Shortly after Elizabeth Bennet refuses Fitzwilliam Darcy’s offer of marriage, he becomes convinced her reproofs were correct and determines to become worthy of her love. His attempt to arrange a “chance” meeting is successful and they cross paths in London. Soon afterwards, Darcy sails for Virginia to retrieve his newly widowed cousin, who has found herself stranded in a country on the verge of … the verge of war with her native land. Once there, he suspects her sights are set on him as her next mate. Even worse, his journal—which details his feelings about Elizabeth—is accidentally posted to Elizabeth. Can he return to England, convince her he has taken her opinions to heart, and win her love before she receives it?
The impulsive Elizabeth Bennet is injured while touring a Derbyshire estate with her aunt and uncle, and circumstances find her at the home of Georgiana Darcy while she recuperates. While there, Elizabeth realizes she is in love with Darcy, but will he arrive home and assume the worst about her after finding her living at his estate?
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“Though nobody can go back and make a new beginning… Anyone can start over and make a new ending.” Chico Xavier
We are post Hunsford proposal, D&E meet up in London just as Lizzy and Jane are preparing to head back home. The few minutes they have together, gives ODC [our dear couple] hope for a renewal of a relationship between them. When Darcy learns Elizabeth and her Aunt and Uncle plan a trip to Derbyshire, he gives them permission to call at Pemberley.
He tells them of his plans to sail to Virginia to retrieve his widowed cousin Lady Bianca, as her father, the Earl of Matlock, is seriously ill and not expected to live. With threats of war looming on the horizon, he needed to get her home, otherwise she would be stranded in the Americas. It will be several months before he would see Elizabeth again.
The ‘Lizzy has fallen and can’t get up’ scenario has been played quite a bit throughout JAFF variations. It is to the point that ODG [our dear girl] can hardly walk across level ground without tripping, falling, hitting her head, spraining her ankle or experiencing amnesia. I suppose this references to the scene in the ’95 film where Elizabeth had climbed on the rocks to view the area. In her concern, her Aunt Gardiner cautioned her, that if she fell, how could she fact her father for letting Lizzy be so careless.
Well in this story… while touring Matlock, she does falls. A TBI [traumatic brain injury] is serious enough in this day and age. It was lethal during the Regency period. However, she was only unconscious a short time and simply sustained a residual headache, and a sore arm. Her ankle; however, was more serious. With a broken bone in her ankle, she was advised that she could not be moved for several weeks. Also, staying at Matlock was Georgiana Darcy and soon a friendship developed between the girls. Georgiana remembered the letters from her brother regarding a certain lady staying at Netherfield and then again at Kent. She began to wonder if there was something between the two.
Due to the illness of the Earl, Georgiana eventually moved everyone to Pemberley, which was an hour away, thus leaving her aunt free to take care of the Earl. Their idyllic time together at Pemberley was soon interrupted with the arrival of Charles Bingley and his sisters. Somehow, the letter informing Bingley that Darcy was away, did not reach Charles. Wonder how that happened? And now, we have poor Georgiana at the mercy of having to hostess and deal with Caroline Bingley and her snide and rude remarks to her other guest, Elizabeth.
Across the pond in Virginia, we have Darcy picking up his cousin and frantically making arrangements for a passage back to England. With war threatening, anything British was no longer welcome in the Americas and only gold would get them anywhere. In all their confusion, a packet, containing Darcy’s journal, was inadvertently mailed to Elizabeth Bennet. OMG!!! The journey was not without its problems. Lady Bianca proved to be a pistol, with her demanding ways and attempts to have her way with Darcy.
After being months away, Darcy arrived at Pemberley in the middle of a raging storm, with Lady Bianca in tow. They would not be able to make it to Matlock until the weather cleared. It was on… Lady Bianca clearly wanted Darcy, and everyone knew Caroline wanted Darcy. If it took double the servants to protect Darcy from Caro, he would need to triple the servants to protect him from Lady Bianca, and still she breached the perimeter. She was merciless in her strategies and machinations. OMG!
I liked that we were able to spend time with ODC after they came to an agreement. I want that page time with them. Just when you think it’s safe to go back into the parlor, in walks Lady Catherine just as Caroline is reaming out Elizabeth. OMG!
Could things possibly get any worse? Poor Darcy was in treacherous waters as he tried to avoid both a pariah and a piranha. Yeah, he had it bad and just down the hall… Elizabeth Bennet, the love of his life. This was so cute. It was a fast read, clean and I was intrigued with the creative ways our author showed the love developing between ODC. That was so cute. The letters, journal entries, conversations, thoughts, swoon worthy… be still my heart. Yeah, I really liked it.