Cheeseburgers In Paradise--Section I

By Spring

Section I,Next Section

t is a Truth Universally acknowledged that a Single Man in possession of a Good Fortune and Karma must be in want of a Wife

It is also a Truth that Beggars can't be Choosers.

Chapter 1

Elizabeth fumbled for her keys and walked into her apartment right when the answering machine picked up. Since her arms were full, she decided the phone could wait and started emptying the sacks of groceries. Her dog, Sandy, greeted her, tail wagging, as she walked into the kitchen.

"Lizzy? Jane? Pick up the phone." Elizabeth sighed. It was her mother. She was glad she didn't answer, talking to Mom gave her a headache sometimes. "OK, I guess you're not there yet. Call me as soon as you get home, I have the most exciting news for you! Everyone is in an uproar about our new club members. I can't wait for Jane to meet him. He's sooo rich and handsome and I just know they'll hit it off together, and he has a huge boat and has talked of having a sailing party someday soon and..."BEEEEP. Elizabeth smiled. Mom never got to finish anything on the answering machine. Elizabeth made sure that the machine didn't run for very long and she suspected that her sister, Jane was secretly pleased.

When she finished putting the groceries away she knelt on the floor to rub Sandy's belly. "Who's a good dog? Wanna go outside? Do you? Yes, she does! Come on let's go!"

"Hi, Lizzy, I didn't here you come in." Jane, just out of the shower, was standing in the doorway to her bedroom wrapping a towel around her hair. "Was that Mom on the phone?"

"Yep, apparently she's found a husband for you. You're to call her immediately and set the wedding date." Jane blushed at Lizzy's joke. "I don't know why you're blushing, Jane, unless you are finally sick of Mom trying to match you up with every Tom, Dick, and Harry that crosses her path. "

"Oh, Lizzy, You know Mom means well, it's just that..."

"She can't see that all of her friends are laughing behind her back about it. It's very sweet of you to humor her, Jane. I don't know how you can put up with it." Elizabeth smiled and got the leash out of the closet and hooked it on Sandy's collar. She started out the door and stopped. Turning around to face Jane she said "Honestly, do you really think that she'll actually find our true loves and future husbands for us? You know the men she picks out. Sleazy, desperate, borderline stalkers." Seeing her sister's face Elizabeth nodded, "Me neither. I think that this will be the last time I play along with her marriage schemes." Then Elizabeth left.

Chapter 2

The car pulled around the drive and parked under the portico. A valet attendant opened the passenger door and Jane stepped onto the cobblestone walkway. Elizabeth stepped out of the driver's side and handed the keys to the valet. She saw him smirk at her. Quickly, she glanced down to make sure everything was where it should be. She looked at her gown and her shoes, looked up at Jane wearing a blue dress and was as beautiful as usual. Elizabeth decided that nothing was wrong with either of them and turned to the valet. He had already gotten in the car and moved the seat, adjusted the mirrors, and changed the radio station. Elizabeth stuck her tongue out at him and immediately bit it.

"Lizzy!" She whirled around and saw her mom standing in the entrance with all of her sisters in tow. " How can you be so unladylike? I know I never raised you like that. It was all your father's doing I bet. He just undermined everything I taught you girls about life and how to Get Ahead. If you had only listen to me you and Jane would both be married by now. But no, I am just ignored and unappreciated..."

Elizabeth tuned her out and looked around the foyer of the country club her mom had talked her dad into joining years ago. For months Judith Bennet begged and pleaded with her husband to join the Netherfield Yacht and Country Club. Martin Bennet evaded all of her salvos until she carried out her threat of never speaking to him again. At first Mr. Bennet thought he was in Heaven until the silence unnerved him and his daughters coming to him with messages from his wife just about made him as batty as she was. So he gave in and joined the club, despite the fact that they don't have a boat or barely even the income to afford the dues. Mrs. Bennet was ecstatic when she first stepped into the rooms of the club, ordering waiters about as if she owned the place and speaking loudly as if everyone around her was hard of hearing.

Elizabeth was also happy when they joined because her best friend Charlotte Lucas and her family were also members. Hers sisters were just as pleased as Elizabeth although, with some differences of feeling. Jane was happy because that was the way Jane was. As the eldest at twenty-five she gave her mother such high hopes. Jane was the beauty of the family. Mrs. Bennet hoped that someday Jane would take up a modeling career but Jane wouldn't even consider it. Always smiling and pleasant and never thinking badly about anyone Jane was as angelic as she was beautiful.

Mary, the third sister was, well, resigned. She was not as sociable as her sisters were and, being very shy, she spent most of her time reading or practicing the piano (long after her sisters had given up on it, I might add). She wasn't very pretty or very bright but what she lacked naturally she made up for in studying and enthusiasm. Or at least she gave it her best shot.

Katie and Lydia were the two youngest. Lydia was everything her mother could desire in a child. Daring, outspoken, ready for any adventure was how Mrs. Bennet saw her youngest daughter. Elizabeth and Jane pretty much agreed that Lydia was really foolish, headstrong, and reckless and if she didn't straighten out soon Lydia was bound to get into serious problems. Katie wasn't as bad as her younger sister, but being easily influenced she willingly went along with her sister's hair-brained schemes.

Elizabeth was two years younger than Jane. She was shorter, darker and more on the cynical side than Jane. She loved watching people and enjoyed their follies and inconsistencies. She wasn't a great beauty but she was pretty. Elizabeth didn't give it much thought. Between Jane and Elizabeth they shared something together that none of the other sisters did. Jane and Elizabeth knew what it was to be friends with each other and love each other for who they were. That was one of the reasons why they shared an apartment together. Another one was standing two feet away and still haranguing Elizabeth about anything that came into mind about everything. Elizabeth sighed, she loved her mother but she could feel a headache coming.

As their party moved on into the ballroom, Elizabeth noticed a group of people standing a few feet from the entrance. There were three men and two women. She looked at the women and noticed that they were attractive and fashionably dressed but seemed sort of aloof. Elizabeth wondered about it then moved her eyes to the gentlemen. The first man was rather plainish and sleepy looking. Elizabeth shrugged and moved on to the next. Her breath caught as she looked. So that's what tall dark and handsome means! Elizabeth was about to smile at him when she noticed his friend standing next to him. He was staring and smiling at someone just passed her. It could only be Jane. Elizabeth turned towards her sister to make sure and saw Jane smiling back and ... and blushing. Well, it looks like we will meet our newest club members. She looked at Jane again and saw the brightness of her smile; Mamma may finally get her wish. Elizabeth saw this gentleman start towards them.

Chapter 3

William Darcy jumped as he heard a shrill voice cut through the relatively calm air. "Lizzy!" This Voice said. What on Earth is a Lizzy? He thought to himself. Looking in the direction of the disturbance he noticed that most of the club members didn't seem to notice The Voice. Some even winked at each other as if they knew what exactly was going on. Figures , he thought, there's always one. Watching the doorway to see what The Voice looked like he saw the entrance of six women. The oldest, the mother he presumed was berating a short brunette about something. He couldn't understand why this woman couldn't keep quiet about personal matters in such a public place. To Darcy it was very ill mannered. As the mother herded her brood into the ballroom Darcy saw with some amusement that the creature The Voice was directed at wasn't even paying attention to her, a fact that her mother was completely unaware of.

The brunette looked about the room and finally rested on his group. She eyeballed Caroline and Louisa, dismissed Ron Hurst, Louisa's husband, and settled on him. Darcy didn't know what to think about such obvious behavior. He now thought that she deserved the chastisement that The Voice was giving her. A smile was starting on her lips; she has auburn hair Darcy realized. Then Charles Bingley moved in their direction.

Elizabeth watched with delight as Charles came up. He addressed himself to Mrs. Bennet but saw only Jane, who was looking alternatingly at Charles' eyes and her shoes.

"I'd like to introduce my sisters Caroline and Louisa. This is Ron Hurst Louisa's husband and the tall one over there is my friend William Darcy." Darcy nodded towards them.

Charles would make friends with the most annoying people here , Darcy thought to himself. He stood back from the group as the introductions went around. Darcy was only a guest of Bingley's at his new country club and didn't feel that he needed to ingratiate himself with loud, obnoxious, and (probably) husband hunting mothers. He nodded his head at the women in acknowledgment when his name was announced. Really, Charles, you can do better than this.

Charles asked Jane if she would dance with him which she readily agreed to. He led her to the dance floor and since the band was playing an old slow song he held her gently and they started moving gracefully to the music. They seemed formed for each other , Elizabeth thought. There's no awkwardness or tension at all between them. The band played on and Elizabeth wandered about the floor to find her friend Charlotte Lucas who would be there tonight. She saw Charlotte on the dance floor with Bill Collins. Elizabeth suppressed a gag reflex at the sight and then accepted an offer to dance from an old tennis partner.

"Embrace me, my sweet embraceable you" The band the club hired was usually one that specialized in the big band era. Elizabeth liked these old songs. They reminded her of her grandfather who would talk about World War Two and her grandma and the way things used to be. One of her earliest memories was standing on his toes and dancing in the middle of the living room. He used to sing this song to her and Jane a lot. Elizabeth smiled and closed her eyes as she and her partner whirled around the dance floor together. She missed Grandpa very much.

The music stopped and they dancers clapped for the band. Elizabeth opened her eyes and saw William Darcy starring at her. What is he staring at me for? He didn't seem very friendly when Charles introduced him. Elizabeth doubted that he even heard any of their names. Maybe he's just a bit shy.

The band started up again. Elizabeth was thirsty so she declined dancing again and moved towards the bar. She ordered a club soda and sat down. She sighed as she wiggled her toes in her shoes. They were a little tight. Jane and Charles Bingley were close by. They didn't want to dance anymore when a more up beat song came on. Elizabeth thought they seemed very engrossed in whatever it was they were talking about. She smiled at them but declined joining them. She would only be a third wheel.

Charles moved to the bar to get Jane a drink when he noticed Darcy standing nearby looking as if he would rather be doing taxes than have a good time.

"Will, What are you standing around here for? Why aren't you dancing?"

"Charles, you know I don't like to dance with people I'm not familiar with. Your sisters are engaged and there isn't anyone else in the room I know."

"Will, you are amazing. Did you forget that we just met a very nice family of five girls?"

"No, as a point of fact, I remember very clearly that we made the acquaintance of a rather vulgar women and her five daughters. If the mother is any rule, then her daughters will be just as bad."

Charles looked at him in astonishment. "You can't be serious. Mrs. Bennet is a sweet lady and her daughters are very lovely and smart young women besides. I'm going to dance with Jane again in a moment; why don't you ask her sister Elizabeth? She is sitting right over there." He pointed in her direction.

Darcy looked, caught her eye and turned back to his friend. "Charles, I thank you for your concern, but I really don't want to dance right now. Especially with giggly, empty-headed females. You had better go back to Jane and leave me to fend for myself."

Charles looked at him for a few seconds then took his friend's advice. Elizabeth, who heard the entire conversation, was at the same time amused and insulted. What nerve he had to be rude and conceited to people he never met before! Who did he think he was anyway? Empty-headed my foot! He may be good looking but he had the personality of a pet rock. He can get over himself just as soon as he wished. After stewing about it for a moment, Elizabeth started chuckling to herself. It really was a funny situation when you think about it. She needed to find Charlotte.

Darcy saw Elizabeth smiling at something but he couldn't see what. Oh no, did she hear what I just said? He thought. She was close enough to over hear their conversation. Why would she smile at that? He saw her get up and walk away from him. As he watched he found himself wondering, What was so funny about what I said? Is she stupid and doesn't know an insult when she hears it? Darcy shook his head to clear his thoughts. He looked again and saw Elizabeth accosted by a short, squat, toady looking man. He watched as she tried to back away from him. Every step she took back, toady took two towards her. He felt sorry for her predicament but what would you expect at an assembly such as this?

Elizabeth once again spotted Charlotte and made her way towards her. Suddenly someone pounced at her from behind a palm tree and grabbed her arm. "Elizabeth, darling you must dance with me." He said.

She shuddered with revulsion and hastily declined and backed up. Elizabeth never liked Bill Collins very much. He seemed to be always lurking about and making lewd comments to her. A long time ago her mother made a match between Elizabeth and Bill. Elizabeth put that to a stop real quick. He always gave her the willies.

Finally, with a great amount of effort, Elizabeth managed to escape from Bill. Breathing a sigh of relief, she went straight for Charlotte and her family. They say there's strength in numbers , she thought. Elizabeth and Charlotte walked around the room and talked. Elizabeth recounted what she overheard Darcy say to his friend. Charlotte was embarrassed for Elizabeth but they had a good laugh about it anyway.

After a few more dances and strolls around the room, Elizabeth saw Bill Collins stealthily sneaking up to her. Quickly, she ducked into the ladies room and just avoided being caught by his greasy tentacles. Shivering, Elizabeth started counting the minutes she could decently stay in the bathroom. She vaguely remembered hearing a similar story about Rita Hayworth. Apparently, Rita would hang out in the ladies lounges at parties to avoid the Bill Collins of her day or at least, something like that. Elizabeth knew that staying the entire night in the bathroom was impossible so she walked up to the sinks to wash her hands and brace herself for the onslaught.

The swung door open and Caroline Bingley and Louisa Hurst walked in talking at each other.

"Really, Louisa, I never saw such a rag-tag bunch of creatures in all my life. I can't believe that Charles actually joined this country club. The people don't have any sense whatsoever and it isn't as exclusive as I could wish. Remember that horrid little woman we met earlier? She had five daughters! And she was so…" Caroline's voice faded away when she realized who was standing a few feet away from them. "Why, Elizabeth, you startled me. I…I didn't see you standing there"

"No, I should imagine you didn't." Elizabeth said with a smile. "If you'll excuse me." Elizabeth walked slowly by them and out the bathroom door. She really wanted to tell them off but restrained herself for Jane's sake. Charles seemed to be everything his sisters weren't and starting a catfight with his sisters was not the best way of going about things. Elizabeth took a deep breath and looked for her sister. It was time they headed home. Jane was standing next to Charles and, boy , did she look like she had a great evening. Elizabeth was happy for her sister. Jane was the best person Elizabeth knew of. Elizabeth thought that things might work out with him. Charles seemed like a real gentleman; Elizabeth hoped that he wouldn't turn into something like his sisters after they got to know him better.

Charles asked for and received their telephone number. He promised to call Jane the next day. After several half-hearted good-byes, Elizabeth managed to get Jane to leave. Saying goodbye to their mother and sisters they went out into the night and waited for the valet to bring the car around.

As they waited for their car, Elizabeth closed her eyes and breathed in the salty air. It was mid-August and the sky was a deep bluish-black. In the distance, she could hear the piercing cry of the seagulls. Elizabeth looked over at Jane; she was lost in her own thoughts it seemed.

The car pulled up and the girls got in; Elizabeth handed the valet a tip and pulled out of the driveway. Once they were a few miles down the road Elizabeth turned to her sister and started talking about the party. She talked about her narrow escape from Bill Collins and she talked about Charlotte. Try as she might the most that Elizabeth could get out of Jane was just monosyllables. Finally, Elizabeth tried, "So, Jane what do you think about Charles Bingley?"

"Charles? Oh! Well, I guess he's a nice man."

"You guess? You spent half the night with him, you must know more than that, Jane."

"Well, Elizabeth, we just met him tonight. I didn't ask for his life story."

"Yes, that would have been very rude to do so." Elizabeth said smiling at her sister.

"However, that's probably what you should have done. You know Mom's going to give you the interrogation tomorrow. She won't rest until she knows everything from his job title down to his blood type."

Jane laughed with her sister, "Yes, you're right. Perhaps we should lose ourselves tomorrow morning so as not to be there when she calls."

"That sounds like a plan to me." Looking over at Jane, Elizabeth ventured, "What do you think of his sisters? They aren't as nice as Charles."

"Do you think so? I thought they were charming. Yes, very sweet and pleasing."

"Jane you just described our dog . Now really, you seem to think more highly of them than their brother."

"Elizabeth, you're starting again."

"OK." She paused. "What did you think of William Darcy?" Elizabeth asked.

"I didn't talk to him much. He seems to be very shy."

"More like proud and arrogant if you ask me."

"Why? What happened?" Jane asked. Elizabeth recounted the conversation she overheard earlier in the evening. Jane was hurt at his description of their mother but thought that he didn't mean it the way it came out.

How else could he mean it , Elizabeth wanted to know. She kept her mouth shut. Jane was determined to like William Darcy and Charles' sisters no matter what. Elizabeth wasn't sure if she should tell Jane about what Caroline was saying when she walked into the bathroom. She decided to let it wait until the next day. After a little while, they finally reached their apartment building. Elizabeth pulled into their parking spot, yanked the emergency brake up and slid out of the car. She prepared herself for Sandy jumping up onto her. They were gone for quite a while and Sandy would need to go for a long walk. "Whoa! Sandy! Down! Down! Goood girl. I'll take her out, Jane, you can go on to bed."

"All right, thanks, Lizzy. Goodnight." "Night, Jane."

Elizabeth changed out of her dress and into shorts and T-shirt. "OK, Sandy, let's go out." Later, when Elizabeth was in bed, she thought about the people they had just met. Maybe she was being too harsh on Caroline and William Darcy. Jane could be right, William might only be shy. Elizabeth remembered that she thought the same thing when the introductions went around. But, then she remembered what he said . Giggly and empty-headed were his words. There was no two ways about it, He's not shy, he's a jerk . And Caroline, she was just a snob. Oh well, we can't all be perfect can we? Elizabeth leaned over and scratched Sandy behind the ears. I wish people were more like dogs. They don't care how much money you make or what you look like. You could be an ax murderer and they would still love you. Elizabeth sighed and drifted off to sleep.

Darcy leaned back on his bed and put his hands behind his head. The evening turned out pretty much like he thought it would. Boring, obnoxious people and husband-hunting mothers and their daughters. Hmmm, daughters. Well, Charles certainly had a good time with Jane Bennet. She was very polite and didn't ask too many questions. Her mother was ridiculous though. And her sister, Elizabeth… He wasn't sure what he thought about her. He was surprised at her reaction to his insult. She didn't dwell over it or moon about like a huffy cow. Instead she shook it off and laughed at him. Actually laughed and almost in his face, too. It was a strange feeling, to be laughed at like that. Most people he knew were too much in awe of him to laugh at him. At least to his face. Darcy didn't know if he liked it.

She certainly handled herself well with that toady fellow. I guess the guy can't take a hint. Darcy chuckled as he remembered seeing Elizabeth's escape from Mr. Toad. Dodged right into the bathroom, she was quick thinking. Then he remembered that Caroline and Louisa went in next. Almost immediately Elizabeth walked out, as if she didn't like to be in their presence. Well, who can blame her? I don't like her that much either. I'm going to have to do something about that Caroline. She's is getting more annoying every day. I know she thinks that someday we will be married. I don't know why, I never encourage her in that way. All evening long, whenever Caroline could grab ahold of Darcy she would talk endlessly about how pleased she was that he came with them and would he like to join them for this or can he make it for that. On and on her voice would drone in his ear like a mosquito. At least you can smack a mosquito , Darcy thought to himself and then laughed as he pictured himself slapping Caroline. Maybe I could invent some Caroline Repellant? Darcy laughed some more at that. Just then there was a knock on his door. "Come in" Darcy said sitting up.

Caroline entered the room, "Hello, William. I just wanted to be sure you were comfortable in your cabin." Darcy looked around the room. They were staying on Charles' ship the White Lady . The room was spacious and accommodating and he had a private head. He looked at Caroline. She was wearing a filmy robe and even filmier nightgown. Who is she kidding? He thought. "Thank you, Caroline, I will be quite comfortable."

"Are you sure you won't…need anything, William?" Caroline stressed "need" just a little.

"Yes, Caroline, I will be just fine, thank you. If you don't mind I'd like to go to sleep now."

"Oh! Of course, I don't want to keep you up. But, if you find that you do need anything my cabin is right next to yours." She pointed to his right. "Just come and get me."

You wish. "Thanks, Caroline. Goodnight."

"Goodni-iight." She almost sang this last part out as she closed the door. Darcy waited until he heard her door shut then he got up and locked his door. That woman would try any thing ,he thought as he crawled into bed. He started to roll onto his right side until he remembered that he would be facing Caroline's cabin. So he rolled over onto his left side and let the gentle rocking of the boat put him to sleep. Strangely enough, the last thing he remembered thinking of was a laughing, auburn haired girl.

Caroline pouted in her cabin as she waited for him to join her. What's wrong with him? Can't he take a hint? What does a girl have to do? No matter, he'll come. They always do. Caroline sniffled as she thought of William Darcy sleeping so close to her and yet so far. She thought about how he rejected her advances. Maybe I wasn't obvious enough. He's always a perfect gentleman. Too gentleman-like some times. Maybe he just needs some more encouragement. Caroline glanced at the door. Still not there. Where is he?! Maybe he's gay? Naahhh! She had heard too many stories from Charles about their old college days. He didn't go into details but Caroline gathered enough to know that he definitely liked women in the way it counted. So, where was he? Surely not sleeping. Caroline knew that she was attractive. She spent so much money on beauty products that even if she weren't she could still be very pleasing to the eye. Caroline thought about it some more. Maybe he wants someone to play hard to get. After all, he is one of the richest men in the United States; he must have girls throwing themselves at him all the time. That's it! I'll just be pure, sweet, demure little Caroline. I know just what to do. Caroline smiled as she drifted off to sleep. In her dreams she and William were getting married in front of all their friends and family and she saw all his money piled up for her to spend. Her smile was very content.

Chapter 4

Elizabeth blinked her eyes open as the phone rang. It was early. Too early. She decided to let the machine get it. God bless phone machines , she thought.

"Jane, it's your mother. I know you're there, it's too early for you to be out yet so pick up the phone. Oh, Jane I have the most exciting news for you. After you left the party last night I made it a point to talk to Charles Bingley. He seemed to like you a great deal, Jane. You must have made quite an impression on him. But then, I've always said that you could not be so beautiful for nothing. Anyway, I asked what he did for a living, for you know, he must be very rich; and he said that he owned a…BEEEEEP." The answering machine cut her off again. Elizabeth smiled and rolled over.

The phone rang again. She can't be serious. Elizabeth looked at the clock. It was six a.m. Why don't the Jerky Boys call and give us a break? The answering machine picked up. "Girls, you really must get that fixed, one can't have a decent conversation on such a short time period. Jane, Charles Bingley owns Bingley Enterprises! The computer business! Oh this is so fortunate for you. I always knew that you would land a rich husband. I'm going to invite him and his sisters for a little get together soon. I need you to tell me when the best time would be for you. I want you to look your best , Jane. Of course, you always do. Tell Lizzy I said Hi and also ask her to…BEEEEP." The phone remained silent. Whatever it was Elizabeth was supposed to do wasn't important enough for her mother to call back.

Well, there was no point in going back to sleep now. Elizabeth was wide-awake. Chuckling at her mom's enthusiastic wake up call, she scuffled into the kitchen. Jane was already up and making her breakfast. She looked a bit worried.

"What's wrong, Jane? You look scared."

"Lizzy, did you hear what Mom just said about Charles? He owns Bingley Enterprises!"

"Yes, I heard it. So, what? He is still the same person you met last night. I thought you two hit it off." The last was more of a question, really.

"We did get along. But I had no idea he was so rich. I think he's too far out of my league, Lizzy. He wouldn't consider dating someone like me at all."

Elizabeth sighed, "Jane, if he was so far out of our league then he would never have joined our meager little Yachting club. He would be up in Palm Beach or down in Key Biscayne. Also, I don't think that he thinks that you're not good enough for him because he was genuinely interested in you last night. He asked for your phone number. And, if he wasn't interested and he only wants to toy with you and dump you later then he's just not worth the thought I'm trying to put into this."

"You're right, Lizzy, you're right. But now I feel nervous. No, no, I shall just wait to see if he calls."

"He will . Unless Mom scared him off."

"If that's the case then I don't want him." Jane smiled at her sister; "It's very strange to hear you being the optimistic one, Lizzy."

"That wasn't being optimistic, Jane. That was being truthful. He'll call.

"Unless Mom scared him off."

"Mmmm. Well I'll go give Mom a call and see what she wanted. Did you want to go to the beach today?"

"Yeah, that sounds good."

Chapter 5

The sun sparkled on the waves as seagulls and pelicans dipped into the ocean in search of fish. Every so often a cloud would pass over the sun giving the sunbathers a brief respite from its harsh glare.

Across the street from the beach was a small marina. Boats were moored neatly in their docks. There were all sorts of boats but one of the biggest boats was docked almost in the river. It would have been impossible for it to navigate through the labyrinth of the marina. It was large and well kept. Crewmembers scurried about performing their duties before they went on liberty. A lone figure stepped out of the main cabin and out onto the deck.

Blinking his eyes against the bright sun William waited for his eyes to adjust to the light change. He looked out onto the ocean. He could see boats dotting the horizon. William wanted to get a better look at them so he walked up to the telescope that was placed on the deck. He panned the telescope slowly from left to right. Oil tankers, sailboats, cruiseships, and speedboats passed by. Every so often he could see a jet skier jumping the waves. William looked up from the telescope and peered into the horizon. He could just barely make out a ship. He swung the telescope and focused it onto where he thought the ship might be. It took a few passes until he found it but it was there. It was a gigantic aircraft carrier. The telescope was powerful enough that he could see the planes neatly lined up in rows. Try as he might he couldn't make out what kind of planes they were. He tried adjusting the setting on the telescope for a more powerful setting. Just then the wake from a big tourist boat knocked against the ship causing it to rock back and forth. William was knocked forward against the telescope.

He looked back at the boat that was causing the disturbance. It was two storied and in the shape of an old paddlewheel boat. Tourists were craning their necks and taking pictures. A lot of them waved to the crewmembers who waved back. William ignored them and peered back into the telescope, which was knocked askew from the ships rocking. He focused again and saw a face jump into view. William flinched in surprise but kept his eyes on this face. He adjusted the telescope again so he could see more. He saw two women. They were packing up from their day at the beach. He could see one of them lead a big German Shepherd to the showers. The dog was filthy. With some difficulty, it's owner managed to get it under the shower. The dog tried to get out from under the spray of the water but was held by the collar. He concentrated on the dog's owner. She had her hair pulled back into a ponytail. Wisps of hair that escaped from the elastic waved about in the breeze. Her cheeks were reddened from being in the sun all day. He watched her lips, they moved, speaking comforting words to the dog he supposed. William tried to read her lips, for some reason he wanted to know what she was saying to her dog.

Suddenly a shadow fell on him. "What do you see out there, William?"

William jumped at the sound of Caroline's voice. She was standing two feet away from him. He was so intent in what he was doing that he didn't hear her come up. "Oh, not much." He replied cautiously. "Just some cruiseships and oil tankers. It looks like there's an aircraft carrier out there too." William didn't know why but he didn't want anyone to know that he'd just been watching two women. He knew it would look worse than it seemed, and besides, since when was it Caroline's business what he did?

"Really? That's interesting. I'd like to see an aircraft carrier. I've heard that they are just immense." Caroline smiled sweetly up at him. "Listen, William, I want to apologies for last night. I thought about it and I've realized that I might have given you the wrong impression. I feel badly about it and I'm a little ashamed of my own behavior. Please accept my apologies." She shyly looked at him.

William looked at Caroline in amazement. "No apologies are needed Caroline. There's no reason for you to regret your behavior." Because you have no conscience , he thought.

"Thank you, William. Also, thank you for being such a gentleman last night.

William just smiled thinly. He was already very uncomfortable from being caught with the telescope but Caroline was confusing him. What are you up to, Caroline? Why are you giving me puppy dog eyes? He excused himself and went inside.

Caroline stared out into the sea. She decided to try and find that aircraft carrier. She looked and saw Elizabeth Bennet.

Chapter 6

William went inside the boat to find Charles. He felt embarrassed by his recent peeping Tom episode. He hoped that Caroline didn't look into the glass. She would be like a devil if she did. What was the deal with Caroline, anyway? She was practically dripping with sweetness. The change from a wanton cat last night to the Pollyanna of this morning was eerie. Caroline didn't fool Darcy for a moment. He knew her too well for that.

William heard a loud squaaawk from the corner of the room. He walked over to the parrot that was perched on its stand and flapping its wings. "What's the matter, Kramer? Has Caroline got you spooked too?" Kramer whistled and squawked again. Darcy fed him some sunflower seeds. Charles had bought the bird right after he got the boat. Charles insisted that his boats have a parrot on board. He tried for days to teach Kramer to say "pieces of eight", but Kramer never did. Darcy figured that Charles had read Robert Louis Stevenson way too much as a child. Darcy smiled and shrugged.

His eyes wandered to the window. He could see her out there, standing by the curb of the road. She was preparing to cross the street with her sister. Her dog was impatient to go it seemed. It kept tugging at it's leash, but was held back by her owner. The light turned green for them and they crossed. Darcy could see them head for a small outdoor restaurant that was attached to a hotel. Suddenly Darcy felt very hungry. He went to go find Charles and take him out to lunch.

Caroline's face turned red and her eyes narrowed into slits as she got an eyeful of Elizabeth Bennet. At first she couldn't believe what she saw. Then the realization that William was watching Elizabeth Bennet made her livid. Caroline remembered his embarrassment when she was talking to him, and at first she thought it was because of her apology. So, he wishes he took me up on my offer , she thought. Now I can just string him along. >/I> But now, now he was spying on some cheap floozy and her dumb dog. Look at her, she is only wearing shorts and a bikini top. Where does she think she can go dress in those rags? Caroline looked up from the telescope and saw Elizabeth and Jane and the dog cross the street. William couldn't possibly be interested in someone like that. Hmmm, I'm going to have to get her out of my way just in case. But still, she considered Elizabeth Bennet a possible threat to all of her plans to marry William Darcy. Caroline wanted his attention focused on herself not some puny little minx. She will have to watch him closely and make sure that he was always aware of her presence. Caroline went inside.

She ran into her brother who asked if she would like to join them for lunch. This was the perfect opportunity, she thought. Don't give up your plans and never let on that you know about Elizabeth Bennet. "Of course, Charles. Just let me grab my purse. I'll meet you outside." Caroline glided past him and into her cabin. Glancing at her mirror she hurriedly checked her make-up and brushed her hair. "This place is so hot and humid." she said. "How can you keep from sweating all the time? Ugh." Snatching her purse from the dresser she ran out of her room.

Darcy was on the dock with Charles waiting for Caroline. He was angry with Charles for inviting Caroline to lunch with them. However, it was done and she was coming and he sure couldn't think of a way to un invite her. Darcy was planning on going to the restaurant where Elizabeth and Jane were eating but now, since Caroline was coming with them he didn't think it would be such a good idea.

Caroline came down the gangplank smiling at the two gentlemen. "Thank you so much for letting me tag along." As if I'd let you have a choice. "I'm so hungry I'm about ready to faint."

"Don't worry, Caroline, if that happens we are right here to catch you. Right Will?" Charles looked at his friend.

"Sure." Darcy said thinly.

"So, where are we headed?" Asked Charles. "I see there's a nice little restaurant right over there we could eat at." Darcy considered this. If he let Charles pick the spot and that spot happened to be the place where Elizabeth and Jane were at and they all happened to meet there; then they would probably all have lunch together and maybe have a good time and get to know one another, right? He weighed this against the Caroline Factor and decided to take the chance.

"That sounds great, Charles. Ready, Caroline?" He asked as casually as possible.

"Yes, William, I am." Caroline slipped her arm around his and led him down the dock.

Jane, Elizabeth, and Sandy made there way to an open table that was in the sunshine. The tall skinny redheaded bartender came over to take their order.

"Hello, girls. What can I get for you?" She asked.

Elizabeth and Jane ordered their drinks and then looked at the menu. When the bartender came back with their drinks she also had a bowl full of water for Sandy. "Here you go, girl." Sandy wagged her tail, thump thump thump thump.

"Gee, thanks…"

"No problem. My daughter has a German Shepherd just like yours. Are you ready to order?"

"Oh, well, what's fresh?" Jane asked. As Jo Anne named the catches of the day, Elizabeth looked over at one of the entrances.

By the pool stood Charles and Caroline Bingley and William Darcy. Caroline had a vice grip around Darcy's arm. He didn't seem to like it. Ah, so that's what's going on , She thought. Elizabeth nodded and smiled a greeting and waved them to come over. Jane looked up and blushed a little at seeing Charles. Charles was more than pleased as he took a seat next to Jane not even noticing that Caroline was reluctant to follow. She and Darcy stood while Jane and Charles considered the coincidence that they were both eating at the same place.

"I had no idea that you were here, Jane. I'm glad I thought of this place." Charles said.

"Yes." Caroline seconded, "We're so lucky." Her smile was frozen in place as she looked about her. She had never seen such a run down place in all of her life. They can't really expect me to eat here. Suddenly she felt something nudge her bottom. She let out a shriek. Everyone in the restaurant turned and looked at her.

"What is it, Caroline?" Charles asked.

"T…that dog just goosed me. I…I think I'd like to sit down now." She moved toward the table and stopped. "Ow! Get off my foot you stupid dog!" Sandy's paw was on her toes.

"Sandy! Come here." Elizabeth stood up and led the dog away. I guess Caroline isn't a dog lover. She thought it would be better to let Darcy and Caroline take her seat on the bench so she can keep Sandy out of every one's way. Elizabeth grabbed a chair from a nearby table and sat down. Caroline wanted to be as far away as possible from Elizabeth but that would mean that William would be near Elizabeth so she let him sit first and then took a seat on the bench. Sandy immediately stepped on her foot.

"Ow! Honestly, can't you do something about your dog? She keeps stepping on my foot."

"Sorry about that." Elizabeth snapped her fingers. "Sandy, come over here." Sandy lay down on the other side of Elizabeth. The bartender took the newcomer's order and left laughing at Caroline.

Caroline started the first round. "So, Jane, it's so good to see you again. I didn't know you live out here."

"Yes, we have an apartment a couple of miles down the road. Is that your boat?" Jane asked pointing to a good-sized fishing boat.

Caroline looked at where Jane was pointing and started to laugh so hard that she couldn't respond. Charles piped in "No, ours is over there." He pointed to the White Lady. "Caroline and I don't do very much fishing although Will is fond of it. I'd like to give you a tour after lunch if you're not busy."

"I'd love to. Is it all right if we bring Sandy?"

"Who? Oh, your dog. Yeah, that's fine." Charles said.

"Oh, yes." Caroline joined in. "I'm sure we have plenty of room on board for everyone." She gave one of her plastic smiles at Elizabeth.

Elizabeth's warning signals went off. Caroline seemed absolutely hostile today. She wondered why. She looked at Darcy and met his eyes. He's staring again. Why does he do that? He doesn't like any of us; he made that clear last night. So, what's the deal? Elizabeth looked at Jane. She was completely engrossed with Charles. Elizabeth never believed in love at first sight but now she supposed that she was looking at it. Elizabeth could feel Darcy's eyes on her. She felt uncomfortable. Elizabeth reached down into her beach bag and pulled out her shirt. It was full of sand so she shook it out then put it on.

"Do you mind ? You dumped all that sand on me." Caroline was enraged. That stupid girl! "I've got sand in my eyes!" She rubbed her eyes and wound up smearing her mascara. "William, can you see if I got the sand out?" She turned her eyes up at him in an attempt to get sympathy. Darcy complied with Caroline's request but it was all he could do to keep from laughing, she looked like a puffy raccoon.

Elizabeth apologized but Caroline wouldn't listen. Geez, it was an accident for goodness' sake. She's been in a bad mood ever since she got here. She watched the little scene before her. Caroline was playing it beautifully, but as far as Elizabeth could tell Darcy was about to burst at the seams. Well, at least he has a sense of humour. "Uh, Caroline, you might want to go to the bathroom to freshen up, your mascara is running." Caroline looked horrified and ran to the bathroom. When she was gone everyone burst out laughing.

The food arrived and was set down. Out of politeness they waited until Caroline got back before they started eating. They waited a long time before they gave up and started with out her. Finally, Caroline stomped back and sat down with a huff. "You could have waited for me." She said hurt. "I wasn't gone long." Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

Charles look down at Caroline's fruit salad, "I thought you said you were hungry?"

"I was ."

Charles continued, "What are you having, Jane?"

"I ordered the fish sandwich."

"I can't stand fish." Caroline said. "It tastes so fishy."

"What else is it supposed to taste like? It's fish." Elizabeth asked.

"Yes, it is. And I don't like it." What do you like? Elizabeth thought.

Darcy ate silently. Things were not going smoothly at all. First Caroline refused to let his arm go. Then she pulled a ruckus about the dog. And then she acted so ungraciously towards Elizabeth's apology. Anyone can see that it was an accident. Anyone except for Caroline that is. I guess she found out I was watching Elizabeth at the beach. That would explain her hostility. At least Elizabeth was being polite. I'd like to get to know her better. Darcy looked at her and smiled.

He was smiling at her. Elizabeth smiled back at him wishing she knew what the joke was. Except for Jane and Charles there wasn't much conversation. Elizabeth trying at least to be polite said, "So where are Louisa and Ron? Did they go sight seeing?"

"Lord no! Caroline sniffed. "I don't think that there's much to see around here anyway. No, Louisa went shopping and Ron is recovering from last night."

"Oh. Do you plan on staying in Ft. Lauderdale for long?" When do you leave? "We're expecting some Navy ships in next week. They come every year for Fleet Week." What do you do with a drunken sailor, Caroline?

Charles looked excited and even Darcy was interested. Charles asked, "How many ships are coming? Will they let us go on them?"

"Well, I don't know how many, it varies from year to year. Generally you can expect a couple of aircraft carriers and a few destroyers and troop carriers. A few years ago we had some subs come in although the public wasn't allowed on board. All of the ships give tours and demonstrations. It's a lot of fun"

"They do this every year?" Asked Darcy.

"Sure. But that's just for Fleet Week. The Navy is always in and out of port around here."

"If they are always here then what's the big deal about it?" Asked Caroline almost to herself. Just then Sandy stepped on her foot.

It's the author here, OK, the seating arrangement is like this. At a bench table with one end facing the marina are Jane and Charles on one side, Darcy (nearest the water) and Caroline on the other and Elizabeth at the end with Sandy keeping Caroline's feet warm.

Chapter 7

Jane was humming softly to herself as she prepared for the party at the Lucas' house. She was thinking about Charles Bingley and the week they had just spent in each other's company. They had spent almost every evening together, just taking long walks and talking. Charles was such an easy man to get along with that Jane got over her initial nervousness just as quickly as she had gotten it. I believe I could fall in love with him, Jane thought. She smiled to herself; I'm halfway there already. It was all going so fast; Jane didn't know what to think. I can't believe it's only been a week, I feel that I've known him forever. I'm not sure how Charles feels about me. He certainly seems to like me and enjoy my company but that doesn't mean that he feels the same way I do. I must remember not to show my feelings too much until I'm sure or I will only wind up hurting myself and embarrass Charles. After fortifying herself, Jane went to go find Elizabeth and see if she was almost ready.

She found Elizabeth just finishing. Elizabeth smiled at her sister when she walked in the room. "Jane you've done it again. Charles is going to flip when he sees you. Let me just put on some perfume and I'll be ready." She sprizted herself and grabbed her purse. "OK, do you want to take your car or mine?"

"Yours. I'd like to talk to you on the way there."

"You can handle twenty screaming kids but you can't talk and drive at the same time?" Elizabeth asked laughingly. "Jane, you're too much."

They got into Elizabeth's jeep. Since it was a nice night and Jane wanted to talk they took the long way up A1A. Not wanting to pressure her sister, Elizabeth waited for Jane to start. She knew it would be about Charles Bingley. She was right. "Elizabeth, I know this is a strange thing to ask, but do you think Charles is interested in a relationship with me?"

"Well, I would hardly be the one to tell you that. You're the one whose been spending so much time with him. What do you think?"

"I think he is."

"Then what are you asking me for?" Said Elizabeth raising an eyebrow.

"I just want to know what you think."

"From what I've seen, yes, he's very taken with you." Elizabeth paused, "You like him a lot don't you?"

Jane only nodded her head. Elizabeth turned left onto Las Olas Boulevard. They had to wait at the bridge for a few minutes as a boat went by. "I like him too, Jane. You've liked many a stupider person. I wouldn't be in the least surprised if you two would wind up happily married and settled down." Jane blushed at this proclamation.

Elizabeth pulled up to the house. Cars were lined up on both sides of the street. I>There must be twenty people inside there already , Elizabeth thought. She looked but couldn't tell if Charles and company were already arrived. Well, maybe we'll get lucky and Charles will be the only one to show up. Elizabeth perked up at the idea of not seeing Caroline or William. They were unbearable that day on the boat. Caroline kept making snide comments about how nice it was to be able to travel at a moment's notice and how boring it gets to be in one place for very long. It's unbelievable that she and Charles have the same mother. And William wasn't much better although he did keep his mouth shut. In fact he didn't say anything at all the whole time we were there. He just stood around staring at me.

They walked into the Lucas' house and were greeted by several acquaintances but most especially by Charles Bingley. He was lingering around the door waiting for Jane to show up. William was right behind him. She made a polite greeting and walked further into the house. Certainly she could behave in a civilized manner towards Charles friends. What they would do is a different matter. Elizabeth put all thoughts of William Darcy out of her head. It is really provoking how often he is invading my thoughts. This was easily done as she was soon accosted by Billy Collins.

"Elizabeth, Darling, I've been waiting all night to see you." He whispered in her ear. He took a hold of Elizabeth's arm and tried to lead her to a secluded corner. Elizabeth refused to budge an inch and looked around anxiously for a way out. The only one around her was William Darcy. No hope there. How about the vase sitting on that little table. Just sort of crack it discreetly over Billy's bulbous head? Billy tugged at her arm again.

Finally she had enough, "I am NOT your Elizabeth and my last name is NOT Darling! Get your hands of me this instant!" Elizabeth hissed.

"You can't fool me, Elizabeth. You've been playing hard to get but I know you want me. It's in your eyes. Come with me, I've got my car parked right outside. We can blow off this party and have our own little… twosome at my place." He started to lead her out the door.

Elizabeth reached for the vase sitting on the table. He's asking for it. Instead of the vase she grabbed a hand. Elizabeth looked up and into William's eyes. I've never been so glad to see him before, She thought.

"Is there a problem, Elizabeth?" William asked.

"There's no problem, Darcy." Billy replied tersely. "Elizabeth and I were just leaving." He didn't like William interrupting. Elizabeth was so anxious to go with him and now this rich boy was trying to ruin it for him.

"Let go of my arm! I never said I'd leave with you. That's just another one of your delusions." Elizabeth was so embarrassed. She tightened her grip onto William's hand. If Billy tried to pull her out of the room, she could always use William as an anchor. This was getting ridiculous.

Billy looked at William and saw that he wasn't going to move. He looked at Elizabeth and saw that she was determined. "OK, fine. I'm warning you Elizabeth, there's only so much a man can take. You may as well forget about me from now on because I won't take your teasing anymore! He let go of Elizabeth's arm and stalked off.

Elizabeth's eyes widened at Billy's declaration. Does he mean it? Then she burst out laughing. What a moron !

William laughed with her. She has the most amazing eyes. Why have I not seen that before? He grew contemplative.

Elizabeth saw the smile leave his face. That was quick. Just a little bit of knight-errantry, I suppose. Still he did help me out. She let go of his hand. "I'd like to thank you for saving me from what would have been a most embarrassing situation. I was about to hit him over the head with that vase." She smiled, "Billy Collins is mostly harmless; however, he can also be very stubborn."

"Yes, I can see that." Say something, Will. "I… I trust that you're not hurt?"

"No, thank you, I'm fine." Elizabeth walked past him and joined the party. She flexed her hand. It still tingled where they touched. Must have gripped his hand too tight. My hand almost fell asleep. Never mind. Just go and enjoy yourself, Lizzy. She joined Charlotte on the other side of the room.

Darcy stood where Elizabeth left him. He looked at her as she walked up to her friend. Charlotte, right? He could still feel her hand on his. He looked down to see if it was. William, you're being an idiot. Just go to her and start a conversation. Be polite. Smile. Perhaps ask her to dance. He took a deep breath and started on his way.

Caroline was not having a good time at all. First of all, her brother insisted on attending this sorry excuse for a party. That meant she had to go likewise and be polite to all of these insufferable people. Now, here she was watching William Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet together holding hands. Laughing together. This was really too much. She grabbed a glass of champagne and gulped it. How can I get Elizabeth out of my way? She took another glass of champagne and drank it and set it down. Louisa came up to her.

"Caroline, be careful. You know you can't handle too much champagne." Louisa was concerned for her sister. She had been in a bad mood all week.

"Really, Louisa, I think that I am the judge of when I've had enough to drink." Caroline said. "Besides, this poor excuse for champagne can hardly be felt at all." She hiccuped.

"I just want you to be on your guard, that's all. These people are of no consequence to us but that doesn't mean that you cannot be a lady. Ladies do not get themselves drunk. Remember that William is also here and he will be a witness to anything that you do, so make sure that you behaveyourself. " Louisa whispered these last words to Caroline.

Caroline walked away from her sister. Stupid of her to be giving me advise on controlling my drinking. She should give that speech to her own husband, The Sloth. I never drink too much anyway. She got another drink. Maybe I should get drunk. These people don't care why should I? Perhaps. She sat down on the couch.

Darcy was circling the room waiting for his chance to speak with Elizabeth. She was standing next to an older lady he'd never seen before. He came a little closer before being stopped by William Lucas, Charlotte's father.

"Ah, William Darcy, how good to see you! We are honored that you came, sir." Mr. Lucas shook Darcy's hand. He was always a genial man, and he was a very generous host. He loved to give parties and it was his greatest joy to see people enjoying themselves. "We plan on having a little bit of dancing later and I hope that you will join in."

"Well, Mr. Lucas, I hardly ever dance and…" Don't try to set me up with your daughter, Lucas.

"Oh, yes, but you can let tonight be one of those nights, eh?" Seeing Elizabeth walk by he stopped her with, "Lizzy, there you are! I was just saying to Mr. Darcy that we would be having some dancing soon. I hope that you and he will dance for a song or two. You two seem to be very well matched indeed. Shall I start the music?" Without waiting for a reply, Mr. Lucas went to the stereo and as he threatened, started the music. Elizabeth looked at Darcy who cleared his throat.

"Would you dance with me, Elizabeth?" William looked at her earnestly. Please say yes.

Elizabeth shook her head. "Thank you but I really don't feel like dancing right now. I have to see Jane about my plans for tomorrow. If you will excuse me." She gave him a mock curtsey and left him staring after her. The last thing I need right now is his charity. Especially after what happened with Billy.

As Darcy was musing over Elizabeth's refusal Caroline wobbled up behind him. Her breath burned his ears as she whispered, "I can guess what you're thinking, William. (hic) You're thinking how nice it would be to slip quietly out of this tedious party and (hic) go somewhere more intimate with a special someone. Am I right, William?" (hic)

More right than you think, Caroline, he thought. "No, Caroline, quite the opposite." He looked at her and saw that she was slightly tipsy. He smiled. This would turn out into an interesting evening if Caroline got drunk. He'd never seen it before. I hope she'll lighten up. "Caroline you don't look well. Why don't you sit down and I'll get you something to eat." He led her back to the couch where she sat down like an obedient child.

"Oh, William you're too good. Thank you. (hic) I think I do need something to eat. I feel a bit… sick." (hic) She smiled up at him. When William left she leaned her head over and rested on a nice soft pillow. Mmm, such a soft pillow. I think I might go to sleep. It's so… soft. Caroline's eyes closed.

Billy Collins was sitting down, fuming about how Elizabeth had treated him earlier. She was just a tease after all. What a waste of time and effort he put into her. He shook his head in wonder. Oh well, there are plenty of fish in the sea. Just then someone leaned up against his shoulder. What was this? Oh, it looks like Caroline Bingley, The new clubmember. She's looks out of it. Well, she can rest here if she wants to. He smiled to himself. See what I mean Billy Boy, here's a fish that just jumped into your lap. It may be you lucky night after all.

Chapter 7

The next day, Jane and Charles spent the day at the beach together. Charles had planned on meeting William for an early dinner and wanted to bring Jane and Elizabeth along. Jane liked the idea and though Elizabeth was busy for the day she didn't think that she had any plans for the evening. So, it was decided that Charles and William would meet them at their apartment later.

William turned down the street that was on the directions that Jane had given them. The apartment building was on a corner. He pulled into a parking space and shut off the engine. Charles leaped out. William was not in any hurry so he leaned back into his seat and thought about what a mess the day had been.

Caroline of course woke up with a headache and whined like a baby the whole day. She was in her room now pouting because she wasn't invited to come along for dinner. Thank God. When she found out that she practically fell asleep in Billy Collins' lap, however. What an uproar!! It could have been worse. Fortunately, Charles extracted her from her compromising position before anything really embarrassing happened. William laughed; it made him feel better.

Almost better. Charles told him to expect Jane and Elizabeth as dinner companions. William was starting to like Elizabeth for some reason. God knows she gives him little encouragement. It's like she's always on pins and needles when we are together. She flatly refused to dance with him last night and Charles said something about Elizabeth having a "gentleman caller" today. That meant that she was seeing someone. So, why was he interested? I don't know, I just am.

He got out of the car and started walking towards the building. It was a two story complex with a courtyard in the middle. There was a swimming pool surrounded by palm trees and tropical plants. It's not the Ritz but it's nice. He went upstairs and knocked on the door. Charles opened it.

"Well, it's about time you came up. I thought you were right behind me." Charles laughed.

"You practically flew out of the car. You didn't give me time to catch up."

Jane came out of her room. "Hello, William. I was wondering where you were. Please have a seat."

William sat down in a chair next to the large window looking out onto the pool. He could hear someone taking a shower and singing loudly. William smiled, it was Elizabeth. She sings in the shower. That's sweet.

He looked around while Jane and Charles were talking. It was a small apartment. The living room also doubled as the dining room and there was a small kitchen towards the back. There were two bedrooms on the one side. He could see Jane's because the door was open. He looked towards the other door. It was recessed back and he could tell that the bathroom she was in was also the guest bathroom. Cozy.

"…I hope you don't mind, William?" Jane was looking at him. She expected a response.

He snapped back, "I'm sorry I wandered off for a minute. What were you saying?"

"I was telling Charles that Lizzy was running late with Zack today, so we will have to wait until they are out of the shower. We can have dinner at a little restaurant down the street or we can eat here. Is that all right with you?" Jane smiled.

"Yes, yes. That's fine. Whatever you and Charles decide is fine." William's head reeled. What did she mean they were in the shower together? Is Elizabeth taking a shower with a man? He listened to what she was singing.

"You made me looove you. I didn't want to do it. No, I didn't want to do it…"

She is . That little… She's no better than Caroline. William could feel his temple throb. Get a hold of yourself. She's nothing. You just met her. There's no reason why you should be jealous just because she's crooning love songs to some jerk whose in the shower with her. William wiped his mouth and looked at Charles. He seemed oblivious to anything except Jane. Good. The water stopped running. She's going to come out. Don't let this bother you. Just act natural.

The doorknob turned. William stood up to face Zack and Elizabeth. He could feel the vein in his forehead throbbing. Why does this bother you? She's nothing. Nobody. He knew he was wrong. She was special. The door opened and Elizabeth emerged from a billowing cloud of steam.

Elizabeth came out of the bathroom. She was wearing a robe and her hair was wrapped in a towel turban-like. See saw that Charles and William were already there. She smiled and said hello to Charles and turned to greet William but stopped. He was standing and looked…well; relieved could be the only description. Why is he relieved? What happened? Suddenly she got the feeling that he had been having less than honourable thoughts about her. He doesn't look relieved, he looks guilty.

Still looking at William she said to Jane if she could dress Zack. Jane came up and took the baby out of Elizabeth's arms and went to get him dressed. Charles smiled at the sight. Elizabeth excused herself and went into her room.

William sat down. He felt a wave of relief wash over him when Elizabeth came out holding a baby. He felt so stupid. Never jump to conclusions again, Will. You almost gave yourself a heart attack. He looked at Jane dressing Zack. "Uh, how old is he?"

"He's about nine months. Zack's our cousin. My Aunt Linda will be here any moment to pick him up. They went to see the ships today and thought Zack was too young so Lizzy babysat for them." Jane smiled at the baby. "Zack went swimming with Lizzy, didn't you?" She stood up and bounced him around as Zack laughed and giggled.

William smiled. "Nine months? Imagine that." What a fool I am. He felt his blood pressure lower and he was thankful that he hadn't made a scene. I would've been the world's biggest jerk if I had, he sighed.

Someone knocked at the door. Jane answered and her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner walked in with their two older children. William saw that it was the same lady that Elizabeth was standing next to at the party last night. The introductions were made and Zack was handed over but Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner stayed to see Elizabeth.

Elizabeth's door opened and Sandy came barreling out wagging her tail. She went straight for Zack who was known to spill good things on the floor. Elizabeth came out dressed this time but her hair was still wrapped in the towel. After the question and answer period about how Zack behaved and how he ate and what he did the Gardiners thanked Elizabeth and said goodbye.

Jane closed the door. "I don't feel much like eating out tonight. Let's just stay here and we'll grill something. Is that alright with you, Charles?"

"That sounds great. And now Elizabeth won't have to rush around getting ready." Charles winked at Elizabeth playfully.

"I beg your pardon, sir, I never rush." Elizabeth said just as playfully. She smiled. "I will, however, get this towel off of my head. Why don't you and William take the grill downstairs and start the fire."

"Fair enough. If you ladies are doing the cooking we may as well help out." Charles said as Jane dragged out the grill. "Come on, Will, it's not heavy but you could at least pretend to be helping."

William laughed and took the grill from him. They made an awful racket as they dragged the grill down the stairs.

Elizabeth leaned over the balcony, "If you two break that I'll have to take it away from you!"

Charles protested that they were being very careful and if she wanted the grill down here so much, "Why don't you do it yourself?" Elizabeth laughed and went inside. Jane seemed to be in control of dinner so Elizabeth went into her room. She walked out onto the small balcony.

Elizabeth sat down on the chair and unwrapped her hair. She always liked to dry her hair outside, if she could. It made her hair soft and it also relaxed her a great deal. She started to brush out the knots.

William looked up to where Elizabeth was sitting. She was on her balcony with her back to him, brushing her hair. She was facing the sun, which shone around her like gold, giving her a brilliant halo. I've never seen her hair down before. It was always pulled back off her face or swept up. Her hair was outrageously curly and fell down below her shoulders. I seem to be spending a lot of time watching you, Elizabeth. Why is that? Why can't I just walk up to you and strike up a conversation? He smiled as he gazed at Elizabeth working at a knot. Those curls must knot up a bit. I wonder what her hair would feel like. Elizabeth stood up and turned around. He could see the shape of her body through her dress. She looked down on him and saw that he was staring at her. William waved. Elizabeth just nodded a little and went back inside.

I think she was blushing. William smiled at where Elizabeth was just standing.

"There you are!"

William and Charles quickly looked around and saw Caroline standing at the gate with her hands on her hips. She did not look pleased.

"I've been looking for you for an hour. I thought I'd join you for dinner." Caroline sat down on one of the benches.

Charles looked at William and back at his sister. "That's…great, Caroline. Let me just go tell Jane that you're here." Why could she not stay at home? He thought.

Chapter 8

Jane looked up in surprise at Charles. "Caroline is here? Well, I hope she will be able to stay for dinner. I'm glad she could come." Elizabeth and Charles looked at Jane incredulously.

Wanting to relieve her frustration, Elizabeth started chopping up some carrots. "Yes, I am certainly looking forward to seeing Caroline again." Whack! "I hope she feels better after last night." Whack! Whack! "Why don't you get some drinks, Charles? The glasses are in that cupboard over there." Elizabeth pointed with her knife then returned to the carrots. Whack! Wham!

Elizabeth waited until Charles left until she turned to Jane. " Glad she could come? Oh, Jane, I didn't know you were such a good liar. Now we will have to deal with Sir Stares-A-Lot and Her Royal Highness. Nothing is good enough for her you know, she'll just complain the whole time."

"What's wrong with you, Lizzy? Caroline is a little fastidious, I'll grant you that, but she is very nice. And who is Sir Stares-A-Lot?"

"William Darcy!" Whack! "He keeps staring at me. Didn't you see the way he was looking at me when I came out of the shower with Zack? He thought I was in there with some guy. He made me feel cheap and dirty." Whack!

"Oh, Lizzy, I don't think he thought that at all. I told Charles that you were babysitting today when we were at the beach."

"You told Charles, yes. But did Charles tell William? No." Whack!

"Lizzy, normally you would think that this was funny. Is something wrong?" Jane looked concerned.

"No." Whack! "I'm perfectly fine." Elizabeth thought about it and smiled. "You're right. It is a little funny. I still don't like Caroline, though.

"Well, I do. And I also like William. He's shy and reserved; but you saw how relaxed he was just a minute ago. I bet he'll improve on acquaintance" Jane glanced at the carrots Elizabeth was mangling. "Are you finished or are you going to make juice out of that?"

Elizabeth looked down at the mess she made and laughed. "No, I'm done." She put the carrots in the salad. "Come on let's go be sociable." Taking Sandy with them, they walked downstairs.

Sandy came running down the stairs with Elizabeth and Jane behind her. She went straight to William, tail wagging, stepping on Caroline's foot on the way. ("Ow!") Sandy paid no attention to Caroline and put her nose under William's hand. Pet me! William took the hint and started scratching Sandy behind the ears. Caroline glared at the dog and continued her monologue.

"So, then I thought that I would find you and Charles and we could all have a nice quiet dinner together. What do you think?" She asked William.

"Hmm? William's mind was a mile away. "Oh, uh, we are having dinner here. Jane and Elizabeth are going to cook."

Caroline looked at Elizabeth. "Oh. Well, I guess that's settled then." She paused, "Is there anything I can do to…help?"

You could leave, Elizabeth and William thought.

"Yes, you can shuck the corn for us." Jane said. Elizabeth did her best not to snicker too loudly.

"I beg your pardon?"

"We're having corn-on-the-cob and the husks need to come off." Jane explained. "Come on I'll get you started."

"Great." Caroline was fuming. Can't you tell that I was only being polite? Stupid girl. What's Elizabeth gong to do while I'm upstairs slaving after her dinner. She'll probably make a move on William. I bet that she and Jane planned this. Next time, Caroline, don't volunteer.

Elizabeth went up to go with them. "I might as well start the chicken. Does anyone need another drink?" Everyone said no. Doing her best to avoid William's eyes she motioned for Sandy to follow her.

"I'll keep an eye on her if that's OK." William said. "I don't mind."

"If you're sure…"

"Sure."

"OK, thanks." Elizabeth said. "She does get in the way sometimes." Tell me about it, thought Caroline.

In the kitchen Jane was demonstrating to Caroline how to shuck an ear of corn. Caroline had a slightly amused look on her face. You'd think she didn't know where food came from, thought Elizabeth. Interesting. I hope we don't wind up domesticating her. Elizabeth laughed.

Caroline frowned at Elizabeth. Elizabeth took the plate of chicken and went outside to start grilling. Caroline looked down at the mess she was making. There were cornsilk strands all over her shirt and the floor. There was even a piece in her shoe. How annoying. It's insufferable that they are making me do this. Just don't offer to help clean up. They'll have me washing the floor. Caroline ripped the husk off the last ear of corn and tried to get as much of the silky strands off the corn. Nasty stuff.

"There!" Caroline chirped. "All done."

"Great!" Jane looked up. "Can you just wrap them in foil for me?"

"What for?"

"They're going on the grill. They taste better that way." Jane got out the foil for Caroline.

Caroline tried tearing off a sheet of aluminum foil off. It bunched at the corner and ripped. Damn! She tore another sheet off. It came off fine. There, see. I'm getting the hang of this. Maybe this will show William that I will make a good wife. I can make corn. Caroline was pleased with herself. "What are you doing with the potatoes?" Caroline asked.

"I'm going to throw the potatoes in the microwave and nuke them for a bit. We don't have time for them to bake in the oven." Jane replied. She punched in the numbers and started the microwave. She helped Caroline finish with the corn and then they went outside.

Downstairs, Elizabeth and Charles were standing by the grill laughing at something Charles had just said. William was off to the side playing with Sandy glancing every now and then at Elizabeth. He just thought of something of say to Elizabeth when Caroline and Jane walked up. Caroline was carrying a platter of corn like it was a precious object. Jane had the plates, utensils, and condiments. Charles went to relieve Jane of her burden.

"It's really good of you to feed us like this on such short notice. I promise to take you out to repay you for your hospitality." Charles looked expressly at Jane.

"I'd like that. But there's no need to repay us for anything. We're glad to have you over." Jane looked just as expressly at Charles.

"We are going on a short cruise tomorrow to Key West. Would you like to come? Show us the sights?"

William came over and joined them. He wanted Elizabeth to be of the party but didn't want to say anything that might incite Caroline's wrath.

Jane was happy at Charles offer. "I think that sounds like a great idea. Monday is a teacher's holiday so it's perfect."

Charles asked Elizabeth if she would like to come too. Elizabeth told him that she was scheduled to work so she couldn't make it. William was disappointed. He tried not to show it though and went back to play with Sandy some more.

Caroline was very happy that Elizabeth was not coming. The last thing she wanted was Elizabeth on her turf. She'd probably bring that dumb dog of hers. Her thoughts were interrupted by Elizabeth calling out "Dinner!" Sandy came running towards the table and skidded to a stop on Caroline's feet. "Ow!"

"Sandy, go lay down", Elizabeth told the dog. She set the plate of chicken on the table and they all sat down. Everyone started to help themselves. Jane and Charles were the only ones talking.

Caroline made sure to pick out a piece of "her" corn for William. Then she looked at the chicken. It was covered with black lines and looked shriveled up. She took a very small piece and put it on her plate. She looked over at William to see if he was trying her corn. He was eating the chicken. She looked down at her plate and started to fix her potato. Finished with that she looked again at William to see if he was eating the corn. He was just unwrapping it. Caroline held her breath. He bit into it. Caroline waited. He took another bite. That's a good sign, Caroline thought. "How do you like it, William?"

"It's good. Very sweet." He replied.

Caroline was pleased. He likes the corn. Maybe I'll make him some potatoes sometime. Jane just popped them in the microwave. Cooking is easy, She thought. She looked down at her plate. "What do you call this, Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth looked up. "Chicken." Is she kidding me? Elizabeth smiled.

"No, I mean does it have a name? Caroline was getting upset. Of course I know it's chicken.

"Well, I don't usually like to get too close to the food I'm going to eat so I never name them. But if you like, you could name it for us. How about Fred? That's a nice name." Elizabeth suggested with a smile.

William almost sputtered out his drink. "Fred is delicious." He said. "I'm very happy to have made his acquaintance." He smiled at Elizabeth and they laughed. Caroline glared at him.

Caroline picked up her glass and took a sip. She tipped it up some more. All the ice went tumbling down and crashed onto her face, water spilling down her shirt and on her lap. She gave a little shriek. "Ugh!" Elizabeth calmly handed her another napkin. She did her best not to laugh.

"I hate it when that happens." Jane said. "Did you get any up your nose?" Caroline nodded. "You can use our bathroom if you'd like. It's just around the corner by Lizzy's room." Caroline mustered up as much dignity she could and walked away.

Elizabeth and William politely waited until Caroline was inside with the door shut before they started to guffaw.

"I don't think Fred agrees with her very much do you?" Elizabeth asked William.

"No, I think she has lost her appetite for poultry with first names." He replied.

Charles looked at them. "Who's Fred?"

Caroline closed the door to the bathroom and locked it. She sighed heavily and leaned against the door. She looked around the small bathroom and shuddered. It was still a little damp from Elizabeth's shower. She snatched a towel from its bar and wiped off her shirt. Caroline thought about presenting Elizabeth with the cleaning bill. She's probably too broke to pay it. She went to the mirror to make sure that her make-up wasn't ruined. It wasn't. Good , she thought. You're just as beautiful as ever. She looked at the mirror again and saw that it was also the face of the medicine cabinet. Hmmm. She looked around. No one was there, of course. The door was locked. She opened the cabinet and saw bottles and jars and nail clippers. Hmmm. She pulled the shower curtain back a little and peeked in. Ugh! That's disgusting! Caroline shivered. Such cheap shampoo! I wonder that her hair hasn't fallen out yet.

"Caroline are you OK?" Caroline jumped at the sound of Jane's voice.

"Yes, I'm fine." She called out. "Just finishing up." Fumbling with the lock she opened the door. "There, I'm all better." She smiled. Elizabeth is not going to win this.

They walked downstairs and joined the rest of the group. Caroline started in on William the moment she sat down. "So, William, how is Georgianna getting along at school? Is she still at the head of her class?"

"She is at the top, yes." William said.

"I remember you telling us of her piano recital in May. How I would have loved to have been there. She is really quite accomplished for her age." Caroline smiled a fawning smile at William. "When you speak to her next tell her that I long to see her again. I am very fond of her, you know."

"I'll try to remember, Caroline." William turned to Elizabeth. "I heard that you play the piano."

"Yes, but not very good. We all learned but only Mary kept it up."

Caroline broke in, "What will Georgianna do during the summer? Will she go to New Port again?"

William looked up sharply, "No." He eyed Caroline suspiciously. Why did she say that? What can she have heard? "She didn't like it very much when she went. I'll probably take some time off from work to be with her."

Charles thought that Caroline had overstepped some sort of boundary with William so he quickly changed the subject to the first thing that came to mind. "So, Will, are you going to sue Microsoft like everyone else?"

William looked at Charles, "I, uh, hadn't planned on it." He glanced at Elizabeth self-consciously.

Caroline's ears perked up. "Oh, William, why not? Surely you deserve some sort of compensation from them. I advise you very strongly to reconsider."

William just shook his head. As if I needed your advise, Caroline. I have a squadron of lawyers for that.

Elizabeth was surprised. She new William was rich but she had no idea that he was that rich. Thank God Mom wasn't here she'd be all over him in a heartbeat. She avoided William's eyes and thought about what she'd just heard

Caroline was trying to think of something to say that would lower William's opinion of Elizabeth. "So, Elizabeth, you have a very nice apartment, so teeny and quaint."

Keep your temper, Elizabeth. You can handle this twit. She smiled as she answered. "Yes, it's a good size for me and Jane."

"I find your taste in furniture very… interesting. But then, I assumed that you would be the sort that would like the eclectic look."

"Really? I never thought about it before. Most of our furniture is second hand so we really didn't get much choice in the matter."

"Lizzy likes to say that we decorated in Early Relative." Jane smiled at Charles.

"Early Relative?" Hmmm. "Well, you seem to be making the best of it." Caroline said gleefully.

"Are you going in the decorating business, Caroline?" Elizabeth asked.

"No, of course not. Although, I do have a certain flair for it. Why?"

"No reason. You just seem to be very interested in our furniture." Back off.

"I'm not interested in anything of yours." Back off. Caroline turned to William again. "I think I've had enough for today, will you walk me to my car?" Caroline batted her eyes at William.

Caroline is leaving? Great! "Of course. We wouldn't want anything to happen to you, would we?" William said caustically.

Either she was oblivious or chose to ignore it, "You're so considerate, William. What would I do without you." Caroline turned and started to leave without even saying goodbye.

William rolled his eyes and grimaced. He got up and proceeded to walk Caroline out of the gate.

Elizabeth watched them with a great deal of amusement. Caroline was very funny in an annoying prima donna sort of way. She didn't even know when people were making fun of her. Dinner with Caroline could have been worse she knew. At least William was determined to be on his best behavior. Except for the shower incident, that is. She still disliked him for that.

Elizabeth stood and started to clean up. Jane rose to help. "No, Jane, I'll do this. Someone has to stay and make sure that Charles is safe. We wouldn't want anything to happen to him, would we?" Elizabeth smiled.

She gathered up as much as she could and made her way up the stairs with Sandy tagging along. Singing quietly to herself, Elizabeth started to wash the dishes.

Outside, Caroline was demanding all of William's attention. "I know you can't be looking forward to this trip tomorrow to the Keys. What do you say to staying here with me and renting a little bungalow on the beach? That way Charles can have some privacy with Jane and we can spend some time together." Caroline looked up at William. He seemed intrigued by the idea.

William was anything but. A whole day with Caroline? Heaven forbid. "Caroline, as interesting as the idea may seem, I can't spend the day with you. I've got business to attend to. This is a working vacation for me."

"Oh." Caroline started to lean against her car then jerked away when she remembered that it was dusty. She turned to scrutinize the back of slacks. Still clean. She tried to think up something to say to William that would compel him to leave with her. She couldn't think of a single thing.

William opened the car door for Caroline. She got in and sulked at the wheel a bit. "Well" She said finally. "I suppose that I shall just have to join Charles and Jane in Key West. Unless you change your mi…" William shut the door cutting off the rest of Caroline's sentence. He didn't need to hear her beg. He waited until Caroline started the engine and back away before he went back to Charles and Jane. And Elizabeth, he thought.

Walking back to the picnic table, William was thinking about Elizabeth and how she kept invading his thoughts lately. It's not like she's my idea of a perfect woman, he thought. She doesn't come from the same social circle, she's very opinionated, and she also likes to find fault with me. Where's the attraction in that? He didn't know. All he did know is that the attraction was there.

William saw that Charles and Jane were wrapped up in each other as usual. One can guess what will happen there , he thought. He looked around for Elizabeth and not seeing her downstairs, went up to find her. He found Elizabeth with her back turned towards him washing the dishes and singing to herself. Her voice cracked a little at the high parts. She'd tucked her hair behind her ears with the rest of it was flowing down her back in a curly mess. William closed the door behind him with a soft click. Sandy came trotting up to him begging for a pat.

Elizabeth startled and quickly turned. "Hello." Elizabeth said quietly. There he goes staring again. It's making me feel nervous.

"Hi." William stood there for a second before sitting on the chair. "So this is what Early Relative looks like?" William smiled.

Elizabeth turned back to the dishes, "Yes, we feel quite privileged to have such an extensive array of authentic pieces. Are Jane and Charles coming up?"

"I didn't ask. They were still talking when I came up here. I can't imagine about what."

Why? Do you think Jane is so stupid she can't carry on a conversation to save her life? Elizabeth was provoked. However, remembering William's earlier good humour, she decided not to start arguing. "They are getting along so well together. It's amazing that they just met."

"Yes it is." Very different from the two of us. "So, why aren't you going to come to the Keys with us?" He asked.

"I already told you, I have to work. Jane has the teacher's holiday, not I."

"Where do you work?"

"I am working with Charlotte Lucas for the summer. I go back to school in the autumn to finish my masters." Am I being interviewed or what? "What do you do?"

"I own a computer company." He expected her to be impressed. Most people were.

"Oh, like Charles?" Elizabeth turned the water off and dried her hands.

"Yes. Except I deal mainly with software and consulting. It's called Pemberley 2000." He was very proud of the company he built and it showed in his voice.

"Oh." Elizabeth wasn't very impressed. Braggart. Does he expect me to fawn on him like Caroline does? Boy is he wrong.

William was a little surprised that she didn't show more interest. Most people of his acquaintance wanted nothing more than to show their respect and admiration for him and his company.

He tried to think of something to say. "Um. May I use your bathroom?" William asked. 'May I use your bathroom?' Good thinking, Will. Elizabeth just pointed the way. William thanked her and closed the door. When he was gone Elizabeth left to join Jane downstairs.

RIIING! William waited for Elizabeth to answer the phone. RIIING! Still no answer. He went out into the living room and found that he was alone. RIIIING! William debated whether or not he should answer when the machine picked up and saved him the trouble.

"Jane? Lizzy? If you're there pick up the phone." William recognized that Voice. It was their mother. William groaned and was about to leave when he caught something that The Voice was saying.

"Jane, you must call me as soon as possible to let me know how things are going with Charles. You need to make the most of every opportunity you have with him. Remember how rich he is. And how handsome, too. Such a good catch. I am sure that he will propose as soon as he can for you are so beautiful. Then you will be able to throw your sisters in the way of other rich men. You know Lizzy will never be able to catch a rich husband. She will settle for…"BEEP. The answering machine cut The Voice off mid-sentence. William was dumbfounded. He just stood there looking at the telephone waiting for…something. He didn't know what.

Is Jane just using Charles for his money? He knew it was possible. He'd known plenty of goldiggers in his life; Caroline Bingley was one of them. But Charles was more of a romantic than he was. Charles would fall in love very easily and just leave the rest to chance. William thought about Jane. She didn't seem to be the mercenary type but, then again, she could just be a good actor. He resolved to watch Jane more closely in the future.

Chapter 9

illiam leaned back in his chair and peered into the horizon. He could see the islands on his right in the hazy distance and not too far ahead he could see Key West. Almost there, he thought. The captain pulled up to starboard and the White Lady made her way towards its destination. The sky was over cast and threatened to rain any moment. Waves battered the boat as it rocked and tumbled its way to the pier.

Caroline had a death grip on the arms of her chair, her face turning different shades of green. "Ohhh." She never felt so sick in all her life. Why did Charles have to pick today? There's practically a hurricane out there and we have to go gallivanting around just to impress Little Miss Jane Bennet. Another wave crashing onto the bow sent a spray of salt water in her face and interrupted her thoughts. "Ohhh." She glanced at William. He was perfectly at ease. She looked at Jane and Charles. They didn't even notice the impending storm. "Ohhh." She groaned again. She was going to get sick. Caroline wobbled onto her feet and tried to make her way into the cabin. The boat listed to portside and she fell into her brother's lap.

"Caroline! This is a surprise!" Charles was amused. Looking at Caroline's face his smile faded into a look of concern. "How are you feeling? I know you don't travel well in storms."

Caroline just groaned and tried once more to get up. Her knees buckled under her and she slumped in Charles' lap.

"OK, Caroline," Charles told her. "Remember, just look at the horizon and you won't get sea sick." Caroline did as she was told but the horizon seemed to be spinning to her. Caroline got up and ran to the ships railing. Leaning over and holding on for dear life Caroline vomited. Corn. Ugh! I'll never eat corn again, she vowed.

Jane stood up and went to Caroline. She led Caroline into her room and lay her down on the bed. "Let me go see if there's any Dramamine on board." Jane tucked Caroline in and shut the door softly. Jane had a similar experience a few years ago and remembered how awful she felt. "Poor Caroline."

After attending to her patient Jane went back on deck to sit with Charles. They were just pulling up to the pier. The boat's engines screamed as the captain pulled the ship into reverse and lined up with the dock. Sailors jumped onto the pier and ropes were thrown and tied. When the boat was safely moored, Jane went to check on Caroline.

William and Charles stayed on deck discussing the weather and the probabilities of having to stay overnight. Charles was only half listening, he was concerned for his sister and he was also thinking of how selflessly Jane had started to take care of her. Caroline didn't even have to ask for help. Jane just knew right away what to do. If I offered to help Caroline she would have bitten my head off; but she accepted Jane's help with out question.

William was also thinking of Jane. He thought that perhaps her motives were pure at heart. Most of the women he knew would rather die than take care of someone who was throwing up. Or she was just good at hiding her feelings. William was not going to stop keeping watch.

Once Caroline was sleeping soundly, Jane went up on deck and informed Charles on Caroline's condition. Since it was almost lunchtime William suggested that they get something to eat. Jane knew of a restaurant that was in walking distance and they all set off. Before they got halfway down the street there was a great big boom of thunder and it started to rain. It poured down on them and it wasn't long before they were soaked to the bones. Jane quickly led them to a noisy, crowded bar. They squeezed themselves into the crowd and Charles went in search of a table.

William looked around. There were people everywhere. Most of them were just trying to get out of the rain but there were also quite a few customers sitting at the bar and at the tables. A band was playing Jimmy Buffett songs on a stage in the corner. William could see that the owners had a fixation with Earnest Hemmingway for there were pictures of the author everywhere. He could see pictures of Hemmingway fishing, smoking, shooting, writing, and eating. Give me a break, William thought. Where did Jane dig this place up? Someone jostled him from behind and William turned around looking for the culprit. He couldn't find whom it was, however; he did see Charles waving franticly trying to get his and Jane's attention.

William took Jane's hand so they wouldn't get separated and threaded the way through the crowd and they met up with Charles. Charles was sitting on chair and arguing furiously with a burly tattooed man with questionable grooming habits about the possession of the table. Upon William's arrival the tattooed man grunted and left to try and find another table.

Exhausted, Jane slumped into her chair while Charles tried to get a waitress to come over, but the place was so crowded that it took several minutes before he could get anyone's attention. Finally, a harassed looking woman came up, handed them a menu that they all had to share and took their drink order. William saw that the restaurant was called Sloppy Joes. That's appropriate , he thought.

The drinks were long in coming and the food took forever. By the time everyone was done eating the rain had stopped and the restaurant emptied out. Breathing a sigh of relief, Charles leaned back in his chair and asked for the check.

"Achoo!" Jane sneezed violently.

"Oh, no. I hope you aren't coming down with a cold." Charles looked worried.

"No. I'm sure I'll be quite alright." Jane sneezed again. Charles handed her a napkin and she wiped her nose.

"Well, shall we go then?" William was more than ready to leave. Lunch had been an experience to say the least. "Jane, where did you find this place?"

"It's the most famous place in Key West. Hemmingway used to hang out there a lot." Jane sneezed again. "You said you wanted to see the sights."

"So, I did, Jane." Charles put his arm around Jane's shoulder and they walked back to the boat.

Caroline was recovered enough to be out of her cabin when they got back, but not recovered enough to not want attention. She was incensed therefor when she had to make way for Jane who was feeling really bad. Charles tried to get Jane to lay down for a while but she insisted that she only had a mild headache and would be "just fine in a little while." Charles, however, saw how pale she looked and was convinced that Jane was really sick. So, he talked her into lying down on the sofa (as a concession) and proceeded to take care of her.

The first order of business was to call Elizabeth and let her know that Jane was ill and would be staying over with them. Charles had to leave a message on the answering machine since Elizabeth was still at work. That done, Charles gathered up the decongestant and forced Jane to take some.

Jane, by this time felt too weak to protest and started to think that perhaps she really was sicker than she thought. Jane did not want a fuss made and just lay quietly on the couch with a damp towel over her eyes.

Caroline was upset that Jane took all the attention away from herself. She did not want to show her ill humour, however, and disgrace herself in front of William. So, remembering that she did not have lunch yet and that her stomach was empty, Caroline went down to the galley to fix something to eat.

Caroline looked around the cabinets for a while until she found what she was looking for. Caroline hummed to herself while she took a potato out of the bag. Caroline saw the dirt that covered it so she washed it off and popped it in the microwave. Caroline was sure that Jane didn't cook the potatoes last night any longer than fifteen minutes so she pushed the numbers and started the oven. Humming a tune, Caroline located the plates and utensils. Caroline took a plate and a knife and a fork and set them on the counter. She looked over at the microwave. The potato seemed to be swelling. Caroline went to the refrigerator and got out a drink. That went on the counter as well.

BOOM!!

The explosion rocked Caroline. She frantically looked around and saw that her potato was smashed up against the window of the microwave. She couldn't understand what happened. She watched Jane cook last night and she didn't blow anything up.

"Caroline? Are you OK?" Charles came running into the galley with William right behind him. "What happened?"

Caroline couldn't hear Charles very well. The explosion was so loud in the little galley that it affected her hearing. "I tried to cook a potato, Charles." She shouted. "I think they are defective because this one just blew up."

"Oh, thank God." Charles was relieved. "I thought Cuba was attacking." Charles hugged his sister and led her upstairs. William stayed behind them laughing to himself. "Why did it blow up, Caroline?" Charles asked.

"I don't know." Caroline sniffled. "It just did." Caroline couldn't feel any worse. I'm always being out done in some way. First Elizabeth and now Jane. Caroline sniffed again.

"Did you prick holes in it, Caroline?" Jane asked. "You need to prick holes in the skin."

"No. I didn't know you needed to." Caroline felt really stupid now. Will this day ever end?

William was doing his best to keep a straight face on but he was reduced to going outside to let out his pent up laughter. Caroline looked so funny and the fact that she tried to cook was ridiculous. That made up for the lunch that he had earlier. William wiped away a tear and looked out into the now clear sky. I wonder what Elizabeth is doing right now.

Chapter 10

Elizabeth woke up just before dawn. She smiled to herself. This feels like it will turn out to be a great day. No William Darcy. No Caroline Bingley. And Jane gets to go on a nice trip with Charles. Elizabeth rolled out of bed. She went into the kitchen for something to drink and saw Jane preparing to leave.

"Going so soon?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes, I'm going to have a sunrise breakfast with Charles and then we'll all be going for a nice leisurely cruise to the Keys." Jane smiled happily. Elizabeth thought about what might happen with Jane and Charles as she got ready for her morning run.

Later at work, Charlotte ran up to Elizabeth with the biggest smile on her face. "Oh, Lizzy, you have to come with me. I have the funniest thing to show you!"

Smiling in anticipation, Elizabeth asked what it was.

"No, not here. You have to come in the back room with me." Charlotte dragged Elizabeth away from her work. Closing the door to the breakroom, Charlotte held out a bunch of pictures to Elizabeth. "I got the pictures back from the party yesterday." Charlotte voice trembled with excitement. "You need to take a look."

Elizabeth took the pictures from Charlotte and went through the pile. She saw pictures of all her friends. There didn't seem anything unusual about them until she got to the last one. Elizabeth looked hard at the picture and burst out laughing. "Oh, Charlotte, this is too good to be true! Can I have a copy of this? I need to get it blown up to poster size." Charlotte laughed with Elizabeth. She knew that Elizabeth of all people would appreciate this particular picture.

Elizabeth looked at it again. She saw Billy Collins sitting on a sofa grinning down at a comatose Caroline Bingley lying on has lap. If you looked closely you could see a thin line of drool coming from Caroline's mouth. Elizabeth laughed until her sides ached. "Oh, Charlotte! Caroline will put a hitman after you if she knew about this." This was turning out to be a great day indeed.

Elizabeth arrived home early. She still had the rest of the afternoon to herself. She opened the door to her apartment and placed the precious picture of Caroline on the counter in the kitchen. Laughing to herself, Elizabeth went to check her messages.

There was only one on the machine. Elizabeth pressed play and changed clothes as she listened.

"Elizabeth, this is Charles. I, uh, don't want to alarm you but I thought you'd like to know that Jane is feeling a bit sick. She says she will feel better in a little while, however, I think it's best that Jane spends the night with us. She really isn't up to being moved around a lot. I just wanted you to know so you won't worry. Um, I'll call you if anything happens. Bye."

Elizabeth stared at the phone. Jane's sick? With what? Oh no. Jane's illnesses are always worse than anyone else's is. Elizabeth thought about what she should do. I'm sure Charles is trying to take good care of her, but if I know Jane, she won't let Charles in her room so he couldn't tend to her if he tried. Caroline won't do a thing for Jane, I'm sure. And neither would William for that matter. So, Jane's probably lying in her room and getting worse. I need to go to her. Right now. Let's see Charlotte can take Sandy for me while I'm down there. It won't be more than a day.

Elizabeth continued with these thoughts as she prepared to leave. She packed enough for herself and for Jane, who didn't expect to be gone overnight. Elizabeth called Charlotte so she could look after Sandy but Charlotte wasn't home. Shoot. I'll have to take her with me. Elizabeth knew that it was extremely rude to show up uninvited and with her dog but there was nothing else she could do about it. Charles will understand. I hope. She did leave a message with her mother to let her know where they would be.

When everything was ready, Elizabeth grabbed her keys, her bag, and her dog and she set out for the four-hour drive to Key West.

Even though it was a holiday weekend, the traffic was not too bad going south. All of the weekend revelers were headed back north to their homes and jobs. Elizabeth was glad for this reprieve from the traffic and kept heading south on I-95.

Two and a half hours later Elizabeth pulled up at a filling station in Islamorada. Elizabeth filled her jeep with gas as Sandy went for a short walk. I wish I remembered to put the top on the jeep, She thought. Oh well, there isn't time now. I'll do it when I get there. Elizabeth finished pumping the gas and called her dog. She pulled out onto A1A and kept heading south. Elizabeth shifted and sped up. Please don't let me get pulled over , She thought.

Elizabeth drove into Key West a half-hour before sunset. Knowing that she would never find parking close to Charles' boat she parked as close as possible which was six blocks away. Grabbing her bag and Sandy's leash, Elizabeth hopped out of the car and started off towards the only spot Charles could dock his boat.

It was crowded at the pier. Everyday people came to watch the sunset from it; and long ago performers of every kind came to make money off the tourists. It was now a Key West tradition to go down to the pier and watch the sun set from a carnival like atmosphere. This is where Charles' boat would be unless it was moored off shore. I hope not.

Elizabeth shoved her way through the crowd. On her left was a fire breather and to her right was a strange man with a lot of knives. Straight-ahead was Charles' boat. Breathing a sigh of relief that she finally made it, Elizabeth wondered how she was going to get on board. They didn't know she was here or that she was even coming at all. Elizabeth was pondering this when she heard someone call out "Elizabeth!" She looked up and saw William Darcy leaning over the edge of the boat staring at her in amazement.

Chapter 11

William went out on deck to get away from Caroline's whining. He went to the ship's railing and put his hands on it. There were a ton of people on the pier. What are all these people doing here? Where did they all come from?

William was incensed at the intrusion. But after the performers got started, he relaxed and enjoyed the show. He watched a man locked up in a straightjacket and tied in thick chains free himself in under a minute. William did not envy the man his job and watch another man and his trained house cats. The cats were jumping through hoops of fire. I didn't know cats would do that. Well, you learn something every day.

William looked into the throng of people. They were just as interesting as the performers were. He could see venders peddling everything from sno-cones to fortunes. What a zoo, he thought. His thoughts turned to Elizabeth. Again.

Suddenly, out of no where, there she was, windblown and rumpled from the long drive. Sandy was tugging at the leash trying to get to the firewalking cats. William stared in disbelief. She's here ? Why? Did she drive all the way down here just because her sister is sick? William could not believe it. He thought that there might be another reason why Elizabeth drove the four hours to Key West. And he began to suspect that he was the reason.

"Elizabeth!" William called out. He saw that she had a bag in one hand and the dog's leash in the other. He hurried down to meet her. She looks tired , he thought. I can't believe she's here. William was incredulous. He leaned over and took her bag from her hand. His brushed against Elizabeth's hair. He could smell the fragrance of her shampoo. He closed is eyes and breathed her in before straightening up again. He just stood there looking at her.

Elizabeth's cheeks burned under William's gaze. There , he's staring again. And why did he sniff me? Is he the watchdog? Elizabeth cleared her throat.

"Did you drive all the way here?" William asked. He still couldn't believe it.

"Yes, I did." Elizabeth didn't bother to elaborate. Is he going to let me on board or not? Finally, Elizabeth had to ask William if she could see her sister. William suddenly remembered Jane and quickly showed Elizabeth to the main cabin.

"Elizabeth! I'm so glad you could come." Charles was truly happy to see her.

Elizabeth was relieved at this greeting. She was unsure of her reception when she was driving down, but Charles was such an easy going man that he didn't even think of the suddenness of Elizabeth's arrival. His only thought was about Jane and Elizabeth would help get Jane well again. So, she was more than welcome to be here.

Charles took Sandy's leash from Elizabeth. "Here, let me show you to Jane's room. She'll be so happy to see you." Elizabeth followed him down the passageway. As they walked Charles described Jane's symptoms. They stopped in front of the door. "I'll see that a room is prepared for you." Charles said. "I'd like you to stay with us until Jane gets better." She thanked him and explained why she had to bring her dog. Charles waved aside her apology and said the only thing that mattered was "Jane getting well again." Elizabeth was gratified at Charles' obvious affection for her sister.

Charles knocked on the door. "Jane, I have a surprise for you. Elizabeth is here." When he heard Jane answer he opened the door to the room and Elizabeth went in. Jane was lying on the bed in a large room with the covers pulled up around her chin. She was shivering and looked miserable. Elizabeth went up to her and sat at the edge of the bed. Jane smiled weakly at her sister. Elizabeth felt Jane's forehead; it was hot to the touch. She readjusted the covers around Jane and saw that she'd had to borrow a pair of Charles' pajamas. She looked around for her bag and remembered that William still had it. Elizabeth went to find him.

She found him out in the hall with her dog. Not seeing her bag with him, Elizabeth asked where it was. William showed her into Caroline's room. "Charles insisted that Jane stay in his room." William explained. "He took the other guest cabin next to mine, so that means you will have to share a room with Caroline. She has the only cabin with two beds in it anyway." Elizabeth was not pleased with this idea. She had a feeling that she would be staying in Jane's room as much as possible.

With William and Sandy watching in the doorway, Elizabeth sat on the bed and got out Jane's nightgown, a book to read, and some medicine. As Elizabeth stood up something dropped to the floor. Elizabeth didn't notice it and left the room. William went in to the room and picked up the object. He glanced at it and did a double take. He saw Caroline on the lap of that creepy Billy Collins. William started laughing uncontrollably and he sat on the bed. Sandy's ears perked up.

Elizabeth could hear William's laughter in Jane's room. She noticed the deep resonance of it. What could be so funny? She thought. Caroline heard his laughter from her seat in the living room. I bet he's laughing at Elizabeth's unruly appearance today. So disgusting the way she just throw's herself at William every chance she gets.

Charles entered the Caroline's room. "What on Earth is so funny?" He asked. William could only hand him the picture.

Charles looked at it and grew red from embarrassment for his sister. Chuckling, Charles handed it back. "You'd better hide that. If Caroline knew of its existence she'd be like a psychotic Marine. Fortunately there are no bell towers around and I seriously doubt Caroline knows how to work an AK-47."

That only made William laugh harder. Finally he gave a great sigh and stood up. He walked to Jane's room with Sandy faithfully following at his heels. Knocking at the door, he composed himself as much as possible.

Elizabeth opened the door. What does he want? "Yes?"

William handed her the picture. "You dropped this."

Elizabeth took the picture and looked at it. She snickered. "Ah, I was wondering what was so funny. Did Caroline see it?" William shook his head. "Good. She'd be horrified if she knew. I wouldn't want to upset her any more than possible if I'm going to sleep in the same room with her. She'd strangle me." Elizabeth let Sandy come in the room with her.

William agreed. "Is there anything that I can get for you?" Elizabeth said that she needed a pitcher of water and some glasses. William went to the galley to get the water. He met Charles there who'd anticipated the request. Charles went to deliver the tray and William went to the living room.

Caroline perked up when William entered the room. "What was so funny, William? I could hear you laughing all the way up here." William put on a straight face and said that he was watching one of the acts on the pier.

"Oh, yes, those stupid clowns out there. How very annoying that they are there. What a dismal place this is if people have nothing better to do than watch a bunch of fools panhandling. I hope they aren't going to be here tomorrow. Of course we should be long gone by then. And hopefully so will the Bennet sisters." Caroline looked sharply at William. " She seemed to come a long way for just a simple thing as a cold. I wonder if she has any other intention in mind." Caroline looked significantly at William.

William knew what Caroline was talking about but he didn't answer her. He'd had the same thoughts himself. Just then Charles came into the room and sat down.

Caroline continued. "It's really rude of her to come here without any warning. I hope I would never be so rude as to just show up without an invitation." Caroline chose to forget her own gatecrashing the day before. William still didn't answer her. "I should think that you wouldn't want >your sister to make such a display as this."

William, thinking that she was referring to her innuendo said, "Certainly not."

Charles was surprised at Caroline's behavior. "I think it's very sweet that she should drive four hours to take care of her sister. You know she probably had to take a day off from work because of it and Jane will certainly miss a day of school tomorrow. Her coming here shows an affection for her sister that is not often met with." Charles looked at Caroline pointedly and turned to his computer.

Caroline looked away and did not answer. William, glad that Charles finally shut Caroline up, picked up a book and started to read. They were occupied this way for about a quarter of an hour when Elizabeth walked in. Sandy trotted along, tail wagging and slamming into either side of the wall. Whump whump whump.

Charles stood up. "I hope you find your sister is not as bad as you'd thought." He asked hoping for a favourable answer.

Elizabeth shook her head. "Thank you, but Jane is still very sick. She doesn't get sick often but when she does it knocks her off her feet for quite a while."

Charles was sorry to her that. He hoped that Jane was well enough to be able to join them for dinner. Elizabeth didn't think that Jane wouldn't be able to eat much. She asked if she could just heat up some soup in the microwave.

William and Charles looked at each other and grinned. William was doing his best not to laugh. Caroline got very red and stormed out of the room. Charles explained to Elizabeth about Caroline and the potato and that they now needed a new microwave. Elizabeth laughed at Caroline's mistake. Elizabeth said that if she could use the stove then that would work just as well.

Charles assured her that Jane's dinner would be brought to the room. Elizabeth thanked him again and not wanting to leave Jane for very long, returned to her sister. Sandy lay down close to Kramer's cage (the bird) and with a little huff closed her eyes.

Caroline, in the meantime, was furious. I can't believe that Charles expects me to share my room with that girl. I have to put up with her in my space. I must have done something terribly wrong in a previous life to be cursed with Elizabeth Bennet. Doesn't anyone see that she is just after William's money? The whole family are bloodsucking leeches. Listen to her laughing up there. Caroline threw herself on her bed and sobbed uncontrollably. She pounded her fist on the bed and bit the pillow until it tore. Feathers flew everywhere. Caroline sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. Get a hold of yourself, Caroline. You are acting like a two-year old. Go up there and show William who the better woman is.

Caroline checked her make-up in the mirror (for the tenth time that day). She wanted everything to be just perfect. She prepared herself for her battle with Elizabeth Bennet.

Too bad Elizabeth didn't show up for dinner.

Chapter 12

"Lizzy, I'm so glad you came. I didn't expect you at all." Jane gave her sister a weak smile.

Elizabeth smiled. "Well, what else could I do? I can't let you be here all by yourself now, can I"

"That's a very sweet thought but you forget that Charles is here, also." Jane pulled out a tissue as she sneezed. "Achoo!"

"Bless you. Yes, Charles is here and now I am here and so we're all here. One big happy family."

"Lizzy, you're not making any sense." Jane laughed. Having her sister there made her feel a lot better.

"I make perfect sense. You must be delirious." Elizabeth smiled.

"I should be feeling better tomorrow. I hope I didn't cause too much trouble."

"I don't think you did. Charles is very much on his way to falling in love with you, so you know, anything you do is wonderful to him."

"Lizzy. You're starting."

"OK."

Just then someone knocked on the door. Elizabeth opened the door and there stood Charles, tray in hand, and smiling. He came in and set the tray down near the bed. He spoke to Jane about how she was feeling and how much he wished he could stay with her. Jane however, did not want to make him sick as well and sent him out of the room. Charles left with a parting glance at the door.

Elizabeth helped her sister sit up. She tucked a napkin in Jane's collar and held up the cup of hot soup for Jane to drink. When she finished as much as she could, Elizabeth took the cup and helped her to lay back down. Pulling out her book Elizabeth started to read to Jane. Jane paid close attention at first, but after a while her eyes began to close. Finally, after a few pages, Jane was asleep.

Elizabeth got up and stretched. She was cramped from sitting too long in one position. She bent down to touch her toes. Mmmmm. That feels good. Maybe I'll take Sandy for a walk. She could use one by now. Elizabeth glanced at her watch. It was past time for dinner. Well, there's one ordeal out of the way.

Elizabeth found everyone on the deck. Sandy got up as soon as she heard Elizabeth coming and ran to meet her. As Sandy past Caroline, her wagging tail slammed into Caroline's face.

"Oh you stupid mutt!" Caroline was beginning to hate dogs. She tried to spit out the dog hairs with no success. "Thpput thpput."

"Relax, Caroline, Sandy didn't mean any harm." Charles was getting annoyed with his sister. She was a real downer on this trip. He couldn't understand why.

Elizabeth was kneeling down on the deck rubbing Sandy's belly. "Jane's asleep now so I'm going to take Sandy for a walk and grab a bite to eat. I shouldn't be too long."

William was concerned. Going for a walk alone at night. Is she crazy? Who knows what's out there. I know what's out there, a sword swallowing nut and some crazy who teaches his cats to jump through hoops of fire. She can't go alone. "I'd like to come too, if you don't mind." He volunteered. Caroline looked up.

"Well… if you like you can. I wasn't planning on any company." Elizabeth was mystified. Why does he want to come along? Is he on some sort of torture trip? Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders.

"I'd like to come too." Caroline was not going to let William out of her sight. No sirie.

Oh great. William thought. Caroline don't you ever go away?

Chapter 13

They managed to make it three blocks without saying a word. Elizabeth was walking as fast as she could without breaking into a jog. Unfortunately, her legs were short so William didn't have any problem keeping up. Fortunately, Caroline liked to eat bon-bons and she was falling behind.

Wheeze wheeze. "William, gasp would you please slow down?" Caroline huffed. He didn't seem to hear her. Wheeze gasp. "William! " He turned around. "You're walking too fast I can't keep up." Everyone stopped walking.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Caroline, I didn't know you weren't keeping up. Elizabeth, do you know where you want to eat?" He looked at Elizabeth. All that walking really made her eyes sparkle. It made her quite beautiful.

Elizabeth looked around her. She noticed a small take out place across the street. "That's fine. I'm not that hungry to begin with." Elizabeth shook her hair out of her eyes. She waited for a break in the cars and ran across the street. William and Caroline had to hurry to catch her.

Elizabeth placed her order at the window and sat down at one of the tables under a street lamp. While she was walking her hair came loose and tumbled down around her shoulders. She ran her fingers through it to untangle some of the knots. She had her back turned to William so she didn't see that he was staring at her.

William watched as Elizabeth tried to fix her hair. The wind blew it in all different directions so it swirled around her face showing the back of her neck. William could see where her jaw met in a curve to her neck and continued in a straight line to her shoulder. He thought about where that particular line went. William immediately began to think about baseball.

He had his back turned to Caroline so he didn't see that she was staring at him staring at Elizabeth.

The food arrived and Elizabeth began to eat. Caroline was disgusted at the amount of food that Elizabeth ordered. "Do you think you can eat all that, Elizabeth?" She asked.

"Well, most of it is for Sandy. I didn't bring any food for her." With that Elizabeth threw a hot dog to Sandy who caught it in mid-flight. She went over to Caroline and gobbled it. Caroline made a face and turned her head away. Elizabeth sipped her iced tea and smiled.

Caroline immediately began talking about how wonderful William was. "I am so impressed by the way you handle your company." William looked away. "I'm surprised that you haven't been put on the cover of Time magazine yet." William put his head in his hands.

"Time magazine? What for?" Elizabeth was very curious to know what Caroline would say. That woman just doesn't know when to give up. He's obviously not interested.

"Well. They could put him on for being a well-respected businessman or even for being faultless. William is practically perfect."

"Is that so? Practically perfect?" Elizabeth looked at William who was rubbing his temples. "If he's as perfect as you say then that would be news." To me at least. "What's your secret, William?"

"I'm not perfect. Nobody's perfect." William was not sure how to respond. "I…I don't forgive as easily as I should. My good opinion once lost, is lost forever."

"Well, that isn't so bad. Not good. But I've heard of worse." Elizabeth said lightly.

"Everyone has some fault, I believe."

Elizabeth looked at him. "Yours is a tendency to hate everyone."

William looked at her with a smile playing on his lips. "And yours is to willfully misunderstand them."

"Elizabeth, are you done yet? I'm ready to go home now." Caroline did not like any conversation that did not involve her.

They walked back at a slower pace. William was holding onto Sandy's leash and Caroline was holding onto William, talking incessantly. That's how they walked, Caroline babbling to William and William turning every few minutes to look at Elizabeth.

Elizabeth was enjoying the show in front of her a great deal. Elizabeth thought about William. Why did he insist on coming with me? It can't be for my company because he barely spoke three words to me. It can't be that he wants to be alone with Caroline. Elizabeth laughed to herself. Caroline is just wasting her precious time anyway. I don't think she's William's type. Oh well, it's none of my business. If she wants to go chasing after William, that's her problem . She looked at William. So, what's his problem? Why does he insult me and my family and then stare at me constantly? Probably just your imagination, Elizabeth. You're getting paranoid.

William turned to look at Elizabeth. Elizabeth gave him a polite little wave. No, he's staring. One of these days I'm going to slap him.

Elizabeth woke up in the middle of the night. For a moment she forgot where she was until she heard Caroline's snoring. Boy, Caroline, you could scare bears away with the sounds your schnoz makes. Elizabeth got up to check on Jane.

Caroline woke up with a snort as she heard the door close. Good, I hope she's going to jump off. She closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

"Hehhehhehhehhehheh."

Something was breathing in her ear. Caroline turned her head to look.

"Hehhehhehhehheh."

Sandy's nose was millimeters away from Caroline's face. Sandy licked Caroline's face. Eeeeeuuuwww. Dog slobber. Caroline scrunched back in her bed as far away from the dog as possible. "Go away. Go. Lay down." Sandy paid no attention to Caroline and kept on.

"Hehhehhehhehhehheh."

Caroline turned around so her back was facing the dog and put her (new) pillow over her head. She had to wait a long time for Elizabeth to come back. I hate dogs! She thought.

The next morning, Jane was feeling a little better. She came to breakfast with a little smile on her face. She was still pale and felt wobbly but she was determined to show up.

Charles was so happy to see Jane. He got up immediately and had Jane sit in his chair. He pulled up a footstool and propped up her feet. Jane protested against this treatment saying that she was quite well now.

Elizabeth told Jane that she would be driving back home in the afternoon if she would like to come with her. Charles insisted that Jane was still much too sick to be going so soon. After much discussion on the matter it was decided that Jane would stay at least until tomorrow morning.

Throughout breakfast, William was working on a laptop. Elizabeth thought that it was rude to do business at the table. Still, he does have a big company to run. You can't really blame him. Much.

Caroline stood in the doorway. She was in some sort of orange strapy wraparound thing that did not seem to cover what clothes were supposed to cover. Caroline looked around to see if Sandy was anywhere near. She didn't see her anywhere. Caroline bravely strode into the room. Sitting down next to William, she leaned over to see what he was working on. William glanced at her outfit. Looks like bungie cords , he thought. He went back to his work.

The day past by slowly, Elizabeth could swear she heard the ticking of the clock in Jane's room except it was digital and they were outside. She looked at Jane and Charles. They were engrossed in a conversation that didn't involve anyone else. She smiled and continued to read her book.

Caroline was trying desperately to get William to notice him. "I need your advice, William." He wearily looked up. "William, would you rather have fish or chicken for dinner tonight?"

William stared at Caroline for a moment before he answered. "Chicken. Please." He went back to his laptop.

"Oh, William?"

"Yes, Caroline?" William looked up irritated.

"How would you like that cooked?"

"However you would like it would be…just fine. Caroline." William bit his lip and turned his back to her.

Caroline smiled.

Elizabeth had put her book aside to listen to this exchange. She quietly laughed to herself at William's reactions and Caroline's inability to accept reality. She scratched Sandy behind the ears.

Finally, at length, dinner came and since Jane was still feeling better, she came to dine with the rest.

Caroline sat at the table on the look out for that Mutt, as she began to call Sandy.

"So, Caroline, what did you decide on for dinner?" Charles asked.

"Oh, I chose chicken ala orange." Caroline was pleased with her choice.

Elizabeth and William looked at each other with a smile. "Chicken! I wonder if it's any relation to Fred." Elizabeth started it off.

"Their mother must be so worried about them." William put on a concerned face.

Caroline did not think that any of this was amusing in the least. "There's also a salad." She said thinly.

"That sounds great, Caroline. It all looks so delicious I don't know where to start." Charles mollified his sister.

William looked deeply into Elizabeth's eyes. "Yes, it does." His voice grew husky as looked at her. There is something about her.

Elizabeth stopped smiling and stared back. She blushed under his gaze. Why did he have to say that? Just when he begins to be likable. Elizabeth didn't forget the look on his face when she walked out of the shower yesterday. He probably thinks I'm some kind of quick fling. With a great effort she pulled her eyes away and looked at her plate. Caroline had dumped a huge piece of chicken on her on it. She cut it in half and gave some to Sandy. Sandy went next to Caroline and ate it, slobbering over her feet. Caroline looked disgusted. Only Charles and Sandy were able to eat much that night.

The next day, much to most everyone's relief, Elizabeth and Jane left early. Charles saw them off and wished them a safe drive. Elizabeth discreetly looked away so if Jane and Charles kissed, she, didn't know.

Caroline finished giving orders to the maid about getting rid of the dog hair in her room. She went to go find William. Now that Elizabeth and her sister were gone with that awful mutt, she knew William would be able to spare more time for her. She found him on the deck watching them drive away.

"I hope you're not pining for the loss of Elizabeth Bennet." Caroline gave a sneaky smile.

William turned away from the railing and walked inside leaving Caroline alone. Am I going to miss her? He thought. I get so confused around her. One minute I think she's sending me signals and the next she looks at me like I have two heads. I'd better start watching myself; I might do something that I'll regret later. I can't get involved now. William sat down at his laptop. Work will get her off my mind. He turned the computer on.

Chapter 14

The invitation came three days later. It was delivered from the hands of a beaming Charles Bingley and into the lovely hands of a blushing Jane Bennet. It was for a party, of course. He had decided to rent the ballroom of the Netherfield Country Club for that purpose. Charles sent everyone he knew in South Florida (and barely knew) an invitation. Charles was an easy-going, carefree man and his philosophy was "The more the merrier".

The invitation sent the Bennet household into a flurry of activity. Mrs. Bennet called Jane a record number of times giving advice on what she should wear and how she should do her hair and which perfume would send Charles absolutely mad with passion. The woman was full of "good" ideas and shared them with out a thought.

Jane was almost as excited about Charles' party as her mother was. Jane went out and bought a new evening dress and even went so far as to have a manicure the day before the big event. She walked on air the moment the invitation was delivered on Friday to the moment she stepped into the ballroom two Saturdays following.

Elizabeth took the whole thing in stride. Her mother was just as annoying as ever and her little sisters were rapidly becoming just as irritating. She was pleased to see Jane so happy, for of course Charles was having a party was because of Jane. (Well, that's what her mother said). Elizabeth knew how much Jane liked Charles and was pretty sure of how Charles felt for her sister. And if he should propose to her tomorrow, Elizabeth also knew that Jane wouldn't have to think about it for very long before she said yes.

So, to Elizabeth, who didn't have anything more special to look for than a dressy party with people she'd known all of her life, the whole thing was business as usual.

On the Saturday prior to Charles' party, Elizabeth agreed to take Katie and Lydia to see the Navy ships. She didn't relish spending the whole day with her love-struck sisters and a bunch of sailors who'd been on ship for the past six months but she agreed to it anyway.

Driving through Port Everglades proved to be a challenge. Not only due to the fact that traffic was so heavy but also due to the fact that her sisters (Lydia especially) insisted on sticking their heads out of her jeep and whistling at every man in uniform.

"Oh, look at that one, Katie!" Lydia screeched as she saw a sailor crossing the street. "Oh, he's so cute."

"They're all cute, Lydia. It's so hard to choose." Katie was looking at an officer driving in the other direction. Elizabeth scrunched down in her seat as much as she could without impeding her ability to drive and prayed no one recognized her.

When they finally drove up to the ships Katie and Lydia leaped out of the car and ran to get in line for the aircraft carrier, The USS Independence. Elizabeth circled the parking garage a few times before finding a spot and then jumped out. She hurried to find her sisters before they disappeared.

She found them still standing in line and flirting with some Marines. Great , Elizabeth thought. I can't let them out of my sight for a moment without them picking up men. They are their own U.S.O. Elizabeth walked up to where her sisters were standing and patiently waited.

She looked at the ship they were about to enter. It was a dark steel gray and towered over them like a floating fortress. Which is exactly was it is , Elizabeth thought. It wasn't the first time that she'd been on this ship and she would rather have gone to see the cruiser docked further down the way, but Katie and Lydia wanted to meet pilots and so, now, here they were.

The line inched forward. Thanks to Lydia's conniving, they were able to be in the tour group that was just forming. They were greeted by a smiling (if a bit weary) man who introduced himself as Petty Officer Denny and he was to be their guide. He informed them of the ship's dimensions, height, weight, how long it had been in commission, which wars its been too and blah blah blah blah. Katie and Lydia didn't even bother to pay attention to him.

The tour moved to the ship's artillery and they all watched a demonstration of the Gattling gun.

Bbbbbrrrrrrrrrtttttttt!!!!!

Elizabeth put her hands over her ears as the gun rotated. Even when not loaded the gun was intimidating and she was glad to get away from it and go into the bridge. More demonstrations and explanations followed. Elizabeth yawned. She moved over to the door and leaned on it trying to look out of the window to get a better view of the cruiser. Suddenly, someone yanked open the door and almost sent Elizabeth sprawling onto the deck. What saved her was the pair of strong arms that caught her around her waist.

Elizabeth blushed furiously and straightened herself out. She looked up at the officer who caught her and wished she hadn't been so hasty getting out of his arms. Oh, my. I didn't know they made them like that anymore.

"Thank you, uh," she glanced at his nametag. "Ensign Wickham, I almost fell into the port." She smiled flirtatiously at him. What am I doing? I'm as bad as Lydia.

"Nonsense, I pulled the door out from under you." Ensign Wickham smiled back. "I hope you're enjoying the tour?"

"Yes, I find it very… educational. I'm fascinated." She looked at his strong arms. Slow down, Elizabeth. Remember they've been on ship six months.

"Are you really? Well, it seems that your tour group has left you. Do you want to catch up or take a personal tour?"

Elizabeth whirled around. They were the only ones in the room. Where did every one go? She turned a very lovely shade of red. Elizabeth looked at Wickham. "I'd better catch up. My sisters are in that group and I'm their ride home."

Wickham nodded and escorted Elizabeth to the flightdeck where the tour would go after seeing the bridge. He said goodbye with a polite smile and left her standing next to Petty Officer Denny. Elizabeth watched him until he was turned a corner. Whew! How do I find him again? Do I just ask around for Mr. Wickham? Denny's voice brought her back to reality. The tour group was allowed some time to look over the aircraft that was lined up on the deck.

Elizabeth found Katie and Lydia standing next to an F-14. Elizabeth knew that the conversation was going to be about Tom Cruise and a certain part of his anatomy; the squeals that emanated from Lydia confirmed it. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and walked over to another plane. The sign said it was a Prowler. She circled the plane, not really thinking about it. Elizabeth glanced over to where she last saw Mr. Wickham. She wondered what his first name was.

"Am I interrupting you, Ma'am?" A voice said behind her.

Elizabeth whirled around (she was getting good at that) and saw Mr. Wickham! "Where did you come from?" She asked.

Wickham pointed to the airplane hanger. "From right over there." He looked down on her and smiled the most bewitching smile she had ever seen. "I just wanted to apologize for being so abrupt earlier, Ma'am.

"Elizabeth." She smiled back.

"Elizabeth." Wickham took her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Are you from Ft. Lauderdale or just visiting like us?"

"I live here, Mr. Wickham…"

"Call me George."

"George." Elizabeth felt very warm all of a sudden. She looked out onto the harbour. She tried desperately to think of something to say when Lydia's voice pummeled her from behind.

"Lizzy! Lizzy! Wake up, we're leaving!" Lydia was shouting all the way across the flightdeck. Elizabeth groaned inwardly, Lydia couldn't have picked a worse time. She said goodbye to George and joined her sisters.

"Hey, Lizzy, you sure can pick 'em. Is he a pilot?" Lydia jabbed her elbow in Elizabeth's ribs. "Are you going to see him again?"

"Ow! Quit it. I don't know what he does. I only know that he's an ensign." Elizabeth hurried to the stairwell. She looked back to see if George was still standing where she'd left him. He was. She waved goodbye to him. He returned the wave and walked back into the airplane hanger. Elizabeth sighed.

He's so different than William is. George was so nice and sweet and polite. And well, just different. I hope I'll see him again.

Chapter 15

Elizabeth pulled into a parking spot half an hour after sunrise. She stretched and warmed up before starting her run down the beach. She unhooked Sandy's leash and they started off on the compact wet sand, with Sandy splashing in and out of the surf.

As she ran Elizabeth's thoughts turned to George Wickham. I wonder if I'll ever see him again, she thought. I wish I'd thought to give him my number. Well, they won't be in port for much longer anyway. Still, it's just my luck to meet a handsome, intelligent man only to have him disappear. Elizabeth reached the half way point and turned around. She decided to run on the soft sand for a better work out on her way back. Moving up the beach she concentrated on making it back without having a heart attack.

Elizabeth reached her jeep and slowed down to a fast walk. Stretching her arms over her head to alleviate the burning stitch in her side, she walked around in a circle. When she finally got her breath back, Elizabeth looked around for her dog. She could see Sandy still playing in the water and snapping at all of the birds. Elizabeth looked for a place to sit down and saw the children's playground nearby. Looking around to make sure that no one could see her, Elizabeth ran up to the swings and claimed one. It'd been a long time since she had been on a swing and she let herself go. Higher and higher she flew until she was almost parallel to the bar. Pumping her legs and leaning back Elizabeth relished the wind blowing through her hair. Elizabeth closed her eyes.

"That's quite a feat, Elizabeth." A voice said a few feet away.

Elizabeth's eyes flew open and she turned her head to see who was talking to her. "Mr. Wickham! I mean, George!" Elizabeth slowed down to a less frightening height and jumped off. She landed on her feet (thankfully). "You always seem to come up when I least expect you." She smiled at him.

"I guess I have that knack. You seem to be up rather early for a romp on the swings." George smiled back.

"I could say the same for you. Did you just get shore leave?" Elizabeth asked. The sun was shining down on George casting a radiant glow around him. He's so beautiful , she thought.

George paused for a second. The fact of the matter was, he went on a wonderfully long night of debauchery and was just returning to ship, but she didn't need to know that. "Well, as a matter of fact I did. I couldn't stand the thought of eating another meal on ship so I thought I'd come into town for breakfast." George paused again. "Would you like to join me?"

Elizabeth's heart leapt. "I'd love to. Let me just call my dog." Elizabeth whistled for Sandy and the dog came, tongue hanging out, at a run. As soon as Sandy saw George she came to a screeching halt. Sniffing at his feet, Sandy's hackles went up and she crouched low standing between Elizabeth and George.

"Sandy, relax, it's OK. This is George." Sandy most definitely did not relax. "Sandy! Come!" Elizabeth put Sandy's leash on and walked toward her jeep. Sandy was fighting the leash and collar and tried to get in between her master and this man, so in the end, Elizabeth had to drag Sandy to the car. Sandy jumped in and sat down on the front seat glaring down at George. Elizabeth had to physically pull Sandy into the back so George could sit up front with her.

"I don't know what's gotten into Sandy this morning. She's usually so docile." Elizabeth apologized to George as she wiped the water and dog hair off the seat.

"Well, I am a stranger to her, after all. She's just being protective of you." George reassured her. They got in the jeep. "Where are we headed? When I left ship I didn't know where I was going." That wasn't true, when he left ship he knew exactly where to go, but that was last night and she didn't need to know that.

Elizabeth started the car and turned it around. "I think we'll go to a little place down the street. The have tables outside where we can eat. It's not the Ritz but the food's good."

"After eating at the mess hall on ship for six months, anything would be good." This, at least, was true.

The waitress brought them some coffee and took their order. Elizabeth looked at George. "So, what do you do?"

George looked around to see if anyone was listening. "Actually, I'm a SEAL. I just finished my training." He smiled. The actual truth was that he was one of the many supply officers on ship, but that was hardly as impressive and, heck, she didn't need to know that either.

Elizabeth was amazed. "You mean like in the movies? Covert operations and secret missions?"

"Weeelll, Hollywood glamourizes it a lot, but, yes, something like that." George evaded. Some people are so gullible , he thought.

Elizabeth was impressed. She'd never thought that George would be a SEAL and she asked him many questions about his training and his actual job. George, for his part, deflected most of the questions, claiming either that it was classified and he wasn't allowed to give out that information or just making it up as he went along. This is so easy , he thought.

The conversation eventually got around to Elizabeth and her family. She'd just told George about Jane and Charles Bingley and the fiasco at Key West when he jerked his head up and looked at her. " Who did you say was there?" He asked sharply.

"William Darcy. He's a friend of Charles. Do you know him?" Elizabeth was intrigued by George's reaction. How could he know William?

George recovered himself. "Yes, I know him. I've known him almost all my life." There was a little bitterness in his voice. "We aren't the best of friends." He put on a melancholy face and looked at Elizabeth.

"What happened?" Elizabeth whispered, burning with curiosity.

"Well, Elizabeth, my father and Mr. Darcy, William's father I mean, were the best of friends. My father worked for years in Mr. Darcy's company as the head of accounting, you see. And as a result of their friendship, William and I were always together when we were growing up. We even went to college together." George took a deep breath. "Unfortunately, my father died when I was sixteen. Mr. Darcy, who was my Godfather, promised to take care of me and he brought me up as one of his own." George paused for effect. Elizabeth leaned over the table concerned.

George continued. "While in college, William and I made plans to start our own company. We were heavily into computers then and we came up with all sorts of new ideas for software and programs." George sipped his coffee. "Well, by the time we graduated, William was changed. He was a heavy drinker and partied almost every night. There was even a paternity suit brought up against him once but it was dropped. I think that he paid the girl's family off. The Darcys were always very rich, you know. By then I knew that I could never do business with him. His habits were dissolute and had no morals to speak of."

"But, why didn't Mr. Darcy do something to stop this?" Elizabeth was horrified.

"Mr. Darcy died when we were still in college. And, of course, William got his inheritance. I believe it was this financial freedom that encouraged William in his final degradation."

"What was that?" Elizabeth was almost too scared to ask. She held her breath, waiting.

"He stole my computer ideas. I was the one who thought of the revolutionary software that Pemberley 2000 made, but he refused to acknowledge my work. I didn't receive anything for it at all." George looked at her sadly. "And so you see, I cannot like him. I can only hold him in the utmost contempt."

Elizabeth was close to tears. Her breath came fast and furious. "I had no idea William was so evil. Why haven't you taken him to court? Surely you could have sued him for that!"

The waitress brought their breakfast but Elizabeth didn't feel like eating. She felt noxious from George's narration of William's doings. Theft and bribery. A paternity suit! How disgusting a man! Oh, I wish I'd never seen William Darcy.

"William Darcy should be exposed, George. Why haven't you done anything about it?" Elizabeth asked again.

"Well, at first, I tried to reason with him. But he was beyond reason. He wouldn't give me my fair share of the profits he was raking in." George took a bite of his eggs. "I thought about suing once, but then, with the lawyer's fees and the many years of court battles I didn't think it would be worth it. William would've won in the end anyhow. There wasn't any legal evidence that I invented the software. And it's always been a life long dream of mine to be in the Navy. And now I'm living that dream. So there is something good in this after all." He smiled at Elizabeth reassuringly. Only part of this was true of course, they did go to college together and their fathers were great friends but the rest was, of course, hogwash. George knew this, but she didn't need to. That ought to put a thorn in William's side. George smiled again.

After breakfast Elizabeth offered to give George a ride into town but George claimed that he needed to run some errands and that it would take all day. They said goodbye and parted ways. George went back to the ship. What he actually needed was sleep, but she didn't need to know that.

Chapter 16

Elizabeth pulled into her parking spot at an awkward angle. The tires squealed as she slammed on the brakes. Elizabeth jumped out and ran to her apartment. Sandy thought it was a race and scrambled past her on the stairs. Elizabeth fumbled for the keys only to have the door opened for her by a worried Jane.

"Lizzy, what's the matter? I saw you pull up. What happened?" Jane asked worried.

Elizabeth walked to the kitchen and got a glass of water and drank it down before she answered her sister.

"Remember that ensign I told you about yesterday? George Wickham?" Jane nodded and Elizabeth continued. "I ran into him today at the beach and we went to breakfast together." Elizabeth paused to catch her breath. She was still shaken from George's tale of William. "He knows William Darcy and he told me the most awful things about him, Jane. I had no idea he was so bad."

Jane was alive with curiosity and asked if the information could be shared. Elizabeth told her everything. About their dads and their college years and the drinking and the child William fathered and abandoned and about how he stole Wickham's technology. And when Elizabeth finished, Jane could scarcely stand.

"I can't believe it!" Jane exclaimed. "Lizzy, can you be sure that George was telling the truth?"

"Oh puh-lease, Jane, why would he lie? How could he make any of that stuff up? No, it has to be true, George knows full well that William could take him to court for slander if it weren't true." Elizabeth was indignant that Jane would doubt George Wickham.

"Yes, Lizzy, that's true, but consider, you've only known George for two days. That's hardly a basis for knowing whether or not what he said was true. Think about it, Lizzy, before you jump to conclusions. And besides, William could hardly keep any of that a secret from Charles. It's impossible to hide that much from the world." Jane was in earnest.

"Well, apparently he has hidden it from the world and with great success. I'm only glad that I've never liked William in the first place. It makes my despising him now all the more easier." Elizabeth got up and put her glass in the sink. She leaned on the counter and gripped it until her knuckles turned white. "I can't believe the arrogance of that creep. He makes Billy Collins seem like a dream come true."

Jane just stared at Elizabeth in amazement. No matter what Jane could say for moderation and reserving judgement until all the facts were known, Elizabeth would not listen to her. At last, Jane gave up. She knew her sister's disposition. Elizabeth could be very obstinate at times and it looked like this would be one of those times. William Darcy will be guilty until proven innocent. Jane was saddened. She'd noticed that William had noticed Elizabeth and was hoping for some sparks to come between them. Now, it seemed that it would never happen.

The day of Charles' party came and Jane was ready early. She'd splurged and bought a new dress for the occasion. That was the only piece of advice that she listened to from her mother. Luckily, Jane had too much sense to follow that advice so far as to let her mother pick out her dress as Mrs. Bennet had threatened.

Jane went into Elizabeth's room to see if her sister was finished getting ready. She found Elizabeth sloppily dressed and sitting on the bed biting her nails furiously. Jane knew the reason why. It was George Wickham. His ship left port five days ago and headed out for the Mediterranean. Elizabeth had seen George twice since their breakfast together and became more enamored of him each time she saw him. Jane was getting worried. It wasn't like Lizzy to hold a grudge against someone for this long.

Whatever William might have done (and as reprehensible as the charges were) nothing was proven. It was only George's word against William's. And, not to mention, it was quite frankly, none of their business.

Jane got a brush and started to put Elizabeth's hair in her most flattering style. Elizabeth hardly ever wore her hair down because it got in the way of everything she tried to do. It's hard to eat when you get a mouthful of hair with every bite. Tonight Jane let it down and only pulled up a few stands on the sides. She left a few curls around Elizabeth's face and when she was done Jane stood back to see the effect. It didn't seem quite finished so Jane went to the fridge and raided the corsage that Charles sent that morning. Snapping off a few tiny white flowers, Jane went back into Elizabeth's room and wove them into her sister's hair. The effect was perfect. Elizabeth never looked so beautiful before. If only she would lighten up, that is.

"Lizzy, I know you're not looking forward to this party. You've been moping around the house ever since George left port. But, Lizzy, SNAP OUT OF IT! You're becoming impossible. I've never seen you act this childish before. I've kept my mouth shut this long because I knew how you felt about George and William and quite frankly, I didn't want to bring the subject up." Jane took a deep breath and continued.

"Lizzy, as painful as this is for me to say, you leave me no choice. If you can't get over it in the next ten minutes and snap out of your rotten mood, if you feel that you can't possibly make even the slightest bit of effort, even for my sake, to be pleasant and polite and have a good time, then I don't want you there. You'll just spoil it for me and for everyone else. And I don't want to see Charles hurt because my sister couldn't face William Darcy without spitting in his eye." Jane's voice was shaking by the time she finished. When she was done, she walked into the living room to calm down and wait for Elizabeth's decision.

Elizabeth was stunned. Jane didn't see it because she left in such a hurry, but Elizabeth's mouth was hanging open. Never, ever before had Jane talked to anyone that way. It was just not in her nature. I must have been a huge pain in the butt to get Jane that worked up . Elizabeth looked at herself in the mirror. She did such a good job with my hair and the flowers are a nice touch. I would never have thought of that . She looked down at her dress. It was several years old and not very flattering. It will contrast so much with how Jane did my hair. I need to change. Elizabeth went to her closet and got out her garnet-coloured gown and quickly put it on. She glanced at her watch, six minutes left. She changed shoes and grabbed the wrap that went with the dress. Elizabeth ran out of the room just as Jane was getting up to leave.

Jane stopped and looked at her sister. Elizabeth's eyes were apologetic and before she could say a word, Jane said, "I'm glad you wanted to come, Lizzy. It wouldn't have been much of a party without you, you know."

Elizabeth sensed that Jane didn't want to talk about what had just happened and so she lightly replied, "Well, you know me. I'm always the life of the party." They went outside and Jane locked the door. "Oh yeah, and, Jane?"

"Yes, Lizzy?"

"You're it!" Elizabeth ran down the steps followed closely by Jane. One of their neighbors looked out of his window at all the noise they were making only to see two elegantly dressed women running and laughing all the way to their car. He shook his head. These young people just don't know how to behave now a days.

Chapter 17

William paced the carpet in the foyer of the clubhouse. Every so often he would glance at his watch but usually he kept his eyes riveted on the doorway. Watching. For her. For Elizabeth. William smiled at the thought of her. He could think of nothing else for two weeks and at first, it'd bothered him, but not any more. He'd been entranced by Elizabeth almost from the start and he knew that soon he would be in some danger of falling in love with her beyond all repair. He no longer thought that Jane was after Charles' money. She just had an overeager mother that was all. And really, can you blame a mother for wanting only the best for her child? William could not. He glanced at his watch and then continued his vigil across the carpet. Pacing. Waiting. Growing impatient and anxious.

At last he heard her voice, mingled with Jane's, through the doorway. William stopped and turned toward the doorway. He felt something whiz by him and saw that Charles came out to greet Jane and Elizabeth. William just stayed rooted to the carpet. He couldn't move. How could he when Elizabeth was standing there looking so beautiful that it took his breath away? William just stood there staring dumbly at this vision that had stepped through the door. He stayed where he was through Charles' greetings and he stayed there, staring, as they breezed by him. Elizabeth didn't even give him one glance. Not one glance. William turned around to see the trio go through the giant double door of the ballroom. He caught the scent of Elizabeth's perfume. Roses. William got his feet moving and he followed them inside.

William was wrong, Elizabeth had seen him when she walked into the foyer. She looked only for a moment and looked away almost as fast. I can do this for Jane's sake, she thought. No matter how much William provokes you, Elizabeth, just grit your teeth and be polite. Smile. And if you can manage it, just avoid him altogether. Elizabeth was fortified. She took Charles' offered arm and walked by William and into the ballroom. But as the evening progressed Elizabeth couldn't help but notice that William was never very far from her.

She found the room much as it had always looked. The only difference being that Caroline saw fit to over see the decorating for the party. Elizabeth didn't think of burnt orange as a very festive colour, but everybody has their own favorites. Caroline in particular.

Elizabeth looked around. There were all the people she'd expected to see. Elizabeth disengaged herself from Charles' arm and looked for Charlotte. She found her cornered by Billy Collins.

Not one to mope about forever, Billy was on the prowl again. After Elizabeth's public rejection of him, Billy had licked his wounded pride and set his beady eyes on Charlotte Lucas. Tonight would be the culmination of all his efforts.

"Charlotte!" Elizabeth cried out. "I need your help with my dress. Would you come with me to the bathroom?" Elizabeth felt that Charlotte needed a rescue. So she was surprised when Charlotte said that she was busy for the moment. Elizabeth all of a sudden knew that Charlotte was encouraging Billy Collins' attentions to herself. Elizabeth went to a secluded corner where she could shiver uncontrollably without being noticed.

The party progressed smoothly for a while until the entrance of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their daughters. Mrs. Bennet had persuaded her husband to come to the party and that was why they were so late. Mr. Bennet had resisted her nagging to the bitter end but his wife prevailed at last. He gave in and his wife triumphed. She positioned herself next to Mrs. Lucas where she could command a full view of the festivities around her. Mary found a quiet corner where she could read the book that she brought. Mr. Bennet just got a glass of wine from the bar and sat down to enjoy the spectacle that would inevitably come.

And it came sooner than Mr. Bennet supposed. Katie and Lydia were soon swept up into the dancing and were flirting uncontrollably before ten minutes had past. Elizabeth saw how wild were becoming and was ashamed of their behavior. Lydia had secured a dance with a much older man and had hiked up her already too short skirt to do some sort of grind with him.The fact that the band was playing a Benny Goodman song did not seen to register with Lydia. Neither did the fact that she was making a complete idiot of herself and her family. Katie at least was behaving better than her sister was. For now.

Elizabeth turned her back on the spectacle that was her sister and saw William looking at her. Again. Elizabeth walked away hurriedly. She was soon asked to dance by an old acquaintance. As she was led to the dance floor, Elizabeth looked back to see if William was still standing there. He was. Elizabeth quickly looked away and concentrated on ignoring him. She and her partner whirled away around the dance floor.

William saw Elizabeth glance at him as she went to dance with someone. He felt that she was reproaching him for not asking her to dance himself. William wanted to dance with her but he hadn't gotten the courage up yet. So far he was content to watch from the outskirts of the party. He'd already spent half the evening stalking Elizabeth and avoiding Caroline whenever he could. William gathered up his courage and waited for the song to end. He would ask her at he earliest opportunity.

William had noticed the entrance of Mrs. Bennet and her daughters. Indeed who could miss the rattling of The Voice and the giggling of her daughters? William certainly noticed. He watched with disgust the antics of Lydia Bennet and moved farther away from her to the other side of the room. Such behavior would undoubtedly go unchecked by her parents. He knew that by now. William heard the song come to a close. He looked for Elizabeth and saw that she was talking to Charlotte Lucas. He took a deep breath and walked up.

Caroline was fuming. She waited around for William to ask her to dance but so far he hadn't. He was over there standing in the corner watching. Caroline didn't need three guesses to figure out whom he was watching. It was Elizabeth Bennet. That girl had a hold on him that Caroline had never been able to achieve in her whole life. Which is exactly how long Caroline had been trying to get William to marry her. At least it seemed that long. Caroline felt sick. All of her hard work was being thrown down the drain by some upstart puny dog-loving chit.

Caroline stepped over to the bathroom and shoved the door open. She needed to look at herself in the mirror one more time to see if she looked as perfect as she thought she did. The mirror was too short on top so she opened a stall door and stood on the toilet. Caroline looked at herself. Her hair was done perfectly. Her dress was perfect. A bit on the short side, but why not show off her legs? They were perfect too. Caroline looked at her make-up. Perfect. She was perfect. Why can't William see that?! Caroline tried to look at the back of her dress. As she turned she lost her balance and her leg went ankle deep into the toilet. Caroline gasped. Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Why do these things happen to me? She got her foot out of the toilet bowl and went over to the sink. Caroline took off her shoe holding it with the tips of two fingers and poured the water out. Caroline broke down and cried.

Elizabeth was talking with great animation as William approached. William couldn't hear what exactly, but when he approached, Charlotte gave Elizabeth a warning that made William think that they were discussing him. Elizabeth looked at him with a red face, which only confirmed his thoughts. He immediately asked her for the next dance and after a little bluster on Elizabeth's part, he was accepted. William gave a little nod and quickly walked away again not wanting to show the delight in his eyes too much. She was talking about me to Charlotte. What was she saying? William wanted to know. It seems that I am in her thoughts as much as she is in mine. William felt gratified at this return of affection.

William was right about one thing, he was in Elizabeth's thoughts but, if he could hear those thoughts spoken out loud, his blood would run cold.

Elizabeth was angry with herself. How could she betray George like this? It was very underhanded of William to sneak up behind her without any warning and ask her to dance like that. Elizabeth was so flustered that she couldn't think of a refusal. Just let me get it over with , she thought. Let this song be fast and short.

William came back and claimed her hand. He led her to the middle of the floor and stood opposite her not knowing what to say. He'd felt a tingle in his hand when he held hers and he remembered that he got the same feeling when they held hands during the Lucas' party when he helped her with Billy Collins. He smiled at Elizabeth.

The music started. Elizabeth closed her eyes and cursed silently. It was a slow love song.

Some day, when I'm awfully low,

When the world is cold,

I will feel a glow just thinking of you...

And the way you look tonight.

William put left hand on the small of Elizabeth's back. His other hand took hers and he pulled Elizabeth gently, closely to him. Looking into her eyes and stepping off into the dance, William hoped that Elizabeth couldn't hear how fast his heart was beating. They swayed and twirled and William was oblivious to everyone except her. Elizabeth.

Before he knew what he was doing William was softly whispering the words to the song under his breath. He couldn't help himself.

Oh but you're lovely, with your smile so warm

And your cheeks so soft,

There is nothing for me but to love you,

And the way you look tonight.

With each word your tenderness grows,

Tearing my fear apart...

And that laugh that wrinkles your nose,

It touches my foolish heart.

Lovely ... Never, ever change.

Keep that breathless charm.

Won't you please arrange it?

'Cause I love you

Just the way you look tonight.

Elizabeth could just barely hear what William was saying. Crooning love songs to me now? What does he think is going to happen? Does he want another love child to add to his collection? Well, he's got another thing coming if he thinks that he can pull that one over on me.

The song ended and Elizabeth would have gotten away if it weren't for Jane. Jane walked onto the dance floor with Charles and gave Elizabeth such a grateful look that Elizabeth felt truly guilty and so she stayed in William's arms for another song. She looked up at him. He was gazing intently at her.

Elizabeth decided to wipe that self-contented look off William's face once and for all. "Did you see the Navy ships before they left port?" She innocently asked.

William was surprised at the question but answered, "No, I didn't get a chance to. Have you?"

"Yes, we went to see the Independence. I met someone there who said that he knew you." She paused. "George Wickham." Elizabeth had her hand on William's shoulder and could feel him tense at George's name.

"George Wickham was in town?" William was glad that he had not run into him. Why is Elizabeth bringing him up? "When did you see him?" William succeeded in making his voice stay calm.

"Oh, I saw him several times when he was here. He's such a nice person. I was impressed very much." Elizabeth glanced up at William's face. It grew dark and his jaw was set. Bing , Elizabeth thought, hit the nail right on the head .

"George Wickham has a talent for easy manners that lets him make friends, but whether he may be capable of keeping them is up to you to decide." Why is she saying this to me? Can't she see how much it hurts to hear George's name?

"He's been unlucky enough to lose your friendship, and in a manner in which he is likely to suffer from all his life." Elizabeth watched William squirm.

At that moment Mrs. Bennet's voice could be heard over the music. She was laughing at something Lydia had said and each piercing cackle went straight to William's heart, enveloping it with ice.

William looked again at Elizabeth. She seemed pleased with herself. She couldn't know what happened between George and my family. It's impossible. What did he do to make her like him so much? William couldn't get that thought out of his head, so he tried to talk it out by changing the subject. Elizabeth beat him to it.

"I believe I heard you say that you hardly ever forgave. That your good opinion once lost was lost forever. Am I right?"

"Yes."

"You must be very careful, then in being sure that your resentment is created." She replied.

"I am." William spun her around.

"And never allow yourself to be blinded by prejudice?"

"I hope not." William was confused. Why these questions? Why not ask about his sister or cousins? "May I ask what all these questions pertain to?"

"Hmmm. I'm just trying to understand your character. I heard so many different reports of you that they confuse me." Elizabeth smiled up at him.

Reports? Whose reports? Wickham's ? Did Elizabeth actually take him for real? William didn't know what to think. The song ended and William led Elizabeth off the dance floor. "I would wish, Elizabeth, that you would not judge my character at the present moment and by such idle reports." There, that should do it.

Elizabeth just walked away from him without even a look back leaving William standing close to Mrs. Bennet.

Mrs. Bennet was carrying on a conversation almost all by herself for she left no room for Mrs. Lucas to respond, which was fine for that lady because she'd stopped listening a long time ago.

"I told Jane that she will never get Charles to marry her unless she gives him more encouragement. I can't find out from her if they even kissed yet. Can you believe that?" Mrs. Bennet didn't wait for a reply. "Now, normally, I would never suggest such a thing but in this case it seemed absolutely necessary. I told Jane last night that if she thinks Charles is not going to ask her to marry him then the best thing for her to do is get pregnant. Charles would have to marry her then and she would be taken care of forever. And I do so want to see her finally settled."

Mrs. Bennet jabbered away to Mrs. Lucas but William did not hear past the word "pregnant". How can a mother suggest that to her own child? He looked at Charles and Jane. Is that what she's going to do? Get herself pregnant just so Charles would marry her? Would Jane risk that? William didn't think she would but, he felt that the sooner Charles knew what he was up against the better. In fact it's better if we all got away from here as soon as possible. Elizabeth has been occupying my time for way too long. It's time I went away and forgot I ever met her.

William went to find Caroline but she was nowhere to be seen.

Chapter 18

William switched the windshield wipers onto full speed and slowed down to a crawl. The rain came down in buckets and impeded his ability to see. He thought about pulling over to the side of the road but decided to risk the drive. He'd just had the most emotional month ever since his parent's deaths and he just wanted to get home and relax. His sister would be waiting for him by now and if he delayed any further she would worry about him. So he kept on.

William rethought about what had happened in Florida. He'd just separated his best friend from a scheming woman. But, that was just it. Was she plotting to get pregnant? Certainly her mother was conniving to get Jane married at all costs, but was Jane ? William wasn't sure about the role he played in separating Charles from Jane but he felt he had no choice. And if Jane went along with her mother's plans Charles would be trapped. William justified it this way, whatever was done was done for the best and someday when Charles found the right woman to marry, he would thank him for this.

William felt better until he thought about Elizabeth. He missed her, it was that simple. She kept popping up in his thoughts at the most improbable times. Like when he was taking a shower or when he was eating or right before he went to sleep at night and just as he woke up in the morning, there she was. William wondered if he should see a doctor.

Suddenly something dashed out in front of his car. William swerved to miss it and was thankful that he was already going so slowly. William stomped on the brakes and stopped the car. He looked around to see what ran in front of the car. He couldn't see anything so he put the car back in gear and started out.

Whub whub whub whub whub

Damn!!Must have run over a nail. William was irritated. He got out of the car and pulled his coat tightly around him. The rain was freezing and the coat didn't keep the water out for long but it was a start. William set down to work. It was slippery business what with the rain and all and by the time he was finished, William's knuckles were bruised and his temper shot.

He got up and stretched his back. The rain still hadn't let up and his clothes were soaked. It was useless to try to stay dry now. William put the flat and the jack in the trunk and slammed it shut. He sloshed his way to the front of the car.

As he opened the car door he heard a pitiful noise. "Meeeyyow" He turned around. "Meeyyow." William looked around the car. Nothing there. "Meeeyyow!" He looked under the car. There it was under the engine. A tiny shivering black and white kitten crouching down and looking like something, well, like something a cat would drag in. Is that what ran me off the road? Figures. William knew he couldn't move the car without running the cat over so he tried to coax it out.

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty." William called. It didn't move. William made kissing noises. The kitten didn't budge an inch. He tried meowing. The kitten meowed back and before he knew it William was having a conversation with a cat. "Meow, kitty, kitty. Meow." The cat slowly crept up to William and rubbed its face on his wet leg. William stood up, the rain was still coming down and he was late and now he must get going before something else happened. He put a foot into the car.

"Meeoowwrr." William looked down at the cat. It looked pathetic. Its hair was plastered down around its body and it was shivering with the cold. William could see that it was starving. Georgiana has been asking me for a pet . He sighed and picked it up. He unbuttoned his shirt and put the little kitten next to his skin to keep it warm. What the heck, it's close enough to Christmas anyway. William got in the car and started it up. He turned the heat on full blast and pulled away from the side of the road.

"Ow!" The kitten was settling down in William's shirt and was digging its claws on his chest. "Ow! Quit it!"

"Meow." The kitten started purring.

William looked down at the kitten. "Did I do the right thing with Charles?"

Elizabeth ran down the beach alone. She needed to run to get the past two weeks out of her system. She needed to run away from the past two weeks, really and that was what she was doing. Running and running as far and as fast as she could trying to forget what happened. Her muscles screamed from pain. She felt her lungs burn as she sucked in air. Elizabeth paid no attention to them. She only kept running.

Finally, Elizabeth slipped and fell onto the sand. She sat there, chest heaving and gasping for air as the water lapped at her feet.

How could he? How could Charles just go and leave Jane? She meant more to him than that, I know she did. Elizabeth took a shell and threw it into the water. Her breathing became more controllable and she stood up. Brushing the sand off her shorts, Elizabeth limped back to her jeep.

How can anyone be so fickle? Did Caroline and William have something to do with it? Probably. They are the snootiest people I've ever met. Elizabeth picked up another shell and hurled it at the ocean. If Charles let them talk him into leaving Jane then he's a spineless wimp and Jane's doesn't need him.

Elizabeth continued her tirade against William Darcy and Charles Bingley and that sister of his, Caroline (but mostly William Darcy) all the way to her jeep. She climbed in and sat down. I haven't heard from George either. I didn't expect to, really. He was just an infatuation anyway. I am grateful for one thing though. He opened my eyes to William's true character. If it weren't for George I would never have found out about him. "That sleezeball." I would never have found out about his child. "William's a gutless worm." I would have never found out that William's company was a sham, based on stolen property. "Pirate!" Elizabeth started her jeep and muttered to herself all the way home.

She found Jane sitting on the couch grading papers. Jane did not look well. It had been two weeks since Charles left town and she hadn't heard from him since. Elizabeth knew Jane was heart-broken. Jane was not one to bounce back from these types of things and it would be a good while until she will get over it. Elizabeth sighed and sat on the couch with her sister.

A lot can happen in two weeks , Elizabeth thought. Charles left and now Charlotte is going to marry Billy Collins. What is she thinking? She wasn't thinking, that explains it. This all happened so fast. Elizabeth got up and went to the kitchen for a glass of water. Now Billy expects Charlotte to just leave her friends and family and move to California "boom" just like that. She's nuts. Nothing makes any sense. Elizabeth wandered to the bathroom and started the shower. I hope Charles calls soon.

Charles never did.

Elizabeth enjoyed the Christmas break as much as she could. There wasn't much to enjoy when your sister was down in the dumps and your best friend was marrying a moron, but Elizabeth couldn't help either of those things. All she could do was give her congratulations to Charlotte and cheer Jane up as much as possible without becoming a constant irritation. Both Jane and Charlotte kept up a brave front.

Things went on as they always did. Christmas came and went. The New Year arrived and past. Charlotte got married. Now that was different , Elizabeth thought. Why would she marry Billy ? Elizabeth tried to bring up the subject to Charlotte but was just given vague answers. Stuff like "Oh, I know I'll be happy" and "He's really not so bad once you get to know him". Charlotte it seems would be content living her life with a boorish overstuffed clown. Am I being too harsh on him ? Elizabeth thought about it. Naaaahhh!!

Elizabeth couldn't think of the marriage without getting the willies but she was used to that. Billy Collins and the willies go hand in hand. Elizabeth laughed to herself. Sounds like a band. Billy Collins and The Willies. Elizabeth smiled. She went to go find Jane. Now that Charlotte was gone and married to Billy, Jane was the only one who would find that funny.

Chapter 19

hen April came, Elizabeth found herself on a plane headed for California. I don't know how I got talked into spending my Spring Break at Charlotte and Billy's house, she thought. It's going to be the longest ten days of my life. Elizabeth sighed. Don't knock it, Lizzy, you got a free trip to California and now you'll see how Charlotte is holding up. It will be good to see Charlotte again. She looked over across the aisle at Mr. Lucas. He was talking to the woman next to him, telling her all about the time he went to the White House to meet President Bush. The lady eyes were glazed over and looked bored to tears. Elizabeth smiled and then looked at Maria Lucas, Charlotte's little sister, who was sitting next to her in the window seat. She was sleeping. Elizabeth leaned back and sighed. She pulled out a book and started to read.

It was a looooong flight. They had to change planes in Los Angeles to get on the small commuter plane that would take them to Monterey and from there it was a few minutes ride to Carmel. By the time they reached their final destination though, Elizabeth was pooped. Charlotte and Billy met them as they walked into the airport terminal and it was non-stop chatter from then on. Mr. Lucas was still talking about his visit to the White House as they got off the plane and he didn't stop until they picked up their luggage. She was grateful to Mr. Lucas for purchasing her plane ticket and letting her tag along but sometimes enough is enough.

Billy had a limo waiting to take the visitors to his house. Elizabeth was very surprised that Billy went to all the trouble of renting a limo but when she asked him about it he replied that it was one of Mrs. DeBourgh's cars.

"I say car s because Mrs. DeBourgh has several." Every time Billy pronounced her name it was like he savoured a fine wine. "Mrs. DeBourgh was kind enough to loan us the limo because we could never all fit in our own humble car." Billy was very enthusiastic when talking about his new employer. Elizabeth saw that whenever Mrs. DeBourgh's name was mentioned, Billy's eyes lit up with fire. Does he do that every time? She looked over at Charlotte to see how she bore it. Charlotte was nodding her head at whatever Billy was saying, but Elizabeth could see that she wasn't paying the least bit of attention.

Mr. Lucas was please with the manners of his son-in-law's employer and observed that she was truly a well-bred lady.

"Oh, Mr. Lucas, you couldn't say anything truer. Mrs. DeBourgh is such a charming, affable employer. She has let us rent the small cottage that neighbors her grand house for below market average and..." Mr. Collins lowered his voice to a whisper. "We are separated from Her by only a lane. I attend to Her gardens now you know and She was so good as to inform me that no one gets rid of garden slugs the way I do." Elizabeth believed it.

"I must admit Her garden has been remarkably slug free ever since I've taken over but then, without Her excellent advice I would have been lost." Billy paused for breath. "Did I mention that we started keeping bees? Mrs. DeBourgh and her daughter, Anne have a passion for fresh honey and so I obliged Them and set up the hives as soon as possible. We now have fresh honey for our breakfast every morning." Billy looked like he was in heaven while he talked about Mrs. DeBourgh. Elizabeth wondered what he really did for a living.

"Mrs. DeBourgh is a very attentive neighbor, I can see." Mr. Lucas said. This caused Billy to erupt in a volcano of praise of the Worthy Catherine DeBourgh and her Lovely daughter, Anne.

Elizabeth was highly amused but tired. As the car wound its way through the streets, she leaned her head against the window and fell asleep. It wasn't long before a bump in the road jolted the car and caused Elizabeth to smack the side of her head on the windowpane. "Ow!" Elizabeth rubbed the spot where her head connected with the glass and looked around. They were entering through massive wrought iron gates and pulling into a long driveway lined on both sides with trees. The limo veered off to the left and soon came to a stop in front of a small neat Spanish style bungalow. They all piled out and the guests peered at the Collins' house. Elizabeth decided that she liked it. It was pretty and quaint and against the backdrop of the trees, it painted a nice picture in her mind.

Billy scrambled in front of the travelers and stood on the front stoop. Clearing his throat he made a warm speech formally welcoming Charlotte's family and friend to their "humble abode". Elizabeth had to look away into the trees to keep from laughing outright. As she did she saw a figure standing in the shadows watching them. Elizabeth thought it odd that this person didn't come up to greet them until she realized that Mrs. DeBourgh probably had several other staff members living on the grounds. Elizabeth turned away and when Billy finished his speech they all went inside.

They were shown into the living room and may have endured more of Billy's speeches if Charlotte didn't suggest that they be shown their rooms and rest for a bit. Billy instantly saw the merits of this suggestion when she further pointed out that they were all to dine with Mrs. DeBourgh and her other guests tonight.

They were all shown into the rooms they would be sleeping in. Since the house didn't have enough spare rooms, Elizabeth and Maria had to share. Maria immediately unpacked her most suitable dress and hastily got ready for dinner. She'd asked Elizabeth several times if she thought that the dress was good enough or if the shoes matched and should she wear earrings and a necklace or was that too much. Elizabeth reassured Maria as best as she could and when Maria was satisfied with her appearance; she went to find Charlotte to ask her opinion on the subject.

Elizabeth was dismayed that they were to be paraded about Mrs. DeBourgh so soon after their arrival. She'd hoped for more than a few minutes rest after such a long flight. However, Elizabeth was curious to see the fabled Catherine DeBourgh and the fair Anne, so she changed into a pretty blue dress that liked and went downstairs.

She went into the living room and sat on the couch to wait for the others and was greeted by a swat at the ankles. Elizabeth almost jumped out of her skin and looked down to see a small head disappear under the couch. Smiling, Elizabeth got on her knees and bent over to peek and saw a pair of green eyes shining back. Elizabeth reached in to pet the cat when she heard someone clear a throat behind her. Elizabeth sat up straight and promptly whacked her head against the end table. This is not my most graceful day , Elizabeth thought as she rubbed her head. Same place too . Holding her head she looked up and saw William Darcy and a strange man. William had a slightly amused smile on his face.

Blushing at the position they found her in, Elizabeth rose to her feet and said hello. She pointedly ignored William and looked at the man William introduced as his cousin, Richard Fitzwilliam. The how-do-you-dos were exchanged and Elizabeth wondered how they got in for she had heard no doorbell or knock. Richard explained that the door was wide open and since they were expected, they walked in. Elizabeth nodded her head. Expected? Why didn't Charlotte warn me? She knows I don't like William. Elizabeth sighed and resigned herself for the staring match.

Richard proved to be the exact opposite of his cousin. He was polite and smiled and talked. Elizabeth was amazed. She found out that he was a Major in the Marine Corps on leave for two weeks, that he loved spaghetti, and that his eyes crinkled when he laughed. Elizabeth decided that she liked him.

Charlotte and her father came into the room and everyone sat down to wait for Billy and Maria. Elizabeth sat on the couch next to Charlotte and saw that Richard sat almost opposite her in order to converse. William stationed himself by a window and divided his time between looking out at the driveway or watching Elizabeth. Elizabeth stared right back. See how he likes it .

A paw reached out and swatted her ankles again. "Charlotte, I didn't know you got a cat. He seems to like ankles a great deal."

"Yes. That's Boddington. He's very playful but he's a sweetie." At the sound of Charlotte's voice, Boddington, the cat came out of from under the couch. He rubbed up against Elizabeth's legs and jumped onto the cushion next to her. He promptly began to clean his face.

Billy came in shoeing poor Maria into the room and announced that they should all leave "this very minute" as Mrs. DeBourgh did not like to be kept waiting. He then noticed William and Richard in the room and Billy rushed out his apologies and greetings in a jumbled mess. William cut him off by promptly rising to his feet and heading out the door. Richard proved to be better mannered than his cousin was by assuring Billy that of course it was best that they all "moved along".

Richard extended his left arm gallantly and asked if he could escort Elizabeth to the main house. A blush crept up her cheeks as Elizabeth slipped her arm through his and they followed they rest of the party out the door.

William was waiting for Elizabeth outside by the entrance and was startled to see her so close to his cousin. He waited until everyone was ahead of him before he started walking. Look at her. Look at the way she walks. So graceful, just like a ballerina. Or a cat. She can be very cat-like at times. Sometimes running hot and sometimes running cold. Very odd that she should be here at the same time I am. I guess it must be fate. I completely forgot that Aunt Catherine hired Billy Collins. He noticed the way Elizabeth and Richard were linked together. She seems to get along with Richard all right. That jarhead had better not get any ideas about her. I'd better warn him to keep his attentions elsewhere. Why should I do that? What is in your mind William Darcy?

Elizabeth could feel his eyes bore into the back of her head like a laser as she talked with Richard Fitzwilliam. Whose eyes? His eyes! William Darcy's stupid roving hazel eyes. Elizabeth peeked over her shoulder. William had a tiny smile on his face. Why does he torture me like this? Can't he go find someone else to stare at? What is he thinking? I really don't want to embarrass Charlotte tonight but if he continues this then I'll just go maaaaddd!

They finally reached the house and Billy puffed his way up to Elizabeth and pointed out all of the details that only a blind person would miss.

"See just behind those low hedges, Elizabeth, is the walkway that leads down to the beach. It's a lovely beach and Mrs. DeBourgh doesn't object to Charlotte and me using it every once in a while." Billy wiped the sweat from his forehead. "The rose garden is over to your right and as I said before it is remarkably free of slugs this year as Mrs. DeBourgh informed me."

Elizabeth looked at Richard to see how he put up with it. Richard just politely acknowledged Billy's ramblings. Elizabeth liked him even more. It took a lot of patience to put to with Billy Collins. Believe me I know , she thought.

At last they made it to the house. Poor Maria and Mr. Lucas were almost trembling with nervousness. Mr. Lucas' Presidential meeting apparently did not compare to the grandeur he was about to witness. Maria thought it was best to hide behind Charlotte when the introductions were made and so spare herself from notice. Elizabeth so far didn't see anything more than a nice house with large grounds and she hoped that she could certainly see those things without extra flutterings of the heart. They stepped onto the doorstep.

"Is that you, Fitzwilliam?" A voice thundered from inside. "Where have you been? I've been calling for you and Richard for the last half-hour."

What on Earth is a Fitzwilliam? Elizabeth thought. She happened to look at William and saw the expression on his face. It was pure mortification. Elizabeth stifled the laugh that threatened to escape from her lips waited her turn to enter the house.

It was large to be sure and it was well furnished also, but it occurred to Elizabeth that it lacked a certain sort of, well, of charm and hospitality. It looked as if everything was on display. Billy led the group to the parlour where Mrs. DeBourgh was sitting. Holding court , Elizabeth thought. She released Richard's arm and at Mrs. DeBourgh's invitation they all sat down. It wasn't until Elizabeth seated herself when she noticed a thin plain girl sitting by the window.

And that must be the lovely Anne.

Mrs. DeBourgh started talking. "I hope, Charlotte, that you have been able to order the new curtains I've suggested you get. I desire that you will order them from the shop on Sycamore Street." Turning to Billy she added. "I see that you have planted the gardenias where I suggested. I'm sure you will find that it is the best place for them to be and if I were you I would dig up all of those old wax-leafs around your house as they spoil the view terribly."

Billy assured her that the offending bushes would be gone by sunset tomorrow. Mrs. DeBourgh cast her eyes on Mr. Lucas who trembled. "I see that your father and sister have arrived safely. I trust that your journey was a pleasant one?"

"Yes, Ma'am. We had a rather uneventful flight, hardly any turbulence to speak of." Mr. Lucas answered.

Mrs. DeBourgh cut him off and looked at Elizabeth. "Your friend is here to stay the week with you, Charlotte. Is that so?"

"Yes, Ma'am." Elizabeth replied.

"I have heard from Charlotte that you play the piano, Miss Bennet. Someday I should like you to play for me. I believe that I have a natural talent for music and I've always thought that if I learned I should have been a true proficient." Mrs. DeBourgh paused. "Fitzwilliam!"

William jumped at the sound of his aunt's voice. "Yes Aunt Catherine?"

"I would like for you and Richard to go to town tomorrow to transact some business for me and Anne. I want it done before noon if at all possible. Do you think that it can be arranged?"

"Yes, I'm sure it will be." William was disconcerted by his aunt's behavior to Elizabeth and kept his answer short.

Elizabeth, however, was highly gratified by the display. She was glad to know that there was something William was afraid of. Indeed, Mrs. DeBourgh made Elizabeth appreciate her own mother more. At least she doesn't order me about like I'm some sort of servant. Elizabeth smiled.

At last dinner was announced and they had to wait for Mrs. DeBourgh to pull herself up from her chair ( throne , Elizabeth thought) and enter the dining room first.

Elizabeth found herself seated next to Richard who pleased her and opposite William, which did not. Looking at William only made Elizabeth's appetite disappear so she just picked at her food until it was time to leave the table. Her other neighbor was Anne who did not say anything to Elizabeth the entire time they were in the house. Elizabeth entertained herself by talking to Richard. He told her of stories about his boot camp days and about his deployments and had Elizabeth laughing so hard at one time that she drew the notice of Mrs. DeBourgh.

"What are you talking about, Richard? What are you saying to Miss Bennet?" She demanded to know.

"I am talking about my deployments, Ma'am." Richard finally answered when he could ignore his aunt no longer.

"Of your deployments! Surely you can speak of something else. I have no interest in hearing about you deployments. I am extremely vexed that you joined the Marines instead of the Army as I intended for you. I wish to hear nothing of the matter." Mrs. DeBourgh huffed.

Richard only looked at Elizabeth and smiled. She was glad to find that his overbearing aunt didn't intimidate him .

William was aware that Elizabeth found his cousin to be good company. He was jealous of Richard's ability to converse so easily with people. He tried to think of things to say to Elizabeth but every time he opened his mouth it was only to shove more food in it. At least he could look at her.

Dinner passed very slowly. But finally, it was over. Mrs. DeBourgh announced that she was full and she pushed back from the table and left the room. That was the signal that dinner was finished and Billy rushed to be by the side of his Employer as soon as possible. There wasn't much to be done after that except to hear the weather forecast from Mrs. DeBourgh, who proved herself to be a greater know-it-all more than anything did.

Chapter 20

Elizabeth fell onto the bed with a sigh. She tried not to think about the evening she'd just had with the most insufferable people she'd ever met. I thought I'd only have to deal with Billy but now there's William and Mrs. DeBourgh. How am I ever going to get through this? Elizabeth rolled over. I miss my dog.

Elizabeth closed her eyes and fell asleep. She dreamed that she and William were standing on a beach looking out onto the ocean. Elizabeth was watching the dream as if she were a bystander. She saw William turn toward her and lift her chin up with one finger. He bent down to kiss her and as their lips touched the dream Elizabeth could feel her lips begin to tingle. Elizabeth saw herself wrap her arms around William and run her fingers up through his hair. They came closer together and before William could do anything more than that one kiss, Elizabeth woke up with a start. Where did that come from? Elizabeth looked at the clock. It flashed at her 1:30. It was a long time before she could get to sleep again. And it was also a long time before her lips stopped tingling.

Lying next to Elizabeth, Maria fell into a deep, contented slumber. She was fascinated by all that she'd seen and heard. Mrs. DeBourgh didn't pay any attention to her, which was just fine with Maria, since Mrs. DeBourgh scared her more than William Darcy did. And William's cousin Richard was so nice to her during the evening. I'm so glad I got to come , Maria sighed. I wish I could grow up to have a house like that , she thought.

William stared up at his ceiling and considered his possibilities. He could one: simply forget about Elizabeth all together. Or two: he could take her back home with him. William didn't want to forget Elizabeth at all so "one" was out of the question. In fact, he couldn't forget about her. All these months later and he still thought about her constantly. It was getting annoying the way she'd sneak in his mind. That's why when he found out that she was going to be here at the same time he was he' just assumed that they were meant to be together some how. The trouble was that one little "how". William knew he didn't want Elizabeth just on a part time basis, number "two", which is exactly what bringing Elizabeth home with him would mean. He couldn't let her live with him because Georgianna was still at school and how would it look if William Darcy took a mistress and kept her at his house with his own young underage sister? William nixed that idea.

Which brought him to the third possibility. Marry her. It was so simple. He would marry her and then he could bring her home and he could have her with him always and it wouldn't matter then how much he thought about her because she would be there waiting for him to come home. And he would be happy to have such a wife. William thought it over. Does she want to marry me? She gives me so little encouragement. Sometimes I think she wants me as much as I want her but then she turns around and it's like I'm looking at an iceberg. What can I do? Well, William, consider her options. She's got a middle-class family and an intolerable mother. She will go to school forever only to find a low paying job and no appreciation. Not the way I could appreciate her. And look at you. You're successful, rich, handsome (at least that's what the ladies say) and you've been voted one of the most eligible bachelors in America. Twice. Especially since John Kennedy got married a few years ago. She would be a fool to turn you down. And you know she's no fool. I think that she will say "yes". She looks at me enough to let me know that there is definite interest there. She'll accept.

William smiled at the ceiling before him. He would have to find the perfect way to propose. Perhaps he could get her onto the beach and do it there? No, that was so typical. Invite her out to dinner at a nice quiet restaurant and pop the question over desert and coffee? No, that's even worse. With Elizabeth it had to be something special, something so unexpected that she would remember it forever. William pondered his problem as he fell asleep.

Richard lay on his stomach and reviewed the evening and William's behavior. He'd come to the conclusion that his cousin was very much taken with Elizabeth Bennet, there was no other explanation that Richard could think of. He'd never seen William act so awestruck before. It couldn't have been the little Lucas girl; she was barely old enough to vote so it had to be Elizabeth.

Richard thought back a few months and remembered that William had come back from Florida in an extremely agitated state of mind and very preoccupied. William didn't listen to what anyone was saying or replied when it was way too late to be adding further to the conversation. And didn't he mention an Elizabeth Bennet to him a few times? Yes, he did. Richard also remembered that Elizabeth came from Florida. It doesn't take a General to put two and two together, you know. Well, what do you know, William Darcy is in love. Richard laughed. Richard resolved to get to know Elizabeth better in the morning. After all, she may be his future cousin. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Chapter 21

Elizabeth spent the last seven days avoiding William as much as possible. And it was funny you know, in a peculiar sort of way how he always seemed to turn up when she least expected it. He would always catch up to her if she were on the beach or strolling along the avenue. He would ask her some extremely odd questions too. Questions about her family and if she liked living so close to them and when did she plan on moving out of Jane's apartment? Such odd questions Elizabeth didn't know how to answer. She started to but was so puzzled by them that she never finished an answer, and really, why was he asking such things? If Elizabeth didn't know better she would have thought that he was willingly seeking her out. But that was impossible. William does not go to seek out giggly, empty-headed females.

Elizabeth sat down and tried not to think about the ordeal coming up. Another dinner with Mrs. DeBourgh, or "Lady Cat", as Elizabeth came to call her in her mind. These were the only time she dreaded during her vacation. Other than those tete a tetes with William that is.

Elizabeth sighed and got to her feet. She wandered away to Charlotte's house to prepare for tonight.

Elizabeth got stuck somehow. Somehow she was tricked into playing the piano before the entire party and now here she was pounding out a ditty on the keyboard and William was still watching her. But then, everyone was watching her because she was playing and when someone played what else is there to do but to watch and listen. That happy thought did not ease Elizabeth's mind. She thought that if William were in China and happened to glance her way, she'd be able to feel it. She played on, however. Not giving the slightest bit of evidence that she was on the verge of losing it.

When Richard asked if Elizabeth would play for them, Elizabeth was happy to oblige, but when she got to the piano she saw that there were no music sheets at all. She would have to play by memory and that meant two things. Either she could play the scales or she could play "Heart and Soul".

"Heart and Soul" it was.

Elizabeth bit her lower lip as she concentrated on playing. It was such along time since she practiced and it showed. At least they didn't ask her to sing. Richard was sitting next to her for encouragement.

William sat next to his aunt and listened to Elizabeth play. She is so beautiful when she concentrates like that. I wonder, should I ask her tonight? Will she say "yes"? William was having doubts as to whether or not he should propose. He truly wanted Elizabeth to love him when they got married and he thought that maybe he should wait until he was sure of her regard. But I don't want to wait! His heart whined. Never mind, the time will come soon enough, he reassured himself. He leaned back and listened.

Mrs. DeBourgh piped up. "It's too bad, Miss Bennet, that you did hot practice more. You do not play too badly but you lack finesse. Now if I should have learned I would have been a great prodigy." She paused to allow Billy time to agree with her. "There are few things in the world that I enjoy better than music. What do you say, Fitzwilliam?" She turned towards William.

William jumped when his aunt addressed him. "I, uh, yes. Of course." What did Aunt Catherine say? He got up and strolled to the piano. He leaned on it staring down at Elizabeth's face.

Elizabeth stopped playing. She couldn't play and talk at the same time and she was sick of the song anyway. She looked at William expectantly.

He took the hint. "You play sweetly, Elizabeth. I remember when my sister was learning to play, this was one of her favorite songs."

Elizabeth just stared at him. Finally she spoke. "Tell me. Did you come all the way over here just to tell me about your sister or are you here to intimidate me?" She raised an eyebrow. "Because I'll have you know that my courage will rise to the challenge."

"I would never wish to intimidate you. And I know you well enough that occasionally you like to say things that you do not mean." He smiled at her.

Elizabeth laughed. "Your cousin, Richard, would teach you not to believe a word I say. That is very impolitic of him too because it provokes me to retaliate."

"I am not afraid of you." William said.

"Very well." She turned to Richard and paused before continuing. "Richard, I first met you cousin at a little… dance, for lack of a better term, and do you know what he did?" She waited for Richard to shake his head. "He didn't dance once. He didn't even bother to be polite and ask any ladies to dance even though there was a certain lack of gentlemen and more than one young lady was in want of a partner." She looked at William. "True?"

"Well, yes. But then I didn't know anybody there at the time." William paused. "Perhaps if I thought better about it I would have asked…someone to dance." He looked at her. "I just can't seem to talk to strangers the way I see so many people do with ease and interest. I…I can't be interested in people I know nothing about on our first meeting. I just don't work that way."

"Why not? How are you to ever know what people are like until you take the time to get to know them?" Elizabeth placed her fingers on the keyboard and said, "My fingers do not move over this instrument as I would like them to. They do not have the same force and feeling as others have. But then, I supposed that it was always my own fault for not practicing." Elizabeth stared right into William's eyes. What do you say to that you big arrogant twit?

William just smiled. "You're right. We, neither of us perform to strangers." William looked around him for a chair to sit in.

"What are you talking of, Fitzwilliam? What are you saying to Miss Bennet?" Mrs. DeBourgh demanded. William sighed. His aunt had the worst timing.

Elizabeth immediately began playing the scales.

On the eighth day of Elizabeth's vacation, she walked out towards the beach. She'd snuck out of the house to have a few minutes to herself. Strolling along the sand she would occasionally toss a rock or seashell into the water. Elizabeth had heard from Jane the night before and Elizabeth was going over their conversation in her head. Jane was not in spirits , she thought. I don't think she'll ever get over Charles. Not completely. Elizabeth was sad for her sister.

"Elizabeth!" A voice hailed from behind her. She turned and saw Richard waving and coming towards her. She put on a smile and waited for him to catch up.

"What a surprise, Richard." Elizabeth smiled. "It's such a lovely day for a walk."

"Yes, it is." Richard paused. "Tell me, do you leave in two days?"

"Yes, we do. Why"

"Well, it's just that we were enjoying your company is all. Aunt Catherine is nice really but she can get overbearing at times." Boy is that an understatement, Rich.

"Who's "we"? Elizabeth wanted to know.

"William and I and I think Anne does too. She's shy and reserved. A lot like William's sister, Georgianna." Richard picked up a shell and studied it.

"Oh yes, I've heard of her from some people I met last autumn, Charles Bingley and his sister Caroline. Caroline likes her tremendously. Do you know them?"

"Charles Bingley? Yes, I've met him a few times. He's a good friend of William's."

"Yes, William takes great care of Charles." Elizabeth's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"I do believe William did take care of Charles. I remember him saying something last winter about saving Charles from a conniving woman." Richard was only too happy to praise William to the skies for Elizabeth. What better way to do it than prove how loyal William could be? "I think Charles was infatuated with a young lady who was plotting to trap Charles into marrying her."

Elizabeth lost her breath with one big whoosh. William did separate Jane and Charles! I was right. How could he? Jane wouldn't even plot out a garden let alone plot to trap a man. William must be the blindest jerk in the world if he couldn't see that Jane is the last person on Earth to trick someone into marriage. Elizabeth tried to compose herself. After all, Richard was just the messenger it wouldn't do to kill him. "Did he tell you what this lady was planning to do?" She was glad that her voice didn't shake too much.

"I believe he said that she was going to get herself pregnant. But it was so long ago that I could be mistaken," Richard answered. Looking at Elizabeth he saw that she was struggling with something. "Are you OK, Elizabeth?"

"Yes, I'm fine thank you. I do have a sudden headache though, so if you will excuse me, I think I'd better go back now." Elizabeth turned around and headed back to Charlotte's house with Richard following in her wake.

That conceited selfish stupid pig! How dare he interfere in anyone else's business? How dare he suggest that Jane would stoop to such levels? How dare he even think of it? His arrogance knows no limits. I hate him! I hate him! Elizabeth stormed through the front door, narrowly stepping on tip of Boddington's tail. She went to the bedroom and slammed the door.

Richard stood in the doorway looking at Charlotte's cat in wonder. He had a very bad feeling in his stomach.

Chapter 22

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay with you, Lizzy?" Charlotte asked as everyone headed out the door.

"Yes, Charlotte. Thank you, but I think all I need is to lie down and rest. It's only a headache. I think I stayed out in the sun too long today. You know how that is." Elizabeth decided that an evening with Lady Cat and William Darcy was the last thing she wanted right now. If she had to sit through one more of those stuffy oppressive dinners and expect to smile and be polite the whole time then she would scream. Elizabeth didn't want to even think of William Darcy. He wasn't worth the effort. She'll just stay here in the peace and quiet of an empty house.

Charlotte sensing that Elizabeth needed to be alone said goodbye and hoped that Elizabeth would feel better when they got back. Charlotte shut the door quickly when Billy added his sentiments to hers and added a few more about the merits of Mrs. DeBourgh's charitable goodwill.

When the door was closed behind them, Elizabeth let out her breath. She leaned against the wall and slid to the floor. What am I going to do about Jane? Do I tell her? What could she do then? Jane doesn't have Charles' home number. This is such a big mess. I feel sorry for Caroline now. She will have to put up with that…that…OH! don't even think about him, Elizabeth!

She went into her room and changed into her sweatpants and a T-shirt. Elizabeth went to the couch and lay down. Kicking off her shoes and propping them up on a cushion she made herself as comfortable as possible. Boddington jumped up onto the couch and lightly stepped on Elizabeth's stomach. Elizabeth absentmindedly stroked the cat along his back as she thought about her dilemma. Boddington purred and settled down for a nice nap. Elizabeth looked at the cat. He was almost all black except for a few white hairs on his chest and one white whisker. Strange, I never saw anything like that before. Pretty. I should call Jane anyway to see how she's doing.

Before Elizabeth could reach for the phone, there was a knock at the door. She sat up sending Boddington flying and hissing over her lap. Who on Earth could that be? Elizabeth wondered, but before she could open the door, it burst open revealing William standing on the threshold. William Darcy. What does he want ?

William strode into the room and stopped in front of Elizabeth. She was dumbfounded. What's he doing here, was the most predominant thought in her mind as well as a few that shouldn't be repeated.

William paced the room back and forth, back and forth until again, he came to a stop in front of Elizabeth. He looked torn and undecided. Elizabeth turned and started to sit down but before she got halfway to the couch William grabbed her arm and spun her around. He put his hands on the sides of her face and kissed her passionately. Elizabeth struggled against him but he only wrapped his arms around her tightly and murmured in her ear.

"Elizabeth." He paused, gathering up strength. "Elizabeth, in vain I have struggled, I can't go on like this any longer. Let me tell you how much I love and admire you."

Elizabeth pushed away and stared at him wide-eyed. She started to set him straight but was cut short.

Elizabeth, I want you to be my wife." William looked at her and smiled. "I want you to marry me."

Elizabeth couldn't speak. This was the last thing she'd expected and for a moment she thought that it was April first. Before she could give him a denial and send him on his merry lying way, William continued.

"I cannot deny that I would be giving the world a shock when this is all found out. I know that people are expecting me to marry someone more sophisticated than you and I don't need to add that your family will be an eye sore on the ten o'clock news. No doubt everyone will think of you as the luckiest woman in the world until DiCaprio gets hitched. But I don't care about that. I only care about you. Elizabeth, will you marry me?" He asked again. Elizabeth thought that he seemed very sure of himself. To sure if you were to ask her.

"No."

William paled. "What?" he whispered.

"I said no, William Darcy. How could you expect me to marry you? You're a conceited, selfish bastard and you poison everything you touch. How dare you come into this house and insult me like that?"

"Insult you? I asked you to marry me. Is that such an insult? I considered it a compliment." William was stricken.

"A compliment? Compliment ? The way you talked about me and my family I would have thought that we weren't fit to shine your shoes."

"What, you would rather I spout forth love songs and poems? I told you the truth and I expected you to at least acknowledge that my marrying you would be the last thing anyone would have expected. I suppose if I'd gotten down on my knees and begged that would have made a difference."

"You're wrong, William Darcy, if you thought that I would marry the man who deliberately separated my sister from the man she loves. I heard the story, William. Do you deny it?"

"No, I don't. Towards my friend I've been kinder than towards myself."

Elizabeth chose to ignore that and continued. "But it wasn't just your interference that makes me refuse you. Long before that happened, your character was shown to me by George Wickham. He told me what a conniving thief you really are. How can you explain that, Mr. Darcy?"

"You take an eager interest in George Wickham!" William was livid. George Wickham! Why won't that name just disappear from this planet? He paced the room again stopping in front of the open door.

"How could I not? When I heard of your dealings with him it only served to prove that I was right about you all along. You're selfish, conceited and you have no regard for the feelings of others." Elizabeth walked up to William and pushed him out of the house. "I had not known you a month before I was convinced that you were the last man on Earth whom I would marry!" With that she slammed the door in his face. Elizabeth leaned up against the door and cried.

William stared at the door not really seeing it. That didn't just happen. She didn't just refuse me. All of a sudden William's heart felt like it was wrenched from his chest. She did! How could she do that? William turned and plodded to his car. He had to get away from there as fast as he could. He got in and sped down the street to God knows where.

Chapter 23

William stopped the car and stumbled out without paying attention to where he was walking. His thoughts were in turmoil. She rejected me! Me ! What is she thinking? Doesn't she know who I am? That there are literally hundreds of women, No, thousands of women out there who would kill to marry me. I'm one of the richest men in America. I can't believe this has happened to me. Me !

And to think that she actually prefers Wickham over me. That two-faced son of a #$@#. Well, she deserves him. She deserves all that she gets from that jackal. Just then William ran into a signpost causing several, oh, shall we say, working women to laugh hysterically. He looked up and saw that he was in front of a seedy bar. Ignoring the guffaws coming from the, um, ladies he stepped inside the smoky room.

William shrugged past some of the clientele and sat down at the bar and ordered a drink. He put his head in his hands and thought about what just happened. What a stupid girl. Why would I want to marry someone that stupid anyway? I can easily get someone more beautiful and glamourous than Elizabeth. William downed his drink and ordered another.

I know a lot of women who are better than that low-class tease. Take Caroline for instance. She was gorgeous that one night when we all went out to dinner. I bet I could take up with her tomorrow. Arrrgghhhh !! What am I thinking ?! I need another drink. William banged his empty glass on the bar. "Bartender, get me another drink!" The bartender gave William a strange look and slowly handed him a drink.

So she turned me down. Big deal. I'll get over it. I'll date a supermodel. William slammed his empty glass on the bar and wiped his mouth. He looked around him for the first time. He saw women of questionable virtue lounging on a few customers' laps. The air was thick with smoke and everything had a bluish hue. This place reeks. I need some fresh air. William heaved himself up from his stool, the seat of his pants sticking to the naugahide. He paid for his drinks and walked out into the night. Wiping his hands on his shirt he turned left and walked smack into the same pole. Holding his now bruised forehead, he side stepped the pole and ran into a newspaper stand.

Walking about in this way for about half an hour, muttering to himself, William went into another bar. The music blasted him as walked in. William strained to hear it aver the din of the bar. It was Carol King.

You're so vain.

You probably think this song is about you.

Sitting down at a table, he turned his thoughts to Elizabeth. Why did she reject me? What did I do that was so wrong? So, I separated Charles and Jane. I did it for the best. How was I supposed to know that Jane really loved Charles? Why doesn't Elizabeth love me? I thought she did. William looked into his glass. His mind was really starting to feel the effects of the alcohol he'd consumed. What do I do now? He wondered. William looked down at his glass. It was empty. He knew then what he needed to do, he needed to order another drink.

You're so vain.

You probably think this song is about you,

Don't you, don't you?

Will somebody turn that stupid song off? William's mind screamed. He tipped back his drink and gulped it.

Two hours later, William was standing in a brightly-lit room. It was some kind of art gallery. William squinted at the pretty pictures. He decided that he wanted to buy one.

"Which one, Mister?" The proprietor asked. Swaying on his feet, William pointed to the one he liked best.

The day dawned with amazing beauty but William did not see it. In fact William did not see the morning. William didn't awake until long after noon. And when he did wake up, he instantly regretted it.

William slowly became vaguely aware of his surroundings. He was aware that he was on a bed in his aunt's boathouse and that he was in pain. A lot of pain. William groaned and put a hand on his head. It felt like cows were stampeding on his brain. He tried to open his eyes but they seemed plastered shut. Finally, he managed to crack them open only to have his eyeballs bombarded by every air molecule in the room. He shut them again. William tried to sit up. His head reeled. He licked his lips. They were dry and cracked and his tongue felt like he washed his car with it. Laying back down William noticed that his right arm was extremely sore. What did I do last night? He rolled over onto his side but the pain in his arm stopped him. William looked at his arm. It looked raw. Did I get into a fight last night? Oh man! I hope nobody recognized me. The papers would have a field day if they found out.

William took a breath and focused. There's blood! Was I shot? William forced his eyes to focus. Ohno,ohno,ohno! It can't be! On his bicep was a bleeding heart tattoo with the word "Lizzy" written in the middle. William sat up with a start and banged his head on the low ceiling of the cabin. He passed out.

Chapter 24

Elizabeth woke up with the same thoughts that accompanied her to sleep. She was still in shock over what had happened. I can't believe William proposed to me. My God, he doesn't even know me! How can you marry someone you don't know? In a way it was gratifying that she so unconsciously aroused those feelings in him. It's not every day you are proposed to by a multi-millionaire. But every sense of gratification was lost when she remembered how he'd addressed her. He'd just automatically assumed that she would accept him.

The jerk! The conceited freakish jerk! He must be blind. Elizabeth rolled out of bed trying not to disturb Maria who was still sleeping. She quickly got dressed and headed out towards the beach.

Elizabeth wandered about the beach all day and reran last night's scene in her head. There was no way she could tell Charlotte about what happened. Elizabeth didn't want anyone to know about it. The sooner I get away the better.

No doubt everyone will think of you as the luckiest woman in the world…

What an arrogant worm!

Your family will be an eye sore on the ten o'clock news…

I wish I'd given you an eyesore last night, Darcy. You… Fitzwilliam !

Exasperated, Elizabeth lay down in the sand and closed her eyes. She remembered the way William just burst into the house, the way he took her in his arms and kissed her, the way his face looked when she pushed him out the door. It was pure devastation. She sighed and tried not to think about that stolen kiss. It gave her a bit of a thrill, really, deep down inside but then that could mean that he was just a good kisser. Elizabeth waved her arms in the sand and smiled. The sand was always therapeutic.

The sun was so warm and the sound of the waves on the sea crashing onto shore made a very nice lullaby to Elizabeth.

William got to his feet. Ohno,ohno,ohno,ohno,ohno,ohno,ohno. Nonononononononononono. This can't be happening. William looked again. The tattoo was still there. W

Last man on Earth whom I would marry…

William felt sick. He ran to the bathroom and threw up.

Last man on Earth...

William stood up and looked into his bloodshot eyes. There was a lump on his head where he kept bumping into the lamppost the night before. He looked like he'd been to Hell and back. She hates me. She hates me? What did I do to deserve this? William turned on the sink and splashed water over his face.

Your character was shown to me by George Wickham. He told me what a conniving thief you really are…

William felt his stomach hurl. He steadied himself on the sink and willed the feeling away.

How can you explain that, Mr. Darcy?

William went back into the cabin. He looked around for something, anything for a means to explain to Elizabeth. He glanced at the phone. No she won't talk to me. I can't call her. He looked at the table. He walked over to it and opened a drawer. There was some paper and a pen. Thanking his aunt for treating her home like a hotel, he sat down and began to write.

Dear Elizabeth,

Hello, how are you today?

William scratched that out. What an imbecile you are, William. No wonder she hates you. He forced his brain to concentrate and taking another sheet of paper, he began again.

Dear Elizabeth,

Do not be alarmed upon receiving this letter that it contains any renewal of those feelings that you found so disgusting last night.

I won't torment you with vain wishes now. What happened last night would be best forgotten by the both of us. I find that this is the only means I have with communicating with you and so I hope that you will at least read it with an impartial mind. Your sense of justice will let you do that much at least. I will relate some things to you, which will no doubt give you some pain, but that can't be helped and I'm sorry for it. Any further apology would be useless.

It wasn't long after we met when I noticed that Charles was very taken with your sister. I didn't see anything alarming in this at first because Jane seemed to be a sweet unscrupulous person and I thought that they were well suited for each other. I liked Jane a lot and I felt that she would make Charles very happy. However, at the party Charles gave at the country club last year, I overheard something your mother was saying to Mrs. Lucas. I was standing close to them and their entire conversation was audible to me. Don't think that I was spying, because their conversation could be heard halfway around the room. What I heard was basically this: That your mother had advised Jane to get pregnant in order to make Charles marry her. I was at first shocked, then worried. Perhaps I panicked. But, because I didn't know the extent of your sister's regard for your mother's advice I thought it best to tell Charles that he was in some danger of being trapped. I told him after the party. To Charles credit, it took a lot of convincing. However, since your information last night I realized that I could have been wrong to assume that Jane would stoop to such behaviour. Probably I should have let things run their course. It was done though and done for the best. I haven't anything further to say on that subject.

On the subject of Wickham, well, I'm not exactly sure what sort of lies he's told you about me, however, what I am about to tell you is the absolute truth and for verification on these matters you can apply to Richard who knows of everything. If your distaste for me makes everything I say invalid to you, I hope that you will contact him.

George Wickham is the son of my father's best friend and our fathers encouraged us to become as close as friends as they were, but friendship between us was impossible given Wickham's cruel and bent personality. We were forced with the pretence however and when Mr. Wickham died my father paid for George's college expenses. I wish I could say that George was a great scholar but that is also not the case. He usually didn't even bother to show up for classes and I'm amazed even now that he graduated. I remember once that he'd gotten a young girl pregnant and he managed to talk her into doing some pretty reprehensible things afterwards. Unfortunately, I found out about it too late. That baby was never born and the girl never came back to school after that. After my father's death, I saw as little as possible of Wickham.

When Pemberley 2000 got off the ground and started making a profit, Wickham came to see me. He reminded me about how much my father had loved him and that I should honour my father's memory by making him a partner. But Wickham said that he was reasonable and would take a financial settlement instead of the partnership. Instead of humouring him, I had him removed from the premises.

I thought that it would be the last time I'd ever hear of George Wickham (except for maybe on the 10 o'clock news as a latest arrest), however, last summer he once again intruded into my life in a manner, which I would just as soon forget. My sister, Georgie, who is more that ten years younger than I am, was left under my guardianship when my father died. Last summer she went to a private summer camp in New Port. There she met Wickham, reintroduced by Mrs. Younge, The camp's head counselor. Wickham the convinced my sister that she was in love with him and that they should run off together to "be free from the restrains of society's unfair limits on their love." I don't know where Wickham got that piece of crap but Georgie fell for it. She was then barely sixteen years old so her age and innocence can really be the only excuse. Luckily I came for a surprise visit a few days before Wickham could pull this off. Georgie, who looks up to me as a father, admitted everything to me at once. I wanted to kill George Wickham. I thought about having him arrested, but since nothing actually happened and my sister wasn't abused (yet) I had no grounds for it. I also wanted to spare her from the publicity that would arise from something like that being made public. So, I kept my mouth shut.

This is the whole narrative of my dealings with Wickham, and given the nature of some of the particulars I trust that you will keep them a secret. Only the present situation would make me want to tell another living soul about it.

I'm sorry for the way things turned out between us but I guess that it's for the best. There is nothing more for me to say, except I wish you the best in life and I hope you'll always be happy.

F. William Darcy

There, he'd finished it. It made absolutely no sense, but he finished it and he would hand it to her as soon as possible. William cursed his hangover. If he tried to rewrite it he would just muddle it up worse, so it was best that he gave it to her.

He went to shower off some of the cigarette smoke and the bar stench from his body. As he lathered up he looked down at his shiny new tattoo. I'm going to have to do something about that , he thought. There's no way I can keep it and I don't want a memento of this occasion. William finished his shower and got dressed quickly. He took the letter and went outside into the blinding sun.

Arrgghhh!! William closed his eyes and rubbed them. The sun pierced through his skull and singed his brain. Never, ever again will I go drinking. I promise never, ever, ever. William gradually regained his eyesight and continued his search for Elizabeth, which was so rudely interrupted by the sun.

He found her asleep in the sand. It looked as if she were making sand angels. William smiled, only Elizabeth would think of something like making sand angels. Then he stopped smiling. Elizabeth will never be his wife. She will never smile at him or share a joke. She will never need him. She will never kiss him. She will never share his bed. She will never have his children. She will never be his. She will never love him. William felt sick again. He wanted to leave but first he had to deliver his letter. Should I wake her? No, she might get the wrong idea and my head isn't up to a fight right now. William tucked the letter into her hands that were folded on her stomach and stood up. He looked down at her face for the last time, suppressing the urge to kiss her and hold her and stroke her hair. He turned around and walked away.

Chapter 25

Elizabeth woke up feeling refreshed and confused. Refreshed because she'd slept long and hard and confused because the mail was delivered. Elizabeth looked at the envelope and saw that the letter was indeed addressed to her. She sat up and looked around. There was no one on the beach with her. She tore the envelope open and scanned the document. It was long and labouriously written with words scratched out sporadically throughout. She looked at the signature. William Darcy! Why is he writing? She went up to the beginning and read his explanation. When she finished she reread it. And reread it again. She was so impatient to read the next line that Elizabeth could hardly even register the words in her mind. She skimmed the part about her sister over and over again.

Pregnant? Who could think Jane would do something like that? This has got to be the biggest pack of filthy lies ever written! Elizabeth thought about her mother then and remembered how enthusiastic she could get. Mom would stop at nothing to have Jane and Charles marry. She would suggest something like that, too. Fortunately, Jane has too much sense to follow her directions. Didn't William see that? Didn't Charles ? Didn't Charles trust Jane? Elizabeth sighed. OK, I guess if I were in William's situation, I would be nervous for my friend too, but he should have found out more. He shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that. Now Jane will never know the truth about Charles. Or will she? Do I tell her? Elizabeth decided that she shouldn't make that decision now. She turned her attention to the part about Wickham.

Everything in it coincided with what Wickham told her at breakfast that one morning, except for a few details. Like the detail that it was Wickham who'd gotten the girl pregnant not William. And Wickham's attempt to squeeze money out of William. And the very big detail about William's sister. Sixteen years old! If that were true Wickham should be in jail. But could it be true? Why would William tell her all of this if it wasn't true? She didn't tell him what Wickham had said but the tales were so similar that William must be telling the truth. Elizabeth gradually began to credit William's account of the story. Grudgingly.

Elizabeth stood up and brushed the sand off. As she looked down she could see a set of footprints next to her. They came towards her, stopped, and then turned around and went back the way they came. She sat back down, exhausted and contemplated those footprints. It hit her like a ton of bricks. William was telling the truth! Elizabeth felt like a fool. Not for rejecting William, there was absolutely no way she could marry him. Especially after the way he talked to her. But mostly because of the way Wickham played her against William. He knew that I'd accuse William eventually. He knew it! And you fell for it, Elizabeth, old girl. You're the biggest sucker that lived. Elizabeth was disgusted with herself. Hadn't she prided herself on her ability to see past people's facades? Look how easy it had been with Caroline and Billy Collins. Well, they aren't a good example, they were too easy.

So, if what William says is true then how can Wickham have passed the background check? Elizabeth asked herself. There has to be a background check if you're going to be a Navy SEAL. Elizabeth smacked her forehead. Duh, he's not a SEAL. You fell for that one too. He's probably a cook. Elizabeth got up again. She brushed the sand off, again, and started back to Charlotte's. At least there I know what to expect. I expect to find a man who is unencumbered by the thought process.

When Elizabeth walked into the house, she met just the man she was thinking about.

"Elizabeth! Hurry up and get dressed! We shall be leaving for Mr. DeBourgh's in a few minutes." Billy was frantic and sweating nervously. "I can't tell you how often She has told me about how important punctuality is and She expects it from all of us." Billy shoved Elizabeth into her room and slammed the door.

Elizabeth wondered if she could get out the ordeal but since she missed yesterday's dinner, she would be expected to show up tonight. Elizabeth heaved a sigh and got ready as fast as she could with Billy banging on the door every four seconds telling her to "hurry up in there". Elizabeth tried her best to hide how sunburnt she was but it did no good. Elizabeth considered it the price to pay for being so stupid.

During the walk over, Elizabeth found out from Maria that William and Richard left Carmel and were on their way to Norfolk, where Richard was stationed. Elizabeth secretly rejoiced. She would not have to see William and spend her time being embarrassed. In fact she will probably not see him ever again. That was for the best, anyway.

"Mr. Collins, you are four minutes late!" Mrs. DeBourgh called out as they passed through the hallway and into the living room.

Mr. Collins did a very good Quasimodo impression as he bowed and apologized to Her Ladyship as profusely as his vocabulary would allow.

Elizabeth was glad that someone was performing up to her standards. Before too long, Lady Cat enumerated on how much William and Richard were saddened to leave her.

"But, so they always are. Fitzwilliam seemed most especially dejected. He was most sorry to leave Anne and I. I hope that next time he will be able to stay for a longer visit and satisfy his desire to be near us." Lady Cat looked smug. That is until she caught Elizabeth smiling slightly. "You're very dull this evening, Miss Bennet. What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing more than a small sun burn, Your L… I mean Mrs. DeBourgh." Elizabeth said. Elizabeth couldn't help but smile. Oh, if you only knew, she thought.

The evening passed as all evenings pass when there are tedious company and soggy hors d'oeurves but it did finally end. And the next morning the visitors boarded a plane and flew home.

"Lizzy, how busy we have been this past week." Maria said during the flight. She was reading her diary. "Do you realize that we dined at Mrs. DeBourgh's house six times? And we went to Cannery row and the aquarium. How much I shall have to tell everyone when I get back to school!"

"And how much I shall have to conceal" Elizabeth murmured. She could think of nothing but her letter the entire way home.

William was busy with thoughts of his own. He was wondering if Elizabeth had given any credit to his explanation. Does she understand about why I separated Charles and Jane? Will she believe me about Wickham, that jerk? He turned on his CD player and fast-forwarded to the one song he wanted to hear then switched on the plane's speaker system. He hit the repeat button and closed his eyes.

In every heart there is a room
A sanctuary safe and strong
To heal the wounds from lovers past
Until a new one comes along
I spoke to you in cautious tones
You answered me with no pretense
And still I feel I said too much
My silence is my self defense
And every time I've held a rose
It seems I only felt the thorns
And so it goes, and so it goes
And so will you soon I suppose
But if my silence made you leave
Then that would be my worst mistake
So I will share this room with you
And you can have this heart to break
And this is why my eyes are closed
It's just as well for all I've seen
And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows
So I would choose to be with you
That's if the choice were mine to make
But you can make decisions too
And you can have this heart to break
And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows*

Richard grimaced at William's choice. "Why are you listening to that depressing song, William? I thought you'd be happy to leave Aunt Catherine's place. And if I may ask, why did we leave so early and so suddenly?"

"I need to get a tattoo removed." William replied matter-of-factly.

Richard bunched up with laughter. "A tattoo ! Oh that's a good one! Like you'd ever get a tattoo." Richard laughed almost the entire way to the East Coast.

*One of my favorite Billy Joel songs.

Chapter 26

Elizabeth was glad to be back in her own apartment in her own bed. That was, without a doubt, the weirdest vacation I've ever had, Elizabeth thought as she stroked Sandy's ears. She pulled out her letter and read it again, even though she knew the contents by heart. It's amazing really, who knew that he liked me so much? Well, it doesn't matter I'll never see him again. He'll never come back after what I said to him. Elizabeth sat up. What I said to him! Oh, G-d! I can't take any of that back! How do I apologize? Does it matter if I apologize? I still wouldn't marry him. I don't love him and I only just started respecting him. Elizabeth groaned and pulled the pillow over her head. Do I just call him up and say, "Hi, William, just thought you'd like to know I don't think you're as big a big jerk as I used to."? Puh-leese. No, Jane's right, I should just put the whole thing behind me. Elizabeth smiled a bit when she remembered her sister's reaction to William's proposal.

"What! Proposed to you?" Jane's jaw dropped. "Oh, Lizzy! Proposed ? To marry him?

Elizabeth laughed. "Yes, Jane. To marry him. He burst through the door, kissed me, and proposed."

"He kissed you?" Jane grinned. "How was it?"

Elizabeth was not about to let Jane know exactly how much she liked it, so she just said that it was "very…interesting". Elizabeth could hardly admit to herself how much she liked the kiss. She'd just put it down as her reaction to the suddenness of it. And maybe the temptation. William was wrong to grab her like that and kiss her; so never mind the lightening bolts that shot through her. Never mind the…burning of his lips. Never mind that she'd never been kissed so passionately before and that…hhhrrrm, never mind. It doesn't matter.

"It's no surprise to me that he fell in love with you." Jane said. Elizabeth stared at her. "I'm just amazed that he kept it a secret for so long." Jane's voice dropped with sadness. "I thought Charles loved me as much as William loves you. I've given up on him, Elizabeth. He'll never call and I'll just have to go on the way I was before."

Elizabeth heard the tears in Jane's voice. No, I can't tell her about Charles. It'll just break her heart all over again.

Now Elizabeth was in bed thinking about that day in Charlotte's house. She recollected William's shock and dismay at her refusal. He really expected me to jump at the chance. I wonder how long he was watching me sleep. I hope I wasn't drooling. Elizabeth smirked. She put a hand to her lips and traced where he'd kissed her. It was a good kiss. Maybe if he'd taken the time to get to know me. Or rather, maybe if I'd taken the time to get to know him . It doesn't matter, Elizabeth. Even if you were so stupid as to listen to George; that doesn't excuse William for listening to Mom . What a mess. Jane's not going to recover quickly .

She rolled over and tried to sleep but it's hard to get some sleep when your lips were burning and your mind was tossing and turning more than your body.

William sat in the car outside the doctor's office looking out of the window. He'd made the appointment as soon as he got home. Trying to find a decent laser surgeon wasn't easy apparently. He didn't want to ask anyone for referrals because asking for referrals meant explaining why he needed a laser surgeon. There was no way he'd tell anyone. No way at all. In the end, he thumbed through the phonebook and found them under the heading of dermatologists. Seven phone calls and one false name later, William made the appointment to have the tattoo removed.

Now, here he was sitting in his car with his hands gripped to the steering wheel getting up the nerve to go in. William unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it over is shoulder to look at his arm. The skin was still raw from the needle and it was starting to scab over. Interesting how the scab is the same colour as the tattoo , William thought. Is it really safe to have it removed before the skin got a chance to heal? Surely I would have a scar from all the work being done to it. I think it would be better to wait. That way I can research some dermatologists and then make an appointment with a doctor I know is qualified. How? On the Web, I guess. What's the use of owning a computer company if I can't use something as simple as the Internet? William buttoned his shirt back up. Whew, it's hot out today. I guess I'll have to stay in long sleeves for a little while longer though.

William started the car and pulled out of the parking space. Besides, do you deserve to have it removed? It would serve as a fitting reminder of how bad you treated the woman you love. And her sister and your best friend. William grimaced at the thought of Elizabeth hating him.

"Please", he prayed, "please let my letter redeem me in someway. Even if it's just a little." William turned onto the tollway and headed home.

Chapter 27

Elizabeth sighed with exasperation. "Dad, can't you see how uncontrollable Lydia has become? If she goes to Virginia Beach she will only get herself into trouble. The Forresters won't be able to keep an eye on her like they should and you know how she is, Lydia never listens to anyone and she would be worse with them. I don't think it's a good idea."

Mr. Bennet smiled at his favorite daughter. "Lizzy, Lydia is very young. She will never be happy until she embarrasses herself in some public place or other. So let her. All young people do things which they will regret later in life (remember your car wash incident?)" Mr. Bennet laughed as Elizabeth looked away. "But, Lizzy, that's how we learn. Lydia has a lot of learning ahead of her."

"Dad, Lydia hasn't learned a thing so far."

"She will eventually. I hope. The Forresters are smart people. They would never let Lydia get into serious danger and, Lizzy, I would never get any peace around here if she doesn't go. You're lucky, you get to go to your apartment and relax and think while I would have to stay here and listen to Lydia whining about it. No, I think that everything will turn out just fine. You'll see, Lydia will come home just as spoiled and stupid as ever and that will be the end of it." Mr. Bennet gave Elizabeth a hug. He saw her concern but didn't really think Lydia was in too much danger.

Elizabeth was not convinced, as her father was that Lydia would stay out of trouble. She only needs just a little bit of encouragement to do something stupid and dangerous. She'll probably get arrested for shoplifting or something. Well, there's nothing I can do about it; Dad made up his mind.

Elizabeth went to the kitchen to get something to drink. Her mom was advising Lydia on which clothes to take. Elizabeth rolled her eyes at her mother's descriptions of what was in good taste.

"Now, Lydia, you should take your bikinis and a cover up. I dare say that you won't need more than that because you'll spend most of your time at the beach. But, I would also take a few dresses along, you never know who you'll meet and you will want to be presentable if the need arises."

So she can look like a slobby tramp the rest of the time? , Lizzy thought. This is going to be a disaster, I just know it. And it would figure that Lydia took Mom's advice seriously, too. Whatever. Elizabeth shook her head as she headed out of the kitchen, leaving her mother and Lydia to discuss the finer points of assesorizing in private.

Elizabeth celebrated the coming of summer by graduating from the Masters program. She had her new diploma and was thinking about what to do with it when her aunt and uncle gave her their graduation gift, a vacation sailing up the coast to New England.

Elizabeth was more than happy to get away from Ft Lauderdale for a few weeks. Life here was getting sterile and after her return from California, she found it hard to concentrate on everyday life. Her mind kept returning to that night at Charlotte's house and her letter. Elizabeth blamed herself for being so blind and prejudiced. She could not look back on her behavior towards George and William without cringing in shame.

Her aunt and uncle couldn't have come up with a better gift. Elizabeth regretted leaving her sister behind but since Jane was teaching summer school, it was impossible for her to come. Elizabeth counted the days until her departure and went out with her aunt to purchase the necessary items that the boat would need. And a few things that her aunt thought that Elizabeth might need, like oh, say a new bathing suit and perhaps a "very pretty dress that becomes you so well and since it was on sale I thought that I should get it for you because you never know when you might need to wear it and besides, I want you to have it." Elizabeth thanked her aunt and smiled at the thought that they were behaving in a similar manner as her mother and Lydia.

Elizabeth hoped that Lydia was behaving herself. Lydia left last Tuesday with the Forresters and she only called home twice since then. The first time was only to tell them that she had arrived safely and the second was a brief and ecstatic call to Katie informing her that "there were pilots here!" and the whole place was saturated with Marines and sailors. Elizabeth felt sorry for the military, there was no training that would prepare them for Lydia.

The day that was set for their departure was a brilliant sunny day. Elizabeth boarded the freshly varnished sailboat and stowed her belongings. She was grateful for this vacation and was counting upon it for clearing her muddled mind. After motoring down the intercoastal and through Port Everglades, they reached the Atlantic Ocean where they turned off the engine and unfurled the sails.

Once the sails were set and things were under control at the helm, Elizabeth relaxed with a book and marked time until it was her turn to steer. Leaning back against the railing, she closed her eyes and inevitably thought about William. She found that her feelings for him had definitely changed. There was no longer that disgust and abhorrence that she felt prior to her letter. Now she felt a gentle sort of esteem. A wanting to see him feeling but then again, not really because that would be too painful. A feeling of perhaps, good will and even a little gratitude for loving her enough to overcome his pride and propose to her no matter how wrong his pride had been. In short, Elizabeth discovered that she…liked him. How mortifying!

With these thoughts to occupy her time, she had no reason to bring along a book. In fact, Elizabeth got so preoccupied with thoughts of William and Charles and Jane that she was liable to steer them into a sandbar eventually.

Well, one thing was certain, I will probably never see him again. Why does that keep popping up in my head? What do I have to do to keep William Darcy out of my thoughts? Elizabeth wondered at the end of the fifth day out at sea. Well, they weren't continually out at sea. Her aunt and uncle planned stops along the coastline to sightsee and stretch their legs. So far they've been to three different states and were making steady progress up the East Coast.

The next day John Gardiner heard some distressing news over the radio. The tropical storm that had formed off the coast of Africa was now a full-blown hurricane and was gathering up steam. He informed his wife and niece about this new development and consulted with them about the best action to take. It would be folly to turn around and head home because the hurricane was headed for the South Carolina coast and they would sail straight into it. They could seek refuge somewhere along the coastline and wait until the storm had dissipated or they could try to outrun it by heading north.

A vote was taken and it was soon decided that the safest thing would be for them to find shelter somewhere a little farther north from their present position. So, with no more delay, the sailors hoisted another sail and sped to the coast off North Carolina fleeing the wrath of Hurricane Caroline.

Not part of the story: OK, as Liz pointed out it must be the effect of El Nino with all the storms cropping up on the BoI lately. And I just couldn't help myself with the name of the hurricane either. (grin) Gratuitous I know but (shrug).

Chapter 28 A Brief Interlude

Not part of the story: This is exactly what Ft Lauderdale Beach used to be like during Spring Break. Thankfully it's not like this anymore.

Lydia grinned as the wolf whistles accompanied her up the steps and onto the small outdoor stage. She did a slow turn and when her back was to the audience she leaned her head back and let the tip of her hair brush the top of her derriere. The men howled. The MC introduced another contestant amid whistles and yells. Lydia stood there as seductively as she could and waited for the judging to begin.

The MC called out, "All right gentleman!" More yells. "Let's pick the winner." Howls and feet stomping. The MC called out each girl's name and measured the loudness of the catcalls and whistles each girl received. He got to Lydia. ROAR!!! After going through the rest of the line the MC pronounced Lydia as the winner of the bikini contest and tucked a hundred dollar bill into her top. Lydia kissed him on the mouth. More howls from the crowd. Lydia did a brief victory walk and then got back down with the help from several volunteers from the audience. The MC announced the contestants for the belly flop contest.

Lydia discreetly tried to fix the bottom of her new bikini. Thongs are so uncomfortable. She went over to the sign up table and entered her name for the wet T-shirt contest. Another hundred bucks would be nice , she thought.

"I see you are entering the wet T-shirt contest." A voice said from behind her. Lydia turned her head but kept leaning over the table. Advertise advertise , she thought. Lydia smiled at the man who was standing behind her but he didn't notice, he was busy looking…elsewhere. Lydia shifted feet bringing a smile on the man's face.

"Yes, I'm entering. I need a shirt though." Lydia looked at the man's white shirt and then back at his face. The man smiled and stripped his shirt off and handed it to her. Lydia grinned and put it on. She unhooked her bra top and slid it through the armholes of the shirt. She handed it to him to hold for her.

"My name is Lydia." She said.

"George Wickham." The man smiled.

Lydia put the soaking shirt back on after the contest was over. She'd gotten nervous after she saw the second girl in the contest but a new strategy fixed the show in her favour. After her shirt was wet, Lydia took it off. It was a landslide victory. Lydia put the money she earned into her purse and tried to find George.

George found her first. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into a corner. Lydia squealed and kissed him. "You brought me luck", she said. George pinched her on the bottom and brought more squeals from Lydia.

"Listen, Do you want to blow off this place and go somewhere else?" George asked. Lydia nodded. He handed her the top to her bathing suit and she handed him his shirt. Lydia put the top back on.

"Where are we going?" She asked when she was done.

"Well, I have to meet an associate of mine around the corner but then I thought that we could go and, rest up." George leered at her.

"That sounds great, George." Lydia pulled on a pair of cut-offs and followed him out onto the street. He put his hand on her rump and guided her to the spot where his friend was waiting. Lydia watched as George gave the man a small packet and received a small envelope in return. "What was that all about?" She asked.

"Oh nothing to worry about, Lydia." George tucked the envelope into his back pocket and then kissed her. Just a little money that I earned by selling some military info, but you don't need to know that.

"Why don't we go get some Chinese and bring it back to my hotel room." Lydia offered. "My treat."

George smiled and led her to his car. He peeled out of the parking lot and didn't look back. Which was just as well for him because if he did he would have seen the unmarked car that followed.

Chapter 29

Elizabeth gave an anxious glance at the darkening sky overhead. The wind had picked up considerably and whipped her hair around her face. The sails were tied down and Mr. Gardiner was using the engine to guide them into harbour. The only good thing about this storm was that it kept her mind off of William. She was too busy securing the gear that wasn't already tied down or put away. Her uncle steered the boat into an open slip at a marina in Hatteras. Most of the boats were gone, having fled the hurricane. There was one boat left. It was a large sailing yacht and was docked a few piers down. Elizabeth wondered why it was still there. Perhaps the owners were caught by the hurricane too.

She jumped onto the dock and caught the rope that her aunt had thrown to her and tied the boat up. They all gave a sigh of relief at reaching land. The latest weather report said that the storm was headed for Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and that it would hit land in a few hours. Elizabeth went below to put some things away. We should have gone further north. I wish we had more time. Elizabeth went back on top and felt the stinging rain that was beginning to fall. She turned to look at the boat next to them and saw someone climb up the ladder from the water and onto the deck. He had a swim mask pushed on his forehead and was wearing a pair of swimming trunks. Elizabeth's gasp was carried away by the wind as she realized that it was William Darcy.

William is here? OhmigodwhatdoIdonow? Elizabeth couldn't tear her eyes away from William as he took off the mask from his head and shook the water from his hair. I should have let him kiss me more , she thought as her eyes took in every inch of him. Her mouth gaped. What was that on his arm? He has a tattoo? Elizabeth strained to see what his tattoo was but at this distance she couldn't make it out. It sort of looked like a heart with someone's name in it. Who's name? , her mind screamed.

William pulled himself up from the step and swung himself onto the boat. He'd just finished cutting off seaweed that had gotten caught on the engine prop and was about to take the boat back to his summerhouse that was further inland. Most of the boat's staff was already back at their homes preparing them for the hurricane that was about to fall on them so he did the job himself. He shook the water from his head and then he noticed that there was another boat still left. I thought every one had gone already. Then he noticed her. Elizabeth? Elizabeth here?, he thought incoherently. OnmigodwhatdoIdonow? William called out her name and he heard her faint answer through the wind. He was hurrying to go to her when he remembered his tattoo. Grabbing a towel he wrapped it around his shoulders and then walked over to her boat. Elizabeth met him part way. William wasn't sure if it was the wind or the impending storm or if was embarrassment but Elizabeth had the prettiest blush spreading across her cheeks.

Elizabeth was dumbfounded. What do I say to him? What do I say? "So, um…"

"So, ah…" William began. They each gave a nervous laugh. William began again. "Elizabeth, I, ah, didn't expect to see you here." I didn't expect to see you ever again.

"We weren't supposed to be here really. The hurricane drove us inland for a time." Elizabeth explained.

"Hurricane Caroline?" William grinned. "You were planning on staying here through the storm?" Elizabeth nodded. "It's not very safe. This area attracts storms like moths to light" Or like me to you, he thought.

Elizabeth looked worried. "Well there isn't anywhere else for us to go. We got as far as we could before coming here." Her aunt and uncle joined them. Not aware that their niece was in turmoil they entered into the conversation without trepidation. Understanding that they were in some danger, they immediately began to make plans to leave and try for a better place. Elizabeth was almost disappointed to leave but then what good would it do to stay?

William thought frantically. Elizabeth can't leave me so soon. Not when I jut found her again. Think man! "Would you like to join me at my house?" He asked. Elizabeth looked at him in surprise. "I have a summer place further inland and I would like for you to be my guests for as long as you like." Elizabeth's mouth went slack. Her aunt and uncle looked at each other and then at Elizabeth.

"We wouldn't want to inconvenience you, William." Mr. Gardiner said.

"It would be no inconvenience at all, I assure you. There's plenty of room for you and your boat and I would feel better knowing that you were safe with me than out here risking the storm." William insisted. After a few scruples to overcome on the part of the Gardiners and a few flutterings of Elizabeth's heart, they consented to follow William to his house.

William looked absolutely relieved and Elizabeth remembered the last time she'd seen that look on his face. It was the day she took a shower with her little cousin Zack. Why did I think so badly of him? Elizabeth turned to go back to boat but William stopped her.

"Elizabeth." She turned and looked at him. He was still clutching the towel and looked completely ridiculous standing there in the rain with that soaking wet towel wrapped around him. What did that tattoo say, anyway? , Elizabeth wondered.

"Would you accompany me, Elizabeth?" William asked. "On my boat, I mean."

"Well, I, ah." Elizabeth was surprised that he would want to be alone with her. Surely he does not love me still. Why does he want to talk to me alone. Is it because of Jane and Charles? "Yes, William, let me just tell my aunt that I'll be going with you and I'll be right back." Elizabeth hurried to the boat to let her mind go nuts in private and then she ran to tell her Aunt what she was doing.

Mrs. Gardiner was surprised but told her to be careful and that they would be following so there would be no need to worry about them. As Elizabeth left Mrs. Gardiner had a very curious look on her face. Why would Elizabeth willingly go with William Darcy when she dislikes him so much? Perhaps Elizabeth doesn't dislike him so much after all? Mrs. Gardiner smiled. The unconquerable Lizzy has a crush. Perhaps William likes her too. Why else would he offer his home to us so easily? She laughed to herself and went to help her husband with the boat's lines.

Elizabeth almost ran to William's boat but that would be unseemly. She did not run, but instead she walked very very fast. Her excuse being that, well, for one, it was raining and then, there was a hurricane out there so I can't dawdle. So she hurried to William's boat and she stopped at the gangplank waiting for permission to board. Where is he? I'm freezing. Elizabeth shivered and wrapped her arms around her chest. Finally William appeared with a shirt on and holding a jacket for her. He held it out for her to put on. Elizabeth slipped her arms through and fumbled with the buttons. Damn, why can't I button a simple jacket? Elizabeth tried twice before William took over and pushed the buttons through the buttonholes. He must have been a little nervous too because he got the first button hooked into the second buttonhole. Neither of them noticed and Elizabeth walked around with the jacket buttoned wrong for almost the entire day.

William started the engines asked Elizabeth to untie the boat's lines so they can get under way. When they were headed into Pamlico Sound and Elizabeth was sure that her aunt and uncle were following, Elizabeth looked up at William. He was standing at the helm with his feet spread apart and seemed to have forgotten that she was there. Elizabeth started swiveling her seat. Squeak squeak squeak. She looked back towards her aunt and uncle, they seemed to be talking but she couldn't be sure. She looked up at William again. He was concentrating on steering.

William was very aware of Elizabeth but he was trying so hard not to say something stupid that he forgot to say anything at all. Well, you got her here, Will, now show her how you've changed. Still he was silent.

"Where are we headed?" Elizabeth finally asked. Shouted really, the wind had picked up and the whining of the engines made talking at a normal tone of voice impossible.

"We're going to my house, it's in Bath just up the river from here. We should be quite safe there unless the hurricane decides to take a little trip up north."

"I'd like to thank you for offering us your home. I wouldn't want to put you to any trouble." Elizabeth said.

"It's my pleasure. I, uh, have other guests also." William gulped for breath. "Charles Bingley and his sister." They were silent for a while; probably remembering the last time Charles' name was mentioned between them. Elizabeth looked away from William's face and down at her hands. They were cold so she shoved them in her pockets. "My sister, Georgie, is also there. I'd like for you to meet her." William tentatively glanced at Elizabeth's face.

"I'd like that too." Elizabeth was floored. What brought on this change in William? Was he just being polite or was he sincere? Or was he always like this but I never noticed because I was to busy hating him? She met his eye trying to reassure herself that William was standing there guiding the boat and this wasn't some dream. He was there. She smiled at him.

William's heart started beating again as he saw her smile. Funny, I didn't even know that it stopped. William was starting to relax when Elizabeth said something that made his heart stop again.

"I didn't know you had a tattoo."

Chapter 30

"I didn't know you had a tattoo."

Elizabeth saw William's face grow red and self-conscious. Whose name was on it? Did he meet someone else? Elizabeth thought with a sinking feeling. Oh, Elizabeth, now you're just being crazy. You rip the man apart, scorn him, call him names then refuse his proposal and you're jealous of someone he might or might not have met afterwards? Do you honestly think that he waited to run into you again on the hope that you would give him a second chance? Nope. Elizabeth was on the verge of panicking.

William bit his lower lip as he frantically tried to think of a reply to Elizabeth. His voice wavered as he hesitantly replied, "I, ah, hrrmmm, was going to have it removed soon. It was a…mistake to get it and I, uh, shouldn't have done it." He couldn't look at her so he didn't see the confused expression that came over her face. Did she see what it said? Does she know? Why? Why did you wait to have it removed, you fool! He stood as stiff as a board and stared straight ahead. He was on the verge of panicking. Think of something to say. Change the subject. Change it!

Have it removed? So is it an old girlfriend's name? Does he have a new girlfriend and wants to get rid of it because of her? Elizabeth didn't know what to think. She knew it was delusional of her to hope that William was still in love with her but still she held that small bit of hope in her heart. And that made her all the more confused because she didn't know why she wanted him to love her. This is dumb, you're jealous of a tattoo!

William was pretty sure that Elizabeth didn't see what his artwork said but he couldn't be positive. So as soon as he saw his home, he breathed a sigh of relief and pointed it out to her. "There it is. That's Pemberley."

Elizabeth looked to where he was pointing and saw a beautiful mansion placed high above the water line and surrounded by tall oaks and willows. The lawn stretched out to the river and met with a thin line of white sand that was being pummeled by the wild river. Elizabeth was amazed at the size and age of the house itself. This is his summer home? It's Tara! Elizabeth speculated on what his regular home looked like and couldn't help but think that if she hadn't been so blindly prejudiced she might have been the mistress of it all. But, then, she saved herself from this thought by remembering Jane and Charles and William's role in that fiasco.

William turned to ask Elizabeth if she liked his home and before she could say much beyond the words delightful and charming, she stopped and blushed furiously with embarrassment. Elizabeth looked away, only to be splashed in the face by an oncoming wave caused by the fierce storm and the wake of William's boat. She coughed and sputtered and wiped her eyes.

William suppressed his laugh and steered the boat to the dock. It's about time she gets a little wet, he thought. "I hope you didn't swallow any of that?"

Elizabeth recovered herself and shook her head. She jumped out onto the dock and helped tie up the lines then helped her aunt and uncle. When everyone was finished securing the boats William led them towards his house. They carried as much as they could from the boats just in case the storm got too much for them to stay afloat and William said that he would send someone out to bring the rest when they got in. Elizabeth looked all around her and gazed at the house. There was a lot to divert her attention but her eyes kept returning to that one profile that had been haunting her for months. Once she caught his eyes resting on her face but he looked away as soon as she noticed. There was a knot in her throat.

They relinquished their belongings to the servants who ran out to meet their employer. These people had volunteered to stay through the storm and they soon regretted that they had done so, for the Barracuda was within. The people that worked for William Darcy loved and respected him but even Mrs. Reynolds, the housekeeper that was with the family for years, was ready to quit because placating the Barracuda was not in her job description. The servants were about to revolt if the Barracuda didn't clean up her act.

"Where is he?" Could be heard echoing through the house even over the terrible winds. "He said he'd be back in a few hours but it's been all day!" Elizabeth could hear someone stomping on the hardwood floors.

William gave a heavy sigh and looked at Elizabeth. She knew that Caroline was in a "mood" and that nothing short of a proposal from William would put her out of it. Elizabeth smiled reassuringly and tried to show him that she was willing to put up with Caroline and her tantrums. William smiled back and putting his fingers to his lips he slooowly turned the doorknob and very gently opened it a crack. He peeked in and saw that Caroline was looking out the window, looking for him, which was stupid since the river was on the other side of the house. Charles was sitting in a chair and trying to read. William very gently closed the door again and turned to Elizabeth.

William led them into the library. The books were taken off the shelves for the hurricane and the walls were bare of pictures and the windows were taped and shuttered but Elizabeth saw that it was a handsome room. William invited them to sit down and rest while the bedrooms were being made ready. Elizabeth gingerly sat down feeling very awkward. William was in his element here and she was out of place. Elizabeth couldn't help but look at William. She felt ashamed of it, but she couldn't help but wonder at his transformation. From being the proud arrogant bastard that she thought he was, he became a respected considerate tender man . Elizabeth was in awe.

Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner felt the electricity between their niece and their host but did not say anything. They only observed the game of staring tag that William and Elizabeth played, each looking away as the other met a pair of eyes filled with wonder and longing. And they observed that while William was clearly in love, Elizabeth was in struggling.

Mr. Gardiner was about to suggest that he and his wife go freshen up to give the kids a chance to be alone when the library door was suddenly flung open accompanied by a blinding white crack of lightning and an angry rumble of thunder. A lone figure stood in the doorway but until their eyes readjusted from the lightning strike they could only see a black shadow of a body. But William and Elizabeth knew who it was right away, it was Caroline. She stood there with one hand holding the door open and the other balled into a fist at her side. "There you are!"

"William, you're back." Caroline said as lightly as her tensed up mouth would let her. When she'd heard that William returned, Caroline was relieved. Relieved until she'd found out that he brought along some guests and livid when she found out who those guests were. Elizabeth Bennet! Of all the people in all the world, she has to barge in on me and try to steal William away. I wish she'd drown.

"Hello, Caroline." Elizabeth said brightly. "I see you haven't changed a bit. Just the same lovely Caroline I knew before."

Caroline glared at her and said a flat hello. Then she whined at William. "William you must come to dinner now. We've been waiting for over an hour for you."

"I'm sorry to hear that you waited. Why don't you and Charles go ahead to the dining room? I'll see my guests to their rooms and get Georgie and we'll join you in a moment." William's voice told Caroline that argument was useless. Willing Elizabeth to disappear, Caroline turned around and stalked away taking with her all the tension that was in the room before.

"Whew, I never realized how aptly named this hurricane is." Mr. Gardiner said. "What's wrong with her?"

William and Elizabeth glanced at each other and he started to chuckle. "Nothing that a ring and a date wouldn't cure, Mr. Gardiner. But that doesn't look like it'll happen anytime in the future."

Elizabeth turned away at his words. Overcome with embarrassment she didn't say anything else until William showed her their rooms. He led them up a grand staircase and through a long hallway. Showing Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner their room first William then led Elizabeth to hers. He opened the door and looking in she saw that a maid was still putting the sheets on the bed. Elizabeth smiled and walked in. William stood in the doorway for a minute watching Elizabeth before going to look for his sister.

Elizabeth felt useless standing there while someone else made up her bed so she went to one end and started to help the maid tuck in the sheet. "These are lovely." Elizabeth said as she felt the soft texture of the cloth. The sheets were embroidered with a delicate white lily design and the ends of the pillow cases and top sheet had been crocheted. She grabbed a pillow and started to put the case on.

"Yes, they are. They are family heirlooms, about a century old and are rarely used. Normally these sheets are used only on wedding nights but Mr. Darcy instructed me to use them tonight." The maid gave Elizabeth a nervous glance then took the duvet and covered the bed and the beautiful sheets. The maid left the room leaving Elizabeth standing in the middle of the room with a pillow in one hand and the pillowcase in the other and a stunned look on her face.

Chapter 31

Not part of the story: A very special thanks to Alice, Kat, Rachel, Cassie, Liz, LisaRenee, Jimmy, and Laura for help and suggestions on this and the next chapter. And a note to Laura, hrrmmm, no, not yet.

illiam pulled the fresh shirt over his head and let it fall down the rest of the way. He debated on whether or not he should bother tucking it in and wearing a belt but decided not to. The hurricane didn't care how he was dressed why should he? He looked toward the wall where Elizabeth's room was. He had her moved next to his room so he could be as close to her as possible. He knew that it was as close as he would get when it came to sleeping arrangements and Elizabeth. He wanted to show Elizabeth that he'd changed but he couldn't resist this one temptation. William passed a hand over his eyes at the thought of her being so near. Did she notice that I'm trying? Did she know that I wasn't offering my home out of politeness but because I still love her? Did she see? William was startled out of his meditation by a knock on the door. "Come in."

The door opened and Georgianna peeked around the corner. "I'm glad you made it safely, Will. Did you have a hard time?"

William smiled at his sister. "Not too bad, Georgie. I did bring some guests with me though. Would you like to meet them?"

Georgianna nodded tentatively. William held her hand and led her to Elizabeth's room. He knocked on the door. He had to knock twice before Elizabeth answered.

"It's just me." William waited nervously as he heard a soft "Oh" came from with in. He looked down at Georgianna and smiled trying to give her the confidence he didn't feel himself.

Elizabeth snapped out of her reverie and opened the door. She saw William standing there with a young girl. Elizabeth smiled at her and waited as William introduced his sister. She could see that Georgianna was shy and inexperienced and so she gave as warm a greeting as she could. Georgianna saw that Elizabeth was holding a pillow and noticed the case.

"Oh, Great Grandma's sheets! " Georgianna smiled shyly and didn't notice the look of mortification on her brother's face or the flush on Elizabeth's cheeks. William took the pillow from Elizabeth and put it on the bed smoothing an invisible crease. He turned and looked at Elizabeth who smiled softly. William's face relaxed at once and he became friendly and at ease again.

Georgianna watched the whole performance with confusion. Why did William let Elizabeth use these sheets? Surely we can't be out of our regular ones. Georgianna couldn't help but stare at her brother and Elizabeth. William led the way through the hall and back down the stairs. With the window shutters closed the house was unnaturally dark. Candles were placed on every surface in of a power outage.

Elizabeth walked with Georgianna who asked small polite questions about how she'd come to North Carolina. Elizabeth answered them with a light chatter to make Georgianna feel comfortable around her. She told her of how the Gardiners gave her this vacation as a graduation present and that their own children were distributed at camp or Grandma's house. Georgianna relaxed visibly by the time they walked into the dining room and was even laughing at an anecdote that Elizabeth was relating about Billy Collins when Caroline appeared out of nowhere and snaked an arm through Georgianna's.

"Georgie, I was so worried about you. I hope that all this rain and thunder hasn't scared you too much." Caroline said with a honeyed voice. Georgianna hung her head and submitted to Caroline reluctantly. Caroline threw a triumphant glance at Elizabeth and sat down next to the head of the table with her victim in tow. Caroline looked expectantly at William to take his place at her side but was dismayed to find that Mrs. Gardiner had plans to sit at the head of the table herself. She glared at the presumptuous woman and silently cursed her. Mrs. Gardiner only smiled and made small talk with Georgianna trying to bring her out of her shell.

William was thankful for Mrs. Gardiner's sacrifice. William held out a chair for Elizabeth. She gingerly sat down and let him push the chair in for her aways. He then sat down next to her and then proceeded to think of a lot of subjects to talk about but didn't have the courage to bring up. The entire dinner was a rather dull affair and the only ones who were able to contribute to the conversation were Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner and Charles. William joined in occasionally but was so intent on Elizabeth that he often forgot to say anything at all.

The wind had picked up while they were eating and there were power shortages every so often just to make things livelier. The power didn't go out completely until an hour after they had finished dinner and when it did it was with such a crashing violence that Georgianna let a small scream escape from her lips. William went to his sister to hold her and comfort her while Caroline rushed to William to hold him and comfort herself.

The candles were lit by Mrs. Reynolds and soon the room was awash in the flickering glow of soft candlelight. Mrs. Reynolds then started to leave but was taken aback by the scene before her. She saw William holding his sister and soothing her fears and that Elizabeth and Mrs. Gardiner and Charles were all sitting down in their seats, but that Caroline had hopped up in Mr. Gardiner's lap. Poor Mr. Gardiner was frozen with surprise and looked helplessly at his wife trying to convey that this was most definitely not his idea. Caroline did not even know of her predicament for her eyes were closed. The room was silent and Elizabeth, trying to hold in her laughter, was determined to see exactly how long Caroline would stay in Mr. Gardiner's lap.

It wasn't for very long because Mr. Gardiner cleared his throat and politely asked Caroline to vacate her seat. Caroline's eyes flew open when she heard his voice and she turned the most amazing shade of red that Elizabeth had ever seen. Caroline jumped off and sat down next to her brother, deep humiliation written on her face, and she couldn't look up as she explained that she thought she'd gone to her brother when the power went out. The rest heard the lie and pretended to accept it. They knew that Caroline would never admit that she was rushing to William and made a horrendous blunder. They pretended to forget about the whole incident and except for a few snickers that escaped every now and then, it was.

Elizabeth was highly amused and she thought that the restraint she just showed towards Caroline should earn her an Academy Award. William was also amused but he had been embarrassed too. Just when he'd gotten Georgianna calmed down, there was a sickening creaking noise followed by a load splintering crash. William thought that a tree had fallen down and was worried about the stables. Elizabeth only thought one word, stables? She was anxious for William and was grateful to her aunt who asked him not to go out in the storm for even though they weren't getting the full brunt of the storm things were pretty bad out there. Bad enough to knock down a tree at least. William assured her that he would only go out onto the veranda and would be back shortly. Elizabeth got up to follow him out and Caroline, determined not to let Elizabeth and William alone together did likewise. Georgianna put the batteries in the portable radio and turned it on wanting to hear the latest coordinates of the hurricane.

William, Elizabeth, and Caroline trundled out of the room and walked into the dimly lit corridor. He slid open the pocket doors partway, the wind blowing out the candles as he did so and he went outside. Peering into the distance he could make out that the stables were still standing but the gazebo was flattened. Breathing a sigh of relief, he walked to the end of the long porch to survey the damage on that side of the house.

He just had time to quickly look about before he was dodging a tree that was hurling down upon him. It came crashing down on the porch roof and splintered it into pieces and took off a sizable chunk of the deck. William lay on the floor in shock, a branch had torn through his shoulder and he was bleeding profusely. He got up and stumbled back to the house holding his arm, trying to stop the bleeding. Elizabeth rushed forward to help but Caroline jumped out of the way not wanting to get blood on her. Elizabeth was busy fighting William's hands off and trying to take off William's shirt. William was busy trying to fight off Elizabeth's hands and trying to keep his shirt on all the while protesting that it was only a scratch and he only needed to find some peroxide to clean it out. Elizabeth briskly told him to sit down and he followed her orders, sitting on the cold hard floor and leaned up against the wall. Elizabeth had to literally straddle his legs in order to get him to stop is struggle, and she was finally able to finish unbuttoning his shirt, she slapped his hand away and grasped his collar. She pulled the wet shirt off his shoulders and used it to clean the wound so she could see how much damage was done. The blood had poured down his arm covering it up to his elbow.

Elizabeth was using the almost constant lightning to see by and the whole room was illuminated with a lazy strobe-like atmosphere. William's face was drawn and pale from the loss of blood and his eyes were sunken hollows. Elizabeth reassured him as she tenderly wiped away the blood. The shoulder was cut diagonally across starting from the top and worked it's way to the his back. Fortunately it was not deep and Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief. She noticed that Caroline was hovering somewhere close by and asked her to get Mrs. Reynolds to bring some bandages. Caroline just stood there with her mouth in a twisted grimace, the shadows on her face contrasting sharply against the paleness of her skin. Elizabeth asked her again to bring Mrs. Reynolds but Caroline just pointed at William. Thinking that William was hurt somewhere else Elizabeth turned toward William and came face to face with his tattoo. Her eyes widened with shock as she read her name on his shoulder. She softly touched it and searched William's eyes for the answer of her silent question, "why". William timidly met her eyes and she saw the pain in them before he looked away to face the wall. He couldn't look at her. Not like this.

Footsteps could be heard down the hall heading in their direction and Elizabeth only had time to cover the tattoo up with the ragged shirt before Mr. Gardiner strode in the room. Mr. Gardiner hurried over to help and before everyone knew it, the whole room was flooded with people. Mrs. Reynolds came quickly giving orders for William's shoulder, while William had recovered enough presence of mind to start protesting this treatment, "It's only a scratch. I'll be fine." He shrugged off any further assistance and pulled himself to his feet. With one parting glance at Elizabeth, he excused himself and went upstairs to his room holding the bloodied shirt against his arm.

Chapter 32

Not part of the story: Caroline is not in this chapter. She will be in the next chapter. Thanks to all the ladies that I mentioned at the start of Chapter 31. Aja and Rie, there is a little blood in this but not much. Here's some chocolate to fortify yourselves with. One minor author's note, I'm still blushing. No, not yet, Laura.

Elizabeth felt faint until she saw William leave the room. She got up and followed him slowly up the stairs to his room. She was surprised to find that it was the one next to hers but then, this evening was full of surprises. When she got to the door, Elizabeth hesitated. What am I going to say? "You presumptuous SOB, were you planning on branding your name on me when we got married?" When we got married? Elizabeth shook her head. I don't know why or when he did it but it's done and yelling is useless. Elizabeth took a breath, knocked on the door and opened it.

Elizabeth walked in and closed the door behind her. Someone had already come in and lit a few candles in the room but not enough to banish the dark corners. Elizabeth looked all around the spacious room but couldn't see William. She was just about to go in further when William came out of an adjoining room wrapping a towel around his hips. Elizabeth felt her body react to his presence, oh my goodness . William's face displayed the shock he felt at seeing her in his room. "Elizabeth!"

Elizabeth started when she saw him come out. She stared at the towel then coloured, averting her eyes. William stood rooted to the spot, his hands dangling by his sides. "Elizabeth!" He repeated. Elizabeth looked at his worn face and tried to smile. She failed miserably when she saw that his shoulder was still bleeding. Frowning, she walked over to him and inspected it. The cut was oozing. "Where's your bathroom?" She asked. William pointed to where he'd just emerged. Elizabeth led him into the room and made him sit down on the toilet. She rummaged around his medicine cabinet taking out items and putting them on the sink counter until she found what she was looking for.

Sighing heavily she asked him if there was a flashlight. William directed her to his nightstand and she quickly fetched it. Elizabeth found a clean washcloth told William to hold it against the wound and then left to bring in some candles. When she had as much light as she could get she had William hold the flashlight up so she could see what she was doing. Elizabeth's heart was racing as she cleaned off the blood and she found that she couldn't bring herself to bring up the one subject that had brought her up here in the first place. Instead she kept directing William to "Hold still." or "Bring the light up a little bit more. There that's it." And "Oh, stop whining you big baby, it doesn't hurt that much."

The candles cast flickering shadows on William's face and Elizabeth saw his eyes drawn towards her just as her eyes were drawn towards him. She could hear the wind outside howling.

William's thoughts were in chaos from the moment Elizabeth had discovered the tattoo. He didn't know what to do only that he had to get out of her sight as quickly as possible. The thought of Caroline seeing it only made matters worse and he just wanted to crawl in a hole and stay there for the rest of his life, which wouldn't be for very much longer when Elizabeth got a hold of him. So when he walked out of his bathroom and found Elizabeth standing there, in his room, seeking him out, he knew that he was a goner. He'd only had time to be thankful that he'd bothered to wrap the towel around himself before walking out or things would have been worse and worse was hard to imagine right now.

He was astonished when Elizabeth started to minister to his cut. He submitted without a word and let her tend to him, relishing every burning tingling touch she gave him and cursing himself for it. Elizabeth is only being concerned, as she would be for anyone. She likes her dog more than she likes you.

She taped a bandage to the cut and he gave out a sigh of relief. "What were you using, gasoline?" He complained.

Elizabeth held up the bottle of rubbing alcohol and started to clean up. "It's a nasty cut but not deep. I don't think you'll need stitches, but you might want a doctor to check it out. You got off lucky."

"I know." William said looking at her. Elizabeth, evading him, took the flashlight and went to his closet and picked out a shirt. She walked over to William and held it out for him. He took it started to put it on but his arm was stiff and the bandage got in the way so Elizabeth took the shirt and leaning over, slid it carefully over his sore arm. She brought the shirt around his back and saw the tattoo again. She'd been avoiding it the entire time she was playing nurse. She softly traced it with her finger.

William started to speak. "Elizabeth, I…"

"No. No, it's…it's OK. I don't know why or when, but it's OK." Elizabeth spoke softly realizing that his face was closer than she thought.

William reached out and took her hand forcing himself to look into her eyes. "Elizabeth, I'm sorry. I never meant to let anyone see it. I've been on long sleeves the whole summer because of it." Elizabeth looked and indeed he did have a weird tan line stopping in a Vee on his chest. "I got it by accident. In fact, I wasn't… entirely…um, sober when I did. I apologize."

"It's OK, William." Elizabeth said again. Her heart was beating wildly and she vaguely wondered if his was doing the same. William stood up still one hand holding onto hers and the other keeping the towel wrapped around his waist. Elizabeth looked straight at his chest. Her lips felt dry and cracked so she licked them. William took a deep breath and brought his hand up to her face and softly touched the side of her face. Elizabeth closed her eyes as his hand slowly cupped her cheek, the touch was exquisite. "Elizabeth, I never wanted to hurt you." She nodded, eyes still closed trying to hold back a tear that was threatening to break loose. She could hear the violence of the storm pounding the house with all its might.

William slowly leaned in and brought his lips to hers. He brushed them lightly with his mouth and then as her lips parted, he kissed her in a long mad tortuous kiss that seemed like it would never be enough for either of them. Elizabeth held onto William as he slowly brought his other hand up her arm and mingled his fingers with her hair. The towel was on the verge of extinction when it was saved from its fate by a sharp knocking at the door.

Knock knock knock.

William reluctantly let go of Elizabeth and sent out a ragged breath. He grabbed his towel before it could go AWOL and silently cursed. "Yes!" He said sharply. The door opened and Mrs. Reynolds came in bearing a tray of sandwiches and juice. William went into the bedroom to help her but she shrugged him off. She noticed the towel and the shirt that was half on one arm and dangling helplessly at his elbow.

"I'm sorry to disturb you while you are dressing, but I thought you might be a little hungry so I brought up something for you to snack on." She put the tray on the table in his room. "Is there anything that I can get for you, Sir?"

"Thank you, Mrs. Reynolds, no. I'm fine. Thank you for the snack." William did his best to keep his voice from betraying his agitated state of mind. He held the door open for his housekeeper and saw her out closing the door gently behind her. He retucked his towel and finished putting on the shirt as he went to where Elizabeth was standing. She had her hand to her mouth and her eyes were still closed. She was breathing hard and trembling.

"Elizabeth?" William asked concerned. She opened her eyes as he said her name and he saw a single tear slip away and fall down her cheek. She turned and ran out of the room.

William cursed himself. How could you do that you imbecile? Why did you have to go and kiss her like that? Why did you have to force her again? Why couldn't you just apologize to her and leave her be. You saw how much she hated you. She'll never love you. Face the fact, William, you're going to die a lonely old man and it's all your fault. The scream that was building in his throat became a hard lump. It's over.

Chapter 33

Posted Tuesday, 21-Jul-98

Not part of the story: Sheesh. I'm sorry, but I had this plan worked out for Caroline really sticking it to her but Peg and her story gave me a change of heart so I changed it to this completely lame version.

Caroline was stunned into disbelief. When that tree knock William down she saw all her future disappear. She thought it had killed him and then she would never be able to spend his money or fly to exotic locations in his plane or throw wild and lavish parties. But then, she saw him get up! William wasn't dead! He was only hurt a little. Caroline was weak with relief. Until he came too close to her bleeding on the ground like that. Caroline had just bought these shoes and blood was the last thing she needed on them. But then it happened. The topper! The topper was not that Elizabeth was playing Florence Nightingale to William. The topper was not that Elizabeth was practically sitting on top of William forcing him to let her touch him (and Elizabeth can't keep her dirty hands off him, Caroline thought bitterly). The topper was that abomination on William's arm. That tattoo! Caroline was furious. She'd never been so humiliated in all her life. Well, that tattoo was going. It was going if she had to rip it off his arm with her teeth.

Caroline left the group that was huddled around the doorway to the veranda discussing the fallen tree and how lucky William was to not be seriously hurt. She stalked off and after a few wrong turns found the kitchen. She grabbed a bottle of wine. Rummaging around the drawers and hitting her knuckles on bits of items that were scattered in them, Caroline finally found what she was looking for, the corkscrew. Caroline jabbed it into the cork twisting it savagely, imagining that she was twisting Elizabeth Bennet's neck all the while. The cork came out with a dull "pop" and Caroline took a swig straight from the bottle.

Caroline took the bottle upstairs with her and plopped down on the bed. She felt so sorry for herself. All that hard work and for nothing. It's not fair! It's just not fair! What am I going to do now? She wondered. I can't give up. I have to keep on trying. D**n it! My name should have been on that tattoo! Caroline downed some more wine.

Caroline let the lullaby of the screaming winds sing her to sleep. Just not fair. Just…not…fair.

Elizabeth was sobbing on her bed. The whole amazing day just caught up to her and that kiss sent her over the edge. "What must he think of me now" She kept repeating to herself. "You stupid, stupid girl." Elizabeth wanted to scream. She wanted to go home. She wanted to go and knock on William's door. She wanted…she didn't know what she wanted. She only knew that right now she was miserable and it was her own fault for being so weak. Oh my G-d! Elizabeth, do you realize what you were about to do? Elizabeth shook with dismay. I was going to just abandon myself to him. What's become of you, Elizabeth?

William sat down on the bed and put his head in his hands. She had been so close to him. So close that he could taste her, he had tasted her, and then she was ripped away from him by his own thoughtlessness. William cursed again.

Outside the wind was finally dying down and became a low moaning breeze. William pulled on a pair of pants and slipped on some shoes. He walked out of his room with out any thought to where he might go. He wandered around the house making sure that it was still standing. The only damage to the house itself seemed to be to the porch on the East Side. It would be very lucky indeed if that were all the damage that was sustained that night.

William walked aimlessly and finally found himself in the library. He stood there staring at the spot Elizabeth had occupied. He went over and sat down, wanting to be near something that she'd touched. Something that had a part of her in it.

Elizabeth did kiss me back. I could feel it. G-d how I could feel it, but then she ran away from me. I've never been so disturbed in all my life. William rubbed his eyes. He was so tired and his arm hurt and Elizabeth was here and now everything was just hopelessly jumbled. D**n it! It's not over! She means too much to me to let this chance pass me by. Do something, William! He got up grabbed the radio and some CD's and went upstairs.

William stopped just outside Elizabeth's door, hoping that she would miraculously throw it open and rush into his arms and agree to marry him and be his forever. He'd never let her go, then. He'd cherish every moment he had with her and go mad when she wasn't nearby. He was going mad now just thinking about her. William let out a sigh and opened the door to his room. He paused there too, with more vain wishes that did not come true outside of fairy tales.

The wind had almost completely died down and water droplets could be heard splashing in the puddles outside. William opened up the window and poked his head outside. The night was magnificent. The sky was clear and the stars were shining so brightly. William breathed in the air and tasted the rain that lingered on it. He stepped out onto the roof of the terrace and marveled at how the world could go on when his life was in shambles. William grabbed the radio and dragged it over to Elizabeth's window.

What am I doing?, he thought. He put in the CD and pressed play. Clearing his throat, William began to sing softly to himself.

Love I get so lost, sometimes
days pass and this emptiness fills my heart
when I want to run away
I drive off in my car
but whichever way I go
I come back to the place you are

Elizabeth sat up when she heard the noises from outside her window. She quickly jumped off the bed and tiptoed across the floor. She could make out a person sitting with his back against the wall and the soft notes of music came through the window.

all my instincts, they return
and the grand facade, so soon will burn
without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside

Elizabeth felt the butterflies in her stomach wake up and start flying around wildly. He's singing! She strained and concentrated. Yes, faintly, through he glass, she could hear William's voice mingled with the song. Elizabeth closed her eyes. Here's my chance. How do I tell him that I'm sorry? That I forgive him. That I…miss him and I want to get to know him better. That my feelings went from utter disgust to something else? I like him so much now. I think I know what I want now but I only have to think about it just a little bit more. Only a little. Will he understand?

in your eyes
the light the heat
in your eyes
I am complete
in your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
in your eyes
the resolution of all the fruitless searches
in your eyes
I see the light and the heat
in your eyes
oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light
the heat I see in your eyes

William's voice grew fainter. Elizabeth's eyes shot open in a panic. Please don't stop! She took up the next verse and softly sang back, their voices merging together.

love, I don't like to see so much pain
so much wasted and this moment keeps slipping away
I get so tired of working so hard for our survival
I look to the time with you to keep me awake and alive

William heard Elizabeth singing back and wanted to rush over to her and tell her everything that was in his heart. But he restrained himself. Don't rush things, William. You've been rushing her the whole time you've known her and look where it's gotten you. Rejected, scorned, scarred, tattooed, humiliated, and now you're singing like a fool outside her window. William Darcy, have you no pride? William asked himself. But she's singing back! William stood up and put his hand on her window. Elizabeth drew back the curtain and looked into his eyes. She put her hand up on the pane to meet his and they stood there like that for minutes on end. Staring and touching through the glass, singing someone else's words but meaning every bit of it as if they had written the lyrics themselves.

and all my instincts, they return
and the grand facade, so soon will burn
without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside in your eyes
the light the heat
in your eyes
I am complete
in your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
in your eyes
the resolution of all the fruitless searches
in your eyes
I see the light and the heat
in your eyes
oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light,
the heat I see in your eyes
in your eyes in your eyes
in your eyes in your eyes
in your eyes in your eyes

Elizabeth brought her finger to her lips, kissed it and pressed it against the glass. William quickly did the same. William mouthed the word "breakfast?" and Elizabeth smiled and nodded her head. She wondered for a moment if he was talking about her or to her. She turned around letting the curtain fall back into place. She slipped on her sandals and went to the door. The sounds of heavy thuds could be heard in the next room starting from his open window then through the room accompanied by the sound of a chair being knocked over and finally coming to a halt at the door.

William was standing outside her door rubbing his elbow when Elizabeth opened it. She looked incredulously at him and blinked not believing that he'd run the whole way to her door. "Um, do you always walk around with your shirt unbuttoned?" She asked.

William looked down and gave a small laugh. "No, only when it rains." He started to button his shirt up as they walked. "Do you mind if I get Georgie up? I think she'll like an early breakfast too." And right now there's no way I can be alone with you without going crazy. Elizabeth gave her approval and William knocked on his sister's door and asked her down to breakfast. Georgianna said she'd be down in a moment.

He showed Elizabeth into the kitchen and toggled the light switch. The power was still out. William dragged out a grill and he and Elizabeth brought it outside rolling it down the lawn and lifted it over fallen branches and debris using the moonlight and the stars as light. "Where are we going?" Elizabeth asked. She was breathless from the long walk and from having to do most of the work because of William's hurt arm.

"Just to the dock if it's still there." William dragged the grill an inch further. He paused and looked back towards the house. "There's Georgie." Elizabeth looked and saw William's sister walking towards them carrying a box. Elizabeth and William just made it to the dock when Georgianna caught up to them and helped lift the grill up the stairs.

Elizabeth stopped to catch her breath. The dock seemed to weather the storm pretty good and the boats were still afloat, that was good too. "OK, I give up. Why did we drag that monster of a grill all the way out here in the dark?"

"It's sort of an old tradition. My father used to cook us breakfast on the beach or by the river and we'd watch the sun come up while we ate. Georgie and I still do it sometimes but not as often as we'd like." William rummaged through the box that Georgianna brought and pulled out frying pan and put it on the grill.

Elizabeth thought that this was a sweet tradition but didn't say anything about there being two perfectly good boats here with two perfectly good galleys in them making the grill absolutely unnecessary. She helped prepare the food and soon the smell of coffee and frying bacon was wafting through the air. The sun started to come up over the horizon spilling light out over the treetops and washing the trio in a gentle glow.

Elizabeth had never seen a morning so beautiful. She put her chin in the palm of her hand and watched the sun rise up over the trees. It was worth the effort of dragging the grill all the way out here. She looked at William and saw that he was staring at her over the cup of coffee he held to his lips. She smiled a bit and realized that she no longer minded it. In fact, she welcomed it. How extraordinary.

She and Georgianna talked about her school and the courses that she was taking the next semester and the conversation soon turned to music, Georgianna's passion. William looked at his two people he loved most in the world getting to know one another. He looked proudly at his sister who was making an effort to talk to Elizabeth and he looked adoringly at Elizabeth who seemed to understand Georgianna's shy personality. William was happier than he'd been in a long time. That is until he saw Caroline storming towards them.

Caroline had rushed out of the house the moment she looked outside her window and saw that William was with Elizabeth and headed as fast as she could to separate them. There she is with my man horning in on my opportunity to show William how desirable I would be. Shoving me out of the way and snatching him out of my finger tips. And just when I was so close! Caroline dimly remembered the tattoo but dismissed it as being irrelevant. I'm the one he needs, not that Bennet tramp.

She climbed the stairs to the dock two at a time and screeched to a halt at the table. "This looks so lovely, William, how thoughtful of you to prepare breakfast." She sat down and belligerently crossed her arms in front of her. "Pass me the coffee, Georgianna, like a good girl." Georgianna silently set the coffeepot down on front of Caroline. "Thank you, honey. Where's my cup?"

"We only brought three." William said coldly.

Caroline flushed at this. "Well, I'll just have to use yours then." William tossed out the coffee that was still left in his mug and handed it to her." Caroline hummed to herself as she poured out a cup. "So, Elizabeth, I was very surprised to see you yesterday. Although, I know how much you like to sail. Or is it just the sailors that you like? Tell me, have you heard from Mr. Wickham lately?" Caroline stirred the coffee, driving William nuts with the clinking sound that the spoon made against the sides of the cup.

Elizabeth slowly lifted her eyes and looked at Caroline and wondered if sailboats still had yardarms so she could string Caroline up. "No, I haven't." She replied casually. "I never wanted to." Seeing that Georgianna was mortified at Caroline's words she wanted to get her out of that women's sight as soon as possible. "Georgie, I heard your brother mention that you had some stables yesterday. Would you show me where the they are?"

Georgianna nodded her head and quickly got up avoiding her brother's eyes. She almost ran down to steps and halted there waiting for Elizabeth. She couldn't face her brother after Caroline's mean spirited attack. Elizabeth slowly got up and thanked William for such a lovely breakfast then joined his sister. She turned around to look at William and saw him gazing at her, she smiled back. Georgianna led her away towards the stables.

Caroline breathed a sigh of relief. "Alone at last. I thought that Elizabeth would never leave, she just can't seem to take a hint. And frankly, I never saw someone so altered since I last saw her. She's gotten so slummy looking. Did you notice that she hasn't even changed her clothes since yesterday?" Caroline looked down at her own impeccable designer outfit and picked off a miniscule piece of lint. She tossed it away. "I never could see what was so special about her. She has no style or flair about her at all." William was silent. "I believe that you liked her quite a bit when we were in Florida, didn't you?" Caroline dared him to speak.

"Yes, I did." William stood up. "But you're wrong in assuming that I only "liked" her. I respect Elizabeth more than anybody I know. She has integrity and modesty and character and I am proud to know her." William gave her a withering look that made her cringe. He left Caroline to her breakfast and walked toward the house. And Caroline, the only flair that you have is in your nostrils.

Alternate Chapter 33

Chapter 34--The Bust

Posted on Tuesday, 28-Jul-98

Author's Note: Thank you to my husband Shawn for helping me with this portion of the story, giving it a little bit of reality. Just a little. * kiss kiss * And the song in the last chapter (the official one) was In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel. Also, the news flash works best if you know the commentator's voice.

Disclaimer: This Chapter does not have blood, guts, pinpricks, falling trees, oozings, papercuts, bees, snakes, bears, spiders, little fuzzy caterpillars, fish heads, Witches, magic spells, pollen, car chases, knives, hammers, crowbars, needles, cockroaches, bats, broken bones, fat, cholesterol, high sodium content, MSG, artificial sweeteners, flavours and colouring, carcinogens, or hindsight. It does however, have Wickham and Lydia. Oh, and a fight scene. Please take the appropriate measures to ensure that your reading comfort is not harmed in any way.

Lydia slid up to George and threw her arm over his chest. They had just spent the last five days together and Lydia had never felt so alive and grown up in her life. Two nights ago she packed up her things and moved out of the room that the Forresters had rented for her and their daughter. She wanted to stay with George forever. She played with the hair on his chest. "George." He snorted in his sleep and rolled over. "George!" Lydia insisted, shaking him. "Wake up, George, I'm hungry." George groaned and told her to order room service.

Sighing to herself, Lydia picked up the phone and made her order. Hanging up the phone, she turned to him and said with an exasperated sigh, "Sometimes you can be a real jerk, George. Come on, I want to go out. Why don't we do something instead of hang around here all day?"

"Lydia, stop whining, we can have fun right here." He nibbled her ear and started playing with her brand new belly button ring.

"Ouch! That's still sore." Lydia pulled away from him and got dressed. She looked at him. He was lying in bed with the twisted sheets wrapped around his legs and a two days growth on his face. He'd not reported back at his unit, telling Lydia that he'd taken a leave of absence to spend some time with her. Lydia thought that that was the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for her. She turned on the television and started brushing her hair. "George, you know, perhaps I should call my mom and let her know that I…"

Lydia's sentence was cut short by the door flying open. It hung on a single hinge as four men wearing black jumpsuits, body armour, and Kevlar helmets came rushing in through the doorway. Lydia screamed and tried to run but a man grabbed her by the waist and threw her to the ground then handcuffed her. A submachine gun was pointed at her.

Wickham got up off the bed and rushed one of the assailants using his head as a battering ram. The man in black side stepped him and swung his MP-5 around catching Wickham on the jaw with a sickening crack. Wickham fell to the floor and the man put his boot at the base Wickham's head. Wickham tried to get up but the man applied more pressure until Wickham cried out in pain. He looked out of the corner of his eye and saw someone pointing a gun at his head.

"Ensign George Wickham, you're under arrest for treason against the United States of America. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney…" The man stepping on Wickham's head droned the Miranda Rights to him as Lydia kept screaming, "George! What's going on? Who are these people? Tell them to leave." Her screaming settled on the man who'd handcuffed her and detained her on the ground. "Get off me you Son of a B***h!" She violently tugged at the cuffs on her wrists.

"Ensign Wickham, do you understand these rights that I have just read to you?" The man asked. Wickham said 'yes.' It wasn't until Wickham was handcuffed that the man allowed Wickham to get up. Wickham struggled to his feet. He kicked at the man who read him his rights and was sent sprawling across the floor. Someone grabbed his arm and yanked him up off the floor, clearing it by at least two inches. Another someone threw a black bag over his head and yet another thrust a blanket over his shoulders covering his naked body. Wickham was led out of the room accompanied by Lydia's sobbing. People peered out of their rooms and watched as the men led the hooded figures down the hall.

They were thrust into separate vans and taken to a detention center at Norfolk NAS. Lydia was screaming the entire way. "I'm an American! You can't do this to me." Wickham was wrapped in the blanket and faced the wall of the van. "Where are you taking me? What's going on. I didn't do anything, I swear! Do I look like a crook?" The man watching him just shook his head at Wickham's stupidity.

Elizabeth wandered into the library in search of something to read. The day had been spent in taking their belongings back to the boat and helping to clear away some of the debris. Everyone helped except for Caroline who'd stayed in her room and pouted all day. Elizabeth had just gotten out of the shower (thank G-d the water was still working) and wanted to relax.

She saw William sitting in a big leather chair listening to the radio. She said hello and sat down ready to hear the news reports of the storm. Flipping open a book she skimmed the page as she listened.

"… The coasts of South Carolina and North Carolina have been devastated by the 110-MPH winds that have swept through these small beachfront communities. Hundreds of people are left with out home and thousands more will be without power for at least three days. So far the damage inflicted by Hurricane Caroline has been estimated to be around 55 million dollars. The governors of both states have asked that the regions be declared Disaster Areas and President Clinton will be expected to fly in to inspect the damage later this afternoon. From Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, this is Lisa-Michelle Christian reporting for NPR news."

Elizabeth looked at William with a stricken look on her face. She started to speak but was cut short by the sound of whining off-key trumpets signaling the next commentary.

"You're listening to NPR, National Public Radio. Hi, I'm Bob Edwards. At a motel room in Virginia Beach today, agents of the Naval Criminal Investigative Services arrested two people accused of allegedly selling military documents containing Top Secret weapons and technological information to independent agents. Ensign George Wickham of the United States Navy is the prime suspect of the three month long investigation and is being detained at facilities at Norfolk NAS. The agents who reportedly bought the information were not identified; however, it has been assumed that the persons were intending to resell the information to terrorist groups overseas… "

William's face was incredulous. Elizabeth's jaw dropped. Then it got worse. Elizabeth paled when she heard the rest.

"…With him was Lydia Bennet nineteen and reputedly a stripper in the Virginia Beach area. Sources at the NCIS did not specify what her exact roll was in the affair but she could face the same charges as well as Ensign Wickham. Ms. Bennet is also being detained at Norfolk NAS and is being questioned about her relationship with George Wickham." The news turned back to the hurricane. "The shifts in the weather patterns have become increasingly turbulent this past decade…" William strode to the radio and turned it off.

Elizabeth shakily stood up and tried to walk to the door but her legs wouldn't move. William's cell phone started ringing. He answered it with a flat voice, his eyes never leaving Elizabeth's tear-stained face. He cut off his conversation short and went to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth was still shaking as he came near her. She couldn't meet his eyes. What's going to happen to Lydia? How could she do something like this? How can she be so stupid? Does William think I'm a part of it? Oh dear G-d, no! She gasped for air and sat back down on the edge of her seat. William kneeled down next to her and put his arms around her. She buried her face into his chest and cried out. "How can she be so stupid? What was she thinking? If only I had been able to warn her, this wouldn't have happened. But how could I know? I had no idea that Wickham was in Virginia Beach. She's supposed to be on vacation! Now she's going to go to jail, and I can't do a single thing about it."

William kissed her wet cheek. "Elizabeth, you can't blame yourself. You are not responsible for her actions." His voice grew grave. "Do you really think that Lydia helped Wickham?"

"I don't know. She's stupid enough for anything. Probably she didn't even know what he was doing. But what if she did? Oh G-d what if she did know?" Elizabeth panicked. "I have to tell my aunt and uncle, we have to get up there as soon as we can and try to get her out of this. But what can we do? We can't afford the kind of lawyer it'll take to defend her. Lydia, I could kill you!" Elizabeth started to get angry.

"What about your other uncle, Mr. Phillips? He's a lawyer." William smoothed back the hair from her face and kissed her forehead. He wanted to help her but didn't know how to broach the subject.

"No, he's an personal injury attorney. He's not qualified for something like this." Elizabeth started to calm down. "No, Lydia is lost forever and we will all be associated with it. Poor Jane. I hope she'll be able to keep her job." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "I don't know what I'll do now." William got up abruptly and paced the floor. He gave Elizabeth tortured looks that she sometimes caught and sometimes didn't. Elizabeth was too miserable to pay much attention to him.

William finally stood before her silently, willing her with every ounce of his being to ask him for help. To command him to help her. I would move a mountain for you, Elizabeth. Please let me help you. But as much as he wanted to he couldn't make her ask for his help. He could only stand there feeling helpless watching Elizabeth in pain. At last he made a promise to himself and not wanting to witness Elizabeth's tears any longer without the means to comfort her, William walked away and headed towards the door.

William turned and looked at her sadly. "I'll see if I can find your aunt and uncle for you." He left the room closing the door sharply behind him.

With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Elizabeth watched him leave. I'll never see him again. Not like he was today, like yesterday. Like last night. Elizabeth felt cheated. We're all going to be embroiled in this mess and that's not what he needs. But I need him. I need him. Elizabeth knew then what her heart had been trying to say to her all last night and into the morning. I love him. Elizabeth let out a small painful laugh at the thought that now, when she was able to understand her heart, it was too late. Incredible as it may seem, she would now accept his proposals, if he were ever to renew them. She would ask him if he didn't, but now, with Lydia entangled in a spying charge and the publicity that the family will have to endure, she couldn't ask him the time of day.

The perverseness of it all made her want to scream but she saved it for Lydia, if she ever saw her again.

Her aunt and uncle came rushing into the room. Their concern for Elizabeth was written on their kind faces. William had met them in the hallway upstairs and in between sentences with someone on the cell phone, William told them that Elizabeth needed to see them instantly. Instantly meant one thing in the Gardiner household and that was illness. Grave illness. However, they were taken completely by surprise when they found out the cause of Elizabeth's illness. Lydia. The Gardiner's were shocked and horrified at Elizabeth's description of the news broadcast and at once they decided to go to Virginia Beach and try to get Lydia out of the mess she'd gotten herself into.

Elizabeth was sure that her uncle would offer his help but that did not lessen her gratitude a bit. She thanked her uncle and aunt and tried to answer as many questions as possible. Among the questions were those pertaining to William Darcy and how much he knew about the situation.

"He was here listening to the radio with me." Elizabeth said quietly. "He knows everything. If we leave, I am sure we won't be missed. And besides, the storm is over, we would have been leaving anyway." Her aunt looked keenly at Elizabeth and wondered if Elizabeth was suffering more for her sister or for a broken heart. But Elizabeth wasn't telling and this was certainly not the time to ask so they headed out of the library and went to say goodbye to Georgianna and Charles.

Elizabeth stared out towards Pemberley as the boat slipped away from the dock and headed down the river. She'd tried to say goodbye to William but in the end she lacked the courage. How can I face him? Now I love him. Now I care for him. Now I respect him. And now there's no chance. Elizabeth went below and prepared herself for the battle with Lydia.

William watched Elizabeth leave and then closed the curtains. He was still talking to his lawyer in Washington D.C. trying to get the facts of Lydia's arrest. After debating the best way to go about his plan with the attorney, William gave the final instructions and hung up. He packed a small bag and hunted down his sister.

"I'm going now." William stood in the doorway to Georgianna's room holding his bag in one hand and the doorknob n the other.

"What? Where?" Georgianna sat up.

"I have to go to Virginia." William closed the door and briefed her on everything that was happening. He didn't want her to hear the news from the radio or from someone else and she needed to be prepared for people talking about it. Georgianna wasn't all that surprised about Wickham but she sure was surprised about Elizabeth's sister.

William left Georgianna knowing that she could handle the issue maturely. She's growing up. She'll be leaving soon and then I'll really be alone. William dispelled these thoughts from his mind as he got in the car and peeled out, driving to the private airstrip at Lambton, a small village only five miles away from Pemberley.

It was past five the next day before Elizabeth and her family got to see Lydia. They had no idea about the hassle involved in just seeing her. First they had to rent the car and get directions, then obtain a visitor's pass to get on the base and last, and certainly taking the most time, was getting the permission to see her at all. Then they had to pass through the metal detector and have their belongings searched by a burly Marine dressed in faded cammies. When they were finally granted permission to see her, they were told that she was with her lawyer and would not be able to see them for another half-hour. Elizabeth sat in the molded plastic chair and fumed at her sister and wondered what kind of lawyer the state had provided. Finally, Lydia was free to see them, so to speak, and Elizabeth and her aunt and uncle were ushered into a barred room. Lydia was wearing blue dungarees and a faded blue shirt with a number stenciled on the front pocket. She smiled cheerfully at her family as they came through the door and asked them to sit down.

Elizabeth was so mad at Lydia, she couldn't think of the things that she wanted to yell at her for and said the first thing that came into her mind. "Stripper?"

Not part of the story: Thank you Lisa-Michelle for the use of your name. Should I change it to Ruddy? ;)

Chapter 35

Posted on Tuesday, 04-Aug-98

"Hello to you too, Lizzy." Lydia huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. She looked petulantly at Elizabeth and waited for the lecture to begin. But to her surprise Elizabeth just sat down.

"Can you please tell my why you were with George Wickham and how you met up with him and why you've been arrested and why the news reported that you were a stripper?" Elizabeth folded her hands and waited.

"Who said I was a stripper? I'm not a stripper."

"If you're not a stripper then why did the news report you as one?" Elizabeth asked. "What have you been doing?"

"Nothing! I've been in a few bikini contests and some wet T-shirt contests but I never took off all my clothes." Lydia pleaded. "That's how I met George, at the contests. I didn't do anything wrong, Lizzy."

"If you didn't do anything wrong you wouldn't be here, Lydia. You say you didn't have anything to do with this spy charge?" Lydia nodded. "What does your lawyer say?"

"He said that it's obvious that I don't know anything. He said that it's that I could escape charge of treason since I didn't have anything to do with it. It's just a case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. At least that's what I think he said. If I testify against George I'll get off."

"That's it? You'll get off? How?" Elizabeth was incredulous that her sister could be so cavalier about it. Lydia seemed not to what kind of trouble she was in.

"Lizzy, I can't wait to go home. They are so mean to me here. They took away all my jewelry and I don't have any makeup and my hair's a wreck and…"

Elizabeth sat back, disgusted at her sister's lack of reality. Here she is in jail, suspected of treason and she's complaining about makeup. Elizabeth got up and left the room. She wanted to call her father to make sure that he and mom were OK. There's no doubt that Mom is in hysterics right now but they need to know that we are here. Elizabeth took out her wallet and fished for her credit card. She'd gotten it long ago for emergencies but never used it. This is an emergency if I ever saw one, she thought as she punched the numbers into the phone. She was just on the tenth digit when her dad came storming down the hall. Elizabeth was startled to see him but was relieved that he could make it so fast. She hung up the phone and ran up to him giving a big hug.

"Dad! I'm so glad to see you!" Elizabeth looked at his face. It was lined with worry and there were dark circles under his eyes. Elizabeth led him to the room, letting him know that Lydia had a lawyer and that it was probable that she would get off lightly. They stopped in front of the door.

"You mother will be glad to hear that. As for myself, well, I'm disgusted. I'm disgusted with Lydia and I'm disgusted with myself. You were right, Lizzy, when you warned me about Lydia. Do you know she'd been missing for two days? I was on my way up here already when the news broke." Mr. Bennet put his hands in his pockets. "Your mother is a wreck and Jane is trying hard to console her. I would like it if you would go home soon and help her. Right now I think it is best that I see Lydia." Elizabeth agreed. Mr. Bennet walked into the room. Mr. and Mrs. Gardener were relieved to see Mr. Bennet but left shortly after his arrival giving him time alone with his daughter. The door barely closed when Mr. Bennet started in on Lydia and it was a full hour before he was through with her.

Elizabeth waited for her father in the hallway, trying not to get in the way of the people who worked there. Her mind was far away in North Carolina. She wondered what William was doing then. She started to pace the floor counting out how many steps it took to get to the phone and how many steps it took if she went heel-toe, heel-toe then how many steps it took her to get to the window. The window didn't give her much to look at. Mostly a parking lot and some trees. If she squinted, she could see the men and women lined up for chow down the street a few people walking. And a familiar looking man standing under a tree and talking to her aunt and uncle and Lydia's lawyer.

Elizabeth cupped her hands around her eyes and peered out concentrating on that figure. Tall. Dark curly hair. Broad shoulders. Well dressed. One hand in his pocket. The other scratching his eyebrow. Now he's shaking hands with my uncle. And he's saying goodbye to my aunt. Now he's walking away. Where's he going! She watched as the man walked away from her relatives now with both hands in his pockets and head hung down. He's going to get run over if he tries to cross the street like that. He came out of the shade of the tree and stepped into the sunlight. He turned to speak to Lydia's lawyer and then they separated. He put on sunglasses. She watched him cross the street and get into a car. He drove away fast as if he wanted to get as far away from the spot as possible.

Elizabeth followed the car with her eyes until he was out of sight then she leaned her forehead against the window and stared at the tiny ants crawling on the window sill. He was here. He was here and he didn't want to see me. Didn't want to talk to me. Elizabeth lightly banged her head on the window pane. Why was he here? What did he have to say to my uncle that was so important? How does he know Lydia's lawyer? Why doesn't he want to see me? Am I that repulsive in his eyes now? I'm going to go nuts if I don't find out why he was here. Elizabeth straightened up as she heard her father wind down.

The door opened and her father came out looking frazzled and worn. He looked at Elizabeth and just shook his head. Lydia was led away by a guard and Elizabeth said goodbye to her in the hallway. Lydia looked pouty but chastised and said goodbye in a choked voice.

Mr. Bennet put his arm around Elizabeth's shoulders and they walked silently down the hall to the elevator. Elizabeth could think of nothing to say and so they just waited for the lift and examined bits of things around them. Mr. Bennet counted the ceiling tiles and Elizabeth counted the different scenarios running through her head to account for William's being there. She'd gotten to four when the elevator doors opened and revealed Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner inside. They'd stopped talking when they saw Elizabeth and her father waiting for the elevator. Elizabeth and her father stepped in and they went back down to the lobby. Mrs. Gardiner watched Elizabeth fidget out of the corner of her eye. Her uncle was busy inspecting his fingernails and her dad seemed to be lost in space somewhere. All this made Elizabeth want to scream, the silence was nerve-wracking; she longed to ask her aunt about William but was afraid to bring the subject up in front of her dad. And she was afraid of the answer she might get.

Elizabeth drove with her father to the marina where the Gardiner's boat was docked to get her belongings. She would fly home that evening to help Jane deal with their mother. Elizabeth almost despaired of speaking to her aunt alone before she left but was saved from that acute agony by Mrs. Gardiner coming into Elizabeth's cabin to help her pack.

Elizabeth was already done when Mrs. Gardiner entered the cabin. Most of her stuff was still packed from the few days that was spent in North Carolina so Mrs. Gardiner sat on the bunk and watched as Elizabeth zipped up her duffel bag. Elizabeth sat down next to her and shook one leg up and down getting up enough nerve to talk.

Mrs. Gardiner talked for her. "We've really enjoyed having you with us, Lizzy. I'm sorry we had to cut it short." Elizabeth smiled wryly at her aunt but did not interrupt. "I must say that even though we had to divert our course because of the hurricane, I'm glad we were able to meet with your friend William and his sister. She is a sweet girl, isn't she?" Elizabeth nodded her head. "I hope we'll get to see them soon. Perhaps they'll come down to Florida this winter. What do you think?" Elizabeth tilted her head and shrugged her shoulders.

"I was wondering, Lizzy, about William Darcy. When we first met them last year he seemed very restrained and cold, condescending one might say. But after seeing him at his own house I have to admit that I like him very much. He was charming and talkative, in between hurricanes and houses falling apart of course; and polite and anyone can see he is a wonderful brother to Georgianna. Yes, I like him very much." Mrs. Gardiner eyed Lizzy, who was looking away. "He seems to like you a great deal, Lizzy." Elizabeth looked at her aunt. "Why do you act so surprised? Anyone with an ounce of sense can see it. It's in the way he looks at you. It's like he's kissing you with his eyes. He can't take his eyes off you for a second. And when you aren't around to look at, he thinks of you." Elizabeth opened her mouth to speak but couldn't say anything. Mrs. Gardiner got up off the bed, put her hand on the handle of the door and waited for Elizabeth to speak.

Elizabeth struggled with it for a second so her aunt opened the door. "Wait!" Her aunt paused as Elizabeth took a breath. "Please, can you tell me why William was here today? At the base I mean." Elizabeth anxiously looked at her aunt's face.

Mrs. Gardiner smiled warmly at her niece. "Yes I can. It's because he loves you." Elizabeth looked disbelieving at her. "He's paying for Lydia's attorney. He flew all the way up here, sought out a lawyer, arranged for a hearing and all for some girl he barely knows. Why would he do that? Unless someone he cared deeply about was affected by it." Mrs. Gardiner leaned over and kissed Elizabeth on the forehead. "Lizzy, someday you'll just have to face the fact that a wonderful, handsome, intelligent, generous man is in love with you. Now hurry up or you'll miss your flight."

It was late at night when they finally reached the airport and it was mercifully quiet and empty. Elizabeth took a seat by the window and waited for her flight to be called. Elizabeth stretched out her legs and carefully thought over what her aunt had told her earlier. She glanced absentmindedly out the window and saw that a private jet was about to take off. The writing on the plane said Pemberley One. It registered vaguely in her brain that William was on that plane and it took her a minute to fully grasp that fact. She jumped up from her seat and watched as the plane raced down the runway and gain speed. It lifted off the ground and shot up into the sky the wing lights blinking goodbye as the plane disappeared into the night. Elizabeth bit her lip with frustration that she'd missed seeing William yet again. What does it matter, he doesn't want to see me.

Chapter 36: Trick or Treat?

Posted on Thursday, 06-Aug-98

Chaser: A military term for someone escorting a prisoner to the brig, jail, or the hoosegow. This episode actually happened to my husband while he was chasing one looooooong night as a collateral duty.

Wickham was brought into the emergency room at the Naval hospital. Military regulations stated that all prisoners will be examined by a doctor to make sure that the prisoners were healthy enough to go to the brig. The only place to get that done at this time of night was at the emergency room and fortunately it was a quiet night. The sergeant glanced at his watch, this shouldn't take long. He handed the orderly Wickham's folder and then handcuffed Wickham to a chair. Grabbing a Reader's Digest, he sat down and waited or the nurse to take Wickham's vital signs. Five minutes later, he heard the wailing of an ambulance come barreling around the corner and screech to a halt outside the sliding doors of the emergency room. Paramedics brought in two car crash victims on stretchers and the emergency team went to work quickly to help the victims. The sergeant watched the teams prepare I.V. units and needles. He looked over at Wickham and shrugged his shoulder. This will take while.

An hour later, things were just settling down into a normal routine when a man came stumbling in holding his hand over his nose. A nurse came over and screamed when the man took his hand away, his nose was missing. A doctor was called in but as the man was about to be ushered in a room another ambulance came to the doors. Since the man without a nose would live he wasn't considered a priority, so the nurse gave him an ice bag and a morphine shot and told him to sit in the waiting room until they could get to him. Noseless wearily sat down and held the bag up to where his nose used to be. The medical team tended to the people who were being brought in, forgetting about Wickham and the sergeant. The sergeant wondered how the nose got off the man's face.

Five hours, one emergency delivery, a motorcycle accident, and a bar fight later, the nurse called to the sergeant to bring his prisoner. The sergeant stretched his long legs and rolled his neck to relieve the tension. He got up and handcuffed himself to Wickham. The nurse took Wickham's temperature and blood pressure and scribbled the results in his folder. She brought them to a room and closed the door. Soon the doctor came in and looked Wickham over. He looked into his eyes and ears and throat. He checked his reflexes and read the vital statistics that the nurse recorded. He signed his name on the release form and told the sergeant that he was done. They could leave now. The whole exam took less than five minutes.

Wickham was secretly pleased that the wait was so long. The longer he had to wait at the hospital the longer he stayed out of jail. Jail was a frightening thought to Wickham. He had a rough time at the holding facility in Virginia Beach but Leavenworth was big-time. Leavenworth was a crumbling facility just barely standing up and about this far from being condemned. And they sent mean people there. Savage people. Wickham was not a violent man really. He was a liar and a malingerer and now a convicted traitor, but not brutal. He'd always like to say that he was a lover not a fighter and now he wished he'd taken those Tae kwan do classes like he'd always meant but never got around to doing.

The sergeant brought Wickham to the airport and passed him off to the corporal who would escort him to Kansas. The sergeant glanced at his watch. If he hurried he could make it home to his wife in an hour.

At the prison, Wickham was processed and numbered. The guards marched him to his cell and he could hear hoots and hollering and whistles as he was led down the block. Wickham's stomach was turning into Jello at the sounds around him. Everything had a surreal quality about it. The guard finally stopped in front of a cell and unlocked it. The gate slammed back with a resounding crash and the inmate inside stood up.

"Ok, Cookie, here's your new friend. Try not to kill him." The Guard pushed Wickham into the cell and closed the gate. Wickham nervously looked at the man in front of him. He was big. That was the first thing Wickham noticed. And tall. But, the most noticeable thing about him was the gut that hung over the top of his pants like a cliff. A great big cliff that was moving his way.

"We got a few rules in my place. First thing you gotta know is that I'm boss. What I say, you do. What I want, you fetch. Do you understand?" The cliff towered over Wickham and spoke in a soft gravelly voice. Wickham gulped and swallowed hard. He nodded.

Cookie rubbed his fingers on Wickham cheek. "I think we'll get along just…fine."

Meanwhile Back At The Ranch.

Elizabeth sat on the sofa at her parent's house and watched the television as the reporter outside the courthouse announced the verdict of George Wickham's court martial. The whole mess had taken just over a month from start to finish and now Wickham was going to jail for ten years. He'd gotten off lightly because he'd squealed like a pig after he was caught and now the agent he'd sold the secrets to was also in custody.

Lydia was still moaning about her fate in the ordeal but was pleased with the attention she'd gotten from the press. She'd called up all her friends to remind them to watch her interview on Dateline that night and even had a fresh tape in the VCR to record it.

Mrs. Bennet was relieved to have her favorite daughter back at home. In fact, Lydia could not leave home. She was released into the custody of her parents and had to wear a tracking device around her ankle at all times. Lydia had to be escorted everywhere by a parent which made it hard for dating, Lydia complained. Lydia whined that the bracelet clashed with everything in her wardrobe and that it itched and that it was embarrassing to be seen with it but try as she might, Mr. Bennet would never let her take it off. She had to wear it for one year and then she was on regular probation for another two years after that.

Elizabeth still didn't tell Jane about everything that had happened in North Carolina and Virginia. She didn't want to bring the subject up until she could trust herself to speak indifferently about William. As that hadn't happened yet she never brought the subject up. So Jane was left ignorant about the tattoo and the role William had played in helping Lydia. She had one more reason to keep silent on the subject. Elizabeth was sure that Jane was still in love with Charles Bingley and talking about North Carolina would be as painful to her as it was to Elizabeth.

Soon things got back to normal. School started up for Jane. Elizabeth found a job interning at company in Boca Raton. The commute was getting hectic and Elizabeth considered finding her own place closer to her work. But in the meantime she stayed on with Jane.

Nothing was heard of from William or Charles. Charles had questioned Elizabeth about Jane so minutely that she had a hope that he would be down before too long. But time kept slipping away and no Charles came. No William either. If her aunt was right and he did love her, then why doesn't he come? Why does he stay away from me? Is he afraid that I will turn away from him again? Or am I truly forgotten? Elizabeth drove herself crazy with these thoughts. They went round and round her head in circles and whenever she reached an answer, she would think of something to counter it.

October 31 was always a day Elizabeth looked forward to. This year was no different then the rest. Sure, she didn't have much time to plan a costume because her job was so demanding but Elizabeth was industrious and she went to a thrift store and bought an old wedding dress to wear. It was too tight but she figured that she could always be the Bride of Frankenstein if she couldn't think of anything else. Jane dressed up as a rag doll and stayed home to pass out candy to the children. Elizabeth took her cousins trick-or-treating along the beach. To her this was much more fun than a party and after she dropped the sleepy children off at the Gardiner's house she went back home in a better mood than she'd been in for a long time.

Elizabeth gathered up the dress around her arm so she wouldn't trip and ran up the steps. She bounced over to the door to her apartment and was surprised to find it closed. She was fumbling for her keys when a laughing Jane opened the door. Elizabeth was stumped until she saw that Charles was standing in the middle of the room. Elizabeth smiled and went to greet him when she was halted by the sight of William who was just rising from his seat on the couch. She stopped in mid-sentence and floundering; she let the skirt of the dress fall back to the ground with a soft susshhh. Elizabeth looked at Jane who was wearing a smocked dress and pigtails. She glanced down at her own costume and felt the painful irony of it. Snatching the veil off of her head she twisted it in her hands trying to think of something to say. She thought of a bunch of things but couldn't broach the subject with Jane and Charles in the room. Jane seemed to know what to do. She sat down as if everything were normal and made small talk with Charles who was visibly relaxing under Jane's calming influence.

Elizabeth sat down in a chair and William sat back down likewise. Elizabeth cautiously eyed him. He doesn't seem to be kissing anything with his eyes right now. Was my aunt just being kind? It's not very kind to get my hopes up like that, if you ask me. In fact he's looking at Jane just as much as he looks at me. Elizabeth asked after his sister. William's answer was short and after that she could do nothing else but sit and wait for someone to drop an anvil on her head. She was only grateful that she'd decided against the Bride of Frankenstein after all.

William was about to speak when the telephone rang. Elizabeth got up to answer it just as the answering machine picked up. "Jane? Oh, Jane! I called because I have the most exciting news. You'll never guess who's back in town…"

At the sound of Mrs. Bennet's shrill voice Elizabeth sprinted to the phone to turn the machine off. She turned the switch and knocked over a few picture frames as well but stopped the call before her mom could say anything about catching a rich husband.

William stood up from his seat and told Charles that it was probably time for them to go. Charles reluctantly agreed but promised to call Jane soon. Jane offered to write down her number for him but Charles recited it for her proving that he at least had a good memory if not a constant heart. Elizabeth said goodnight to William quietly and watched as he went out the door. Elizabeth walked as casually as she could to her room. She went to her window and watched as William and Charles drove off. Elizabeth sighed as she let the curtain drop, This is getting to be a pattern. I'm always watching him leave.

Chapter 37: The Lady or the Tiger?

Posted on Friday, 07-Aug-98

Author's Note: I can't believe I forgot to put my dog in the last chapter. *smacks head*. Sandy will never forgive me now.

Elizabeth peeled herself out of the wedding dress and kicked it into a corner. She was so embarrassed. William would have the timing to show up on Halloween. Couldn't they at least call first? Sandy came sniffing up to her and Elizabeth absentmindedly scratched her dog's ears. Sandy was so excited when William and Charles knocked on the door that Jane had to put her in Elizabeth's room or else the dog would knock over some chairs.

She changed into her p.j.'s and climbed into bed. The sheets were cool against her hot skin but she could not find a comfortable position. Her aunt's voice kept returning to her over and over. It's because he loves you. Elizabeth turned onto her side and scrunched up. It's in the way he looks at you. It's like he's kissing you with his eyes. She thought about William's kiss that night during the hurricane and the way it reached all the way down to her toes like lightning. She sat up and punched her pillow several times in an effort to plump it up. She flopped back down and closed her eyes. Lizzy, someday you'll just have to face the fact that a wonderful, handsome, intelligent, generous man is in love with you.

I wish I could believe it. I want to believe so bad. Elizabeth pulled another pillow close to her and snuggled against it. A poor substitution for William but it would have to do. She fell asleep with William's face before her.

Charles was a regular visitor after Halloween. Jane was at first reluctant to tell her mother about it but after a while her conscious got the better of her and informed Mrs. Bennet of Charles' visits. Mrs. Bennet was enthusiastic in her forecasts of wedding bells and bridal bouquets but Jane quietly denied any intentions of getting married. They were just friends. You couldn't have fooled Elizabeth with that friends trick though. She saw them together and felt that it was only a matter of time before Charles got up the nerve to ask Jane to be his wife.

William sometimes tagged along with Charles and Jane did her best to entertain him. She'd always liked William and never gave in to her sister's prejudice against him. Jane knew that Elizabeth's feelings for William had changed but wasn't sure as to the exact degree. If she did know how Elizabeth felt for William Jane would have tried harder to get them together but to her knowledge William was the man that her sister had refused and whose merits she'd underestimated. As it was, Jane felt it was unfortunate that every time William came over, Elizabeth was not at home. They always seemed to just miss each other.

Then one day Charles came alone and told Jane that William had left to attend to some business. He'd flown home the evening before but expected to be back in about ten days. Elizabeth was disappointed again. They couldn't seem to catch a break. But still, it seemed to her that if William wanted to see her he could have tried harder. So she had ten days to steel herself for the next meeting. Ten days to gather her thoughts together and plan her attack. She had to tell him that she loved him. It was plain to her that she had to make the next move. She wondered about mentioning Lydia but wasn't too sure about it. That he wanted to keep his actions a secret was clear so perhaps talking about it would be wrong. But she wanted to thank him for it. She needed to let him know that his generosity was appreciated. So now there were two terrible tasks before her. She had to thank him and she had to confess her feelings. What could be easier? Except for maybe quantum physics?

Elizabeth thought from Charles' almost giddy behaviour that William had admitted his mistake last year. If he did Charles wasn't telling and Elizabeth was left to her conjectures but, knowing Charles' esteem for his friend's judgment, she thought that it was highly likely that it was the case.

So with the pretext of having plans elsewhere, although she was perfectly available when she thought that William was going to come, Elizabeth left Jane to her fate. But as it was a fate much to be rejoiced over, Elizabeth didn't feel too guilty. She took Sandy out for a long drive to the park and walked around throwing sticks for her dog to chase. Hours later Elizabeth pulled up to the apartment. Walking deliberately loud and struggling with her keys in the lock Elizabeth made her presence known to the couple inside. Opening the door slowly and shouting "I'm ho-ome!", Elizabeth hoped that it would be enough to announce herself to the love birds. It wasn't. Jane and Charles were locked in an embrace oblivious to anything but themselves. Elizabeth was about to go back out when Sandy barked her loud approbation. Disentangling themselves, Jane and Charles parted and looked sheepishly at Elizabeth who was amused to see Charles blush. The good news was speedily told to Elizabeth who gave her hearty congratulations to the pair. Jane couldn't stop smiling and after remembering her mother went to go call her to give her the news, she and Charles were going to be married.

Elizabeth could imagine her mother's delight at the news and was glad that she was spared from witnessing it. Indeed Mrs. Bennet kept Jane on the phone for twenty minutes before consenting to let her go. Mrs. Bennet was enthusiastic to a degree to which only a mother can reach. She started talking about dates and reception plans and wedding dresses within two minutes after her initial rapture. Jane tried to calm her mother into reasonableness saying that there was plenty of time to decide on the details in the future, but Mrs. Bennet could see nothing wrong with a little speculation. Only after remembering that Mr. Bennet needed to be told as well as her other daughters and the rest of her family and friends did Mrs. Bennet let Jane go.

Although the news spread within the next day, a party to announce the engagement was planned. Elizabeth helped her mother with the arrangements of the fete just to keep her mother in line. It was a small informal party for forty of Mrs. Bennet's friends. She did remember to invite Charles' sisters and even went so far as to invite William, but Elizabeth wasn't so sure that he would come. He was supposed to be back in five days but no word had come from him. Charles said that William congratulated him on his engagement to Jane but didn't say anything about his return. So Elizabeth was left wondering if she'd get to see him before the wedding.

On the seventh day after William's departure Elizabeth got up early to get ready for her morning run. Changing into her running shorts and T-shirt, Elizabeth walked over to the living room window to open the blinds and let in some light. Elizabeth yanked open the blinds and came face to face with Catherine DeBourgh who was busy trying to peer into the apartment. Elizabeth jumped back in surprise but recovered herself quickly and opened the door for her.

The imperious lady swept into the room with a look of contempt. She refused to sit down upon Elizabeth's request and glared at Sandy who was busy sniffing this newcomer. Sandy let out a soft whine after a while and slunk away to a corner where she could watch this lady in case she tried to do anything to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth was at a loss as to why Lady Cat decided to come all the way out here and being sure that it wasn't to pay a friendly visit, she waited with some trepidation thinking that it might have something to do with William. Perhaps he had an accident. But why would come to tell her if that happened? Elizabeth politely asked after Charlotte and Billy and remembered to ask after Anne too. Mrs. DeBourgh gave a curt answer to Elizabeth's attempt at civility and coldly asked if she would like to take a walk with her. Elizabeth got up with a feeling of dread sure that William was hurt.

She led her guest down the stairs and when they got out of earshot from any neighbors that might have been lurking about Mrs. DeBourgh spoke.

"You probably know the purpose at my being here, Miss Bennet, and I want to tell you at once that I will not be dissuaded from my goal." Mrs. DeBourgh turned to Elizabeth and haughtily looked upon her astonished face. "Hump! I see that you pretend not to know but I can see through you. I know who you are. You're a cheap social climber who has set her trap for my nephew. Yes, Miss Bennet, I know it all! You've had your sights set on William from the first minute you met him didn't you?"

"Mrs. DeBourgh, I don't think that that is any business of yours. If I 'set my trap' for him I would be the last person to admit it. And your coming here in this way, insulting me, will hardly make me want to humour you." Elizabeth was furious. Who did this woman think he was anyway?

"Don't you interrupt me! I will not be talked to like that. Do you have any idea who I am? I am William's aunt, almost his closest relative and I am very much entitled to know his affairs."

"But you are not entitled to know mine, Mrs. DeBourgh. You have no reason to believe that I have any regard for your interference in my life. How dare you come here like this?"

"Miss Bennet! Let me be rightly understood. William is intended for someone who is worthy of him. Someone of good family and breeding. Not some little nobody from nowhere with nothing to recommend herself but a pretty face. You would make William the laughing stock of all his family and friends if he were to marry you. How you can even think of it is beyond me."

"If William has no objection to my family then why should it matter to you. I'm not marrying you." Elizabeth let this slip past without realizing it.

"Did he propose? Are you engaged to him?" Lady Cat's face was purple with rage.

Elizabeth stiffened and after deliberating her response replied, "I am not."

Lady Cat relaxed and let out a pent up breath. She was relieved beyond anything. "And will you promise me to never become engaged to him? To set you sights lower where they belong?"

"I will make no promise of the kind. You have no right to order me about like this."

"I have every right in the world to do so! And let me make one more thing clear to you, young lady. I know all about your sister's affair in that Wickham scandal. I know that she was implicated in George Wickham's treasonous act but was saved only by the tricks of a lawyer. Do you expect William to connect himself with someone like that? A family that breeds sluttish traitors?"

"You can now have nothing more to say to me that I would be willing to hear. You've insulted me in every possible way and I want you to leave here immediately." Elizabeth turned and began to walk back to her apartment with Mrs. DeBourgh hot on her heels.

"You have no regard for the reputation for my nephew then? For the position he holds in the world? You are determined to have him?"

"I have said no such thing! I will only act in a way that would achieve my own happiness without regard to you or anyone else so completely unrelated to me."

"Shameful obstinate girl! And this is your final resolve then? Very well I shall know how to act. You've met you match in me, Miss Bennet, and it will be your downfall with regards to my nephew." Mrs. DeBourgh turned away and stormed off the cab that she had waiting for her.

Elizabeth ran upstairs into her apartment and locked the door behind her. For the life of her she couldn't figure out how Mrs. DeBourgh came to the conclusion that she was engaged to William. She went to the kitchen and got a glass of water. Her hand was shaking from pent up frustration and the water spilled out of the glass and onto the counter. She guessed that Mrs. DeBourgh would go to William now and try to bully him into rejecting her. She didn't know how much William regarded his aunt's opinion so this made her anxious about what he'd do. If he doesn't return in three days than I know that she won. That her arguments persuaded him that I'm not worth it. Elizabeth felt too sick to run today so she went back to her room and got ready to go to her mother's house and help with the party arrangements. But what if he comes back?

Chapter 38: Singin' in the Rain

Posted on Sunday, 09-Aug-98

o, Lizzy! What are you doing? That must be all cleared out. I don't want all that junk cluttering up the place. My guests will be tripping everywhere if that stays." Mrs. Bennet was frantic in her preparations. She was beginning to think that she should have waited to throw the engagement party so she would have time to plan it in style, but her nerves got the better of her as usual. She began to fret that Charles would leave town and her daughter again. The sooner the party was held and the engagement was announced, officially that is, the better. Charles would never get away then. Mrs. Bennet was content with her cunning plans. I guess she never stopped to realize that Charles would never run away from Jane again.

Ordering her younger daughters about, calling the caterer, shopping for decorations, and picking the perfect engagement present for her beloved Jane occupied all of her time. She hardly had time to think she was so busy, what with choosing the exact shade of blue shoes to go with her new dress, deciding between the crab puffs or the shrimp cocktail or both, and bullying Mr. Bennet into clearing out his office to make more room for the guests that were expected.

Mr. Bennet found this invasion of his space to be too much but he acquiesced after being scolded mercilessly for two days. So, with Elizabeth's help, he pushed back the desk and small couch against the wall to make enough space for whatever his wife decided would go in there. If anything was to go in there at all. They were absorbed with clearing off the desk and filing the piles of papers that cluttered up almost every open space available when Mr. Bennet took a break to check his e-mail messages. Mr. Bennet found one from Billy Collins waiting for him, which puzzled him exceedingly. What would Billy have to say to him? Knowing that whatever it was would surprise him Mr. Bennet prepared himself to be amused. What he read was not only diverting but also very confusing.

"Lizzy, come here, you have to see this." Mr. Bennet's voice scarcely contained his amusement. He waved his hand frantically beckoning Elizabeth to hurry. Elizabeth dropped what she was doing and strolled over to the computer and looked over her father's shoulders. Her mouth dropped and she turned red. Mr. Bennet didn't notice Elizabeth's consternation; he was so intent on laughing at his letter.

My Dear Sir,

Allow me to congratulate you on the engagement of your lovely daughter, Jane. I am very happy for her and I hope that she will find as much happiness as I have when she is married. Charlotte also expresses her best wishes and congratulations as well.

However, I have reason to believe that you other daughter, Elizabeth, will also very likely be engaged soon and to this extent I find it my duty to warn you that the marriage is not looked on favourably by certain people. Mrs. DeBourgh has expressly denounced such a connection between her nephew, William Darcy, and your daughter to such a degree that I feel compelled to counsel you to put a stop to anything that may arise in that quarter as I feel that a marriage that is not properly sanctioned is not a real marriage at all.

Please give my regards to your family.

Sincerely,
Billy Collins

"Is this not the most amazing thing you ever read in your life? I wonder where Billy came up with this. I certainly didn't give him credit for having such an imagination as this. I had no idea he had it in him. For the life of me I can't figure out where he got this from. If he'd picked any other man I might have given credit to it. But, William Darcy, who is so picky and snobbish, and, you who can't stand the sight of him, it is so incredible. But, Lizzy, you're not laughing." He took off his glasses and peered at his daughter. "I hope you're not going to get all huffy about this. It's just a silly rumour. What are we here for but to make fun of our neighbors an to be laughed at in our turn."

"No, I am very amused." Elizabeth cracked a wan smile. "It's just very strange of him to be writing anything like this." She was mortified beyond belief. It explained Catherine DeBourgh coming out here but where did Billy get his information? How did he figure it out? I haven't even been asked yet. Elizabeth listened to her father rant on about Billy Collins' talent for the ridiculous and then when she felt it was safe retreated to the vicinity of her mother. Mrs. Bennet would make sure that her husband would not plague Elizabeth about William Darcy by the ingenious method of not giving him an opportunity to speak.

Elizabeth thought about the e-mail all afternoon and finally decided that Mr. Lucas probably said something about William's being in town and giving rise to some hopeful thoughts of her own Charlotte might have taken the idea and gone further. It was the only possible scenario that she could think of. The possibility that William himself informed his aunt of his intentions crossed her mind but Elizabeth didn't think that he'd do that until he was sure of her feelings. Elizabeth went home that night very agitated and excited. Tomorrow would be the deciding day.

Elizabeth woke up to the sound of pounding rain. Elizabeth blinked her eyes open and peered at the clock. It was flashing 3:45. Darn it! The power went out. Elizabeth kicked the covers off and jumped out of bed. She checked her watch and saw that she'd overslept. Darn it! She fixed her clock and then pulled on the first things that she could find to put on. Sandy would need to go out and right now. Elizabeth opened her bedroom door and saw Charles and Jane having breakfast. There was no William. Elizabeth blinked and swallowed before asking Charles when he got there. "I…I didn't hear you come in."

Jane got up and poured Elizabeth a cup of coffee and handed it to her. She glanced at her sister's clothes and smiled. Elizabeth followed her gaze and noticed that her shirt was on inside out and backward. Who cares? Not me. Elizabeth smiled thinly. She didn't even brush her hair but what does it matter if it was all wild and messy? William's not here.

Jane had taken already Sandy out before Charles had gotten there so Elizabeth sat down. She didn't pay attention to Jane and Charles as they continued their conversation. She counted the days over and over and each time came to the same conclusion, it was the tenth day and William wasn't here. Elizabeth sipped her coffee and stared off into space ignoring her sister's questioning glances. Well, I guess Lady Cat knew better after all. Elizabeth blinked back tears. She was not going to cry. She was not going to cry if it killed her.

Jane asked Elizabeth if she were feeling well. The words seemed to come through a far away tunnel. Elizabeth absentmindedly nodded her head. Suddenly the room felt stuffy and oppressive. She had to get out of there. Fast, before she broke down and cried in front of Jane and Charles. Elizabeth grabbed Sandy's leash and hooked it to her collar. Elizabeth had to drag Sandy out of the door. Sandy saw no reason to go out in the rain, she could wait, but Elizabeth tugged and pulled until the poor dog stood shivering in the downpour. Elizabeth forgot to grab a jacket so she was drenched before she got down the stairs.

Elizabeth lowered her head against the onslaught of the stinging rain and surged forward, heading anywhere but back to the apartment. She was happy for Jane and Charles of course, but watching their love and laughter while she was so miserable was more than she could handle right now. She pulled on Sandy's leash some more. The dog was trying to go in the other direction and started to bark excitedly. Elizabeth turned around and came face to face with William.

Elizabeth's heart flip-flopped and the butterflies occupying her stomach started a dive-bombing raid. "William!" Elizabeth didn't know what to say. She had it all planned out in her mind what she'd say to him but when she looked at his face and into those dark brown eyes, it all left her. The only thing running through her mind was, he came back! He came back! "You came back!"

"Of course I came back, Elizabeth." William stood there with his hands clasped behind his back. He wanted to grab her and hold her so bad but held back. She looked like a tiny kitten out in the rain with her hair plastered to her face and her shirt soaked through to her skin and she's not wearing a… William's eyes widened. Good, stare at her like a pervert, good, William, good. William looked into her eyes and felt his heart tug when he saw the expression on her face. It was pure joy. William remembered what he held in his hands and gave her the flowers he was picking around the side of the building.

Elizabeth reached for the small withered bouquet and brushed his hand slightly. The shock that ran through her made her jump. She looked at the pathetic flowers and smiled. He picked anything that resembled a flower, mostly weeds. Elizabeth thought they were beautiful. She looked at him again. "Thank you." How long has he been here? "How long have you been here?"

"About half an hour. I got in late last night." William didn't tell her that he'd been pacing around outside practicing his speech oblivious to the freezing rain. He'd started picking flowers on an impulse. William had gotten around to the side of the building where Elizabeth's room was and he couldn't help but look up hoping to see her. He stood there watching for five minutes when the light in her room turned on and he could see her shadow crossing back and forth about the room. He watched her until the light turned back off and he knew that she'd left the room. He felt so foolish that he couldn't go up and see her just yet, so he waited and picked more flowers bundling them up in a clumsy bouquet.

"Do you want to come upstairs?" Elizabeth asked. I have to tell him. Now or never.

"No." I want to stay here in the rain with you. He took a step closer to her.

"Thank you for the flowers." Elizabeth repeated. He was so close to her. Fool! Say something! You have it all arranged, now say it! She took a deep breath. "How's your shoulder?"

"Fine, thank you."

Elizabeth tried again. "William, I can't go on without…thanking you for what you did for Lydia. I've been wanting to tell you for a long time but I didn't get the chance." She clutched the tiny flowers in her hand.

William stopped. "I didn't know you knew." He felt like he'd been slapped. What if the only reason she was out here talking to him was because she wanted to thank him?

"I saw you in Virginia talking to my aunt and uncle. And Lydia's lawyer. No on else in my family knows, not even Jane or my father. But I had to tell you that I, at least, appreciate what you've done." Elizabeth waited for him to say something.

William ran his fingers through his hair. "You don't have to thank me, Elizabeth. I wanted to help you. I thought only of you."

The butterflies swirled again. Elizabeth could think of nothing to say except 'I love you'. So she said it softly. "I love you, William." At the sound of Elizabeth's voice, William's face was transformed from anxious hope to what can only be described as heartfelt delight.

Elizabeth smiled at the sight of William's wide grin. She let go of Sandy's leash; the dog was tugging at it anyway. Sandy ran back upstairs to the door. William took another step closer and held out his hand. She put her hand in his and liked the way they fit together perfectly, his hand engulfing hers as his fingers wrapped around her hand. Elizabeth watched him come even closer until he was towering over her. She started to tremble.

William brought his hand to her face and stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers. All thoughts of his prepared speech flew out of his mind as he touched her lovely face.

"Elizabeth. My dearest loveliest Elizabeth, I love you so much." He murmured, slowly leaning over. He softly kissed each of her eyes closed. "I love you." He kissed her cheeks that were wet with rain and tears. "I love you." He kissed her forehead. The skin was fevered. William pulled back and looked at Elizabeth's face. Her mouth was parted slightly and her breath was coming in short gasps from anticipation. Her eyes were still closed. William brought his mouth down softly onto her lips with his and whispered, "I love you." The sensations that enveloped him were too much for to endure. He pressed against her suddenly and passionately kissed her, tasting and probing fervently.

Elizabeth was held captive by each kiss that he placed oh so carefully on her face. But she reacted intensely when his lips touched hers and in that moment she knew that everything would be all right between them. The past was forgotten or forgiven and there was only the future before them. Elizabeth held him tight and didn't let go.

Charles opened the door since the scratching noises would not go away. He stepped back as Sandy came rushing in with her leash dragging behind her. Sandy shook then ran around in circles rubbing her face on the floor to get the water off. Charles was alarmed to see Sandy come back without Elizabeth and stepped outside to go after her but stopped short when he saw the two figures embracing each other in the pouring rain. Charles smiled and went back inside to Jane. I wonder what she thinks of double weddings.

Chapter 39 Posted on Wednesday, 12-Aug-98

William grinned at Elizabeth as the sound of laughter rang out through the doorway. His smile turned into a grimace as a sneeze built up and burst out. Just in time he grabbed a Kleenex from the box sitting on the table next to him. He checked the box. It was almost empty.

"Bless you." Elizabeth pulled the blanket up around her chin and snuggled closer to William's chest as he wrapped his arm around her. He turned the page of the book they were reading and cleared his sore throat.

"Fu Inle means "after moonrise". Rabbits, of course, have no idea of precise time or punctuality…*" Here William was interrupted by a knock on the door. Jane peeked her head in and smiled at the invalids snuggled up on Mr. Bennet's couch before closing the door again.

William put down the book and pushed Elizabeth's hair off her face so he could kiss her cheek. "Elizabeth", he croaked. He cleared his throat again and tried once more, "Elizabeth?"

"Mmmmm?" Elizabeth smiled dreamily. She was being lulled to sleep by listening to William's deep (albeit hoarse) voice and the thumping of his heartbeat. "Yes, William?"

William liked the sound of that and gathered the courage to proceed. "Elizabeth, I love you." Elizabeth's smile widened.

"Mmmmmm. I love you too." Elizabeth turned her head so William could lean over and kiss her. When he didn't she opened her eyes. William was looking anxiously at her. "What's the matter?"

William picked out a lock of Elizabeth's hair that got lodged in his mouth somehow when she turned her head. "I was wondering, Elizabeth… I was hoping that. I wanted to ask you if…" William paused. Elizabeth turned so she was all the way on her back. She looked inquisitively at William.

William leaned over and put his hands on either side of Elizabeth and trapping her in between his arms. "I'm not letting you go."

"What makes you think I'd want to?" Elizabeth grinned at him.

"I don't ever want to let you go. If I had my way I'd marry you tomorrow." William kissed her gently. "Will you?" He asked quietly. "Will you marry me, Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth took a breath before she replied. "Are you sure, William? I mean, we hardly know each other."

William leaned back on an elbow and traced her jaw line with a finger. "I may not know your favorite colour or your shoe size, but I do know every inch of your face because it's been etched in my memory for so long. I know what perfume you wear because it haunts me at night when I go to bed. I know the way you walk down a street. I know how your chest moves when you breathe." William looked at her intensely. "I know that you have taught me a severe lesson (one that I desperately needed) and changed me from a proud arrogant man to someone who recognizes real character and integrity. I see that in you, Elizabeth." William paused to lay a kiss on her forehead. "I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know that without you, I'm desolate. And I know that with you, I can become a better person. I've been trying so hard to earn your respect and to deserve your love. And I know that if you do consent to be my wife, I'll be the happiest man in the world. But, no matter what, no matter what your answer, I'll never give you reason to doubt me again." William saw tears in her eyes glistening, threatening to fall. "Please marry me." He asked again.

Elizabeth grabbed his head and pulled him down. "Yes, William. Yes, I'll marry you." They kissed and held each other until Elizabeth's sneezes took over. The sneezes were so forceful that Elizabeth couldn't see the genuine happiness that spread over William's face. It was only the fact that they were both sick that made the moment less than ideal but William wouldn't trade it for anything.

William cradled Elizabeth and blessed her when the sneezes subsided. He'd never felt so comfortable in his life. It felt so good, so right to have Elizabeth in his arms. He marveled at the sight and was thankful for it. He handed her another tissue then settled his head down next to hers and thought about their future together.

* Watership Down of course.

~~ Intermission ~~

Chapter 40

Posted on Wednesday, 26-Aug-98

Author's Note: Apparently there was some confusion in my last chapter. Some of you (and you know who you are) thought that Elizabeth and William were in bed together. I knew that I put them on the couch but I wasn't sure if it was in the last chapter or not since I broke the chapter up in two. I looked and I did, but it was a small short sentence so I can see where the confusion came from. So, they are on a couch. A couch. Not in bed. Coooouuuuuuuch.

End Intermission

Elizabeth didn't know how long they lay on the couch in each other's arms. The time slipped by so rapidly while William told her things that she never knew or suspected.

William stroked Elizabeth's hair as he told her about the evening when he first realized that he was becoming infatuated with her. It was one night when they all went to the movies. There were only the four of them, Jane and Charles and Elizabeth and William. Elizabeth kept shoving his elbow off the armrest. He had a better time fighting for that one slim bit of wood than he did watching the movie. And he found himself sneaking looks at her profile illuminated by the flickering theatre screen. Eyes bright and laughing, lips curving in a smile as she sipped her drink. That was when he first knew that she had a special hold on him. It wasn't until after his disastrous first proposal that he realized how much she meant to him. That was when he was fully able to understand Elizabeth's strength and integrity.

"Did you really think I'd accept you?"

William gave a hard laugh. "What will you think of me? I thought you were expecting, wishing a proposal. I was completely shocked by your rejection. When you pushed me out the door I didn't know what to do. I got in the car and drove off. I wound up in one bar after another and the next day I found a tattoo on my arm."

"I'm sorry if I led you to believe I would accept it. I certainly never meant to deceive you." Elizabeth looked at William's arm. "It's still there?" William nodded.

William hugged Elizabeth tightly to him and murmured, "All that is over now. Now I'm happy. Here I am lying on your father's couch, I'm sick, my nose is running, my head hurts, but this is the best day of my life because you're in my arms and you love me. What more can a man ask for?" He kissed her hair.

Elizabeth twisted around and looked at him. "You know you could have been perfectly happy and healthy if you'd said anything earlier. Why were you so hesitant when you were here last time?"

"Because you were silent and didn't talk to me." William took Elizabeth's hand and kissed the tips or her fingers.

"But I was embarrassed. I felt stupid being in that wedding dress. I had no idea that you'd be there." She gave him her other hand to kiss when he was through. "What made you come back at last?"

"I came back for you. I needed to see you again. To talk to you. And I was encouraged because of a… social call my aunt paid on me a few days ago. She told me about her trip here and her argument with you." William caressed Elizabeth's hands. They were cold.

"She told me about her visit and related in minute detail everything you said to her. She actually wanted me to promise to never see you again but she was sorely disappointed there because she gave me hope. More hope than I'd ever had before. When I realized that you hadn't completely rejected me, I thought that I might have a chance. I know you well enough that if you were dead set against me you would have said so."

Elizabeth laughed self-consciously. "Yes, if I could abuse you so abominably to your face I could have no scruples to abuse you in front of your relatives. I was very insulting to you. How you must have hated me afterward that night."

"Hated you? No! I was... angry at first but after I had time to think, the anger turned towards its rightful place. I was angry at myself for being so arrogant and for behaving like a conceited ass."

They were silent for a while then Elizabeth remarked, "Your aunt will be happy to know how much we owe her for her trip out here. I know how much she likes to be of use to people." William laughed and agreed with Elizabeth pulling her in closer to snuggle.

The tęte-ŕ-tęte was interrupted by a knock at the door. And Jane poked her head around the corner again. "How are you two feeling? Can I get you anything?" Jane came in and felt Elizabeth's forehead. It was hot but not as bad as it was yesterday. She got out a Kleenex and wiped Elizabeth's nose. Charles came up and stood in the doorway watching Jane tend to her sister.

Charles grinned at the sight of his friend laid up on a ratty old couch with Elizabeth cradled in his arm and a patchwork blanket covering them. There were wadded up tissues on the floor that never quite made it to the wastebasket on the other side of the room. Elizabeth sneezed.

"Bless you." Jane and Charles said at the same time and then smiled at each other.

"What are you doing here anyway, Jane? This is your engagement party, go mingle. Go away before you get sick." Elizabeth wheezed.

"Well, actually I came in here to let you know that Dad is trying to get away from Mom and is on his way here."

Elizabeth groaned as William struggled to sit up. Elizabeth leaned over to give him some room and almost fell off the couch. Jane and Charles left to 'mingle' and left the two alone.

William ran his fingers through his hair to straighten it out and make himself look presentable. He tried to clear his throat but it was scratchy and felt swollen. Elizabeth leaned back again and put her legs over his, lounging comfortably. She looked on with a smile playing around her lips as she watched his nervous behaviour. "What's wrong, William? You look like you're going to be sick."

"No. Nothing. I'm just a little nervous that's all." William cracked his knuckles.

"About...?"

"About your dad. I want to ask him if I can marry you." William looked at Elizabeth and she could see the tension in his eyes.

Elizabeth stared at him. "Would it stop you if he said no?"

"No. But I want him to know that I'll take care of you." Elizabeth took her legs off him as the opened and William stood up. That this was important to him was obvious and Elizabeth knew that her father would appreciate William's asking. But would he appreciate William? Would her father say no? It wouldn't stop them from marrying but relations between the families would be strained.

Mr. Bennet strode into the room and slumped tiredly into a chair. "The party is in full swing and you mother is in her element. I wish I had the good sense to get sick so I could spend the evening in here instead of listening to all that chatter." Mr. Bennet smiled wryly. Mrs. Bennet stuck her head in the doorway at that moment.

"Lizzy! Are you feeling better yet? I honestly don't know how you could have gotten sick. Why you had to go hiking around through the rain is beyond me. What were you thinking?" Then upon seeing William was in the room also she addressed him, "Ah, there you are! Caroline has been looking all over for you this evening. She won't sit still for one minute. I'll just go and tell her you're in here."

Mrs. Bennet dashed off to find the restless Caroline and Lizzy jumped off the couch. The room spun around and she had to grab hold of the armrest to steady herself. William rushed to Elizabeth and held her up. Mr. Bennet began to wonder if Billy Collins was correct in his surmise about Elizabeth and William Darcy. He was sure of it when William asked to speak to him in private. Mr. Bennet agreed and showed him to another room down the hall.

Elizabeth thought it would be a good time to visit the kitchen so she wandered into the hall and ran into Caroline.

"Oof! Sorry, Caroline, I didn't see you." Elizabeth tried not to sneeze on Caroline's shirt. "Are you looking for something? Do you need help?" She asked knowing full well that she was looking for William and that William would not be found for quite some time.

"No, there isn't anything that I want from you." Caroline looked her up and down and sneered at Elizabeth's appearance before elbowing her way past her. Really! She shows up sick and expects people to coddle her and then sneezes on me. Ugh! The girl is completely disgusting.

Elizabeth just shrugged her shoulders and let Caroline discover for herself that William was not where he was reported to be.

William caught up to Elizabeth later in the evening. He smiled his reassurance.

Elizabeth was burning with curiosity. "What did he say?"

"He gave us his blessing and then we talked for a while. I like your dad. He's got an interesting view on life. He wants to check your sanity though so you'd better go and see him. I guess I didn't make the best impression last year." William paused then continued. "You know, your father wasn't all that surprised. I wonder how he knew."

Elizabeth didn't say a thing about Billy Collins' letter; so she excused herself and went to see her father.

One Week Later.

"Elizabeth, have you thought about when we should get married?" William was sitting next to her in the jeep as they sped down the Causeway towards her apartment.

"Yes, and so has Mom. She wants a big double wedding ceremony." Elizabeth wrinkled her nose in distaste then downshifted. "I was sort of thinking of something small and quiet."

"Me too. But have you thought about when?"

"Soon I hope." Elizabeth grinned.

"Very soon?"

"How soon?" Elizabeth looked at William suspiciously.

"Tomorrow soon?"

"T… tomorrow!" The gears ground as she tried to shift from second to first. Elizabeth was incredulous. She pulled into the parking lot and braked heavily causing the car to jerk. She turned to William. "You want to elope?" William nodded his head. "Elope. How? We have papers and forms to fill out and… Really?"

"Really. We can go down to the Keys and get a Justice of the Peace to marry us."

"My mom would kill me." Elizabeth smiled then it faded. "Don't you want your sister to be there?"

"We can have a ceremony later after Jane and Charles are married." William gave her his best dazzling cheesy smile making Elizabeth laugh. "I'm all packed. I wanted to ask you to do this last week but we got sick and I needed some things from home and…" William looked at the expression on Elizabeth's face. It was disbelief. "…I can wait. It doesn't have to be tomorrow. I don't want to rush you or anything."

Elizabeth laughed. "It's not that it's just such a surprise. When I first met you I would have thought you'd want this big blow-out wedding deal with photographers and celebrities and news people and here I find you want to elope." Elizabeth shut the car off and thought about it for a long time. Finally she turned to him. "I can be packed in twenty minutes." William grinned from ear to ear and jumped out of the car.

"I just need to get my stuff from Charles' place." He said as they walked up the stairs.

"We'll pick it up on the way down." Elizabeth opened the door and jumped out of Sandy's way as the dog leapt through the doorway catching William in her paws. "You'll have to get used to that. I've never been able to teach her not to jump up when I came home."

William struggled with the excited dog. "How does she like cats?"

"She loves them, but she can't eat a whole one by herself." Elizabeth grinned at William. "Do you have a cat?"

William nodded. "My sister does. I'm sure we can figure something out." Elizabeth went to her room leaving William with Sandy out in the living room.

Elizabeth got a bag out of the closet and started throwing things into it. "How long are we going to be gone?" Elizabeth called out. "I need to know what to pack. And I need to call work and let them know how much time I'm taking off. How much time did you take off?"

William started laughing. "I own the company. I can take off as much time as I want. You know you don't have to work anymore after we're married. Unless you want to."

Elizabeth paused in her packing. She hadn't thought about that before. "Uh, one thing at a time." Wandering into her closet Elizabeth contemplated her wedding dress. She chose a soft creamy calf-length dress that always made her feel romantic. Elizabeth carefully packed it along with shoes and an iron and then stared at the phone. She picked it up and dialed her father's number.

"Hello?" Mr. Bennet picked up at the third ring.

"Daddy?" Elizabeth's voice shook slightly. Elizabeth felt nervous all of a sudden.

"Elizabeth? What's wrong?" Mr. Bennet was worried. Elizabeth hasn't called him Daddy for years.

"Nothing. I just wanted to let you know that I'm getting married." She gulped. "Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow, eh? Well, I suspected that you'd do something like that. Do you want me to tell your mother or are you just going to send a postcard?"

"You can tell her, but break it to her gently. She was planning a gala. I'll call you this weekend." Elizabeth twirled the phone chord around her finger. "I love you."

"I love you too, Sweetheart. And don't worry about your mom, I'll take care of her. Good luck, Elizabeth. Good-bye." Mr. Bennet hung up the phone and stared out the window. His baby girl was getting married. He knew she'd be well taken care of and William loved her beyond anything but it was still hard to let his favorite daughter go. He sighed and leaned back in his chair. I'm going to miss her.

Elizabeth slowly hung up the phone and then zipped up her bag. She took a last glance around her room and decided that she had everything she needed. "All set!" She cried out as she walked into the living room.

William took her bag from her. "You're sure this is what you want?" Elizabeth smiled mischievously and nodded her head. William smiled. "Let's go then."

"Let me just leave a note for Jane and get Sandy's leash. We'll need a witness there." Elizabeth scribbled something down and then the three of them left. Elizabeth locked up.

William put her things in the Jeep and then got in. William adjusted the seatbelt over his shoulder. "Blue."

Elizabeth stalled. "Pardon me?"

"My favorite colour. Blue. We have four hours to drive; it's a perfect opportunity to get to know one another."

Elizabeth smiled as she started the car. She put it in reverse and pealed out of the parking space. "I can make it in three." Elizabeth put the car in gear and roared down the street.

Chapter 41

Posted on Thursday, 27-Aug-98

Elizabeth waited in the jeep while William phoned ahead to the courthouse in Key West. He was gesturing and talking excitedly into the receiver and Elizabeth smiled as she caught a glimpse of his business demeanor. Sandy barked for William to hurry up and William held up a finger to show that he was almost done. Finally he nodded his head a few times and then hung up the phone.

William ran back to the waiting car and got in. "The only time they could fit us in is today at four o'clock if we can get there on time." William glanced at his watch. "It's two thirty now, what do you think?"

"I think we should have planned something, but it's too late now. Put your seatbelt on we've got to get moving!" Elizabeth pulled out onto the highway and they sped on down to Key West.

"I did manage to get us a room at the hotel." William shouted over the sound of traffic and wind. "So at least we won't be camping on the beach tonight."

"What's wrong with that? It sounds romantic." Elizabeth shouted back.

"Is there a ring?" The Justice of the Peace asked.

Elizabeth looked around for something but didn't know what. "No there isn't. Do we need one?"

"Yes, right here!" William said at the same time and took a small band of platinum out of his shirt pocket and handed it to the lady officiating over them. He leaned over and whispered, "I told you I needed some things from home. It was my mothers," he explained.

Elizabeth nodded her head and reached for his hand. The service was about to start and she was getting nervous. Elizabeth wondered if William was feeling nervous as well. She looked at the woman presiding and tried to listen carefully to the words that she was saying. Elizabeth responded when she was told to but her thoughts kept wandering back to her chosen husband. I wonder if we're being too hasty. Look at us, we didn't even have time to change clothes. I'm still in my shorts. No one but Dad knows of this; not even Jane knows except for that incomprehensible note I left. What about William? Is he having doubts? Elizabeth looked up at William and saw him looking down at her, smiling lovingly. He squeezed her hand reassuringly as if to say that he understood and that everything would be all right. Elizabeth smiled back and concentrated on what was being said. She recited the passages that would bind her to William forever and when she was asked if she would take this man beside her 'to have and to hold until death do you part', Elizabeth looked up at William and said, "I do". She heard the deep resonance of William's voice as he said his part and felt a quiver go through her when he spoke his vows and slipped the small band onto her third finger.

"By the power vested in me by the state of Florida, I now pronounce you man and wife." She paused. "You may kiss the bride." The Justice of the Peace beamed as the newlyweds embraced for the first time as husband and wife. This was her favorite part of her job; it was so gratifying to see young couples in love and starting out on their own. The woman sighed to herself as she left them to their embrace to fill out the paperwork that was required to make the marriage legal and wondered vaguely to herself why this young couple was in such a hurry to get married. She glanced furtively at the woman's stomach but couldn't see a telltale bulge. The young lady seemed virtuous enough but you never can tell these days. She signed her name on the last form and waited patiently for the newlyweds to come apart. She was accustomed to waiting; this was always the longest part of the ceremony. When they separated, she indicated to them where they needed to sign. The lady offered her hand and congratulated them. She wished them well as they left, dog trailing behind them. Ahhhh, young love is the best kind of love there is.

"William, you're incorrigible! You're going to drop me." Elizabeth laughed. She had her bag in one hand and Sandy's leash in the other while William carried her in his arms with his bag hanging across his shoulders. He struggled with the key cursing those stupid card locks that required two hands to operate a simple doorknob. He refused to put Elizabeth down insisting that she was going to be carried across the threshold even if it meant going through the window with Elizabeth slung over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes.

At last the door opened and William and Elizabeth crossed over the coveted threshold and into their hotel room. William kissed his wife of twenty minutes and deposited her safely on the ground feet first. "What do you want to do first, Mrs. Darcy?"

"How about we order some food for later. I don't think we'll get out tonight." Elizabeth reached for the room service menu and picked up the phone. The room service operator picked up and Elizabeth read out the order. "Two cheeseburgers, medium rare, fries, ah, some fruit, strawberries if you have them. No, make that three cheeseburgers, two medium rare and one rare, fries, the strawberries and a bottle of champagne." Elizabeth felt a tapping on her shoulder and turned around to see William shaking his head and pointing at the table. There was a champagne bottle resting in an ice bucket waiting for them. Elizabeth smiled.

"Uhhh, scratch the champagne." Elizabeth turned back to William who was taking something out of his bag. "Is there anything else, William?" He shook his head and pulled out another mysterious item from his bag. Elizabeth watched him out of the corner of her eye as she finished. "I'd like some Key Lime pie too. Um, heh, we won't need this for another couple of hours sooo, take your time." Elizabeth looked at Sandy. "Oh! And a large bowl." There was a definite pause then the clerk repeated the order. Elizabeth verified it reminding him about the large bowl then hung up the phone.

"What are you doing so mysteriously, Oh Darling Husband?" She asked.

"Nothing mysterious. I'm just going to make up the bed." William ripped the covers and sheets off the bed.

"What? William, the bed was already made… Oh… oh right." Elizabeth was silent for a while.

"I told you I needed some things from home." William spread the bottom sheet over the bed and tucked in a corner. Elizabeth took the other side and helped him finish. She wondered what else was in William's bag of tricks. They got the coverlet back on the bed and she folded down the sheets over it. Taking a pillow each they shook the pillows into the cases and William plopped his down on the bed.

Elizabeth hugged hers, blushing furiously. "So is my mom supposed to take the sheets in the morning and prove to the village that I was a virginal bride?" She looked at her husband with an expressive glance.

William stopped in his tracks his arms hanging down. He blinked several times. "Elizabeth? You didn't say anything."

"I figured the subject would come up sooner or later. It turns out that it's sooner." Elizabeth smiled faintly. "It's nothing to worry about, William. And don't act so surprised either!" She tossed the pillow on the bed.

"No, but, well…" William couldn't think of a single thing to say but he didn't hesitate in his actions. He crossed the room and pulled Elizabeth into his arms and kissed her face passionately holding her tight. It explained a lot of things. It explained why she ran from him in North Carolina and it told pages of her virtue and generosity.

Elizabeth stood there and let him kiss her knowing that this was definitely right. He unbuttoned her shirt and slipped it off her shoulders letting it fall to the ground. Elizabeth shivered as the cool air hit her skin and closed her eyes. William ran his hands up her arms and over her shoulders and into her hair. He stroked the thick curls as he leaned over and kissed her firmly on the mouth. William picked her up and brought her to the bed. He turned down the covers and placed her gently on the soft bed.

Elizabeth wrapped her hands around William's neck and brought him down to her, letting him cover her body with his. "William, I love you so much," she whispered as her husband kissed her over and over again.

William gazed into her eyes. "I love you too, Elizabeth."

The End

The Aftermath

Posted on Thursday, 27-Aug-98

"What!! Lizzy eloped?" Mrs. Bennet was dumbstruck at the news. She looked at her husband who seemed too calm. "What do you mean, she ran off and got married? Just like that?" She snapped her fingers. Mr. Bennet confirmed it and expressed his condolences and left his wife to fume alone.

How could her own daughter do something like this? Her flesh and blood? It was just like Lizzy to be so selfish take off without a moment's notice. Without even a trousseau! And all her plans for a big glamourous wedding were ruined. Ruined!

Mrs. Bennet felt cheated and was only soothed by remembering that Elizabeth was never really her favourite daughter and now she'd have more time and energy (and money) to spend on Jane's wedding. She immediately made mental changes to the guest list and rushed to pick up the phone to call her sister with the news and ask for some advice on wedding colours. Jane wanted soft pastels but Mrs. Bennet thought that brighter colours would be classier.

The news spread through the family with the all speed of a brush fire taking everyone by surprise but not for very long. Most people wished the couple joy and drank to their health and happiness. Most people except for Caroline that is. Charles told her about the elopement and considering that she didn't scream was a good sign. Instead she picked up the latest copy of Forbes magazine and started thumbing through the pages ripping out every one that even mentioned William Darcy. She could forget about him soon enough but she definitely didn't need reminding. And she was sure that there were plenty of handsome, wealthy, single, young men out there in the world waiting for her. After all she wasn't that picky.

Georgiana was ecstatic when William called her up from the Keys. She couldn't stop talking about how happy she was and would have kept Elizabeth on the phone for hours if her brother didn't remind her that it was his honeymoon and that they had things to do. Georgiana couldn't rest though until she'd sent bouquets of flowers to their hotel room. Each bouquet had a note and each note had something different written on it that made them smile.

Mrs. DeBourgh was told the news after the couple got back from their honeymoon and was so apoplectic that Poor Anne was forced to call an ambulance. The doctor could find nothing wrong with her physically but decided that the great lady's mind was in such a state that shot of Demerol would be beneficial for the time being. The Collins' deciding that it would be the smartest thing for them to take their vacation at that time flew to Florida to be with their families. Charlotte was truly happy for her friend, she'd often wished that Elizabeth could find the perfect mate and was only a little surprised at her choice, but as it seemed like a match made in Heaven, Charlotte had no complaints for her friend.

Wickham heard the news on the TV with a rather regretful attitude. He didn't regret his lying or his swindling, however he did regret that he was caught and he certainly regretted that his roommate out weighed him by one hundred pounds. He supposed now that Elizabeth knew the truth about his dealings with the Darcy family. This didn't bother him so much. What bothered him was the fact that his roommate bothered him so much. Wickham sighed to himself as he trudged back to his cell and waited for lockup. This sentence was killing him.

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