An Affair to Remember

By Tess

Chapter 1

Posted on Wednesday, 23 December 1998

The News broadcasts were airing everywhere, talking about it.

"....say, here's good news for you bachelors. Competition for pretty girls will certainly be easier now that William Darcy, the heart-stopper, is going out of circulation. Yes, it will be wedding bells for him at long last. Mr. Darcy is sailing today on a cruise ship from Europe and Miss Anne de Bourgh will be waiting for him at the gangplank in New York. Anne, and her lovely six-hundred million bucks. What a deal. Not only all that lettuce, but a lovely tomato too. Wow."

On the ship, gossip was raging everywhere. Where was this Darcy? Was he really as charming as he was reputed to be?

A young crewmember was circulating among the passengers, shouting, "Sr. Darcy?" Men eyed the crewmember warily, while young women followed excitedly in his wake.

"Sr. Darcy?"

"Boy--here I am." A voice said, coming down some stairs.

"Are you Sr. Darcy? I have a telephone call for you from Paris."

The young women who had been following the messenger now crowded together and goggled at the vision standing near them. William Darcy was the finest figure of a man that could be had -- he was tall, broad-shouldered, well dressed, with expressive brown eyes, and curly, tousled brown hair.

One of the young women who had been staring now piped up, saying, "Mr. Darcy, can I have your autograph?" while simultaneously batting her eyelashes and smiling profusely.

He looked at the crowd of young women and icily brushed them off with ease.

"That's very kind of you, but I'm wanted on the telephone."

He was lead into an adjoining room where he picked up the phone.

"Hello? Yes, this is Darcy. Who's calling? Oh, put her on."

A tall, dark-haired woman was waiting for him to respond on the other end. When he picked up she said, vehemently,

"You beast.."

"Hello Caroline."

"Hello Caroline? Don't you talk to me!"

"Oh, then why'd you call me?"

"How could you speak of love to me? And you about to be married! Do you remember what you whispered when I gave you the cigarette case?"

"Well, of course dear! I said....I said..."

A cloud passed over Darcy's brain. He couldn't remember for the life of him. A boyish grin appeared on his face as he yelled into the phone,

"Hello? Hello can you hear me Caroline? I believe we're disconnected."

"We are NOT disconnected!" she screeched in reply.

"Operator? Operator? Oh this is a shame. Operator?"

"Hypocrite!! I have in my hand a knife, and I wish it was in your back!!"

"Oh," was his only reply. As she yelled dirty words at him on the phone he hung up, smiling devilishly, and checking his pockets to see where he had put that cigarette case.

As he walked into the hallway he was accosted by a short, pudgy gentleman who smiled at him strangely.

"Oh! Mr. Darcy. My name's Collins. William Collins. Welcome aboard. I was wondering if you'd care to join my wife, Charlotte, sister-in-law Mariah, and me for a game of bridge.."

Darcy, trying to escape, interrupted him, "Oh I'm sorry Mr. Collins but I cheat. It's an addiction."

Walking along, still checking his pockets for that cigarette case his eye caught sight of a pretty young woman. She was wearing an elegant coat, and beneath that a very elegant evening gown. She had dark, curly hair in a simple twist at the back of her head, with some idle curls framing her face. A shiny object glowed in her hands -- an object he recognized.

"I beg your pardon, I believe you have my cigarette case."

The young woman approached him, and as she drew near he was confronted by a bewitching pair of dark, expressive eyes, beneath fringy, dark eyelashes. They were twinkling with mischief.

"I might as well confess," she replied, " I am a jewel thief."

"I don't believe it," he replied with fake incredulity.

She smiled.

"I was returning it to the purser. I found it in the ah--"

She stopped when he reached out to take it.

"How do I know it's yours?" she asked, skeptically.

Darcy cleared his throat, slightly embarrassed, "Well, there's an inscription to me on the inside of it."

"Oh.." she said, those same bright eyes twinkling as much as ever as she opened the case, a slight smile playing upon her lips.

"To my William Darcy... " she looked to him in mirthful astonishment, "oh don't tell me that you're the famous Will Darcy? Oh, I have read so much about you in 'Life' and 'Look' and --"

"Possibly 'Good Housekeeping'?" Darcy interrupted her, a bit annoyed. "May I please have my cigarette case?"

As he reached out again to take it, she withdrew back.

"No no no! Just a moment," she said returning to the inscription with interest.

After reading a bit she looked up, blushing slightly.

She said, a bit embarrassed, "Ohhh.. it's frightfully intimate. I know just enough French to be embarrassed. Could you, oh, refine it a little and tell me in effect what it says?"

Darcy cleared his throat once more and said, "Well, in effect it says, ' in memory of three unforgettable nights aboard the 'Caroline' -- which is her yacht. "

The young woman closed the case, smiling brightly. With tremendous mirth in her eyes she replied, "I guess that's you all right."

"Tell me," said Darcy, trying to perturb the young woman who obviously wasn't as impressed by him as most usually were, "did you write the song "I'll Never Smile Again" ?"

"No," said the lady, laughing charmingly, "but I'm thinking of writing one called "Moon over the 'Caroline' ". "

After smiling gloriously at him, she began to walk coolly away. Darcy, who was charmed by this woman, followed in pursuit.

"Please wait. I'm in trouble -- serious trouble, " he said, catching up to her and staring intimately at her with his rich, expressive, chocolate-brown eyes that reduced most women to puddles.

The young woman smiled at him, her eyes not losing their twinkling luster as she said, "Well, I could have told you! Playing around yachts, you poor thing!"

"I must talk with someone!"

"Well, I'm not very good at that sort of thing, I talk a lot. I've tried to break myself of the habit, but--"

Darcy interrupted her, "Oh but you have such an honest face!"

The woman opened her purse and looked into a pocket mirror. "I have?" she asked back, skeptically.

"I can trust you, can't I?" he said, looking intensely at her.

"Yes...I suppose so."

"Good, come with me," he said, taking her arm.

"Yes, but the captain has an honest face too, why don't you tell him your troubles?" she asked, those eyes still merry as ever.

"Shall we go to your room or mine?" was his only response.

"Um, no, mine." she responded.

"Well, mine's just around the corner."

"Mine's here," she said, leading to a doorway.

As they entered she continued, "It's not that I'm prudish. But my mother told me never to enter a man's room unless expecting a proposal of marriage."

"She did?"

The young woman nodded and responded, "You don't seem like the proposing kind."

Darcy, unsure how to reply merely stated, "Well, your mother is not only beautiful, she's clever too."

The lady smiled and said, with a touch of humor in her voice, "Some would beg to differ."

"What is your name?" he asked, curiously.

"Elizabeth Bennet...and I'm traveling alone. Is that, by chance, what was troubling you?"

"Yes," he said, smiling.

After a moments pause he continued, "Oh this couldn't be nicer. I was bored to death. I hadn't seen one attractive woman on this ship since we left. Now isn't that terrible. I was alarmed. I said to myself, 'Don't beautiful women travel anymore? ' And then I saw you, and I was saved -- I hope."

There was an amused expression playing on Elizabeth's face, and she replied, as she sat down on a nearby sofa, "Tell me, have you been getting results with a line like that or would I be surprised?"

"If you were surprised, I'd be surprised," said Darcy, also sitting down.

"That sounds like a nasty crack. Well, I can make a few too, if I wanted to," she said in reply.

"I'm sure you could

"I know I can"

"That's what I said"

"All right, I think I will"

"I'm listening."

She leaned in closer to him, and he felt her breath wafted against his cheek as well as her flowery, intoxicating perfume. He could only stare into her beautiful eyes, his heart beating faster, as she said softly, "Does your fiancee know the lady of the yacht -- Caroline?"

"Well certainly, she's her best friend."

Elizabeth leaned back. "Ha. Chummy little group."

Darcy stood up, slightly embarrassed. "This ship is going much too fast."

He sat back down, sitting closer to her, saying, "We ought to take advantage of every moment. Don't you think that life should be gay and bright...like champagne?"

Elizabeth could feel the intensity of his eyes on her, and could smell the rich manly scent of his cologne. She tried to sound nonchalant as she said, "I like pink champagne."

"Yes, that's what I mean, " Darcy continued on, "is there any reason why from now on, this trip shouldn't be like pink champagne?"

"Yes," said Elizabeth, nodding emphatically.

"Why?"

Darcy held his breath as she leaned, ever so slightly over him, to point towards a picture resting on an adjacent table. He turned to view an attractive man, in his early thirties.

"Oh dear," he said, looking back at her, "he wouldn't like it?"

"No"

"Husband?"

"No"

"He still wouldn't like it"

"No!"

"Well, why isn't he traveling with you?"

"Because he had to go to Texas on a big merger."

"Oh"

"He thought it would be good if I took a little trip while he consummated this big deal."

"I see. So he trusts you?"

"Implicitly."

"No mistakes, no errors, no..tiny little slips?" asked Darcy, probing for a glimmer of hope.

"Five faithful years"

"Oh."

"Sounds awful doesn't it? But it's true."

"Yes, well, there you are," said Darcy, pulling out a cigarette from his case and searching for a match.

The sparkle returned to Elizabeth's eye, if it had ever been truly absent as she said, "You could light it from that inscription, couldn't you?"

"Oh...I must pay attention to you!" Darcy said laughingly. Glancing back at the picture he continued, "He's a lucky fellow. He must be a pretty remarkable man."

"Well you can imagine how attractive he is when I can resist such a charming person as yourself."

Darcy cleared his throat, "Oh yes, I understand..... well it was nice wasn't it? Perhaps we'll meet up somewhere else." He said, blushing slightly.

"Don't tell me you're embarrassed?"

"Yes, yes, as a matter of fact I am."

"Oh..I am sorry."

"That's all right - don't apologize."

"Oh, I do hope it won't affect your ego!"

"No, no, please don't think anything of it, I'll just take my ego for a walk....unless of course you'd care to--"

"Join you for dinner? I'd love to!"

As they walked toward and into the dining room they were again bombarded by Mr. Collins. When he saw Darcy coming, he announced, rather loudly to his table,

"Oh her comes my friend Darcy now."

He approached Darcy and said, "Oh, ah, Mr. Darcy, I'd like you to meet my sister-in-law, Mariah, and my wife, Charlotte--"

Darcy and Elizabeth had walked straight past him. Charlotte laughingly urged her husband to sit down.

At dinner, Darcy discovered that Elizabeth possessed very lively, witty conversation.

"....and when you were little," she queried, " what did your nurse read to you at bedtime? The memoirs of Casanova?"

Darcy smiled, "Every night. And then we would turn out the light."

"We?"

"Miss Bennet, I was very young, please remember."

"Ha.. you must have had a happy childhood," she said with a huge grin.

"Ah yes"

"And women.."

"Oh, women?"

"You've known quite a few, haven't you?"

"Well..."

"Or perhaps few is the wrong word?"

"Let's just say it's not precise"

At that moment a they were interrupted by a crewman.

"I beg your pardon, Senor Darcy. Would you like me to reserve this table for you every night?"

Darcy looked towards Elizabeth who shrugged. Turning back he replied, "oh, why not?"

Facing Elizabeth he said, "now where were we?"

"Women. --And I suppose they were all madly in love with you?"

"Oh I doubt it," he said, smiling charmingly.

"But you haven't had that much respect for them."

"Oh on the contrary..."

"Still, you've always been very fair in your judgments."

"Oh! I've been more than fair! I idealize them. Every woman starts out high in my esteem. But of course the longer I know her, and the better I know her... she starts to sink in my opinion."

"Yes, it's hard to keep them up there, isn't it?"

"Yes, isn't it."

"Pretty soon the pedestal wobbles, and then topples."

"That's life, et cetera... well let's talk about you, Elizabeth."

"Mmmmm.. no. Not tonight. We'll talk about me some other time. We've nothing planned for tomorrow."

"Oh I have."

"Oh don't get ideas! We'll talk about me tomorrow."

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