Hi readers! It is a busy week at Austenesque Reviews! Today we are happy to welcome back author, Sue Barr, who you may have noticed recently released Fitzwilliam Darcy Undone! For those who enjoy a bit of magic and fantasy with their P&P, you will be happy to know that this variation combines some intriguing mystical and magical elements! 🔮 Sue is here to celebrate her lovely new release of Fitzwilliam Darcy Undone and share an enticing excerpt from Fitzwilliam Darcy Undone, we hope you enjoy!

What would Pride & Prejudice be like if Darcy and Elizabeth had a touch of magic in their lives?

First, I have to thank you Meredith for once again hosting me on your blog. I am more than humbled by the warmth and open regard the JAFF community has for its own, even though I joined the party a mere five years ago. I’d always written contemporary even though my preferred reading genre was Regency romance. I should have known JAFF would become my choice of reading when I returned time and time again to Pamela Aidan’s ‘Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman Series‘, and it should not have surprised me so much when I felt the itch to write my own JAFF story.

At this time, I’m working on the fourth and final book of my Pride & Prejudice continued series – Mary, but while struggling with some scenes I posted a Playground piece on A Happy Assembly. The theme that month was Magic and on my hard drive, tucked away in a secret corner, was a trilogy I’ve been working on since 2011. It’s extremely convoluted and has layers and layers of character development which I can only dabble on for short periods of time as it tends to consume me. However, I began to wonder if I could adapt a portion of this trilogy for a short one-shot deal, and the opening scene of Fitzwilliam Darcy Undone emerged. In the original trilogy, a resemblance of this scene took place from Book Two as does the penultimate scene between Darcy, Lizzy and Wickham.

The response from AHA readers was unexpected, and enthusiastic. A year later I posted a second scene to the original and then another. From there, after bribery of all forms and manner, I reluctantly (pffft) decided to make a complete novel out of Mr. Darcy’s unbridled passion for Miss Elizabeth Bennet. I stayed as close to canon as possible for the first portion because I knew, once the magic began to boil and bubble, the path became new and unfamiliar.

This scene is somewhat familiar. Mr. Collins proposing to our dear girl.

~ Excerpt from Fitzwilliam Darcy Undone ~

“I require that you remain and hear what Mr. Collins has to say.” Mama stood and glared down at her before sweetening her countenance and giving Mr. Collins a wide smile. “In fact, I insist upon your staying and hearing Mr. Collins.”

It was not in Elizabeth’s nature to openly defy her mother, and so she remained seated while Kitty and Mama exited the room. Their skirts had barely swished by the door frame before he began, rocking on his heels, hands clasped behind his back.

“Miss Elizabeth, your modesty adds to your other perfections. You would have been less amiable in my eyes had there not been a little unwillingness.”

Unwillingness? The fact that she even breathed made her amiable in Mr. Collins eyes. How could Mama even think she’d wish to join her hand with this, this… She paused in thought when she heard him say, “Almost as soon as I entered the house, I singled you out as the companion of my future life.”

Liar. You’d singled out Jane and Mama turned your eyes to me.

“But before I am run away with by my feeling…”

The idea of Mr. Collins being run away with his feeling almost made her laugh out loud as visions of him running down the graveled drive of Longbourn crying, “Miss Elizabeth. My feelings cannot be restrained. Miss Elizabeth come back. You run too fast for my squat short legs to catch up.” Her mirth nearly spilled over until it was replaced with vexation at his continuing soliloquy.

“…I could not satisfy myself without resolving to choose a wife from among his daughters, that the loss to them might be as little as possible, when that melancholy event takes place−”

“Mr. Collins!” Lizzy shot to her feet, shocking her verbose cousin into silence. “I cannot believe you would speak of my father’s future demise in such a callous fashion.”

“My dearest Cousin Elizabeth. I am only trying to allay your trepidation. I do not expect that event to occur for several years. In fact, I pray your father remains in good health for a good long time. I was trying to explain my motive in choosing a wife from among my beautiful cousins.”

“Then I suggest you move your attention further down the line. I am by no means amendable to accepting any proposal at this time.”

“You are delightful, Cousin Elizabeth. I am well aware it is the usual practice of young ladies to reject the addresses of a man whom they secretly mean to accept−”

“Secretly mean to accept? Did you not heed my words? I am not amendable to accept any proposal at this time.”

“I am also aware that sometimes the refusal is repeated a second or even a third time. I am therefore by no means discouraged by what you have said, and shall hope to lead you to the alter ere long.”

“You would have to lead me, Mr. Collins because there is no way on God’s green earth, I would willingly walk down the aisle to meet you. I am perfectly serious in my refusal. You cannot make me happy and I am convinced that I am the last woman in the world who would make you so.”

“Ah, cousin, I cannot wait to extol your virtues to my noble patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. When I see her next and she wishes me joy, I shall speak only in the highest terms of your modesty, economy, and other amiable qualifications. At no time will I bring up the sad fact of your paltry dowry of one thousand pounds in the four percents, which will not be yours until your mother is deceased. It is all you are entitled to and on that head, I shall be uniformly silent and you may assure yourself that no ungenerous reproach shall ever pass my lips when we are married.”

Lizzy gaped at the man who stood before her, convinced she’d marry him no matter what she said.

“First you speak of my father’s demise and the eventual take over of Longbourn, but now you speak of my mother’s impending death and my paltry dowry? You would like me to believe this is your way of making up for something which we cannot change. Well, thank you Mr. Collins. In making me this offer, you have satisfied the delicacy of your feelings with regard to my family, and may take possession of Longbourn estate whenever it falls, without any self-reproach. This matter may be considered, therefore, as finally settled.”

Throwing down her napkin, she turned to leave, but not before Mr. Collins spoke again.

“When I do myself the honor of speaking to you next on this subject I shall hope to receive a more favorable answer than you have now given me; though I am far from accusing you of cruelty at present, because I know it to be the established custom of your sex to reject a man on the first application, and perhaps you have even now said as much to encourage my suit as would be consistent with the true delicacy of the female character.”

He gave her a low bow, bending almost to the ground.

Frustrated beyond measure, Lizzy exclaimed with a wave of her hand, “Mr. Collins. Desist. Find another woman to marry for I will not have you.”

He straightened from his previous simpering position and a sense of serenity seemed to steal over his face. He smiled at her and said, “Yes. I believe I will. Thank you, Cousin Elizabeth.” And with that, he turned on his heel and flung open the door to the breakfast room, causing her mother and Kitty to almost tumble at his feet, they’d been leaning so close to the door.

Ooh! Elizabeth….what did you do? 🔮 Lol. And why didn’t you do it sooner?! I can’t wait to find out about Elizabeth’s unique powers! ✨

~Book Description ~

She’s the outcast in her family…

Elizabeth knows she’s different from the rest of her family. She has visions and strange dreams and sees things others do not. With the advent of the odious Mr. Darcy and his friends from Netherfield Park, as well as the amiable Mr. Wickham of the _____shire Militia, her powers seem to increase and her greatest fear is that she won’t be able to contain them and will be discovered.

He has eight hundred years of tradition to uphold…

No Darcy has married a non-magical woman since arriving on the shores of England with William the Conqueror in 1066.  However, his kind – Miatharans – are dwindling in numbers. Miatharan magic only flows through aristocratic blood lines, so his strange obsession with Miss Elizabeth Bennet is puzzling as she is not of noble blood. Just a country squire’s beautiful daughter who has him slowly becoming undone.

Fitzwilliam Darcy ~ Undone is available in Kindle Unlimited (Amazon) until Dec 12 when it will be released to other major digital retailers.

 

~~~

~ Connect with Sue ~

Twitter    ❧    Facebook    ❧    Goodreads    ❧    Blog

~ About Sue ~

Sue started writing in 2009 and sold her first manuscript in 2010. Always a reader of Regency romance, she discovered Jane Austen Fan Fiction in 2014 and almost immediately wanted to know – Whatever happened to Caroline Bingley after her brother and Mr. Darcy became engaged to a Bennet sister? From that question, her first JAFF book ‘Caroline’ was launched.

~~~

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

In conjunction with her book tour, Sue is giving away 3️⃣ebook copies of Fitzwilliam Darcy Undone to 3️⃣ lucky winners!!

• This giveaway is open worldwide.  Thank you, Sue!
• This giveaway ends December 5th.

Thank you to Christina Boyd and Sue Barr for making this blog tour possible and inviting me to take part!