Miss de Bourgh and the Colonel (The Other Paths Collection)
Prologue
Rosings Park, Kent
Colonel Richard Fizwilliam
British Army
____th Regiment of Foot
Tarifa, Spain
My dearest Richard,
My heart aches. How much longer must we be apart? How much longer must I wait to have your arms about me in a tender embrace?
I offer up my prayers daily for your safe return from the front.
I hope that when you have defeated Napoleon’s forces, you will return to me straight away.
Life here has become almost unbearable. Mother treats me as a child and does not allow me to do anything for myself.
Jenkinson attends my every need, every waking moment.
I am scarcely allowed to feed myself. Outdoor excursions have been restricted to my daily constitutional with Jenkinson.
I seldom venture beyond the borders of the estate, and only in the company of my mother.
I am barred from taking out my phaeton and ponies, even though I was unharmed by the wheel breaking in that ditch last summer.
She is still furious with you for driving too fast, even though I told her it was I who urged you to fly along the lane.
Mother is too afraid that the next time, my cart might be overturned.
She has forbidden all forms of carriage travel except in her barouche or traveling coach.
She would prefer to keep me locked away in a cabinet like a porcelain doll, too afraid that I might chip and break.
My childhood paralytic disease may have robbed me of my legs, but I am still a person and desire to live my life to its fullest. Yet she refuses to allow me any liberty!
The only visitors who regularly call on us are Toadface and his new wife. She is a kind and amiable woman, though I cannot regard her with too much sense. Who could stand to be married to such an idiotic sycophant?
Mother begins to speak with greater frequency of Cousin Darcy and her desire for me to marry him. Ever since his visit last Easter, she seems to have decided that it is high time that I marry and is determined to fulfill her wishes on the matter.
I have tried to hint to her of your superior qualities and my preference towards you, but I dare not speak too plainly lest I raise her ire.
Her gaze is set on Pemberley; she covets to see me be its mistress, and Darcy has long been her favorite nephew, I am sorry to say.
She cannot conceive of another suitable husband for me as long as he remains single.
She will not be dissuaded from the idea by any means.
My wishes on the matter–and his–are irrelevant, it would seem.
Please, Richard, take me from here. I cannot bear it if I am parted from you!
Cousin Darcy is dear to me, but not in the way that you are.
I do not think I can endure living as his wife if I am forced to marry him.
Survive this war, and abscond with me to Scotland—or even better, to Calcutta or the Orient.
I care not if I ever return to England, so long as I have you by my side.
My useless legs would matter not, for you would give me wings to fly, my love.
Christmas shall not be the same without you, my dearest darling. I dare not send any gift, save a lock of my own hair, secured with a bit of ribbon. I hope that it may comfort you to have a piece of me to carry with you into battle.
Ever your beloved,
Anne
S
British Army
____th Regiment of Foot
Tarifa, Spain, January 9, 1812
Miss Anne de Bourgh
Rosings Park
Westerham, Kent
My darling Anne,
Believe me, separation brings me as much anguish as it does you.
Our winter spent apart has brought me no joy, and never before have I spent such a dreary Christmas as the one I just endured in Tarifa.
No balls or parties to look forward to, only the dull footwork of soldiers who have seen nary a London assembly, and a few badly-sung carols by those of us who felt cheerful enough to croak our voices.
The holiday itself was nearly forgotten during the siege, which lasted until Twelfth Night.
We decked the halls of our fortress with barrels of gunpowder and crates of rations and donned our gay apparel for battle.
I daresay you would have found our red dress resplendent!
Your lovely gift did not arrive until the battle was won, but know my darling that I carry you with me always in my heart regardless.
Nevertheless, I mean to have your lock of hair set in the finest gold ring that money can buy when I return.
On that note, I have news, my love. An end to our separation may be soon at hand!
My father has petitioned the War Office to secure a post for me in the recruitment office and assures me that I am likely to receive an offer.
He must have concerns for my safety after the false report circulating of my having been captured by the enemy in the last raid.
I declare, if you heard any rumors, they were entirely untrue!
In truth, my comrades and I managed to liberate ten of our men from the enemy camp, along with several cases of French brandy.
The reason for our absence was, unfortunately, that we drank a little too heavily to our success with the spoils of our victory, and subsequently awakened in a barn a few miles from Tarifa, some hours after we were presumed missing.
The details would take too long to pen, but I promise I shall tell you the tale in full sometime.
I long to hold you in my arms and whisper all the secret desires of my heart to your ears.
In that hour, Mrs. Jenkinson had best stand guard to warn us of your mother’s approach and feign deafness and blindness to all else, for I make no promises as to what I might do when I am rejoined to your company.
Your most beloved,
Richard
S
Rosings Park, Kent
England, February 10, 1812
Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam
British Army
____th Regiment of Foot
Tarifa, Spain
My dearest Richard,
I send this letter and trust that whenever you receive it, it shall warm your heart.
If I could enclose a kiss with it, I would.
Instead, you must settle for my pressed lips upon the page, reddened with a bit of carmine powder stolen from my mother’s dressing table.
She is unaware that I know her secret attempts to retain her youthful color, or that I think it makes her look like a lady of the night, ha!
You shall not think worse of me for reddening my lips like a temptress, however.
Rather, it shall thrill and delight you.
We have had strange tidings here. A rumor that Cousin Darcy is to be married!
Toadface informs us that the bride is his cousin.
The Collinses are to travel to Hertfordshire for another wedding, that of this lady’s sister to Darcy’s friend, Mr. Bingley.
So if the rumor is true it will soon be confirmed, I suppose.
Mother is absolutely incensed; she wrote a letter to Cousin Darcy, demanding to know if there is any truth to this circulation and reminding of his duty to marry me. I do not imagine her admonition shall be well-received.
I, however, cannot be dismayed by this news.
If Darcy marries, then Mother will have to abandon her foolhardy plans and perhaps she might be willing to entertain the notion of a different nephew as being worthy.
You are, after all, the second son of an earl, and the son of her only brother.
Though you have no estate of your own, we would have Rosings and my fortune to sustain us.
If I can persuade Mother to give up on seeing me settled at Pemberley, perhaps she might be amenable to that greatest wish of my heart.
What sort of girl do you think his bride is?
If she is like her cousin Toadface, I might imagine her to be a large, gluttonous girl with a propensity for talking too much and flattering those of higher rank.
But I cannot picture Cousin Darcy admiring such a creature, so I must suppose her to be the sort of sensible young woman who eschews fortune and rank and is tolerably pretty.
I would like to meet her once they are wed, though I do not think that Mother would ever admit her to Rosings, nor visit her at Pemberley, so I suppose I will have be content with hearing the reports from others when the blessed event takes place.
Unless, of course, you abscond with me and we set ourselves up in some small cottage by the sea, and then we can wait upon whomever we like and receive whichever of our family and friends we please.
Such a notion pleases me greatly. I often sit in my little window seat in my chamber and daydream such things to occupy the long hours that we are apart.
The idea of your quitting the battlefields and taking up a position on our own shores is welcome news to my ears.
I pray that your father’s petition with the War Office succeeds and that you will quickly receive an offer.
I long to hear you are homeward-bound and to anticipate the hour when you will once more be in my arms. Is there any chance I could simply persuade you to sell out your commission and run away with me?
I await, eternally yours,
Anne
S
British Army
____th Regiment of Foot
Tarifa, Spain, February 24, 1812
Miss Anne de Bourgh
Rosings Park
Westerham, Kent
My darling Anne,
Your Valentine’s kiss was indeed a thrill, my little temptress! It brought warmth to my heart, soul, and body in this bitterly cold winter.