Sweet on Mr Darcy

When Darcy travels to Ramsgate to spend time with his sister and his father for the summer, he meets their new friends, the Bennet family, and in a fit of temper caused by Wickham, insults Elizabeth to her face in a manner that causes his sister far more hurt than it does to Elizabeth. When Elizabeth replies harshly, defending Georgiana’s right to make friends and her value as far more than just her dowry and access to his person, she informs him in no uncertain terms that she is his sister’s friend, not his, and that he is the last man in the world she could ever be prevailed upon to marry, prompting him to fall instantly in love with her.

Darcy must beg the help of his sister and their cousin, Lady Priscilla Fitzwilliam to assist him in changing Elizabeth’s opinion of him so he may one day convince her to be his wife. When Elizabeth sees that he is sincere, she believes his sister and cousin that he is the best of men, and forgives him, though she is not immediately inclined to romance. Darcy learns that while her sisters are actively seeking marriage, Elizabeth is seeking happiness, and that she will take her time in being quite sure before she gives her heart.

Mr Darcy’s father, aging and with an ailing heart, has spoiled and indulged his godson until the man engages in criminal behaviour and becomes a danger to everyone around him, including his own godfather. Mr Wickham, determined to connect himself to the Darcy family more definitively, attempts an elopement with Georgiana, and then becomes dangerously desperate.

Meanwhile, Lady Barry, the elderly, cantankerous misanthrope who owns Netherfield Park, lives in Ramsgate, and delights in being visited twice a week by Elizabeth, one the few people she actually likes. Lady Barry turns out to have a connection to Darcy’s late mother and her siblings from their youth. The number of people she tolerates slowly grows to include Darcy, his sister, and their cousin, but Elizabeth remains her favourite, leading Ramsgate society to speculate about her intentions towards Elizabeth, and the terms of her will, leading the detested entailed heir of her late husband hence to interfere in what he considers to be his own inheritance.

As her sisters navigate a series of lackluster suitors and her friends endure the difficulties imposed by their father’s godson, Elizabeth softens quickly to Darcy’s quiet devotion and attention. The interference of others and a series of confectionary adventures set the background for a sweet, low angst romance that Pride and Prejudice fans will swoon for in this 80,000 word, clean regency romance.