Barely Betrothed to Mr. Darcy

Book excerpt: Miss Elizabeth Bennet is pleased with the state of her life. She lives with her sister and her sister’s husband, Mr. and Mrs. Bingley, and she dotes on her niece and nephew. She doesn’t long for a husband or children of her own. To do so would only bring her misery. Then news reaches them which tears Elizabeth’s contentment to shreds. Mrs. Caroline Darcy is dead. She’s drowned herself. Everyone has long observed the late Mrs. Darcy’s dissatisfaction with her loveless, childless marriage, so the news, while tragic, is not entirely surprising. Elizabeth knows that Caroline trapped her husband into marrying her by falsely accusing him of a compromise that never occurred. Of course, that truth has never mattered, nor has the fact that Mr. Darcy is still in love with Elizabeth and that she is in love with him. Now, Mr. Darcy is free, but propriety dictates that he cannot remarry immediately. A quick marriage would court scandal and it would wound Caroline’s brother, Mr. Bingley, who is also Mr. Darcy’s dear friend. So, though Elizabeth knows that Mr. Darcy will be hers eventually, they cannot be officially engaged yet. Now, they must wait. For these two who have waited so long for each other, the waiting will prove to be the hardest part. Read this variation if you like our dear couple angsty and yearning, and if you’re amenable to a steamy culmination to all that tension.