Chapter 13 Fitzwilliam
Elizabeth continued her habit of rising early and going for a walk. While she would have preferred to walk to Oakham Mount, she settled for Hyde Park instead.
She discovered that she was not the only one who took advantage of the early morning hours to get their exercise and soon recognised by sight several walkers and riders.
The other walkers included a couple of young girls on the brink of womanhood who walked briskly with an older woman, trailed by a footman.
She also noticed a young woman accompanied by a footman carrying an infant. Elizabeth could not tell whether the woman was the mother or the nurse.
There was also a boy with what appeared to be his older brother, whom she often saw running rather than walking.
The only rider whom she saw frequently was an officer in the regulars, a colonel if she judged correctly, who exercised his horse.
While no one spoke to her on her walk, once she became a regular visitor, the other adults would smile and nod at her, the colonel going so far as to tip his hat.
Those small acknowledgements made Elizabeth feel more at home in this city full of strangers.
~T~
A few days later the Carletons invited the Gardiners and their nieces to attend the theatre.
On the evening of the planned outing, Mrs Gardiner felt unwell. When her family members suggested that they should all stay at home with her she objected. ‘My dears, I plan to go to bed and sleep. I assure you that I am perfectly capable of doing so without your help.’
The sisters felt torn between eagerness to attend the theatre and concern for their aunt.
‘Are you quite sure that you do not wish for at least one of us to keep you company?’ asked Jane.
‘Quite sure. I am certain that watching me sleep cannot compare to watching a performance on stage. The actors will be much more lively.’
In the end, Mr Gardiner accompanied his nieces to the theatre, where they were met by Mr and Mrs Carleton.
~T~
As both Gardiner and the Carletons liked to be punctual, they had some time to stroll about the foyer, greeting friends and acquaintances.
As they were short on gentlemen, Carleton was escorting his wife and Elizabeth, while Jane and Mary had their uncle as their escort.
While they were stopped so that Mrs Carleton could briefly converse with a friend, Elizabeth let her eyes wander around the room to admire the elegant ladies and gentlemen, when she spied a familiar face.
The Colonel from Hyde Park noticed her as well and on seeing her companions, approached with a smile.
‘Carleton, Mrs Carleton, good evening. I hope you are well,’ he greeted them as soon as Mrs Carleton turned away from her friend.
Once the greetings were completed, the Colonel requested, ‘Would you do me the honour of introducing me to your charming companion?’
Carleton obliged and introduced Colonel Fitzwilliam, the son of the Earl of Matlock to Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn in Hertfordshire.
Mr Carleton also introduced the rest of their party to Colonel Fitzwilliam while Elizabeth exchanged looks with Amelia Carleton, who smiled and nodded, earning her a sparkling smile.
Once the introductions were complete, Fitzwilliam addressed Lizzy. ‘Miss Elizabeth, now that we have been formally introduced and I am sure your cousins will vouch for me, perhaps you would allow me to escort you on your walks in Hyde Park?’
‘If my uncle agrees, I would be delighted to have your company although conversation could be difficult while you are mounted and as a cavalry officer you might not be accustomed to walking.’
‘I can assure you that I am capable of keeping up with you on foot, even though I have noted that you enjoy a brisk pace.’
Once Mr Gardiner gave permission for their walks, further conversation was forestalled since they had to adjourn to their box.
Once they were seated Elizabeth said to Amelia, ‘So that was the formidable Colonel Fitzwilliam. He seems quite charming.’
‘He is that. He is also quite single,’ Amelia responded, raising her eyebrows suggestively, causing Elizabeth to laugh.
~T~
Fitzwilliam could barely contain his glee.
The pretty young woman whom he had noticed in the park was a cousin of the Carletons.
It was even better that she and her sisters were the Bennets of Longbourn in Hertfordshire. He recalled his cousin telling him of Bingley’s angel in that county and he distinctly remembered the name.
Miss Jane Bennet had exactly the looks which Bingley favoured, so there could be no doubt as to her identity.
Fitzwilliam also remembered Darcy mentioning that the lady was quite unsuitable as she was from an insignificant family with no connections and the family was too poor to provide a decent dowry to their five daughters.
The Colonel thought that Darcy must have come to this information by way of Miss Bingley.
The ladies he had met tonight were elegantly dressed, with the kind of elegance which he knew was anything but cheap, if his father’s complaints were anything to go by.
Therefore, the family must be far wealthier than Miss Bingley had assumed… or possibly seen fit to convey.
And that nonsense about not having any connections? All he could guess was that they either were modest, or they tried to avoid fortune hunters. Around people like Miss Bingley, he would bet on the latter.
Perhaps he could find out more on his walk with Miss Elizabeth.
~T~
As soon as Elizabeth entered the park at her usual hour despite the late night, she spied the Colonel in company with another rider coming towards her.
Moments later, the riders halted in front of her, and Fitzwilliam dismounted, handing the reins to his companion, who nodded at Elizabeth before riding off, leading the second horse.
‘Good morning, Miss Elizabeth. I was hoping to see you today,’ Fitzwilliam greeted her as he tipped his hat.
Elizabeth returned his smile and greeting before asking, ‘Is that why you brought along a companion to take charge of your horse?’
‘I like to be prepared for all eventualities,’ he confirmed as he offered his arm which Elizabeth accepted. ‘But in case that you chose to sleep in, I could still give Thor his exercise.’
‘The Norse god of thunder? Is he as fierce in battle as his namesake?’
‘Indeed, and he does not spook even at the sound of cannons.’ The Colonel smiled proudly before he commented, ‘I am surprised that you are familiar with Norse mythology. The ladies whom I have encountered are familiar with Greek gods at best.’
‘Thanks to my father I had an eclectic education.’
‘Pray tell, what else did he teach you?’
‘You may be shocked to hear that he taught me Greek and Latin so that I could read not only the Iliad and Metamorphoses, but also various books on philosophy and history in the original languages because he always claimed that they lost in translation due to the prejudices of the translators.’
She grinned. ‘I am inclined to believe my father since I put it to the test.’
He laughed at her quip as he tilted his head and thought that he had the perfect opening to bring up Darcy and discover the other side of the story.
‘You sound just like my cousin. He too is a great reader and prefers to read books in the original language. Perhaps I should introduce him to you, then you could debate your own interpretations.’
‘It would depend on which of your cousins is the scholar and whether he would want to discuss such subjects with a lady.’
‘My scholarly cousin is Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley in Derbyshire,’ the Colonel supplied and watched Elizabeth’s reaction.
He was not disappointed as he observed a small moue of distaste when she answered, ‘I have heard of your cousin, but I doubt that he would find my conversation tolerable.’
That final word confirmed to Fitzwilliam that he was speaking to the correct lady. ‘Oh, I believe that you would find that my cousin has had an epiphany recently,’ he said with a satisfied grin.
The grin combined with the subject of their conversation confirmed to Elizabeth that her own suspicions were likely correct. She stopped in her tracks forcing Fitzwilliam to come to a halt also. He turned to face her.
‘Colonel, shall we stop fencing and come to the point? Your hints indicate to me that your cousin… Mr Darcy,’ she said pointedly as he opened his lips as if to query which cousin, ‘ has confided in you about the happenings in Hertfordshire. Did he not?’
‘He did indeed, and I must say that based on his account he did not cover himself in glory during his brief sojourn to that county.’ He raised a quizzical eyebrow. ‘Will you tell me about your side of the story. I gather that you were the lady whom he insulted.’
Elizabeth shook her head as she said, ‘I have no wish to gossip, but if you tell me what you have heard, I will either confirm or deny it.’
Fitzwilliam gestured to indicate they should continue their walk while related the gist of Darcy’s story. When he finished, Elizabeth said, ‘It seems that while your cousin has his faults, he is truthful in his dealings.’
‘Since you are convinced on that score, I must tell you that he also conveyed another aspect of that situation. He thought you to be uncommonly pretty and had exceptionally fine eyes.’
The stunned and disbelieving expression on Elizabeth’s countenance and a gasped ‘NO’ caused Fitzwilliam to chuckle.
‘But why…’ Elizabeth was at a loss for words.
‘His arrogance got in the way of his sense. He did not wish to raise expectations which he was not going to fulfill since he thought himself above his company. He has now changed his mind.’
‘I have heard that you were instrumental in teaching him that lesson.’
‘How…’
‘My cousin lives across the square from your cousin…’
‘What can I say. I was in a fractious mood that day…’
‘I confess when I heard about it, I wanted to meet you and thank you.’
‘Miss Elizabeth, it is most unladylike of you to say so… refreshingly honest, but most unladylike.’
‘What can I say. Since I have no brothers, my father singled me out for his attention and although I have had a lady’s education, I was also educated in the subjects usually reserved for gentlemen.
I suppose that has coloured my attitude to certain things.
’ Elizabeth chuckled as she added, ‘I even have read L’art de la guerre par Sun Tzu. ’
Fitzwilliam answered her laughter. ‘Oh my. I pity my cousin. The poor fool has no idea at what a treasure he turned up his nose.’ When Elizabeth looked confused, he explained, ‘Darcy was always the best and most dedicated student in our family. He is widely read and there are few things he loves better than a good debate. He would tolerate the devil himself if he could have an interesting argument.’
‘If he is so greatly enamoured with debating, I am surprised there is anything which he loves more.’
‘His sister, his extended family foremost amongst them yours truly, Pemberley, and Hermes,’ the Colonel said promptly.
‘Who or what is Hermes? I presume you are not speaking of the Greek god.’
‘Hermes is Darcy’s favourite horse.’
‘I gather that he earned his name because of his speed.’
‘You are quite correct, but we digressed from the subject.’ Fitzwilliam hesitated to mention the idea which had occurred to him while they talked. Should he be so cruel to Darcy?
‘I had not realised that we discussed a specific subject,’ Elizabeth interrupted his woolgathering.
‘The subject is my cousin and it occurred to me that he should learn the error of his ways. Would you enjoy a spirited debate?’
‘You wish to make a point that your cousin not only upset people with his attitude, but he seriously misjudged the people of Meryton.’
‘I will be satisfied if he realises that he greatly misjudged the lady to whom he was so rude.’ He grinned at her. ‘Please feel free to dislike him and disagree with him to your heart’s content, but if you enjoy a good debate, you will rarely find a better opponent than Darcy.’
‘And how will you contrive an introduction?’
‘Nothing could be simpler. I shall introduce you to my mother.’
~T~
Since they each had achieved their objective, they changed the subject to a more general discussion about their families.
Elizabeth discovered that the sons of Earls did not necessarily have an easy life unless they were the firstborn.
Fitzwilliam enjoyed learning about Elizabeth’s sisters. He was highly amused when he found out that Bingley’s latest angel had no interest in puppies.
At the end of an hour, Elizabeth headed back to Gardiner House and the Colonel, ever the gentleman, escorted her to her home.
~DGH~~