Transforming Mr. Darcy Excerpt & Giveaway from Melanie Rachel!

The following is an excerpt from Melanie Rachel's upcoming release, Transforming Mr Darcy, out next week. Make sure to click through to enter to win a copy, and if you haven't done so already, you can also enter to win a copy plus 5 other books in the Fantasy Reads for Austen Fans prize pack!

 

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What if Elizabeth Bennet had a fairy godmother?

Elizabeth Bennet is envious of her sister Jane. Not for her beauty or her disposition, but because her fairy godmother is everything that Elizabeth's is not. 

When Mr. Darcy insults Elizabeth’s looks, Mildread Driftwort is incensed to hear her handiwork defamed. Now, instead of nursing the grievance herself, Elizabeth is forced to defend this conceited man who has no idea what he’s done. 

Fitzwilliam Darcy is scandalized to witness Miss Elizabeth Bennet speaking to herself at a country assembly. After refusing to dance with her, he begins to experience a variety of inexplicable illnesses. He can’t sleep, he can’t speak, he can’t even walk. Then something even worse befalls him—he discovers he is falling in love with her.

Despite Elizabeth’s warning, Mr. Darcy commits blunder after blunder. Yet as she works to mitigate Mildread’s wrath, Elizabeth realizes that Mr. Darcy is not the unmannerly oaf her fairy godmother believes him to be—and though she is certain nothing can come of it, she is falling in love with him. 

As magic swirls and the couple faces impending disaster, Elizabeth finds that Mr. Darcy may not be the only one who is transformed.

This is a fluffy, funny, fairy-tale Pride and Prejudice variation novella of approximately 30,000 words.

CHAPTER ONE

Elizabeth Bennet gazed at her sister Jane with a wistful sort of envy. She was not envious because Jane was kind and intelligent as well as uncommonly beautiful. No, Elizabeth had benefitted from her sister’s generous nature too often to bemoan her own shortcomings in comparison to Jane’s. 

It was her sister’s fairy godmother that Elizabeth coveted. If it were a sin to do so, she could only pray that she would be forgiven, for it could not be helped. She had tried.

Priscilla Roseheart hovered near Jane as Sir William conducted introductions between the Bennet ladies and the Netherfield party. Elizabeth’s eyes strayed to Priscilla more than once. She could not help it—Priscilla was a vision, ethereal in a translucent white gown trimmed in shimmery pink ribbons, golden tresses flowing over her shoulders, translucent wings barely seeming to move as they held her aloft. She even held a delicate silver wand in her hand.

        Mr. Bingley, Netherfield’s newest tenant, was a perfect match for her perfect sister—Elizabeth could see it in Priscilla’s beatific smile. Jane was not paying any attention at all to her fairy godmother. There was no need. Priscilla neither wished for nor required any management on Jane’s part. 

Mr. Bingley requested Jane’s hand for the second set of the evening. The rest of the Netherfield party made their various excuses and dispersed about the assembly hall like so much morning mist.

Mamma immediately began to complain about their behavior to Mary and Kitty. Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley’s bachelor friend, took the brunt of her ire. An unmarried man of property must of course dance with all her daughters. It was unforgivably rude not to. 

Lydia skipped away, saying glibly that she was perfectly content to dance with any of the men or boys from Meryton. Kitty trailed after her and Mary wandered off to find a chair near a lit candle but away from notice, where she might read.

Elizabeth watched Mr. Darcy attempt to melt into the crowd. He was tall enough that he could never truly disappear. It was a shame, for he was rather handsome, but it seemed he believed himself above them all. If he was judging by money and status, she supposed he was correct. Well, it was nothing to her. 

        He had just turned back in her direction when she felt a sharp prod between her shoulder blades and was forced to step awkwardly forward to maintain her balance. Across the room, Miss Bingley tittered.

“Well!” Mildread Driftwort sputtered. She punctuated each following question with a stab of her sturdy pewter wand.  “Did you ever see such proud creatures? And what have they to be so very vain about? There is not a single fairy among them, is there?”

Did men even have fairy godmothers? Or was Mildread simply appalled by the way Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley were observing everyone in the room as though they were on display at the Royal Menagerie? If that were the case, Elizabeth could hardly blame her for it. Still . . . 

        “Mildread,” Elizabeth whispered as she tipped her head down. “You know they cannot see you. Please do not ask me questions or I shall be carted off to Bedlam.” Or Mamma would. That was all she needed, Mamma angrily defending Elizabeth’s strange behaviors with a cursory wave and an explanation of the Bennet magic. So few families still had fairy godmothers that her tales were often passed off by their neighbors as harmless lies meant to puff herself up. Mr. Bingley and his party, however, were strangers. There was no telling how they might respond.

        Sadly, Mildread was ignoring her. Instead of quieting, she had created a small windstorm with her spotted wings. They lifted her in the air, beating hard and fast like some fantastical combination of hummingbird and rooster. She landed directly before Elizabeth, who raised a hand to her hair to keep it in place.

        “I believe I shall do something,” Mildread announced.

        Elizabeth opened her fan with a snap of her wrist and held it up to hide her mouth. “Do not, I beg of you. Their poor behavior will have its own consequences.” She faltered, attempting to dredge up additional platitudes, but came up dry. Why? She could devise dozens when the need was not so urgent!

To her surprise, Mildread’s annoyance subsided. “Very well, if you insist,” the fairy said, eyeing her intently.

        Her relief was sweet. “I do,” Elizabeth replied, just before she was asked to dance. She attempted not to fret about Mildread all through the first set, and by the second, she had mostly regained her equanimity. When, due to a lack of men in attendance, she sat during the fourth, she turned her head to see Mr. Bingley approaching Mr. Darcy. The latter had already danced with the women in his party and had been slowly circling the room between dances ever since in an obvious attempt to avoid additional partners.

        She heard Mr. Bingley take Mr. Darcy to task for his unsocial behavior and smiled as she turned away. She had no desire to hear the other man’s response. She could imagine well enough.

Elizabeth’s ears pricked when she heard Jane’s name, but she was determined not to eavesdrop—Mildread disliked the habit and had made certain Elizabeth never heard anything to her advantage. Unfortunately, that left her unprepared for what came next.

        Mildread’s yowl of displeasure nearly deafened her. It was so loud, so shrill, that Elizabeth was certain everyone must have heard it. But though Priscilla blinked and then sighed with a serene, sweet sort of disappointment and Jane’s expression merely tightened briefly, the other Bennets were either too far away or too much engaged with their company to notice. Elizabeth had already lifted a hand halfway to her ear before recalling where she was and allowing it to drop.

        “Abominable man!” Mildread cried. She turned to Elizabeth, hands on her hips, assessing her from head to toe. “Your dress is exquisite and your hair a dream. I have entirely outdone myself. Your beauty may not be the same as your sister’s, but you are far more than tolerable even on your worst day!” Her eyes flashed and narrowed as the words were nearly thrown from her mouth in Mr. Darcy’s direction. 

        “Goosecap, saucebox, ungentlemanly oaf. What is he about, telling his Banbury tales?”

        Elizabeth sighed. She never need eavesdrop when Mildred was around. She began to speak, only to be cut off.

        “He would swallow his spleen if he knew what was good for him.”

        Mildread always had been rather hot-tempered, but Elizabeth had never heard the fairy curse—at least, she had not heard Mildread use quite so many curses all strung together. Yet as unnerving as the fairy’s language had been, Elizabeth knew what followed would be much worse. For at the end of it all, Mildread raised one steel-colored brow and fell silent.

Transforming Mr. Darcy will be released on August 26th and is available for presale now!

****GIVEAWAY**** 

Melanie has offered up an ebook of Transforming Mr Darcy to one lucky Austen in August reader! Or, if you've already read it and would prefer, you may choose a different book from Melanie's backlist. To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter below. Open internationally. Full terms located in the Rafflecopter. Please do not leave email addresses or sensitive info in the comments. Good luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway

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