I think I actually like the younger Mr Elliot from Persuasion.
1) Some of the things which are presented as awful in the book, like how he talks disparagingly about his family name and thinks poorly of his frankly silly relatives, well, all that is not such a bad or unusual thing at all in modern times.
2) His whole scheme was apparently a ploy to secure his position as the heir by either a) marrying Anne so he can supposedly watch his uncle’s decision-making more closely, or b) by doing away with the risk of his uncle marrying the cunning young widow who is hanging around them.
But then Anne basically ignores/rejects him, and instead of him marrying Anne’s sister (who actually is a way better choice if you’re looking at his mercenary motives), he... runs off with his uncle’s potential lover.
3) Now, you’d think he’d later leave his new lover after she was done being useful, and it would provide a Firm Regency Moral about why it’s bad to go off with a sneaky gentleman, but no.
The two of them apparently stay together from then on. And it’s hinted they might actually marry one day, depending on whose superior cunning prevails. It is a form of his ‘n’ hers matching towels, a male/female complementary slyness.
Antagonist love. Aww. It’s... really kinda cute.