Dearest Friends by Pamela Lynne - Guest Post and Giveaway

Today I have the very great pleasure of hosting a guest post from Pamela Lynne, author of Dearest Friends. We have an extract, and Pamela has very kindly offered a giveaway opportunity too, so read on for details:

Dearest Friends—and Family

This week, we Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. We set aside this one day to be thankful for all the splendor bestowed upon us by divine ordinance, or if you prefer, luck of the draw. We gather our loved ones close, indulge to the point of bursting, and impatiently watch the clock tick down to midnight so we can celebrate the holiday that is quickly supplanting the one of thanks—Black Friday.

I am being sarcastic, of course. What most of us are thankful for, I believe, is our family. Whether it is the one we are born into or one we make ourselves, our family shapes us. The best kinds of family challenge us to be our best. The worst kind forces us to be our best in order to rise above the rest.  In Dearest Friends, both Darcy and Elizabeth belong to the latter.

Austen gives us great familial parallels in canon, primarily with Georgiana/Lydia and Lady Catherine/Mrs. Bennet. We see those parallels in Dearest Friends, too, though they may be a little more extreme. We have Matlock and Mr. Bennet—two estate owners who have failed to lead their family to prosperity. Lady Susan and Mrs. Bennet are both far more concerned with appearances than goodness. Lady Catherine and Mrs. Gardiner are wise advisors, though they dispense their advice a little differently and Sebastian and Mary are both assumed to be one thing, but prove themselves to be something different altogether.

As similar as the Fitzwillams and the Bennets are, one thing is jarringly different. When faced with a crisis, one acts while the other flounders. I believe that is the heart of redemption, the willingness to fight versus the inclination to fade.

Since so many of us are faced with tables full of guests this week, I thought I would share a scene from a Fitzwilliam family dinner. This did not make it into the book, so you will only see it here. I hope you enjoy it. Happy Thanksgiving.

**

When the entire party was finally awake and assembled around the dinner table enjoying their soup, Darcy leaned over to Elizabeth, who was seated on his left.

“Dearest, I cannot apologize enough for my family’s behavior. It was a mistake to have them all to dinner at the same time. They are much less severe in smaller batches.”

He felt Elizabeth’s comforting touch on his arm as he looked to his sister, who sat at the end of the table, flanked by Richard and Mrs. Gardiner. A mortified blush had not left her face since Jennings’ outburst, but she was fulfilling her duties with remarkable grace.

“Georgiana is handling the situation well. I am proud of her. She was worried you would abandon us when you saw what you were marrying into. I am sorry I cannot provide better relations, but you will be impressed with the livestock at Pemberley. They are far better bred.”

Elizabeth’s soft laughter washed over him like a soothing balm. “You must not make me laugh, Fitzwilliam. It may draw their attention and we would have to speak to them.”

As Elizabeth supposed, their amusement drew the notice of Lady Catherine, who was seated opposite Elizabeth, next to her still slightly comatose brother.

“What are you speaking of, Darcy? I must have my share in the conversation. Henry here is of no use. He is barely keeping his chin out of the soup.”

“We were speaking of Pemberley’s livestock, madam.”

“Oh, more talk of cows, how delightful. And do not think I missed your butler’s comment, Darcy. It is true that Susan is an old hen, but you cannot allow your servants to speak so plainly. If he says such things above stairs, imagine what he discloses in the kitchen.”

“I assure you, his actions tonight will be addressed.”

The lady was satisfied for the moment, so Darcy turned his attentions back to his betrothed.

“Much of my upper staff here and at Pemberley have been with our family in some capacity since my grandfather was master. I am afraid it is past time for many of them to retire, but this is an area for which I am wholly unprepared. I have had to release servants from their duties before, but they were not the ones who tended my scraped knees or assisted my childhood games. Jennings knew the best hiding places in the house and Richard and Sebastian could never find me. In truth, we should have made arrangements for him before my father died, but Jennings had shown him the best hiding places, too, only then he was a footman.”

“What will you do?”

“I will not reprimand him, but I must relieve him of his duties. I cannot allow the staff to believe I am weak, and it is time for him to rest. If he wishes to continue to live here among the servants, he may, or I will arrange for him to join what is left of his family. He has survived most of them, including his wife and son.”

Elizabeth looked at him intently, the way she did when she was trying to sketch his character. He had learned that if he only waited a moment, she would ask her question.

“Was it a great burden for you, inheriting your duties so young?”

Darcy looked around to be sure no one was attending their conversation. For once he was glad for the noise coming from his family.

“As you can surely have no trouble imagining, I had little assistance adjusting to the role of master. I knew I was largely on my own, so I did not think much on it. I had no time to dwell on the burden because I was too occupied doing the work. I did not realize how difficult it had been or what an isolated life it was until a certain lady laughed at me. Can you imagine such impertinence, to laugh at the Master of Pemberley?” Darcy smiled at the imp by his side who currently feigned shock at such behavior.

“The nerve of the girl. I hope she has received a just punishment, sir.” Before Darcy could answer, they were once again interrupted. 

“And speaking of kitchens,” Lady Catherine continued, “Does your cook at Pemberley still allow that pig to sleep by the stove?”

Though several guests were seated between them, Richard could clearly hear his aunt’s voice above all others and joined the conversation, perhaps speaking louder than necessary.

“I remember her quite well. She used to wave her knife in the air when she caught us taking bread for the ducks in the pond. I believe all left over food was meant for that pig. She would rather have seen us butchered than it. Of course, the pig was just as mean. Surely it is not still alive.”

“No, Richard, that particular pig is not still alive. She has since raised and trained several others,” Darcy replied. Addressing Elizabeth alone, he continued. “Our cook trains pigs to forage for mushrooms. She grows attached to them and we have always found it better to allow her way in this particular matter. She is a very talented cook.”

“She is indeed, Lizzy. You will see for yourself when you come home that Richard is exaggerating. She is not mean at all and her pigs are always well behaved. I have often gone down to the kitchen for shortbread and she has not once waved her knife at me.” Georgiana gave her cousin a disapproving glare.

“I do not believe you, Mouse. That woman is a witch, I tell you. She goes foraging in the woods to find toads, not mushrooms.”

“Perhaps you only misunderstood her. She still mostly speaks French. However, I do believe she does not care for most English men. She does not like the way you all speak.”

“What is wrong with the way we speak?”

“I know not cousin. I overheard her say something once about English men and their un-talented tongues. She stopped talking when she noticed me so I did not hear the explanation, but she seemed very put out.”

Richard brought his napkin to his mouth before the soup he had just placed there could spew forth. When he saw his aunt nodding as if in agreement he could no longer hold back his mirth. He turned to his brother, who was faring no better.

“What say you Sebastian? Shall you travel to Pemberley and have a talk with Darcy’s cook? I just cannot fathom the idea she is displeased with our speech. It is your duty as an English gentleman. You must restore the honor of our nation.”

“You know I am always willing to perform my duty, brother, but I fear I could not get past that pig. I do have a solution, though. Darcy should send his butler. As a servant, he will not be chased out of the kitchen and, uh, speaking to the cook should be punishment enough for his outburst this evening.”

As one end of the table roared with laughter, Darcy leaned close to his betrothed.

“You were speaking of punishment, dearest? I believe the lady in question will have such extraordinary sources of mortification she will soon regret drawing my attention.”

Elizabeth smiled and touched the spot on his face where his dimple should be, were he not seated to dinner with his family.

“No, sir. If you were to ask her she would say that on the whole, she has no cause to repine.”

**

Sigh! Dearest Friends is available to buy in both paperback and ebook formats on Amazon US, Amazon UK and very likely your country's Amazon too. To keep in touch with Pamela you can visit her blog, The Happy Jaffer, follow her on Facebook, or on Twitter. You can also follow Vanity & Pride Press on Facebook, where Pamela and her fellow Austenesque author Cat Gardiner share information.

Giveaway!

Pamela has very generously offered to give away the winner's choice of an ebook or paperback copy of 'Dearest Friends'. This giveaway is open internationally, and to enter all you need to do is comment on this post. Please leave a way for me to contact you should you win, such as twitter handle, or email address. To prevent unwanted spam, you could write your email address with an (at) rather than an @. Closing date for the giveaway is Tuesday 2 December 2014. - Please note that this giveaway is now closed.