It Taught Me to Hope

Six years after meeting Mr. Darcy for the first time, Elizabeth Bennet receives a shock when he returns to Meryton, for the last time she met him was in Kent, the day after his ill-fated proposal in Hunsford parsonage. Never had Elizabeth suspected he might return to her life, for the Mr. Darcy she had known was a proud, disagreeable man, despite his condescension in proposing to her.The Mr. Darcy who returns, however, is different, still a man of much confidence but with a strange hesitation toward her. With him comes his sister, Miss Georgiana Darcy, a young woman of whom Elizabeth has heard much. Before long, the two ladies become friendly, and with Elizabeth's younger sister, Mary Hardwick, who lives nearby, they forge a close friendship.The last years have been hard on Darcy, for he has existed in an indeterminate state, unable to forget about Elizabeth and unable to give her up and move on in his life. A chance encounter in London gives Darcy the courage to return to Hertfordshire, where he is determined to make one more attempt to secure Elizabeth's favor and end his suffering.As the two long-sundered acquaintances meet and begin the uncertain path to understanding and love, they must endure another suitor determined to obtain Elizabeth's hand, unpredictable events, the return of Elizabeth's elder sister after a tragic event, and the specter of their previous misunderstandings. The path to true love is never smooth and the road on which Elizabeth and Darcy travel has been rougher than most, but Darcy is determined to succeed, and Elizabeth is impatient to find the love that has eluded her.