Through the Eyes of Love by Lily Bernard

Hello to all you lovely readers. We have a nice surprise. We hoped it would be here in time for Jane Austen’s birthday, and we barely made it. It’s still December 16th in the US.

Lily Bernard has a new book, Through the Eyes of Love, and it’s her first book with Meryton Press. It is a touching story about loving what is inside a person and looking deeper than outside appearances. Would you like to read the blurb?

Blurb

“There are many stories about that old place.”

“What kind of stories? I hope not one thinks it is haunted!”

“Quite the opposite; many say the cottage is enchanted.”

Tragedy at Longbourn forces Elizabeth Bennet to go into service, and with the help of her Aunt Gardiner, she finds work in Lambton. Her arrival in Derbyshire is shortly after Pemberley is destroyed by a raging fire, nearly killing Fitzwilliam Darcy. His face is left scarred, and he can barely walk; wallowing in his guilt and rage, he is drunk most days. Darcy is disconsolate until he encounters an intelligent, caring woman who is working at Pembrook Cottage as a maid.

Darcy gradually falls in love with Elizabeth and proposes, but his self-reproach over the destruction of his family home renders him unable to express his feelings for her. As weeks pass, she can no longer remain near the man she loves, a man who shows her no affection. Elizabeth makes plans to leave rather than have her heart irrevocably broken.

In this steam-free Regency romance about disaster and recovery, will Darcy and Elizabeth look through the eyes of love and find the happiness they seek?

***

It’s difficult to imagine a burned and scarred Darcy, isn’t it? It is also hard to think of Pemberley being destroyed by fire. Sounds like something sinister is afoot, but with Lizzy working in Lambton, there is hope. What tragedy caused Lizzy to have to go into service?

Through the Eyes of Love is a heartwarming tale of love and trust about two people touched by tragedy in different ways.

From the Author

Can two imperfect people find a perfect life together?

What inspired me to write a story in which both Darcy and Elizabeth are physically changed from canon? As an avid fan of Pride and Prejudice Variations, I have observed that Elizabeth is most often described as beautiful (though perhaps not in a conventional way) and as living the life of a gentleman’s daughter. Darcy is uniformly portrayed as tall, dark, handsome and wealthy. In my story, because of a birthmark on her face, Elizabeth has never been considered attractive and after her father’s sudden death, circumstances necessitate her going into service and moving to Derbyshire to find work.  

A fire destroys Pemberley and Darcy is left with terrible facial scars and severe damage to his right leg.  After Elizabeth and Darcy meet, they begin spending many hours a day together and slowly start to feel affection for each other. Believing himself responsible for his estate’s destruction and his own injuries, Darcy has been living with so much anger and guilt, he is unable to open his heart to Elizabeth. In order for them to truly love each other, can Pembrook Cottage help Elizabeth overcome the pain of her indolent father’s death forcing her to leave the life of a gentleman’s daughter and assist Darcy accept that the loss of Pemberley was not due to his negligence? If he was not responsible—who intentionally burned his home to the ground?

As in any relationship, as you get to know who the person truly is, you begin to judge them by what is inside them—not by how the look. Both of them worry that their physical appearance precludes their ever being happy together. Darcy asks Elizabeth to marry him and she tells him, “You are only asking because you think no one else will marry someone who looks like you other than someone who looks like me. I cannot be your wife simply because you believe you should be married, and I am conveniently here.” He convinces her to accept his proposal and she feels safe and protected for the first time since her father’s death. She had only one wish: that her betrothed would soon speak of his feelings for her. Until then, she would not speak of how much she loved him.

To Darcy, Elizabeth made every day worth living, and he could not envision his future without her. Were his feelings for her love? Could he tell her his thoughts if he was still unsure himself? The local vicar tells him, “Remember – love does not come to you – it must be inside of you.” Unsure of what to do, Darcy decides that if she wishes to end their betrothal, he would provide her with the funds necessary to start her life over somewhere. Elizabeth is confused and asks herself if Darcy’s heart was also damaged by the fire and he was now incapable of affection. She became certain they should end their relationship before the wedding—Elizabeth loved him enough not to condemn him to an unhappy marriage.

Still unsure that they were worthy to be loved, it is not until after their wedding that they finally reveal their love for each other and are able to see themselves “Through the Eyes of Love”.

From the outset, I envisioned a book cover where Pembrook Cottage would be prominently featured as it is an integral part of the story. A picture of a Regency era cottage with the requisite leaded glass windows was always in my mind and I also hoped to include Elizabeth on the cover. Happily, Janet Taylor captured my vision perfectly.

***

Let’s take a look at the cottage and leaded glass windows. (You will love the story about them.)

Isn’t this a beautiful cottage? I love the flowers, the windows, the overgrown vines on the house and roof, everything about this painting. Tell us what you think. Would you like to visit it someday?

Come back tomorrow and Lily will have an excerpt to share.

Buy Link (Available for Preorder)

Amazon Universal Buy Link

Meryton Press is giving away two eBooks of Through the Eyes of Love by Lily Bernard and the giveaway is worldwide. Come back tomorrow for the excerpt for more chances to win an eBook. Leave us a comment, and give Lily some love, We want to hear from you. Tell us what you think of the blurb. The giveaway ends at midnight on 21 December. Good luck!