First (Wrong) Impressions: A Modern Pride & Prejudice (27 page)

“He’s an opportunistic, womanizing creep,” Lizzy blurted. At Darcy’s surprised look, she explained, “We weren’t actually going out, to be honest. He finished his community service and I asked him if he’d like to have dinner at my house to celebrate. That was really our only date and it lasted for an hour.”

Darcy put his wine glass down. “What happened?”

“I cooked him dinner.”

“Pasta?” he said with a small smile.

“Chili, actually.” Lizzy swished her wine around in her glass, thinking back to that night and growing angrier.

“If you don’t want to tell me…” His voice trailed off and she got the impression that his mind was going in the opposite direction to the night’s events.

“I didn’t sleep with him, if that’s what you think. Not for his lack of trying.”

“What do you mean?”

Lizzy put her glass down and looked into Darcy’s eyes. They were grey and wide, and she’d never noticed how intense his gaze was. “George wasn’t a fan of me saying no.”

Anger flashed across Darcy’s face and, for a brief moment, it looked like he was going to start smashing dishes.

“He didn’t succeed, don’t worry. He just was a jerk about it all.” Lizzy gulped past the lump in her throat. She was surprised by her feelings. At the time, she was embarrassed and enraged that he’d dare abuse her trust. Looking back, she felt stupid, naive, and just a little violated. “When it was clear I wasn’t going to sleep with him, he made an excuse and left.”

“Did he hurt you?”

“Oh, just my pride. Ellie and Jane were downstairs. I was safe.”

Darcy struggled for a moment before saying, “I’m glad he didn’t hurt you.”

“So am I,” she said, her grin returning. “But I was fine. They knew I wouldn’t sleep with him, so if they’d heard anything…well, they would have checked on me.”

“Why didn’t…? Never mind. That’s none of my business.”

Lizzy felt heat rise in her cheeks, but she laughed and said, “You want to know why I didn’t sleep with him?”

“Absolutely not. That’s none of my business and I apologize for even hinting at it.” He stabbed at his food. “Besides, I already got my question answered. Your turn.”

She wanted to tell him. It wasn’t a test of his reaction, but that she simply wanted to talk to him about it. She made the decision to tell him and knew, deep down, that she needed to.

“I haven’t had much experience in that sort of thing,” she began, but didn’t like how it came out, so started over. “I mean, I don’t date a lot and, when I do, it’s usually guys who work in the inner city. Most of them are pretty religious. They’re all virgins, waiting for marriage.” Another nervous chuckle escaped her.

“That makes dating interesting.”

“You gotta understand, I have spent most of my teens and early twenties pretending to be Luke’s girlfriend. I barely dated until university. Then I met this guy and, I don’t know, I was so afraid of dying a virgin that we…well, you know.”

Darcy laughed. “I know.”

“But afterwards…
afterwards
, I thought that casual was just not something I could do. I thought maybe it was because it was my first time, but two more guys after that and nope, casual just is not for Elizabeth Bennet. I want to know that if I got pregnant, we’d know each other’s stances on abortion and would support each other through the decision process. I want to know that I wouldn’t need a condom because I’d already know his history and he’d know I was on birth control. I want to know that he’d be there the morning after, and a month after.” Lizzy smiled at herself. “Pretty stupid, huh?”

“No,” William said, in a low, husky voice. “It’s good you know what you want.”

They went back to eating and Lizzy felt pretty stupid for pouring her guts out. Wow. What on earth had she been thinking? She took steady, regular breaths so she wouldn’t tear up. Oh God in heaven. He probably thought she was some kind of crazy woman. What thirty-year-old man would want to get involved with a woman who wouldn’t sleep with him for months? That’s the real reason she didn’t date; she couldn’t handle the embarrassment of telling guys that she didn’t do casual. She was such a prude and, at that moment, she wished so badly she wasn’t, because he smelled way too good.

“Okay,” she said, “so my question for you is, hmm, do you like comic books?”

William was quiet for a moment. “It’s been six years for me.”

“Since you read a comic book?”

“Since I’ve been with a woman.”

Lizzy snapped her gaze to his bemused face. “Seriously?”

“I thought your response would be shock that any woman has been with me.”

Lizzy laughed, a little too hard, but she was nervous, dammit. “You’re rich and—” her gaze scanned his torso—”rather handsome.”

“You left off pathologically shy, and, what was it you called me? An arrogant, pompous ass?”

“Yeah, but you’re rich.”

“But then I speak and they usually go away. G says I need to work on my game.”

Lizzy grinned. “So, why six years?”

“I was engaged to a girl named Anne. She was a relative of Aunt Catherine’s second husband. We met in high school and dated all through our undergrad. Then I asked her to marry me.”

“What happened?”

“When Mom died, Dad took it pretty hard. I had to help more with G, and Anne didn’t like that.” He looked down. “She said I neglected her and I cared more for G than I did for her.”

“Georgiana’s your sister, though. It’s completely different.”

William shrugged. “Fitzy was dating this girl, I don’t remember her name, and they went to Banff for a vacation. They caught Anne with another guy.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“She said she’d stayed with me because of the money. Aunt Catherine told her to stick it out with me. So she did, until I called it off.” Darcy put his wine glass down. “The doctor’s appointments were the worst. I had to say that my fiancé was cheating on me and I needed…” He trailed off. “After all the tests were done, I realized that I wasn’t for casual, either. So I poured myself into my work and haven’t looked back.”

No wonder he’d been so awkward. She was the first woman he’d loved since his ex. And she’d stomped all over his heart. Lizzy wanted to smack herself in the face.

“G keeps saying I have to start dating, but I can’t tell if it’s me or my money a woman wants. Except with you. I definitely know you aren’t interested in my money.”

“Nonsense! My agency would love to get its dirty hands on your money.”

They leaned toward each other as they laughed and Lizzy was reminded how good he smelled. He didn’t wear heavy scents or drown himself in body sprays meant for teenage boys. He smelled clean with a hint of spice and earth. Not the gross earth, either, but summer days outdoors, gardening. Did he always smell like this?

“That’s why you made the mistake about Jane.”

Silence settled between them. Lizzy’s head was foggy from the wine. What was she feeling? It couldn’t be love.

When William went statue-still, it dawned on her that it was because her hand was resting on the prickly skin of his jaw. His eyes were so expressive, even if he seemed paralyzed. She could read hope, fear, nervousness, shyness, and longing.

It wouldn’t hurt, right? A simple experiment to gauge their chemistry. He’d never make the first move, not that she blamed him. If there was no spark, they could just be friends.

He reached up to intertwine his fingers with hers. He was so handsome. So kind. So perfect for her. The wine hadn’t clogged up her thinking; it had cleared it.

So, obviously, it was that moment that the shit splattered all over the metaphorical fan.

Chapter 31

The door opened and G rushed in, shouting Lizzy’s name. Lizzy jerked away from Darcy and jumped to her feet.

“What’s wrong?”

“Why the hell haven’t you been answering the phone?”

Lizzy looked at Darcy, confused. “I turned my cell off.”

“What about the landline?”

Darcy stuffed his hands into his pockets. “I turned off the ringers. What’s going on?”

“Lizzy, here…” G held out her own phone. “It’s Jane. There’s an emergency.”

Lizzy stumbled over, the blood now rushing back to her brain. “Hey Jane. What’s going on?”

“Oh, thank God. We’ve been trying to get ahold of you all night.” Jane’s voice was frantic.

“Sorry, I was having supper with William.” The words sounded slurred, even to Lizzy. “What happened? Is everyone all right?”

“Are you drunk?” Jane accused.

“No, yes, maybe.” Lizzy said. “It doesn’t matter. What’s going on?”

“It’s Lydia.”

Her stomach knotted. “Is she all right?”

“She’s missing.”

“What do you mean,
missing
?”

Jane started sobbing. “I emailed you. I can’t…I can’t…”

Lizzy heard her mother wailing in the background.

“Is that Mom?”

“The email explains everything. She’s gone to Vancouver…with George.”

“George who?” Then the bottom dropped out of her stomach. “George Wickham? Lydia ran away from home with George Wickham?”

“Apparently they’ve been seeing each other off and on since she turned sixteen.”

“How do you know?”

“Cousin Kitty.” Jane took a deep breath. “Lizzy, Lydia’s pregnant.”

Lizzy stared slack-jawed at William. “Lydia’s pregnant with George Wickham’s child?”

His eyes widened and he swore under his breath.

“Lydia called Mary a week ago, asking for money. Mary wasn’t going to give it to her, but Lydia lied and said there was a mix-up over her pay. She had no money, so Mary lent her a thousand dollars.”

“She used it to run off with George,” Lizzy said. The fog of wine and lust had faded.

William mouthed he’d be right back, and squeezed Lizzy’s arm as he walked past. G stayed by the front door, staring in horror.

“Yeah. Kitty managed to hide it for a couple of days, but she couldn’t contact Lydia. Lydia’s cell’s going straight to voice mail and George’s number is out of service. Kitty thinks they’ve gone to Vancouver. George was a constructor worker on the set, and he quit when Lydia told him about the baby. So it looks like she chased him.”

“That makes no sense. Why would she run after him, instead of calling us? We’d help her. Dad and I would make sure she could have an abortion if she wanted, regardless of whatever Mom wants.”

Jane sniffled. “It sounds like Lydia wants to convince George to stay with her.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Lizzy shouted.

Jane started weeping again.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to shout. Have you called the police? Wait, he worked on the set. Doesn’t that put him in a position of power? She’s still a minor.”

“The police said he wasn’t in any real authority position. He was just building and tearing down sets. So, she’s legal age. Not much they can do.” Jane wept harder.

“Yeah. I know the drill about sixteen-year-old runaways.”

“I talked to Luke. He’s going to help us, and the Vancouver police have been alerted. Oh, Lizzy. Dad can’t go because of the shop and Mom’s in hysterics and—”

“I’ll go. George told me some of the places he used to hang out when he lived in Vancouver. I’ll talk to the police there. It might help.”

“That’s exactly what I was hoping,” Jane said between sobs. There was more wailing in the background. “I have to go, Lizzy. Mom’s freaking out.”

Lizzy thrust the cell phone into G’s hands and rushed to her bedroom. William’s bedroom. Someone’s bedroom. It was hard to think clearly with a bottle of wine flooding her brain. She needed to call Melissa. She needed to pack. She needed to find out when the next bus for Vancouver left. Shit, shit, shit. Where was her cell phone?

“Lizzy?” Darcy said, stepping into his bedroom. “Is everything okay?”

She tossed pillows to the floor, searching. Where had she put it? “Nothing’s okay. Lydia’s missing, Jane’s sobbing, Mom’s in hysterics, I’m drunk, I can’t find my goddamn cell phone, I can’t call Melissa…” She broke off, crying. She slapped at her face, brushing away the tears. “Shit.”

“Lizzy,” G called out, “found your phone.” She appeared in the doorway, and Darcy took the phone from her. He whispered something to G, who whispered back, and then left. Darcy took double-steps back to her and plugged the phone into the wall charger before placing it on his night stand.

Lizzy sat on the bed, weeping into her hands. George and a baby would ruin Lydia’s life.

****

Darcy sat down next to her and awkwardly put his hand on her knee. He said gently, “Let me book you a flight. There should be one in the morning.”

“Oh shit,” Lizzy exclaimed, lifting her face from her hands. “I don’t get paid until tomorrow. I can’t afford a flight. I’ll take the bus. Oh, dammit. I’ll have to call Dad. He just has no money right now because of the trouble with the shop and the rent.” She began weeping again. “What use can I be, when I can’t even look after my own life? I can’t even afford to go help my baby sister.”

“Lizzy, I’ll pay for it.”

“Please, no. I can’t take your money.”

“You’re not taking the goddamn bus.” He left the room, and a moment later she heard him on the phone issuing orders to Fanny. As she packed her things, he came back, still barking into his cell.

“Fanny, I don’t care. Lizzy needs to be in Vancouver. Make it happen. Yes, I’ll wait.” A minute later, he said, “Let me ask her.” He lowered the phone. “There’s an Air Canada out tomorrow at six. Is that okay?”

Through her tears, Lizzy managed to say, “Yes. Tell her thanks.”

“She said that’s fine. Yeah. Is there an executive seat? Fine. Put her on that. They’ll give her something to eat. I’ll send you Luke Charlotte’s email address. If he can’t pick her up, arrange for a driver to meet her. No, I’ll hold.”

Lizzy sat on the bed, listening to Darcy issue command after command, his voice growing angrier by the moment.

She realized that with Lydia pregnant, she would be forever linked to George. The wine threatened to come back up. There was no way William would connect himself with her now, considering that any family get-together might have George Wickham at it, the man who raped G.

The worst was that Lizzy couldn’t even blame him.