Side by Side, Apart by Ann Galvia ♥ Book Tour & GIVEAWAY ♥ (Austenesque Historical Romance)

“You see what a strange circumstance it is,” she said, feeling some fleeting relief. “You know our acquaintance has not been easy.”

Elizabeth Bennet—stubborn, quick to judge but slow to revise her opinions, and entirely prejudiced against the man who had just proposed marriage at Hunsford—awakens to learn she has been in an accident. Bedridden in an unfamiliar house, she learns eleven years have passed since the last moment she can remember.

She finds herself a married woman, the mother of four, and pregnant yet again. Her children are strangers, and most mystifying of all, Fitzwilliam Darcy is her husband! How could she have married a man she loathes?

Confined to the house by her injury, Mr. Darcy’s company is inescapable. But is just being side by side enough to overcome their differences? What happens when Darcy, improved in manners and happily married to Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy, is faced with an obstinate, bewildered Miss Elizabeth Bennet?

“We are married.” Never could she have imagined uttering such a phrase to this man, but evidently, it was so.
“Yes.”
It may be an easy thing for this vexatious man to talk about, but for herself, Elizabeth was shocked. What she really wanted to know was: How had such a thing come to pass? But she would have to apply to another source for that information. She had little interest in Mr. Darcy’s account of his ability to once again overpower all objections and have his own way. She resolved to write to Jane as soon as she felt equal to holding a pen. As for Mr. Darcy, she decided to limit her enquiries to that which must be asked. “When did this occur?”
He made an odd, strangled sort of noise. “Elizabeth, please. I am in no frame of mind for teasing just now.”
“Mr. Darcy,” she said, voice trembling, “let me assure you: the news you have given me does not put me in a mind to tease anyone.” Her stomach roiled. She was unable to discern whether it was nausea, her baby making itself known, or perhaps her injury travelling to inflict itself upon her womb. She had shed tears because of Mr. Darcy in the past, and she was desperate not to do so with him before her.
He took her head in both of his hands. “Elizabeth, no.”
The tears did come then. Whether it was due to her horror alone, the desolation evident in his every word, or a combination of the two, Elizabeth could no longer keep from weeping. He drew her against him and held her until she had no tears left.
“We were wed in November,” he said thickly, when her crying had subsided enough that he could be heard. “Of 1813.”
She noticed he had moved while she wept and now sat upon the edge of the mattress. Elizabeth drew away from him. To have increased as much as she had, she must have been with child for some months. She had no frame of reference for 1813 versus the current date but feared his mention of the year must mean some time had passed since then. “And how long have we been wed?”
“Eleven years, madam.”
She inhaled sharply. Elizabeth had recognised that he appeared older than when she last knew him. That the gulf of time proved to be so large should not come as a surprise. She was now two and thirty. In a marriage of such duration, this pregnancy would not be the first. How many babies had she birthed? How many still survived? Would she recognise them as her own? Would she recognise herself in a mirror?
They had not been well acquainted. It was difficult to judge how old the passing of eleven years made him. “Pray, sir, what is your age?”
“Forty.”
“Forgive me,” Elizabeth said, even though she felt herself the aggrieved party, “I am finding this rather difficult to comprehend.”
“The apothecary advised that you should not take on anything requiring mental exertion. Perhaps all of this is beyond your powers of comprehension at the moment. You must rest for both your body and your mind.” With an air of frustration, he ran his hand over his face. “When you are rested, you will be more yourself.”

Ann started writing sometime before she knew how letters functioned. Her first books were drawings of circus poodles heavily annotated with scribbles meant to tell a story. Upon learning how letters were combined to represent words, she started doing that instead. This has proven to be much more successful.

Sometime after that, she decided she wanted to study Anthropology and sometime after that, she decided she liked cats more than dogs. And sometime after that, she decided to become an educator and teach a new generation of kids how to combine letters to represent words, and use those words to express ideas.

And sometime after that, she realized all she really wanted to do was write, which probably should have been evident from the beginning.

   

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How to Mend a Broken Heart by L.S. Parsons ♥ Book Tour & GIVEAWAY ♥

Three years after Mr. Darcy’s disastrous marriage proposal to Elizabeth Bennet, they meet again. Due to an unexpected twist of fate, Elizabeth finds herself a guest in the home of the Mr. Darcy’s aunt, the Dowager Lady Matlock. Long believing Elizabeth lost to him, Darcy has recently proposed marriage to an old flame, the widow of his friend. Now newly engaged Darcy encounters Elizabeth again and realizes she still owns his heart.

Although bound by honour to another, Darcy sets out to improve Elizabeth’s opinion of him. Tension mounts between Darcy and Elizabeth in that pursuit, and Darcy’s betrothed begins to see Elizabeth as a threat to her upcoming marriage. How will Darcy and Elizabeth ever reach their happily ever after?

How to Mend a Broken Heart is a non-canon variation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and is intended for mature readers.

“Darcy, I believe you have already met Miss Bennet.”
Elizabeth stood frozen in place momentarily, then she offered, “Mr. Darcy, it is a pleasure to see you again.” Performing a polite curtsy to the silent man with a shocked expression on his face, she was confused by his lack of manners. Does he still despise me so much that he cannot act civilly?
The touch of Miss Darcy’s hand against her brother’s arm drew him out of his stupor. “Miss Bennet,” was all he could manage to say.
When everyone was seated, Lady Matlock said, “Miss Bennet, my nephew has just informed us he is to be wed. Is that not happy news?”
Elizabeth noticed Mr. Darcy’s grimace and was curious as to why he should look at his aunt with such distaste. Was he just expressing his displeasure with the fact that they found themselves in each other’s company again? His curt nod in acknowledging her best wishes only added to the tension building in the room.
Only those of Fitzwilliam Darcy’s intimate acquaintance would recognize the myriad of emotions roiling across his mien. Only Miss Bennet was unaware of his emotional distress, and she took his demeanour as a sign of his aversion to her presence in the house belonging to a member of his family.
Having hoped their first meeting would at least be civil, Elizabeth found herself extremely uncomfortable under his scrutiny. It was akin to the way he had treated her in the early days of their acquaintance in Hertfordshire when they had been thrown together at Netherfield Park and the other social events in her neighbourhood. She noticed Darcy’s hand shake and felt particularly upset that he seemed angry with her for being in his aunt’s home. Was he still the arrogant prig she had known all those years ago?
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There was a tense silence in the room as Darcy’s family contemplated his unusually abrupt manner. While Georgiana and Lady Matlock suspected the disturbance in the gentleman to be due to Miss Bennet’s joining their family party, General Fitzwilliam had no such suspicion. He knew Miss Bennet seriously affected his cousin.
He also knew the only favour he could offer his cousin was to remove him from the drawing room. A small smirk graced the general’s lips as the realization of an opinion he had held three years prior was now confirmed: Darcy had been in love with Elizabeth Bennet. The bigger mystery was why Darcy had done nothing about his feelings.
Darcy could do nothing but stare intensely at Elizabeth, though his agitation was noticeable to all by the tremor of his hand and the clinking of his cup upon its saucer.
Georgiana seemed concerned by her brother’s peculiar behaviour. As if hoping to cover up his obvious staring, she began a conversation with Elizabeth. Miss Darcy was normally a shy and reticent young lady, and talking to a relative stranger was a struggle for her, but Miss Bennet’s amiable and easygoing manner helped to ease the young girl’s reserve, and the two young ladies were soon chatting in a friendly way.
As the shy Georgiana made an effort to be friendly with Miss Bennet, Lady Matlock and her son turned their attention to Darcy’s uncharacteristic behaviour and left the two young ladies to become better acquainted.
Giving her son a look, the countess silently pleaded with Richard to do something.
General Fitzwilliam had already devised a plan. “Darcy, do you fancy a game of billiards? We can discuss all the news not fit for the ladies. I have heard enough talk of lace and bonnets and coming out in the last few days to last me a lifetime.”
Darcy, staring intently at Miss Bennet, either had not heard his cousin or had chosen to ignore him.
“Darcy!” Richard raised his voice to garner his cousin’s attention.
Looking up, Darcy responded, “Not at the present time,” and returned his scrutiny to Miss Bennet.
The general walked behind the chair where Darcy was seated. Placing his hand firmly on his cousin’s shoulder, he gave it a hard squeeze. Darcy winced at the slight pain in his shoulder and looked up at Richard with an angry grimace that demanded the meaning of such an action.
Richard glared at Darcy. “Now would be the perfect time.”
Darcy looked at his aunt, who wore a decided scowl. When he looked back at Miss Bennet and saw how ill at ease she seemed, he decided a retreat might be in order. Rising from his seat, he followed the general from the drawing room but not without one last glance back at his Elizabeth.
Once in the hallway, Richard immediately began to tease his cousin. “Darcy, I see that you are still besotted with Miss Bennet. Pity your engagement to Mrs. Wagstaff is so ill-timed.” He nodded back to the door they just exited. “By Mother’s estimation, Miss Bennet is in need of a knight in shining armour. Too bad your shiny suit is already in service to Virginia Wagstaff.”