Regina Jeffers

A gothic romance where passion defies death and Mr. Darcy's darkest secret could destroy him--and the woman he loves. When Fitzwilliam Darcy arrives in Hertfordshire, his proud reserve hides a secret far darker than Elizabeth Bennet could ever imagine. Beneath his impeccable manners and quiet intensity lies a hunger that defies nature itself--and a past shadowed by loss, betrayal, and blood. Drawn to the spirited Elizabeth despite every warning of danger, Darcy struggles to protect her from the truth of what he has become. But when the mysteries of Pemberley's moonlit halls begin to unravel, Elizabeth finds herself caught between desire and dread, uncovering a love powerful enough to challenge immortality itself. ] From candlelit ballrooms to graveyards veiled in mist, Midnight at Pemberley transforms Jane Austen's classic tale into a sweeping gothic romance of passion, redemption, and forbidden desire. With her signature mastery of Regency detail and emotional depth, Regina Jeffers reimagines the world of Pride and Prejudice in a story where love is eternal--and eternity comes at a price.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." - Jane Austen Elizabeth Bennet Darcy wakes in an unfamiliar room, attended by a stranger, who claims she is his wife and saying she has suffered an injury to her head. He accuses her of pretending her memory loss, but to Elizabeth, the fear is real. "Surely you know me," he protested. His words sounded as if he held his emotions tightly in check. "I am William. Your husband." She thought to protest, but the darkness had caught her hand and was leading her away from him. With one final attempt to correct his declaration, her mind formed the words, but her lips would not cooperate. Her dissent died before she could tell him: I do not have a husband Fitzwilliam Darcy despises his new wife, for he fears she has faked her love for him, better to see her family well-settled, and if love is not powerful enough to change a life, what is? "This is unacceptable. I realize I was never your first choice as a husband, but it is too late to change your mind. The vows have been spoken. The registry signed. You cannot deny your pledge with this ploy. I will not have it. No matter how often you call out George Wickham's name, he will never be your husband. I will never release you."

THE DARCYS CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY. Darcy has invited the Bennets and the Bingleys to spend the Christmastide's festive days at Pemberley as a special gift for his wife, who misses her family terribly. But as he and Elizabeth journey to their estate to join the gathered families, a blizzard blankets the English countryside. The Darcys find themselves stranded at a small inn while Pemberley is inundated with refugees seeking shelter from the storm. Without her brother's strong presence, Georgiana Darcy attempts desperately to manage the chaos surrounding the arrival of six invited guests and eleven unscheduled visitors. However, bitter feuds, old jealousies, and intimate secrets quickly rise to the surface. Has Lady Catherine returned to Pemberley for forgiveness or revenge? Will the manipulative Caroline Bingley find a soul mate or again be ignored by a wealthy gentleman? Shall Kitty Bennet and Georgiana know happiness? And what pray tell do letters written by Princess Charlotte to a supposed lover have to do with the Darcys loyalty to the government? Written in Regency style and including Austen's romantic entanglements and sardonic humor, Christmas at Pemberley places Jane Austen's most beloved characters in an exciting yuletide story that speaks to endearing love, the family spirit. and the generosity that remain as the heart of Christmas.

To him that will, ways are never wanting. ELIZABETH BENNET

Unless one knows the value of loyalty, he cannot appreciate the cost of betrayal. What if Darcy and Elizabeth met weeks before the Meryton assembly? What if there is no barely "tolerable" remark to have Elizabeth rejecting Mr. Darcy's affections, but rather a dip in a cold creek that sets her against him? What if Mr. Bennet is a renown Shakespearean scholar who encourages Darcy to act the role of Petruchio from Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" to bring Elizabeth's Katherina persona to the line? ELIZABETH BENNET's pride has her learning a difficult lesson: Loyalty is hard to find, and trust is easy to lose. Even after they share a passionate kiss outside the Meryton assembly hall and are forced to marry, Elizabeth cannot forget the indignity she experienced at the hands of Fitzwilliam Darcy. Although she despises his high-handedness, Elizabeth appreciates the protection he provides her in their marriage. But can she set her prejudice aside long enough to know a great love? FITZWILLIAM DARCY places only two demands on his new wife: her loyalty and her trust, but when she invites his worst enemy to Darcy House, he has no choice but to turn her out. Trusting her had been his decision, but proving his choice the right one before she destroys two hearts meant to be together must be hers, and Darcy is not certain Elizabeth is up to the task.

I much prefer the sharpest criticism of a single intelligent man to the thoughtless approval of the masses. ELIZABETH BENNET is determined that she will put a stop to her mother's plans to marry off the eldest Bennet daughter to Mr. Collins, the Longbourn heir, but a man that Mr. Bennet considers an annoying dimwit. Hence, Elizabeth disguises herself as Jane and repeats her vows to the supercilious rector as if she is her sister, thereby voiding the nuptials and saving Jane from a life of drudgery. Yet, even the "best laid plans" can often go awry. FITZWILLIAM DARCY is desperate to find a woman who will assist him in leading his sister back to Society after Georgiana's failed elopement with Darcy's old enemy George Wickham. He is so desperate that he agrees to Lady Catherine De Bourgh's suggestion that Darcy marry her ladyship's "sickly" daughter Anne. Unfortunately, as he waits for his bride to join him at the altar, he realizes he has made a terrible error in judgement, but there is no means to right the wrong without ruining his cousin's reputation. Yet, even as he weighs his options, the touch of "Anne's" hand upon his sends an unusual "zing" of awareness shooting up Darcy's arm. It is only when he realizes the "zing" has arrived at the hand of a stranger, who has disrupted his nuptials, that he breathes both a sigh of relief and a groan of frustration, for the question remains: Is Darcy's marriage to the woman legal? What if Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet met under different circumstances than those we know from Jane Austen's classic tale: Circumstances that did not include the voices of vanity and pride and prejudice and doubt that we find in the original story? Their road to happily ever after may not, even then, be an easy one, but with the expectations of others removed from their relationship, can they learn to trust each other long enough to carve out a path to true happiness?

The reason fairy tales end with a wedding is no one wishes to view what happens next. Five years earlier, Darcy had raced to Hertfordshire to soothe Elizabeth Bennet's qualms after Lady Catherine's venomous attack, but a devastating carriage accident left him near death for months and cost him his chance at happiness with the lady. Now, they meet again upon the Scottish side of the border, but can they forgive all that has transpired in those years? They are widow and widower; however, that does not mean they can take up where they left off. They are damaged people, and healing is not an easy path. To know happiness they must fall in love with the same person all over again.

Darcy and Elizabeth are about to learn how "necessity" never makes a fair bargain. When ELIZABETH BENNET appears on his doorstep some ten months after her refusal of his hand in marriage, FITZWILLIAM DARCY uses the opportunity to "bargain" for her acceptance of a renewal of his proposal in exchange for his assistance in bringing Mr. George Wickham to justice. In Darcy's absence from Hertfordshire, Wickham has executed a scam to defraud the citizens of Meryton, including her father, of their hard-earned funds. All have invested in Wickham's Ten Percent Annuity scheme. Her family and friends are in dire circumstances, and more importantly, Mr. Bennet's heart has taken an ill turn. Elizabeth will risk everything to bring her father to health again and to save her friends from destitution; yet, is she willing to risk her heart? She places her trust in Darcy's ability to thwart Wickham's manipulations, but she is not aware that Darcy wishes more than her acquiescence. He desires her love. Neither considers what will happen if he does not succeed in bringing Mr. Wickham before

The Greatest Present He Would Ever Receive is the Gift of Her Love... What if Mr. Darcy purchased a gift for Elizabeth Bennet to acknowledge the festive days even though he knows he will never present it to her? What if the gift is posted to the lady by his servants and without his knowledge? What if the enclosed card was meant for another and is more suggestive than a gentleman should share with an unmarried lady? Join Darcy and Elizabeth, for a holiday romp, loaded with delightful twists and turns no one expects, but one in which our favorite couple take a very different path in thwarting George Wickham and Lydia Bennet's elopement. Can a simple book of poetry be Darcy's means to win Elizabeth's love? When we care more for another than ourselves, the seeds of love have an opportunity to blossom. Words of Praise for Mr. Darcy's Present... Jeffers takes a familiar story and reinvigorates it with humor, warmth, and wisdom. - Roses and Lilacs Reviews

Elizabeth Bennet's acceptance of his hand in marriage presents FITZWILLIAM DARCY a hope of the world being different. Elizabeth offers warmth and naturalness and a bit of defiance; but there is vulnerability also. With characteristic daring, she boldly withstood Caroline Bingley's barbs, while displaying undying devotion to her sister Jane. More unpredictably, she verbally fenced with the paragon of crudeness, his aunt, Lady Catherine, and walked away relatively unscathed. One often finds his betrothed self-mockingly entertaining her sisters and friends, and despite Darcy's best efforts, the woman makes him laugh. She brings lightness to his spirit after so many years of grief. Unfortunately for ELIZABETH BENNET, what begins gloriously turns to concern for their future. She recognizes her burgeoning fears as unreasonable; yet, she cannot displace them. She refuses to speculate on what Mr. Darcy will say when he learns she is not the brilliant choice he proclaims her to be. Moreover, she does not think she can submit to the gentleman's staid lifestyle. Not even for love can Elizabeth accept capitulation. Will Elizabeth set her qualms aside to claim 'home' in the form of the man she truly affects or will her courage fail her? Enjoy a bit of mayhem that we commonly call "Happily Ever After," along with three alternate turning points to this tale of love and loss and love again from Austen-inspired author, Regina Jeffers.

The Last Man in the World She Wishes to Marry is the One Man Who Owns Her Heart ELIZABETH BENNET adamantly refused Fitzwilliam Darcy's proposal, but when Maria Lucas discovers the letter Darcy offers Elizabeth in explanation of his actions, Elizabeth must swallow her objections in order to save her reputation. She follows Darcy to London and pleads for the gentleman to renew his proposal. Yet, even as she does so, Elizabeth knows not what she fears most: being Mr. Darcy's wife or the revenge he might consider for her earlier rebuke. FITZWILLIAM DARCY would prefer that Elizabeth Bennet held him in affection, but he reasons that even if she does not, having Elizabeth at his side is far better than claiming another to wife. However, when a case of mistaken identity causes Darcy not to show at his wedding ceremony, he finds himself in a desperate search for his wayward bride-to-be. Elizabeth, realizing Society will label her as "undesirable" after being abandoned at the altar, sets out on an adventure to mark her future days as the spinster aunt to her sisters' children. However, Darcy means to locate her and to convince Elizabeth that his affections are true, and a second chance will prove him the "song that sets her heart strumming." "Jeffers' books are like a fine banquet in a tasteful location, warmly detailed ambiance, several courses, freshly prepared and appealingly presented, each taste to be savored; each course, complimented, an experience to remember purely for its contents, relished even as, perhaps more as, a single diner." - BCM

Four crazy Balochs. An Indian maiden. A cave with a maze of passages. A hero, not yet tested. A Gypsy band. And a missing emerald. For nearly two decades, the Realm thwarted the efforts of all Shaheed Mire sent their way, but now the Baloch warlord is in England, and the tribal leader means to reclaim the fist-sized emerald he believes one of the Realm stole during their rescue of a girl upon whom Mir turned his men. Mir means to take his revenge on the Realm and the Indian girl's child, Lady Sonal Fowler. Daniel Kerrington, Viscount Worthing, has loved Lady Sonal since they were but children. Yet, when his father, the Earl of Linworth, objects to Sonal 's bloodlines, Worthing thinks never to claim her. However, when danger arrives in the form of the Realm's old enemy, Kerrington ignores all caution for the woman he loves. "The first fully original series from Austen pastiche author Jeffers is a knockout." - Publishers Weekly

The Deepest Love Is Always Unexpected. LAWRENCE LOWERY, Lord Hellsman, has been the dutiful elder son his whole life, but when his father Baron Blakehell arranges a marriage with the insipid Annalee Dryburgh, Lowery must choose between his responsibility to his future estate and the one woman who makes sense in his life. By Society's standards, MISS ARABELLA TILNEY is completely wrong to be the future baroness-although her mother was once a lady in waiting to the Queen, Bella is an American hoyden, who demands that Lowery do the impossible: Be the man he always dreamed of being. (A Companion Novel to the Realm Series)