Even the weather seemed to be celebrating Jane and Mr. Bingley's marriage. Although quite crisp and cold, the sun shone brightly in a blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds. Netherfield shone almost as brightly. Mrs. Nicholls must have set every servant in the place to scrubbing and polishing every visible surface, and probably those that were not visible as well. Even the roof tiles had been swept clear of the little clumps of leaves and debris that always seem to accumulate during the autumn leaving dirty little blotches in corners, cracks and crevices. The groundskeepers had been equally busy tidying and trimming the lawns, and even had borders of winter kale and other plants looking fresh and bright despite the season's chill. It was a lovely sight and appropriate for Mr. and Mrs. Bingley's new beginning.
We entered to greet the newlyweds and wish them joy. Kitty and Lydia hugged their sister and their new brother, who they now called "Charles". I barely had time to offer my own congratulations before my charges grabbed my hands and nearly dragged me to the ballroom to see the decorations. I laughed at their exuberance but let them pull me along.
The scent of fresh flowers filled the room. The hothouses at Netherfield must be quite extensive to have provided so many beautiful bouquets. They brightened strategic points in the room and two particularly fine arrangements flanked the sides of the long buffet. The streamers hung along the walls and down from the chandelier. They looked very cheerful.
"See my ribbon knots!" said Lydia. "They look like little bouquets themselves."
She was right. The arrangements of ribbons that joined each of the long streamers decorating the walls did look like little bright bouquets. The arrangement was decorative without being too fussy.
"Very well done, Lydia. You will have to show me later how you made them. They do add just the right touch." I gave her a warm smile. She had a right to feel proud of working out how to make the decoration from just the picture of an embroidered pattern.
"Watch the way people are moving into the room." said Kitty. "See how they are able to make their way over to the buffet without obstructions and how people are naturally starting to gather into those pockets between the tables to talk. Mama and I planned that."
They had placed the buffet along the correct wall to encourage people to move around freely. "I have seen parties in the Ton that were not nearly as well planned out," I told her. "The people would tend to gather and talk right in the way of everyone trying to get to the food and again on the other side as they tried to take their plates and go to a table."
"Mama said that is what would happen if we placed the buffet along the wall over there." Kitty gestured to the area where people seemed to be naturally gathering. "I had thought we should place it there because the light from the windows would show the food off better, but Mama said the placement of the door combined with that light from the windows draws people there and Mrs. Nicholls agreed with her. Clearly they were correct."
They took me around to show me various other details of the plans and decorations. On the way we stopped and chatted with several people. I finally left them in company with Maria Lucas and a few other girls and went to fill a plate and find a quiet place to sit.
I watched the crowds moving and thought of them in terms of Mrs. Bennet's idea of people moving like a river with flows and eddies. I was smiling at the thought of how well she had predicted the movements when the colonel came up with his own plate of food.
He nodded towards the empty seat next to me. "May I?'
"Of course." We still seemed to be using only short sentences.
He smiled and placed his plate and glass down on the table before taking a seat. "I am very hungry," he said and began to eat. I continued eating as well. Companionable silence worked for the time being.
After eating steadily for a time and finishing nearly everything on his plate, he finally set his fork down. "I feel much better now. The food in camp is terrible. I wish I could hire Mrs. Evans away to cook for us." He picked up a biscuit from the edge of his plate, a biscuit made by Mrs. Evans, and ate it in two bites.
I laughed softly. "You will have to stand in line behind Mary then. She has already asked Mr. Darcy if he objects to her offering Mrs. Evans a place as her housekeeper when the Darcys leave the dower house. I think she may have already talked to Mrs. Evans about the position."
"Trouble in town?" he asked with a lift of one eyebrow.
"Not really. She is just not completely comfortable with the housekeeper she has. She feels she would be happier with Mrs. Evans in charge of the house."
He nodded. "I expect running a household is not much different from running a unit in that respect. It goes more smoothly when you have people you trust in positions of responsibility." He gestured with his head toward a table where Lieutenant Andrews sat talking with Charlotte.
"Andrews has been of major assistance to me. I can trust him with any task and I know it will be done right. He is not in this for a career, but I am still hoping I can work a promotion for him. He deserves the recognition and he can be of better use to me with a higher rank."
I nodded my understanding as he ate another biscuit. "I love these," he said when he finished. "They are my favorite biscuit and no one else makes them quite like Mrs. Evans. I miss staying in the dower house and having a nearly endless supply." He looked over at Charlotte again.
"As I hope you intended, I mentioned Miss Lucas' interest in him to the lieutenant. The interest appears to be reciprocated. I will try to make sure he can find a few opportunities to spend time with her. My men will probably remain close to camp for some time and I doubt we will be returning to services for a few weeks, but I can find some errands for him or other ways to let him get away for a bit."
"I think she would appreciate that, as would Elizabeth on her behalf."
"And, by extension, my cousin who wants his wife happy in all things," he chuckled. The he grew more sober.
"Will told me you ran into Willoughby in town. He said you stood up to him while protecting Georgie at the same time. He also said you had the idea to set off rumors to counter any Willoughby might spread."
"I would never let him hurt Miss Darcy if I could prevent it. He has hurt too many people already, himself included. His life is such a waste despite all the opportunities he was given."
"Much like my brother's," he said sadly.
"Did Mr. Darcy tell you about Lord Willoughby's mud bath?" I asked hoping to lighten the mood.
"With great enthusiasm. Will has never been much for taking pleasure in other people's mishaps, but he makes exception for people who threaten those he cares about. I think he enjoyed Willoughby's roll in the mud even more than Collins' face full of pie." We both laughed.
"I felt better for finally confronting him," I said, "although my emotional response later upset and confused me. The encounter brought up far too many memories. I am glad he did not have the chance to hurt any of us. Do you believe Lord Willoughby has left the country?"
"I am not sure what to believe. I am fairly certain my father and brother have gone. I got word back that the estate in Ireland had been sold last month and my father received full payment for it. If he kept those funds and what he got for the townhouse they would have plenty to set themselves up well in the Canadas or any place else they could escape from their creditors. Assuming, of course, that my father does not let my brother gamble those funds away as well. Willoughby, though, does not seem the type to run."
"That is what Mr. Darcy said."
"The deciding factor may be that he has never been this close to ruin before. It might make a difference to his response."
"Actually, he was in very bad straits just before my father died. He inherited an estate from his father that was already struggling from bad management and had dragged it further into ruin with his own poor behavior in the following two years. My father's death came at just the right time to save him from the consequences of his behavior. I think he may be clinging to the hope of another fortunate last minute save."
"I wonder if he can find a convenient heiress to marry. With the rumors of his ruin rampant few fathers would give away a daughter to him even with the lure of a title. He will certainly never marry Georgie as long as Will and I live."
"She would probably do some damage to him on her own if he managed to get around you somehow. She despises the man."
"Our Georgiana is no fool."
"No, she is not, and she has learned to stand up for herself and take steps to be protected. I think our counter-rumor gambit opened her eyes to the need for acting instead of reacting when threatened."
"That campaign was a thing of beauty," he said. "For the duchess to bring in Lady Jersey to spread the rumors was a stroke of pure genius. No one would suspect they originated from Will."
"Except Lord Willoughby, of course. He clearly blamed Mr. Darcy. I was tickled to see how calmly your cousin took the accusations and admitted nothing in return. He simply dismissed Lord Willoughby like an unwelcome smell."
"Will did seem rather proud of himself when he told me of the encounter. I just wish Willoughby had not been able to take so much away from you and your family after your father's death." He looked at me very seriously. "Miss York, I think you deserve the world," he said.
"Whatever I may deserve, I do not need the world," I replied and remembered Mr. Bennet's advice on plain speaking. "Colonel, I have learned the material things are never as important as having the people you love nearby."
He looked into my eyes, took a deep breath and started to speak, "I..."
Just then a large hand clapped him on the shoulder and a voice boomed. "Colonel, glad you made it out of that camp at last. Capital to see you, capital! Come tell me about this lieutenant chap who is speaking with my daughter. You do not mind, do you, Miss York?"
Actually, I minded very much but could hardly say so. The colonel had closed his eyes briefly when Sir William began to speak, breaking the link that had formed between us during our discussion. We both knew the moment had passed. He opened his eyes, looked down at his now-empty plate and back at me in apology. He could not even use the food as an excuse to stay.
"Of course, Sir William," I said, giving the polite lie. As the colonel stood to walk away I offered him one of his favorite biscuits, the last one on my plate. "One for the road, Colonel?"
"You have my undying thanks, Miss York," he said, taking it with an exaggerated bow.
Sir William looked at us both strangely. "You act as though you are going on an expedition, not walking across the room."
As they walked away I heard the colonel say softly, "The distance is far greater than you know."
Colonel Fitzwilliam and I would have no further private speech that day. His attention was claimed by one after another of the local men, all curious about the issues in camp or concerned about their family's safety.
After the colonel walked away I went to keep company with Mrs. Bennet and Mrs. Gardiner while keeping an eye on Kitty and Lydia. It was a busy part of the room as neighbor after neighbor came up to congratulate Mrs. Bennet on Jane's good fortune and the excellence of the wedding breakfast. With Jane safely married and the breakfast a clear success Mrs. Bennet had returned to the newer calmer version of herself. She graciously accepted the neighbors' comments and carried herself with grace and dignity. From their expressions I could tell this was not what some of the neighbors had expected of her.
Charlotte came to join us after the lieutenant was also claimed by one of the groups of men. She pulled me a little aside and said quietly. "Whatever you said to the colonel certainly was passed on enthusiastically."
"I have noticed the lieutenant has been most attentive today."
She smiled brightly, but continued to keep her voice low. "He asked for a formal courtship and I said yes! We do not intend to announce anything until he can have a private interview with my father, but I had to tell you because I know you had a hand in it."
I gave her my most heartfelt congratulations. The colonel must have said just the right thing when he spoke with Lieutenant Andrews. Either that or Charlotte was very good at making her interest clear.
"I hope my father did not interrupt anything important earlier. I just cringed when I saw him head over there."
"He did, I think, but there is no help for it now. Either we will find a way to continue that conversation or we will not. This is actually the second time he has been interrupted just as he was about to make a declaration of some kind. I will find a way to make sure there is a third opportunity."
"Oh, I hope you do and that you find the same happiness I hope to have myself."
"Quick," I said, "go whisper your news in Elizabeth's ear. She is not conversing with anyone right now and it will please her no end."
Charlotte took my hand and gave it a quick squeeze, then hurried off, still smiling. Mrs. Gardiner stepped close as she saw Charlotte whisper to Elizabeth and receive a similar smile in response.
"Good news?" she asked
"Good enough to start with, but not yet to be announced," I said with a smile of my own. She nodded in understanding and returned to Mrs. Bennet's side. I knew Elizabeth would tell Mary this evening and Mary would tell Mrs. Gardiner on the drive home.
I was truly glad for Charlotte. She had been waiting so long to find someone. She deserved a good match and a home of her own.
While sorry about the interruption by Sir William, I knew the colonel and I would eventually say what needed to be said between us. The attraction was clear on both sides. It might not be a wise match for either of us from a financial standpoint, but we could have a good future together even if we had to work for it. When the time was right I would leave him in no doubt of my feelings. I did not know what would happen then, but I hoped for my happiness as well.