After returning from Kent, Elizabeth Bennet can no longer hide her contempt for the charming Lieutenant George Wickham. Armed with the truth about his past, she greets his practiced smiles with cool scorn and pointed remarks, making it plain that his lies will find no shelter with her. But threatened by the potential of exposure, Wickham retaliates in a manner Elizabeth could never have anticipated. With one stolen kiss and a staged compromise, he entangles Elizabeth in a scandal so grave that the only solution is an immediate wedding. In London, nursing his broken heart, Fitzwilliam Darcy hears of Elizabeth’s disgrace. Conscience and affection send him racing to Hertfordshire, determined to rescue the woman he loves, even if that means offering for her a second, far more perilous time. Yet saving Elizabeth’s reputation will demand more than an unexpected proposal; it will require out-manoeuvring Wickham, soothing outraged families, and defying the strict rules of polite society. Just as Darcy and Elizabeth begin to glimpse an honourable escape from scandal, a shocking crime shatters Meryton’s peace. In the aftermath, alliances shift, long-buried truths surface, and the stakes for happiness - and for freedom - rise higher than ever. Malice and Misfortune launches a bold new series that blends the beloved world of Pride and Prejudice with the intrigue of a Regency-era mystery. Passions run deep, reputations hang by a thread, and each choice carries consequences that will echo through two more • Rivalry and Ruination • Intrigue and Inheritance Step back into Austen’s England, where wit meets suspense and true love must survive both scandal… and murder.