Chapter 1
Mr. Wickham snuck along Pemberly's grounds towards the enormous house. He trudged through the thick, woody forest, feeling branches and vines press against him as he slowly made his way towards Pemberly. He spotted something up ahead. The house! He picked up his pace, barely noticing the thorns in his excitement at almost reaching his goal. Suddenly he emerged from the forest. Anxiously looking around to make sure no none of the servants had noticed him, he began to tiptoe towards the massive house.
He wanted to get to Mr. Darcy's study where he guessed Mr. Darcy's will would be. He intended to re-write the will so that when Darcy died all his money and possessions would go to a certain George Wickham.
He loudly stepped on a twig. Quickly he jumped behind a bush, held his breath and hoped no one had heard.
The gardener called out, "Who's there?" Seeing no one, he seemed to determine that no one was there and went back to work.
Cautiously, Wickham resumed walking toward Pemberly. This time he was very careful not to be noticed, stepping carefully and avoiding people. His knowledge of Pemberly's grounds proved very useful, as he was able to take side routes and shortcuts to avoid servants. After much longer than it would usually take him, he finally reached the entrance hall and opened the door.
Once inside he began to sneak along the hall in the direction in which he hoped Mr. Darcy's study was. He walked in this direction for a few minutes, then turned and left and snuck along a long hallway. He repeated this a few times, then ran into a dead end. Wickham realized he was lost!
Debating what to do, he looked around for some landmark to tell him where he was. Then he heard footsteps! Anxiously glancing around, he spotted a door to his right. Thankfully, it was unlocked. Quickly, he stepped inside and shut the door behind him. He apprehensively waited for the footsteps to pass, then began looking around for something which could help him find Darcy's study. Then he realized he was in the parlor! Stepping back into the hallway, he turned left and marched in the direction he now thought was the way to the elusive study.
As soon as Mr. Wickham was inside the study he immediately started searching for the will. He didn't have any idea where it could be, so he started opening desk drawers at random. Finding nothing of use, he looked around for somewhere else to search. Spotting nothing but the bookcase, he decided to check there just in case. However, after scouring the books for a couple minutes and finding nothing, he began to wonder if he was looking in the right place after all. Just then, he noticed a piece of paper wedged between two books. Pulling it out for a better look, he realized it was the will he had been looking for so long! He spread it out on the desk and began writing.
Once he was satisfied, he placed the will carefully back where it had been and retraced his steps off the grounds and back through the forest. Then he focused on his next endeavor. This one was going to be even harder, he knew, but he was determined to get revenge on Mr. Darcy. He had already completed the first step, which was to get a shark. The next step was to get the shark into Mr. Darcy's pond without being noticed.
He briskly walked back to the inn in Lambton he was staying at and grabbed the tank. It was about a foot long, and between the shark, the water, and the tank, it was quite heavy. He hadn't been sure how big the tank would need to be, but he figured if it were much bigger than this, he wouldn't be able to carry it.
He decided to take a cart back to Pemberly. When he arrived at the sprawling grounds, he realized he still needed to take the tank to the pond. He debated whether to carry the tank or use the cart. Carrying it would attract less attention, but without the cart, he doubted whether he would be able to carry the shark tank all the way to the pond. He would have to hope none of the servants noticed him.
He steered his horse towards a path he knew led directly to the pond. After driving the cart through the narrow, woody path for what felt like hours, his arms began to feel rather sore. Just when he was started to think he had remembered wrong, he emerged from the woods right next to the algae-filled pond. He hoisted the heavy tank out of the cart and staggered toward the pond, spilling water off the sides. When he reached the edge of the pond, he tipped the shark into the pond with a of sigh of relief. Then he cheerfully headed back to his inn, his elaborate revenge plans finally completed. Now he just had to wait for Mr. Darcy to go swimming…