Wickham's Paw Prints
(2026)(A book in the Darcy and Elizabeth Forever series)
A novel by Rachelle Ayala
Elizabeth rescues a puppy George Wickham abandoned, and Darcy falls first… helplessly, with wet sleeves and soap in his hair.
Beau isn’t any ordinary spaniel. He tugs Elizabeth’s skirts as she dances with Mr. Wickham while Mr. Darcy watches with hearts in his eyes. When the puppy leads Elizabeth on a wild chase into the hedgerows, it is Darcy, not Wickham, who kneels in the mud to coax the frightened creature to safety.
Elizabeth becomes the worst puppy owner in Hertfordshire—dropping scraps from the table, allowing Beau to soil his silky fur with mud and other unmentionables, and, most joyously for Mrs. Bennet, compromising herself with Mr. Darcy, soaked and disheveled, in front of a washtub while bathing a very naughty puppy who puts paw prints on Darcy’s stiff cravat.
To preserve Elizabeth’s reputation, Mr. Bennet forces a two-month public courtship to satisfy society’s expectations. Elizabeth agrees—but only to protect Jane’s prospects with Bingley. She has no intention of making this easy for Mr. Darcy.
Darcy agrees because he stopped thinking clearly the moment Elizabeth laughed at him over a washtub.
But Bingley has hired Wickham as the steward of Netherfield Park. Darcy is forced into silence by his sister’s compromising love letters as he watches Wickham charm, smile, and cajole the female half of Meryton into dangerous confidences. Only Beau knows, growling and warning Elizabeth while Wickham pretends to be her friend—and advisor when it comes to her dealings with Darcy.
Between forced proximity, puppy-induced compromises, and hunting a cache of secrets, Elizabeth discovers that pretending to court Darcy is dangerously easy. Admitting she’s stopped pretending? That requires trusting a dog who judges character and the realization that love means trusting the man who manages and not the one who smiles.
Sometimes the heart follows where muddy paw prints lead.
Features:Abandoned spaniel rescue • He falls first • Darcy smitten at the Meryton Assembly • He finds her extraordinary, not merely tolerable • Pet matchmaker • Puppy disrupts Wickham’s dance • Compromising bath scene • Worst puppy owner in Hertfordshire • Forced courtship arrangement • Enemies to lovers • Wickham as thieving steward • Crime-fighting Darcy • Blackmail and extortion plot • Protective hero learns partnership • Independent heroine • found forever family • Clean Regency romance • Guaranteed tail-wagging HEA
127,000 words
Genre: Historical Romance
Beau isn’t any ordinary spaniel. He tugs Elizabeth’s skirts as she dances with Mr. Wickham while Mr. Darcy watches with hearts in his eyes. When the puppy leads Elizabeth on a wild chase into the hedgerows, it is Darcy, not Wickham, who kneels in the mud to coax the frightened creature to safety.
Elizabeth becomes the worst puppy owner in Hertfordshire—dropping scraps from the table, allowing Beau to soil his silky fur with mud and other unmentionables, and, most joyously for Mrs. Bennet, compromising herself with Mr. Darcy, soaked and disheveled, in front of a washtub while bathing a very naughty puppy who puts paw prints on Darcy’s stiff cravat.
To preserve Elizabeth’s reputation, Mr. Bennet forces a two-month public courtship to satisfy society’s expectations. Elizabeth agrees—but only to protect Jane’s prospects with Bingley. She has no intention of making this easy for Mr. Darcy.
Darcy agrees because he stopped thinking clearly the moment Elizabeth laughed at him over a washtub.
But Bingley has hired Wickham as the steward of Netherfield Park. Darcy is forced into silence by his sister’s compromising love letters as he watches Wickham charm, smile, and cajole the female half of Meryton into dangerous confidences. Only Beau knows, growling and warning Elizabeth while Wickham pretends to be her friend—and advisor when it comes to her dealings with Darcy.
Between forced proximity, puppy-induced compromises, and hunting a cache of secrets, Elizabeth discovers that pretending to court Darcy is dangerously easy. Admitting she’s stopped pretending? That requires trusting a dog who judges character and the realization that love means trusting the man who manages and not the one who smiles.
Sometimes the heart follows where muddy paw prints lead.
Features:Abandoned spaniel rescue • He falls first • Darcy smitten at the Meryton Assembly • He finds her extraordinary, not merely tolerable • Pet matchmaker • Puppy disrupts Wickham’s dance • Compromising bath scene • Worst puppy owner in Hertfordshire • Forced courtship arrangement • Enemies to lovers • Wickham as thieving steward • Crime-fighting Darcy • Blackmail and extortion plot • Protective hero learns partnership • Independent heroine • found forever family • Clean Regency romance • Guaranteed tail-wagging HEA
127,000 words
Genre: Historical Romance
Used availability for Rachelle Ayala's Wickham's Paw Prints