NorthFanger - Excerpt & Giveaway

 Hello again, lovely readers! I am sharing another excerpt from my new release, NorthFanger. 

Today's post is taken from one of the early chapters, while Darcy and Lizzy are still at Rosings - in the aftermath of baby-vamp Georgiana's unexpected arrival. Lady Catherine de Bourgh was her first snack, and Elizabeth Bennet's surprising skills at subduing Georgiana have obliged her to reveal that her uncle, Silas Bennet, is a vampire expert in Bath. But things aren't going to be easy for them, when they realize there's a villain hot on their heels....

Darcy awoke well past noon, feeling no less agitated than when he had succumbed at last to a fitful slumber. He had expected his sleep to be plagued by the grisly images of his harrowing night, but he was instead haunted only by Elizabeth - the feel of her in his arms, the image of her nestling into her bed. In his dream he had laid beside her, an impulse he had only barely suppressed that morning, and the recollection of their encounter left an indelible mark on his memory as he began his day; he was obliged more than once to remind himself of what had been real and what had not, but even this did little for his equanimity at such a time.

He wanted to see her at once, but was told she was still abed when he came downstairs. Richard was waiting for him in the study that had not been used since Sir Lewis de Bourgh’s lifetime; across the hall, the doors to the drawing room remained closed. 

Darcy joined his cousin, who appeared not to have slept at all. Richard sat at the desk, which was strewn with evidence of his activity; he waved the footman away, and poured Darcy some coffee himself. Only once they were alone behind closed doors did he speak. “I expect my father to arrive within the hour - we have much to discuss. Let us begin directly.”

Richard was unshaven, his hair unkempt, and there were dark circles under his eyes; Darcy had seen his cousin in such a state only at times of great calamity, most recently in December, during the weeks following Georgiana’s disappearance from Matlock House in London. Knowing Richard must be in a volatile state despite his alacrity, Darcy cautiously gestured for his cousin to proceed.

“I am not without hope that Georgiana will recollect more in time, but what we do know confirms our suspicions. Miss Bennet indicates that Wickham showed no signs of vampirism during his time in Meryton. He left the area three days before Georgiana was taken, meaning the abduction was his first act after his transformation. I have sent word to my contact at the Bow Street Runners.” Richard paused to run his hands through his messy hair, and took a long draught of black coffee.

“We have already spoken with them, and learned nothing useful,” Darcy interjected. 

“Yes, but we know more now,” Richard replied, animated almost to the point of frenzy. He stood and began to pace behind the desk. “Given what he is, I can easily understand how he might have abducted her from my father’s house so easily, without leaving any trace. But what if there were others? Surely a man like Wickham would have certain appetites. He drank from Georgiana for a month before he changed her - what then?”

Darcy flinched. It was difficult to think of what his sister had endured during her captivity, but he endeavored to put his anger and revulsion aside. “You think perhaps we may learn more if we can identify other victims.”

“It is a good place to begin. There may be survivors, or witnesses. Wickham is crafty, to be sure, but we know him, Darcy. One or two successes would have made him too cocky, and therein lies his weakness.”

It was a sound argument, and Darcy nodded his agreement. “I could speak to Elizabeth - Miss Bennet - perhaps there is some way to trigger Georgiana’s memory without causing her too much distress. I cannot understand why Wickham would take her, and not make the same demands upon us that he did at Ramsgate.”

Still pacing, Richard tapped his chin thoughtfully. “I have a working theory about that. I believe it is no coincidence that Wickham starved Georgie for three long months, and then created an opportunity for her to escape him. He knows of our annual visit to Rosings, and were it not for Miss Bennet, Georgiana would have killed us all.”

Darcy leaned back heavily in his chair as he considered this revelation. “Good God. He wants Pemberley.”

“He wants more than that.” Richard resumed his seat in a manic posture, and handed Darcy one of the documents that had been piled on the desk. Darcy began to peruse it at once, but Richard finished off his coffee, poured another cup, and said, “I do not know how he managed it, but he must have been here lately - to plant his forgery. The question is, how can I warn my father of similar treachery, without telling him everything? His heart is not sound, and not only would the truth kill him, it would place a target on my brother’s back as well.”

Darcy felt the air burst out of his lungs in a ragged gasp as he examined the document in his hands - it was Lady Catherine’s last will and testament, and in the event that she outlived her daughter, it named as her heiress Georgiana Darcy. 

 

Wickham is up to no good again, and this time he's an immortal! stay tuned for the rest of my blog post for more excerpts and chances to win a free ebook in the giveaway!

NorthFanger:

A campy, vampy fusion of Pride & Prejudice with Northanger Abbey...


Elizabeth Bennet and her cousin Catherine Morland travel into Kent to visit the recently married Collinses in the village of Hunsford, near the great estate of Rosings Park. Elizabeth anticipates that the visit will be very dull indeed, while Catherine believes adventure and romance await them there, just as in the gothic novels she adores.

Within a week, both women have their expectations subverted by the sudden arrival of a vampire into their midst. The ladies at the parsonage take flight, accompanied by the outraged Colonel Fitzwilliam, his outwitted cousin, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy – and an out-of-control fledgling vampire.

Proving herself indispensable during the undead Darcy debacle, Elizabeth becomes the heroine her cousin Catherine always knew she was – and enviously wishes to be herself – as she leads them to Bath in search of the wily Silas Bennet, an expert in all matters vampiric.

But amidst the hunt for Uncle Silas, other predators enter the fray, all in search of one very old man, and a very young vampire. In Bath they encounter the Tilneys, the Thorpes, and an array of familiar faces and vicious villains bent on wreaking bloody havoc, leading a merry band of misfits to take shelter in a place too spooky not to hold secrets of it’s own: Northanger Abbey.