Valerie Lennox

Mr. Darcy's Downfall Valerie Lennox

Her lips moved against his skin."You're awful. Everything about you is hateful."
"And you," he said, breathless, "are the least proper woman in the history of England."

Miss Elizabeth Bennet's father is on his deathbed, and his wife is desperate to marry off her five daughters. At the Meryton assembly, Mrs. Bennet schemes to throw Elizabeth together with the rich and elusive Mr. Darcy, hoping the scandal will force his cooperation.

Proper Mr. Darcy is concerned primarily with his reputation and would not dare marry someone like Elizabeth under normal circumstances. But with that dreadful situation in Ramsgate threatening to be exposed, he fears for his sister's good name. His hands are tied.

Elizabeth thinks Darcy rude and arrogant. She would not marry him if she had a choice.

Darcy thinks Elizabeth far beneath him, but he is drawn to her against his will.

Together, they summon within each other passionate hatred, a lit match that promises to explode.

Dear Reader, while this variation is hardly wall-to-wall love scenes, I fear it is neither clean nor sweet. Be advised.