Love Among the Gifted - A Pride & Prejudice Alternative

Chapter Twenty-Three

Darcy was incensed that the arch scoundrel Wickham had somehow managed to weasel his way onto the Colonel's staff. He was aware that his childhood companion had joined the militia several months ago, after the debacle in Ramsgate. He had even managed to convince his commander to post him to London, rather than serving with the rest of the unit. Darcy had hoped, with that move, he might have seen the last of the blackguard. But to have him here, now, was almost more than Darcy could bear. But there was a more immediate need, and a greater danger to be dealt with. So, Darcy kept his temper and participated in the organizational conference Sir John was leading.

The new Colonel was familiar to Darcy. Sir John was a baronet, with an estate in the far north of Derbyshire. He was some years older than Darcy, but not of his father's generation. They had once met at a house party near Buxton in '08. Glover, as he had not yet inherited the baronetcy, had been a major in the 7th Hussars and was preparing to sail for the Peninsula. Later Darcy had heard he had lost a hand in the fighting during the retreat to Corunna and had been shipped out with the other wounded before the actual battle. He was somewhat surprised to see him as a colonel of the militia only three years later. He assumed the militia was willing to accept his impairment in order to have access to his combat experience and formal training. At first glance the Colonel did not seem any happier to have Wickham on his staff than Darcy was. Perhaps the scoundrel's reputation in Derbyshire had reached the commander's ears.

"We have no flyers in the battalion," Major Francis stated. "It would be advantageous if we could field an aerial reconnaissance element. Sir William, how many fliers in the neighborhood might we be able to draft for this task? Equally important, have any of them nocturnal sensing gifts as well?"

"Hrmm..." the old soldier thought for a moment. "I have the register of gifts in my office, but I believe there are only four or five flyers in the neighborhood. And two of them are girls still in the nursery. We cannot use them. As for night sensing ..."

"I believe I am the only person in the area with both of those abilities," Miss Elizabeth said.

"That's not quite true at this time," Darcy disagreed. "I too have those abilities. I'm sure we can coordinate with the other flyers to create a schedule for aerial patrols. However, given the numbers Sir William is positing, I do not think we will have enough people for proper coverage. So, the question is, which is the best use of our limited time and personnel? Miss Elizabeth and I likely have the two strongest, most versatile, gifts. We are also the most familiar with the investigation so far. Is having us tire ourselves out on constant patrols a more effective use of our time and abilities than leaving us to continue our investigations, or keeping us rested as a tactical reserve? While I am not under Sir John's command, I am willing to take his opinions under advisement."

"I appreciate your thoughtful consideration, Mr. Darcy." Miss Elizabeth's voice was carefully controlled. From plentiful practice, he was learning to tell when he had offended her. This was another one of those times. "But, as you just pointed out with regards to the current command structure, nor am I under your orders. My Father and I will make those decisions for ourselves."

"I don't think Major Francis was suggesting that any of you place yourselves under our orders," Sir John placated. "And Mr. Darcy's questions about priorities are both insightful and entirely appropriate. We have limited resources and an enemy with unknown abilities and numbers."

"Five have been seen," Mr. Bennet began, "though the scraps of paper collected at Triple Creek before its destruction suggested the existence of at least one other person who was giving the Meryton cell their orders. The existence of the three faux-agents and the French forger suggest that this is part of a larger plot. It is possible that one of those four is the person giving the orders, but ..."