by Leenie Brown
Caroline smiled at the woman’s wistful tone. For all that the lady seemed oblivious to her daughters and their behaviour, she was not, it seemed, without affection for them.
“Your brother and I will visit, and we will take the children for a picnic,” Mrs. Gardiner suggested. “And if the Bingleys remain at Netherfield, perhaps they will wish to join us.”
Mrs. Bennet sighed once more. “I shall not be able to go there without thinking of my Lizzy. She loves that place.”
“I do,” Elizabeth agreed. “But that is all the more reason to frequent it often, for me.”
“And then Mary can write to you all about it.” Mrs. Bennet seemed to be regaining her spirit and leaving her morose behind.
Mary willingly agreed that she would take up such a task and then the conversation turned to fond memories of places Darcy, Bingley, and Richard had frequented when young. Richard, much to Darcy’s chagrin, even shared a tale of when he and Darcy had gotten into a scrape while climbing trees and how Darcy had returned home with rips in his breeches after getting caught on some branches.
To Caroline’s surprise, the visit was rather pleasant and was soon over. It had not dragged on interminably as she had feared it would, nor had she found Mrs. Bennet completely unbearable — partially, but not completely.
“You did very well,” Richard said as he settled onto the bench next to her in the carriage. Louisa had insisted that it was improper for him to sit with Caroline, but Richard refused to be moved on the subject. And now, he was being glared at by Mrs. Hurst.
“As did you, once we got past the bit about marrying a colonel. I happen to think marrying a colonel is a very fine idea.” Caroline gave him a disapproving look.
“Miss Lydia would make a deplorable officer’s wife, so I did my part to spare the kingdom of such a travesty.” He lifted her hand and kissed her gloved knuckles as she rolled her eyes at him. “However, it seems I have perhaps put Mr. Lucas in a difficult position. Do either of you know him? I have not met that many residents in the area, just the ones who have called at Netherfield, and Mr. Lucas was not among them.”
“We have met all the Lucases,” Caroline assured him. “Sir William was not shy in putting forward everyone of his acquaintance when we arrive in the autumn. Mr. Lucas struck me as a quiet, thoughtful gentleman.”
“And he is not an altogether unpleasant gentleman at whom to gaze,” Louisa added. “He is not handsome in the classical sense, but he is a fair bit more than tolerable. His smile and teeth are good. He is of a good height, though a trifle on the tall side of what I would prefer.” She paused and tipped her head to the side. “If he wore a longer jacket perhaps the disparity between the length of his legs and the rest of him would be less obvious. It is not a very great disparity, but it is a small grievance. And, if he would wear something other than brown! He was in the same muddy brown jacket every time we saw him, was he not, Caroline?”
“I do not remember.”
“I know it is true. Someone should suggest blue. He would look charming in blue with a waterfall cravat. Yes, that is how he would look best. Then, even Miss Lydia would not turn up her nose at him. I shall tell Charles to mention it to him.”
“Louisa,” Caroline chided. “It is not for you to be giving fashion advice to everyone you meet, and listen to you! I thought you were not fond of this area or its residents.”
“I am not,” Louisa answered. “However, Charles will insist on presenting all the Bennets to society, and I find it would be best if Miss Lydia found her happiness here, near her mother and far away from town.”
Richard chuckled. “Miss Lydia would take the town and its gossip rags by storm, would she not?
“Precisely!” Louisa turned to look out the window.
“You did not tell them of your good fortune,” Caroline said quietly to Richard.
Richard shrugged. “She already knew. Did she not congratulate us upon entering?”
Caroline smiled. “That is not what I meant.”
He shrugged again. “It is not settled yet.”
“But it will be.”
He nodded. “Are you certain you accepted me and not my estate?” He winked at her.
“Seeing as you were hiding your estate from me, I most certainly did not accept you for your estate.”
He chuckled and lifted her fingers to his lips once again.
“Take a turn in the garden with me,” he said as the carriage stopped in front of Netherfield.
“A short one, but then, I wish to find a chair in the library and read. Will you join me?”
“Gladly.”
So, the two disembarked the carriage and walked a slow circuit of the garden, stopping now and then, when there was a tree or some structure to obscure the view, at least, in part, to punctuate their new-found love with a kiss before retiring to the library.
~*~*~
For the next week, life settled into a similar pattern. Caroline insisted upon calling on Lady Lucas and Mrs. Philips as well as at Longbourn. On each call, Richard sat by her side in the carriage as well as the sitting room. And on each occasion, he told her how well she had done. And if the weather permitted, they would upon their return take a walk in the garden and then tuck themselves away in the library. Bingley would poke his head inside the open door when he returned from Longbourn with some teasing comment for Richard and a smile for his sister.
However, not all was tranquil and serene. There was a ball for which to prepare. Recipes had to be approved, as did decor and music. The cleaning and arranging of the ballroom were of utmost importance.
“You are a marvel,” Richard whispered in Caroline’s ear as he came up behind her at the door to the ballroom.
Caroline’s hand flew to her heart. “Must you insist on startling me?”
“I assure you it was not intentional.”
If his eyes had not sparkled with amusement in contradiction to his words, perhaps she would have believed his penitent look. But as it was, she could only shake her head and mutter about his incorrigibility.
“I have seen my mother prepare for a night such as this,” he said, taking her hand and placing it on his arm. “I can assure you that she is never so calm as you are at this moment, nor are her preparations without several moments of drama and distress. I admit I had thought you would be the same, but I was wrong.”
“Why did you expect me to be the same?” Caroline asked as they began to take a turn around the ballroom to inspect everything one last time.
He grimaced. “I will not say this well.”
“Just say it.”
“Before this trip to Netherfield, I had always considered you just as I did most of the ladies of the ton. Sharp, demanding, arrogant, and the like.”
“And is that how you would classify your mother?” she asked in surprise.
“I told you I would not say this well,” he retorted. “My mother can be demanding and aloof at times, but she is rarely sharp. However, I just assumed that if one fits the mold of a lady of the ton, then…well…” His brows furrowed. “It is foolish. Of course, similarities in some areas do not mean likenesses in all.”
“Did brandy have anything to do with this logic?”
He chuckled. “It may have.”
“Did you receive word from your father today regarding your commission? I saw the express rider when we were arranging these plants.” They stood near a group of plants which were placed near a window overlooking the front of the house.
“It is in progress, though I am not a free man yet.” He sighed. “I will have to return to town in two days. My presence is required for some paperwork, and my unit will be expecting me until someone else has taken my place.”
“I will be in town in two week’s time, after the wedding.”
“And just a month before ours,” he said with a grin. “However, I will be returning to you before the wedding. My cousin is not getting married without his family present. My father said as much in his letter.”
>
Caroline smiled. She had learned so much about how different the Fitzwilliam family was from what she expected of a titled family. She was not certain why she thought they would all be standoffish and cold. Perhaps it was because she had met several ladies at school whose family were that way. Her logic was, she realized, just as faulty as Richard’s had been about the ladies of the ton. “Did he say anything about your plans to marry?”
“He is delighted and cannot wait to meet the Miss Bingley whom I have described to him.” His smile was sheepish. “I have not always spoken highly of you, I am afraid, so I have had to do a great deal of explaining in my letters.”
“I have not been worthy of praise,” Caroline admitted. She had thought she was. She was accomplished, attractive, rich, and knew how to navigate the ton. All those things had been, in her mind, worthy of praise, but now? Now, she knew differently. It was as Mrs. Annesley had said when they were last gathered in the drawing room at Darcy House the day that Caroline’s hopes of securing the husband she thought she desired had been crushed and the adventure to realizing that the husband she knew she desired and who desired her had begun. Civility and kindness were not the marks of birth but of character. Her character had been sadly wanting for some time and might have still been wanting had it not been for a particular, persistent, annoying, demanding colonel. The same colonel whose current silence was a telling agreement. “However, I am now, and I shall strive to always be.”
“And I shall strive to be worthy of you,” he replied.
She shook her head. “No, my dear colonel, you have nothing for which to strive because you have always been worthy of me, and as long as you continue to love me as you do now and will remind me of what is truly praiseworthy should I drift away from my path, you will continue to be worthy of me.”
“Even if the house on the estate is ghastly and in need of great quantities of money to repair?”
“Even if we must live in a cottage while it is being repaired,” she replied. “As long as I have you, I have everything I will ever need.” Her lips turned up and impertinence lit her eyes. “Of course, a new dress at least twice a year would also be good.”
“All that I have is yours,” he replied with a laugh. “I just hope it includes a dress or two.” He pulled her into an alcove and into his embrace as the musicians began some tuning.
“I truly only wish for you.”
“And I you.” He kissed her upturned nose. “I am so grateful that I took up Elizabeth’s challenge and began to decipher who you really are.”
“We shall have to name a daughter for her,” Caroline said with a laugh. Then she shook her head. “I cannot say that I ever thought I would say anything complimentary about Elizabeth Bennet; however, instead of owing her my misery at having lost Pemberley, I must thank her for the blessing of my colonel.”
Richard dipped his head and captured her lips. “Are you ready to greet your guests, Miss Bingley?”
She nodded and, affixing her glittery, sparkling mask, allowed him to lead her to the entrance hall where her brother, Jane, Darcy, and Elizabeth waited.
Tonight, they would not just celebrate Twelfth Night but also their coming marriages. Music would be played, guests would dance, food would be eaten, and all the gossips of Meryton would talk in hushed tones and loud whispers for some time to come about the splendour of the masque ball held at Netherfield. But for one lady, the splendor of the ball and her success in hosting it would pale in comparison to the radiance of making her debut as the lady she longed to be with the colonel whom she loved at her side on this one winter’s eve.
Before You Go
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Acknowledgements
There are many who have had a part in the creation of this story. Some have read and commented on it. Some have proofread for grammatical errors and plot holes. Others have not even read the story and a few, I know, never will. However, their encouragement and belief in my ability, as well as their patience when I became cranky or when supper was late or the groceries ran low, was invaluable.
And so, I would like to say thank you to Betty, Zoe, Rose, Kristine, Ben, and Kyle. I feel blessed by your help, support, and understanding.
I have not listed my dear husband in the above group because, to me, he deserves his own special thank you, for, without his somewhat pushy insistence that I start sharing my writing, none of my writing goals and dreams would have been realized.
Leenie B Books
Novels ~ Novellas ~ Shorts
~*~
Oxford Cottage: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
For Peace of Mind: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
Teatime Tales: Six Short and Sweet Austen-Inspired Stories
Listen To Your Heart: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
With the Colonel’s Help: A Pride and Prejudice Novella
~*~
Darcy Family Holidays
Two Days before Christmas (book 1)
One Winter’s Eve (book 2)
~*~
The Choices Series: Pride & Prejudice Novellas
Her Father’s Choice (book 1)
No Other Choice (book 2)
His Inconvenient Choice (book 3)
Her Heart’s Choice (book 4)
~*~
A Dash of Darcy Collection
Finally Mrs. Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Novella
Waking to Mr. Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Novella
Discovering Mr.Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Novella
Unravelling Mr. Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Novella
~*~
A Dash of Darcy Companion Story Collection
A Very Merry Christmas: A Pride and Prejudice Novella (A sequel to Waking to Mr. Darcy)
Not an Heiress: A Pride and Prejudice Novella (A sequel to Discovering Mr. Darcy)
Becoming Entangled: A Pride and Prejudice Novella (A sequel to Unravelling Mr. Darcy)
~*~
Willow Hall Romances
And Then Love: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Prequel (book 1)
The Tenant’s Guest: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Novella (book 2)
So Very Unexpected: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Novel (book3)
At All Costs: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Novel (book 4)
Better Than She Deserved: A Pride and Prejudice Novelette (sequel 1)
~*~
Touches of Austen Collection
His Beautiful Bea
~*~
Other Pens
Through Every Storm: A Pride and Prejudice Novella
Henry: To Prove Himself Worthy (A Mansfield Park Continuation)
About the Author
Leenie Brown has always been a girl with an active imagination, which, while growing up, was a both an asset, providing many hours of fun as she played out stories, and a liability, when her older sister and aunt would tell her frightening tales. At one time, they had her convinced Dracula lived in the trunk at the end of the bed she slept in when visiting her grandparents!
Although it has been years since she cowered in her bed in her grandparents’ basement, she still has an imagination which occasionally runs away with her, and she feeds it now as she did then ─ by reading!
Her heroes, when growing up, were authors, and the worlds they painted with words were (and still are) her favourite playgrounds! Now, as an adult, she spends much of her time in the Regency world, playing with the characters from her favourite Jane Austen novels and those of her own creation.
When she is not traipsing down a trail in an attempt to keep up with her imagination, Leenie resides in the beautiful
province of Nova Scotia with her two sons and her very own Mr. Brown (a wonderful mix of all the best of Darcy, Bingley, and Edmund with a healthy dose of the teasing Mr. Tilney and just a dash of the scolding Mr. Knightley).
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