Fortune and Felicity by Monica Fairview - Excerpt and Giveaway

Today I’m pleased to be welcoming Monica Fairview back to the blog. Monica has joined us with her new book, Fortune and Felicity, which sees the former Miss Elizabeth Bennet seeking work as a governess. Let’s take a look at the blurb and then I’ll hand over to Monica for an excerpt of the book. She’s also offering a giveaway! Read on for more details!

Book Description

In this Pride & Prejudice variation, Elizabeth and Darcy have a second chance to get things right. Will they be able to come together this time, or will pride intervene yet again?

Seven years after Darcy’s disastrous proposal, Darcy is in need, not of a wife, but of a governess for his young daughter. Imagine his surprise when he discovers Elizabeth Bennet on the list of possible candidates provided by the employment agency. The question is, should he take her on as a governess, or would he be playing with fire?

Elizabeth Bennet is forced by her reduced circumstances to take on a position. However, when Mr. Darcy invites her for an interview, she is embarrassed and humiliated. How could she possibly live under the same roof as the man she had rejected so strongly seven years ago?

Whatever decision she makes, there will be a high price to pay… one way or the other.

Excerpt from Fortune and Felicity

The door opened, and the butler intoned, “Mrs. Elizabeth Heriot.”

Mr. Darcy was sitting at his desk, his fingers steepled, which partially covered his face.  The window behind him was bright, and his back was turned to it, so his face was in the shadow, and she could not see him well. As she stepped in, he rose to his feet.

“Mrs. Heriot.”

He did not advance towards her. He remained behind his desk, standing so still he could have been a statue.

“Pray be seated,” he said.

He was as arrogant as she recalled. She couldn’t tell if he even remembered her, from the remote tone of his voice. It had never occurred to her that he would not. What if he had forgotten her entirely, or had not noticed that she was from Longbourn? Should she jog his memory, and draw attention to her unfortunate family, or should she leave him ignorant of who she was?

It would be dishonest not to remind him of their prior acquaintance.

“Mr. Darcy. I don’t know if you remember me, but we met many years ago in Meryton. You would have known me as Elizabeth Bennet.”

He bowed formally as she took a seat, and then sat down himself. “Yes. I do recall our prior acquaintance.”

She couldn’t decide whether that was a good thing or not. His tone gave her no clues at all, and he had not yet looked at her. This was the same Mr. Darcy who had snubbed her so completely at the Meryton Assembly. She groaned inwardly. Convincing him was going to be even more difficult than she had anticipated.

***

Darcy was stunned that she could suppose he had forgotten her. Had she no idea of the effect she had had on him? He had spent the night worrying about this encounter, wondering if he was taking a risk by inviting her into his life. Had their interaction in Meryton meant so little to her, then? Had she consigned it all to a distant past? He struggled with the implications.

He was so involved in processing this astounding revelation that he forgot she was waiting for him to speak. He was supposed to be interviewing her for a position, confound it, not ruminating over the past.

Clearing his throat, he concentrated on the here and now. Picking up the paper in front of him, he looked it over slowly, reading over the few accomplishments that were listed. He already knew every word on the page, but it was a good excuse to avoid looking at her.

“It says here, Mrs. Heriot,” he said, emphasizing her married name in order to remind himself that this woman was completely different from the young lady he had loved all those years ago, “that you are well read.” It said nothing of the sort, but it would give her a chance to say something about herself. “Could you give me some examples of some of the books you have read?”

She began to talk. Her voice, at least, hadn’t changed, nor had her passion about reading. His mind drifted back to a day he believed he’d forgotten. They had been in the library at Netherfield. Hurst had mocked Elizabeth at some point because she preferred reading to playing cards, and there had been a discussion about everyone’s definition of an accomplished woman.

‘You must comprehend a great deal in your idea of an accomplished woman,’ Elizabeth had challenged him.

‘Yes, I do comprehend a great deal in it.’

‘A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to deserve the word;’ Miss Bingley had argued, ‘and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half deserved.’

‘All this she must possess,’ he had answered, ‘and to all this she must add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading.’

Little did he know that, more than seven years later, he would be deciding whether Elizabeth Bennet was accomplished enough to become his daughter’s governess.

He turned his attention to what she was saying.

“I have read Homer,” she said. “Not in the original.”

He looked at her then, for the first time. He didn’t want to stare, but he couldn’t help it. He wanted to determine if she was as alluring as he had painted her to be, all those years ago. She had changed. Of course she had. That was only to be expected. This new version was more poised, more self-controlled, but there was also something essential missing. The vivacity and vibrancy he had found so intriguing was gone. Before him, he saw a serious woman looking for a position, weighed down by circumstances, dressed in a matron’s mob cap and plain dress. She was perfectly ordinary.

Miss Elizabeth Bennet was gone. It was Mrs. Elizabeth Heriot that sat before him, a woman whose experiences he knew nothing about. She was a stranger.

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Wasn’t that a delicious excerpt! If you didn’t see it, Monica posted quite a bit of the beginning of the book over at Austen Variations, and you can read (or re-read) all the excerpts over there if you are thirsty for more!

Author Bio

Monica Fairview writes Jane Austen variations and sequels. After graduating from the University of Illinois, she worked as a literature professor and then as an acupuncturist in Boston before moving to London.

Monica loves anything to do with the nineteenth century, and obsessively follows every period drama she can find. On rainy days, she loves to watch ‘Pride & Prejudice’ (all adaptations), ‘North & South’, ‘Cranford’, or ‘Downtown Abbey’.

Among Monica’s Kindle best-selling novels are Mysterious Mr. Darcy, the Darcy Novels trilogy, two books in the Darcy Cousins series, and the quirky futuristic P&P inspired Steampunk Darcy. She has also published several traditional Regencies.

Apart from her avid historical interests, Monica enjoys reading fantasy and post-apocalyptic novels, but avoids zombies like the plague. She loves to laugh, drink lots of tea, and visit Regency houses, and she is convinced that her two cats can understand everything she says.

You can find out more about Monica at Austen Variations, at her blog, website, Facebook page and by following her on Twitter, @Monica_Fairview.

Buy Links

Fortune and Felicity will be available to buy on kindle or read via Kindle Unlimited soon. It releases on 28 April 2020. You can pre-order it now!

Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon CA / Add to Goodreads shelf

Giveaway Time!

Monica is very kindly giving away two ebooks of Fortune and Felicity to two of you! To enter, just leave a comment on this blog post by the end of the day worldwide on Friday 1 May. Unfortunately, due to the difficulties in gifting ebooks, only people who buy their books from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk are eligible to enter.

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Blog Tour Schedule

Monica is visiting other blogs with Fortune and Felicity. Check out the other blog stops!

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