Here’s a teaser of a little something I’ve been working on…
On Wednesday, Beth sat on the pleather bench right outside of room 126 and opened her pre-lab report, glancing over the procedures. She heard voices within and assumed the last lab had some lingerers but stopped cold when she heard her name in the strident, smoker’s tones of Dr. De Bourgh.
“Despite her charming exterior, Miss Bennet can be difficult at times. Obstinate. Headstrong.”
Beth’s hackles raised. Geez, the woman was a piece of work!
A deep and smooth voice with the drawn-out vowels of a barely concealed Southern accent responded.
“An ECE education seems like a pretty difficult route to take in order to get an MRS Degree or to please a daddy who wanted a son.”
Her cheeks aflame, Beth stood up and abruptly walked into the room. De Bourgh ignored her, as was typical, but the guy was facing the door. Beth froze. It was Hot Mystery Student from the coffee shop, right down to the wavy hair and glasses. His eyebrows rose; perhaps he recognized her too, and yet he just stood there, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing or that he had been overheard.
“But, um, yes. I―I’ll keep that in mind.” Apparently, the Southern accent became stronger in the presence of awkward embarrassment.
“Just watch yourself,” De Bourgh said, striding out of the room without a look back.
Beth took her seat, folded her arms over her chest, and stared at the man who’d insulted her before even meeting her.
Any guesses on time frame? Setting? Characters?
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Ooh, hot?mystery student offends. I wonder who that can be?! Haha! Love that you have something new in the works.
Congrats on your coming rerelease of “1932” too!
Your stories are always worth reading Karen and I love the school setting (even if I am more of a Regency girl in general). So E thinks he is hot and D knows she heard the insult? Can’t wait to see how these crazy kids find love in the end. I am getting maybe a seventies time frame due to the pleather
Ah yes, you never see good pleather any more – lol. You were close, Anna Maria. It’s September, 1980.
I started college in 1980 so it will be a very familiar setting for me.
I am thinking a modern, and they are college students.
I will leave the other ideas to you. Even though, a mash up could be good. Instead of Wickham, maybe Fitzwilliam or Wentworth could be a ROTC member, love interest or close friend.
Our Beth is a college student, in a rather unique major for her time.
I love that his Southern accent becomes more pronounced when he’s embarrassed. That’s such a cool detail! And oh, the thought of Catherine de Bourgh as an academic with power over her students’ futures…*shudder* Great excerpt!