Fantastical Austen: The Evolution of Mr. Darcy, Vampire

Halloween is always a great time for a good and bloody vampire book, and what could be more delicious than a vampire Mr. Darcy? I do hope you enjoy these excerpts!DearestBloodiestElizabeth_MED

With the release of Book II of The Confession of Mr. Darcy, Vampire ~ Dearest Bloodiest Elizabeth, one might ask how the sequel evolves from Book 1, Pulse and PrejudiceOn its most basic level, as Book 1 is a complete adaptation of Pride and Prejudice but from Darcy’s point of view as if Miss Austen had always conceived his character as a vampire; with Dearest Bloodiest Elizabeth, I was not constrained by the source material.  I did, however, ensure that everyone remained true to character, even with changing circumstances and in the face of new challenges; and I maintained the writing style of Miss Austen.

Yet this is not Austen:  It is darker, bloodier, and more sensual than Pulse and Prejudice. Although Elizabeth’s character develops in her new role as Mrs. Darcy, mistress of Pemberley, and wife of vampire; Mr. Darcy evolves more dramatically as he comes into his own, acceding to what he had previously considered a curse even whilst lingering doubts of his wife’s acceptance of his dark nature continue to haunt him. We can see him evolving as a vampire throughout the novel.  For example, here is a scene from early in Pulse and Prejudice, which corresponds to canon during Jane and Elizabeth’s tenure at Netherfield when she and Mr. Darcy “were at one time left by themselves for half-an-hour, he adhered most conscientiously to his book, and would not even look at her.”  It unfolds with a slight difference with vampire Darcy:

Elizabeth could not help but be diverted by her companion’s silence, as he had been relatively talkative during the last few evenings. In her distraction, she inadvertently scraped the point of her needle across the tip of the middle finger of her left hand.

She cried out mildly and raised her hand to examine the cut. Startling her, Darcy immediately stood before her, gripping her hand in his. “Miss Bennet, you are hurt!” he exclaimed.

Amused by his sudden and dramatic concern, she laughingly said, “It is merely a flesh wound, I assure you, Mr. Darcy. Pray do not concern yourself.” Her amusement gave way to distress, however, as his attention remained focused on the dark, red blood that emerged from the shallow cut. “Mr. Darcy!” Elizabeth cried, attempting to wrench her hand from his grasp. “Mr. Darcy! Release my hand!”

Darcy peered into her wide, dark eyes, which showed more surprise than horror. Holding them in his stare, he crouched beside her. Her hand captive in his left, he pressed lightly on her temple with the fingertips of his right while penetrating her with his gaze until she relaxed against the back of her chair, her eyes at half-mast. He traced gentle fingers down her cheek and across her jaw then took her hand in both of his and brought it to his mouth.

She was correct; the cut was not deep, but what little blood touched his tongue caused him to tremble in delight and desire. The few drops from her, so deliciously warm and sweet, only increased his hunger. He held his hand upon her neck and felt her pulse until it echoed in his head. He could have her, here and now, he thought. The hand on her neck slid to her nape, baring her throat enticingly to him. He lowered his face to her—the aroma of blood coursing below her skin prickled his senses, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

“Elizabeth,” he whispered. He closed his eyes and pressed his mouth against her pulse, its rhythm beating upon his lips. He remained thus, embracing her warmth, desperate for more, until he could muster the strength to pull away from her. He had to believe there existed enough of Darcy the man to prevent him from such a despicable act. He stood and caressed her cheek before allowing himself a final kiss upon her forehead.

Darcy returned to his seat and turned his attention to his book. In a moment, Elizabeth stirred and realized she must have dozed off. She glanced at Darcy, but he had not seemed to notice. She smiled as she thought how they had managed to spend half an hour alone together without even speaking.

Now compare that scene from Book 1 with the undercurrent of Mr. Darcy’s self-loathing, to his confrontation with the dwarf dhampir who reappears in Book II ~ Dearest Bloodiest Elizabeth:

The dwarf withdrew a cheroot from his inside pocket and leaned forward to light it from the lamp on the desk. “Aye know…what you are,” he said in that peculiar accent Darcy recalled from their prior meeting. “You are a wolf and… apostle of Satan. Dooh you… know what Aye am?”

Darcy’s jaw clenched as the dwarf puffed on the cheroot and wisps of smoke circled above him. “You are dhampir.” The dwarf tilted his head in assent. “Are you here to expose me?” Darcy asked with less emotion than he felt.

The dwarf studied the end of his cheroot a long moment. “Aye had my eye on you, your man,” he said with a gesture and a glance to the ceiling, “and thought no. You do no harm. But then, in Derbyshire. That waas you…no?”

Darcy stood then and walked to the window, glaring out in earnest meditation. “How did you know?”

“That is…my duty. My genius.”

They were the villains, not I. ”

“There are bad men. The devil…he is not only in vampire.”

Darcy cringed at the last word. “The devil? If it is he who gave me the power to protect my wife, then he is welcome. Were I not vampire, I am sickened by the thought of being helpless to protect her. No; I will not repent what I have done, and never again will I regret what I am.”

“The old dragon from the abyss of hell…stands before me.”

In Book II, Elizabeth herself holds her own when confronted with the Lutheran  dhampir,  who is demanding that Darcy find Wickham in New Orleans:

“Aye tell the man you call husband it is his duty to find Weekhaum. He must go.”

“To New Orleans?”

With a nod, he said, “He says he weel not go. He says he weel not leave you. That is why I come to you.”

“I do not wish my husband to leave. Neither do I desire Wickham’s return. He mistreated my sister. What am I to do on the occasion? It seems an hopeless business.”

“You know…you must leave heem. Go home, Miss Bennet. Go to your father.”

“You mean Mrs. Darcy.” Her temper pricked, her words came out in clipped syllables. “Pray, why would I leave my husband?”

“This man you call husband…is damned. He is the white devil…a glittering Satan.”

“I think you received these ideas in your pipe dreams. My husband does not glitter!”

“Vampire is against the weel of God. To live without life, to crave blood…this is eevel. Perverted tastes. This is from Satan. In all he does, he is the very opposite of Christ… as befits a true Antichrist.”

She ground her teeth and clenched her fists, disturbed by how much this strange man knew of her husband and what he purported to know. She refused to be intimidated, and her stubborn courage rose.

“Did Colonel Fitzwilliam send you? Do you mean to frighten me?”

He studied her with his squinty eyes, his lips receding into a firm frown. “No. In lying fashion, you ignore…what even children know. Aye see your life is too brief to have worth. Aye come to save the innocent—Weekhaum’s prey.”

She released a humourless laugh. “You are one of those deceitful people who affect modesty but who meanwhile breathes out threats and blood. My life has no worth?”

“So long as you….remain weeth heem, you walk a razor’s edge with death; but I seee you are under his power.”

“As is any woman under the power and control of her husband. If you suppose anything more, you quite mistake the matter.”

“The vampire…he has powers of attraction.”

“Oh, indeed! For what else would a rich, intelligent, handsome man have to recommend him?” She stood and strode towards the door. “Say what you must and go, though you do nothing with all your profusion of words but fight a fire with dry straw. I will not leave my husband.”

He jumped down from the chair and followed her. “He is not your husband. Think! Think of your vows. Death do you part. So long as you both shall live. He does not live! He made a hollow vow.”

Near the door, she swerved around and stared down at the man and spoke with venom. “You do nothing but shout, ‘Anathema, anathema, anathema!’ so that by your own voice you are judged mad.” She shook her head and coughed out a laugh. “You say he is not a husband; I am not his wife. Then pray, what am I?”

“You are the prostitute of heretics! Lucifer’s leman!” He fixed his eyes upon her with derision. “You are the devil’s concubine.”

At his confident pronouncement, her blood turned to ice then began to boil. “You, sir, have insulted me in every way imaginable—and unimaginable!” She jerked the door open and stormed out of the room. “Consider this your congé. Seward! Call for Rivens.”

“There is no need, madam. Aye bid you farewell.”

Again he offered her a deep bow and, upon straightening, said, “May the Lord protect me and all devout souls from your contagion and your company.”

frontispieceAs you may know from my post for Travels in August, the dhampir is successful in forcing the Darcys to go to New Orleans, and he continues to cause the newlyweds problems; but now Darcy begins to learn his true power as he evolves as a vampire.

SALE: All eBook formats for Dearest Bloodiest Elizabeth are on sale for $2.99 through October 31st, and Amazon has the Kindle version of Pulse and Prejudice on sale as well, but I don’t know how long they’ll have it for $2.99.

The Confession of Mr. Darcy, Vampire – Books I & IIdbe-front_fullres

Dearest Bloodiest Elizabeth

Kindle     Nook       Kobo      iBooks

 

 

Pulse and Prejudice

Amazon     BN      Kobo     iBooks  

42 comments

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    • Jennifer Gitlin on October 26, 2016 at 1:52 am
    • Reply

    I loved Pulse and Prejudice! I can’t wait to for a chance to read book 2!!!

    1. Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed Pulse & Prejudice! Be prepared for a much darkier and sexier story….

  1. I really enjoyed Pulse and Prejudice and look forward to seeing how the story continues. Perfect for Halloween!

    1. I’m thrilled that you enjoyed Pulse & Prejudice! If you have an eReader, be sure to get your Halloween reading while this dark, bloody, and sexy sequel is on sale. Good luck!

    • Vesper Meikle on October 26, 2016 at 8:03 am
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    Looks like there will be Wickham and the Colonel in this book, wonderful

    1. Oh, yes, Vesper! But Wickham and Fitzwilliam as you’ve never seen them before…

    • Nancy Duell on October 26, 2016 at 8:18 am
    • Reply

    No matter what Wickham is always BAD! Love your stories. Keep writing…..

    1. Thank you so much, Nancy! Authors live for reader feedback!

  2. Both books sound exciting! Thanks for sharing and for the giveaway.

    1. Thanks, Anna! Good luck with the giveaway!

    • Michele on October 26, 2016 at 9:19 am
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    Sounds great. Thanks for sharing and the giveaway.

    • MadAboutAusten on October 26, 2016 at 9:44 am
    • Reply

    Thanks for sharing!
    Cheers… M:)

    • Elaina on October 26, 2016 at 10:16 am
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    thanks for this captivating feature and giveaway.

    1. I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Elaina! Good luck!

    • Hollis on October 26, 2016 at 10:31 am
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    I haven’t read either so would love to receive them

    1. If you have a Kindle, this is a great time to get both of them – 2 books for under 6 bucks! 🙂
      Best of luck in the giveaway!

  3. I have them on my kindle, but love to have them to go with my other books on the shelf. I really loved them and really enjoyed the story.

    1. I am so pleased you enjoyed them! Readers feedback makes it all worthwhile. Good luck in the giveaway!

    • Sheila Majczan on October 26, 2016 at 12:02 pm
    • Reply

    I would love to win a copy as I “borrowed” a copy to read this story – loved it.

    1. Thank you, Sheila! And thank you for your lovely review! (Any chance you could figure out how to post it on Amazon??? <3 )

        • Sheila Majczan on October 26, 2016 at 2:07 pm
        • Reply

        Amazon and I have had a long argument about that. It seems on son-in-law used my computer (which he has never done before) to print something out from Amazon and didn’t close his account. So when I opened Amazon it went to his account (which I didn’t even think to check on) and I posted the review under his name. When I realized my review was posted under someone else’s name and had him erase it Amazon refused to post my review saying I copied from another account and even questioning my relationship with the author. I don’t know what else to do.

        1. Well, we do have an “intimate” relationship. 😉 LOL! I appreciate your trying! Just tell your friends how awesome the books are – word of mouth is worth 20 reviews! xoxoxo

            • Sheila Majczan on October 27, 2016 at 11:14 am
            • Reply

            I am waiting for a call back…again. But ways to get around the system have been mulling around in my mind…like posting under the e-mail address I use on my cell phone or having my daughter post the review under her name but at the end put in a disclaimer stating that she is posting for me but wondering if Amazon read that would they pull “her” review?

            1. Sheila, I really appreciate your efforts – I know how frustrating Amazon can be! – but please don’t go to the trouble. As I said, as you loved it, just recommend it to your friends!

    • Linda A. on October 26, 2016 at 2:10 pm
    • Reply

    I haven’t read either one, but they sound quite interesting. Thanks for the chance to win!

    1. Thank you, Linda! I hope you’ll give them a try – if you can handle the, um, “sax and violins” in Dearest Bloodiest Elizabeth!

    • Pam Hunter on October 26, 2016 at 2:42 pm
    • Reply

    Oooo, great excerpts! I loved the first book, and I recently purchased the second one. It’s on my tbr pile as we speak. 🙂

    Thanks for a chance to win a hardbound copy!

    1. Thanks, Pam! I can’t wait to hear how you liked Dearest Bloodiest Elizabeth!

    • Kristine Shore on October 26, 2016 at 6:04 pm
    • Reply

    I love the “my husband does not glitter” line!

    1. Thanks, Kristine! I couldn’t resist. I’ve never read or seen any of the Twilights (mainly because, after raising three daughters, I have no interest in angst-ridden teenagers!) but my daughter told me how the vampires glittered.
      I’m surprised that no one has asked why I made the dwarf dhampir Lutheran! It’s because when I first started this project, I was reading this book about Martin Luther, and it had all these crazy-awesome quotes of his! So I had the dwarf use them when speaking to both Darcy and Elizabeth. My interpretation of an erudite Elizabeth has her familiar with Martin Luther, so she uses his words against the dwarf. Believe it or not, THIS IS a quote from Martin Luther: “He is the white devil…a glittering Satan.” Just too irresistible!

    • Ginna on October 26, 2016 at 9:05 pm
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    Colette, I have “Dearest, Bloodiest Elizabeth” and am really looking forward to enjoying it. I have read “Pulse & Prejudice” but I must have borrowed it, because I do not have it. Unfortunately for me, I want to read it again, before starting DBE, so I’d be very happy to win a copy of that, in your giveaway here.

    1. Best of luck in the Giveaway, Ginna! If you have a Kindle, Amazon has Pulse and Prejudice for only $2.99, so now’s the time to grab it!

    • Kathy on October 27, 2016 at 1:41 am
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    Hi Colette! Great to see this next volume is out! The excerpt looks really interesting, as well as eerie and sinister!

    Clearly it’s time re-read Pulse and Prejudice. I could never bring myself to read the Twilight series, and was not in to vampire novels but I really enjoyed yours. Looking forward to Dearest, Bloodiest Elizabeth!

    1. Thanks so much, Kathy!
      As I mentioned in a comment above, I never read or saw any of the Twilights but because I have no interest in angst-ridden teenagers after living with 3 of my own!

    • Anji on October 27, 2016 at 2:24 am
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    I’m still a bit unsure about vampires. I can cope with werewolves, no problem, but I just have a problem with the “undead” thing – same goes for zombies. However, as I thoroughly enjoyed the film version of P&P&Z, maybe I should rethink the vampire thing too. The two excerpts are certainly enough to whet my appetite.

    1. Thanks, Anji! Give Pulse and Prejudice a try. Because Mr. Darcy hates what he considers his “curse” – and the adaptation is primarily from his tortured point of view, there really aren’t any “undead” moments. He IS a gentleman vampire, after all! 🙂

    • Nancey on October 27, 2016 at 11:08 am
    • Reply

    I would love to read Pulse and Prejudice and share with my book club!

    1. Thanks, Nancey! My mother-in-law’s book club read Pulse and Prejudice (at the suggestion of one of her friends, who is also one of my beta readers). The great thing was that, since it is not truly JAFF but a standalone adaptation, no one needed to be familiar with Miss Austen’s classic to enjoy it. I do think my MIL was somewhat embarrassed by the more sensual scenes in the section entitled “Beyond Pride and Prejudice,” which veers from canon just to give us a taste of the passion, lust, and desire that simmers just under the surface in the original, but maybe if her daughter-in-law hadn’t been the author…

      Now Dearest Bloodiest Elizabeth is not bound by canon (although the characters remain true to themselves, and it is written in Austenian language) so it is filled with sensual scenes of passion and lust, plus more violence. You may want to read Book 2 yourself before recommending it to your club!

    • Roxey on October 29, 2016 at 12:20 pm
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    OOO! Looks like fun! I am wondering what you mean by ‘coming into his own as a vampire’. Guess I’ll have to read the book, huh?!

    1. Yep! I’m not sure if I can leave a link here, but I answered some readers’ questions here, which gives you a little bite!
      http://babblingsofabookworm.blogspot.com/2016/10/dearest-bloodiest-elizabeth-by-colette.html

    • BeckyC on October 31, 2016 at 10:37 am
    • Reply

    Looking forward to book 2. I am intrigued by your vampire Darcy.

    1. Thanks, Becky! Let me know how you enjoy it!

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