Beginning , Section V, Next Section
Chapter 12 ~ continued
Posted on 21 June 2004
“No. She prefers a better seat than my arms,” Will replied, as he hoisted Georgiana up to his shoulders. There, she straddled his neck and clung to his forehead.
“Is that safe?”
“Yep. She likes it up there. She has good balance. Besides, I can sense her balance enough to know if she’s about to fall off.”
Georgiana laughed, jiggled up and down, and patted (smacked) Daddy’s head a couple of times.
Elizabeth laughed at the two of them, walking a few steps away through the snow. “Where shall we walk in these woods of yours?”
“Let’s go around the back of the house and take one of the paths from there.”
“Is there any chance of you getting lost out here?”
“Uh… yes.”
“Yes, there is a chance?”
“Yep.”
“Does this mean you have gotten lost before?”
“Uh… yep.”
“So I am the fool who is following the fool?”
“Yep.”
Will followed her around the side of the house, holding onto one of Georgiana’s feet just in case.
Elizabeth stopped in the small backyard before the forest started. “Um… how do you know where the path is?”
“Well, you can’t see it now, but I know where it is.”
Elizabeth shook her head as if questioning her judgment about following him.
Will laughed, grabbed her hand and tugged it. “Don’t you trust me?”
She looked up at him and smiled back. “Would I be in my right mind to trust you after you’ve just said there’s a chance we could get lost?”
“No. But then the question is, Are you in your right mind?”
Elizabeth laughed at him. “I guess not.”
“Which means you trust me.”
She nodded.
He led the way forward, remembering roughly the way to go. He wasn’t too worried since they left a clear path in the snow to follow back to the house. He ploughed through the powdery snow, sinking into it ankle deep.
“Why is Georgiana wearing sunglasses?” asked Elizabeth from behind him.
“The sun’s reflection on the snow can be bright.”
“Then why aren’t we wearing sunglasses?”
“Her young eyes are more sensitive and… it’s not bright enough outside for me to want them. You, on the other hand, can do whatever you like. Speaking of which, I can’t see how you can wear those shoes on a walk like this. How are they comfortable?” He stopped to turn and face her.
She looked down at her fashionable black boots with an inch heel. She looked back up at him, her face expressing exasperation with the male sex. “I live in Chicago, darlin’. I have to have nice-looking shoes that can stand the weather. These are comfortable, they are waterproof, they are warm, and it’s not like they’re stiletto heels. I can walk just fine in them.”
Will just shrugged, moving Georgiana up and down in the process making her giggle. “Okay.”
They continued walking, this time side by side. Sometimes Will would have to duck underneath lower branches so Georgie wouldn’t be knocked off.
“Tell me how your company is doing,” said Elizabeth.
“It’s going well. We had a little rough spot last fall when one of our clients went bankrupt.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It had nothing to do with us, but it did affect us indirectly. We were dangerously short on funds for a couple of months until the lawsuit came through for us to get paid a little bit. I had to a take a cut in pay to get the company through.”
“Isn’t that slightly unethical?”
“Not really. I considered it as giving the company a loan. It’ll pay me back little by little over the next few months.”
“Did you have to lay anybody off?”
“Thankfully, no. We’ve got a couple new clients who should keep us going for a while.”
“That’s good. And the nursery?”
He smiled at her. “It’s doing well. We have another little addition to it.”
“Really?!” she replied, excited. “Who had a baby?”
“Jacob McCaffie and his wife had a son. Since they considered our nursery to be a better one than they could find for the same cost, they decided that Jacob would bring the little boy to our nursery. As a result, Jacob and I have had …” Will chuckled, “some bonding time together.”
Elizabeth laughed with him. “I bet.”
“His wife, Tara I think is her name, will often drop in to check on the boy and spend time with him. She works about 20 minutes away.”
“Avni and Laura are still working there?”
“Yeah. They’re a good team. Work well with the kids.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“I should darn well expect you to do a good job of hiring,” Will joked. “You’re supposed to be the expert.”
“But you must know how tricky hiring can be. It’s a real skill to gauge from very little information provided in those small resumes and a short interview how good an employee will be.”
“I know. I just expect you to be good at it, I guess.”
“Oh. Well, thanks.” He stopped. Elizabeth looked at him quizzically. “Something wrong?”
“Hang on. I’m just going to take this little one down and get her moving for a little bit. I don’t want her sitting still for too long or else she’ll get cold.”
Reaching back and taking hold of Georgiana under her arms, Will hoisted her up and over his head, then gathered her into him.
“How are you doing, little one? You okay?”
She nodded, her little face peeking out from underneath all the winter clothing. Will put her down in the snow and cleared a small area in which she could more easily walk around. She toddled around, bending down and touching the snow, occasionally eating some.
Will knelt beside her. “Here. Let’s take a big handful of snow… like this.” Georgiana imitated Will. “Then you pack it together like this. And then you take the ball-“
“Will! What are you doing?”
Will looked up at her innocently. “Teaching her to make snowballs. This is a father’s duty.”
“You’re teaching her to misbehave,” Elizabeth laughed.
“Noooo. I’m teaching her to have fun!” To Georgiana he continued, “Then you take the ball and throw it at her.” Georgiana followed his directions and managed to toss the powdery snow a foot or two in Elizabeth’s direction. “No, no. You need to do it like this.”
“No, Will. I don’t think so,” came Elizabeth’s stern voice.
Will sighed. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have had any qualms about starting a snowball fight with someone. But this was different. He didn’t feel like they had reached that stage of comfort for him to do that.
He tossed the snowball aside. “You’re no fun.”
“This snow isn’t conducive to good snowballs anyway. It’s too dry and powdery.”
“It’s about all we got down here in Missouri,” Will drawled.
“You poor lil’ southerner,” Elizabeth retorted in kind.
“Hardly.”
Georgiana had, meanwhile, collected quite a sizable pile of snow around her, and was now hopping up and down on top of it. The two adults became silent and just watched her. After a few minutes, Georgiana seemed to be tired of stomping in the snow. She plopped down on her bottom and sat there looking at Elizabeth. “Come on,” said Will. “Up you go.”
They continued walking in silence but for the crunching of their boots in the snow. Finally, Will asked, “Something on your mind?”
“Well….” She hesitated. “I’ve been wanting to ask you something, but I’m reluctant to.”
“Why?”
“Afraid of upsetting you… us.”
“We should be honest with each other.”
“Yes, we should,” her tone of voice didn’t sound convinced, as if there was a ‘but’ at the end of that.
“Just ask me,” Will gently prodded.
“Why were you silent after I sent you that letter?”
Will sighed. He knew that question would be coming and he had been trying to form a coherent answer for her. The truth was that he had no good reason, only several weak ones, which, in a weak mind, added up to inactiveness.
“I’m not going to make much sense.” He paused. “And now that I look back on it, I realize I’ve been… foolish to say the least. But I honestly didn’t think you wanted much to do with me.”
“How could you think that?”
“I’d made a huge, stupid blunder. And you had been right, but I didn’t want to acknowledge that you had been right. I just,” he paused again. “In your letter, I got the sense that while you weren’t necessarily angry with me, you still didn’t want my … my attentions. You said goodbye in such a tone of finality. I started to reflect on the time we had spent together, and I just remember you never encouraged or welcomed or expected any attention. You seemed to be attached to Georgiana … and we became friends eventually. But I realized how stupid I was to expect you to welcome me.” Will’s face felt flushed, and not from the exercise. He felt like he was baring his soul to another person (besides Georgiana) for the first time in his life. “So I decided that I wouldn’t bother you anymore. And though I missed you all the time, I was happy that you seemed to be doing well. Or so I had gathered from comments dropped by Jane and Charles. Who was I to mess with that?”
“Oh, Will,” Elizabeth sighed sadly, resting one arm on his.
They were silent for several minutes. Georgiana had struck up a running commentary, only a quarter of which Will could understand. Will just concentrated on where he put his feet.
Eventually, Elizabeth said, “I hadn’t meant to give off that impression. Yes, at the beginning, I was sometimes irritated by you. Yes, you would occasionally anger me. But you did it mostly out of ignorance, thankfully which you’ve grown out of by now. Then once I got to know you better, I had to make an effort to maintain a suitable distance. You were married, you were my boss, and you were going through a difficult time. I was afraid that what happened would happen. I mean, I was afraid that you would become attached to me because I was just there at the right place and the right time. Or rather, the wrong place and time. I just felt it was the right thing to do to go away and let things in both of our lives settle down. Besides, I still had this whole notion of how things were going to turn out in Chicago. Then when you came up to visit, I just dreaded it and anticipated it at the same time. I wasn’t surprised when you asked me to move back to St Louis. I had been hoping you wouldn’t. I just didn’t think it was right for either of us at the time. I didn’t want to be your rebound.”
Will, who had kept his mouth shut with great effort up to this point, made derisive noise.
“How was I to know?” Elizabeth replied defensively. “So I said what I thought was right, and maybe I didn’t say it the right way, because you just got upset. I tried to send the letter to explain myself better after I had calmed down. But then when you never replied or anything, I thought you were too angry with me. After a while, I just figured it hadn’t been anything, you regretted asking me, you’d forgotten me….”
“No, no,” Will whispered, taking both her hands in his, looking at her while she studied their feet in the snow.
They were silent for several minutes; Elizabeth continued to avoid his eyes by staring downwards. When he heard a sniffle from her, that’s when he gave in and enveloped her in his arms, cradling her head against his shoulder. She sniffed more loudly this time; Will felt her breath heaving. He rubbed her back and fingered her curls gently.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “So sorry. I’ve been a silly ass.”
After several minutes he heard her muffled laugh. At least, it sounded like a laugh. Then he realized Georgiana had leant down and was stroking Elizabeth’s head too. Elizabeth turned her face into his shoulder, then pulled away and wiped her eyes as best she could with her gloved hands.
“Sorry,” she mumbled. “It just feels like a tremendous release to do that. I’ve just been so unhappy for so long, and now, with you, I do feel happy and content.”
That hadn’t been what Will expected her to say. He guessed he’d expected something like, ‘It’s okay, I forgive you.’ Not, ‘You make me happy.’
“That’s good,” he said, stupidly. “I mean, I’m glad you feel happier.”
“Da buh go. Hee doh wah.”
“What did she say?”
“I don’t know. She’s still working on her communication skills.”
“Shall we turn back? It’s starting to snow.”
“Sure.”
The three turned around and began to backtrack towards the house. Will would have liked to hold Elizabeth’s hand at least, but gloves and trudging through the snow weren’t conducive to such activity. Neither spoke the whole way back. Georgiana, on the other hand, was having a grand old time bouncing up and down on Will’s shoulders and reaching out for the snowflakes that fell from the sky faster and faster.
Will glanced to his left at Elizabeth at one point. He stopped suddenly. Elizabeth stopped and turned back to look at him. “What?”
Will just smiled a little. “You look even more beautiful in the snow,” he said, simply.
Elizabeth just smiled her sweetest smile, shook her head and walked on.
“What?” Will asked, hurrying to catch up with her.
“Nothing,” she chuckled.
“No, tell me.”
“You can just come out and say the nicest compliments I’ve ever had, and yet say them so genuinely and casually.”
“…And that’s a good thing, right?”
She looked at him and smiled, nodding.
While walking through the snow was romantically idyllic, Will was anxious to get Georgiana home. She seemed to be doing fine, still vocal and bubbly. If she got quiet, then he intended to carry her in his arms.
When they returned to the backyard, they saw several birds, including one of the larger red-headed woodpeckers in the birdfeeder.
“I wonder how they consider snowstorms,” Elizabeth said. “It doesn’t seem to bother them much. They’re still playing and chasing each other around, still eating and chirping.”
“I have a theory that they are more active when it’s cold like this because it keeps them warmer to move around. But then I wouldn’t know what they would do at night. I’m not much of an ornithologist.”
“Ooh. Big word,” Elizabeth teased as they rounded the house and came up to the front door.
“If you want hot chocolate, you’re going to have to be nice to me.”
“I do believe that is extortion.”
“So?”
He opened the front door and they walked inside. The house felt toasty warm after the cold, dry air outside. Will hoisted Georgiana down onto the floor. He let her stand while he began to take his outer clothing and boots off.
“We can put the boots on some newspaper in a minute.”
When Will had divested himself of his things, he sat on the floor and began to shed Georgiana’s clothing, finding it more difficult with his numb fingers.
“Let’s get the fire started first, then we’ll have lunch.”
Will donned his slippers and went into the living room to start the fire. It didn’t take long. He simply put a couple of starter logs topped with several seasoned, dry, chopped wood and lit it.
“Can you keep an eye on the fire and Georgie while I start making some hot cocoa and lunch?”
Elizabeth nodded and sat down beside Georgiana to strike up a ‘conversation.’
When Will returned, Georgiana was doing her ‘horsey’ interpretation for a delighted Elizabeth. When she was done, Will handed Georgiana her bottle of warm milk.
“Warm milk?” queried Elizabeth.
“She still likes it,” Will replied with a shrug. “But I give her regular milk. It’s a nice warm drink to give her. No sugar; healthy for her.”
Elizabeth took her mug from Will as he went to stoke the fire, adding a couple of logs to increase the heat. He turned around and looked at the two of them sitting on the floor together. He just felt very happy and content like this. He went into the kitchen and came back with sandwiches and vegetables with dip. He settled into his armchair with his own mug of hot chocolate, satisfied just to sit and watch them.
After they had eaten, Georgiana handed her bottle to Elizabeth.
“Thank you,” Elizabeth said politely.
Georgiana proceeded to toddle off towards the back room. Elizabeth began to get up to follow and bring her back, but Will said, “No. She probably just wants to bring you something.” He followed her.
She went to her playpen and picked up her doll then proceeded to toddle back to the living room. Will just watched her with amusement. When Georgiana reached Elizabeth, she handed the doll to her and reached for her bottle back. Elizabeth made the exchange, then examined the doll.
“Oh, good grief!” Elizabeth exclaimed with a laugh.
“What?”
“You know what this doll is, right?”
“Uh… it’s Georgiana’s doll.”
“Don’t you know her name?”
“Um… no.”
“Her name is Madeline. You know, Madeline the little French schoolgirl? There’s all sorts of books about her and a movie and stuff.”
“No, I didn’t know. Someone gave Georgie that for her birthday.”
“Maybe I should take this as a sign that I’m supposed to call Madeline soon.”
“Maybe.”
Elizabeth sank back against the sofa from her seat on the floor and said, “Eh. I’m too tired to right now.”
“Wore you out did I?” teased Will.
“You look like you’re about to fall asleep in that chair there.”
“Speaking of falling asleep, it’s time for Georgie’s nap.”
“Can I come up with you?”
“Sure. You’ll just have to excuse the mess.”
Will scooped Georgiana up and carried her giggling upside down upstairs. He paused at the top to unlock the baby gate. He set it aside and walked down the hall to their bedroom.
He put Georgie in her crib and tossed his bedspread across his bed to look somewhat better, then kicked the worst of the embarrassing mess under his bed.
Georgie stood, her hands holding onto the edge of her crib, looking over the top of it at her father.
Will heard Elizabeth coming up the stairs as his eye suddenly caught sight of the photograph of her on the nightstand. He dove across the bed and tipped it face down with a slap, then quickly sat up like everything was normal as Elizabeth walked in and looked around.
Will said sheepishly, “It’s a bit messy. I never expect anyone to actually come up here.”
Elizabeth nodded with a knowing smile. “Don’t you remember the state my own apartment is generally in?”
Will recalled Elizabeth’s messy habits. “Oh. That’s true.”
“Has Georgiana always slept in here?”
“Ever since we moved here I’ve had her sleep in my room. We don’t disturb each other. It’s nice to have her to talk to.”
“You talk to her?”
“Sure. We’ve had lots of one-sided confes- I mean, conversations, haven’t we?” Will said to Georgie, kissing her head.
He took off her sweater. “Lie down, there’s a good girl.”
Georgiana obediently lay down in her crib. Will tucked the blanket around her and bent down to kiss her.
Elizabeth had wandered to the other side of the room to look out of the small window. She turned around and caught sight of the face-down photo frame on the nightstand. Will turned around just as she picked it up. He opened his mouth to stop her, but realized it would only make her wonder why. He watched her face carefully as she looked down at a beautiful picture of herself smiling at someone off to the side of the photographer.
Elizabeth looked up in amazement. “Where did you get this?”
Will looked sheepish. “I stole it.”
“You stole it?? From who?”
“Your sister’s house. They were showing me pictures that they took when they’d gone to visit you, and I … sort of snuck that one into my jacket.”
Elizabeth didn’t seem to know what to say. Then she asked, “How long have you had it?”
“I think I’ve had it since Easter.”
“I… I didn’t realize…” she trailed off.
“You didn’t think I was that obsessive?” snorted Will, his face burning.
Elizabeth propped the picture back up on the nightstand by his alarm clock and said, “No, I didn’t think you cared that much.”
“You still underestimate me?”
Elizabeth shrugged noncommittally, not wanting to answer or not knowing the answer to the question.
Will sensed she might feel uncomfortable. “Come on. She needs to nap.” He said good night to Georgiana.
“Byee!” she cried out in her high-pitched voice.
They walked out of the room, and Will closed the door softly behind him.
“What are you using the other bedroom up here for?” whispered Elizabeth.
“It’s my office.”
William opened the other door in the hallway to show her. His study consisted of a small desk facing the large windows, a file cabinet in one corner, and the entire wall opposite the windows was covered in bookshelves and books.
“I kept all the books from the other house,” Will explained. “Caroline never read anyway.”
As Elizabeth examined the different ones, occasionally picking out a book to examine more closely, she asked in a casual voice, “How is Caroline?”
Will sighed. “I guess she’s doing ok. Haven’t heard from her in a while.”
“Does she see Georgiana much?”
“Not that much, no. Says the drive out here is too far, doesn’t have time, Georgiana is too noisy to take to the places Caroline frequents… um… what are her other excuses? Oh, that she’s not strong enough to carry Georgiana. You get the picture. But she does maintain some curiosity about how Georgiana is doing.”
Elizabeth just nodded.
Will remained silent for a few moments just in case she wanted to ask anything else, then he said, “What would you like to do now?”
“I don’t know. Any ideas?”
“We could just sit. Or… I could get the Christmas decorations – what few there are – and you could help me put them up. Um… we could do my laundry,” Elizabeth laughed at this.
“Let’s put the Christmas decorations up, and meanwhile you can be doing your laundry.”
“Oh, well, never mind. I can’t get my laundry while Georgiana’s napping. The Christmas decorations are in the attic.”
“Where’s the attic?”
“Up there,” he replied, pointing to the roof.
“Yes, but how do you get in?”
“By the ladder.”
He led her out to the hall and pulled on a rope that led to a trapdoor in the ceiling. A ladder came down with it. Once he was sure the ladder was stable on the ground, he climbed up into the attic. Careful to tread on only the solid beams crisscrossing the attic floor, he found the two boxes marked Christmas. He pushed them toward the trapdoor, then handed each of them down to Elizabeth who set them on the hall floor. Will climbed down and pushed the ladder back up, closing the trapdoor firmly.
“I thought we were being quiet because Georgie’s napping.”
“Being noisy out here is one thing. But if I go in there to get my laundry, she will see me and want to be let out.”
Elizabeth just shook her head, picked up one of the boxes and started to walk down the stairs with it. Will followed her with the second box, then returned to put the baby gate back up.
“Why do you need that baby gate if she’s in a crib?” asked Elizabeth.
“Just in case she happens to get out, which, on the odd occasion, she has done so, I don’t want her falling down the stairs.”
“Good reason.”
They set the boxes down in the living room. Elizabeth began to open and explore the first one while Will added a couple more logs to the fire.
“These are an odd assortment of decorations, Will.”
“I know. They’re just things I picked up during the move here from the old house. And a few of them are ones from my own childhood.”
“Ooh,” she sighed. “Do you mean this?”
Elizabeth lifted up a 12-pointed star made of cut glass. The two tallest points on the top and bottom were about the length of a hand from heel to fingertip with the smaller points the length of a palm. It sparkled in the firelight.
Will nodded. “My mother had once studied stained glass making, and she made that for me one year.”
“Your mother made this??”
Will smiled and nodded.
Elizabeth gently laid it back into his protective box. “What was your mother like, Will?”
He lay down on the sofa so that his head was right beside her as she sat on the floor. “She was beautiful. Very gentle.” Will began to picture his vague memories of his mother. “I don’t ever remember a cross word from her. She was extremely loving. I remember her sense of humour, too. A little sarcastic, but not mean.”
“What about your father?”
“Dad? He was sterner. I knew he loved me, but he was less apt to show it. He expected a lot from me. He never yelled at me or anything. But he could give me guilt trips that would be far worse than a grounding. He would just look at me with that saddened look in his eyes, and he would say, ‘I’m very disappointed in you, son.’ And I would just feel so horrible for whatever it was – grades or sneaking out without permission or whatever.”
“Surely he didn’t have to give you that many guilt trips.”
Will turned onto his side to look at her. “I was a naughty boy when I was growing up. Didn’t really straighten out until after their deaths.”
Sensing his hurt over not having pleased his parents when alive, Elizabeth covered one of his hands with her own. He kissed it then put his head back down on the cushion.
“Sorry,” she said, softly. “I didn’t mean to bring up sad memories.”
“It’s all right, really. It was a long time ago now. I just want to be there for Georgiana much longer than my parents were for me.”
She stroked his hand a little. “Who took care of you then?”
“My mother’s sister, Aunt Catherine, took me in until I was a legal adult. Then I used my inheritance to go to college and live on my own from then on.”
“I’m impressed.”
Will smiled a little at her. “Why?”
She returned his smile with her own gentle one. “I’ve had my parents all along.”
“What are they like?”
“My mother and I have always had a difficult relationship. I’ve always been my father’s daughter. Mom and I just had different tastes. She never went past a high school education, and she didn’t see much value in it for her daughters. I finally convinced her that we could find much better husbands in college in order to get her to let us go. It was still never a harmonious relationship.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, me too. Every year, one of my New Year’s resolutions is to be kinder to my mother.”
“Does it ever work?”
“Sometimes. But it’s become more difficult since my divorce.”
“I could imagine. So what would she say to your spending the weekend with a single man and his daughter?” Will teased.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “I don’t want to even imagine.”
Will impulsively reached out and caressed her face with his hand. Her vivid green eyes didn’t waver from his own.
“I’m glad you’re here,” whispered Will.
“Me, too,” Elizabeth replied, smiling at him.
When she became self-conscious and dropped her eyes from his, he dropped his hand and with a sigh, made an effort to sit up. He groaned. “It’s been too long since I’ve gone on a long walk with G on my shoulders.”
Elizabeth laughed at him. “You’re not getting any sympathy from me.”
“Cruel woman.”
“Are we going to get these decorations up or are they just going to sit in their boxes this season?”
They spent the next hour putting the few decorations up in various places, leaving the box of tree ornaments for later. While they worked, they talked about various subjects – some of it just catching up on the past year but also about different current events.
When they were done, Will said “I should probably go and wake Georgie up. If she sleeps too long, she gets cranky in the evening again because she can’t get to sleep.”
“I haven’t seen her cranky, yet.”
“I’m fortunate to have a cheerful daughter.”
“Like father, like daughter?”
Will laughed. “Hardly.”
“Will?”
Will stopped in his path down the hall and turned back. “Hmm?”
“Do you have pictures somewhere of Georgiana growing up?”
“Elizabeth!” Will said in a reprimanding tone of voice.
“What?” she replied, looking guilty.
“Would I be a doting father without pictures?”
She grinned at him.
“I’ll get them when I come back down.”
Will went upstairs and found Georgiana still asleep in her crib. He gently woke her up and waited while she gradually became more conscious.
Will was more than thrilled at the developments between Elizabeth and himself. At the same time, he was impatient, and he feared that impatience. He feared that he would inadvertently frighten her away. Like he kind of did with the picture of her by his bedside. He walked over to it and picked it up, looking down at her lovely face. It was a beautiful picture of her. Many times he had felt jealousy toward the person her smile was directed at. But the photo couldn’t do justice to the real person. He put it down again when Georgiana began to get restless.
He carried her downstairs and brought her into the living room. Will smiled at Elizabeth as he handed her his daughter. “I’ll just go get the photo albums.”
“I’m impressed!” she exclaimed. “You put them in photo albums?”
“Well… the first six months are in there,” Will amended with a sheepish grin. “Then it kind of fell on my list of priorities and the rest are in shoe boxes.”
Will got the albums and boxes out of the cupboard in the hall and returned. He put them down on the hearth, then went to the stereo system to put in a few CDs of soft classical music to have in the background.
Will took Georgiana’s hand and asked, “Do you want to go play with your toys now? Shall we go find some toys?”
She came willingly. Will walked with her to the back room and locked her into the playpen where she was happy to settle down on her own to play, as she had become used to for a few hours every day.
He returned to the living room and settled down beside Elizabeth, who was looking through the first album.
“You didn’t take many pictures in the beginning, did you?”
“Hardly any. It wasn’t until after you left and I think I began to notice Jane and Charles taking lots of pictures of Tobin. Also, whenever I would tell people I had a daughter, they would always want to see pictures. So I soon got into the habit.”
She flipped pages silently for a few minutes. There was a series taken in the nursery, a few in the office with Mrs. Reynolds and Will, some taken at home, and some taken at Jane and Charles’ house.
“The ones with Tobin are so cute!” she exclaimed.
Will smiled, leaning closer to her to have a better look. He hadn’t looked at these pictures … probably since he put them in.
“He’s so rambunctious right now, I sometimes worry about Georgiana being damaged by the little terror.”
“That’s not nice,” she admonished.
“He’s a nice terror. I’m not saying he’s mean. He can just be violent without thinking about it. And Georgiana’s so much younger than him.”
Elizabeth laughed. “She’s only 7 months younger! Can you imagine me calling you ‘so much older’ than me if you were 7 months ahead of me?”
“Well… at that age 7 months is a long time.”
Elizabeth continued to laugh at him as she turned the leaves of the album carefully. A couple minutes later she stopped and looked at a series more closely.
“What is this?” she exclaimed.
Will began to laugh. “Oh, man, this gave me the biggest fright of my life. I thought I’d killed her!”
“I’m glad you can laugh about it now, but what did you do?! It looks like she’s got something all over her face.”
“It’s marker. She ate a marker.”
“What??!”
Will chuckled some more. “We were playing together in the nursery. I thought it would be neat to see her draw something. So I got some markers, you know those Mr. Sketch ones for kids that have different scents for the different colours, well I gave them to her and she scribbled on the paper. It was interesting at the time.” Elizabeth was glaring as if to hurry him to the point. “I had to speak to Avni about something, so I put her on the floor where the children can crawl around safely. I left her there, and when I came back not ten minutes later, she had sucked and was chewing on the blue marker. It smelled good to her.”
“You’re serious?”
“I panicked. The marker must have rolled off the table, because there was nothing on the floor when I left her. There were other children around, I didn’t think she could get into mischief so quickly.”
“Did anything happen to her?”
“No, she was fine.”
“Good!”
“Oh, except…” Will began to laugh harder. When he’d calmed down enough he added, “I had forgotten the incident by the time I went to change her diaper, and I had a second heart attack when I saw an ugly green and blue mess.”
Elizabeth laughed shakily through her shocked face.
“I learned a lesson from that one.”
She shook her head and looked at the pictures of the incident. Georgiana was laughing with the blue smeared all over her frock, hands, and face, especially her tongue.
After marveling at the incident, she continued to look through the photos. Will left her after a while to make some tea. He paused in the doorway when he returned with the mugs, content to just look at her sitting on the rug with her back to the fire, looking at the pictures of Georgiana. Her curls glimmered in the firelight and she looked so beautiful there. He sighed. If it could only stay like this.
When she had finished looking at the photographs, they went into the back room and began to play cards, talking about different things and watching the birds and squirrels and chipmunks around the bird feeders. They played with Georgiana after supper until it was time for her bedtime.
After Georgiana had been put to sleep, Will brought out some marshmallows, graham crackers and Hershey chocolate bars. Holding up a couple of well-used sticks, he grinned and asked, “You want to?”
Elizabeth laughed delightedly. “I’d love to! It’s been ages since I’ve had s’mores.”
They sat down on the stone fireplace together and proceeded to toast their marshmallows.
“I like mine blackened,” Will said. “Nice and crispy.”
“No, no. I like mine crispy, but it has to be nicely browned.”
“Eh… that takes too long.”
“So impatient,” she admonished him with a grin on her face.
Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto began to play on the stereo. “I love this one,” Will muttered.
“Really? I prefer the second one.”
“Why?”
Elizabeth shrugged. “Probably because I’m more familiar with it.”
“Could you play it?”
Elizabeth looked at him as if he were joking. “Are you kidding?? Rachmaninov is one of the hardest piano composers. His hands were frickin’ huge!! There’s no way I could ever play Rachmaninov. And his third concerto is reputed to be one of the hardest and most draining pieces to play for a pianist. Oh! You need to see this movie they did on this pianist, David somebody or other, an Israeli pianist. He’s played by Geoffrey Rush. Anyway, it’s about him and he literally has a mental breakdown playing the third concerto in a competition.”
“Really?”
“The movie is based on a real person. It’s a wonderful movie. We’ll watch it sometime.”
Will smiled at her, secretly thrilled that she was making plans in the future for the both of them.
They were soon in a gooey mess of marshmallow and chocolate. They washed off in the kitchen and put the food away. Will began to do the dishes from that day while Elizabeth just assumed the roll of drying up. She asked him where to put the dishes and he directed her.
Will liked how they fitted into this domestic scene so well. He fantasized that this was a normal routine for them.
When they had finished, they returned to the living room, sitting in the armchairs and quietly talking and laughing about things. They stayed away from serious conversation, preferring to deal with that later. At the moment, they just relished each other’s relaxed company.
At one point, after a long, contented silence, Elizabeth broke her intense gaze into the fire and observed, “I can’t remember the last time I’ve been so relaxed. I just can’t believe that I’ve done nothing for two days.”
“I’d hardly say you’ve done nothing.”
“No, I mean with work. No work for two days.”
“Maybe there’s your problem. You see spending time with friends and pottering around the house as doing nothing because it’s not doing work.”
“Maybe. Either way, I’m afraid of how much trouble it’ll be to get back to work after this.”
“I’m sure you’ll do fine.”
“Do you mind if I go to bed now?”
Will laughed. “This is the first time you’ve wanted to go to bed before me. I think this must be a special occasion. Shall I break out the champagne?”
“Ha, ha. Very funny.”
“I’m proud of you.” Will patted her head patronizingly. “All right, I’ll say goodnight to you then.”
“Good night, Will. Thanks for a lovely day.”
“Don’t thank me. You’re the reason for it.”
He left her before she could ask his meaning.
Will let her sleep in again the next morning, pleased that her body was getting rest it must desperately need. He really was afraid for her, wondering about her health after she had been an insomniac for so long. He and Georgiana were playing in the back room when Elizabeth finally emerged. She smiled sheepishly. He returned a teasing one. “So nice of you to finally join us. Would you like some breakfast?”
She nodded.
Will left Georgiana in the playpen and went with Elizabeth to the kitchen.
“What did you want to do today? I think the roads will be clear enough for driving by midday.”
“I don’t know. I need to find my cell phone and check my messages. It must be full by now.”
“Can you get reception out here?”
“I think so.”
“Did you sleep well last night?”
“Like a log. It’s unbelievable. I can’t remember the last time I knew what that phrase actually felt like.”
Will smiled. “Good, I’m glad you’re sleeping normally.”
“I’m afraid of it going away once I leave here, though.”
Will nearly said ‘Then maybe you should just stay here,’ but stopped himself in time. He didn’t want to frighten her with thoughts like that. In the end, he said, “I hope not.”
After she had eaten, Elizabeth searched through her purse to find her cell phone. As she had predicted, she had several messages. She sat at the kitchen table taking notes in her daily planner while Will did the dishes.
Suddenly, Will heard her say, “Oh my goodness,” then begin swearing, but softly enough so that she could continue to listen. Will had turned to look at her, confusion showing in his face as he wondered what the matter was.
“Oh ****. I’m royally ****ed.”
Will’s eyebrows rose. He could never remember such language coming out of her before.
“My career is over, I’ll end up in jail….”
Now Will was desperate to know what had happened.
When she finally shut her cell phone with a snap, he immediately asked, “What’s wrong?”
Elizabeth braced herself against the kitchen table, taking deep breaths. Her head was bowed when he heard her say in a low voice, “I’m being sued.”
“For what?!”
“Wrongful dismissal. I fired this young woman a few weeks ago. I can barely remember who she is.”
“Why did you fire her?”
“Really poor work habits and products, and a bit of indecent behaviour, too.”
“How is she claiming wrongful dismissal?”
Elizabeth laughed a short laugh. “I don’t know. Being sexist possibly? I need to find a lawyer to represent me, but I can’t really afford one for too long. At least not a good one. And I’ll probably lose clients because of it, too.”
“Not necessarily. Maybe the case will never make it to court. You never know.”
Elizabeth shook her head, then snorted. “I suppose I should be grateful I wasn’t hauled into one of those silly people’s courts on television.”
Will could hardly see the humour in the situation.
Elizabeth suddenly stood up and went to her room. Will followed her as she said, “I have to go back to Chicago.”
Damn. He should have seen that coming. He felt his spirits drop. He’d anticipated spending more time with her. There were still things he hadn’t said to her.
Elizabeth began to stuff her things into her bag. “Do you want me to strip the bed?” she asked.
“Leave it,” he replied.
“I’m sorry about rushing off like this,” she said with a truly apologetic look on her face as she put on her socks and boots.
“I completely understand. I’m just very, very glad you came down here in the first place. You’re welcome any time.”
“Thanks, Will.”
Will took her suitcase and put it by the door, checking around his house to make sure she hadn’t left anything behind.
He found Elizabeth in the back room kneeling down with Georgiana in a big hug. “Bye, little one.”
“Byeee,” Georgiana said, then added the phrase Will had taught her after saying good bye to him, “I luvoo.”
Elizabeth pulled back to look at her in surprise. Georgiana was smiling at her sweetly. Elizabeth laughed and kissed the child’s forehead. Georgiana, not to be outdone, promptly planted a wet kiss on Elizabeth’s cheek.
Elizabeth found the courage to put Georgiana back in her playpen, then, with one last look around the beautiful view and the idyllic room, she walked out.
Will slipped his feet into his Wellingtons and carried her suitcase out to her car. They were silent as they crunched through the snow. Everything had happened so quickly for Will. One minute they were planning a whole day together, the next she was returning to Chicago.
He put the suitcase in the trunk while Elizabeth got her scraper out to scrape off the ice on her windshield and windows. A couple minutes later, with the engine running to warm up, the couple faced each other to say goodbye.
“Do you know when you’ll make it down again?” asked Will.
Elizabeth shook her head sadly. “I wish I could say next weekend, but I doubt it. I don’t know what this is going to be like.” She laughed shortly. “I’ve never been sued before. Hopefully it’s not worse than getting divorced.”
“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to rely on me.”
“Thanks, Will.”
“I mean it,” Will assured her, not wanting her to take it as just lip service.
“I know.”
“Drive safely. Don’t speed home because you’re anxious to get to Chicago. It can wait whatever it is.”
“I know.”
They paused, neither one sure how to say goodbye. Finally, Elizabeth moved forward to hug him. “Thank you, Will.”
Will couldn’t reply. He held her tightly against him, burying his face into her hair, smelling its fragrant scent. Elizabeth kissed his cheek and pulled away. He held onto her hand a little longer, giving it a squeeze before she left him standing alone in the snow, the woods on his property behind him.
She got in her car and pulled carefully onto the road, doing a three-point turn and then waving at him one final time before driving away.
Chapter 13
Posted on Wednesday, 11 August 2004
Will stood there for some time, trying to re-establish his inner equilibrium. He didn’t know how they stood. He would almost say her good-byes were too friendly and not enough … loverly. He’d wanted to kiss her, but knew that a first kiss at a parting was not a good idea. But then it left him feeling like they had never reached that level then. As if they had ‘said’ they were to that level, but never quite acted like it.
Will turned to trudge back up the long driveway to the emptier house. He decided to hope for her quick return. Then he would fix things. He would kiss her and tell her loved her, and not let her go back to Chicago.
As he walked, he thought about her dilemma. The only way she would be able to return to him soon, was if this litigation was cleared up quickly. He had only a few friends from college he remained in touch with, but one of those few was a high-paid lawyer in Chicago. By the time he reached the house, his mind was made up.
He found his friend’s number in his address book and called him at home.
“Rick, hi, it’s Will, here.”
“Will! Where’ve you been, man?”
“I’m still in St Louis.”
“Wow! It’s been ages since I’ve heard from you. How’ve you been?”
“I’m all right now, but I went through a rough period. Caroline and I divorced.”
“Aw, man, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s ok now. I gained the love of my life from that divorce.”
There was a pause. “Sorry, run that by me again.”
“Caroline left me with our two-week-old daughter. I’ve been taking care of her since. She’s every metaphor for Daddy’s little girl. She’s the apple of my eye, the green of my thumb, the light of my life-“
“Woah, man! Are you serious?”
“Yep. She’s one and a half. A little angel.”
“Man, I can’t picture you as a dad.”
“Haven’t you had any children yet?”
“Nope, not yet. Someday.”
“Hurry up, Rick. There’s nothing like being a father. It’s the most wonderful experience of my life. …At the same time as the most harrowing experience of my life.”
“I’ll do my best to get right on it. Now did you call to catch up and talk about old times, or is there something I can do you for?”
“There is actually a favour I need to ask from you. I have a … very close friend in Chicago who just found out she’s getting sued. She can’t afford a good lawyer for too long. I know you’re used to dealing with much bigger cases than this, but I was wondering if you could take on my friend’s case. Charge her a cut rate and charge me the rest.”
Ricky didn’t say anything for a few moments. “Uh… Will, man, what kind of a friend did you say this woman was?”
“A close friend.”
“How close?”
“Rick…” Will said warningly.
“Will, man, come on! At least tell me how close you would like to be to her.”
“I’d like her to be my girlfriend, if not my wife, but I swear Rick if you say anything about that….”
“All right, all right, man. I get the point. You’re going slow, huh? Still in the wooing stage. Must be hard if you have a baby, too.”
“Uh… Georgiana isn’t a problem with her.”
“Who’s Georgiana, your ‘close friend’?”
“No, she’s my daughter. Elizabeth Bennet is my friend.”
Rick’s teasing, jubilant voice and cocky manner vanished as he turned into the lawyer Will hardly knew. “Tell me as much as you know about the situation.”
“I don’t know that much. She only just found out this morning, and that was from a message on her cell phone. She’s a Human Resources consultant, and an employee she fired from one of her client companies is now suing her and the company for wrongful dismissal.”
“Does she keep records and a paper trail of why this person was fired? Due warnings, that sort of thing?”
“I don’t know, you’ll have to go through that with her.”
“All right, then.”
“All right, what?”
“All right, I’ll take the case as a favour to you. But you got to promise me an invitation to the wedding. I want to see this daughter who has bewitched you so.”
Will laughed a little. “I wish I could be certain of a wedding. If there is one, you will most definitely receive an invitation. Unless we elope.” Will’s mind began to wander, fantasizing about eloping with Elizabeth.
“Will… Will… Hey Will!”
Will came back to reality. “What?”
“How is she going to hire me to represent her? Are you going to give her my name?”
“I don’t want to do that. I don’t want her to know I’m doing this for her. So don’t tell her I was the one who arranged this, okay? And definitely don’t tell her I’m helping to pay.”
“Why? How is she going to thank you and fall in love with you if she doesn’t know?”
“I don’t want her to love me because I helped pay for her defense in a lawsuit! I want her to love me for me!”
“You’ve turned romantic in your old age, Willy.”
“Hey, I’ve failed one marriage. I think I have a bit of authority to speak from.”
“True.”
“I’ll talk to her sister, drop your name a few times and see if she won’t pass it on to Elizabeth.”
“You know her sister?”
“Yeah, I’m good friends with her sister, brother-in-law and nephew. Her nephew is only 7 months older than Georgiana.”
“Sounds like you’ve got a whole new life down there!”
“I do, I really do. And I love it. I have a new house out in the country. A cross between a cabin and a cottage. I’m a much happier person.”
“You make me envious, man!”
“You’re welcome to come visit me any time. It could be a relaxing holiday for you.”
“Maybe the next time I find some time off.”
“Keep me in touch with everything, okay?”
“I will. I can’t wait to meet this ‘close friend’ of yours!”
“Rick,” Will said in a threatening voice.
“I’ll behave. I hear you, she’s spoken for.”
Will snorted. That was an understatement.
With the subtle social graces he had learned from Caroline’s crowd, Will managed to manipulate Jane into suggesting to Elizabeth that she get Richard Fitzwilliam, Esq. to represent her. A week after Will had first called his old fraternity brother, Richard informed him that he had met with Elizabeth. “We got on really well. She hired me on the spot. She’s going to bring me all the files and paperwork tomorrow.”
As Will and Richard discussed the financial arrangements covering the case, Will began to realize how expensive it could be. While he had money enough, he didn’t have that much money to burn. But it would be worth it for Elizabeth. He wanted to make her life easier, to help her.
It was Richard’s suggestion that Will do some of the leg work himself to cut the costs down.
“Come up and stay with me, Will. It’s been ages since we’ve gotten together, and you’ll be able to help out in a more tangible way than throwing money at the problem.”
Will had to admit that the idea appealed to him. So three days later, he and Georgiana drove to Chicago.
Communication between Will and Elizabeth had been difficult. Nothing of any substance regarding their relationship was ever said. It still seemed to hang in the air between them. Or at least, that was how Will felt. He often wondered if Elizabeth felt differently, possibly seeing more of an actual agreement existing between them than the mere possibility of a relationship he saw. It frustrated him, but he wasn’t willing to begin this discussion via email and telephone. Given their past history of distance communication, he wasn’t about to risk writing anything of import. And he couldn’t see her while he worked in Chicago on the case, because that would require a valid explanation of why he was there. That was the other reason why communication between the couple was difficult: Will had to continually hide from her his involvement in the case. He had to pretend like it was new information when Elizabeth called him up one evening, excitedly telling him she’d hired an acquaintance of his for her lawyer.
With some difficulty, Will managed to find his way downtown. It didn’t help that Georgiana decided to strike up in song while he struggled with a map, tried to keep on the road in icy conditions, and avoid the other crazy Chicago drivers. Eventually, he found the highrise he was looking for on South Michigan. He couldn’t even see the top of the residential tower on his left, but to his right, he could see Lake Michigan beyond the park. He circled the block until he found the parking entrance. He pulled in and rolled down his window to speak to the attendant.
“I am a guest of Richard Fitzwilliam.”
“Your name, sir?”
“William Darcy.”
The attendant looked at his clipboard, then said, “Okay Mr. Darcy.”
“Thank you.” Will rolled up the window and went round and round the parking floors until he found the visitor spots. He pulled in and turned off the car, letting out a big breath.
Georgiana continued to warble on in the back seat, turning her head back and forth while keeping a somewhat erratic beat by pounding on the sides of her carseat with her hands.
Will got out of the car and grabbed the suitcase out of the trunk. He managed to sling the baby bag across his chest, then scoop Georgiana opposite, and tow the suitcase behind him. He locked his car and found his way to the elevators, taking it up to the 43rd floor. He walked up to the third of the four apartments and rang the doorbell.
After a few moments, Rick Fitzwilliam opened the door.
“Will! You made it!”
Will grinned at his frat brother, giving him a vigorous handshake. “Allow me to introduce my daughter, Georgiana,” Will said in a mock formal tone.
Rick looked in unabashed amazement at the little girl. She had no qualms about staring back. “Lord, Will, she’s incredible! I mean… she’s so small.”
“She’s only a year and a half,” Will explained, jiggling Georgiana on his hip in order to shift his aching arm.
Realizing they were still standing in the doorway, Rick apologized and said, “Come on in and make yourselves at home.”
Rick let them in and took Will’s suitcase. Pointing to the bedroom at the end of the small entryway, Rick said, “That’s my bedroom. If you turn left and go straight, you’ll find yours.”
Will walked into it.
“I use this as an office.”
“Are you going to be okay with me in here? I don’t want to interrupt your work.”
“No, you’re fine.”
Will dumped the baby bag on the bed and shifted Georgiana to his other hip.
“Let me show you the rest of the place. The bathroom’s right there for your use.” Rick led him to the left away from the front door. Will was stunned. Most of the far wall consisted of windows with an incredible view of the park and Lake Michigan. The room was decorated in white and bold colours of red, blue and yellow. Will noted a distinct nautical theme, with pictures of lighthouses and yachts on the walls. A dining room connected to the living room, while the kitchen was basically at the centre of the apartment.
“This is an incredible apartment!” Will said.
“Thanks.”
Will walked around the room in silence, looking at its contents and the view from the windows. Rick sank into a white leather armchair. When Will finally sat down on the sofa, putting Georgiana down on the floor, he asked, “How is everything going?”
“You mean about the case?”
Will nodded.
Rick sighed. “It’s ok. Elizabeth did keep a lot of documentation. She’s smart like that.”
“Course she is.”
Rick raised an eyebrow at his friend, but continued, “The company, Nebsco, has liability insurance. They’ve made the decision to fight this case all the way to court.”
“Why?”
“Companies often settle even when they’re right. It saves money on legal costs and hassle. Nebsco believes settling would lead to more accusations and lawsuits brought against them. It sends the wrong message.”
“So by spending more to fight this case to court, they gain by avoiding future lawsuits.”
Rick nodded.
“What about Elizabeth?”
“We may be able to hold off while the lawsuit with the company goes on. Depending on how that goes, she can sort of ride the coattails of that.”
“Do you think it’ll be taken to court?”
“The plaintiff, Lydia Benson is her name, is a flake. Her lawyer is one of those slimebags who finds cases to get settlement money out of companies. He knows there’s no way this case would hold water in court. There’s too much documentation. Elizabeth is good. She knows what she’s doing. There are verbal warnings, with a note taken of when they were given; there are written warnings with Lydia Benson’s signature upon receipt; and there’s the final termination decision. The decision was made by Lydia’s immediate supervisor, the director of the division, Elizabeth, and the Human Resource officer. There were minutes taken at the meeting, and enough evidence is provided of bad work habits. There’s no way the case could lose. But the guy is still trying to see if the company will settle rather than spend money fighting it in court.”
“And they’ve decided not to do that.”
“Right. He’s playing chicken, and he’s going to lose.”
“So now what?”
“We go through the motions. Preparing a court case.”
Will sighed. “Okay. What should I do?”
“I’ll give you a list of questions, and I need you to go and interview a list of employees at the company regarding Lydia Benson’s work habits.”
“Woah! Are you sure?”
“Yeah, it’s not depositions. I just need to know if they have any answers worth getting them to come in for depositions.”
“What will I do with Georgiana?”
“Can you take her with you?”
“I guess so. She’s usually well-behaved. I’d just think it unprofessional.”
Rick did consider this for several moments. “You’re not doing anything too official.” He didn’t seem too confident, though. “Could you leave her in daycare or something?”
Will looked at Rick skeptically. “You can’t just drop a kid off at daycare. They require enrolment and insurance paperwork.”
“Could we hire a babysitter?”
“Do you know anyone you would trust with a one and a half-year-old?”
Rick was silent.
“You have to think of these things when you’re a parent. I can’t take off on a whim. I have to put Georgiana first at all times.”
“Bet that took some getting used to.”
“It certainly did,” Will said, ruefully. “Trust me, Elizabeth taught me that lesson.”
“She did, huh? Tell me more about what happened between you two. How close are you?”
Will briefly explained the circumstances leading to their current situation. He omitted, however, the details of their argument and the most recent developments.
“So what you’re saying is that you love her, wish you could marry her, but haven’t even kissed her yet.”
“I wouldn’t put it as crassly as that, but yes. We haven’t really talked.”
“I see. And you think helping her out like this is going to do that?”
“No. I just want to help her.”
“Without her knowledge.”
“Yes.”
“You’re cracked.”
“You’ll get it too, someday. I look forward to the day when you lose your cool over a woman.”
Georgiana began to wander out of the living room so Will went over to pick her up.
Rick said, “I need to get back to the office. Let’s have some lunch and then we can get to work.”
“I’ll probably just stay here and make calls to those people today. I’ll set up times to meet them tomorrow.”
“That’s fine. Just say you work with Fitzwilliam, De La Garza, & Lionel.”
“Good grief, Rick. That’s a helluva mouthful to say for a company name.”
Rick shrugged. “It’s typical in the legal trade. We lawyers always like to have our name on the letterhead.”
The three of them sat down to eat a light lunch at the dining table. Georgiana refused to cooperate. She kept wriggling down off the dining chair and sliding under the table. Will, somewhat embarrassed by her display in front of his friend, spoke sternly with her. She pouted the rest of the meal.
“She needs a nap,” Will explained. “It’ll take her a while to get used to this new place.”
Rick nodded, not even pretending to understand the ways of small children.
Rick left for his office, leaving Will on his own with Georgiana. Will put her down for a nap, then began making calls to set up appointments.
Later in the afternoon, Rick called Will on his cell phone. “Why don’t we meet for dinner at Lung Chou’s? It’s this great Chinese restaurant in China Town.”
“Is it the kind of place I can bring Georgiana?”
There was a long pause. “What kind of places does she go to?”
Will sighed. “Is it a nicer restaurant, or more family kind of place?”
“Uh… I guess you would call it a nice one.”
“Then they might not welcome me with a toddler in my arms.”
“No,” Rick said slowly. “All right, then. There’s a Mexican deli down the street here. That should be good.”
“What time should I meet you?”
“Seven sharp.”
Rick gave Will directions, then hung up.
That evening, Will asked Rick, “What’s the likelihood that I would run into Elizabeth in this neighborhood?”
“Close to nil,” Rick replied, throwing his tie over his shoulder as he bent down to take a bite out of his taco.
“How often do you run into people you know?”
“Occasionally. But I hang out at places where people I know go to.”
“I want to see her, to run into her and see how she is doing. But at the same time, I have to avoid her.”
“I still don’t agree with keeping this secret.”
“She’s a very independent woman. She hates asking for help or seeming like she can’t do it all. She’ll be insulted by my offer to help like this. Besides, the last thing I want is for her to like me for helping her instead of just for me.”
“But you do it anyway.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to help her.”
“Against her wishes.”
Will hesitated. It didn’t sound so nice phrased that way. “Yes,” he said finally. “I remember going through this before with you.”
They ate in silence for several moments. Will attempted to get Georgiana to swallow some food.
“Tell me, Will. Why didn’t things work out between you and Caroline, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“I think we just began to want different things. I wanted a family,” he gestured to Georgie, “I didn’t like the social life Caroline adored….”
“I remember being surprised when you first started dating her in college.”
“Yeah. It sort of happened. We went to one dance, and then… I dunno.”
Rick laughed at his friend. “Freddie, Knightly, and I had bets over how long it would last.”
Will cracked a small wry smile. “Who won?”
“I guess Knightly, since he guessed two months. Freddie said two weeks and I said one month.”
“Such supportive friends I had.”
Georgiana began to fuss. She didn’t seem to want to eat anything and whined about it.
“How often is she this frustrating?” asked Rick.
Will glared at his friend and replied, “Not too often. She’s generally good. But babies like a regimen. When the regimen is off, they get fussy.”
“Do you want to take her home?”
“Are you finished? If you are, then yes, she needs to get to bed.”
They left the restaurant and walked back to the apartment. Will put Georgiana to bed, then sat up talking with Rick into the night.
The following day, Will went to Nebsco to conduct 12 preliminary interviews. He armed himself with a bag full of toys for Georgiana, managing to keep her happy and occupied while he did his work. When he had finished in the afternoon, he gathered his results and took the L to Rick’s office.
Fitzwilliam, De La Garza, & Lionel had their offices situated in the Hancock building. They had the look of lawyers’ offices, with dark paneling and rich furnishings.
“I’m here to see Rick Fitzwilliam if he’s got a moment.”
“Please have a seat. Mr. Fitzwilliam is on a conference call right now,” the assistant replied.
Will sat down in the chair beside Rick’s assistant’s desk, bouncing Georgiana up and down. Her peals of laughter brought several curious people by. Her infectious laughter merely made them smile and continue their work.
Finally, Rick poked his head through his door.
“Will. Come on in and tell me what you got.”
Picking up Georgiana, Will walked into Rick’s office. He took a moment to look around. The carpet was thick and of a rich blue. Rick sat behind a large mahogany desk, piles of bound files on one side and a laptop on the other corner. Expansive windows looked out over the city.
Will sat down in the dark green leather armchair, depositing Georgiana on the floor to play.
“How did you do?” asked Rick.
“Good. Five people I interviewed had decent information on Lydia Benson’s work.”
“Excellent. Is it what I expect?”
“Pretty much.”
“You taped the interviews?”
Will nodded, pointing to a bag with recorder and tapes inside.
“The next thing is to type up those interviews. Are you a decent typist?”
“Not great, but it wouldn’t hurt to improve.”
There was a knock at the door. Rick’s assistant poked his head through the door. “Ms. Elizabeth Bennet is here to see you.”
Will’s eyes widened as he looked at Rick.
“Uh…” Rick quickly glanced around his office, looking for somewhere to stash Will. “Tell her I’ll be a couple minutes.”
“Yes, sir.” The assistant withdrew.
“What am I going to do? She’ll see me if I leave your office now!”
“Here, hide in there.” Rick opened a couple of slatted doors concealing a bar, complete with a counter and sink.
Will scooped up Georgiana and stood her in the sink. Rick tossed the rest of his stuff in there, slipping the files Will left on his desk into a drawer. Will hopped up on the counter, crowding into the corner so Rick could shut the door.
Will heard the office door being opened. He whispered to Georgiana, “We’re going to be very quiet. Shhhh.”
“Sssssss,” she repeated, her eyes wide in the dim light provided through the slats.
“Hello, Elizabeth. How are you?”
“I’m doing okay, thank you. Sorry for dropping in unexpectedly like this, but I was in the vicinity anyway.”
“No, it’s fine.”
“I brought you the files on my other clients. Could your assistant photocopy them? I would like to hang on to the originals.”
“Sure.” Will heard Rick open the door and speak to his assistant outside.
Georgiana began to stand up in the sink. Will, afraid of the sound her walking around in a sink would produce, caught her and shook his head. “Shhh…” he whispered.
Clearing his throat loudly, Rick asked, “Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“That would be my question for you. Did you want me doing something?”
“Not at the moment. I shall let you know the next time I need you. Things are going well. I’ve been in contact with Nebsco’s counsel. I think we can expect to go to a court hearing in January.”
“January! I had no idea this would drag on so long.”
“It’ll drag out longer than that. It’s how these things go.”
“I don’t think I can afford you for that long.”
“Don’t worry about that now,” Rick quickly assured her.
“It’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one using your savings to defend your good name.”
“No. But I am willing to help out as much as I can. The important thing right now is to save your good name so you can continue earning.”
Will, so intent on listening to her voice and the conversation, didn’t catch Georgiana in time.
Trying to get his attention, she called out just loud enough for Elizabeth to hear, “Daaa….”
“Aaaand,” Rick said, as if he’d made the sound. “Um, hopefully we can get some financial recompense from the plaintiff. The judge usually thinks it reasonable to include in the agreements.”
“Uh, okay.” Elizabeth sounded unsure. “Maybe I should go. This is probably a bad time for you.”
Rick, now worried about who or what she thought was hidden in the closet, said, “No, no.”
“I need to get going anyway. Thank you for your time. Let me know if anything else develops.”
Will’s heart sank as he heard her leave the office.
A minute later Rick returned and opened the doors. “I’m sure she thinks I have a half-dressed woman in here now, thanks to you.”
Will got off the counter and stretched his cramped muscles. “It’s virtually impossible to keep a toddler quiet when it’s important. Now tell me. Did she look tired to you?”
“Who? Elizabeth?” Rick looked bewildered by the question.
“Yes. Did she look like she hadn’t slept in a while?”
“I dunno. She looked normal to me.”
Will gave his friend an exasperated look.
“I don’t know what you want from me!”
“I want you to tell me if she looked ok or if she looked like she didn’t sleep enough.”
“Why?”
“Just – grrr. Rick! I care about her! I want her to be doing well!”
“Oh. Well she seemed ok to me.”
Will picked up Georgiana out of the sink.
“I’m going to take her home,” Will said. “She needs to have a nap, settle down. It’s been an exciting day for her. I’ll just get that typing done.”
“Okay. I’ll be home around 7 or 8. Should I bring home something to eat?”
“I’ll have put Georgie to bed by then, but you can bring home something for the two of us. Rent a movie or something.”
“Great. Brian can see you out.”
“Thanks.”
Gathering up his things, Will settled Georgiana on his hip and walked out of the office. He made sure not to accidentally run into Elizabeth again. He regretted not being able to see her. Not for lack of trying. The gaps between the wooden slats had allowed him to see her feet and ankles, but nothing else.
Chapter 14
Will and Georgiana stayed two more days before returning to St Louis. It had snowed the day before in southern Illinois, leaving a thick layer of ice and snow on most of the countryside. Will slowed down when he drove by the Mississippi River, looking at the ice flows sluggishly making their way downriver. He searched for any of the bald eagles that preferred to sit on the ice flows fishing.
He slowly pulled up the driveway to his house. Getting out, he brought Georgiana inside with the luggage before walking around the house, checking to see if everything was okay. A few branches had fallen from the heavy weight of the snow. He picked these up, snapping them into smaller pieces to be fuel for his fire. He broke the ice on the bird bath, filling it up with warm water before topping up the birdfeeders and returning to the house.
Will stopped and looked at the bags he’d dumped by the door. His shoulders sagged, feeling too lazy to put things away. Instead, he built a fire, made himself a cup of tea and Georgiana some warm milk, then grabbed his daughter and the past days’ newspapers to settle down in front of the fire. Georgiana was content to play on her own in her favourite armchair. The chair dwarfed her, but it was comfortable and big enough for her to play on. Will didn’t mind in the least since it kept her away from the fire, and she often fell asleep on the pillows.
The newspapers failed to hold Will’s attention as he stared into the flickering flames, thinking of Elizabeth. During the conversation Will had eavesdropped on, Rick had said the court hearing would be in January. Part of the reason why he’d decided to help Elizabeth in this project was for the selfish wish of having her to himself once more. Things had seemed to be going so well until the voicemail that interrupted their idyll. But at this rate, it would be months before it was over. Will sighed in despair, running his hands through his hair.
Leaning over to pick up the cordless phone, Will dialed Elizabeth’s apartment, hoping to catch her at home on a Sunday evening.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Elizabeth,” Will replied, smiling softly at the sound of her voice.
“Will? Where have you been?”
“What do you mean?” Will wondered how she could know he’d been gone.
“I’ve been trying to get through to you for the past couple of days. You haven’t returned my calls or been in.”
“Oh… um… yeah. We’ve had a bit of bad weather here so perhaps the phone lines have been down.”
“How did I leave a message, then?”
“I dunno.” Deciding he’d better change the subject before he revealed too much, Will asked, “How are things with you?”
“They’re all right. This case is a nightmare, though. Just when I think things will get better, Rick asks for more stuff or mentions that it’s going to take months to clear up.”
Hearing the despair in her voice hurt Will. “Don’t worry, Elizabeth. It’ll be all right.”
“That’s such a silly thing to say,” Elizabeth cried – not angrily, but in exasperation. “Rick said the same thing. How can I not worry?! This is taking over my life, my career, and I’m told not to worry?”
“All right, bad choice of words. I’m sorry. I’m asking you not to stress out too much. It doesn’t help things. I know you’re going to worry and I know things are difficult, but they’ll get better soon.”
“In a few months.”
“Yes, in a few months. Maybe sooner. But you’re made of tough stuff, Elizabeth. I have every faith in you that you’ll pull through.”
Will heard her sigh deeply. “Thank you. It means a lot to know I have your support.”
Will thought about how much support he was really giving her. At this moment, he seriously toyed with the idea of telling her.
“Eliz-“
She spoke at the same time, “I’d been- Oh, sorry. What were you saying?”
“Never mind. You continue.”
“Oh, I was going to say that I think I’m coming down to St Louis for Christmas. And Jane and Charles wanted to invite you and Georgie, too.”
“We’d love to.” Will wished she had given in the invite, but knew it was the Bingleys’ place. “You’ll have to help me think of Christmas present ideas, though.”
“Oh, I’m bad at those. I usually put it off too late. I’m not really the person you should come to for ideas. I’ll begin thinking of them anyway.”
“What about you? What would you like for Christmas?”
“Me? Oh I don’t know. I guess I should start making my Christmas wish list, huh?”
“It would help, yes,” Will replied dryly.
There was a long pause.
“You can’t think of anything right now?” asked Will.
“Well, I’d love a nice picture of Georgiana.”
“Any particular preference?”
“A nice one. It doesn’t have to be professionally done.”
“All right. Anything else?”
“Top of my wish list is for this case to be over.”
“I’ll talk to Santa and see what he can do.”
“Please, do,” she laughed. Oh, it was good to hear her laugh. If only he could do that more!
“I think Georgie and I will drop by and see him sometime this week.”
“Really?”
“I haven’t properly introduced her to him yet anyway.”
“You haven’t?”
“No.”
“What kind of a father are you, Will?” she said in a shocked voice.
“A horrible one, as you well know.”
“How are you going to introduce him to her?”
“Well, it usually starts with a place on his knee, right?”
“Yes, but how are you going to introduce him? Like, as this real person who magically comes down the chimney and delivers presents? Or… as a nice tale to believe in at Christmas time?”