The year is 1815, and Colonel Fitzwilliam is about to attend the Duchess of Richmond's infamous ball, the night before the Battle of Waterloo. He finds himself bewitched by a masked strumpet, a woman who so captivates him he is driven to pay for her favors. It is only as she is rushing from him, after it is over, still masked, that he recognizes her.

The woman he has just bedded is Elizabeth Bennet.

But how can this be? Miss Bennet is dead. No one knows what became of her, years ago, when she and Miss Maria Lucas departed the rectory at Rosings, traveling post. Neither of the women were ever seen again. It has long been assumed that calamity met them, but here is evidence otherwise.

No, Elizabeth Bennet is alive, and the colonel is certain there is one person who will wish to know, his cousin Mr. Darcy, who mourned the woman as if she were not some country miss who'd turned down his marriage proposal, but his soul mate.

Mr. Darcy, who is lately married to the former Miss Anne de Bourgh.

Yes, the colonel must tell his cousin, this he knows. It is only that he fears the news can bring nothing but misery to them all.

Dear Reader, this variation is not for the faint of heart! The angst is overwhelming, the obstacles our dear couple faces are nearly insurmountable, and the past they have struggled against is painful, altering them both deeply—especially Elizabeth. But I promise you, if you venture within these pages, a happy ending awaits on the other side.

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