Page 61 of The Colonel's Ungovernable Governess
She heard Andrew close the drawer again before he said, “If Jocelyn is your aunt, she would have more say in your education. Though, knowing my sister, she will have a say even if no one asks her opinion.”
“At least your sister speaks with intelligence,” Vincent reasoned. “My sisters always speak nonsense. Dances and calling cards.” Although Jocelyn could not view Vincent’s reaction, she suspected he shivered in revulsion or made a gagging motion.
Andrew laughed. “Jocelyn likes those things also.” Her brother sighed heavily. “Could we not see the horses anyway, without her permission? I heard Mr. Darcy say both his driver and yours are in the stable, now that the man who shot my sister has been transported to the city of York.”
Vincent paused longer than necessary before he responded. She knew the boy was weighing all the possibilities. “I suppose she will not mind if I am with you. However, not too long. I must finish my conjugations and my reading. I promised her I would return.”
“You always keep your promises to Jocelyn?” Andrew asked as they started away.
“Your sister keeps her word to me,” Vincent stated in firm tones, so characteristic of the child.
A long pause followed before Andrew added, “With me also.” When she could hear their voices in the hall, Jocelyn opened her eyes and smiled. Her future was clearer than it had been in many a year.
* * *
Edward knocked on the back door of Darcy House. He had thought to stay in his father’s London house, but it had been several months since his parents had been in London, and he knew the house was essentially closed up; whereas, Darcy had been absent a matter of weeks.
“Colonel!” Mr. Thacker said when he responded to the knock. “Welcome, sir. I apologize. I did not hear your knock above stairs.”
“I did not bother with the street door,” he confessed as he stepped into the warm kitchen. A delicious smell filled the room, and his stomach growled. “Might I bother you with my presence this evening? I shan’t be in London long. I must speak again to the Middlesex magistrate tomorrow and then I return to Yorkshire.”
Mr. Thacker directed him further into the room, accepting Edward’s gloves and hat and sword. “Please come in and take in the heat. Should I see to your horse or carriage, sir?”
“I left my horse with Darcy’s grooms,” he admitted. “Just a place to rest my head and perhaps something to eat would be wonderful. I am exhausted.”
Mr. Thacker sent a maid to set a fire in the grate of the room Edward customarily occupied at Darcy House. “Would you care to eat in the morning room, sir?”
“If it is not too much of an inconvenience or too upsetting of your customary gathering, I would sit at your table, ma’am,” he addressed the cook.
“I have a stew and an apple pie, sir. If that would please you.”
“They sound delicious. It has been since early morning since I have last eaten,” he explained.
“Here, sir. Take this seat,” the woman said. “Susan, retrieve the butter and that loaf of bread.”
“Thank you, everyone. I have been on the road for nearly a week, and there is still much to do before I can return north. I appreciate your kindness.”
“Were the master and mistress well when you last saw them?” Mr. Thacker asked.
“Very much so,” Edward said as he relaxed for the first time in many days. “By the time Mr. Darcy and I reached Lincolnshire and my brother’s estate, young Master Bennet had decided it was time to take his first steps.”
“Splendid,” Darcy’s cook said. “We all wondered if he might do so soon.”
“Yes,” Edward said as the tension drained from his shoulders. “All those at William’s Wood had made bets as to whether Darcy would have happy tears in his eyes or not. Those who bet he would held bragging rights. The boy even walked into my waiting arms. I am pleased to view my cousin finally knowing happiness.”
“As are we all, sir,” Mr. Thacker declared.
“Oh, and there is another important point of note. The midwife has confirmed that Mrs. Darcy is again with child. Your master is beyond himself with glee.”
Later, as he crawled in the bed that evening, Edward made the only decision that made sense for him. “I do not know with confidence that the lady has survived or not, but my heart says she has. I cannot think to marry Miss Romfield when my destiny is marked by Miss Lambert’s hand. As I have told my cousin, I will accept Darcy’s offer to purchase another commission. If my father objects and refuses us lodging, I am confident Darcy will assist us as he has indicated. Some way and in some manner, the lady and I can survive. I am able to support a wife without my father’s hand on my shoulder. Like it or not, eventually, the earldom will be mine. I can make Miss Lambert a countess and my children part of the aristocracy without my father controlling my life.”
With a new determination, Edward forced himself to sleep. He had another long day ahead of him tomorrow. Several long days, in fact, but for the first time since his father’s edict, his heart felt lighter.
By the time he reached Middlesex the next morning, the magistrate had had “quite enough” of Philip Jennings’s rantings and ravings. “I mean to place him where I cannot hear him again, at least until he must appear at Old Bailey. I will send out some of my men to interview Mr. Darcy, the young earl, and the lad’s sisters. They will also take Mr. Marksham into custody. Hopefully, he will repeat his story to me if he means to save his mother and sisters.”
“I hope so, as well,” Edward said as he picked up his hat and gloves. “If I know my cousin, Mr. Darcy has moved Marksham to a safer place. Most likely to York, but your men can determine that when they question him. Just advise whoever comes to call on Darcy and the boy that the child is exceptionally intelligent, but a bit hesitant when speaking to strangers. Without a father to guide him, he is somewhat awkward around people he does not know. Lord Vincent does respond well with Darcy, as well as with his governess, Miss Lambert, near.”
“Every boy requires a father’s hand on his shoulder,” the magistrate said. “Very proud of my own lad. Have you children, colonel?”
