Miss Darcy's Companion: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Read Online Free PDF

there would be no risk of her misunderstanding his requirements and instructions.
    Darcy closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, until Wickham’s smirking countenance receded, then stood to walk up to the window and finish putting his thoughts in order.
    Peter’s knock found him prepared for the encounter and he turned to greet the young lady with a bow, to receive a civil curtsy. It briefly occurred to him that in effect they had not been properly introduced, but such niceties would perforce have to be disregarded.
    “Miss Bennet. I thank you for coming to see me. Pray be seated. Would you care for tea?”
    “I thank you, Sir, but no,” she declined, as she took the offered seat.
    Her voice was tense, subdued. Perhaps she was understandably wary of anyone connected to Lady Stretton. Or perhaps she was sufficiently unversed in seeking a position to regard the preliminaries with trepidation.
    Darcy sought to set her at ease and begun by resuming his own seat across the desk. It would not do to tower over the young woman.
    “Am I correct in assuming that my aunt or my cousin have spoken to you about the purpose of this interview?”
    “You are, Sir. Lady Malvern has informed me that Miss Darcy requires a companion.”
    “And do you feel you qualify?”
    “No, Sir.”
    The prompt and matter-of-fact reply surprised him greatly and his shock must have been apparent, for the briefest smile fluttered at the corner of her lips before she smoothed her countenance into cool composure.
    “Would you care to elaborate, Miss Bennet?”
    “I have no experience whatsoever as a lady’s companion, Mr Darcy,” she obliged, and for a moment he suspected Fitzwilliam of having coached her, or at least warned her of his principal objections. “However,” she resumed, “I grew up with four sisters, three of whom are younger than myself.”
    “And have you been instrumental in their education and upbringing?”
    Her countenance briefly reflected something akin to rueful amusement.
    “No, Sir. There were others employed for that purpose. Those of us who wished to learn never wanted the means. We were always encouraged to read and had all the masters that were necessary.”
    “Might I ask where you hail from?”
    “Longbourn, in Hertfordshire.”
    For some unknown reason the name rang a bell, but he could not place it. Darcy prompted her for further information.
    “Is that a town or an estate?”
    “A village and a small estate, Sir, at least by your family’s standards. I believe it fetched no more than two thousand a year.”
    Her tone and manner clearly suggested she was not accustomed to such talk which in itself, along with the reference to masters, hinted to a gentlewoman’s upbringing. A young lady fallen on hard times. Loath as he was to remind her of her misfortunes, he had to ask.
    “It seems a comfortable income, Miss Bennet. Might I inquire into your reasons for seeking employment?”
    Her eyes flashed to the window and for the first time there was something very noticeable under the collected manner.
    “The comfortable income was my father’s. When he went, so did everything else. Longbourn was entailed upon a distant cousin. Those of us left behind had to make a life elsewhere.”
    “Forgive me for distressing you,” Darcy offered quietly, having at last recognised the edge of pain for what it was.
    By the time she spoke again, the cool composure had returned.
    “Not at all, Sir. You had every right to ask.”
    In the ensuing silence he scrutinised her more closely. Brown hair, tied into a plain, unpretentious knot. Rather pretty and very youthful features – ah, yes, he must remember to inquire into her age. The same dark, utilitarian attire he remembered from the other day at Malvern House, with no adornment but a small lace border around the neckline. Upon reflection, he ought to have considered it could be a mourning garb, rather than a requirement of Lady Stretton’s nursery. An air of reserve