As Only Mr Darcy Can by Laura Hile - Excerpt and Giveaway

Today I’m happy to be welcoming Laura Hile back to Babblings of a Bookworm with her newest book, As Only Mr Darcy Can. Laura is visiting us with a delightful excerpt for you to enjoy plus an ebook giveaway for one of you. Let’s look at the blurb and then I’ll hand over to Laura for the excerpt.

Book Description

What a tangled web!

Mr. Darcy’s departure has solved nothing. He loves Elizabeth Bennet as much as ever—and he has left her vulnerable to Wickham’s lies. Why not send her a warning? Anonymously, of course. He must conquer his obsession, yet he must also do something to protect her.

But when Darcy is dunned for a bill of Wickham’s—an old trick—he sends the magistrate’s men with a warrant. Wickham, however, is nowhere to be found. At the same time, a titled lady appears in Hunsford. Why does she look so familiar? What of her pointed interest in Darcy’s sister? Is there anyone who will believe what Darcy suspects?

Elizabeth has her hands full when she comes to Hunsford. Her army-mad youngest sister causes trouble everywhere! What is more, those cryptic Valentines keep arriving. And then there is Mr. Darcy, a man she is determined to dislike. Why must his suspicions about the unknown lady match hers? Sparks fly as she joins forces with him to discover a truth that is both laughable and treacherous.

As for being at odds with Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth’s heart has other ideas. Will a nonsensical demand ruin what has grown up between them?

As Only Mr. Darcy Can is a feel-good Regency romp, featuring all your friends from Pride and Prejudice. Intrigue, romance, and laughter are waiting for you.

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Here is a peek at our favorite Pride and Prejudice guys.

Excerpt from Chapter 3 of As Only Mr Darcy Can

The hour grew late, but Darcy’s guest showed no interest in departing. A bright fire burned on the library hearth, while outside the wind rattled bare tree limbs and sighed at the corners of his London house.

“Fine cuisine, good company, and” —Colonel Fitzwilliam lifted his glass of after-dinner cognac— “an excellent wine cellar. You know how to put heart into a poor and friendless soldier.”

“Friendless? I’ll see that,” said Darcy. His cousin Fitz was one of the most popular officers in his regiment. “Although you are expensive—”

“Hi, now! I am not!”

“Although expensive,” repeated Darcy, “you are not precisely poor.”

“I daresay I am. Ordered about like a lackey, too. A soldier’s life is not his own. I am bound for the North, cousin of mine, first thing tomorrow morning. General Sir John Foley, bless him” —Fitz pulled a face— “has a packet for me to deliver. Matter of importance, entrusted to my hand alone.”

“Travel north? In all this frigid cold?”

“Frigid does not begin to describe it. If it snows, I’m done for.”

“Not you. You’ll hole up in some country inn and lie abed while stuffing yourself with sausages and cheese and whatever the tap has to offer.”

Fitz laughed and finished his cognac.

Darcy stretched a leg toward the fire. “Georgiana laments the icing over of our early spring blossoms.”

“Let us hope she shall not, as well, lament the icing over of her favorite cousin. Speaking of blossoms, I have been waiting all evening to ask. What, pray tell, is the meaning of this?”

With a flourish, Fitz brought out a card, stiff and white—and gaily adorned with hearts and flowers. Darcy had to laugh. “I did not wish my humble invitation to be overlooked. You needed a reminder.”

“A Valentine! You sent a Valentine! To the army office, blast you. I thought my secretary would die laughing. Moreover, you doused it with scent!”

“A sister—or more precisely, the contents of her perfume bottle—has her uses.”

“You robbed Georgiana in order to make a laughingstock of me.”

“You came, did you not?”

“Yes, in order to eat you out of house and home, and drink your cellar dry. And also to discover the meaning of this knacky verse: It is impossible to love and to be wise.”

“Francis Bacon,” supplied Darcy. “You ought to read more than just The Observer and The Gazette.”

Fitz gave him a measured look. “Come to dinner, it says.”

“And?”

“There’s a double meaning in that.” Fitz brought a hand to his breast. “My poor heart, broken beyond repair, when I realized that An Admirer was you.”

“And I took such pains to conceal my identity.”

“From me? Impossible. The lowercase R gave you away. That quirked peak at the left side is you all over.”

“Observant fellow.” Darcy leaned forward. “You don’t happen to pass through Hertfordshire on your way north. No, probably not.”

“Should I?”

“I’d like to have eyes and ears in a place called Meryton.”

“Never heard of it.”

“The local militia is quartered there for the winter.”

“Militia,” scoffed Fitz. He reached for the bottle and refilled Darcy’s glass. “Mama’s boys in regimentals, that’s what they are. Peacocking in the village square, if ever a pretty girl happens by. Swaggering it, as if they have seen action.”

“We have a mutual acquaintance who joined up in November,” said Darcy carefully. “You remember Bingley; he took an estate in the area. I’d hate to see trouble come as a result of our friend’s presence.”

Colonel Fitzwilliam lowered the bottle. “Which friend would that be?”

“Wickham.”

Fitz nearly spat. “That devil? He would join a militia.”

“He looks well in the uniform; I give him that.”

“You saw him?”

“I could scarcely avoid it. Within a week he had entrenched himself with the leading families.”

“Sniffing out the heiresses, is he?”

“There are none, save for Bingley’s sister. She is now in London, well beyond his reach.”

“Wickham and Miss Bingley; that’s rich. The son of an earl,” said Fitz mockingly. “Why, you are the son of an earl.” He refilled his glass. “That is what I am to Miss Caroline Bingley. Honestly, where do people get the idea that we enjoy being fawned over?”

Darcy grinned. “Novels, probably.”

“I daresay Miss Bingley has read a bushel-basket full.”

“Perhaps not. She works industriously at being a proper lady.”

Fitz grinned. “Touché, old fellow, well done. Yes, if she is a Bingley, she is certainly industrious. Whereas a real lady does not care.”

Darcy hid a sigh. This would be Elizabeth Bennet. Adorably secure as a gentleman’s daughter, she hadn’t an ounce of Caroline Bingley’s artifice.

Best to return to the business at hand. “There is none whom I trust so well as you to handle a matter involving Wickham.” Darcy paused to give his cousin a look. “Although, there is a risk.”

“Indeed there is, if I have my pistol at hand,” said Fitz cheerfully. “A little shooting accident is easily arranged. Target practice, if you will. Trust militiamen to be working at marksmanship. They are notoriously poor shots.”

“Would you become a murderer?”

“It is not murder to rid the world of vermin, Darcy.”

“Before God, I could not do it.”

“Well,” admitted Fitz, “neither could I, not in cold blood. But one can always hope for a carriage accident. Or an angry blacksmith father with a hammer in his hand.”

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Author Bio

By day, Laura Hile teaches at a Christian school. By night—or rather, in the early morning when she can think! —she writes Jane Austen and Regency romance with laughs and happy endings.

The comedy Laura comes by as a teacher. There's never a dull moment with middle school students!

She enjoys gardening (she is a weed warrior!), choral singing, and having coffee with friends.

Laura lives in Beaverton, Oregon, with her husband and a collection of antique clocks. One day she hopes to add a cat or three.

Other books by Laura Hile: Darcy By Any Other Name, So This Is Love, and the Mercy’s Embrace trilogy. She is a regular contributor to the A Very Austen anthology series.

Connect with Laura:

• Website • Facebook • Goodreads • Twitter 

Buy Links

As Only Mr Darcy Can is available to buy now in paperback, Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.

• Amazon US • Amazon UK • Amazon CA • Add to Goodreads shelf • BookBub

 

Giveaway Time!

 

Laura Hile is kindly offering to give away an ebook of As Only Mr Darcy can to one of you. To enter, just comment on this blog post by the end of the day worldwide on 22 October.

Note about comments: If you have any problems adding your comment please contact me and I will add your comment for you :)

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