Show of hands, who is the responsible one in their family? ::raises hand:: I cannot imagine navigating a family so large as the Bennets/Darcys/Fitzwilliams!
XOXOXO
Elizabeth Ann West
Chapter 5 - An Autumn Accord, a Pride and Prejudice Variation
A number of days after the argument with his aunt, Lady Matlock, Darcy’s heels had more than cooled when his cousin abruptly interrupted his afternoon. Darcy felt slightly amused at Richard’s serendipitous arrival while the ladies were out shopping. Heartily aware of his cousin’s life of military tactics, the master of the house would not be surprised to learn a spy or some other indication had informed Richard of a safe time to visit.
The butler opened the study door and announced the Colonel formally, yet Darcy did not hesitate to set aside his affairs for a moment and warmly greet his favorite family member. The two men shook hands and Darcy offered Richard a drink.
“I expected to see you much sooner after our return. Has His Majesty’s Army so occupied your time you could not even acknowledge the dinner invitation sent two evenings ago?”
Richard Fitzwilliam opened his mouth in an odd manner to show his displeasure at his cousin’s immediate verbal assault. Snatching the drink from the tray before Darcy could offer it to him by hand, Richard calmly took a deep draft and gazed out the window to the rust and copper colored leaves outside. “I would not aim to bring unpleasant business to your home so swiftly after your long travels.”
“Unpleasant business? This does sound ominous. Pray, enlighten me with the new challenge I am to solve for my family members. I am all ears.”
Richard turned and watched as Darcy resumed the master’s position behind the desk. He calmly unbuttoned the top three brass fasteners of his coat and allowed himself to take a relaxed seat in his favorite chair by the fire. “That bastard’s seed truly took such a young girl?”
Darcy nodded solemnly, not adding further explanation than his letters from last summer sent to both Richard and Mary. There were very few in the family who knew the truth of Lydia’s situation, and even fewer that she was already dead.
“Unfortunate circumstances, the poor girl was silly, but she didn’t deserve such a fate.” The Colonel raised his glass in an expression of acknowledging Lydia Bennet’s memory and took a sip.
“The child is hardy. Jane remained behind to raise the lad, with the support and assistance of Graham Hamilton.”
“Old MacFarmer has a lady at last, eh?”
“I would not jump to those conclusions, as of yet. You are worse than the mamas of the ton with your leap from acquaintance to ideas of matrimony. There are, – hesitations – on the part of Miss Bennet as I’m sure you can appreciate. By the by, how badly did you hurt Torrington?”
The Colonel choked on his drink as he smirked. “The beatings and bruisings could not be seen when he was properly attired. I don’t believe the man sat for more than a week.”
“Are you mad! And if he demands satisfaction?”
The Colonel held up his hand to stay his cousin’s admonishment. “I made it quite clear I would just as soon shoot him dead and find a way to put the law on my side should he seek retribution. The man’s a coward. And if you had been there, you would’ve realized Miss Bennet was quite proficient at protecting herself before James and I arrived.”
A stormy, dark expression clouded Darcy’s face. The very idea of one of his sisters, even a sister by marriage, left to fend for herself against such a notorious rake as the Viscount renewed his anger towards his aunt and uncle for their pathetic attempts at protection.
The Colonel resumed their conversation, taking the opportunity to brook the subject of the family spat. “I understand you and Mrs. Darcy being quite cross with my mother and father, but the affection my parents offer is true. Even I am guilty of placing Miss Mary in grave danger, from the folly of a lack of experience.” Richard’s face fell grim as both men reflected on the events of the past summer.
Darcy relaxed his weight against the back of his chair and considered Richard’s mea culpa. He knew too well the difficulties that came with performing the duties of guardianship over a young lady. He and Richard’s own blunders nearly cost Georgiana her reputation when they allowed her to visit Ramsgate with only a companion.
“We are to Hertfordshire in the morning. I will make an attempt to bring my wife’s sentiments around to reconciliation if you will agree to approach your mother?”
“Agreed.” The Colonel relaxed further into his chair and began to ask Darcy innocuous questions about the trip to Scotland. Darcy answered a few, choosing to ignore his cousins pointed barbs about his private life with Elizabeth, then resumed the offensive position in their battle of understanding.
“I do not relish telling another man how little patience I hold for suitors who dally with ladies of my family.” Darcy allowed his words in the master’s tone to hang heavily in the air for a moment before continuing. “The fact you are a cousin, and not merely a friend, grants you more time to arrive at a mutually satisfactory position. But my sister Mary carries her misery more prominent than she shows. Even if you are not ready to disclose your plans, I should like to know how you intend to form a life with a woman I earnestly agree to be a good match for your future happiness.”
Chapter 5(cont'd) - An Autumn Accord, a Pride and Prejudice Variation
“I won’t take your money, if that’s what you’re aiming to achieve.”
Darcy leaned forward on his desk and clasped his hands together in front of him. He narrowed his eyes at Richard. “Don’t mistake me for your bombastic father. I care not if you go back to the Continent and seek to get yourself shot full of holes. I would prefer you choose a different path, but I respect your position as your own man and do not confuse my regard for you as license to control. There are no misunderstandings between us that should you require funds, they are readily available to you. Are you in love with Mary Bennet?”
“No, I am not.”
A log on the fire crackled and audibly popped, emphatically punctuating the silence between them. The claim was bold. A bold faced lie by both of their estimations.
“She’s too good for a wretched soldier like myself and all evidence indicates I would not provide a suitable future for her happiness.”
“Well, if that is how you feel, there is no further discussion to be held.” Darcy resumed his attentions to the letter he was penning before Richard’s arrival. Between the two men who had grown up together, shared many a scrape or two, there was no need for raisedvoices.
Richard Fitzwilliam rose to pour himself another drink. The cousins mutually wondered why the other would concede so easily, but decades of brotherhood made them both aware this matter was far from over. A temporary accord of surrender may have been settled, but it was a moment’s peace and nothing more.
Richard remained standing by the scotch, sipping away at his second pour, calculating how long he knew his cousin’s patience to be. Fitzwilliam Darcy’s greatest asset was neither his bank account nor the long list of properties on his balance sheet. It was the man’s fortitude to wear down his adversaries with nary a sign of discomfort. The best solution for Richard was to find a way to remove himself from Darcy’s family and the company of the beguiling Mary Bennet for as long as he may muster.
“I have not spoken to mother and father, but the offering of an assignment in Newcastle arises and I intend to accept. I am to leave next week and will not be free until spring, in order to assist with Georgiana’s presentation.”
Darcy’s quill continued to scribble and he remained quiet for a moment. Another might wonder if Darcy even heard the words the Colonel spoke, but Richard knew better. He finished his drink, and restored his gallant red coat to proper uniform regulations.
“I am sorry our family reunion at Pemberley this winter shall be short a member, but I would never begrudge your duty to His Majesty. Will you stay this evening to dine?”
Richard walked with an involuntary military precision to the front of the study and shook his head. Offering his hand once more to his cousin, who rose from his desk to properly farewell the man, Richard declined. “I am obligated to take my meal this evening at Matlock House. I shall work on mother and father and write to you my results.”
“Send them by way of Netherfield. Charles has been kind enough to open his home for our trip.”
The Colonel cocked his head to one side and looked to Darcy with a puzzled expression. “You have kept your friendship with Bingley?”
Darcy shrugged. “It perhaps may be slightly awkward with the dissolution of his courtship with her sister Jane, but we are not the first friends to tackle such delicacies. Besides, there are strategic concerns for why I wish Mrs. Darcy and I to visit the quite vocal Miss Bingley during the time when we should be in Scotland awaiting the babe.”
Richard wished his cousin safe travels and repeated his promise for correspondence. As he walked out of Darcy house with the intention to return to the barracks before his audience with his parents, he gave Darcy a great deal of credit for his ability to withstand the insults the Bingley family had hurled at his family. With a half-smile on his lips, he enjoyed the thought that come next year, London society would not be ready when the power couple, Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy, came for retribution.
Light in the shared sitting room between the master and mistress suites of Darcy House quivered from the flickering candle on a desk sharing the same wall as the fireplace. Elizabeth Darcy furiously scribbled a heartwarming invitation to her Aunt Gardiner for them to winter together at Pemberley.
Since the departure of Lady Matlock, Mrs. Darcy had taken the reins of household management and set the younger girls on reading literature and practicing French conversation to help them improve their minds. There was little she could do to make up for lost time, but an ally at Pemberley would certainly help.
As she reached the place in her thoughts imagining the grand family reunion on an estate she had not yet actually seen, the question of Mary’s peculiar situation with Richard Fitzwilliam paused her writing endeavors. Brushing the quill along her jaw line, Elizabeth wondered how to tactfully request for her aunt’s knowledge concerning Mary’s romantic interests, so she might best help her sister, without asking Madeleine Gardiner to betray any confidences. Two large hands clasping her shoulders startled Elizabeth Darcy and she suddenly jumped in her seat. She dropped the quill on her letter, scattering inkblots across the carefully written lines.
WHAT A DEAL!
A kiss at the Netherfield Ball . . .
Three Dates with Mr. Darcy is a bundle of: An exclusive story, Much to Conceal, a novella that imagines what if Elizabeth confessed to Jane in London that Mr. Darcy proposed in Kent?
A Winter Wrong, the first novella in the Seasons of Serendipity series that imagines what if Mr. Bennet died at the very beginning of Pride and Prejudice?
By Consequence of Marriage, the first novel in the Moralities of Marriage series that wonders what if Mr. Darcy never saved his sister Georgiana from Wickham’s clutches?
Elizabeth Ann West’s Pride and Prejudice variations have enthralled more than 100,000 readers in over 90 countries! A proud member of the Jane Austen Fan Fiction community since the mid-2000s, she hopes you will join her in being happily Darcy addicted!
Chapter 5(cont'd) - An Autumn Accord, a Pride and Prejudice Variation
“Fitzwilliam!”
“I made suitable noise upon entering this room. When you stopped writing, I thought you expected my touch. What keeps you so distracted, Mrs. Darcy?” Darcy looked down at his petite wife with mild amusement at the angry expression she offered him with her jaw most pointedly sticking out. He had just come from his own study, after nearly falling asleep while responding to the last piece ofcorrespondence.
“I had penned the invitation for the Gardiners to join us, but it’s all ruined now and I shall need to rewrite it in the morning. There’s also the menus and questions from a Mrs. Reynolds which must have an answer, yet we are to away to Hertfordshire in the morning.” Elizabeth Darcy sighed, still tired even though she had again taken an afternoon rest.
Darcy frowned at the stress and worry he read flitting across the lines in his wife’s face. He had intended this little trip to be a relief from the heavy burdens of responsibility they had both carried from the very day of their nuptials.
“If you wish me to delay our departure…”
Elizabeth yawned and waved her hand. “No, no, there is no need to spoil your plans just because mine have become so. I will give the letter from your housekeeper in Derbyshire more careful thought as we ride and write to her from Meryton. The post should arrive not too much later and makes no reason for us to delay our departure pastnoon.”
“A wise plan, my dear.” Darcy lifted her hand to bestow a kiss. “May I suggest we retire for the evening? With still so many details for both of us to decide in the morning, I find myself at odds with the very idea of staying awake any longer.”
Elizabeth nodded and carefully stowed her writing instruments and tightly sealed the pot of ink. Watching her arrange her items just so, Darcy reflected on ordering a desk purely for her needs to join his in the study at Pemberley. He had no interest in being separated from his Elizabeth by multiple rooms and floors when there was much business to be done by both of them. It was only when her laughter startled him out of his thoughts for the particular style and furniture maker he wished to commission for such a piece, he noticed his lithe wife had not only risen from her desk, but now stood by the door connecting the master suite.
“I believe I have caught the Master of Pemberley, the great Fitzwilliam Darcy asleep on his feet!”
Darcy shook his head and stroked his chin. “I’m awake enough to play maid.” He offered her a devilish smile reserved only for those moments when the two of them were alone.
“Then I shall play valet.” Elizabeth offered her famous arched eyebrow to her husband’s tease. She had long sent her maid Becky to bed when she realized the late hour. There were few nights in which Elizabeth Darcy retired before her husband and she cared not to reflect on the circumstances dictating those evenings. Not yet six months married, the Darcys continued to learn and adjust to each other’s living habits. Given the unstructured nature of their living arrangements since the wedding, the entire process had become rather elongated.
“How did your interview with Richard go?” Elizabeth remembered her curiosity earlier about Mary. The Colonel had been long gone by the time the ladies arrived to change for dinner, but Mrs. Kensington had relayed the happenings of the home in her brief absence.
Fitzwilliam walked towards her and lifted her with an embrace of no effort. “Oh no, Mrs. Darcy –” he held his squirming and squealing wife, “the time for discussion has ended. I decree we are to bed and to bed we shall go.”
Darcy opened the door to his suite with one hand, eased by Elizabeth holding a portion of her weight with her arms snaked around his broad shoulders. He did not bother to close the door as he kissed his wife the half dozen steps to the large four-poster bed in the middle of the room. Gently placing Elizabeth on the bed so she might sit upon the edge, he retreated to the armchair in the corner to remove his own boots.
“I shall abide by the master’s wishes for this evening, so long as he satisfies my curiosity come morning.”
Darcy offered her a rakish smile as he succeeded in removing the second of his Hessians from his feet. “Agreed, agreed. Now I do believe you have far too many pins in that hair of yours.”
Elizabeth hopped off the edge of the bed and walked around to the other side and the pretty little dish she used expressly for the purposes of holding her hair pins until they could be collected and restored to her own dressing table in her own suite. Not unlike other evenings when the couple preferred their privacy over the ministrations of their servants, Darcy tugged his shirttails from his trousers, as he stooped to the fireplace and added the coals left purposely for their evening slumber.
He poked and stirred the fire until he was satisfied the hearth would keep them warm. By the time he was finished, Elizabeth had removed her evening dress and shimmied down into the covers in only her chemise. She yawned and her heavy eyelids fluttered, battling to stay awake.
Darcy hurried to join his sleeping wife, but his efforts were in vain. For no sooner had he finished his undress and embraced her as a loving couple was want to do, he realized she had been more exhausted than he had known. It was one of the few nights Fitzwilliam Darcy had little choice but to content himself with sleeping next to his wife.
You’ve been reading An Autumn Accord
The fourth season of the Seasons of Serendipity and conclusion of the first year sees Elizabeth and Darcy reconcile the consequences of their honeymoon trip in Scotland with their family’s future. Kitty Bennet and Georgiana Darcy have bonded over their training for debut in society, plus found a bit of mischief to create. When Darcy decides to help his wife mourn the one-year anniversary of her father’s passing with a trip to Hertfordshire, he finds a whole new set of problems await them both regarding the widow Bennet.
An Autumn Accord Book 4 of the Seasons of Serendipity
a Pride and Prejudice novella variation series
Release Date: February 26, 2015
~190 pages in print.
+ 23 additional Pride & Prejudice variations are available at these fine retailers . . .
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A Jane-of-all-trades, mistress to none! Elizabeth Ann West is the author of 8 novels and 11 novellas, 18 of which are story variations of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice.
I enjoyed reading this chapter. Richard is such a boob sometimes. Doesn’t he realize that he should ask her how she feels before determining how she wants to live her life?