Something More Substantial

In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet meets Fitzwilliam Darcy in Meryton, where Mr. Darcy's concern for his sister and general reticence leads him to insult her. But what if Mr. Darcy did not meet her there, instead making her acquaintance in other circumstances more favorable to their understanding?

When she visits Rosings Park and her friend, Charlotte Collins, Elizabeth does so with no notion that Fitzwilliam Darcy even exists, for Netherfield Park remained empty the previous autumn. A...