Yes, The Guardians of Pemberley, Book 3 of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Mage, is still coming out in September, and it’ll be full of romance, excitement, and magic!

It’s not going to be quite what I expected, though. In a good way! And it’s all my editor’s fault.

Here’s a dialogue of what happened with my editor, translated into what we really wanted to say rather than the polite interchange it was:

Editor: Abigail, you need to make some major changes. [outlines changes]

Me: No! Never! I hate you and you’re wrong and you’re the worst editor in the world!

Editor: Aha! You know I’m right! Because otherwise you’d  just have said that wasn’t your vision for the book!

Me: [crossing arms and staring sulkily at the computer] I’m not admitting a thing. I want my lawyer.

Editor: Well, why don’t you start with the complete rewrite of the first quarter of the book and then we can talk about the rest.

So, first I cut 13,000 words, then another 9,000, and then I stopped counting. I’m still working on the new version, but it’s so much better. It’s gone from boring drawing room conversations to lots of action and emotion. You’ll see more of Darcy recovering from his experiences in France and how the politics of the dragon Nest affect our dear couple.

[Taking a deep breath here] And she was right about the other part, too, that this should be two books, not one. I was so determined to keep this as a trilogy that I forced the story to fit that model, but that starved it of the richness the first two books had. I’ve been dreading tell readers about this, but I’m biting the bullet and hope you’ll forgive me.

The good news is that the fourth book should come out relatively quickly after Book 3 because most of it’s already written. I’m hoping for December 2025, but we’ll see. The working title is Triumph at Pemberley, but that may change.

Here’s a little consolation prize, an outtake from that vast section of text I cut. This won’t appear in the final book – Jane’s entire visit to Pemberley was cut from final version. So it’s just for your entertainment. It takes place at Pemberley, the day after The Magic of Pemberley ended with little Jenny’s premature birth and healing.

~~~

Even though it was good to see Hobbes’ familiar face and slightly stooped posture again, Darcy still had that feeling that everything here at Pemberley was strange to him. Or perhaps it was Darcy himself who was a stranger now.

“Yes, Hobbes?”

The old butler inclined his head. “A runner has come from the gate, sir, reporting that we have callers. A Mr. Bingley and his wife. Mr. Roderick wishes to know if they should be admitted.”

The Bingleys, here at Pemberley? Elizabeth would be thrilled; she had missed her sister desperately. “That is excellent news, if unexpected. Yes, let them in immediately!” Then the oddity of it struck him. “Why were they stopped? Our gates have never been closed to callers.”

Hobbes gave a soft cough. “I am sorry to report there has been some fae trickery in your absence, sir. High Fae disguising themselves as people known to us to test the wards. In the interest of caution, Lady Frederica decided all visitors would require approval now.”

Fae trickery? That was disturbing, and it must have been serious, to provoke such a response. “I see.”

Hobbes continued, “Mr. Bingley was asked, as is the new custom, for a message that you would know could only come from him. He said that your cows have bad knees.” The butler sounded offended at this criticism.

Darcy laughed. “My illusory cows. I had terrible trouble getting their knees to look right. That is Bingley, no question about it.”

The butler quickly disguised a look of surprise. Devil take it, Darcy had to remember he was the master here again, after all those months in France when he had been forced to learn to deal with others in a more egalitarian fashion. Summoning his old autocratic manner, he said, “Have them admitted immediately, and I will come down to meet them.”

***

“Darcy!” Bingley cried as he leapt from the carriage. “Well met! I thought you were still in France!”

“Only back four days, but this is indeed a delightful surprise!” Darcy wrung his friend’s hand. “And Mrs. Bingley, welcome to Pemberley. Elizabeth will be so glad to see you.”

Mrs. Bingley said urgently, “Pray tell me, how is she? I have been so worried since receiving Lady Frederica’s letter.”

Of which, of course, Darcy was completely ignorant, along with everything else that had happened in England for the last three months. “I am glad to say Elizabeth is doing well, as is our three-day-old daughter. I understand her situation was quite bleak before that. I arrived just a few hours before the baby.”

She clapped her hands together with an expression of relieved delight. “I am so glad to hear it!” She hesitated, and then said in a softer voice. “And the baby…is she well? I know she was not expected so soon.”

“Our Jenny is the tiniest mite you have ever seen, but we expect her to make it.” Now, at least. At first no one thought Jenny would live, and he had feared his heart would shatter. But he could hardly tell the Bingleys that a dragon from India, one that they believed was a human, had done a magical healing so the baby would live.

So many secrets he would have to find a way to explain to them, when he did not yet understand what was happening. There had been one small dragon at Pemberley when he had left on his near-fatal mission to France, and now there were five full-grown ones, not to mention a contingent of invisible lesser fae serving his sister.

Since his return, Darcy had spent every minute worrying over Elizabeth and Jenny. That would have to change. “Pray come inside. I hope you intend to stay with us.”

“If that works for you, old fellow!” Bingley said.

“Were you not expecting us?” Mrs. Bingley asked worriedly. “I wrote to Lizzy to tell her we were coming.”

“My apologies, then,” Darcy said. “Elizabeth has been greatly preoccupied with the new baby and did not mention it to me.” He gestured to them to go inside.

Bingley said jovially, “Of course it would be the last thing on her mind! You, a father! I cannot quite grasp it yet.”

“Nor I,” Darcy said with deep feeling, then turned to the butler. “Pray inform Mrs. Reynolds to prepare rooms for Mr. and Mrs. Bingley.”

“It is already done,” Hobbes said austerely. “At Lady Frederica’s request. Shall I show you to them?”

Mrs. Bingley said, “May I please see Lizzy first? Even if I am all over road dust, I have been so very worried.”

If there was one thing Darcy understood, it was how it felt to need reassurance that Elizabeth was well. “Of course. Let me just check if she is awake.”

***

Elizabeth sat propped up by pillows in bed, their tiny infant asleep in her arms. Normally it was an easy walk back from the cottage at the heart of Pemberley where Jenny had been born, but nothing was easy two days after giving birth. Every part of her ached.

The door opened a crack and Darcy’s beloved face peered in. “May I come in, if you are not too sleepy?”

“Just drowsy, but always glad to see you.”

“There is someone else here whom you will be glad to see,” he said, opening the door wider.

“Truly, I do not think I am good company–” Then her eyes widened with delighted surprise. Heedless of the sleeping baby, she cried, “Jane!”

Her beloved sister tiptoed in, hesitantly coming to stand beside her. “Oh, Lizzy! It is so good to see you. Look at your beautiful little girl! How tiny she is! I would hug you were I not afraid of waking her.” Instead she leaned down and kissed Elizabeth’s cheek.

Oh, what a joy to see Jane again after a year apart, a year filled with more changes than Elizabeth could have imagined when they parted that day at the church door. Tears of happiness overflowed her eyes. “Dearest, dearest Jane! What a wonderful surprise!”

“It would not have been a surprise at all if you had read my letters,” Jane said with a hint of tartness. “I told you we were coming.”

Elizabeth might have felt embarrassed, were she not so happy to see her sister. “Pray forgive me! I have been in a very dark place until just recently, and I could not face even that.” But she should have at least opened her letters, even if she had believed Darcy was lost to her forever and most likely her baby as well.

And now she had them both.

“Lady Frederica told me that when she wrote to me,” Jane said. “So we decided the only answer was to come to see you in person. But enough of that! I want to hear everything that has happened, and how on earth you managed to have a baby that sleeps so soundly!”

“The result of magical healing, apparently,” Elizabeth said ruefully. “Jenny would not have survived if there had not been a healer here. But it makes her sleep a great deal.” And how glad she was that she did not have to lie about this; Rana Akshaya had been known to have healing powers in London, long before Elizabeth discovered she was a dragon.

But that was the least of the things she would have to explain to Jane, who did not know that Elizabeth herself was a dragon companion, nor that she had made a perilous journey in disguise through enemy France to rescue Darcy. So much to tell her, and she was still so tired!

Perhaps Darcy could handle the explanations. His experience in France was far worse than hers, but he had not just given birth. Yes, that was the answer; she would leave it to him.

Elizabeth leaned her head back on the pillow. “Jane, will you sit down and tell me all the news from home?”

~~~

So, are you still speaking to me now that Book 3 isn’t the end of the series? I hope so, because the books really will be much better now than they were. And I’m so eager to get them into your hands! I’m really excited about some of the surprises in store for you. Thanks for reading! And you can pre-order The Guardians of Pemberley here.