Rapacity & Rancor: A Pride & Prejudice Variation: Crime & Courtship, #1

Blurb

MERYTON IS ATWITTER with the arrival of Mr. Bingley and his friends, but Mr. Darcy leaves a bad first impression on the attendees of Assembly ball. It’s almost enough to detract from the theft that occurs while everyone is inside dancing. Soon enough, other thefts occur through the village. Ever curious, Lizzy ventures to find the thief, acquiring an unexpected ally in the endeavor in Fitzwilliam Darcy. As they work together, she gains a more favorable impression of him, but he is the last man with whom she would ever want to solve another crime.

This is part one of the of the Crime & Courtship series, which will be five books, intended to be read in order, and follow roughly the same timeline and location as J.A.’s masterpiece. The first mystery takes place in Meryton. The next will be at Netherfield, followed by Hunsford, then London, and finally Pemberley. The story arc will continue throughout all five parts, compromising one long read broken into five parts. A mystery is central to each installment, so you could call this a cozy mystery sweet Regency romance.

While Abbey sometimes writes sensual JAFF, this series is strictly SWEET.

Chapter One

IT IS MOST DISTRESSING, said Madame St. Croix in her French accent before dabbing her face with a handkerchief lined with lace, provided by Pierre, her husband. I come to this country to escape the guillotine, but I am not safe here either.

It is not as bad as that, said Lady Lucas as she patted Meryton’s modiste on the arm. You are perfectly safe.

I have been violated.

Lizzy and Jane shared a look. Jane’s was full of compassion, which didn’t surprise Lizzy. Of course, she felt sorry for the seamstress as well, but having a few yards of lace, no matter how expensive, stolen from her store was hardly on par with fearing for her life as she had during the French Revolution. Do you suppose it’s anti-French sentiment? she whispered to Jane.

Jane, using her fan to block her mouth, said, It is quite possible. I do recall those hooligans harassing her last year.

Lizzy nodded, remembering the boys in question. Two of the three families had taken their sons to task, but the third had expressed support for their boy’s actions and had told the madame to return to France.

Though they were in the midst of war with France, Lizzy couldn’t blame Madame St. Croix for the actions of the men in charge who’d decided to draw arms against each other. To her way of thinking, it was grossly unfair to target the woman just because she had moved to Meryton after leaving France. She and her husband, the milliner, were both lovely people, and they didn’t deserve to be targeted for harassment or theft.

Lizzy was aware of Lord and Lady Lucas continuing to try to comfort Madame St. Croix, a robust woman with a ruddy complexion, who stood in front of her slender husband. With Pierre’s oversized head, he always vaguely looked like he might topple over from the weight of it, and Lizzy sometimes wondered why he’d chosen such a profession intended to draw attention to the feature by designing hats.

The St. Croixs and their drama fled her mind when there was a stir in the crowd, and Jane stiffened beside her, practically buzzing with excitement. Lizzy knew her sisters and every other single girl at the Assembly ball were atwitter with the thought of the new tenant at Netherfield, Mr. Bingley, bringing twelve women and seven men with him to the Assembly ball.

Lizzy wouldn’t pretend she wasn’t at least moderately interested in seeing the seven men, but she wasn’t as eager for a beau as her sisters and many of the other women in the room. For her part, she would happily remain unmarried for life unless she found deep and true love, the kind she could be assured would last. Otherwise, a woman was foolish indeed to give up control of her life to a man unworthy of the trust placed in him.

She was amused when the Bingley party arrived, unsurprised to find gossip had amplified their numbers greatly. Rather than the nineteen expected, there were three men and two women. Lizzy was happy to have her fan, because she used it to shield her face as she wrinkled her nose. She didn’t like to make spontaneous judgments, but the expression on the women’s faces suggested they had just stepped out of their carriage into a fresh pile of horse manure. Already, they were judging Meryton’s modest Assembly ball, and Lizzy felt defensive in response.

She struggled to put aside her quick conclusions, hoping it was simply culture shock for the two women, who no doubt spent most of their time in London among the ton. Meryton must seem quaint to them, and she tried to be understanding of that.

It took some time before the party started to move among the attendees already in place. Lizzy was unsurprised, though no less embarrassed, by her mother’s usual tactics of finding her daughters and forcing them through the crowd, almost like a battering ram. She endured it, simply because she must, because that was her mother’s way.

Fanny Bennet cleared her throat loudly, interrupting the conversation with Lord Lucas and the two men standing near him. The third man stood in the corner with the two women, while one of the women gazed around the room, looking no less supercilious than she had the moment she walked in.

With her pale complexion, sprinkle of freckles across her nose, and lovely red hair, she was quite a stunning sight, but Lizzy wondered if she ever smiled, and if so, could it be a genuine emotion? Was the woman trying to be fashionably aloof, or did she genuinely consider herself above everyone attending?

Ah, Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy, allow me to introduce one of our fine families from the district. This is... He trailed off, looking around. Where is Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Bennet? he asked in a pseudo-whisper.

Fanny looked around for a moment before waving a hand. No doubt, he sneaked out the back to avoid interactions. It matters not, for Mr. Bingley has already met him.

Mr. Bingley spoke then, the blond man who’d seemed unable to look away from Jane until just that moment. Yes, a delightful man, with an interesting sense of humor.

Lizzy’s lips twitched. She could well imagine, since her father definitely had a humor that wasn’t to everyone’s taste. That she shared it was probably why she was proud of him for displaying it and intrigued Mr. Bingley had actually noticed.

Very few of the people with whom she interacted—admittedly a small circle consisting mainly of Meryton and