Category: Harriet and the Colonel

(There’s a new part of this story dropping Saturday in the Broadsheet, so it’s time to give last month’s part it’s own post so it can be found more easily.)

Find previous chapters (to previous Harriet and the Colonel stories) here.

Chapter 3 (Part 2)

Four hours later, the various aspects of travel had been sorted, dinner had been eaten, and a fire crackled in the hearth of the drawing room where Harriet sat snuggled into Richard’s side on a sofa, while Julian softly read a story to his wife on the opposite side of the room.

“This is lovely,” Harriet whispered. It was cozy and tranquil with a distinct domestic air. In her opinion, it was perfect and a lovely glimpse of the future. “The only piece that is missing is Edmund,” she continued, “and someone with whom he can share a quiet evening.”

“Perhaps that should be your next assignment,” Richard teased.

Harriet laughed softly. “It has crossed my mind, but I would not have liked for him to have pushed me at anyone –”

“And yet, he did attempt to do so,” Richard interrupted. “How many times did he mention this gentleman or that one to you before some soiree?”

This was true. Her brother had put in a valiant effort to find her someone to marry who was not Richard. “He mentioned and suggested, but he did not force me to dance with them or go on drives or anything like that.”

“Yes, well… I am still somewhat put out with him about his refusing to let me court you for so long. Not that I do not understand why he chose to do as he did, but I did not appreciate being kept from you.” He lifted her hand and placed a kiss in her palm. “I might still be waiting if it were not for your interference. And that is why, I think perhaps it might not be so bad a thing to offer some assistance to your brother in this – maybe not to the point of concocting schemes that put anyone or their reputation in danger, but surely, you could discover someone who might fit nicely into his life.”

“I cannot believe you are suggesting that I play at matchmaking. You have always despised such things, or at least that is what you have said in the past.”

“I have never been so happily matched as I am now, and I find that I very much wish for my dearest friend – for you brother is still that to me – to be as content as I am.” Here, he pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head before punctuating his point with a contented sigh.

“I would like for him to be loved as I am and you are,” she agreed.

“I would assist you if needed,” he offered.

“And I would be happy for the help,” she said. “But first, we must marry, and that cannot happen until our current assignment is done.” Hopefully, it would be over soon. While she thoroughly enjoyed figuring out puzzles and the prospect of helping her brother and his men rid the world of horrid people, she was rather eager to be Mrs. Fitzwilliam and settled into a life with the man at her side.

He hummed his agreement, while tightening his hold on her for a moment, but said no more. Harriet also did not feel a pressing need for conversation, so the two of them sat in silence, just listening to the lilt of Julian’s voice and the snapping and crackling of the fire.

Lack of conversation did not mean that all was quiet, however. In her mind, Harriet was busy going over all the pieces of the investigation as things had transpired so far. Of course, she was not certain she knew all the details. It would not surprise her to learn that Edmund had withheld some information from her. After all, he had withheld information from Richard about Mrs. Younge’s relationship with Mr. Wickham. And if he would withhold information from his best man and friend, he would definitely withhold it from his sister.

“Are Mrs. Darcy and her maid, as well as Miss Darcy recovering well from their ordeal?” she asked as her thoughts had brought them to mind.

Richard nodded. “They seem to be. I think being able to vent her spleen on your brother did Mrs. Darcy much good.”

“I am glad to hear it. I still cannot believe he did not tell you about Mrs. Younge.”

“He will not make that mistake again,” Richard assured her.

“I hope not,” she muttered.

“I read the letter he wrote to Darcy about his part in the ordeal,” he added. “It will not happen again. I believe any chance that it might have, was removed when Mrs. Darcy put her bit of theatre into action at that inn.” He chuckled softly. “You would have enjoyed it.”

“I am certain I would, and it makes me anxious to meet her.” With this said, the pair once again lapsed into silence as Harriet turned her mind to Mr. Wickham.

She had never met him, but she had heard about him. He was charming – dangerously so, according to Miss Cooper. Of course, Miss Cooper was speaking about the fellow’s ability to charm a lady into ruin, but Harriet knew that the danger in his charming ways extended further than that – to life itself. He had orchestrated an abduction that was quite bold and well-crafted to cause pain and financial distress to someone he had once counted as a friend.

What still boggled her mind was why was someone, who could charm his way through life and diabolically scheme his way nearly into substantial wealth, suddenly fearful? If she had to guess – and truly, that was all she could do – she would say that Mr. [name] had something to do with it. But what? And how did Mr. Wickham, who had known Mr. [name] for many years, not know that he was the one for whom they were looking until recently?

Samuels visit before Edmund went to town played again in her memory, and it still did not sit right. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she knew that Mr. Wickham was playing out some sort of scheme.

“What do you think Mr. Wickham’s scheme is?” she whispered to Richard.

He simply shook his head and said, “I wish I knew, but I do not. Perhaps we will know more when we get to London.” She felt him draw a deep breath before he added, “Your brother would not be the first to underestimate that miscreant.”

She sucked in a quick breath as a terrible thought entered her mind.

“What is wrong?” Richard asked.

She swallowed and whispered as softly as she could, for she most certainly did not want her sister to hear this. Indeed, she did not wish to hear the thought outside of her head. But if anyone needed to hear it besides herself, it was Richard. “What if Edmund is being led into a trap?”

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There’s a new part of this story that just dropped in the September Saturday Broadsheet, which means that last month’s part should have had it’s own post so it could be found more easily…BEFORE the Broadsheet went out. But no. This task got missed yesterday. So, here it is. A day late, but here.

This is the part of the story where I realized I had a timeline error. I had the first part of the story set in summer, but it was supposed to have fit with a section of Oxford Cottage that takes part in early October, so I will have to go back and edit that once I finally get around to putting it altogether into some sort of eBook format. For now, it’s staying as it is and we’re shifting to October here with this chapter.

Find previous chapters (to previous Harriet and the Colonel stories) here.

Chapter 3 (Part 1)

Two days later, Samantha and Harriet, along with her husband, Julian, who had joined them just that morning, were returning from a walk in the garden when a rider approached the house.

“Who do you suppose that is?” Julian asked with a laugh, since Harriet was already nearly running toward the garden gate that would connect her to the driveway. But how could she not hurry when her colonel was nearly at her doorstep.

“I have a message for the lady of the house,” Colonel Fitzwilliam said as drew his horse to a stop near her. “It is an acceptance of your dinner invitation from Mrs. Darcy.” He swung down and withdrew a letter from his pocket. “She is anxious to meet you. Nearly as anxious as I was to see you – which is why I am playing the part of an express rider.”

He swept her into his arm and kissed her soundly before she had a chance to do anything more than say, “You are here.” No other words of welcome were allowed to be spoken. But did she care? Not one wit. Kissing was exactly how she had hoped to welcome him.

“Julian is here,” she said, once her lips were once again free to speak. “He and Samantha are in the garden sitting room.” She added this part after peeking over her shoulder to see if her sister and brother-in-law had followed her. Thankfully, they had not. “I am so glad you came.”

“You will need to thank your brother for that. He thought it would be a good show of things surrounding your returning to town a bit earlier than you normally do.” He wrapped her arm around his, and they began walking toward the gate to the garden. “Apparently, a dinner party has been arranged, since the Darcys will only be in town for a short time, before retiring to Pemberley for a few months. And I have not been granted any extended time away from my post – just a few days to see to the safety of my betrothed as she travels to join her brother. Therefore, we must not dawdle in the country but return to town as soon as is possible and proper.”

“That is a very good plan, and my brother concocted all that on his own, did he?”

Richard chuckled. “How could he have, since it was you who extended the invitation to the Darcys? The rest was all his; although, I do believe Elizabeth had a hand in part of it in an indirect fashion.”

“Mrs. Darcy inspired part of my brother’s story about your arrival and my return?”

“You would have been impressed.” He led her down a path away from the door to the garden sitting room and began to regale her with the story of the mock abduction that he had helped Elizabeth stage at the inn where he was to meet with Lillesley. “It was after this that he decided to have me come here to accompany you to London as a good faith demonstration to Elizabeth that her words about protecting those in need of protection had not fallen on dull ears.”

Harriet shook her head as she smiled broadly. “You are correct, as you often are. I am quite impressed with Mrs. Darcy.”

“She is expecting a child, but I am not to tell anyone,” Richard whispered. “Therefore, any scheming you may have in mind to do with your soon to be cousin through marriage will have to wait and likely be confined to safer pursuits that do not involve guns, knives, abductions, or criminals that are more hardened than a young child who steals a cookie or breaks a vase.”

“You do know that will not be easy, do you not?” Harriet almost teased. Her tone was teasing, but the truth that lay in the statement was just that – truth. “These past two months in the country have been rather boring, or at least they were until (name) called on us and Edmund departed for London.”

Richard had slowed his pace to nearly standing still. “What do you mean by that?” Wariness coloured his question. But who could blame him? He knew all to well the sorts of daring schemes she might take on. “What exactly have you been doing while your brother was away?”

“Oh, nothing very out of the ordinary things that women do,” she replied with an air of nonchalance. “Except, perhaps, I believe, that Samantha and I have discovered who is behind the whole operation.” Or, at least, she hoped that what she had discovered from Mrs. Cooper’s visit was the final piece of their puzzle. For she truly wished to be a married woman before Christmas.

“You will need to elaborate on that,” his tone was rather demanding and a trifle dubious.

“Truly, we did not do anything dangerous,” she assured him. “It was merely a bit of tea and all the accoutrements that accompany such a call between ladies.”

“Do you mean gossip? Are you basing your discovery on gossip?”

She shook her head. “It is based only in part on gossip. The information I have gleaned from a bit of community news, which was generously shared by Mrs. Cooper and her daughter, are details that hold a great deal in common with our current assignment. Those details are a flirtatious maid named Muriel, a family who took her to town, who had a son with a dangerously charming friend named George, whose last name likely started with a W, and the head of that family is not at his estate presently. He is, rather, in town.”

“And you discovered this over a cup of tea?” Richard asked in surprise.

“Well, not the part about Mr. (name) being in town. That information was gained at the milliner’s shop. There are two other gentlemen in the area who are not in residence as would be normal, but the one who seems the most likely to be the person in whom we are interested is Mr. (name).” She shrugged. “Edmund would not tell me the name of the gentleman in town that he wished to see.”

Richard chuckled softly. “He did mention that to me, which is another reason he gave for me to come see you.”

“He expected me to discover what he would not tell me?”

Richard nodded.

Harriet smiled. “I find I am once again impressed by my brother, for it seems he is finally realizing that I do possess some skills.”

Richard once again chuckled. “I do believe he has. Although, to be fair, he has always known you were clever.”

“Not that he ever wished to acknowledge it,” she retorted before adding, “That is not entirely true. He did used to think it was a good thing that I was inquisitive and bright, but then, he went away to war.” She snuggled into Richard’s side closer as they walked. “It changed him. And then Andrew died, and that also changed him.”

“That is understandable,” Richard murmured in agreement.

“It is, but it was not just him who was changed by those things. We were all touched by them in different ways. Not one of us was left unmarked by them. I am not certain Edmund has realized that just yet.”

They walked on for four steps in companionable stillness before Richard broke the silence by saying, “You are not just clever, my love. You are wise. And I do think your brother will come to realize that more and more as he settles into his new role. And if he stumbles along the way and it become necessary, I promise that I will help him see how wise and clever you are.”

Harriet laughed lightly. How she loved this man beside her. He knew her so well! “Is that your way of telling me that I do not need to continue to prove my cleverness and wisdom to my brother?”

“You are wise,” Richard said before kissing her fingers. “Now, I do think we should enter the house and discuss our preparations for travel.”

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(There’s a new part of this story dropping Saturday in the Broadsheet, so it’s time to give last month’s part it’s own post so it can be found more easily.)

Find previous chapters (to previous Harriet and the Colonel stories) here.

Edmund was gone. He had been gone for two days now. By now, he had likely met Richard along the way and was soon going to discover the information that Wickham thought he possessed.

Harriet had never met this Wickham fellow. Truth be told, she was not certain she cared to meet him. Although…

“What are you planning?” Samantha asked when Harriet accidentally gave away the fact that she was pondering with a small “hmm.”

Harriet directed the two of them to the right of the pool with the fountain, since the path along which they had been strolling along required them to turn one direction or another.  

“I am not planning anything other than a wedding,” she replied.

Next to her, her sister laughed knowingly. “I believe all you have left to do on that front is make sure your dress fits when you return to town.”

Yes, well, that was true. There was very little left to be done.  She knew the menu for, as well as the songs which she wished to have played at, her wedding breakfast. She had contracted with the appropriate people to have flowers sent and arranged, and she had written up all the schedules for what needed preparation and when.

“I have not packed all my things.”

“And for that, you have servants,” Samantha replied. “So, allow me to repeat myself: What are you planning?”

Harriet sighed. “I truly am not planning anything. I am merely pondering a certain situation.” It was a situation that had taken over much of her quiet time – frustrating her with its seemingly unanswerable questions.

“Does this certain situation include a particularly awful man who kidnapped the colonel’s cousin?” her sister asked. Of course, Samantha would know what Harriet was thinking about. She had nearly always been able to decipher what Harriet was thinking.

“Yes. Something just does not feel right, and there is no way for me to feel less unsettled when questions have not been answered. Or at least, when those answers have not been shared with me.” She huffed. This was all too similar to how she had felt after Andrew’s death.

“You found Andrew’s watch,” Samantha said quietly as if, once again, she knew what her sister was thinking. “Remember that,” she added firmly. “Edmund and his men did not find it. You did. And they gave you no information about it. You did it on your own.” She bumped Harriet’s shoulder with her own. “Do you really need their answers?”

Harriet could not help smiling at that. “It would make it easier.” But was it necessary? Was there truly a way for her to discover useful information from here? And not town? With only the bits she knew? And not with the full scope of information her brother had?

“So what are we planning?” Samantha whispered conspiratorially as they entered the cool shade of the folly, which had been their objective when setting out on their garden stroll.

“We are not planning anything,” Harriet said with a laugh as she took a seat on the settee that was tucked in the back of the folly where it would be sheltered from the weather. “You are far too pregnant to be taking part in schemes.”

Samantha placed her hands on her hips – or the side of her belly, it was rather hard to tell these days where Samantha’s every growing baby began and ended – and scowled down at her younger sister before taking a seat, none too gracefully, next to her. “I will have you know that I am not going to let you carry out whatever plan you concoct without my help. Edmund expects me to see to your care while he is gone.”

“I do not need a nursemaid,” Harriet protested. She pulled her feet up under her and turned sideways on the bench so she could look at her sister while they spoke.

“Perhaps not, but I do need the practise being a mother hen.”

Harriet rolled her eyes. “I think you are well prepared for motherhood on that front. I have made certain of it for you for years now.”

“So then, do not push me aside now. Please.” Samantha sighed. “Our lives are going to change so much in a few months. I will be a mother, and you will be a wife. Let us attempt to enjoy a few weeks this summer of just being sisters.” She patted her belly. “Even if I must bring this little one along on our adventures.”

“Julian would kill me if he knew I allowed you to take part in anything that might in some way be remotely dangerous, and Edmund would assist him.”

“Then, we will not do anything dangerous.” She bit her lip the way she had always done when they were young and she had an idea that she thought was clever. “I am quite certain that taking tea, making calls, and doing a bit of shopping are not overly dangerous.”

A furrow formed between Harriet’s eyebrows. “How will that help me figure out what I need to know?”

“And Edmund thinks you are the clever one,” Samantha teased. “What do we women do best when taking tea and making calls and shopping? We talk and listen.”

Harriet sucked in a quick breath as a smile spread across her face. Why yes! That was how she had finally discovered Andrew’s watch, was it not?

“And what we hear is not the same as what a group of men would hear in a tavern or over a game of cards, now is it?” her sister continued.

A thrilling shiver raced up Harriet’s spine and down her arms. It was brilliant. How had she not considered that? Of course, what women talked about was different from what men did. It was entirely possible that someone might have a story about some fellow who was not at his home during the summer as he normally was or some such thing, would they not?

“In fact,” Samantha said, “I believe we have spent enough days at home as of late. I find a change of scenery would be most beneficial, and I would love to procure a few embellishments for some of my motherly projects, as well as for the dress I plan to wear to your wedding. And I am certain there must be some items left for you to add to your trousseau. If there are not, we can invent a project or two.”

Harriet clapped her hands in delight. “I do love how clever you are.”

“I dare say I am nearly as clever as you,” she said with a laugh. “Now tell me, what information do we hope to discover?”  

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(There’s a new part of this story dropping Saturday in the Broadsheet, so it’s time to give last month’s part it’s own post so it can be found more easily.)

Find previous chapters (to previous Harriet and the Colonel stories) here.

Chapter 1 (Part 2)

“How so?” Edmund asked with no little amount of interest. Indeed, at the moment, her brother looked to be as interested as Harriet felt. It was quite the change from his normal feigned look of nonchalance in the face of something of interest. Perhaps the country was beginning to bore him just as it was her.

“As you know, we have not caught the traitor we seek, and Wickham believes he can succeed where we have failed. He has told me in confidence that he has information that could be helpful, but he is unwilling to reveal what he knows without some guarantee of protection.” Samuels leaned back in his chair. “For how many months have we circled around and around with what we know? We have visited places and spoken to people but with little progress.” He blew out a breath and shook his head. “I have begun to think we may be doing more harm than good.”

“Are you concerned that your activity may drive the person we seek into deeper hiding,” Harriet said.

Samuels nodded. “We have been careful, but it is anyone’s guess whether the care we have taken is enough or not.”

“It should be,” Edmund said.

“But there is a chance that it is not – especially recently,” Samuels said. “Wickham has been with us on several occasions, and he is not unknown in many of the places we have visited.”

One of Harriet’s eyebrows arched of its own accord at that. Samuels had every reason to be concerned if that were the case, for it begged the question of if they were truly searching for some unknown agent, or if they were leading the villain around and around on some merry chase that would never end. Simply because he was the one helping create the chase.

“How do we know that Wickham is not the traitor?” she asked.

Both her brother and Samuels turned to her in surprise.

“He did help procure some of the maids who ended up carrying information across the channel, did he not?” she added.

“He did,” her brother agreed. “And I suppose we do not know that he is not the traitor.” He shook his head. “That being said, it is unlikely since he was not disposed of when he was first captured.”

Harriet pressed her lips together. She was not as convinced by that fact as her brother sounded to be.

“That is a good sign,” Samuels said while holding Harriet’s gaze as if he knew she was questioning exactly what she was questioning. “But not conclusive.”

Perhaps he did know what she had been thinking.

“Wickham is not a stupid fellow,” he continued, “but I do not think he has the skill or the blunt to be the person for whom we are looking.”

“Then, why is he just now offering information?” There was something not right with this situation. Harriet could not put her finger on what it was, but there was a small battalion of butterflies dancing in her stomach.  And that was a sure sign that something was off.

A smile curled Samuels lips, and his eyes danced as if where chuckling to himself. “He claims that he pieced the information together after our last card game at a particular tavern. It was something he had suspected for a while, but he did not want to say anything until he could have more than a feeling on which to base his conclusions.” Samuels shrugged. “I know he is a questionable informant, but he is the one we have been saddled with.”

“What does the colonel say –?”

“I came to you first.” Samuels answered before Edmund could finish his question. “He will be back in London in three days. You will not be unless your plans change.”

Edmund’s eyebrows rose. “Will you be back in London soon?”

“If we follow the lead Wickham has, it appears we will be. But then, we knew that, eventually, we might end up there or further south. The paths we have traversed up here all seem to point to town – just as we expected them to do.”

“Then, you do not think that whomever we are looking for is in the country for the summer?” Harriet asked.

Samuels shook his head. “Not any longer.”

“He is not at his estate?” Edmund asked.

“Who is not at his estate?” Harriet asked.

Her brother laughed. “Do you mean to tell me that there is something about this case that you have not yet deduced?”

Harriet’s head tipped as a thought struck her. “You were canvassing Derbyshire because Wickham is from there. There was no other reason for it. That is the piece of information that directed you north this summer.”

Samuels inclined his head indicating that her reasoning was correct. “Very few know that. In fact, Wickham has no idea that we are attempting to follow all his connections.”

“Which is why he is known everywhere you go! And that makes it more difficult to keep secrets.”

“And it is why the colonel could not be included in our activities,” Samuels added. “We could not have him and Wickham seen together.”

Harriet chuckled. “That would be like lighting a beacon on a hill.”

“Indeed,” Edmund muttered before standing and pacing to the window and back. “If he is not in the country, then, there has to be a reason for him to be in town.”

“Who?” Harriet asked again.

Edmund only shook his head. “It is best if you do not know just yet.”

Harriet pressed her lips together once again. This time to keep an indignant retort to herself.

“We cannot ruin a man’s reputation without sufficient proof,” her brother added. “Therefore, the fewer who know his name…” He let the rest of the thought explain itself in Harriet’s mind.

Tarnishing the name of an innocent man had to be considered carefully. Harriet could not fault her brother for taking care with that. A reputation that was damaged – whether with cause or not – was a very hard thing to restore.

“I will meet the colonel on the road, so that he will know he is needed at Lillesley house,” Edmund said. “I know the inns he stops at along the way from Matlock to town.”

“How soon are we leaving?” Harriet asked as she rose from her chair.

“We are not leaving,” her brother said with some force. “I am leaving. You will not leave any earlier than planned. It is not unusual for a gentleman to go to town while the ladies stay in the country, but if we all up sticks and leave before expected, it would be noticed.”

Harriet sighed. He was right. And she hated that he was. It was enough to make her scowl and shake her head.

“If things can be arranged with our sister’s husband,” Edmund added in a gentler tone, “then, you may return to town a week early to see to some wedding preparations – at least, that will be the story we will put forward when anyone asks about your early departure.”

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