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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?

Continued In Next Section