I am aging gracefully in the world of famous books

Pei Xiang carefully recalled the words she had read.

In the original book, after the first marriage proposal failed, the male protagonist Darcy wrote a long and arrogant letter to the female protagonist Elizabeth Bennet. In the letter of explanation, Darcy asked the female protagonist to resolve the misunderstanding. The Lord revealed many details about the past.

For example, his rift with scumbag George Wickham.

Another example is the secret that Miss Georgiana Darcy was almost tricked into elopement.

Pei Xiang closed his eyes and meditated in the dark, the scent of lilies that the lady likes lingered in his nostrils.

She was not sleepy at this time, and the embarrassing and dangerous situation seemed to stimulate her memory potential, allowing her to recall many details that had been forgotten, and then pieced together the fragments of time before the story began.

——At the beginning of the year, old Mr. Darcy passed away, leaving Mr. Darcy in his will to arrange a priesthood for Wickham.

——According to the original book, George Wickham rejected the priesthood. He exchanged a sum of money from Mr. Darcy under the pretext of studying law, but soon he squandered the money. Later, he was heavily in debt because of eating, drinking, whoring and gambling.

——The desperate George Wickham turned to Darcy for help, hoping to get a priesthood with a good salary, but Mr. Darcy refused him.

—there was an antagonism between the two, and Darcy had not heard from George Wickham for some time.

——Until more than three years later, that is, more than a year before the story began, Wickham reappeared. He colluded with Miss Georgiana Darcy's tutor, Mrs. Young, and wanted to coax the 15-year-old girl to elope.

Pei Xiang counted the days with his fingers, thinking, if the real situation in this world is not too different from the records in the original book, then at this time, George Wickham should still be in London, squandering his life recklessly. Wealth in exchange for the priesthood.

It is also possible that George Wickham, now beyond his means, would seek help from Mr. Darcy, be rejected, and the two would formally turn against each other.

Because of the limited information and clues available, Pei Xiang, who was trapped in the Grove Manor, could not accurately grasp the extent of the situation.

However, no matter what stage the matter develops to, it is the same for Pei Xiang.

—If only Mr. Darcy loathed George Wickham, and disdained to know his follies.

Pei Xiang had an idea in her heart, and couldn't help but bend the corners of her mouth. She turned over very carefully, slowly relaxed the stiff skeletal muscles, and listened for a while, and found that she didn't attract the attention of the "neighbors", Finally, there was a faint sense of sleepiness.

In the next few days, Pei Xiang went out several times cautiously, avoiding the acquaintances in the manor. While inquiring for news, she wandered around the guest room.

In this area, she is easily seen as a maid brought by a guest, less likely to be questioned, and of course, easier to obtain food.

When the guests leave the room, there may be some snacks and fruits left, not many, but enough to barely fill Pei Xiang's stomach.

Later, when the servants of Grove Manor came to clean the guest room, they would find empty dish trays. Of course, the maids would take it for granted that the guests had eaten up all the food. What could be doubted?

Pei Xiang wandered around the main house of the manor like a ghost, occasionally collecting some inconspicuous items to contribute to her upcoming plan.

At last, the day of Lord Essex's funeral came.

In the morning, the lady left the bedroom early, she will have a very busy day.

After the lady left with her personal maid, Pei Xiang crawled out of the coat box where she was hiding, and after returning the contents of the box to the original place, she quietly walked to the dressing table of the lady , Started a new round of dressing up.

This time, she will not make herself ugly or ordinary again. On the contrary, she wants to highlight the beauty of the original owner, and at the same time, add some charming charm between her eyebrows and eyes.

After finishing her makeup, Pei Xiang put on the lady's old dress.

Although the style of this skirt is a little outdated and the color is very dull, but if you look carefully, you will find that both the cut and the fabric are among the high-quality goods, and only rich ladies or wives will buy them.

In the end, Pei Xiang wrapped himself in a thin black velvet cloak, and slipped out of the lady's room without anyone noticing it.

Fitzwilliam Darcy was taking a walk in the quiet and quiet woods of Grove Manor.

He has been staying in Kent for several days, and after attending Lord Essex's funeral today, he will not accompany Aunt Catherine back to Rosings Manor, but will go directly to London with his servants, where there are still several Unclear affairs are waiting for him to deal with.

Enjoying the last leisure time before being busy, Darcy stopped and stopped along the winding forest path, looking around, there are quiet and beautiful scenery everywhere.

When the young gentleman was immersed in the morning scenery of the countryside, Pei Xiang, who was dressed up, chased after him.

"Mr. Darcy, please stay, I have something to tell you."

Hearing the sound, Darcy turned his head, and a slim figure came quickly. When he saw the appearance of the visitor, he was inevitably surprised, but he quickly recovered his usual rationality and calmness.

"Sorry ma'am, are you?"

"Mr. Darcy, you don't know me, and I'm sorry to interrupt your enjoyment of the beautiful morning scenery so abruptly.

However, I have unavoidable difficulties and want to ask you for help. I hope you can give me some time, sir, and listen to me. "

Darcy's face was serious, his brows were slightly frowned. Obviously, he didn't have much affection for the abrupt lady in front of him who didn't conform to social etiquette, even though she had a rare beauty.

However, good gentleman upbringing made him unable to ignore a lady's request for help. If the other party really had unavoidable difficulties, he really could not stand by and watch.

"Ma'am, what's your name?"

Pei Xiang hesitated for a moment, then smiled unnaturally:

"Please call me Lucy, Mr Darcy.

As for my real last name, I'm very sorry, I really don't deserve to mention it, because what I did has brought shame on my father, my family. "

This was another very inappropriate request, and Fitzwilliam Darcy raised his eyebrows slightly, his expression becoming more serious.

He really didn't want to get involved with such a young lady of unknown origin, but he always remembered that the lady who appeared suddenly came to ask for help, so he stopped silently, waiting patiently for the other party to explain her intention.

"Sir, you definitely don't know me, but if I say a person's name, you probably know why I came to you."

"please say."

"George Wickham, sir, I say I know Mr George Wickham."

As soon as the name was spoken, Darcy's face changed.

"A friend of Mr. Wickham's?"

There was a hint of sarcasm in the man's deep voice:

"Why, Miss Lucy, have you come to intercede with Mr. Wickham too? Think I've rudely deprived him of his parish priesthood?"

These words made Pei Xiang suddenly realize that the matter had already reached this stage.

Pei Xiang secretly thought that Mr. George Wickham probably lost all his money and even got heavily in debt, so he asked Mr. Darcy for the pastorship mentioned in the will again.

"Sir, I think you have misunderstood."

Pei Xiang's version of Lucy sensed the man's displeasure, and hurriedly yelled:

"Mr. Darcy, I did not come to you to intercede for Mr. Wickham, nor did I listen to his slander and come here to accuse you.

On the contrary, I wish people would recognize Mr. Wickham for what he really is, so that he would no longer be able to deceive people with his flattering words. "

With his eyes downcast, Darcy stared at the emotional lady on the opposite side earnestly, as if trying to discern how much sincerity there was in her words.

Pei Xiang grabbed the cloak on his body, showing a slightly nervous polite smile.

"Mr. Darcy, if I can muster up the courage to find you today, I am ready to tell you all the details."

Having said that, she took a deep breath, and there was a melancholy temperament mixed with fragility and firmness between Dai's eyebrows:

"I used to be deeply infatuated with George Wickham. In order to be with him, I ignored my friends' good advice and my father's painstaking efforts to stop me. I abandoned my family's honor and eloped here with him!"

Darcy was shocked by this confession. Rao had vaguely guessed that Ms. Lucy in front of him was probably Wickham's romantic account, but hearing the other party's confession at this moment still made him feel complicated.

"Ms. Lucy, I think you should know that between me and Mr. Wickham, um, although we have a long history, we have already parted ways. Now, it is not an exaggeration to say that we are enemies. You come to me , what is it for?"

Darcy paused, and continued to speak quickly:

"If you want me to persuade Wickham to take responsibility for you and marry you, ma'am, I'm very sorry, but I can't help you."

Pei Xiang quickly shook his head: "Mr. Darcy, since I have seen Mr. Wickham's true face clearly, why am I still obsessed with wanting to marry him? You are underestimating me!"

Darcy's lips moved slightly, holding back the sarcasm that came out of his mouth.

He wanted to remind the lady on the opposite side, what is the value of a person who can do a scandalous elopement with a person like Wickham?

However, out of the gentlemanly manner he had cultivated and followed over the years, he allowed himself a polite silence.

However, this gentleman was probably used to pride, and his eyes were not good at concealing his true inner thoughts. Perhaps it was also because he felt that Pei Xiang was not a threat, so Fitzwilliam Darcy did not restrain his emotions very carefully.

Pei Xiang smiled bitterly, and said her purpose in a tone of shame:

"Mr Darcy, I beg you, please smuggle me out of Kent!

I want to get out of Wickham, I've had enough of being in the same room every day with a drunken gambler, with his open flirtations with other women, and with all kinds of creditors coming to pay me, up to Mr. West, I'm homesick. I want to go back to London. "

Darcy hesitated for a moment, and did not answer lightly.

"Ms. Lucy, you seem to trust me a lot?"

"Mr. Darcy, to be honest, I heard a lot of bad things about you from Wickham. Before... I really think you are unreasonable and too arrogant."

Recalling the past, Pei Xiang smiled shyly, revealing a shallow dimple, with melancholy eyes:

"But when I recognized his true face, I immediately realized that you are a gentleman of noble character. Therefore, when I am in trouble, my first thought is to ask you for help."

Although such praise did not particularly please Fitzwilliam Darcy, it was enough to calm his emotions. The young gentleman looked calm and no longer repelled him because of the Wickham label on the other party.