A Pride and Prejudice sequel. Elizabeth and Darcy are preparing for their first Christmas at Pemberley when they are suddenly deluged by a flood of uninvited guests. Mrs. Bennet is seeking refuge from the French invasion she believes to be imminent. Lady Catherine brings two suitors for Georgiana’s hand, who cause a bit of mayhem themselves. Lydia’s presence causes bickering—and a couple of small … small fires—while Wickham has more nefarious plans in mind….The abundance of guests soon puts a strain on her marriage as Elizabeth tries to manage the comedy and chaos while ensuring a happy Christmas for all.
Meanwhile, Georgiana is finding her suitors—and the prospect of coming out—to be very unappealing. Colonel Fitzwilliam seems to be the only person who understands her fondness for riding astride and shooting pistols. Georgiana realizes she’s beginning to have more than cousinly feelings for him, but does he return them? And what kind of secrets is he hiding?
Love, romance, and humor abound as everyone gathers to celebrate a Very Darcy Christmas.
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Excellent read
Bet Elizabeth doesn’t hang the greenery early next Christmas
Oh-my-goodness, right off the bat everything went downhill. All Elizabeth and Darcy wanted for the holidays was to spend time… together… alone. While Darcy was out and about on estate business, everything back at Pemberley fell apart at a rapid pace. First, Mr. & Mrs. Bennet descended in a flurry. Mrs. Long had convinced Mrs. Bennet that the French were going to invade and she wanted to be far in the north where it was safe. Following close behind them, Georgiana was in a hasty retreat from Rosings Park where she had intended to spend the holidays. It seemed Aunt Catherine had ambushed her with two suitors. Before Elizabeth could catch her breath, our dear Colonel Fitzwilliam walked in having received an express at Matlock saying Georgiana had bolted from Rosings. He had come to check on her. On his tail, Lady Catherine stormed the doors at Pemberley with her retinue of servants along with said two suitors in tow. So, she said, Georgiana could become better acquainted with them. Her distain and censorious glare was directed straight at Elizabeth. As Elizabeth finally drew breath, she heard the door knocker again… and… in walked Lydia AND Wickham. Oh, dear.
Dinner that night was a nightmare. Georgiana assured her brother and cousin that she was no longer intimidated by Wickham. Darcy demanded that he would not stay at Pemberley and secured a room for him at the Lambton Inn. Lydia complained and Mrs. Bennet fluttered at why Wickham was sent from Pemberley.
Elizabeth didn’t think her family could possibly embarrass her any more than they already had… and then… they out did themselves. Mrs. Bennet was clueless, ignorant and could not read a social situation if it smacked her upside the head. Poor Elizabeth eyed her father and silently implored him to do something. Remember; however, that this tactic didn’t work so well the last time when he admonished Mary at Bingley’s Ball? Well, once again, the poor man only made it worse. It was hilarious… um… rather, poor Elizabeth, bless her heart.
Elizabeth: once again had to deal with her family [mother & sister] making excessive demands on the staff and resources at Pemberley. Lydia was eating them out of house and home and loudly demanded more food at table. As bad as the previous dinner had been the subsequent dinner party with additional guests would become one of the tales of Pemberley legend. I laughed my head off. Each successive embarrassment was trumped by an even more egregious behavior. Oh, poor Elizabeth. Darcy, at the end of the table, sat red-faced and embarrassed as Elizabeth listened to her mother rant about the French and Lydia’s request for more food. Bless her heart.
Our dear Colonel: caught between working in a military clandestine operation and watching his young cousin being courted by two suitors. Later, he was charged as being a French spy [by none other than Mrs. Bennet], yeah. And then things became deadly when they found the murdered body of Mr. DuBois, the Frenchman. Our dear Colonel was arrested and placed in jail by none other than the local magistrate Lord Robert, Viscount Barrington, who also happened to be one of Georgiana’s suitors.
Lydia: was her usual selfish, self-centered, narcissistic self… only worse, if you can believe it. She set two fires [accidentally… of course], discharged a weapon indoors, belched at table, loudly complained, to a company of strangers about the ill treatment of her Wickham, had the manners of a dockworker and always wanted more than she deserved or could manage.
Mr. Bennet: was awful, useless, impotent to control Mrs. Bennet without the use of alcohol or chemical assistance, indolent, and helplessly unabashed in his inability to manage his family.
At least we didn’t have Caroline or Mr. and Mrs. Hurst to deal with. Also, absent from our story were Jane, Charles, Kitty, Mary, Charlotte and Mr. Collins. Thank God for small favors.
Wickham: scheming rat bastard, useless, wastrel, gambled away their funds, lying piece of… oh, sorry, blackmailer and extortionist. He was not a nice guy.
Lady Catherine: I couldn’t figure out why she followed Georgiana back to Pemberley. Well, Mrs. Reynolds finally filled Elizabeth in on one of Lady C’s maneuvers to… economize. Hilarious, I’ve never seen it used before in JAFF. That crafty old lady… she’s nobody’s fool.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!! Elizabeth had tolerated her too many uninvited guests and suddenly awoke with a plan. One by one she tackled each guest with just the right incentive to get them to leave Pemberley and it be their idea. No military maneuvers were better executed that Lizzy on a mission. Brilliant and Hilarious.
Although the epilogue was nice, there were still several threads left hanging and questions unanswered.
One thing is for sure, I bet Elizabeth doesn’t hang the greenery early next Christmas.