Blackmail makes strange bedfellows when Mrs. Bennet makes Elizabeth an offer Mr. Darcy cannot refuse.

When Georgiana Darcy is spotted at a tea establishment known for attracting military officers, accompanied by the infamous Bennet sisters, gossip spreads like wildfire. Enter Mrs. Bennet, social opportunist extraordinaire, who offers a simple bargain: her testimony that Georgiana remained properly chaperoned throughout in exchange for Mr. Darcy courting her daughter Elizabeth.

Elizabeth Bennet is horrified. Darcy is appalled. The deal is struck anyway.

What begins as the season’s most reluctant charade evolves into something dangerously genuine. Between cliff-edge carriage rides where Elizabeth finds herself literally in Darcy’s arms and a bathing machine disaster that further entangles their fates, their performance becomes increasingly convincing—even to themselves.

She’s not supposed to notice how his eyes soften when he watches her.

He’s not meant to memorize her every clever retort.

Just as the lines between performance and truth begin to blur, George Wickham arrives with his easy smiles and old grudges. His whispered insinuations about Georgiana Darcy threaten to unravel everything, while his particular attention to Elizabeth tests Darcy’s composure beyond endurance.

With interfering relatives, Brighton’s ruthless gossips, and two stubborn hearts too proud to admit the truth, it will take more than a backroom deal to unite this unlikely pair.

A delightful Pride and Prejudice enemies-to-fake-romance-to-lovers tale, where the most binding contract may be the one neither party intended to sign—the surrender of their hearts.

Features: Fake dating romance • Blackmail plot • Enemies-to-lovers • Brighton seaside setting • Family loyalty conflicts • Brooding hero • Witty heroine • Forced proximity • Wickham’s revenge • Grand romantic gesture • HEA guaranteed