Today
I’m welcoming a new visitor to Babblings of a Bookworm. Christine Combe
joins us with her upcoming book, The Reintroduction of Fitzwilliam Darcy,
bringing us an excerpt and the chance to enter an ebook giveaway. Let’s look at
the blurb and then I’ll hand over to Christine.
Book
Description
When
Elizabeth Bennet moves with her widowed sister and niece to an estate in
Derbyshire, she does not expect to find herself captivated by the mysterious
steward of Pemberley. Though cautioned not to spend more time in his company
than she ought, Elizabeth finds she cannot stay away from him.
Fitzwilliam
Darcy’s father lost half the family fortune to a pair of swindlers, and the
rest to gaming and investments that gave no returns. He knows he is no good for
the daughter of a baronet, but he falls for the lively Elizabeth in spite of
every reason he should not.
When
the two determine their mutual attraction cannot be denied Darcy decides to
accept the challenge of re-entering society more for the sake of Elizabeth’s
reputation than his own. Because both know if won’t be easy for him to regain
the good opinion of the ton, Darcy goes to his noble relations to seek
their assistance and Elizabeth joins him in London to support his efforts.
Of
course, the expectation of whispers and snobbery is scant preparation for
facing down the harshest critic of them all; one’s own family.
* * *
So this sounds like a bit of a switch in circumstances for Elizabeth and Darcy!
* * *
Excerpt
from The Reintroduction of Fitzwilliam Darcy, introduced by Christine
Combe
Greetings,
fellow Austenians! I’m so excited to be visiting Babblings of a Bookworm today
to talk to you about my upcoming release, The
Reintroduction of Fitzwilliam Darcy. It’s my first standalone Austen variation,
and I really hope you’ll like it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it.In
this new story, circumstances are vastly different for ODC: Elizabeth and her
sisters are the daughters of a baronet, and Darcy has no fortune. But as always,
the stars align and one of literature’s most beloved couples unite, determined
to take on the world together!
In
case you haven’t visited my blog or been following along as I posted the
chapters at A Happy Assembly, here’s the 2nd half of chapter one:
***
The
next day, on seeing that the rain had eased and the sun was shining through
what clouds remained, Jane saw to Margaret’s needs before she and Elizabeth set
off in the carriage for the three-mile journey to Longbourn. They would arrive
in time to break their fast with the family; afterward, Jane would speak to
their father about searching for a new home.
As
the Bingley carriage trundled along, Elizabeth considered what her father’s
reaction would be. She did not believe he would object overmuch—after all, Jane
was past the age of majority and she had a sensible head on her shoulders.
She’d been married, and had spent the whole of her widowhood almost entirely on
her own; Elizabeth had stayed with her often, of course, and various other
family members had made occasional two- or three-day visits. Their aunt Mrs.
Gardiner had stayed an entire fortnight just after Charles’ death just to tend
Margaret—who’d just turned a year old four months prior—as Jane had been
inconsolable those first weeks and had barely risen from her bed.
The
only real concern Sir Thomas might have with the plan was Elizabeth’s joining
her sister in moving away. Though Jane could certainly be trusted as a
guardian, the latter was the
baronet’s favorite child, and parting with her would be difficult for him.
First
objective, Elizabeth mused, would be gaining their father’s blessing. Second
would be convincing their mother to accept that the decision was not hers to make. The third would be
locating a suitable home to reside in—on this matter, she was sure, their
mother would make her opinion known: only an estate would do if Jane was
determined to avoid Town. It need not be so large as Netherfield, but the
daughters and granddaughter of a baronet would absolutely not be allowed to lower themselves so far as to reside in a
cottage.
The
former Mr. Bennet’s elevation to a baronetcy some fifteen years prior had given
an already silly woman with weak understanding and an illiberal mind more airs
than she was perhaps entitled to. But one could not convince Lady Bennet that
she thought her family more important than they truly were—after all, her
husband’s title had been bestowed upon him by request of Prince Edward himself!
Shortly
before the youngest of their five daughters was born, Mr. Bennet had been
elected mayor in Meryton, the market town nearest their estate. To amuse his
wife during her confinement, he made an address to the king, though without
expecting any response. Quite surprised then, was he, to receive one, and as soon
as Mrs. Bennet was out of her lying-in following Lydia’s entrance into the
family circle, they made for London for his presentation. He’d expected little
more notice than to receive a “trifling knighthood.”
However,
upon discovering him to be the same Thomas Bennet with whom he had been
engaging in an “ongoing private war” of chess-by-post for some years, Prince
Edward had declared that a man of such intelligence and wit as he possessed
deserved greater reward than a mere knighthood. It was then announced that he
had convinced their Majesties to bestow upon him a baronetcy and a “small”
fortune of twenty thousand pounds.
“How
very necessary was that fortune, Lizzy,” her father had once said, “for it
enabled me to provide you and your sisters dowries which you would not
otherwise have had.”
Ever
since their place in society had risen, Jane Gardiner Bennet had ceased to be
overly concerned about the entail preventing Longbourn’s being passed to one of
her husband’s children—for surely five thousand pounds each and a titled father
would attract many a wealthy gentleman. Jane had successfully fulfilled her
mother’s dreams for her by capturing the attentions of the very young Mr.
Charles Bingley, so Lady Bennet expected similar matches were to be found for
the younger girls in turn.
As
such, no daughter of hers would be allowed to live in a house meant for poor
relations or tenants to reside in.
“We’ll
have to find an estate, you know,” said Elizabeth aloud as the carriage turned
up the drive to their childhood home.
“Indeed,”
Jane concurred. “Mamma would never abide our taking only a cottage. A baronet’s
daughters should be seen—”
“—to
be living like a baronet’s daughters,” Elizabeth finished with a grin.
The
two were greeted warmly by Mrs. Hil—the longtime Longbourn housekeeper—when
they entered the front hall. Soon their youngest sisters, Catherine—whom the
family called Kitty—and Lydia, came excitedly down the stairs, followed at a
more sedate pace by the middle Bennet girl, Mary. The five sisters greeted each
other with smiles, kisses, and embraces as though it had not been only a few
days since last they’d seen one another. The noise soon drew the attention of
Lady Bennet, who was as profuse with her praise of Jane as was her habit,
before she then scolded her for not bringing Margaret along.
“Why
would you deny me a visit with my only grandchild?” the lady asked indignantly.
“I
have denied you nothing, Mamma,” Jane replied calmly. “Meg is hardly of an age
to be making morning calls, and you know you are perfectly welcome to come to
Netherfield and see her anytime.”
“Well,”
said Lady Bennet with a huff, “you can be sure I will at the earliest
opportunity. I have been so very busy of late, you know—I am always visiting
this neighbor or that, to show the charity and compassion the wife of a baronet
ought to bestow upon her fellow man.”
Elizabeth
only just stopped herself rolling her eyes in a very unladylike fashion at her
mother’s pompous remark—which was really a euphemism for going about town and
gossiping with her friends—though her restraint hardly proved necessary as Lady
Bennet had already turned away to lead them into the dining room.
Breakfast
passed pleasantly for about ten minutes until the lady of the house said to her
eldest daughter, “So, my dearest Jane, when would you care to begin planning
your Season? Margaret needs a father, and I am very sure your beauty and fortune
will attract many admirers to your drawing room in Grosvenor Square.”
Before
a startled Jane could even respond, Lady Bennet continued with, “Of course, we
must take Lizzy with us—she is almost one and twenty already!—and has also not
had a proper debut. You know I cannot bring Mary out in London without having
the two of you married. Oh, for shame, I could not do it!”
Elizabeth
was stunned by how oblivious her mother was to how much her talk upset Jane,
and looked to her father to see if he would speak up on her sister’s behalf.
Imploring him to act proved unnecessary, however, as Jane herself took up her
own defense.
“Mamma,
I shall not be going to Town for the Season,” said she in a voice that only
just shook.
Lady
Bennet’s eyes widened. “Not go to London? Not go to London?! But of course, you
must go! How else will you find another husband if you do not?”
Jane
drew a breath, and Elizabeth’s pride in her rose as her sister sat straighter,
looked her mother in the eye, and said, “I do not want another husband, Mother.
Not at this time, for my heart is still held by Charles. Further, I intend to
remove from Netherfield and find another home for Meg and me.”
Lady
Bennet gasped; Mary’s eyebrows rose toward her hairline, and Kitty and Lydia
giggled as they were wont to do whenever their governess wasn’t around.
Taking
advantage of her mother’s shocked silence, Jane turned to Sir Thomas. “Papa,
now the subject has been brought up, I should like to say that I intended to
seek your counsel after breakfast, as well as your permission for Lizzy to come
and live with me in my new home.”
“NO!”
All
eyes turned to Lady Bennet. “Jane Bennet Bingley, I forbid you to take my granddaughter out of the only home she has
ever known and away from her only grandmamma! And how can you be so cruel as to
deny your sisters the chance to marry as well as you did? You know I cannot
marry the rest of them if you are not!”
“Firstly,
Mamma, you cannot forbid me from taking my daughter anywhere,” said Jane with a
hint of fire in her voice. “Secondly, I have already been married—that will be enough for the society matrons you desire
so much to become acquainted with, as well as their husbands, and the sons to
whom you hope to marry your younger daughters.”
The
rapid blinking of her eyes was Lady Bennet’s initial response, then she
sniffed, raised her nose a little higher, and said, “Ungrateful child! Oh, you
have no compassion for my poor nerves. Do as you will then—ruin your daughter’s
future at your peril by staying from Town to find a new father to protect her.
But I’ll not allow you to ruin your sisters’ chances, young lady! You shall not be taking Elizabeth wherever it is
you mean to run off to. Oh, my nerves—do you see what you have done? Such
fluttering and spasms I now have all over me!”
“Oh,
do please control yourself, Lady Bennet,” spoke up Sir Thomas at last. “Jane is
not being an ungrateful child just because she refuses to bend to your whims,
my dear. She is well within her rights to both refrain from visiting
London—which I commend you for, Jane, as you know well my thoughts on that subject—and to remove with her
daughter to any place of residence she should wish. As to Elizabeth’s joining
her, that is for me to decide.
“Now,
my daughters,” he went on, turning his attention to Jane and Elizabeth, “shall
we retire to my study to discuss?”
The
baronet did not wait for their response; he simply rose and took his leave, and
expected them to follow. Neither minded; the sisters stood in silent unison and
departed to the sound of their youngest siblings twittering madly and their
mother sputtering nonsensically about betrayal and ill-usage in her own family.
Sir
Thomas’s study was, perhaps, the only room within Longbourn that was not kept
immaculately tidy. Oh, the housekeeper herself came in to dust and tidy up
every day, but he was such a collector of books and maps that every available
surface had been taken up by them—there were books even on the two visitors’
chairs that sat before his desk, which his two daughters had to move before
they could make themselves comfortable.
“So,
Jane… You truly mean to give up Netherfield?” Sir Thomas asked when they were
all settled.
Jane
cleared her throat delicately, and Elizabeth noted color in her cheeks; the
poor dear had always been just a little intimidated by their father.
“Yes,
Papa,” she replied. “That is, I do mean to move out and live elsewhere. I have
no plans to sell the estate—I mean to keep it for Margaret, that she may be
assured of a home if I should marry again.”
The
baronet nodded slowly. “A very wise decision, my dear. It seems you have given
the matter much thought.”
Jane
inclined her head as well. “I have, sir. In the interim, I have thought to let
the estate, or to offer residence to you, Mamma, and my sisters. Even before
Mamma first spoke of my marrying again last week, I had decided to seek your
advice. My heart is just too full of grief and memories of my husband for me to
remain comfortable in our home. I need to get away, at least for a while.”
“And
you are certain London does not appeal to you?”
“It
does not, sir. I confess that I dread the very idea,” said Jane. “I have always
lived in the country—I find that, normally, being surrounded by nature relaxes
me. And I daresay it is a more pleasant and healthy environment for a young
child than Town.”
Sir
Thomas chuckled. “Indeed it is.” His eyes then flicked to Elizabeth. “What say
you, Lizzy? Do you approve of Jane’s plan?”
Elizabeth
glanced briefly at her sister before replying, “I do not think it my place to
approve or not, Papa. Jane is a woman grown; she has been a wife, is a
mother—and more, she knows her own mind. If she is determined to go, I daresay
we cannot stop her. Or rather, we should not.”
“And
does her wish to have you accompany her on this removal from Netherfield appeal
to you?” her father pressed.
She
chanced a smile. “It does indeed, sir. I should very much like to be of use to
my sister in any way I am able.”
“So
you’ve no desire for a Season in Town?”
Elizabeth
laughed. “Oh, Papa! While I can imagine it would be delightful to attend many
balls and parties, I have no desire at present to parade myself about in the
hopes of securing a rich husband. I am not yet one and twenty—only Mamma is
distressed by my being older than Jane was when she married dear Charles. At
present, I have no desire to turn my mind to matrimony.”
Sir
Thomas seemed almost relieved to hear her speak so, and smiled as he said,
“Very wisely spoken, Lizzy.”
He
sighed then and sat back in his chair, lacing his fingers over his slightly
protruding middle as his expression turned contemplative. “I imagine that
removal from Netherfield means also removal from the neighborhood, so Purvis
Lodge is out of the question—as is the great house at Stoke.”
Elizabeth
laughed again. “Mamma could never abide the attics at Purvis Lodge, for she has
already declared them dreadful, and the drawing rooms at Stoke are not large
enough for her taste.”
“But
it is not your mother’s tastes we must appeal to,” Sir Thomas rejoined, though
he grinned as he said it. His eyes then looked to Jane again, and when next he
spoke there was a hint of emotion in his voice “My dear girl, I do understand your need to get away,
thus I will not only offer my blessing but my assistance in locating a suitable
home for you. And Lizzy may join you, as it is your express wish as well as
hers.”
Jane’s
relief was obvious. She blinked away tears as she rose and went around the desk
to embrace him, before kissing his cheek and saying, “Oh, thank you, Papa! I
cannot tell you how grateful I am for your understanding.”
Sir
Thomas patted her arm. “Well, well, now… Now we’ve got the two of you sorted, I
shall begin sending out inquiries on Monday. In the meantime, I will work to
convince your mother it was all her idea in the first place—only then shall any
of us have peace.”
***
Jane
is moving out, and taking Elizabeth with her! Tell me what you think in the
comments below to enter for a chance to win an ebook copy of The Reintroduction of Fitzwilliam Darcy!
Contest
open until August 14, 2021. Good luck!
* * *
Author
Bio
Christine, like many a JAFF author before her,
is a long-time admirer of Jane Austen's work, and she hopes that her alternate
versions are as enjoyable as the originals. She has plans to one day visit
England and take a tour of all the grand country estates which have featured in
film adaptations, and often dreams of owning one. Christine lives in Ohio and
is already at work on the next book in the series.
Christine Combe’s Blog / Facebook page
Buy
Links
The
Reintroduction of Fitzwilliam Darcy is due out on 7 August. I can’t see any pre-order links,
so will just pop a link in to Christine’s other Amazon books, so if you’d like
to buy at least you’ll be in the right ball park!
•
Amazon US • Amazon UK
• Amazon CA
• Goodreads
Author Page
Giveaway
Time
As
Christine said, above, she’s giving away an ebook of The Reintroduction of
Fitzwilliam Darcy to a commenter on her blog tour. Please leave a comment by
the 14 August. If you have any
problems adding your comment please contact me and I will add your comment for you.
Check
out the other stops on the blog tour schedule!
Blog
Tour Schedule
Thanks so much to Christine for visiting, and all the best with the book!
*
* *
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