Before we parted for the day, Richard and I agreed to discuss the adoption with Teddy together. We talked a little about how to present it to the boy. I was not completely sure Teddy even knew Richard and I would be getting married. We decided to make sure he understood that first and then see if he wanted to become our adopted son. Richard thought we should hold off talking about it with anyone else until Teddy agreed to the idea. That seemed reasonable to me. We did not want him to feel pressured to accept our offer if he would truly be happier staying at Longbourn.
"Richard, I have been thinking about our family's married name," he grinned and I continued. "I know your cousin will be very distracted before he leaves..." Richard snorted and broke into a laugh that drew the attention of people around us. When he quieted and they turned back to their own conversations I continued.
"Would you make some time to get Mr. Darcy's perspective on the name change before he leaves for Pemberley? He may see some aspect of it that you have not considered. I am not trying to dissuade you," I added quickly as his expression fell a bit. "It is a big step and I want you to be certain of it and not regret it later."
"My voice of reason," he said affectionately. "I promise to consult with Will before they make their trip. Maybe it will take his mind off his new worries just enough that he can start feeling happy about their possible news."
"A worthy goal, indeed."
"I wonder if Teddy will want to become a York as well? I do not even know his full name. I will have to see if he must wait until he is 21 to legally change it, assuming he wants to do so. I will have to ask Mr. Phillips when I ask about what I would need to do to legally change my name."
"After we talk to Teddy and you talk to Mr. Darcy."
"Of course. I wish there were not so many people around. At least I could hold your hand." he gave a quick sigh of frustration, the brightened. "I am wearing my new socks," he said happily. "They fit perfectly. I hope they will not be the only pair you make for me."
"I have a second pair on the needles already. I hope you do not mind green wool. It is what I had left after making Grace's stockings."
"I will love them no matter what color they are. As long as you make them for me, they will be perfect. No one will see them inside the boots."
"That was my thought." I could see him considering something with a smile. "What are you thinking, Richard?"
"I was wondering how soon I could start teaching Teddy to ride. He seems to like horses in general, not just my big black one."
"You will not start him riding on that horse!"
"No," he said with a wink, "although I did consider it. I think Teddy will need a pony at first. Something suited to his size so he can learn to ride properly. Elizabeth seems to have all kinds of contacts in the neighborhood. Maybe she knows of someone who has a nice steady pony in need of a boy. I will ask her."
"Not until after we talk to Teddy."
"Mm hmm," he nodded absently. I could see he was lost in thoughts of teaching Teddy to ride. Probably, he was planning to have Teddy go with him as he visited the tenants and did other tasks to manage the estate in Kent. I am sure he would end up playing all manner of games with his adopted son. I need not worry he would become too involved in estate matters to rest or take proper care of himself. Teddy would make sure of that and I would help.
0o0o0o0
The discussion in the carriage on the ride back to Longbourn centered on Mrs. Bennet's probable condition. Despite Mr. Bennet's happy certainty, Mrs. Bennet was still flustered by the thought she might truly be increasing again.
"It seems likely," she hesitantly answered when Kitty asked about Mr. Bennet's pronouncements. "One can never be sure until the quickening. Even then so many things can go wrong."
"That is what Miss York said when she told us not to spread the news without your permission."
"I am glad she did. I would rather wait to let anyone outside the family know and I am sure Lizzy feels the same."
"It is exciting news," said Lydia. "Do you think you will have boy?"
"There is no way to tell. I will be happy as long as the child is healthy, although I would very much like to have a son. We will just have to wait and see what happens."
"And that we shall," said Mr. Bennet. "We both love each of our daughters, even if we have not always shown it well. We will love the new child be it boy or girl. Enough questions for now. We are home and your mother needs to rest."
Mrs. Bennet smiled at her husband. "I could use a little rest. It has been a very exciting day."
0o0o0o0
While I supervised the girls at their lessons Friday afternoon and Saturday morning I managed to knit quite a bit of the second green sock. I might even have enough wool left over to make a pair for Teddy.
I resisted the temptation to go talk with Teddy. I knew I could not keep myself from letting slip the wish to adopt him. I hoped he would like the idea. I wanted to discuss it with Grace, but managed to remain silent. Richard and I needed to do this together and it was right to speak with Teddy before we discussed the matter with anyone else.
I wondered if Richard was already looking for the pony. I thought it might be best if riding lessons waited until we went to Rosings. Richard had things to finish up here and I quite selfishly wanted some of his time for myself, although could spare a little time for Teddy.
I did choose to discuss the wedding date with Mrs. Bennet. She reacted much as I had predicted.
"June the first? No, no. It needs to be later in the month. We need more time to plan."
"Mrs. Bennet, I know you can have everything ready by the first of June. You have already demonstrated your ability at planning and you will have Kitty, Lydia and Grace to help you. We want to marry on the first of June. We cannot wait too long as there are many things that need to be done at Rosings Park."
"It is true I will have all three girls to help me. Mr. Bingley said I could use the ballroom at Netherfield and that means Jane will probably help as well, since it is her house...I suppose we could be ready by then."
"I was so confident you could, that I let Richard announce the date to Sir William. You know by now he has told Lady Lucas."
"And she has told everyone else," finished Mrs. Bennet. "Oh very well. What day of the week will it be?"
"It is a Monday. We will have the banns read in May and will be all ready for the wedding."
"That will work. I am glad Mary will have Mrs. Evans as her housekeeper, but I will miss having her baked goods for the breakfast."
"She is a very good baker. Richard and I will miss having her baked goods as well. I know Mary is very happy Mrs. Evans agreed to work for her. The other housekeeper just was not working out."
"I have been so fortunate to have Mrs. Hill. Jane has Mrs. Nicholls to help her. Mary will have Mrs. Evans and Lizzy tells me that both Mrs. Reynolds and Mrs. Carson run her households very well. What shall you do for a housekeeper at Rosings?"
"I do not know. I shall have to find out what Richard thinks of the one who is already there. He did mention that most of the staff were very loyal to Lady Catherine because she had information she held over them to ensure their obedience. I do wonder how many will remain loyal to us in order to keep their positions."
"I suppose the colonel will reward the woman who told him about the will. Mrs. Jenkins, was it?"
"Mrs. Jenkinson. Yes, he did reward her. Richard told me he set her up with a comfortable pension and offered her the option to live in one of the cottages on the estate. She accepted the pension, but chose to go live with one of her nieces."
"I am not surprised. It must have been very unpleasant having to hide in the attics while those evil men ransacked the house. I would probably want to move somewhere else as well. You may need to visit the house before the wedding to arrange for the redecoration."
That comment gave me another idea to discuss with Richard. I was rather curious to see the estate. Perhaps Richard would be willing to invite the Bennets to spend a week or two in April. Mrs. Bennet would certainly enjoy a chance to help with redecorating and it would be a good opportunity for the young ladies as well.
0o0o0o0
Richard was smiling when he met me outside the church Sunday morning.
"I may have found a pony," he whispered, "and I did not even have to ask Elizabeth." I could not help grinning with him, even if I had my doubts about the need for a pony so soon.
"I will enjoy hearing about it later," I said. I knew I would. There was sure to be some story attached.
Richard greeted the others in our group and then escorted me in. We sat together as was now usual for us. I remembered to continue my habit of thankful prayers. First in my thoughts were thanks for the man by my side.
As he had before, Richard planned to go back to camp with his men and then ride to Longbourn to join us all for the meal. As we waited for the Bennet carriage to pull around I asked if he planned to ride Old Satan.
"He might prove a bit of a distraction," he answered. "Teddy is very fond of him and might pay more attention to the horse than to us."
"You have a point, but I still think you should bring him. Teddy and Grace both enjoy petting him and feeding him carrots or apples. They seem to have a calming effect on him."
Richard laughed, "Not according to my men. They said he has been even more difficult to ride in the ring since I returned from Kent."
"They just do not have the right touch."
"You may be correct. Well, if you think I should, then I will ride him."
True to his word, Richard arrived a little later on the back of Old Satan. Teddy ran around from the side yard to greet them. Richard dismounted and tossed the reins to Teddy.
"Care to lead him to the stable?" he asked jovially.
"Yes, sir!" Teddy answered. The horse seemed perfectly happy with this state of things. I suspected he knew there would be a carrot or two later. The groom stood at the stable door waiting to take over when Teddy made his delivery.
Richard winked at me, then offered his arm. As we stepped towards the front door he leaned in and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. I was wondering if anyone would miss us if we took a detour to the back parlor when Mr. Bennet's voice came from inside.
"Philosopher! Mind your manners."
Richard snickered, "He seems to have eyes in the back of his head." Knowing we were under observation, we went straight to the drawing room.
It was a cheerful gathering, despite our realization that the Darcys would be leaving on Tuesday. Mr. Bingley quickly cornered Richard for that discussion about the happenings in Kent. I wondered exactly what Mr. Darcy had told him as he seemed not to have taken it all in. I listened in silence as they talked.
"So Mr. Collins was not evicted?"
"No, Bingley, although he was removed from the house. Unfortunately for him he was dead by that time. They buried him in the garden."
"Do you plan to leave him there? I imagine the next person to have the living would get quite a shock if they went to plant their turnips and turned up Mr. Collins instead."
"Very funny, Bingley," Richard said with a roll of his eyes. "After we determined what had happened, we had him moved to the graveyard at the Hunsford church. Will even arranged for a small headstone. It did not seem right to leave him where he was. They had not done a very good job with the burial anyway."
"However did your aunt manage to keep your uncle's will a secret? I would have thought it was read out for the family."
"She discouraged any visitors other than my father when Sir Lewis died and we all took her at her word when she told everyone that she was her husband's beneficiary. Uncle George was starting to feel ill at that point and accepted the excuse not to travel. My father may have bribed the solicitor who assisted him in supposedly executing the will. She had money enough to pay my father for his silence and fund several bribes as well. Rosings has never been a poor estate, although under Lady Catherine it was poorly managed. Sophia and I will set things to rights."
"I am glad you will have a home of your own. It will certainly be easier than finding a good house at the summer encampment for the militia."
"You are quite right there. All the landlords raise their rents when the militia comes to town."
Mrs. Hill came in just then and announced the meal was ready. As he had the previous week, Richard escorted me to my seat, then kissed my cheek before sitting down himself. Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley followed his example and kissed their wives. Mr. Bennet simply shook his head in mock despair and the young ladies and Mrs. Bennet giggled at the show.
After the meal Richard told Mr. Bennet that we wished to go out and have a chat with Teddy. That earned us a raised eyebrow, but no objection beyond a warning to not wander far on our own.
We found Teddy exactly where we expected him. He was in the stable talking with Old Satan.
"He enjoyed his carrot," the boy announced to us as we entered.
"I am sure he did," Richard said. "He likes coming here because he knows he will get treats. I wonder if we could have a little talk with you, Teddy? Miss York and I have something we want to discuss."
"Yes, sir," he said with a smile.
"If we stay here in the stable will you be able to pay proper attention to our talk instead of to the horse?"
"I will pay attention," he said.
Richard leaned against one of the posts by the stall door, tucking my arm into his so I could lean against him. Teddy copied his attitude, leaning against the other post.
"Had you heard that Miss York and I will be getting married?"
"Yes, sir. Mrs. Hill and the cook were talking about it and how Mrs. Bennet is planning the wedding for you."
"I have a big house now called Rosings Park. After we get married Miss York and I are going to live there. Miss York's sister, Grace, will be living with us, but we both realized our family is not complete. We would like to have you come with us and be part of our family as well."
"I could come live in your big house? Would there be a housekeeper like Mrs. Hill to look after me?"
"Actually, we were thinking that I could look after you, like a mother does," I said. "We would like you to be our adopted son, Teddy."
"What does adopted mean?"
"It means that we become your parents even though we were not before. Once you are adopted you are part of the family. I will be your father. Sophia, that is Miss York, will be your mother and Grace will be either your aunt or your sister. The two of you will have to decide which you prefer. What do you say? Would you like to be our son?"
Teddy glowed like a sunny day in August. "Yes, sir!" he almost shouted. He was no longer leaning against the post. He jumped in the air, spun around once and then he turned to the horse. "Did you hear that, Satan? I am going to be the colonel's son! And Miss York's too!" The horse snuffled and stomped his foot. Teddy suddenly turned back to us.
"Is Old Satan coming with us to the big house?"
"Yes, Teddy. We would not go without him."
"Do you think I could learn to ride him?" he asked eagerly.
Richard grinned at me and I just gave his arm a squeeze.
"I think you can, Teddy. We are going to start you on a pony first. You are still small enough that you will learn best on a smaller animal. Once you are a good rider we will try you on Old Satan."
"I will work hard and become a very good rider."
"I am counting on that. You know how Longbourn has tenants and fields that need to be visited? Rosings is a little bigger and there are more tenants and fields. We will need to ride together to manage the estate."
"I can help you?"
"Absolutely."
Teddy jumped again and did a little dance of joy. Richard and I laughed. Our family was coming together nicely. Old Satan let out a sound that was almost like a laugh himself. I hoped he would behave when it came time for Teddy to ride him.
