A More Gentlemanlike Manner: A Pride and Prejudice Variation

Mr Darcy returns to Pemberley a day early to escape the tedious flirtations of Miss Bingley. He is desperate to forget his failed marriage proposal to Elizabeth Bennet and desires nothing more than to banish both the lady and his humiliation from his mind once and for all. A storm breaks and he decides to stop at a small cottage on his land until the morning. But as he approaches shelter, a tree branch snaps loose in the storm, and renders him unconscious.

Miss Elizabeth Bennet is cursing her luck that a storm should break out on the very day she decided to explore Pemberley Woods. She had relished the chance to be alone on her tour of Derbyshire with her aunt and uncle, but now she is trapped in the middle of nowhere, and the weather is growing worse. She hears a horse, and runs in the direction of the sound to find the unconscious form of very man she least wishes to encounter.

She is forced to drag him into the cottage, where they spend the night alone together. Unfortunately, when he awakens, Mr Darcy has no idea who he is, and has no memory of anything that happened before his accident.

They return to Pemberley where Mr and Miss Bingley have been searching frantically for Mr Darcy. Miss Bingley is not too pleased that Mr Darcy has now compromised Elizabeth’s reputation, and will be obliged to marry her when his memory recovers. But the lady realises his lack of memory could also be the opportunity she herself has been hoping for.

Can Mr Darcy recover his memory before he is manipulated by those around him who would seek to take advantage of his vulnerable state? And why is the pretty and lively Miss Elizabeth so reluctant to share memories of their former encounters together?

Elizabeth is intrigued by the new side to Darcy she sees, and believes this is a man she could love. But is it just a result of his accident, or has he really changed? And as her feelings for him grows, she wonders if it’s possible he will still love her when his memory returns? Or will he resent her as the lady who rejected him and his previous marriage proposal?