What's Past is Prologue Blog Tour: Excerpt + Giveaway

Welcome one and all to the penultimate stop in What's Past is Prologue blog tour. It is my honour to host the author who will be sharing an excerpt today. Although Ann Galvia is not a new Austenesque writer as she made her debut two years ago with the release of Side by Side, Apart, this is her first time visiting My Love for Jane Austen. Let's give her a warm welcome and read the following scene.

Excerpt

       To set the scene: Elizabeth's courses have come in the night. As with any new bride, there was a lot of pressure to have children (with emphasis put on sons) immediately and the circumstances of her marriage and her background have Elizabeth feeling this pressure especially keenly. She shut Darcy out — both metaphorically and literally when she ran into the dressing room to clean up. She has now poked her head around the door to explain herself.

       "That is to say," she added, "my courses are come. It is better that you sleep in your own bed until they are gone."

       Red crept up his neck and onto his cheeks as his hurt transformed into embarrassment. "Oh. Oh, yes, of course. I should never impose on you during such a time."

       Relieved to be united in their discomfort, Elizabeth closed the door. Once he left, she could go back to bed, likely staying there for the better part of the morning. What guests they were! How abominable to have a second lady resign herself to her apartment! But in Elizabeth's case, it could not be helped. She would make the effort to avoid staining any more bed linens. An extra bed shift or two should be sufficient barrier between her blood and Lady Catherine's sheets.

       There came another rap on the dressing room door.

       "Yes?"

       "Your behaviour," Darcy said, "was singular. Surely, your courses are not so rare an event to produce such a response."

       Elizabeth peeked her head around the door. "They are as frequent as anyone's, but they do not usually come during the night."

       "I confess I have little knowledge of such things, but I can see no cause for you to be as troubled as you are."

       If he could see no cause, then his shirt was blessedly unsoiled. "Pray, allow me to be embarrassed."

       He bowed. "However, if you should have troubles beyond that, I hope you would inform me. Your concerns are my own."

       She was not so hard-hearted as to resist that plea. "I was disappointed."

       Darcy appeared puzzled. "What cause have you to be disappointed?"

       Astonished, Elizabeth cried, "I am not increasing!"

       He did not laugh, but she suspected his silence took some effort. "Lizzy, it has been scarcely more than a week. There has not been time enough for disappointment!"

       "Oh, that is very well for you to say. The burden of expectation does not fall on men."

       "I hope you know my information is too good to expect a child immediately. If years pass and we still have yet to be blessed with children, then we may be anxious."

       "You are a very strange creature. Your idea of comfort is to tell me when I may be anxious?" She did not much care for the image this produced — herself as a nervous, fretful woman, not unlike her mother. "Suppose we have no sons? What would become of Pemberley?"

       "I am as desirous of sons as any man, but you should know from our settlement that I shall not begin planning for such a possibility now. You are too new a bride to indulge in such morose fancies. Even if so much time had passed that you were more accustomed to your role and might reasonably expect to be increasing, I would not anticipate that you, Lizzy, would spend your days in fear of the worst result. It is not mine to say whether I am a strange creature or not, but I depend on you to be a cheerful one."

       It had been very easy to be a cheerful creature as a maiden. Then she had been carefree with no duties but the kindnesses required from the genteel and the respect required from a daughter. What problems inflicted themselves on her happiness had been small. She could disregard what could not be laughed at. Lydia's elopement was the first truly frightening thing that had ever happened to her family. A missing sister. A loss of virtue for them all.

       Darcy had found Lydia and gone to great personal expense to restore her respectability. During the months his secrecy had left her family in ignorance, sanguine spirits had been only natural. Her Uncle Gardiner, always an honourable and well-loved man, was thought to be the one who had put an end to all their woes. Lydia was married and Jane soon after. What was there to life but leisure and enjoyment when everything had worked out so well?

       Knowledge of the truth placed burdens upon her and required that she answer to gratitude and obligation by surrendering herself to a man in whose rationality she had been greatly deceived.

       He depended on her being cheerful?

       She depended on his loving her!

       She said, "Come here and kiss me."

       Darcy obliged, and with her regrets that she could do no more, he left her bedroom.

Book Blurb

Elizabeth Darcy has her eye on the future.

Before her marriage, she saw herself making the best possible choice. Her husband saved her family from ruin. All he asked in return was her hand. Secure in his good opinion, Elizabeth married him. Only with hindsight and his cryptic warnings that passion is not immutable does Elizabeth question her decision. Her solution? Give him a son as soon as possible. Once his lust for her has been slaked, this service she has rendered him will ensure her value.

       The newlyweds are summoned to Rosings Park almost the moment they are married. Though the estate can boast of beautiful grounds, Elizabeth and Darcy arrive to find devastation. A flood has swept away Lady Catherine's last hopes of hiding debt and years of mismanagement. She expects Darcy to shoulder the recovery efforts.

       The effort to save Rosings strains the already tense relationship between Elizabeth and her husband. To make matters worse, her presence is met with disdain and disinterest from the family. As the days in the besieged estate drag on, Elizabeth slowly untangles the histories and secrets of her new relations.

       Like Elizabeth's marriage, the crisis at Rosings is the culmination of past events. Disaster need not be the result of only bad choices; good principles have led them astray as well. As for Elizabeth, she barely knows her husband, and loving him might be impossible. Yet, she is determined to save all she can — her marriage and the estate — and somehow create the future she longs for.

Book Links

Amazon  |  Amazon UK  |  Kindle  |  Kindle UK

Author Bio

Ann started writing sometime before she knew how letters functioned. Her first books were drawings of circus poodles heavily annotated with scribbles meant to tell a story. Upon learning how letters were combined to represent words, she started doing that instead. This has proven to be much more successful.

Sometime after that, she decided she wanted to study Anthropology and sometime after that, she decided she liked cats more than dogs. And sometime after that, she decided to become an educator and teach a new generation of kids how to combine letters to represent words, and use those words express ideas.

And sometime after that, she realised all she really wanted to do was write, which probably should have been evident from the beginning.

Author Links

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Giveaway

So readers, what do you think of the excerpt? In my humble opinion, it is a topic seldom touch upon yet alone discuss with one's husband. It would be great if there are any historical information available on women's courses in previous centuries but that remains doubtful. Perhaps you can point me to the article if it exists.

This blog tour owes it success to Claudine Pepe for her organisational skills. Thank you for the kind invitation to participate in the virtual tour, Claudine. And also to Ann for choosing a delightful excerpt from What's Past is Prologue.

Ann's publisher Meryton Press is gifting eight lucky winners an e-book of What's Past is Prologue each. So do you want to win in this worldwide giveaway? Then fill up the Rafflecopter form by midnight on 17 August 2018 to be counted.

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