Page 103 of May I Have the Pleasure
“Just try to be happy. That is all I ask.”
“I am happy today!”
“So am I Fitzwilliam… so am I.”
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“Fitzwilliam, I mentioned I would like to give the Mawbry lands back to the family without marrying one of them. It appears to be horrifically complicated and difficult, bordering on impossible. I keep throwing one solicitor after another at the problem; but I have found no workable solution yet.”
“You are the only woman I know that is willing to go to so much trouble to get rid of wealth.”
“It does have its benefits, but I feel the weight of it, just as you do.”
“Has your new uncle made any good suggestions?”
“He is lazy. He thinks I will marry one of his nephews and the problem will go away. Like most men of his station, theidea of a female under thirty questioning his authority, let alone defying him, is quite beyond his ability to comprehend.”
“Will you bend to his will?”
“No, I will not!I will not even consider it. Even I have my limits, and I plan to employ an army of companions and footmen to guard against compromise or other forms of coercion. I can assure you that I consider my new family as hostile territory.”
“What exactly does your uncle want you to do—or at least, what has he asked that you have some small chance of agreeing to?”
“I have another six months of half-mourning. I will spend it seeing to my properties and making improvements. That will satisfy me, discharge my duty, and keep Kitty and I conveniently absent from the rest of the family, or at least it will keep me away. I am not certain I can keep Kitty from Rosings that long.”
“Anne does have a bit of her mother in her.”
“Yes, I daresay she does. Half-mourning will end in June. My uncle wants me to make my curtsey and then make myself known during the next season. He feels it necessary to maintain the family’s standing in society and on and on and on and so forth—at this point, just imagine a lot more similar blathering.”
“Consider it said and understood, insomuch as such tripe can be comprehended.”
“I will acquiesce to that much in memory of my friend.One Season.After that, we shall see. The whole thing is just too raw for me to make any kind of decent decision.”
“May… may… ah… may I ask something of you?”
“You can ask anything of me, Fitzwilliam. You know that!”
“When your mourning is over, and you go back into society, may I solicit two sets from you at your first dance?”
“It would be my privilege… so long as you bring your cricket bat… or possibly that hunting rifle misters Hurst and Bingley kept blathering on about back in Netherfield, what was it… four years ago?”
“Consider it done.”
“I would ask one more thing of you?”
“Name it.”
“I expect the season to be awful, and I know you will hate it as much as I will. Might we… might we… Might we help each other as friends do to make it bearable. Dance with me when I need a partner, and use me when you need some cover to save you from matchmakers. Rescue me if you see me being inundated and allow me to do the same. Let us try to endure it together.”
“I would like that.”
“Very well. I will see you in July. I am going to insist on Kitty doing her curtsey as well, so she will be my constant companion. I will expect to see a lot of Georgiana as well. Lady Catherine and Anne are keen to help us with the season, and I am at least looking forward to that part. I have not spent any time with either in some time.”
“Be well, my friend. I shall see you in July.”
Stockholm, Sweden, November 1816
5 Years after Netherfield
