Page 11

HORSE GUARDS

F itzwilliam arrived at late in the evening. Desirous of getting back to Hertfordshire as soon as possible. He immediately sought out his brigadier. Fitzwilliam discovered that not only was the brigadier not around, but that he was in attendance at one of the few balls given at St James’s outside of the season. Frustration bubbled through Fitzwilliam. He was supposed to be retired, but still, he had to come and waste time waiting for the brigadier to see him and answering a charge of he knew not what. For the three weeks that followed, Fitzwilliam daily presented himself at and received excuses about why the brigadier would not see him.

Darcy had written daily reports about the behaviour of Georgiana and the local social scene. Reports that had, for the first time since he had joined the army, made Fitzwilliam feel homesick and desirous of returning to Hertfordshire. There was little comfort in knowing that Wickham was failing in his attempts to make Georgiana see the error of her ways as much as Fitzwilliam and Darcy had failed. In fact, Georgiana was taking Wickham’s interference worse than she did that of her brother and Fitzwilliam. As frustrating as the situation was, however, Fitzwilliam read with amusement how Elizabeth had devised a strategy with her sisters that just might work on bringing a new awareness to Georgiana about her behaviour. However, for all the news that Darcy’s letters brought, there was a glaring omission in each one of them. Darcy never spoke about Catherine. Curiosity burned in Fitzwilliam as he read about the Bingleys improving their acquaintance with Jane and the escapades that Elizabeth and her sisters had with Georgiana and Miss Bingley. However, it was almost as though Darcy was deliberately crafting his letters that Catherine remained stalwartly out of them and Fitzwilliam found himself more and more frustrated at his situation. On the first of November, almost three weeks after Fitzwilliam had arrived in London, he found himself summoned to the office of the brigadier.

“Christopher!” The brigadier called as he entered the room. “What have you done?”

Fitzwilliam swallowed. “John,” he quietly greeted his superior.

“We have been friends for a long time, Christopher,” the brigadier began. “I remember you running around as a small boy. Tell me, do you and that cousin of yours still try to fool the populace as to which of you is which?”

“Not as much as we did when we were children. It’s not so easy after I was wounded at Maida and then again on the peninsula last year. However, it is amazing how few people notice the scars and the slight limp.” Fitzwilliam was amazed that as observant as Catherine had been, she had not noticed that he had a slight limp because of the pain in his right leg.

“You fought bravely and won your promotions. I have rarely known a better officer,” the brigadier praised Fitzwilliam. “Which is why the reports of your behaviour in Hertfordshire have greatly surprised and shocked me.”

Fitzwilliam groaned. “What rumours?”

The brigadier gave a low chuckle. “We have been friends for many years, Christopher. I wish I could tell you, but I cannot. Suffice it to say that some rather unpleasant accusations have been made against you. As much as we would like to make this go away, we cannot. Your conduct still reflects on the army – even though you are on half pay and are essentially pensioned off.”

Fitzwilliam placed his head in his hands. Suddenly, he raised his head and grinned. Reverting to formality, he asked, “Tell me, sir. As I am essentially pensioned off, do I still need permission to marry should I desire to do so?”

The brigadier steepled his fingers and looked at the handsome, young officer. “The young lady in question would not be from Hertfordshire, by any chance?”

Fitzwilliam blushed slightly and looked at the floor. “There is a young lady in Hertfordshire, but where things are going with her I am not sure. My cousin has fallen deeply in love with one of her sisters.”

“At this point, Christopher, your request to marry and the granting of your request would be a mere formality. It is a formality that we can get over and done with within the next five minutes should you wish to make such a request.” The brigadier looked hard at Fitzwilliam. “Are you sure about this?”

Fitzwilliam swallowed. “I am not sure about anything. My cousin, who I am joint guardian of, is by all reports just as wild as she was when I came to resign my commission. I am hoping that the influence of the young lady my cousin, Mr Darcy, is courting and also the young lady I am interested in will slowly help us to get my ward’s behaviour under control. I fear nothing will work. The letters that Fitz has sent make it appear as though even the young man my ward is supposedly in love with cannot get her to change her ways.”

“It is a shame how quickly a poor influence can change the character of a child, but how difficult it is to bring good principles back once they have been discarded,” the brigadier told him. The brigadier pulled out two pieces of paper and filled them out. “Christopher, I will need you to sign both of these. Once signed, your permission to marry is secure. Do not marry this young lady merely because you are wishing for a mother figure for your cousin. Marry because that’s where your heart lies. Any other direction will only be cause for misery. I know that you wish to do right by your cousin. However, remember that many well-brought-up young ladies end up in a far worse situation than the one your cousin is in. I know many young women, who were brought up with the best of everything and had very good and caring parents, that have ended up as penniless unfortunates who make enough to get a bed for the night and that is about it. I have also seen many who flirted with the wrong man and ended up dead in the gutter because of it.”

“If my cousin doesn’t mend her ways, that’s where she is heading,” Fitzwilliam quietly acknowledged, as he read the documents he had been handed. Shaking his head, he signed both. “I can only hope that she will come right.” He handed the forms back to the brigadier, who took them and then put a seal on them, handing a second document to Fitzwilliam.

“Brigadier General McDonald,” came the greeting of the field marshal, as he entered the room with six other generals. “I hope you are not frightening our poor colonel too much.”

Brigadier McDonald grinned. “No, sir! Colonel Fitzwilliam and I have been friends since he was a little boy. I was granting our good colonel permission to marry.”

The field marshall turned and looked at Fitzwilliam. “You want to marry, eh? About time, if you ask me. You are aware that your brother is one of the biggest wastrels that London has seen in many a generation. That’s saying something with the amount of scum who daily get given a reprieve in the courts to take the King’s shilling. You know that it’ll be you who needs to produce an heir to keep your father’s line going.”

Fitzwilliam snapped to attention, before answering the field marshal. “I have no interest in marrying for that reason. I’m the younger son, I have to marry with an eye to fortune,” Fitzwilliam argued.

“Then you’re barking up the wrong tree in Hertfordshire,” the field marshal advised him. “We know all about your interest in Miss Catherine Bennet. I did a little research. Seems that after the second Miss Bennet was born, Mr Bennet decided that girls would not be any good handling the estate and so signed papers with his ailing father, entailing the estate away to the closest male heir. By extension leaving his daughters with little more than their share of their mother’s dowry, which is a mere five thousand pounds.”

“That’s not really any surprise. The man talks about protecting his daughters and has given Fitz three months to decide between Elizabeth and Kitty since he doesn’t know how to tell the difference between us and thinks it’s Fitz courting both Elizabeth and Kitty,” Fitzwilliam answered.

“And is he courting them both?” The field marshal asked.

Fitzwilliam shook his head. “No, sir! If he even tried that Elizabeth would not only end their courtship, but she would have some very harsh words for him. The same if I tried to court her, Kitty would send me packing. Besides, Fitz is far too honourable to court more than one woman at any time.”

The field marshal looked at the papers in front of him and frowned. “What you have just told me does not agree with the reports I have in front of me.”

“What?!” Fitzwilliam exclaimed.

Sternly glaring at Fitzwilliam, the field marshal reverted to a formal manner. “Colonel Christopher Fitzwilliam, I have to inform you that you will have to remain in London for the next month while we investigate this matter. There have been some rather disturbing reports about your behaviour in Hertfordshire.”

“Sir, I am not going to flee. However, I request only that I have permission to return to Hertfordshire. My young cousin, who is also my ward, requires my presence there. She is being particularly troublesome right now and we are trying to correct her behaviour,” Fitzwilliam requested.

“It says here in these reports that her behaviour is overly flirtatious. I see nothing that your cousin cannot handle in your absence, Colonel,” the field marshal snapped.

“My cousin tries to discipline his sister, but he is as indulgent of the girl as I have been. They lost their parents at a young age, she especially has suffered from the lack of her parents. Fitz and I try to guide her, but her last companion lead her astray,” Fitzwilliam answered. “Her behaviour crosses the line to indecency. We have no idea how to handle the girl, but we are doing our best.”

The field marshal crossed his arms. “Colonel, I see this means a lot to you. I will give you a choice. You came here to retire less than three months ago. Your record was spotless, but I cannot ignore the reports of your behaviour. Ordinarily, I would leave this for your brigadier and your major general to deal with, but the nature of these accusations combined with my friendship with your father involves me in your case. I can discharge you fully today, but it will leave a stain on your character as it will be clear that you were dishonourably discharged or you stay a month longer in London while I look into these charges and you can answer them. After that time, you will resume civilian life able to return to Hertfordshire or anywhere that you choose. Personally, I do not believe much of this report. What I believe is immaterial as accusations have been made which must be investigated. I am sorry.”

Colonel Fitzwilliam felt crushed. “Very well. I must give my ward a good example, so I will stay here in London.”

“Very good. No need to make this a formal issue. I will merely need to send a couple of our men to Hertfordshire while I want you to report here every morning and answer the questions we will have for you,” the field marshal ordered. “Do not expect every meeting to be with me.”

Fitzwilliam nodded. The field marshal left the room and Fitzwilliam was dismissed soon afterwards.