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Chapter 14

Posted On: Friday, 25 October 2002, at 7:17 p.m.

The music became softer as William Darcy took hold of Lizzy's hand. His touch was warm, strong and confidant, and Lizzy found that he was an excellent dancer. They moved together easily, and Lizzy found herself saying,

"It seems that you are well acquainted with this dance, Mr. Darcy."

"I am fairly well so," he replied, thinking, if only I were half as well acquainted with you. Silence pressed them as the music played, the words obstructed by the babble of a few hundred onlookers. Finding the silence of her partner disturbing, Lizzy spoke again.

"It is your turn to say something. I talked of the dance, you ought to make a comment on the size of this room, or the number of guests."

"I shall say whatever you wish me to say."

"That will do for the moment," said Lizzy, figuring that he was doing his best. "But on passing, I will observe that balls by invitation are much nicer than the more public ones. But we may now stop talking, if you wish it."

"Do you always talk while you dance?" asked William, savoring a few beats of music where Lizzy danced closer to him.

"Sometimes. It would be very odd to go through an entire dance without speaking once, you know. But sometimes it would be best for certain couples if they could be prevented from the trouble of talking at all."

"Is this your own opinion, or do you think that you represent my own?"

"Both," said Lizzy, in an arch tone, and smiling playfully at William. "For I think that we are in some ways quite similar." William smiled at the thought, and listened to her explanation, his smile fading slightly as she spoke. "We are both of an unsocial and quiet disposition, and we should rather not speak unless we have something to astound the company with."

"I cannot imagine this a true picture of your own character," said William. "But how well it matches mine, I cannot pretend to say. You think it a faithful portrait, I suppose."

"I should not be judge on my own verdicts."

They were silent again for some time, and William wondered at her image of him. He was often silent, he knew, but was Lizzy? This playful creature seemed to be everywhere, and be a part of nearly everything. He inquired after her work.

"Teaching is just as it always is, I enjoy it. But Gypsy certainly gives me more work. Between that and the Spring Semester dinner, I haven't had a free night at home all week."

"Spring Semester? I think that Georgie mentioned that. Something about elective English courses?"

"Yes. More teachers, and courses geared towards specific interests. Even though I am a Classics teacher, I usually teach a course. There are about fifteen teachers and twenty courses for about three hundred students. And we have to Welcome all those teachers at a dinner every year. It is such a dreadful bore, and if I hadn't spent most of it talking with that pianist, Wickham, I should have been in tears."

William's grip slackened, and he seemed a little pale. "George Wickham?"

"Yes. Wait... he mentioned knowing you."

"Wickham knows many people. How many he is able to retain as friends is very dubious."

"He has lost your friendship, to be sure," said Lizzy. "And shall likely suffer all his life in consequence."

If I could only make him suffer more, thought Darcy, I would. What was it to Elizabeth Bennet that that... cad... had gotten his come-upance? He sought another subject eagerly, not wanting to remember the pain that George Wickham had caused him and his sister.

Fortunately for William, an interruption arrived, as they drifted more towards the outside edges of the dance floor. Charlotte's father, Mr. Lucas, stopped Lizzy, and remarked,

"May I congratulate you two on your lovely dancing. Lizzy, you look lovely this evening. Charlotte has been telling me about your play, I hope that it goes well. And I see that Jane is here with her lawyer. I hope that you two will get a chance to dance again when a certain, desirable event takes place. -- But I am keeping you from the dance." He removed his gaze from Jane and Charles, and returned to the side of the room, and William again seemed to grow inattentive.

"Who was that?" asked William, suddenly.

"Mr. Lucas. He is Charlotte's father... you've met Charlotte, and her brother, Luke."

"Ah. Yes. His interruption makes me forget what we were speaking of."

"Nothing of consequence. We had tried and failed with a number of subjects already, I cannot but think that his interruption was aimed at the couple who could least provide verbal satisfaction with each other."

"Well... what do you think of books?"

"Books? Mr. Darcy, I spend all of my working life surrounded by books. You cannot expect me to discuss them here in this setting."

"Does the present always occupy you, then?" he asked with a small frown.

"Yes, always," said Lizzy, absently. Then she straightened a bit, and said, "I remember that you said that you rarely forgave people."

"That was true. But I am careful about my anger, I like to think."

"You are never blinded by prejudice?"

"I hope not. Why do you ask?"

"I am trying to figure you out, and I am not succeeding very well." Lizzy gave a small smile, and turned with the dance.

"I would rather that you not try to do so at this moment."

"But when else will I have to opportunity to do so? I collect characters, and yours seems rather different."

"Then let me not prevent you from your fun," said William, feeling lost and uncertain. Lizzy did not seem very responsive to him. She would jest and talk, but she seemed so impersonal around him. It was rather disappointing, but he knew that he could do better another time, another place. And all the Wickham talk had bothered him. What was Wickham doing in Philadelphia?

Lizzy walked quickly away from Darcy, not sure what she thought of him. He was certainly handsome, and generally better mannered, but he was still unmovable when it came to some subjects. Just because George Wickham had no written proof to him claim of an allowance, Mr. Darcy had no right to withhold the man his education. Darcy hadn't denied anything, so it must be true. Lizzy was upset, she didn't want it to be true. Certainly, George was more likable, but William Darcy could be so pleasant at times. Lizzy remembered the vacation at Ledley, and also the loving terms that Georgie used when speaking of her brother. William had such potential, it was a shame to see him corrupted by his pride and his place in society.

Mrs. Bennet had found her way over to her middle daughter, and smiled at Lizzy. Lizzy looked up.

"What is it, mother?"

"Isn't this such fun?" asked Mrs. Bennet.

"Yes, mother."

"I saw you dancing earlier. With Mr. Darcy of Derby International. He's do very well for you, dear."

"Mother!" exclaimed Lizzy, noticing that there were other people within earshot.

"You'd do very well to catch him, Lizzy," said her mother, in annoyingly loud tones. "he has quite a fortune. And he is friends with Jane's Charles!"

"Mother, I assure you, I barely know Mr. Darcy. However, he is the guardian of one of my students, and out of politeness asked me to dance."

Mrs. Bennet was not convinced, and William, who temporarily passed through earshot, sighed to himself. If that was what Lizzy Bennet believed, then no wonder she never responded to him in the way he wished she would. He was the guardian of one of her students.

"Well, he does know Charles. Charles is such a dear! And he is very well off, if I may say so. Jane is very clever to catch a man like him."

Darcy and Lizzy both winced at hearing this, though for different reasons. Darcy was upset that his friend should have been "caught" by Jane Bennet, when he knew that Charles was a sensible man, who admired the girl. He'd hardly propose to her, though, despite the fact that she was a sweet girl. Lizzy, knowing that her sister was a sweet girl, resented the way her mother was making her appear an ensnaring fiend.

Lizzy said, "I'd better go find Jane and tell her that," said Lizzy, curtly, and rushed off, where she took a seat by herself by the edge of the room, and rested against one of the arms, while curling her body towards the empty seat beside her, rather than the couple who sat together on her other side. From her solitude on the edges of the action, she watched the crowd, picking out people she knew. Kitty and Sam were dancing again, looking cheerful and happy. Georgie was drinking fruit punch to the side of the dance floor with Alec, and Jane was on Charles's arm, over in a large crowd of his friends. Lydia was less decorously conversing with other guests, laughing uproariously at everything people said, and clearly a trifle tipsy from champagne that she was too young to be drinking. Lizzy sighed, and put her head in her hands. Why couldn't Lydia behave while they were at this ball? It was such a formal affair, the music was conservative, as were the dances. Everyone was dressed in gowns that rivaled Lizzy's high school prom dress, and likely ten times more expensive. Lizzy knew that she didn't belong at this party, and wondered that none of her family seemed to feel the same way. Certainly not Lizzy.

Lizzy lifted her head from it's mournful position when someone sat down beside her. She was shocked to realize that it was William Darcy. Not knowing what to say, or how to act, Lizzy brushed a loose strand of hair out of her eyes, and smoothed her skirt, before leaning back, and looking at the ground.

"Georgie looks happy," said William.

"I'm... glad," said Lizzy.

"I want to thank you for helping me with her."

"No problem."

"Do you want to know about George Wickham?" asked Darcy quietly. Lizzy was surprised, and wondered what he's say, but shook her head. She wasn't up to getting mad at Darcy now. That would cause a scene, and she's be as bad as Lydia if she caused a scene.

"Not now," said Lizzy, firmly.

"All right," said William. "Are you enjoying the ball, then?"

"Does it look it?" asked Lizzy. "I want to go home."

"You can leave whenever you want."

"I have to wait for Charlotte."

"Ah. I hope you get some rest later, then."

"Me too. I can't stand being here. Usually I love the Asb ball, but I'm just not up to it this year." Lizzy allowed her eyes to pause a minute, resting on Lydia and her date. Darcy followed her gaze.

"There will always be people who don't belong."

"They aren't related to you," said Lizzy. "It's not your family reputation. Thanks for seeing how I was doing, but I think I'm going to go get a drink."

Darcy nodded, and Lizzy stood up, and walked quietly and quickly across the room, her golden gown trailing behind her. She was very beautiful, and it was no surprise, although very painful, to see a pleasant looking man approach her, and lead her onto the dance floor. Life moved on for Lizzy.

"That ball was marvelous," exclaimed Jane, the next morning, as the three house mates sat down to a large breakfast that Charlotte had made. "Absolutely marvelous. Charles is so wonderful..." She trailed off, and her face was filled with a vacant expression that noted that Jane had left the building, and was off on cloud nine somewhere.

"I had a decent time, too," said Charlotte. "I had to dance with Lizzy's horrible Collins creature... twice... but there were some great people there. And I ran into Melanie Cartwright... we went to school together, I hadn't seen her in years. She married a dotcom tycoon, and is very happy. I'm invited to dinner in a few weeks." Charlotte looked happy. Although she was close to the Bennet sisters, her social life was very limited, and Lizzy often felt badly for the introverted young woman.

"How was your evening, Lizzy?" asked Jane.

"Apart from Lydia making an utter fool of herself, and Mother making comments in a voice that a deaf peacock couldn't miss? I wanted to melt into the floor. But I did have a nice time, I guess. Dancing always makes me happy."

"You danced with William Darcy, didn't you?" asked Charlotte.

"Yes," said Lizzy.

"Ah," said Charlotte.

"Ah, what?" asked Lizzy. "He asked me to dance, and I danced. It hardly warrants an 'ah', Char."

"You are no fun," grumbled Charlotte, helping herself to more French toast.

"William is very nice," said Jane. "Charles thinks the world of him." Clearly, if Charles said that... Mr. Collins... was a charming man, Jane would agree. Lizzy sighed. She didn't know what to think of Mr. Darcy... why had he come and to sit by her? He was an odd man, surely nice, but so arrogant... Lizzy changed the subject, quickly.

"Anyone want to help me build sets today?"

Both Charlotte and Jane decided to do things on their own, and left Lizzy the car to go to MFS to work on sets. There was a rehearsal going on, and a tired looking Georgie and a sleepy Kitty greeted Lizzy as she settled next to a wagon covered in flats, a screw gun perched beside her on a small ladder, a bucket of assorted screws between her feet. Lizzy smiled down at them.

"I guess you had a good time, then?"

"Definitely!" said Kitty. "You?"

"Don't ask," said Lizzy, groaning.

"It couldn't have been all bad," said Georgie, sweetly. "You danced with Will, didn't you? He's a good dancer."

"Yes," said Lizzy, "He was." She wondered why everyone seemed to bring up William Darcy all of the time.

"You and Georgie's brother made a beautiful pair," said Kitty. "If I had brought my camera, I would have taken a picture. The photo assignment this week was 'paradise'. You two looked heavenly."

"Thanks," said Lizzy. Kitty and Georgie seemed as determined to set her up with William as her own mother, Jane and Charlotte. Lizzy picked up the screw gun, fitted a screw to the magnetic tip, and squeezed the trigger. The noise of the tool was cheerfully loud, and blocked out Kitty's jests. Lizzy ignored them. She didn't know what to think.

After dropping Georgie at her rehearsal, William went home to think. He rather suspected that Richard would drop by, since he and Anne had come back early this morning, and wanted to catch up. While waiting for a call or a visit, Will sat down in a comfortable chair, and pulled out the newspaper to read. There were a few pictures from the Asb ball in it, including one of himself with a few other CEOs, from earlier in the evening. Georgie was beside him, hanging onto his arm, as the other, older, men smiled into the camera, holding their wives. Will wished for a fleeting moment that Lizzy had been on his arm, then realized that he wished that she had been on his arm as his wife. She would be a perfect wife, if only she showed some signs of returning his admiration. She knew and understood Georgie, was beautiful, smart, and talented. She showed sense, and was so friendly and cheerful. Will remembered the other men that Lizzy had danced with with anger, wishing that she was his alone.

He was engaged in such thoughts when the housekeeper and general godsend, Mrs. Reynolds showed Richard into the room.

"Thought I'd drop by," said Richard. "Anne brought Georgie back some of her flowers from the concert. It was beautiful. Connecticut is a great state."

"Certainly," agreed Will. "And you missed that nuisance of nuisances."

"The Asb ball? How was it?"

"Very pleasant, I guess. Georgie had a wonderful time dancing with that young Alec fellow. Who was very well behaved."

"That's a good thing. Glad to see that she's breaking out of the shell a bit. Did you get in any dances?"

"A few."

"Caroline snag you again?"

"Yes. But I danced with Elizabeth Bennet as well. I enjoyed that." The name came out unbidden, and William stared at the floor after revealing it to his cousin. Richard chuckled, and slapped William on the back.

"She's friendly, smart and beautiful, for sure. Good choice."

"She doesn't like me."

"She doesn't know you. You've only met a few times, right?"

"Did you know that she was Georgie's teacher, college advisor and homeroom teacher?"

"No, she knows Georgie that well?"

"Yes. She's the one who encouraged Georgie to audition for the play. The one who has been coaching her with her lines, teaching her the dances. Everywhere Georgie goes, everything she does, Elizabeth Bennet is there to help her, to teach her... Lizzy is the one who has been working miracles with Georgie."

"I always knew that I liked her," said Richard, smiling. "And Anne likes her, too. Why don't you talk to her? She's a sane and rational individual. You're a decent looking fellow, and you both love Georgie, what should be wrong between you? Will, old chap, get to it. You're not getting any younger."

"I hate it when people say that."

"Elizabeth Bennet won't bite."

"Really? I'm not sure."

"You won't know until you try."

"That is true." He'd come early to a few rehearsals. Maybe Lizzy would be there, maybe they could talk, on her ground, where she was comfortable. He was beginning to understand Lizzy-psychology.

Chapter 15

Posted On: Thursday, 24 October 2002, at 9:03 p.m.

Another week passed after the Asb ball, where Will saw only a few glimpses of Elizabeth Bennet. It wasn't for not trying, but both of their schedules seemed oddly incompatible. Lizzy wasn't at two rehearsals, being called away for jury duty, and when she was done, Will had a large business project. Will sighed, and resigned himself towards working out his problems at work.

While Will was busy at his work, Lizzy was fairly busy with hers. Spring was erupting outside her office window, and she looked longingly at the groups of high school students playing football on the front lawn of the school. Any interruption seemed welcome as Lizzy sat inside grading papers and planning the next week's lessons. Georgie was taking a test she had missed the day before in the corner, but the room was silent, and Lizzy knew that she needed to get work done. The class had gotten a bit behind in their reading, and the whole next month needed to be reorganized to accommodate the delay.

Lizzy's office door opened suddenly, and she realized that there was someone who would be an unwelcome interruption: Wilf Collins. He hadn't knocked, and Lizzy resented it horribly. She scowled to herself, and composed herself before turning around and facing him.

"What?" she asked rudely, making sure that the papers on her desk were prominent and in his sight-line. Didn't Wilf ever have his own work to do?

"Elizabeth! Lovely Elizabeth! What are you doing inside on such a lovely day?"

"Working." Wasn't it obvious?

"Oh. I wanted to ask you if you'd care to join me for lunch." He didn't say it as a question, and smiled his oily smile. Lizzy was astonished. Had she given him any encouragement? She didn't think so. Actually, she was sure that she hadn't. Why was he so dense?

"I've eaten," lied Lizzy glibly.

"Then perhaps you would join me having dinner tonight? I thought we could see a movie. There isn't much playing in the theaters, but I have a large collection of films at my house."

How could he possibly think that she wanted to go on a date with him? She didn't want to eat with him, and he was suggesting that she come to his house! She hid her distaste carefully, though her voice sounded hysterical as she replied,

"No, I would much rather not join you for dinner." She heard a low giggle from the other side of the room, and met Georgie's astonished eyes. Lizzy flashed her a smile, and then turned back to Wilf, who had installed himself on the small sofa her office housed.

"Perhaps another night?" he asked.

"I think not. I don't know when I ever showed you any encouragement, but I have not meant any. I'm afraid that I'm not at all interested in dating you, now or ever. Would you please leave my office, so that I can continue with my work?" It was amazing how unobservant Wilf was. He refused to recognize her work, and he hadn't noticed Georgie, who thought the whole situation ludicrous. Lizzy would have found it hilarious, but the man was still in her office.

"You can't possibly mean that. I understand that it is customary for young ladies to tease the man they secretly admire. I will wait. In the mean time, I have been recruited to chaperone the prom, and saw that you were also on the list. Would you attend the prom with me?"

It was so juvenile. And frightening. A nightmare. Lizzy took a breath. "No. I have a date. Please go." Wilf's shoulders slumped a little. "A date?"

"Yes. Someone I've been seeing," she lied.

"Of course. Well, I'll see you." Finally, he left. Lizzy collapsed into one of the soft chairs next to Georgie, who had finished her test, and put neatly onto the floor by Lizzy's desk.

"Poor Lizzy," Georgie said, and gave her teacher a hug. "That must have been traumatizing! We all call him Wild Wilf... a joke. He's scary. And so dense! Are you OK?"

"Yes, I'll be fine, but I may have to put things away for a little to calm down. I don't think that he noticed you."

"I don't either. I made a face at him, and he didn't react. I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you."

"Not that it's any of my business, but are you seeing anyone? You didn't bring anyone to the Asb ball."

"No, I'm not seeing anyone," Lizzy sighed. "Poor me. The only guy interested is creepy Collins."

"I wouldn't say that!" cried out Georgie, sweet and affectionate as ever. "You're beautiful and smart!"

"Lots of people don't like smart women. I should have been an actress or a hairstylist if I wanted a sexy job. Being a classicist doesn't really turn men on."

Georgie laughed. "Well, if you don't want Creepy Collins, Wild Wilf, or whatever he is to keep chasing you, you'll need a visible date for the prom. That's so funny that the adults ask each other to the prom. Do you like being a chaperone?"

"I love it. It's tough, and students are always a little wild, but they look so gorgeous. It's amazing how people clean up. I guess I will need a date. Where should I find one?"

"You'll find someone!" soothed Georgie. "But I have to go... I've got Bio now. See you!" She skipped off, leaving Lizzy sitting on the chair, trying to think of a good date for the prom. For some unknown reason the dark, handsome image of Will Darcy sprung to mind. He certainly was a great dancer. And gorgeous. And beat Wilf in all charms and manners. She didn't know why she thought about Will, but she smiled a little, before filing the thought away for later. Then, looking out the window, she made a decision, and shortly joined ten high school boys in a game of football. She'd always liked football.

Slightly disheveled and much cheered, Lizzy returned to her office to do work. Shortly, a gentle knock sounded on the door, and Lizzy cheerfully called for the person to enter. It was Charlotte, carrying a very full tray.

"Georgie Darcy told me that you hadn't eaten, and asked if I might bring you a tray. She's figured out that we are friends. What's wrong, so that you 'can't possibly go get lunch'?" Lizzy smiled.

"Oh, that! It was awful..." she told Charlotte about Wilf and his offers. Charlotte winced for her friend.

"Wow. That really sucks. I can't believe he presumed that you'd go to dinner and then to his house... what a sleeze!"

"Dirty, ill-mannered, ignorant and sleezy. He's really annoying. Can he even teach?"

"Apparently he can, from what I've heard. Just he's very strange. None of the permanent teachers like him. Well, here's a nice lunch in your office so you won't have to fun into him. He was headed for the lunch room last I saw."

"Thanks Char. You are awesome. What should I do about everything? I told him that I had a date already for the prom. I'll get one, but until then, how can I make sure that he won't be about during the prom, leaning over me?"

"I have an idea," said Charlotte, her eyes twinkling. "Why don't you see if he could be assigned to the guy's bathrooms? They always need people to make sure that only appropriate things happen there, and no one will volunteer to do it. On the other hand, I know that everyone on the committee, judging from what you've told me, would love to have him do it. He'd be out of everyone's hair."

"Charlotte Lucas, you are brilliant! I'll tell Lena when I see her next."

"Good. Now are you all happy and cheerful?"

"Yes. Thanks."

"Good. Then you can give me a ride home."

"I'd love to. Shall we splurge and pick up some Chinese food for dinner?"

"Beijing? You bet!"

Charlotte and Lizzy arrived home in the evening carrying paper bags full of little white boxes and mysterious parcels. They set the table and placed everything out, and waited for Jane to come home, while watching the BBC World News. Lizzy was feeling very cheerful about life, and Charlotte's mood was quickly rising with the delicious aroma of the food in her nostrils.

Jane finally arrived home, looking tired and worn. She perked up immediately when she smelled the food.

"You darlings!" she cried. "I needed that. I'm so upset. Charles has to go away. His aunt has died in California, and he and his sisters had to leave today. We were going to go get dessert tonight."

"I'm sorry," said Lizzy, hugging her sister. "But you have been seeing him every day, we'll try to be a good substitute."

"You two are wonderful. All this food! Did you get chicken and snow peas?"

"Of course!" The dish was the favorite of both Bennet sisters, and they sat down eagerly beside each other, ready to eat. Charlotte smiled.

"Can we toast with our tea?" she asked.

"Of course," said Lizzy. "To Charles, and may he be back soon, before Jane breaks her heart."

"And to Lizzy's prom date, whoever he will be, may he be gorgeous and not anything like Wilf Collins." Jane raised an elegant eyebrow curiously, but raised her cup to the other two.

"And to Charlotte, who is always sensible." They clinked cups, and Charlotte mock scowled.

"Why am I always sensible?"

"Because you have a napkin, and none of us do," said Lizzy pointedly. Charlotte laughed, and tossed the sisters napkins. They ate happily, and tried to forget all of their problems. However, they all contemplated each other's problems. Lizzy remembered Jane's upset face when she had first come in. Jane was very attached to Charles Bingley, more so than to any other man she's dated. The short absence was apparently something Jane was worried about. Poor Jane.

The next morning, Jane departed to work without her usual morning smile. Lizzy was a little worried, but was soon distracted by the day's work. The lesson plans still needed revision, and there was always a stack of papers sitting on Lizzy's desk that wanted reading or grading or filing.

After teaching her first period class, Lizzy settled into her office to file away papers, when a loud knock sounded on her door. Lizzy opened it, and was astonished to see Lydia Long standing there. She let Lydia in, and smiled.

"What brings you to the Classics department, Lyddie? I'm afraid that there are no hot prospective teachers this week," she said, referring to an unusually handsome teacher who had come for an interview, and who had been scared away by Lydia the year before.

"Oh darn it," said Lydia. "But I wasn't looking. I have a message from you. It's from George."

"George? Oh, George Wickham, do you mean?"

"Yes. He was wondering if you'd remembered him. He wants you to meet him for drinks tonight if you aren't busy. Here's his number."

She handed Lizzy a crumpled piece of paper with the invitation and phone number on it. Lizzy smiled.

"Of course. Thanks, Lydia. Have you seen him a lot recently, or something?"

"Mike goes to Forster's a fair amount. I see George there. He's much more interesting than Mike."

Lizzy believed her. Mike never seemed to be doing much except for playing sports, drinking and hanging about with girls in the lower grades.

"But George is too old for you. Nice seeing you, Lydia. Drop by again."

"Sure," said Lydia doubtfully. "Whatever." She left quickly.

Lizzy stared at the number in her hand. Why not have drinks with George? Maybe he could be the guy she took to the prom. She could at least give it a try. She reached towards the phone, and dialed the number.

"Hi. George?" she asked.

"Lizzy!" said George. "Are you game for tonight?"

"Sure," said Lizzy. Meet you where?"

"Tory's?" suggested George, mentioning a comfortable bar- restaurant.

"Sure. See you there... seven-thirty, eight?"

"Either. See you then, gorgeous!" Lizzy smiled. George Wickham, the handsome young pianist thought she was gorgeous.

Lizzy took a cab downtown to Tory's. At the door George was waiting, smiling.

"You look lovely, Elizabeth," he said, taking her arm and leading her inside.

"Thanks," laughed Lizzy.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice. I just wanted to see you again, I just got back into town last week, and I've had engagements all over. I saw Lydia the other day, and asked if she'd give you the message."

"She gave it to me. It sounded like you had seen each other a bit more than the once."

George shifted in his seat, and studied the list before ordering. "Oh, she's been in Forster's a fair amount. I don't usually talk to her."

"Ah," said Lizzy. She ordered a drink, and smiled. "Well, here I am!"

"You look fabulous. Say, do you want to stay for dinner? I'm smelling the pork chop, and my mouth is watering."

"Mmm. But I'll look at the menu. Thanks."

"No problem, Lizzy. It's a pleasure to take a pretty woman to dinner."

"You really do flatter me. But I like it." Lizzy gave an impish smile, as they settled into a booth. George sat across from her, an was smiling. Lizzy wondered what it would be like to go to the prom with George, whether he would be a good dancer. Darcy was handsome and elegant, but George was friendly and flirty. He certainly was better company than Will Darcy.

A waitress came over to the table, and smiled at George.

"Hi, I'm Mary King, and I'll be your waitress this evening. May I take your order?" She looked at George, ignoring Lizzy. Lizzy scowled at the voluptuous figure who was flirting with her date. It was a date. George didn't notice Lizzy's scowl. Instead, he grinned, and closed his menu.

"Well, what are the specials this evening?"

Mary rolled off a list. George ordered one of the specials, and turned to Lizzy. "You?"

"I'll take the lemon chicken," she said. Mary wrote the order down carelessly, and turned back to George.

"It'll be a short wait." She walked off, curves waggling. George stared after her.

"She must be new," he said.

"Oh?" asked Lizzy, annoyed. Fortunately, Mary brought the food in record speed, and went over to the bar, where she chatted with the bartender, leaning over the bar and smiling at him. George tore his eyes from the bar and turned to his pork chop. He cut into it, and smiled at Lizzy.

"This is such a nice place. Great food, great service, great drinks." Lizzy nodded, and began to eat.

After finishing the entree, they looked at the dessert menu, and Mary King lingered by the table while they made up their minds on what to have. She went off to fetch them their desserts, and George smiled at Lizzy.

"Do you want another drink? All this business lately, I'm feeling rich. Come on, pretty girl like you wants another drink."

"All right," said Lizzy. It couldn't make the evening worse at any rate.

George walked up to the bar, and ordered something. Lizzy couldn't tell what, but it involved the bartender mixing things together. Mary King appeared with the desserts, and stopped by the bar to chat with her friend again. This time she nudged the tray so that it knocked one of the drinks onto George. He gave a small cry, but on seeing that it was Mary King, he smiled. She apologized coyly, and offered to wipe off his shirt. Lizzy averted her eyes as Mary King began to wipe liquor off of George's chest. She threw down her napkin, and came over to the couple.

"George? I need to go. But thank you so much for everything." She left before George could think of a reply. She didn't want to spend the evening with someone who was flirting publicly with the waitress. Maybe Wickham wasn't such a charming man after all. Lizzy hailed a cab and gave the cabbie her address. The cab spend away from the restaurant, leaving George happily occupied with the attractive and curvy waitress. Elizabeth didn't have anything against pretty waitresses, but she disliked waitresses who flirted with her date. Well, George Wickham was a thing of the past. She'd need a new date.

And for some reason Will Darcy kept on returning to her mind.

Chapter 16

Posted on Saturday, 4 January 2003

Charles Bingley, though genuinely mourning his aunt's death, was impatient to return to Philadelphia. Aunt Susan had been a charming woman, his second favorite aunt, and the stroke that had caused her death had been sudden and sad. However, Charles felt even more mournful at the thought of Jane being three thousand miles away. She was a special woman, and on the other end of the country. Not to mention, he had forgotten to give her his number at his grandmother's house in San Francisco, and had left his cell phone containing her number on the kitchen counter. Charles Bingley was one unhappy man.

His aunt's memorial service and burial had been beautiful and well attended. Charles' own parents had died years ago, and the funeral-parlor scene conjured up images of those unhappy funerals years before. His step-father, however, had outlived his mother, and was present at Susan's funeral, in memory of his sister-in-law and as a tribute to his dear step-children. Charles sat beside his step-father, wearing a face more dejected that that of Susan's husband, Thomas.

When all of the ceremonies were over, Charles refrained from rushing back to Philadelphia, and stayed in California to help his uncle with a few legal matters concerning Susan's death. Caroline opted to stay on for a few weeks with him, to get some sun. It was still cool for April in Philly, but California was a good deal warmer.

Taking him to the beach outside of San Francisco, Caroline tried to interest her brother in California girls, to take his mind off of "that Jane creature". Jane was really not a suitable woman for Charles to be running about with. But Charles was singularly inattentive to the West Coast beauties who strolled by. His uncle was surprised, as was his step-father, and they mentioned it to him, one day, as they sat on the back porch, pouring over legal documents and the newspaper.

"Do you have a girlfriend back home, Charlie? I've never seen you pay so little heed to the girls here," his uncle joked softly.

"Jane. Her name is Jane," said Charles, miserably. "And I've never been away from her this long before."

"Who is she?" asked his step-father, kindly, wondering who had caught Charles's heart so firmly.

"She is a secretary at my firm, and the sweetest woman alive. She lives with her sister, who is one of Georgiana Darcy's teachers. You remember Georgie, I'm sure. Will brought her here two summers ago."

"I remember her," said Thomas, thoughtfully. "Sweet young thing."

"She is," agreed Charles, "But Jane is sweeter still. An angel. And I forgot to bring her number with me."

"Can't you call information?"

"Jane and her sister had the phone listed under some odd name... some poet or something. A Roman... or a Greek. Elizabeth teaches Latin and Greek. I can't remember at all who it was. Guess I should have paid closer attention in school."

"Never mind. Would William know the number?"

Charles brightened. "I'm sure that he would! Do you mind if I run in and call him?"

"Go for it," said Thomas, "You know where the phone is."

Will Darcy was seated at his desk, burrowing through a pile of some singularly uninteresting contracts, when the phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number, so he let the secretary pick it up, and turned back to the clause he had been pondering.

"Mr. Darcy, it's Mr. Bingley."

"Charles?" asked Will. The secretary nodded. William picked up the phone, thankfully casting the contracts aside. "Hello?"

"Will! I'm so happy to hear you!" said Charles.

"What's wrong?" asked Will, beginning to worry.

"Nothing much, well, it is, really, to me. I left my cell phone at home."

"Is that all?" asked Will, frustrated.

"No, that isn't so much the problem as the fact that Jane's number was on it."

"You haven't committed it to memory?" Will was a little incredulous. From the amount of breath Charles had wasted mooning over Jane Bennet, you would have thought that he would have memorized her phone number. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"Do you have her number?"

"I don't think so," said Will. "Would it be in the phone book?"

"It is under one of those silly Classical names. The Bennets hated getting unsolicited calls, so they changed it, so anyone asking for Caesar or Catullus or whoever it was would be instantly identified as a stranger."

"Should I scour the phone book, then?" asked Will, exasperated.

"I guess not," admitted Charles, sadly. "I have no idea what it would be under."

"Not under J, K, W, Y or Z," said Will.

"What?"

"Those letters weren't in the Latin Alphabet."

"Oh, but it might have been a Greek name."

"Still no J or W, but that is a huge amount of names."

"Then would you give Jane my number? You could give it to Georgie to give to Elizabeth."

"I could do that," said Will. "What is the number?" He carefully copied it down as Charles dictated it, and a short, sweet note. Sealing the number in an envelope and addressing it to Jane Bennet, he put it into his briefcase to take home to Georgie. Charles happily said farewell, and hung up. Will returned with reluctance to the contract, idly writing down all of the Latin and Greek names he knew in the margin. He wondered what name Elizabeth had listed her phone number under.

Lizzy had dedicated her evening towards rehearsing with the girls who had solos and dances. Being an eager dancer and a fair singer, as well as a friendly person, she was well admired by the small core of girls she had gathered about her. The theater was mostly dark, assorted flats in various stages of completeness hugged the back wall of the theater. The girls mostly remained in the front, the amber-tinted gels in the first electric casting a warm glow over the row of dancers. Lizzy stood in their midst, explaining the steps of a dance, beaming happily and laughing wither her young friends. Shortly, the soloists would arrive, and she could begin to block the songs.

Georgie arrived with Kitty, merrily laughing, and wearing exercise clothes suitable for dancing. June mostly had solo work for dances, but Kitty as Louise had a number of dances in the chorus as well as solo parts. The two girls eagerly jumped up onto the stage after the chorus girls had jumped down and gathered in the seats to watch.

"What are we doing first?" asked Kitty.

"Gotta Getta Gimmick," said Lizzy, mischievously, as Lydia came in, late. "Lyddie! Your song!"

Lydia smiled, and took out her score, while Lizzy began to show each girl her steps. The two girl who were playing Tessie Tura and Electra stood behind Lydia as she began to sing, accompanied by a tape recording of someone playing the song on the piano. Lydia had a surprisingly good voice, although her dancing was a little rough and crude. However, as a burlesque dancer, it worked well enough as she struggled to master the steps Lizzy effortlessly showed her.

You can pull all the stops out
Till they call the cops out
Grind your behind till you're banned,
But you gotta get a gimmick
If you want to get a hand!

Sang Lydia, leaning to sway with a trumpet in her hand. Lizzy enthusiastically helped the other two dancers to behave in character towards the overbearing and haughty Mazeppa. Kitty, playing Louise, stood to the side of the stage and was told to watch in a sort of awed horror and fascination. Georgie, who was only in Act I, sat on the steps to the side of the stage, watching. Lizzy was an excellent dancer, and made the movements look natural and funny, instead of being in any way dirty. Lizzy in her large t-shirt and mesh shorts was an enthusiastic dancer, Lydia in her sleek dance-wear looked amateurish, although her singing was sufficiently suggestive for the character she played. Lizzie scrambled up stage and gathered a group of the chorus girls together to do a can-can behind Lyddie and the other star burlesque dancers. The song continued, and the three key dancers belted out the end of the song while Lizzy smiled at the effect.

Get yourself a gimmick
And you too
Can be a star!

Lizzy ran about the stage eagerly showing each dancer how to do something special, coming up with possibilities from years of dance training mixed with her own artistic imagination. Slightly bawdy as it might be, it was an entirely female scene, about female power. No maid mourning after her lost love, no dream, just a sort of a strange reality. It was highly likely that none of these girls would ever dance burlesque again, but in this moment of bonding in their femininity and strength, they were happy together. They were confident. Georgie was amazed that the seemingly inappropriate scene could become such a moving one. Mazeppa, Tessie and Electra might really be materialistic strippers, but here they were trying to help a fellow woman, offering advice, and somehow the scene worked. Amazed and excited at the way Lizzy was handling the musical, Georgie eagerly applauded, and then came onto the stage to do soloist parts of the Broadway dance. Georgie also sang the Caroline the cow song, and grinned, thinking of her audition, with Alec.

Gradually, the evening wore on, and Lizzy decided to let all of the girls go home except for Kitty and Georgie, who would practice their "If Momma Was Married" number. The two girls could easily imagine being sisters, and happily bonded together at the table set up to one side of the stage. Lizzie turned the recording to the proper point, and Kitty began to sing.

If Momma was married, we'd live in a house,
As private as private can be:
Just momma, three ducks, five canaries, a mouse,
Two monkeys, one father six turtles and me...
If Momma was married.

Georgie smiled at her friend, and the song continued. Lizzy watched them intently, occasionally interrupting one or the other. When they had worked out the song, Roberta came over, and Lizzy smiled at the girls.

"Would you mind terribly doing it one last time for Roberta? The Director ought to see how well you are coming along. I'm sorry that it is so late. Will your ride mind, Georgie?" asked Lizzy.

"Oh, Will will just come in and wait if I'm not done. Don't worry about me. Let's do this song right, Kitty!"

Kitty grinned, and began again. In the back of the theater, a door opened, and Will came in. Georgie, Kitty, Lizzy and the director were all up on the stage, otherwise the theater was empty. The two girls were singing merrily, and it seemed rather good to his ears, although apparently Lizzy thought otherwise. She conferred with the director for a few minutes, and then leapt up onto the stage. Will followed her form with his eyes, and was amazed when she suddenly took Kitty's arm, and led her aside.

"Do you remember what I said about the blocking? I know that you are a good singer, let's see about that dancing! You've got the title role in this piece, let's see you carry it off. I'll run through your part with Georgie, and then you take over, and then we'll call it a night. I know that you have thirty lines of Latin to do."

"Of course," said Kitty, grinning. "All right, do my part for me, Liz!"

Lizzy began to sing Kitty's part, and carefully and purposefully showed off the blocking for the song, while still making it elegant and rhythmic. Will smiled at Lizzy's dancing and singing, finding both highly pleasant. Georgie caught sight of her brother in the back, and smiled at him, before going onto her next line. Lizzy looked up, and nodded her head in recognition at him, before carelessly continuing the song. She finished, and let Kitty take over the part, and turned all of her attention to Kitty's dance. Why was she blushing? Fitzwilliam Darcy meant nothing to her.

At last the song was done, and Georgie leapt off the stage, and over to her brother. She was tired, and hugged Will.

"You are taking me home now, aren't you? I've ever so much work left."

"Silly girl for leaving it to the last minute."

"I've scarcely had a minute, Will! Come, let's say 'bye to Lizzy, and go on home." Will found himself being dragged by his sister over to where Lizzy was sitting on the stage, coiling up an extension cord that she had been using with the tape player.

"Good night, Lizzy!"

"Good-night, Georgie. Get some sleep. I won't kill you or Kitty if you don't finish your Latin, since you've been here for so late. Sorry for keeping her late, um, William." What was she supposed to call the man? Mr. Darcy was too distant for a man she had holidayed with and danced with, Fitzwilliam too obscure and laughable...

"It was no problem'" replied Will, unsure what he should call Georgie's teacher. In his thoughts she was Lizzy, but he wasn't sure if they knew each other well enough to use her pet name. Ms. Bennet was disgustingly formal, Elizabeth was probably the safe option, as she has just called him William. The name sounded rather pleasant coming from her lips. He could get used to it without much trouble.

"Well," said Lizzy, "I'll be off now. See you Georgie, William, Roberta. Come along Kitty, you need a ride home. Good night all!" She threw a jacket around her shoulders, and grabbed up her bag. With a quick step, she left the theater, Kitty trailing behind her, fiddling with the straps on her backpack. Georgie turned to leave, and Will followed, leaving the Roberta woman to lock up.

In the car, Georgie leaned her head against the window, looking rather tired.

"Long rehearsal?" asked Will.

"It wasn't too terrible. I didn't have much to do in the middle, just the beginning, and then the soloist work at the end. I love my dances and my songs. Kitty is finding her part difficult, but she is getting better."

"I saw that you two were working hard."

"Yes, it's coming along. I enjoy it, and Lizzy is amazing. In a way... I'm glad that... we came to Philadelphia. I'm glad that I've met Lizzy, she's so wonderful. She's a good teacher, and so dedicated towards helping with the play. She puts in so much time, and really she is just the tech advisor and assistant director. She does the choreography on her own time. It's amazing, but she is the best dancer on the staff at school."

I"I can believe that. She seemed to be very definite about what she wanted from Kitty."

"She is. But she is wonderful to work with. I mean, she does everything herself, showing us how dances are done. Earlier in the evening she was teaching Lyddie Long to do "Gotta Getta Gimmick". That's the supposedly provocative bit, but it wasn't really. It was suddenly this girl-power piece, which was really weird, but it had a message, instead of being just some dirty dancing. Lizzy was amazing. Lyddie is Lizzy's cousin, and great voices run in the family, but Lyddie can't dance very well. But Lizzy was so patient, that I really think that this play with be a huge success."

"I don't doubt it. Your teacher seems extraordinary." Will then became silent, lapsing into thought. Georgie smiled at the window. Could Will possibly mean what she hoped he meant?

*Songs: Gotta Getta Gimmick and If Momma Was Marrried from from Gypsy (Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim)

Chapter 17

Posted on Friday, 10 January 2003

On returning home from the rehearsal, very tired, Lizzy was astonished to see that Jane was still awake. Her light was shining, and Lizzy frowned worriedly as she parked the car, and unlocked the door of the house. Sifting quickly through the mail, Lizzy then hung up her coat, and carried her bag up to the second floor, where the sisters had their bedrooms. Slipping her bag onto the floor outside Jane's room, Lizzy knocked lightly on Jane's door.

"Come in," said Jane's muffled voice. Lizzy turned the doorknob, and found Jane in her bed, with the blankets pulled high around her head.

"What's the matter, Jane? You sound as if you have been crying," accused Lizzy.

"Nothing," said Jane, wiping her eyes and curling up further in the blanket.

"If you don't come out, I shall think the worst, and that you have shaved your head into a mohawk, and dyed the remaining hair green."

"You were the one who died her hair green," said Jane, sitting up. "My hair was pink then, I will have you know."

"And a pretty pink it was. No, you haven't spoiled your looks, so what else is wrong?"

"It's just Charles," said Jane.

"He hasn't called to break up with you, has he?"

"No, that's just it. He hasn't called at all. I left him messages on his cell phone, but he hasn't answered any of them. I'm afraid that he doesn't care any more, and that I'm just some old secretary."

"Silly goose, he would have to be insane to think that! You are absolutely gorgeous, even in your pajamas and red eyes. Look, I'll see what I can do. I'll call up some of our mutual acquaintances and see if they know what has happened to him. Maybe he's been detained and broke his cell phone."

"You don't think that he has been injured, do you?" Jane asked worriedly, her momentary cheerfulness relapsing into concern.

"No! But there must be a logical explanation, dearest. I'll call Anne first thing in the morning. Why don't you ask his secretary if she has heard anything from California, tomorrow. If he was injured, he would be sure to phone his boss."

"You are right, Lizzy. I just didn't know what to think! I'll sleep now. You sleep, too. You look exhausted."

"I am. Good-night!"

Anne Fitzwilliam was pleasantly surprised to hear that Lizzy was on the phone the next morning. She put down her flute, and picked up the cordless phone Richard handed her on his way to the office. With a wave, he was off, and Anne turned her attention to the call.

"Lizzy? What's up?"

"I actually have a request for you, Anne," said Lizzy apologetically.

"What is it? You sound a bit upset."

"It's Jane. She hasn't heard from Charles Bingley for a bit, and he hasn't returned her calls."

"That's really odd. I haven't heard from him since he left, but that's normal enough. He usually calls Richard at work. Hmm. I'll ask Will if he was heard anything."

"Would you? Thanks so much. Jane is really in pieces, and torn between thoughts of being abandoned and thoughts of Charles lying ill in a California hospital."

"You tell her to relax. I'll call back when I find anything out."

"You are a dear, Anne."

"Hey, no problem. You get back to work now, and stop worrying."

"Thanks. Bye!"

"Good-bye." Anne turned off the phone for a minute, and thought. Then, she tossed the phone once into the air, turned it on again, and dialed Will's work number. If anyone was at work at 8:30 in the morning aside from a teacher, it would be Will.

"Hey, Will? It's Anne," she greeted Will over the phone as soon as she heard his voice.

"Anne! You are calling rather early."

"I know. I'm sorry, but I had a crisis reported to me, and I'm curious if I can fix it. Good deeds and coffee in the morning make for a happy day."

"What's the problem?"

"It's Jane."

"Jane?"

"Jane Bennet."

"Oh! Of course. What about her?"

"She hasn't heard from Charles in over a week."

"Is that a big deal?" he asked, suddenly remembering the note Charles had dictated for him. He wondered where he was put it.

"For a woman, it is. She's pretty upset, and Lizzy wants me to see if I can find out anything, or at least make sure that Charles isn't dying in a hospital."

"He's not, or at least wasn't three days ago."

"You've heard from him?"

"He called to tell me that he was staying on to help his uncle with some bequests, and to say that he had left his cell phone at home. He gave me a message for Jane, but I can't remember where I put it."

"You had better find it, Fitzwilliam!" said Anne, sternly. "Lizzy was genuinely upset about Jane's unhappiness, and I won't have you making two lovely women's lives miserable."

"I'll find it and get it to Lizzy. I'll run by the school at lunch or something, if you want."

"Thanks, Will, but I can't believe that you never mentioned it! Do you not understand how often some women need to hear from their men? Last time I trust you to take a message," she grumbled.

"I'm truly sorry. I didn't know that Ms. Bennet cared that much about Charles. She seemed rather like she was just leading him on for a bit of fun."

"If the note in Lizzy's voice was any hint, I should say that you are dead wrong. Just get the note to Jane somehow. I'll call Lizzy as soon as I can. Darn. I've just remembered... I have the trio rehearsal in an hour. I'll leave her a message, and you get her the note."

"I will, Anne. Sorry I've made a mess, I didn't know that it mattered so much."

"It does. See you later. Bye!"

"Bye."

Will hung up the phone, and stared at the wall for a moment. Lizzy clearly was upset on account of his negligence. Yet he had never seen Jane Bennet respond with much enthusiasm to Charles' affections. But apparently he was wrong. Lizzy Bennet was upset, would be angry at him. He couldn't remember where he had left the note. Ah! His briefcase. He fetched the case, and looked through it. Locating a sheaf of papers that were out of order, he placed them on his desk. One was a newsletter from Lizzy and the Roberta-woman about the play, and it had their e-mail addresses at the bottom of the page. Underneath the letter was the note, which William picked up. Quickly, he opened a new e-mail, and began to type hurriedly.

At lunch time, Lizzy was delighted to see that Anne had left a phone message. She played it eagerly, hoping that Anne had had some news.

"Hey, Lizzy, It's Anne Fitzwilliam. I'm off to rehearsal now, but I wanted to say that Charles should be in good health, and that he has left his cell phone at home, so that's why he hasn't gotten his messages. Will is so dead, he had a message from Charles for Jane, but didn't realize that it was important. Anyway, he might drop by your school later with the note. Or something. The prick... well, he is my lifelong friend, but still...! Pass on the good news to Jane. See you."

So Fitzwilliam Darcy had hindered the relationship between Jane and Charles by holding onto the message. He was a prick! Quite angry, Lizzy hoped that he had a good explanation for his behavior. She went to her computer to write Jane an e-mail, and noticed with surprise that she had a new message... from Fitzwilliam Darcy. Curious, she abandoned her e-mail to Jane, and looked at what he had to say.

Don't be surprised that I have your address, it was on your play newsletter, and I thought that I ought to explain a few things, and give you a message from Charles Bingley for your sister. Anne may have called you already about the delay of the message, but I just wanted to defend myself, and pass on good wishes to your sister.

First: I did not keep the letter out of ill-will toward your sister and her relationships, but out of ignorance. I meant to give it to you at the rehearsal last night, but the delightful efforts of yourself, Georgie and Kitty made me forget my purpose. Secondly, I must confess myself very ignorant of the female mind, and I had no way of knowing that this particular message was so very important. When my own friends are out of town, I expect that they will call when they wish to, and in the meantime I let them enjoy their holiday. However, according to Anne, my attitude is not shared by your sister, and I offer my apology for my ignorance. I am afraid that I thought that your sister was merely toying with Charles, whom I feel a need to protect from any harm, but it seems that your sister cares very much for him, and that both you and she have been made upset by my negligence in holding this letter longer than necessary.

In order to fix my error or judgment, I can only ask that you will relay the following message from Charles to your sister.

"My dearest Jane, I have made the mistake of not giving you this number, and of leaving your own number at home. I cannot reach you, since I do not know your number, at work, or at your home. Which Classical figure was you number listed under, darling? I am well, and staying some time in California, straightening out the bequests in my aunt's will. I wish that I was with you. Call me, my number is: --- --- ----.

I love you, Charles."

I can only say that I regret my mistaken thoughts, and that I hope that no harm has come of this.
Yours, Fitzwilliam Darcy

Lizzy was amazed by this message. Her anger at William Darcy had receded, but the fact that he had thought Jane indifferent to Charles was insufferable. She kept the e-mail in her inbox, and quickly copied the message into the e-mail for Jane. The crisis concluded, Lizzy turned to the sandwich she had brought from home.

At rehearsal that evening, Charlotte came along to help Lizzy finish conceptualizing the set. Most of the set was complete, but Lizzy could never make up her mind that it was finished, unless an outside party assured her that it was. Charlotte looked very happy as she surveyed the stage, so smug that Lizzy asked her what was up.

"I've got a date," said Charlotte happily.

"With who?" asked Lizzy, hugging her friend.

"A Patrick Carlyle. He's Katy Carlyle's brother, you know, the other science teacher?"

"That sounds great. How did you meet this Patrick?"

"He stopped by this morning to deliver the new iguana for Katy's room. He is a pet-shop owner, apparently. The good kind -- with spacious kennels and playpens and now more than fifteen fish per tanks and that sort of thing."

"Sounds like a nice chap. What does he look like?" Charlotte happily described Patrick, and told Lizzy about how they had met while Charlotte helped Katy with the cage. Patrick had asked her to dinner, and she was going, on Friday night.

"Good for you!" said Lizzy, but really she was sad. With both Jane and Charlotte coupled off, it left her alone in the house in the evenings. Well, there was a good bit to do for the show, maybe she could take up her time with working on the set.

Roberta came over, and asked if Charlotte and Lizzy would move the wagons into place for the second act. They complied. Seeing speakers hidden behind every permanent surface, Charlotte asked what was up with them.

"Well," sighed Lizzy. "The regular sound system went caput. So we are using speakers and microphones everywhere. You see, when they did repairs on the ceilings last year after the rain, they messed up the acoustics of this place. You can't hear except for in the back, on the balcony, for some odd reason. And then there is the fact that these are the cruddiest flats I've worked with in a while... no money, you see. The drama budget gets smaller every year. I'm not sure what to do about it."

Georgie had appeared on stage, and touched Lizzy's sleeve. "What can I do?" she asked. "Can I move anything?"

"No, I'm fine, thanks," said Lizzy. "Go try on your costumes, some are done." Georgie ran off.

"I wish that the theater was better," said Lizzy. "But if wishes were horses, beggars would ride. So there you have it: the life of a spinster school teacher who can't even make her students heard in this blasted building."

"Cheer up," said Charlotte. "Patrick has a roommate."

"Just what I need," grumbled Lizzy. "I thought that I told you that I refuse to be set up!!!"

After rehearsal, Georgie hopped into Will's car, with a thoughtful expression.

"What's up George?" Will asked, pulling out of the parking lot.

"I was just wondering. I overheard Lizzy telling her friend that the acoustics became worse in the theater, and that they have an army of speakers backstage. I hadn't noticed them before, but they must be awfully limiting for Lizzy's artistic set designing genius. She said that the drama budget was worse, and if you look at the flats, you can tell that they have been painted over far more times than they ought. Muslin can only hold so much paint in my opinion. It all looks great from the audience, but it is a bit shabby on stage."

"I heard well enough," said Will, remembering the rehearsal he had gone to.

"The speakers do a good job, but the set isn't up yet, and I'm curious whether Lizzy can do everything she wants to in the space because of the speakers."

"That would be a shame. She seems to be very talented in theater work."

"She loves it! I do too... I'm enjoying this play so much. Working with Alec and Kitty has been marvelous. I wish that there was something I could do for Lizzy, to thank her for all of the work she's done on the show, and all the friendship she has given me while I was settling in." Georgie was quiet, and then slid a CD into the player. Soft music met William's ears, but he wasn't listening to it. He was wondering if perhaps, after all, there was a way to pay Lizzy back for all of the goodness and friendship she had shared with Georgie.

Chapter 18

Posted on Thursday, 20 November 2003

As the opening night of the play drew closer, the actors and actresses found themselves spending more and more time at rehearsals. Finding it unreasonable to return home, and then return to school, Kitty, Georgie, Alec and Sam began to spend the afternoons on campus, and drove off in Sam’s car to buy pizza or Chinese food from local take out shops. Returning with their dinners, they would camp out in the theater with many other students, and crammed their homework into the period before Roberta and Lizzy arrived to start the rehearsal work.

One evening, as the four friends settled down with their food and textbooks, they found themselves annoyingly addressed by Lyddie Long. Georgie, who was practicing a few dance steps with Alec, ignored her. Sam had wandered off to find a pencil sharpener, and Kitty was left to deal with the visitor. Frustrated with some French verbs, Kitty told Lyddie to go away, but the girl wouldn’t move. She blew a few bubbles with her gum, snapping it loudly.

“Say, Georgie, is it true everything I’ve heard?”

“What?” asked Georgie, frowning at the impertinent girl.

“That your family is stinking rich?”

“Fairly well-off,” said Georgie.

“And that you have houses all over the place?”

“Here, Boston, Vermont and in the Bahamas. And the flat in London. My brother needs them for business,” said Georgie testily. “What are you getting at?”

“That here you are, loaded with money and fancy houses, and that your brother couldn’t even pay one lousy college tuition.”

“Of course my brother can pay a college tuition,” said Georgie. “Stop bothering me. It isn’t any of your business.”

“That’s not what George told me. Your brother ruined his career as a musician. He’s playing in bars! He said that your brother won’t even talk to him... that he turned him out for no reason. And because he tried to talk to you in Boston, your brother left the city, and moved here. What’s wrong with George Wickham?”

Georgie gazed at her in alarm. Her eyes grew large and her face grew pale. She hadn’t expected to ever have to hear that name again, especially from someone who had the facts so terribly and completely wrong. Why did George continue to persecute her... wasn’t he in Boston, far, far away? Suddenly remembering what he had done, she fainted dead away onto the floor of the stage.

Although Georgie fortunately fell onto the dance floor, part of the stage with some spring, she must have hit her head as she crumpled. Alec and Kitty sprang to her side immediately, and Lyddie stared. That wasn’t supposed to happen. Worried, she slunk off into another part of the theater, as a small crowd ran over to Georgie’s prostrate form.

Lizzy came into the theater, and gazed in alarm as she saw Georgie crumpled on the stage, Kitty and Alec worriedly feeling her pulse and rubbing her wrists.

“What happened?” asked Lizzy, anxiously, running up to the stage and leaping neatly onto it. “What happened here?”

“It was Lyddie,” said Kitty, accusingly. “She was badgering Georgie about someone or other, and Georgie turned awfully pale and fainted.”

“Get some water, there’s a cup in Roberta’s office.” Kitty nodded, and ran off to get the water.

“Alec, what did Lyddie say to Georgie?”

“First she was asking her all sorts of annoying questions about how much money the Darcys have... they have a lot more than I would have guessed... anyway, then she started saying then well, how come Georgie’s brother couldn't pay some college tuition for some musician, and when Georgie heard the name, she fainted. We’d been practicing some steps before Lyddie came along, so she was standing at the time. We couldn’t catch her before she fell. Will she be all right?”

“I think so. If we can wake her, and then I’ll call her brother, and have him take her home. She’ll need to rest after letting her body go unconscious like that. Do you know what the name was? It is important.”

“Um... Jake... no... Jack? No. George! That’s it. George somebody... plays music in bars...”

“Not George Wickham?” asked Lizzy, worriedly. If he flirted shamelessly with the waitress on a date, he might have flirted with Georgie at some time, and such a sweet and innocent girl might have been taken in, as Lydia (who was not so sweet and innocent) clearly had been. Lizzy wondered why her Aunt Long allowed Lyddie to spend time in bar/restaurants.

“That was the name, I’m pretty sure.”

“Right. This won’t be fun. I’ll have to call her brother soon. Where’s Kitty? Oh, there you are! Give the water to me.”

Lizzy bent over Georgie, and in a few minutes had revived her. She blinked at the bright lights, and seemed frightened.

“Where’s Lydia? She doesn’t know the truth!” she said worriedly.

“Quiet,” said Alec gently. “You’ve had a scare and a bit of a fall, but everything will be fine.”

“If... George... is in Philadelphia, then it won’t. I’ll have to move again, but I don't want to!”

“Shh,” murmured Lizzy. “We’ll take care of you. I have no love of George Wickham either, and if you say that what Lyddie said was a lie, then I’ll believe you. That b------! Georgie, I’ve got to call William now. Will he be at home, and can he come get you?”

“What time is it?”

“Ten of seven.”

“He should be home, then.”

“I’ll go call him now. Kitty, Alec, you take care of Georgie. I’ll take care of your brother, Georgie, and then I’ll talk to Lyddie. I can see that she’s brought up something you don’t want to think about.”

“Yes, thank you,” said Georgie. She struggled to sit up, and Alec, moving next to her, held her. Kitty fetched Georgie’s drink from the interrupted meal, and Georgie drank a little, though her eyes followed Lizzy. Lizzy knew George Wickham, and from what she had said, she didn’t like him. Why was he persecuting her beloved teacher? She hoped that Will would come soon, and would explain everything to Lizzy. If Lizzy knew, she could help Georgie. Keeping secrets from everyone might not be the wisest plan. She was spending her life running and hiding, but she didn’t want to. If her friends knew about George, they could protect her.

Lizzy ran into Roberta’s office, where the good director had just arrived. Hurriedly telling Roberta all that had happened, she asked permission to use the phone, and Roberta quickly agreed, before running out to see how Georgie was.

Lizzy’s insides gave an odd twist as she picked up the phone, and dialed Georgie’s home number, which was listed on the cast chart. Finding herself very nervous, she waited for someone to answer the phone. When at last someone did, Lizzy was mildly surprised to hear a woman’s voice. It was very kindly, and Lizzy found herself thinking of her grandmother as she listened to her greeting.

“Can I speak to William Darcy?” asked Lizzy quickly.

“Who is this, please?” the woman asked.

“Elizabeth Bennet, Georgie’s teacher. I’m afraid that she’s had a bit of an accident at rehearsal. She should be fine, but I would like her brother to take her home to rest.”

“Georgie?” asked the woman anxiously. “Of course I’ll get William. Immediately. The poor child!”

In record time, Lizzy heard another phone being picked up, and William’s anxious voice coming over the phone. He had been shocked and pleased to hear that Elizabeth Bennet was calling him, but worried and frantic when he heard that Georgie had had an accident. Lizzy noted with a small smile that he clearly thought that Georgie was the world and the stars.

“Elizabeth?” he asked, too anxious to worry about what to call her. “What happened? How is Georgie?”

Lizzy, taking her name-cue from him, replied quickly. “William, she’ll be OK, but she fainted. She had a bit of a shock. One of the members of the cast was bothering her, and brought up... George Wickham.” Lizzy remembered George’s stories, and then Georgie’s admonition that Lyddie did not know the truth. Pretty faces were easy to listen to, but they might not be truthful after all.

“George?” asked William immediately. “I’ve got to get there immediately. Is Georgie all right?” he asked again.

“She should be fine. She’s resting now, but I wanted you to come take her home. She shouldn’t dance about after fainting.”

“I’ll be there in twenty minutes. Bye.” He hung up abruptly, and Lizzy could imagine him speeding out of the house to reach his sister. Lizzy closed the office door, and went back to Georgie.

“Your brother will be here in twenty minutes. Do you think that you can walk? There’s a soft bench by the door.”

Georgie stood up, and walked with Alec over to the door of the theater, where she settled onto the soft cushion. Kitty hovered near, although Roberta had begun to rehearsal. Lyddie, seeing that the practice was starting, came down from her hiding place, and came back into view. Lizzy hastened off, but ordered Kitty to fetch her the minute William Darcy arrived. As Georgie’s teacher, she had to take responsibility for the girl. But meanwhile, Lyddie needed a good bawling out.

Lyddie tried to look inconspicuous in one of the wings when finally Lizzy stormed in back stage, locating her renegade cousin. Lizzy grabbed a hold of Lyddie, and dragged her out into the Green Room back stage, where many of the students had dumped their belongings.

“What the hell did you say to Georgie?”

“I just asked her why her brother couldn’t have helped George, if he’s so filthy rich. They have a house in the Bahamas for goodness sake. And a flat in London!”

“Stop glazing your eyes over this minute. Georgie fainted. I gather that what George told you was not the absolute truth, since his name clearly means something else to Georgie.”

“Her brother hurt George.”

“What is George to you? Some random guy you had never met before. Georgie is a member of the same cast, for goodness sake!”

“I know... but George’s life is ruined.”

“Big deal. I bet he deserved it.” Lyddie looked shocked. “Don’t listen to every word he says as Bible-truth, all right?” said Lizzy. “Would you come and apologize to Georgie for shocking her?”

“All right...” grumbled Lydia, and then eagerly ran from her raging cousin. Some people just got so worked up about things... but Georgiana Darcy was Lizzy’s pet student, everybody knew.

Lizzy watched her cousin run off, and slowly walked back towards the door where she had left Georgie and her friends. After Lydia had sulkily apologized for “whatever made Georgie upset”, she disappeared again, and Lizzy came and sat by Georgie. A few moments later, William Darcy, with a worried expression on his handsome face, entered the building. Lizzy stood up immediately.

“Hi,” she said, a bit awkwardly. “She’ll be fine, I’ve had her resting. If she could get a good night’s sleep, she’d be a lot better. These rehearsals have been tough on her, and this fainting incident can’t be good for her system.”

“Thank you for calling,” said William. “Here, Georgie-girl, I’ll carry you.” He effortlessly picked up his sister, and Lizzy found herself wondering how often he worked out and how he looked when he did. Shaking those thoughts from her head, Lizzy ran to get Georgie’s stuff.

“I’ll get her things and bring them to the car,” said Lizzy. William waited, his sister in his arms. Lizzy reappeared a few moments later with a messenger bag, a sport’s bag and a shiny store bag. “Is this everything?” she asked Georgie. Georgie nodded, and Lizzy fell into step beside William. Alec and Kitty waved at Georgie, who smiled tiredly over her brother’s shoulder.

Once outside in the cool night air, William increased his pace, so that Georgie could get into the warm car as soon as possible. Lizzy trotted along behind them. When William stopped at a very sleek Mercedes, Lizzy could only gape with appreciation for the pleasing lines of the car. As she nodded her approval, William caught her glance and smiled a bit. He put Georgie into the passenger’s seat, and shut the door. He relieved Lizzy of Georgie’s many bags, and stowed them in the trunk. Then, before Lizzy could leave, he grabbed hold of one of her hands, and said,

“Could I talk to you for a minute?”

Lizzy nodded, a bit surprised, but not unhappy with his grip on his hand.

“I haven’t been entirely honest with you and this school. We told the head of the school abut Georgie’s experiences in Boston, but cautioned that no one else be told. I see now that this was a mistake. You, at least, should know. You’ve watched over my sister with an energy that I cannot thank you enough for. But you need to know the truth, so that we can avoid incidents like this happening again.” Lizzy nodded, and he took hold of her other hand.

“It begins, I guess with George Wickham. Do you know him?”

“I do,” said Lizzy, “But I now hold no love for the man.”

Darcy gave a grim smile. “You’ll like him worse when I have finished. We grew up with him. He was our next-door neighbor, and I regret to say that we grew up as play mates.”

“He told me as much,” said Lizzy, “though I wonder whether I ought to discount his every claim?”

William’s face grew angry at the thought that Wickham had talked with the lovely Miss Bennet. Angrily, he continued his explanation. “Well, When my father died five years ago, I was left the head of Derby International, and as the executor of my father’s will. In my father’s will, he specified that there should be an allowance to let George go to a music conservatory, since my father had taken so much pleasure in George’s music. If George decided to follow another career choice, I was to give him fifty thousand dollars, and wish him a happy life. It was a very substantial sum.”

“I can see,” said Lizzy, amazed. “And did he forsake music for the instant money?”

“Yes. After two years at the conservatory, he grew bored with his music, and came to me with an intention of studying the law. I hoped that this was true. He had had a full college education already, so I wished him well and wrote the check, happy to be free of the last of my father’s stipulations. I could continue with my life as best as I could manage. My mother died when Georgie was eight years old, so I was alone in bringing her up. I sent her to boarding schools in Boston, while I worked on expanding my father’s financial kingdom.”

“Did George Wickham continue to bother you?” asked Lizzy.

“He did, in the most obnoxious way possible. I found that he had not, in fact, turned to studying law, but had turned into an idler, a gambler. He wasted all of the money I gave him, and two years later, that would be a year ago, he appeared at my home and accused me of not giving him enough money to live on, and wanted a job. I did not want a man who wasted the money I entrusted to him, and refused. He claimed that he would exact vengeance upon me. He did.

Last year, while Georgie was at her school in Boston, I found that I had business in London. I would be gone for most of the year, so I hired a Mrs. Younge to watch after Georgie on the holidays. Mrs. Younge had been the governess of the friends of my cousin, Richard, so I entrusted Georgie to her completely. I was very wrong. Indeed, Mrs. Younge is now in prison, relating to charges of theft and arson, if you would believe it.”

“How horrible,” said Lizzy, dreading to hear what happened next.

“To make a long story short, since Georgie must be sleeping in the car already while waiting for me, George Wickham imposed himself on Mrs. Younge as a friend of the family, and Georgie welcomed the familiar face on her holidays. They seemed to grow close, and it came to my attention that she had brought him to school parties and dances while I was in London. Furious, I returned to the States. On the day I arrived back at my home, I found that Mrs. Younge was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Georgie’s car and a strange car were both parked in the driveway. When I entered the house, I found my sister and George in the house, and what was worse, he was attempting to take advantage of her. I am afraid that I attacked him rather savagely, and have not seen him since, apart from a chance meeting not too long ago, when I hoped that I was wrong about his identity. I immediately removed Georgie from Mrs. Younge’s care, if you can call it care, and rehired a wonderful woman who had been the housekeeper for my parents. She had retired, but loved us, and she has been living with us since. I decided to move to Philadelphia, and have Georgie enrolled in a day school, and here she is. She is sensitive about the whole year in Boston, when she realized that George did not care for her at all, but was trying to impregnate her in order to blackmail me, or at least to steal as much as he could from my house if his other plan failed.”

Lizzy had been listening, shocked. George Wickham was a horrible man, much worse than she had thought. He was downright evil. Lizzy trusted William Darcy, and instinctively knew that he was telling the truth, and that speaking of the past year had hurt him. Amazed at his confidence in her, and tried to speak, but he cut her short.

“I’ve got to get Georgie home, but we will speak again. I beg you to not tell this to her comrades, although I think that the director and Georgie’s other teachers should probably be told. I trust you to tell as much as you see fit to them, and that you keep the rest to yourself. Georgie means much to me, and I am only concerned in her safety and happiness.”

“I understand,” said Lizzy.

“Thank you, Elizabeth,” said William. He squeezed her hands, and then let go, running into the car, and starting the engine. Lizzy stood aside as he backed the car from its parking spot, and made for the exit of the lot. She waved a little, and returned to the theater, her mind full.

Chapter 19

Posted On: Wednesday, 29 January 2003, at 12:12 p.m.

Lizzy found it very easy to find time to think on her own in the next few days. Charlotte had another date with the Patrick of the lizard cage, and abandoned her friend for this new fascination. Lizzy didn't mind particularly, she was glad for Charlotte, and traded nights for cooking happily, eager to distract herself from the bewildering tale William Darcy had entrusted her with.

His e-mail, passed duly along to Jane, had had a most welcome effect. Jane called Charles immediately, and their conversation lasted so long that Lizzy was afraid to see what the long distance phone bill would be. Personally she wondered at his absent-mindedness, but she shrugged it off, knowing him to be a singularly disorganized young man, albeit a charming one.

With Jane talking almost every waking minute with Charles, and Charlotte out of the house, Lizzy found herself a tiny bit lonely. In result, she threw herself into her work with the play, finishing up last minute changes in set design and choreography. However, before she threw herself back into her work, she spent some time with Georgie.

Georgie had not appeared in school the morning after her fainting incident. Lizzy could scarcely blame her, the incident must have mortified Georgie later, for having drawn so much attention to herself. She must be feeling rather self-conscious, so Lizzy thought that she would call her, and see how things were going. The last thing she wanted was for Georgie to work herself into a state where she would start thinking of running away to another city and another school.

When Lizzy dialed the Darcy number, she again was answered by the pleasant voice of the older woman. She identified her as being the kind woman William had brought from retirement to watch over Georgie. Listening to the kind voice, Lizzy knew instinctively, without having met the woman, that she loved the Darcys very much. When Lizzy identified herself and asked for Georgie, the woman replied,

"I'll go tell her you're on the phone, I'm sure that she'd like to talk to you. I want to thank you for calling William so soon."

"It was no problem."

"Still, it was kind of you. I'll go get Georgie on the line. Hold on a minute, please."

A moment later, Georgie greeted Lizzy over the phone.

"I was calling to see how you were doing," said Lizzy. "How are you?"

"Pretty well," said Georgie. "I should be back tomorrow. Will just thought that it would be best if I rested and visited my... psychologist today. So I did. Everything will be fine. I just had a bit of a shock."

"Your brother told me about everything. Do you mind?"

"No! Actually, I'm rather glad. I wanted to tell you, but couldn't, if you understand me."

"Forgetting it would be best," agreed Lizzy.

"Do you mind if I miss rehearsal tonight?"

"No, if you come tomorrow, you'll be in great standing. Don't worry, you know your part very well, it's mostly other people who still need work."

"Thanks, but I really enjoy rehearsals. I'm glad that I'm in this play."

"So am I. It's a pleasure working with you, as many of us agree. The cast made you a get well card, I'll give it to you tomorrow if you are coming in."

"Oh! That's so sweet. I'll come, don't worry. I'm fine now."

"Good to hear it. If you have any problems, I'll be around to listen. You seem to be in half of my classes, so I've got my eye on you. And I spoke to Lyddie. She won't bother you any more."

"Thanks. Lizzy, you are awesome."

"Which is a wonderful compliment from a teenager."

"You aren't so old!"

"No, I'm not," said Lizzy. "But you are the budding young woman. We'll get you into perfect shape in no time. See you tomorrow?"

"Yes. Thanks, again, for being so wonderful about everything."

"No problem."

"I'd better go finish my school work."

"Don't feel too pressured. The school knows you've had a rough time."

"Thanks. Bye, Lizzy!"

"Bye, Georgie-girl."

Lizzy dropped the receiver back onto the cradle, and stared out the window for a time. Georgie was, extraordinarily, in most of her classes, and seemed to be her charge on campus. She fervently hoped that she would continue to be her merry self, and that everyone could forget the incident.

When Will returned home from work, he brought Georgie a big bouquet of flowers. Putting them in a vase, and carrying it up to her room, he knocked and opened the door at Georgie's injunction.

"How are you?" he asked. "Ready to continue with life?"

"Yes, I guess. Lizzy called, and has been so nice. I think she'll take care of me. You told her?"

"I thought that I should." He didn't confide his secret reasons for telling Lizzy Bennet, reasons that were tied up in his admiration of her, but he truly believed that she enjoyed watching out for Georgie.

"I brought you flowers," he said. "Ours have already fallen back, but I know that you like the purple irises."

"You're so sweet, Will!" said Georgie, getting up from her bed and giving him a hug.

"Anything to make you happy."

"Do you really mean that?"

"Well, pretty much." Will grinned, wondering what was on Georgie's mind. Something wretched, he was sure. But she didn't continue talking, but picked up some math homework, and settled down again with industry. Sighing, Will left the room, and found his way to the kitchen.

Mrs. Reynolds, the wonderful housekeeper cum cook cum substitute mother of the family was busily bustling around the kitchen. Removing a turkey pie from the oven, she set it on the table, and rushed back to the stove where a pan of asparagus sizzled gently in butter. Will sniffed in appreciation.

"Another wonderful dinner?" he asked.

"Of course, what else? How's Georgie?"

"Well enough. She still seems a bit down, though, and she's doing her homework already."

"That's a bit unusual."

"I know. She seemed fine this morning."

"She was rather quiet in the afternoon, but then that nice Miss Bennet called, and gave Georgie a bit of energy. That's probably the homework industry."

"Elizabeth Bennet is a guardian angel," said Will, rather fervently. Mrs. Reynolds looked up sharply, but said nothing.

"She seems to be a nice level-headed, concerned woman."

"Yes." Will didn't elaborate more.

"Maybe you could do something nice for Miss Georgie," said Mrs. Reynolds. "Something to perk her up a bit. Anything she wants?"

"Not that I know of. She has her allowance for clothes and books and things. And her car is in good shape. I haven't heard her complaining about anything recently, Have you?"

"No, not really. It was just a bit of an idea. No good having all your money if you can't help a sad soul."

"She did mention something about a drama budget," said Will, remembering. Here might be his chance to help Georgie's theatrical whims, and to also give Elizabeth Bennet a gift. "I'll look into it," said Will, abruptly getting up.

"Don't be too long. Dinner will be in ten minutes."

Will planned to surprise Georgie, but he surprised Elizabeth Bennet much more. Coming into school the next morning, she was amazed, no, shocked, he hear that an anonymous donation had been made to the drama department, with a stipulation that a portion of it be used on this upcoming production. Lizzy, who had been at her wit's end to find a way to clothe the actors and actresses as her mind's eye imagine, was thoroughly pleased and speechless.

"Five hundred thousand dollars? That's a half a million... no one has money like that to spend on my costumes!"

"Apparently someone does. And someone who knows the production. Someone who says that the Gypsy money is to be used at our discretion. And they use our names. Not just mine, yours, too."

"I can't believe it. Pinch me to make sure that I'm not dreaming." Roberta pinched her, and Lizzy began to laugh. "This is so amazing. I'm so excited!" With a happy euphoria, she stumbled into her homeroom, amazed and delighted and ready to burst with excitement.

"Someone out there loves us," she said as she entered her classroom. Kitty looked up.

"Really? Who?"

"Drama donation. You can have that wig after all," said Lizzy.

"That's awesome, since you know Mum would have a fit if you dyed my hair."

"I know... I can't believe it. I'm not supposed to say much more, but honestly, this production will soar. I know it."

"Congratulations," said Sam, shaking Lizzy's hand very solemnly. Lizzy began to laugh, and hugged the startled boy. "And you won;t have to use that mangy old jacket, if I can help it."

Sam looked at her with hope on his face. "Really?" he asked. "Only it smells a bit like cat urine..."

"And has for the last twenty years. This is amazing. No one has looked at the drama department for so long... and now we'll show them how great you guys are."

"Cool," said Georgie, entering the room. She wasn't pale anymore, only she wasn't smiling too much. Dressed impeccably as ever, and carrying her bag over her shoulders, she slid onto the desk next to Kitty. Kitty immediately hugged her fiercely.

"We've missed you, Georgie! Honestly, you'd think you were the Queen of Sheba, the fuss everyone has been making."

"People missed me?" asked Georgie.

"Yes," said Alec, coming over, and squeezing her shoulders. "Very much. Welcome back. I suppose you've heard the good news?"

"Yes," said Georgie. Then, laughing to herself, she broke out into a huge grin. "It's wonderful!"

"I thought so too," said Lizzy. "Someone out there cares."

"Yes," said Georgie. "He must."

Later, as the homeroom disbanded, straggling off towards their first period classes, Georgie stopped Lizzy.

"While I was looking through all of my syllabi, doing assignments for today, I found the college meeting pamphlet. It says that you are supposed to meet with my family... with Will, I guess? Sometime before school ends, anyway. When?"

"Any time. Do you know when your brother is free?" Lizzy blushed, imagining the odd situation of being alone with William, talking of Georgie again.

"Well, he's off on business in June, I think... all of May should be free, then. What day looks good to you?"

"Next week, I guess? Um... Tuesday? I asked Will about good dates, and he said that if you were free next Tuesday that that would be a good time. In the late afternoon or something. So he could get out of work early, and run over."

"Tuesday... that's the fourteenth? Awesome. I can do that. Is Five-thirty good? We have a Tuesday final dress-rehearsal at seven, so that would give me an hour with him, and a chance to heat up my dinner."

"I'll tell him. I'm sure that it will be fine."

"It's good to have you back, Georgie."

"It's good to be back, Lizzy." Georgie gave another happy smile, and wandered off to class.

At the rehearsal that night, Georgie showed herself to be fully recovered. Lively, energetic and enthusiastic, she happily put effort into her dances. Indeed, she was so energetic that the happy energy spread among the other members of the cast. Lizzy watched with a smile. As they prepared to do the second act, however, Lizzy began to frown. She ran over to Roberta, a concerned grin on her face.

"Where is Lydia?"

"She's dropped out," said Roberta grimly.

"What?" asked Lizzy, shocked.

"She called me the night that Georgie fainted. And said that she felt terrible, and didn't want to ruin the play. I was so angry with her that evening that I agreed that she should quit the cast. Lavender Wood has been studying the part, hoping that Lydia would fall sick. So with an understudy ready (one who is probably more obedient, though without Lydia's flair...) I dismissed your cousin."

"She didn't tell me," said Lizzy. "I wonder what's up?"

"Beats me," said Roberta. "But good riddance, I say."

"I'll go talk to Lavender, then. Where was Lavender last night at rehearsal?"

"She had an outstanding engagement, but we did day practices. She'll be good enough."

"I hope so. I really do."

"Everything will be perfect. Plus, you've got the money now to dress her however you like."

"Not really... do you realize that the preview performance is a week from today? The show has come together, and the stage crew will get the set done (I hope, anyway) but we haven't had her measurements... we'll never get things made in time. Lydia was a completely different size!"

"That's true. But we'll manage. I took her measurements yesterday, and the mothers that make the costumes can make her something this weekend. I bought some ready made dresses for the chorus, and we'll be ready in time."

"Yes, I guess so," said Lizzy. "I just hate upsets. At least everyone is marvelous tonight."

"With the lights and costumes, everything will be amazing."

"I've been going over lights with Allie. She'll be ready, in any case."

"It's just that I've been working on this play since early March... and suddenly it is May? I can't believe it. Where has the year gone to?"

"You had the AP tests last week, right? That's always a sign that the year is almost over."

"I guess... good thing that Lyddie kept away from Georgie until she was done her tests... well, we've put in the time, let's hope everything rocks."

"I'm sure it will. I'd better run over that last song with Lauren... she's belting too much for my taste. Hey, there's Georgie, she looks like she wants to talk to you. See you, Liz!"

Roberta wandered off, and Lizzy turned around, and gave Georgie a swift hug.

"You've been awesome," she said.

"So have you. I told you that this morning. Anyway, Mrs. Reynolds... she lives with us... called me just twenty minutes ago, and she wants to know if you'd come over to dinner tomorrow. She wants to cook you something to thank you for helping me... and believe me, if she is offering to cook for you, you want to accept."

"Well, I don't think that I am doing anything... it is so sad. When I was a teenager, I'd sooner die than admit that I was free on a Friday night... but I'll come. Charles Bingley is coming home tomorrow night, so Jane will go pick him up, and Charlotte, my other house mate... will be busy. So in a sense, you are rescuing me, dear. Thanks."

"Since rehearsal is over early tomorrow, do you want to ride with me, since you haven't been to our house before?"

"Again, the little life saver. Jane will take the car to the airport. She can pick me up later. I'll look forward to meeting Mrs. Reynolds after talking to her so often in these last few days."

"We'll be pleased to see you," said Georgie.

Lizzy realized with a start that William would also likely be there. Well, what was he to her? She would go, and enjoy herself.

Chapter 20

Posted On: Wednesday, 5 February 2003, at 8:02 p.m.

The next day at breakfast, Lizzy told Jane and Charlotte about her dinner plans.

"I'm going to have dinner with the Darcys," she said. "And I'll need you to pick me up, Jane."

"At the Darcys'?" asked Charlotte. "My, we have gone up in the world. It's William Darcy, I know it is. He wants to hire you as Georgie's personal body guard."

"Stop it!" cried Lizzy, blushing a little, despite herself. "I'm going to please a Mrs. Reynolds, who lives with the Darcys."

"Who's she?"

"I think the housekeeper/cook/mother," explained Lizzy. "But I'm not sure."

"Well, enjoy yourself, kid," said Charlotte. "Next week you'll be eating fast food or cold packed dinners all week."

"The call for shows isn't until six thirty," said Lizzy. "So I'll dash home, if I can keep the car. Monday and Tuesday, I will admit, will be me an a sandwich."

"You poor girl. I'll bring you some grub on Monday, shall I?" said Jane, gently. "What time should I pick you up from dinner?"

"Well, that depends upon how nice a restaurant Charles take you to."

"Lizzy!" cried Jane. "I don't know that he will take me anywhere."

"Well, he would be stupid, then. "If I'm going there around six or six thirty, the meal will be what, an hour, two hours? I'll call you when I think we're winding down."

"Fine. Oh! The time! I'd better run into the office so I can leave early."

"Well, Charlotte and I will be off now," said Lizzy. "Char, can you take the car home after school in time for Jane to use it?"

"Sure thing," said Charlotte. She was very entertained by Lizzy's distracted bossing. She looked forward to hearing about this dinner later. Lizzy did seem to run into that handsome (albeit arrogant) William Darcy more than any other man. It was decidedly curious.

Lizzy spent the afternoon painting scenery while the rehearsal went on. Everything was nearly done, with a concentrated effort, it would be done by the Wednesday school assembly, which would feature scenes from the play and background information about Vaudeville. Thursday would be the preview performance, and then there were to be two performances, one on Friday, the other on Saturday. Then, the play would be packed away, and students would concentrate on their exams.

Dressed in painting clothes, Lizzy merrily watched singers and dancers perfectly going through their routines. Roberta had students go through certain scenes, and Lizzy was surprised to see how the play was nearly done. Each member of the cast knew about their role, each member of the stage crew knew what they would do for the show. Lizzy smiled, and put down her brush. She needed to change before going to dinner with Georgie. Paint would never do for Pemberley Ave.

Scrubbing paint from under her nails, and carefully drying her hands with paper towels, Lizzy opened up a small bag she had carried around all day. Inside she found a pair of neatly tailored brown pants, and a cream colored shirt. Putting on these clothes, she brushed her hair, and pulled it back as neatly as she could manage, while hiding the places where paint had dripped onto her head from a tall flat. Putting a pair of black leather boots on again, and saluted herself, and went upstairs to wait for Georgie.

Georgie wasn't long. The rehearsal was done, and she put on her jacket as she greeted Lizzy. "I moved my car during the break. I'm just outside. You look nice."

"Thanks. I thought that I'd better not show up dripping paint."

"Will would kill me if I got paint on this car... hey, I'll be a minute, I'm just going to change into street shoes." She gestured to her feet, which were covered with 'character shoes', black shoes with straps across the front and solid heels. Lizzy leaned against the wall, watching her. Georgie threw the character shoes into her bag, and stood up straight.

"Well, let's go. I don't know if Will will be home for dinner, but if he is,, he'll want me to be punctual."

"He doesn't always eat with you?" Lizzy found herself asking.

"No, not really. He has his own schedule. He's always working. It sort of sucks."

"I could imagine," said Lizzy, unsure why she felt disappointed.

Arriving at the Darcys' home on Pemberley Avenue, Lizzy could only gape. It was a Victorian monster of a house, not in style as much as size. It had been skillfully painted in dark greens and browns, and the garden alongside the circular driveway was in impeccable condition. Georgie parked her car carelessly by the door, and hopped out.

"Come on in." Lizzy followed her.

Once inside, Lizzy smiled at the attractive hallway that opened up before her. It had open doors coming off all sides, and through one Lizzy sniffed a whiff of something delicious. Smiling, she allowed Georgie to lead her into a comfortable living room, furnished with high book shelves, low sofas, and a grand piano in the corner. Books were scattered about the room, although neatened into meticulously tidy piles by some caring hand. The piano lid was open, and stacks of music lay on the bench.

"I'll just change out of these practice clothes, shall I?" asked Georgie. "Mrs. Reynolds, I'm home!"

A woman with crinkly hair and soft eyes entered the room from the hallway, having come out of a green baize door Lizzy hadn't noticed. A now-familiar voice greeted Georgie, and then turned to her.

"Are you Miss Bennet?" she asked.

"I am," said Lizzy. "My name is Elizabeth."

"Indeed. I am Mrs. Reynolds." She turned to Georgie, who had been lingering by the door.

"You go off an change, Miss Georgie. Master William will be home shortly, if that is the question in your eyes."

Georgie's face lit up. Will would be home... that was always a good thing, but especially so, now. She and Kitty still cherished dreams of throwing Georgie's brother and Kitty's cousin together. Georgie gave Lizzy a quick smile, and ran out the door, and lightly up a polished flight of stairs.

"Can I take your jacket?" asked Mrs. Reynolds, returning her attention to Lizzy. "And get you something to drink?"

"Oh, just some water would be nice," said Lizzy, smiling at the kindly woman. "Thank you for asking me to dinner, everything smells wonderful."

"I wanted to meet you," said Mrs. Reynolds, matter-of-factly. "You see, I've heard a lot abut you, and wanted to meet the miraculous teacher who has been so kind to Miss Georgie."

"Georgie is a pleasure to work with," said Lizzy.

"I'm glad you think so. Now, I'll just be along to get you some water. You stay here, nose about if you like." She disappeared with a smile. Lizzy turned to peek about the room, like any curious guest would, left to her own devices.

The music on the piano bench was of a wide assortment of styles. Classical music, jazz, show tunes and Beatles' songs were jumbled up together, each score of music looking sufficiently bent and marked for Lizzy to tell that someone clearly enjoyed playing this instrument. She wondered whether it was Georgie or Will. Sliding onto the bench, she opened the score that stood on the music rack, and smiled. Gypsy. Finding "All I Need Is The Girl", she flattened the pages, and began picking out the now quite familiar tune. While she played, the door opened.

"Georgie?" called a masculine voice. Lizzy whipped around, in embarrassment.

"No, it's me..." she said, lamely. Will stared. Fortunately, Mrs. Reynolds bustled in, and took his jacket and briefcase.

"William, I invited Miss Bennet over for supper this evening. Miss Georgie will be back in a minute, she went to get changed."

"Welcome to our home," said William as Mrs. Reynolds exited again.

"I'm sorry that I hadn't known about this sooner, I would have come home earlier."

"No, don't worry about anything," said Lizzy, embarrassed. She wondered why Mrs. Reynolds and Georgie hadn't mentioned anything to him. He was wondering the same thing.

"How are you... and your sister?" he asked, after a moment.

"Fine. Jane is off to pick up Charles at the airport."

"Yes... he said something of that to me." He paused, and then said again, "Your family are all well? All of your cousins and aunts and things?"

"Yes, quite well."

"And the show? I hear from Georgie that it seems to be coming along nicely."

"Yes, it is. I'm very pleased. Are you coming?" she asked.

"Of course," he said. He reached into his pocket, and drew out two tickets. "Both performances, I wouldn't miss Georgie for anything."

Lizzy smiled. "She's really marvelous," she said. Georgie chose this moment to come in again, and she smiled at Will.

"So, we're all here. What's for dinner do you think?"

"Lasagna, I think," said Will, sniffing the air, boyishly. "You are in luck, Elizabeth. This is a meal you want to try." Georgie nodded fervently, and scuttled out of the room again, most likely towards the source of the delicious smells.

Lizzy smiled. "I understand from Georgie that Mrs. Reynolds is a queen of cooks."

"Indeed," he said. A bell rang some distance away, a soft and silvery sound. "Well, we had better proceed in to dinner." He offered an arm to Lizzy in mock gentility, and she accepted it. He escorted her into the hallway, and then through a door on the other side of the hall. A large room met Lizzy's eyes, tastefully decorated, and with a table with a white cloth in the middle. It was a very long table. Lizzy found herself gazing to one end, where three places were set. Someone (most likely Mrs. Reynolds) had lit candles, and set a delicious-looking salad onto the table. Crystal glasses glimmered, and Lizzy spotted a decanter on the side board. Clearly the Darcys dined fashionably at all times.

Will pulled out a chair for Lizzy, and she sat, mildly surprised by his politeness. Georgie had reappeared, and seated herself across from Lizzy. Will took the position at the head of the table. Lizzy looked curiously about for a place for Mrs. Reynolds, and Georgie said,

"Oh, don't worry. Mrs. Reynolds will eat in the kitchen, she likes to make us feel important when we have guests. But she'll keep all of the best food for herself."

Mrs. Reynolds, entering with a trolley of hot dishes, shook her head. "What a ridiculous idea," she said, grinning mischievously.

The meal was served, and Lizzy found herself bombarded by a number of wonderful dishes. While the lasagna served as the central piece of the meal (in a beautiful dish, and with amazing patterns in cheese on top), there were two vegetables besides the salad, and a loaf of bread, which bore the mark of being home made. Lizzy smiled at the meal, and accepted everything that was offered to her. She allowed Will to give her a glass of wine, giving its healthy glow a look of appreciation, and glad that Jane would be the one picking her up. The dessert that followed was scarcely less beautiful and delicious than the meal, and Lizzy was glad that she had come.

When the meal was done, Georgie insisted that Lizzy hang around for a bit. Weighing the empty house against this merry party, where Georgie was being so friendly, William so polite, she easily made the decision to stay. Georgie somehow persuaded the party to play scrabble, and Mrs. Reynolds joined them. Sitting around a low coffee table in the living room with the piano, they merrily battled out words. Georgie proclaimed that it was unfair of Lizzy to use her extensive vocabulary of classical derivatives that no one else knew what they meant. However, when will took up a dictionary, he found that they were all perfectly legitimate. Bowing to her superior vocabulary, Georgie and Mrs. Reynolds stopped their efforts, and watched with amazement as Lizzy and Will managed the most extraordinary words from the strangest letters. After a time, Mrs. Reynolds brought them cocoa and brownies. Lizzy's eyes lit up as she saw the little cakes on the tray.

"Lizzy, you haven't had a real butterscotch brownie until you've tried Mrs. Reynolds' brownies."

Will took one off the plate, and handed it to Lizzy on a napkin. "Try it," he said.

She carefully accepted the napkin, and broke off a piece. Chewing, she beamed. "Excellent, Mrs. Reynolds."

"I'll give you some to take home," said the good woman.

"Hey..." Georgie pouted. "That will mean less for me."

"Greedy girl, there are plenty."

"Speaking of home, what is the time?" asked Lizzy, anxiously.

"Nine-thirty," said Mrs. Reynolds.

"I should go," Lizzy said, rising.

"When I am only twenty points behind you?" asked William, with a small smile. "I'm not sure that I could let you."

"I'm sorry, but Jane needs her sleep. I should have her come for me sooner rather than later."

"If it's a ride you need, I'll drive you. After I've won," he added with an impish grin. Lizzy laughed at him, and smiled.

"I guess I'll have to accept, then," she said. "It wouldn't show good sportsmanship to walk out while I'm ahead."

"Good," said Georgie. "I want to see who is smarter, you or Will. I'd drive you myself, if Will would let me, but he won't."

"I'd rather she not drive late," he said, in way of an explanation.

"It's probably safer," said Lizzy, who had sat back down on the sofa. Will, who was sitting across from her, smiled.

"I just want to make sure that she's fine. That's why I drive her in, and pick her up from night rehearsals."

"Understandable. You probably don't get to see her much with all of these rehearsals."

"We manage. Your rehearsals haven't been too late yet."

"Well, latest thing is really the cast party, when I find out where it will be."

"Have it here," said Will. "Then Georgie won't have to drive."

"Do you seriously want fifty high school students in your beautiful house?" asked Lizzy, incredulous. If she had a house as nice as this one, she wouldn't want the Gypsy crowd to have a party in it.

"You have chaperones, I imagine. Use this house. It's big enough."

"I... thanks," Lizzy managed.

"No problem," said Will, although his ears were a little pink. He slid three letters onto the board with a "Ha", and smiled at Lizzy. "Give me 21 points," he said, gesturing at the sheet she held.

"Not fair," said Lizzy, but she duly recorded the points. Two turns later, the game was done, and Will had won.

"Come, I'll drive you home. Least I can do for making you stay and lose." His smile was playful, and Lizzy grinned in return. If Will Darcy was as nice as he had been this evening all of the time, he must have alternate personalities. This man was charming, handsome and... nice. She liked this William Darcy very much.

He held open the passenger seat of his car, and Lizzy found herself sitting in the same place as Georgie had a few nights ago. He shut the door firmly, and slid into the driver's seat. "Where do you live?" he asked, a little shyly.

"Windsor Avenue," she said. It's not that far from Penn's campus. Can you get there?"

"Yes," he said. Starting the car, and driving it onto Pemberley Avenue, he concentrated on the road, and was silent. Lizzy watched out the window. He then spoke, as they left the Mt. Airy/ Chestnut Hill area. "Scenic or quick way?" he asked.

"What, expressway or river drives?"

"Yes."

"I don't mind, you choose," she said. He kept going straight, and passed the turn off for the expressway. He didn't want to get rid of Elizabeth Bennet so quickly, even if he couldn't think of anything to say to her.

"Kelly or West?" she asked him.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Which river drive are you taking? Kelly or West?"

"Which should I take?"

"Well, West is nice, in my opinion. Quieter, fewer bends... I usually get off by the zoo. I love driving by at night."

"Then we'll go that way. They continued for a while, and then crossed the river. Will drove the car carefully down the almost deserted river drive, and Lizzy gazed out the window.

"In the mornings there are goslings," she said. "They're terribly sweet looking, although likely quite vicious."

"I don't doubt it. I was bitten by a gander when I was eight."

"I can't imagine someone like you being around geese, Lizzy admitted.

"I was at a party of Richard's. He had a petting zoo, and I thought that it would be clever to feed the gander... bad choice. The bird gave me a scar." He took his right hand off the wheel, and extended it towards Lizzy, his eyes still intent upon the road. In the irregular light of the street lamps, she couldn't see a scar, but bent closer. Seeing a white mark across his finger, she grimaced.

"That can't have been fun," she said, tracing the line of the mark. I'll make a note not to actually talk to a goose."

Will laughed, and brought his hand back to the wheel. They drove on, and he gestured to a stop light ahead. "Should I turn here?"

"Yes," Lizzy replied. Turn here, then turn left at the top of the hill. Past the zoo... and straight."

Within another fifteen minutes, Darcy had pulled in front of the modest twin home that Lizzy shared. The small street was quiet, and the lights were all dark in the windows, as it was nearly eleven. Darcy then pulled over into a parking spot along the street, and shut off the engine. Lizzy opened her door, and turned towards Will.

"Thanks," she said. "Jane will thank you so much."

"My pleasure," he said. "I feel privileged knowing where you live. According to Charles your phone number is under some discreet name."

Lizzy blushed. "Propertius. Cynthia Propertius."

Will raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yes," said Lizzy, getting out of the car. Will hopped out to get her bag from the trunk. "Cynthia was Propertius's mistress, if that is her real name. My favorite poem is this one by Propertius... poem eight in his fourth volume... it's rather entertaining... so I chose that name for the phone. It saves us time when dealing with telemarketers."

"Mrs. Reynolds protects me," said Will. "Well, here's your bag. I'll see you on Tuesday, I guess, for this meeting?"

"Tuesday," said Lizzy. "Do you know where my office is?"

"I'll ask Georgie," said Will. "Good-night!"

"Good-night!" said Lizzy. She waved to Will, and entered her house, feeling remarkably like a girl who has come back late from a date. Charlotte was waiting on the landing when Lizzy climbed the stairs.

"Well?" she asked Lizzy, with a superior smile.

Chapter 21

Posted On: Friday, 14 February 2003, at 11:42 a.m.

Lizzy woke up on Saturday morning to see the sun high in the sky already. Groggily she looked at the alarm, and sat up. It was eleven o'clock, and high time that Lizzy roused herself from her bed. Slipping out from under the covers, she headed to the bathroom to take shower, and managed to wake herself up.

Washed and dressed, she made her way to the kitchen, where Charlotte was sitting at the table, clipping coupons from the paper, and compiling a shopping list.

"So you decided to grace us with your presence?" she asked with a smile, waving about her scissors.

"I was tired. Beastly rehearsals keeping me up all hours."

"So, how was it?" asked Charlotte. "Here you are, a dinner guest of the Darcys at Pemberley Avenue, and you haven't told me a thing, besides the fact that Darcy beat you at Scrabble. What kind of a dinner party was this?"

"A friendly one," said Lizzy, defensively, dropping a bagel into their ancient toaster, and sitting down across from Charlotte. She poured herself some juice, and sat for a moment. "All right. What do you want to know? It was just a friendly little dinner party, me and Georgie and her brother and their housekeeper. And then we played scrabble, and then he drove me home. It was getting late for Jane to come and get me, and William didn't want me to leave until he was ahead in the game. He finally won, and then gave me a lift. No big deal."

"You're a bit pink!" accused Charlotte, triumphantly.

"Am not," said Lizzy. "That's the warm shower."

Charlotte, unsatisfied, glared at Lizzy. "Why won't you cooperate?"

"In what?"

"You won't admit that Will Darcy likes you. I know that he does. Seriously, he drove you home? From what I had seen of his behavior, he wouldn't do that for just anyone. And he asked you to dance at the Asb ball, no one else. Seriously, open your eyes!"

"There is nothing to see," said Lizzy. "You're making it all up." She liked the idea, despite herself, but it couldn't be true.

"Ha."

"How was your date?" asked Lizzy.

"Quite lovely," said Charlotte. "Pat is one of the nicest guys I've met in a while."

"So mind your own business," said Lizzy.

"Then you want me to keep out? I'm intrigued. If I didn't know better, I would think that you liked this William."

"I just see him a lot," said Lizzy. "Stop fussing."

Charlotte turned away, a maddeningly superior smile on her face. Jane entered the room, breaking up the squabble.

"Good morning, Lizzy!" she said, brightly. "You didn't call me last night."

"I got Will Darcy to give me a ride. He offered, I mean."

"That's nice," said Jane. "Is that your bagel burning?"

Lizzy jumped up in alarm. "Crap. It is. Anyone want a burnt bagel?" she asked, holding up the blackened article.

"Nope," said Charlotte. She straightened her pile of coupons, and stood up. "Well, ladies, if you won't need the car, I'm off grocery shopping. Do you need anything?"

"Oh..." said Lizzy. "The cast party. Will you pick up a couple of bags of chips and a few things of soda and juice?"

"Where is the cast party?" asked Jane, peeling a banana and daintily cutting off a lump to eat.

"That's just the thing... it would be at the school or at Winnie Hall's house, except that the Darcys' have offered their house. I'm glad, since Winnie had to have the Cherry Orchard party, and her parents might be annoyed if we showed up again... it's just that she's our props person and in every play..."

"I get the picture," said Jane. "The Darcys are very kind.

"Yes," said Lizzy.

"Indeed," said Charlotte. Lizzy glared at her.

"But I had better call up and make sure that they really meant it," said Lizzy. "I'll be back in a few minutes." She dashed out of the room.

"What's up?" asked Jane. "She seems fidgety."

"Oh, her play opens this week," said Charlotte, loftily, with a secret smile to herself. So William Darcy offered his home to some fifty odd members of the musical? This was very interesting.

"Mrs. Reynolds?" asked Lizzy into the phone. "Hi, it's Elizabeth Bennet. I was just calling about William's offer of the house for the cast party. Do you think that he means it?"

On the other end of the line, Mrs. Reynolds smiled. "Ask him yourself, I'll put him on." She handed the instrument over.

"Elizabeth?" asked Will. "Good morning."

"Good morning. I'm sorry if I woke you at all. I was just wondering if you really wanted to offer up your house for the cast party."

"Of course," said Will. "I wouldn't have offered otherwise."

"Well... thank you," said Lizzy. "We accept your offer, then."

"We?" he asked, frowning.

"Roberta and I."

"Of course," said Will, his voice returning to normal. "What do you want me to provide other than a house?"

"Well, the house is nice. Actually, if you wanted to be a saint, you could provide paper plates and cups and things," said Lizzy. "I'll bring soda and chips, and most of the mothers donate cookies and fruit and things. And I always pick up a cake."

"Mrs. Reynolds can bake you a cake. She'd love to. She's very excited about Georgie performing."

"I... well... I don't want to trouble her," said Lizzy, sadly remembering the brownies that she still had in her coat pocket. "She'll be very busy with all of the actors, anyway."

"She wants to help," said Will, patiently. "Please let her."

"All right," said Lizzy, giving in. "You provide the house and the plates and the cake."

"I will," said Will. "Saturday night?"

"Yes. The play starts at eight, and should run until... ten? I'm not sure about running time yet. Say... oh, the party starts at eleven, and goes until twelve or twelve thirty?"

"Either time is fine," said Will. Especially if you come." Who comes?"

"The actors, the crew, the significant adults. Meaning me, Roberta, our close friends or family and the mothers and fathers who helped out. Lauren's father, the girl who plays Rose that is, is a wonderful help with the costumes. So they'll act as chaperones. There are about forty... three?... students in the play and about eight members of the stage crew who are working on it."

"I'll make sure that everything is ready. Don't you worry about this. You take care of the play."

"Thanks," said Lizzy. "Really. Thank you."

"No problem," said Will, grinning.

"Well, then, 'bye," said Lizzy.

"Good-bye," said Will.

As Will had hung up the phone, Georgie appeared in the kitchen.

"Good-morning, Georgie," he said brightly. "You slept rather late."

"You try having all of these rehearsals. Why are you so cheerful, did you just win the lottery or something?"

"No, just tidying plans for the cast party with Elizabeth Bennet."

"Excellent," said Georgie. She sniffed the air, and ran into the kitchen, where Mrs. Reynolds was piling pancakes onto a dish.

"Are those for me?" she asked.

"These are for Will. First to rise, first to eat. Yours will be along in a minute."

"Did Lizzy really call?" asked Georgie.

"Yes, if it is any business of yours," said Mrs. Reynolds, bending over the griddle again.

"You must know that Will fancies her a bit," said Georgie. "It's in his very air."

"I notice one or two things," said Mrs. Reynolds.

"Good," said Georgie. "Hang onto those pancakes, I'm just going to call Kitty quickly."

"This early?"

"Of course. I don't want to forget anything." She dashed into the hallway, and into a small conservatory in the back of the house. Having picked up and dialed the cordless phone as she sought cover, she waited for Kitty to pick up.

"Who is it?" asked Kitty, answering.

"Georgie. It isn't too early, is it?"

"Not really. I was about ready to go out with the dog. But he can wait. What's up?"

"Just wanted to report about the dinner last night."

"It was last night? How was it?"

"My brother definitely likes your cousin a bit. It's perfect!"

"Does she like him at all?"

"I can't tell. But it was a nice chummy evening. I mean, we had dinner, and he led her in and pulled out her chair and everything, and then we all played scrabble, and in return for waiting for the game to be done, he drove her home. And he offered her the use of our house for the cast party. And he's been pretty silent this morning."

"That's awesome," said Kitty. "Now we just have to work on Lizzy. Your brother is gorgeous, what's wrong with her. No signs?"

"Not really. They were really nice to each other, but she didn't seem that, you know..."

"Yeah. Well, there's always the cast party," said Kitty, cheerfully.

"Right," said Georgie. "Well, nice planning with you, but I have some pancakes that need my attention. See you!"

"See you," said Kitty, marvelling that Georgie really was a scheming girl. Appearances could be decieving. It was awesome.

At the Sunday rehearsal, Lizzy greeted Kitty and Georgie warmly. "Here we are, the last weekend rehearsal," she said, cheerfully. "And the set is nearly done. I'll work with the crew tomorrow and Monday, but then this baby will be ready for opening. How are you two?"

"Great," said Kitty.

"Pretty good," said Georgie. "Mrs. Reynolds gave me some cookies to bring you. She must have really liked you."

"Tell her that I can't thank her enough," said Lizzy. "her brownies lasted all of ten seconds when I showed them to Charlotte and Jane."

"You pigs!" cried Kitty. "You didn't save your dearest cousin some?"

"Sorry, you weren't there, dearest cousin."

"Speaking of cousins, you know, since Lyddie dropped out, she's been hanging out more and more with her college-aged boyfriend? The age difference is really pretty gross."

"What happened to Mike?" asked Lizzy.

"Who knows," said Kitty. "I may be related, but we live in different worlds." She shrugged, and ran backstage to try on one of her costumes. Lizzy smiled at Georgie.

"Come on, see your costumes. This will be one great show."

Continued In Next Section