The Imprudence of Anger - NB, part 3, unbeta'd

Darcy folded his arm and waited for the anger and excitment to subside. Knightley just told him that Elizabeth Bennet demanded to see him, immediately.

It had been six frustrating months since he went to Ramsgate, since he last saw her. He had since gone out with more women than he could remember. But none of them got past the dinner date. They were all con artists, too fawning, too obvious and too willing to have sex with him, if he was willing. They were total turned off. None of them could compare to Elizabeth.

He still fumed over his encounter with Elizabeth six months ago. It was the most humiliating experience in his whole life, that day on Ramsgate beach.

After Elizabeth had swum away with his swimming trousers, he waited in the water for nearly half an hour before Bingley reappeared. During the waiting time, a few man-hungry women came near and tried to chat him up. He gave them the cold scowl which didn’t deter them. So he had to swim for his life and dignity, not allowing them to see that he was naked below water.

By the time Bingley returned with Jane Bennet, Darcy was exhausted. He had to call Bingley out to the water, alone, and explained about his need for a pair of trousers. His normally easy-going friend asked a lot of questions before he went back with Jane, to fetch the essential garment for him. Although Darcy did not reveal Elizabeth’s relations to his father, he had to admit to Bingley that he had insulted her, before his friend was willing to do his biding.

Darcy was sure Bingley told Jane about the incident. It took his friend an awful long time to come back from the hotel. Darcy had avoided three more promiscuous women in the water at that time.

When the duo returned to the hotel, Jane was angry with Darcy as well. Elizabeth had told her something. The eldest Bennet asked him to leave the hotel. Bingley was torn, not sure if he should leave or stay. Darcy insisted him to stay, as he wanted an excuse to come back for Elizabeth. He had to ring his personal assistant and asked her to find him another hotel in Ramsgate urgently.

The next day, six months ago, he met Elizabeth in a private dinning room in a 5-star hotel. He went back to Longbourn Hotel to ask for her earlier the day. Jane was reluctant to pass on the message but he used his billionaire attitude to threaten her. When an angry Elizabeth came out to meet him, he told her that he had the secrecy document back in his hotel, drafted for her to sign, if she wanted the money from his father. As he delivered the news coldly, she looked at him for a long time. Her anger turned mellow. He was willing her to turn him down. But she didn’t. She agreed to come to his hotel in an hour time.

Elizabeth came alone, in a stunning flirty dress which accentuated her every curve. With bright red lipstick and nails, she swayed into the room on dangerously high heels. He swallowed hard and drew in a deep breath. He needed to keep his cool to negotiate the whole transaction, to his satisfaction.

“The 10 million pounds will be deposited from my personal account into yours in 5 instalments in the next few months. I own a public company worth billions. I can’t have the media suspicious of anything. My affairs are closely reported by the tabloids.”

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows and smiled at him seductively. She took a long time to read the document, which demanded her secrecy about how she got the money or that they were provided by late Mr. Darcy as per his death wish. When she took the pen and signed it, anger shook his core. He was still hoping she would refuse the money, thus denouncing her relationship with his father. Her action killed his naïve hope.

“Great! The first instalment will be in your bank tomorrow. Now here is the second document,” he took out another stack of paper from his briefcases and snapped it on the desk, in a loud bang. “Sign it and you will have all the designer clothes and a jet setting life for the rest of your life. I assume you will sift through the 10 million very quickly. So this is your best back up plan.”

She read through the second document, for a long time again and then said with a disappointing shrill girly voice. “So you want me to become your mistress? For this huge sum of money, clothes, holidays, houses every year until I can’t please you any more? Your lawyers did exceptionally well, listing all the acceptable behaviour I have to conduct myself, anticipating the event of a child, of me cheating on you or of either of us died suddenly. Were they screenwriters before they became lawyers? Their imagination is boundless.”

“Count yourself lucky, that I’m in lust with you.”

“So much in lust that you are willing to take over ‘used merchandise’ from your father?” She tossed the disgusting sentence out with a smug smile.

He rose from the chair and walked to the window, staring out at nowhere. He had to get away from her or he would grab her and kiss her senseless. “Leave my father out of this. You’ve got the 10 millions from that episode of your life. From now on, once you sign the second document, your body belongs to me, any time of the day and night. Your thoughts should concentrate on me. And me alone!”

She chuckled and muttered, “What wonderful thoughts!”

Darcy held his hands on the window sill, tight. Surrendering to one’s lust was one thing. He wouldn’t surrender his soul to her sparkling and yet sickening personality. Then he heard the rustle of paper and the sound of her signing. He clinched the window even tighter and gritted his teeth. How could I possess her, every day, knowing that she could be bought? I wished I would get tired of her, after just one night.

The noise of the slamming of the door made him turn around. She had left the room! He owned her now, where the bloody hell was the infuriating woman. He went to the desk, intending to stuff the paper back into the briefcase and chase after her. But a large writing on the document caught his eyes. She had written “FUCK YOUR MONEY” on his second contract.

He stared at it for ages. So she didn’t want to be his mistress. She was content to live with the 10 millions from his father.

Did she love his father so much? The question and the image of Elizabeth with his father haunted him for the last six months. Now she demanded to see him. What did she want? Had she gone through the three instalments of million dollars already? Did she come back to beg him, to take her as his mistress now? His dormant body suddenly felt extremely excited by the prospect. He wanted her, naked, underneath him, now, begging for his mercy.

To be continued...

I still need to write another instalment to reveal Lizzy's identity...