Below is the continuation of the excerpt posted at Addicted to Jane Austen so read the first section before reading mine.
Excerpt
Georgiana watched William all through dinner. His eyes drifted quite often in Miss Elizabeth's direction, where he would hold back a smile and then look away. He wasn't directly addressing Elizabeth in any way, but Georgiana imagined it was because Miss Bingley was diverting his attention in a very persistent manner. Every time her brother would look at Elizabeth, Miss Bingley would ask him another question, solicit his opinion on the latest news from London, or compliment him on his fine use of the silverware. To her it seemed that Miss Bingley was showing extra care in engaging her brother's attention. It was frustrating because it was evident to Georgiana that William wanted to be talking with Miss Elizabeth!Elizabeth too had noticed how Miss Bingley was trying so hard to monopolize Mr. Darcy's attentions, though Mr. Darcy was barely civil in his responses. The kind, gentle man she saw welcome his sister in the vestibule had been replaced with the haughty Master of Pemberley that she knew all too well, and to be truthful, was more comfortable in seeing. She didn't know what to think of the lovely exchange she witnessed earlier with his sister. Perhaps she had misjudged him to some extent. Although, she thought, listening to him reply tersely to another of Miss Bingley's ridiculous questions, perhaps not.
Miss Bingley put some ridiculous question to him and Mr. Darcy, trying to discourage the constant flattery and ridiculous conversation from Miss Bingley, gave a small sigh as he started to answer. Elizabeth couldn't help herself and giggled. The scene in front of her was too funny! Mr. Darcy then looked straight at her with a surprised look. It was a look he would have given if she had belched instead of giggled. She stifled her laugh and pressed her hand to her mouth. Then she met his gaze head-on and raised her eyebrow, defying him to judge her further. There! she thought. You shall not be confused by my character, Mr. Darcy!
Georgiana decided that she had better do something or William might lose his temper with Miss Bingley right in front of Miss Elizabeth. It wasn't like her to be so forward, but she needed to see William interact more with Miss Elizabeth. "Miss Elizabeth, how is your sister faring? Is she any better?"
"I am afraid not," Elizabeth said, immediately sobering at the question. "The fever is just as high as this morning but she is at least receiving good rest, and we all know how rest heals the body." Elizabeth looked to Mr. Bingley who seemed to perk up with Georgiana's question. Deep concern was written all over his face.
"Do you think we should call for the apothecary again tomorrow?" Mr. Bingley asked. "I feel terrible that she is so ill."
Elizabeth was pleased he was so attentive to Jane. Especially since Jane and she had just had a conversation about Mr. Bingley's attachment to her sister. He may not be Jane's Mr. Bingley yet, but the concern on his face showed that he cared a great deal. "No, Mr. Bingley, I am sure she will feel better soon. Then we can both return to Longbourn and we will not have to trespass on your kind hospitality any longer." She stole a glance at Mr. Darcy even though she willed herself not to. She knew he was the member of the household that was the most uncomfortable with their stay at Netherfield, and knew he would be pleased to see them leave sooner rather than later. What she saw on Mr. Darcy's face only confused her. She expected relief to be evident in hearing they would be leaving soon, but relief was not how she would describe the expression as. Have I read his character wrongly? She could not deny that she felt some mortification at the thought. She diverted her eyes in an attempt to mask her confusion.
Mr. Bingley suggested they forgo the separation of sexes after dinner to spend the evening enjoying each other's company. All parties agreed and Elizabeth took the opportunity to check on Jane. When she returned, Miss Bingley was playing something lively on the pianoforte. As she entered the room, Mr. Darcy stood and walked in her direction. His strides were long and determined but his arms were stiffly at his sides. Why was he coming directly over to her? He appeared to be determined to address her right in front of everyone!
Mr. Darcy hadn't meant to be anxiously awaiting her return, but when he saw her, he knew he wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms. Since he couldn't do that, and he knew it, the inner turmoil within himself pushed him to ask her to dance instead. "Miss Bennet, will you do me the honor of dancing a jig with me?" His hand was stretched forth and his head bowed slightly.
Elizabeth was shocked into momentary silence. All she could think of was how he had scorned her at the Meryton Assembly and how he had said she was merely "tolerable" and "not handsome enough to tempt" him. Remembering this comment, she saucily raised her eyebrows and said, "It is tempting, Mr. Darcy..." She was at loss on how exactly to finish the perfectly impertinent refusal, when he took her hand and led her to the center of the room. How could he presume that was an affirmative answer? How could I have let him think so? Her cheeks flushed. She certainly had not wanted to demonstrate any special attention to Mr. Darcy. She could already hear her mother's shrill celebration of his income. She almost refused, but then caught a glimpse of Georgiana's sweet smile. She could not embarrass him in front of his sister.
Once they began to dance, Miss Bingley's tempo seemed to quicken and she played with energized fervor, leaving Elizabeth quite short of breath. Her heart was pounding and her hands were on fire every time the movements brought their hands back together. Soon Bingley asked Georgiana to dance which made the dance less of an intimate performance and Elizabeth relaxed a little. She laughed at Georgiana's shyness to dance, but Bingley was too kind and encouraging. Could there be some feeling on Mr. Bingley's part for Georgiana? Surely his attentions to Jane were genuine; she would not believe anything else. Elizabeth continued to watch the two dance, if for nothing else but to avoid Mr. Darcy's penetrating gaze.
Oh, how lovely! Elizabeth's cheeks were bright pink once again! Darcy couldn't quite decide if her eyes or cheeks were brighter. He longed to kiss those cheeks and feel their warmth on his lips. This was something he knew he could not do and he decided he had better keep his thoughts to himself. He was pleased to see her relax and laugh merrily as Bingley and Georgiana danced. All too soon the music ended and Miss Bingley stated her fingers were tired and asked Georgiana to play. Mr. Darcy took Elizabeth's hand and escorted her to her seat and took the seat next to her. Why did I do that? He knew he could not show a preference for Miss Elizabeth! He struggled with the rudeness of leaving and sitting elsewhere after he had already sat down. If he wasn't careful, his impulses would take over and he would give encouragement when the reality of developing a relationship was absurd! He had enough experience with eligible ladies throwing themselves at him that he did not wish another one, even if her eyes were fine and her mind engaging. He stood up again and claimed need of refreshment. On impulse, he asked if others needed something to drink and looked at Elizabeth. But it wasn't Elizabeth that answered.
"Oh yes, thank you, Mr. Darcy! My fingers got such exercise with that tune!" Miss Bingley said dramatically.
Mr. Darcy turned to Miss Bingley and said, "Of course, Miss Bingley, tea or wine?"
"Wine, please." Miss Bingley then sat in Darcy's vacated spot next to Elizabeth solely to prevent him from sitting in it again.
Elizabeth was quite amused at Miss Bingley and smiled to herself. Surely she knows I want nothing to do with Mr. Darcy!
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One copy of Mr. Darcy's Promise is to be given away to a lucky reader. The US winner will receive a paperback copy but if she/he international then a Kindle e-book is for you. Enter by leaving a comment sharing your thoughts on the excerpt or any of Jeanna's novels. The deadline is on Monday, 17 February 2014.
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A great many thanks go to Angela Simmons of Addicted to Jane Austen for organising this blog hop and Jeanna Ellsworth for sponsoring a copy of her novel.
I like that there is more Georgiana, and that Lizzy is confused about Darcy
ReplyDeletemeikleblog at gmail dot com
It is interesting that this one challenges Elizabeth's prejudices sooner and I like that Georgiana seems to have a bigger role in things.
ReplyDeleteI just love georginana's personality :)
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