After rejecting him, she is required to follow him into the woods to return the hat he left behind, before it is discovered that he had visited her. She is shocked to see he is in far greater pain at her refusal than she realised and when she seeks to comfort him, he forgets himself and kisses her. Unfortunately, Mr Collins, Elizabeth's cousin, witnesses it and not recognising Mr Darcy, is pleased to inform Mr Darcy's aunt, the formidable Lady Catherine de Bourgh of Rosings Park, that the pert Miss Bennet's reputation has been compromised. It seems a fitting revenge for a woman who had rejected his own offer of marriage not so long ago. But when Mr Darcy reveals himself as the man who compromised Miss Bennet, and is therefore the man who is required to marry her and save her reputation, Elizabeth is far from grateful. She, who always wanted to marry for love, is now obligated to marry a man she despises for his selfish disdain for others, and who has ruined the happiness of her most beloved sister. Can Mr Darcy persuade her to give him a chance to prove himself worthy of her? And in Elizabeth's pretence to her family of being a happily engaged woman, is it possible she is being fooled by her own charade into feeling more than she does? Or are these growing feelings for Mr Darcy something more than that? At Longbourn, a scandal involving her sister, Lydia, threatens the match and Elizabeth is suddenly confronted with the possibility that maybe she does not know Mr Darcy as well as she believed. And that just maybe, he is the man for her after all.

    All the novellas in the Darcy and Elizabeth What If? series are separate, standalone stories. They can be read in any order. What if Lady Catherine's companion had overheard Mr Darcy proposing to Elizabeth at Rosings? When Lady Catherine fears her nephew is to marry Miss Elizabeth Bennet, she allows her daughter, Anne, to marry Colonel Fitzwilliam. Anne feels indebted to Elizabeth, and in an effort to thank her she persuades Mr Bingley to return to Netherfield. Mr Darcy joins his friend, and Elizabeth is brought face to face with Mr Darcy at a second Netherfield ball.

    Though she has heard that the owner is a proud, unpleasant man, he is away from home and will not interfere with her enjoyment of the woods and fields surrounding the magnificent house. But when a strange man encounters her in the woods and accuses her of being a thief, she is determined to embarrass him for his error. Only to discover she has been completely mistaken in his identity. Fitzwilliam Darcy is perplexed by the strange girl before him. Her appearance is dishevelled from her walk in his woods, but her eyes sparkle, and she has a quick wit that captivates him. He is eager to know more of her, but his initial impression of her as a thief means the sentiment is not returned. As Darcy and Elizabeth are thrown together more and more in the beautiful Derbyshire countryside, their initial feelings for one another grow and deepen into something more. But Miss Bingley, the sister of Darcy’s closest friend, is not pleased by the love developing between Eliza Bennet and the man Miss Bingley is determined to marry. Fearing a proposal is imminent, she stoops to a level which shocks even those who know her best and which threatens to tear Elizabeth and Darcy apart forever.