Page 9 of The Winter of Our Discontent (Pride and Prejudice Variations #1)

FITZWILLIAM DARCY, THE GREAT NORTH ROAD

Because I always strove to collect myself through the regularity of my habits before my life had been ruined, I sat down to make an entry in my journal, struggling even to recollect the date. My pen began to scratch, and I read what I could not seem to refrain from expressing.

I began, between Northampton and Nottingham, to understand how a man could put a pistol to his head and gleefully pull the trigger.

“Romney,” I said weakly, “toss this paper in the fire.”

I wondered if and when I would ever be able to make a suitable entry in my diary before falling into bed in a state of utter defeat.