A Secret Happiness: A Pride and Prejudice Variation

During the Netherfield Ball, when all eyes are upon Jane and Mr. Bingley, Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy are engaged in an argument that escalates far beyond anything they could have imagined. In the heat of their argument a line is crossed that shatters all propriety—a stolen kiss, an uncontrolled spark of passion.

Elizabeth half-expects the gentleman to come to Longbourn to make an offer of marriage and she has every intention of rejecting him. But when he leaves Hertfordshire in...