A Christmas Miracle At Longbourn: A Pride and Prejudice Variation (The Darcy And Lizzy Miracles Book 1) by Catherine Bilson

Author:Catherine Bilson
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Read, Pride and Prejudice & Related Fandoms
Publisher: Shenanigans Press
Published: 2018-05-19T04:00:00+00:00

Oblivious to the fate being determined for him, at that very moment George Wickham was whistling tunefully to himself as he rode along a quiet country lane. He had indeed been heading for London, and had made quite some headway on the trip on foot when he came across a rider who had paused on his early morning sojourn to relieve himself behind a tree.

Relieving the unfortunate man of his horse and his purse took a mere few minutes and then Wickham was on his way again, a good deal more swiftly. Still, it occurred to him that he was leaving quite a trail for the authorities to follow, when they inevitably came after him. He still wasn’t sure what had tipped Colonel Forster off, but sending Woakes and Carter to secure him rather than two enlisted men spoke volumes; whatever they had on him was serious. From interfering with the baker’s daughters — delightful wenches, all three of them — to the fact that he owed gambling debts to other members of the militia totalling more than five years’ worth of his salary, to the forged letters of recommendation which had helped him to get his commission in the first place, it could have been any one of quite a selection of things, really.

So once he’d seen the serious faces on the other two men, Wickham had moved into action. He was shaking Meryton’s dust from his boot heels less than a half-hour later, his pockets considerably heavier than they had been. Passing Haye Park two miles down the road, a flash of brilliance had inspired him to take a diversion. How many expensive gewgaws had he seen gracing Mrs Goulding’s plump neck, while the woman gave him come-hither eyes behind her ageing husband’s back? He’d been tempted to indulge, but he’d been hoping to fit in for a while, maybe even find a rich wife.

Mary King wasn’t pretty, but she was nicely dowered with expectations of plenty more when her wealthy uncle died, and as an added bonus she was stupid. Wickham knew he would have no trouble carrying on behind her back with whatever schemes and willing women he wished.

Sparing a moment to sigh for the loss of the comfortable future he’d envisioned - if only he’d managed to walk Mary down the aisle before Forster found him out! - Wickham kicked his purloined horse into a trot. He changed his mind about London when he passed a turning signposted for St. Albans, and made a snap decision to turn the horse’s head westward. London was, after all, the first place they would look for him, and really, there was nothing there for him. He’d worn out his welcome in the gaming hells long ago.

Bath, now. Bath was full of opportunities for a personable young man with money in his pocket. Wealthy old dowagers with failing health and pretty granddaughters ripe for the plucking. A name change might be in order, and perhaps a few alterations to his appearance.

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