Excerpt: The Making of Lady Catherine de Bourgh

In preparation for the release of The Making of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, I'm happy to share an excerpt from the book with readers today. In this scene, Lady Catherine is finding no success securing a proposal from her intended, Mr. George Darcy, and she rushes to her elder brother, Viscount Ashby, to confide in him—in hopes that he will tell her that her worst fears are unfounded. I hope you enjoy!

Excerpt from The Making of Lady Catherine de Bourgh

Lord Ashby was found where he always was—lighting a cigar behind his large mahogany desk on the third floor.

“Ashby,” Catherine announced to the room when her brother did not acknowledge her entrance.

“Sister,” he responded around the cigar in his mouth. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company this morning?” Boredom suffused his words.

Ashby was a gentleman of power and wealth but a man who never appeared too eager for anything at all. Nothing excited him. Naught lit his eyes with joy—perhaps apart from solitude.

“Brother, I must speak to you at once.”

A deep breath expressed his disinterest, but Catherine forged on.

“Mother feels I must show more attention to Mr Darcy,” Catherine said.

“No one can tell our mother that she is wrong in her schemes.”

“I would not dare. The countess accomplishes anything she sets her mind to,” Catherine continued. “And I feel—I feel I have made some headway in getting to know the gentleman during his visit.”

His blank, bored response did not increase her confidence.

“And so, I was feeling certain—fine—comfortable—until yesterday. And again, this morning.”

He raised his eyebrows in question, puffing out slow circles of smoke into the room. The smoke encircled his face, the same colour as the curled wig he wore on top of his head. Though she felt it aged him far beyond his three decades, it gave him a fashionable distinction that he had lacked in his earlier adult years.

“Mother and Lady Ashby have shared some concerns.” Catherine finally came to the point.

“Out with it, Kitty. What is it you want to know?”

She loathed being called Kitty. “They are worried that our sister, Anne, is attempting to gain Mr Darcy’s attention.”

There. She had said it. And soon, he would rebuke it, and she would go on as she had before.

“And?”

“And—and I hope you have spoken to your friend and explained that our younger sister is not yet out. She has been little in society—little even welcomed to our own dining table! Mother says I simply must work harder to gain his attention. But your wife has implied that Anne is going out of her way to seek him out and show interest. But Anne would never do such a thing, would she? She is simply intent in getting to know someone new—a guest in our home who will soon be her new brother.”

His apparent disbelief at her speech made her feel unwell.

He finally responded, “I wish you would listen to mother less and attend to your own mind more often. Surely you have seen his fascination with Anne and hers with him.”

No response was coming, even though she willed her mouth to argue against his supposition. She had hoped to hear him disabuse her of her worst fears—that her own sister would attempt to court scandal and steal away her future husband.

He continued, “Lady Ashby is nothing if not observant. You may take her opinion as truth. She is only looking out for your position in this family.”

“Is—are we worried about my position in this family?”

“Of course not,” he bit back. He set his cigar down on a bronze dish. Leaning forward, he placed his elbows on his desk and folded his hands under his chin, staring into her eyes. “They do appear to be getting on, but that will not change our plans. We agree that younger sisters do not marry until their elder sisters are settled. I will speak to our sister. I had hoped our mother would handle Anne, but apparently she is shirking her duties. Do not fret. Darcy will not be making a mockery of the house of Barringer, I can tell you that much! He would not dare cross our family. Even for their rumoured 8,000 pounds per annum, they cannot hold a candle to the earldom.”

Menacing, his words may have been, but Catherine released the breath she had been holding. “Thank you, brother.”

“And what’s more—I will not allow it. If he wants to remain in my good graces, he will go along with the arrangement as planned. Anne will have her debut next month, and your wedding will follow shortly thereafter. Mother is already preparing a come-out ball for Anne and your engagement ball—quietly of course—but we must not get in the way of mother’s arrangements, must we?”

Catherine nodded.

Her brother picked up his cigar and leaned back into his plush, brown leather chair.

The conversation was clearly over, and so Catherine excused herself.

Will Lady Catherine be made a fool by her own sister? Will Lord Ashby lift a finger to help his sister in the process? Be sure to pre-order your ebook or paperback copy today to find out the answer to these questions and meet the rest of the Fitzwilliam family. Want more information? Learn more.