Kitty’s Fortune by Elaine Burkett

In this fourth entrant to the Bennets’ Fortune Series, Kitty is the main character, instead of simply being an accessory to her younger sister, Lydia, as she is usually portrayed.

As a young girl, Kitty became friends with an elderly lady, named Mrs. Parker. Kitty’s youth helped cheer the lonely older lady, and Mrs. Parker’s patient wisdom made Kitty wiser. When Mrs. Parker passed away, her remaining small fortune was left to Kitty. It wasn’t much, and it didn’t change her life in any way. Months later, however, Kitty learned that Mrs. Parker’s fortune was far greater than anyone, including Mrs. Parker, knew. Now the heiress of a very large fortune, Kitty is determined to never marry so that she can retain control of her fortune, thereby providing for her sisters and her mother when her father dies.
To help her meet and socialize with people of her new status, Kitty is sent to a school for young ladies of similar fortunes. There she meets, and becomes close friends with, Georgiana Darcy. Through her friendship with Georgiana, Kitty becomes acquainted with Mr. Darcy as well as their cousins, Colonel Fitzwilliam and Stephen Fitzwilliam, Viscount Hilldale and heir to the Earl of Matlock.
Viscount Hilldale first meets Kitty Bennet when Kitty is merely fifteen. His own life is in turmoil, and he barely notices the young girl who Georgiana brought to Pemberley for the summer. After a short exchange at dinner one evening, however, she sticks in his memory as a very unusual girl.
The path to happily ever after is far from straight for these two unusual people. On the one hand, Kitty has no intention of ever marrying and does not even think about falling in love. On the other hand, Stephen was burned badly by his first marriage and does not wish to experience anything like that again.

Despite the difficulties that lay in the paths of Kitty and Stephen, there is little real angst here, just enough to give interest to the story. Please enjoy this insight into what Kitty might have been had she spent her formative years in school instead of at Longbourn.