The Darcys had been living in Derbyshire for several centuries and had amassed many riches and prestige. Generation after generation continued to increase their wealth and power in England. In 1777, despite not having a noble title, George Darcy married Lady Anne Fitzwilliam in an arranged marriage. The couple barely knew each other when they got married. The marriage was like most of the first social circles of the Kingdom: the gentleman visited his wife's bedchamber frequently to produce the desired heir and spare; they occasionally attended social events; and the rest of the time, they lived separate lives.

During the first few years of marriage, Lady Anne suffered several miscarriages, which gradually turned her into a sad and bitter woman. Because of a severe infection from her last miscarriage, the doctor suggested that the couple wait at least six months or a year before trying to conceive again.

With that devastating news, the couple's already fragile relationship deteriorated even more. A deeply unhappy and disillusioned George Darcy sought out the woman who had been his mistress for five years before Mr. Darcy's marriage – Mrs. Wickham – in a desperate attempt to fill the void in his life.

Maria Wickham, formerly Maria Smith, was the youngest daughter of a tenant from Pemberley. She was a few years younger than Darcy, and since they were young, they had always been attracted to each other. However, due to the huge difference in social and economic standing, both knew they would never be able to marry. Maria was married at a young age to a soldier, but unfortunately, within two years, she was widowed and childless. She was living precariously on a minimal pension and doing some sewing work for the Lambton dressmaker.

One afternoon when Maria was going to deliver some clothes, she ran into George Darcy. They chatted for a few minutes, and then both returned to their respective homes. A few days later, and after much deliberation, George Darcy – who had been in love with Maria for many years – proposed that she be his mistress.

At first, Maria did not accept his proposal since she didn't want to be a kept woman. However, due to the lack of money and George Darcy's promise of being discreet, she eventually accepted his proposal until one of them married. Maria moved to a small, nice cabin five miles from Pemberley and one mile from Lambton. Her life improved substantially. George Darcy opened an account in Maria's name, and in the five years that their relationship lasted, he gifted her a total of £3,000 so that she could have a comfortable life when their relationship ended. They were always very careful, and there were no children from their relationship. Very few people knew Maria was George Darcy's mistress.

A year after George Darcy was married, Maria met Mr. Wickham - an honest and kind man, several years her senior - and they were married a few months later. Out of respect for their respective partners, Maria and George Darcy, by mutual agreement, avoided seeing each other alone to avoid falling into temptation and breaking their vows.

One afternoon a few weeks after Lady Anne's miscarriage, he visited Maria when George Darcy knew very well that Mr. Wickham would be away from Pemberley for at least one week. At first, she tried to refuse his advances, but the sad reality was that she was deeply in love with him despite being married to a good and honourable man. They started a clandestine and passionate romance. They were both very careful that no one found out. They knew that what they were doing was wrong on so many levels, but it was very difficult to deny themselves those moments of happiness.

A few months into the romance, Maria became pregnant. Sadly, it was impossible to guess if the child was Wickham's or Darcy's. The child was born healthy and robust, but Maria Wickham died due to several complications in childbirth. George Darcy was devastated, and the worst thing was that he couldn't even say goodbye to his great love. Darcy was appointed godfather to the child, who was named George Wickham.

A couple of months later, at his wife's insistence, he started visiting her bedchamber again. A year later, in 1784, their first child was born, a boy and heir, and he was named Fitzwilliam Darcy.

Years passed, and Fitzwilliam Darcy and George Wickham, only a year and a half apart in age, used to play together and were best friends for several years. It was common to see George Wickham at Pemberley and Mr. Darcy spending even more time with his godson than with his son. Lady Anne did not understand her husband's constant favoritism for the steward's son and, more than once, annoyed, quarreled with him for the lack of attention he paid to his son.

In 1793 (nine years after Fitzwilliam Darcy's birth), Georgiana Darcy was born. Due to complications from childbirth, a few days later, Lady Anne died.

Pemberley 1802

About five miles from Pemberley lived the Stevens family. For several generations, they had been neighbors. The Stevenses' estate, 'The Firs', was much smaller than Pemberley's, and their annual income was around £1,500. Mr. Stevens was a widower and had a son and three daughters. His son was the same age as Darcy; his eldest daughter, Diana, was three years younger, the next was ten, and the youngest was only five.

Diana Stevens was a beautiful girl, and at fifteen, she was shaping up to be one of the most beautiful young women in the region. She had long golden hair, sky-blue eyes, and a sweet and shy disposition. Everyone who knew her agreed that Miss Stevens looked like an angel.

Due to the proximity of the estates, Darcy and Wickham often met the Stevens siblings. At eighteen years old, Darcy thought Diana Stevens was the definition of perfection, and the few times he envisioned his future wife, he imagined a woman similar to her.

On this particular day, there was a party at Pemberley to celebrate Darcy and Wickham leaving for university the next day. Because it was a special party in honor of young Mr. Darcy, Mr. Stevens allowed Diana to attend, even though she had not made her debut in society.

Diana was an overprotected and sheltered young girl, her mother died when she was ten, and her father subsequently spoiled her. She was flattered when Wickham spent much of the evening sitting next to her and entertaining her. He told her several funny stories and congratulated her on how much she had grown in recent years and how pretty she was. Because Darcy was busy attending to other guests, he barely paid Diana any attention.

When Diana returned home that night, she fell asleep dreaming of a very nice, handsome, cheerful gentleman with dark blond hair and blue eyes.

Pemberley 1803 – University and Pemberley

During the first year at university, Darcy and Wickham grew apart. Darcy was an outstanding student, and Wickham was very undisciplined. Wickham joined a group of wealthy young men whose main vices were gambling, alcohol, and women of low morals. Because on more than one occasion Darcy found a woman of questionable reputation in his room, he asked his cousin Richard Fitzwilliam - who was a year older – for permission to share his room. Over the years, Darcy and Richard shared at university, and the relationship between the cousins solidified.

In their last year, George Darcy's health began to decline rapidly. He knew he had very little time left, and he took advantage of the university holidays to teach his son everything he knew about estate management, specifically Pemberley.

When Mr. Darcy was not teaching his son, he spent most of his time with his godson. He was delighted with the stories Wickham told him about his life at university. Sadly, he knew he would die without ever knowing for sure if George Wickham was, in fact, his biological son. George Wickham looked very similar to his mother, and for that reason alone, he loved him as much as he loved Fitzwilliam.

While Fitzwilliam was spending most of his time in his father's study, Wickham was secretly meeting with Miss Stevens. They had met by chance one day in Lambton, and from then on, they met several times in a secluded spot close to Pemberley and The Firs border. After meeting for some weeks, Diana gave him her virtue, believing that her George, as promised, would marry her. However, time passed, and George returned to Cambridge without speaking to her father.

Three months later, Diana discovered she was pregnant. She wrote several letters to Wickham, imploring him to marry her as soon as possible. But she was perplexed by the answer she received. Wickham told her clearly that he didn't know what she was talking about, that he wasn't responsible for anything since he barely knew her, and that she should stop pestering him.

In Cambridge, Diana's brother challenged Wickham to a duel. However, Wickham did not accept, claiming that it was illegal and that he was not the father of Diana's child. Fitzwilliam Darcy found out what had happened, and with his knowledge of Wickham's character, he was sure he was responsible. Fitzwilliam tried his best to persuade Wickham to act honorably, and do the right thing, but Wickham's answer was always the same: he was not the child's father.

Mr. Stevens was greatly concerned for his family's reputation, especially his eldest daughter's. So, he spoke to Wickham Sr. and George Darcy, demanding that George Wickham behave honorably and marry Diana. As there were no witnesses to support Diana's version of the events, the gentlemen believed George Wickham.

Unfortunately, within a few days, news of Diana's downfall had spread throughout the region. Mr. Stevens tried to marry off his daughter, but sadly, he was unsuccessful since his daughter had a dowry of only £3000 and a child on the way. Finally, when even his youngest daughter began to be shunned in Lambton, Mr. Stevens made the painful decision to send Diana away.

1805 - October 1811

In January 1805, Mr. Wickham's Senior suddenly died of a heart attack. After receiving the tragic news, George Wickham, tired of life at university, decided to return to Pemberley with the excuse that he wanted to be in mourning for a few months out of respect for his father.

In his will, Mr. Wickham bequeathed his son the sum of £5,000, and in addition, Mr. Darcy assured him he could continue living in his old house for as long as he wanted, rent-free. During the day, Wickham spent several hours with his godfather enjoying the good food and brandy that Pemberley had to offer. In addition to this, he had a clandestine affair with a young and pretty maid. With Georgiana Darcy, he had a very superficial and courteous relationship. He never flirted with her, either for fear of losing his godfather's favor or because Georgiana was always with her governess.

In December 1805, after completing his university education and graduating with honors, Fitzwilliam Darcy returned to Pemberley. His father's health had drastically worsened in the past few months, and the doctor estimated that he had less than a year to live.

His father, while he had the strength to get up, devoted himself to continuing to teach him everything he knew about the management of Pemberley and his other estates. He wanted the transition to be as smooth as possible when Fitzwilliam Darcy fully took control of Pemberley.

In the summer of 1806, George Darcy died in his sleep. In his will - not surprisingly - he bequeathed all his properties to Fitzwilliam and set up a bank account with £30,000 for Georgiana's dowry and another account with £3,000 for his godson.

Wickham was rather disappointed, as he hoped that his godfather would bequeath him a much more significant sum of money. But with that money added to what he had inherited in his father's will, he had just over £8,000. He decided not to finish his studies at university and instead went to London, where some of his good "friends" lived.