Through Pemberley Woods: A Pride and Prejudice Variation

When Elizabeth Bennet’s aunt, Mrs Gardiner, invites her to spend the summer in Derbyshire with her old school friend Mrs Waters, Elizabeth is eager to accept. It is a welcome chance to escape her mother’s attempts at finding her a husband. The town of Lambton also has the added attraction of being surrounded by Pemberley Woods which Elizabeth is eager to explore while their reserved owner, Mr Darcy is away in London.

While exploring the woods, Elizabeth is ordered to leave the estate by a man she believes to be the gamekeeper. Elizabeth is offended by his high-handed manner and even more embarrassed when she discovers the man is none other than Mr Darcy himself, home from London earlier than expected due to recent thefts on his lands.

Elizabeth resolves to forget Mr Darcy and soon forms a friendship with her hosts' attractive son, Captain Waters, who is home from the Navy. On Market Day in Lambton, she also forms a bond with a young lady. Elizabeth is troubled to discover the girl is none other than Georgiana Darcy, the sister of the arrogant Mr Darcy. However, she is determined Georgiana's unpleasant brother should not stand in the way of their new friendship.

Fitzwilliam Darcy is angry that a thief has been harassing his tenants. He is determined to find the culprit and bring him to justice, but his search is distracted when a young woman with bright eyes leaps into his path. Fascinated by her, but worried for her safety, Darcy orders her from his woods with more force than he intended. However, he cannot stop thinking about her, and it is a relief to know their paths will not cross again. Until his shy sister, Georgiana, makes a new friend; none other than the bewitching and perplexing Miss Bennet.

As Elizabeth spends more time with the Darcys, she slowly comes to understand there is more to Darcy than the aloof, arrogant man he seemed. Darcy for his part is plagued by his jealousy of Captain Waters and his fears that the rumours of his impending engagement to Miss Bennet might be true.

Trouble comes when Georgiana’s manipulative companion, Mrs Younge, is determined to take Georgiana away to Ramsgate despite Georgiana’s reluctance. When Georgiana resolves to stay in Derbyshire with her brother and her new friend, Mrs Younge must amend her plan and invites a former friend of the Darcys to Derbyshire whom Darcy hoped never to see again.

Darcy and Elizabeth fight their growing attraction for one another and Mrs Waters' vocal determination to have Elizabeth as a daughter-in-law throws more confusion into the mix.
Will they finally face the truth of what they both want, or will the wishes and interferences of others prevail?

When Darcy’s old enemy, George Wickham returns to Derbyshire, his presence threatens to destroy Georgiana's life, and Darcy and Elizabeth must do all they can to save her. And Elizabeth comes to the painful realisation that even friends are not always what they seem.