Feeling quite devious, Elizabeth had spent six months meticulously planning her possible exit, so when she arrived in London in in the middle of the afternoon of the twenty seventh of November, she settled herself into a boarding house and set out to find a way to live. She had enough money from the long‑lost‑unlamented 'GW' to last for several years, so she was not overly concerned. Her research for the first three months after Ramsgate had established that readily enough.
She was settled in a part of London where discovery was nearly impossible. London had over a million inhabitants, so avoiding the half‑dozen she was acquainted with was not that difficult. She had even managed to explore a few areas in London that had the supreme benefit of being somewhere that neither her uncle's family nor anyone of Mr. Darcy's class would ever travel, and yet were relatively safe and relatively comfortable. The owner of the boarding house was an elderly widow who ruled it with an iron fist, and her son was a good sort of man who was happy to walk with her for a very reasonable sum when she desired some shred of protection. It was a good place to live for the moment, but it could not last forever. While it was a good stop, it had the supreme disadvantage of being inside of England.
The first thing she did upon arrival was exchange her dresses for something less conspicuous. She reckoned that she could become a lady again anytime she wanted by asking one of the other residents of the boarding house to help her dress, but for everyday life, a more practical dress would do. She procured the necessary items to look like anything from a milkmaid to a shop girl to a lady's maid, so she could blend into whatever part of the city she chose to explore.
When the appointed date arrived, she gave herself a week to find Miss Darcy and set her mind at ease. Had she failed, she would have written her a letter but judged it nearly impossible to safely commit what she wanted to convey to written form.
An earlier conversation with a friend of the aunt of the mother of the batman for a Captain in the army gave her the idea for a way she could travel from England at someone else's expense, and even be paid for her services. The idea was simple enough, so she set about meeting with this mysterious Captain to ask for his help.
It took nearly another fortnight to get the introduction, all of which she used in studying books from the circulating library. She thought many of the medical books sounded much more akin to witchcraft than medicine, but there were some few where they seemed on the verge of working out something big that was just tantalizingly out of reach.
At long last, the introduction was made in a tea shop near the headquarters for the army, only a week after her clandestine meeting with Miss Darcy.
"Captain Fitzwilliam, I thank you for meeting me."
"It is my pleasure, Miss Dashwood. I must say this is an unusual arrangement, but I imagine neither of us are particular sticklers for propriety, are we."
Elizabeth liked the gregarious Colonel. He reminded her slightly of Mr. Darcy, so she grinned and replied, "No, Captain. All evidence would suggest that we are not, Sir."
"Well said, Miss Dashwood. Tea?"
"It would be my pleasure, Captain."
The Captain ordered tea and biscuits, which were delivered by a serving girl that could not quite keep her eyes off the dashing officer. Elizabeth felt a momentary surge of homesickness for the silliness of her younger sister, but then clamped it down to get on with her business.
She did not want to be rude though, so they talked for some time about the commonplaces while the tea served its social function.
At long last, the Captain came to the point, "Now, I assume you wanted to meet me for a reason, Miss Dashwood. How may I help?"
Realizing the moment of truth was at hand, Elizabeth began her request.
"Captain, I would like to become an army nurse… outside of England. I have some minor experience, and I have been studying, so I believe I could make a good go of it."
The Captain stared at her in shock, and replied, "The army mostly makes nurses out of camp followers, but there is some demand for professionals. Washington started the trend back in their revolt, so there might be a way. But let me ask you a question, Miss Dashwood. Have you the vaguest idea what that life is like? I would recommend anything but that for you."
Elizabeth tried to keep her temper in check, but with only limited success. She could feel her face heating up as she replied.
"Is it for you to decide, Captain? I see you do not seem to be intimidated by the need to do your duty. Can you deny me the right to do mine?"
Fitzwilliam raised both hands quickly, saying, "Peace… peace… Miss Dashwood. Did I sound as condescending to you as I sounded to myself?"
Elizabeth had to chuckle at the man. He seemed to have a knack for escaping his own self‑inflicted wounds, which she judged might be handy in the heat of battle.
"Only if I sounded as shrewish to you as I did to myself."
The Captain chuckled, and said, "May I propose a truce, Miss Dashwood. For the moment, may we both assume we are mostly grown up, occasionally sensible, and can decide for ourselves how to spend our lives."
Elizabeth smiled broadly at the rascal. She wondered why the gentleman reminded her of Mr. Darcy but did not have time to fret about it.
"I agree, Captain. You are a rarity among men… someone who does not look down on our sex. That makes you the third such man I can claim acquaintance with."
"Ah, some exalted company I see. Who are these two other paragons?"
"Well, Sir. The first is my father, and the other is a gentleman I met recently… an estate owner from the North."
Fitzwilliam laughed, and said, "Well, Miss Dashwood, you have narrowed the scope admirably. You just described just about every gentleman I know. My father, my brother and all my cousins are estate owners in the North."
"Very well, Captain, I shall try to be more specific. He is a tall estate owner from the North."
They both laughed a bit and felt quite comfortable for such new acquaintances and chuckled for a moment.
Finally, Captain Fitzwilliam asked, "Are you truly set on your course and impervious to reason, Miss Dashwood?"
"Yes, Sir."
"And may I presume that if I do not help, you will simply find another."
"Yes, Sir."
The Captain sighed, and said, "I am off to the Americas, Miss Dashwood. I will be gone for a year or two. Apparently, the fools have declared war on England, so I must go to dissuade them. I cannot get you to there, but I do know a matron that is gathering nurses to go to Portugal for the battles against Napoleon's forces. If you are as stubborn as you look, I will put in a word for you."
"I compare favorably with a mule, Captain. I thank you for your assistance."
"You may well curse me for it before you are done, Miss Dashwood."
"Never, Captain!"
"Just wait, Miss… just wait. Now I must be off. I have your direction. I will talk to the matron directly, and then I do not believe we are likely to cross paths again."
"Thank you, Captain Fitzwilliam. Godspeed, and good fortune to you."
"And to you, Miss Dashwood."