An Autumn Accord: A Pride and Prejudice Novella Variation (Seasons of Serendipity Book 4) by Elizabeth Ann West Page A

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 raised voices.
    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 cousins 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.
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    Light in the shared sitting room between the master and mistress suites of Darcy House quivered from the flickering candle on a desk