A Companion For Miss Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Ellen Carstairs

Author:Ellen Carstairs [Carstairs, Ellen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-08-13T22:00:00+00:00

The dinner party that evening was a success. Jane was in looks, and her new dress added to her charms. Mr Bingley could not take his eyes from her. He was mesmerised by her when he walked into the drawing-room and he took a seat next to her, spending almost all his time talking to her. Without Miss Bingley to constantly interfere, he was able to do as he pleased, and spend his time talking to Jane.

The officers were all agreeable. They were good-humoured and soon the sound of conversation and laughter filled the Longbourn dining-room. The dinner was good and, afterwards, the gentlemen enjoyed the last of the Longbourn port when the ladies withdrew.

Before long, however, they were all together again in the drawing-room. Elizabeth had not had an opportunity to talk to Mr Wickham, as her sisters had engaged his attention before dinner, and during dinner he had been seated next to Mrs Philips. But now he came over to her and sat beside her.

To begin with, he complimented her on the excellence of the evening and made a few general remarks about the dinner, her sisters and the weather. But then he said, ‘I hear that Mr Darcy and his sister have returned to London. I am glad, for it means you have a holiday. I can now talk to you without feeling I am distracting you from your charge.’

‘Miss Darcy is no longer my charge,’ Elizabeth admitted. ‘She and her brother have returned to London.’

She tried to keep the emotion out of her voice but it was difficult, as it still hurt.

Mr Wickham looked surprised, then sympathetic, then thoughtful. After a few minutes, he began.

‘I hope I am not speaking out of turn, but I am glad you are no longer working for Mr Darcy.’

‘How so?’ asked Elizabeth.

‘He can be a difficult man to work for. I have been connected with his family since infancy and I think I know him better than most. He can be charming and agreeable when it suits him, but if it does not suit him then he can change rapidly, going from friendship to coldness in a very short space of time. He is a very wealthy man, and used to having his own way. He does not consider the feelings, or the needs, of others. It never occurs to him that the loss of his patronage might cause difficulties for those beneath him. He has been protected by his wealth all his life. Others are not so lucky.’

This fit in with her own situation so exactly that Elizabeth felt disheartened. She was now forced to admit that had been wrong in her estimation of Mr Darcy, completely wrong. She had thought he was a good and noble man, but now it seemed as if he made a habit of patronising people and then dropping them when it no longer suited him. It seemed as if she was not the only person to have suffered from his capriciousness. There was

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.