Tags
betrothal, Darcy, Elizabeth Bennet, JAFF, Jane Austen, Jane Austen Fan Fiction, Longbourn, Pride & Prejudice, Regency, Thursday's 300, Zoe Burton
Welcome back to Austen Promises!
Here’s another excerpt of my new Regency story. In this one, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy gets just a bit … arrogant, shall we say? LOL Surely you did not think he could go a whole book and not annoy his betrothed just a bit, did you? Well, I guess in my books, he generally doesn’t, but this time he will. 😀
Did you know that for a monthly pledge of as little as $1 at Patreon, you can have early access to all my blog posts, including my Thursday ones? And, that the Thursday posts are expanded for my patrons, who get a whole chapter?
~~~***~~~
When Fitzwilliam entered the room, he was not pleased to find another man sitting so closely to his Elizabeth. Instead of sitting down with the rest of the company, he strode to the window and stood looking out, his hands clasped behind his back and his jaw clenched. When he felt he had regained his composure, he moved away from the window to stand behind Elizabeth. He caught a glimpse, out of the corner of his eye, of his father smirking at him. He wondered what had caused that look, but did not wish to take the time to discover it.
A quarter hour later, Fitzwilliam Darcy was fit to be tied. He had stood behind his betrothed as she laughed with another man; a man who, it seemed, knew everything about her. He heard stories of what seemed to him to be every misdeed she had ever committed as a girl. Fitzwilliam’s stance had become more and more rigid and his jaw clenched harder and harder as he listened to John Lucas flirt with Elizabeth. Just when he thought he could not take more, Sir William stood, indicating the end of the visit.
“Lucas, a word?” Fitzwilliam growled his question.
John paused for just a second but then consented to follow Fitzwilliam to a corner near the room’s doorway. “What can I do for you?”
“You can leave my future wife alone is what you can do.” If his dark, severe look had not indicated his displeasure, his severe tone of voice would have.
John’s brows rose, demonstrating his surprise. “Excuse me?”
“I sat there and listened to you flirt with Elizabeth. I will not have it. She is engaged to me and not available for other men to flirt with. You will cease and desist immediately.”
“Now see here! You cannot tell me what to do. You are not married to her yet, and if you were, I have known her for years. Years. You have been acquainted with her for days.”
“I can tell you what to do where it concerns my wife. I will not have people like you making her uncomfortable. I am telling you to stop or face the consequences.” With one last, hard look at John, Fitzwilliam turned on his heel and stalked away.
Elizabeth, who had been standing a few feet behind them, waiting for them to finish, had heard every word. She stood, arms crossed, jaw set, and face a deep red, waiting for one of them to turn and see her. It was Fitzwilliam who did.
He saw all the signs of her agitation, but did not connect her apparent anger with his speech to her old friend. “What is wrong?”
He knew he had asked the wrong question when her snapping eyes jerked up to his face and her hands landed on her hips. “Why do you not tell me, Mr. High and Mighty Fitzwilliam Darcy?”
~~~***~~~
I’d love to hear what you think! Please consider leaving me a comment! 🙂
My Gumroad Store Join my mailing list
Find me at Austen Authors My Patreon Page
Austen Promises 
What fun!! Fireworks!!!!
Love this little tease!
LikeLiked by 1 person
LOL Yep, Darcy stumbled a bit right there. 😉 ❤
LikeLike
Zoe, when will this book be available?
LikeLike
It will be at least six weeks, I think. It’s about half written and will need editing before I can release it to the world. Thanks for asking! 🙂
LikeLike