As of Sunday the 6th, What Change Entails is officially out in the world!
At its heart, this one is very much a Darcy and Elizabeth story. It is about what happens after Hunsford, when Darcy has taken Elizabeth’s words seriously, Elizabeth has had reason to reconsider some of her judgments, and they unexpectedly find themselves together again at Pemberley.
But there is one little change to the familiar story that affects just about everything that follows:
Lydia goes to Derbyshire too.
And once Lydia Bennet arrives at Pemberley, things are bound to get interesting.
I can completely see Mr. Bennet agreeing to send Lydia with Elizabeth and the Gardiners. Elizabeth has been worried about Lydia’s behavior and wants something done about it. Mr. Bennet would very much like Elizabeth to stop worrying about it.
Sending Lydia away accomplishes both things.
Elizabeth is pacified…sort of. Lydia becomes the Gardiners’ problem.
And Mr. Bennet gets to go back to his library.
Really, from his perspective, it is an excellent arrangement.
It was also SO much fun to write.
One of my favorite things about writing Lydia is that she lacks the restrictions most of my Regency characters place upon themselves. There is usually a little voice in my head asking, Would this character actually say that? Would she do that in company? Is that proper?
With Lydia, propriety has very little bearing on the decision.
If Lydia thinks it, there is a decent chance she is going to say it. If she has an idea, there is an even better chance she is going to act on it. And if she notices something interesting developing between her sister and Mr. Darcy…
Well. Lydia notices a lot at Pemberley. I have never considered her stupid. Just misguided and misbehaving.
She also finds a rather unexpected partner in Georgiana Darcy.
Putting those two together was probably one of the most entertaining parts of writing this book. Georgiana has spent years being careful and quiet. Lydia has possibly never been careful or quiet in her life. Their friendship gives Georgiana a little courage and Lydia—occasionally, with mixed success—a little restraint. And as an added benefit, Lydia in Derbyshire means no Wickham and no elopement.
Meanwhile, Darcy is trying very hard to show Elizabeth that he listened to her at Hunsford. Elizabeth is discovering that the man she thought she understood might be considerably different from the man standing before her at Pemberley.
Between walks by the water, archery matches, and a considerable amount of meddling, Caroline Bingley has plenty to keep her displeased.
There may also be a dog who becomes involved in matters well beyond his understanding.
And through all of it, Darcy and Elizabeth are slowly figuring out what change really entails—and whether the mistakes between them have actually brought them to a place where they might finally get things right.
I hope you have as much fun reading What Change Entails as I had writing it. ❤️
1 comment
OK there is seriously SO MUCH to like in this description!! *moves book to top of TBR stack*