Hello, friends! Today I have the pleasure of welcoming Jayne Bamber back to the blog, this time to celebrate the release of her latest Jane Austen-inspired novel, Five Daughters Out at Once. Jayne is here to talk a little about the book and share an excerpt. Jayne is also giving away 5 ebook copies as part of the blog tour, and you can enter the Rafflecopter giveaway here. Please give her a warm welcome!
Hello Dear Readers, it is a pleasure to be back at Diary of an Eccentric to share more details about my new release, Five Daughters Out At Once. This is my eighth novel, and like those that preceded it, it is a work of Austenesque fiction.
Available on Kindle April 7
This book opens with an alternative version of events to Pride & Prejudice – Mr. Bingley has not rented Netherfield, due to a pall cast on the village of Netherfield after several of its principal residents – including the Bennets and Sir William Lucas – suffer tragic ends. The Bennet sisters have been running Longbourn for two years before Mr. Collins turns up; though his own negligence has prevented him from coming sooner, he is quick to blame the Bennet girls for lingering at Longbourn, and Lady Catherine de Bourgh is just as quick to reprimand him for his villainy.
Lady Catherine will play a central role in this tale; when the Bennet sisters’ plans to open a school at Lucas Lodge are thwarted, she takes the five daughters under her care and rents Netherfield herself – much to her nephew Mr. Darcy’s dismay. From there our heroines will cross paths with gentlemen from across the realm of Austen’s works, but today’s excerpt features their first encounter with Jane Austen’s most odious marriage prospect, that living boiled potato known as Mr. Collins….
The new master of Longbourn clambered indecorously out of the carriage and clapped his hands as he stood beside Lady Catherine. “At last! Ah, what a fine prospect, is it not? Yes, very promising – my dear sister did not do it justice, I am sure she did not. It may not be as grand as Rosings Park, but I will say it does exceed my expectations. Indeed, I am sure it must be the foremost house in the neighborhood, how happily situated!” Mr. Collins proceeded to the house, his chest puffed out with self-importance; Lady Catherine followed in officious pursuit.
The young woman lingering near the front door, Miss Charlotte Lucas, seemed reluctant to lead them all inside, but soon capitulated and showed them into the study. The room was large and well lit by a pair of wide widows that looked out on a picturesque pastoral view beyond the estate’s front drive. It was also possessed of a decidedly feminine air, if a study could be feminine. It was an overpowering testament to the domestic lives of the Bennet sisters: there were books piled haphazardly on nearly every free surface, titles ranging from gothic romance to Greek poetry to agrarian instruction. Various tea things were left about, mingling with vases of flowers obviously hand-picked from the garden, embroidered shawls draped over chairs worn from frequent use, and even a pair of delicate women’s slippers in front of the fireplace to Darcy’s far right. To the left, at the very back of the room, a wide oak desk was strewn with papers and open ledgers, and a bottle of ink very lately overturned, still seeping slowly across the disarray.
Darcy thought there was a certain charm to the chaos of the space – he was less comfortable with the human chaos currently unfolding there, for it was clear that the arrival of his companions had interrupted some family fracas. He exchanged a wary glance with Georgiana, who seemed also to feel the intrusion, but she made a subtle gesture to Lady Catherine; their aunt was already surveying the Bennet sisters with decided interest.
Miss Lucas managed to perform the introductions despite Mr. Collins talking over her throughout most of the process, addressing nobody in particular with loud and lengthy praise of the house; the young ladies looked bewildered that Mr. Collins should instantly carry on in such a way, and Darcy could scarcely bear the second-hand mortification. He turned away from the parson’s prattle and noticed that one of the sisters slowly edged away from the others – it was the most diminutive of the five, whose dark chestnut curls framed an expressive face rendered almost pretty by a pair of very fine eyes.
Though it was a warm summer day, she crouched down in the corner and began to light a fire, a task she performed with unexpected competency. As she stood and turned around, he noticed a small smudge of soot on her nose, which somehow added to the allure of her lovely, if asymmetrical countenance.
“Cousin Elizabeth, what an unseemly display, and in front of my noble friends,” Mr. Collins cried. “Surely a maid must be sent for – the estate can keep a maid for such purposes, I trust?”
Miss Elizabeth’s dark eyes flashed with annoyance. “I beg your pardon, sir. We were not prepared for such illustrious guests – usually such visitors send word of their coming in advance. As to whether the house can keep a maid, with such a master as this, I daresay –”
Miss Lucas cut her off, at once clearing her throat and seizing her friend by the wrist. “The maid left at the end of last month, along with a few other members of staff. I came today to bring Mrs. Hill some recommendations – but I suppose we must leave it to you, sir.” Miss Lucas was smiling brightly, moving incrementally closer to Mr. Collins as she spoke; Miss Elizabeth watched the exchange with stony curiosity, all the while drifting toward the desk at the back of the room.
“I should say so,” Mr. Collins said with a sneer. “I am sure I must see to it directly – though I am well pleased with the house in general, I should not despair of seeing everything cleaned and washed afresh.”
He might have said more, but Lady Catherine interjected. “And do you reside nearby, Miss Lucas?”
“Lucas Lodge is the neighboring estate – I am often looking in on my friends here.”
“And your parents? I hope they are attentive to the less fortunate in their community.”
Miss Lucas’s posture betrayed a modicum of pride in the great shock she delivered. “I live alone ma’am.”
Lady Catherine recoiled. “By yourself? Certainly not! You must have some guardian, or a companion of advanced years.”
“Not at all, your ladyship. Lucas Lodge is mine by law – there was no unfortunate entail – Heaven only knows what ghastly distant cousin might have emerged from obscurity to disoblige us all. My younger sister is married and resides in Devonshire, and my step-mother finds the coastal clime perfectly restorative to her ailing health.”
Mr. Collins, though not at all a clever man, seemed aware of the barb and began to sputter with indignation – Lady Catherine heard it with much more pleasure, for there was a distinct upturning of her lips as she proceeded to talk over Mr. Collins. “Yes, well, I daresay a little sea-bathing might set one up forever, but how could she leave you all alone? You poor child – an estate of your own! You might fall prey to any number of adventurers and fortune hunters.”
Miss Lucas smiled wryly. “At nearly eight-and-twenty I am not at all a child, ma’am, and you are quite welcome to direct any fortune hunters and adventurers of your acquaintance to my door.”
There was a snort of laughter from the back of the room. Miss Elizabeth froze, pressing her lips together. She was even lovelier than she had seemed upon first notice, wearing such a look of mirth. Her attitude signaled some little secrecy; Darcy stared at her as she began rummaging through some items on the desk, and the eldest Miss Bennet soon moved to join her. She closed the worn red cover on one of the ledgers and slid it to Miss Elizabeth, who had reached for a packet of papers from the plain, quiet sister. With a significant look and subtle gesture, this packet was handed off to Miss Bennet, who hastily tucked into her spencer. The entire tableau was enacted silently, unnoticed by Lady Catherine and Mr. Collins, for Miss Lucas was positioned in such a way as to block their view. Darcy suspected this was by design, and slowly began to edge that way.
Miss Bennet softly coughed as Darcy approached – Miss Elizabeth swiftly scooped the red ledger into her arms and turned to offer Darcy a weak smile. She had moved too hastily – her right hand brushed the spilled ink, and the smear went from the end of her little finger up to her wrist. Darcy produced a handkerchief and offered it to her, but Miss Elizabeth hesitated. Her eyes dropped down to the ledger; she shifted it to her left arm, smearing more ink across her sleeve. Darcy took her right hand in his and dabbed at the ink smear with his handkerchief. He heard her draw in a sharp breath, and a moment later she set down the ledger and took the handkerchief from him, wiping at the ink herself. “Thank you,” she murmured, flexing the fingers of her stained right hand.
Mr. Darcy nodded, fidgeting with his own bare hand now; he picked up the red ledger from the desk and opened the cover. He had but a moment to peruse the figures before Miss Elizabeth abruptly cleared her throat and thrust the handkerchief back at him, her fingers curling around the top of the ledger. Her eyes darted away from his probing gaze and she cried out, “Charlotte! Are you quite well?”
Miss Lucas had been holding her own in the face of Lady Catherine’s inquisition up until now – Darcy rather thought she was enjoying the verbal assault; only when she looked back at Miss Elizabeth did her bearing change. “Forgive me, I begin to feel quite unwell.” Miss Lucas promptly swooned.
Darcy felt the ledger slide out of his grasp as he was obliged to catch the mischievous woman, who had managed to faint in his direction. Mr. Gardiner called out for the housekeeper to fetch some smelling salts, everyone else reacted with noisy solicitude, and for a few minutes, chaos prevailed. By the time Miss Lucas had roused and Darcy had extracted himself from the cluster, a glance back over his shoulder revealed Miss Elizabeth Bennet standing by the fireplace, stoking the flames.
I hope I have piqued your interest, dear readers – stay tuned for more excerpts and more chances to enter the giveaway!
Thank you, Jayne, for being my guest today, and congratulations on your new release!
Diary of an Eccentric 