The People We Love: A Paranormal Pride and Prejudice Variation

By Penelope Talbot

Is it possible for a grieving woman and a restless spirit to fall in love?

After the death of her husband, William Collins, Elizabeth and her daughter Sarah leave Hunsford behind for a peaceful life by the sea. She is sure they have discovered the solace they sought in a small cottage in Brighton that once belonged to a friend of a friend of a cousin. It was secluded and had a lovely view of the ocean, beautiful bright rooms, and a surprise tenant, in the spectral form of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, the previous owner's ghost.

After their first contentious meeting, the ghost of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Collins begin to discover that they are not so very different. As one runs from the reminder of a marriage without love, the other longs for the comfort of it.

How can these two people, with death itself keeping them apart, find a way to be together?

The People We Love is a sweet, clean, comedic, and paranormal Pride and Prejudice variation. With plenty of surprises and a guaranteed happy ending, Penelope Talbot will prove that it's possible for love to transcend all barriers!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Daisy Chain Publishing
• Release date: Aug 2, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393473398

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

E lizabeth, I do not understand! Why do you wish to leave us? What have we done wrong?

Mrs. Bennet had been both crying and shouting for some time. Occasionally when she had the fortitude, she would do both in unison, which made it difficult to comprehend her words. Elizabeth was grateful that her daughter Sarah was outside in the garden with her Aunt Jane, because carrying on of this sort tended to make Sarah nervous.

Mama, as I have been telling you since we arrived at Longbourn, it is important to me that Sarah and I make our own way for a while. William did not leave us much when he died, but it was enough for us to move on, Elizabeth said with as much patience as she was able, though she was finding it increasingly difficult to remain calm. This was the fifth time she had repeated herself since breakfast.

I do not understand, Elizabeth. I simply do not understand. Why was it so urgent that you leave Hunsford? Lady Catherine could not allow you to stay for a month or two more? Mrs. Bennet asked like a petulant child. Elizabeth looked to her father for support but he appeared to be reading a book in his lap, hidden under the desk. She coughed to make it clear she knew what her father was doing and his eyes darted up.

My dear, Lady de Bourgh made it quite clear that neither Elizabeth nor any member of the Bennet family was welcome at the parsonage. Did you wish for her to be pulled from Hunsford by the stable hands?

Mrs. Bennet jumped to her feet and paced the room with worry. She had walked in that same circle a hundred times since Elizabeth and Sarah came back to Longbourn after the death of her husband, William Collins. The death had been sudden but not unexpected, as William caught an illness the year before and had been in poor health ever since. When he passed, Lady Catherine did not wish to welcome mourners into her home. Instead of a service at the church, the bitter old woman knocked on the door and informed Elizabeth that they had a fortnight to make other living arrangements. While she did not mourn her husband as many wives would, and she did not wish to remain at Hunsford a moment longer than was necessary, Elizabeth could not tolerate the idea of living in Longbourn again.

That was why she already had a plan when she and Sarah arrived at her familial home.

Mama, this has already been settled. An acquaintance of a friend of one of our cousins on Papa’s side has rented us a cottage in Brighton at a very reasonable rate. With the little William left behind, I was able to pay the rent for a year. We will have enough for food and Sarah is already overjoyed at the prospect of having her own vegetable garden. I want to live by the sea, Mama. It is where I am happy.

Mrs. Bennet’s face collapsed into a deep, wailing sob once again. Elizabeth could hear her younger sisters in the kitchen, having tea and waiting for their mother to cease her hysterics. Elizabeth suspected they would be waiting for some time.

My darling, please, Mr. Bennet pleaded in frustration. We have been having this conversation all morning. Elizabeth has aptly stated her case and it seems she will not be moved. Perhaps, there is no further point in arguing with her.

Mrs. Bennet took out her handkerchief and dabbed away the tears in her eyes, so that she might maximize her fruitless attempt at sympathy. How can you take my Sarah so far away? I will never see her again!

Elizabeth and Mr. Bennet sighed in unison. They were both weary of the matriarch’s dramatics.

Mama, Brighton is a two day carriage ride. And you can spend the night in London with Aunt and Uncle Gardiner if you worry over your back pain. But we are not moving to India. Brighton is close. And it is exactly the fresh start that Sarah and I need.

It was not the first time that Mrs. Bennet had used Sarah in an attempt to cause Elizabeth guilt. When she gave birth to her daughter, Mrs. Bennet wrote letter after letter, entreating Elizabeth to come back to Longbourn. She thought it was better for Elizabeth to care for Sarah at Longbourn while she was an infant than at Hunsford, where they were alone most days. Mrs. Bennet did not consider that Elizabeth was perfectly content on her own. Sarah became her dearest love and her dearest friend, even when she was