The Darcy Variations

The International Austen Association is hosting its world-wide convention in London and five of the existing actors who'd portrayed Darcy over the years are attending the convention. Five lucky women will be chosen to partner the actors based on an essay competition. Kate Malone is one of the winners, but now she's not so sure she wants to attend and meet her dream Darcy. After all, she's a widow and spends most of her time running around after her grandchildren. But hey, she's only forty-three! Isn't she entitled to have a little fun playing Elizabeth Bennet, especially when her favorite Darcy - Anthony Slade - is handsome as sin and makes her weak at the knees? Anthony Slade's acting career had taken a nose dive years earlier after a sleazy scandal, but now he's back in England after an extended self-imposed exile. He has unfinished business to tend to with his ex-wife, a young son he hasn't seen since he'd left England and a career he's hoping he can rebuild. The convention is his one chance at getting his life back. Sparks fly when Kate and Slade first meet but, like the original Miss Bennet and Darcy, passions build and take hold of the two somewhat reluctant hearts. The question is: can Kate and Slade reconcile the make-believe versus reality?