Handsome, Clever & Rich

Today I am glad to welcome back, a much admired and much read authoress, namely Jayne Bamber. She has written several Austen variations the last few years, and each one has been brilliant, both as an ebook and as audio. So today I am glad to welcome her back, and leave you, dear readers in her capable hands. Welcome back, Jayne!

***

It’s great to be back at Interests of a Jane Austen Girl! Today I am here to share another excerpt of my new release,” Handsome, Clever, & Rich”, which is now available on Kindle Unlimited.

This Pride & Prejudice variation is a mash-up with another Austen favorite of mine, Emma. For those of you following my blog tour, my last blog post featured an excerpt revealing that the two heroines are actually sisters! That’s right, the Lizzy we love is a Bennet by marriage, and formerly known as Eliza Woodhouse! The sisters are reunited after Lizzy has bene a widow for four years, and this meeting isn’t the only one to bring back the folly of her youthful elopement and shake her resolve to remain at Longbourn forever… she also finds herself in a compromising position with Mr. Darcy while recovering from an injury at Netherfield.  

While Darcy and Lizzy started off on friendlier terms in this retelling, they are definitely not without their problems, as you will see in the excerpt I am sharing today – Darcy makes a most unromantic proposal….

***

EXCERPT;

Darcy had spent a quarter hour pacing in the corridor before he was admitted to Elizabeth’s room, and once they were alone, every word he had rehearsed in his mind abruptly abandoned him. “Miss Elizabeth… Lizzy,” he stammered, staring at the resplendent beauty of the woman before him. Her face was streaked with tears and her eyes were glistening with emotion so powerful he was utterly speechless. 

She wiped at her cheeks and shifted with embarrassment, then squared her shoulders and arched an eyebrow at him. “Fitz?”

He gaped at her and began to laugh. He had told her it was what his cousins called him when they wished to vex him, and her delightful teasing was just the thing to dispel the inevitable awkwardness of such a moment as this. 

“I hope you are not terribly cross with me. I am prepared to beg your forgiveness if I must, but I am only sorry if you are. That is, I only regret that I did not know you to be… that your judgement….” Darcy winced; this was not going well.

“Doctor Baxter ought to take up a career as a matchmaker, perhaps,” Elizabeth laughed. “His love potion is a potent thing, is it not?”

“Do you mean to say that you would not have… that you only….”

“I only wished to make you smile. You are so very handsome when you smile.”

Darcy immediately obliged her. “I might say the same to you.”

“Well then, I give you leave to go on, sir.”

“Your mother-in-law has told you what I mean to ask you?”

“She has.”

Darcy began to pace again, wondering at her tears. “I am sorry if I have caused you further distress – it is the opposite of what I would wish. You must think the worst of me.”

“Must I? You need not dissemble; I will say it, if you will not. I kissed you.”

Darcy was astonished that she should be so bold, but relieved that he had not imagined it. He would have happily accepted the full responsibility for what had passed between them, but it was encouraging indeed that she should speak so plainly. “I kissed you back – it is something I have imagined more than once since our first meeting.” He let out a sharp breath of frustration, trying to recall the eloquent speech he had prepared, but her bright eyes followed him as he paced, and he could not think straight at all. He ran his fingers through his hair, mortified he should appear so discomposed at what ought to be the finest moment of his life. 

“Mr. Darcy, might I speak candidly?”

“You seem to have better success at such things than I,” he admitted, offering her another smile when words failed him once more.

“I have had a great many astonishing and emotional conversations today, sir. I am very happy that we made amends after our quarrel, truly. But I was not at all expecting to act as I did – and no, I cannot say I regret it any more than you do. I like you very much. I suppose there is no harm in admitting it now, however strange it may be to speak in such a way. But I must also tell you that this is by no means the most shocking conversation I have had today.” 

Here Elizabeth gave way to merry laughter before she continued. “I have been reunited with an estranged sister I have not seen or heard from in five years, I have consoled my sister Jane, who continues to suffer at the hands of your friend, and I have heard such beautiful sentiments expressed by my mother-in-law just now that I must tell you, there is no need for any flowery language in your address. I hope this may give you some relief.”

Darcy marveled at this incredible creature, and felt himself a lucky man indeed to be on the verge of securing the lasting companionship of a woman so self-possessed and so intuitive, who could see through his struggle and wish to put him at ease after all the turmoil he had caused her. “You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire you,” he said.

“That seems to be a popular opinion, today,” she laughed. “However, I am perfectly ready to accept.”

“To accept… my words of praise? Or the offer of my hand?”

“Both, though you have yet to offer either, Fitz.”

The saucy minx! Darcy gazed at her in wonder, and felt his resolve returning. He strode across the room and knelt before her, just as he had done in the library – he could see how the recollection of it affected her as much as himself. “Elizabeth Bennet, from the earliest moments of our acquaintance, I have been captivated by your lively wit, your kindness and poise, and the very admirable devotion you have expressed toward those you love. I hope to one day be counted amongst them, and I offer you my hand with a promise that I shall be just as indomitable a protector toward you, as you have shown yourself to be toward those you hold dear. Please do me the honor of accepting my hand in marriage.”

Elizabeth smiled down at him, trembling with excitement as she began to lean toward him. She slipped her hand into his and murmured, “I will.”

Once again, her proximity was intoxicating, and Darcy parted his lips in eager anticipation of what must follow. This time, however, he was determined that he should have the credit of initiating a kiss more passionate than the first, and he took her in his arms at once.

***

While Darcy made no mention of love, there is certainly a great deal of attraction between the couple! How will this unexpected engagement affect Lizzy’s equally shocking reunion with her estranged sister Emma? And will any of Lizzy’s sisters also find love? With a matchmake in their midst, it seems inevitable! Find out by reading Handsome, Clever, & Rich – and don’t miss your chance to win a free digital copy of the book! 

***

Well, well, well, I must say that Jayne has been very busy with her writing, and what an unromantic proposal, even if the chemistry is off the chart! I can’t wait to read the rest soon. But for now, I will go on with the contact information for Jayne, and her giveaway option!

AUTHOR BIO;

CONTACT;

(2) Jayne Bamber | Facebook

BUY OPTION;

Handsome, Clever, and Rich – Kindle edition by Bamber, Jayne. Romance Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

FINALLY! Giveaway time! Good luck to all!

GIVEAWAY!!!!!

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/01b2829a11/?

I hope you all enjoyed Jayne’s visit and the news of her book! I sure did, and can’t wait to read the rest of the book, and listen to the audiobook, once that becomes available. I will be back soon, aka on the 19th with another P&P book, and an upcoming author. Tune in to read more. For now, cheers!