Attempting Elizabeth (24 page)
Mark's eyes opened. He took in the popcorn ceiling of my bedroom before his gaze centered onto my face, hovering a few inches above his. A slow smile spread across his face as he reached up and pulled me down for a kiss. It was long, slow, and completely brain-melting. At some point he rolled me to the side, our legs tangling together. I lay there in the crook of his arm as I kissed him back with everything I had.
I could feel laughter rumbling in his chest as he finally broke the kiss. “Well, I’ll be damned,” he laughed. “How did you manage that?”
I smiled, feeling suddenly shy. I was still clutching the sheet of paper in a death grip against his chest. I managed to pry it out of my hand and hand it to him.
Mark unfolded the wrinkled paper and read what I’d written.
“I know you love
Pride and Prejudice
,” he said as he grinned at me. “But I like this better.”
I took the paper from him and looked down at the simple phrase that I’d written.
Kelsey Edmundson loves Mark Barnes.
The End.
“So do I,” I answered.
~ The End~
Chapter One:
Mr. Darcy,
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
Chapter Two:
Westley,
The Princess Bride
Chapter Three:
Han Solo,
Star Wars: A New Hope
Chapter Four:
Morpheus,
The Matrix
Chapter Five:
Mr. Darcy,
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
Chapter Six:
Phil Connors,
Groundhog Day
Chapter Seven:
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
Chapter Eight:
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
by C.S. Lewis
Chapter Nine:
Mr Bennet,
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
Chapter Ten:
John McClane,
Die Hard
Chapter Eleven:
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
Chapter Twelve:
Alice,
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll
Chapter Thirteen:
Anne Shirley,
Anne of Green Gables
by L.M. Montgomery
Chapter Fourteen:
Lady Catherine de Bourgh,
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
Chapter Fifteen:
Cinderella,
Walt Disney’s Cinderella
Chapter Sixteen:
Alice,
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll
Chapter Seventeen:
Aurora,
Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty
Chapter Eighteen:
Mr. Darcy,
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
Chapter Nineteen:
The Grandson,
The Princess Bride
Chapter Twenty:
Amanda Price,
Lost in Austen
Chapter Twenty-One:
Dr. Sam Beckett,
Quantum Leap
(Genesis Episode)
Chapter Twenty-Two:
Elizabeth Bennet,
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
Attempting Elizabeth
would not have been possible without the amazing work of Jane Austen. I owe her a debt of gratitude both as a reader and a writer.
Thank you to my husband, Edward, and my children, Maddie and James, for your love and support, and for letting me "go writing."
The Austen community, especially the readers and contributors at
IndieJane.org
have been so supportive of this project. Kelsey's story would never have been told without your encouragement. Thank you to Nancy Kelley, my Indie Jane partner in crime, for always believing in this story.
Attempting Elizabeth
was originally written as a short story for the Jane Austen Made Me Do It contest hosted by Laurel Ann Nattress. Many thanks to Laurel Ann for providing such a great opportunity and for supporting all of the writers involved.
I have the best beta readers, story editors, and editors without whom I would be lost: Kimberly Truesdale, Patricia Marquez, Rebecca Nyenhuis, Jacqueline Maxman, C. Allyn Pierson, Amanda Beaty Chambers, and Mark House.
The writing community on Twitter is such a valuable resource. I would like to thank Jennie Kohl Austin for responding to my desperate plot tweet with a suggestion that changed the course of this novel for the better.
Special thanks to my Australian dialect coach and editor Rob Austen.
To the Starbucks on Prospect in Helena, thanks for never getting tired of me taking up the back table with a wall outlet and for providing me with lots of caffeine in delicious and fattening delivery systems.
As always, a huge thank you to Jennifer Becton for inspiring me to self-publish and for being such a wonderful and giving colleague.
A huge thank you to my amazing cover designer and biggest cheerleader Victoria Austen-Young. Thank you for always talking me down off the ledge, spending countless hours looking at pictures of rugby players with me for "name research," never laughing at my crazy ideas, making sense of my ramblings, correcting my Aussie speak, and generally being awesome.
Jessica Grey is an author, Janeite, fairytale believer, baseball lover, and recovering Star Wars fangirl. A life-long Californian, she now lives in Montana with her husband and two children, where she spend her time writing, perfecting the fine art of preschooler-wrangling, and drinking way too much caffeine.
You can follow Jessica on Twitter
@_JessicaGrey
or read her blog at
www.authorjessicagrey.com
Alexandra Martin didn’t believe in fairytales…
Alex has always been more interested in rocks and science than stories about princesses and magic. Now she’s far too busy with her summer internship at the Gem and Mineral Museum to think about children’s stories. Between avoiding her former best friend and high school baseball star, Luke Reed, and trying to hide her unrequited crush on her mentor at the museum, the real world is occupying all of her time.
…Until she walked into one.
It turns out fairytales aren’t all fun and games. A curse has turned her neat and orderly world upside down, and to break it, she bands together with a fellow intern and a recently awakened princess who’s been asleep for 900 years. Can this trio of unlikely heroines put an end to an ominous enchantment, discover true love, and keep an ancient and evil magic from being unleashed on modern-day Los Angeles?
Eleven enchanting fairy tale short stories:
After spending her whole life isolated in a tower, Rapunzel’s salvation is finally at hand, but she may have merely traded one form of captivity for another…
Special Agent Alice Harrison of the Office of Narrative Order should know better than anyone not to follow a suspicious (and suspiciously good-looking) man in a white rabbit suit down a hole…
Miss Lucinda Beacham is bored. The endless balls and dances she must endure as a debutante hold no enjoyment for her—that is until she finds a frog sitting on the edge of a fountain, a frog who just so happens to know her name…
Being a fairy godmother isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, especially when you’re a junior in high school and your next assignment is your former crush…
Views from the Tower is a collection of short stories that offers new perspectives on some of your favorite fairy tales, including a trio of different takes on Rapunzel. Each story offers a unique foray into the exciting world of fantasy, as well as a golden opportunity to see some well-known legends in a whole new light.
Please enjoy the following excerpt from
Loving Miss Darcy
by
Nancy Kelley
A raindrop splattered on the sleeve of Richard Fitzwilliam’s jacket, darkening the camel fabric to brown. The former colonel glanced at the sky and muttered a curse when he saw the heavy, grey clouds quickly rolling in.
Richard leaned over his horse’s neck and urged him into a canter, but the clouds broek when they were only halfway to the stable. By the time they reached shelter, his coat was soaked through. He dismounted and shook rain water from his dark blond hair, at the same time taking in the unusual amount of activity going on around him. He soon found the cause—a fine pair of matched bays were being led into their stalls by the stable hands.
His shoulders stiffened.
Simon.
“Will I find my brother in the house?” he asked the stable master.
The short man bobbed his head. “Indeed, Colonel Fitzwilliam.”
“Thank you, George.”
For a brief moment, Richard contemplated going back out into the rain rather than greeting his brother, but his love for his horse would not allow that. He might not mind the cold rain, but Arion deserved better.
“I do rather envy you your quiet stall, however,” he muttered as he rubbed the hunter down until Arion’s chestnut coat gleamed.
When he could put off the inevitable no longer, he took the umbrella he kept by the door and walked up the path to the house. The warmth of the house felt good on his chilled skin, and for a scant second he considered taking the kitchen door and going up the back stairs to his room. His damp clothes clung to his body and he would have loved a change, but he knew how much Simon disliked untidiness, so with a mischievous grin he asked the butler where he could find his brother.
The elderly servant straightened, his hands behind his back. “In his lordship’s study, Master Richard.”
A muscle twitched behind Richard’s eye. “Thank you, Graves.”
“Of course, Master Richard.” The youthful title Graves insisted on using eased the ache behind Richard’s temple, mostly because he knew Simon would have received a similar address when he arrived, and he loved seeing his brother taken down a peg.
However, once he left the kitchen, the rapidly building headache returned. The door to the study was closed, and he took a deep breath before entering. He crossed the room to where a fire glowed in the hearth without so much as greeting Simon, who sat behind their father’s desk.
Simon raised a delicate handkerchief to his nose. “Richard, must you always be covered in the scent of horseflesh?”
“It is the natural consequence of working with horses, Simon, though of course you are unaware of that. I had not realized we were to be graced with your presence—the last I heard, you were enjoying the pleasures of London too much to ever leave.”
Richard leaned back on his heels and admired the bright pink hue spreading from his brother’s ears and down his neck. “I always intended to return home at some point this year to look over the books,” Simon said.
Richard’s fingers twitched, but he maintained an even tone. “By that you mean your friends have gotten tired of the way you poach off them and you decided to come here and poach off Father instead.”
Simon’s thin nostrils flared. “I do not see how it is poaching if all that is here will one day be mine.”
“Ah, but it is not yet yours, is it?”
“Nor will it ever be yours!”
Richard blew out an angry sigh and sat down, now dry enough that he would not damage the upholstery. “Must we always cover the same ground in our arguments, Simon? This does get a bit tedious, year after year.”
Simon pursed his lips. “Perhaps if you did not act like you owned the land that I will inherit—”
“And perhaps if you acted like you truly cared about that land!”
A sly look crossed Simon’s eyes. “You are correct, Richard. It is time I took more of an interest in the estate. In fact, I believe I will begin by going over the books that you have so carefully kept for Father since you were dismissed from the Army. I do not see why he trusted you when even the soldiers no longer wanted you.”
“I was retired out because there were not enough posts available for high-ranking officers,” Richard said through gritted teeth. “They still give me half-pay, so clearly they did not wish to be quit of me. Can you say the same for anyone you have left behind?”
“Yes, so you say…” Simon drawled, his fingers lingering on the papers laying on top of the desk. “But does anyone know what you actually did during your Army years? I vow, I never once saw you take part in actual… soldier things.”
Richard barked out an unamused laugh. “Soldier things? Simon, you had best not talk about things you know nothing about. Do you even know which end of a rifle to shoot?”
All traces of amusement gone, his elder brother leaned his slight body over the desk. “I may not be the chevalier you pretend to be, but I do have one thing you do not.”
Richard snorted. “Oh, spare me your airs and graces, your lordship. As if I envied you your title.”
Simon shook his head quickly. “No, Richard. I have a home.”
Richard stood up quickly. “If you care so much for your home, spend more time here!” he shouted and left the room.
A footman stopped him at the base of the stairs. “I am not in a mood for to be disturbed, Paul,” Richard warned.
“No sir,” Paul said, “but this came for you this afternoon while you were out. It’s a letter from Pemberley, sir.”
Richard took the envelope and immediately recognized his cousin’s firm handwriting. “Thank you, Paul. Perhaps the day is not a total loss after all.”
His mood slightly improved, Richard took the steps two at a time and entered his room. The fire was lit and he sat down in front of it before opening the letter. Correspondence between Richard and William Darcy was a regular event, as they shared the care of William’s younger sister Georgiana. There was always some matter to be discussed regarding the young lady’s upbringing.
This letter however was not from William, though he had addressed it. Instead, a single sheet of paper opened up to reveal a feminine hand.
Richard,
It would please both Fitzwilliam and myself if you would join us at Pemberley in advance of the rest of the family for the Christmas holidays. You are quite welcome to come as soon as you wish.
Yrs & etc,
Elizabeth Darcy
Richard stretched his legs out in front of himself and smiled for the first time since he had seen his brother’s horses in the stable. In truth, he was at Pemberley almost as much as he was at home, so a formal invitation was hardly necessary. This invitation, however, granted him the opportunity to quit Simon’s presence and spend time with family he actually enjoyed.
~**~
Loving Miss Darcy by Nancy Kelley is available now.
