* * New cover - content unchanged * * When Colonel Fitzwilliam's disclosures are interrupted by the bearer of distressing news from Longbourn, Miss Elizabeth Bennet is compelled to accept an offer she would have otherwise dismissed out of hand. An offer of marriage from the all-too-proud Mr Darcy. Yet how is she to live with a husband she hardly knows and does not love? Will she continue to feel trapped in a marriage of convenience while events conspire to divide them? Or would love grow as, day by day and hour after hour, she learns to understand the man she married, before she loses his trust and his heart? Given the 'early marriage' premise, the issue of growing affection and intimacy is central to the story. The relevant scenes are not graphic, but the novel does address mature themes. Excerpt from 'Mr Bennet's Dutiful Daughter' - a journey from duty into love. His hand came up to cup her cheek, his fingertips stroked her hair and he smiled again. A heartbreakingly warm smile. "There is so much I do not know of you. What joy it will be to discover." "And I of you. It was quite a surprise to hear you were contemplating kissing me as far back as November." "I should have. What a foolish waste of five months of happiness." "I am very glad I make you happy," she said quietly, and found with some surprise that she was in earnest. "You know you do. More than I ever thought possible," Mr Darcy whispered hoarsely and reached to lift her off the sofa and bring her close, ensconced in a tight embrace. Elizabeth wrapped her arms around his neck, abandoning herself to his kisses, only to find guilt welling afresh when his lips left her skin just for long enough to whisper, "My love, you are everything." 'Do not say it, oh, do not say it!' she felt the strongest urge to caution him. 'Do not give me so much power over you.' How unspeakably odd it felt to hear him openly avow it, after his reserve of full six months' standing. It was as if everything he had held in check was now offered without hesitation, unstoppably coming out in one rush after another, now that all reason for concealment was removed. It was overwhelming to discover that all this wealth of feeling had been there for so long, and she had noticed nothing. Her heart twisted in sudden compassion - the last sentiment she had imagined Mr Darcy would inspire in her, and for the least expected reason. Did he not see it was dreadfully unwise to reveal quite so much of himself to her? That it would make him vulnerable in the extreme and put him in the greatest danger, were she so heartless as to use it against him? Surely he did not think her equally in love, to trust her so implicitly with every formerly hidden feeling! What blow must it be to him, were the truth of her deep-held reservations ever to come to light. What burden of responsibility on her, to carefully conceal it from so astute a man. Unspeakably odd too that she should fret so much over sparing Mr Darcy's feelings, after spending months with the firm conviction he had none. Not for her, nor for the world in general. How aptly he had put it, all that time ago, when he had remarked that her greatest fault was her propensity to wilfully misunderstand...

England, 1813. Nineteen-year-old Catherine Bennet lives in the shadow of her two eldest sisters, Elizabeth and Jane, who have both made excellent marriages. No one expects Kitty to amount to anything. Left at home in rural Hertfordshire with her neurotic and nagging mother, and a father who derides her as "e;silly and ignorant,"e; Kitty is lonely, diffident and at a loss as to how to improve her situation. When her world unexpectedly expands to London and the Darcy's magnificent country estate in Derbyshire, she is overjoyed. Keen to impress this new society, and to change her family's prejudice, Kitty does everything she can to improve her mind and manners-and for the first time feels liked and respected. However, one fateful night at Pemberley, a series of events and misunderstandings conspire to ruin Kitty's reputation. Accused of theft-a crime almost worse than murder among the Georgian aristocracy-she is sent back home in disgrace. But Kitty has learnt from her new experiences and what she does next does next will not only surprise herself, but everyone else too.

"Those with a taste for the balance and humour of Austen will find a worthy companion volume."—Book News The weddings are over. The guests (including millions of readers and viewers) wish the two happy couples health and happiness. As the music swells and the credits roll, two things are certain: Jane and Bingley will want for nothing, while Elizabeth and Darcy are to be the happiest couple in the world! The couples' personal stories of love, marriage, money, and children are woven together with the threads of social and political history of nineteenth century England. As changes in industry and agriculture affect the people of Pemberley and the neighboring countryside, the Darcys strive to be progressive and forward-looking while upholding beloved traditions. Rebecca Ann Collins follows them in imagination, observing and chronicling their passage through the landscape of their surroundings, noting how they cope with change, triumph, and tragedy in their lives. "A lovely complementary novel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Austen would surely give her smile of approval." —Beverly Wong, author of Pride & Prejudice Prudence

What if Mr Collins shocked Elizabeth with his base conduct at the time of his proposal, thus sending her dashing out of her house, and into the arms of Mr Darcy? What if that accidental encounter was witnessed, and impropriety was assumed? What if Mr Darcy was glad of the excuse to marry his heart's desire - only to have his best hopes blasted within hours of his wedding? What if he found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time more than once? Evil rumours, an early marriage, a dreadful misunderstanding, an old secret and good intentions gone awry. What if 'I do' is not the end, but the beginning of the adventure? (The novel addresses mature themes. Given the 'early marriage' premise, the issue of growing affection and intimacy is central to the story. The relevant scenes are emotive and deeply sensual, but never explicit.)

Elizabeth would never admit that woman was really her mother... Two months after Elizabeth was born, Mr. Bennet discovered Mrs. Bennet in the midst of an affair with her father's clerk. And two nights later, the woman who had been his wife fled north with her lover and Jane, tearfully leaving behind little Elizabeth with Mr. Bennet.Mr. Bennet dedicated his life to raising Elizabeth the best he could. He loved her. Mr. Bennet had loved Elizabeth, far more than he ever loved Jane, from the first time he picked his little girl up and she grabbed at his sideburns.When the new tenant of Netherfield arrived in the neighborhood, Elizabeth began to fall in love with the mind and thoughtful frowns of his friend, Mr. Darcy. He made her heart flutter. But what will happen when Elizabeth's long departed mother returns with her sister Jane to Meryton after being absent for twenty years?A heartwarming and romantic novel about true family and love from the author of Mr. Collins's Widow.

Miss Georgiana Darcy is need of a companion, and she would much rather not have Mrs Younge. The recently bereaved Miss Elizabeth Bennet is in need of a position. When she accepts the one Mr Darcy offers, she finds herself in his near-constant company and gets to know him at his best. Not as he would present himself to strangers in some remote corner of Hertfordshire, but as his nearest and dearest know him. An excellent brother, landlord, master. A wonderful man, noble, kind - and impossibly handsome. So who falls in love first? What of Mr Wickham and his dastardly ploys? And how is a lady's companion ever to have a future with one who could marry into the best houses in the land?

Just as Mr Darcy finally decides to propose to the enticing Miss Elizabeth Bennet, she is summoned to Falmouth, to meet a relation she never knew she had. Thus, the ill-starred Hunsford proposal is avoided - but before he could even begin to understand his luck, adverse circumstances hasten to conspire against him, and Fitzwilliam Darcy is compelled to follow the woman he loves to the far reaches of Cornwall, into a world of deceit and peril, where few - if any - are what they seem to be... (New cover. Content unchanged)