Almost Persuaded: Miss Mary King Read Online Free

accounts, whereas no one has complained about Mr. Wickham. We
must therefore give the gentleman all the credit of being
righteous. He has no reason to lie about matters so easily
disproved.”
    Anne’s
apparent scepticism and subsequent disapprobation vexed Mary, and
thus she pretended to listen to her out of respect, but in reality,
nothing Anne put forth hampered Mary’s enthusiasm. Mary could never
remember being so enthralled as she had been mere moments earlier.
Whenever she could find an excuse, she drifted upstairs to the
solitude of her room with her head full of the dashing
lieutenant.
    ~*~
    Mary darted out the door earlier than usual the following
morning. She hoped she would find Mr. Wickham waiting for her by
the pond. I
see no harm. I am nearly one and twenty. I am an easy distance from
the house—close enough to avoid the impropriety of being alone with
the gentleman and just far enough away to escape my father’s
watchful eye, for he rarely happens along this particular
path.
    After walking for some time, she spotted a flash of red
just ahead. Her heart raced. Mr. Wickham! She had told him she would be there, and he had
shown enough consideration to be there as well. With a spring in
her stride, she hastened her steps. He did likewise.
    “Miss King, I
am delighted to see you this morning.”
    “I am equally
delighted in seeing you too, sir. Is this not a perfect
morning?”
    “Indeed. The
air is crisp, and the sun is welcoming. I can think of no finer day
for a walk.” He glanced about. “Where is your companion, Miss
Heston?”
    “I have every
reason to believe she will be along shortly.”
    “It seems Miss
Heston’s tardiness is my good fortune.” The lieutenant clutched his
hands behind his back and commenced walking by Mary’s side. “I
enjoyed our time together in the library. My only regret is that it
ended much too quickly. Now we have a chance to continue where we
left off.”
    “Indeed, sir. I have given the matter of your complaints
against Mr. Darcy a great deal of thought. It is a shame you should
not enjoy the living in Kympton as your godfather had intended. I
do not understand how the late Mr. Darcy’s will was disregarded. It is a wonder
you did not
seek legal redress.”
    “There was such informality in the terms of the bequest as
to give me no hope from the law. A man of honour would not have
doubted the intention, but Darcy chose to doubt it—to treat it as a
conditional recommendation and to assert that I had forfeited all
claims to it by extravagance and imprudence. The living became
vacant two years ago, exactly as I was of an age to hold it. Yet it
was given to another man. I cannot accuse myself of having really
done anything to deserve losing it. I have a warm, unguarded
temper. There may have been times when I may have spoken my
opinion of him, and to him, too freely. I can recall nothing worse. But the fact
is, we are very different sort of men. For that reason, he hates
me.”
    “This is quite
shocking! Do you not consider that the gentleman deserves to be
publicly disgraced?”
    “Some time or
other he will be, I suppose, but it shall not be by me. Till I can
forget his father, I can never defy or expose him.”
    Mary tilted
her head. Anne had expressed reservations over Mr. Wickham’s
claims, while more than anything, Mary wanted to believe him. “Can
you think of nothing more that might have spurred Mr. Darcy’s
disapprobation?”
    “As I said, Darcy hates me. I can only contribute his
disdain to jealousy. Had the late Mr. Darcy liked me less, his
son’s disapprobation may have been tempered, but his father’s
uncommon attachment to me irritated him. It is an affliction he has
suffered since very early in life. His disposition rendered him incapable of
bearing the sort of preference his father often gave me.
    “As I am disinclined to dishonour my godfather’s
memory by
calling attention to the faults of his son, I shall simply contend
myself to life as