Eliza Doolittle laid in bed staring out the window. She felt lethargic, with little energy needed to get herself up. Her eyes hurt, as well as her head. That's what happened when you were awake until almost sunrise, crying and thinking.
After the Professor stormed out of his mother's house, Eliza started to go after him. She had her coat half on when Mrs. Higgins came into the entry hall.
"Eliza, where are you going? It's almost nightfall."
"Back to the house. It's the only home I've known in a long time."
"Eliza, stop and think. If you go back now, will my son treat you any differently, any better?" Mrs. Higgins' gaze caused Eliza to stop and really think.
"No, probably not. I will still be a 'doll', not a person, despite what he said." Eliza's shoulders drooped and she dropped her purse.
"Stay here one more night at least. You had a big confrontation with Henry, and you must be exhausted. Go to your room, relax, and get some rest. We can talk about what needs to happen next tomorrow."
So, here it was, tomorrow, and Eliza was no nearer a possible solution than she had been last night.
Eventually, Eliza rose and performed her morning routine. She went down to have breakfast with Mrs. Higgins who, Eliza knew, never ate before 10am.
They were still at the table when the maid came in and announced that Colonel Pickering was there, and wished to speak to them.
"The Colonel? Whatever for? Never mind. Show him into the morning room, and we will be there shortly." Mrs. Higgins and Eliza shared a glance, both equally bewildered by this visit.
Colonel Hugh Pickering paced nervously back and forth in the room. When Higgins had arrived home yesterday afternoon, he had simply sat down in the parlor, and listened to a recording he had made of Eliza when she first came to see them. When Pickering had asked about what happened, Higgins had simply ranted about ungrateful hussies who didn't know what's good for them. After about 15 minutes of that, Higgins had stomped off to his room and slammed the door. Hugh had found out that Eliza had gone to stay with Henry's mother, which was rather surprising.
Col. Pickering had never been a deep thinker. Being a soldier didn't encourage thinking. It encouraged following orders, and doing your best for the men in your command. However, he did know that he and Higgins had rather derailed Eliza's life with what they had done. It seemed to him, then, that it was up to them to try and give her somewhere to go and something to do. Hugh thought that he had come up with something.
Eliza and Mrs. Higgins entered the morning room. After greeting him and sitting down, the two simply looked at him, wondering why he had come around.
"I know you're both wondering why I've come around. After listening to Higgins rant last night, I realized, fully, what we have done to you, Miss Doolittle. We've taken you out of your normal life, changed you so you no longer fit there, but haven't provided you with an alternative for you to continue on in."
Eliza flinched slightly, but raised her chin and stared at him. Stating the obvious wasn't going to change anything.
"I'm sure neither of you realize it, but I am married. My wife is still in India, packing the house and getting it ready to pass on to the next commander. She will be coming to England in the next couple of weeks. I came ahead to open the family house and get it ready for us to live there. It's been empty for several years and really was not fit to live in. Staying with Higgins saved me from living in a musty house with no servants. However, the house is almost ready for me to move there. I will be leaving Higgins in the next week or so."
"Make sure you tell him soon. He hates unexpected change."
"I will. That's not why I came. You may actually know my wife, Mrs. Higgins. I believe you and her mother were acquainted. My wife's maiden name was Joanna Deering."
"Yes, I knew her mother fairly well. We drifted apart after we married, but we went to school together. I had heard Joanna married some soldier, and gone off to India. So you were the one?" She grinned at him, and he chuckled.
"I was the one. To continue, we were never blessed with children, so Joanna took the younger officers under her wing as pseudo nephews, and their wives and families as well.
"She is not in the best of health. Years in India can be hard on some people, and Joanna is one of them. She won't admit it, but the heat and humidity take more out of her every year. She is looking forward to coming back to England."
Eliza was not the most patient person, so she was unable to keep from interrupting. "What does all this have to do with me?"
"I'm getting there. One thing I have been pondering was how to take care of my wife without her feeling as if she is being treated as an invalid. I thought, Eliza, that you might be willing to come into my household as a companion for her. Keeping her company, doing small chores for her, and generally helping her in whatever way she requires. She doesn't need a nurse, you see, simply someone who can fetch things for her, and make things easier for her."
"Will you explain my background to her? Will she mind?" Eliza was interested, but she was well aware that she came from a much lower level of society.
"She won't mind. One thing India teaches us is that who a person is, what they can do, is more important than who their parents were. We had officers who came from the best families who were cowards and didn't deserve to even be in the Empire's army. Others, who came from backgrounds very similar to yours, were the best soldiers I ever commanded. Joanna is more interested in the person than in their background."
Eliza looked at Mrs. Higgins, and she nodded. "The Deerings were never class-conscious. Juliana, the Colonel's mother-in-law, was very outspoken if she thought someone was wrong, but she was kind to everyone she met until they gave her reason not to be."
"We can try it, and if it doesn't work out, we will work something else out." Col. Pickering was reassuring, but he was a realist. It might not work out.
"Very well. When do I need to start? Where will I stay until your wife gets here?"
"It should only be about another week. I know she should be on her way, but I don't know exactly when the ship is due to dock. She will send me a message when she is a couple of days out."
"You are welcome to stay here until you begin your position with Mrs. Pickering. I rather enjoy having someone else in the house. It really is too big for just me, but I can't see giving it up."
"Thank you, Mrs. Higgins. Colonel, please let me know where I am to go, and when I need to be there."
"I shall give you the address now, and will let you know about the date. Thank you for taking this off my mind. I'm sure you and my wife will get along very well, maybe too well."
The colonel was more right than he knew.