Chapter 324: Chapter 324

Bet? That was naturally out of the question.

Although still somewhat incredulous, Darcy at that time instinctively refrained from offering any verbal rebuttal.

And as expected, the subsequent developments indeed confirmed An Ning's predictions.

In fact, the current situation was far worse than what the Bennet family had anticipated. With Darcy choosing to leave and not acting as in the original story—where he not only paid off Wickham's series of gambling debts but also provided a substantial sum of money—Wickham, that habitual gambler and seasoned scoundrel adept at seducing young girls, predictably refused to even mention marrying the youngest Bennet daughter, even though their elopement had already caused a huge local scandal.

And this wasn't even the worst part.

The prolonged failure to finalize this marriage undoubtedly dealt a massive blow to the Bennet family's reputation at that time.

But clearly, a gambler's appetite isn't easily satisfied. While the Bennet family's finances were still somewhat comfortable, they couldn't compare to truly wealthy families.

Even by exhausting all their resources, each daughter's share of the dowry would only be two thousand pounds. How could such a paltry sum possibly catch Wickham's eye? Especially after he learned that the two potential wealthy sons-in-law, his future brothers-in-law, were no longer in the picture.

One must remember, his previous pursuit had been aimed at Miss King, who had a full ten thousand pound dowry...

Upon learning of this, Mrs. Hurst, Bingley's elder sister, made a special trip from her estate.

"Bingley, my dear brother, I believe you clearly understand your responsibilities as the eldest son of the Bingley family, the heir destined to uphold our family's honor?"

"Regardless of what that Miss Bennet is like, just imagine how dreadful it would be to have an unprincipled gambler as a brother-in-law and a promiscuous sister! Oh! Believe me, dear brother, you absolutely do not want to experience that."

"Leaving other matters aside, even your good friend, the sufficiently wealthy and generous Mr. Darcy, wants no part of this. Bingley, don't you see it yet?"

At that moment, Mrs. Hurst, unusually shedding her usual composure, covered her mouth in horror.

Just imagining such a man of low character and dissolute habits freely entering and leaving the Bingley family estate in the future, and occasionally, during her and her sister's leisure visits home, being forced to share a roof with such a person...

And her situation would be somewhat better, as she was already married. But her poor sister, what would become of her Caroline! Especially since she knew her brother best—he was not one skilled at refusing people.

The mere thought of such an awkward scenario made Mrs. Hurst feel like fainting on the spot.

For Bingley's sister, who had pursued respectability her entire life, this was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.

Thus, far from offering money to help her future in-laws resolve this matter, Mrs. Hurst was now unwilling to have anything more to do with this marriage, not even the slightest bit.

And before leaving, she delivered an ultimatum to her brother in no uncertain terms:

"Dear Mr. Bingley, if you do not wish your only two sisters to be pitifully homeless in the future, you may certainly proceed as you see fit today!"

Faced with such a scenario, how could the naturally soft-hearted Mr. Bingley choose otherwise?

In any case, by the time An Ning returned happily from teasing Sherlock, the news she received was that Wickham—who was supposed to marry the youngest Bennet daughter—had, due to massive gambling debts, unfortunately stumbled into a ditch while being pursued by debt collectors and died on the spot.

Because of her fiancé's death, the poor Miss Bennet at that time was also hiding inside her room, utterly heartbroken.

Since the two had indeed intended to hold a wedding before this, and had even sent invitations to many people, most outsiders who didn't know the inside story only pitied the unfortunate Miss Bennet for her terrible luck when this happened.

Sympathy for the Bennet family was also the predominant sentiment.

Although their reputation would inevitably suffer some damage, it was still far better than draining the dowries of the other four daughters to acquire a gambler for a son-in-law, and consequently ruining the marriages of their beloved eldest and second daughters.

One must admit, the one who acted was decisively ruthless.

It was also the greatest possible protection for the naive and inexperienced youngest daughter.

An Ning guessed that Mr. Bennet had likely first used a large sum of money to hook Wickham's interest, making him agree to the marriage, even falsely promising that the remaining pounds would be delivered on the wedding day.

The reason, naturally, was fear that the other party would take the money and refuse to fulfill the marriage agreement.

And in fact, from the moment the invitations were sent out, this scoundrel had lost any chance for regret.

Indeed, as the old saying goes, one should never push anyone into a corner, no how harmless they may seem...

And that Miss Elizabeth's intelligence evidently didn't come from nowhere.

Lounging leisurely in her reclining chair, An Ning merely noted this news and moved on. As long as that scoundrel no longer had a chance to disgust people, especially the unfortunate Georgiana.

Or even become her distant relative by marriage.

As for the future romantic progression between Darcy and that Miss Bennet, the story's main couple, she couldn't be bothered to meddle.

She'd rather spend that time teasing her future brother-in-law, Sherlock. Especially since, just two months ago, after Sherlock came to London for his studies, he had visited the Mayfair villa multiple times during his breaks.

Apart from the master bedroom, which he wasn't permitted to enter, he had practically examined and recorded everything from the decor to the interior furnishings with a magnifying glass.

Especially after learning that the villa's decoration reflected the preferences of its future mistress.

Lying leisurely on the sofa, An Ning couldn't help but click her tongue lightly. Then she happily picked up her pen, bursting with inspiration, and began writing the third installment of her "Great Detective Karl" series.

For the opening, how about the detective's first major setback? An extremely adept master of disguise, a thousand-faced enchantress and international thief, who, from their very first meeting, employs numerous methods to thoroughly manipulate the poor great detective.

She even uses his intellect to successfully locate the true hiding place of a treasure, conveniently eliminating a host of competitors along the way.

Only at the very end does the poor Detective Carl suddenly realize that the delicate, vulnerable young lady he coincidentally saved, who had been following him all along, was actually the true mastermind behind this long-running scheme...

But alas, it was too late. By then, the enchantress had already smoothly transferred the enormous treasure and was leisurely enjoying the beautiful sunshine in her lavender-filled estate...

This story was undoubtedly not short, but for some reason, An Ning found herself writing with increasing fluency, the surging inspiration encountering no so-called writer's block whatsoever...

As a devoted fan of An Ning, and by extension Detective Carl, Georgiana adored this story immensely. To better follow the updates, she even packed her bags and came to Rosings Manor, keeping her dear cousin company day and night.

"Ah? How could Miss Deresse deceive the kind Detective Carl like that!"

"This... doesn't seem quite right, does it?"

Under the bright afternoon sun, Georgiana blinked her large eyes and tentatively suggested.

Maybe control those sparkling big eyes and that expectant little gaze before you speak, then you might have a shred of credibility.

Hah! Madam, thy name is 'Hypocrisy'!

Leaving aside what strange associations Sherlock might form upon reading this...

At Pemberley Estate, after receiving the news from his friend, Mr. Darcy fell into a prolonged silence.

It seemed he hadn't expected that Mr. Bennet, usually mild-mannered with a touch of detached nonchalance, could display such decisiveness and ruthlessness at that time.

Especially since earlier, when he had suggested merely sending Wickham out of England, that gentleman had hesitated and shown reluctance due to the incessant weeping and pleading of his wife and daughters...

For the first time, Darcy felt that perhaps the sunshine at Pemberley wasn't quite so beautiful after all.