Near Pemberley (Pride and Prejudice what if variations)

What if Elizabeth Bennet had never visited Pemberley? After Hunsford, Elizabeth believes she has finally understood Fitzwilliam Darcy.

His letter refuses to let her remain certain, but it has to be enough.

Then, while staying in Lambton with her aunt and uncle, Elizabeth receives a different intelligence: the owners of Pemberley are returning, if they have not already arrived.

And so Elizabeth decides against visiting. It is a small decision. But it changes everything.

Without that chance encounter at Pemberley, Elizabeth and Darcy are left to find their way towards one another by a very different path.

Darcy must live with the belief that Elizabeth’s opinion of him may never change, while Elizabeth gradually discovers that the man she once condemned is far more complicated – and far more honourable – than she had believed.

Then Lydia Bennet’s reckless actions threaten to bring disgrace upon the entire family. Darcy cannot stand aside.

What follows draws him deeper into the Bennet family’s troubles and brings him into Elizabeth’s company again, until the distance between them begins to change into something neither expected.

Elizabeth must decide whether the judgement she made at Hunsford was truly just. Darcy must learn that loving her does not mean deciding what is best for her.

And somewhere between pride, misunderstanding, family loyalty and unexpected acts of courage, two unsettled hearts begin to discover that the future they once thought impossible may be the one they were meant to find.

Near Pemberley is a reimagining of Pride and Prejudice in which one small change sends Elizabeth and Darcy down an entirely different road – one that may, eventually, lead them home.

Kinga Brady is also the author of other P&P retellings, such as Dear Sir, More Discerning, Passion and Persistence and Four Days of Fair Weather, and an original Regency romance, Whispers of the Heart.