Face the Music: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Harriet Knowles

Author:Harriet Knowles [Knowles, Harriet]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Pride and Prejudice & Related Fandoms, Alternate Universe
Goodreads: 216873669
Publisher: Tall, Dark and Darcy Publishing
Published: 2024-07-25T04:00:00+00:00

After an untoward ride, they convened in Mr. Bennet’s study, Darcy having glanced at the closed sitting room door. He hoped Miss Elizabeth was safely within. Sir William had arrived a moment before them, and he was just accepting a drink from Bennet.

When the man waved the decanter at them, Richard, who was in front, shook his head. “Would it be too much trouble to ask for coffee, sir? I am hoping that after our discussion, I might have time to challenge you to a game of chess, and if that is the case, I believe I will need to have my wits about me!”

Bennet chuckled. “Not at all. I am looking forward to beating you soundly.” He turned and rang the bell to order hot refreshments.

As soon as he was seated, he turned to Richard. “Are you able to tell us what you have discovered?”

Darcy sat back and listened as Richard concisely explained their findings, and his more worrisome conclusions. His words were followed by quite a silence, even, surprisingly, from Sir William, who eventually sat up straighter.

“Colonel Fitzwilliam, you may not know that I am currently the magistrate here. I see my duty as keeping the town safe, rather than waiting until something goes wrong and then punishing the wrongdoers. Of course, while that is inevitable upon occasion, I see it as a failure that I have not managed to prevent the crime.” He drew a deep breath.

“I know we have no recourse to stop the militia being quartered here, but can you think of anything I may do to prevent any person living here coming to harm?”

Darcy looked at the man with increased respect. On the surface, this man appeared comical; but having taken Darcy to task at the time of his insult at the assembly, and now, in his care for the town, Darcy knew he should learn a lesson. He must never take people’s likeness at their first impression. He shivered a bit, and exerted himself to listen.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.