Mistletoe & Misunderstanding: Sweet "Pride & Prejudice" Variation

By Abbey North

On the night of the Netherfield ball, Mr. Darcy seems like he will propose until a misunderstanding has him leaving the area and taking the Bingleys with him. That leaves Lizzy and Jane heartbroken, but since Lizzy's burgeoning romance was a secret, she can't show her pain. When news reaches them that the Bingleys are returning to Netherfield for Christmastide, Lizzy wonders if Darcy will return as well. If he does, can she forgive his abandonment, or is all hope of happiness with the man truly lost?

The timeline of their romance is compressed slightly in this short holiday story.

While Abbey sometimes writes sensual JAFF, this is strictly SWEET.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Abbey North JAFF Books
• Release date: Jun 17, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224973767

Book preview

Blurb

ON THE NIGHT OF THE Netherfield ball, Mr. Darcy seems like he will propose until a misunderstanding has him leaving the area and taking the Bingleys with him. That leaves Lizzy and Jane heartbroken, but since Lizzy’s burgeoning romance was a secret, she can’t show her pain. When news reaches them that the Bingleys are returning to Netherfield for Christmastide, Lizzy wonders if Darcy will return as well. If he does, can she forgive his abandonment, or is all hope of happiness with the man truly lost?

The timeline of their romance is compressed slightly in this short holiday story. While Abbey sometimes writes sensual JAFF, this is strictly SWEET.

Chapter One

LIZZY REENTERED LONGBOURN as she shivered, pausing only long enough to strip off her pelisse and gloves before rushing into the sitting room to sit near the fire. She had found herself walking for too long over the grounds, but she’d been unable to resist the lure of the freshly fallen snow that turned Longbourn into a winter wonderland.

She heard rustling behind her. Lizzy turned in her seat, and her mouth dropped open at the sight of Lydia and Kitty arranging a fresh yew tree in a large milk can in the corner of the sitting room. What in the world are you doing?

It is a yew tree, said Lydia, as though Lizzy’s mind was muddled.

That might not be an entirely unfair assessment, since she had been rather...preoccupied these past few weeks, but she didn’t think she had been so focused on internal thoughts that she had missed a discussion about putting a tree in the house. Whatever is it for?

Christmastide, said Kitty with a giggle. Her younger sisters shared a look of amusement as they giggled again.

I assumed, but why?

Lydia waved a hand. My dear friend, Mrs. Forster, told me about Queen Charlotte’s affection for live yew trees. Harriet recalls going to a party at the palace in eighteen hundred. She was just a little girl then, but she still remembers the tree laden with candles, nuts, and fruits. She got to take home a toy as well. She made it sound quite enchanting, and she and the colonel have just such a tree in their home. When I heard about the custom, I wanted to try it for myself.

Lizzy shook her head. Why ever would you cut down a live tree to put in your living room?

Lydia shrugged. I know not, but the custom is German. If it is good enough for Queen Charlotte, it is good enough for me. With that impertinent set-down, she turned away from Lizzy, and the sisters resumed their efforts to tie scraps of lace around the tree.

It still struck Lizzy as foolishness, and she couldn’t imagine such a practice would ever become popular, but there was no harm in it. As she warmed up, watching the younger girls fussing with their project, she had to admit it was lending a nice air to the room. It joined the holly boughs hanging from the chandelier and above the fireplace, along with the sprig of mistletoe suspended over the doorway to ensnare any unmarried persons in its trap, in adding a touch of festivity.

The thought of being caught under the mistletoe sent a peculiar lurch through her chest, and Lizzy ruthlessly squashed the image of the hazy partner trying to coalesce in her mind. Whatever foolishness that had been, it must be considered a temporary aberration of sanity, and Mr. Darcy had clearly come to his senses. She must do the same, and Lizzy thought she had been mostly successful in the month since the Bingley and Darcy party had departed Netherfield so abruptly the day after the ball.

Mary bustled in then, her cheeks pink, and a slight hitch in her breathing suggested she must have been rushing to return from Meryton, where she had gone for afternoon tea with Aunt Philips. Lizzy had declined, preferring to walk alone, and Jane had remained in her