Loved your comments – thanks.

Due to an idea I had in this chapter I am going to go back and tweak previous ones – Bingley has not yet sent that letter to the aunt.

In answer to a couple of questions.

I have tweaked the previous chapter to say that Lizzy thinks Mrs Bennet does not know but is not certain. Mrs B might be keeping secrets too.

As to the word hoyden. Good point. I did some research

'Hoyden is a curiosity because it once referred exclusively to men. We may now look indulgently on hoydenish young women but male hoydens were considered to be rude, ignorant, awkward or boorish. In 1593, Thomas Nashe (its first recorded user) wrote disparagingly of the hoydens of Trinity Hall at the University of Cambridge. Its members were exclusively male at the time, as they continued to be until 1977, when the college admitted its first female undergraduates.'

I changed the word to tomboy – which is really just a synonym, but slightly different.

'A tomboy is a girl who exhibits characteristics or behaviours considered typical of a boy. Common characteristics include wearing masculine clothing and engaging in games and activities that are physical in nature and are considered in some cultures to be unfeminine, or the domain of boys.'

Even though Elizabeth does not wear trousers (much as she might like to) her interests and activities fit quite nicely – at least according to Mrs B.

~~H~~

Stranded at Netherfield

The rain continued unabated for another three days and it was two more days for the mud to dry sufficiently to allow the passage of carriages.

It was fortunate that Mrs Nicholls kept the cellar and the larder well stocked, and that the birds which had not been used for Bingley's engagement dinner kept well in the cold weather. The few additional supplies they needed for such a large party could easily be procured on horseback. Thus, the residents ate well although there were no more elaborate dinners to ensure the supplies would last until the roads became passable again.

Blake made daily trips to Purvis Lodge and returned with assurances that James was revelling in his position as master of the house with the indulgent cooperation of Charlotte Lucas and the staff.

Miss Bingley kept to her chambers on the first day while she pondered her future. On the second day she attended the noon meal and surprised everyone by declaring, 'I owe all of you an apology for my previous behaviour. It has been made clear to me at last that I was grossly mistaken in what makes a lady. I will attempt to do better in the future.'

Thus, with harmony restored in the house, the impromptu houseparty turned quite merry, particularly after it was decided amongst the younger generation that since they were all to be family, they would forgo formal address.

~~H~~

Mrs Bennet was delighted to have a captive audience. With her daughters and both their fiancés confined to the house, she was able to insist on their presence to plan the double wedding.

As most of the others had nothing better to do, they watched with varying degrees of amusement.

'Jane, I know that you were hoping to marry as soon as the banns had been read, but I am afraid that you will need to wait until they can be read for your sister and Mr Darcy.'

Darcy smiled mischievously as he contradicted her. 'Mrs Bennet, it will not be necessary for Jane and Bingley to make such a sacrifice. I have been in residence at Netherfield long enough that I can procure a common licence, which will allow the wedding to proceed in as planned.'

'A common licence, you say? Would it not be better to get a special licence?' Mrs Bennet's eyes lit up at the thought that Elizabeth could marry with such distinction.

'It is much more difficult to obtain a special licence and under the circumstances it is unnecessary since we wish to marry in church. In my circles it is accepted practice to marry by common licence,' he added as a sop to her pride.

'Very well, Mr Darcy. I shall bow to your greater experience in such matters. Now, as to the guest list, will your relatives attend?'

'I will most certainly invite my sister, and I hope that my aunt and uncle will be available as well.'

While Mrs Bennet preened at the thought that she would host an Earl and a Countess for the wedding, the Colonel interjected with a grin, 'I can almost guarantee that my parents will attend. Mother would not miss the opportunity to see her problem child married.'

'Your mother only has one problem child, and that is you. After all, I spend my time peacefully administering my estate and business interests, which does not entail getting shot at or being involved in other assorted mayhem.'

Richard shrugged with a noncommittal smile. He was not going to admit in public that his days as an active officer were likely at an end. His leg, while it was healing well enough for anything he might wish to do as a civilian, was unlikely to become strong enough to allow him to fight again.

~~H~~

Even though Fitzwilliam thought that he would never again be fit enough to ride a horse in battle, he was determined to exercise his leg as much as possible to at least be able to walk normally and hopefully without pain.

To that end he made use of the long gallery on a regular basis and was pleased that Edith was willing to accompany him on his strolls.

On one such walk he raised a subject which he had contemplated during a restless night. 'I will be going to London immediately after the wedding,' he said with a sigh.

'You do not sound pleased at the prospect.'

'I am not pleased but it is a necessity. The weather at this time of the year is not conducive to a wedding trip, therefore Bingley and Jane will be staying at Netherfield. Darcy will take Elizabeth to London and the Hursts will also remove to town. Since I cannot in good conscience intrude on the newlyweds' privacy, I too must go to town.'

'Must you?' Edith felt a stab of loss at the prospect. Perhaps she was not thinking too clearly when she offered, 'there are several guestrooms available at Purvis Lodge, and since you will be a cousin of sorts by marriage, surely no one would object if you stayed here.'

Richard's eyes lit up as he considered the opportunity of spending more time in the lady's company, and not just for an hour or two each day as he had before they had become stranded at Netherfield. The past few days had been delightful albeit difficult since he felt more drawn to Edith with every hour he spent in her company. But he kept reminding himself that it would not be fair to inflict his uncertain temper on her.

At least at Netherfield there had been safety in numbers. At Purvis Lodge there would only be Charlotte Lucas to ensure not only that he observed the proprieties but also to rescue Edith if he lost control to one of his waking nightmares.

He felt torn. Part of him wanted to agree, the sensible part of him could see the potential problems. As a result, he requested time to consider the invitation .

~~H~~

The following day, the decision was taken from him. Bingley received a letter from his uncle informing him that he and all the family were coming to Netherfield for the wedding.

The missive caused great consternation for Bingley as he addressed his friends who were spending a quiet hour with him in his study. 'Darcy, Fitzwilliam, I am afraid I have a problem. You know that I offered my hospitality to your family, but it seems that my own family will invade Netherfield… in force. Even large as the house is, I do not know how to accommodate everyone.'

'Are you saying that you have to evict us?' asked Richard.

'No, not at all. I simply do not know how to accommodate everyone.'

'You know, what my general always says applies to this situation. If in doubt, ask the experts.'

'The experts? What experts?'

'The quartermaster. Or in this case, the mistress of the house.'

Bingley beamed as he exclaimed, 'what a wonderful idea.'

He immediately set out to find his sister, trailed by his friends. Louisa Hurst was in the drawing room with all the ladies, discussing the wedding breakfast to be held at Longbourn.

Bingley explained his problem to his sister, who frowned in dismay as she considered the available space. 'Charles, I am afraid that no matter how we arrange things, there are simply not enough chambers in this house to accommodate all our family as well as our guests.'

'We have a guestroom at Longbourn,' offered Mrs Bennet.

Jane reminded her mother, 'but the Gardiners will be staying with us. I do so want them at my wedding.'

When Darcy heard that the Bennet's tradesman relative was to attend the wedding he stiffened.

Richard noticed the reaction and, remembering Edith's glowing recommendation of the couple, bent his head towards his cousin. 'Careful, your prejudices are showing,' he whispered to Darcy.

Darcy glanced at the Colonel and forced himself to relax, thinking they would probably not be worse than Bingley's family.

Unaware of the byplay, Edith had a counteroffer. 'That is generous of you, Cousin, but you also have wedding preparations to oversee. Purvis Lodge has five spare rooms, six if I move James into the nursery.' She turned to Louisa. 'How many rooms do you need?'

'If you are certain that it would not be an imposition for you?' Louisa asked. On being reassured, she said in a somewhat embarrassed manner to Darcy and Fitzwilliam, 'Netherfield has just enough rooms to accommodate all the family who have threatened to come. I suppose we could take up Edith's offer and place two of them with her…'

'But you think it would be easier if all your family were housed here and Fitzwilliam and I and our family take up residence at Purvis Lodge,' Darcy said with an understanding smile. When Louisa nodded and smiled in gratitude, he turned to Edith. 'My lady, would you be so gracious as to succour two homeless vagabonds?'

Edith laughed at Darcy's persiflage, so reminiscent of his cousin's. 'I believe my butler will be able to find a pallet for you somewhere in the house. And of course, your family will be welcome as well. Would you like me to extend the invitation to them?'

'I was planning to write to them today. I could include your invitation with my letter,' Richard suggested.

'I shall write immediately and then Blake can inform the housekeeper that we will be housing a couple of vagabonds.'

~~H~~

Due to the unexpected increase in the size of the wedding party, Mrs Bennet started to fret until Louisa came to the rescue.

'Mrs Bennet, considering that it is our family who are straining your resources, I believe it is only fair to hold the breakfast at Netherfield. I think the ballroom should be adequate to hold all our guests.'

The lady sighed in relief. 'As much as it pains me to admit it, but Longbourn does not have the space which is available at Netherfield. Therefore, I accept your generous offer and you have my gratitude. But you must allow me to help. After all, only one member of the wedding party is your family, while both brides are my daughters.'

'And Darcy is just an interloper,' joked Bingley, who had listened to the exchange. That comment earned him a pitying look from his friend.

'Be grateful for my presence. It raises the tone of the proceedings,' Darcy claimed with mock disdain.

'At least my family will,' countered Richard with a grin.

The ladies ignored the banter of the men and focused on ensuring that every detail of the wedding would be perfect.

~~H~~

The weather had improved, and the guests expected to leave the next morning.

Richard was using this last opportunity to spend time with Edith by going for yet another stroll through the house.

'I meant to ask you but keep forgetting. When Mr Bennet announced Darcy's engagement, I gather that you informed Mrs Bennet of your status,' Richard asked.

'Indeed. I could not in good conscience let her be the last to find out… especially not in public. Much as it pains me to say it, her husband makes sport of her enough. I did not wish her to suffer this embarrassment as well.'

Richard looked at her with speculation. 'For years you have hidden your identity. You could have continued to do so since you could have found another way to point out the error of her ways to Miss Bingley. Why come out of the shadows now?'

Edith blushed but looked him firmly in the eye as she answered, 'because for many years I was afraid. I was afraid to become the target of some greedy man who saw my wealth and lack of family protection and would try to take advantage of it.'

She looked around to ensure she could not be overheard. 'As I have mentioned, my marriage was less than pleasant, and my husband's death has also left its mark. It had caused me to lose all trust in men and as a result I was afraid to end up in a similar position again.'

'I can understand your reticence. But something must have happened to change your mind.' Richard was curious for several reasons.

Naturally he was pleased that Edith had found a way to overcome her fear for her own sake. But seeing that she had achieved such a change, he wondered if knowledge of how she had managed this transformation would allow him to apply it to his own situation.

He recognised that her traumatic marriage and the circumstances of her husband's death had caused her nightmares, so similar to his own. Although the ghosts which haunted him were greater in number and were more easily brought to the fore than hers, he remembered that day when he had prevented her from stepping into the mud and she was ready to kill him if he had made the wrong move.

Their experiences and reactions were similar and only different in degree. If she had overcome, or at least mitigated her problems, perhaps there was hope for himself.

When Edith did not immediately answer but only blushed more, he asked again, 'what happened to help you change?'

'You.'

Now it was Richard's turn to colour as he spluttered, 'me?'

'You taught me to trust.'

'Oh,' was all Richard could say, as he was completely dumbfounded. Fortunately for him, Edith was content to remain silent as he came to grips with the information.

Had their friendship truly had such a profound effect on the lady? It was humbling for him to think that he could have contributed to her regaining her courage.

Regaining her courage. That phrase struck a chord with him. She had regained her courage because she trusted him.

He too had learned to trust her, albeit it was only up to a point. Due to his violent tendencies when caught in a nightmare, awake or asleep, it was impossible for him to trust her to keep him from hurting her or anyone else.

Before he had a chance to say consider the matter further, Darcy found them, and he was waving a letter. Fitzwilliam broke the seal and scanned the brief note. He smiled as he informed his cousin, 'my parents, as well as my brother would be delighted to see you marry.'

~~H~~

~~H~~

The Colonel and the Heiress (working title) by Sydney Salier, Copyright © 2022