Horse Guards,Whitehall, London
January 8, 1813
Darcy,
The 1st Marquess of Wellington was appointed Colonel of the Regiment 1 January. This is the first step in the elevation of the Blues to the status of Household Cavalry, and my regiment will leave for the Peninsula. Please express my regrets to your wife and sister for not being able to see them in town next month.
Yours,
Fitzwilliam
Ellendean Grange,near Dublin
18 March 1813
Dear Mr Darcy,
It is with great joy that I inform you that your wife’s sister was delivered of a boy yesterday. Mrs Lockwood will send her letter of ceremony to your wife as it is our intention for the world at large to believe that young Edgar is my wife’s child, but I would be remiss not to inform you directly of the good health of Miss Bennet and the baby. Miss Bennet, her youthful exuberance notwithstanding, is a good-humoured girl to whom my reticent wife has taken a liking. She has provided us a blessing that Mrs Lockwood’s health would not have allowed, and Miss Bennet is welcome to make her home with us for as long as she chooses.
I remain, dear Sir, your humble servant,
Edgar Lockwood
Vitoria,near Zadorra Valley, northern Spain
June 23, 1813
Dear Darcy,
I am unsure when these lines might reach you, but news of the battle will soon be known, and I would be negligent if I did not tell you that I survived the day. The Blues were brigaded with the other two regiments of Household Cavalry, and we fought with them in a decisive victory. I am wounded, but it is a scratch although it has earned me furlough. The French aim just as poorly as you do.
Yours,
Fitzwilliam
Gracechurch Street
Friday, July 21
My dearest Lizzy,
I am sending you a few lines to announce our safe arrival in London. My father spoke of writing to tell you that he would escort me to Pemberley, but upon arriving in town, I have learned that he has not written yet. We all know my father to be a dilatory correspondent, but I am surprised he would slacken when he knows how distressing to you his sudden appearance might be. I would not wish for his accompanying me to be wholly unexpected to you and Darcy. You must not worry because he intends to stay only a day at Pemberley before returning home. I believe that accompanying me north is the extent of the effort my father will put forth.
To think it has been four months since I last saw you in town. At the time, I was eager to return to Longbourn, but I must admit that home is not as I remember it. I believe Kitty feels the same after her visit to Pemberley. I agree with Darcy that she has shown improvement under your family’s proper attention and management.
Most of our neighbours have resumed calling. Given Lydia’s absence, your prosperous marriage, and their short memories, the scandals of last year have been overlooked. Mary has even begun to mix a little more with the world. My mother has learned not to speak about Lydia before company, but instead she boasts of you with delighted pride. I feel that I have little to contribute to what is going forward at Longbourn and can draw little comfort from the society in Meryton. I am thankful for the diversion of a summer at Pemberley with my dear sister and brother.
I am glad that you have such pleasant accounts of Miss Darcy, and I happily expect furthering our acquaintance. As for Colonel Fitzwilliam, I do recall meeting him when he came to Hertfordshire with Darcy last summer, and I am pleased that he will be returning from the Peninsula. I do so look forward to spending the summer with you, although I shall tell you again not to throw me a ball. I miss you, and Longbourn is not the same without you.
Your loving sister,
Jane
Elizabeth stormedinto her room at Pemberley, the flowing skirt of her riding habit over her arm, and tossed her whip onto the floor. She roughly peeled off her riding gloves. Her jaunty cap was wrenched from her hair, and in her haste, some of her curls were pulled from their pins. Inside—on a lovely July day—was the last place Elizabeth wanted to be.
“Insufferable man!” she muttered. “Thinks only of himself.”
She heard the swift, dull thud of his boot heels, and she had already spun around to glare at her husband by the time he threw open the door. Fitzwilliam strode into the room, his gaze unwavering. There was a fierce and outraged energy between them as they stared at one another in livid silence.
