Read Online The Last Waltz: . . . another pride and prejudice journey of love by Pat Santarsiero - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Pat Santarsiero
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effect upon her at all. Hiding his astonishment, he looked up at the gentleman who stood before him, waiting.
“So it is your plan to use me as an impetus in the hope that she will regain her confidence, thus allowing some other gentleman to eventually court her?”
“Does that offend you, Mr. Darcy?”
A smile slowly appeared on Darcy’s lips. “Perhaps, a little.”
Mr. Bennet’s mood lightened for the first time since he entered the study. “Surely you have no designs on my daughter. As much as I believe she has merits that would impress any fine gentleman, even I understand that the richest man in Derbyshire must marry someone of equal wealth and consequence.”
“So I have been reminded since the day I reached my majority,” answered Darcy.
“Well, what say you? Would you be willing to help my Lizzy regain her confidence?”
Darcy looked up into the hopeful eyes of Mr. Bennet. He found he could not deny him. “I don’t know if your plan will succeed, Mr. Bennet, but yes, I would be willing to assist you.”
As he thought again upon her sweet face, he let her name drift through his mind: Lizzy. Sweet Lizzy. Yes, the name suits her well.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“As I live and breathe!” cried the young Lieutenant. “If it isn’t George Wickham!”
Lieutenant Denny put down his glass of ale on the bar and extended his hand towards the tall, dark-haired man.
“What brings you to Meryton?” asked the young man dressed in regimentals.
“I may be seeking a commission, and I heard the militia was making its way here,” replied Wickham. “How are they treating you?”
“Colonel Forster is a fair man; I have no complaints.”
George Wickham’s luck had finally changed at the card tables, providing him just enough money to buy a commission. Of course, the merchants in town had no idea that his credit was less than stellar; he had used every charm he had to convince them that he was a gentleman who honoured his debts.
He had also used his charm on their daughters, who turned out to be just as gullible and just as anxious to believe he was of noble character. It was his plan to move on with the militia before they learnt of his deceit.
In less than a year, he had gone through the three thousand pounds Darcy had given him in lieu of the living. When he had beseeched Darcy a second time for more money, he had been unceremoniously refused, and last year’s scheme to elope with the young and naïve Georgiana had been thwarted by Darcy’s unexpected arrival at Ramsgate. Right now, this was his best recourse: buy a commission and hope for some opportunity to present itself.
Besides trying to find ways to live a privileged life without the burden of work, Wickham’s aim in life was to make Darcy’s existence as miserable as possible; his envy and resentment of the man having begun from when they were children. When one plan failed, he would just bide his time until another scheme could be devised. He found it quite an amusing pastime.
He would wait for the right moment, as he always did with each new town he inhabited, to spread his story about his unfortunate dealings with Mr. Darcy. He was always fascinated how most people were eager to believe the worst of someone who was in possession of a large fortune, especially when they were not.
In the past, whenever he relayed his fictitious tale, it seemed to endear him to the women he met and helped forge a bond with the gentlemen who sympathized with his plight. Even though they were not acquainted with the man in question, they seemed more than willing to believe that Mr. Darcy had cheated him out of his inheritance.
And Darcy unwittingly helped him in his fabrication, for even those who had actually met the man, mistook his taciturn reserve as arrogance.
Yes, Meryton seemed like just the perfect place for him right now. His charm and good looks would not be wasted here. Besides, it was far enough away from both Pemberley and London that he had no
“So it is your plan to use me as an impetus in the hope that she will regain her confidence, thus allowing some other gentleman to eventually court her?”
“Does that offend you, Mr. Darcy?”
A smile slowly appeared on Darcy’s lips. “Perhaps, a little.”
Mr. Bennet’s mood lightened for the first time since he entered the study. “Surely you have no designs on my daughter. As much as I believe she has merits that would impress any fine gentleman, even I understand that the richest man in Derbyshire must marry someone of equal wealth and consequence.”
“So I have been reminded since the day I reached my majority,” answered Darcy.
“Well, what say you? Would you be willing to help my Lizzy regain her confidence?”
Darcy looked up into the hopeful eyes of Mr. Bennet. He found he could not deny him. “I don’t know if your plan will succeed, Mr. Bennet, but yes, I would be willing to assist you.”
As he thought again upon her sweet face, he let her name drift through his mind: Lizzy. Sweet Lizzy. Yes, the name suits her well.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“As I live and breathe!” cried the young Lieutenant. “If it isn’t George Wickham!”
Lieutenant Denny put down his glass of ale on the bar and extended his hand towards the tall, dark-haired man.
“What brings you to Meryton?” asked the young man dressed in regimentals.
“I may be seeking a commission, and I heard the militia was making its way here,” replied Wickham. “How are they treating you?”
“Colonel Forster is a fair man; I have no complaints.”
George Wickham’s luck had finally changed at the card tables, providing him just enough money to buy a commission. Of course, the merchants in town had no idea that his credit was less than stellar; he had used every charm he had to convince them that he was a gentleman who honoured his debts.
He had also used his charm on their daughters, who turned out to be just as gullible and just as anxious to believe he was of noble character. It was his plan to move on with the militia before they learnt of his deceit.
In less than a year, he had gone through the three thousand pounds Darcy had given him in lieu of the living. When he had beseeched Darcy a second time for more money, he had been unceremoniously refused, and last year’s scheme to elope with the young and naïve Georgiana had been thwarted by Darcy’s unexpected arrival at Ramsgate. Right now, this was his best recourse: buy a commission and hope for some opportunity to present itself.
Besides trying to find ways to live a privileged life without the burden of work, Wickham’s aim in life was to make Darcy’s existence as miserable as possible; his envy and resentment of the man having begun from when they were children. When one plan failed, he would just bide his time until another scheme could be devised. He found it quite an amusing pastime.
He would wait for the right moment, as he always did with each new town he inhabited, to spread his story about his unfortunate dealings with Mr. Darcy. He was always fascinated how most people were eager to believe the worst of someone who was in possession of a large fortune, especially when they were not.
In the past, whenever he relayed his fictitious tale, it seemed to endear him to the women he met and helped forge a bond with the gentlemen who sympathized with his plight. Even though they were not acquainted with the man in question, they seemed more than willing to believe that Mr. Darcy had cheated him out of his inheritance.
And Darcy unwittingly helped him in his fabrication, for even those who had actually met the man, mistook his taciturn reserve as arrogance.
Yes, Meryton seemed like just the perfect place for him right now. His charm and good looks would not be wasted here. Besides, it was far enough away from both Pemberley and London that he had no
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