Snowbound Reselase Day – Giveaway Winners and New Excerpt

Good morning, and thank you all ever so much for your amazing support and encouragement over the last couple of weeks! Your wonderful comments kept me going!

So, my latest Pride & Prejudice variation is out at last. The Kindle version of Snowbound is already live on Amazon. The paperback version has also been published, and is currently in review.

And now let’s have a drumroll for the winners of the paperbacks giveaway:

The winners are:

Deborah, Marie H, Debby Sangiovanni, and Kate B

Congratulations!

Please leave a comment below to let me know if I might get in touch with you at the email address attached to your comments on the giveaway posts. If we haven’t been in touch by email before, please check the spam folder too, just in case. The winners of the giveaway of 3 Kindle copies will be announced by Meredith at Austenesque Reviews.

Huge thanks to you all for joining me on this rollercoaster ride! If you missed any of the excerpts, you can find them all here:

New Year, New Book

Snowbound Cover Reveal

Excerpt and Giveaway at Austenesque Reviews

(aka ‘What Happened in the Orangery?’)

 And if you’re wondering what happened when Miss Bingley rushed to poke her long nose in our dear couple’s business, please read on. I’m hoping you’ll approve. 😛

SNOWBOUND

Excerpt from Chapter 9

(Continues from where the orangery excerpt left off)

Elizabeth looked up with a start when Mr Darcy observed softly, “You are very quiet.”

She could not tell for how long they had been sitting in silence, once he had reached the end of his disclosures. She had been too engrossed in her own reflections.

“I should have handled it better – prepared you, at the very least. I am sorry I distressed you,” he added, and she barely suppressed a gasp as she unthinkingly reached out to press his arm.

He was apologising?

“Don’t! Pray don’t reproach yourself. There is no need,” Elizabeth rushed to say with the utmost energy.

He had no cause to feel contrite – no cause whatever. She was the one who ought to beg his pardon for the monstrous thoughts that she had nurtured, all the while fancying herself fair, liberal-minded and fired up with justice.

Good heavens! To think that she had been determined to take him aside in the course of the morning and discuss the wrongs allegedly done to Mr Wickham! Thank goodness she had held her tongue! But no, she could not lay claim to the wisdom of forbearing to meddle in the affairs of others. She had merely lacked the opportunity. That being said, she was still grateful that she had not disgraced herself before him with such a show of poor judgement.

“Thank you,” Mr Darcy said, lifting her hand from his sleeve to cradle it in his. “There is one other favour I would ask, if I may…”

“If it is to do with my secrecy, you have nothing to fear,” Elizabeth assured him. “I would never breathe a word to anyone.”

“I never doubted that,” he replied just as swiftly. “I was not thinking of the world at large, but Georgiana. Would it be very difficult for you not to let her guess that you know already? I believe she was counting on having a little more time to gain your good opinion before everything was revealed.”

“She has my good opinion. Your sister is a charming young lady. And she was in no way at fault,” Elizabeth murmured, half-knowing what she was saying, as heat flared in her cheeks once more.

So, his sister was aware of his intentions? Was that why Miss Darcy had welcomed her to Pemberley with the startling admission that she had heard so much about her? Or why she had called the children away and left the pair of them to speak in private in the orangery?

The question was out before she could check it:

“Does she know how you feel about… me?”

Mr Darcy gave a mild chuckle.

“She suspects, I think. I have not taken her into confidence. Not intentionally, anyway.”

“Oh?”

His lips twitched in an endearing sort of boyish amusement.

“It was delicately brought to my attention yesterday that I have not mentioned any other young lady quite so often in my letters.”

‘You wrote to her of me? What did you write?’ Elizabeth very nearly blurted out. But the ability to think before she spoke had not deserted her completely, and in the end she chose a more fitting remark:

“I hope you will be neither surprised nor disappointed if I asked for some time.”

The look that flashed across his countenance left her in no doubt that he was disappointed. But he made a different answer when he spoke:

“No. Take all the time you need. You were given much to think about this morning.”

“Not just this morning,” Elizabeth pointed out with an uncertain smile.

His brow rose in silent query, so she elaborated:

“Yesterday, too. Everything is new. And, frankly, baffling. As are you.”

“Baffling,” he repeated, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “In what way?”

“In every way. I thought I knew you. But now it feels as though we have only just met, and there is a vast deal to discover.”

“’Tis snowing heavily again. Chances are that it will keep snowing for a fair while,” he observed, casting a glance outside, and his choice to change the subject seemed peculiar, to say the least – but not for long.

The bemused look in her eyes gave way to a comprehending flicker once she grasped his meaning: there was still time to make fresh discoveries and informed decisions, because the roads were buried under a foot of snow, and there was no sign of a turn in the weather.

“…so no one is going anywhere,” Elizabeth voiced the rational conclusion to his comment and her own reflections.

“Indeed,” Mr Darcy said with a warm smile.

Perhaps it was just as well, she inwardly allowed. She did need time to gather her wits together – find her bearings – think! There was so much to think of – so many people to consider. Jane especially. Would a connection such as this help Jane find happiness, or would it constantly remind her of her heartbreak? Why did Mr Bingley walk away? How much had Mr Darcy influenced him? Was Mr Bingley regretting his decision? Was that why he was so subdued and grim and altered beyond recognition?

Before she could ask any of these questions – before she could even decide which ones she should ask and if this was the best time to do so – Mr Darcy’s good-humour vanished.

Lyme Park – The Orangery (Photo J Starnes)

“Oh, for goodness’ sake!” he muttered.

Following the direction of his gaze, Elizabeth glanced through the fronds of the large ferns before them, and had no difficulty in accounting for the alteration in his manner when she spotted Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst coming to join them. There was no doubt that they were headed towards the orangery as they advanced with tottering steps, slipping and sliding along the snowy path.

Hector had noticed them as well. Abandoning his frolics with the children, he ran to greet the ladies, but he was vouchsafed no welcome. Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst ordered him away with sharp commands and impatient gestures, lest he pounce and mark their apparel.

Naturally, Hector knew better than to pounce on any of his master’s guests. None of them were regarded as figures of authority, however, so their injunctions had no effect at all. As the sisters made to climb the steps, he bounded merrily beside them, deaf to their demands and without a care in the world.

From where she sat, Elizabeth could not tell if it was Hector’s gambols that made Miss Bingley lose her footing. Perhaps he had tripped her. Or the slippery steps might have been to blame. Either way, a moment later a shrill cry pierced the air, and Miss Bingley’s bobbing head disappeared from sight.

****

Whether Miss Bingley could not or would not walk remained a matter for conjecture, but Elizabeth was left in no doubt that the lady found immense gratification in the outcome. A gloating smirk was sent her way when Mr Darcy was obliged to lift Miss Bingley up and carry her. And then the performance of weakness and brave suffering was seamlessly resumed. With a sigh, Miss Bingley went limp in his arms and let her head drop against his shoulder.

Amused in no small measure, Elizabeth saw no reason to deny her the pleasure of making an exhibition of herself. There was more merit in lagging behind to wait for the others, who were also returning to the house. They must have noticed the incident from afar, and were too civil to resume their disports as though nothing had happened.

Thus, Miss Bingley’s bid for attention went unchallenged. She was conveyed to the entrance in a procession led by Mrs Hurst and Hector, with Elizabeth, Jane, Miss Darcy and the children bringing up the rear.

Contrary to expectations, it was not one of the footmen nor the butler who hastened to admit them. The door was opened by a tall gentleman with a diverted twinkle in his eyes and an air of outright mischief in his countenance.

“Richard! What a wonderful surprise!” exclaimed Miss Darcy.

But her delight gave way to a blank, guarded look when the gentleman stepped aside to let them pass. Another visitor came into view – a lady of an uncertain age, steel in her gaze and outrage in her manner.

“What madness is this? Nephew, set that person down at once!”

(Copyright © 2023 by Joana Starnes)

Let the fun begin! 😀