Friends and Enemies: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by King J Dawn

Author:King, J Dawn [King, J Dawn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: amazon, Romance, historical
ISBN: 1547025689
Amazon: B072C83R3D
Publisher: Quiet Mountain Press, LLC
Published: 2017-06-04T22:00:00+00:00

18

He was livid. Darcy rode towards Longbourn like the hounds of Hell were hot on his heels. Wickham was gone, missing from the regiment and unseen in Meryton. Richard had demanded information from the rake’s commanding officer, and Colonel Forster had responded by sharing how Wickham had vanished into mid-air two nights prior. A search had been started, but no trace had been found. By all accounts, there were no ladies missing from the area, and all of the other officers were accounted for. He had gone alone.

Arriving at the Bennet home, Darcy turned towards his cousin. “Be prepared for anything.”

Only for Miss Elizabeth would Darcy again approach the estate. Four days had passed since she had sent an express to her father warning him about allowing association with Wickham. When Darcy had departed Gracechurch Street after visiting Georgiana that morning, Miss Elizabeth had yet to receive a reply.

“Tell me, again, why are we here?” Richard sighed. “I cannot imagine either of us will be welcomed by the master.”

“I suppose not,” Darcy mused, as he dismounted. Dropping his reins, he set out for the front door. “Miss Elizabeth will want to know any news from her family, and I have a suspicion that her youngest two sisters might have an idea as to which direction Wickham might have headed.”

The colonel nodded, following behind.

Mr. Bennet’s “enter” was brusque, as was expected. Again, he offered no courtesy. Neither did Darcy. Without preamble, he stated the purpose of his call.

“Your daughter has been awaiting a reply to her express. The colonel and I are headed back to town and would be pleased to carry any correspondence to Gracechurch Street.”

“You are now delivering the post, are you?” Miss Elizabeth’s father scoffed. “You are a man of many talents, Mr. Darcy.”

“I am in the service of your beloved child.” Darcy regulated his breathing so he would keep his temper restrained. Miss Elizabeth loved the man in front of him. She would be angry if Darcy unsettled him. It was not fair, but it was one way to please her.

Mr. Bennet waved his hand. “Jane wrote to Lizzy. I had nothing to add.”

“Nothing?” Darcy almost had to bite his tongue. “Are you aware George Wickham is no longer in Meryton?”

“My youngest have made me aware.” Mr. Bennet sat back in his chair and folded his hands, resting them on his middle. He peered at them from over the top of his spectacles. “For some odd reason, the local merchants denied the lieutenant additional credit. I understand his movements were curtailed and his participation in social events nonexistent. Both Kitty and Lydia have yet to stop wailing over their heartache.” He chuckled.

There was nothing about the conversation that Darcy found funny. Judging by the expression on Richard’s face, neither did he.

“For some odd reason?” Darcy asked, his voice unusually quiet. “You do not know why Wickham was denied entry into Meryton’s businesses? Did you not care to discover the character of the man you had hoped to attach to Miss Elizabeth and to your household?”

“My Lizzy has a discerning eye, Mr.

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.