Darcy and Fitzwilliam: A Tale of a Gentleman and an Officer (30 page)

All around him, as far as he could see, Fitzwilliam saw babies, cooing babies crawling where there should have been the mutilated dead bodies of grown men. This was unacceptable. It was going to take him all night to collect these children and bring them somewhere that would be safe, and then who would feed them? He turned to his sergeant major, sorry to observe that the entire side of the poor man's head was still blown away. He tried to help the soldier reattach the jawbone of his shattered face then pointed to the babies crawling between them, around them. The man nodded in silent understanding, and they both began to walk to the glacis surrounding the burning fortress.

Fitzwilliam was standing once again at the siege of Badajoz, and the constant pounding of the cannonade in his dreams gradually altered itself into ordinary knocking on their bedroom door, easily dismissed at first, but soon the unrelenting persistence grew closer and louder, and Richard awoke.

Amanda's eyes, however, had blinked wide open immediately with the certain knowledge of what was happening. "Don't say a word," she whispered into his ear. "Ignore her. Please." They heard someone call his name. It was the morning of their third day at Pemberley House, their departure delayed for many reasons--contentment at being together finally, complacency over their success at escaping, minor difficulties in obtaining just the right coach, passage to the Continent becoming intermittent, ruled by the weather. Besides, no one had bothered them. The sense of urgency had diminished.

"Colonel Fitzwilliam. It's the nursemaid, sir. Mr. Darcy is at the dressing-room door and says he must speak with you immediately. There are some people outside, sir." She sounded anxious.

Fitzwilliam scrubbed his eyes with his hand to force the sleep from them. He heard Darcy in the distance bark an order down to someone on the first floor, sounding angrier and more urgent now. "I must see to him, Amanda. Darcy would never be pounding on our door like this if it wasn't important." She attempted to stop him, but he patted off her hand and was pulling on his smallclothes, breeches, and shirt before she could say anything more.

He walked quickly across their bedroom, pulling open their door.

"Excuse me, please, Colonel, for disturbing you like this, but Mr. Darcy is that insistent."

"Yes, that's quite all right. I understand. If you would, bring the child in here to his mother." He turned toward Amanda to give her some instruction, but his breath caught at the sight of her. She stood in the corner of the room, looking small and petrified. He smiled faintly at her and then whispered to the nurse as he passed, "Please close the door to the bedroom after I leave." She nodded in understanding.

***

"What has happened?" Richard watched as Darcy stormed past him into the sitting room. Plainly about to explode with anger, he turned around at the table before the fireplace, his hands on his hips. Richard raised his hand to stay him, giving a quick glance at the closed bedroom door. "And please keep your voice down. I don't want Amanda unnecessarily alarmed." It was a moment before Darcy could calm himself enough to speak.

"I'll tell you what has happened." Darcy moved closer. "The world has gone mad. That's what has happened. There are at least a dozen hideous-looking Bow Street thugs out there--poor old Winters was nearly struck by one of them. They tried to force their way into the house, the bastards! Luckily,
my
hideous-looking thugs are bigger and so managed to keep the scoundrels out. But here's the thing--I believe they are demanding the boy be brought out immediately. I overheard someone exclaiming loudly that the child had been kidnapped, if you can imagine a mother being accused of that! And a crowd is quickly gathering. Evidently, the entire area has suddenly decided to use a good woman's personal tragedy as diverting entertainment."

"Damn it! I am so sorry to have brought this to your doorstep. I should have known. Blast, we should have left yesterday."

"The point is that we must shield Amanda and the boy. I cannot permit a child to be taken from his mother, most especially a member of my own family, and they are both part of this family now." Darcy was storming back and forth before the fireplace, pounding his fist into his hand.

"You know you're beautiful when you're angry."

"Oh shut up. Now, how do you want to handle this?" He sat down on the edge of the desk, his arms folded before him. "I was informed that there is a clerk of the court present with some sort of legal document to deliver, probably a court order. I say we present a type of combined front of bullshit, intimidate the man enough to buy some time, perhaps even turn the crowd against him until we locate someone who can return to override any immediate custody order he may have."

"Well, we outfoxed footballers four years our senior at Harrow, we should be able to bluff our way through this." Fitzwilliam began rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "Bloody hell, this is entirely my fault! Amanda tried to warn me about the woman's vindictiveness, but I thought she was overreacting. Never imagined the old witch would take this to the courts! I've been expecting her footmen to come first with her demands. Damn, I suppose I should have listened, taken this more seriously. If only we had more time!"

"Have you heard anything from the lawyers? Surely, now that you are her husband, she'll have more standing in the courts."

"As a matter of fact, I have Drake and Poole working on something very promising." He placed a bare foot on the seat of one of the chairs, resting his forearm across his knee. "But they must request a review by parliament. You know how it is, with all the lawyers involved and then the mind-boggling slowness of the House of Lords--this could drag on for some time. Shit! Well, if he does have a court order, we have little choice in the matter. The boy shall have to be returned. Oh God, this will break Amanda's heart. She obsesses over that child, is terrified of being separated from him for even the smallest moment."

"How could someone be heartless enough to separate a mother and small child permanently? Do you think the old woman is only bluffing?"

"I have no idea. Bah! The whole thing is out of our hands, for the moment anyway. I know the child would not be in any physical danger left alone with his grandmother. From what Amanda has said, the woman adores the boy, dotes on him. I have no doubt he would be well cared for. We
will
eventually obtain custody, of that I am certain."

Darcy studied his cousin intently. "Frankly, I don't foresee Amanda taking a separation from her son that lightly, Richard. She seems a most devoted mother." Darcy's memory went back to his own exhausted and half-dead wife begging him to take her life to spare her child's, and then further astonishing him by clawing her way across her bed to reach her baby. He felt the unease of impending disaster. "I don't believe mothers are easy in their minds over any separation from their children, no matter how slight a duration."

"Well, naturally I understand that. I am not totally insensitive. I'll explain my reasoning to her. She's a good, loving wife, Darcy, as well as a good mother. She understands that in a proper marriage the husband must sometimes make hard decisions and the woman must follow. She's a truly wonderful person."

Darcy shifted nervously, alarm bells clanging away loudly in his head. After all, he had been married longer than his cousin. He gave an involuntary shudder.

"What is it now, Darcy?" An exasperated Fitzwilliam was getting heartily tired of being contradicted.

"Well, a wonderful wife she may be, Fitzwilliam,
but...
she
is
a woman, too, and an
American
woman at that. She may not be as
obedient
as you wish."

By the time Fitzwilliam threw on his coat and boots and he and Darcy had descended to the foyer, the small group of curious onlookers had grown, scattered now both up and down the street and beginning to drift across the square. Carriages on the avenue occasionally needed to maneuver around the milling crowd, and two had even stopped to fight over right of way. The sight that had attracted everyone's interest was the gang of rough-looking Bow Street Runners assembled before Pemberley House, the undisputed jewel of the avenue. All of those said runners were large, hideously ugly, and disgraceful-looking.

It was great fun.

To further pique the crowd's delight, the runners were facing equally distasteful-looking footmen, coachmen, and gardeners, brutes all, attired in the exquisite Pemberley livery of scarlet and grey. They stood guard on either side of the doorway where poor old Winters was under intense verbal attack.

"What is the meaning of this?" Darcy's sudden appearance at the door hushed the crowd--the show had begun. He scanned the onlookers, measuring their mood, then confronted the official-looking gentleman who was apparently the occasion's spokesperson.

"Might I come in, sir?"

"No, you may not." The crowd shuffled uneasily.

Dramatically, a document was withdrawn from the gentleman's inside pocket. He nervously cleared his throat.
Ahem.
"Charges have been filed with the local magistrate demanding immediate resumption of custody of the child of the late Sir Augustus Penrod to Lady Marguerite Penrod, his mother. We have reason to believe that the child in question was kidnapped"--the crowd gasped--"two evenings past and was brought here." Smatterings of appreciation emboldened the man. He turned a dignified and self-righteous face to the crowd.

"How dare you toss about such inciting accusations!" Darcy barked. "I should have you thrown into the street, you and your pack of apes!" The crowd grew unhappy with this response, judging it to be possibly undignified and still being unsure of their collective position. A few disparaging remarks were thrown into the air.

Meanwhile, Fitzwilliam had stepped up and snatched the court order from the clerk's hands. He read it through thoroughly.

"Take this gang of thugs and leave my property immediately," Darcy commanded.

"No, sir, I can assure you that with the safety of a child involved, we will not." There was a smattering of applause. "I have the law on my side, and you, sir, should have a care for what you say." He was a truly proud man at that moment. He smiled smugly.

Fitzwilliam folded up the order and stuffed it into his coat pocket. Casting a murderous look at the clerk, he elbowed his way before Darcy. The clerk's smug smile quickly evaporated; he was suddenly intimidated, tongue tied in the presence of a minor celebrity. "How dare you speak to this fine gentleman in such a manner!" Fitzwilliam barked. "Have you no shame? Do you have any idea who this man is? Do you? Well, sir, I shall tell you. Why his great, great, great, well, many greats I can assure you of that, grandfather was executed as a traitor by none other than the magnificent Henry VIII himself!"

That brought a confused murmur from the crowd--impressed but confused.

"Not helping... not helping..." whispered Darcy in a loud aside.

"No child has been kidnapped," Fitzwilliam continued contemptuously--unfazed--loud. "The little boy is here with his
mother
, my wife, sir,
my
wife, I say, who was detained to help with the birth of this very man's son!"--Oooohs and aaaahs and several "How very nices"--"An act of pure Christian charity, if ever I heard of one!"--"Yesssssss," it sounded as if a snake was loose among the masses--"There was no intent to kidnap, no nefarious plan, only the concerned love of one mother for another and for that woman's unborn child. My God, you should hang your head, sir, for making such a slanderous indictment!
And in England
." Fitzwilliam's explanation was repeated throughout the crowd for the benefit of those in the back who were straining to hear. At that point. the general mood began to solidify.

Not to be outdone, Darcy then elbowed his way forward--handsome, elegant, and superior, an Adonis. The women sighed. "And do you know who this man thinks he is... pardon me... do you know who this man is?" he pronounced loudly. People in the back began to bob and weave for a better look. Several then began to recognize the out-of-uniform Fitzwilliam, word spread, and the excitement grew.

"Yes, that's right. None other than The Waterloo Colonel himself!"--"Nooooo!!!"-- "Yesssss! The man who risked life and limb, in point of fact, was very nearly mortally wounded in the horror that was Waterloo. A lone soldier fighting for King and country, for the very freedoms we all take for granted as our birthright, willingly sacrificing everything, well, nearly, anyway, in the name of His Royal Highness King George and our beloved and sacred kingdom--our blessed land--
our England
." The crowd began to nod vigorously and applaud. Many wiped away a tear or two.

A vendor on the street merrily commenced selling hot chestnuts from his cart, tuppence a bag.

***

While this altercation was taking place, a tall, white feather could be seen bobbing its way through the crowd, accompanied by people yelping, shrieking, and jumping to the side when it passed. It was Fitzwilliam who first heard the traditional verbal tirade that always preceded this particular visitor. "Grab your codpiece," he groaned, tunneling his hair into tall peaks. "We're doomed."

"Out of my way, you common ruffian! Who are your people, you jackanapes?! Are you all escapees from some type of penal colony? Am I to be jostled and set upon by a confluence of desperadoes who have not as yet grasped even the merest concept of hygiene?"

Anxious for her first visit to her newborn grandnephew, Lady Catherine had planned to arrive in fine style. She was dressed in an outlandishly expensive Lady Collette outfit, including a brand-new tricorn hat purchased specifically for Tuesdays. The hat, which had been originally tilted rakishly upon her head, was now beginning to migrate forward, listing precariously over one eyebrow. She had fortunately decided against her new wig but did succumb to a light hair-powdering and one patch. The patch was also on the move.

Becoming more aggravated with each step, she stopped at the side of a portly gentleman who had been loudly laughing, rudely gesturing with his fingers. She banged her reticule across his head. "Who are you, sir, and who are your people?!" She vigorously shoved her hat back up from over her eye.

She had never been so furious, had never been so indignant. Her hair powder flew every which way as she shrieked about how this rabble should beg the forgiveness of God for exhibiting such impertinence in the presence of their betters, then loudly expressed England was doomed if this was to be its future!

"Stand aside, I say! Stand aside and let my aunt through!" Darcy reached for her arm and pulled her into the foyer doorway.

"Darcy, who are these hooligans?! I demand to know all their names, do you hear me? Jamison, get quill and paper. I want lists made and addresses taken." Her umbrella banged down on the hand of one of the nearby officers.

"Take your filthy hand from my nephew's door. How dare you, sir! Are you mad?! Do you know who I am?!" The awestruck crowd began applauding, even though they had no idea as yet who she was.

"Aunt Catherine, please calm yourself. I am perfectly able to handle this!" Even as he mouthed the words, Darcy knew that he had lost all control of the situation, becoming a supporting player in the drama unfolding upon his own doorstep.

"Madam." The clerk's voice broke. He began again. "Madam, we are representatives of the crown and have been granted the
authority
by the magistrate to regain custody of Harold Augustus Penrod by name, this very day or up to twenty-four hours hence. If Lady Amanda Penrod will return the child
immediately
to her ladyship, any and all charges will be dropped. If not, then we
unfortunately
will be forced to return with the selfsame magistrate to arrest Lady Amanda Penrod for"--he turned toward the crowd for support as his voice now crackled with uncertainty--"kidnapping?"

The crowd gasped politely, for good form only now, not so vehemently as before.

When the clerk turned back, he was suddenly confronted with the depth of fury being released from Lady Catherine's eyes. He leapt a step in fear.

"
How dare you
! I shall contact Liverpool himself about this insult to our family!" The runners who had positioned themselves alongside the man grew visibly ill at ease.

Recognizing now that Lady Catherine was easily the greater power of the two, the crowd began calling out rude remarks at the clerk and his retreating men.

"Jamison!" Catherine bellowed to her ever-present butler. "Go straight to Lord Liverpool's house and bring my cousin here to me at once!" A great cheer rang out in the street at the prospect of the popular prime minister appearing. Several of the huge Bow Street Runners turned and fled, braving a gauntlet of taunts and whistles and kicks. The clerk repeatedly bobbed and weaved to avoid Catherine's umbrella, his white knuckles still clinging to the doorframe. She suddenly pointed a bony finger in his face.

"
Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in which all that are in graves shall hear this voice. And they shall come forth, they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation!
'"
Catherine's arms were stretched out before her as she bellowed to the sky.

The crowd went mad. "Brava! Brava!" they screamed.

Several people lost very fine hats as they sailed through the air.

The runners began to flee the crowd in earnest for their lives. Only one person, the clerk, had remained for the entire, terrifying soliloquy of Lady Catherine. "Your ladyship," he begged, he whined. "Please! There is no need to bother our dear prime minister, no need to get into such a fever. Nothing can be done this day, I am sure. Can't help but think this is just some sort of misunderstanding." After bowing nearly to the floor, the man turned and fled as if chased by the devil himself but called over his shoulder as he ran, "You still have only twenty-four hours to return the child."

He was chased down the block by a rain of snowballs and hats.