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By the time Elisabeth had overslept her alarm the next morning, Charlie had already been through surgery. Elisabeth made a quick phone call to her cousin Andie to ask how she was doing and was relieved to be told that Charlie had made it through the surgery fine and was resting. Elisabeth swore to herself that when she got off of work, she'd stop by her cousin's hospital room with some goodies, even if it did give her the heebie-jeebies. She felt bad about the fact that she'd barely spent ten minutes in there last night.
She cursed at herself for oversleeping as she hurried through a shower, struggled into her clothes and nearly hit a stop sign in her rush to get to work. Why she felt the need to hurry was beyond her, because Sean had agreed to open for Jack and would likely get all of the managerial duties out of the way. But she hurried just the same, grateful she hadn't bothered doing anything with her hair as a heavy rain started falling.
There must be a permanent cloud hanging over Effingham, she thought bleakly as she ran into the store. She shut the door behind her with a bang and leaned against it, panting. She looked down at her white maternity dress shirt and black pants----soaked to the skin once again. She frowned and wished she'd thought to bring a towel or an extra uniform.
"El?" Sean called.
"Yeah, it's me!" she shouted. "Did you call for a drowned rat? That's me, too!"
"Drowned rat! That's my favorite kind!" Elisabeth heard Erin shout from the dining room. Elisabeth stepped over to the ovens, oddly enough because that was the warmest place in the store. The lights were off in the dining room, save for those over the salad bar. Erin was placing items on it, artfully arranging them as she'd been taught long ago so that no item sat beside another of the same color. Charlie did the same thing, though the logic of it escaped Elisabeth.
Sean was sitting by a window in non-smoking, frowning over paperwork.
"There shouldn't be anything wrong with that," Elisabeth said. "I went over those numbers three times to make sure they were right. Even Bubba's numbers came out okay." She walked over to his table, her shoes making squishy noises on the tiled floor until she reached the carpet.
"This doesn't have anything to do with the store," Sean replied, writing something on the sheet on top. "This is our formal petition to adopt Tasha."
"They haven't been able to find any relatives?"
"They found out about her family. Tasha's parents were both only children. Both sets of grandparents died years ago." Sean flipped through the paperwork in front of him until he found what he was looking for.
"That's strange," Elisabeth said. "How likely is it that two only children fall in love and get married?"
Sean shrugged. "Neither of my parents had any siblings. Of course, they proceeded to have four kids, so maybe there is something about it. Anyway, they're not having much luck coming up with any distant relatives to ask about Tasha, so there's a good chance that we may get to adopt her."
Elisabeth noticed that his hands were shaking a bit. "Are you happy about that?" she asked.
Sean looked up from his papers. "Yes," he replied curtly.
Elisabeth decided to back away from that subject. Sean wrote something else on one of the sheets of paper before asking, "How is Charlie?"
"Fine. Already out of surgery."
"Already?" Erin exclaimed. "How did she manage that?"
"I guess they gave her the option of having the surgery now or waiting a couple of weeks. She insisted on having it now, so she had it around six this morning. I can't imagine any doctor being willing to get up that early to do it, but apparently they found someone who would because when I called her sister, she said they'd just wheeled Charlie to the recovery room."
"Wish it had been that easy for me," Erin muttered. "They made me wait three months and four trips to the ER before they'd operate. We sent a plant to her room. Wonder if she'll be there long enough to get it."
"She should be. I don't imagine they'll let her out of the hospital before tomorrow at the earliest," Elisabeth said. "I mean, I don't know much about gall bladders, but I'd imagine it was major surgery, wasn't it?"
"It was when I had it, but times change. She might be out this afternoon for all you know."
"If they release her today, I'm writing a formal letter of complaint to that damn hospital. They wouldn't let my father go home so he could die in peace, but they'll let Charlie go the same day she has surgery? I don't think so."
"Settle down, El. They haven't done anything yet," Sean interrupted. "What time is it?"
Elisabeth grabbed his left arm----the one with the watch attached----and told him, "Ten fifteen."
"Could you take the individual pizzas out of the proofer and stick them in the walk-in for me? I'd like to finish this up before we start work so that Rachel can run it to the lawyer's."
"Sure," Elisabeth said hesitantly, not wanting to point out that the lawyer wouldn't be able to do anything before Monday anyway. She had a feeling he wouldn't appreciate the point.
Whether it was the lousy weather, the lousy temperatures, or the fact that everyone had been in the store the night before, Saturday turned out to be fairly dead. By one-thirty, Erin had gone home, leaving Darcy and the late-arriving Kit behind. Chazz was running all over town with deliveries, but he seemed to be in the first good mood he'd had in a while so Elisabeth wasn't going to complain about his extended absence. Sean had left at noon and would be returning at four to relieve Elisabeth, since Bubba was undoubtedly still in an alcohol-induced coma.
With no tables in the store and the delivery orders caught up, Elisabeth decided that there was no better time to manage a few minutes alone with Darcy. They wouldn't have such opportunities anytime soon, with Charlie off work for two weeks. She whispered her request in his ear, which immediately made him straighten up and glance over at Kit, who was sitting in the dining room flipping through the jukebox offerings. He nodded and hurried to the back.
"Kit?" Elisabeth rushed over to the waitress.
"Yeah?"
"Darcy and I need to have a little chat. We shouldn't be more than a few minutes, but could you keep an eye on the cut table? There's one more pizza for Chazz to run when he gets back and it should be coming out of the oven soon."
"No problem," Kit replied as she took a cigarette out of her apron pocket and lit it.
"You'd better hope Thomas Palmer doesn't catch you doing that," Elisabeth called.
"Aah, you're just jealous 'cause you can't have one."
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear you say that!" Elisabeth walked briskly toward the back, the sound of Kit's bemused laughter ringing in her ears.
Elisabeth paused in front of the walk-in for a brief moment, taking a deep breath and saying a quick prayer as she opened the door and stepped inside.
"Why is it that whenever we want a private talk, we wind up in here?" Darcy asked as the door shut on them, leaving them bathed only in the dim light the bulb by the door provided.
"Well, it's a toss-up between this or the rain and humidity outside. Since I can warm up faster than I can cool down, this seemed to be the place to go," Elisabeth replied.
"With an argument like that, how can I argue?"
"I thought we already agreed that you're not allowed to argue with me ever." Elisabeth grinned.
"You agreed to that. I said we would see about that. Then all hell broke loose and we didn't get a chance to discuss it." Darcy got serious. "Now's our chance."
"Yeah." Elisabeth placed her hands reflexively on her stomach, not sure where she should begin. He obviously was as lost as she was, because he didn't say anything, either.
Darcy sighed. "I suppose you're upset about what I told your family the other night, and you have every right to be. I had no right to say that you were keeping the baby and we were raising it together. But Elisabeth...I've thought about this ever since I said it, and even though it was a spur-of-the-moment thing I said in the beginning...I meant it then and I still do."
Elisabeth chewed on her lower lip as she thought of something to say to him. "Why?" she asked.
"Why what? Why do I mean it? Didn't we already have this discussion on our first date and several subsequent ones?" Darcy took her face in his hands. "Perhaps I should ask you a question. Why is it so hard for you to believe that I mean what I say? Have you been treated so badly by men before that the thought of a nice guy scares you?"
"No," Elisabeth said quickly. "I don't think so." She put her hands on his wrists just as he leaned forward and kissed her. Her hands moved from his wrists to his waist as she pulled herself closer.
After a minute, neither of them was feeling the coldness of the walk-in. Elisabeth was the first to pull away with great reluctance. "We're not getting anything accomplished by doing that," she said playfully. "Besides that, we could get in serious trouble."
"I know." Darcy was tempted to step into the adjoining freezer to cool himself down completely, but he knew he had to stay so they could continue talking.
Elisabeth took several deep, cleansing breaths, focusing her thoughts on his first question. After a minute, she said, "Nice guys don't scare me. I just don't think I've come across many of them. And when I have, I've inevitably done something to screw it up."
"What makes you think it's been you?" Darcy asked.
Elisabeth fixed him with a look. "Be serious. I've been through my fair share of relationships and inevitably I'm the one getting my heart broken. I could probably name on one hand the number of guys I've broken up with rather than the other way around. And because I was the one doing the breaking up, obviously the problem was with me, otherwise I'd still be with them."
Darcy wasn't sure he got the logic in her argument but decided to let it go for now. "Whatever happened with your past relationships is in the past. I don't care about them. What I care about is you. I care about us."
Elisabeth felt tears welling up in her eyes and closed them quickly. She was not going to turn into a watering pot!
"You do believe me, don't you?" he asked.
Elisabeth nodded. "Of course I do. But...I'm..."
"Scared?" Darcy answered for her.
"Yes." Elisabeth opened her eyes. "I've never been more scared in my life."
"Would it make you feel better to know that I'm scared, too?" Darcy smiled at her. "This is uncharted territory to me, too. You know my history. Other than one relationship which ended up going nowhere, I've never been tempted to make as serious a commitment as I want to make with you."
"That's..." Elisabeth had a feeling that she was going to lose the battle against the unshed tears. "That's what scares me. I'm so afraid that we're moving too fast, that you don't know me at all and that if you did, you wouldn't like me, much less care enough about me to try for a lasting relationship. What if we make this decision to go for it and find out that we have nothing in common and..."
"I don't think that's going to happen. No, forget the 'think' part. I know that's not going to happen."
As Elisabeth struggled to come up with an argument to that, Darcy felt a surge of amazement. He had never in his life been able to talk in such a way to anyone. He only hoped that it wasn't going to be for nothing.
"What makes you so sure?" she asked.
Darcy put his hands on her upper arms, but gently so that she wouldn't think he was trying to keep her from running away. "I'm not," he said honestly. "Nothing in life is certain, but I'd rather we give it a try and see how things work out rather than be too scared to go for it and spend our lives regretting that we didn't. As for us not knowing each other long, or well enough, I think we've gotten to know each other over the past few months. Maybe I haven't known you as long as Jack or Chazz or some other guy, but in a way, I know you better than anyone. And you know you me just as well."
"I do?" Elisabeth asked hesitantly.
He nodded. "You do. And anything you don't know, I'd be more than happy to tell you."
"Okay...what is your aunt going to say when you introduce me to her? What are you going to tell her about us? What is she going to think about you being the father to a baby that isn't yours? What is your sister going to say, and what will she think?"
Darcy almost faltered. He hadn't once thought about what his aunt's reaction might be since he'd made his decision. It was a sobering thought in the midst of all his excited dreams about his future with Elisabeth. He knew what she was saying----Catherine was going to be furious with him if he introduced Elisabeth as his future wife. As far as Catherine was concerned, his future was with Anne Ripley and De Bourgh Enterprises.
"What are we going to live on?" Elisabeth's voice got shaky. "Now you see why my past relationships have fallen apart."
"No," Darcy said. "Maybe the past ones did, but I told you that I didn't care about them. And you're asking sensible questions, ones I should be asking myself and have somehow not thought about until now."
"I know." Elisabeth finally lost the war with her tears. They felt icy trickling down her cheeks.
"Shh...don't cry," he whispered, pulling her into his arms. "We're going to work this out, Elisabeth. So as to your first question, I know that she's not going to be happy. In fact, she's going to be downright furious. She's got...there's a young woman she's been wanting me to marry for some time, but I've somehow managed to put her off. The idea of an arranged marriage was just too much for me."
"What did the young woman think about it?" Elisabeth asked.
"I don't know. I've known Anne Ripley for nearly five years, but I wouldn't say that I knew her half as well as I've gotten to know you in four months." Darcy shrugged. "She's like me in many ways. She does what my aunt tells her to."
"Well..." Elisabeth had to smile. "You can be sure that I wouldn't be like that."
"I know." Darcy hoped that her smile was a step in the right direction. "As to what I'll tell her, what's wrong with the truth----and what do we really need to tell her? She doesn't need to know your life history, although she'll insist upon it. We won't lie and tell her the baby is mine if she asks. As for Ginger, I know she's going to be delighted."
"You're sure about that?"
Darcy pushed back a lock of hair that had fallen onto her forehead. "My sister happens to be one of the few people I know and love dearly. She's also the only person who cares about my happiness rather than my future potential. If I introduce you to her as the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, she's going to love you."
"Does she know about me?" Elisabeth took a step back and used her hands to brush away the last of her tears.
"She knows we're going out. The rest of it I haven't told her about yet."
"Why not?" Elisabeth demanded.
Darcy was starting to get very frustrated. What was with this woman? It was as if he couldn't say anything that was going to please her.
"Because I didn't want to disappoint her," he said simply. "I told her we were dating and that you were a wonderful person. I told her what you looked like..."
"And that I was pregnant?"
"Uh, well..."
"And that I had a difficult mother and an ex-boyfriend from hell and a cousin with cancer and a sister with a bonehead ex-boyfriend and that I was..."
Darcy finally realized that she was deliberately being difficult rather than acting out of fear. "I should shoot you, you know that?" he growled as Elisabeth burst into laughter.
"I had you going so good!" she said, gasping. "You were getting a little nervous, Dare!"
"A little? I thought you were serious!"
Elisabeth's mirth slowly died out, although she was still smiling. "Darcy, in all seriousness, your aunt scares me. I know how much her good opinion means to you and I wouldn't want you to lose that because of me."
The cold was beginning to get to Darcy and he shivered. Once that was done, he said quietly, "I'm willing to risk that."
Elisabeth shook her head. "But I don't want you to have to..."
"El...I'm willing to risk that." Darcy stepped back into her arms and kissed her. It started out as a deeply passionate kiss, then became teasing before turning passionate again.
The sound of someone clearing their throat loudly startled both of them. Neither of them spoke, turning guiltily to whomever was standing at the door to the walk-in.
"If the two of you are through doing whatever it was you were doing in here, I've got an order in for you to make, El. And there's a table if you'd like to take it, Darcy." Kit shut the door almost as quickly as she'd opened it.
"Oh, God," Elisabeth whispered, heat rushing to her face. "How could we have been so stupid?"
"Not stupid. Just..." Darcy couldn't come up with a more appropriate word. "Well, okay, stupid works well."
Elisabeth shot out of the walk-in and into the kitchen. She ripped the sheet of paper off the printer and read through it carefully. Medium thin pepperoni pizza with extra cheese. She looked up to find Kit smiling at her.
"Uh...did you need anything else?" she asked nervously.
"You and Darcy, huh?" Kit's smile turned into a grin. "Damn."
Elisabeth sighed and busied herself by grabbing a thin crust and preparing the pizza. "Yeah, me and Darcy and Charlie doesn't know yet."
"You can't be serious. Charlie doesn't know? How does Charlie not know? You two have been giving each other looks which...well, let's put it this way. If you'd been looking at each other in the walk-in, you'd have melted everything. Although since you tried doing that another way, maybe you'd already realized that."
Elisabeth stilled. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that I didn't need to catch the two of you in the walk-in to know what was going on. It's getting pretty obvious." Kit smiled.
"And I suppose everyone's talking about it." Elisabeth scattered more cheese on the table than she did on the pizza.
"Just me and Erin and Chazz. Oh, and I guess Jack knows about it, but I don't know how he found out. Sean, too. And that's it, but J.P.'s getting suspicious and you know what'll happen if he mentions it to a certain trio of witches."
"Yeah, yeah." Elisabeth tried to put cheese on the pizza again and had better luck. "I have to figure out a way to tell Charlie within about a week, anyway."
"Why is that?"
"Because my grandmother swore she'd tell her if I didn't." Elisabeth started putting pepperoni on top of the cheese.
Kit cackled. "Your grandma's blackmailing you into telling her? I love it!" Still laughing, Kit headed back toward the dining room.
Elisabeth glared at her retreating back before returning to the task at hand.
Elisabeth was just getting off of work when she saw Jack's car pull into the parking lot. Her brow furrowed, because she'd figured Jack would spend as much time as he could at the hospital while Charlie was there. Her attention was diverted temporarily by a couple wanting to pay for their meal, which was why she didn't notice who had been sitting in the passenger seat.
She'd just finished telling the couple to have a nice afternoon when she saw Charlie and Jack walk in the door.
"Charlie!" Elisabeth gasped as her cousin shuffled her way into the restaurant, Jack holding her arm in a grip that was likely doing more to cut off circulation than supporting her frame. She walked around to the other side of the counter and leaned a hip against it. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to come in and tell you that I was going home," she replied.
"What are you doing out of the hospital the same day you have major surgery? Jack, why did you let her leave?"
"Let her? They told her she could go home. They told her she should stay off her feet as much as possible, but she insisted on coming by here. She's got an appointment with the doctor who performed the surgery on Wednesday to see how the stitches are doing and check how she's feeling, but other than that, she's done."
"A hospital not insisting a patient stay as long as possible? What's the world coming to?" Elisabeth muttered, thinking of her father.
"Something to do with what the insurance would pay for, or something like that. I don't care. I was feeling fine...or as fine as one could after having surgery...and I wanted to go home. But I didn't want you to make a trip to the hospital when you didn't need to, so..."
"So now we're going to your apartment," Jack finished. "Although we might make a quick stop at IGA to pick up some pudding and chicken soup. That's all she's supposed to have tonight." He gave Elisabeth a look indicating that he and Charlie had already been ten rounds on the issue.
"Why would you want to risk your health to eat something the doctor won't allow you to have?" Elisabeth asked, giving her cousin a stern look.
"All I asked for were oyster crackers. You'd think I was asking for a large pizza with triple pepperoni and jalapenos from the way he's talking." Charlie gave Jack a disgusted look. "A few measly little oyster crackers, which will soften in the soup before I eat them."
"Soup and pudding and that's all. You can live without crackers for one meal."
"I have a father, you know. A mother, too."
"I know that already. I met them while you were in surgery. They told me to make sure you followed the doctor's instructions to the letter. You're lucky I agreed to stop by here before taking you home."
"If I'd realized what a pain in the butt you were going to be, I would've asked Andie to stick around and drive me home." Charlie inhaled sharply and grasped Jack's arm, her other hand clutching her side again.
Elisabeth said in a disgusted voice, "I can't believe they thought it was a good idea to let her go home. I can't wait to see what they do after I've given birth. I'll probably have the baby and be tossed out on my butt thirty minutes later."
"Probably," Charlie agreed. "When will you be off work?"
Elisabeth smiled, recognizing that the question was actually, "When will I be free of Jack?" She waited for a minute before replying, "I'm off work now. Actually, Jack, if you'd like to go, I can take her from here. We'll stop by the store and buy what she's allowed to have."
Jack shook his head. "I'd just as soon make sure she gets home. Nothing against you, El, but she's been stumbling a bit and I don't want you to risk hurting yourself trying to keep her upright. I'll keep her with me until we get to your apartment. Is Jenna there?"
Elisabeth nodded. "She's off today and tomorrow. I'll be off Monday, so she'll be taken care of. Don't worry about that."
"I'm not a child," Charlie said angrily. "I'll be okay to leave at home by myself."
"We know that," Jack told her. "We just want to be sure, in case something happens and we have to rush you back to the hospital."
"That's why I had the surgery right away, so I didn't have to make return trips to the ER. That's the last damn time I go in there if I can possibly avoid it. I hated it when I was on the crisis response team and I hate it even more now that I've been through it." Charlie sighed wearily. "Can we go? I'm really tired."
"Of course," Jack said hurriedly. "We won't be too far behind you, Elisabeth, if you want to meet us at your place."
Elisabeth nodded and watched as Jack steered Charlie out of the restaurant and back to his car. He carefully placed her inside, a concerned look on his face as she cringed upon sitting down.
"If he's not careful, she's going to wake up to the fact that he's crazy about her," Chazz said as he walked into the restaurant. "And you guys said I was blind about Jenna. I'm not half as bad as Charlie."
"There's more to it than blindness when it comes to Charlie," Elisabeth said quietly. "Things like self-esteem and self-image, for instance. And as you're still blind when it comes to Jenna, and she's getting to be as bad, I'd say that you're really not in a position to talk."
"Hey! That wasn't completely my fault, you know. You were there, and don't even try to tell me you weren't listening."
"I did say she was getting as bad," Elisabeth pointed out. "I know it wasn't all your fault, despite all my best efforts at first to blame you." She smiled ruefully. "I'm sorry about that, Chazz."
Chazz gave her a mock-worried look and put a hand to her forehead. "Are you feeling okay? You must be coming down with a fever if you're apologizing to me."
Elisabeth knocked his hand out of the way. "Very funny, smart aleck. Get back to work or I'll tell Sean that you're being lazy."
He gave her a smart salute before returning to his work. Elisabeth made sure to clock out before leaving to meet Jack and Charlie at home.
She beat them by five minutes, Jack apparently sticking to his word that the only things he was going to buy at the grocery store were pudding and chicken soup. She was glad she did, because Jenna was nowhere to be found.
Elisabeth watched as Jack led her up the walk, her arm in his right hand and a heavy plastic grocery bag in his left. Charlie was holding a large teddy bear with a "GET WELL SOON" balloon attached. Charlie opened the door to the hallway, and Elisabeth quickly moved to open the apartment door so Charlie wouldn't have to bother with her keys. "That was fast," she said. "I just got home."
"I didn't go in the store," Charlie said in an odd voice.
"Yeah, Charlie started to feel out of it in the car. I figure she's going to fall asleep pretty soon now." Jack set the bag of groceries on the dining room table, not letting go of Charlie's arm as he did so.
"Is that normal?" Elisabeth asked as Jack led Charlie toward her bedroom.
"Probably. She's been in and out of it since they wheeled her out of the recovery room."
"I'm lucky, you know. Mom can't handle anesthesia at all. Makes her sick as a dog, but I'm just sleepy." Charlie yawned loudly to prove her point.
"And well on your way to Dopey," Jack quipped.
"Smart ass." Charlie tried to smack his arm but missed. "I'll try that again later," she mused.
"I'll give you a free shot as soon as you're feeling better. But for now, you need to rest. Come on." Jack paused at the entry to the hallway. "Which way is your room?"
"Uh..." Charlie hesitated. "Um, I'll be okay from here. Besides, there's really not room for two of us to walk side-by-side down this hall, anyway."
Elisabeth was puzzled about why Charlie continued to stand there without telling him where her room was. Jack, however, knew what the problem was.
"Charlie, I have four sisters. Trust me, you're not going to have anything in your room that I've never seen before." Jack tried to steer her to the right, which would've taken him to Elisabeth's room.
"I'm not one of your sisters, though." Charlie tried to walk in the right direction, but Jack's hold on her arm prevented her from going very far.
"Jack, maybe I could get Charlie to her room," Elisabeth suggested tactfully. "We should be okay from here."
Jack looked reluctant to let go of Charlie, but finally he let go of her arm. Charlie surprised Elisabeth by turning and throwing her arms around Jack. "Thank you for everything," she whispered.
"But I didn't do anything," he protested, embracing her.
"You did. You made them give me that wonderful shot of Demerol and then you sat with my parents while I was in surgery. And you bought me this teddy bear and brought me home and bought me soup and pudding, so...thank you."
"You're welcome," he said as Charlie pulled away. "I guess I should go."
"Thanks again, Jack," Elisabeth said, giving him a quick hug of her own. "You're the greatest."
"Stop it or my head won't be able to get through your front door." Jack maneuvered past them and toward the door, stopping before he got there to turn and say, "By the way, the teddy bear's probably the heaviest thing she should lift for a couple weeks. Doctor's orders."
"Yes, Dr. Middleton," Charlie mumbled, her eyes starting to close. Elisabeth quickly took hold of her as Jack left, guiding her down the hall and easing her onto her bed. She took the teddy bear from Charlie's grasp and set it at the foot of the bed where she'd be able to see the balloon when she woke up.
Elisabeth wondered if maybe Charlie should change into a nightgown or something, but for the first time she noticed that Charlie wasn't wearing the Planet Earth Pizza uniform she'd had on when she went to the ER last night. She was now wearing an oversized light purple dress with sandals. The dress had been designed for comfort, so Elisabeth figured it would be okay to rest in.
"I thought..." Charlie murmured, her eyes becoming lucid.
"You thought what?" Elisabeth asked absently, slipping Charlie's shoes off her feet.
"It was you...and Darcy...and I thought..."
Elisabeth was glad her back was turned to Charlie, because she knew without looking in a mirror that she'd just lost any color she'd had in her face. She tossed the shoes aside and reached for Charlie's Grinch sheet. "I wish you hadn't found out this way," she said softly.
"What other way was there? You must've thought I was blind this whole time."
Elisabeth's eyes filled with tears as she pulled the sheet over Charlie. How was she supposed to respond to that? The words kept echoing in her head, guilt overwhelming her as she thought of how Charlie must resent her for the whole mess.
"I didn't think you were blind," she said in a choked voice.
"I was, though. I thought...it was you and Darcy, and that's why Jack started that rumor about him. But it wasn't."
Elisabeth paused in smoothing out the sheet. "It wasn't?" she asked hesitantly.
Charlie shook her head. "It was me. The whole time...it was me."
Elisabeth nearly wept from the relief. But she tried to maintain her composure by saying, "So it was you and Darcy? Together again?"
"No." Even half-conscious, Charlie could put sarcasm into one word. "You're deliberately being obtuse. Did you know...about Jack's thing for me?"
Elisabeth turned to face Charlie. "Yes, I did. But if it makes you feel any better, I wasn't fully conscious of it myself until recently when it came up in conversation." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Now that you know, what do you intend to do?"
Charlie's eyes had closed. Elisabeth could only hope that Charlie remembered something of the conversation when she was fully conscious again.
Elisabeth waited until Charlie was sleeping soundly before tiptoeing out of the apartment and sneaking upstairs to talk to Darcy. Their talk wasn't quite finished, even though she knew he thought it was. She tapped on his door quietly, then told herself she was being stupid. It wasn't like he never got visitors and the sound of someone knocking on his door would wake Charlie up. So she knocked louder, and the door opened.
For a moment, the two of them just stood there looking at each other. Darcy was holding a cordless phone to his ear, someone squawking into it as he stared at her. He'd been interrupted in the shower and was wearing only a towel around his waist. His blond hair was damp and falling into his amazing blue eyes. Elisabeth noticed for the first time that his hair was growing out from the precise, elegant cut he'd had when she'd first met him. His smile was warm and brought a brightness to his eyes.
Of course, noticing those eyes was a bit difficult when all of her attention was drawn to his bare chest. Darcy didn't have the sculpted, hard-as-a-rock physique of an athlete or the guys who appeared in ads for exercise equipment, but he worked out and it showed. Her mouth dried up and she felt a sudden flush at the thought of him in the shower. She had to tell herself several times to get rid of that image or else she'd never get that talk in.
But still...
Four months ago----hell, even three months ago and possibly not even that long----Elisabeth would never have thought he'd be smiling at her. And she realized that Darcy was right----she really was having trouble believing that a nice, handsome man would want anything to do with her. She knew what she looked like when she gazed at a mirror, and it was nothing special. Nothing that a man would take with him to New York to introduce to his control freak of an aunt if he wanted to impress her.
"Hi," she said, cringing at the nervousness in her voice.
"Hi." More squawking from the phone. Darcy's attention was diverted and he said, "No, not you. It's Elisabeth."
"I can come back later if I've caught you at a bad time," Elisabeth said.
"No, not at all. Come in." He stepped aside and said, "Hang on a sec, Gin."
Gin? "I'll come back," she repeated. "I don't want to interrupt your conversation with your sister."
"No, no, no." Darcy put a hand over the phone. "We were just talking about you. She's...well, here. I'll have her tell you herself." He extended the phone to her.
Elisabeth shook her head emphatically. "I can't talk to her. She doesn't know me at all. Besides, she's wanting to talk to you."
Darcy gave her a frustrated look and put the phone back up to his ear. "Ginger, do you want to talk to Elisabeth? In three seconds, I'm going to take the phone away from my ear and I want you to yell your answer."
"Darcy..." Elisabeth started to protest, but Darcy had carried out his threat and the next thing she knew, the person on the other end was shouting, "YES!"
"Okay, okay," she said. "I know when I'm outnumbered. So real quick, tell me what you've been telling her."
Darcy put his hand over the mouthpiece. "Well, let's see. She knows that you're twenty-six with brown hair and green eyes. She knows you're of average height and under normal circumstances, average weight. She knows you're my boss----which she finds hilarious, by the way----and that you've got two sisters."
"Does she know I'm Charlie's cousin and that I'm pregnant?" Elisabeth put her hands on her hips and gave him a hard look.
"I broke that bombshell on her tonight. She's still a little stunned but I think that once she's done talking to you, she'll be over it. Now take this." He extended the phone again.
With trembling hands, Elisabeth took the telephone. "Hello," she said shakily.
"Hi. This is Elisabeth Bennet?"
"Yes, it is."
"Georgiana Williamson, but you can call me Ginger. It's nice to finally get to talk to you."
"Uh...likewise. Your brother talks about you a lot," Elisabeth said, wandering over to Darcy's couch. She awkwardly took a seat. Darcy disappeared into the hallway, presumably to his bedroom in order to get dressed. Elisabeth ordered herself not to think about what Darcy would look like without the towel.
"Oh, God. If he's been telling you about me, it can't be very good." Ginger laughed. "Just so you know, he's told a bit about you but until tonight he was way too secretive. Before this call, all I knew was that you two had gone on a few dates and that he thought you were a special person."
"A special person," Elisabeth repeated, not sure what to make of that.
"Yeah, which in Dare-speak means 'potential life partner.' Not to scare you off or anything if you're not thinking the same," Ginger added quickly.
"Oh...I am. We've discussed...well, we've been trying to discuss it. Other things have gotten in the way every time we try to talk, but we've been trying to get there."
"Including meddling little sisters calling just as you show up to continue the talk, right?"
"Not at all. He didn't know I was coming to talk to him, I just sort of showed up."
"Easy to do when you live right downstairs from him."
Elisabeth's eyebrows rose. "I see he's told you quite a bit tonight."
"Well, he probably doesn't remember this, but he mentioned you a couple times before you started going out. He..." Ginger paused but didn't continue.
"Groused about me, didn't he?" Elisabeth grinned. "It's okay. We didn't get off to the greatest start we could've."
"It wasn't that he didn't like you..."
"He didn't like me. It's sweet of you to try and revise history, but not necessary. I didn't like him, either. "
"Oh, you didn't? That makes it okay, then."
Elisabeth chuckled. "We got past it and that's the important thing."
"Of course. So, anyway, my big news is that I'm going to be in the area on Tuesday and Wednesday and I was hoping that you and Darcy would be available to go to dinner or something. I could even drive out there, as long as you could give me directions on how to get there."
"Where are you going to be?" Elisabeth asked.
"In St. Louis. The advertising agency that I work for, Westendorf, is trying to win this major account of a company based in St. Louis. I can't go into any more details, but I've got a killer ad campaign worked up and I'm praying ten times a day that they go for it. They'd better after I've been spending the past month and a half working on this. If we don't get this account, I may have to do something drastic. I don't know what that would be, but it'll be drastic."
"Why are you having to come to them rather than them coming to you?"
"I have no idea, but for an account like this, I won't complain----as long as we get the damn thing. So, would it be easier for you to come to me or the other way around?" Before Elisabeth could answer, Ginger continued. "You know what? I'll come to you. Both of you work days. I don't want either of you to wind up staying too late and having to drive home half-asleep. Is it hard to get to Effingham?"
"Not at all. We're right on the interstate. You take I-64 east until you cross the river, then get on 55-70. You'll take I-70 east and stay on it until you hit Effingham." Elisabeth continued to give Ginger directions on how to get to the store, figuring it would be easier than trying to explain where the apartment was. Darcy walked in just as she finished, dressed now in a black T-shirt and blue jeans. His hair had been brushed back but would no doubt be falling into his eyes again as it dried.
"Sounds pretty easy," Ginger said when she was done. "So, Dare tells me you're having a baby in December?"
Elisabeth felt as though someone had poured a bucket of ice water over her. Things had been going so easily with Ginger that she hadn't expected the question.
"Yes," she said hesitantly. "We are."
"Boy or girl?"
Something in Elisabeth's face must've warned Darcy that she was troubled, because he took a seat beside her on the couch and reached for her free hand. She clutched his hand like a lifeline. "It's a girl," she replied.
"A girl?" Darcy said at the same time as Ginger.
"Yes," she said, looking at him. She covered the mouthpiece and added, "I thought I'd told you that already."
"No, you hadn't." Darcy's eyes grew cloudy. Elisabeth smiled, because she could guess what he was thinking about----days in the future when he'd be carting his little girl everywhere, maybe having her along when he went golfing, as soon as she was old enough...
Ginger said, "That's terrific! I'm going to be an aunt." She paused. "What a scary thought. Me, an aunt. I'm barely old enough to be on my own."
"You're old enough to be a mother yourself, you know," Elisabeth said.
"No, she's not!" Darcy growled. On the other end, Ginger laughed.
"No matter how old I get, he's always going to see me as his baby sister," she said. "Tell him not to worry, I'm not planning on children anytime soon. You have to have a man in your life in order for that to happen, and I definitely don't need one of those right now."
"I thought the same thing until I met your brother." Elisabeth smiled at him. "Although by the time I met him, I was already expecting the baby." The moment she said it, a sudden fear gripped her----what if he hasn't told her it's not his baby?
"Yeah." Ginger must've sensed that Elisabeth was getting uncomfortable, because she moved on to an equally sensitive subject. "How has Charlie reacted to the two of you dating?"
"She...uh, she still doesn't know. We've been trying to ease our way into this area, because believe me, it's new for me. I'm not in the habit of dating guys my cousin has dated. I just wanted you to know that."
"Oh, I know. From what Darcy told me before, it was obvious that you and Charlie were close. He didn't tell me that you hadn't told her yet."
Elisabeth pried her hand free and wagged her finger at Darcy. "Shame on you, not telling your sister everything," she teased.
"I didn't have enough time," he pointed out. "Whatever she's just said, my excuse is that I didn't have enough time to mention it."
"Uh-huh. Well, listen, Ginger, it's been nice talking to you. I'm going to give the phone back to your brother, and I look forward to meeting you on...Tuesday evening?"
"That works out great for me. I'll see you then."
Elisabeth handed the phone back to Darcy, who listened to Ginger for a few minutes before saying, "Yes, she is. Uh-huh. Okay, I understand. I'll see you Tuesday, and good luck with the account. Love you too, Gin. Bye." He turned the phone off. "She liked you a lot. She thought you were charming and she's excited about meeting you."
"You're not making that up, are you?" Elisabeth asked.
"Why would I lie?" he asked in lieu of an answer.
"To make things easier between us. I mean, I liked her. She seems nice, but she may not truly like the idea of becoming aunt to a child she's technically not related to."
Darcy shook his head. "Once you get to know Ginger, you'll know that she wasn't lying. She's a terrible liar. That's how my aunt knew right away that Ginger was the one who had been responsible for the money going missing."
"Oh."
Darcy set the phone on the coffee table and moved a little closer to her. "Okay, first of all, what is Charlie doing home so soon after having surgery?" he asked as he put an arm around her shoulders.
"They sent her home. I don't understand the logic of it because they made my father stay when he wanted to die at home, but there it is. She's home and asleep, which is why I'm up here. She also knows about Jack."
"You're kidding. Did he finally tell her?"
"Now I'm the one saying, 'you're kidding.' No way did he tell her. She figured it out on her own. I asked what she was going to do now that she knew and she was out cold. I'm hoping it wasn't her realization wasn't a subconscious one like mine was, otherwise she might not remember it once she's feeling better."
"I think she'll remember. It's sort of hard to forget that the guy nearly had security called on him in an effort to get her a painkiller."
"I don't remember that happening," Elisabeth said, frowning.
"You weren't there at the time. They were giving Charlie something she didn't need, he insisted that they give her something she did. He won, but not before the nurses all decided he was insane."
"I see." Elisabeth rested her head on his shoulder. The two of them sat in this position for a couple of minutes, just enjoying the fact that they were together.
"Why'd you come up here?" Darcy asked.
"Because we needed to finish our little talk," she replied.
"I thought we did, before we were so rudely interrupted by Kit. I hope you threatened to write her up for doing that," he said.
"I couldn't very well do that when we were the ones breaking the rules. You do realize that there's a company policy saying managers can't date employees, don't you?"
"You do realize that my aunt owns the company, don't you? I think we'll be able to wiggle past that little annoyance."
"Yeah, but it's not fair of you to use that to your advantage."
"If you've got it, use it. That's my philosophy now." Darcy rested his cheek on the top of her head. "What more did you want to talk about? I think I said everything I wanted to say."
Elisabeth stared at their entwined hands for a minute. Now that she was here, she wasn't really sure she knew anymore what they'd needed to discuss.
"If your aunt...disowns you, or whatever, because of me, what are you going to do for a living? For that matter, what will I do? She'll no doubt have me fired when she finds out I work for Planet Earth Pizza."
"You'll have a wonderful lawsuit against her if she fires you. You've done absolutely nothing to warrant it."
"Except for that little problem of dating an employee."
"Tell me this, then. If you had to, could you get another job in management? Maybe with Pizza Hut or some other place outside of food service altogether?"
Elisabeth pondered his questions. "I doubt I could run a Fortune 500 company, if that's what you're asking. But Kelly at Blockbuster's always telling me she'd love to work with me when I talk about running shifts at Planet Earth Pizza. She makes decent money there, I think, but I make decent...well, okay money here. And I have insurance I don't pay much for, which is kind of important with a baby coming."
"And if Sean was forced to fire you because of my aunt, he'd still give you a good reference."
"Yes, he would. But I'd still have to find another job."
"I probably would, too. I'd probably have a harder time finding one, though. You cross my aunt, you live to regret it. But like I told you earlier, I'm willing to risk having to work as a waiter for the rest of my life if it means I get to be with you."
Elisabeth pulled away so that she could look at him. "I know you're serious about this, but I wouldn't want you to do that. You can do so much with your life."
Darcy shrugged. "Sure---if I do things my aunt's way. I can do anything as long as I don't interfere with her plans for world domination." Darcy got thoughtful. "You know, four months ago, I never would've had the courage to say that. I would've despised myself for even thinking it. But now...maybe I'll have the courage to say it to her."
"Maybe? Why wouldn't you just go ahead and say it? You'll have to at some point, when you get around to telling her about me."
As soon as he'd said the words, Darcy felt a familiar knot of tension in his stomach. He extricated himself from Elisabeth's arms and headed for the bathroom and his bottle of Maalox. Darcy heard Elisabeth call his name, confused, but he couldn't answer her until he'd taken a couple of hefty swigs, not bothering to use a spoon. He slammed the bottle down on his bathroom counter and stared at himself in the mirror.
What kind of idiot freezes when his girlfriend brings up such an important topic? he asked himself silently. He then asked himself a more important question: What kind of idiot still allows his aunt to control his life at the age of twenty-seven?
"Darcy?"
He jumped---she was standing in the doorway to the bathroom, concern written on her face.
"Are you all right? You're not sick or anything, are you?"
"N-no," he replied. "I'm fine...I think. I just felt a little..." Darcy stopped before he blurted out that the idea of facing his aunt made him nauseous. He had a feeling Elisabeth wouldn't appreciate being told that. "I have an ulcer," he said by way of an explanation. "And I had a couple of tacos, which I'm not supposed to have but I couldn't..."
"It's okay," Elisabeth said quietly. "If there's one thing I'm an expert on, it's dealing with difficult parents. Or in your case, difficult pseudo-parents. You're terrified at the thought of going against your aunt, aren't you?"
"No, it's not that. Just...uh, absolutely out of my mind with fear, that's all."
"Oh, well, if that's all it is..." Elisabeth took three steps back and leaned against the hallway wall.
"That about sums it up. I hate this. I really, really hate this. I hate being almost thirty and being afraid to face my aunt. Grown men don't fear these things, do they?"
"I don't know. I'm a woman."
Darcy smiled weakly. "If you're not, can I call the National Enquirer?"
Elisabeth chuckled for a second. "Sure, but you'll have to split whatever money you get for the story with me."
Darcy looked at his reflection in the mirror again. "You've said a few times that you don't understand what I see in you. Right now, I'm wondering what you see in me. I'm a weak, pathetic mama's boy when it comes to Catherine de Bourgh, and that's just the way she likes it."
"I've told you before that just by being here, you're defying her. She never thought you'd last this long, did she?" Elisabeth stepped into the bathroom.
Darcy shook his head. "Four months isn't all that impressive, though. I mean, Charlie's been doing this for nine years. Kit told me today that she's been waiting tables for nearly twenty years. Erin's probably got that much time in herself, and she works another job on top of that."
"You know something? When Charlie started, she didn't think she'd last long, either. She was working with this real jerk of a shift manager and was tempted to quit after six weeks."
"So why didn't she? It's the usual reaction for...sixteen-year-olds, to just up and quit, isn't it?"
"I would've, no doubt about it. Charlie's mother, however, would've shot her if she'd quit a job after six weeks. Her mother told her to tough it out until Christmas, and by that time, Charlie'd decided she liked it enough to stay. And nine years later, here she is."
"Yeah." Darcy sighed. "I didn't tell you all of it, Elisabeth, when I told you about my aunt. You're probably wondering why I didn't just quit, why I actually went along with this...scheme of hers."
"You told me she agreed to give your sister money if you stayed. I may not always get along with my sisters, but if my choice was between working here for a year or never seeing them again, I'd work here every time." Elisabeth's eyes met his in the mirror. "Although I did wonder why you just didn't quit outright. Wouldn't that be the easiest thing to do?"
Darcy shook his head. "She won't give me a reference if I leave. She's effectively insured that I will never get another good job unless it's with her."
"What about working for one of her rivals? Surely she's got enemies who would salivate over the idea of having the nephew of Catherine de Bourgh, her hand-picked successor, working for them. I know the woman thinks she's more powerful than God, but if you really wanted to, you could have your pick of jobs."
Darcy picked up the bottle of Maalox and put it back in the medicine cabinet. Elisabeth stepped aside so he could leave the bathroom, then followed him back to the couch. He didn't say anything, and that worried her. She took a seat beside him and waited for him to speak.
"I don't know why that never occurred to me," he said softly. "You know, before I started working here, I thought I was a smart man. Now I realize I'm dumber than Forrest Gump and slipping fast."
"No, you're not," Elisabeth said, putting her arms around him. "You're just in a very peculiar situation. Most relatives don't do this. My mother may be a monumental pain in the neck, but I know that somewhere, deep down, she loves me and she wants me to be happy. If something had happened to her and my father when I was a child, I know that I could've gone to any number of relatives and they would've taken me in without strings. They would've cared about me and my sisters."
"But none of your relatives run De Bourgh Enterprises," he pointed out gently. "She's had a lot of power for a number of years. She's used to people doing what she wants them to do."
"She needs one of the refrigerator magnets which says 'What part of no don't you understand?'" Elisabeth muttered.
"That wouldn't do her any good. She never goes into the kitchen." Darcy leaned his cheek on the top of her head. "She may have been the same even if she hadn't been involved with the company. I mean, she was a Darcy."
"You're going to have to tell me exactly what the big deal is about being a Darcy, because if I go by what I know of her alone, it's not that impressive." Elisabeth smiled. "Then again, your mother was a Darcy and she had you, so maybe there's a nicer side to it."
"The Darcys can trace their roots back to the Mayflower. They weren't on it, but they're close. According to the family history---a book I became well-versed in by the age of eleven because Catherine was appalled that I knew nothing about my mother's family---my mother, Amelia Rose Darcy, was born in July 1955. She made her debut on her eighteenth birthday and was introduced to any number of 'eligible, suitable' young men over the next several months."
"How did she meet your father?"
"I don't know. All I know is, they were married in June of 1974 and I was born in January the following year. Catherine said that her father, George, searched for my mother and father for two months before finding them1/4she said it was 'living in sin,' although they were married by that time. My grandfather Darcy---the one I am supposed to revere as if he were a saint---disowned his daughter and never saw her again."
"Did you ever meet him?" Elisabeth asked.
"No. His wife, my grandmother, died giving birth to my other aunt, Melissa. He died of cancer the same year my parents were killed. The only Darcy relative I've...well, there's only been Aunt Catherine."
Elisabeth frowned as a thought occurred to her. "You mean you've never met your father's side of the family?"
"Not as far as I can remember. Catherine wouldn't have told me anything about them even if she'd known, but she made the remark once that his family hadn't been happy with his marriage, either."
"Well, if we get married, you won't have any concerns about my side of the family. My mother's called three times raving about what a nice young man you are."
Darcy moved his head and looked down at her. She was looking up at him. "Nice change of subject," he said.
"I wouldn't say that. I would, however, say it was a nice way of getting back to original reason I came up here."
"Then let's get it out of the way. You can find a new job if Catherine forces you to quit. I have discovered that there's a good chance I could do the same, as long as I go to work for one of her competitors." Darcy grew thoughtful. "It would mean we'd probably have to move to New York. Would that bother you?"
"Do you want to know how fast I can have everything packed? I'd set a world record, I promise you." Elisabeth straightened up. "Dare, there's nothing for me in Effingham. If I stay here, in all likelihood I'd...I'd probably end up like my mother."
"What about Charlie and Jenna?" he asked.
"I'd miss them like crazy and invite them to visit us as often as they could get away. They'd understand, believe me. If we moved to New York..." Elisabeth's eyes gleamed. "It would be a lot more interesting than it is here, I know that."
"A lot more dangerous, too." Darcy couldn't help but smile at the excitement on her face. "I wouldn't move us until I was certain I had a job."
"Mind if I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"How are you managing to afford living here on your own? I mean, Charlie and I make ends meet with a little money left over at the end of the month because we're living together. How are you doing it when you're just working one job?"
"I make great tips," Darcy deadpanned.
Elisabeth was skeptical. "Uh-huh. I'd believe you if you worked at Friday's or someplace like that. But Planet Earth Pizza? I don't think so."
"I have money," Darcy told her. "I made pretty good money at what I did before this little detour in my career. It probably would be enough to retire on if we lived here for the rest of our lives."
Elisabeth could only stare at him in wonder. "You're kidding. Why are you even working, then? If I could retire, I would in a heartbeat."
"What happens if the stock market continues to collapse? What happens if there's an emergency and one of us required expensive health care? What if we decide to have ten children?"
"That last one is so not happening," she informed him.
"It's just a 'for instance.' Besides, I don't want to retire. What would I do with the rest of my life?"
"Play golf," Elisabeth teased. "Isn't that what all those high-powered executives do for leisure?"
"No, no. I went to school for six years to do my job, and when I'm not around my aunt, I actually enjoy it." Darcy was a bit surprised to hear himself say that, because before this he'd never given much thought to his job. He was so rarely not around his aunt at work that he didn't think of the times when she was gone and he was able to concentrate on other things besides not screwing up and displeasing her.
"Six years," she murmured. "God. All I did was get a cosmetology certificate. And I don't use that."
"Do you like cosmetology?" he asked.
Elisabeth chewed on her lower lip. "I always like doing people's hair. And whenever I'd have friends over for a sleepover, everyone wanted me to do their nails. I got decent grades in school...B's, mostly...but I didn't know what I wanted to do with myself. I wasn't like Jenna, who always knew she wanted to be child therapist, or Charlie, who wanted to write screenplays and got her psychology degree so she could get a job. I had no ambition at all, so after I graduated from high school, my dad suggested I go to Lake Land and get my certification."
"Then what happened?"
"I tried working at a salon, but I never made much money at it. I made more money waiting tables. Right after my father died, I gave it up altogether. Soon after that, I was offered the chance to get into management at Planet Earth, so I took it." In her best Paul Harvey voice, she quipped, "And now you know the rest of the story."
"So what would you do if you had the chance? I mean, if you could go to school and study anything, what would it be?"
Elisabeth sighed heavily. "I don't know. I swear to God, after all this time, I have no idea what I'd like to study in school. Charlie used to insist that I could go to college and find that out by taking classes, but I didn't want to waste the money. I kind of liked acting, but I wasn't very good at it."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I was in my high school's production of The Outsiders. Everyone told me I was good, but that was probably because I was the only one who could be heard." Elisabeth smiled wistfully. "It was a lot of fun, though I don't think I'd want to try it professionally."
"Well, you could take Charlie's advice if we move to New York. You wouldn't have to worry about wasting money. I wouldn't mind."
Elisabeth's eyes filled with tears. "You'd do that for me?" she whispered.
"You're taking a chance coming to New York with me, aren't you? Things might not work out the way we're hoping they will."
"Weren't you the one who said that you'd rather take the chance than regret not taking it?"
"I believe I said that." Darcy kissed her. He had intended it to be a short kiss, but things soon got heated. Elisabeth was the one to pull away with a gasp. "What's the matter?" he asked.
"I forgot about Charlie!" she cried. "Oh, God, I am such an idiot! She's..."
"Elisabeth, don't you think it's she knew about us? We can't expect to keep her in the dark forever."
"No, I'm not talking about that. I was supposed to be watching over her to make sure she was okay. I only intended to be here for a few minutes, not..." Elisabeth grimaced. "An hour?"
"Where's Jenna?"
"I don't know. She didn't leave a note, but then, she's an adult. She doesn't have to check in with me. I have to go, so...this will be continued later."
"Definitely," Darcy agreed.
"I just have one last question, Dare. When do we leave for New York?"
Darcy felt that thud in his stomach again. "Uh..." He swallowed several times, hoping to keep his stomach under control. "Well, I hadn't...maybe after the baby's born? I could be looking for jobs in the meantime."
Elisabeth heard the uncertainty in his voice. "Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked, hoping she didn't sound like she was nagging.
"Yes, of course I do. I don't want you doubting that, it's just that I have to do this in my own time. Despite the fact that I complain about her so much, she's my only living relative other than my sister and an aunt I never see. I hope that when I do this, I'll be able to salvage something out the mess."
"Okay." Elisabeth wasn't satisfied with that answer, but she had a feeling it was all she was going to get. "Well, I have to go."
"Right."
Elisabeth walked out the door, shutting it gently behind her. Darcy stared at the shut door with a sinking feeling that he'd botched that---badly.
You're an idiot, he told himself. A complete, utter idiot. And if you don't get a few things straightened out with yourself soon, you're going to lose the best thing that you've ever had.