Page 36 of Twice Chosen

Careful.

Elizabeth almost smiled. She gave the tiny head tilt he had learned to interpret as I know.

Darcy froze.

Wickham saw.

His gaze moved between them.

Interesting.

Elizabeth looked away.

Later, at Aunt Phillips's, Wickham attempted the old story. Darcy's jealousy. The denied living. Old Mr. Darcy's wishes. Elizabeth listened politely and found herself almost ashamed of how eagerly she had believed him once.

At a pause she asked, "Did you receive compensation when you chose not to take orders?"

Wickham stopped only briefly. "Compensation?"

"Money."

His smile returned. "There were arrangements."

"How much?"

Mrs. Phillips stared. Lydia whispered, "Lizzy."

Wickham laughed. "You are direct."

"So I have been told."

"Three thousand pounds."

Lydia gasped. Even Mrs. Phillips looked impressed.

Elizabeth smiled. "That is considerable."

"It was insufficient for a gentleman to establish himself permanently."

"Perhaps. But it makes the story less simple."

Wickham's eyes narrowed. "Has Darcy spoken to you?"

"No."

True. Not in this life.

"He needn't."

Wickham's charm cooled.

Elizabeth saw something behind it she had missed once because she had wanted his story. She had wanted Darcy to be wrong. Her own vanity had welcomed Wickham's version because it confirmed an insult she had already decided revealed Darcy's entire character.

Now she understood.

She returned home thoughtful.

At Longbourn, Darcy had left a book for Mr. Bennet. Elizabeth found a line marked in the margin while helping her father put it away.