Read Online Mr. Darcy Forever by Victoria Connelly - Free Book Online
Authors: Victoria Connelly
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eyes widened in surprise as she saw that the book he'd been reading was the collected letters of Jane Austen. He didn’t look like a Janeite but one could never tell. Jane Austen’s appeal went far beyond romantic females.
She watched as he paid for his meal and placed his book very carefully inside a neat leather briefcase which fastened with a satisfying snap. He then walked towards her and, before leaving the restaurant, he gave her a small smile. Sarah instantly felt her face flush. She'd been caught staring. She never normally stared - it was so rude. Still, if she hadn't been staring, she'd never have seen his smile and it has been a very cute smile indeed.
Later that night, Mia lay awake in the guest bedroom at Southville Terrace, staring at the ceiling. She’d felt awful at having been so mean to Shelley. After all, she'd only wanted to help. But she couldn't. That was the truth of the matter and Mia knew that it was probably best that Shelley knew as little as possible about her life in London.
But how she missed her dear friend. Not long ago, they would have confided in each other about everything. No event in their daily lives was too small or insignificant to muse over and dissect over a cheap bottle of wine and a box of chocolates. Mia missed those conversations so much. She remembered how they would sit on the carpet in their scruffy rented flat in London, their backs up against the sofa as they made themselves a little picnic, with a Jane Austen adaptation playing on the TV before them. How many evenings they would pass that way, bemoaning failed relationships, stressing about the scripts they had to learn for drama school and musing about the future which would invariably feature a tall, dark hero striding into their lives and making everything perfect.
‘ Not that I don't want to be an independent woman,’ Shelley would say, ‘but I'd be quite happy for the man in my life to own an estate like Pemberley.’
Mia had agreed wholeheartedly. Fine country estates had to be owned by somebody so why shouldn't they belong to the men that they would one day date? But a Fitzwilliam Darcy or a Henry Tilney had yet to make an appearance on the horizon and both Mia and Shelley had to get their fix from fiction rather than real life.
Mia wondered what had been going on in her friend’s life. They’d talked so little over the last few years and Mia realised that so much had changed between them. Perhaps the next few days would make amends and they’d open up to one another.
Shelley had known that something was wrong straight away, hadn’t she? And Mia realised that her friend probably wouldn't let the matter drop until she'd got to the bottom of things. And here she was thinking that she could leave all her problems behind her in London. She didn't want them following her to Bath but you took your problems with you wherever you went. A beautiful place didn’t have magical qualities which vanquished all your troubles. Even if Mia was to find herself whisked into the very heart of Pemberley, she’d still have to deal with the problems she’d accumulated in her life. She couldn’t just shut them out.
‘ I know I can’t,’ she whispered into the darkness of the room. ‘But let me forget about them for a little while at least.’
Tomorrow was the promenade and the official beginning of the Jane Austen Festival. It was always a day to look forward to and Mia had no intentions of her past clouding over such a day and so she closed her eyes, quite determined to dream of frivolous things like girls in bright bonnets and men in tight breeches.
Chapter 10
The day of the promenade dawned and, as the clouds cleared, the sun got brighter and brighter, making the honey-coloured stone of the houses of Bath glow with warmth.
As Sarah stood looking out of the window down onto the street below, she couldn’t help but feel excited about the morning ahead. She hadn't slept very well but that was normal when
She watched as he paid for his meal and placed his book very carefully inside a neat leather briefcase which fastened with a satisfying snap. He then walked towards her and, before leaving the restaurant, he gave her a small smile. Sarah instantly felt her face flush. She'd been caught staring. She never normally stared - it was so rude. Still, if she hadn't been staring, she'd never have seen his smile and it has been a very cute smile indeed.
Later that night, Mia lay awake in the guest bedroom at Southville Terrace, staring at the ceiling. She’d felt awful at having been so mean to Shelley. After all, she'd only wanted to help. But she couldn't. That was the truth of the matter and Mia knew that it was probably best that Shelley knew as little as possible about her life in London.
But how she missed her dear friend. Not long ago, they would have confided in each other about everything. No event in their daily lives was too small or insignificant to muse over and dissect over a cheap bottle of wine and a box of chocolates. Mia missed those conversations so much. She remembered how they would sit on the carpet in their scruffy rented flat in London, their backs up against the sofa as they made themselves a little picnic, with a Jane Austen adaptation playing on the TV before them. How many evenings they would pass that way, bemoaning failed relationships, stressing about the scripts they had to learn for drama school and musing about the future which would invariably feature a tall, dark hero striding into their lives and making everything perfect.
‘ Not that I don't want to be an independent woman,’ Shelley would say, ‘but I'd be quite happy for the man in my life to own an estate like Pemberley.’
Mia had agreed wholeheartedly. Fine country estates had to be owned by somebody so why shouldn't they belong to the men that they would one day date? But a Fitzwilliam Darcy or a Henry Tilney had yet to make an appearance on the horizon and both Mia and Shelley had to get their fix from fiction rather than real life.
Mia wondered what had been going on in her friend’s life. They’d talked so little over the last few years and Mia realised that so much had changed between them. Perhaps the next few days would make amends and they’d open up to one another.
Shelley had known that something was wrong straight away, hadn’t she? And Mia realised that her friend probably wouldn't let the matter drop until she'd got to the bottom of things. And here she was thinking that she could leave all her problems behind her in London. She didn't want them following her to Bath but you took your problems with you wherever you went. A beautiful place didn’t have magical qualities which vanquished all your troubles. Even if Mia was to find herself whisked into the very heart of Pemberley, she’d still have to deal with the problems she’d accumulated in her life. She couldn’t just shut them out.
‘ I know I can’t,’ she whispered into the darkness of the room. ‘But let me forget about them for a little while at least.’
Tomorrow was the promenade and the official beginning of the Jane Austen Festival. It was always a day to look forward to and Mia had no intentions of her past clouding over such a day and so she closed her eyes, quite determined to dream of frivolous things like girls in bright bonnets and men in tight breeches.
Chapter 10
The day of the promenade dawned and, as the clouds cleared, the sun got brighter and brighter, making the honey-coloured stone of the houses of Bath glow with warmth.
As Sarah stood looking out of the window down onto the street below, she couldn’t help but feel excited about the morning ahead. She hadn't slept very well but that was normal when
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