Guest Post with Jayne Bamber!

Hello my dears! I'm afraid I am still working through my troubles that have kept me from writing, and I hope that you will all continue to be as lovely and patient with me as you have been thus far. 

While my Muse may be AWOL at the moment, other authors are having much better luck with theirs. Allow me to once again hand the blog over to my good friend Jayne Bamber to share some news about her latest novel.

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Hello again, dear readers!

 

It’s great to be back at “All That They Desire” to share my upcoming release, The Sisters’ Holiday. Inspired by the film “The Holiday,” this Austen mash-up follows the Bennet and Dashwood sisters as they exchange places. When the prospect of London loses its appeal to Elinor and Marianne, they choose to stay with their cousins at Longbourn. Meanwhile, Jane and Elizabeth travel to London with Mrs. Jennings after learning that they are heiresses.

A month after Mr. Bingley leaves Netherfield, Jane is snubbed by Miss Bingley after calling on her in London… but in this variation, Miss Bingley’s snobbery goes too far. Jane reconsiders her feelings for Mr. Bingley, but before she can confide in her sister, Elizabeth encounters Mr. Darcy at a ball and tells him what she thinks of his interference.

Elizabeth’s time in London allows her to see a different side of Mr. Darcy, and it begins with him speaking candidly to Jane about Mr. Bingley….

 

Excerpt:

 

Jane had never thought as ill of Mr. Darcy as her sister did. Like herself, the man had enough gregarious friends and relations that he had not outgrown a natural shyness in society, though he had been very civil to her and her sister the previous evening. And he was proving to be a splendid dancer.

“My cousin Phillip, the Viscount Bellamy, is here tonight. He has requested an introduction to you; he has met your sister already.”

Jane smiled, hoping she had concealed her surprise. “That is very kind of him.”

There was a period of silence as they made the next figures of the dance, and then he said, “I have quarreled with your sister.”

“Recently?”

He let out a bitter laugh. “While we were dancing.”

“Oh, dear - not again,” Jane said with a sigh. She cast her gaze about the room and found Elizabeth speaking with great animation to their aunt - venting her spleen, no doubt. “And what did you debate on this occasion?”

“Debate,” he sighed. “We have fallen out, I think.”

Jane chewed her lip. “Has it anything to do with Mr. Bingley?”

“Yes.”

Jane closed her eyes, moving through the next steps by memory, and then she made herself look up at Mr. Darcy. “I received a letter from Mamma this morning, sent express. She wrote that there have been rumors about Mr. Bingley’s expected return to Netherfield; she heard confirmation of it just yesterday.”

“What? You knew?”

“Yes, but Lizzy does not. We were distracted by some distressing news that has to do with our cousin, and in truth, I did not know what to say to her. It occurred to me that she may be more vexed than I am that his sisters concealed the specifics of his travels, and the fact that he had not yet departed. I knew she would rail at the viciousness of their actions.”

Mr. Darcy regarded her with amazement. “She was not best pleased with me, either. But are you not distressed yourself?”

“Mr. Darcy, I was so upset by Caroline and Louisa that I nearly stepped in front of a carriage! My own sisters are… not always as gentle as I should desire, but they have never driven me to such madness.”

“And you wonder if you could bear his sisters becoming your own?”

“No, for there is no uncertainty in my mind, beyond the question of whether they would punish me for not being Miss Darcy, or if they would fawn over my inheritance. Either way, I think it best not to discover the answer.”

He nodded approvingly. “To speak candidly, you are not the first young lady he admired, who was driven away by his sisters and their aspirations.”

Jane smiled sadly. “Well, it is something, to know that he did admire me.”

Mr. Darcy looked skeptically at Jane as he spun her in time with the music. “So you are resolved to give him up?” 

“Sir, he gave me up six weeks ago, but I have lately learnt to accept that it is for the best. I am sorry that it should have turned out as it did, but the day Caroline Bingley decides to spend her inevitable spinsterhood at Longbourn is the day I burn it to the ground.” Jane smiled cheerfully at Mr. Darcy, beginning to understand why Elizabeth delighted in discomposing the man. 

He sputtered with astonished laughter. “I have felt the same way about ever making her mistress of Pemberley, but let us keep these arsonist impulses between us. I admire your resilience, Miss Bennet. In the spirit of honesty, I must tell you that I have advised Bingley to remain at Netherfield for some time and devote himself to learning of estate matters. Or, rather, I have written to my cousins in Meryton, and asked them to do so. I have not done it with the intention of injuring you; I had thought that it would be a testament to your mutual affection, if it were to endure the separation.”

“If it does for him, then I am very sorry for it. I have lately seen my cousins, whom as you know are also in Meryton, endure devastating heartbreaks of their own, and I cannot say that what I feel is anything equal to their despair. Removed from the expectations of the neighborhood and the lamentations of my mother, there is at last space for my own reflections, and his sisters have certainly taught me a lesson.”

“And - if you will pardon my candor….”

“Of course.”

He nodded his head, but hesitated as they went down the dance. When they began the next figure of steps, he said, “I will only say that I shall be the first to wish you every felicity, should there be a gentleman of your acquaintance here in London who proves worthy of you.”

“That is very kind, Mr. Darcy. Thank you. And I entirely reciprocate your good wishes - or I shall if there is any lady here who is handsome enough to tempt you.” A turn of the dance separated them, and Jane gasped at her own bold guess, but she was sure there was something in it, for when they came back together, his cheeks looked quite pink. 

“Your sister despises me…. You might tell her that we are in perfect accord.”

Mr. Darcy looked as if he might say more, but Jane became distracted as murmurs of excitement rippled through the crowded ballroom. Those not dancing had begun to observe an altercation, and even some of the dancers had been lured away by the spectacle. Mr. Darcy also turned for a better look. “Elizabeth….”