A new week has dawned with a new snippet from my last release: In Essentials. Glad you joined me today.
Here, in Canada, my family celebrated Thanksgiving last weekend. What a joy - even with all the extra work. Since Covid, this is the first time our little family was all together in one space. With six grandchildren, ranging in age from 10 months to 15 years, the cacophony of noise was wonderful, and at times overwhelming.
Full confession. I was grateful for the silence when everybody left for their own home. Does this make me a bad grandma? Even so, I would not trade the chaos for anything. We ate food, played cards, soothed bumped knees, and cleaned the floor from multiple spills. Our poor cats hid the entire time. Yup - it was a good time.
Onto this week's snippet. I am sharing from In Essentials. This book was released in March 2022. Here is the blurb, followed by my excerpt for this week.
BOOK BLURB:
His mistress, rewarded with a substantial allowance, jewelry, and clothing was in all essentials Mrs. Darcy, except by name.
His wife, with low connections and vulgar relations, is Mrs. Darcy by name, but in essentials, she is nothing more than a necessary evil to thwart the plans of his uncle the earl, as well as provide a legitimate heir to Pemberley.
All too soon, Darcy realizes there are hidden depths to his petite wife, and finds himself completely fascinated by not only her beauty but intelligence and wit.
Elizabeth, fully aware of why Mr. Darcy chose her as his wife, fights her growing attraction to the taciturn gentleman from Derbyshire, failing miserably. She is finally forced to acknowledge, that, in essentials, he is the only man who can make her happy.
EXCERPT:
A tall
gentleman stalked the edges of the assembly room, hating every minute he was
forced to remain in the presence of complete strangers. The room stank of cheap
tallow candles, unwashed bodies, and bad breath. More than that, it stank of
desperation. Frantic mothers and fathers seeking to have their children wed.
Male or female, it did not matter. The goal was to find a warm body to ensure a
continued heritage and hopefully bring ready cash into the family coffers. In this
regard, they were not too dissimilar to him, as he too, was on the hunt. But
not for the same reasons.
A LITTLE MORE TO WHET YOUR WHISTLE:
Last week, his
uncle had once again lambasted him for not marrying one of the many pedigreed
debutantes paraded past him at endless balls and soirees, going so far as to
challenge the guardianship of his younger sister if he did not comply with his
demands. Tired of his mother’s brother trying to force him into marrying his
choice of wife, and his mother’s sister demanding he marry her daughter,
he decided he would find his own wife. And not just any wife. She would be
vile, though not in looks. If he had to bed the wench, he wanted some form of
beauty and a pleasing body. No, she would be someone who teetered on the edges
of polite society. Preferably a gentleman’s daughter with vulgar connections.
The more vulgar the better.
He had no need
for more money or love. His mistress filled the latter of those requirements in
more ways than one. His lips briefly curved as he remembered how she’d bid him
farewell last night, knowing she would not see him until the new year.
Straddled across his lower torso, she had raised and lowered herself, allowing
him free reign with his mouth and hands. There was not a crack or crevice on her
delectable body he was not familiar with, and after two years, still had not
tired of her.
If he truly
wished to have his uncle expire from an apoplectic fit, he’d marry her, but knew
such a rash act would materially damage his sister’s chance of making a good
marriage when she finally came out in society. He could never do that to sweet,
innocent Georgiana, and after a near disaster this past summer, where he’d
nearly lost her to his father’s loathsome godson, he had vowed to protect her
until she married a good man.
A high-pitched
shriek followed by giggles brought him back to his quest – finding a
gentleman’s daughter who would horrify his mother’s family. Two females barreled
past him. His gaze followed the pair of ladies, girls really, far too young to
be out in society even in a backwater town like this. They skidded to a stop in
front of a woman to whom he had avoided introductions. He’d caught the
calculating gleam in her eye the minute he and his friend had entered the room
and knew she had decided on the both of them as future sons-in-law.
At first, he’d
dismissed her, but now, watching how her daughters behaved, his interest was
piqued. His uncle would be devastated if he showed up with one of those
empty-headed twits on his arm. Lost in thoughts of how to facilitate a belated
introduction, his friend approached.
“Come, Darcy.
I must have you dance.”
“Before we
left Netherfield, I told you I would be poor company tonight.”
“Then let us
acquaint you with someone pleasant who can drag you out of the doldrums. There
are some very pretty girls here.”
“You are
dancing with the only handsome woman in the room.”
His gaze fell
on his friend’s partner, who remained on the dance floor, waiting for their
turn to go down the line. She was not only handsome; she was divine. He
surmised even a dead man would have felt stirrings of desire in the presence of
her beauty. However, he was not here to find a beautiful woman to grace his
bed, he had the delectable Daphne for that. What he needed was someone who was
not perfect. Someone his uncle would loathe on sight.
“Yes, Miss
Bennet is so very beautiful, but you will not distract me in this. I will find
someone for you to dance with who is not my sister.”
“I thank you,
but you should make your way back onto the dance floor and enjoy your partner’s
smiles. You are wasting your time with me.”
“I say, there
is a pleasant-looking lady just yonder. I could ask my partner to introduce
us.”
Darcy looked
over his shoulder and spotted a petite woman seated by herself, her foot
tapping in time to the music. He caught her eye and paused. She was pretty, but
not handsome enough to tempt him from his mission of finding an uncouth bride.
About to decline Bingley’s offer of introduction, his attention was caught by
the loud chit he’d noticed earlier. She plopped down in the empty chair next to
the intriguing woman and huffed out a huge sigh.
“La, Lizzy! I
am quite fagged. I need to catch my breath before the next dance.”
The young girl
hadn’t lowered her voice nor did she seem to care about the fact she slouched
in her chair like a drunken sailor. The woman, Lizzy, obviously did because she
hissed something under her breath and the girl straightened, but not before a
pout appeared on her face.
“Oh, who cares
what they think. They mean nothing to me.”
The young
woman grabbed the girl’s arm and hauled her to her feet before marching toward
the vulgar woman, whom he assumed was their mother. Even from across the room
it was obvious the matron berated the young lady, allowing the spoilt child to
prance off, head held high without batting an eye at her coarse behavior. He
smiled. This ‘Lizzy’ was perfect.
He turned to
his friend.
“After your
dance has ended, I would be pleased to meet the young lady.”
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