Mr. Darcy's Obsession Read Online Free PDF

when he returns."
    "I think I shall wait." If her uncle had brought the papers home in the first place, they were likely confidential. Besides, a few minutes in the company of the amiable Mr. Johnson was always a pleasure.
    "But you must be cold. Will you sit by the stove and warm yourself? I would never forgive myself if you took a chill." He gestured to a stool by the stove.
    It was pleasant to engage in lighthearted banter with a charming young man. Despite his low station, he made her feel like an elegant young lady, and his quick wit was disarming. She was laughing at one of his stories when Mr. Gardiner returned.
    Her uncle spared them a quick glance. "Lizzy, will you join me in my office?"
    Surprised at his abruptness, she followed him into the small room filled with account books. "My aunt asked me to bring you these papers."
    "Thank you; I had wondered where they were." Mr. Gardiner closed the office door behind him.
    "Is there a message you wish me to bring back?" Elizabeth could think of no other reason why he would wish to speak to her privately.
    "No, I only wished to say that you should be careful not to encourage Johnson in his attentions to you."
    "Attentions? He is just being polite."
    "Perhaps, but he is an ambitious young man and knows marriage into the family would further his career more than anything he could accomplish on his own. It would be a temptation to any man. But he is unsuitable; you must know that. He lives in a boardinghouse and has nothing to offer you or any other young lady."
    "That does not make him any less amiable, and I think you are leaping far ahead if you take a short conversation as a sign of impending matrimony."
    "Do you think he has not thought of it? I assure you, he has. As I said, he has ambitions."
    Elizabeth shivered, cold again after the warmth of the stove. It was an unpalatable idea that Mr. Johnson's amiability might come from nothing more than an interest in bettering himself. She said sharply, "Do you think, Uncle, that Mr. Griggs's interest in me comes from any other reason?"
    "He is fond of you, Lizzy, and you know it. But in his case, marrying you would solidify his position in the firm, not elevate him beyond his station. He would provide for you."
    "I have not agreed to marry him. He has not even made me an offer."
    "But he will. We have spoken of it. He respects you, and that you do not know him well as yet."
    Elizabeth bit her tongue. She did not care for her uncle's assumption that she would marry as he wished or the implication that he had given his consent without asking her first. But if she must marry Mr. Griggs, she was in no hurry to do so. She preferred her aunt's companionship to his. "It is true that I barely know him."
    He smiled warmly. "I shall invite him for dinner one night soon. I do not wish you to be uncomfortable with him."
    "Of course." She was in no position to refuse if her uncle insisted. Delay was a better strategy.
    ***
    Mrs. Gardiner fussed with Elizabeth's sleeve until it puffed out properly. "There, my dear. Now pinch your cheeks to get some colour in them."
    Elizabeth felt a sudden pang of missing her mother. Mrs. Gardiner was more tactful and respectful to her when preparing to parade her before a potential suitor, but it was her mother's excesses she was accustomed to. Her mother's antics had always made her laugh, which, of course, was preferable to thinking about the situation. But it brought a smile to her face; she had never thought she might prefer her mother's behaviour to her aunt's. "There, Aunt. I think that is the best you can do with me. You can gild the lily only if there is a lily to gild."
    "Nonsense, Lizzy. You look lovely, and Mr. Griggs will be charmed. Come, they must be waiting for us."
    Elizabeth followed her aunt to the sitting room, feeling like a mannequin on display.
    ***
    Mr. Gardiner wiped his face on his napkin. "Oh, yes, our Lizzy is a great walker. I believe she could walk from here to Hertfordshire if