The Luxury of Silence by Susan Adriani. ★★★★☆

A man at the end of his tether, after barely saving his young sister, Georgiana from ruination, Fitzwilliam Darcy seeks peace and solace for them both in Hertfordshire.

There he meets Elizabeth Bennet. Accustomed to deference and flattery from the women of the ton, he is chagrined to be taken to task by Elizabeth for a moment of rudeness. 

From this develops a friendship of frankness and warmth. A mutual love of nature, literature and debate deepens the relationship, which slowly becomes something more. 

Elizabeth loses her heart to Darcy, but has no expectation of marriage to a man, so much above her in Society.

For Darcy, friendship and infatuation develop simultaneously but duty to family and status, force him to contain his feelings. 

Will love and friendship triumph over the expectations of family and Society?

This is a delightful book. Both Elizabeth and Darcy are pleasing characters and the frissons of barely suppressed passion keep everything simmering nicely.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

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