A Most Unwelcome Acquaintance: A Pride and Prejudice Variation

Fitzwilliam Darcy forms his opinion of Elizabeth Bennet before he learns her name.
He sees a young woman in a muddy field, directing a collie and driving stray sheep from Netherfield land, and assumes she belongs to a tenant family. By the time he discovers she is the second daughter of Longbourn, his pride has made correction difficult.

Elizabeth, however, has little patience for a man who judges what he does not understand. When the charming George Wickham arrives in Meryton with a history of his own, his account confirms everything she already believes about Darcy.

But Wickham’s stories change with his audience. Debts begin to surface, and his attention to Kitty Bennet proves less honorable than it appears. Sarah, Elizabeth’s sharp-eyed collie, is not the only one who notices that something is wrong.

As Darcy struggles to expose Wickham without harming those caught in his schemes, Elizabeth must decide whether an unpleasant truth deserves more weight than a pleasing lie. Their growing understanding is threatened, first by Lady Catherine’s interference and then by Caroline Bingley’s desperate attempt to force Darcy into a future he does not want.

In a story filled with family conflict, concealed motives, and a dog who possesses better judgment than most of Meryton, Darcy and Elizabeth learn that while a first impression is understandable, refusing to correct it is a choice.