Almost Persuaded: Miss Mary King by P. O. Dixon Read Free Book Online

motives to Mr. Wickham? I confess he
may have known you were out for the evening, but he had no
knowledge that Anne was out as well.”
    “You are
mistaken. He and Miss Heston exchanged greetings in Meryton no more
than an hour before we came upon the two of you. His interest in
your whereabouts drew her suspicion, and she immediately sought me
out so we might return home. It is a good thing, too. I do not need
to say what would have happened had we arrived a moment later.”
    He lowered his
head. “Never in your life have you ever given me cause for
shame—until this evening.”
    “Papa, you may
be ashamed of me, but I cannot share in your sentiments. I have
nothing of which to be ashamed. Mr. Wickham and I are to be
married.”
    He drew a
quick breath and clenched his teeth. “Married? Do not be
ridiculous! Do you suppose for one instant that I would have agreed
to such an alliance with an impoverished foot soldier with no
motive other than securing your recently inherited fortune?”
    “I fear you misunderstand him. He and I have talked about
this at length.” The two of us have come so far in reaching such a mutual
understanding in so short an amount of time. “He and I are so similar; we
want the same things in life. What do I care that my fortune would
be the means of accomplishing our shared dreams?”
    His face
contorted with annoyance. “I will not suffer another word of your
nonsense. You are too good for the likes of that scoundrel. I will
not argue. I have decided you shall never see him again.”
    Mary crossed
her arms in defiance. “How shall you accomplish such a feat? Papa,
I am nearly one and twenty. Pray you do not intend to lock me in my
bedroom until the militia decamps.”
    “I intend to
send you to Liverpool to live with your uncle and aunt.”
    The thought of
being separated from everything she held dear struck her with
force. “No! Papa, how shall I bear it in Liverpool—away from my
home, my friends, from you? We have never been separated.”
    “Can you not
see that this is the only way? Fate intervened this evening. I will
not chance anything like this ever happening again.” After a pause,
he placed his hand on her shoulder. “I will do anything in my power
to protect you from scandal—anything—even if it means sending you
away to live with your Liverpool relatives.”
    ~*~
    True to her father’s words, mere days later found Mary
sitting in a carriage across from Miss Heston and passing through
the streets of Meryton. Along with so many of Mary’s personal
belongings, she carried t he memory of Mr. Wickham; his bruising lips
against hers, his manhood teetering on the brink of her innocence,
stirring her still.
    Surely Mr. Wickham’s ardent attentions to me of late have
given rise to an expectation of marriage. What will everyone think
of my precipitous departure? Now and again, Mary occasioned a glance out the
window at the people on the busy street. In spite of her firm
belief that her companion would not understand, Mary made no
pretence of what she was about, for she had no control of her
heart’s beckoning.
    If I could see him one last time, I would carry the moment
in my heart with me for as long as I live. The sight of a redcoat struck a chord
of anticipation in her chest. She leaned forward and peered out the
window. There he stood, looking as if he were a man with not a care
in the world—proud and tall and handsome as ever with a Bennet
daughter draped on either of his arms. There was no possibility
that he might have seen her in the carriage; the two younger girls
were all that caught his eyes.
    Twinges of jealousy stirred her amidst pangs of
discord. Did
he dare utter a word of what happened between us to anyone? Did he
have a good laugh over his conquest—boast of achieving greater
success than was his due? She covered her face with both hands and blew out
a frustrated breath.
    “Surely you
see now that your father’s actions are for the best.”
    Mary