Character and Countenance Preorder and Excerpt

Good Afternoon Everyone!

Goodness, life certainly has run away from me. I am SO sorry this post was delayed! Anyway, today I have an excerpt from Character and Countenance, coming next month! The cover reveal is on Austenesque Reviews TOMORROW! I am so excited! Meanwhile, Here’s an excerpt from the book! I hope you’ll all read it and review it when it comes out!

This excerpt is just before Mr. Collins’ visit. He’s a little different in this book–in appearance, anyway! Enjoy! Let me know your favorite part of the chapter in the comments below! You can preorder the book HERE.

“I hope, Mrs. Bennet, that you have ordered a good meal for today, for I am expecting company.” Mr. Bennet spoke from behind his newspaper.

“It is Mr. Bingley!” Mrs. Bennet cried, sharing a triumphant look with Jane. “Oh, I knew how it would be. Is he bringing his guests?”

“It is not Mr. Bingley. It is a man I never saw the whole of my life. The same man may very well cast you to the hedgerows you so fear once I have gone on to my reward.”

Mrs. Bennet gasped. “Mr. Collins!” she hissed. “Why must that man come here? Is he to count his future possessions before they are his?”

Mr. Bennet lowered the paper, folded it, and set it beside his plate. “He comes to extend an olive branch,” he said. “If I understand his words correctly, he apologizes for being born the heir and wishes to ensure that this inconvenience does not affect my wife and children.”

“Speak plainly, sir.” Mrs. Bennet snapped. “You speak in circles and riddles.”

“I believe Papa means to say that Mr. Collins is coming to seek a bride.” Mary spoke softly, keeping her gaze on her plate as if that would save her from Mrs. Bennet’s wrath.

The lady’s transformation was instant. “What a good thing for our girls! Surely, Lydia or Kitty will do for him. Mary and Elizabeth must step aside, of course.”

“He may want one of them,” Mr. Bennet replied. Elizabeth heard the sarcasm in his voice, but Mrs. Bennet did not.

“They have a future, Mr. Bennet. Their uncle will care for them.” She folded her arms petulantly.

“He will arrive at four o’clock,” Papa continued as if she had not spoken. “I imagine the visit will be most diverting.” He stood and picked up his paper, leaving the room without another word.

Mrs. Bennet quickly rounded on her stepdaughters. “Stay out of the way, both of you. I will not have another suitor snatched away from my girls.” She turned to her daughters. “Jane, dear, you have all but secured Mr. Bingley. I shall deter Mr. Collins from asking for your hand. Kitty, Lydia, one of you will have to take the man.”

“What if he is unbearably ugly?” Kitty whined.

“Yes, and smelly, too! I cannot abide a man who stinks.” Lydia pinched her nose and made a face.

“You will both pay Mr. Collins every attention.” Their mother shook a finger at them. “This is your chance to secure your future. Do not waste it.”

“But I want to marry an officer!” Lydia slouched in her chair and folded her arms.

“I, too, thought my heart would break over a red coat long ago,” Mrs. Bennet patted Lydia’s hand soothingly. “Officers are wonderful for a flirtation, but very few can keep you in fine gowns and pretty ribbons. You would be forced to move again and again, and there would not be many funds for anything.”

“But Mr. Forster’s wife is content! She wears pretty gowns and hosts the most magnificent teas,” Kitty argued.

“Mrs. Long says she had a large dowry,” Lydia said. “I wish I had a large dowry.”

“And you would have if your father was not so stingy.”

Mary and Elizabeth stood together. That was their sign that they had best depart.

“You two mind yourselves whilst Mr. Collins is here,” Mrs. Bennet called at them as they departed.

They went upstairs to Elizabeth’s chambers and locked the door. “What if he likes one of us?” Mary asked.

“If he is not objectionable, I imagine that we might enter into a courtship. If we do not like him, then our uncle will scare him away.” She smiled and winked at Mary.

Her sister giggled. “I do not think he will interest me at all,” she declared.

“You have not even seen him yet. How can you be sure? Perhaps he is dashing and tall and… Mary, why are you blushing?”

Shaking her head, Mary flopped herself onto the bed. She pursed her lips and said nothing.

“Very well, I will not pry. Remember that no one will force you to marry where you do not like.” Elizabeth sat beside her sister. “I suppose our home will one day belong to Kitty or Lydia,” she mused.

“Not Jane?”

“I think Jane is intent on having Mr. Bingley. If she does not succeed, I suppose she could turn her attention to our cousin. I wonder if he knows that Jane is not a Bennet.”

“Mrs. Bennet has done an admirable job of making people forget,” Mary replied.

They stayed in their chambers until the appointed time, coming down just as the carriage pulled to a stop before Longbourn’s front door. The others were already gathered, and as a family, they went outside to greet Mr. Collins.

The door opened, and a well-formed leg stepped down. A wide brimmed hat typically used by clergymen covered the man’s face. His head came up and Elizabeth barely contained a gasp of surprise.

He was likely one of the handsomest men she had ever seen in her life. He had golden blond hair peeking out from under his hat, and when he removed that article, honey-colored curls sprang up gently. Surprisingly, his hat had left no damage on his locks.

Blue eyes sparkled as he regarded the gathering before him. Stepping forward, he bowed. “Mr. William Collins, at your service.” He straightened and grinned, revealing two rows of straight, white teeth.

“I am Mr. Bennet, sir. Welcome to Longbourn.” Papa nodded in greeting. “This is Mrs. Bennet. Next to her is Jane, followed by Kitty and Lydia. And here are Elizabeth and Mary.”

Elizabeth did not mind that her father named them out of order. They stood partially obscured behind the others anyway. The ladies curtseyed as Mr. Collins looked them up and down. He smiled a brilliant smile that rendered his handsome features devastatingly so.

Lydia and Kitty were uncharacteristically silent. Elizabeth glanced out of the corner of her eye and almost laughed aloud at the expressions on their faces. Lydia looked smitten. Her lips were parted in an ‘o’ and she had a dazed expression on her face. Kitty, too, appeared shocked and awed. She absently smoothed the front of her gown and tugged on a curl that hung down by her neck.

“Well,” said Mr. Bennet in the stunned silence. “Shall we go in?”

“Oh, yes, Mr. Collins, right this way.” Mrs. Bennet stepped forward and looped her arm through his. “My parlor is cheery and bright. Tea is prepared—and Cook made her famous lemon tarts.”

Jane followed her mother. Kitty and Lydia immediately shoved each other to go first. “He is mine!” Lydia hissed. “I saw him first.”

“I am two years older than you and therefore have more claim on his affections than you.” Kitty pushed Lydia hard, sending her tumbling back into Elizabeth and Mary and then took off at a run.

Elizabeth helped Lydia right herself only to have her hands thrown off. “Do not restrain me, Lizzy,” she snapped, hurrying to catch up to Kitty.

Alone, Mary and Elizabeth exchanged a heavy glance. “Shall we mutually agree to stay out of the fray?” She grinned at her sister, and Mary nodded in agreement.

“He is a very handsome man,” Elizabeth teased. “Perhaps one of us might suit him.”

“His hair is too blond,” Mary mumbled. “Though the curls are rather attractive.”

“And I suppose his eyes are the wrong color, too?” Elizabeth asked slyly. She had begun to suspect that someone they both held dear had caught Mary’s eye.

“Well, yes, as a matter of fact—” Mary cut off her words and flushed again. “Not that it matters,” she said hastily. “Mr. Collins is very attractive, but our uncle must also approve of him.”

Elizabeth respected her sister’s desire to change the subject. “Yes, I imagine Uncle Mavery wants us to marry better than a clergyman.” They went inside and followed the voices of the others to the parlor.

“There you are! Mary, you sit there by the window. Lizzy, you as well.” Mrs. Bennet’s normally sharp tone sounded cajoling and sickly sweet. Since her directives placed them far away from Mr. Collins, the girls complied without complaint.

“My fair cousins are everything lovely,” Mr. Collins said. “I have never seen such a bevy of beautiful ladies. My patroness is a great lady; it was she who suggested that I mend the breach in my family, and she could not have been more correct.”

“And who is your patroness, sir?” Lydia asked, sliding closer to Mr. Collins on the settee.

“Lady Catherine de Bourgh of Rosings Park in Kent. Her ladyship’s estate is large, much larger than Longbourn. No offense, cousin.” He nodded to Mr. Bennet.

“I believe I have some acquaintance with your patroness,” Mr. Bennet replied. His wife and daughters looked at him in shock.

“Mr. Bennet! You never told me.” Mrs. Bennet sounded accusatory.

“The acquaintance lapsed over the years. I believe my disinclination to see to my correspondence attributed to that.” He smiled and winked at Elizabeth.

“My dear cousin,” Mr. Collins said ingratiatingly. “There is no need to prevaricate to make yourself appear better in my eyes. I came here ready to welcome my kin with open arms. Please, do not feel the need to tell tales just to gain my approval. I assure you, I am more than ready to heal the breach between us without such measures.”

“I am not prevaricating Mr. Collins. As it is, the acquaintance is hardly worth mentioning now. Perhaps I ought to write to her ladyship and renew it.” Elizabeth thought her father to be jesting until she saw his speculative look. He turned it on her and furrowed his brow, and she wondered what he was thinking.

Mr. Collins seemed inclined to continue protesting Mr. Bennet’s words, but Lydia reached out a hand and placed it on the back of his. “Will you tell me about your parsonage?” she asked, batting her eyes.

“Why, of course, Miss Lydia. Hunsford Parsonage is a lovely dwelling and has five rooms! There are two parlors. One is my study at the front of the house, and there is another at the rear of the home waiting for its future mistress. He exchanged a knowing glance with Mrs. Bennet, and the lady smiled smugly.

Elizabeth grew distracted during tea as Mr. Collins’s constant ramblings became noise in her ears. How could a man say so little in so many words? It was unfathomable. He spoke at length about his patroness and her daughter, Miss Anne de Bourgh. He detailed windows and fireplaces and chimney pieces, predicting their cost and taking pride in the information as if the manor house belonged to him.

“I flatter myself that my patroness will bestow the same condescension that she does upon me on the woman I bring to the parsonage as Mrs. Collins,” he said, puffing up his chest. “Lady Catherine’s daughter is lately betrothed to her cousin. I understand the engagement has been of some duration, but the gentleman is finally ready to settle down. They are to wed this spring. I have been asked to officiate and have been preparing ever since.”

“That is quite the honor, cousin,” Mr. Bennet said. “Pray, what prompted Lady Catherine to choose you? I understand that her uncle is the archbishop.”

Mr. Collins smiled ingratiatingly. “I flatter myself that it is because Lady Catherine wishes for her only child’s wedding day to be perfect. The archbishop is, forgive me, old and hard of hearing. A younger, more attractive parson is imminently preferable.”

With that, Elizabeth lost all interest in the bumbling man. Handsome he may be, but he had nothing but fluff between his ears. How did this man gain a valuable family living? she wondered.

After tea, they commenced on a tour of the house. Elizabeth and Mary remained in the parlor with Mr. Bennet, content to allow the others to dangle after their guest.

“What think you of my cousin?” Mr. Bennet asked.

“There are no words to describe him,” Elizabeth replied, rubbing her eyes. “I feel as though I opened a brightly wrapped parcel only to find rough woven wool instead of fine silks.”

“Handsome on the outside and completely dull on the inside.” Her father nodded in agreement. “He would make Lydia or Kitty an acceptable husband. Jane, I think, will not have him unless Mr. Bingley does not offer for her.”

“She watched him a great deal,” Mary said. “She looked speculative.”

“Well, if her affections for Mr. Bingley can cool so quickly, then she does not deserve either man.” Elizabeth rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

“Be that as it may, we must be kind and cordial. I know your stepmother and sister will not be destitute upon my passing, but it does not hurt to foster good relations. Besides, I anticipate a great deal of diversion and amusement whilst he visits. Imagine: the neighborhood will fall all over themselves, for he is a handsome man, and then will not know what to do when they understand that his intelligence has no depth.” He chuckled merrily. “It will be a sight to behold.”

“As long as he does not embarrass us too much,” Elizabeth mumbled. “Kitty and Lydia already do an admirable job of that. I do not need to be mortified any further.”

“Come now, Lizzy! Where is your sense of the ridiculous? You used to delight in it as much as I.” Her father grinned and tapped her knee with a newspaper rolled in his hand.

“It is still there, Papa, but I have grown cognizant lately of what others think when they look at our family. We are all so different, some better behaved than others. I wish for people to have a good opinion of us, but when all are judged by the behavior of a few, it leads me to believe that whilst we believe that our neighbors hold nothing against us, in truth they are tittering behind their fans, mocking and judging.”

“You and Mary are seen and respected wherever you go,” Papa insisted. “A few silly sisters will not change that.”

If only I could believe that, she thought. Her mind drifted over the hills to Netherfield Park, and she quite clearly saw Mr. Darcy’s disapproving scowl directed at her. Why do I care so much what he thinks of me? she wondered. He holds no importance in my life—he is nothing.