Hello, friends! I’m delighted to welcome Brigid Huey back today to celebrate the release of her latest Pride and Prejudice variation, Interrupted Plans. Brigid is here to share an excerpt from the novel. Please give her a warm welcome!
Hello, Anna, and thank you for hosting me today! I’m excited to share this excerpt from Interrupted Plans, as it is a very important moment for Elizabeth. In this scene, Mr Darcy and Elizabeth are walking with Miss Darcy and Jane in a small park near the Gardiner’s home.
Beside her, Mr Darcy slowed his steps. She glanced at him quizzically.
“Miss Elizabeth, yesterday at the coaching inn at High Wycombe, you seemed to wish to speak with me about something.”
Oh goodness, he was trying to give her the opportunity to speak her mind! But she could not—not with his sister but five paces ahead. He seemed to follow her gaze because he nodded as if in understanding.
“If this is not a convenient time, I understand. I would not have broached the subject at all—for I have no wish to cause you discomfort—were it not for the possibility that it might bring you relief to speak of the matter, whatever it may be.”
Would it bring relief? Truly she had no idea how Mr Darcy might react to the news. He would be angry; she knew that much. What she did not know was whether his anger would extend to her as well.
“You are very good to be so concerned for my well-being. However, I do not think that this is an opportune moment.”
“Of course, forgive me.”
“Forgive you? The man who made sure to deliver us to our door after misfortune left us stranded? Sir, you are far too severe upon yourself!”
He almost laughed, she was sure of it.
“Perhaps some other time then,” he said at last. “What will you do now that your holiday has been so disrupted?”
“I am not certain. I wish to return home, but I am not sure of Jane’s feelings on the matter. Everything has happened so fast.”
“Was it always your plan to return to Longbourn for the Christmas holidays?”
“Yes, we would have been home by then, surely. Now that our trip is cancelled, perhaps my aunt and uncle can be persuaded to join us. We would be a very merry party. That is, if Mama’s nerves can stand the added noise of four boisterous children.”
“I think I understand your mother on this point,” Mr Darcy conceded.
Elizabeth’s eyebrows rose so quickly that she succeeded in pulling a low chuckle from her companion. “I must confess it: I am not good with children.”
“I daresay you have not had much practice,” Elizabeth replied.
“You are perfectly right. I have not been around any children since Georgiana herself was a child.”
“Miss Darcy does not strike me as one who would have been a particularly boisterous child either.”
“Quite so. She was always quiet. Like me.”
“Whereas I was a bit of a terror. Or so I am told.”
“I cannot believe it of you.” His eyes twinkled at her, and she smiled when she realized he was teasing her. How pleasant it was to be friendly with him now.
“Well, if you can use that lively imagination of yours, do try to picture me as a young girl running through my father’s fields.”
“Climbing trees?”
“Indeed! And chasing rabbits, I daresay. I do remember there was a particular family of barn cats that I befriended.”
“I, too, had a childhood filled with climbing trees and exploring the stables and outbuildings on my father’s estate.”
“The difference being, of course, that you are a man.”
“And as such, it was entirely appropriate for me to climb trees.”
“Whereas my mother had fits whenever I was found out.”
“I can well believe it.”
Elizabeth peered at him, but there was no malice in his tone. He smiled down at her, and she felt herself smiling in return. Time seemed to slow, and she felt the warmth of his eyes in her very bones. He held her gaze unwaveringly, and his smile faded into a look of intense interest. Nay, it wasn’t interest, it was—
About Interrupted Plans
Suppose Elizabeth Bennet never visited Pemberley…
It is October of 1812. Elizabeth Bennet and her family have seen dramatic changes in the past few months—none of them welcome. Her sister Jane needs a fresh start, and Elizabeth is no less eager to leave behind the pain and confusion of not accepting Mr. Darcy’s proposal.
Fitzwilliam Darcy has not seen Elizabeth since he offered for her—and she adamantly refused him. When she appears in London, he is determined to gain her friendship and make amends. When a carriage mishap throws them together, Darcy does all he can to demonstrate his changed behavior.
Though their renewed acquaintance seems to be growing into a genuine friendship, a family secret constrains Elizabeth. As she falls deeper in love with the man she rejected, does she dare tell him the truth?
About the Author
Brigid Huey has been in love with Jane Austen since first seeing the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice as a young girl. She lives in Ohio with her husband and two kids and spends her free time reading and writing. She also has an assortment of birds, including five chickens and too many parakeets. She dreams of living on a farm where she can raise as many chickens, ducks, and goats as she likes and write romance novels in an airy study overlooking the wildflowers.
Connect with Brigid: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Giveaway
Meryton Press is generously giving away 8 eBooks of Brigid Huey’s Interrupted Plans as part of the blog tour, and the giveaway is international. You must enter through this Rafflecopter link.
Thanks for being my guest today, Brigid, and congratulations on your new book!
I am very excited to welcome Brigid Huey to Diary of an Eccentric for the first time today to celebrate the release of her new Pride and Prejudice variation, A Chance Encounter in Pemberley Woods. Please give her a warm welcome!
Diary of an Eccentric 