Hi friends!

I’m excited to welcome the first author to visit Austenesque Reviews in 2026 – Jayne Bamber!

Jayne has a new book coming out soon titled – The Sisters’ Holiday!! And it is a Jayne Bamber classic – a mash-up variation including characters from Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility!

Jayne is here to share an excerpt from her upcoming new release – The Sisters’ Holiday. 👯‍♀️

We hope you enjoy!! 

Hello again, dear readers! I’m so excited to be back at Austenesque Reviews to share another excerpt for my upcoming release, The Sisters’ Holiday. This cozy winter tale begins with the Bennet sisters condoling with their heartbroken cousins, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, as Jane sulks after Mr. Bingley’s hasty departure from Netherfield.

While the Bennet sisters discover themselves to be heiresses, things are not going so well for Marianne and Elinor, who each experience setbacks that cause them to decline Mrs. Jennings’ invitation to London. They remain in Meryton, where my original character Lady Rebecca Fitzwilliam intends to wreak romantic havoc, while Jane and Elizabeth go to London with Mrs. Jennings instead.

Naturally, Elizabeth cannot escape a reunion with Mr. Darcy, whom she still dislikes exceedingly – and to make matters worse, their paths cross when she is forced to endure all the horrors of a dinner party hosted by Fanny Dashwood and her egregious mother Mrs. Ferrars. When Lizzy discovers that Mr. Darcy is a friend of Edwards Ferrars, the man who broke her cousin Elinor’s heart, it is yet another mark against the man who insulted her, and yet she begins to see another side of him when they are thrown together so often in town.

The excerpt I am sharing today is a glimpse of Elizabeth’s first meeting with Mr. Darcy since the Netherfield ball….

~ Excerpt from The Sisters’ Holiday ~

Mr. Darcy turned away from his conversation with his sister and Mrs. Gardiner and came to join them. He gave the ladies a courteous bow before taking a seat near Elizabeth, who instinctively drew a little closer to Jane.

Mr. Ferrars greeted him warmly. “I told the Miss Bennets that you have a very fine estate in Derbyshire.”

Elizabeth offered Mr. Darcy a bright, wicked smile. “We heard a great deal about it from his friend Miss Bingley, when Mr. Darcy was lately in Hertfordshire.”

“Were you? I had no idea you were acquainted.”

Mr. Darcy nodded at his friend. “Bingley let a house there in the autumn.”

Jane flinched, and Elizabeth grimaced. “I do not think Mr. Bingley cared much for the place, for he quit it after only two months; the neighborhood was sorry to see him go, though his sister has hinted that this sentiment is not at all mutual. However, I begin to comprehend his enthusiasm for London – Jane and I mean to divert ourselves very well while we are here.”

“Mrs. Jennings quite insists upon it,” Jane agreed with a timid smile as she looked between the two gentlemen.

“Mrs. Gardiner told me that you both were often in town before losing your uncle. Forgive me – I hope your family is presently in good health.”

“They are, Mr. Darcy, thank you,” Elizabeth said with a nod. “My cousins, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, were meant to come to London with Mrs. Jennings, but we have all agreed between us to a little exchange – they are diverting themselves with my sisters at Longbourn while Jane and I have come to London in their place.”

“We have visited my aunt in London before, but this is to be our longest stay in town, and I believe we may grow spoilt by the experience.” Jane gave a shy smile, almost entirely concealing the anguish on her eyes from the man whose feckless friend had caused it.

“A sprained ankle is not a very auspicious beginning, but that only leaves room for improvement,” Mr. Ferrars said.

Jane was obliged to repeat her tale to Mr. Darcy, who listened with raised brows. “I would thank you not to repeat that to my sister; she is a fanciful creature, and I shall be obliged to prevent her from attempting to have some similar mischief befall her, that she might encounter a handsome stranger. She will be seventeen in August, and she is enjoying a limited exposure to society.”

Mr. Darcy looked over at his sister with such emotion in his gaze that Elizabeth was too stunned to breathe for a moment. His eyes shone with affection and his lips curled into a gentle smile; infuriatingly, this only rendered him more handsome. Miss Darcy laughed at something Mrs. Gardiner said, actually giving a little bounce of excitement in her seat. Then she perceived her brother watching her, and hastened to join him.

“Miss Bennet, your aunt is utterly charming! She and I have been speaking of Derbyshire – she grew up in Lambton, William, not five miles from Pemberley! And Miss Elizabeth, I am so glad to finally meet you properly – how mortifying to arrive late, but my cousin’s daughters were all in uproar.”

“Jane and I have lived all our lives in a house almost always in uproar, and likely more so now than ever before. My four female cousins are staying with another aunt – with my three sisters and Mamma already as energetic as a small army, I have told my aunt I believe my poor Papa must be running mad.” Elizabeth grinned, her eyes darting to Mr. Darcy as she silently dared him to think her family absurd.

Instead, he smiled again. “Can you imagine Pemberley so full of sisters and cousins, Georgie?”

She sputtered with laughter. “I should like to! That sounds very merry. I wonder you should be in London when your home sounds like a female paradise at present. Oh! But speaking of armies, our cousin Richard has gone to command the militia in Meryton. Is that not a strange coincidence?”

Miss Darcy was definitely not what Elizabeth had imagined, and she was delighted to find the girl not at all like her great supporter Miss Bingley. She exchanged a look of interest with Jane. “We have heard there was to be a new colonel arriving after our departure. Well, no doubt when you hear of his visiting a local madhouse, you shall know that he is referring to Longbourn!”

“He departed yesterday, and now I believe I may harass him with a frequent correspondence,” Miss Darcy said. “And after the ball tomorrow evening, perhaps I shall have something interesting to tell him of. Oh! By the by, Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth – your aunt has invited me to take tea with you the day after next. She says it is always your custom to compare your impressions of the evening, on the morning after a ball.”

“It is, indeed. There was a particularly interesting assembly in Meryton last September that gave us ample fodder for amusement for weeks to come.” Elizabeth again looked askance at Mr. Darcy as she referenced the scene of his egregious crime against her. Why did the man look so content, when she wished to nettle him and his friend?

Mr. Ferrars was soon summoned away by his mother, who did not press him to once more recommend himself to Miss Morton, but instead whispered to him with alacrity, glancing often in Jane’s direction. A minute later, Mrs. Ferrars beckoned for Jane to join them.

Miss Darcy still wore a bright smile for Elizabeth. “I do hope we are to be friends, for I have heard so much about you! Ever since William wrote to me of how you walked three miles through the mud to tend to Miss Bennet when she fell ill, I have desired to meet the spirited young lady my brother enjoyed debating with, and the angelic sister who inspired so much devoted care.”

Elizabeth gaped at Mr. Darcy, who had turned rather pink. “Debating? Your brother perhaps wished to spare you the dismay of knowing that he was, in fact, very often beset by an impertinent country miss who took every opportunity to quarrel with him. I thought Miss Bingley would faint away when I threatened to laugh at him.”

Mr. Darcy gave a husky chuckle and shook his head, as if he and Elizabeth shared some private jest about her determined impertinence toward him. His sister looked panicked. “But why should you always wish to quarrel with my brother? No, I cannot believe it of you!”

Mr. Darcy pursed his lips in a rather saucy expression. “Miss Elizabeth has a penchant for professing opinions which are not her own.”

“My goodness, Mr. Darcy shall teach you not to believe a word I say, when I had hoped to pass myself off credibly here in London!”

“Oh! Our cousins are just the same,” Miss Darcy said with a giggle. “Richard and his sister Lady Rebecca are wickedly clever, and our cousin Phillip has pledged to give William just as much trouble while they are in Hertfordshire.”

“The colonel’s sister accompanied him?”

“Yes, she is staying at….”

Mr. Darcy spoke at the same moment. “Lady Rebecca takes delight in meddling in her brothers’ affairs, for she is a widow and quite at leisure to debate with all her friends and relations as much as she chooses.”

Elizabeth smirked at Mr. Darcy. “Will you repine the loss of such contentious company?”

He smiled broadly at her. “I shall not have to, if I may look forward to more of your clever banter while you are in London.”

This was very nearly a compliment, which Elizabeth could not allow, when she was not at all willing to cease despising the man. “Perhaps I will grow clever directly, and give your sister an account of how you behaved in Meryton. Prepare yourself for something utterly scandalous, Miss Darcy. I first met your brother at an assembly where gentlemen were scarce, and he danced only with Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst.”

Miss Darcy gasped and looked at her brother aghast, and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I had not at that time the honor of knowing any lady at the assembly beyond my own party.”

Elizabeth screwed up her face for Miss Darcy’s amusement. “True, and nobody can ever be introduced in a ballroom.”

Still quite flushed with mortification, Mr. Darcy said, “Perhaps I should have judged better and sought an introduction, but I am ill-qualified to recommend myself to strangers.”

“Shall I ask your sister why a man of sense and education, and who has lived in the world, is ill-qualified to recommend himself to strangers? You are new to society, Miss Darcy, and yet you have acquitted yourself splendidly.”

“Thank you, Miss Elizabeth. Oh, but William, are you not as lively with your friends as you are at family parties?”

“I certainly have not the talent which some people possess, of conversing easily with those I have never seen before. I cannot catch their tone of conversation, or appear interested in their concerns, as I often see done.”

Miss Darcy tutted and shook her head at her brother. “That will never do, William. I believe Miss Elizabeth is right, for if I can manage to be a pleasing new friend – as I hope that I am – then you must certainly be able to delight anybody you meet, for you are kind and intelligent, and very amusing!”

Elizabeth leaned forward, grinning at Miss Darcy, already internally laughing at what she was about to reveal of her nemesis. “If you are on my side already, Miss Darcy, you must allow me to elaborate on this infamous assembly. I can tell you for a fact that Mr. Bingley encouraged Mr. Darcy to dance more than he did. His friend recommended one particular young lady – an utterly charming creature, possessed of every virtue, and modesty most of all – and Mr. Darcy flatly refused to stand up with her! He declared that she was tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt him.”

“William! You did not! That is neither kind nor intelligent.”

“But it was amusing,” Elizabeth said with a wry smile.

“I was out of humor after parting with you in London, dearest, and quite distracted fearing you were not past the… the malady that afflicted you over the summer.”

Miss Darcy’s entire demeanor altered for a moment, but she swiftly recovered herself. “Perhaps you may atone for yourself by dancing a great deal tomorrow.”

“I will, if it would please you, and I shall even apologize heartily for my boorishness at that assembly.” Mr. Darcy looked at Elizabeth with true contrition in his countenance, his head bowed low. “I hardly looked at the young lady I disparaged; at such a moment, I might have responded rudely to any suggestion Bingley made me. Upon further acquaintance with that lady, I found her to be a lovely person.”

Miss Darcy clapped her hands, fairly bouncing in her seat. “See, Miss Elizabeth? My brother really is the best of men. And you must ask her for a dance tomorrow, brother!”

Elizabeth sat still, her spine stiff, and she endeavored to conceal her astonishment at his apology. He had found a new way to vex her, in denying her the privilege of resenting him any further. Mr. Darcy smiled earnestly at her. “I always prefer to partner ladies with whom I am well acquainted. I shall open the ball with Georgie, but perhaps you will save me the second set, Miss Elizabeth?”

She had promised the first dance to Colonel Brandon already, and it seemed Elizabeth would begin her evening with two rather reticent partners, for she could hardly refuse Mr. Darcy. She was not wicked enough to do so in front of his sister, who was entirely agreeable.

“I will, thank you. But I must warn you, Mr. Darcy – I shall do as I did when last we danced together, and attempt to sketch your character, for you still puzzle me exceedingly.”

“Does he? Well,” Miss Darcy said, looking quite smug in her mischief. “I am sure he will be happy to indulge you, and afford you every opportunity – perhaps the supper set, as well, may grant you further illumination.”

Mr. Darcy gave his sister a droll grin. “Georgie, why does that sound rather like a threat?”

Suddenly emboldened by his sportive banter, Elizabeth arched an eyebrow at Mr. Darcy. “It sounds like a challenge, and I accept. I hope you are prepared to amaze me, for I shall be reporting back to some of the premier gossips of Meryton.”

Miss Darcy laughed. “Which means that if you make another ill impression, our cousins shall certainly hear of it!”

Mr. Darcy gave a bow of his head. “I could not possibly give them the satisfaction, though I hope Miss Elizabeth shall find me a satisfactory partner.”

Elizabeth was beginning to fear that she would do just that. She was relieved when Mrs. Jennings announced that it was time for their departure, for Mr. Darcy’s civility required the ponderance afforded by the privacy of her bedchamber.

After discussing the evening with her sister, and the strong possibility that Mrs. Ferrars knew enough of Jane’s inheritance to think of her for Edward Ferrars, Jane admonished Elizabeth a little for her prickliness. Elizabeth took her sister’s words to heart, for though she had not told Jane much of her conversation with Mr. Darcy, she laid awake in her bed for above an hour considering the wretched possibility of Mr. Darcy proving to be as agreeable a friend as his sister.

I love Elizabeth and Georgiana together like this. Seeing some boldness with Georgiana is very refreshing! 

Also, love the lonely hearts club gathering of sisters for this premise. They can take solace in their mutual heartaches!

Connect with Jayne

Facebook    ❧    Blog

~~~

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

Jayne is kindly offering 1️⃣ ebook of The Sisters’ Holiday., in conjunction with her visit today!

 

To enter this giveaway, leave a comment, question, or some love for Jayne.

• This giveaway is open worldwide. Thank you, Jayne!
• This giveaway will end January 31st

 

The Sisters’ Holiday is currently available for pre-order and will be released on January 31st! ❄️