Author's Greetings
Thank you, Maria Grazia, for welcoming me to My Jane Austen Book Club. I am happy to be here! It’s always exciting to launch a blog tour, and I’m grateful to you for hosting today.
Interrupted Plans follows the same timeline as the original work, with a few key tweaks. Before Elizabeth can travel north with her aunt and uncle, Lydia is caught with a gentleman and forced to marry. Narrowly escaping all-out scandal, the Bennet family is eager to put the past behind them.
To that end, Jane and Elizabeth travel to London to stay with their Aunt and Uncle Gardiner. It is there that Elizabeth crosses paths with Mr. Darcy once again. The following scene occurs as Darcy and Elizabeth are dancing together after having come upon each other rather unexpectedly.
Brigid Huey
Excerpt
Darcy returned to
the refreshment table where he had last seen Bingley. He found him in the
company of two ladies. It was unlike Bingley to seek out the company of ladies
these days. Not since Hertfordshire. Not since the day Darcy had betrayed the
best friend he had ever known, all in the error of pride and conceit. Shaking
himself from his mental gloom, he stepped forward as Bingley turned towards
him, revealing the faces of the ladies beside him.
Darcy froze, his
formal greeting catching in his throat as he stared at the beautiful woman
across from him. Elizabeth Bennet!
Her own lovely
face held a look akin to horror. Good
God, she is appalled to see me! In truth, Darcy could not blame the lady
for her response, as deeply as it hurt. Their last meeting had been anything
but cordial.
“Darcy! There you
are!” Bingley was speaking, but his voice held an anxious tremor that belied
his jovial welcome. “I have just been speaking with Miss Bennet and Miss
Elizabeth from Hertfordshire. You remember them, of course.” As he spoke, the
two ladies curtseyed.
Darcy schooled
his features to that of polite warmth—or so he hoped. Bingley was uneasy, and
Darcy immediately decided he must show him and the Miss Bennets that he had
learned to be a loyal friend these past few months.
“My apologies for
keeping you waiting, Bingley. Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth, it is a pleasure to
see you again. I trust you are both well?”
Jane Bennet
looked quite pale, but Miss Elizabeth’s colour rose as she replied, “Thank you,
Mr Darcy. We are both quite well.”
Her eyes refused
to meet his, however, and he endeavoured once more to put her at ease. “I hope
you are enjoying the ball?”
“We have only
just arrived, sir,” she answered. “However, it was most fortuitous that Mr
Bingley found us among the crush of attendees. It is nice to see you both
again.”
Did she really
mean that? It was impossible to tell. She still refused to look at him,
choosing instead to look at Bingley or her sister. At that moment, the
musicians began to tune their instruments, signalling the commencement of
dancing. Beside him, Bingley cleared his throat.
“Miss Bennet,
might I be so bold as to request the honour of your hand for the next dance?”
Miss Bennet
flushed but demurely accepted his friend’s offer, and after excusing them both,
Bingley led his partner to the floor. Darcy watched them, a heavy feeling of
regret settling in his gut. How wrongly he had treated them!
He turned back to
Miss Elizabeth, unsurprised to see her look of challenge. The impulse struck
him then to tell her all. He wished to spill the contents of his wounded heart
and lay himself at her mercy. It seemed, however, that he still had some pride
left, though he hoped it was at last in good regulation.
“Miss Elizabeth,”
he said, watching as her anger cooled to wariness. “Would you do me the great
honour of allowing me to squire you through this dance?”
She seemed
startled at his request and gave no answer, but she continued to stare at him.
Suppose Elizabeth Bennet never visited
Pemberley…
It is October of 1812. Elizabeth Bennet and her family have seen
dramatic changes in the past few months—none of them welcome. Her sister Jane
needs a fresh start, and Elizabeth is no less eager to leave behind the pain
and confusion of not accepting Mr. Darcy’s proposal.
Fitzwilliam Darcy has not seen Elizabeth since he offered for
her—and she adamantly refused him. When she appears in London, he is determined
to gain her friendship and make amends. When a carriage mishap throws them
together, Darcy does all he can to demonstrate his changed behavior.
Though their renewed acquaintance seems to be growing into a
genuine friendship, a family secret constrains Elizabeth. As she falls deeper
in love with the man she rejected, does she dare tell him the truth?
Buy Links
Author Bio
Brigid Huey has been in love with Jane
Austen since first seeing the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice as a young
girl. She lives in Ohio with her husband and two kids and spends her free time
reading and writing. She also has an assortment of birds, including five
chickens and too many parakeets. She dreams of living on a farm where she can
raise as many chickens, ducks, and goats as she likes and write romance novels
in an airy study overlooking the wildflowers.
Contact Info
Email:
brigidhueywrites@gmail.com
Instagram: @brigidhueywrites
Giveaway
12 comments:
Nice excerpt, Brigid! Best wishes for your latest book; it sounds intriguing!
Thank you for hosting Brigid today, Maria. It's nice to visit your blog. Loved the excerpt, Brigid! That was such a good scene with high emotions and tension. Well done.
Thank you for having me, Maria!
Oh my. Though clearly uncomfortable, Jane accepted Bingley’s offer. What will Elizabeth do? What a place to leave us hanging, Brigid! 😄 I love the beautiful cover, and I’m sure the story will be just as lovely for Brigid is a popular writer. Great beginning, Brigid!
Yup, very curious what happens next, in the excerpt! Surely she will accept, because she wants to dance that evening.
You're welcome! Good luck on your new release 🤞🤞🤞
Interesting premise. I can't help but wonder who Lydia is forced to marry and is this connected to the family secret?
It is an interesting change to the original story. Now can Darcy do what he needs to do to win Elizabeth? Will she have the courage to tell him about Lydia?
Congratulations on this book.
Great excerpt and cover. Congratulations
Oh, Darcy has so much on his mind since he hasn't seen her since the big argument. I wonder how the dance will go? Awkward! Thanks, Brigid, for the excerpt, and thanks, Maria, for hosting.
Sound like an interesting read from the excerpt.
Congratulations. Thank you for the excerpt. I can only imagine what is on Lizzy's mind.
Post a Comment