Free Darcy and Elizabeth What If? Collection 1 by Jennifer Lang Page B

longing chase one another across his face.
    ‘Miss Elizabeth . . . ’ he began.
    ‘No, say no more,’ she said.
    She was confused by everything that had happened. Her experiences throughout the day had been unexpected and the events of the ball were no less perplexing.
    ‘I need some time to think things over,’ she explained. ‘So much has happened in such a short space of time and I do not know what to make of it all.’
    He looked disappointed but said, ‘I understand. I will not press you today, but I will call on you tomorrow afternoon.’
    ‘Very well,’ she said.
    There was time for no more. Caroline Bingley, who was unable to leave Mr Darcy alone for very long, appeared at the doorway. Her eyes flashed with anger when she saw that he was sitting with Elizabeth and she walked over to them at once, making some trivial excuse, and claimed Mr Darcy’s attention.
    Elizabeth took the opportunity to slip away and find Jane, but when she saw that Jane was with Mr Bingley still, she went to sit with her mother.
    It was not the most relaxing company, but she was used to ignoring her mother and she let the petulant words wash over her as she thought about everything she had learned.

Chapter Nine
     
    ‘I cannot believe it,’ said Jane, the following morning, when Lizzy told her what had happened. ‘Mr Wickham is married? No, there must be some mistake.’
    The two young women were sitting in their bedroom, still in their nightgowns, brushing each other’s hair.
    ‘Do you think so?’ asked Elizabeth, seizing on this chance.
    ‘I am sure of it,’ said Jane. ‘Mr Wickham could not be so far lost to decency as to make love to you, knowing all the time he was married.’
    Lizzy took Jane’s hand and kissed it.
    ‘I am so lucky to have you as a sister, I don’t know what I would do without you,’ said Lizzy. ‘I have been tossing and turning all night, wondering if I had imagined Mr Wickham’s attentions to me, and asking myself if they had not been just the ordinary friendliness of a charming man. I have been berating myself for vanity, for seeing an attachment where none existed.’
    ‘You did not imagine it,’ said Jane. ‘He has been most assiduous in his attentions, which is why I think there must have been some mistake. Mr Darcy has heard an unfounded rumour, perhaps, or been misled by someone up to mischief.’
    Lizzy looked dubious. ‘He seemed very certain, and Mr Darcy does not seem like the kind of person who would be easily misled.’
    ‘If his information came from a reliable source he would not doubt it. Perhaps one of his acquaintance saw a marriage notice for Mr Wickham in the paper, but it was for a different Mr Wickham.’
    Elizabeth brightened.
    ‘That is certainly possible,’ she said.
    ‘We will walk into Meryton this morning,’ said Jane. ‘We often meet Mr Wickham there and then we can clear up this misunderstanding.’
    Jane seemed so certain it was nothing but a misunderstanding that Lizzy was convinced. The two girls dressed, and after a breakfast of hot rolls and chocolate they set out for Meryton.
     
    George Wickham had spent an uncomfortable evening. He had not had the courage to attend the ball, knowing that Mr Darcy would force him to reveal the truth, and so he had remained in his room by himself. But now, after a night’s sleep, he was feeling more confident and although he felt he must soon leave the neighbourhood, he intended to do it in his own time and in his own way, and without revealing the truth about himself.
    He smiled as he tied his cravat, looking at himself in the mirror.
    ‘You’re a handsome dog, Wickham,’ he smirked to his reflection. ‘You can still leave a trail of broken hearts behind you when you go.’
     
    Elizabeth’s younger sisters had insisted on going into Meryton, too, and so the whole family walked into the small town. They went to the circulating library, where they often met the officers, and they were not disappointed. In