Wickham's Diary

15th August 1796

Alas. Gerty and I have had to part. It has been coming for some time, for my pockets have become increasingly empty, and she has stayed with me for much longer than I could have expected, but now at last we have had to go our separate ways.

'You will soon find another protector,' I said.

'Yes, I think I will,' she said, studying herself critically in the mirror. 'But this will be the last one. My looks are going, and it's no life for a woman when she gets old.'

'What will you do afterwards?' I asked her.

'Who knows? Find a merchant to marry, maybe, or set up in business, perhaps. I might open a hat shop or a dress shop. You look after yourself, Georgie.'

'And you.'

She blew me a kiss and left without more ado.

I regretted her going. I have grown used to her. But there are plenty more women in the world, and all I have to do is to walk out of the door to find them.

More difficult is the question of how I am going to live. The money I had from Darcy is gone, and my credit is so long that, sooner or later, my creditors are going to start pressing me. I will have to live by my wits, for I have nothing else left to me, save my charm and my handsome face. And so between the three of them, they must earn me my keep and something more besides. They must earn me my future.