When Miss Elizabeth Bennet’s mother inherits a fortune from an old flame, it’s the best and worst thing that’s ever happened to the Bennet family.

Now, their financial difficulties are over and they can indulge in dresses and balls and travel. However, the way the money comes to them has a whiff of scandal, and tongues wag against Mrs. Bennet’s possible past behavior.

Elizabeth wishes primarily to find some way to clear the family name and silence the gossips. But she cannot help but wonder about what this inheritance might mean for her and a certain Mr. Darcy, a man whose proposal she refused after he went on and on about how far beneath him she was.

Perhaps now that she has a hefty dowry, things might be entirely different between them.

But before she sees Mr. Darcy again, his cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam is there, courting her, and she is thrust into a new world in London, a world of balls and fancy dresses and overly solicitous fortune hunters.

Elizabeth’s courtship has only just begun…

Dear reader, this wealthy-Lizzy variation is the first of a duology. Do be aware, it ends on a cliffhanger. This first book is not steamy, but the second book will be.

If Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy hadn't seen Miss Elizabeth Bennet by chance at a theater in London on the eve before she was about to embark to Kent to visit Hunsford, he never would have offered to convey her in his own carriage. Then the carriage would never have overturned, and they would never have sought help, and they would never have ended up set upon by bandits, huddling together in the cold, Mr. Darcy with a gunshot wound from protecting Elizabeth.

But since that did happen, and since Mr. Darcy's aunt Lady Matlock set tongues wagging about Elizabeth's reputation, it's only honorable that he marry her.

Elizabeth accepts. It's a choice between marriage to wealthy, respected man and ruin. She is not a particularly stupid woman, after all.

However, she knows, deep down, that marrying her is a mark against his dignity. She knows men like Mr. Darcy don't fall in love with women like her.

And that's all right with her. There are worse things than a companionable marriage with a man who is cordial to her, after all. True, he has never visited her bed, but perhaps she's rather relieved about that. There are many, many worse things than her life as Mrs. Darcy. She refuses to be displeased with it.

Dear reader, though this version starts out with violence and fear and bandits, I believe it's actually one of my lighter offerings. I wanted to write about a very honorable Mr. Darcy, who holds back his passion for his wife because he feels she's been through too much already. But eventually, yes, they succumb, of course. Anyway, this is as low-angst as I get. There are puppies. Enjoy!

Pride and Prejudice as if Jane and Elizabeth have switched places

When Miss Jane Bennet sprains her ankle the day of the Meryton assembly, she cannot dance with Mr. Charles Bingley, and so he dances with her sister Elizabeth instead.

Now, Elizabeth is the object of Mr. Bingley's affection. It is she who is invited to dine with the Bingley sisters, she who catches cold, and she who is obliged to stay at Netherfield whilst she recovers.

Jane is the one who comes to check on her ailing sister, the one who listens to Mr. Darcy's pronunciations on accomplished ladies, and later, the one who hears Mr. Wickham's tale of Mr. Darcy.

Elizabeth knows she should marry Mr. Bingley. It is the best thing for her family, and she can find nothing particularly to complain about when it comes to the man.

But it is Mr. Darcy who smolders on the periphery, Mr. Darcy to whom she cannot help but be drawn, even as she knows of the whispers of his bad behavior toward Mr. Wickham.

She cannot help but consider Mr. Darcy, but she does not know him. And knowing Mr. Darcy will unravel everything she is building with Mr. Bingley.

Dear reader, I had such immense fun throwing Jane into all of Elizabeth's scenes and vice versa. This was truly a delightful book to write, and I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Yes, it gets steamy. Lizzy and Darcy, in a carriage, anticipating their vows… I couldn't stop myself, I'm afraid. Do be aware, as always, that I consider positively nothing sacred when it comes to our dear couple, but I can promise you that it all ends in a sweet burst of everlasting happiness.