First Impressions (The Jane Austen Series) , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - White Smith Debra

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

170 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

First Impressions: A Contemporary Retelling of Pride and PrejudiceLawyer Eddi Boswick tries out for a production of Pride and Prejudice in her small Texas town. When she's cast as the lead, Elizabeth Bennet, her romantic co-star is none other than the town's most eligible--and arrogant--bachelor.

Informations

Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	17 avril 2018
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781493413881
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0202€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2004 by Debra White Smith
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Bethany House edition published 2018
Previously published by Harvest House Publishers.
Ebook edition created 2018
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-1388-1
Pride and Prejudice quotes are taken from Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice in The Complete Novels of Jane Austen, vol. 1 (New York: Modern Library, 1992).
Cover design by Connie Gabbert
Author represented by Alive Literary Agency
Dedication
For Dr. Michael Murphy, the professor who first introduced me to Jane Austen.
Contents

Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Cast
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
Epilogue
About the Author
Back Ads
Back Cover
Cast

Calvin Barclay: Based on Charles Bingley from Pride and Prejudice. Dave Davidson’s good friend and a veterinarian in London, Texas.
Carissa Barclay: Based on Caroline Bingley from Pride and Prejudice. Like most of the single women in London, Texas, Carissa would be thrilled to marry Dave Davidson.
Cheri Locaste: Based on Charlotte Lucas from Pride and Prejudice. Eddi Boswick’s friend, Cheri is a no-nonsense pragmatic who has never been accused of being a romantic, or being spontaneous. She teaches English at London High School.
Conner Boswick: Based on Mr. Collins from Pride and Prejudice. Conner is an eligible bachelor and vice president of Boswick Oil in Houston, Texas.
Dave Davidson: Based on Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. Dave owns a ranch outside of London, Texas. Handsome and untamed, he fends off the numerous women eager to make his acquaintance . . . and so much more.
Eddi Boswick: Based on Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. The middle Boswick daughter, Eddi moves to London, Texas, to start her new law practice. Brilliant yet practical, she isn’t expecting to have her world shaken by love.
Edward Boswick: Based on Mr. Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. The Boswick patriarch, Edward chose his own career over a life in high society as a family employee of Boswick Oil. Edward lives in Houston with his wife, Mary.
George Wallace: Based on Georgianna Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. George is Dave Davidson’s younger brother.
Jenny Boswick: Based on Jane Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. The eldest Boswick daughter, Jenny is a community college coach who lives north of Houston in The Woods, Texas.
Linda Boswick: Based on Lydia Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. The youngest Boswick daughter, Linda’s goal in life is to be the life of the party.
Madelynne DeBloom: Based on Lady Catherine de Bourgh from Pride and Prejudice. Dave Davidson’s aunt, Mrs. DeBloom is the owner of the community theater, which is operated in her mansion named Huntington House. Mrs. DeBloom stepped in as Dave’s mother when his parents were killed.
Mary Boswick: Based on Mrs. Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. The Boswick matriarch, Mary is a high-strung woman who majors in complaining about her nerves and trying to manipulate her daughters’ love lives. She lives in Houston with her husband, Edward.
Rick Wallace: Based on Mr. Wickham from Pride and Prejudice. Rick enjoys making himself look much better than he is. The woman he’s interested in is usually the one who is closest. He is a policeman in Houston, Texas, and a foster “cousin” to Dave Davidson.
One

“‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.’” Madelynne DeBloom looked up from reading aloud from her cherished copy of Pride and Prejudice. She glanced around the Victorian mansion’s parlor.
Eddi Boswick languidly shifted in the velvet-covered settee and followed the aging woman’s gaze. It fell smack on her nephew, Dave Davidson. He owned a four-hundred-acre ranch outside London, Texas, and just happened to be single. By the resigned looks of the dark-haired, boot-clad cowboy, he was not thrilled to be cooped up half the day with a bunch of literary types. He narrowed his right eye and smirked as if the last thing he wanted was a wife—despite Jane Austen and any female in town.
Mrs. DeBloom, tall and thin and aristocratic, continued reading as if her nephew agreed. “‘However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighborhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.’”
Mrs. DeBloom laid her book on the Queen Anne tea table by which she stood. The smell of her ever-present Tea Rose perfume commanded the air around her just as the lady commanded the group. This time her haughty blue gaze fell upon Eddi like a vulture pinpointing her prey.
“Miss Boswick,” she began in a shrill voice, “from what I understand, you constructed a Master’s thesis on Jane Austen. Would you care to expound on Austen’s opening lines from Pride and Prejudice ?”
“Well . . .” Eddi coughed and glanced around the room.
All twenty people observed her as if she were the small town’s literary guru—everyone except Dave Davidson. That gentleman had apparently endured enough bookish musings this lazy Saturday morning. He’d pulled out his smartphone and was examining the screen as if reviewing a schedule.
Eddi tried to dismiss Mrs. DeBloom’s sullen nephew. But he was the one who seized her attention. The irony was that Eddi had never been arrested by the cowboy type. Rumor had it, his wealthy aunt even purchased his ranch for him.
She pinched the seam in the settee and tried to concentrate on the question before her. “Well . . .” she repeated. “Of course, Austen created the epitome of romantic comedies. Her commentary on society was not only subtle, it was brilliant.” Eddi waved her hand, “Her opening lines are a clear example of her subtle humor.”
She cut a glance back to Dave. His indolent yawning reminded her of a long-maned, sepia-eyed lion who ruled his den—except this lion wore blue jeans with a hole in one knee and a faded denim shirt that had suffered hundreds of washes. Dave’s face scrunched as he rubbed work-worn fingers along his shadowed jaw. He shook his head and swiped the smartphone’s screen.
The lion needs a haircut . . . and a shave . . . and some lessons in being more polite, Eddi thought. In the times she had seen Dave around town and at church, she deduced much the same about him. He never looked or acted much differently, even at Sunday morning services.
She glanced back to Mrs. DeBloom. The lady’s right eye twitched. Eddi figured she was ready for the complete answer.
“What Jane Austen is saying,” Eddi rushed and forced her attention to the issue at hand, “is that when a single man of large fortune moves to a neighborhood, the women in the community will assume he is looking for or in need of a wife—whether he really is or not.”
An unceremonious comment spewed from the jeans-clad lion, “You can say that again!”
Caution suggested Eddi shouldn’t look at Dave. She joined the room’s occupants and looked anyway. His cynical appraisal rested upon Eddi.
“Whats the matter, Dave?” a masculine voice called from across the parlor. “The ladies been husslin’ ya lately?”
Eddi tried to follow the voice to a man who sounded like the new church youth director. Her perusal was interrupted when a nearby college man said, “Poor baby.”
In the seat next to Dave, Calvin Barclay erupted into good-natured guffaws. The fair-haired veterinarian whacked his friend on the back. “Would that we were all so tormented.”
Dave’s face settled into a hard-lipped scowl. He shoved the phone into his shirt pocket, rose from the straight-backed chair, and marched from the room. His snake-skin boots clipped against the polished wooden floor with the rhythm of a horse’s canter. Head high, he looked as if he belonged in a royal procession, with himself in the lead, naturally.
You don’t have to worry about me, Mister, Eddi thought as Mrs. DeBloom cleared her throat. I’m not in the market for the arrogant, untamed type—no matter how much money he has . . . or how nice his hair is . . . or his eyes . . . or his build . Eddi frowned at the last glimpse of his broad shoulders. Dave Davidson was not her type—not even a little.
“As you were saying, Eddi?” The town’s self-appointed cultural guardian shoved a pointed look at her nephew’s retreating back.
“Actually, I . . . I was pretty much through, so I guess I’ll just rest my case,” she said with a faint smile and a demure downward glance at the oriental rug.
Calvin’s chuckle escalated into outright laughter. “Oh, I get it!” he said. “I rest my case . . . and you’re a lawyer! Ha! What a hoot!”
Eddi appraised Calvin and wondered how the easygoing veterinarian could be such good friends with someone as sullen and proud as Dave Davidson.
A round of chortles scurried across a room that was replete with a marble fireplace and French antiques. Eddi picked up her cup of cinnamon tea, rested her lips against the china rim, and sipped the inviting liquid. As the sweet warmth slipped down her throat, she basked in the general acceptance from the surrounding participants. After six months of hard labor, London, Texas, was finally acknowledging Eddi as part of the community.
The first fe