“Why I Kissed You” by Christine Combe, excerpt + giveaway

Be honest, you like the tittle, right? or perhaps you may not like it, but I hope it has intrigued you.

I am really glad to have Christine Combe sharing a few things about her latest austenesque novel Why I Kissed You. Follow the tour, it will give you a chance to look inside the book.

Moreover, why not maybe buy it? Today it is release day, so you could check it here:

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Hello Christine, let us know as much as possible!

Hello everyone! I am so very excited to be returning to My Vices and Weaknesses to talk about my latest Austen variation, Why I Kissed You. I wrote this book faster than any other I’ve written before, and I really hope you’ll like it!

Although she vehemently refuses the marriage proposal of Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth Bennet soon learns that an unexplainable moment of passion that occurred between them has led a furious Lady Catherine de Bourgh to demand she be thrown out of Mr. Collins’ house!

Fitzwilliam Darcy, although his pride was wounded by Elizabeth’s rejection, finds he cannot allow her to be harmed by his aunt’s fanciful ambition for a marriage between him and her daughter. Fearing further action may be taken to damage Elizabeth’s reputation, he knows that marriage is the only form of protection he can offer her.

Elizabeth and Darcy travel to London to begin the arrangements for a wedding that for all intents and purposes shouldn’t be taking place. In the midst of shopping for wedding clothes, sharing the news with family, and meeting Darcy’s noble relatives, Elizabeth is coming to learn more about who Darcy really is than she ever knew before. At the same time, Darcy is navigating the intricacies of realizing how wrong it is to interfere in the lives of others and how to deserve forgiveness from a friend.

Though they act quickly to begin a new life together where one person is in love and the other now unsure of their feelings, Elizabeth and Darcy can’t stop one final attempt to keep them apart forever. But faith and love—and a little bit of luck—will play their part in determining whether there is a chance to pursue the happily ever after that both of them desperately want.

Hope that little blurb intrigues you! Now here is a sneaky-peek at the second half of chapter one:

Nearly an hour later, half a dozen crumpled sheets lay scattered across the desk. Darcy was just about to begin a seventh draft when a knock sounded at the door, followed by a well-known voice.

“Darcy, are you well?”

He sighed. Darcy did not think himself favorable to company, but then he recalled just how well his cousin, Colonel Theodore Fitzwilliam, and Elizabeth had got on. Perhaps the colonel might offer him some insight.

“Come in, Theo,” he called out, and turned toward the door as it opened.

Fitzwilliam stepped inside and closed the door quickly, concern etched upon his countenance. “When you didn’t appear for tea, our aunt worried for you.”

Darcy scoffed. “You mean to say that she badgered you to tell her where I was, and when you could not provide the information, she complained about how ill-mannered I was not to attend her.”

His cousin grinned as he stopped by his side. “Something to that effect,” said he. Fitzwilliam then reached for one of the crumpled balls of paper. “Will, you may be rich, but even you are aware that paper is expensive and should not be wasted in this manner.”

Darcy snatched it back from him and tossed it back with the others. “I cannot seem to get my thoughts in order,” he grumbled.

Fitzwilliam turned and leaned against the desk, crossing his arms as he said, “Tell me what the trouble is; maybe I can help you sort it.”

With a sigh, Darcy sat back in his chair. “I… I paid a call on Miss Bennet.”

“Oh, did you?” Fitzwilliam returned. “I am glad of it, for how suddenly that headache came upon her concerned me. Is she well?”

He glanced again at the balls of paper and his expression fell. “Oh dear… What happened? Did she confront you about Bingley? She did seem rather incensed when I told her of your triumph there.”

Darcy looked up at him. “Oh, so you have been the means of ruining my chances? Thank you, Theodore. Thank you ever so much.”

“Ruining your chances?” Fitzwilliam queried. “Don’t tell me you… Oh, good heavens, did you propose marriage to her?”

“I did,” Darcy replied with a nod. “And she has refused me.”

Fitzwilliam stood back, a frown on his face. “Refused you? I thought Miss Bennet to have more sense than to refuse so eligible a match as you! Whatever is the foolish girl about? Why did she refuse you?”

Darcy turned to face his cousin, draping his arm across the back of his chair as he said, “In part because someone revealed that I’d had a hand in separating Charles Bingley from her sister.”

Fitzwilliam’s expression showed him to be both mortified and astonished. “Good God, Darcy… I had no idea that… Her sister was the lady?”

He turned and paced away, running a hand through his dark hair before he turned back to say, “I’m sorry, cousin. It’s just that I had noticed you seemed enamored of Miss Bennet, and I spoke of your triumph only to showcase how kind you are to your friends. I was trying to help you on, not sabotage your chances.”

Darcy sighed. “You could hardly be trying to sabotage me when you had no idea of Bingley’s paramour being Miss Bennet’s elder sister,” he said.

Fitzwilliam retrieved a chair from across the room and brought it over to sit next to him. “What happened? What did she say to you? What did you say to her?”

With another heavy sigh, and no small amount of embarrassment, Darcy recounted the disastrous visit to the parsonage. Repeating every word he had said only increased his mortification at his own boorish behaviour—repeating hers only served to drive home the fact that she was right about him. He’d hardly conducted himself in Meryton in such a way as to curry favor, with her or anyone else. It was no wonder he’d been thought proud and conceited there, and he had little doubt that after he’d gone, Wickham’s lies had spread like the plague. He’d been blind to Elizabeth’s dislike of him and had only thought of how happy she must be to receive his offer.

We are all of us fools in love, he thought morosely.

Darcy stopped himself just before confessing that he and Elizabeth had kissed. His cousin did not need to hear of that particular bit of ungentlemanly behaviour. When Fitzwilliam only continued to stare silently at him, his countenance once again full of astonishment, Darcy groaned and prompted him to speak.

“I… I honestly am not sure what to say,” Fitzwilliam said. “I am amazed at both of you.”

“In what way?”

Fitzwilliam scoffed. “Well, for starters, that you were fool enough to think telling a lady why you shouldn’t marry her and that you’d fought like the dickens to repress your feelings was an acceptable means of proposing marriage. I’m also astonished that a smart young woman like Miss Bennet is fool enough to believe the word of a scoundrel like George Wickham.”

“She does not know him as we do, Theo,” Darcy said. “As I told you, I believe she already disliked me when she met him, and he found in her a sympathetic ear. And you know how I am among strangers—we talked of the very subject with Miss Bennet after dinner one evening, do not you remember?”

Fitzwilliam nodded. “I remember. I also recall telling you once that your reticence to engage with unfamiliar company would be your undoing.”

“Yes, if only I had heeded you then,” Darcy grumbled. “What am I to do? I do not imagine Miss Bennet will ever rescind her rejection, nor that I should even accept her if she did change her mind. But I cannot bear the thought of her thinking ill of me.”

“Hence the letter,” his cousin mused, looking once again to the crumpled sheets. “Do not write one, Will, and cast the waste into the fireplace. A letter won’t do.”

“I know that writing to her is inappropriate—given we are not bound by betrothal, marriage, or blood—but how then am I to explain why I sought to separate Bingley from her sister, as well as reveal Wickham for the libertine that he is?”

Fitzwilliam surprised him by laughing. “Come now, Will, you’re a smarter lad than this! If you can’t write to a lady, what else can you do?”

Darcy frowned. “You think I should talk to her?”

“Yes!” his cousin cried. “Call upon her again—not right now, of course, for sensibilities are still much too provoked on both sides, I imagine. Wait until tomorrow, that you’ve both some time to settle your vexation and think rationally.”

Fitzwilliam then stood and carried his chair back to its original place. “I am truly sorry for my part in making things difficult for you, Will. You must know I would never maliciously interfere.”

Sighing, Darcy nodded. “I know that your intentions were noble.”

“At the very least, I would say you owe Miss Bennet some form of apology,” Fitzwilliam went on. “It doesn’t matter if you were right about anything, the fact is that you insulted her and her family, and that was an ungentlemanlike thing to do. Take the night to think about what each of you said to the other—sober reflection can only do you good, and I cannot imagine that her thoughts and meditations will be any different than yours. Hopefully you will both see that neither of you is entirely faultless, and that only owning your mistakes will make things right between you. Even if she never changes her mind and you never renew your addresses, at least you’ll have peace between you.”

For a moment Darcy could only stare at his cousin, then he slowly gave a nod. “I do so hate it when you are right.”

Fitzwilliam, as he expected, flashed a rakish grin. “What can I say, old boy? All this wisdom has to go somewhere.”

“Wiseacre,” Darcy muttered as he picked up one of the crumpled drafts of his letter and sent it flying toward his cousin’s head. Fitzwilliam cleverly ducked away from the paper cannonball and quit the room with a laugh.

Darcy groaned as he rose and went to fetch his errant weapon; he collected the others and threw the lot into the hearth, then used a matchstick to set them aflame. As he watched the paper burn, he was forced to admit that Fitzwilliam had been right—at the least, he must offer his apologies to Elizabeth. Yet he hoped to do more, to make her understand why he’d interfered in Bingley’s courtship, even if he did not feel he’d done wrong there. To Bingley he’d been kinder than to himself.

More than that, however, he was determined to make her see Wickham’s true character. Darcy could think of no other way to do so than to reveal the whole of their history—the good and the bad. If nothing else, Elizabeth would know to keep watch over her sisters. Lydia Bennet, the youngest, was the most impressionable of the family, and she was just the sort of girl that Wickham liked to ruin before simply disappearing. Darcy had little doubt that several shopkeepers’ daughters had already been meddled with, or that his one-time friend had accounts open that would never be paid.

Yes, he thought with a sigh. Tonight, he would continue to think and reflect, and tomorrow he would explain himself. He could only hope that his words had the desired effect.

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What do you think of the colonel’s advice to Darcy? Will Darcy succeed in winning Elizabeth’s good opinion when he explains himself? You’ll have to read the book to find out! My heartfelt thanks to Ana for having me here once again, I hope to be back later in the year.

Interests of a Jane Austen Girl
But do not Faint
So Little Time
From Pemberley to Milton
All that They Desire
My Jane Austen Book Club
Austenesque Reviews

Why I Kissed You is now available from Amazon in eBook, paperback, and hardcover editions! Leave a comment on today’s blog for a chance to win your very own Kindle copy—and follow along on the blog tour for a chance to win a signed paperback! If for any reason you cannot comment on a blog, notify me (Christine) by email and I will be sure to add you to the drawing for the paperback.

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Christine, like many a JAFF author before her, is a long-time admirer of Jane Austen’s work, and she hopes that her alternate versions are as enjoyable as the originals. She has plans to one day visit England and take a tour of all the grand country estates which have featured in film adaptations, and often dreams of owning one. Christine lives in Ohio and is already at work on her next book.

Blog: All That They Desire

Facebook: Christine Combe

Thank you very much Christine and we are looking forward to having you again at the end of the year!

Lovely Colonel Fitzwilliam, he is wise and I would like to read their conversation, or does it not happen straight on. Is Lady C making us wait for that conversation?

What do you think of this scenario for Elizabeth and Darcy? Do you enjoy reading forced marriage variations?

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