Happy Wednesday, readers! I’m so excited about today’s guest – the lovely Mary Sherwood! If you don’t already know Mary, she is the author of an enthralling and encompassing Pride and Prejudice sequel trilogy – A Marriage Worth the Earning. Mary is very special to me because she was one of the first authors to request a review from me before I even started my blog! Talk about a thrilling honor! It was because of authors like Mary that I felt like writing reviews and starting a blog is something I could and should do! 🥰
Mary is here to celebrate the final release of her A Marriage Worth the Earning trilogy – Volume III, To Love and to Cherish! First she will share a brief overview of all three books and then a tempting excerpt from Volume III, To Love and to Cherish. We hope you enjoy! 🤗
Meredith, I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to be here on your lovely blog to discuss the
publication of the third book of my trilogy, A Marriage Worth the Earning. I’m overjoyed that the series is finally complete and have even shed tears at parting ways with these beloved characters in my vision of the Darcy marriage. They have been an integral part of me for many years and to bring their conclusion to fruition in Volume III, To Love and to Cherish, is a dream come true. Here is a quick overview of each volume followed by a favorite, light-hearted excerpt from book three:
The Pride and Prejudice sequel trilogy, A Marriage Worth the Earning, examines the premise that old habits die hard in regards to the willful and opinionated natures of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennet. In Volume I, To Have and to Hold, their marriage begins idyllic – where no
demands or restraints are placed upon the enamored bride and groom. Yet when things are no longer as they had envisioned and the dam breaks with what seems as if the whole world has crashed upon Pemberley’s doorstep, pressing obligations and expectations rush upon them from every unimaginable quarter. Under so much pressure, reverting to familiar ways occurs instinctively. Ingrained behaviors shockingly reappear, leaving husband and wife bewildered, provoked, and astounded at the tattered state of their marital union. Throw in mounting suspicions, heightened frustrations, surging hormones, and tight-lipped explanations to create a perfect storm of misunderstandings and heated actions, a storm that Darcy and Elizabeth must learn to weather, either alone or united.
In Volume II, For Better for Worse, the newlyweds’ first year of marriage continues where Darcy’s and Elizabeth’s growth in trusting and revering one another has blossomed but is not yet in full bloom. With their attentions drawn to so many individuals in dire need, their own needs are often pushed aside. Additional dilemmas will test their fortitude to the extreme but only time will reveal if they’ll 
be strengthened from the exhaustive efforts exerted or weakened by mounting reservations.
Volume III, To Love and to Cherish, commences with Mr. and Mrs. Darcy’s second year and well into the next and beyond. It opens several days later in London after the New Year’s Eve debacle at Pemberley followed by the marriage of Colonel Fitzwilliam and Miss Georgiana Darcy. On a quest to find his son, Colonel Fitzwilliam is desperate to know the veracity of the claim that he has, indeed, fathered an illegitimate child that yet lives. Emotions run high for all, especially for Darcy; he feels completely powerless as implacable resentment festers in his struggle to come to terms with the bitter possibility that his sister will soon become the mother of his cousin’s bastard son when having scarcely become a wife and the inevitable tarnish that will cast dispersions upon them feels insupportable. Intermingled with much happiness, many tragedies and heartaches take place that, by means of war or natural occurrence, have a way to either soften or harden the heart – with each individual being the author of their fate. In conclusion, through it all, Darcy’s and Elizabeth’s first years of marriage have revealed what matters most in life as they embrace the resolve in attaining it, earning it again and again, each day for the rest of their lives.
(In great distress, Mrs. Darcy returns to Pemberley from her once-a-year literary gathering and this frolicsome occasion ripens after a rather intense, soul-baring revelation affects ODC. I took poetic license with the first line of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s famous sonnet. It was too delicious not to. Enjoy!)
~ Excerpt from A Marriage Worth the Earning, Vol. III, To Love and to Cherish ~
Elizabeth flew from the carriage and up the steps, barely pausing to allow a servant to remove her spencer.
She then raced above stairs and burst into her bedchamber, throwing the door wide open. Startled at the commotion, Darcy whirled around and met his wife’s intense gaze. Their eyes locked, and for some moments, the Mistress of Pemberley stood frozen within the open doorway as they simply stared at one another. Yet, when detecting the contortion of her husband’s lips speedily followed by the pain and anguish of his crumpling countenance, she shot forward, slamming the door shut and then leaning against it with her hands tucked behind her.
. . . .
Here, her voice broke completely, and in an instant, her hands flew to cup over her mouth, stifling the sob that nearly burst forth. In a shocked manner, Darcy regarded her once more even as she erupted in heightened emotion, making many of her hurried words indistinct and indiscernible. To Darcy, her speech sounded almost gibberish, he could scarcely make out such phrases as: “… let that loveliness fade … time more dear … the heart truly loves, never forgets … the sunflower … the sunflower … my hair … my hair … my thinning hair … you still love me!”
Quickly gathering his distraught wife within his arms, Darcy whispered soothing words. “Shush, my dearest, I beg you not to cry. I will always love you, come what may. Have we not already weathered many a storm? Has our love not remained as strong and fixed as ever?”
Nodding against his chest, Elizabeth’s sobs soon subsided and only intermittent sniffles lingered. Finally lifting her head, she met her husband’s pained expression through reddened, puffy eyes. In a flash, he stood to his feet then crossed the room, first pausing at the bed, and then advancing towards the far wall where he removed a large mirror, leaning it against the window. With an outstretched arm, he bid her to come to him.
Elizabeth arose and, whilst wiping the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand, moved to join him.
“Stand forward here,” Darcy stated matter-of-factly after handing Elizabeth his handkerchief and adjusting the mirror against the window’s casing. He then walked behind her and began to studiously unpin, unwrap, and disentangle the turban fabric from her coif, the mirror reflecting his every movement. Elizabeth daubed at her eyes and blew her nose, mesmerised by his measured progress. Neither husband nor wife breathed a solitary word throughout the tedious endeavour.
After her last ringlets had fallen, Darcy carefully combed his fingers through her hair to part it in the middle. Elizabeth displayed a perplexing look as she continued to regard herself. Once parted to his entire satisfaction, he then tucked her fringe behind her ears and flattened her tresses on either side of the part with the palms of his hands. He examined it for some moments before directing, “Elizabeth, lean near the mirror and look closely. Look for any short hairs that stick straight up. New growth tends to be coarse and does not lie flat as broken strands do.”
Straining to stare upward as she inched closer, the young wife inspected the top of her head at her husband’s urging.
Watching her in the mirror, Darcy stated, “I see a great deal of new growth, akin to young saplings springing forth from the forest’s floor.”
A smile broke upon Elizabeth’s lips as the light provided easy detection. She cried in happy relief, “I see them, Fitzwilliam! I see them! Oh! I shall not be piebald as a magpie after all!”
Darcy removed his hands, shook his head, and chuckled in amusement as he stepped away to observe his sweet wife swiftly parting and flattening her hair at varying angles. “I do believe before too long, your mane will be as full as Sleipnir’s.”
Elizabeth turned an appreciative eye upon him. “Thank you, Fitzwilliam,” she said softly. “You always do such thoughtful courtesies for me … whereas, I fear I seldom have anything so brilliant or remarkable to offer in return.”
Darcy stared at her for a brief moment and then his eyes plunged to her bosom before scanning the rest of her figure. “You think not?” he muttered. “I beg to differ.”
Meeting her gaze once again, he stated ardently, “You are a rare, most pleasing sight to behold, Elizabeth. Daily, your charms, wit, and radiance amaze and excite me. I am, indeed, a most grateful recipient for all the exquisite considerations you so affectionately bestow. Uh … you learnt to make the most delicious sweetmeats, all in my behalf, and there are not many women in our sphere who would attempt such a difficult undertaking, let alone desire it. You are now a true confectioner, a master of the craft. An accomplishment I hope you will pass down to our daughters.”
Elizabeth rushed upon him, wrapping her arms about him, and looking up adoringly into his eyes and crying out, “Then let the exquisiteness begin! For how do I love thee, Mr. Darcy? Let me count the ways! I love the curls that fall upon your forehead.” Her eyes fixed upon his hair. She took her fingers and twirled them within a fallen lock.
Darcy observed her antics in delight.
“Your eyes!” She locked her own with his. “I love the never-ending way I often find you gazing upon me even in a crowded room, making me feel as if I am the only person present. “Your nose,” she tapped it and proclaimed, “it is perfection! Your ears,” she said, trailing a finger along the edge of each one. “They lie nicely against your head. Your cheeks …” She caressed each side with her fingertips and then playfully patted them. “Your mouth, I love, ever so much, when a grin erupts upon these lovely lips, your face becomes as bright as the sun, revealing your exquisite dimples.” In an instant, she brushed a kiss upon them. “Your chin,” she said, clutching it in a tight hold. “I love that our daughter has this very same indention just here, as her father’s.” She lovingly pressed the tip of her forefinger in ]is cleft. “And first and foremost, your neck! I cannot begin to tell you how enchanted I am by it.” She stared at his Adam’s apple and traced circles around it.
“Perhaps cravats should be forbidden?” He grinned.
“Oh no, my love!” Her eyes darted upward. “Women would fail to maintain their virtue if they were.”
Darcy rolled his eyes and smirked good-humouredly.
“And your broad, strong shoulders,” she cried anew as she slid her hands firmly along the sides of his neck to the breadth of his upper arms. “I could never exclude your muscles, my love,” she purred whilst squeezing them with abandon.
“Neither does my tailor,” Darcy quipped.
Elizabeth smiled humorously but advanced despite his jest. “Your chest!” She glided the flat of her hands over his breast and massaged the area in a back-and-forth fashion. “Your middle …” She dropped her hands and secured them to his sides before catching his gaze. “I love to slip my arms around you, just so.” Encircling her arms about him yet again, she then stated breathlessly, “I love you, Fitzwilliam. I love you so very dearly.”
The light in Darcy’s eyes was unmistakable. He absolutely adored her. Bending low, he captured her lips, kissing her smoothly before murmuring against her open mouth, “Your literary gatherings must become semi-annual, if this is the inspiration they afford.”
Smiling brightly, Elizabeth laughed outright.
“Pray, will you not continue to admire the rest of me?” He stood tall, stretching forth his arms and spreading his legs wide, ready to be examined completely. “For I assure you, there is more.”
Rolling her lips inward and swaying high upon her tiptoes, Elizabeth whispered in his ear before slapping his buttocks with all her might and roaring in laughter.
“In cases such as these, madam,” Darcy declared, scooping up his howling wife in his arms, then marching over to the bed and plopping her upon it, “we shall rectify that discrepancy forthwith.”
This excerpt gives us a taste of both the conflict/hardships that besiege ODC in this installment and the heartwarming proof of their fervent devotion for each other! I loved it! Having loved Volume I, To Have and to Hold, I am so eager to continue on this incredible journey with these characters! I haven’t seen a storyline for Colonel Fitzwilliam like that before and am curious to see how it plays out.
Thank you so much for sharing, Mary! And big congratulations to you on publishing the final book in this trilogy! I wish you all the best! 🎉
~~~
GIVEAWAY TIME!!!
Today, Mary generously brings with her 3️⃣ Kindle copies and 1️⃣ paperback copy of any book in her A Marriage Worth the Earning (winners’ choice) AND a $25 Amazon Gift Card 🙌🏼 for me to give away to some lucky winners! Woot woot!!! 😃
To enter this giveaway leave a question, comment, or some love for Mary below!
- This giveaway is open worldwide. (Paperback is open to US residents). Thank you, Mary!
- This giveaway ends August 25th.
Wow, thank you so very much for this snipet. I regularly browse new variations on Kindle and am surprised that this series has never come up in any of my searches. Nonetheless, this excerpt is amazing and I look forward to reading more! Thank you so very much to Mary for her hard work and dedication as an author and to you, for the post. I can’t wait to start this new (to me) series!
Melissa, thank you for your kind words and happy reading!
“Somebody” new for me and therefore “something” tempting to look forward reading 🙂
Kindest regards, Doris
Thanks Doris! Good luck in the drawing!
Never heard of this series, but would love to check it out!
I hope you are able and good luck in the drawing!
I did read, enjoy and review the first in this series. Good luck with the release.
That was in 2015 so, of course, I don’t remember the details.
Sheila, I remember your review and appreciate it very much! You are a true blessing to the JA community!
I’d like to finish the series. Thank you for sharing.
I hope you are able and good luck!
I bought the first two paperback books in 2014 when I first discovered JAFF. Alas there were many misunderstandings and quite a bit of angst so I was waiting for the third book to resolve them. Last year I was sorting out my books and as the third book hadn’t appeared, I gave the first two away as I found them too angsty for me.
If I’d known at the time I bought them that there would be a third book I would have waited so I could read them all at once!
Good luck with this and I must say I did enjoy this excerpt.
Glynis, I totally understand your reasoning — angst is difficult, especially if it isn’t resolved. Unfortunately, serious health issues interfered with the progress of my third book. Glad you enjoyed the excerpt and thanks so much for the good luck wishes. It’s very kind of you. I wish you good luck with the drawing.
I like the covers
Oh thank you so much! Good luck!
Wonderful feature and fascinating series.
Thank you, Ruth, for your kind comments. I wish you luck in the drawing.
I enjoyed the excerpt and look forward to reading this captivating series.
I’m pleased you enjoyed it, Laini, and hope you enjoy the series in full. Good luck!
I too feel I have not previously encountered this series. This excerpt leads me to believe it will be a most enjoyable read. Best of luck on the release of Vol 3 and thank you for the giveaway.
Thanks so much and good luck!
I never heard of this set but I’m still new to JAFF so maybe that is why! Thanks for sharing the snippet!
Ah! New to JAFF! How wonderful! So many delightful stories to enjoy! Happy Reading and good luck!
I am so excited about this third book. The moment I saw it was available I bought it immediately! I almost feel guilty starting it before going back to books 1 and 2 (which I read so long ago) and refreshing my memory. But I think I can get passed that guilt. LOL). So happy for book 3!!
Thank you, Amy! That means a great deal to me; it truly does. Wishing you luck!
It’s so wonderful to see Mary back with her 3rd book. I look forward to reading this last in the trilogy and wish Mary all the best on her publication. Thanks for featuring here!
Thank you, Jennifer, for your support and all the support you gave me when I reached out so often. You’re wonderful!
I enjoyed the first two books in this series and gave been waiting fir the third. The excerpt leads me to believe I won’t regret getting the third book. Thank you.
Oh thank you! Your kind remarks have put a smile on my face. I hope you enjoy it and good luck with the drawing!
Congratulations, Mary! I’m so excited for you! Your trilogy is truly wonderful, with moments that made me laugh out loud and moments that brought me to tears. It’s a beautiful continuation of our beloved story.
(Please do not enter me in the giveaway.)
Ah Katie! I love hearing from you again! Thank you so much for everything!
Wonderful introduction and enjoyable excerpt.
Thank you, Sharon, and the best of luck with the drawing!
I’m shy to claim I am new to this author and this trilogy. It sounds rather compelling, and I’m a fan of epic series. I share the others here wishing Mary great good luck with this book launch.
Thank you, Michelle! Good luck to you too!
What a lovely vignette! Love your writing!
Thank you so much for the very nice compliment and I’m happy you enjoyed it. Good Luck, Lily!
All of the books are on my reading list.
Thanks Mary! Good luck in the drawing!
Happiest of congratulations to the completion! The first section of the excerpt was really getting to me, not fully unnerving me but it has this vinegar that stung. Then…how sweet and soothing the second half was! The romance and passion with which I forever associate Darcy and Elizabeth was utter honey to my eyes. I almost felt this section in the Song of Solomon in Elizabeth’s playful description of Darcy. Thank you for the excerpt as it was really good.
Thank you, Jen! Yes, the blip of the first part of the scene is a bit heavy and so is the in-between part not shown, but I’m so glad you found the playfulness between ODC to be sweet and soothing. I wish you luck in the drawing!
Congrats on finishing the trilogy. I wonder what happens with the Colonel and Georgiana.
Thank you for your congrats! I’m so happy to receive it! Ah, the Colonel and dear Georgiana — such fun characters to explore and love. The best of luck in the drawing!
What an enjoyable excerpt.
denise
I’m so elated you enjoyed it, Denise, and good luck in the drawing!
Thank you for these reviews! I have never read anything from Mary Sherwood, but the books really sounds nice. I would love to read them!
Audny, I hope you have the chance to read them and find the experience enjoyable. Best wishes!
I also was unfamiliar with this series Bring on the angst!
Oh Lois, you brave angst. How wonderful! I love it too and love writing it. Best of luck!
It makes me so happy to discover new books and authors! Having the opportunity to enter a contest is the icing on the cake!
Since completing my series, I’ve discovered some wonderful JAFF books lately from several new authors and have been enjoying the sweet indulgence. Good luck!
I have read the first two books in this series, and am looking forward to reading this new one. Thanks for the opportunity to win a copy of the book!
Cyndy, thank you so much for reading my first two volumes and your desire to read the third. That’s so nice to hear. Wishing you the best!
Great job Mary and Meredith! I have also a special place in my heart for Mary’s books. I have recommended them to all I know for many years. I still have sticky notes on my pages with things I enjoyed. I haven’t kept all of my hundreds of books with moving twice but these I hang onto. I feel like I have been waiting for aeons of time for volume III. So glad it’s finally here. And I’m looking forward to reading every word. Please enter me in your drawing. I’d obviously love it. Any new readers of this author won’t regret it.
Suzan, thank you so much for such praise and your active recommendations of my work. And the sticky notes are endearing. Wow! I have a smile as wide as Bingley’s! Wishing you the best of luck!
I, too, read and enjoyed Mary’s first volume and was unaware of the second! Now I’d got even more reading pleasure ahead.It will be lovely to read all three in a row. Best wishes on your epic accomplishment.
Luisa, I’m delighted that you read and enjoyed my first volume and have now discovered the rest of the series. Thank you so much for your goodwill wishes for my trilogy. Bonne chance!
I have not had the pleasure of reading Mary’s books. But woth this wonderful excerpt I’m intruiged. I do love a bit if angst in a book, so it sounds like a series I’d enjoy! Haven’t got an ereader and do not live in the US. But would love to be entered for the giftcard, thanks for a chance to win!
Charlotte, thank you for sharing your thoughts about the excerpt and expressing your love for a bit of angst. Wishing you success in the drawing!
Mary – Congratulations on your new novel. I look forward to reading this trilogy. It’s so interesting that your book was one of the first reviewed by Meredith’s Austenesque Reviews. I never miss her blog. It’s the best and I have found to many wonderful stories. –Leslie
Leslie, I appreciate your congratulations and desire to read my series. Likewise, I’m so honored that Meredith took me on all those many years ago. I agree, her blog is the best! She’s truly a skilled reviewer whose reviews are works of art as much as the works she’s appraising. All the best in the drawing!
I have never heard of this series, but now I am searching it out. Thank you for the excerpt, and congrats on concluding the series!
Thank you very much, Robin! Good luck!
Was the first originally online? If so, I remember loving that. Regardless I look forward to adding to my must read list! Congratulations!
Hi Christina! Yes, AMWtE was first posted at Derbyshire Writers’ Guild in the very beginning and later on at other sites too. Thanks so much for your kind words and interest!
And a series worth reading!
I really appreciate your sentiment, Betty. I’m wearing a warm smile. It’s very kind of you to say so and best wishes in the drawing.
I waited NOT so patiently for this book to come out and have found it just as amazing as the first two. I love anything Mary writes!
Brenda, you are especially kind and I’m so grateful to you for allowing me to lean on you with all my questions that you answered so fully. You’re a special lady! Thank you for sharing your kind thoughts about my books and writing. I can’t thank you enough!
Hmm, yet another new series to add to the JAFF collection. My TBR hoard grows again!
Christina, my TBR list has grown a lot lately too. I love the freedom to immerse myself in JAFF again — though I’ve already begun to write two P&P short story variations, I’m still taking time to enjoy. Thanks and good luck!
Congratulations on the release of the last volume, I’m looking forward to reading this trilogy
Thank you, Kate, and best wishes.
Thank you so much for bringing this series to my attention, Meredith. I certainly intend to read it!
I cannot wait to reread Vol I and II! I remember how much I loved the story and now we have Volume III. Thank you for the intriguing excerpt and giveaway. Congratulations on this final book to the series.
Eva, I’m thrilled you loved the first two volumes and hope the third one will prove just as enjoyable. Thank you so much and good luck in the drawing!
Thank you for giving an insight into these sequels. Intrigued about all circumstances that will test their relationship. Thank you for this giveaway
You are welcome and the best of luck!
Absolutely loved the excerpt! I can’t wait to read the book. Congratulations on finishing your series!
I’m so happy you enjoyed the excerpt, Pam, and thank you very much for your congratulations. It’s wonderful to have the series complete — I hated leaving readers hanging. Wishing you the best!
I love the covers. The pictures of a beautiful, stately home sets the perfect tone for the books.
Thanks, Jeanna. I love this particular Great House, Lyme Park, for Pemberley that was featured in the 1995 BBC mini-series version of Austen’s P&P. In fact, this particular production, along with the actual text of Pride and Prejudice, had a profound influence on my rendering of the Darcy marriage. Good luck in the drawing!
Trilogies are hard work! Congrats on finishing!!!!! Loved the excerpt!
Thank you, it feels wonderful that it’s finished and I’m quite pleased with it too. So happy that you loved the excerpt. Best of luck!