Also by this author:
Published by Vanity & Pride Press Genres: Austenesque
I am so excited and honored to be a stop on Pamela Lane’s Sketching Character Blog Hop!
I will say that I love Pamela and I loved Sketching Character! AHHHHHH!!!! I just love Mr. Darcy!!
I don’t watch much tv these days and really haven’t since the kids came along. When the television is on (and not on Disney Channel) I can almost guarantee it will be turned to AMC. Their scripted drama is some of the best I’ve ever watched. It may sound odd, but watching these television shows has helped make me a better writer.
What hooks me are the characters. I love seeing them progress week after week. The best plots for me are the ones that help to develop the hero or antagonist and make you feel something for them. But, what happens when you already know how the story ends?
I love Breaking Bad. Love it. I don’t think I have ever felt so much for a character as I do for Jesse Pinkman. My other favorite character from that show is Saul Goodman. He is hilarious in a very naughty way—Clearly, his taste in women is the same as his taste in lawyers. Only the very best, with just the right amount of dirty. Ha!
When a prequel to Breaking Bad centering on Saul was announced, I was both excited and skeptical. Prequels and sequels rarely work on television. More than that, we know how Saul’s story ends. We see it in the last few episodes in Breaking Bad and in the opening scenes of Better Call Saul. Can a story really pull you in if the outcome has already been spoiled? I posed this question to my husband, who loves these shows as much as I do. Though he is usually very literal, he said something quite astute and meaningful—of course, you can still love it because the journey matters.
The journey matters. Naturally, my mind traveled to Darcy and Elizabeth and all the variations that end the same glorious way—with a happily ever after. We know this when we buy the books, yet it does not deter us from devouring every new take on the theme as soon as they come out. The road to HEA, and the characters who traverse it, is what intrigues us. We will never get enough. That is because compelling, relatable characters are timeless and Jane Austen created some of the best.
My Sketching Character journey began nearly two years ago when I was wrapping up Dearest Friends. I thought about Elizabeth and how very immature and inexperienced she is in canon. Her lack of interaction with people outside of Meryton (besides the Gardiners) no doubt played a part in her poor judgment of both Darcy and Wickham. What if her journey to a better understanding began not with Darcy’s letter, but sooner and with greater consequences for the ones she loved? How would that alter her interactions with Darcy when they meet in Kent? Let’s take a look.
**
As the party made polite conversation, Darcy withdrew and stood alone looking out toward the woods. Unbidden, the image of a girl with dark, wild hair running free among the trees came to mind. He became lost to his thoughts and the images moved from Kent to Pemberley. He heard Elizabeth’s laughter behind him and he imagined they were home and it was Georgiana’s laugh that mixed with hers. The familiar ache was joined by a tenderness that was as surprising as it was sweet. He let a small smile escape to acknowledge the feeling, believing no one would notice.
“What about this view is worthy of one of your rare smiles, Mr. Darcy.”
He turned to see Elizabeth had joined him. She did not look at him but stared straight ahead in the same direction he had set his eyes a moment earlier. He had not been this close to her in days and he took a moment to breathe her in before replying.
“That row of trees there in the distance reminded me of home and my sister.”
She turned to him. “Trees remind you of your sister?”
“Not usually, no. I sent her home to Pemberley and wonder how she is getting on. She was not happy to be leaving London.”
“She enjoys the excitement of town?”
“No, it was the shorter distance to Kent that she preferred. She does not have your confidence, Miss Bennet, and prefers to be closer to her elder brother.”
Elizabeth smiled softly then turned back to the view. “My sister began her journey a few days ago. I wonder how she is getting on, too.”
“Missing you, I would suspect.”
Elizabeth smiled and nodded. “You were very quiet in the parlor, Mr. Darcy. Were you shocked by the story of my wild childhood? Do you despise my lack schooling as much as your aunt does?”
“Quite the opposite, actually. It seems you have spent your time more wisely, Miss Bennet. You are far better read than many with formal educations and you can talk your way around the best of us. You are also kind and loyal, traits that cannot be learned in a schoolroom. No one treated to the privilege of your acquaintance could ever find you lacking. You were right not to tell the full truth to Lady Catherine. You need not perform to strangers.”
She met his eye and for a moment, as her cheeks blushed beautifully, he held her captive. Her eyes searched his greedily as if pondering some great mystery, and he could not contain the hope that she would find what she sought. Too soon, the spell was broken and she looked away, murmuring her thanks.
As they stood there, dark clouds began to gather overhead. Darcy tried to ignore the sound of his cousin’s voice, but his insistence they walk back before they were drenched eventually broke through. He did not want to leave, but could not stay. Finally, he bowed.
“Good day, Miss Bennet.”
“Good day, Mr. Darcy.”
Elizabeth stood in place and watched the two gentlemen walk away. Her heart beat wildly in her chest after his compliment. She may not have turned his head when they first met, but it seemed she was now more than tolerable. That thought pleased her entirely too much. She smirked as she moved to follow Charlotte and Maria up the path.
No one treated to the privilege of your acquaintance could ever find you lacking.
I wager he never said that to Anne de Bourgh.
**
I hope you will join us on this particular journey. Sketching Character is now available on Amazon Kindle. Paperback and Nook releases are coming soon.
What if a tragic event involving a beloved sister shatters Elizabeth Bennet‘s confidence in her ability to accurately judge a person’s character? When she leaves Longbourn for Kent, Elizabeth’s heart is full of worry for those she left behind. She carries a secret that would ruin her family if exposed and she must deceive the ones closest to her to conceal the truth.
She unexpectedly encounters Mr. Darcy on her journey and his gentlemanly behavior confuses, yet comforts her. Their daily encounters in the woods surrounding Rosings soothes Elizabeth’s weathered conscience and she soon falls in love. Her doubts, along with the well-placed words of another, threaten to destroy the peace she finds in Darcy’s company and she wonders if she has again failed to correctly sketch his character.
When the truth behind her deception is uncovered, will Darcy shun her as Elizabeth fears, or will his actions prove that he is the very best of men?
