Miss Bingley’s Pas de Deux
Watercolour illustration by WC Brock
Ahhh, another year! Another opportunity to begin again; to rise phoenix-like, from the ashes! Those of you who know me well know that the past year has been a rather challenging one with my work in the “real world.” Because of drastic changes resulting from the departure of a colleague, who thought that he could force me to retire and leave him all the patients, I have been busier than the proverbial bee. The year 2012 I spent hiring and training new staff and attempting to provide excellent care for the numerous patients that I had to care for on my own.
But now, it is 2013. A new year brings new challenges and resolutions and my foremost resolution and challenge is to bring one of the several works that I have in progress into print. I am particularly eager to finish another Pride and Prejudice sequel in the year that brings the 200th Anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice, an event near and dear to my heart.
The story I am editing for 2013 was originally written as a short story and never published, but I always felt that the short story format was too limiting to fill out the characters in this tale. The story tells of the first year of marriage of Miss Bingley, who, in my book Mr. Darcy’s Little Sister, married a French count whose family lost everything except one small English manor in the French Revolution. The Comte de Tournay is a cynical man who has been married twice before to very well-bred young women with but modest fortunes, his family pride inducing him to look for breeding and faultless bloodlines over strength and pecuniary advantages. He offers for Miss Bingley a few months after meeting her in a turn-around in his attitude. He has come to the realization that a robust dowry in addition to a woman of robust health will optimize his chances of improving his fortune and, hopefully, provide him with an heir.
The count’s friend, M. Desmarais, seeks him out when he hears of the engagement, and tries to change his friend’s mind (although it would be extremely difficult for the count to break the engagement without finding himself ostracized for ungentlemanly behavior). After determining that the count is not in love with his future bride, he gently tries to point out the potential pitfalls of marriage to a woman whose fortune came from trade only two generations earlier, and, much worse, that Miss Bingley is well-known for her overbearing personality.
In spite of his friend’s warnings, the count intends to continue his engagement and, in fact, has a well thought out plan to teach Miss Bingley the proper behavior of a wife…
C. Allyn Pierson
C. Allyn Pierson is a practicing physician and novelist. She is interested in Regency culture, history and medicine
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25 Responses to Miss Bingley’s Pas de Deux
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The story sounds wonderful! I have only read one book focusing on Caroline and that was Caroline Bingley by Jennifer Becton, which I loved. Looking forward to your story!
I love reading tangent variations that tell Caroline’s story. I imagine the reality of a such a situation would be much like the taming of the shrew.
Undoubtedly!
I haven’t read Jennifer’s book, yet, because I don’t read those that are on Pride and Prejudice- I don’t want someone else’s book in my head when I am writing! I DO have it on my Kindle list to read down the road, however, and I think her Southern Fraud mystery/suspense series is excellent!
I always like to see Caro get a story of her own. I think she is a miserable person, a product of her upbringing and just needs the chance to be better. Maybe a taming of the shrew…LOL I look forward to this WIP! I enjoyed MD’sLS!
Thanks Stephanie! I think you will like Pas de Deux…too! (Hmmm, that’s not the easiest sentence in the world to say out loud!
)
Carey, this story sounds wonderful (Caroline is such a fascinating character!), and I love the idea of this cynical count taking on the challenge of being married to her. Looking forward to reading your newest story, once it’s released, and here’s hoping 2013 will be a much smoother year!
Thanks Marilyn…me too!
Ooh, fun! Caroline is such an interesting character.
I think this would be a fascinating read. While I didn’t hate Caroline Bingley when I read the original, I couldn’t like her either.
Hope the new year does bring a better year now that you have trained staff and as things stabilize at work.
Thanks Sophia Rose! I now have enough staff (and they are trained!) so that I don’t have to work 12 hours a day to get everything done. Much better, and much more fun as well!
Here’s wishing you a brighter and happier 2013.
As for a story on Caroline Bingley, I don’t know. I just don’t like her and am not certain I’d like to read a whole story about her, even if she does end up a better person by the end. I guess I’ve just read one too many PPFFs where she is a horrible conniving shrew. Jack Caldwell has done a wonderful job of making her a decent person in several of his stories though (I think he may have a teeny-tiny crush on her…
), and I enjoyed them immensely, but he also gave us wonderful D&E stories to go along with them. 
So, you know, I say one thing and then I read the stories anyway. LOL!
All the best!
Thanks for the comment, Lisa! Yes, it is difficult to like Miss Bingley, but we are really not told much about her in P&P, so there are many ways a story can go with her. Monica Fairfield’s book about Darcy’s American cousin was a different take on Caroline. I like her as a villain, but there is a lot of potential for emotional growth (she has sooooooooo far to go!) in a story
Surely the experience with the disagreeable colleague has given you some good lines for & insights into writing unsympathetic characters, something you can use in a book with Caroline Bingley, however you portray her. Congratulations with putting the unpleasantness of last year behind you and getting to the current happier situation – in both your medical profession and in your literature.
Good Luck with the new book, Carey!
Wishing you all the best in publishing this story. It sounds interesting to see that Caroline will learn a lesson and hopefully change for the better.
Looking forward to reading your new book on Caroline! I loved your book “Mr Darcy’s Little Sister”. Can’t wait to see what the Count has in store for her!
Wishing you all the best in the New Year ahead!
Thanks Jane, Luthien and Carole…the count has a few ideas…and so does Caroline
Here’s to a year to top the last! Looking forward to your release!
Good luck! Sounds a great story, and I hope you have a much better year in 2013.
Thanks Cassie and Becky! Let’s just say, it couldn’t be much worse………no, not true….it can always be worse! We will just go on with life and ASSUME it will be better, being a glass-half-full kind of girl!
Is it too much to hope that the gentleman who was instrumental in saving the Comte’s head (and those of his family) from Madame Guillotine may make a cameo appearance? I was delighted to encounter Sir Andrew Ffoulkes and his wife Suzanne, the Comte’s sister, in Mr Darcy’s Little Sister, and certainly they will have kept up with their dear friends Sir Percy and Lady Blakeney, so you won’t even have to seek him here, seek him there ….
I hope you will have a happy 2013
Not many people have picked up on the Scarlet Pimpernel reference, Kathleen…you are obviously a true historical fiction aficionada! Did you get the bow to Jane Eyre and to Dorothy Sayer’s Busman’s Honeymoon?
I am of Sophia Rose’s opinion. I never disliked Caroline, but I held no kind thoughts of her either. To me, she was of the nature of an “annoying fly.” Good luck with the book, Carey.
Ah, sounds promising! Looking forward to reading about Caroline’s “transformation”!