Heart’s Portrait: A 'Pride and Prejudice' Novella Variation

Amongst her family and friends, Miss Elizabeth Bennet is known not just as a great walker and a great reader but also as a talented artist; but drawing is an activity in which she has rarely indulged in recent years. However, when her heart is filled with a hopeless, ardent love for the man she once rejected, there is little else she can do to palliate her secret grief — except draw the portrait of the man she once deemed the last in the world she could marry. In the autumn of 1812, Mr Bingley returns to Netherfield, proposes to Miss Jane Bennet, and within six weeks, they are happily married. Elizabeth is grateful to witness her sister’s felicity while trying to conceal her own sorrow. After visiting Pemberley with her uncle and aunt, she fell in love with Mr Darcy. Furthermore, she has since discovered that he generously saved Lydia from ruin by persuading Mr Wickham to marry her. But Mr Darcy did not return to Hertfordshire, so she had no opportunity to thank him. Gratitude, combined with overwhelming tender feelings, make her long to see him again. She cannot hope for a renewal of his marriage proposal, but she prays for a few minutes of private conversation. For Christmas, the newly married Bingleys invite a large party of relatives and friends. Among them is Mr Darcy and his sister, but also several others who show peculiar interest in either Mr Darcy or Elizabeth, causing jealousy, uncertainty, and more sorrow. Mr Darcy’s feelings for Elizabeth are as strong as before, but he is ready to step away when he believes her interest lies elsewhere. What will he do when he happens upon Elizabeth on the way to Oakham Mount and sees proof of her true feelings? Like all this author’s stories, Heart’s Portrait is a romantic, sweet novella recommended for readers of all ages who cannot get enough of Darcy and Elizabeth’s timeless love story.