“Mr Darcy, I am eager to hear your explanation for the fact that quite a few people believe we are engaged.” It starts with a bit of well-meant advice. Colonel Fitzwilliam suggests to his cousin Darcy that, before he proposes to Elizabeth Bennet in Kent, perhaps he ought to discuss his plans with their families first. What neither man could have predicted however was that Lord Matlock would write the news to his sister, or that Viscount Saye would overhear and tell his friends, or that his friends might slip a little and let their friends know as well.

Mr. Bennet discovers his days are numbered, so he immediately begins to set his affairs - and his five unmarried daughters - in order. Knowing they will fare best should at least one of them find a suitable husband, he cannot refuse any respectable suitors. The high-spirited Elizabeth suspects something isn't right in the halls of Longbourn, but nothing prepares her for a certain haughty gentleman from Derbyshire.

When Fitzwilliam Darcy meets Miss Elizabeth Bennet, his heart is almost immediately engaged. Seeing the pretty lady before him, a lady of no consequence or fortune, he believes he should not form an attachment to her, unsuitable as such a woman is to be his wife. What he cannot see, however, is the truth. That the simple country girl harbors a secret. Before she meets Darcy, Elizabeth has spent two years hiding from the men who killed her beloved first husband.

Well-read, observant, and spirited, a young Elizabeth Bennet draws the attention of a wealthy widower. When she finally meets Mr. Darcy, she outranks him. Of course, that doesn't stop him from insulting her. Married and wealthy, is she still beneath his notice? Elizabeth's high society connections create new opportunities for her sisters and, in turn, keep Darcy close to her family. When tragedy strikes, will Darcy rise to the occasion?

Elizabeth Bennet does not set out to manipulate people. It's merely the correct choice of words, accompanied by an engaging smile or a beseeching look that yields the most satisfactory results. The morning after the Netherfield ball, Lizzy dispenses with one unwelcome suitor to her hand so amicably and successfully that she sees no reason why she should not make use of her talent for tactful speeches and deal with other unwelcome suitors in the same deft manner.