Kirjahaku

The act of elopement without marriage can destroy an entire family.When Lydia Bennet elopes with George Wickham and disappears into the London stews, Mr. 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 His sister Georgiana has withdrawn from her first Season, refusing to choose a suitor in spite of family pressure.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.

No one owns the future. Fitzwilliam Darcy, handsome, wealthy, heir to the vast estate of Pemberley, is unmarried after a six-year quest for the perfect wife. Elizabeth Bennet, lovely, intelligent and independent, is unmarried after a three-year quest for a husband who will appreciate her as an individual. When Darcy's father George is diagnosed with a fatal illness, he fears that if something happens to his son before another heir is born the Darcy line will end. Mr. Bennet, a highly successful London solicitor, fears his daughter would be destroyed by the life of a spinster. The fathers arrange a marriage between Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth, much to the consternation of the two young people. As the two principals attempt to find common ground for a marriage of convenience, Darcy's initial physical attraction to Elizabeth grows into admiration and love. Elizabeth, however, must grow past her anger and resentment to understand her own heart. But then, as the courtship progresses, a mysterious letter from a dead man brings the reappearance of Darcy's reclusive great-aunt, Lady Agatha Quintain, whose motives may not be as benign as they seem. And a series of robberies perpetrated by Darcy's old nemesis Wickham agitates high society and ends in the attempted murder of a family member, drawing Darcy into the pursuit. Joined by Colonel Fitzwilliam and a stranger with a personal vendetta against Wickham, they discover their quarry's long-standing grudge against his mentor puts George Darcy in immediate deadly danger. Now as Darcy and Elizabeth begin their lives together, Wickham's plan for revenge takes a murderous turn, while Lady Agatha follows her own plans to right an ancient wrong, whatever the cost to the Darcys. Thus is set in motion a series of devastating events that will force Darcy and Elizabeth to face a terrible secret from the past, with the power to threaten not only their marriage, but everyone and everything they love. And to ultimately put Pemberley itself in peril.