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What have I done? Sneak peek! — 92 Comments

  1. OMG!!! I have to read more. I’m so curious how this will untangle. What an interesting conundrum. WOW! Cannot wait. (though I am waiting for the Man of Honor on Audible!) PLEASE! YAY!

      • I’m so glad A Matter of Honor is being recorded! When will it be available on Audible?

        Will this new book also be available on Audible? (Please say yes!)

        • The recording is almost complete, but Audible is running a couple of months behind in getting things to go live, so it might be a bit yet. And the new book will be made into audio as well, but no idea when.

  2. Noooooooooooooooooo! How could you? I mean, there’s torture then there’s this! I do hope you realise it’s not just poor Darcy being tortured? I’m really not sure I could manage to read this?
    I can only hope from your hints that the marriage doesn’t actually happen?
    Poor, poor Darcy! I don’t know why so many authors make him suffer like this? Especially now! I live near Pemberley but with this social distancing I can’t even go and comfort him!
    Also it’s bedtime and I really don’t know how I’m going to sleep now?????
    Also in my isolation I don’t have ready access to ammunition so you don’t need to hide in your bunker! I could however make a little Abigail doll and I do have access to a box of pins!!!!!

    • I love your creativity, Glynis!! I suppose social distancing does leave me a wee bit safer, apart from your box of pins. 😀 No, the marriage doesn’t take place, though Darcy spends a lot of time dreading it (but maybe by the time I publish you can go and comfort him?). Just remember this: you’ve only heard Drew’s point of view so far, not Elizabeth’s. 😉

      • Hmmm! Well I did forget to mention that I can’t sew! You seem to have a reprieve for now!
        Also you seem to infer that you still have quarter of the book to write yet ODC have their happy ending? Does this mean we have the last quarter devoted to their happy lives? Pretty please? If so I may just forgive you – this time!
        BTW Michelle H, I would love to see your little Abigail sat at her desk writing, surrounded by cats! 😍

        • I’m tempted believe me. At this point in my life, I have all the ideas but not the gumption to make them a reality. It would require unearthing my sewing supplies from the packed boxes from our move…..3 years ago, I kid you not. Looooonnnngggg story.

          • Obviously a woman after my own heart Michelle! Re the boxes? Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow! (As you know tomorrow never comes) 😏
            I have boxes of wool for knitting and crochet projects that I plan on doing someday (which seems to be as elusive as tomorrow!) 😱
            Have you thought of putting your loooooooooooooooong story into book form? 🤔😀

          • Ha. That particular story not worth a book. Hey, I have the yarn and crochet and paper crafts and blah, blah, blah too! It’s very frustrating since I could’ve sworn I downsized severely before moving. Snort.

          • I know the feeling! No matter how many times I clear out my medicine box and food cupboards I STILL find things dated 1985!!! I wish the elves who keep putting them there would do the cleaning instead! 🤔😉😂🤣😂

    • Oh Glynis, you can’t be so hard on our dear Abigail. If you make an Abigail to stick with pins, I’ll make one too, but no pins. I’ll give her a little writing desk with a white cat (who has a very bushy beautiful tail) to sit with her, and since this is my play world she will have a little Sippewissett with her too. (RIP Sip)

  3. ABIGAIL! WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING? Even as I kept saying “no, no, no,” as I was reading, I can’t wait to see what happens next. I know I will cry when I read the completed book, and I will also probably want to throw it, so I should also get a paperback copy.

  4. Ohhh! I like it! It’s a new spin on things.
    I didn’t feel like Drew was evil though… well, not yet!

  5. I will always go where you lead. I love the way you play with all of the crayons in the box, even the unexpected ones. Looking forward to this.

    • Yep, there’s several mysteries in this book, including a big one around why Andrew is estranged from the family. Good thing Elizabeth is on the case!

  6. Ok. I’m hooked!!! Angst is right!!! My mind is reeling with trying to figure out where you are going with this! Can’t wait!

    • I think the ending will be very sweet, and you’ll definitely feel like Elizabeth and Darcy have earned their happiness. They both have to grow a lot during this story.

  7. Oh my dear, goodness gracious. GAH, I need to read more. In only this small piece, I love Drew, and I love your twists, and Darcy’s angst. Does Elizabeth become ill? Does Mr Collins perform the ceremony?
    Please, dear Lord, tell me Colonel Fitz makes an appearance!!

    • And after reading your comments, could this engagement be a “ruse?” Could Elizabeth be a secret spy for the Tories?

      My mind is reeling!!

    • Arlene, you made my day by seeing Drew’s loveability despite seeing him through Darcy’s rather jaundiced eyes. I was worried about that. Elizabeth doesn’t become ill; she save herself in this one. As for Colonel Fitz, you’ll have to wait and see! And I’m sorry to say the engagement isn’t a ruse. It’s a real engagement. As to why Elizabeth would agree to marry a man named Darcy just two months after refusing the one we know and love… well, that’s another question. 😉

  8. How on earth are you going to believably get them out of this mess? I put my faith in your storytelling abilities. My stomach is already tied up in angsty knots!

    • How will I get them out this mess? The hard way. I was originally going to have someone clear up the mess for them, but then I decided they had to face the music themselves by growing and learning. I like how it came out.

  9. Oh my Lord. I could barely breathe after Drew told Darcy it was Elizabeth he was engaged to. I mean who else could it have been? My heart is still up in my throat. How long do we have to wait???? Must read more SOON!

  10. Oh, holy cow. Several minutes of stunned silence here…
    Abigail, this teaser is really pure….. evil !!!

      • Kympton is tooo close. Maybe Drew could be sent to Hunsford…. A swap of the Livings. Yeah… that way Fitzy won’t ever go to Rosings again. A twofer! No more Anne pressure and even Mr Collins would be better at Kympton…. lol

  11. OMG, what are you doing, Abigail?! – Just had to get that out of my system (ahem).

    I can’t wait to see more! Are you actually going to marry them and then kill off Drew so we hmmm get a HEA?

    Where are my salts? 😵

    • (Passing the salts). No, I couldn’t actually marry Elizabeth to someone else, and I won’t kill off Drew because I’ve become quite fond of him. So has Darcy, for that matter, despite his current reservations. 😉

  12. Well, I do like plots that are original and creative. This about fits that bill, Abigail.

    This is the kind of story that I really need to have in its entirety so that I can skip to the last 10 or 15 pages to make sure everything is going to be OK before I invest a couple of hours to the journey.

    I trust you. (For now.)

    Gayle Mills

    • That’s very good of you to trust me, Gayle, after what I pulled in that excerpt! But I do promise it all comes out well in the end. Even for Drew. And the puppy.

    • Wow, I guess you’re an angst lover! Maybe you can understand why I couldn’t turn down this plot bunny. Once this scene hit my head, I had to keep going.

      • Oh yes, stick the knife in, turn it, then make it all better with rainbows and roses. This is going to be some great reading! I hope there’s a lot of fighting with witty repartee by Darcy and Elizabeth!

  13. Oh my! I have just started Mr. Darcy’s Noble Connections, so I am glad I have something to distract me from this! I definitely didn’t see where things were going – wow!

    • That’ll be a good distraction, though I’ll warn you that Noble Connections has an angsty section, too. Don’t read Chapter 10 near bedtime unless you want to be up all night. You have been warned. 😉

  14. OMG! My heart! My stomach! I felt my heart broke and my stomach sunk and suddenly I was out of breath, poor Mr. Darcy! The pain he must be feeling! Oh Abigail you simply cannot leave us like that, we need to know more.

  15. Ummmm…okay. I can’t wait to see how this will be resolved, as I know it will be. We absolutely cannot have Lizzy marrying the wrong Darcy.

    • Unfortunately not. Elizabeth has agreed to marry Drew and means to go through with it. As to her reasoning… well, there’s a missing piece there. You’ll see.

  16. You had to do this, didn’t you? Other writers have Col. Fitzwilliam and Lizzie marry, but oh no, you have to Darcy’s brother ask Lizzie to marry and then live not two miles away in Kympton. Why do you want us to suffer like this? Do we ask too much of you? I mean, really.

  17. I do love angst. This one will be brutal—and I love it!! I know there has to be a reason, but Elizabeth can’t be that cruel to poor Darcy. I do love when Darcy has a brother. It gives him more layers for you to play with in the story. Anything written by you is an automatic purchase for me. This one won’t be any different!

    I am actually starting a re-read of Mr Darcy’s Enchantment. Reading your novels is the peace I need during this crazy quarantine.

    • Thank you! I”m glad you can see that there has to be a reason for Elizabeth’s behavior. She isn’t thoughtless or cruel. I really enjoy playing with Darcy having a brother, too! I’m glad my books can offer some relief in this crazy time.

  18. Please, please, please let me read more. Oh my goodness this is fabulous. I have always loved all your books and this one is ripe with excitement. I’ll be honest I was worried after the last two that you wouldn’t write for a long while. Of course that made me nervous, but this is a brilliant and I can’t wait for more. Even my DD is hooked. (She loved your last two so much)

    • I had a hard time getting back into writing ‘ordinary’ books after Conceit & Concealment and Mr. Darcy’s Enchantment, but I’m still going at it. I’m hoping to do another fantasy P&P down the line.

  19. Oh! No! We do not even know why there is bad blood between these brothers and now this! If Elizabeth breaks this betrothal doesn’t her reputation suffer?
    Obstacles never cease.

    • Fortunately, all those questions and more will be answered in the book! But you are right – Elizabeth’s reputation will be ruined if she breaks her betrothal, so there’s a huge dilemma – she’s damned if she does, damned if she doesn’t. Lots of angst before the happy ending!

  20. Death threats or throwing vegetables at you no. But definitely intrigued to see how you unravel this seemingly Gordian knot of a plot! Can’t wait to read more!

  21. Oh my!That is definitely an evil plot bunny that got his teeth into you. I need to know how you manage to turn the tables on him & send him back to his home. I can’t wait to read the full story.

  22. Ok! Deep breath! I thought I would need Indeed rotten something to be thrown, and I was thinking “really, she has gone toooooo far this time”… But then, I got really into the story and the multitude of questions, ideas and possibilities made my mind reel. I am actually sure that I might have thought of dozens explanations (as to where, how, when; but just like Darcy said, the WHY’s would be most interesting!!) and you will come up with something no one imagined….
    And you know what?! I can’t even believe I would Say that : I think that I like Drew (the little we have seen on him, of course)!
    Now… It would all depends, for me, on how you will entangle this! I mean, would you make them really (OMG!!!) marry?! Elizabeth and Drew? And will they… No, actually this one I can’t even bear to write it down..

    So, yes, Abigail, you hit again! I would now just have to pick one of the previous books and reassure myself that all IS well in E & F World !! Preferably one in which we see the other suitor dismissed…*hint hint hint*

  23. Definitely will make for awkward holiday get togethers, no matter who E marries, to have both brothers in love with her. I am curious as to the history of the brothers. And, it sounds like Mr. Darcy was a strict disciplinarian, but was he bordering on abusive? Hmmm. Looks like an awesome read no matter what, I love some good angst. Teehee! Maybe E thinks it is F that she is engaged to…one too many glasses of wine, enough family resemblance, and a referral to a Mr. Darcy and she fell for the bait and switch. LOL. Once she sobers up, she will set it to rights. All she has to do is say the paper put in the wrong first name. See, I’ve finished your book for you. JK. I can’t wait to read it.

  24. HELP!!! NO, no, no!!! I hope this won’t the first book by you that I won’t be able to read because of too much angst 😉 I am sure I will need to read the last couple of chapters just to make sure that there is a HEA, otherwise, I won’t be able to finish it. This is exactly the reason everyone should have a dog – dogs can chase away evil plot bunnies, or if that is not an alternative and you want to keep a bunny as a pet, there needs to be a constant supply of fresh carrots and other goodies to keep the bunny happy. So instead of throwing vegetables at you, we could all donate fresh ones so you could give them to the evil plot bunny to ensure that there will be no additional evil twists that might even force a permanent separation of ODC since your characters seem to guide you quite independently (as you’ve told us that you needed to set the latest book in Scotland to try to avoid the Fitzwilliams clan from intruding…). I just can’t wait to see and read the finalized work! I’ve been re-reading all your previous books multiple times just to get some relaxation amidst the COVID craziness.

  25. I love the HEA guarantee. I can’t wait for this one. About the only angst, I can’t read is a previous marriage for ODC. Per a previous comment, please let the last 1/4 of the book have the Darcy’s happy. BTW I loved the brother anthology.

  26. Oh Abigail! I hate that Darcy has to suffer so. I rarely see Elizabeth being forced to make a serious review of her own actions. There must be something going on at Longbourn for her to accept this proposal. (Oh,yes, she truly cannot refuse another, can she?) I’m looking forward to this, I think.

    Peggy aka gabbycat

  27. Yes! Definitely can’t wait to see how this unfolds. So excited to see what comes. This is some good angst! Drew seems like a very interesting character. Must know more!

  28. oh my goodness! so intriguing! I can’t imagine how they could have gotten to this point but I can’t wait to find out!

  29. Well Abigail, this is certainly a shock. And my heart definitely bleeds for Darcy. BUT, let’s not forget, Mr Fitzwilliam did come out with the worst proposal in the world. But as you have guaranteed that ODC end up together, that’s the main thing; a tortuous journey makes for a heart-wrenching read.

    I have questions: how and where did Drew and Lizzy meet? Is Lizzy really in love with him or has something happened to Mr Bennet and Drew’s was the proposal Lizzy could not afford to refuse? Why are Drew and Darcy on the outs with each other? And if we come to like Drew—a circumstance your comments point to the possibility of—are we going to feel heart-broken when his engagement to Lizzy comes to naught? And finally, what has Lizzy told Drew about her tumultuous acquaintance with his brother?

    Can’t wait for this book to come out. 🤗

  30. I am excited for this book. As long as there’s a happy ending I can handle the angst. Bring it on!!! I mean Khalil Gibran did say to be filled with great joy we have to be carved deeply from sadness. I’m here for it!

  31. I could feel my heart squeezing just as Darcy’s was! This is so intriguing! And his competition is his own estranged brother. He cannot even try to compete with him if he wants to reconcile (at least based on this excerpt). And he loves her! Is it too late to hope that this is some other Elizabeth Bennet?

    I guess the angst will make the happy ending that much sweeter. I am glad you told us there is an HEA before the excerpt!

  32. How exciting! I cannot wait for more. It seems as if Drew might be someone who deserves a happy ending himself? Unless of course he is part of some foul machinations of Wickham’s. I do so thoroughly enjoy when Wickham is justifiably punished for his mischief making. As for this particular plot bunny, I have always wanted a good triangle where Darcy has to untangle Elizabeth from another engagement. There are a few out there, but they usually seem to pair her with Richard and that just doesn’t seem right because poor Richard usually gets the short end of the stick and I like him too much for that ending. I will be very excited to read your rendition of this scenario as I adore your books and writing style.

  33. Very interesting. I have read other books where he has a brother or two. I have also read books where Elizabeth accepts someone else connected to Darcy, cousin or friend. But this is the first time, I encounter a story where his rival is his own brother.
    I am really looking forward to reading the book and listening to it as well.

    • For some reason, I have a feeling that Elizabeth is made to agree to marry the younger Darcy because she was found in a compromised position with him or someone else and he offered to save her reputation.
      Also, regarding Drew’s estrangement, I have a feeling that Wickham had something to do with it somehow. Just guessing.

  34. OMGOMGOMG WHYYYYYY
    I can’t wait! Poor poor Mr. Darcy. I love the assurance that they WILL end up together hahahaha

  35. I’m hurt and very intrigued. I love angst but I’m also cringing. I’m so torn I don’t know myself. I just feel like people are going to get really hurt in this but I’m also dying to bear witness to their pain. I’m not making sense anymore lol. I can’t wait to see how this unravels!

  36. Pingback:Excerpt from my new book! | Jane Austen Variations

  37. Omg!!! Abigail seriously?! Christ that will kill Darcy pure and simple! Though I do like Drew! Love the angst and yet can’t bear angst in stories! But omg seriously I can’t wait to get my hands on this book!

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