The seventh and last novella in the “Skirmish & Scandal” series was released on Amazon yesterday, a day early! That is certainly better than a day late! What better way to end this novella series than with C. P. Odom’s book? We are happy to have Colin’s novella, Skirmish & Scandal, for which the series is the namesake, available for your reading pleasure.
Skirmish & Scandal Blurb
Astounding! Mr. Darcy’s baited hook is for Elizabeth Bennet!
In the Regency era, surface appearances of politeness and civility often conceal more intense and hostile activity. More than one wealthy or noble family of seemingly sterling reputation is torn apart and sometimes all but exterminated by savage intra-family feuds.
That situation unexpectedly confronts Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet in Skirmish and Scandal when Darcy’s interest in Elizabeth as a future mistress of Pemberley becomes known to Lady Catherine de Bourgh and her noble Matlock relations. Determined to prevent an affront to the reputation of their aristocratic clan, the most prominent members of the family gather with Lady Catherine to confront Darcy and force him to choose a more suitable wife. The resulting conflict and its aftermath involve furious arguments, abduction, pursuit, and personal clashes that narrowly avert meetings on the field of honour.
How can such emotionally intense and seemingly insurmountable personal conflicts between the couple result in an amorous resolution?
Wow! It sounds like Darcy is in for quite a confrontation! How will he handle this interference? Ooh, I cannot wait for you to read it and find out! It is delicious!
Excerpt
The following excerpt is from the beginning of the first chapter. Colonel Fitzwilliam finds Darcy in the billiards room at Rosings, and an interesting conversation ensues.
Thursday, April 14, 1812
Rosings, Kent
Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam heard the familiar click of billiard balls when he entered his aunt’s house. The rather strange conversation with Miss Bennet was still on his mind, and he knew of no others in the residence who played billiards than his cousin, so he turned into the game room to find Darcy playing himself.
“Looking for a game, Cuz?” Fitzwilliam asked, his teeth flashing white against his heavily tanned face. “Or would you rather remain sunk in stolid and sombre introspection?”
Darcy looked up dourly, but Fitzwilliam’s smile only broadened. “None of that now. By this time, you should know I am immune to the famous ‘Darcy Glare.’ So, do you want a game or not?”
“Suit yourself,” Darcy said tartly. “You rack.”
Fitzwilliam chuckled as he gathered the balls into the rack, expertly rolled it into position so all the balls touched, and whipped the rack off with flair. Darcy snorted to himself in fond amusement. Richard does most things with flair—plays billiards, rides horses, commands troops…and chases women. Beautiful, striking women, but, alas, not wealthy women. That is most unfortunate since he has no fortune and often overspends his allowance from his father.
While his cousin selected a cue, Darcy broke the balls. He achieved nothing and stepped aside to let his cousin take his shot. After a moment, he looked up to find Fitzwilliam staring at him with a pensive gaze.
“Is something the matter, Richard?” Darcy said rather snappishly. His humour was not in a pleasant state, mostly because he was trying to make a long-delayed decision and having heavy weather of it. The conflicting arguments bounced around his mind, and he simply did not know what he should do.
“Perhaps,” Fitzwilliam said slowly. “I had a conversation with the charming Miss Bennet today as we walked, and her reaction was puzzling. Since the matter concerns you, I thought I should mention it.”
“A conversation?” Darcy’s heart jumped at the thought of Elizabeth asking questions about him.
She must wonder why I have not yet made my addresses. She cannot be in doubt of my interest. My attentions have been too marked to be misunderstood. But the fault is mine. Why can I not make up my mind?
“Yes, and I believe it concerns your friend Bingley.”
“Bingley?” Darcy was now both confused and agitated, wondering what questions Elizabeth might have been asking about Bingley.
“Part of it concerns him since Miss Bennet mentioned him and made light of your friendship, implying that he was dependent on you. I came to your defence, pointing out the manner in which you saved him from an imprudent marriage.”
Darcy was so stricken by Fitzwilliam’s words that he suddenly had to sit down, his head in his hands as he barely managed to avoid dropping his cue. Fitzwilliam was stunned by this untoward behaviour by his usually imperturbable cousin and took the loosely held cue from Darcy’s fingers.
“I am dreadfully sorry,” he said. “Did I say something I should not have?”
It was a few moments before Darcy looked up and said listlessly, “Not intentionally, but it is a sensitive topic. I did intervene with Bingley, but there was no way for you to know that the woman involved was Miss Elizabeth’s elder sister. The two of them are exceedingly close.”
“Damnation!” Fitzwilliam joined his cousin in abruptly seating himself. “That explains the part I did not understand. She asked about your reasons for intervening, and when I said there had been strong objections against the lady, she appeared to become very upset and changed the subject. I did not think more of it, but now I feel dreadful. I really stuck my oar in it.”
*****
Don’t you just love that last sentence! I laughed when I read it, and yes, I totally agree.
The scene from this excerpt will continue tomorrow, Monday, at Babblings of a Bookworm. There will be two more excerpts at the next two blog visits, Tuesday and Wednesday. Follow along, plus enter to win your own copy at each blog stop.
Babblings of a Bookworm
So Little Time…
Austenesque Reviews
*****
Buy Links
Giveaway
There are two giveaways – one from the author, C. P. Odom and one from Meryton Press. Both are international and will end at midnight, Thursday, the 11th of November. Leave a comment to be entered.
C. P. Odom Giveaway
One pair of Pride & Prejudice socks
One Pride & Prejudice pouch/purse
One Jane Austen engraved wooden bookmark
Meryton Press Giveaway
Two eBooks of Skirmish & Scandal
As already mentioned, each blog stop, Monday through Wednesday, will also be giving away an eBook. We hope you will join us.
Meryton Press and our authors have enjoyed the “Skirmish & Scandal” Series. We hope you have had as much fun with these short novellas as we have had. Thanks to all of you who have supported the authors and their wonderful stories! We appreciate you, our readers, more than words can say.
Other Books by C. P. Odom
A Most Civil Proposal, Pride, Prejudice, & Secrets, Consequences, Perilous Siege, A Covenant of Marriage, and Determination are available on Amazon. Most are also available in Audiobook format.
Coming next year: “Georgiana’s Friend” and “A Chance Eavesdropping”
Mary Preston
Absolutely delicious I’d say!!!
Meryton Press
Oh yes, it is! It gets better too! Thanks for stopping by, Mary.
C.P. (Colin) Odom
I’m glad you enjoyed the excerpt, and I hope the rest of the novella is also delicious. Thanks for your interest.
Rebecca L McBrayer
Following to read the e
Excerpts! This has been an interesting series!!
Meryton Press
We are so happy to hear that you think the series has been interesting. That makes it all worthwhile. Thank you for letting us know. Good luck in the giveaway.
C.P. (Colin) Odom
Thanks for your comment, Rebecca. I hope this story lives up to the rest of the series.
Jan Hahn
What a fitting way to wrap up the novellas with a story by the man who coined the title for the series! I love scenes between Fitzwilliam and Darcy, and no one does them better than Colin Odom. Looking forward to reading this.
Meryton Press
I agree with you completely, Jan! Thank you for stopping by and supporting Colin.
C.P. (Colin) Odom
It’s good to see your interest, Jan. I’m very glad Meryton Press came up with this novella series, since this plot bunny has been sitting my files for years because I couldn’t figure out a way to flesh it out into novel-length. But the length of a novella was just right (as Goldilocks famously said!)
DarcyBennett
Excerpt was fantastic especially that last sentence.
Meryton Press
I’m glad to read that someone else loved that last sentence, too! 🙂
C.P. (Colin) Odom
My biggest problem with the last sentence was finding a metaphor that wasn’t too modern! It took a little bit of searching! Thanks for stopping by, DarcyBennet.
Kit Gate
Always happy when there is more Fitzwillam in the mix. I have been throughly enjoying this series and look forward to reading this one asap!
Meryton Press
I love more Fitzwilliam in the mix, too, as long as he is a good guy! We are thrilled to read that you have been enjoying this series. It has been fun for all of us and we hoped the readers would feel the same way. Thanks for sharing.
C.P. (Colin) Odom
I always loved playing around with Fitzwilliam since Jane Austen only has him make only one appearance in P&P, which means I can can fill in the rest of the details to my heart’s content. He makes the perfect cousin and friend for Darcy, even before Elizabeth shocks him into reforming. Thanks for your interest, Kit.
Sheila L. Majczan
I do enjoy this author’s stories and have read most of them. I will add this to my list of TBR. Thanks for sharing.
Meryton Press
Glad to hear it, Sheila. His books are popular among readers. We’re happy you stopped. Good luck.
C.P. (Colin) Odom
I hope you enjoy reading the full novella, Sheila!
Sheila L. Majczan
In checking to see if I read all the other stories I find that there was supposed to be one before this by Audrey Ryan and I don’t find it. I have read all the others. What happened to that one?
Meryton Press
Sheila, the title of Audrey Ryan’s novella is “My Dear Mr. Darcy.” Audrey recently asked to remove her novella from the series. It was almost finished, but she had to put the novella and all her writing on the back burner for now. She had some issues come up over the past several months that have taken all her attention. We hope things get better for her soon and that maybe she will be able to finish it one day before too long. Thank you for remembering and checking. I’ll let her know you asked.
Buturot
Thank you for the excerpt and looking forwatrd to Mr Odom’s new book.
Eager to know how Mr. Darcy will now confront Elizabeth after this revelation. Thank you for the giveaway
Meryton Press
Be sure to stop by Meredith’s Austenesque Reviews on Wednesday. You will get a taste of how Elizabeth might handle it. We hope you get to read Skirmish & Scandal soon!
C.P. (Colin) Odom
Confronting Elizabeth is not the only confrontation in my story, Buturot. In fact, the title “Skirmish and Scandal” flowed directly from the level of intense conflict! I hope you enjoy the rest of the novella.
Colleen
Oh! Looks interesting!
Meryton Press
Glad to hear it! Maybe you can read it soon and find out! Good luck in the giveaway!
C.P. (Colin) Odom
Thanks for taking a look, Colleen!
Ginna
So excited that Colin has another book for us to enjoy!
Meryton Press
Yay! That’s great to hear! Thanks, Ginna! Good luck!
C.P. (Colin) Odom
I hope I don’t disappoint you, Ginna! Thanks for visiting.
Jessi Lowery
Excited to read more of this!
Meryton Press
Be sure to stop by the three blogs and read more! We hope to see you at each one. Thanks for stopping by and good luck.
C.P. (Colin) Odom
Thanks for your interest and excitement, Jessi!
Suzan Lauder
This sounds like an exciting book, and of course, it was written by Colin!
Meryton Press
I think you will like it, Suzan. It is exciting, as we have grown to expect from Colin! 🙂
C.P. (Colin) Odom
Thanks for your kind words and your interest, Suzan.
Betty Madden
An enjoyable series.
I would certainly like those socks. The drier—or washer—ate mine.
Meryton Press
Oh, Betty! I so agree with you about the washer or dryer eating socks. At my house, we call those appliances the “black hole” for socks. Two go in and only one comes out, if any! Where can they go? lol Maybe you will be the winner! Good luck, and thank you for dropping by. We are happy to hear you have enjoyed the series.
C.P. (Colin) Odom
We refer to it as the “Hyperwave Dryer Portal.” Socks seem to occasionally pass the other way, but only after we finally threw out the singleton sock! Thanks for visiting, Betty.
Patty Edmisson
How will Darcy fix Fitzwilliam’s faux pas? It was his own doing, since he did not give all of the pertinent details at the time.
Meryton Press
Patty, the enjoyment is in how he fixes the faux pas! I think you will love it. Thank you for visiting and commenting. Good luck in the giveaway.
C.P. (Colin) Odom
I think that Fitzwilliam’s accidental error is soon going to be overcome by more serious action, Patty!
Randi
Colonel Fitzwilliam really did put his oar in it! Poor Darcy! I love stories that feature interaction between these two cousins. This is a new author for me, so I would love to win the giveaway and have this opportunity to check out his work!
Meryton Press
As I mentioned, I loved that statement! lol The interaction between these two cousins is fun! With C. P. Odom being new to you as an author, you have lots of good books in store to read. He has quite a few published and has two in the works! Enjoy reading. He is a popular author.
C.P. (Colin) Odom
Thanks for your interest in a new author, Randi. As I said in another post, I like working with Fitzwilliam since Jane Austen only had him appear a few times at Hunsford. It leaves me a lot of room for invention!
Kelly Miller
Congratulations and best wishes for your latest release, Colin! This sounds like an entertaining novella!
Meryton Press
Hi Kelly! We are glad to see you stop by and support Colin. Hope you get a chance to read his novella soon.
C.P. (Colin) Odom
I hope you enjoy the full novella, Kelly. It’s good to hear from you.
Rosemary Freeman
This will have to be added to my list of books to read.
Meryton Press
Great news, Rosemary. Thank you for stopping by.
C.P. (Colin) Odom
I hope you have an enjoyable read, Rosemary!
Cyndy
Congratulations on finishing the series! This book sounds exciting. Thanks for the excerpt and the chance to win a copy.
Meryton Press
Thank you, Cyndy. It has been a good time for all of us. We loved the series. We hope you get to read this one soon. Good luck.
C.P. (Colin) Odom
Good luck on the giveaway, Cyndy, and thanks for visiting.
Glynis
I have read all bar one of this author’s books and loved them, especially A Most Civil Proposal and A Covenant of Marriage, although Consequences did make me cry at first.
This definitely sounds like another winner, the Colonel putting his foot in it? Never! Can’t wait for more. 🥰
Meryton Press
Glynis, I believe that A Most Civil Proposal is still one of the favorite books by this author. Readers continue to love it. BYW, Consequences made me cry too! Poor Colonel! He is good at it, isn’t he! Thanks for visiting.
C.P. (Colin) Odom
I actually had to be talked into doing Consequences, Glynis. After I wrote it as fanfiction, I thought it would never be published for real. However, Meryton Press was right, and it has sold much better than I would have expected, given its high angst level. Thanks for your interest in my novella.
ForeverHis
One can trust this author to have a well written, interesting story. His talent comes across page after page and there is nothing quite like a P&P story to fill a quiet afternoon set aside for reading. Congrats on a new publication.
Meryton Press
We agree with you! C. P. Odom is a talented writer! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. We hope you have a nice quiet afternoon soon to read his novella.
C.P. (Colin) Odom
Thanks for stopping by, and good luck with the giveaway.
Lois
Fitzwilliam certainly got himself in a mess – but at least Darcy now knows that he shouldn’t expect a positive response to any proposal.
Meryton Press
He did at that, but then he does a good job of getting out of it! lol He’s helping and that’s a good thing.
Joy Friday
I love Darcy/Richard interactions just as much as I love C.P. Odom’s books. I’ll read this no matter what!