Hello, my friends! Today I'm delighted to have Alice Isakova visiting So little time...! She has brought with her a lovely excerpt from her new book, Georgiana Darcy: A Sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
There is also a very nice giveaway! Details are at the bottom of the page!
This is a beautiful cover!!
Georgiana Darcy
by Alice Isakova
With her temptingly large dowry, the beautiful and talented Georgiana Darcy catches the eye of numerous suitors, not all of whom wish to marry purely for love. As Georgiana navigates the treacherous waters of courtship, her story becomes intertwined with that of Anne de Bourgh, her wealthy but painfully awkward cousin, who stirs up trouble when she sets her sights on a young gentleman with a rank far below her own. In so doing, Anne encounters the opposition of her proud and domineering mother, the formidable Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and sets in motion a chain of events that brings a damaging secret to light and threatens to destroy Georgiana's dreams of happiness. Intrigues, gossip, and elopements further complicate Georgiana's efforts to find love and avoid the snares of fortune-hunters.
Written in a sparkling, witty, humorous style on par with Jane Austen's own in Pride and Prejudice, Alice Isakova's Georgiana Darcy continues the tale that has delighted readers for over two centuries.
Excerpt:
In the afternoon of the following day, Anne descended the stairs to the blue drawing room, where she found one of the maids hurrying to finish dusting before the arrival of Mr. Grey, who was expected at Rosings shortly. Lady Catherine had been displeased with how the room was dusted that morning, and, her ladyship having given the order to do it again, the maid now worked at lightning speed to complete the task in time. Seeing Anne come in, the servant said, "I beg your pardon, Miss de Bourgh. I shall be gone in an instant."
"That is fine, Hannah. Please feel free to finish your work."
Anne chose a comfortable chair nearest the fire, while the maid flew about the room with her dust cloth. Lady Catherine was to enter at any moment, and Hannah was anxious to finish in time to avoid her mistress' scolding tongue. In her haste, she knocked a vase off of a table, and despite her best efforts to catch it before it fell, the vase came crashing to the floor. For a few seconds, the maid stared in disbelief at the pieces of porcelain before her.
"Oh, no! What have I done?!" cried she. Kneeling to the floor, the servant began picking up the shards. "No, no," she moaned, as if willing the vase to reassemble itself back to its former condition. "It is worth more money than I will see in a lifetime. Her ladyship will surely dismiss me from the household when she discovers what I have done!"
"Oh, Hannah! Do not cry," Anne entreated. "Perhaps it will not come to that."
Half-blinded by her tears, Hannah could hardly see what she was doing, and not surprisingly, she cut her hand on a fragment of porcelain. The wretched girl began sobbing in earnest as drops of scarlet began trickling down her palm.
"There, there, Hannah. Calm yourself," said Anne as she produced a handkerchief and proceeded to tie it around the wound. Just then, Lady Catherine walked into the room.
"What is all this?" her ladyship demanded. Then, perceiving the broken pottery strewn on the floor, she cried, "My favourite Sèvres vase! How did this happen?!"
Hannah opened her mouth as if to speak, but no words emerged, and all she could do was stare in terror at her mistress.
"I broke the vase, Mama," said Anne. "I… I stumbled and accidentally knocked the vase off the table. Hannah was collecting the pieces, and she has cut her hand, you see."
The maid at first looked astonished at these words, but then her expression turned to profound gratitude and relief at having escaped her ladyship's fury.
"Anne, it does not do to always be stumbling about and knocking into things," Lady Catherine chastised her daughter. "You must endeavour to move with more grace. And straighten your shoulders! If you continue hunching them in that manner, you will soon have a permanent hump in your back."
Anne bore her mother's scolding patiently and silently except for the occasional "Yes, Mama." While Hannah collected the vase fragments, Lady Catherine upbraided her daughter and would have continued to do so at length if she had not been interrupted by the arrival of Mr. Grey.
The gentleman who entered the drawing room was uncommonly good-looking; he had flaxen hair, a warm smile, and beautiful, blue eyes full of merriment—he was one of the handsomest young men Anne had ever seen. She coloured at the sight of him and knew not where to direct her gaze but became suddenly self-conscious about her appearance. Oh, why had she not chosen a prettier dress that day! The one she had on was one of her plainest and least becoming gowns. But it could not be helped now! The best Anne could do was to arrange her shawl in a more attractive manner around her shoulders.
Lady Catherine, on the other hand, looked as grand and imposing as ever, or perhaps even a little more so than usual, as she cast a scrutinising eye over her visitor. Yet, although Mr. Grey conducted himself with respect towards her ladyship, he did not at all seem to be awed or intimidated by her presence, not even when she began her interrogation:
"Mr. Grey, you attended Oxford, I believe?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"And how did you make use of your time there?"
"Use, Madam? I am not sure I comprehend your meaning."
"Then I will speak plainly—the universities of England were once fine educational institutions, but over time they have become more akin to seminaries of vice rather than learning. Many a promising young man has descended into dissipation after commencing his studies. Free from restraint, he adopts the drunken habits of his new acquaintances and spends less time reading books than gambling, fox hunting, and visiting houses of ill repute. Is that how you spent your years at Oxford?"
Looking a little surprised but at the same time amused, Mr. Grey replied:
"No, not at all. While it is true that some students hardly attended their lectures and led lives of dissipation, I was never one of them. Although I made many new friends at Oxford, the greater part of my time I spent in study, and those with whom I chose to spend my leisure hours were fine gentlemen of sense and good character."
"What about your academic results? Did you take honours?"
"I did, my lady."
"In classics or in mathematics?"
"In both. I received a double first."
"A double first class degree! That is a fine distinction, indeed!" her ladyship exclaimed.
Anne was no less impressed and could not help but regard Mr. Grey with admiration. Not only was he extremely handsome, with pleasant and engaging manners, but also he was clearly an intelligent man, a scholar. Had he also been rich, Mr. Grey would have had no equal among men. However, his lack of a fortune did not prevent Anne from taking a keen interest in his response to Lady Catherine's next question:
"Mr. Grey, marriage is a fine institution. Have you considered getting married?"
Somewhat taken aback by the directness of her question, he answered, "I… well… yes, I have, my lady," to which she replied:
"I firmly believe that an unmarried man more easily falls into temptation and every form of vice, and marriage is therefore the natural remedy against such evil. A clergyman must lead by example and get married as soon as may be. You are of the same opinion, I hope, Mr. Grey?"
"The institution of marriage is indeed a fine thing," answered Mr. Grey thoughtfully. "If a man is so fortunate as to find a woman with whom he can share his life, then I suppose there is no reason for delay."
"Good. I am pleased to hear it. The late rector of Hunsford, Mr. Collins, found himself a wife not long after I advised him to do so. He chose a very sensible, useful woman as his wife. I hope that you will follow Mr. Collins' good example?"
"Madam, I thank you for your concern regarding my future, but much as I might wish to find a good wife sooner rather than later, I think we must await God's will in the matter."
"Mr. Grey, with a little effort, it cannot be difficult to find such a wife. In the village there are a number of fine young ladies of the same station as yourself. Surely you can find one among them who is suitable."
~*~
About the Author
Born in Eastern Europe, Alice Isakova spent the latter part of her childhood in the United States before finally settling in Australia. There she obtained a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Adelaide and won multiple university prizes for outstanding academic achievement.
Alice now lives with her family in rural Tasmania. She spends her free time either writing or pursuing her passion for fitness, especially the disciplines of rhythmic gymnastics, yoga, and ballet. Georgiana Darcy: A Sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is Alice Isakova's first book.
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* * * GIVEAWAY * * *
It's giveaway time! Alice Isakova is graciously giving away an eBook of Georgiana Darcy to five of my lucky readers! Thank you so much for your generosity, Alice!
- Five winners will be picked.
- One eBook per winner.
- Winners will be picked randomly by Rafflecopter.
- To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter below.
- Open Internationally!
- Last day to enter the giveaway is Oct. 12, 2018, 11:59 PM Pacific time.
Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Congratulations, Alice, on the publication of your first book, Georgiana Darcy! That is super exciting! It was my pleasure to have you on So little time... today, and thank you so much for offering five of my readers a chance to win an eCopy of your book! Yay!
I'm very intrigued by Mr. Grey! I love the way he handles Lady Catherine. He seems very sure of himself. What do you think?
