Perhaps he could find out more on his walk with Miss Elizabeth.
~T~
As soon as Elizabeth entered the park at her usual hour despite the late night, she spied the Colonel in company with another rider coming towards her.
Moments later, the riders halted in front of her, and Fitzwilliam dismounted, handing the reins to his companion, who nodded at Elizabeth before riding off, leading the second horse.
‘Good morning, Miss Elizabeth. I was hoping to see you today,’ Fitzwilliam greeted her as he tipped his hat.
Elizabeth returned his smile and greeting before asking, ‘Is that why you brought along a companion to take charge of your horse?’
‘I like to be prepared for all eventualities,’ he confirmed as he offered his arm which Elizabeth accepted. ‘But in case that you chose to sleep in, I could still give Thor his exercise.’
‘The Norse god of thunder? Is he as fierce in battle as his namesake?’
‘Indeed, and he does not spook even at the sound of cannons.’ The Colonel smiled proudly before he commented, ‘I am surprised that you are familiar with Norse mythology. The ladies whom I have encountered are familiar with Greek gods at best.’
‘Thanks to my father I had an eclectic education.’
‘Pray tell, what else did he teach you?’
‘You may be shocked to hear that he taught me Greek and Latin so that I could read not only the Iliad and Metamorphoses, but also various books on philosophy and history in the original languages because he always claimed that they lost in translation due to the prejudices of the translators.’
She grinned. ‘I am inclined to believe my father since I put it to the test.’
He laughed at her quip as he tilted his head and thought that he had the perfect opening to bring up Darcy and discover the other side of the story. ‘You sound just like my cousin. He too is a great reader andprefers to read books in the original language. Perhaps I should introduce him to you, then you could debate your own interpretations.’
‘It would depend on which of your cousins is the scholar and whether he would want to discuss such subjects with a lady.’
‘My scholarly cousin is Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley in Derbyshire,’ the Colonel supplied and watched Elizabeth’s reaction.
He was not disappointed as he observed a small moue of distaste when she answered, ‘I have heard of your cousin, but I doubt that he would find my conversationtolerable.’
That final word confirmed to Fitzwilliam that he was speaking to the correct lady. ‘Oh, I believe that you would find that my cousin has had an epiphany recently,’ he said with a satisfied grin.
The grin combined with the subject of their conversation confirmed to Elizabeth that her own suspicions were likely correct. She stopped in her tracks forcing Fitzwilliam to come to a halt also. He turned to face her.
‘Colonel, shall we stop fencing and come to the point? Your hints indicate to me that your cousin… Mr Darcy,’ she said pointedly as he opened his lips as if to query which cousin, ‘ has confided in you about the happenings in Hertfordshire. Did he not?’
‘He did indeed, and I must say that based on his account he did not cover himself in glory during his brief sojourn to that county.’ He raised a quizzical eyebrow. ‘Will you tell me about your side of the story. I gather that you were the lady whom he insulted.’
Elizabeth shook her head as she said, ‘I have no wish to gossip, but if you tell me what you have heard, I will either confirm or deny it.’
Fitzwilliam gestured to indicate they should continue their walk while related the gist of Darcy’s story. When he finished, Elizabeth said, ‘It seems that while your cousin has his faults, he is truthful in his dealings.’
‘Since you are convinced on that score, I must tell you that he also conveyed another aspect of that situation. He thought you to be uncommonly pretty and had exceptionally fine eyes.’
The stunned and disbelieving expression on Elizabeth’s countenance and a gasped ‘NO’ caused Fitzwilliam to chuckle.
‘But why…’ Elizabeth was at a loss for words.
‘His arrogance got in the way of his sense. He did not wish to raise expectations which he was not going to fulfill since he thought himself above his company. He has now changed his mind.’
‘I have heard that you were instrumental in teaching him that lesson.’
‘How…’
‘Mycousin lives across the square fromyourcousin…’
