Sneak Peak: Allow Me to Tell You

At long last, I am at the final stages of my non-magical  WIP,  Allow Me to Tell You: A Regency Pride and Prejudice Variation.

Writing this novel has been a strange and convoluted process. Originally, it was supposed to be a very short comic novella, part of a series of novellas that started with Longbourn Entanglement. I meant to publish it in November. Unfortunately, it took on a life of its own and got longer and longer, becoming less comic as it went along. Then it began to veer in a completely different direction as well.

Let me tell you, I almost gave up on it in despair. Jane Bennet somehow became the center of the story, and Elizabeth and Darcy were sent to the corner to sulk. That was definitely not supposed to happen! It was hair-tearing time. If I continued to pursue this new direction much longer, I knew I would end up looking like this.  Minus the beard.

Me at one stage of the story when I was culling my hair instead of the novel. I wonder if the Bard had a similar experience to mine?

To save my looks, I had to make a decision: make the whole story about Jane, or salvage the original plot which was about Darcy and Elizabeth [and Colonel Fitzwilliam]. To make a long story short (quite literally in this case), I had to go back and do a lot of slash and burn type of editing to get it back on track. Darcy and Elizabeth were very relieved to get their roles back, I can tell you! It’s still a full length novel, but I think I can call it a comedy at least.

I’m almost happy with the way it is at this point. I intend to send it off to my beta readers very soon.  Hopefully it will be on track for a March release. I can’t wait to see what you think.

For now, I’ll just give you tiny morsel of the first chapter [a canapé rather than an appetiser] to taste, just because I want share what I’m working on with my lovely readers. I’ll be posting more in the next couple of weeks, so keep checking in for the latest.

~~~*~~~

As the carriage conveying Elizabeth Bennet from Rosings to the parsonage disappeared behind the trees, Darcy released the curtain. There was no moon, but he had been hoping the carriage lanterns would cast enough light on her face for him to get a last glimpse of her. No such luck. Miss Bennet must be able to see him clearly as he stood at the window, outlined by candles, but she was hidden from his view. Even when the carriage was long gone, he did not stir. He was gripped by an intense sense of elation. It had been growing all evening, ever since she had pronounced those significant words.

We none of us perform to strangers, she said, her fingers running along the keys of the piano, her eyes locked with his. How those words had thrilled him, along with that secret smile of hers. Her message could not have been clearer. She no longer considered him a stranger. They shared a special intimacy, a particular connection.

She loved him.

From that instant, she ceased to be Miss Bennet to him. She was Elizabeth, the dearest person to him in the world. And he had finally made up his mind after weeks – nay, months – of uncertainty. He would ask her for her hand in marriage.

Darcy drifted over to the piano and leafed through the music sheets Elizabeth had just played –pieces by Hayden and John Garth – the light notes still echoing in his mind. His hands itched to reach out and trace the trajectory of her fingers, but his aunt was already calling to him from across the room.

“Darcy, come back and play a last round of cards. You look like a lost puppy. Stop being so restless. I will not allow you to be bored at Rosings, do you hear?”

Bored? That could not be further than the truth. He was more entertained than he had ever been in his life. Lost? Without Elizabeth, he did feel lost. Or rather, he felt completely lost in the mix of feelings running through him. Determination. Nervous expectancy. Apprehension. Joy.

His cousin Richard raised an eyebrow at him, and Darcy grinned. Who cared if Richard thought his behavior was odd? Tomorrow, Elizabeth would agree to marry him, and Richard would have his explanation.

Darcy sat at the card table but found it impossible to focus. His aunt rapped him on the hand with her cards. “It is your turn, Darcy.”

He stared down at his cards, but the moment his turn was over, he allowed his thoughts to drift. Should he request a special license? Would there be time for Georgiana to attend? Should they spend the honeymoon at Pemberley? There were so many things to be arranged.

“Pay attention!” His aunt’s voice snapped at him.

He did not even know what cards he held. It was quite hopeless.  “I am too tired to play. I had better retire to bed.”

“I hope you do not intend to fall ill,” said Lady Catherine.

“It is not something people generally intend to do, Aunt.”

She made a disgusted noise and tossed her cards to the table. “I had the winning hand, you know,” she said.

“Perhaps we can play again tomorrow.”

As soon as he said the words, he knew they were untrue. By this time tomorrow, he would be in Meryton. He would be engaged to Elizabeth, and they would be dining at Longbourn. Even the prospect of Mrs. Bennet’s loud shrieking (and he had no doubt she would shriek when she discovered Elizabeth was engaged to him) could not diminish his excitement. He had been fighting against himself for so long. It was a relief to surrender and accept that he would never have any peace unless he married Elizabeth.

Very likely, he would not have any peace if he did marry Elizabeth, but if he had to choose between living with her or without her, he would rather live in turmoil with her at his side.

She had given him every indication that she would welcome a proposal from him. Very likely, she had been expecting it for some time. Why else would she meet him on the grounds of Rosings every day? They had walked and talked privately. She had teased him and flirted with him as if they already had an understanding.

All that was left now was to pick a time and place, and it would all be settled.

~~~*~~~

Is Darcy going to get his wish? What do you think?