To the Advantage of Both: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Lory Lilian

Author:Lory Lilian [Lilian, Lory]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-07-28T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

“Lizzy? May I enter?”

“Yes, Papa.”

Her father sat down on the bed next to her and patted her hand.

“It pains me to see you crying, my child. Be sure that I shall not force you into any decision. I know you always disliked Mr Darcy, just as I know you liked that Wickham fellow and are probably hurt by his betrayal. I should not have let Mr Darcy speak to you so soon, but he seemed worried about the consequences and confident about talking to you. I knew you would not marry a man you cannot respect and love, regardless of his good character, fortune, and connections.”

Elizabeth looked at her father dumbfounded, wiping her eyes.

“Papa, what are you talking about? I was hurt by Mr Wickham — not because I liked him but because I was a fool to trust him! I am as angry with him as I am with myself! As for Mr Darcy, I have long changed my opinion of him, but it is ridiculous to even consider his proposal. What was he thinking? What were you thinking to allow it?”

“Lizzy—”

“Should any man who helps a woman or dances with her be forced to marry her because some scoundrels gossip about them? This is outrageous, absurd! Mr Darcy should challenge them to a duel instead of proposing! I would have done so if I were a man!”

Frustration combined with anger, adding to the feelings that had confused and troubled her for the last few days in regard to Mr Darcy, made her raise her voice and lose her temper. She could see her father still looked unwell, but she still spoke further.

“I do not want to upset you, Papa, nor to offend Mr Darcy. I do respect him and appreciate him, but we barely know each other. How can I accept a proposal he had not considered himself until today?”

“You are not upsetting me, Lizzy. As I said, the decision is yours, and you should ponder it carefully, especially if your feelings for Mr Darcy and Mr Wickham are not as I assumed.”

“Papa, I know that marrying Mr Darcy would mean salvation for our family. And I know he is a good man — probably one of the best. But to know that he married me out of charity, out of guilt he wrongly assumed, out of a sense of duty which is exaggerated, would be unbearable. He will come to regret his decision soon and will despise me, even if he would provide protection for our family.”

“Marrying a man like Mr Darcy is truly something I never imagined for any of my daughters. As much as I love and value you, I never considered you might even meet such a man, and if you did, he would certainly overlook you as he did at the assembly.”

“I shall not argue with that, Papa. I do not know what happened to make him change his opinion and improve his manners so much. I have done the same, I admit.

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.