Darcy Trilogy

I think you all know that I'm a die-hard P&P fan, so it was fun to pick up these three books for more of a Darcy & Elizabeth fix. The trilogy shows what the life of a gentleman was back then, and frankly, it seems pretty darn frivolous and unfair by our standards: everyone who starts out as a servant remains so for the rest of his life; those born to privilege don't have to do anything except manage to dress well and not squander the family money. These books are well-written and entertaining. The second one, though, is simply filler, so I would suggest skipping it. It involves Darcy trying to forget Elizabeth (it does have a great title--Duty and Desire) and being entranced by a dangerous woman named Sylvanie. You'll grow to appreciate some new characters in this version of the story--particularly Darcy's astute valet and his heroic friend (who seems so much cooler than Darcy when you get to know what he's really about). Still, when the last book came to an end for me, I was still touched by the beauty of love won, and I appreciated seeing Darcy's change from book I to book III as he softens. Has anyone else read these?