Read Only Mr. Darcy Will Do for Free Online

company and conversation, as she had fed on it all week. Instead, she arrived with contentment and an eagerness to share stories with her family about her new friend.
    Elizabeth had never pined for any of the social privileges that those in the first circles enjoyed, but she took great delight in hearing Rosalyn talk about all the engagements she enjoyed over the years whenever she spent time in London. As Rosalyn described the balls to which she had been invited, the concerts and theatre plays she had attended, and the presentations at Court, Elizabeth delighted in the enchanting way she described them. She could not help but feel just a small bit of envy as she wished that perhaps just once she would like to step into Rosalyn’s world and experience it for herself.
    “Oh, Elizabeth! The music just fills your ears as hundreds of dancing couples bow and curtsey, swirl and promenade down the endless ballrooms in luxurious gowns!” Rosalyn’s eyes lit up as she described the balls in Town, which, although similar to ones that Elizabeth attended in the country, were on a much grander, more prestigious scale.
    “And all the fine gentlemen! Oh, sometimes I can barely breathe when one asks for my hand!”
    Elizabeth smiled, fully cognizant of the fact that she would never receive an invitation to such a ball or to dance with such gentlemen, being in the position in which she now found herself. She closed her eyes, allowing herself to dream, as Rosalyn finished her narrative.
    At length, Rosalyn softened her voice and her light blue eyes widened.
    “Elizabeth, do you think a gentleman would find me attractive?”
    Elizabeth looked at her and tilted her head and narrowed her eyes, teasing her with her scrutiny.
    “Please, Elizabeth! I am serious!”
    “I think any man would find you a most handsome young lady!”
    “You do not say that merely to appease me?”
    “Rosalyn, you have beautiful blue eyes, a fine nose, nicely shaped lips, and a tall, slender figure,” Elizabeth assured her. “You have a charming personality and I know that you must certainly turn many a man’s head.”
    “Please do not think me silly, Elizabeth, it is just that sometimes I wonder why…” She took in a deep breath and pursed her lips.
    “Rosalyn? What is it you wonder?”
    She shrugged her shoulders. “It is just that he never looks my way.”
    Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “He?” she asked teasingly. “Who is he ?”
    Rosalyn gave her head a firm shake. “Oh, I could never tell!”
    “Pray, Rosalyn! Why?”
    “He is far above me, above our family. He would never take a second look at me.”
    “Rosalyn, your family is much esteemed. Why would you say that?”
    “To own the truth, Elizabeth, my father married beneath him. My mother had no noticeable connections, and growing up, I felt the disdain of many families who were of more refined and well-bred society.”
    “Oh, Rosalyn, certainly you must be mistaken.”
    “Whether or not I am mistaken, this gentleman has never acknowledged me, and if Lorraine knew that I continued to pine for him, she would scold me ruthlessly!”
    Elizabeth laughed. “Pine for him? Can you not tell me more? Now I am dying with curiosity.”
    “I will only say that he is a man who lived near my family when I was growing up. The first time I ever saw him, I just knew he was the one I wished to marry! But I could never tell you his name!”
    Elizabeth laughed softly and leaned in toward Rosalyn. “And you still pine for him?”
    She nodded her head slowly. “My whole family knew of my infatuation with him when I was younger, and they laughed and thought me young and silly. Now that I am older…”
    “Your feelings are unchanged.”
    “Yes,” she said as she nodded her head.
    “If you cannot tell me his name, you must tell me everything else about this man!”
    “Well,” Rosalyn dropped her eyes and a blush softly coloured her features. “He is terribly handsome. Tall and handsome. And he is