Page 62 of The Colonel's Ungovernable Governess
“Not yet, but I hope to soon. There is a lady . . .”
“I can recognize your affection for the woman in the tone of your voice when you consider her. I wish you well, sir.”
“My cousin Darcy and I will be available if you require our testimony in this matter. We both witnessed the manipulations Jennings enacted against his late brother’s family, as well as the attack on Miss Lambert and the theft from the estate.”
“Greed and jealousy,” the man declared. “Every crime is rooted in one or the other or both.”
A few hours later, Edward was again stepping down from his horse before Romfield Hall. “Give him some water and a cup of oats if you would.” He tossed the stable boy, who had run out to assist him, a coin. “I shan’t be long.”
“Yes, sir.”
The boy, lead the horse towards the stables, as Edward shored up his resolve and released the knocker. He counted to fifty before the same butler as before answered the door. “Colonel Fitzwilliam for Lady Romfield and Miss Romfield.” He would deliver his refusal to both so there was no expectation he would change his mind.
“I apologize, Colonel, but the master and mistress are away from the manor. Even the young master is not within nor at school. There was some mention of a family situation, but I cannot speak of the nature of what occurred.”
“And Miss Romfield?” he asked suspiciously.
“Also not in residence, sir.”
“May I inquire how long the Romfields have been absent from the estate?”
“The master finally arrived from Europe some nine days back, which greatly eased her ladyship’s mind. Then they received a letter. Two letters, actually, and chaos erupted, for they were called away.”
“And Miss Romfield was already absent before this family emergency occurred?” he asked suspiciously. He thought maybe the girl was as set against this agreement as was he and meant to avoid him.
“All I am permitted to say, sir, is Miss Romfield is not at the manor.”
Edward swallowed his frustrations. He wished the business settled. “If and when the Romfields return, speak to them of my call. Explain that either my father, Lord Matlock, or I will call again to make our explanations.” He wanted to add “our excuses,” but such would not be proper.
As he left the manor, he strode to the stable to reclaim his horse. Whatever the ‘situation’ the Romfields had was their problem, and, perhaps, his father’s and his Aunt Catherine’s, but no longer his. He was going “home.” Wherever Miss Lambert dwelt would be his “home.”
* * *
“Where do you suppose he is?” Jocelyn asked. Her parents had retired to their quarters after the midday meal and with assurances she was not overextending herself. Meanwhile, Mr. Darcy had taken Vincent and Andrew upon a ride across the estate. Mr. Jessie was to ride with them so each boy would have someone along beside them in case the horses chosen for the boys did not like the children’s less firm hold on the reins.
Mrs. Darcy was sitting on the floor, rolling a small ball back and forth to Bennet. The woman looked to Jocelyn and grinned. “I suppose the ‘he’ refers to my cousin Fitzwilliam.”
Jocelyn rolled her eyes. “It was your assumption that the colonel and I would suit, so do not pretend you did not understand my question.”
Mrs. Darcy scooped her son up and planted a kiss on the boy’s cheek before sitting him before her once more. “The colonel was near Norfolk three days ago and was to chase Mr. Jennings towards Kent. He did not know Philip Jennings’s exact location, which means he must investigate each port large enough to accommodate such a ship along the Kentish coastline and, perhaps, along the estuary and the Thames itself. Then, after he captures the man, he would be required to escort Jennings to London for the man to be held for trial. It would take him three, perhaps four days to travel this far inland from London, and such is assuming he must not first check in with Captain Carlson. The colonel does still hold duties to the army. Yet, I am confident he will send word if such is so.”
“Another five, perhaps six days, then,” Jocelyn calculated in her head.
“Yes, and Mr. Darcy must return to Pemberley for a few days. He is considering taking Vincent with him so the boy may view the fields and the tenant farms so Vincent will better understand what my husband has ordered for Babbington Hall in the boy’s name. As it is already May, adjustments must be made if crops are to be saved.”
“Your husband has been very good for the boy,” Jocelyn observed.
“His time with young Babcock will be good practice for when he must start teaching Bennet of the land. Under my husband’s oversight, we have begun making changes in how we treat the land with a four-crop rotation instead of three, as well as changes to the nearby village of Lambton. We have invested in roads going both north and south and east and west. The area is bordered by a moor and mountain range, with which we must contend, but we do not wish to become smothered by our own isolation. Such is true for where Babbington Hall is located. It is more than a bit isolated.”
All the time Mrs. Darcy described her husband’s aspirations, Jocelyn could hear the pride in the woman’s voice. “You are quite knowledgeable regarding Mr. Darcy’s transactions.”
“My husband permits my opinions, even seeks them out, especially in social situations, but also in dealings with the estate and our children’s futures. We decided, very much from the beginning of our pledge to each other, what our image of our life together would entail and what we hoped to leave behind for our children. Mr. Darcy’s mother and father created Pemberley for its greatness and its status among the landed gentry and the aristocracy. Mr. Darcy and I have refined that image, focusing on its lasting legacy, while we created strong bonds with those in the area. We have become leaders in growing not only Pemberley’s security, but that of all the farms and villages about it. It does us no good to have crops rotting in the field because the roads about us are too bad half the time for wagons to pass over them. We wish Lambton to grow large enough to sustain the businesses there, while handling traffic going north and south, as well as east and west, to new markets.”
Jocelyn wondered if she could assist the colonel equally as well. She knew very little of the ideas Mrs. Darcy rattled off the top of her head. “I wonder if you would consider speaking to me and my parents of some of your and Mr. Darcy’s plans. I do not imagine either my father or mother has considered how much Britain has changed in their absence.”
“Assuredly, I would be willing if you believe they would wish to hear of the innovations Mr. Darcy has installed at Pemberley. Though I know much of what my husband enacts each day at the estate, I will be speaking from a woman’s point of view.”
“It would be good for me and them to begin thinking of our futures. I would be most appreciative of your insights.”
