. Bennet offered to pour from a decanter at his side. Richard stepped forward to take the wooden chair nearest his host, noticing the open book on the man's lap. Richard frowned, though Darcy had warned him that Elizabeth's father may not appear to be doing very much to find his daughter. But Richard suspected even this much inactivity would draw the fire of Darcy's breath, yet Richard kept his own.
"So another joins the fruitless brigade to find my foolish daughter. I cannot speak ill of your cousin, but I do not see his connection in all of this. You both have an acquaintance with my Lizzie?" Mr. Bennett's hand showed a slight tremor as he handed the glass to the colonel.
"I had the pleasure of meeting Miss Elizabeth Bennet at my aunt's estate in Kent. I believe she visited her cousin, my aunt's parson."
"That great buffoon. But Lizzie went to please Charlotte,er—Mrs. Collins, and I was loathe to lose her. When the news came of Lydia's flight, she left for Scotland with her aunt where I am appraised she has reunited with your cousin and enlisted him in our aid. . ."
Richard schooled his face at Mr. Bennet's odd acceptance of his daughter Elizabeth being alone with a man not of her family. To say this Bennet man held peculiarities did not fully prepare him for such a bizarre interview. Still, the man continued talking, so Richard felt it best to listen more and talk none.
"But I tell you just as I told my brother, there is nothing to be done. My time is nearly up for the show I must perform for my wife. You see that my daughter is too penniless for a man like Wickham to seek a ransom. He may not have even had to say very many pretty words to get my daughter in the carriage." Mr. Bennet coughed; a wet, hacking display, not a sound to be heard in the middle of summer's warmth. Out of breath after his fit, Mr. Bennet helped himself to more of his own drink which appeared to subdue whatever irritation lie in his chest.
"I wonder if you might share with me any information you may hold concerning Mr. Wickham. I understand he was in your home county with the militia?"
"Aye, much to my wife's happiness for she always did love a red coat." Mr. Bennet raised his eyebrows in the colonel's direction with a nod to the man's uniform. "She filled the girls with all sorts of silly notions . . . balls and proposals. When Colonel Forster and his wife invited Lydia to stay with them for the summer encampment, I assumed she would be perfectly safe under the commander's protection." Bitterness seasoned Mr. Bennet's last words as a brief expression of anger overtook the man's face. Mr. Bennet cast his glance to the fire and visibly adjusted his shoulders, as if shaking off the demons of rage.
Richard cautiously took a sip of his drink to buy time so his next question did not sound too eager. As the coals on the fire shifted from the bottom layer turning to ash, both men studied the grate to avoid each other.
"Your daughter was the particular guest of Colonel Forster and his wife? Wickham was so bold as to not only desert, but to take with him a woman under the protection of his commanding officer?" Richard asked, but Mr. Bennet had already said as much.
A cold, steely gaze met Richard's own as Mr. Bennet pressed his lips to a thin line. The man approached fifty, but in that frail moment of the father's greatest failure, a passerby might mistake him for nearing four-score in age. "I believe it is safe to say that filth Wickham holds no scruples at all. And that is why I hold no hope of my daughter's recovery."
Richard took a deep breath and set his drink down on the table, hardly half gone. He had duty later that day and did not wish to return to the barracks smelling strongly of drink for those who might press it to their advantage. Rising from his chair, Mr. Bennet offered Richard little more when a wave of his hand before turning his book back over as a sign of dismissal for the soldier so wholly unconnected to him.
Still, despite his misgivings about the father, Richard did care for Miss Elizabeth, perhaps more than was proper, but not more than she deserved. He felt he needed to declare his intentions to Mr. Bennet as he was the most proper to hear them even if they were not a responsibility he cared to hold.
"Thank you for your time, sir. I will begin my search for your daughter and Mr. Wickham after I have requested leave from my superiors. With your permission, I should like to call again when I have secured the freedom to look into the affair." Richard did not stand at full attention, but his foreboding presence made a slight impression upon Mr. Bennet in that he could not ignore the declaration outright.
The man looked over his spectacles and addressed Richard directly. "Suit yourself, Colonel, I am but a man with a book reported to by all sorts, it would appear, as to their plans. My eldest daughter has joined me and I expect her arrival again any moment. She, too, is searching I believe, though she comes up with a new excuse every day to go into town. Are you acquainted with her as well?"
Richard shook his head. "No, sir, I have not had the pleasure of meeting any of your daughters other than Miss Elizabeth. But I have heard very admirable recounts of Miss Bennet from her sister."
Mr. Bennet shrugged. "If you call again, and she is here, she may be able to tell you more about this sordid affair with Wickham. I still don't see how it will be of any help to you personally to conduct such a search, but I know better than to stand between a man and his plans, especially a military man. I suspect by the end of the week I shall be returning to Hertfordshire."
"You will not await your daughter and Mr. Darcy returning from Scotland?" Richard looked at the man, utterly confused. Darcy's letter had made it quite clear he and Miss Elizabeth were to marry, certainly that development had to have some bearing on Mr. Bennet, dedicated reader though the man may be.
"Young man, I hold a letter from your cousin with not a line written by my daughter's hand. I suspect my Lizzie will be returning with her aunt and have quite the story for me about the poor lovesick Mr. Darcy." Richard drew a sharp breath bringing another chuckle from Mr. Bennet. The older man touched the side of his nose. "You did not think I knew my daughter refused your cousin's proposal in Kent! My daughter Jane is ever dutiful, though she did not tell me this little intrigue until we left Longbourn. I suspect it was guilt."
Richard took a turn at pressing his lips into a fine line as he had little more to say to the exasperating man that was Mr. Bennet. Instead, Richard offered the man a bow and turned to open the door and show himself out. He was not entirely sure the Bennet family was at all deserving of the fuss and attentions of the Fitzwilliams nor especially his cousin, but he did know that Miss Elizabeth was entirely worthy of whatever help he could offer. And Bennets aside, the situation developing represented a much more complicated matter than any of them might know unless Richard found the couple and made them marry.
As Richard showed himself out of the study, he nearly crashed into the most beautiful creature he had ever set eyes on.
"Pardon me, miss?" The soldier remembered his manners as soon as he realized he was staring. "Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam, at your service." He bowed low.
"Colonel Fitzwilliam?" The woman's voice surged with hope. "My sister spoke of you, I am Miss Jane Bennet." Jane looked furtively around for her father or uncle and not spying them, frowned. "Excuse me, Colonel, but why are you here?"
Remembering Mr. Bennet's words about not a line being in Elizabeth's hand, the Colonel hesitated. If Miss Bennet did not know to expect him, but her father did, it was likely Mr. Bennet did not share the letter from Darcy with his daughter. Whether he agreed with the denial of information or not, Richard wisely chose to give a half-truth and preserve a small amount of respect with the father of his aim.
"The military is looking into the matter. Lieutenant Wickham is a deserter and the King takes desertion very seriously."
Jane nodded. "Well, thank you, on behalf of my family."
Richard grimaced and Jane understood the look all too well.
"Please," she gently touched the sleeve of his coat, "do not judge him too harshly. He is devastated and it is making him ill."
With nothing more to say, Colonel Fitzwilliam nodded and took his leave of Miss Bennet, wishing her well and promising to do his best.
After Jane farewelled the Colonel, she watched him mount his horse and ride away through the window, wondering why Lizzie had never said how handsome Mr. Darcy's cousin looked.
Remembering her own mission was not over, Jane retreated back to the kitchens for a mid-day nourishment and then planned to go out once more in the afternoon. She yawned as she accepted the already made plate from the Cook the Gardiners employed, finding even with the carriage, the business of searching still required a great deal of walking. She smirked as she cut up the crust of bread and cheese thinking how better suited Elizabeth would have been for this part of the search, but then she would not have met Colonel Fitzwilliam.
Jane allowed herself to daydream through her meal until it was once more time to ask if anyone had seen a younger, dark-haired version of herself in the company of a soldier. If she was honest, even she was beginning to give up hope as another week passed with no sign of Mr. Wickham or Lydia.
All of the previous orders are in a new order than they were originally, and more changes are to come.
Oh and when I said Overboard was an inspiration, that's all I mean, an inspiration, an idea of how I could solve my plot dilemma. :) I would NEVER steal a whole storyline like Overboard or 50 First Dates and just rewrite it. This story, not just being in a different time period, will have all kinds of EAW-style drama in store.
Next up, sigh's ville... Cue the 80s song "Take my Breath Away"
XOXOXO
Elizabeth Ann West