When Mr Wickham joins the militia encamped near Meryton, Elizabeth Bennet has no cause to suspect that his new employment is the first stroke of an elaborate plot, one that draws in other figures and brings grave consequences.
Unknown to the neighbourhood, Lord Matlock, brother of Mr Darcy’s late mother, was a friend of Mr Bennet in their youth, and that forgotten connection now returns.
On a solitary walk between Meryton and Netherfield, Elizabeth meets a gentleman who appears lost and directs him to his stated destination: Admiral Thomas Andrew Pembroke, Lady Matlock’s brother, an old friend of the Darcys, and a man who is at once Darcy’s protector and his severest critic.
The admiral quickly approves of Elizabeth and Jane, befriends Mr Bennet, and stands by the pair as they slowly fall in love while taking care of one another through the troubles they must solve together.
Distressing circumstances at the Netherfield ball spark gossip that could damage names and reputations, and Elizabeth and Darcy are forced to make a decision that will shape their lives forever.
When the admiral’s painful past of regret—closely bound to the Darcys—is dragged into the present by malicious interference, Darcy finds himself in danger of losing everything he has ever known, loved, and cherished.
