Entirely A Matter Of Chance

by Sophia King

An alternate cover edition can be found here.

While taking a walk to escape Longbourn and the theatrics of her mother and younger sisters, an unexpected storm obliges Elizabeth Bennet to take shelter in the old cabin where she used to play as a child. Her mother would be furious with her for missing dinner with Mr Bingley, but at least Elizabeth would not have to tolerate his friend, the rude and proud Mr Darcy.
Until she finds her way to the cabin to discover she is not the only one seeking shelter from the storm.

Fitzwilliam Darcy is shocked but not displeased to discover he must pass the night with the woman who, despite her inferior connections, has bewitched him like no other. And if they are discovered together, it will give him the perfect excuse to finally give in to his desires and offer Elizabeth Bennet his hand in marriage.
Until, to his shock and dismay, he discovers this is the last thing in the world Elizabeth wants.
But as the storm rages on and the hours' pass, the confined space of the cabin tests both their willpower.

In the small society of Meryton, rumours spread that Darcy and Elizabeth were together that stormy night. They are determined to dismiss it as gossip until Darcy’s old enemy, George Wickham, hears the rumours and finds the proof he needs to force his old friend into what he believes will be a degrading marriage. But when he discovers he has enabled Darcy to marry the woman he is passionately in love with, he must change tactics and do all he can to come between them and persuade Elizabeth she cannot trust her future husband.

As Elizabeth and Darcy resign themselves to the idea of marriage to a spouse they fear can never love them, Wickham’s deceit and lies threaten to come between them and destroy their growing love for one another. And if Elizabeth cannot put her fears to one side, she might lose the man she has come to love to a charmer who can bring her nothing but pain.

Genres: Romance, Historical

257 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 5, 2019

About the author

Very little is known about Sophia King. Her father was a notorious moneylender named John King (born Jacob Rey in approximately 1753, also called "Jew" King). She and her sister, Charlotte King published a book of poetry together, Trifles of Helicon, and Charlotte also contributed poetry to at least one other book by Sophia. Of the two sisters, Charlotte is the better known and mainly published under the names Rosa Matilda and Charlotte Dacre.

The dates of Sophia King's birth and death are unknown, as is the identity of her husband. She did continue to publish after her marriage under the name Sophia Fortnum.

Reviews

[Les · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is yet another P&P what if where Lizzy & Darcy get trapped in a cabin on the grounds of Pemberley / Rosings / Netherfield / Longbourn. But what made me want to read this book is what was different. Here neither person is injured, incapacitated or unconscious. Here no one enters the cabin and forces a compromise and here ODC spend the evening in comfort and conversation learning about one another and occasionally snogging. If the book had held up these imaginative and thought provoking plot lines it was firmly 5 star. But alas Lizzy apparently is not just stupid she is self effacing.

I'm putting everything else behind a spoiler because of plot reveals
Darcy reassures her several times that he will marry her yet she is constantly desperate to think poorly of him. Even when she should know better this isn't canon Lizzy who may have exchanged 100 words with Darcy this is a woman who spent 12+ hours alone with the man conversing. So why is she so willing to think the worst of him? Her attitude toward Darcy is easily molded by Wickham, who is extra bastardly in this book, which makes no sense she has talked to Darcy.
She believes the opinion of her mother and gives credence to gossip from Lydia that Lydia could have had NO WAY of Knowing or really even understanding. Yet we slog through pages of Lizzy thinking too much about what other people insinuate. Until you just want to scream.

Then there are the Regency Manners fail
One day Lizzy walks to Meryton ALONE and is caught in the rain she sees Mr. Darcy who invites her to sit in his carriage, and says he will have the drive take them somewhere secluded so no one sees her. Now this is before their night together is revealed. Well Lizzy was just compromised in front of Meryton. An unmarried woman couldn't enter the carriage of a man who she wasn't related to without a chaperone. Had Lizzy been caught outside during a rain storm Alone in Meryton she should have gone into a shop, or gone to the Philips house until the rain ended.

Later Lydia and Kitty go into the 'taproom'. Ladies wouldn't enter a tap room, without an escort unless they were light skirts. In canon Lydia and Kitty meet Jane, Lizzy & Maria(h) at an Inn but they have a private room not the tap room.

Lizzy walks out alone with Mr. Wickham which would have been a no no.
Then she runs into Darcy who the author describes as wearing only a shirt. So No waistcoat? no Jacket? Unless he was working in the fields this would be a terrible faux pas

Chronology errors or just confusion. Not long after their night together Darcy tells Lizzy Bingley is planning to throw a ball then many pages later Mr. Bingley tells them he is throwing a ball in their honor. So were there two balls? No. Were there no proofreaders, probably.

Language errors: Toward the very end of the book Lydia is describes as behaving as if she were wearing widow’s weaves? Is this fake hair extensions made from the hair of widows? Because the correct term is Widow's Weeds - black clothes worn by a widow in mourning.
And then there is this sentence which begins chapter 15 so I am not taking it out of context.
"The day after Elizabeth’s conversation with Wickham, Elizabeth felt restored to all the enjoyment of her former dislike." Which if I really think about it makes sense but when I first read it I was baffled.
Then there is just more silliness I don't even feel like writing about.

But the one thing that honestly almost had me giving it a mere 2 stars was a segment where Darcy tells Lizzy that he is going to London for SEVERAL DAYS. Yet each day she sits at the windows and pines for him and allows people to tell her that he has abandoned her. If someone says "I am going away for several days" then one should expect them to be gone for several days and not several hours, a half day, a little past dinner.

Why it isn't 2 stars it that there were occasional glimpses of a good book, but not enough.

[James S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rain storm in a cabin with Mr. Darcy

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars for good intentions.

This is not the first variation with Lizzy and Darcy caught in a cabin in a rainstorm but I can forgive the repeat setting since it’s quite a fun way for Lizzy and Darcy to get to know each other quickly.

Wickham is the main bad guy. Still spinning his lies. Trying to cause as much trouble as he can for Darcy and Darcy’s friends.

Medium amount of angst. Lizzy is not super Lizzy. She doesn’t translate Ancient Greek texts. She doesn’t have an old rich lady acquaintance to smooth her way. She doesn’t play like Mozart or sing like a songbird. she doesn’t run Longbourn and double it’s worth.

Just a fairly intelligent nice 20 year old young lady with no plans for the future. But after an afternoon in a shack with Darcy...her future must change.

I recommend this Kindle unlimited story for a single reading. I found it pleasant.

[Sheila Majczan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

The blurb describing the story content covers it all. Yes, Darcy and Elizabeth have found themselves together due to a storm forcing them to both seek shelter in an abandoned cabin. (This premise has been written before.) While she is still the Lizzy who finds him full of disdain and pride, as they converse through many of the hours while waiting for the storm to abate a certain chemistry comes into play and now Elizabeth finds herself not as set against this man. Furthermore he has wrung from her a promise that she will accept his hand in marriage if somehow gossip tells of this compromising situation.

Both have some days when it seems that they have gotten away with the ruse even though some question how it is that both of them were missing overnight in the same woods and were not together.

Wickham is under the impression that Darcy does not like the lady...Wickham has heard of Darcy's insult at the assembly and of his behavior, always silently staring at her as if to find fault and so thinks what a joke it would be to be able to force Darcy into a life married to a woman he dislikes and who is beneath him with relatives who might shame him. He searches for and finds a way to make this a reality.

However, chancing to see them when they go out for a walk during their engagement ball at Netherfield he realizes that Darcy's feelings are the opposite of what he imagined and now his goal becomes to rip them apart. His plan is helped along when Darcy leaves for London and doesn't explain exactly why to Elizabeth.

The Elizabeth in this book has many more doubts about Darcy's character and about her own feelings than in some other books. There is that chemistry at work, however.

This was a pleasant read with little real angst and no surprises. Darcy does have a sit-down discussion with Lydia at the end and hopes there is a possibility of improvement on her part as she matures.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute premise, and I really like the way it's developed here. It starts with a rainstorm that Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are each caught in while out walking the day of the gathering at Lucas Lodge. Coincidentally, they take shelter in the same cottage between Netherfield and Longbourn and therefore find themselves stuck there overnight. This has three results - everyone at Lucas Lodge is aware that both are missing, the time they spend alone together gives Elizabeth the opportunity to see a different side to the usually cold, arrogant Mr. Darcy, and their mutual attraction ignites with a couple of steamy kisses.

They part the next day with Elizabeth hoping no one else becomes aware they spent the night together. Regardless of how (mostly) innocent their interaction was, her reputation would be ruined. She's convinced Darcy has no desire to marry her despite their passionate kisses, his insistance that she promise to contact him immediately should there be any threat of scandal, and his reassurance that he would marry her if that should happen.

Then Elizabeth meets Mr. Wickham. She still doesn't know what to think of Mr. Darcy, who has mostly reverted to his aloof mask when she sees him in company. Wickham's tale of woe tips her back to deciding Darcy is thoroughly disagreeable.

Wickham is SUCH a slimy snake throughout the book! Hs hears about Darcy's insult of Elizabeth at the Meryton assembly and the curious coincidence that both were missing in the same woodland overnight. What would be more distasteful to Wickham's enemy than to marry a woman with no connections or wealth that he doesn't even like? After successfully forcing their betrothal, Wickham continues to feed Elizabeth lies about her intended. He aims to fuel her dislike for Darcy and ensure he will have a truly miserable marriage. As he learns more about their relationship, his villainous plans grow even further.

The situation evolves credibly without going over the top. I love the conversations between Elizabeth and Darcy, which seem natural. And their chemistry leaps off the page during several passionate interludes. The novella is well edited.

Content is clean.

[wosedwew · Rating 4 out of 5]

It rained wildly, desperately, as though the sky had something to prove. ~ Abby Geni

Many JAFF stories begin with Our Dear Couple trapped together in a cabin. The reason for all the “trapped” stories seems obvious – the device works. Our Dear Couple is forced to communicate – and that is the missing element in so many angst-filled stories.

After the rain, they leave the cabin and go their separate ways. Of course, many people are combing the area looking for them and unfortunately, Sir William (one of the good-natured, gossiping Lucases) happens upon both of them in the same area. They each deny having seen the other but suspicions grow.

Nature keeps secrets, man cannot. ~ James Lendall Basford

George Wickham, laboring under the idea that Darcy would hate being married to Elizabeth, is central to keeping gossip building. Then, when he realizes there is a good feeling between the couple, he sees his mistake.

“Entirely a Matter of Chance” is a clean, well-written story that I enjoyed very much. There is an especially nice scene at the end between Darcy and Lydia Bennet.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys JAFF.

A rainy day is the perfect time for a walk in the woods. ~ Rachel Carson

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute idea. I just felt that it made no sense how dense Elizabeth was about the lies she was being told. Then all of a sudden she just figures it out? that seems too much of a stretch for me. there were also some errors that were noticeable. However, I enjoyed this story. My time to read has been lmited so i had to read it over a week. it may have been more enjoyable in a shorter sitting. :)

[Gail Frisby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

Good storyline, loved Mr Darcy and lizzy. Glad lizzy didn't need to be told Wickham was a scoundrel. Lydia finally learned some sense.

[Francisca Raquel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an annoying reading, although the plot is very enjoyable, since I love versions where Darcy and Elizabeth find themselves in situations that unfortunately require a marriage, although one of the two find themselves vehemently opposed to the idea, the character Elizabeth here is extremely foolish, only falling into the reality of who Wickham is after catching him in an extremely embarrassing situation. But, the strange of reading this book that is at all times thought, "the author plagiarized herself".

I've read this story, this sequence, maybe some events are in a reverse order, but I've read this, being very similar to a version I read just a few days ago, so it was very strange and the strangest that checking now, the books are from different authors.

The book in question that is very similar to this is In the Library at Netherfield Park: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Amelia Wood, released this year, the only one in this story that is indeed different is the first part where Darcy and Elizabeth find themselves isolated in a place that is not the library as we see in Amelia's reading , but in a cabin in the woods.

Something has to be verified by the authors, or responsible, since Sophia has been gone for many years, or if this is just a poor understanding of a very observant reader.

What I realized having done the readings of both books very closely, is the author may not have plagiarized, but certainly there must have been a very strange coincidence by being very similar to this story of Sophia that was published in a very previous year, this or there was a copy of ideas and sequences because there is too much similarity, such so that as I read, I thought, I've read it, maybe not exactly in these words but no doubt the narrative sequence and progression at the end is the same idea with other words. Forgive me for a complete mistake.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable, romantic read. Even though this is not necessarily an original plot, it was a sweet one. The circumstances that lead both Darcy and Elizabeth to the cottage seemed plausible and were well written and fun to read. I know Lizzy was deceived by Wickham's lies in the original novel, but this Elizabeth did seem a little too gullible at times regarding Wickham. She had already learned more about Darcy's true character and even had feelings for him and still easily believed Wickham over Darcy. That was my biggest complaint, but it was easily overcome and dealt with, so I was able to reconcile myself. Overall, I enjoyed this one!

[Kimbelle Pease · Rating 5 out of 5]

A treat discovered/rediscovered on my kindle! A compromise, a kiss that was overwhelmingly perfect, an attraction that was inevitable and welcome. There is a sweet pleasure when what you want is also what everyone else expects, and I prefer this version of a compromise to one that is born in anger just because the author gives more moments, more intensity, more want, more pleasure in the pages so that you can feel her love of writing it as you read it. I would recommend it to anyone who might have it from the days of ago!

[lori huff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another cabin story

This is another version in which Darcy and Elizabeth are stuck during a storm in a secluded cabin. I like these variations because they force ODC to spend time together and talk. This usually results in a greater understanding of each other, and eliminates some of the stupid misunderstandings that result from people in this era never stating clearly what their feelings are.

However, in this story Elizabeth is particularly pig-headed and fickle. She is antagonistic and determined to find fault with whatever Darcy does or says. The kind hearted Elizabeth is nowhere to be found. Then, just when you think she might be softening towards him, Wickham is able to change her mind with ease. She has no convictions, and her opinion changes with the wind.

The story is well written, but the attraction between Elizabeth and Darcy seems to be solely based on what a good kisser Mr. Darcy is, and not on anything more substantial. I can't like an Elizabeth who flip-flops so easily in her attitude towards Darcy, and her decision at the end to be in love with him seems contrived.

Also, I wasn't satisfied with what happens with Mr. Wickham. I wanted him to face some consequences for all the trouble he caused, but nothing was said about it. The ending left me flat, and I recommend it with reservations.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable, romantic read. Even though this is not necessarily an original plot, it was a sweet one. The circumstances that lead both Darcy and Elizabeth to the cottage seemed plausible and were well written and fun to read. I know Lizzy was deceived by Wickham's lies in the original novel, but this Elizabeth did seem a little too gullible at times regarding Wickham. She had already learned more about Darcy's true character and even had feelings for him and still easily believed Wickham over Darcy. That was my biggest complaint, but it was easily overcome and dealt with, so I was able to reconcile myself. Overall, I enjoyed this one!

[Sabrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would say 3.5 stars. This story upset me and equally made me happy. I hated Wickham in this and his stint is long (well too long for me) and I was beginning to expect Elizabeth to completely fall for his lies and deception..., thankfully our girl does not let us down. However, she does allow things Wickham says to feed doubts but she gathers her courage and decides to seek out answers for herself, from the source. I love this and applaud that she didn't take someone's word against Darcy without confronting Darcy, himself. There are too many stories where misunderstandings can be cleared up if they would just speak to each other.

[Joanna Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet romantic p&p variation

Nothing too ridiculous or melodramatic here, it is a rather overused trope that ODC are trapped together in a compromise leading to forces marriage, but I think this is probably one of my favourite variations. There are the usual misunderstandings and miscommunications, ODC behave more overtly passionately than expected and there are moments where the narrative feels a tad jarring, but it is overall satisfying and charming to read. I think the characterisation was absolutely spot on, which is what earns it the full 5 stars.

[Sarah Pau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet!

I tend to be a purist when it comes to enjoying Jane Austen. So i think of all the variations I’ve read (and there are many) as new stories written about my two favorite characters. This story is one of the sweetest variations, and a much more believable one then some others I’ve read. I often caught myself reacting to the dialogue much the same as if it were me as Elizabeth. IVe always prided myself as having much the same wit and sarcasm as her so i enjoyed the story as it unfolded. Mr. Darcy was perfect as ever.

[Christina, but with tea · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up. I did enjoy this story, but there were quite a few grammatical/editing errors that were distracting. There were also a few things taking place that I don’t think were correct to the social mores of the time, ie Elizabeth traveling alone to London, going alone to Darcy’s house with her Aunt’s knowledge, etc. I’m not always a stickler for accuracy in my historical romance, but these were things that could have easily been found with minimal research so it really pulled me from the story.

[Jacqueline Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Unexpected Marriage

In this Pride and Prejudice variation Elizabeth and Darcy are forced to marry after they spend the night alone in a cabin due to a storm. At this point he loves her but she does not acknowledge any feeling, except dislike, for him. The story was at times funny at times romantic and I enjoyed it.

The negatives of the story are its lack of adherence to regency behavior and how much Elizabeth is duped by Wickham. There are also a few grammatical errors. However, overall this is an interesting story. Just don’t expect a regency romance.

[Phil Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book

This was one of the best books, of this genre, that I have read in a while. The author kept this reader entertained throughout, which made for a truly enjoyable read. I heartily recommend obtaining this, as you won't be disappointed!

[Jeanlou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful

Well written, little angst, Darcy's and Elizabeth's personalities progressing nicely. The snake Wickham doing his worse but failing, the various settings : the cabin, Darcy House contributing to a happy reading

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lizzy is unbelievably credulous when it comes to Wickham’s stories, especially in believing them to be proven because of Lydia gossiping! Otherwise it’s a sweet story and fairly low angst.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even 3 1/2, I feel a bit generous about this one.
The idea is very good and the development is not too bad. Better editing could make it a real 4

[Angie Reon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book!

Wow! Imaginative, well edited, creative, and enjoyable! Would love to see a sequel. Love everything about the story and I highly recommend it.