A Proposal Scene by Shannon Winslow

I thought at first that a theme like “proposals,” would be easy. After all, there’s at least one proposal in all my books, just as in Jane Austen’s. Right? And if I wrote P&P variations, there would be no difficulty (or mystery). The proposals would be between Darcy and Elizabeth and we would all know the eventual outcome. But that’s not what I write, and the trick for me was to share a proposal scene that isn’t a spoiler, that doesn’t give away the end of the book.

So I turned to Leap of Hope, because there are no less than FOUR proposal scenes to choose from!

In Leap of Hope, the heroine is a modern girl (a Jane Austen devotee) who travels back in time in search of her own Mr. Darcy. Kate blends into a family very similar to the Bennets, and just as she had hoped, things begin playing out much like the story line of Pride and Prejudice. Her beloved older sister Lucy (the Jane character to her Elizabeth) soon meets her Mr. Bingley, and there’s a grand ball at his estate. This scene, told in Kate’s own words, unfolds the day after…

Maybe if I had been able to refer back to Pride and Prejudice for what happens next, the day after the big ball at the neighboring gentleman’s estate, I wouldn’t have been taken off my guard when someone came to call on me late that afternoon, asking to speak to me alone. It wasn’t Mr. Collins, thank God, but George Galloway.

Although I had never been proposed to before, in the nineteenth or any other century, I recognized the symptoms right away. George was looking very nervous and speaking very formally when he made his request of my mother for a private interview with me. Mama knew instantly what it meant too, of course, and before leaving the room she gave me a stern look, although I wasn’t sure if it meant she wanted me to accept George or to say no.

I flew into a bit of a panic, doing exactly what Lizzy had under the same circumstances: pretending not to understand and pleading for my mother or one of my sisters to stay. “Surely, Mr. Galloway can have nothing to say that is unfit for you to hear,” I said to their retreating backs.

And then I was alone with George. I turned to face him and fell under his painfully earnest gaze.

“Miss Barrett… Kathleen,” he began, with a tremor in his voice.

He then paused so long that I wondered if he had forgotten what he came for or had changed his mind. I really hoped he had, because I didn’t feel ready for this. I had pictured the scene where I accepted the proposal of the man I was crazy about. I had rehearsed that in my head a hundred times, but not how to kindly refuse an unwanted proposal. Once again, I felt like my preparations for Regency life had fallen short, although maybe there wasn’t any perfect way to handle this situation in any time zone.

“Forgive me,” George said. “Perhaps you would prefer to be seated before I… uh, before I proceed.”

“No,” I said, just as awkwardly. “No, I don’t think so, not unless you plan to carry on for a long time. Oh! I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I imagine you will get it over with as soon as possible.”

Egad! How could I have said such a thing? It had to be nerves. I suppose I should have attempted another apology, but I didn’t dare. I suddenly felt like I might burst out laughing if I opened my mouth again, even though there was nothing funny about the situation. So I just bit my lip and shook my head at my own clumsiness.

George looked a little bewildered, but he pushed ahead anyway. “Forgive me if my visit was unexpected, Miss Kathleen, but I simply could not stay away – not after dancing with you again last night, after hearing you play and sing. You must know in what high esteem I hold your family and, more particularly, how sincerely I admire you. I could not succeed in hiding my affection if I tried. But I do not wish to conceal it, from you or from anybody; I wish to declare it to the whole world, this love I feel for you. Dearest Kate, will you do me the great honor of consenting to be my wife?”

I didn’t feel like laughing anymore. My eyes were filling with tears instead. “That was beautiful,” I said because that’s what I was thinking. “But I do not deserve it.”

“Do you mean…?”

“I mean that I do not deserve your love because I cannot return it, at least not in the measure required to make such an important commitment. I am dreadfully sorry, dear George, but I cannot accept your lovely proposal.”

He took a deep breath and said, stoically, “There is someone else. I should have known; you must be admired wherever you go. Is it Mr. Kingsley? Or Mr. Cavanaugh?”

“No, certainly not! There is no one else, I swear. Do not torture yourself with such thoughts. In truth, I have no intention of marrying anybody at present.”

He brightened at this. “Then there is still reason for optimism. You implied you feel at least some affection for me.”

“Yes, certainly, but…”

“If there is no one else to come between us, it is possible that your affection for me will grow in time. That hope will be enough; it must be. I will not take your answer as a definite refusal, just your honest confession that you are not yet ready for marriage. You are young, and I am patient, Kate. I will show you by my constancy that you can entrust your future to me. Only promise that I may continue to see you and continue to hope.”

I probably should have been firm, but I just couldn’t bring myself to snuff out his optimism, to squash his little kernel of hope as if it were a crunchy beetle underfoot. Besides…

“Anything is possible, George.”

George seized on this tidbit like a hungry dog thrown a T-bone steak, and he went away just as happy, saying that I should consider his offer open for whenever I found myself able to accept it. I didn’t want him to be left feeling obligated to me, but nothing I said could change his mind. And really, when I thought about it later, it didn’t seem so unreasonable. I did like George, very much in fact, and my affection for him increased a little every time I saw him. So I believed it was at least possible I would grow to love him in time, just as I’d told him.

As for my family, I had to tell them something too. I said, yes, that Mr. Galloway had proposed, and that I’d promised I would consider it.

“Very shrewd, Kate,” said Mama. “Yes, very shrewd indeed. You mustn’t toy with the young man’s affections, for I would not have you put our relations with his family at risk, but it is only fair that you be given time to consider your position. Although Mr. Cavanaugh has flown off again, Frederick Kingsley may yet produce an offer of his own, you know, and no one would fault you for accepting him instead.”

Later, I told Lucy, “Mama has it all wrong. I am not weighing George’s offer against other possibilities, for I wouldn’t accept Frederick Kingsley if he should ask me.”

“I do not blame you for that, Kate. I am convinced I could not really esteem him either. But does the same hold true for Mr. Cavanaugh? Would you refuse him just as quickly?”

I sighed. And then I sighed a second time, more deeply. I just couldn’t help it because a picture of Mr. Fitzwilliam Cavanaugh on one knee before me had popped into my head.

“But he will not ask me, Lucy, so there is no point in thinking about it. He is gone away, and I will likely never see him again.”

I hope you enjoyed this excerpt from Leap of Hope. This book was so much fun to write, especially the plethora of proposals poor Miss Kate receives! It seems it is possible, after all, to have too many suitors! “Dear George” wasn’t successful this time. But maybe later on in the book? As Kate says, “Anything is possible.”

Leap of Hope is available at Amazon in Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and paperback. Audio is coming soon. Or read more about it here.