Moments before Mr. Darcy asks for her hand, Elizabeth reads a letter that alters her decision to his proposal but not her heart toward the man. Obstacles from within and without hedge up their way as the two learn how to move forward on this untried path. Will the unforeseen misfortunes and constant missteps be enough to end their journey before it has truly began? How do broken hearts and injured souls heal on a rough and beaten road?

    But here is the secret world of the index: an unsung but extraordinary everyday tool, with an illustrious but little-known history.Charting its curious path from the monasteries and universities of thirteenth-century Europe to Silicon Valley in the twenty-first, Dennis Duncan reveals how the index has saved heretics from the stake, kept politicians from high office, and made us all into the readers we are today. We follow it through German print shops and Enlightenment coffee houses, novelists’ living rooms and university laboratories, encountering emperors and popes, philosophers and prime ministers, poets, librarians, and—of course—indexers along the way. Duncan reveals the vast role of the index in our evolving literary and intellectual culture, and he shows that in the Age of Search we are all index-rakers at heart.

    The story depicts the period of Darcy and Elizabeth’s engagement. How will our beloved couple survive three months of constant encounters with family, friends and relatives? Will they find a moment of privacy? Will they break the rules of propriety, anticipating their wedding vows? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “You are engaged to whom?” Mr. Bennet exclaimed, staring with wide eyes at his second daughter. “To Mr. Darcy, Papa,” Elizabeth replied, sitting calmly on a chair in the Longbourn library. “Are you jesting with me, Lizzy?” “No, Papa. I am engaged to Mr. Darcy. I love him and I will marry him as soon as can be.” Mr. Bennet dropped heavily into his favourite armchair, being quiet for a minute. “You love him? You always claimed to hate him! You spoke many times about your dislike for his person.” “I did once dislike him,” she admitted. “However, it has been many months now that I have felt quite differently about him.” “May I know since when exactly?” “Last April.” “April? When you visited the Collinses?” “Indeed. We met again at Rosings Park; you must remember that Lady Catherine is Mr. Darcy’s aunt. Then, when I travelled with the Gardiners, I met him again. At the time I was ready to admit to myself that I was in love with him.” Mr. Bennet shook his greying head. “It seems that I know nothing about my daughters, even about you, Lizzy.” “I could hardly speak to you about matters of the heart, Papa. What happened between Mr. Darcy and I was so very personal to me that even Jane does not know about everything. She knows that I do not hate him anymore, but she is not aware of my love for him. I plan to tell her everything tonight.” The room became silent. Elizabeth thought that it was the best to allow her father some time to settle with the news before mentioning that Darcy wanted to speak with him tomorrow. She could understand why her father was in such a shock. She had always criticized Darcy in his company, and now all of a sudden she was announcing her engagement to the man. “Forgive me, Lizzy,” Mr. Bennet spoke at last. “But I cannot understand your decision. Are you certain that you know what you are doing? You remember how he said that you were not handsome enough to dance with, how he humiliated you at the ball last year.” Elizabeth let out a long sigh, forcing a smile. “I do remember, Papa. Mr. Darcy and I were both fools, fighting the attraction between us. But he was the first to acknowledge that he loved me. He proposed to me five months ago but I refused back then.” “You refused him!” Mr. Bennet interrupted. Elizabeth nodded, then continued, “It took me all those months to understand him and myself, change my feelings. When he asked again earlier today, I did not hesitate even for a moment.” “I see, but Lizzy, are you truly certain? Once you are married to him there would not be a way to go back. Trust me on this, you may be attracted to his good looks and wealth, but he will be someone who you will spend the rest of your life with. Think about it, child. Can you trust him? Will he treat you right? Do you know what kind of man he is?” “He is the best man I know, Papa. He cannot advertise his charms, perhaps, but he is kind, loyal and honest.” “Very well, Lizzy, if you are certain of your decision, I will not try to prevent it. You are of age, and I do trust your judgement.

    There she entered a small and strange Volga German world whose inhabitants spoke a language she had never heard. In this odd world, she encountered whippings and sexual abuse. Perhaps half a million children, like Teresa, were plucked from orphanages and shipped by rail (or "relocated") to nearly every state in the Union from 1854 to 1929. Mail-Order Kid looks at the orphan train movement through the eyes of one small child who yearns to know her "real" mother, survives a tortured childhood, and ultimately, as an adult, comes to terms with her past, her faith, and herself.

    One, Jane Austen, became a famous author; the other, her beloved elder sister Cassandra, was her confidante and supporter. It is suspected that some of the letters which Jane wrote to her family and friends were destroyed by Cassandra after Jane's death.