Hi friends! Happy Friday!
I’m so excited to welcome, not one, but two Quills and Quartos authors to Austenesque Reviews today – Jan Ashton and Justine Rivard! ✨
As you may have seen, this lovely duo celebrate the release of their new Pride and Prejudice sequel – A Delicate Rose – early this week! 🥳
And this sequel sounds fascinating because it explores new developments with a previously distant and contentious relationship – Lady Catherine and Elizabeth Darcy. 😮
Jan and Justine are here to share an enticing excerpt from A Delicate Rose. We hope you enjoy! 🙌🏼
~ Excerpt from A Delicate Rose ~
Lady Catherine led the ladies into the drawing room at the end of the meal. Yes, it was Lady Matlock’s home,
yes, Lady Matlock was a countess while she herself was only the daughter of an earl, and yes, Lady Matlock was her elder. Nevertheless, Lady Catherine still felt she deserved to take precedence, most particularly since the insult of being placed in the maroon bedchamber with a poor view of the gardens, so she marched ahead with the other ladies following her, rather like a little flock of ducklings, she reflected. It was as it should have been at Rosings, had she ever welcomed such a large assemblage.
She returned to the blue chair she had occupied previously that evening, the one that complemented her eyes so well according to people with taste and discernment. This time as she spread her voluminous skirts wide, she was reminded of how unacceptably tiny the cushions were. She recalled advising her sister-in-law years before about the proper size, the best fabrics, and most skilled upholsterer for this piece of furniture. The countess had evidently not taken her advice, more fool her.
How she despised being a guest in another’s home, compelled to eat undercooked meals and sit in unsuitable furniture. Rosings and Pemberley were grand houses, with grand furnishings; earnest as she was, Lady Matlock lacked the gifted eye for decoration that Lady Catherine shared with her late sister. Oh! She would have to ensure Darcy’s rustic new wife did not taint Pemberley with her quaintly impoverished tastes in fabrics and wall-papers.
“Let us set the lesson plan for Miss Elizabeth Bennet!” she commanded. “Settle in, ladies, we have much to discuss.”
The other ladies, who had been standing stupidly about whispering amongst themselves in defiance of all propriety, obediently closed their mouths. “Miss Bennet!” she barked, “You must sit by my side so that I may examine you properly. Anne, you sit over there where she may observe your figure and manner!”
“Mrs Darcy,” interjected Lady Matlock. “It is Mrs Darcy, if you please.”
“Yes, yes. Sister, you must sit here, to my other side. Eleanor, over there, next to Anne.”
The ladies did as they were instructed. Lady Catherine noticed Miss Bennet glance sideways at Abington’s wife as the two women exchanged seats. Her eyes narrowed at their familiarity. “None of that, now! Do you wish to have a successful entry into society or not?”
“Indeed, I do. My apologies,” said the baggage, inclining her head slightly.
“Very well. Let us begin.”
Lady Catherine took a great fortifying breath and in doing so knocked her cane, which had heretofore leant against the small table next to her. It fell with a sharp whack on her left foot, precisely on her infernal bunion, which began to throb. She hissed at the sharp ache.
“Catherine, your foot is troubling you again, is it? Would you like a pillow and a footstool? Some powders, perhaps?” Lady Matlock rose and reached for the bell-pull. “We shall ensure a heated cushion is in your bed tonight.”
Lady Catherine nodded her thanks—what was she to say when her sister-in-law was simpering so? She quickly decided on a response.
“Sherry! I must have a sherry. Where is the footman?”
Darcy’s bright-eyed chit stood, moving towards the decanter. “No need, Lady Catherine. I shall fetch it for you.”
Lady Catherine noted the girl’s propensity to pour generous servings into the small glasses. She would have to keep an eye on that—not only was she wasteful with others’ liquor, the hussy clearly had a raging love affair with it. She had her work cut out for her, indeed.
Once the impertinent thing had shoved sherry indecorously into the hands of all the ladies and was once more seated, Lady Catherine cried, “Let us begin! Miss Bennet, we must first catalogue all your deficiencies so that we may identify the most egregious of them and begin our work there. You must take a turn about the room so that I may observe your posture and bearing.”
“Catherine, I really must protest,” said Lady Matlock in her annoyingly mild manner.
“Truly, I do not mind,” said the country bumpkin herself, wearing one of those unreadable smiles that so frustrated Lady Catherine. “I am certain there is a purpose to these lessons, and we must begin at the beginning.”
She rose from her chair and began stamping gracelessly across the room as if she were marching about in one of her beloved cow pastures. Her pace was steady enough; apparently, she was unaffected by those greedy sips of sherry. Her gown, while made of a fine white silk, flopped loosely over her midsection whilst her bosom was indecently high in a too-tight bodice. A more skilled dressmaker was necessary, someone with an excellent understanding of sartorial structure and volume and a heavier hand with the starch. And her hair! Lady Catherine itched to get her own lady’s maid to work on the slattern’s flat, unbecoming coiffure. It must be taller! And then taller still.
It was simple enough to paint a pretty picture by draping her in finely fitted fabrics. But she was small—too small for her nephew, a man blessed with the height of all Fitzwilliams—and Darcys, too, she supposed. Her eyes were as dark as Darcy’s, and she had a glow about her that was hardly becoming. Thank goodness her flesh was no longer marred by a tan; it was the town bronze she needed. Now, if she could only get her to stop smiling and laughing with such frequency.
The entire situation was absurd. How could she make a silk purse from this sow’s ear? She would never be able to get the girl ready for the opera.
Oh my word. It is too comical! 🌹
I love that this is being shared from Lady Catherine’s POV, and thus imbued with all her critical asides and internal degrading commentary – calling Elizabeth “baggage” and “country bumpkin.” 😁
All I have to say is Elizabeth is exhibiting the patience and self-control of a saint! 😇
~~~
GIVEAWAY TIME!!!
In conjunction with Jan’s and Justine’s lovely visit, Quills & Quartos is giving away 3️⃣ copies of A Delicate Rose to 3️⃣ lucky readers of this blog.
To enter this giveaway leave a comment, a question, or some love for Jan and Justine below!
- This giveaway is open worldwide. Thank you, Quills and Quartos!
- This giveaway ends June 30th.
I already have this saved in my Amazon wishlist. Love the different POV!
So glad you like the Lady Catherine POV! I wouldn’t want to live there, but it was really fun to imagine what it was like inside her brain. Thanks for putting us on your list, and hope you enjoy the book.
Sounds amazing! Can’t wait to read. LOVE the cover image.
Jan chose that beautiful cover! Isn’t it great? Hope you enjoy the story.
I would love to win a copy
Good luck, Nina!
Félicitations aux deux autrices pour la sortie de leurs sequel de Pride and Prejudice et cet extrait me donne bien envie de découvrir “Delicate Rose “
Merci beaucoup, Maria!
Yikes, Lady Catherine is so harsh! This will definitely be an interesting point of view!
Crusty on the outside but she ends up pretty gooey on the inside!
Oooo…to be inside of Lady Catherine. I would like to read this book. The cover is very beautyful
We hope you read it! Lady Catherine displays all her many facets in the story! And we love the cover too, thanks!
Fabulous excerpt as it gives us a pretty clear picture of the story’s take on the absurdities of Lady Catherine. It sounds to me like Elizabeth is taking it all with good humor and grace and even throwing in a few things for LCdB to criticize–the amount of sherry, the way she walks, etc. Well done! Congratulations on publishing another tale. I’m looking forward to reading it.
Lady C is one of those people who enhances her self-worth by criticizing and judging others. She’s met her match in Elizabeth, whose wit is now matched by her love and devotion to Darcy. Hope you enjoy our little tale, Jeannette!
Oh my! Am I wrong or is Elizabeth taking the mickey? I think she is humouring Lady Catherine for her own amusement! I look forward to reading this to see if I’m right.
What a perfect phrase to sum up what Elizabeth is doing, albeit with a little more earnestness. She does want Darcy and his aunt to reconcile. I hope you enjoy the story, Glynis!
Loved this story! You both make a comedic dynamic duo!
(No need to add me to the giveaway)
Thank you, Sam! You gave us a fantastic review—made our hearts sing (and more in tune than poor LCdB’s operatic warbling).
Please enter me in the giveaway Thanks!
Good luck!
What a beautiful cover. I look forward to seeing Lady Catherine as a human. 😉
“As a human”— love that description. Some of her layers are indeed pulled back; we were all kids once, even her. Glad you like the cover. It just shouted a young Lady C to us.
This book sounds very interesting! 🙂
Lady Catherine thinks so. Thanks, Patricia!
I can just imagine what that smile that annoyed Lady Cat so much meant on Elizabeth’s face. What fun!
🙂
Ha ha, right? You know her fists were clenched and things were broken in her rooms later.
Oh, my stars!! This was hysterical. Lady Catherine’s POV. Now we know exactly what she is thinking. Being in her head is a dangerous thing. She is so full of herself. It is a scream. Thanks for sharing this excerpt.
Ha, her mind is indeed a dark and stormy place but Elizabeth is a pretty fearless lady herself. I’m glad you enjoyed the excerpt. Lord knows, Justine and I had a great time writing the story together!
Lovely cover and what an amusing excerpt! This is a story I have to read, so I hope I get lucky.
We love being in your “have to read” pile! Good luck in the drawing!
Being inside Lady Catherine’s brain…now that’s a real different kind of scenario. She sees Elizabeth as nearly savage. I dread to think what she has in mind for her hair! Yikes! Truly fun to have this POV. I look forward to reading this.
An you imagine her reaction to Lydia or Mrs Bennet? Justine was especially talented at coming up with rude ways for Lady C to think of dear Mrs Darcy. Hope you enjoy reading the story!
Thanks for a chance to win a copy. Lovely cover.
Thank you, Sheila! Good luck!
I loved the excerpt. It is rare to read JAFF from Lady’s Catherines perspective. I’m anxious to see how this turns out and how long Elizabeth’s patience lasts. –Leslie
Thanks, Leslie. It was a lot of fun to try to see (and rage against) the world from Lady C’s POV. We’d done it through Bingley’s POV in our previous book together, and while Lady C is less endearing, we hope her softer bits peek through (thanks to some help from Elizabeth).
I have it on my wish list!
Yay! Hope you’ll get a copy, Glory!
Thanks to everyone for commenting, and huge thanks to lovely Meredith for hosting us and A Delicate Rose! Lady Catherine would approve. 😉
Sounds interesting and different from anything I’ve read before.
You may be right: I’ve been reading JAFF for more than twenty years and I’ve never seen a Lady C quite like this one. Justine and I have a fondness for her “unique” personality, lol. Hope you’ll get a laugh from the story!
Can’t wait to read it!!!
Hope you enjoy the book!
Hi Jan and Justine!
Lady Catherine is kind of Pigmalion to Lizzy and this relationship provides a lot of fun situations 😉
I love you have created such a humorous tandem!
Thanks for the chance to win a copy and good luck with the release!
I love the cover, it’s so colourful!
Oh, I don’t know if we even realized the Eliza Doolittle and Professor Higgins of it all! But duh, of course! Thanks for pointing it out. Lady C assumes she herself is already the fairest of them all, but will do her best to make “that woman” into a fair lady. We hope you enjoy the story, which is as colorful as the cover, lol
I recently purchased this and am looking forward to reading it. It looks to be a fun read based on the excerpt here.
Thanks for buying the book! Let us know if you enjoy, Kathryn!