The Work of a Moment

How is one to distinguish a good, honourable man from one of weak character?

When Elizabeth Bennet slips into a darkened corridor at Netherfield Park, seeking nothing more than fresh air, she stumbles upon a scene she was never meant to witness: Mr Bingley in close conference with a pretty red-haired housemaid. Their hushed exchange and promise to return later, as well as their fervent hope that the truth remain hidden can mean only one thing in Elizabeth’s mind: the genial gentleman courting her beloved Jane is a libertine.

Determined to spare her tender-hearted sister irrevocable heartbreak, Elizabeth sets about quietly separating Jane from the man she is certain will ruin her. She tells herself she leaves nothing behind at Netherfield, certainly not the silent, dark-eyed attentions of his proud and disagreeable friend, which had unsettled her more than she cared to admit. When Caroline Bingley’s letters arrive boasting that her brother is all but engaged to Georgiana Darcy, the rightness of Elizabeth’s interference seems beyond question.

When, months later, Elizabeth finds herself in Kent she meets a very different Mr Darcy. A man whose composure cracks at the sight of her and who offers her an unexpected proposal. In the bruising aftermath of that rejected proposal comes a reluctant confession. Miss Bingley’s letters have rippled farther afield than Elizabeth ever imagined. Elizabeth has been partial, blind, prejudiced and absurd and has spent half a year misreading the only one whose good opinion she truly wishes to keep.

Together and apart, Darcy and Elizabeth must answer the slanders, navigate two formidable aunts and two impossible Bingleys, and discover whether a love forged in misunderstanding and tempered by months of silent longing can claim its hard-won happily ever after.

The Work of a Moment is a variation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.