I hope this works as it’s my first attempt at a poll here!
There were many suggestions, some of which were incredibly creative, but I have had to summarise them down to 7 options. Do please cast your vote (though based on the comments, I don’t think the outcome will be a surprise!) The loveliest thing of all was that you all want him to be happy and to find love.
Happy voting!
I'm Cass, and I write the sort of stories I love to read - heart-warming, character driven and strong on location. I lean heavily towards the upbeat in both my reading and my writing. 
Cass Grafton - Writer 
Mrs. Grafton,
Based on what I have read of your excellent work in Vol. 1 and 2 I am confident that you will ultimately make the best decision for the fate the good Col.’s. However, I did take your poll and do appreciate the opportunity you have given your readers to opine. I’d like to explain why I did not choose for the Col. to marry Charlotte or Anne. This may seem cruel but Charlotte made her choice to marry without love which does not make her compatible with the Col. in my eyes because I do not think he would ever settle for a marriage without love. (Why else would he have waited so long to marry?) It makes me wonder whether or not it would be possible for him to truly esteem or respect (much less fall in love with) someone who actually made such a choice.
Although other sequels match the Col. and Anne, I cannot think of marriage to a 1st cousin as anything other than abhorrent. Though I know in the past many of the upper circles married cousins, I would never have him marry Anne.
I find the challenge of a past love the most interesting choice and would be delighted to see a new character created from your beautiful mind spring onto the pages of your next book. Your writing is amazing and I will continue to anxiously await Vol. 3.
Respectfully,
– Elizabeth
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Thank you, Elizabeth. I love hearing reader’s thoughts, and I really appreciate your voting in the poll and sharing your reasoning behind your choice! I definitely am not going to be able to do justice to the Colonel’s future in a few summarising paragraphs, that is for certain!
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Oh Elizabeth, have a heart. Everyone is allowed one mistake. Remember Charlotte knew nothing of Col Fitzwilliam’s regard for her as he kept silent. She was only reacting to her circumstances as best she could. She married the wrong man for sure and came to regret it but haven’t we all done something for all the wrong reasons at least once. Also, Col Fitzwilliam is such a lovely man he would not hold this against her as he was also partly to blame for not revealing how he felt. Darcy might revoke his good opinion of a person and it be lost forever but I honestly do not think that Col Fitzwilliam is such a man.
Best Regards
Deb
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My sentiments exactly! I completely agree with the above comment! Good luck:) anxiously anticipating the release!
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Thinking a out the Colonel, he reminds me of a male version of Elizabeth. What he really needs is the female version of Darcy.
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Ms. Grafting has crafted a beautiful novel. A lot of the options fall back into popular thinking. It’s almost cliche for Fitzwilliam to end with either of his cousins, one of Elizabeth’s sisters, or Charlotte. Charlotte is not a good choice because she does not fit with his persnality. I have also seen a lot of endings where he is matched with a widow, or becomes the heir because his brother dies. While he deserves a happy ending, he also needs to be able to grow to prepare him for whomever he does marry. He also made it known to Elizabeth he needs to marry someone with a decent dowry. It’s unfortunate, but true. To not do that, he would condemn his family to a life just short of poverty. Does one really want to do that to him?
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It’s supposed to be Grafton, not Grafting. Watch that auto correct, it gets you all the time.
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To be fair, I do feel I have been grafting lately in getting this last one ready! 😉
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Just to let you know, I will be closing this Poll at 8pm GMT on Monday, 13th May, so that I have time to come up with the necessary paragraphs on the Colonel and whichever fate you have all chosen for him before getting down to the painful job of formatting the book.
It looks clear-cut at the moment, but who knows what might happen in the next 36 hours!
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I finished Volume II this morning and I’m now feeling completely and utterly at a loss…. What do I do with my spare time?! My current activity of F5-ing this page is not the best use of my time that is for sure! I have read many, many P&P variations, and this is by far the top of my list at the moment. Wonderfully written, and so true to the characters. Bravo!
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Hi Kate! Have you voted on the good Colonel’s fate? It might fill some of the gap whilst waiting!
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Just saw on facebook that the Colonel’s fate currently hangs in balance between Charlotte and a rich heiress. I’d go for Charlotte, whom we know and love, rather than somebody unknown, but is there a way of not making them live in (relative) poverty?
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I still go for a (rich) widow rather than Charlotte. One, CG does not have to rewrite her Charlotte ending that is already complete. LOL Two. Charlotte says herself she is not romantic. I cannot believe living with the toad improved those feelings – the Colonel deserves romance for the rest of his life. If the toad dies, Lady C will toss Charlotte into the hedgerow, but the Darcys will take care of her – she will be safe and secure. Think of it from the Colonel’s side of the coin.
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Whatever the outcome, I am just pleased that everyone wanted some form of happiness for him, which perhaps explains why Caroline Bingley wasn’t suggested by anyone!
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What this group of pollsters would do with Caroline would be interesting! For your next book, here is a maybe idea… At a Vauxhall masquerade while depressed and desperate C, by accident, is unalterably compromised. She must marry a wealthy tradesman from Scarborough who is in the same business as her father. Naturally she is shunned by all Town society. After financial reverses, they must retrench back down to Scarborough where he works as an employee for Bingley’s family. She has a long, unfulfilled life. Fortunately for the world, they have no children to continue in their footsteps.
Is that too heartless?
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Yes Dave it is, for the poor bloke from Scarborough. I thought I was harsh on poor Mr Collins. Have to say I agree with you. At least she would be out of Jane and Elizabeth’s hair.
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One more and I will stop…
Caroline is whisked off at Vauxhall by a band of Travelers. She ends up in North Wales where she is highly prized for her language skills since they only speak Welsh. Can’t you picture Caroline as a Gypsy robbing rich travelers? She would be riding sidesaddle and shrieking “Halte! debout et livrer! Nous donner vos objets de valeur! ” Oh drat! “Stopio! Sefyll a chyflwyno! roi eich eiddo gwerthfawr ni!” Oh! You are English! “Stop! Stand and Deliver! Give us your valuables!”
sorry to all – it was stuck in my head and had to escape!
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Dave, how I have loved your contributions! You have a very active imagination. I think you should get writing!!!
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Dave, Have you ever considered writing a spoof P and P? Your Caroline would be a treat to read about.
My daughter and I have just had such a laugh.
Thanks for the funnies.
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Since CG is: formatting, formatting, save, save memory stick, formatting, formatting, save,…etc. she should ignore the rest of this post!!
Deb, rather than cutting the lawn, I have been puttering with some writing – geez it is hard to do! I do not plan to finish since I am retired and writing is tooo much like work. So I stuck up what I have done this past 2 weeks if anybody would wish to check it out. it is in the Notes section of my facebook page – ‘DAVID MCKEE OWASSO’ should get you there. I have nice photo albums of UK trips also if interested. I can truly understand why it takes CG so long for a book – she is to be admired for this skill !
If she peeked at the rest of this post, a reminder: format, save, format, save…. LOL
umm, my treatment of FD may be a surprise….be prepared.
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Oh my goodness, Dave! I just read your notes! Hilarious. Lizzy is clearly Sherlock Holmes in disguise and I thought Darcy’s practising of his smile was just SO funny! Thank you for sharing – did the lawn get mowed yet, or are you honing your writing talents? You have set yourself a lot to do yet!
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LOL! You are all hilarious!
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