A Most Civil Proposal Read Online Free PDF

commented that sometimes, and I quote her: ‘Your towering presence is quite intimidating.’ I had thought she merely teased me, but now I fear it must true, and I am sorry you took fright.”
    Darcy inhaled deeply. “I do not know what George Wickham has told you about me, Miss Bennet, though I could probably guess based on what you have said tonight and previously at the Netherfield ball. I suspect he claimed that I have ruined his prosperity and denied him his inheritance?”
    “He did.”
    “Further, I would imagine that I stand accused of wilfully and wantonly throwing off the companion of my youth, the favourite of my father, a young man who had every expectation of profiting by the patronage of my family only to see it cruelly denied. Would that be a fair summary of what Wickham has laid at my feet?”
    “It would.”
    “Do you believe this?”
    “I have been given no reason to doubt Mr. Wickham’s word,” she said defensively.
    “I see,” he said. “These actions would undeniably be unpardonable, Miss Bennet” — he paused — “were they true.”
    Elizabeth looked at him fiercely. “Do you deny it?”
    “I do indeed, madam. Most strenuously and in every particular, I do deny it.
    “In order to refute these charges, I will lay before you the whole of Wickham’s connection with my family. I do not know the particular details of what he has accused me, but I will present everything, and unlike him, I can provide testament to the truth of what I am about to relate by providing a witness of undoubted veracity, my cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam. He is acquainted with all the pertinent details and will corroborate everything I am about to relate.”
    This last staggered Elizabeth completely. She had believed Mr. Darcy incapable of defending himself against the detailed charges provided by Mr. Wickham, and now he had shaken that belief by offering immediate authentication from a source of whom she thought well and who, moreover, would be privy to the private affairs of the Darcy family. She suddenly felt completely unsure of that which she, only moments before, had believed unshakable.
    “As you probably know, George Wickham is the son of my father’s steward, a good and loyal man who for many years managed all of the Pemberley estates for my family. The elder Wickham was so faithful in his duties that he earned the obligation of my father, who not only made George his godson but also supported him at school and later at Cambridge. George’s own father could not have afforded to give him a gentleman’s education since his own wife kept the family poor by her extravagances. My father was fond of Wickham’s society due to his engaging manners, and he planned to reward that opinion by providing him a living in the church.” He looked at Elizabeth. “Does this correspond with what you have heard, Miss Bennet?”
    At her nod, he continued, “I, however, have had quite a different opinion of George Wickham for some years. I was witness to his behaviour in a manner that my father was not, since Wickham could not conceal his vicious propensities and his want of principal from me, a young man of nearly the same age. I had too many opportunities to see him in unguarded moments, which my father could not have.”
    Elizabeth remembered Mr. Wickham’s countenance as he described the offences against his person with a convincing charm and ease. In contrast, Mr. Darcy showed grimness rather than charm and intensity rather than ease. He looked like a man faced with an unwelcome task that could not be avoided, and she felt her already uncertain understanding weaken even further.
    Darcy continued speaking even as she thought. “What I have to relate may cause you pain since I do not know to what degree Wickham may have engaged your sentiments. But even if you do have some partiality for him, it shall no longer prevent me from unfolding his real character. It only increases my determination, for you would not be the