Mr. Darcy the Rake

Book excerpt: A very different Darcy… Fitz Darcy is a second son, and his elder brother has inherited Pemberley and all the responsibilities that entails. So, Fitz has turned elsewhere to support himself financially. He owns an infamous gambling hell in London, partnering with his best friend George Wickham. He’s also infamous for other reasons, namely that is he widely considered the worst rake in all of England. Fitz has rules, though. Widows and other men’s wives are all fair game, but he doesn’t debauch innocent virgins. But then, at a trip to his aunt Lady Catherine’s country house, he first sets eyes on Miss Elizabeth Bennet, whose sharp tongue so readily handles his harridan of an aunt he can’t help but be intrigued by her. No, not intrigued, obsessed. Scruples be damned, he has to have her. He’ll stop at nothing to make it happen. The longer he pursues her, the more he begins to change in ways he can’t quite understand. What is it about this Bennet girl, and can his desire for her reform this wretched rake? Oh, this is not even remotely clean, dear reader. Also, quite obviously, both Darcy and Wickham are wildly out of character. I hope you enjoy this trip into an alternate imagining of the characters and situations we all know and love.