Page 9 of Shields and Roses

"I believe you, Lizzy. You will do fine. Now, let us go see those roses."

Chapter 6: Warnings

George Darcy turned away from his brother-in-law, Viscount Rand, to address his nephew, who stood respectfully to the side of the room next to his cousin. "I am pleased to have you here at Pemberley for a visit, Richard, even if it is only for a week. You and Will can run along now and amuse yourselves for the afternoon while your father and I catch up on business. We will see you both at dinner."

"It is good to be here, Uncle George," Richard said with a bow. "I will see you later." With a smile for both men, he followed his cousin from the room.

"I am glad we do not have to go to London in the summer," Will said once they had left the two adults behind. "That is one advantage of father's illness - other than school, I spend more time at Pemberley than anywhere else."

"It is a lovely estate," Richard replied as they walked down the corridor. "But I thought you liked riding. How is traveling any different?"

"Oh, it is not the traveling that bothers me, so long as I can ride instead of going in a carriage. It is staying in other places. I like the familiarity of my own room in my own home. I have everything I need and the servants here know my habits."

Richard laughed. "You are only thirteen, Will, and already you sound like a crochety old man."

"I suppose you prefer loud inns and bad food?" Will asked, his tone showing his annoyance at his cousin's teasing.

"Of course," Richard said, still chuckling, "I plan to be a soldier. Loud inns and bad food are part of the deal."

"I suppose you stopped in Meryton on your way here?"

"We did, although only for one night. Father enjoyed playing a few games of chess with his friend and I had a little adventure with young Lizzy."

"Why would you spend any time with her? Aunt Catherine says she is a graceless hoyden, not fit for polite company," Will said primly.

Richard shook his head. "Aunt Catherine says a great many ridiculous things, Will. Lizzy is only seven. No one is fit for 'polite company' at that age. And although she is young, she is clever and means well. By the time she is out, I believe Lizzy will be a diamond of the first water."

Will snorted in a way that reminded Richard of their aunt even more than his words had. "That seems unlikely. I have heard about her vulgar mother and lazy father. Although he claimed to be one of Uncle Lewis's best friends and lives only fifty miles away from Rosings, he could not even be bothered to attend our uncle's funeral."

"There is more to that situation than you have heard about. He was a good friend to Uncle Lewis and is still a good friend to my father. In addition, he is my godfather and I have a great deal of respect for him. When did you start listening to anything Aunt Catherine has to say?"

"Why would I not? She is my mother's sister, after all, and she has my best interest at heart."

At that Richard laughed aloud. "Are you crazy? She only has her own interests at heart, and even those are not always what is best for her, let alone anyone else."

"You do not know that, Richard. You are too wild and disrespectful to understand how those of our station should behave."

"Well, that sounds like our aunt talking. I pity you if you start believing or behaving like her. Do you realize she is shunned by many of 'our station' precisely because of her overweening pride and unpleasant behavior?"

"She does not think that. Besides, she is our family. It is our duty to believe her."

Richard shook his head again, more sad than disbelieving this time. "No need to argue over it now, Will. Let us agree to disagree, although I reserve the right to attempt to persuade you to think again some other time."

Will stared at his cousin for a second before saying, "As you wish. Shall we ride? I like to take the opportunity as often as possible when we are away from school, although we can walk if you are tired of being on horseback."

"I plan to be a cavalryman, so the more practice I get, the better. May I borrow one of your horses? Mine could use a rest after our trip."

"Of course," Will said, leading the way to the stable, although his cousin already knew the path well.

~o~

"That was an excellent gallop around the park. I love that run along the riverbank down to the lake," Richard said as they left the stable behind on their way back to the house. "And we have just time to clean up and change before dinner."

"George Wickham and I often take that trail. We should have stopped by the Wickham house and asked him to join us."

Richard shook his head. "I would rather spend time just with you. I see and hear quite enough of George at school."

"What do you mean?" Will asked. "George is my friend."