Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet have suffered profound heartache in the fourteen years since parting in Lambton when word of Lydia’s folly reached her family. At the age of forty, Darcy is now a widower raising a teenage daughter, whilst Elizabeth, a spinster, has spent the intervening years in service. Unexpectedly thrown into each other’s company by circumstances not of their making, has … has time stood still when it comes to matters of the heart? Can their timeless love survive the newest obstacles to their happiness?
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“In case you never get a second chance: don’t be afraid!” “And what if you do get a second chance?” “You take it!” –C. JoyBell C.
It would be helpful if the reader had background knowledge of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. I think our author explained the relationships of our canon characters to the extent you could possibly read this as a stand-alone.
Fourteen years have passed since Elizabeth first received Jane’s letter about Lydia’s shameful actions. Not long after not finding Lydia, both Bennet parents died and over the years the remaining Bennet sisters were happily married and were raising families. Darcy and Elizabeth attempted to live their separate lives despite their disappointment in their fates. Elizabeth had gone into service as a governess and Darcy, who had married a widow with a young child, was now a widower and was raising a daughter that was not his. We had our Caroline Bingley clone who thought she should be the next mistress of Pemberley and she played her part well. Where Caroline was merely a tradesman’s daughter, Lady Amy had the wealth, clout, and prestige that Caroline could only dream of. She was a determined b-witch and used every means at her disposal to worm her way into Darcy’s path, including using his daughter against him.
“It is perhaps, plausible that a man in this situation, impressed with the unconcern of the universe, should see the innumerable flaws of his life and have them taste wickedly in his mind and wish for another chance.” –Stephen Crane, The Open Boat
I knew this was going to be a long haul and I was not wrong. There were ups and downs, interference from others and I just had to hold on and ride out the angst of disappointed hopes and grief from separations with ODC [our dear couple]. Within Regency romance stories, Darcy and Elizabeth have to be the most stubborn of all the lovers portrayed. Five minutes, five freaking minutes together with honest conversation and everything could be settled. They just couldn’t get a break and face their fears long enough to face each other.
Ever the flight risk, Elizabeth ran at the first hint of Darcy’s renewed affection when she completely misunderstood his intentions. Forever guarding his heart against the hurt and pain of rejection, Darcy ran at the first hint of disappointment without finding out what happened to cause the disappointment and the why of it. They were each so sure of what the other was thinking and feeling, that they ignored what was obvious to everyone around them. They each viewed the other and their situation through lenses skewed in different directions. Both were fueled by guilt, self-recrimination, and overshadowed by an unhealthy dose of shame. I wanted to scream. I did not want to put it down but forced myself to finally go to bed. I am too old to pull an all-nighter. Besides, my battery was running low… um… on my device, not me.
The story began to drag a bit in a few places. I suppose it was my anxious desire to see ODC finally reach their happiness. There was ONE scene [the wedding night] that placed the rating on this story in the MA: Mature Audience category. It felt completely unnecessary to the overall story. It was just there and could have easily been left out with no changes to the story. It can be skipped over easy enough without any problem.
7-1-19 I won a copy of this book from a random drawing during the blog tour at Ceri’s Babblings of a Bookworm website. The views expressed are my own. I highly recommend this story if you enjoy a feel-good HEA.