Page 1 of Persuading Penny (Jane Austen Association #4)
PROLOGUE
Keely
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A bbie Moore, of Bath , England, stood in her fiancé’s church, a book in her hands. Set amidst the rolling hills just outside Bath, the church had recently become the new meeting place for the Jane Austen Association UK division.
It made sense since Jane Austen, the author of the books we were adapting into films, had lived in Bath and portrayed Bath in two of her books, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion .
Wrapping up the postproduction for Northanger Abbey , Abbie had proved to be a capable and reliable assistant to me as the Assistant Director and Producer for that film. She had also taken charge of the UK division of Ayra and mine book club, the Jane Austen Association.
I smiled at Abbie, whom I considered my protégé, and helped matched her adorable husband Gabriel to, as she led the first meeting. Abbie opened the book and, with a clear and strong voice, read in her delightful British accent;
Persuasion, by Jane Austen (1818)
Chapter One
Sir Walter Elliot, of Kellynch Hall, in Somersetshire, was a man who, for his own amusement, never took up any book but the Baronetage;.
there he found occupation for an idle hour, and consolation in a distressed one; there his faculties were roused into admiration and respect, by contemplating the limited remnant of the earliest patents; there, any unwelcome sensations, arising from domestic affairs, changed naturally into pity and contempt as he turned over the almost endless creations of the last century, and there, if every other leaf were powerless, he could read his own history with an interest which never failed.
This was the page at which the favourite volume always opened.
I watched Abbie as she read the opening pages of Jane Austen’s Persuasion . She had a wonderful reading voice; slow enough for everyone to understand every word, and only rarely faltering.
Gabriel Tillsbury, Abbie’s fiancé, had been generous enough to allow us to meet at his church every Wednesday afternoon after we were unceremoniously told that we could no longer use the coffee house in town.
It was a handsome church, with a high ceiling that offered a great sound chamber, pews painted in off-white and a few simple stained-glass windows.
The women in attendance, as well as the three men, listened to Abbie’s every word, even though they had all read the book previously.
It was that way when the Jane Austen Association Book Club met. The love for every word, every turn of phrase, every expression lived within us.
Seated on a stool near Abbie at the head of the small church, I had a good view of the members of our little club.
One of the women, a pretty brunette in her late twenties, mouthed along as Abbie read. Her bright green eyes were focused on Abbie’s lips, and she occasionally closed her eyes as a particular passage was read.
Wearing a cream-colored pleated skirt and a knitted sweater only a shade darker, she almost faded into the cream-colored pew. Her dark hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, but a delightful fringe framed her face.
But those eyes... those remarkable, big green eyes... Captivating.
All in all, she looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t recall where I could have possibly met her before.
Abbie continued to read on;
Their two confidential friends, Mr. Shepherd, who lived in the neighbouring market town, and Lady Russell, were called to advise them; and both father and daughter seemed to expect that something should be struck out by one or the other to remove their embarrassments and reduce their expenditure, without involving the loss of any indulgence of taste or pride.
“That was the end of chapter one,” Abbie said as she closed the book. “What an opening. Is it any wonder we all love her books.”
Seated in the first pews, everyone nodded.
“Any favorite lines or passages?” she said.
Madelaine raised her hand. “I don’t know why, but line ‘with all the Marys and Elizabeths they had married’ always makes me smile.”
“I smile at how Lady Elliot humored, softened or concealed her husband’s failings,” Charlotte said.
“Isn’t that always the wife’s job?” Madelaine said.
The men laughed.
“I have a bit of a longer passage I always find troubling,”
“That’s all right. What’s that, Helen?
“The way Sir Elliot viewed his ‘two other children’ as being of inferior value,” she said.
“There’s something so harsh in that assessment.
And to say of Anne...” She opened her book to more accurately quote, “... but Anne, with an elegance of mind and sweetness of character, which must have placed her high with any people of real understanding, was nobody with either father or sister; her word had no weight, her convenience was always to give way – she was only Anne.” She closed her book.
“Every time I read that line, it makes me sad, and it makes me love Anne all the more.”
“Fortunately, Lady Russell saw more in Anne,” Charlotte said.
“Indeed.”
“My favorite line is...” Louise cleared her throat. “It sometimes happens that a woman is handsomer at twenty-nine than she was ten years before; and, generally speaking, if there has been neither ill health nor anxiety, it is a time of life at which scarcely any charm is lost.”
“Brilliant. Just brilliant.”
Donna stood up. “I’m a little partial to the idea that the navy ‘cuts up a man’s youth and vigor most horribly; a sailor grows old sooner than any other man.”
Helen laughed. “You’re getting ahead of yourself. That’s in chapter two.”
“All right, everyone,” I said as I stood up. “We have a nice luncheon set up at the back... just a little something that we’ve prepared for you. After a brief pause, we can move onto chapter two.”
The young brunette got up, and I immediately went to her before she joined the others for the luncheon.
“Excuse me. I don’t believe we’ve met,” I said, offering my hand. “I’m Keely Lee, the organizer of this little club.”
A bright smile on her face, she took my hand and gently shook it. “No, we’ve not had the chance to officially meet. This is my first time here. It’s a pleasure meeting you. I’m Penelope Copperfield, but everyone calls me Penny.”
“Are you new to Bath?” I said.
“No, not at all. I’ve lived here for years.”
I scrutinized her face. “Are you sure we’ve not met before? Your face... your green eyes in particular... I’m certain I’ve seen you somewhere.”
“Perhaps,” she said with a shy smile.
She laughed lightly, a sweet and enchanting sound. “I can see you’re still searching. I’ll save you the trouble. We have met before, though quite briefly. But there was a great crowd around us, so I’m not surprised you don’t remember.”
Intrigued, I looked at her and waited for her to go on.
“At the Yardley charity ball a few weeks ago.”
“Oh,” I said, suddenly remembering. “Yes. You were wearing that gorgeous off the shoulder pale peach gown. How could I forget.”
“Yep. That was me.” She ran her hand over her head, smoothing the strands of hair that had escaped her ponytail. Then she looked down at her everyday attire. “I’m miles away from that peach gown, aren’t I?”
“Hello,” Abbie said as she came to us, a plate of crustless sandwich wedges in her hand. She held the plate out to us as she simultaneously offered her hand to Penny, introducing herself.
“It’s wonderful meeting you,” Penny said, waving away the offer of a sandwich. “You have a great reading voice.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll take one of those,” I said, taking two.
“It’s nice meeting people who love Jane Austen as much as I do,” Penny said. “Of course, there’s plenty of that here in Bath, although you’d be surprised by the number of people who’ve never read her.”
“Yes, believe it or not, I’ve met some,” Abbie said with a laugh.
“Are you two here for the summer?” Penny said.
“No,” I said. “We live and work here. In fact, we’re preparing for our next project. The movie adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion .”
Gaping, she looked at me, then Abbie and back at me. Then she creased her brow and looked more intently at me. “Oh, you must be... oh, yes. I’ve heard of you. You’re the one who filmed Northanger Abbey out at Tillsbury Estate, aren’t you?”
“Indeed, I am. That is...” I put my arm around Abbie. “We are. We both worked on that, and we will be working together again on this one.”
“That’s amazing.”
“What is it that you do here in Bath?” Abbie said.
“Oh, nothing as exciting and glamourous as you. I’m a financial advisor.”
“Really?” I said with increased interest in the girl. “Do you work full time?”
“No, actually. I’ve recently been reduced to working only twenty hours a week,” she lamented. “And the timing couldn’t be worse.” Rolling her eyes back, she waved her lamentation away. “Never mind that. Things will get on course again, I’m certain of it.”
“Well,” I said, “things just may get on course again sooner than you think. We need someone with accounting skills for our administration department. Would you be interested?”
Her eyes went wide with surprise, her jaw fell, and her breathing was suddenly shallow, almost non-existent. “Please tell me that you are not toying with me.”
“I am quite serious,” I said. “And if we can have another Jane Austen fan on board, well, that’s all the better.”
She held her hand out to me. “Then I’m in. I’m all in.”