Hi friends! Happy Friday! I’m so happy to welcome back author Melissa Anne to Austenesque Reviews today! Melissa’s newest release – Worthy of Her Trust – has an interesting premise. It sounds like Elizabeth is maybe not a Bennet and has a prior childhood connection to Mr. Darcy. 😮

I love stories that place Darcy and Elizabeth in such a new and different type of situation, don’t you? 😊

Melissa is here to share an excerpt from Worthy of Her Trust. We hope you enjoy! 🙌🏼

It’s so easy to make Caroline a villain in Pride and Prejudice variations. Her pretensions have probably reached a nearly legendary level in many of the stories that include her. Not that she is never redeemable, but she is an easy target for so many writers – myself included.

In Worthy of Her Trust, Caroline plays only a minor role, but her delusions are evident early on. She intends to force a compromise involving Darcy if he does not willingly fall victim to her charms, but is stymied at every turn.

In this excerpt, Caroline is complaining that all her efforts to compromise Mr. Darcy are failing and trying to encourage her brother to help (he’s not much of a friend to Darcy here). However, the servants at Netherfield Park, both those who accompanied Darcy and the retainers that belong to the estate, have no intention of letting that happen either.

~ Excerpt from Chapter 3 ~

While Darcy was riding the fields and coming to know Elizabeth better, Caroline Bingley was plotting. The night before, they had attended a card party at the Lucases, and Miss Bingley did not care for the attention the gentlemen of her party paid to the Bennet family. She was frustrated with Charles’s flirting with Jane Bennet, although she knew it would not go anywhere. Still, her Mr. Darcy’s eyes were drawn entirely too often toward the second Miss Bennet, the penniless, orphaned cousin, who might be the natural child of the previous master of Longbourn.

Miss Bingley surreptitiously watched the interactions between the two. It was apparent they knew each other better than their brief acquaintance should have allowed, which made her wonder how that came to be. She knew Mr. Darcy went out for a daily ride, but other than that, he was in the house, often ensconced in the study — or on the estate with her brother. This bothered the lady nearly as much as the attention he paid to Eliza Bennet. She could not engage herself to the gentleman if she were never in company with him.

Despite her best efforts, she continued to be unsuccessful. The footmen seemed to be taking orders from someone else since she demanded one leave her alone in the breakfast room on at least two occasions as she waited for Mr. Darcy to appear. However, he never appeared when a servant was out of the room. Not only that, the door to his bedroom and sitting room, even the servant entrances, were locked at all hours, and Caroline could not obtain a key. It seemed the housekeeper had been instructed, although she could not discover by whom, that no family member was to have a key to his rooms or the servant entrances. Aside from the housekeeper, only Mr. Darcy’s valet, Mr. Roberts, had a key to that gentleman’s room, and he was always present when the maids went in to clean, preventing Caroline or her maid from being able to slip in.

“Charles, I cannot compromise Mr. Darcy if I cannot get into his rooms. He departs early each morning for his ride, and his valet keeps the doors locked — all of them — as though he does not trust the residents of the house. His man opens the doors for the maids to clean, though he remains within the rooms and locks them immediately when they depart. The footmen will not leave the breakfast parlour while Mr. Darcy is there, and despite all of my efforts, it appears he will not ask me to marry him without some provocation. What are you going to do to force your friend to propose to me?” Miss Bingley screeched at her brother the morning after the gathering at Lucas Lodge.

“I never promised to help, Caro, only to encourage him to act as a gentleman if you succeeded in compromising him. It seems he does not intend to be compromised,” Bingley replied, laughing inwardly at his sister. “I know you are determined, and while I would welcome him as a brother, I am not willing to lose his friendship. If I were to do anything to aid you in your efforts, he would sniff it out, and, should you succeed, he would cast my friendship away without a second thought. I might be his brother-in-law in that instance, but he would no longer allow me in his company. I am still unsure whether your compromise would get you what you desire. While Darcy is honourable to a fault, he can also be harsh when crossed. No amount of persuasion has ever convinced him to do what he does not want to do.”

Caroline changed tactics as she continued to screech her displeasure. “Another thing, Charles, you are far too enamoured of that mousy Miss Bennet. That Bennet family is positively awful—the second daughter is the worst of the lot—but you are being taken in by the eldest. You cannot marry so far beneath yourself; you should stop pursuing the chit, or you will give her expectations.”

“She’s beautiful and a fun diversion. Should she offer me more than her smiles, I would not turn her down, but you are correct: I will not marry her. However, nothing will come of a harmless flirtation.”

“Mr. Darcy is enamoured of that hoyden Eliza Bennet,” Caroline nearly yelled, showing the true reason for her upset. “If I cannot persuade Mr. Darcy to propose to me soon, we must depart Netherfield for London. I will not stand for remaining here much longer. If nothing else, I must get Darcy away from her. I will not allow that … that woman to take my place.”

Bingley attempted to placate his sister. “Darcy would never offer for an impoverished woman, as I understand the Bennet daughters have next to nothing as a dowry. He may be, as I am, engaging in a harmless flirtation with the girl. Continue to work your arts upon him and just see if you cannot persuade him to offer for you without affecting a compromise. It will go much better for you that way.”

“What if that Eliza Bennet succeeds in compromising him first?”

“I think you are being ridiculous if you think that will occur. He rides in the morning and then spends his days here, usually with Hurst and me when we go out shooting. He spends the evenings in company with you and Louisa when you flirt with him. He has never even called at Longbourn and has been in company with the Bennets twice. And surely you observed how he looks at the parents? He cannot stand them.”

Mollified, Caroline decided to do as her brother suggested. She began dressing even more provocatively and noticed Mr. Darcy eyeing her costumes with interest. Each time she came near him, she immediately latched onto his arm and flattered and simpered up at him as she had seen done in all the best ballrooms. She had no idea that each time she did those things, she pushed any future as Mrs. Darcy further and further away.

“Miss Bingley is in a right snit that I will not give her a master key. She has specifically questioned your master’s habits of locking all the doors and your practice of being on hand while the maids clean the room. If she gets her way, she’ll compromise the man, and I wouldn’t put it past her to try something soon. She’s frustrated, that one is, since he does not pay her the attention she thinks she deserves,” the housekeeper, Mrs. Nicholls, warned Mr. Darcy’s valet when she encountered him one afternoon.

She was not finished and continued, her tone indicating not a little curiosity: “Not only that, but she thinks he’s paying too much attention to Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Everyone in Hertfordshire admires Miss Lizzy, and it seems she and your master have been meeting atop Oakham Mount each morning since the assembly, did you know?”

Roberts, Darcy’s valet, was like his master, tending to be a quiet and solemn man. He considered the matter before he spoke. “My orders are to prevent Miss Bingley from compromising my master, and I have spoken to several other servants willing to aid in this. Many of the local servants do not seem to like the Bingley family very well and do not want to see my master tied to the mistress,” he finally said.

“And has he said anything to you about Miss Lizzy?”

“He has not.”

Her face fell. “Oh.”

“But he seems to be rather pleased after his rides each morning, more so than a mere ride would normally bring, and was aggravated the morning he was prevented from riding out due to the weather,” the valet revealed slowly, his lips twitching slightly at the corners.

That returned the smile to the housekeeper’s face. “He could not find a better woman, should he decide in her favour.”

“I will tell him you said so,” Roberts replied with a slight grin.

I’m so grateful that Mr. Darcy is outsmarting Caroline Bingley! And I’m happy to see his valet is so loyal and trustworthy too! But oh no! It sounds like Mr. Bingley is not as sincere… I think this story promises to have a lot of surprising twists and developments! 

Thank you for sharing, Melissa! 🙂

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Worthy of Her Trust is available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited. Twice, it was briefly a best-seller in the Adaptations and Pastiche Fiction category in the first month after its release and has more than 500 Amazon reviews already. Thank you so much for reading this and my other works. 

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GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

Today, Melissa brings with her ONE ebook copy of her new novel, Worthy of Her Trust for me to giveaway to ONE lucky winner!

To enter this giveaway, leave a comment, a question, or some love for Melissa!

• This giveaway is open worldwide.  Thank you, Melissa!
• This giveaway ends April 19th!