Page 26 of Shields and Roses

"I may look you up at your law office. Let me know when you have finished your studies," Fitzwilliam replied. He did not, however, rise or otherwise acknowledge his one-time friend, who left the room with only a quick backward glance before he closed the study door.

Fitzwilliam sighed again. This was even more difficult than he had expected. He hoped Bingley would arrive soon in answer to the invitation Fitzwilliam had sent a few days before. After tending to his father's funeral and all the other necessary business, he needed a dose of his friend's good cheer. That -as another one he owed Richard - it might not be part of the bet, but in gratitude he would make his forfeit a top-quality saddle, one worthy of a general, not just a captain.

Without the prompting from his cousin, Fitzwilliam probably would not have pursued a friendship with the tradesman's son at Eton. When faced with the loss of his cousin's company, however, Fitzwilliam took Richard's advice and contacted Charles Bingley with an invitation to spend a few weeks at Pemberley. Their liking for each other had increased during that visit and in the months that followed. By the time they left Eton the following summer, Will Darcy and Charles Bingley had the kind of friendship Fitzwilliam's father had always hoped his son would have with George Wickham.

As a result, although Fitzwilliam roomed with George at Cambridge, he spent most of his free time with Bingley. They carried on the activities Richard had prompted his cousin to join at Eton - rowing, fencing, chess. Bingley even cajoled his friend into playing some cricket, although neither of them were good enough at it to play on any of the established teams.

Because Bingley was such a cheerful fellow, people liked to have him around, whether for an idle game or as a dinner companion. Fitzwilliam might have had the connections, but it was Bingley who won them the repeat invitations. It was not that Fitzwilliam would have been shunned or reviled without the presence of his friend. Acting on Richard's advice and with some help from Bingley, he had learned to be more open and to actively engage others in conversation. He would never be the life of the party, and he was still not comfortable in large groups, but in situations with a few good companions he could now be sociable and avoid giving offense.

His new-found social abilities were sorely tried when Fitzwilliam visited with Bingley's family the first summer after they started at Cambridge. Not with Bingley's father, of course. Mr. Bingley, senior, was as sunny and jovial a character as his son. Fitzwilliam felt at ease with him immediately. The same could not be said of his first meeting with Bingley's two sisters.

Louisa Bingley was three years older than his friend and hoping to find a wealthy and/or titled husband. Fortunately, Fitzwilliam was really too young for her. After a few very obvious attempts to draw his interest, she gave it up as a bad job. She soon returned to her pursuit of Gilbert Hurst, who was a local landowner's son, although without expectations of much wealth or a title. He would still lift her beyond the social sphere in which she was currently placed.

The younger sister, Caroline Bingley, was not so easily deterred. She was only seventeen and had just enjoyed her first Season. After hearing her brother's descriptions of Pemberley, she had a good idea of what Fitzwilliam would be worth one day. She also realized that it was only chance that had placed her in a position to possibly catch him since he really was above her touch.

With a much more subtle approach than her sister, Miss Caroline laid her snares. She knew that the presence of her prey as a guest in the same house gave her a powerful advantage over any other young woman of her set. Having seen his clear disgust at her sister's obvious plays, she knew to make her initial approach slow and gentle. She must seem to be a friend before she tried to make him anything more. While her ideas were good and her initial execution went smoothly, Miss Caroline failed to consider the consequences of making her move with her brother also in the house.

"You really need to be more careful, Will," Bingley said as they relaxed in the library one evening about three weeks into Fitzwilliam's stay.

"What do you mean?" Fitzwilliam said unconcernedly as he leaned comfortably back into his armchair.

"I mean that you need to be more careful when you are around Caroline. My sister is aiming to bag you, but you do not seem to have noticed. You are usually so quick at spotting fortune hunters that I was surprised you have let her go on with her plans."

Fitzwilliam looked at his friend oddly. "Miss Caroline? No, it was your older sister from whom I had to fend off advances. But she gave up last week."

"You really have not seen it, then. No, it is Caroline you need to worry about. She is much cleverer than Louisa, and I would not put much past her. She is trying to worm herself into your confidence now, in order to strike later."

"Are you certain? I have not seen any of the usual signs."

Bingley laughed. "Oh, yes. I know my sister and her behavior. If you doubt me, pay close attention to how she reacts during tomorrow's dinner at our cousin's home. She will keep you to herself while pretending to help you feel more comfortable in the crowd, all the while implying to others that the two of you are very close."

Now that he had been warned, Fitzwilliam paid attention to the situation and found that Bingley's assessment rang true. Almost right away he could see that she was trying to isolate him in the crowd and warn others off. When Fitzwilliam realized what she was doing, he also realized why he had not seen it before. She had been behaving exactly as George Wickham always did. The pattern was so familiar Fitzwilliam had overlooked it.

While he never saw the need to say anything about the matter to Miss Caroline, Fitzwilliam distanced himself from her and she seemed to get the message. She never quite gave up hope, but she also avoided pushing him too far. It was a truce Fitzwilliam could accept. He valued Bingley's friendship too much to make a fuss over his sister's behavior. Having a friend who was willing to warn him rather than take advantage of his ignorance in favor of a family member was worth a little discomfort.

As the years passed, they both drew value from the friendship. It all worked out as Richard had predicted. Fitzwilliam helped Charles take a place in Society and Charles helped his friend deal with the members of Society. Yet another moment when Richard was right.

As he sat at the desk sorting through more of his father's papers, Fitzwilliam wondered what Richard would have to say about Georgiana. While he loved his younger sister dearly, Fitzwilliam had no idea how to even begin as guardian of a ten-year-old girl. The challenge was even greater now, when her grief was so raw and open. His sister had idolized their father. All her lessons, all the bits and pieces of her life, had come to a standstill while she kept vigil by his bedside in the last few weeks of his illness. Now he was gone, and she seemed to have lost the ability to do anything but cry. Her reaction broke Fitzwilliam's heart all over again.

He had wondered over the provision in his father's will at first, but now he could see that having Richard named as co-guardian for Georgiana was intended to ease the burden, not to indicate any lack of confidence in Fitzwilliam's abilities. With Richard away so much, his role would simply be as a support, which was exactly what was now needed.

Even more surprising had been his father's insistence, documented in his will, that Lady Catherine be allowed absolutely no control over Georgiana's upbringing, not even to sponsor her in Society when the girl was old enough to come out. In fact, George Darcy had already arranged for his daughter's eventual entree in Society through agreements with the wives of two of his long-time acquaintances that they would perform the responsibilities usually reserved for a mother or an aunt.

The Duchess of Mardale, who was currently a patroness at Almack’s, had agreed to be Georgiana's primary sponsor quite a coup for George Darcy to pull off on his daughter's behalf. Lady Elspeth Fotherham, another patroness, albeit of less consequence, committed to acting as an alternate in the event something happened to the duchess in the intervening years. Georgiana's place among the elite was guaranteed. Furthermore, by acting as Georgiana's escorts, he and Richard would be well-placed to choose wives from the same elite group of young ladies should they still be single when the time came. That thought was a relief to Fitzwilliam, who had no desire to participate in the marriage mart before he really had to do so.

A knock at the study door signaled the arrival of the daily post. That, of course, meant more black-edged letters to write. For a man who never left his estate, George Darcy had maintained an impressive network of correspondents. It would take some time to notify them all of his death. Fitzwilliam was taking them a chunk at a time.

The top letter bore a return Fitzwilliam recognized. He opened the letter, finding a short greeting and the next move in a chess game. Using his father's records, Fitzwilliam could have sent an offer to finish out the game as he had done for a few other players, but this letter came from Thomas Bennet. Despite Richard's continued defense of the man, the old prejudice instilled by Lady Catherine was still strong in Fitzwilliam's mind. Taking up his quill, he pulled a single sheet of black-edged paper from the prepared pile and began to write.

To Mr. Thomas Bennet,

Honored sir,

You may consider my father as having conceded your game. Death has stolen the match from you both. In gratitude for all the diversion you have given my father over the years, I send you the board and pieces with which he tracked your matches. May they be an appropriate remembrance of him.

I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

Fitzwilliam Darcy