Friendship and Forgiveness — Timothy Underwood

What if Elizabeth's best friend was Caroline Bingley?When her beloved friend Caroline Bingley confessed that she was in love, Elizabeth decided to do everything she could to forward the match between Caroline and Charlie's friend, the elusive Mr. Darcy. After all, Elizabeth and Caroline Bingley had always been the dearest of friends since they were tiny children, and whenever they were apart they wrote reams and reams of paper in correspondence.Fitzwilliam Darcy, haunted by thoughts of Wickham and his sister Georgiana's troubles, retreats to his friend Bingley's serene Hertfordshire estate. His sole difficulty would be deflecting Miss Bingley's matrimonial aspirations, which he would never permit to succeed.Once he arrived, Darcy was irresistibly drawn to Elizabeth Bennet, a girl who the Bingleys treated like another sister. And despite her intentions, Elizabeth became entranced by his serious dark eyes, his penetrating gaze, and his earnest scrutiny of her.But if she were to marry Darcy, would Caroline ever forgive her?Note: There are several scenes with violence. Wickham's mind is a disturbing realm to explore. Word count: 87,000.