Mr. Darcy and the Angel of Kent : A Variation on Pride and Prejudice

In this variation of Pride and Prejudice, our tale begins with Elizabeth travelling with the Goulding family from Meryton. They are touring the towns in Kent beginning with Canterbury’s famous Cathedral before making their way to Ramsgate. In this coastal town, Elizabeth meets Georgiana Darcy and an interesting couple from the nobility. Summoned by the Duke of Portland to Ramsgate after his wife dismisses Mrs. Young as being totally unsuited to be a young gentlewoman’s companion, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy arrives and immediately clashes with the opiniated Miss Elizabeth Bennet.
Now a larger party, the troupe journeys along the coast to Dover to escape from Mr. George Wickham who haunts Ramsgate for unknown reasons. Then the party travels to Folkstone, another coastal town in Kent and near Rosings Park. However, just as the party is to set out for a picnic outside the town, someone fires cannons into the town. Near the docks, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth see that a French battleship is firing on the small English town! Fearing General Bonaparte is leading the French armies to invade England, the party flees to Rosings Park, only two hours away.
The next morning, the Gouldings depart with Miss Darcy for London while Mr. Darcy returns to Folkstone to investigate the size of the invasion force. Despite Mr. Goulding’s protests, Elizabeth remains at the manor house to help care for the Duchess of Portland who collapsed during the bombardment. The duchess dies after another day, leaving Elizabeth and the servants to help the duke deal with his grief and prepare to send the body of the duchess to London.
Mr. Darcy returns with news that the attack at Folkstone was a feint to create fear among the common people of invasion, and to kidnap the Duke of Portland, a former Prime Minister. Unwilling to await the arrival of the regular army, Mr. Darcy seeks the assistance of the militia in Ashland to restore order to Folkstone. In his absence, Mr. Wickham appears at Rosings Park with French soldiers and Marshal Joachim Murat, seeking to take the Duke of Portland prisoner.
Despite threats from Wickham and the Frenchmen, Elizabeth and the servants help Lord William, Duke of Portland to slip away from the potential kidnappers. That same day, Mr. Darcy returns with the militia, and they drive the invaders away from Rosings Park. In the final minutes, as the French retreat toward Folkstone, Mr. Darcy duels a French captain who is trying to get Marshal Murat away. During the duel, Elizabeth subdues the Marshal just before Darcy is wounded as he dispatches his opponent.
When he awakens, Mr. Darcy believes an angel has come to Kent to save him. When his vision clears, he realizes his angel is none other than Miss Elizabeth Bennet and for some unknown reason, she is applying honey to his head wound. Mr. Darcy’s cousin, Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam, arrives with the regular units of the British Army and they capture the last of the French invaders at Folkstone.
Elizabeth returns to London where she remains at Gracechurch Street until George Wickham and Marshal Murat are tried by the Royal Courts. Safe with her aunt and uncle, Elizabeth cannot dismiss her reaction to her experiences at Rosings Park but letters from her family and friends help. When she returns to Longbourn, regular day-to-day tasks are welcome but also confining.
That autumn, at the Assembly Ball, the gentleman who has become the Netherfield tenant brings his sisters and a friend to the gathering. Mrs. Bennet is hopeful that a suitable gentleman has appeared in Meryton and immediately believes Jane can capture his attention. But many ladies and gentlemen are disturbed when they see his friend – how can their daughters display themselves before Mr. Bingley with that fierce looking friend around him? But then Elizabeth catches sight of the man and she is excessively pleased to discover that Mr. Bingley’s friend is Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy.