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All of that was to come. As the Colonel rode the three miles back to Bath he was thinking about the morning, Lady Napier and his future.

His first thought was that the whole day had been effortless. He had barely left the estate and his first snort. It had appeared effortless because both of them were making an effort. Which almost led to a second snort. Despite making an effort, it had not felt like it. In the end he accepted that the two of them were good together. As he avoided each new season’s debutantes, just as they too avoided him, Richard had limited experience of this ease with young ladies. Yet he considered his own experience.

But he had been in too many Messes over the years where he could recall men that were not hard work, there was an ease of conversation and they enjoyed each other’s society. And equally there had been those who he never gelled with, were just tedious to deal with. They were a group of officers, all with a similar background, the same training, often having been in the same battles. Yet he got on with some men better than others. It was a framework that he could apply to his time with Lady Napier. She appeared to be a lady that it was easy to connect with. But he also knew that it was a very small sample size.

He also considered former Sergeant Major Jones. He enjoyed Lady Napier’s trust, but as an experienced officer, Richard could see that she in turn enjoyed his loyalty. There were six guards on the estate, five of whom had lost their arm at the shoulder, one at the elbow. When thinking on it, he wondered if there had been some terrible experience in her past. One or two guards was perfectly understandable, normal even. The more he thought on it, the more he was sure there was a story behind the overt security.

When it came to considering his future, the Colonel was careful not to dream. Lady Napier might not be a classical beauty, but she was an extremely pretty Lady, and obviously female. The estate was clearly well managed, there was not a trace of any problems. The bores around Town were full of the usual bigoted comments regarding the unsuitability of a woman to run an estate. The evidence of his own eyes on Napier Hall made such statements seem foolish.

He was not going to look too far ahead. He had an indulgent General, happy to allow him time to spend with Lady Napier, and most of their time together was going to be out at her estate. If there was going to be something between them, then it was going to grow beyond the gaze of the residents of Bath.

The next two weeks conformed to their agreed schedule. The Colonel rode out to Napier Hall four times, and he and Lady Napier spent the morning riding her estate and debating a whole range of topics. Given his profession and the news from the continent, the endless wars of the last 20 years was discussed. But it was not the only topic. They debated art, politics, literature, agricultural matters, the explosive growth of industrial concerns in the north of the country, any-, and everything was up for discussion.

And without realising it, they both stopped performing. A gentleman of 31, and a lady of 23, got to spend time alone, carefully chaperoned but alone nonetheless, and both were thinking that a courtship was not far away.

--

Elizabeth had safety and freedom. She enjoyed her time with the Colonel, more than enjoyed it, looked forward to it. But it was one thing to let the man call upon her. Agreeing to a courtship was a different matter entirely. Her introspection was due to the alarming ease with which the idea of a courtship had slipped into her mind.

She might be 23 years of age but she had never been courted. No one she knew had ever been courted, she had no experience of even observing a courtship. Bingley had not been courting Jane Bennet in the days before Elizabeth’s ruin. He had not even been calling on her, at least in an appropriate manner that was acknowledged by both parties. Mrs. Bennet’s effusions did not count.

Elizabeth was worried that she was unthinkingly marching towards the alter. It was genuinely horrifying to think that she was still obeying Mrs. Bennet’s edicts. Her own nature was unsure and she was going to take a step back. The challenge was framing her hesitation in such a way that the Colonel was not discouraged, merely knew to slow things down.

They got help from a most unexpected quarter.

--

It was the Friday afternoon, they were in Bath having just listened to an outdoor concert. It had been a beautiful warm summer’s day and the Colonel was escorting her back to her carriage.

“Richard. What are you doing here?”

The sudden outburst took them both by surprise. What neither Lady Matlock nor the Colonel noticed was how Elizabeth watched them closely after the Countess interrupted them. The trace of a scolding tone; the frown, grimace and closed eyes for a moment. All were there. She could see that Richard, a Colonel, a decorated senior officer passed 30 years of age, being less than impressed by the way his mother had addressed him in public. But the whole thing was barely a second, less than two, blink and you would have missed it. But Elizabeth had not blinked.

“Good evening, Lady Matlock.”

He gave a short bow to his mother, an unspoken rebuke in his manner of address at her blurted out comment.

“I have been assigned to the staff of General van Grant. He has requested that I stand up with him on the occasion of his wedding to Miss Sophie Manners, a relative of the Duke of Rutland. The wedding is scheduled for Monday the 12th of September. I will be here in Bath until then.”

He turned back to Lady Napier.

“It was a pleasure to spend the afternoon with you, Lady Napier.”

Susan Fitzwilliam had allowed her surprise upon seeing her younger son to disrupt her manners. She was playing catch up.

“Lady Napier, I am sorry. It was just such a surprise, an unexpected one, to see my younger son. It is wonderful to see you again. How are you finding Bath, and the society?”

Elizabeth felt unsettled that her enjoyable afternoon with the Colonel had been disrupted by his mother. She had spent many hours in the company of the Countess, and would be forever grateful that she had taken her under her wing upon her arrival in London. But she had been enjoying the company of her son much more than any occasion with the Countess.

“This is my second social visit to the town. My usual visit is to Mr. Arbuthnot’s shop. As for society in general, I am being deliberately gradual.”

Her carriage pulled up alongside her. Her staff knew her well.

“I will send a note Lady Matlock. Colonel.”

The last was said to Richard, a look on her face. He was not certain of the look, but his instinct was to make no mention of the visits to the estate. He would turn up the following week, hoping he had been correct. He handed Elizabeth up into the carriage.

He turned back to face his mother, careful not to say anything derogatory, but unimpressed that she had chased Lady Napier away.