Mr. Darcy's Diary, Amanda Grange [elon musk reading list TXT] 📗

Wickham. She stood beside his chair and rested one

hand on his shoulder.

‘Mr Darcy has come to reprimand me for abducting

you,’ said Wickham, covering her hand with his own.

She laughed at me.

‘My dear Wickham did not abduct me! Why should

he? I was eager to see London. I told him he must take

me with him.What fun it has been!’

‘Have you no thought for your family?’ I asked her

coldly. ‘They have been worried about you ever since

you left the care of Colonel Forster. They have no idea

where you are.’

‘Lord! I forgot to write,’ said Lydia. ‘I have been so

busy with my dear Wickham. We have had such a time!

But never mind. I will write as soon as we are married.

What fun it will be, to sign my name, Lydia Wickham!’

She squeezed his hand and he, the insolent dog, pulled

her into his lap and kissed her, then smiled at me whilst

caressing her.

‘So you see, Darcy, your concern is misplaced,’ he said.

Lydia’s words had told me one thing: that at least she

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expected to be married. I felt she would be less eager to

remain with him if she knew that Wickham had no such

intention. I did not think he would tell her, however –

why should he lose an eager companion? – and so I felt

it necessary for me to do so.

‘I would like to talk to Miss Bennet alone,’ I said to

Wickham.

‘Very well,’ said he, pushing her off his lap. ‘Try and

talk her into going home if you will. She is a baggage.

But I cannot see why her fate matters to you,’ he added

as he stood up.

‘It matters because I could have made your character

known in Meryton and did not. It would have been

impossible for you to have behaved in this way if your

true self were known.’

‘Perhaps,’ he said, ‘but I do not believe that is the reason. I doubt if you would have sought me out if I had

run off with Maria Lucas.’

I did not flinch. If I let him once guess that I had a

personal reason for seeking him out, he would be difficult to buy off at any price.

‘Stay,’ said Lydia, snatching at his hand as he walked

towards the door.

‘Mr Darcy wishes to speak with you alone. He is

afraid I am keeping you here against your will, and he

wants to give you a chance to go home with him.’

‘As if I would wish to go back to stuffy old Longbourn,’ she said, twining her arms round his neck and

kissing him on the lips.

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He put his arms round her and returned her kiss, then

looked at me tauntingly before leaving the room.

‘Is he not handsome?’ asked Lydia, as the door closed

behind him.‘All the girls were wild for him in Meryton,

and Miss King would have married him if her guardian

had not put a stop to it. It was the same in Brighton.Any

number of them would have run away with him. Miss

Winchester – ’

‘Miss Bennet, you cannot stay here,’ I interrupted her.

‘It is a little shabby, to be sure, but we will have something better by and by. I would like your help though, Mr

Darcy.’

‘Yes?’ I said, hoping she had seen sense at last.

‘What do you think? I cannot decide. Does my dear

Wickham look better in his red coat or his blue?’

‘Miss Bennet!’ I rapped out. ‘You cannot stay here

with Wickham. He has no intention of marrying you. I

know he has said he has, but it was a lie, to make you

elope with him.’

‘He did not make me elope with him, it was I who

made him elope with me. Brighton was growing boring,’

she said with a yawn. ‘Colonel Forster was so stuffy. He

would not let me go to half the things I wanted to, and

I had to sneak out of the camp on two occasions to

attend my Wickham’s parties. Denny helped me. I dressed

as a man. You should have seen me. My own mother

would not have recognized me.’

‘Your reputation will be in ruins! He will abandon

you as soon as he tires of you, and you will be left in

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London without a protector, with no money and

nowhere to live. Come back with me now, and I will do

what I can to persuade your family to receive you.’

‘Lord! I do not want to go home! I would die of boredom. I am sure we shall be married some time or

another, and if not, it does not much signify,’ she said.

She was immovable. She would not leave him. Since

such were her feelings, I could do nothing but try and

make sure a marriage took place.

Wickham came back into the room, carrying a

decanter in one hand and a glass in the other. He put his

arm round Lydia and she turned to kiss him immediately.

‘Well, Darcy? Have you persuaded her to leave me?’

he asked, when he had done.

‘She is lost to all sense,’ I said angrily,‘but since she will

not leave you, you must marry her.’

‘Come now, Darcy. You know I cannot do that. My

pockets are to let. I have debts all over the country.There

are unpaid bills in Meryton, and worse in Brighton. I

need to many an heiress.’

‘Do you hear this?’ I demanded of Miss Bennet.

She only shrugged.

‘It does not signify. An heiress would bring us some

money, then we could have a better house,’ she said.

It was only because of Elizabeth that I stayed. My

inclination was to walk out and leave her sister to the life

she had made for herself. But the thought of Elizabeth’s

pale face sustained me.

‘Meet me at my club tomorrow,’ I said to Wickham.

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‘My dear Darcy, you know I am not welcome there.’

‘I will make sure you