Darcy's Mistress - The Devil Be Damned!

Picture copyright Francine Howarth

Just occasionally wicked stories come to mind, and with the plethora of Jane Austen Fan Fiction novels, in particular those associated with Pride & Prejudice. Subsequently, all those spin-off novels - or if you prefer follow-on P&P novels, all rather sweet in context, the wicked devil in me couldn't help but wonder who Darcy may have flirted with before he met Elizabeth. Thus, what of the dire consequences of one long-lasting friendship, or could it be more?  

Below I give you a taste of the  story that unfolded, and there is a fair bit of mystery attached to it, and for any reader who has read my Georgian or Regency murder mysteries, will  know nothing is as it seems. Thus, when Elizabeth becomes suspicious of Darcy riding out with some regularity, and irregularity in another quarter, namely the bedchamber,  she  happens upon a letter, and although momentarily shocked and uncertain in what to do, she garners strength from letters back and forth between her sister, Jane, and duly sets out to discover where Darcy goes and who he is meeting in clandestine manner.  Oh lordy! 

Excerpt:

Two days at Pemberley with his new bride, the rigours of marital obligations had taken its toll on Darcy. His ability to concentrate on estate matters so sorely neglected for several weeks, were quite overshadowed by the delights of Elizabeth in his bed. ‘Twas, as he reflected, the natural consequence of marriage and the ever unencumbered delight of indulging carnal pleasures at will. Whilst it was true to say life at Pemberley would be wholly different than prior unfettered existence, timely observance of his wife’s needs would ensure against misapprehensions, would it not? Heaven forefend worst case scenario involving cataclysmic personality clashes would occur, for the very thought set him on edge. There was no doubting he had indeed married a firebrand of sharp wit and clever retort in tongue, and to a great extent, affronted by the arrogance of the inner man, why then had she sought to wed him? What was done could not be undone, and marriage was no excuse for ignoring the wont of a third party, or that person’s unstinting loyalty. Thus, having excused self from his wife’s company, he hastened to his private study, a little prick of conscience causing him to unlock a drawer in the desk and peruse a copy of his last letter dispatched to Farthingly.

.

Dearest Belle,

I shall endeavour to pay visit as soon as can be set in place, and explain more. It is with sincere regret I have to inform you wedlock to a Miss Bennet has transpired. How talk of marriage arose remains somewhat as baffling as my stupidity in frequenting Longbourn in company with Bingley. Damnation –as one would say in person– for my impeccable hide is finally besmirched by insanity. The sheer joy of walking out in company with others, I had avowed to self as the safest measure in likelihood of compromise for the ladies. No onlooker could surmise the devil’s hand at play. Why then did I dawdle in pace and indulge in one young lady’s fanciful notions, my own vague utterances thence part taken out of context? I shall not mince words, for that damnable Wickham is the cause of my present dilemma. If you will forgive me for this rant I shall bear your scorn with fortitude when next I am able to attend upon you at Farthingly. Alas, I am now looked upon as akin to a ridiculous gallant of old from within Morte de Arthur, or some such nonsense tale. What can I say in despairing of this situation from which there is no escape? Dash it all, for now committed to a Miss Bennet, it is unconscionable for a gentleman to renege on betrothal. To say I barely recognised the juncture whereby it was presumed I had offered for Elizabeth, and so rapidly announced to all and sundry afterwards, I trust you will understand marriage will in no way curtail my visits to Farthingly. Be assured, the love we share will be no lesser than the past four years of indulging Bonnie at every given opportunity. After all said and done, Farthingly is but a short ride from Pemberley.

With sincere affections,

Fitz

.

Secreting the letter once again to the locked drawer, he then rifled through a stack of letters awaiting perusal, and there, as hoped, a reply from Belle. With speed he unlatched the wafer and there to his consummate pleasure was:

.

My dearest Fitz,

How could you think I would be other than forgiving, albeit informed of your betrothal after the event? Whilst marriage has always been a rather contentious issue, for you, I never expected otherwise. It is the way of life and to continue as a bachelor when you have Pemberley; and as your aunt proclaimed on several occasions– you are sorely in need of an heir. So dearest man, aside from any sense of immediate guilt that may arise as you settle to your new life, you will embrace the new found existence with a deal of familiarity in no time at all, and on occasion utter despair when things go awry as they do in marriages. It is expected your wife and events will curtail planned excursions without notice, thus I shall miss your company dreadfully on those days though never to the extent of making life difficult for you. Should I ever have cause to send for you in haste, I shall dispatch a stable hand with a perfectly innocent errand of seeking your advice on a matter of equine interest at Farthingly. Whilst responsibility for Bonnie rests solely upon my shoulders, and at four years she is quite the handful, I am much in admiration of your generous allowance for all her needs. There is no cause to prevaricate on the bond we both share from the day she was born. It exists, and will in the years to come deepen, I feel sure. Love the magnitude of which you bestow upon her gladdens my heart, for with each day that cometh she ceases to amaze me with her beauty. Evidence of her sire is apparent from the moment of setting eyes upon her, as our mutual acquaintances oft remark with knowing nods from the gentlemen, and much fluttering of fans by the ladies. So my dearest Fitz, I shall bid a fond adieu until next I see you.

Your affectionate confidante,

Belle

.      

OK ladies and Gents, there is more, but should I finish the novel, or do you think it will garner hate mail? 

7 Shades of Sin - A Cardinal's Nightmare Begins

On occasion I do endeavour to write a Historical Romance that is a little different than the norm of tried and tested Georgian and Regency tropes. So where better to set the story than Italy 1796, just as Napoleon begins spreading his wings farther east across Europe.  Whilst northern Italy resided under Austrian overlords there were Italian nobles who mingled with their Austrian overlords and despised their very presence. But the noble Italian elite for the most part despised the French revolutionary forces even more, and a great many rose up against the French by allying themselves to the Austrians in hope of regaining former independent status for the differing regions. In the end after many years of war between the French, the Austrians and other countries who allied with Britain, Napoleon was  finally vanquished for the second time in 1815 following the Battle of Waterloo. The only region in the meanwhile to gain independent status was that of Venice.

This novella has one illustration for every chapter so it is priced accordingly at 1.99 as opposed to  0.99. Is it a love at first sight plot, well it is for the heroine, and the hero is soon smitten! Whilst it is all about sin, this is not an erotic novel in the vein of 50 shades of Grey. No, no, no. it does reveal dark practices, but wholly different than 50 shades, but that is for the reader to discover! 

Aside from history and all that befell Italy, it has an abundance of beautiful villas with spectacular gardens, and beautiful Fontanas. Thus a Fontana has a part to play in this love story, as does one statue.

The book's blurb: “...It would be unforgiveable for him to break his oath...”

Presented with a dreadful and frightening fait accompli, the Contessa de’ Medici is ordered to commit to a shameful act to beget an heir to her husband’s fortune. In defiance of the laws of the church and the sanctity of marriage, her husband has determined only one direct de’ Medici bloodline is acceptable. Fearful she can never lure her husband’s chosen man to her bed, she seeks to deceive him. But war comes to Italy, scandal rocks the foundations of the nearby village, dark secrets are unveiled, and Portia is finally blessed with true love.

Excerpt: An excerpt:
Drawing breath, the air was cooler than expected for September. Nonetheless, she ventured down the steps, and through the courtyard garden where the walls radiated sense of stored heat, but again the air fell cool whilst traversing along the lower path to the Fontana.
...The gardens basking in moonlight were so familiar no sense of fear befell her. Every shadow, every bush, every tree, lay mapped in her mind.
...In the distance Lodovico’s statue shone stark and ghostly white against the evergreens hedging the walkway. All the while the sound of cascading water grew louder as she drew nearer to the path that circumnavigated the Fontana’s pool.
...She walked on and paused beside the statue of her husband but momentary, his beauty forever carved in stone. But the olive grove beckoned; the statue of the young man with a drying cloth slung over his shoulder, the cloth itself as though blowing in the wind and concealing his back was so lifelike it always seemed as though animated, walking toward one. 
...It was strange to compare the statue of Vincenzo against the real blood man. Here naked, and in real life shrouded in papal robes.
...The memory of him standing under the cascading waters of the Fontana leapt to mind, and she now pondered...

Amazon UK   Amazon US

This Fontana features in the story!

Why Author notes are a good thing for historical novels

When a Fiction romance novel is read and the reader views the story line as unreal and unbelievable, how does an author view that kind of criticism? There can be no comeback as such, for how the reader has assessed the story is that person’s POV, and it really would be extremely arrogant of said author to respond with a scathing remark. However, the story, though not exactly biographical, was indeed inspired by two historical persons of note within the Georgian period, therefore the characters are representative of the lives of the aristocracy in their time. Would author notes have helped in providing the reader with more in depth knowledge of the period in general?    

After all, the Georgian period was renowned for men who acquired mistresses at will resulting in hard-done-by wives, and of course, in many cases, a string of illegitimate offspring. One of the most notorious of the Georgian aristocrats was William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire, whose wife, Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire suffered the indignity of her husband’s mistress residing within the family abode along with the illegitimate fruit of his loins. It was her story, read long ago, that indeed inspired the writing of The Reluctant Duchess, though unlike Georgiana's heartbreaking story, the character Liliana has a happy ever after!  

Georgiana was young, beautiful and vibrant and as good as sold into marriage to William Cavendish, a man of good dress, outwardly brusque though charming in manner, and with a considered eye to the prospect and acquisition of future heirs. When married to Cavendish poor Georgiana soon realised his charm was a mask, his tongue cruel, his actions no less cruel. Of course Georgiana’s story is recounted within many biographies, and she did become a popular English socialite, style icon, political activist, and author:   "The Sylph" is attributed to Georgiana Cavendish.

So what are authors to do when readers have little or no knowledge of a historical period and cannot envisage events as they unfold, e.g. a character who flaunts his mistress before his wife, albeit essentially as a means unto a purposeful and happy ending! The simple answer is to include author notes to enlighten the less historically well-read, and I have no desire to belittle the reader, I just wish I had thought to include author’s notes at end of novel. 

Aside from the notorious Cavendish household; what of Prinny, the Prince Regent and his string of mistresses? What of Admiral Lord Nelson the great Georgian naval hero, and his mistress Emma Lady Hamilton, who was another fashion icon of her day and forever on view within numerous portraits. Go a little farther back in time to the Restoration of Charles II, for he and the Duke of Buckingham acquired a string of mistresses as did others of their ilk, and again the Duke of Buckingham’s wife suffered the indignity of more than one mistress residing under the marital roof.

One could blame Jane Austen for having given a false impression of Georgian society as that of a twee idealistic world in which gossip, humour, and social mores were far from blighted with immoral sins and indecent behaviour. But when all is said and done, Jane Austen was writing escapist fiction, escapism from the real-life aspect of her time: when poverty could be but one unpaid debt away, when sickness could mean death in days, when war was raging across the channel – The French Revolution, The Peninsular Wars, The Napoleonic era until 1815 when Napoleon was finally dispatched into exile on the island of St Helena situated in the South Atlantic Ocean.

As an aside, it is said by experts that all the portraits supposedly depicting Jane Austen are idealistic artists impressions derived from her biographer, James Edward Austen (1869), who commissioned a local artist James Andrews of Maidenhead to recreate Jane from a description of the lady herself.

In reality not only did Jane Austen write idealistic escapist fiction, images in her name are equally idealistic impressions of a young Jane Austen.