Page 19 of Shields and Roses

"I did need your help, you know. Or, at least, your pushing. I would not have become involved in any of those activities without it, and they were what gave me something to talk about with the other boys. I think that was what my father hoped George would do for me from the start."

"Well, you are there now. Try not to slip back into your solitary ways. If you need a companion, I suggest that Bingley fellow we met a few months ago. He is cheerful and outgoing in an honest way."

"But he comes from trade," Will objected.

"That is Aunt Catherine talking. So he comes from trade? What of it? That doesn't make him less of a good fellow nor less honest and trustworthy. Give him a chance. I doubt you will regret it. You can help him in Society and he can help you be more sociable."

"I suppose you are right. I enjoyed talking to him and playing against him in the chess club once you convinced him to join. He certainly rows well."

"That is the spirit. You still have time to invite him for a visit to Pemberley over the summer, or at least to write to him and carry on the acquaintance. Play a few games by post if that is all you can manage. Whatever it takes to keep in touch. Just let me know how you get on. You know I will look forward to letters from you as I head out into the unknown."

"I will write. I promise. Now, what are your plans for today? I see the saddle bags. Is your father so upset he would not send you the carriage?" Will asked, only half joking.

Richard picked up the saddle bag again as he laughed. "Not at all. I asked him not to. Instead, I had him send my horse. I have a carter taking my trunks off to the London house, while I plan to ride straight from here to Longbourn. I need to talk some things over with my godfather before going on to London."

"Visiting the Bennets, hmm? Well, I will not say anything against them now, but I expect Aunt Catherine may give you an earful."

"Or a pageful," Richard agreed, placing the saddlebag back on the bed. "Well, it is too late for her to rescind the commission, so I am going to visit with my godfather and his family and brave her displeasure. If the ink she writes with catches on fire as I open her next letter that will just teach me to use tongs to open them in the future." Both boys laughed at the thought.

~o~

"It is good to see you again, Richard." Bennet said, shaking hands with his godson before gesturing towards a chair. "Do sit down and tell me all about this news you bring."

"Well, sir, you are now looking at Lieutenant Richard Fitzwilliam."

"You have your commission! You saved enough to purchase a lieutenancy? When did this happen?" Bennet asked, his words tumbling over one another with his surprise.

Richard smiled at having achieved the effect he hoped for with the announcement. "Actually, it is not quite official, but I do have the commission, courtesy of my Aunt Catherine, and I will be reporting for duty within the week. I had not saved quite enough on my own, but that is now a moot point."

"Lady Catherine provided your commission? Oh, Richard, you must always be wary of anything appearing to be a gift from Lady Catherine. Her gifts come with a sting in the tail."

"Or soldiers in the belly of the horse? I am well aware of that, sir." Richard offered his godfather a rakish grin. "I know she has been suggesting a military career for me as a way to annoy and worry my father. He and I have discussed it more than once. I also know his objections are because he loves me and does not wish to see me hurt, not out of any lack of confidence in my abilities."

Without even realizing he had, Mr. Bennet smiled sadly and nodded agreement. The current subject might be distrust of Lady Catherine, but he also felt the same love and worry about his godson as his friend, Viscount Rand, did.

Richard continued, "I have been wary of Aunt Catherine from my earliest years. As my father says, she would never put herself out, physically or financially, for altruistic reasons. However, all her promptings aside, it is my choice and desire to become an officer. I would have been inclined this way had she never said a word for or against it. I also would have found a way despite all objections, even without this dubious gift of a commission. I am not blinded to the hazard or carried away by bright dreams of honor on the battlefield. You and my father have educated me better than that. I know all her talk of glory and conquest is so much muck thrown out the back of the stable building."

Mr. Bennet chuckled at the analogy, and Richard joined in. "The boy truly does have her measure," the older man thought.

After a few seconds of mirth, Richard sobered and spoke again. "I know war is a nasty, brutish business, but a military career also has its opportunities. There is a chance to be a leader, to make a difference and to protect those I love. I was going to do this anyway, so why not accept her so-called gift and let her think she has won a turn of the cards and a point against my father? The three of us will know better. In fact, that is what I wanted to discuss with you."

"I am all ears. Tell me your thoughts." Bennet looked at him with anticipation.

"First, I assume Miss Stanton is busy giving the girls their lessons. There is little chance she might be lurking outside the windows listening in, is there?"

"Very little chance, since I believe she is in the parlor. Today is Mrs. Bennet's day ‘at home' and Miss Stanton has begun to have Jane and Lizzy sit quietly in the room while their mother receives her callers. I am not certain what that is meant to teach them, but it does keep them all trapped in the room for a few hours. Of course, you are welcome to poke your head outside the windows and check to make certain there are no spies about." Bennet's chuckle rumbled around the room.

"I may do just that," Richard said, winking at his godfather as he got up to take a quick peek out of the two open windows. "After all, it is spies I am worried about. My aunt's spies, to be specific. As I said, we want her to think she has won a point against my father. Good, no one there that I can see." He nodded in satisfaction as he sat back down. Bennet looked at him questioningly.

"I take it you want me to play a part?" the older man asked.

"More that I do not want you to give away the part my father and I are playing. You see, we have had several quiet discussions about my future military career ever since Aunt Catherine started to speak out in support of it. Some of our early discussions had been echoed in her letters, leading us to believe that my brother, who was in the vicinity at the time, has been spying for her. We both think she has been giving him money, buying his affection as well as information from him, for years. Father actually reconciled to my hope for a military career over a year ago, but we played up the difficulty between us to give Aunt Catherine something upon which to focus her energies, the same way you kept Miss Stanton on despite knowing that she is my aunt's tool."

"Better the enemy that you know..." Bennet suggested.

"Exactly. I was a little surprised by the commission. Father was going to pay the difference between what I had saved and what I still needed to go in as a lieutenant. We both thought she would be all talk and just try to stir the pot a bit to make trouble between us. When she sent me the offer of the commission just before the end of the school year, I began a frantic correspondence with my father by express messenger. Together, we decided I should accept her gift."

"While maintaining the illusion of distance between you, hmm? And what is my part?" Bennet asked with a gleeful grin.