Page 24 of The Duke of Derby (Pride and Prejudice Variation)
Jane was overjoyed for her sister when it was announced that Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy were engaged. Though Elizabeth had not given any hint about her true feelings for the gentleman, it had been clear to Jane for some time now that her sister was very much in love.
Now that she was free to marry the man she loved, Elizabeth’s happiness overflowed, making everyone around her happy as well. Jane certainly felt it, and she congratulated them both multiple times.
Mama immediately began making plans for an engagement ball, but Papa requested that it be an engagement dinner instead. Mama easily acquiesced, though Jane wondered if Papa would regret it when she ended up with a guest list of fifty or more, which she was certain to do.
Just as she had done when planning her ball, Mama almost immediately turned to Lady Matlock for assistance, both with making the guest list and determining what was best to serve under such circumstances.
It wasn’t because Mama needed the assistance but rather because she wished to share the joy of it all with someone.
Despite the fact that it was for Elizabeth’s engagement, Jane’s sister stayed far away any time the dinner was being discussed.
Jane also managed to avoid most of the planning sessions, though for her it was not intentional. Rather, it was because of her new duties as a chaperone.
Mr. Darcy called on Elizabeth every day to take her walking. Each time he did so, Jane’s company was requested as chaperone, though they also took two footmen with them as well. These walks almost always coincided with the time that Mama and Lady Matlock were planning the engagement dinner.
The first time this happened was incredibly boring for Jane. The happy couple were absorbed in their own conversation, and Jane’s presence was completely forgotten. Though Elizabeth apologized when they returned home, Jane knew it was bound to happen again.
Fortunately, the next time Mr. Darcy called, and every subsequent time, he brought his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, with him.
Jane clearly remembered her dance with the colonel, since it had been the most pleasant dance of the evening. He seemed genuinely kind, and when she could get him to speak, he was fairly intelligent, enough to be interesting but not so much as to be intimidating.
The one drawback to Colonel Fitzwilliam’s company was the way he sometimes had trouble speaking to her directly.
She knew he had no such trouble in general, because she had both seen and heard him speaking to others at the ball.
With her, however, he occasionally stumbled over his words or lost track of the conversation.
Jane had experienced this before, but it was usually younger men who were so struck by her appearance. It was surprising, to say the least, that a man with so much life experience as a colonel must have would be nervous around her in such a way.
As Jane and the colonel walked together, trailing Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, they didn’t say much at first. Eventually, Colonel Fitzwilliam said, “What do you think about this pairing?” He gestured toward the two walking in front of them.
“I am not surprised in the least,” said Jane, “and I am very happy for my sister. I have never seen her so happy before.”
“Perhaps it is because you know her better than I, but I admit that I was quite taken by surprise when Darcy told me a couple days ago,” he said. After a pause, he added, “Do you know, when I was preparing for the ball, I had plans to attempt to convince Lady Elizabeth to marry me.”
“Truly?” asked Jane. “You did not act like a man attempting to win her love. You seemed to spread your attention rather evenly, I thought.”
“Ah. That is because my plans were changed when I entered the house,” he said.
There was an odd note to his voice, and Jane was tempted to turn to see his expression, but the fact that he was not looking at her seemed to make him more comfortable, and she did not wish to interrupt their conversation with awkwardness.
“And what changed your plans?” Jane asked.
Colonel Fitzwilliam cleared his throat. “I think I would rather not say,” he said.
“Well, then, let us talk of something else,” said Jane. She had no wish to make the man even more uncomfortable. “Will you tell me about your life in the army?”
He chuckled. “Honestly there is not much to tell,” he said.
“The rank of colonel is strictly an administrative role which I was assigned by the crown as a favor to my father. My father wished for his younger son to have some amount of respectability, but he did not wish to have to pay too much for it. The rank of Colonel was perfect. It gives me an income, though some of it goes to pay my two secretaries and my adjutant who do all the real work, and it gives me a uniform which proclaims to all the world that I am a gentleman. It even gives me plenty of free time to get into trouble with.” She could hear a cheeky grin coming through his voice at this last statement.
“Do you ever resent being the younger son, not having land or property of your own?” asked Jane.
“Not really,” he said. “My brother is chained to his estate and will be constrained by the requirements of filling his seat in parliament when my father dies. Whereas I am free as a bird as long as my secretaries and adjutant don’t quit on me.
” He chuckled again. “Well, I am as free as a relatively small income can make me.”
“And what do you do with this freedom?” asked Jane. “Do you travel?”
“Lord, no,” he said. “Traveling is expensive. That is not to say that I don’t wish to travel. It is only that I don’t travel on my own penny. If a friend or relative invites me along on their trip, I happily go along with them.”
“If you had the income and the free time, where would you like to go? Anywhere in the world.” asked Jane.
She had always wished to travel, to see places she had never seen, but the few times she had attempted to read books about travel, they simply made her discontent.
She wished to see other places with her own eyes, to hear the sounds and smell the smells, not just read descriptions of places she would never know.
“Hmm, this may sound boring, but I think I would prefer to stay on our own little English island rather than travel the world,” said Colonel Fitzwilliam.
“There is so much variety here, that one could spend a lifetime trying to see it all and still miss some fascinating places. Besides, I don’t really like traveling overseas.
I went to the continent once, and I must say that traveling that far was extremely unpleasant. ”
“I think you may be correct,” said Jane.
“I have only ever been to four places in my life: Longbourn, Lockwood, Manchester, and London, but each of them is so different. Even the two cities are very different. The experience has created a certain amount of curiosity to see how other places might be unique and interesting. One place I have been most curious about is the sea. Is it different on the east side of the island versus the west? How about the English Channel? Is that more or less stormy that the other sides of the island?”
“Perhaps, with your new situation, you will be able to travel more,” said the colonel.
“I do not know, really,” said Jane. “My father hates to travel, and a young lady traveling alone is a disaster waiting to happen. Besides, I must marry soon so that I can produce an heir. Once that happens, I will be forced to settle down anyway.”
There was silence between them for half a block. Then, Colonel Fitzwilliam said, “Have you considered who you will be marrying?”
The question was surprising. She had not expected him to be quite so forward on the subject. She decided to be equally forward. “I have thought of little else for the last four months,” she said.
“Ah. I suppose that means there is already some gentleman you have in mind,” he said.
Jane shook her head. “Not in the least,” she said.
“I admit that I had strong affection for a particular gentleman last autumn, but he left without a word and never returned. At this point, however, I am glad it all amounted to nothing, because he would not be suitable in the least for my current situation.”
“What makes you think he would not be suitable?” he asked.
Jane hesitated to answer, because doing so honestly could easily come across as her being arrogant or controlling. “Do you recall when you asked why I had turned down a dance with Lord Joseph?” she asked.
When he nodded, she continued. “Well, that is a prime example of what I must look for in a husband. My title is my own, and the estate I own is attached to that title. Any man I marry will have to be content with that, because it is something I cannot change.”
She sighed. “The man from last autumn was a very genial young man, but even he preferred to exercise control over his own household, at least most of the time. In fact, it wasn’t even a choice.
He did so without even thinking, much like one breathes without thinking.
I imagine most gentlemen are the same. It makes my position utterly impossible. ”
After a pause, she added, “Besides, he had no title nor any connection to the peerage. While I don’t hold that against him, I do believe he would be very uncomfortable being married to a duchess suo jure.”
Colonel Fitzwilliam said nothing in response, and they continued walking for a time. Eventually, he broke the silence. “Have you considered the possibility of finding a husband who would be a partner rather than someone subservient?”
“What do you mean?” asked Jane.