Hello, dear readers! I am very excited to welcome back author Suzan Lauder to Austenesque Reviews today! And she is here to celebrate her newest release, A Most Handsome Gentleman, which features a #HotCollins, yes, you heard correctly, Mr. Collins is “incredibly handsome” in this latest tale. What a fun twist, don’t you think? I wonder if anyone will succumb to Mr. Collins’s charms now that he has a more pleasing face and figure? Today Suzan shares a lovely “deleted scene” from her new release where Lady Catherine and Anne de Bourgh meet Mr. Collins for the first time!
This isn’t the first time I’ve written a brand new vignette for Meredith’s blog, and I 
hope to continue the tradition with future books.
My apologies to Leslie, Nina, Gail, and Ellen, as they did not beta or edit this scene, and there will be extra commas.
This particular vignette is the recruitment interview for the handsome Mr. Collins by Lady Catherine and Anne de Bourgh.
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A New Rector for Hunsford: Part One
The gentleman in front of Lady Catherine was tall and, judging from the manner in which his clerical robes hung loosely on his frame, a bit on the thin side. On the other hand, his posture was sturdy enough—rather like an old oak—though he was barely five and twenty. After a dauntingly complete set of questions intended to intimidate him into showing his flaws, he asked if that was all.
Lady Catherine adjusted herself from one hip to the other upon her throne-like chair before she dismissed him while rolling her eyes skyward. She could not help it. The man, Mr.—what was his name again?—had shown himself as a dreadful candidate. He stammered his goodbyes and turned to leave. Before he placed his plain hat on his head, Lady Catherine noted he had a large bald patch in his greasy black hair.
“What say you, Anne?” Lady Catherine asked her daughter, who was perched upon satin cushions in an elaborate cherub and dove carved seat next to her.
“Mr. Blather was knowledgeable about the affairs of being a parson and had a perfect Biblical quote for every question. But he is far too boring for my tastes,” Anne de Bourgh replied.
“He was timid as a church mouse, and an unattractive one at that. Did you see the size of his nose?” Lady Catherine was enjoying making sport of the poor fellow who had just left the room.
Her daughter was clever in her own way of skewering those unfortunate enough to meet with the disapproval of the two ladies. Anne giggled and nodded. “And his ears. For such a young man…well, I’d hate to see them once he is aged.”
“A cleric need not be so unsightly. In addition, I prefer a man who can state his opinions in his own words and show some original thought.”
“Yet he contradicted you at one point!”
“You noticed that! Dearest, what sort of pie-brain would disagree with his 
patroness?”
“One lacking in the right sort of wit, I should think, Mama.”
“Indeed. And did you see his balding pate? That would be so diverting during Holy Communion! I shudder to anticipate the giggles from amongst the parishioners whilst he is performing the service! It will not do.”
“Perhaps the next applicant will be more successful.”
“Yes. His letters of introduction are odd and mixed, yet he has written to me himself, and I admire the fresh mix of servility and self-importance he portrays. With my guidance, he could become just what Hunsford needs.”
“He is waiting in the saloon as we speak?” asked her daughter.
“Yes, and if you are prepared, we may as well go ahead with the interview.”
Anne nodded her approval so Lady Catherine signalled to the footman to show the next aspirant to the living at Hunsford into the parlour where they were asking questions to determine the suitability of each.
“Mr. Collins,” the name was announced just as the most handsome man in the Kingdom walked through the door of the parlour. He bowed exceedingly low to her then snapped up to his full glorious height before he bowed and scraped to Anne in turn.
One of Lady Catherine’s hands went to her touchstone, a large emerald in the middle of the choker that was a prize of the de Bourgh collection of jewels, whilst the other flipped open her lace fan in order to help cool her heated complexion. Could she avoid an apoplectic attack before she was able to speak again? Because her heart had stopped as she stared wildly at this uncommonly wonderful specimen of male perfection in front of her.
—To be continued on “Laughing with Lizzie” on October 31, 2017!
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Thanks for hosting this little tidbit, Meredith. Readers, what would you think if you saw #HOTCollins at a job interview?
Oh my, Suzan! I think if I saw #HOTCollins for an interview, I would become extra nervous (hosting interview would render me nervous anyway). But with an attractive candidate, I think I would be even more nervous and probably forget half my questions! 😉 Can’t wait to see how Lady C and Anne conduct this interview! Thank you so much for sharing!!
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GIVEAWAY TIME!!!
Meryton Press is generously giving away 8 ebook editions of A Most Handsome Gentleman in conjunction with this blog tour!! Woot woot!
Commenting on this post and entering through the rafflecopter widget on this blog enters you in a chance to win!
- This giveaway is open worldwide. Thank you, Meryton Press!
- This giveaway ends November 3rd!
~ A Most Handsome Gentleman Blog Tour ~
Thank you to Janet Taylor, Meryton Press, and Suzan Lauder for making this blog tour possible! Click the image above to check out the rest of the tour!
** EBOOK SALE **
Time to grab Suzan’s other fabulous releases – Alias Thomas Bennet and Letter From Ramsgate – on ebook if you don’t own them already! They will be $1.99 for one day more!!
Well, let’s see what happens when he opens his mouth! Loved the exchange between Lady Catherine and Anne.
Exactly! Thanks so much for commenting!
Well, I can only guess what happens now, since I didn’t get the preview 😉 I know #HotCollins quite well, however, so I think my guess as to his behaviour should be pretty good. Can’t wait to see what Anne and Lady Catherine do in this first encounter. I do so giggle at their behaviour in the book. Congrats on the release, Suzan!!
Readers, Leslie was one of two beta/cold readers for this mini-novel so she got to see the main act first. This vignette was only written after the book was complete, since we wondered what the job interview for the Hunsford living would look like. Thanks for everything, hon!
LOL! 😉 Lucky Leslie! I’m glad you decided to write this scene, Suzan. It is one of those off-stage scenes that I think Jane Austen herself would have had fun imagining and writing – whether Mr. Collins is hot or not!
What a wonderful excerpt. I thought it was funny that they first interview someone who very much sounds like the Mr Collins I am familiar with and I love the ending with Lady Catherine clutching her jewels. He must be very handsome to be able to cause her to swoon.
Thanks, darcybennet. Physically, Mr. Blather looked much like Guy Henry from “Lost in Austen.” But he wasn’t enough of a sycophant for Lady Catherine.
I did too at first!
Love it! I can’t imagine how a handsome Mr. Collins will change the story. Will he be as silly and clueless as the original?
Thanks for the giveaway!
Mr. Collins will be the same, except handsome, and because he has Collins’s ego, as vain about his looks as his station in life. Meryton Press is generous in the giveaway!
Wow!!! A hot Collins is a stunning twist, I wonder if his personality was given a bit of a touch up as well, by the type of bow he made I am not so sure….lol Look forward to reading this one
Stunning is a good word in many ways. The second part of the vignette and the book blurb give away his personality. Its’s a short read, with D&E as much a focus as Mr. Collins.
Great excerpt, thanks for sharing. I’m looking forward to reading this book, I’ve heard it’s very funny. Congratulations Suzan.
You’re welcome! I love sharing. I’m also really happy you heard it’s funny, as that means the word is getting out. Thanks so much!
My goodness! A handsome Mr. Collins throws a ‘monkey wrench’ in my concept of P&P. I shall have to check it out.
Some of the hi-jinks could be called “monkey business,” too! Glad you plan to check it out, Brenda. You’re always such a supporter of other authors.
Oh that was fun! Since we know Lady Catherine’s reaction, I would love to know Anne’s!! I quite enjoyed her opinion when talking with her mother. I will have to read this to find out if she goes chasing after Collins too?!!! I also love the paintings you have chosen to represent them! Congratulations!!!
The book is just as fun, and the post next week will answer some of your questions regarding this scene. There is much more of Anne and Lady C. in the book.
The paintings are always tricky, as the author has to find ones that are okay to use along with promotion of the book. I was lucky to find ones that suited the characters. I’m glad you agree.
I agree, Carole! I can’t wait to see what Anne says and does!
I’m so glad Suzan included these lovely paintings! I’m such a visual person and I love to share visuals with my posts, so I really appreciate seeing these lovely works of art that represent Suzan’s Lady C and Anne.
So even Lady Catherine gets affected
Yup. He’s that handsome.
Oh, a hot Mr Collins! What a fun premise 😀 Congrats on the new release, Suzan!
I’m glad you like it, Joana! Thanks!
OOH, Hot Collins-this is fascinating.
denise
Yes, it’s fascinating to even begin to think of it.
Love the hat Suzan. And this vignette. Fancy Lady Catherine overcome by mr Collins .
I’m looking forward to the book
Thanks! It began life as a silk table runner until I wrapped it into a Regency turban to hide that I have short hair and no fancy Regency bun at a ball. I hope you get to read the book soon!
Hot Collins!! I can’t even imagine what that little change would do to the whole story! Lol thanks for sharing!
Believe it or not, it can make a great difference as all the characters react to his hotness. You’re welcome, and thanks for the comment!
I love exploring small changes like this, like Suzan said they can have a great impact!
What a delightful vignette!! I’m going to have to be sure to follow this story on the next blog tour stop! Thank you for writing this scene especially for your tour, Suzan, and for the lovely giveaway!!
Warmly,
Susanne 🙂
Thanks for your sincere comments, Susanne. The next stop turns out to be on European time, so I got to find out I got a 5/5 star from Loren early. Meryton Press is generous in its giveaway for my little book.
That was a fun interview! A “Hot” Collins! I can’t wait to read what come out of his mouth. Thanks for this post. Will check it out.
Aw, Jennifer, thanks so much. You’re such a great support to authors. You’re welcome–I loved writing this and part two.
OMG!!! I need my fan. How hilarious. I bet that is the first time Lady Catherine nearly swooned in her life. I can’t wait to read her expression when he opens his mouth. What fun. I cannot wait to read this.
We’ll have to see next week. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of the blog tour–and the novel!
Hotter than Mr. Darcy? This should be verrrry interesting …
That seems to be what the blurb says. We’ll see about that. Handsome is as handsome does and all.
Oh my, that was a funny extra scene. Look forward to encountering more Hot Collins.
I can guarantee that more #HOTCollins will entertain you, Sophia. Thanks for stopping by!
Oh this is fun! I can’t wait to read the rest! And if there were too many commas, I didn’t notice. LOL
Ha! The sentence apologising for extra commas was the one that had two extra commas.
This is such fun! Great vignette. I can’t wait to read the rest of it. Thanks, Suzan and Meredith! Aren’t you special, Meredith, to get your very own original vignette! Neat!
Meredith’s blog is always good, so I had to keep up with the Joneses and the Diamonds and the Starneses and the Webbs etc. etc. I’m glad you enjoyed it, and thanks so much for organizing the blog tour!
<3 🙂 I am always thrilled to host and work with Suzan, but it is so kind of her to make it extra special! I love original vignettes, they definitely stay with me when I eventually read the whole book. Such fun posts!
LOL!, Suzan! You are keeping up and doing so fantastic! Congrats again!
Looks were only part of Mr. Collins’ problems. Stupidity was his greatest flaw – once he opened his mouth, his looks would not help him one bit regardless of how handsome he was. Looks don’t negate stupid!
Exactly! Now imagine a novel where people overlook his flaws because of those looks, except the smarter of them, who narrates the story.
Lol, pie-brain indeed 🙂 Really enjoyed this post !
Hahaha! Nothing I love more than having my prose quoted back at me when I forgot I used it. Thanks so much!
You have me intrigued!
I’m so happy to hear that, BeckyC! I hope you like the book.
Sounds like it will be a fun read.
It’s intended for fun, so I hope you’re right!
Oh super fun vignette!! Love it Suzan!
I’m honoured that you had fun with it, Amy.
I am looking forward to reading this. Thanks for sharing.
I hope it meets with your approval, Sheila, since you are such an avid JAFF reader and reviewer.
Part two of “A New Rector for Hunsford” is up at Laughing with Lizzie https://laughingwithlizzie.blogspot.ca/2017/10/blog-tour-most-handsome-gentleman-by.html. We have a masquerade going on over there for Halloween! You can still enter the giveaway with comments there or on this blog post (one per day). Thanks to Meredith and Sophie for hosting the halves of the vignette!