Hello, dear readers, we have an extra-special treat for you today! To celebrate her FOURTH visit to Austenesque Reviews, the lovely Abigail Reynolds, brings with her an excerpt from her newly released Mr. Darcy’s Undoing (formerly Without Reserve). I hope you all enjoy this bantering scene between Darcy and Elizabeth, it is one of my favorites!
This excerpt from Mr. Darcy’s Undoing takes place during Elizabeth’s engagement to her old friend, the well-bred but uninspiring Mr. Covington. Darcy, horrified to discover she is engaged to another, resolves that he must determine if she truly loves Mr. Covington, and if he has another agenda, he doesn’t admit it to himself. He accompanies Bingley, now engaged to Jane, on his daily visits to Longbourn, where he ends up in Elizabeth’s company. This conversation establishes a metaphor that becomes an ongoing connection between Elizabeth and Darcy throughout the book.
“So, Mr. Darcy,” said Elizabeth one morning after a week or so of these visits, a hint of a smile lurking around her mouth, “tell me about Pemberley—I heard so much praise for it last autumn from Miss Bingley that it has quite taken on legendary status in my mind.”
Darcy raised an eyebrow, well aware he was being teased. “Legendary, Miss Bennet?”
She seemed to be paying great attention to her embroidery. “Well, from Miss Bingley’s description, I understand that Pemberley is altogether larger and grander than Blenheim and Chatsworth put together, and that Kew is nothing compared to the gardens of Pemberley.”
The corners of his mouth twitched. “Then she no doubt told you that the park is of a natural beauty unparalleled in England, and covers in extent almost half of Derbyshire.”
“Only half?” Elizabeth turned eyes full of laughter up at him. “I do not know, then, how there would be room for all the marvels she mentioned, the peacocks roaming the grounds, the tame deer…”
“Oh, the tame deer are nothing,” he responded gravely. “The tame tigers patrolling the grounds are more unique, not to mention the unicorns and the phoenix that inhabit the woods.”
“Tigers? I am not certain that I would care to meet one of them, tame or not,” said Elizabeth archly. “And I suspect that very little at Pemberley is truly tame, in any case.”
“Miss Bennet, you dismay me with your doubts! Of course they are tame—we have hereditary gamekeepers whose sole employ is to tame the tigers, and only very rarely is one of them eaten alive.”
Do not the tigers eat the unicorns, as well?”
“Not at all,” he said, his voice suddenly taking on a more serious note. “The tigers protect the unicorns.”
Something in his air caused a shiver to go up Elizabeth’s spine. Bingley, rolling his eyes at their foolishness, encouraged them all to walk in the garden “despite the absence of leopards, unicorns, and whatnot.” Elizabeth was agreeable to this distraction from the increasingly intense look in Mr. Darcy’s eyes, but just at that moment, Mr. Covington was announced.
Elizabeth felt a moment of confusion, but collected herself to greet him warmly. She had a distinct consciousness of Darcy’s eyes upon her.
“Lizzy, it is a pleasure to see you—you are looking quite lovely today,” said Mr. Covington gallantly, then greeted the others.
“We were about to take a stroll in the garden, sir,” said Jane. “Perhaps you would care to join us?”“Mr. Covington has just ridden in,” objected Elizabeth, eager to separate her fiancé from Mr. Darcy, “and I am certain some refreshment is in order. Let me see to that while you walk out, and perhaps we will be able to join you later.”
Mr. Covington, his eyes on Elizabeth, acknowledged that he would rather stay within. Bingley, hoping to give the two some privacy, prevailed upon Jane to continue with their plan, and said, “Darcy, you must come, too—the fresh air will do you good.”
“Not now, thank you, Bingley,” said Darcy dryly. “I would enjoy some refreshment myself.”
Elizabeth shot him a glance as the other two departed. “Of course, Mr. Darcy, as you wish,” she said neutrally. “I hope your mother is in good health, Mr. Covington.”
“I am glad to say she is continuing to do well, and sends you her compliments,” he replied. “She would have liked to have joined me today, but the carriage is under repair.”
“What a pity! I should have enjoyed seeing her,” said Elizabeth with real regret.
He inquired after her family as Darcy looked on sardonically, wondering what Elizabeth could possibly see in this dull fellow. It grated on his nerves every time Covington called her by her name or allowed an admiring look to rest upon her. Nevertheless, he gave no thought to leaving; as vividly unpleasant as this might be, nothing would induce him to leave Elizabeth alone with Covington while he had a choice in the matter. There was a certain ironic humour in finding himself as her chaperone.
“It has been quite busy at Ashworth. Part of the road washed out in the rains last week, and we have some men working on that, but of course with the harvest coming in, the timing could not be worse,” said Covington. “I am glad to be able to say that we did lay hands on the poachers who had been troubling us, though, and I wager they will not be doing it again!”
“Were they local men?” inquired Elizabeth, who was growing increasingly uncomfortable with the dark silence emanating from Darcy.
“No, fortunately—that always makes it so much more difficult. Then we have to deal with the problem of the families, which is always painful.”
Elizabeth turned to Darcy, determined to draw him into the conversation. “Do you ever have problems with poachers at Pemberley, Mr. Darcy?”
He looked directly at her, and said, “No, Miss Bennet; the tigers take care of them.” He was pleased to see the corners of her mouth twitch.
Mr. Covington looked disconcerted. “Tigers, Mr. Darcy?” he asked politely.
“A joke, sir,” Elizabeth said quickly. “We were spinning stories earlier about the wild creatures of Derbyshire.”
Elizabeth quickly shifted the conversation to a new subject. She could sense Darcy’s eye on her, and once her guest was suitably distracted, she gave him a quick glare. He responded with a slow, mocking look that made her feel hot inside, and she quickly turned her attention away from him.
Thanks for reading this excerpt!
Thank you, Abigail, for sharing it with us!
GIVEAWAY TIME!!! Thanks to Liz from Sourcebooks, Austenesque Reviews has two lovely copies of Mr. Darcy’s Undoing to give away to you wonderful readers! (US and Canada only)
To enter this giveaway please leave a comment sharing what you love MOST about Abigail Reynolds and her novels!
OR, if you haven’t had the pleasure of reading a novel by Abigail Reynolds, please share what intrigues you the most about Mr. Darcy’s Undoing.
To protect your inbox from unwanted spam, please DON’T leave your email address. Just check back October 15th to see if you won!
This contest ends October 14th! Thanks for entering and best of luck!
i love how i lose myself in Abigail’s books!!! can’t wait to read Mr Darcy’s Undoing!!!!!
thank you for the giveaway……
cyn209
What do I love the most? It’s that her books are hard to put down. Once I start I want to keep reading and reading!
This sounds like a wonderful book! I love the wit and tension between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. I have to read this! Thanks!
Margaret
singitm@hotmail.com
I have long been a fan of P&P re-tellings, especially from Darcy’s POV, but have never read a variation before. Based on this teasing excerpt, Abigail Reynolds seems like a great place to start! Thanks for the chance to win a copy!
Kate
I love how Abagail brings the world of Darcy and Elizabeth alive for the reader; making the stories fresh and exciting.
Joy
I’ve not yet read any of Abigail’s books but was delighted by this witty repartee between Lizzie and Darcy. I would love to read more of Mr. Darcy’s Undoing!
I have not read any of Abigail’s books either as I have only recently been reintroduced to Jane Austen and especially the ‘what-if’ books. I do so enjoy reading them and this one sounds very good just from the fun exerpt. It made me smile and laugh. I loved the part where Darcy told Elizabeth that the tigers protected the unicorns…maybe like he is protecting Elizabeth as her chaperone! What a neat dea! I can’t wait to read the book as it sounds very entertaining. Thank you for the teaser!
I could not post this comment from the ‘post comment place’ so decided to try a post under someone else. I apologize if this causes an inconvenience.
I like Abigail’s books because they have all been good reads that never disappoint. Plus I get to experience D&E falling in love again and again.
I had the same problem as Janet and could not post an individual comment and used the reply… hope it is not a problem.
One thing I love about Abigail’s books is that I can keep re-reading them and enjoy them just as much as the first reading. She writes great love scenes, too!
I have not had the pleasure to read Abigail’s books but I will quickly remedy that. I was pulled immediately into the excerpt and I am eager to read more. I love stories surrounding Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett. The spin Abigail places on the two especially the insight into their thoughts.. I love it!!
kamwh1207(at)att(dot)net
I love the twists and ‘what if’s’ that Abigail Reynolds adds to the traditional Pride and Prejudice story!
I loved reading this excerpt! I could just “see” the looks between Elizabeth and Darcy as this little teaser played on. What I really like is that you feel like you’re a part of the story, that you’re there watching as the story unfolds, witnessing the character’s development…. So easy to get “lost” in it all!
I love the what if variation. She can take characters we already know and change one aspect of a familiar story to create a book that you can’t put down.
Plus, Darcy joking about unicorns is pretty hilarious.
Heather M.
I have read and re-read Ms Reynolds book…always lose myself in her pages and don’t want to put the book down…
Stephanie
I just love reading her books. Looking forward to reading this one.
What do I love Most about Abigail? It have to be how, not only do i love to read her books, but I love to read them over and over and over again! I have just as hard a time putting them down the second, third, fourth, (etc) as the first time around!
After that teaser, I might have a hard time waiting to get a copy of Mr Darcy’s Undoing. I might just go to my shelf and pick up my copy of Without Reserve!
I like several things. I like how each ‘what if’ goes off in its own direction with each starting from various points in the original story. I like how supporting characters can become more involved and I enjoy the dialogue. I like how each Darcy and Elizabeth are slightly different depending on where the ‘what if’ began to leave the original.
Thank you for the opportunity to participate in the giveaway.
What I most like about Abigail i just how down to earth she is. She was the first author I contacted via Facebook to say how much I loved her novels, and she actually talked back! I was floored!!! And I feel comfortable enough to answer questions about how/what she writes – third person deep. It is nice to really read what goes on in Darcy’s brain.
When I first read Last Man in the World, I sent an e-mail to Abigail telling her how much I loved it and she wrote back immediately. Since then, I have read and loved several more of her novels and Abigail kindly let me interview her. She is one of the nicest authors I know and her books are great! I love reading her ideas of how Pride and Prejudice might have happened if things went a little differently. 🙂
I am remiss to say that I have never read any of Abigail Reynolds books, but what intrigues me most is that in her version Lizzie & Darcy have far many more obstacles in their way. The thought of Darcy being jealous and having to watch Elizabeth being engaged and her dealing with an attraction between two men. I really, REALLY want to read how my two favourite Jane Austen couples gets together in this incarnation of the story.
One of the many things I like about Abigail’s books is that the story lines and scenes are so wonderful and entertaining that I thoroughly enjoy reading her stories over and over and look forward to the next time I can read the story!
@Jakki L.
I also had a hard time getting my comment to post from the “post comment’ option. I tried a total of 5 times over 2 days (boy I should win just for perseverance!).
However, I can’t wait to see how Darcy manages to separate this couple and show Elizabeth that she really wants him (and his tame tigers and unicorns!). So glad that he found his sense of humor! Jennifer G.
I absolutely LOVE your books, Abigail! I love how I get to fall in love with Mr. Darcy again and again and again and again…. 🙂
Abigail, this is one of my favorite scenes from the book. Between all the little excerpts you have posted on different blogs, I am dying to read this again more and more! I might just have to purchase it sooner than later! 🙂
Thanks, Liz from Sourcebooks for the giveaway!
I love the passion between Darcy and Lizzie in her novels. She does a great job at portraying their relationship in her variations.
I haven’t read any of her novels, but it sounds really interesting–Elizabeth engaged to another? How will Darcy deal with this! Their banter in this excerpt is awesome. 🙂 Thanks for the giveaway!
I love all her books! I am looking forward to reading this one!
I am new to Ms. Reynolds books, but this looks wonderful and intriguing. I look forward to reading this book because the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy is endlessly fascinating.
Thank you for posting the excerpt!
Rinah