It is recommended for a mature audience, due to the subjects of violence and abuse – that are often mentioned but never detailed other than in Elizabeth’s recollections.This is the story of Elizabeth Bennet, thrown by fate and unfortunate circumstances into the middle of an ordeal from which she struggles to escape, fighting for her life. Her character, her strength and her determination are tested more than ever before. She has to enter into a battle which she must win, or the loss will be immeasurable. She has a strong ally in Darcy, first from afar, then by her side. The man she rejected just a month before will return to prove his loyalty, and the depth of his feelings.Elizabeth also benefits from the loyal support of a friend – a young woman of colour – who struggles to prove her worthiness and find her deserved place in a society unwilling to accept her.The story begins when Elizabeth returns from Kent and stays in London for several days. She is surprised to find her sister Jane and aunt in a new, but rather close acquaintance with a young earl and his mother. Over those several days, the nightmare slowly envelops the Bennets and Gardiners, and the threat of ruin and misery weighs heavily on them.To their apparent salvation came a hasty and strange – but so timely – marriage proposal from one of the most illustrious gentlemen of the ton. Despite her reasoning, her suspicions, her fears and her lack of feeling for the man she barely knows and even less respects, she does not dare refuse a third marriage proposal, which would throw her entire family into ruin.By the time of her marriage, Darcy has returned to London and Mr. Bingley has returned to Jane. Things appear to have improved for the Bennets. But for Elizabeth, it is too late.Trapped in a marriage as dark as a nightmare, never consummated but dreadful nevertheless, she must protect herself and those around her from the evilness and cruelty of a horrid man and his supportive mother and friends.With fate’s mercy, Elizabeth’s ordeal will not last long. Circumstances turn her into a widow, one of the wealthiest and most influential women in London, with a power she is not yet ready to use.Darcy’s feelings are the same, while Elizabeth's are quite the opposite compared with those she expressed in Kent. Darcy is the only man she can trust. Near him she feels safe, protected and supported. But her heart is so full of hate, distrust and plans for revenge, that it has little room for love and happiness.Darcy’s feelings for Elizabeth have remained strong and deep, but the woman he adored had changed dramatically. She is now above him in terms of position, wealth, and power.While she accepts him as a friend, and gratefully benefits from his support, Elizabeth is not ready to surrender to the power of another man yet, even if she has no reason to doubt his affection, his honour or his character.Elizabeth Bennet is now Lady Barrington – smart, well educated and beautiful, with the power and means to treat those around her as she pleases. Her old sweetness, her teasing wit, the smile that made her eyes sparkle, her musical laugh and tendency to joke seem lost. But they are only deeply buried under fear, and hate and are just waiting for the right moment and the right man to bring them back up into the light again.

    For three years, it has hung like a dead weight about his neck, yet his first priority has been and must continue to be his young daughter. He married once for duty, he will only marry again for love. Is there a lady out there who will love him for the man he is underneath his vast wealth and lofty connections and, more importantly, who will love his precious daughter as dearly as he does? Will those with their own agenda to push allow him to follow his heart?A rocky first encounter with the handsome friend of her new neighbour leaves Elizabeth reeling. Meeting his adorable daughter will change her life forever. Loving the sweet little girl is easy, but what about the tall, brooding man she calls Papa? What will Elizabeth do when faced with those who deem her unworthy of the master of Pemberley?Mr. Darcy's Daughter is a sweet full length novel of +82,000 words. This is Melissa's debut novel.

    Darcy, now happily married to Elizabeth, is honored to be the patron of Mr. William Collins, formerly an idiotic and self-serving flatterer to Darcy's autocratic aunt, now an eccentric genius. Despite such remarkable abilities and far-ranging pursuits, he works to positively affect the lives and loves of those in his orbit.Lydia Bennet, who had been devoted to self-indulgence and chasing officers, discovers in Mr. Collins a caring teacher who stokes in her a new passion for scientific endeavors and introduces her to a fascinating and handsome young scientist. Her sister, Kitty, struggles with a sense of worthlessness. With poor prospects for marriage, she worries she will be the only unmarried Bennet sister. Georgiana Darcy longs to pursue her passionate love for music, but a marriage of convenience threatens to dash her dreams. Love fills the pages as problems both big and small are solved by the enigmatic Mr. Collins.

    Darcy did not simply ride away in anger when he met with Mr. Wickham that day in Meryton? What if he had actually warned Elizabeth Bennet of that gentleman's despicable character? In the spirit and wit of Jane Austen, Affinity and Affection explores the possibility of what might have happened had the proud and haughty Mr. Darcy decided to come down off his high horse, quite literally, so to speak, to lay his personal dealings with his childhood friend and father's former favourite open before the eyes of the bewitching Elizabeth Bennet. Would his forthrightness have set the stage for a better understanding between them? Would it have changed Elizabeth's mind about how she perceived the taciturn Mr. Darcy sooner, rather than later? And what else might have transpired as a result?