Last Minute Entries
Colonel Fitzwilliam was also invited to participate in the hunting at Netherfield, but could not make any promises. In the end he has to secure an invitation for his commander as well. They arrive to learn that the Netherfield Party is at a local assembly. The two decide to become last-minute entries.
AN: On a side-note, someone wrote that Jane Austen hated the name "Richard." I've never heard of that and cannot confirm it, but for my next few stories I am going to try out different names. This time I'll try Stephen.
Meryton Assembly, Fall, 1811
"Are you mad? Darce, first of all, if your mother were still around to here such words from your lips, she would box your ears. My mother may very well do it for her." Both Bingley and Darcy turned in shock to find Colonel Fitzwilliam standing in front of them. "And second of all, are you blind as well as stupid?"
Just moments before Bingley had approached Darcy where he stood in his corner and began pressing him to dance. When Bingley had pointed out one particularly attractive young woman in want of a partner, Darcy's reply had been boorish. Now Darcy's cousin stood before him, seemingly from out of nowhere, chastising him.
"Stephen?!" Darcy said as both question and exclamation, "What are you doing here? I thought you were unable to visit?"
"I got permission so long as I bring my general along. Bingley, I hope that you do not mind, but I would ask you to find room for one more guest?"
Bingley nodded and smiled affably, "Certainly. The more the merrier!"
Darcy interjected, "Stephen..."
"I have no time to speak with you right at this moment... nor much inclination either. There is very pretty young lady who is sitting out this dance."
And just like that, the good Colonel walked over to where Miss Elizabeth Bennet was sharing an amusing anecdote with her dear friend Charlotte. "Ladies, I am fully aware that we have not been introduced, but there are only a few sets left for the evening and I will miss my chance entirely if I stand on ceremony. My name is Colonel Stephen Fitzwilliam." He bowed.
Elizabeth and Charlotte curtsied. Charlotte senior in rank and age, performed the introductions. Then Stephen requested dances from both. Elizabeth only had the second dance of this set available. Charlotte was pleased to offer a full set.
As Elizabeth and Stephen lined up, the officer said, "I must apologize for my cousin's words, Miss Elizabeth. Darcy is the best of men and the best of friends, but he has recently suffered an attack on his family from a former friend and he has allowed it to overpower his temper for too long."
Elizabeth swung around to the new position in the dance before replying, "I will accept your apology in the manner intended, Colonel, but I hope that you understand that it is his apology that is wanting. Our community was well prepared to welcome the Netherfield Party with open arms this evening, but thus far the only one who has behaved with any degree of civility is Mr. Bingley."
"Well, I cannot speak for the rest, but I hope that you will find myself and my general... oh Lord! Where is he?" Stephen almost stopped dancing as he scanned the hall for his superior officer.
Elizabeth giggled, "I believe that the officer who entered with you is now dancing with my sister Mary. Is he so easily misplaced, Sir?"
"You have no idea. General Easterly is one of the most brilliant minds in Great Britain, but cannot walk from Covent Garden to the Savoy without getting lost. He requires a great deal of oversight outside of his offices. And until they pronounce me fit for field duty and give me a new command, that job falls to me."
"Is he savant?" Elizabeth asked with curiosity, "I have read of such, but have never met one. I am pleased to see him dancing with Mary, who is so often overlooked. I must say that he does not have the appearance one might expect from a general...?"
"I would never wish to see him out on the field with a rifle, or heaven-help-me, riding a horse in a cavalry charge, but give him a mathematical formula or a complex code to decipher and he is unmatched."
"Ah, he might just be a good fit for Mary then. I regret to say that our dance is coming to an end. I hope that you enjoy your dance with Charlotte, Colonel."
"And I hope that I see you again, Miss Elizabeth."
Released from her dance, Elizabeth went immediately toward where a bewildered looking Mary was returning to her former seat. She wanted to form a shield for her sister when her mother descended. Since nobody in the neighborhood knew who these two senior officers might be, it was only natural that the matrons would be prowling for details. Their mother's attentions might be too much at the moment.
When she got there, Mary looked up, wide eyed, to say, "Lizzie, the General has asked if he might call on me!" It was clear that the normally forgotten girl did not know whether to be pleased or frightened.
Elizabeth tried to hide her amazement and instead acted nonchalant, "That is wonderful, Mary. Colonel Fitzwilliam said that the general is a very intelligent man with a gift for mathematics. I recall that you were quite fascinated with that subject in your earlier years. Did he say when he might attend you?"
"I told him that visits traditionally resumed two days after the night of the ball."
Elizabeth grinned just as Jane also made her way over, "Then we will do all we can to make you your most presentable. You might even want to read up on Papa's Pythagoras and Archimedes." Mary extracted the little volume from her pocket to show her sister. Elizabeth giggled when she read the title, "Euclid! I see that you don't need any guidance from me. Just be yourself and see if he is the right man for you. For now though, unless you wish to be the brunt of Mama's attention, you should find a more discreet place to sit." Mary did just that as Elizabeth was collected by her next partner.
Elizabeth watched the two officers throughout the rest of the evening. She found that she was quite impressed with the Colonel. Though he was not as tall and handsome as the dour Mr. Darcy, he had the manly physique and coloring of a man who spent a life in physical activities out of doors. He had a ready smile and was a bit of a flirt, but never beyond the bounds of propriety. Though quite a few of the local ladies gravitated towards him during the last hour of the assembly, his own eyes kept casting about to meet hers. It gave Elizabeth a thrill each time.
The general, after his dance with Mary, spent the rest of his evening talking with men. He was a skinny man, of medium height, and bespectacled. Elizabeth did not think him particularly attractive, per se, but he did have boyish quality about him which made her think that he could be trusted with her sister. Elizabeth found herself wishing to promote the potential relationship, but she feared that her mother's boisterousness might frighten the man away. Thus, between sets, she deliberately sought out the colonel with her eyes and made a gesture indicating that she wished to speak to him alone. It was entirely improper and she reddened, but she was also resolute.
Stephen Fitzwilliam had been seeking out the fetching Miss Elizabeth with his eyes ever since their dance ended. There were plenty of other ladies, young and older, seeking his own attention, probably because men in uniform were scarce in this area, but he found himself wishing them all gone so that he could spend his time speaking with her. When she met his eyes and indicated the desire to speak, he felt a moment of alarm. Have I misjudged her? She does not seem like the type who would seek an assignation... Bother, I will just have to find out what she wants. After a few polite excuses, he managed to separate himself from his little flock and make his way to the part of the room where she stood partially obscured by a column. Her tentative smile actually reassured him, and her next words more so.
"I apologize for seeking a private audience, Sir, and hope that you will not think poorly of me, but I must speak with you about my sister and your general."
Stephen's eyes widened. In his short journey across the room he had pondered a few scenarios, but this one had escaped him entirely, "Surely he has not done anything untoward? He has always been a gentleman by my observations?"
"Oh! Yes, certainly. I did not mean to imply otherwise. It is just... Colonel, you are an observant man, and thus you have almost certainly taken your own measure of my mother," at the slight intake of the colonel's breath, Elizabeth grimaced. Mrs. Bennet was among the women who had already sought to corner the man to promote their daughter's to him. "She is a good woman and a good mother, Sir, but she is quite desperate to see her daughters married. I worry... I fear that she will be too much for your superior. He has expressed an interest in paying a call on my sister Mary. And I should like it if they had an opportunity to come to know each other without our mother's enthusiasm..."
"Ah... I can see how that might be a problem." Right at the moment his general was in the card room, not because he desired to gamble but because the press of mothers and maidens had overwhelmed the poor man. "What would you suggest?"
"I will speak with my father first, but if your general would pay him a visit and then join us... you, me, and Mary, for a walk without him actually going into my mother's territory...?"
Colonel Fitzwilliam smiled. This might be in support of his superior and her sister, but it worked quite well for his interests as well. "I think that would be a fine solution indeed, Miss Elizabeth."
~oOo~
Two days later, while the Colonel endured Mrs. Bennet's silly effusions, his general slipped into Mr. Bennet's office. Stephen allowed the matron to go on for ten full minutes before expressing a desire to walk out with her daughter Elizabeth. He had already shared the intelligence that Mr. Bingley also intended to call, so Jane was to be kept at home. Mary, therefore, was the natural choice for a chaperone. No sooner had the trio turned the corner out of view then General Easterly walked briskly to join them, "I quite like Mr. Bennet. He has a fine mind and a fine library. We are engaged for a rousing game of chess on the morrow!" He then smiled at the blushing Miss Mary and offered her his arm.
The two couples walked on, their different paces creating a comfortable separation between them. Elizabeth and Stephen spoke about his career, his travels, and the current situation on the continent. They could not conjecture what the other couple spoke about, but as they seemed happily engaged in their conversation, they did not worry about the matter. By the end of their walk Elizabeth found that she liked Colonel Fitzwilliam very well indeed. He discovered much the same.
"I must clarify something with you, Miss Elizabeth," Stephen said as they turned back.
"As you wish?"
"Although I am pleased to support your sister and my general, this is not just his call. It is my desire to also get to know you better. Might I hope that you are amenable to that plan?"
Elizabeth blushed, but smiled, "I would be honored to receive your calls, Colonel, and I would very much like to get to know you better as well."
The weather for October was especially fine, so their first walk was followed by more. The two officers were at Netherfield to hunt, and hunt they did, but they also had other quarry. Between Bingley, the colonel, and the general, the road between Netherfield and Longbourn became very well traveled during that month.
Mr. Bennet, who usually stayed glued to his study, began to join their party. With three of his daughters being courted by these men, perhaps he found it wise... or perhaps he just enjoyed the male company. Regardless of his reason, he got to know the men well. General Easterly became a regular for chess or debate in Mr. Bennets office, as did the colonel.
Somehow, Mrs. Bennet entirely missed the fact that he was also quietly courting her middle daughter. She certainly did not miss the fact that the colonel was courting her second daughter. He and Charles Bingley endured the brunt of her matchmaking schemes, but they both considered it worth the pain as they became better acquainted with their Bennet girl.
The General and the Colonel's leave ran out before the end of the month and it was time to return to the War Office. Both men spoke privately with Mr. Bennet and then with their respective love interests, obtaining permissions for courtships and the exchange of letters. It was also resolved that Elizabeth and Mary would go to London after the Christmas holidays to stay with their relatives so that their courtships could continue.
~oOo~
Dear Stephen,
Jane is fully recovered and we are pleased to be back home at Longbourn. I was pleased when Mr. Darcy made his apologies, but he still remains the most taciturn man I have ever met. We did share several spirited debates, however, and I was pleased that he showed respect for me as a thinking person with her own points-of-view, rather than just a silly female. I am hopeful that our interactions will be civil should we be thrown together often in the future.
Of course you would have been quite amused by the cat-and-mouse game being played by Miss Bingley and your poor, beleaguered cousin. Is it possible, you think, to be complimented into submission? Perhaps the War Office could use Miss Bingley as an interrogator. One full day spent with her complimenting a suspect's every move and offering to mend his pens and the poor man would admit to any treason just to escape her attentions...
~oOo~
Dear Stephen,
A report of the most alarming nature was given to me by a newly commissioned lieutenant in the militia. This man, a Mr. George Wickham, has told me a tale of being denied a most valuable living by your cousin, Mr. Darcy. As he tells it, he was the beloved godson of this Mr. Darcy's father, and that man left the living to him in his will. Yet when the living came open, your cousin refused to honor his father's will out of spite and jealousy.
Had I operated only on my first encounter with Mr. Darcy, I might very well have believed this man because he seems to be very truthful. But I cannot imagine your cousin behaving in such a way, first, because his character is too upright for such an action, and second, because you would not continue to associate with your cousin should he behave in such a manner.
Do you have any knowledge of this matter. I do not like the idea of this officer spreading rumors detrimental to your family's good name...
~oOo~
Elizabeth could not hide her joy when Mrs. Hill announced, "Colonel Fitzwilliam to pay a call."
Stephen was more than satisfied to see the wide smile of joy on his Elizabeth's face, and even more pleased when she abandoned her book to rush across the room to him. Decorum exerted itself just in time so that she stopped in front of him instead of throwing herself into his arms... which he could privately admit he regretted. But her instinctive reaction to his unannounced arrival told him everything he needed to know.
Giggles and one soft, admonishing, "Lizzy!" brought them both to the awareness that they were not alone. Stephen looked around and saw that Mrs. Bennet was beaming at him, Mr. Bingley was seated with Miss Bennet and the rest of the girls, save Miss Lydia, were all seated in the room.
Mr. Bennet, who had just stepped out of his office, coughed for attention and suggested, "Colonel, why don't you take my daughter for a walk. Mary, you seem unencumbered at the moment. Would you please act as chaperone."
Elizabeth and Mary quickly grabbed their shawls and bonnets and allowed Stephen to lead them out into the brisk November morning. As soon as they were out of view of the house, he extracted a thick letter and handed it to a very happy Mary. While she slowed down to read, Stephen led Elizabeth further until they reached a particularly pretty spot that she had mentioned as a favorite.
"First things first," he declared decisively. Elizabeth's eyes grew wide when Stephen kneeled, "I know that we spoke of me courting you once you went to London after the holidays, Elizabeth, but the truth is I had already decided that you were the only one for me after that second time we met. From the tone of your letters to me, and from your reaction when I arrived, you have given me hope, as I had not dared to hope, that you might feel the same for me. Miss Elizabeth Bennet, would you do me the very great honor of becoming my wife, sharing our lives together come what may?"
"YES! Oh, yes, Stephen!" She almost bowled him over as she launched herself at him to deliver a kiss. He stood and twirled her around in joy and then they both tried to compose themselves without actually letting go of each other, "I too have dreaded the idea of prolonging our courtship. I have known that you are the only man I would ever consent to marry since that same walk together, my Stephen."
"You have made me a very happy man, Elizabeth. But now we have some very serious decisions to make: I have been declared fully fit for duty, my dear, and have been offered two different opportunities by the War Office. The first is to command a cavalry brigade. The second is to command an intelligence unit... I believe that you, being as intelligent and perceptive as you are, have deduced that the service I am presently performing falls under that arena. The third is to resign my commission and to accept a small estate from my family. Which one do you favor."
They talked for much longer than was fitting for a formal call, but in the end Elizabeth declared, "I think that we should do a combination of the last two: accept the small estate that your father has offered, with the understanding that we shall seldom live there until retirement. Hire a reliable steward who will treat our tenants well. Invest any overage to build up a fund for when you retire. Then we shall go wherever the War Office requires for you to fulfill your role in Intelligence... and I shall quite happily make a home for you wherever the fates and the War Office shall send us."
"You are willing to marry me with no certainty as to where we shall live?" Stephen asked, somewhat surprised.
Elizabeth squeezed his hand, "My home is where you are. And the thought of seeing the places I have only read about is no hardship."
They realized that they had entirely forgotten about Mary, but they found her sitting on a fallen log and cheerfully reading her general's letter for the third time. Nevertheless, she still gave them a mock scowl and said, "I was about to send sound the town's alarm. Did you walk clear to St. Alban's and back?"
Her older sister beamed at her, "No, but I did promise to marry this ne'er-do-well."
Mary was the most undemonstrative of the Bennet sisters, but she still jumped up and grasped her sister's hands, "Oh, Lizzy! Congratulations! And I shall be pleased to call you brother, Colonel."
"I shall be honored to bear that title, Miss Mary. How did you enjoy your letter?"
She flushed, but then set her shyness aside to boldly pronounce, "I enjoy every letter from Spencer. He is a most interesting correspondent."
The couple were prepared to tease her further, but right then they walked onto Longbourn's drive and Lydia Bennet stomped up to them, "Colonel, what have you done to poor Mr. Wickham! Lizzy, some men just arrested poor Wickie! Order him to let him go!"
"You call George Wickham... Wickie?!" The Colonel tried hard, but could not hold back his laughter. Lydia only stomped and shouted enough that everyone in the house poured out to investigate. Once Stephen had control of himself, he explained to one an all, "I came back to Meryton in a hurry as soon as I read George Wickham's name in Elizabeth's letter."
Everyone was startled to hear the colonel's casual use of Lizzie's name, but Stephen took no notice, "George Wickham is a scoundrel who uses his good looks and false charm to fool people wherever he goes." When Lydia began to protest, her father stopped her with a firm hand on her shoulder. "He goes to a new place, racks up a mountain of debt, both to shopkeepers and through debts of honor, dishonors quite a few of the area's more foolish daughters, and then flees the area to start over again."
Everyone looked alarmed at this, but the colonel was not finished. "If it was only this, then we would simply collect a record of his debts and put him in debtor's prison until he could pay. But recently his name came forward in a scheme to rob the payroll for a militia regiment. We did not know yet where he and his fellow conspirators planned to strike, until Elizabeth's letter reached me. Then I notified my superiors, gathered my investigators, and hurried back to Meryton.
"As of ten o'clock this morning, George Wickham and five others, including Colonel Forster, have been arrested. The preponderance of evidence, including hand-written letters, is irrefutable. My men have already taken the six men to London to await trial. I have assumed temporary command of this regiment until another is appointed..." he turned to Elizabeth and then to Mr. Bennet, "Which reminds me, Sir. We need to speak privately."
Mr. Bennet grinned, "Oh, I don't think that is necessary. You have already all but declared your engagement by the repeated use of my daughter's name here in front of everyone. So why don't you just ask me now?"
Mrs. Bennet had been growing ever more excited, but now she rushed forward to hug the bemused colonel. After sharing an amused look with his betrothed, he returned the older woman's hug and asked, "Mr. Bennet, may I take your daughter Elizabeth off your hands?"
Thomas Bennet laughed, then said, "I would not dare to tell you no with my wife so excited. So yes, Son, I could not give her to a better man."
~oOo~
Mrs. Bennet was less thrilled when Stephen informed her that his new assignment would require them to depart no later than the end of January. Thankfully, she was too overjoyed about marrying off one of her daughters to object too strenuously. Stephen was thankful that Colonel Forster had left the regiment in such a mess. The press of his duties in reorganizing and training provided a handy excuse for him to avoid much of the harried marriage planning. Elizabeth was not so lucky.
Mrs. Bennet nearly fainted and required a great amount of smelling salts when she learned that her future son-in-law was the son of an earl. She was almost overcome when it was confirmed that the whole family would attend her Lizzy's wedding.
Bingley proposed to Jane Bennet on the night of the Netherfield Ball. Even his sisters could not object to him marrying a girl who was related to an earl through her sister's marriage. Caroline Bingley hoped... and hinted... that one marriage begat another. Mr. Darcy did not take the bait. He did, however, invite his sister Georgiana to attend Stephen's wedding. To his surprise Georgiana took an immediate liking to the entire Bennet family.
General Spencer Easterly arrived five days early for his subordinate's wedding and immediately proposed to Mary. She accepted him with joy and kissed him with a passion that neither of them had ever suspected. It promised that theirs would be a much better marriage than any outsider might ever suspect.
Elizabeth was sad that she would not be present for Jane or Mary's weddings. Still, she could not repine the man who was now her husband. At the end of January Colonel and Mrs. Fitzwilliam boarded a ship for Canada, where, unfortunately, a conflict with the new United States was on the horizon. From there they went to India, the Egypt, then Asia, and then finally Russia, although there were several small assignments in between.
Elizabeth had been home several times with and without her husband over the decades. She was not there for her father's funeral, but she did make it in time to hold her mother's hand at her end. She was there to see her firstborn, Stephen Thomas, entering Eton. She was there to see her first daughter, Elaine, make her curtsy to the new Queen. She was there for the tragic day when her sister Lydia, who had married a major, died in childbirth after delivering a son. And she was there with Stephen when their second daughter married an earl. There were many, many such events that she missed, but she could not repine so long as she was with her Stephen.
Oddly enough, Elizabeth was there when Mr. Collins, the Master of Longbourn after her father, died without an heir. His inheritance had broken the entail and his poor management and spending habits had bankrupted the estate, so she had to watch in bitterness as the property was seized by the Crown. Elizabeth had thought she was resigned to whatever fate befell her childhood home, but seeing it in such a state was almost too much for her to bear. The same had happened to Netherfield Park due to neglect.
When General and Mrs. Fitzwilliam finally returned to Great Britain's shores for his retirement, Queen Victoria and Parliament had a surprise waiting for them in the form of a barony. He had served with such distinction and made such a contribution to the spread of the British Empire that the Queen knew his name well. After consulting with his brother, the Earl of Matlock, and Elizabeth's own most prominent relative*, the Crown combined the properties of Longbourn and Netherfield Park and made Stephen the new Baron of Longbourn.
In their retirement years the couple worked tirelessly with their eldest son and his wife, to make their property into what it always should have been. Many wondered why the new baron and his wife did not spend more time in London, but they had no desire for such nonsense. Other then annual visits to his brother and her sisters, Stephen and Elizabeth were quite content to remain at home and enjoy their waning years together.
AN: This is a two-part story. The second half will tell the tale of Mary and her general.
* It is probably obvious who Elizabeth's "most prominent relative" is, but that will also wait for part 2.