Page 66 of The Colonel's Ungovernable Governess
“It shall be a grand story to share with our children and grandchildren,” she declared with a nervous laugh, which indicated she must feel as awkward as did he. All of which eased his own bit of angst.
“I suppose it will,” he said. A smile claimed his lips, for when he looked upon her, Edward could not believe a woman of such a fine countenance would be accepting his attentions and be planning to spend her life with him. When he had become so fortunate, he could not say, but he was more than thankful for God’s blessings. “As your right arm is still bandaged, I will simply show you this for the moment. I feared your hand might still be swollen.” He opened the box’s lid so she might see the ring. “If it is not to your liking, there are more jewels from which you may choose in the safe at Maitland Manor. I made a quick stop at the manor before I traveled on here. This was my maternal grandmother’s. You remind me of her with your hair color and the shape and color of your eyes.”
“Was she a favorite of yours?” she asked, as she fingered the stone. “It is quite lovely. I have never seen anything like it.”
“She always chose to play with me first. Before Lindale.” He closed the box and set it before her on the blanket.
“Being a second son must be difficult,” she said as she laced their fingers.
“It is customarily, like a sermon, cut and dried. The oldest son is the heir, the second joins the military, the third is a clergyman, and so forth. For us, my brother Roland is the heir, but we have all suspected he might pass before my father. Therefore, eventually, I will be called upon to assume the earldom, but I have been presented no knowledge of how to proceed and where to begin.”
“Mrs. Darcy suggested you and I could start with Babbington Hall, while we assist Vincent as a young earl,” she said softly. “Do you have an opinion on our doing so?”
“I only know the basics of land management,” Edward admitted. “In truth, I had hoped for another promotion before leaving the military and before the war ends.”
“Then where would we live?” she implored.
“It was always the plan for me and mine to reside with either Lindale or the earl until I was required,” he explained.
“Is such what you desire?” she asked. However, her brow furrowed with concern. “How would such permit you to learn more of being the master of an estate? In truth, I am frightened to take on the responsibilities of Babbington Hall, but it would permit us to develop our own rhythm rather than to stand always in waiting. If we fail or stumble, we could learn from ‘our’ mistakes. When I became the children’s governess, one of my fears was I would be subjecting them to school room lessons, rather than real-life lessons. Mrs. Darcy gave me permission to take the children exploring and learning from both their experiences and their mistakes. Doing so suited me better.”
Edward shrugged his uncertainty. “I had not much thought on it: I should have. I realize it now, but I accepted what my father had crafted for me as the only way forward. I despise admitting it, but expectations are simply expectations. My life has always been very regimented, and I was busy elsewhere, so I have never resisted my father’s ideas.”
His betrothed appeared not best pleased with his response, but she said, “My mother expects me to know how to be the mistress of an estate, though we never lived on one in all the years of my father’s public service to England. The idea is quite daunting to me, as well.”
“We do not know whether Lady Lindale would grant her permission for the boy to remain with us,” he argued, though he was warming to the idea, nevertheless.
“True,” she said, “and, quite honestly, I do not believe I am the right person to address Lady Annabelle’s assumption she may do as she pleases because she is an earl’s daughter. I have no patience in that manner. As to Victoria, if I were Lady Lindale, I would not leave my child with someone I do not know. Yet, we would be asking her ladyship to do just that by leaving Vincent with us. Should we separate the twins?”
“I agree,” he said in a thoughtful tone, “but, in the past, her ladyship left the twins with Mrs. Peyton. We do not know, with any confidence, that Lady Lindale would part with any of her children, though it is quite obvious Vincent requires a steady hand on his shoulder, which he has not received from my brother. Lindale has been too ill of late to worry on the boy’s progress, though, I know for a fact, Roland initially took great interest in the twins. My brother always wanted children of his own, and it was a great price he paid so as not to inflict his condition on others.”
“We would be assuming the roles of both the boy’s guardians and the running of an earldom,” she said. “Is it too much? I do not want a marriage where we tire of each other before the first year together knows an end. That is one thing I can say of my parents: They always made time for each other. I would not wish all the responsibilities to swallow us up to where we cannot know a bit of our own happiness. I would wish to have a marriage like the Darcys.”
“As would I,” he assured. “We must weigh all our options. There would be an advantage for our learning our roles as the viscount and viscountess and then, later, as the earl and countess if we remained at Babbington. I would be happy if my brother survives another twenty years or more, but only Fate knows when Lindale will take his last breath. As to living with my father and mother, both would be excellent models of how to proceed in our roles, but then, I, too, look on the Darcys, and I know my cousin is a much better man and master of Pemberley, than was his father. George Darcy taught his son everything he knew, but my late uncle’s tenure as Pemberley’s master did not address how his son would conduct himself in a changing world. Many of the problems Darcy and Elizabeth faced before acknowledging their affection for each other came at my cousin’s hands, for he performed in a prideful manner while in public—just as my Aunt Anne and George Darcy had taught him. Miss Elizabeth Bennet did not respond to Darcy’s initial overtures in the manner all other women did. He was a fish out of water when speaking to her, for she was more well educated in history and science and philosophy than she was in painting tables and her needlework. Permitting himself to love such a woman was freeing for my cousin, for Elizabeth shook up Darcy’s world enough to let him know the ‘old way’ of doing things was dying away fast. Elizabeth was not cut from the same mold as other women of the gentry. She has aspirations, which cannot be filled by a society that has women out of sight and out of mind. England is transforming before our eyes. This long war has changed the hierarchy once held in place by the aristocracy. When a man of common roots sits side-by-side with a titled gentleman on the battlefield, he no longer wishes to return to the shadows.”
“It sounds as if we require more answers before we can make our decision,” she observed.
“I would not wish all the responsibilities to be placed upon your shoulders,” he admitted. “Yet, I must be away from you for long periods of time. At least, as long as I remain in the military, meaning much of the responsibility would fall on you for the day-to-day duties and decisions.”
“Is that not what Elizabeth Darcy does in her husband’s absence?” she asked.
“Yes, my cousin Elizabeth is remarkable in that manner, but she assisted her father often on his estate, and we cannot forget that Pemberley’s staff have been well trained over the years, whereas, Babbington has been without a ‘master’ for nearly four years.”
“You are thinking of us residing elsewhere?” she ventured.
“I am thinking I have had enough of this subject today,” he said as he leaned forward to brush his lips across her cheek. “I am thinking I would prefer to spend an hour or so with my intended. To steal a few kisses. To hear stories of a precocious Miss Romfield. And an accounting of the young lady who dared Lady Jersey’s censure to dance with a rogue of Lord Sizemore’s reputation,” he said with a smile.
“You heard of that, did you?” she teased.
“Most assuredly,” he said with a slight shrug. “I naturally wondered why you would accept a man of my rough features when you could attract a man of Sizemore’s countenance.”
“I am not so shallow, Edward Fitzwilliam,” she reprimanded teasingly. Yet, the air rushed from his lungs. “Did I say something which caused you consternation?” A worried expression crossed her features.
He sighed heavily. “My response will sound foolish,” he prefaced. “No one calls me ‘Edward,’” he admitted with another shrug of embarrassment. “I have been ‘captain’ and ‘colonel’ longer than I care to recall.”
“No major or lieutenant colonel?” she asked.
“My father purchased the colonel position, for he did not want ‘his’ son to be a mere captain.”
