Goodly Creatures: A Pride and Prejudice Deviation Read Online Free Page A

father, not to demean, but to diffuse tensions among her siblings.
    Her days since coming to London had been spent with seven year-old David and four year-old Marianne. She read to them and shared with them her considerable talent for creating voices for the different characters. Witches were her specialty, and she even did a credible dragon. Marianne would bury her face in Lizzy’s lap during the scary bits, but Davy refused to even flinch when his cousin let out a cackle or a roar. She made up exciting stories of knights and princesses that had both her cousins enthralled. As her father had with her, she was using Perrault to teach her cousins French. Both David and Marianne liked his Le Chat Botté (Puss in Boots) best, and Elizabeth was a master at capturing the tricky cat’s personality. Despite his less than ethical actions, Davy and Marianne thought Puss clever and funny; and all three agreed he certainly knew how to survive and prosper.

    Edmund Fitzwilliam, Viscount Wolfbridge, eldest son and heir to the Earldom of Elderton, was in London for the winter. His parents were not, so in the interest of economy he was staying at Darcy House with his cousins Fitzwilliam and Anne Darcy. Darcy had always been plump in the pocket, but now since his marriage, the lucky devil had earnings from two estates at his disposal. If Lord Wolfbridge had offered for Anne, he could have avoided always being so close to dun territory. But who would have thought that Darcy would have proposed at twenty without even experiencing one genuine flirtation.
    Lack of social ease was his cousin’s problem—and the main reason he had acquiesced after only one Season of exposing himself to the marriage market. The daft discomfited young man had also persuaded himself he was doing his deceased mother’s bidding. Lady Anne and Lady Catherine had been speaking of an alliance between their children since they were infants. One thing was certain; in business matters, Darcy was not lacking. He had married Anne, joined two great estates and multiplied his wealth simply by saying ‘I will.’ Still there was no use crying over spilt milk; and besides his Aunt Catherine had made certain her brother’s sons knew she only wanted Fitzwilliam as her son-in-law. Titles did not impress the old dragon the way wealth did, and Pemberley was a significantly more impressive prize than her childhood home which is what the Viscount Wolfbridge would inherit. She had told both Edmund and his father, numerous times that an encumbered Elderton would not do as the inheritance for her anticipated grandson. Lord Wolfbridge looked over at his cousins and chuckled. The pair seemed to be in no haste to provide her with one.
    The theatre was not one of his lordship’s favourite diversions. He’d much prefer a gaming-hell or a cock-pit—but those pleasures were suspended until he received his next quarterly allowance. In fact, the last time Edmund had asked Darcy for a loan, the prig had given him a lecture about the scandal that might beset the family if Lord Wolfbridge could not meet his obligations. What a shame that his riches did not seem to inspire him to indulge in the more sporting enjoyments available to gentlemen. But in his defence, he had a long history of generosity. Now when the Viscount thought better of asking Darcy for help, he just went around him and approached Anne. Her liberal pin money could always be counted on to aid her cousin. It had always been easy to bring her round his thumb—a bit of charm, a few words of flattery, a promise to help her find popularity among the ton, and she always came across with the blunt.
    Currently, Anne viewed Edmund with great favour as he had promised to choose a matched pair for her from Tattersalls to replace the ponies she had for her phaeton. She was such a fickle creature—one day she wanted greys and then next only chestnuts would do and just as quickly she would return to greys. Ever since he had told her of the