Darcy's proposal at Kent but the gentleman will not be so easily spurned.Suddenly, she is the wife of Fitzwilliam Darcy. But before their wedding breakfast can commence, she is left to face the wrath of Lady Catherine when illness overcomes Mr. Darcy. With Colonel Fitzwilliam and Charlotte Lucas at her side, Elizabeth comes to know great love and loss at Rosings Park.

    Raising funds to build an additional structure at the London Hospital for the wounded has become a top priority for Lady Eleanor Fitzwilliam, Countess of Matlock. She has not only enlisted members of the ton to assist with her committee, but women who are well-known throughout the trade community. It is within this endeavour that Elizabeth Bennet and Georgiana Darcy meet through a mutual love of music. This is the story of how music and friendship bring two families together, challenging Fitzwilliam Darcy to embrace a new melody within his heart.

    Darcy has already left Netherfield. Torn by his attraction to Elizabeth Bennet, a woman he cannot marry, he retreats to Scotland, unaware of the social disaster that overtakes the Bennet family. Shunned by friends and neighbors, Mrs. Bennet succumbs and Mr. Bennet moves what is left of his family to London. As Mary and Kitty find husbands, Elizabeth and Jane are left to care for their failing father with little money and less hope for the future. After Mr. Bennet’s death, the sisters continue to live on the bare edge of gentility with fading prospects for happiness in life. But then Elizabeth accidently encounters Mr. Bingley. Both young women are drawn back into his sphere, which includes Mr. Darcy. Once again Bingley is plagued by his sister Caroline, who is as determined as ever to prevent his marriage to Jane, and whose machinations may go farther back than anyone realizes. Darcy is assisting his friend in his renewed courtship of Jane and as Elizabeth finds herself in continual contact with him a friendship grows between them, one Elizabeth tries to believe is platonic, while Darcy knows he is still inescapably in love with her. Torn between a growing attraction to Darcy and the taint of Lydia’s sin, Elizabeth struggles to find a way forward. Darcy has problems of his own. His sister Georgiana has withdrawn from her first Season, refusing to choose a suitor in spite of family pressure. Lady Catherine deBourgh believes she can force Darcy to marry her daughter Anne, and will stop at nothing to achieve her goal. And a threat from the past by Darcy’s old enemy George Wickham arises once more with the potential to ruin not only the Darcys but the Fitzwilliam family as well. Now at a Twelfth Night ball, Darcy is no longer able to deny his love and offers Elizabeth his hand. But Elizabeth, deeply damaged by her experiences, believes herself unworthy of him and rejects him with consequences no one could have predicted, forcing Darcy to face a turning point that will decide his and Elizabeth’s future in one last encounter. Finally, just when matters seem to be settled, Darcy and Elizabeth’s happiness is jeopardized once again by a ghost from the past as Wickham finally seems ready to strike.

     Elizabeth believes Darcy to be a proud, dour gentleman who cannot allow himself to be happy. She attends the Netherfield Ball in hopes of a promised dance with the handsome Mr. Wickham. When Wickham asks her to meet him in the Netherfield Library, she is cautious but willing to hear the gentleman out. Instead, Mr. Darcy meets her, intent on saving her from a mistake she hasn’t yet made. And when his passion surfaces, he kisses her only to have Miss Caroline Bingley throw open the library doors in hopes of finding a scandal. Now Elizabeth and Darcy must marry, else she is ruined and the scandal will prevent the happiness of her sisters. Over the course of their marriage, Elizabeth learns more about the man she once thought cold-hearted and ill-humored. Indeed, she finds herself falling in love with her husband and can only hope that he returns her sentiments. But their newly-formed affections are tested as Wickham steals Lydia away, Mr. Collins is revealed to have a dangerous temper, and Miss Bingley does not allow a marriage to stand in the way of her own inappropriate designs. Reluctantly Mrs. Darcy is a sweet, clean, and wholesome romance featuring Our Dear Couple in this Pride & Prejudice Variation. It is complete and features a compromising situation, forced marriage, gentlemanly behavior, the love of sisters, and a true romance of the heart with a guaranteed happily-ever-after.

    

    What if the Bennets did have a son? How would the addition of another one of those witty Bennets to the story alter Darcy's point of view? Arguments, adventure, romance, and duels of every sort are sure to follow.

    “I need to gain control of her inheritance before she reaches her next birthday. It need not be a long marriage, but marry her you must.”Alone in the world, Elizabeth Bennet had to rely upon herself. She knew escape was the only way to ensure her safety. With the help of Longbourn’s faithful servants, Elizabeth disappeared from her home and the odious heir. She was determined to find a way to support herself and remain hidden until after her birthday.Fortune smiled on Elizabeth when a series of events offered her the position of companion to Georgiana Darcy. In spite of her position, Elizabeth found herself attracted to her new employer. Could he ever see her as more than his sister’s companion? Sometimes Elizabeth thought Mr. Darcy might care for her, too, but would his attraction—if that is what is was—survive when he learned the truth about her?Hidden away at Pemberley, would Elizabeth be able to remain safely concealed until coming of age? What surprises did the future hold for her?

    Darcy does not arrive at Ramsgate until two days after Georgiana’s elopement with George Wickham. The servants sell their story to the newspapers, the couple vanish, and when the gossip columns run rampant with the news, Darcy’s relatives demand that Darcy disown his sister. When Wickham learns he cannot gain his wife’s dowry until she is thirty years, he deserts Georgiana and Darcy takes her back into their London home. With society turned against them, Darcy takes his sister to Pemberley but she dies during the winter.In the spring (1809), Darcy returns to London but he is unrecognizable with a full beard and long hair. The ever-faithful Charles Bingley, invites Darcy to use his new appearance as a disguise to hide and grieve in Hertfordshire. To the surprise of everyone in Meryton, Charles returns from London with a new secretary, one ‘Malcom McDuff’, a wild looking Scots with a full beard, long hair, and an eye patch over one eye. While there, McDuff meets Miss Elizabeth Bennet and they share many interesting conversations. But as the day for the wedding of Jane Bennet and Charles Bingley approaches, McDuff vanishes. There is scandal enough in Hertfordshire that summer when Lydia Bennet elopes with George Wickham from Brighton and the Bennet family is shocked by Lydia’s resolution to her problem.The next summer (1810), Elizabeth travels to Hunsford to aid Mrs. Collins with the impending birth of her first child. Upon arrival she is introduced to Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy from Derbyshire who is on business in Kent.There is something familiar about this Mr. Darcy, and Elizabeth Bennet sets her mind to discovering his secret.

    I do not doubt that you are precisely the kind of horrid creature that would shoot to kill in a duel, and so I have remained silent. If... if... if you will leave Miss Darcy alone and not try to interfere with her and not try to abduct her again, I will keep quiet, but if you try anything I will tell all.” Following on from Tact and Elizabeth Bennet’s marriage, the short stories in Turned Out Well cover the London debuts of the remaining Miss Bennets, the happenings at Rosings Park, and the marriage of the practical-minded Charlotte Lucas. There are seven tales in all, dealing with the adventures of five distinctly different heroines. Tactful Lydia Bennet observes her sister’s introduction to the ton. Undercurrents Miss Catherine Bennet arrived in London expecting to have a marvellous time. She is disappointed to discover that she does not have a taste for society. The Grange Catherine is curious to see the house and the inhabitants that she has heard so much of. Intact Lady Catherine de Bourgh is a resilient woman but some trials are hard to bear. Tactless Miss Lydia Bennet makes her debut and becomes all the rage. She anticipated balls and ballgowns and dancing and flirtation – she did not anticipate foiling an attempted abduction. The Countess and the Highwayman Lydia rarely behaves as she is expected to, and sees little reason to change her ways after her marriage. Not Romantic Miss Charlotte Lucas, whilst appreciating the romance of Pemberley, has too much sense to think of love.

    Little does he know that Elizabeth is already at Pemberley, walking the gravel paths of the maze in Pemberley's expansive gardens. When Darcy and Elizabeth meet in the middle of the labyrinth, the unexpected happens. This short story is a lighthearted retelling of the famous couple's reunion in Derbyshire. Length: 6,500 words

    Seventeen years old, beautiful, popular, and well-connected, she is viewed by all as a paragon of youth, freedom, and fashion. No one suspects the lonesomeness and uncertainty of her life--emotions she has slowly learned to bury. When her step-mother banishes her and her elder sister, Jane, to London for the summer holidays, Elizabeth meets a man who seems her total opposite. He is serious while she laughs, structured while she is spontaneous, and independent while she has almost nothing. Yet the unlikely pair find an unexpected kinship amid their mutual sorrows, and before long, Elizabeth realizes she is falling in love with Mr. Darcy. But he is not the only man who has noticed Elizabeth this summer, nor the most eligible. When Elizabeth's noble step-cousin develops designs for her, she finds herself tangled in the unfair expectations of her family, misunderstandings among her friends, and an ultimate decision that may purchase her true freedom. But will it cost her her heart?

    This tragedy breeds years of sorrow and misunderstanding as well as prosperity and even romance in an emotional coming of age tale not only for Elizabeth Bennet, but for her sisters, and even the adults who let them down. For nearly two decades, Edward Gardiner is haunted by the difficult decisions he has made. Lady Anne Darcy must bear all the guilt and delight of being granted her heart’s desire... at a price. The Fitzwilliam family has motives and misgivings of their own as the Earl of Matlock tries to keep them all together, right the wrongs of the past, and pave the way for the next generation. Fitzwilliam Darcy realizes too late what it means to be a brother, and is faced with a parts of his past he regrets, just as his desire to protect the family he loves leads him back to the woman he was destined to love the most… a woman who despises him. Elizabeth Bennet struggles through the turbulence of adolescence, her judgement clouded by past trauma and the complicated dynamics of her extended family. Secrets are revealed and re-examined as she is forced to come to terms with the truth of her past and the promise of her future, in a family bound together by heartbreak. AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story is based on a deviation from canon 18 years prior to the opening of Pride & Prejudice. Several canon characters are omitted entirely, and aside from Darcy and Elizabeth, the story will focus on several minor canon characters. Some of these characters have developed differently from canon due to the events of the story as they unfold. New characters have also been introduced: the Earl and Countess of Matlock and their children: the Viscount and Lady Charlotte, as well as the Dowager Countess of Matlock, lady Olivia Gardiner and Rose Gardiner, Sir Lewis de Bourgh and Elliot de Bourgh. This story may be unsuitable for anyone triggered by the loss of a spouse, parent or child. Elizabeth Bennet struggles through the turbulence of adolescence, her judgement clouded by past trauma and the complicated dynamics of her extended family. Secrets are revealed and re-examined as she is forced to come to terms with the truth of her past and the promise of her future, in a family bound together by heartbreak.

    Her father has decided she will be the one to secure her family’s future through a marriage of convenience to his heir. Disappointment and sadness weigh her soul when she travels with her aunt and uncle—a consolation before she submits to duty. When she sees the reflection of her heartbreak in the face of an unknown young lady, Elizabeth reaches out to the girl, extending a hopeful outlook she herself has been denied.Mr. Darcy regrets missing the opportunity to know the pretty stranger who helped his grieving, younger sister rise above her sadness. Hope keeps him seeking her face in every crowd. As time passes it seems the woman he admires might be an ephemeral dream born of his heart’s desire. Darcy finally finds her when he is forced to visit his friend, Mr. Bingley, but is she already taken? Can he restore hope to this woman he barely knows? Will she let him?

    Elizabeth Bennet counts herself as one among them, the neighborhood has been dull of late. According to Meryton’s most reliable source of gossip, the house will soon contain a certain Miss Caroline Bingley, her particular friend Mayria Hoppenstack, their companion Mrs. Younge, Mr. Charles Bingley, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy and Mr. Darcy’s distant relation from Scotland, Mr. Hamish Mackay. At Mr. Bingley’s urging, he and his friends appear at the Meryton assembly and the party are welcomed by all. All, excepting Elizabeth Bennet, who has managed to insult Mr. Darcy before he has even fully got himself inside the doors. She would have worked to appear more contrite over the mishap if Mr. Darcy had not seemed to glory in repeatedly pointing it out to her. As it was, the man made it impossible to accept defeat gracefully. After this ill-omened start, how on earth could anything promising begin? Amidst Elizabeth’s mortification, Mr. Mackay is found to be a source of strange tales from Scotland, Miss Hoppenstack is not all she claims to be, Mr. Collins discovers his esteemed father was mistaken about a few things, Mary proves herself to be more than a musician and reciter of facts, Charlotte finds success without having to say a word, Lydia has a revelation, Wickham ensnares himself in a web of lies, Lady Catherine is subdued by one clever Bennet while she seeks to subdue another, and most importantly, Mr. Darcy has a plan. #11 in The Sweet Regency Romance Series

    – W. ShakespeareWhen Elizabeth Bennet is unexpectedly reunited with Mr. Darcy in Derbyshire, their feelings for each other have the opportunity to blossom and grow. At the Garden Gate is a story of love and loss; an overheard conversation, a compromise, broken hearts, and an unexpected second chance at happiness are all part of this story. In the end, can their love for each other prevail? Will Darcy and Elizabeth come together as the couple they should always have been?At the Garden Gate is suitable for readers over the age of 18. This book contains no explicit sexual content.