The Colonel's Ungovernable Governess : A Pride and Prejudice Vagary

Chapter Nine

Thinking everything was settled between them, when Edward came down the following morning, he was surprised to discover only Darcy and Elizabeth in the morning room. “Is there something ill happening with the children and Miss Lambert? I expected to be the last down to break my fast. I was attending to necessary correspondence.”

“Rose and the children had finished their meals before Mr. Darcy and I came down. They were off to execute some sort of study of the flora and fauna found in the area. They had several specimen bottles, drawing pads, pencils, and the like with them. Miss Lambert said they may not return until the midday meal.” Mrs. Darcy explained. “My husband sent one of the footmen with them with instructions to stay with their small party.”

Edward was glad the lady had taken her duties seriously, but he regretted not having the opportunity to look upon the woman’s handsome features. “I am pleased Miss Lambert is prepared to step into her prescribed role in this household.”

Mrs. Darcy presented him an odd look. “Rose removed her things from the rooms I set aside for her to the room designed for the governess.”

“Meaning, my dear Elizabeth thought Miss Lambert should have asked your preference before the woman took herself off to the quarters designed for the position she holds in this household,” Darcy said with a teasing smile directed towards his wife. “I told her, though you might agree with her estimation of the woman, Lindale is very much the same type of stickler as is the earl. It is not for a governess to reside in the family wing.”

“Darcy is correct,” Edward conceded as he filled his plate from the offerings on the sideboard. “The children are already too fond of the lady. We do not yet know if Lindale and Lady Elaine will approve of Miss Lambert’s employment.”

“You have written to them?” Darcy asked.

“Last night. Mr. Torrence franked the letters to Matlock and to Lindale. This morning, I informed my supervisor I would be making calls from William’s Wood instead of pater’s home in Derbyshire for the time being. I left that letter on the tray when I came down, Torrence.”

“I will see to it, Colonel.”

Darcy asked cautiously, “What of your discussion with Miss Lambert? I assume as she is performing her duties to the children that you considered the woman satisfactory.”

He found the woman more than satisfactory, and that was the problem with her, but he did not dare to provide his cousin a hint of Edward’s desire for the lady. “We held an interesting discussion,” he admitted. “We did not agree on everything, but we agreed the lady deserved the opportunity to prove herself an appropriate governess for Lady Lindale’s children. As I said only moments prior, my greatest fear is how quickly they have formed an attachment to the lady.”

“They require some stability,” Darcy cautioned.

“Such is my concern. I do not want the twins to know rejection again nor do I want a woman in charge of their futures who treats them as if they are punishable criminals, as did Mrs. Peyton,” Edward explained.

Darcy said, “Elizabeth has decided if Miss Lambert does not meet your needs as a governess, my wife would like to employ the woman as the teacher for the new village school she has planned for Lambton.”

“A school, heh, Cousin?” Edward teased.

“Elizabeth and I share a vision for Lambton to grow as a crossroads with better roads, transportation, and more business. We wish it to no longer be a pass-through town, but rather a stop-off place for those traveling both north and south on the western side of the shire, as well as east and west. A school for the children would be a great draw to entice more trade and commerce to consider Lambton a valuable choice.”

“Quite a vision,” Edward remarked. “You two complement each other so well.”

“Someday you will know such happiness in marriage,” Darcy assured.

“Will I?” Edward asked. “How am I to achieve such with a woman upon whom I have never laid eyes? What if Miss Romfield and I hold no values in common? You will pardon me, Elizabeth, if I say I always wanted what you and Darcy share. I do not believe I could spend the remainder of my days sitting across the table from someone for whom I have no wish to hold her hand, as you and Darcy do at this moment.”

“I do not wish to disagree with you, Colonel, but the road Mr. Darcy and I traveled was not as smooth as one might assume,” Elizabeth countered. “We partook of a number of disagreements.”

“Yet, you hold common values and an unspoken respect for each other,” Edward argued. “Even when you were testy with each other at Rosings Park, I knew Darcy admired you and you him. The road you would claim would not be easy, but you would keep butting heads until you realized, while doing so, you were close enough to embrace each other. You hold similar plans for your family and the future of Pemberley, as well as your legacy as the master and mistress of Pemberley. As I have often shared with both of you, I have a vision for my future in the military, as well as the possibility of my sitting in the Commons. Miss Romfield has been raised on the Continent. What if her personality and views of the world hinder my hopes for both? Her education is likely more ‘liberal’ than many with whom she would be required to interact in English society. Before she took ill, if such is the actual truth of the matter of her absence, she was banned by Lady Jersey from Almack’s for dancing a waltz with some scoundrel.

“How is the lady to serve me in obtaining my hopes for both a promotion and a political career if she chooses to buck long-standing traditions? As Darcy did not wish to marry someone who viewed Pemberley as his best asset, I do not wish to marry someone who chooses me only to one day become a countess.”

Elizabeth asked teasingly, “Who says I did not choose to marry Mr. Darcy after I viewed the magnificence of Pemberley? I told Jane that Pemberley had changed my mind about the gentleman, though, now that I consider it, Jane instructed me to be serious.”

“Even if your sister had not been so pragmatic, one must remember that you did not know whether I might renew my proposal,” her husband argued. “Moreover, even if you did prefer me more after viewing Pemberley, it is excellent news to know Pemberley is good for something other than the taxes and the continual need for repairs.”

“Yet, you both understand my qualms,” Edward reiterated.

“We do,” they chorused together.

“How long do you plan to remain at William’s Wood?” Edward asked.

“You wish to be rid of us, Cousin?” Darcy questioned. “We have not yet examined the loose fa?ade on the third storey.”

“I have also not forgotten the fa?ade,” Edward assured. “And, as to wishing to be rid of you, I do not.” In truth, Edward was not confident his residing in the house without the Darcys chaperoning him and Miss Lambert was such a good idea, for his own peace of mind. “It is just when I was in the village, I heard news there is to be a fair on Saturday. I thought I would escort the children, but I wanted your opinion on whether all the noise of the fair might frighten the boy. You both seem to relate well to Lord Vincent. Do you have an opinion?”

“Fairs can be quite loud,” Elizabeth mused.

“Yet, the child cannot hide away from the world if the colonel’s family expects to support Lord Vincent’s bid for the Babcock title,” Darcy countered. “He will face more than a dancing bear or a juggler in the Lords. Men shout over each other all the time, and London, itself, is far from a quiet country house.”

“Agreed,” Edward declared, “but how do we go about it?”

“We?” Darcy asked with a grin. “Mrs. Darcy and I have not said we would stay until Saturday.”

“How often did I save your backside at Harrow and university?” Edward countered.

“Often enough,” Darcy admitted. “Should we stay until after the fair, Mrs. Darcy?”

“We are rarely more than each other’s society, even in London,” Elizabeth reminded him. She grinned, signaling she meant to tease him. “Soon people will begin to think you are not as fond of your wife as you claimed.”

Darcy said sweetly, “I most assuredly would not wish others to question my choice of wife. Your observation is so noted, my dear.” To Edward, he said, “We will remain, but I suggest you and I, sir, sit down with the young lord and attempt to explain what all he might see and hear at such an entertainment and prepare him for all the noise and people. I also have thought of another task for the child, which should interest him more thoroughly.”

* * *

“Might I steal Lord Vincent away, Miss Lambert?” Edward asked.

The boy looked up from his book in concern.

“Most assuredly, Colonel,” the woman responded. “Lady Victoria and I were just taking up our needlepoint, and Lord Vincent was asked to spend time in reading.”

The boy stood tentatively. “Have I . . . displeased you . . . sir?”

“Lord, no. Mr. Darcy and I thought we might share something with you. It is time you begin your instruction on becoming the next earl. And you will be reading history.”

“Truly, sir?” the boy asked, looking about for something to hold in his hands. “Is it not . . . too soon?”

“Actually, someone should have addressed it previously. My cousin has suggested it would be best if you begin with a knowledge of the Jennings family history in this country. When you are old enough to be called before the House of Lords, you will likely be asked such questions. Even if you are not, you should be made aware of your ancestral line. Once you do, you will better understand the pride with which those of the aristocracy speak of their roots.”

Miss Lambert said, “How grand, Vincent. If I am hearing the colonel correctly, you possess an exemplary lineage.”

Edward chuckled, “There were a few scoundrels. What good is it to have ancestors without a colorful history? Come along, Vincent, Mr. Darcy has discovered some gigantic book, just like those my cousin and you adore, that deals with lineage and the sort. You will provide me a gentle jab in my side if my eyes glaze over.”

The boy looked to him as if Edward had a tick in his head, but he fell in step beside him. “Will I truly . . . be required . . . to know this . . . to be an earl?”

Edward paused to look down upon the child. Your man-of-business with legal matters will prepare your written request to assume the earldom, but you will eventually be called before the Lords, and they will ask many questions of your claim to the title. You will be expected to prove you are your father’s heir and he had the right to the earldom.”

“What of . . . Uncle Philip?” the boy asked, indicating he had heard of his uncle’s desire to displace him.

“Although I have not looked at the letters patent, which are documents used to create peerages, to the specifics of your earldom, they are generally legal documents which express who may inherit. For example, the Matlock earldom includes limitations to ‘heirs of the male body.’ That means only lineal, as in your lineage, which Darcy will explain more in a few minutes, descendants of the original peer may succeed to the peerage. You will be asked to prove that you are the rightful descendant of the First Earl Babcock, just as I might be asked to prove I am a rightful descendant of the First Earl Matlock, if something occurred to both my father and my brother.”

“Could you be . . . Lord Matlock?” the boy asked in obvious concern.

“Those of us who are part of the peerage must always be aware of such matters. None of us are invincible. A man might fall from his horse or his carriage might overturn. Only God knows how long our days will be numbered. Such is the reason your mother brought you to William’s Wood. If something occurs to bring you harm, then your Uncle Philip will be asked to prove himself the next heir. Until you marry and produce a son of your own, your uncle is your heir. With Mrs. Darcy’s father, he had no sons, so a cousin is his heir. Does that make any sense?” he asked.

“I will be . . . expected to . . . produce an . . . heir?” the child said in wonder.

“We all must marry eventually,” he told the child. “I know it must surely sound quite daunting to you. Trust me. It sounds equally daunting to me, and I am more than twenty years your senior.”

“You are . . . to marry, sir?” the boy asked.

“So says my father,” he told the child. “But we should not keep Darcy waiting longer. My cousin is quite excited by what he wishes to share with you.”

As they walked, the child asked, “When will I . . . be called . . . to the Lords?”

“Not before your guardian, which is my brother, makes an official request. As it stands now, my brother and father would make the request for you. You will be considered the ‘remainder’ until you may assume the title. You are ‘remaining’ in place until it is your time to serve, which is customarily when you reach your majority. You will be the earl for all practical purposes, but it will not be official until you go before the Lords.”

“Then I am . . . the earl . . . now?” the boy asked.

“Yes. You will serve with your guardians to aid you. Those guardians are my brother, my father, and your mother. A male child is presented two males and one female guardian. It would be reversed for your sisters—two females and one male. Your guardians will assist you with the oversight of the estate and other such legal points.”

The child nodded his understanding, but Edward noted a shift in the boy’s shoulders as if the lad prepared for this new reality. Edward was beginning to think the child was not so unable to understand things, but rather no one had cared to speak to him of his responsibilities. Surely the boy was a bit eccentric, but the same could be said of Darcy and even of him. Every human likes his own way best.

“Ah!” Darcy said when they entered the library. “I am glad Miss Lambert could spare you.”

Edward laughed. “I warned you Mr. Darcy would already have found several large books for you.”

“Nonsense,” Darcy declared with a grin. “Lord Vincent and I understand each other. Am I correct, boy?”

“Yes, sir.”

Though the boy agreed, he still appeared tentative. He sat on the chair to which Darcy had gestured. “There are many books that keep records of each peerage. They tell of when the peerages were created. If they became extant. Whether they changed names as additional peerages came under the same family crest. My own family and that of the colonel’s can trace their beginnings in what is known as the Doomsday Book. It is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of King William, the Conqueror. It is called ‘Doomsday’ because its decisions were unalterable.”

“Just as Lord Lindale is . . . part of the Matlock . . . earldom?” the boy asked.

“Exactly,” Darcy confirmed. “So let us first look at the meaning of your name and names you recognize.” He glanced to Edward. “My cousin’s surname is easy. ‘Fitz’ comes the French word fiz, which means ‘son.’ So the first Fitzwilliams in England were so called because they were the sons of a man called ‘William.’”

The boy smiled upon Edward. “The colonel’s father is not a ‘William.’”

“No,” Darcy chuckled, “but if we look from father to grandfather to great-grandfather and so on, we would find more than one ‘William’ in the Fitzwilliam family.”

“And you, sir?” the child asked.

“I am equally as easy. My family name also arrived in England during the Norman Conquest. It comes from the French barony of Arcy or d’Arcy.”

Edward added, “In my cousin’s case, it could just as easily have come from the Irish word óDorchaide, which means a descendant of the dark-haired one, for the French first conquered Ireland before they came to England.”

The child had finally relaxed. “And ‘Jennings’?”

“Let us look in the book.” Darcy had marked the page with a slip of paper. “Would you please read what it says, my lord?”

Vincent sat straighter in the chair and moved the book closer before reading aloud. “An English patro . . .”

“Patronymic,” Darcy supplied, “meaning it is derived from the name of a male ancestor, typically by the addition of a prefix or suffix, as it was with ‘Fitzwilliam.’”

The child nodded his understanding, though he still stumbled somewhat over the correct pronunciation of “patronymic.” He began again, “An English patrony . . . mic family name. Derived from Middle English ‘Janyn’ or ‘Jenyn,’ a variation of ‘John.’” He turned to Edward. “Just like you from ‘William,’ sir. I am from ‘John.’”

“Yes, indeed. Much the same,” Edward replied, before encouraging, “What else does it say?”

“First recorded in the 13th century. Found in Wales and Scotland, but also Ulster. That means in Ireland, correct, sir?”

“Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland,” Edward confirmed.

The child appeared proud to know something of what he read, and he continued, “Before the 17th and 18th centuries, people called ‘Jennings’ as a surname were found in Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire, Hertfordshire, Somerset, Suffolk, Surrey, Worcestershire, and Yorkshire. That would be my family, would it not, Mr. Darcy?”

“It very well could be referring to your nearest ancestors. Now, turn to the other page I have marked,” Darcy encouraged.

“What is this?” the boy asked.

“This part speaks of the ‘Babcock’ name of your earldom. I do not expect you to read it all to the colonel and me, but it does speak to the specifics of the Babcock earldom. You should copy it out and begin to learn something of those who came before you. However, it is the name ‘Babcock’ I wanted you to explore. You will see one of the first notices of a written form of the word can be found in Lancashire.”

“Unlike Jennings,” the boy’s finger traced the words on the page, “which has masculine roots, ‘Babcock’ has a matrony . . . mic . . . that means ‘mother’ or ‘woman,’ does it not, colonel? The ‘patron’ was a male.”

“‘Matronymic’ does refer to women. Very good,” Edward said with a ruffling of the boy’s hair with his hand.

With a large smile, the boy continued, “Matrony . . . mic origin. The first Babcock was likely the son of a woman named ‘Barbara. ‘Saint Barbara’ is honored by the Church for standing up for Christianity against the pagan household in which she dwelled. She was beaten and tortured, but she would not de . . . nounce her faith.

“The surname was first recorded in Essex in 1259 when ‘Nicholas Bab’ registered it in the Calendar of Wills at the Court of Husting.”

“That is a court in London and is the oldest court in the capital,” Darcy quickly explained. “Continue.”

“The word ‘cock’ is generally sob . . .” the boy broke off again.

“‘Sobriquet,’” Darcy supplied. “It is a French word that originally meant a ‘tap under the chin’ or of unknown origin.”

“Miss Lambert said Victoria and I must begin French lessons this week,” the child said obediently.

“Excellent,” Edward declared. “Such will assist you with many of this country’s early documents, for French was the language of the English court from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the late 1300s.”

“Back to ‘sobriquet,’” Darcy instructed.

“The word ‘cock’ is generally sobriquet for a sharp, forward boy.”

Edward supplied several examples, “Such as Wilcox or Hancock.”

The boy admitted, “I never knew so much history goes into names.”

“Your given name of ‘Vincent’ means ‘prevailing.’ It comes from the Latin word ‘vincere,’ meaning ‘to conquer,’” Darcy explained.

“I like my name much better now,” the child admitted. “And ‘Victoria’?”

“From the Latin word for ‘victory.’ In Roman mythology,” Darcy explained, “‘Victoria’ was the name of the goddess of victory, who the Greeks called ‘Nike.’”

The child smiled largely. “I will tell her, but she would prefer being the goddess of beauty.”

He returned his finger to the page, as Darcy shared, “Babcock is an English surname, which can be pronounced as ‘Bartcock,’ which means ‘son of Bartholomew.’”

Edward said, “Ironic indeed. You have much to study about both your family name and the title you will receive, but there was something special Mr. Darcy and I wished you to consider.” He turned the boy so he might take the child’s hands in his. “It was not by coincidence that my brother reached out to your mother to make her an offer of marriage. You see, the family name of ‘Jennings’ has more than the English derivation. There is also the Irish Gaelic surname of ‘Mac Sheoinin,’ meaning the son of Séan, or, as we say in England, son of ‘John.’”

“Is that not the same as before?” the boy asked.

“It is,” Edward assured patiently. “Yet, there is or was a man called ‘John Burke,’ who was the Lord of Connacht with land in both County Mayo and County Galway. The Burke family in Ireland has lines which overlap with the French-based names in England. The Burkes had intersecting lines with the De Burgh and the de Bourgh families in England.”

“And?” the boy’s expression spoke of his confusion.

Edward smiled on the child. “I do not explain things as well as does Darcy. I never did. My cousin scored nearly perfect scores on his oral exams at university.” He sighed heavily. “You are Lord Babcock, which provides your connections to both the Burkes, as in the John Burke I just mentioned, as well as the De Burghs. Mr. Darcy and Lord Lindale and Lord Matlock and I have connections to the French de Bourgh family. Our Aunt Catherine is Lady de Bourgh. She married Sir Louis de Bourgh. She is my father’s eldest sister.”

“We are related?” the child asked in apparent bewilderment.

“Loosely so,” Edward explained, “but family, nevertheless. It was our Lady Catherine who suggested your mother to Lindale.”

The child appeared stunned by the possibility. He turned to Darcy, “Could you assist me, sir, in learning how best to read these lines and trace them to my ancestors. When I know how the family lines are connected, I would like to write to my mother and thank her for bringing my family and yours and the colonel’s together. I do not feel so . . . so . . . I do not know the word to describe it.”

“I understand,” Darcy said softly.

“Perhaps when I learn them, Miss Lambert will assist me in drawing a picture linking all of us together.”

“Excellent idea,” Edward declared. “As I have my own correspondence to which I must see, I will leave you in Mr. Darcy’s most capable hands.”