Published by: Sayer & Bennett, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Who doesn’t love a trip to a library or bookstore? I know I do. And in the excerpt from For Peace of Mind below, the party from Gracechurch Street is going to indulge in such a pleasure. Unfortunately, this trip to the bookstore is not going to be a pleasure trip, and that meme that often shows up on social media about a lady who always has a book with her will always have a companion and a weapon is going to prove very true.
The excerpt below is from Chapter 5 and ends right before the use of a book as a weapon is put to the test. I cut it off right before that so that you can enjoy the discovery of how the book comes in handy.
Enjoy!
Please note: For Peace of Mind is currently only available at Amazon because it is enrolled in the Kindle Unlimited Program.
Isn’t this a lovely book illustration? I thought it would go well with the story excerpt I want to share today…
Have you ever wondered what was going through Mr. Darcy’s head when he made his infamous slighting remark at the Meryton assembly? Have you ever wondered how things might have changed if he had been turned around and forced to say what he said while looking directly at Elizabeth while he said it?
Well, I have. 🙂 And that is exactly the questions that sparked From Tolerable to Lovely in my mind. It’s a short tale with only four chapters, and it’s free for followers to read on Ream this month. (And if I get it up there before Wednesday, on Patreon as well.)
Below is how the story begins – with Darcy’s thoughts and then his getting turned about. I’ll let you read the rest of the tale to see how he proceeds once he’s facing her. I’ve put links to both Ream and Patreon at the end of the story.
Peonies (1915). CC Curran, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
I think I’ve discovered another painter to add to my list of favourites! This gentleman’s work is beautiful! It’s full of life and movement.
This painting made me think of Master of Longbourn because peonies are mentioned in that story. In fact, I find the scene in which they are mentioned to be quite as lovely as the flowers in the painting above – but then, I’m partial. I’ll let you judge for yourself as I am including the full chapter below. (It’s chapter 8 which is about 3/4 of the way through the book.)
Master of Longbourn is a sequel to Mr. Darcy’s Comfort and is the tale of how Mr. Collins becomes the master of Longbourn and finds not just his happily ever after but who he is and where he belongs. I found myself growing to love this version of Mr. Collins as I wrote this story. I hope you will find him to your liking as well.
Man Leading a Horse in Front of a Stable. John West Giles, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
This picture seemed perfect to match with Her Heart’s Choice (book 4 in my Choices series). You see, the hero of that story, Alex, works with horses because they are his passion. He’s quite good at his job, and the stables which he oversees are some very, very fine stables.
He is also quite stubborn, which will serve him well since he insists on persuading Anne deBourgh to accept his offer of marriage this time around. (She refused it six years before this book starts.)
Anne, in this book, is her mother’s daughter (aka, determined to have her own way), somewhat immature due to her lack of socialization outside of Rosings Park, fearful of a marriage of unequal status (for her own very real reasons), and even somewhat petulant at times.
I fear she may be one of those characters “which no one but myself will much like” (as Austen says of Emma 😉 ). And I know that to be somewhat true as a few Booksprout reviewers withdrew from reviewing the book because they didn’t much like her.
For me, I knew her secrets. I knew why she was acting as she was. I hope that comes through in the story, but Anne is not going to reveal all very quickly. She hints at it though, and eventually, Alex picks up on it, but will it be in time to see his campaign to win the lady he loves succeed?
Below, is Chapter 5 which introduces Alex to Anne’s aunt, who is one of the guardians put in place to approve or disapprove of any gentleman who wishes to present an offer of marriage to Anne. (You’ll have to read book 3 in the series to understand why that is.)
Le Bon Genre, 1817, No. 28 Atelier de Modistes. Rijksmuseum, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
If you have read No Other Choice (book 2 in the Choices series) you know that Colonel Fitzwilliam met Miss Kitty Bennet outside a milliner’s shop in Meryton. You’d also know that Kitty draws dress designs and occasionally sells them to Mrs. Havelston, who is a friend of Aunt Gardiner and a sought-after dressmaker.
That fact plays heavily into book 3, His Inconvenient Choice, and today, I’m plucking chapter 7 out of the book and sharing it here because it takes place outside of Mrs. Havelston’s shop and because it does a fine job (IMO lol) of both showing the desperate place the colonel is in and sharing the tone of the story.
For the curious (like me): There are twenty-three chapters in this book, so this is about a third of the way into the story.
