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

huffed.
“Papa was opposed to any sort of alliance with Mr. Wickham from the
start. We never stood a chance in the wake of his stern
disapprobation.”
    “Your father
is not without his reasons.”
    “What have you
to accuse the gentleman of now, Anne?”
    “Your father
has taken me in his confidence in that regard. He has it on good
authority that Mr. Wickham is a gamester. He has incurred
significant debts amongst the local merchants and tradesmen. Is
there any wonder your father would be wary of the gentleman who
only took notice of you once it was made known that you were to
receive a generous inheritance?”
    “You know I
never cared about that.”
    “You must
start caring about such things. You are an heiress. You have your
whole life to look forward to. Once you are no longer in mourning,
there is the prospect of a Season in town. Your uncle is a wealthy
gentleman with connections and a house in town. Even though he is
adamant that you should marry your cousin, he will not deny you a
Season; I am certain of it.”
    Mary would not
let go of her melancholy, despite her companion’s words. Anne
persevered. “One day, you will reflect on this moment, and you will
be ever so grateful for a father who loves you and cares for you
and would do anything to protect you, including sending you to live
far away from the only home you have ever known.”
    “That might be
true, but for now, I would rather think of a life I might have had
with a handsome man I might have easily loved in spite of his
faults. Are we not all human, thus subject to human frailties?”
Mary surrendered to her tears.
    Anne moved to
sit next to Mary. She embraced the younger woman. “You reached for
happiness. There is no fault in that. Alas, sometimes when we
search for love, we do not always look in the best places.”
    Mary suspected
her companion spoke from experience when she spoke of searching for
love in the wrong places. She raised her head and studied her
companion’s face for evidence of the sentiments to which Anne
oftentimes alluded, but never truly confided. The wistful look in
Anne’s eyes and traces of regret in her voice insisted she knew
that of which she spoke all too painfully.
    Anne smoothed
Mary’s hair. “You must rid yourself of the grief and despair where
the lieutenant is concerned. You are an heiress on the dawn of an
entirely new manner of living. I believe there will be the prospect
of much gaiety in your future.”
    Nothing Anne could say assuaged the tumult in Mary’s
mind. Perhaps the things Anne pontificates are true, but how can
I possibly think of any of that when my heart still aches for what
might have been? Waves of despair flooded her entire being. The image of the
young Bennet daughters clinging to his arms would not be repressed.
Recalling all the pleasures of his touch just prior to the havoc of
being discovered by her father, Mary wept.
    How I wish it
were me on his arm.

Part 5 – Till this
Moment
    In the ensuing months, Mary and Anne had formed a silent
truce as regarded Mr. Wickham. Time and distance had not taught
Mary’s heart to forget the man who would forevermore be considered
her first love, but the forming of new acquaintances had been
enough that her heart no longer ached over the thought of him. Any
consideration she gave to their whirlwind courtship, she kept to
herself.
    Sitting across
from Anne in the parlour, Mary studied her companion intently. “You
take an eager interest in your letter, Anne. By the turn of your
countenance, it is from your sister. What news from Meryton?”
    “Mary, I am
afraid the news is grave—grave indeed. Please, come and sit next to
me and listen to what my sister wrote.”
    Mary did not
like the sound of her friend’s pronouncement, but she did as she
was told. Anne’s sister had been diligent in keeping them abreast
of the goings-on in Meryton over the past months. Normally the news
was good—word of a wedding, a birth, and the like—even an