Mr. Darcy’s Fortunate Neighbor (Darcy and Elizabeth Forever: Pride and Prejudice Variations 22

Six weeks after refusing Darcy’s disastrous Hunsford proposal, Elizabeth receives what no sensible woman would refuse: fifteen thousand a year, a Grosvenor Street townhouse, and a mysterious godmother.

Naturally, there is a catch.

Her next-door neighbor is none other than Mr. Darcy.

He’s also Elizabeth’s trustee—obligated to manage her ledgers, oversee her social calendar, and vet every suitor from lords to rakes. He rules her dance card with an iron hand. All while honoring the promise he made in a rain-soaked letter: that he would never trouble her with his feelings again.

And boy does he keep that promise. He throws balls for her dog, climbs a tree to rescue a baby bird, and pours tea for her mother without flinching. But he is nothing if not incredibly proper with her.

Elizabeth discovers that the most provoking thing about Fitzwilliam Darcy is not that he once loved her too much, but that he now behaves as though he has no right to love her at all.

Yet, Elizabeth Bennet has never been a woman who lets pride, promises, or Mr. Darcy have the last word.