The Promise of Change - By Rebecca Heflin Page 0,32
the role of Fitzwilliam Darcy in your latest film? Is it based on Pamela Aidan’s trilogy?”
“Yes, you are correct on both counts, which is a convenient segue into my apology for abandoning you today. I had to return to London for a final costume fitting before filming begins. Will you please accept my apology for this abominable treatment, and allow me to make it up to you?”
“I don’t know . . . I suppose if I must, but I warn you, it will take a great deal to make up for your un-chivalrous behavior,” she bantered with feigned disapproval. Don’t look now, but she was flirting outrageously with a member of the British Peerage.
“Well, I shall endeavor to behave in a more gentleman-like manner.”
They both laughed at his clever use of Jane Austen.
“I take it that you have read Aidan’s trilogy?” he asked, returning to their previous conversation.
“Yes. I really enjoyed reading it. Reading Aidan is like reading Austen. She captures Austen’s style with impeccable accuracy.”
“I agree. I was impressed with the books from the moment I read them, and writing the middle book, Duty and Desire, as a gothic novel was a stroke of genius on her part. That’s why I decided to produce it.”
“You’re producing it? That’s impressive.”
“Or daft,” he said with a frown. “I haven’t figured out which yet.”
“So . . . Darcy . . . one of literature’s most beloved characters,” she said with raised eyebrows.
“Yes . . . no pressure there, especially following Colin Firth’s definitive Darcy,” he replied with self-deprecating humor. “But there is nothing more I love than a challenge,”—his look seemed to imply he wasn’t just talking about the role of Darcy—“and next to Rochester, Darcy, is the character I would most like to tackle.”
Taking hold of a rare opportunity to discuss literature, she jumped in with both feet. Adrian had never been interested, and made no pretentions about it, and while Ann and Becca patiently sat through her mini-dissertations on this novel or that character, it was only out of love for her.
Finding someone with a passion for literature that apparently matched her own was like hearing someone who spoke English in the midst of a crowd of Chinese. Finally someone spoke her language.
“I can certainly understand the desire to play a character with such depth and complexity as Darcy, but I’m not certain about Mr. Rochester.”
“Darcy is not without his flaws. He is brooding, introspective, and moody. And, of course, his major flaw, his pride, exposed so eloquently by Elizabeth, and of course in the title of the book, makes him the subject of disdain among those in Meryton. But, he does redeem himself, most nobly in the end, and the reader falls in love with him much the same as Elizabeth.”
She looked up to see if he was paying attention, or if her ramblings had begun to bore him. He appeared interested anyway.
He enjoyed the way her brow furrowed when she paused to think, and the passion and insight she applied to her topic. The combination of her sharp intelligence and her subtle diffidence delighted him. He longed to push past her reserve and ignite the passion she concealed just below the surface.
“Mr. Rochester, on the other hand, well, I’m not sure I can find anything in him to admire. While he is rather complex, he has, to my mind, no redeeming qualities. His deceitful attempt to enter into a bigamous marriage with Jane is outrageous, especially when he professes to love her so.”
He grinned at her conclusion.
“I’m sorry.” She blushed. “I get on a tangent sometimes.”
“No. I quite enjoyed your tangent, and will respond with one of my own.” These days, blushing women were as rare as the Queen’s smile. It intrigued him.
Taking a sip of his wine, he continued. “It is precisely Rochester’s complexity that makes his portrayal a worthy endeavor. He is the archetypal Byronic hero. Flawed, to be sure, but then aren’t we all? His flaws tend to the darker side of literary heroes, but that only serves to add depth to his character. He is moody, arrogant, and self-destructive, and his social and sexual dominance both repel and attract the reader.”
“No, I would very much enjoy delving into the intricacies of his personality.” His eyes were alight with excitement over the thought.
“Hmm,” she said, her chin in her hand, “you’ve devoted a great deal to the study of his character. I wonder, are your daily observations of human behavior that thorough?”