New Release: Not Without Affection by Caroline Cartier
When Mr Collins visits Longbourn, Elizabeth Bennet is shocked by the sycophantic behaviour of her family toward the Longbourn heir. Mrs Bennet declares that any of her daughters had better accept the man if he offers for them, and Elizabeth quickly comes to suspect that her father will not defend them should they wish to refuse. Despite her protestations, Elizabeth finds herself engaged to her cousin against her will and her sisters turned against her, showing Elizabeth harsh revelations about Jane's true character. She makes plans to escape the untenable situation, with help from Charlotte, and surprisingly, Mr Darcy, but the marriage moves forward despite their efforts and Lizzy is forced to accept her fate. When Elizabeth is unexpectedly relieved of her unwanted husband, her new friends at Rosings support her as she builds her new life, while Mr Darcy is relieved to have a chance to win her heart but knows he must wait to court her to preserve her reputation. While he suffers the long wait of her mourning until she can be courted, Elizabeth must decide if she is willing to try again, as estate matters and other parties threaten to end the match before it is made in this 68,000-word Pride and Prejudice Variation.
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Not Without Affection releases on February 1st and is available for pre-order - or you can enter the giveaway with a chance to win a free copy! Til then, we shall have to content ourselves with the excerpts Caroline Cartier is sharing for her blog tour....
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As
Elizabeth made her way to the house, Darcy returned to his horse and rode back
to Netherfield. He ordered the butler to inform Georgiana that they were
leaving the following morning at dawn and went to his rooms. A few moments
later, Anne knocked and entered. She was visiting Charlotte while Ashley and
Richard were at a family property with their father. There was an uprising of
mill workers nearby. It had nothing to do with their estate, but any rioting in
the area put their tenants and property at risk and so the men were going to
ensure all was well there.
“Darcy,
Charlotte wishes me to ensure nothing is wrong with the hospitality at
Netherfield, and Georgiana is outraged by your officiousness. Why on earth are
you packing? You have panicked your poor hostess,” his cousin said as she
entered his room. “There is nothing for me here, Anne,” Darcy snarled.
“I
refuse to believe that, Cousin,” protested Anne. “We both know Elizabeth will
need time before she is ready. You have already been so patient. You are simply
reserved, and she is so terribly frightened. I know that she will come
around.”
“No,
you do not understand!” Darcy insisted. “I went there today to declare myself
and she accused me of infamy towards Wickham, and then she behaved as if I were
going to strike her! It is obvious that she does not know me at all.”
“Heavens,
Fitzwilliam Darcy, what have you done to my friend! Whatever can you mean, you
went there to declare yourself! Why would you do such a stupid thing? You have
barely arrived! And WHY would Elizabeth believe you would strike her? You just
sit down right there, mister, and explain yourself coherently! What have you
done!?”
Darcy
obeyed his cousin and recounted the entire affair. Anne was livid and shrieking
the roof down. “How dare you say something so rude about her reaction, you
brute! Have you stopped to think what could have occurred in the fewer than
twenty-four hours that Elizabeth was married to make her react in such a
fashion? You believe this is all about you, you great narcissistic blockhead!!!”
“Anne!
Is everything all right?” Charlotte and Georgiana rattled the doorknob in alarm
at the shrieks that had emanated down the hall and even the stairs. Anne called
for them to enter. Darcy sat miserably while Anne paced back and forth before
him as she listed all of his sins to them.
“Oh
dear,” Charlotte said as she sank into a chair. “How are we to get them married
now?”
“Indeed
Fitzwilliam, I have been counting upon your marrying Mrs Collins and making
Lydia my sister. Whatever can you mean by making such a muddle of it?”
Georgiana chided. The three questioned him mercilessly about the entire
encounter and made him see how wrong he had been to lose his temper.
“Mr
Darcy, a woman who has been through an ordeal like Elizabeth's might take years
to be prepared to trust a man, “said Charlotte. “At this moment, she has all
the safety and financial security she will ever require. Marrying you will
necessitate that she give it up, and put herself helplessly into your power.
That sounds harmless to you but to Eliza, it is a terrifying thought. It could
take some time for Elizabeth to trust you completely. Do you not see that by
your confidences to her, that you paved the way for Mr Wickham to weave his own
web of confusion?
I
am sure Elizabeth did not know what to believe, which is why she came to you
for an explanation.
“I
have known her long, Mr Darcy. Two years ago, Eliza would have made her own
judgement and held a grudge against you, if she thought Mr Wickham was
truthful. Only a great event would have changed her mind. She has learned to
ask questions and judge more carefully now, and it seems you have rewarded her
infamously for it. One might think that if you were truly considering making
her your wife, you would be prepared to share everything with her, and would
encourage her to come to you with any concern.” Charlotte shook her head
disappointedly.
“I
do not know what we are going to do to make her trust you even a little again,
Cousin, but we shall certainly try," said Anne. “I do believe you are
right about one thing. It is far too boring in Meryton to conduct a proper
courtship. Once we have the two of you on speaking terms again, we should
convince Elizabeth to bolt to the capital with us. She has not been in some
months, and she promised that when her mourning was over, she would accompany
us to the theatre and the opera. It has not been too warm this year; it is
almost an unseasonably cool season so far. The city should be almost tolerable
this summer.”
Anne
looked at Darcy and said, “You have muddled this enough with your awkwardness
and inability to speak, Cousin. You are eloquent with your pen. It is time you
used it. You must write a letter to Elizabeth, baring your heart and outlining
the entirety of your history with Wickham. If he has my friend in his sights,
he is dangerous. You know he will be after her fortune.”
“And
you will include the entirety of my history as well,” added Georgiana. When it
looked like he might object, she said, “Brother, I insist. And when Richard
returns, I will ask him myself to do something about Wickham. I know it is for
you that he has long stayed his hand,” she continued as he made an objection.
“But I have tired of him blackening our name and Richard will do something if I
ask him to. And I do wish for something to be done.”
The
ladies left him to this most important correspondence. As they went downstairs
to do whatever ladies did out of the sight of gentlemen, Darcy got to work, and
his efforts were so frantic, he wasted a great quantity of paper. The letter
would be passed to Elizabeth at the party at Haye Park and Darcy would render
as much of an apology as he could in such a public location. Then tomorrow,
after Elizabeth had read it, Anne and Charlotte would work upon her to visit
London.
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That excerpt has definitely left me eager for more! I love the collaboration of Anne, Charlotte, and Georgiana Darcy here - I can't wait to read how they all came to team up and ship Darcy & Lizzy! And just what did Darcy say to Elizabeth - could it be worse than his canon catastrophe at Hunsford?
I'm looking forward to this release and more from Caroline Cartier, it's been a delight hosting her on the blog today! Here's a little more about Caroline....
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Caroline Cartier is an anglophile
in her early forties, living out her happily ever after in New England with her
very own Darcy. She is mom to an extraordinary young woman who is an English
major, two cats, and a spaniel (co-author) named Belle.
Having cut her teeth on the
Tudors and Mary Queen of Scots with the historical fiction of Jean Plaidy and
Victoria Holt at sixteen, Caroline read her way through the histories of the Monarchs
of England and France, settling into an abiding love for Regency fiction in her
twenties.
Her first Jane Austen Variation
was Mr Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange. Several years later, a free trial of
Kindle Unlimited opened a whole new world of Austenesque fiction. After reading
what feels like hundreds of variations, Caroline began her first writing
project in 2021, The Victorian Vagaries, a Victorian Pride and Prejudice
Quartet that will be published in 2024.
Having been a gushing member of
many fandoms in her time, Caroline takes great enjoyment in historical fiction,
fantasy, and YA fiction, and enjoys the works of Rick Riordan, Angie Sage,
James Patterson (the Max Ride series), Stephanie Meyers, Suzanne Collins, J K
Rowling, L M Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott, and of course the father of
fantasy, J R R Tolkien.
She takes her inspiration for
writing from the wonderful authors of Austenesque literature and the romance
series of Stephanie Laurens, Julia Quinn, and Lisa Kleypas, in addition to other
historical romances and television period dramas.
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