An Overdue Apology – Melissa Anne

The leaves overhead whispered faintly, and for the first time since he had arrived in Kent, Darcy felt something within him uncoil. The apology had not erased the past, but it had softened the sharp edges of it. She hesitated, then drew in a breath and continued, her voice steady despite the weight of her confession. “My own behaviour was hardly above reproach. I repeated what you said to everyone I could, quite deliberately, hoping to damage your reputation there.

Have you ever wondered why no one—apart from Miss Bingley, of course—made any attempt to gain your notice? They were all quite offended on my behalf. And I…” She flushed slightly. “I encouraged their behaviour.” Darcy let out a short, bitter laugh that startled her. “No,” he said drily, “I was unaware I had not been pursued.

I am so accustomed to behaving as I did, that I barely paid any attention to anyone else there—except for you. You entranced me, and I did not bother to pay attention to anyone else since they were below my notice.” He shook his head slowly, the corners of his mouth pulling down in self- disgust. “I am an arrogant fool, Elizabeth. I have never deserved you.”

Elizabeth’s breath caught, startled by the sound of her name upon his lips. Yet she did not correct him; after all that had been spoken between them that morning, it no longer seemed improper. Darcy exhaled, as though surrendering a long-held burden. “Since inheriting, I have been pursued by seemingly everyone around me in some fashion. That is why I have always preferred to keep my distance and have avoided all entanglements, including dancing only when duty required it— and only with those I knew well. I have learned to keep my guard up.

When that changed from being cautious to pompous I cannot fully explain.” Elizabeth’s laugh rang out then—light, genuine, and utterly disarming. The sound of it caught him entirely off guard, and he bitterly resented that he had driven her away instead of courting her as he should. “Did you truly not realise that your aloofness only made you more of a challenge to the very ladies you hoped to deter?” she asked, her eyes sparkling.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

This is a work of fiction based on the characters created by Jane Austen in Pride and Prejudice. Ms. Austen created these characters, but like many others, I enjoy placing them in alternate circumstances and situations. 1kitap1.com/en CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chapter 2 About the Author Also by Melissa Anne 1kitap1.com/en L CHAPTER 1 ate the morning after his disastrous proposal, Fitzwilliam Darcy found he could not bring himself to quit Hunsford without one final walk through the grove where he had so often encountered Miss Elizabeth Bennet.

The world had the washed-clean look of early spring after a brief shower, the air sharp with the scent of wet earth and budding hawthorn. He only wished he felt as fresh as the morning, but in truth, he was very troubled. He told himself he walked merely to clear his thoughts before he returned to Rosings, yet each step only seemed to bring forth the memory of her voice as she had answered him the night before.

It had been firm, angry, and devastatingly final as she rejected his offer of marriage. Although he had thought himself to be a man of reason, impervious to foolish sentiment, her refusal had stripped him bare, exposing every flaw he had so carefully concealed beneath pride and reserve. “…I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry.”

The words returned to him again and again, their every syllable exacting and inexorably final. He could not decide which stung more—her rejection of him or the truth behind it, especially her accusation: had you behaved in a more gentlemanlike manner. To counter her accusations, he had spent the previous night in a form of restless torment—he had written, destroyed, and then rewritten a letter. Each draft had been written in agony, as he weighed and considered each word he wrote, for he had determined that if she were to think him ungentlemanly, she should at least know the truth of it from his own pen.

In the end, the very act of composing that letter had served as yet another confirmation of her charge: that he was scarcely a gentleman at all, governed as he was by passion and wounded pride. Yes, the letter had contained his defence, but it had become something more than mere justification.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 966,024 bytes (0.921 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• Pages: 34
• Language: English (en)

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• Estimated Reading Time: 48.8 minutes
• Total Words: 9,761
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