Kidnapped and Compromised: A Steamy Pride and Prejudice Variation (Steamy Pride and Prejudice Variations) by Demi Monde

Author:Demi Monde [Monde, Demi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-12-26T05:00:00+00:00

Mr. Darcy entered the Bennet’s home and paused by the closed door to the sitting room. However, the maid continued to walk down the hallway. He tapped his beaver hat against his leg, then followed her around the corner. The housemaid stood in front of an open door halfway down the corridor.

“Mr. Darcy, sir.”

He entered the study, which was too small for his tastes. It looked comfortable, though crowded it was with several full bookshelves, a globe on a stand, a window, and enough lamps to show that this room was used often. The Bennet patriarch stood, unsmiling, by the well-used desk with his hands clasped behind him.

Mr. Darcy tightened his grip on his hat as the servant closed the door. Mr. Bennet continued to scowl at him, and several minutes passed in this fashion before Mr. Darcy broke the silence. “Why have you called me here, Mr. Bennet?”

“You know what this is about.”

“I confess your note provided no information as to the substance of your request.”

Mr. Bennet snorted. “My daughter informed me—” Mr. Darcy twitched. “No, not Lizzy. She confided in her elder sister, who had the strength of mind to know that I needed to be enlightened as to what had actually occurred. Events that will affect Lizzy’s reputation and her sisters’ as well.”

Mr. Darcy shifted his stance. “I am sympathetic to your concerns, but how does this involve me?”

The Bennet patriarch’s face reddened. “I understand she was in the company of Mr. Wickham, yourself, and other men without a chaperone. You have my gratitude for rescuing my Lizzy from that—establishment, but I would have expected to be notified the instant you learned the particulars. Now her reputation is ruined, and as I was not able—”

“I must interrupt. My design in not informing you immediately upon learning her plight was to keep your daughter’s whereabouts a secret. Servants talk.”

“It is already too late! My expectations of a gentleman’s behavior were not—”

Mr. Darcy slapped his hat against his thigh. “I am not the one you should vent your spleen to. But that man was deceased the last I saw of him.”

Mr. Bennet wiped at his mouth, his head of steam draining at the news. “Wickham, dead? How did that—are you positive?”

“I stumbled across his body in the surrounding woods. He was badly beaten, his pulse weak. It looked as if all his clothes were red with his blood. I am certain he departed soon after I saw him.”

The man blinked, then seemed to come to himself, and with an outstretched arm, he pointed at the leather chesterfield chair facing the mahogany writing desk.

Mr. Darcy sat, resting his boot on the other knee. “Why have you requested my presence? I am not involved in the matter anymore.”

“I am curious why Wickham would have entangled you in his attempt at abduction and blackmail. What does Lizzy mean to you?”

Mr. Darcy flattened his lips, not wanting to share unpleasant personal business. But the man’s daughter had been ensnared in the despicable plot. He had a right to know.

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.