In the Neighborhood of Buckthorn Green (The Sweet Regency Romance Series #9)

Elizabeth and Jane visit Mrs. Bennet's cousin, the Vicar of Stonebridge Parish, and his daughter Marie Campbell, at the seaside, but an hour from Ramsgate. Their visit coincides with the local Horatio Buckthorn festival celebrating the town's founding father's lucky escape from a circus bear, and whose highlight is a reenactment of the event. Elizabeth is delighted with the scheme.

Viscount Whittleston, master of Stonebridge, just down the road from Buckthorn Green, is much involved with the planning of the festival and an enthusiastic participant. His son, and his son's friend Mr. Darcy, are not so enthusiastic as they both think it ridiculous.

Elizabeth meets Mr. Darcy at the opening ceremony, in which game young men make speeches about Horatio Buckthorn in an effort to get elected the man who will play the hero in the reenactment. Darcy would never consider participating and Elizabeth sees that he disdains everything about the festival and the charms of eccentric Buckthorn Green. Mr. Bingley, however, throws himself into the proceedings and wins a part. Sadly, that part is of the bear and Mr. Bingley will soon find himself racing across the green wearing fur pelts, in pursuit of Horatio Buckthorn.

Georgiana comes to stay at Stonebridge, and Wickham is in the neighborhood, keeping himself out of Darcy's sight. Elizabeth, Jane, Darcy and Bingley are much thrown together in the preparations for the festival and Elizabeth must decide: who is the real Mr. Darcy? Is he the arrogant Darcy who would not embarrass himself for anybody's amusement? Or is he the affectionate Darcy that Georgiana so earnestly claims that he is? They are two different men - one she could love, and the other she could not.

Read the beginning of In the Neighborhood of Buckthorn Green:
Mrs. Bennet laid the letter next to her on the sofa. “Marie Campbell writes to invite us to Buckthorn Green,” she said. “I’m sure I don’t know why she should. What do we care for their little festival? I don’t understand half of what she’s said about it.”
“She invites us, mama,” Elizabeth said, “because she is your cousin. And, you know perfectly well that the Horatio Buckthorn Festival is the highlight of the Buckthorn Green social season. Marie told us of it when she was here. Her father is the vicar and so must be much involved with the planning of it.”
“But why insist that we come? I never did understand all the excitement about that Horatio fellow. She’s gone on and on about it in her letter and it doesn’t sound very interesting, if you ask me. I’m sure we have enough interesting people in our own neighborhood.”
Elizabeth reached for the letter. “May I see?” she asked.
Mrs. Bennet picked up the letter and handed it to her daughter. “You won’t understand it any better than I, Lizzy. Do not think that you will.”
My dearest cousin,
I pray this letter finds you well. You were most kind to have me at Longbourn last summer and, as I hinted at the time, I should like to repay the invitation. My father heartily approves of the idea and so I hope the Bennets may come to us in August. Our sea air will be a welcome change at that time of year and you would have the further enjoyment of being present for our annual Horatio Buckthorn Festival.
Horatio Buckthorn, if you will remember, is rather famous in these parts. Most of the neighborhood claims some sort of relation to the man, though were one to examine the genealogy of such claims, one might find enough twists and turns and vague connections and suppositions to cast more than a shadow of doubt. One might conclude that there was just as much chance that the individual in question had descended from Henry VIII as Horatio Buckthorn.