Duty and Desire Duty and Desire Duty and Desire is a 2004 historical Romance novel by Pamela Aidan. The second in the "Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman" trilogy, the novel examines Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" from the perspective of Fitzwilliam Darcy, the central male character of that novel. In relation to "Pride and Prejudice", on which the novel is based, "Duty and Desire" takes place between Darcy's initial leaving of Hertfordshire and his reappearance in "Pride"'s narrative at Rosings Park. Following on from the events of "An Assembly Such as This", the novel opens with Fitzwilliam Darcy preparing for the Christmas season with his
Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman about her class and family. She is the central character of "Pride and Prejudice", and as with Darcy in the earlier novel, she is absent for long stretches of the overall narrative (and does not appear at all within the second book), but is a central background presence within all of the novels. Fletcher is Darcy's valet, who does not appear in "Pride and Prejudice". He is an intelligent and talented man who is very loyal to Darcy, who clearly appreciates him in return despite his reserved manner and his formal approach to the relationship between master and servant. He