I always thought it would be funny if Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy ended up with five daughters that they had to marry off, and I've recently been toying with the idea of starting and Pride and Prejudice story. So here it is, the first in a series of stories about the five Darcy daughters! I know it may seem like it starts a little slow, but it'll get better, I promise. And if you're very good, I may even throw in a story about the lone Darcy son.

Before we start, though, a quick bit of background info. I decided to have Elizabeth and Darcy marry in 1813, the year the novel was published. Their daughters are: Clarise (b. 1814), Violet (b. 1816), Beatrice (b. 1817), Priscilla (b. 1820), and Sarah (b. 1823). Oh yeah, plus their son Clarence, Sarah's twin. Now, on with the show!

April 1833: "Do you mean to tell me, Lizzie, that you and Darcy have never taken the children to France? Why, Richard and I spend nearly every summer there! Just think of all the opportunities the girls are missing! Clarise is practically of marrying age now, and she will never find a husband if she is not exposed to society!"

Elizabeth Darcy laughed softly to herself. Her sister was all grown up now, a married woman and the mother of four beautiful children, but she was still as irrepresible as ever. "Kitty, please. Clarise won't even be nineteen until June. She has plenty of time to find a husband. Although," and here she paused and raised her eyebrows, "I do not think it will be very long before she does, for there is a very charming young man by the name of Thomas Wyndham who has recently been paying her every bit of attention. And what do you think of that?"

Kitty smiled. "I think it is like Mama always used to say about Jane, that she could not be so beautiful for nothing. But I don't believe I've ever met this Thomas Wyndham. What is he like? Is he handsome? Where does his family come from? Is he very rich? You must tell me!"

This time, Elizabeth laughed out loud, ignoring the hurt look on Kitty's face. "Good gracious, so many questions! But I am afraid I must confess that we don't really know all that much about Mr. Wyndham, something that troubles Mr. Darcy exceedingly. I can tell you that he is the epitome of everything that is charming and well mannered, and I suppose he is rather handsome, though that is something for Clarise to decide and not me. But other than that, we really know nothing."

"Lizzie, it isn't often that I am the sensible one and not you, but I really must say that I find this all very troubling. How can you bear to see your eldest daughter attached to someone of whose background you know nothing? I should think that Darcy would never permit it, even if you do."

"Rest assured, my dear sister, that all is well. Clarise is something of a romantic, but she is not so imprudent as to do something foolish, unlike a certain sister of ours." Kitty tittered at that. "And besides," she continued, "I do not think that she is quite so in love with him as to be blind to the fact that he is something of an enigma. Besides, Mr. Darcy, if you can believe it, has hired the best private investigator to be found in all of Britain. If and when Mr. Wyndham proposes, a letter will be dispatched to London posthaste, instructing Mr. Porter to uncover everything there is to know about him. Consent will not be given until a satisfactory answer is returned. Those were my husband's exact words." She shrugged apologetically at Kitty's bemused expression and added, "He's a very protective father, that's all."

Her sister laughed. "Yes, that he most certainly is. But I know he only does it out of love, and if it keeps any one of my dear nieces from getting into trouble, then I suppose it is all for the best. I must say, though, that I could never see Richard doing something like that. Sometimes they act like such complete and total opposites that it's hard to believe that they're even cousins."

"Which, I suppose, is why Mr. Darcy and I have never taken the children to France, and why you and the Major-General travel there every summer," said Elizabeth sweetly.

Kitty completely missed the gently mocking sarcasm in her sister's voice. "Yes," she said, sighing happily, "Although I must say I would much rather go to France than not. And this summer, Lizzie, I want to take one of your daughters with me. Dear Clarise does seem like she would benefit so much from a trip abroad, and the south of France is so beautiful in the summertime. Oh, please say she can come! I know she probably will not want to be taken away from her Mr. Wyndham, but it would be such fun!"

Kitty is right about that, thought Elizabeth, Clarise will not want to be taken away from Mr. Wyndham. But she did not say any of that to her sister. Instead, she only smiled sweetly and said, "I shall have to speak to Mr. Darcy about it, but if Clarise is not Mrs. Wyndham or close to it by June, I think she would very much enjoy a trip to France with you and the Major-General."

"Oh, goody!" said Kitty, clapping her hands softly, "Richard and the children will be so very glad to hear it!"

"Yes," said Elizabeth softly, "I am sure they shall." Privately, however, she very much doubted that Clarise would ever travel to the south of France with her aunt and uncle. She was too devoted to Thomas Wyndham, a fact that neither Elizabeth nor her husband very much liked. They would be very happy to see Clarise safely away on the Continent for the summer. If only Mr. Wyndham would hold off on his proposals...

So, what did you think? Does it have promise? Should I keep going? Let me know! And yes, Kitty did marry Colonel Fitzwilliam, although he's a Major-General now! Tee-hee. There's almost certainly another story there too. Oh, so many ideas and so little time to write! But don't let that stop you; write me a review!