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Chapter 1 - Brioche And Scrambled Eggs

Posted on Thursday, 20 October 2005

Gingerbread had been open for nearly a year. The boutique coffee shop had already gained a great reputation, even in the crowded cream tea market of north Devon. Its bright and airy style, with a modern, feminine décor made it a delightful place to relax and have coffee, which combined with Beth's warm hospitality to make a winning combination. Not to mention the delicious homemade cakes and meals that were always available. Gingerbread had become the hub of the small town, with Beth right at the very centre.

For her, the short autumnal days were long ones. Getting up early to start the baking, she spent the majority of each day on her feet in the kitchen and behind the counter. By the evening, when the smell of vanilla and chocolate wafted through her hair and home, her feet and arms ached with the pain of success. She had dreamed of owning her own coffee shop since she was a teenager, but most mornings she still had to pinch herself before she was able to accept that it was real.

An early morning yawn escaped her as she swept her hair into a high ponytail and flipped on the lights to the downstairs kitchen. Not the gloss red cupboards of her own kitchen upstairs, this room was designed to win the approval of the health inspectors. Everything was stainless steel, including the two large ovens and the shelves that held an array of tupperware that would make Lakeland jealous - all softened by the addition of sky blue walls and brightly coloured utensils. The small room was Beth's kingdom, the place where she belonged.

Over time, her morning chores had refined into an efficient, loving ritual. The dough she had kneaded last night was brought out of the fridge to warm while she melted chocolate on the stove and heated up the ovens. Then there were scones to mix and muffins to make, batter to beat and fruit to slice. In between her many tasks, Beth would take time out to make a pot of tea, taking one cup up to Charlotte before wandering into her now dormant garden to enjoy the fresh air for a moment. The late autumn weather was almost too cold for her morning respite, but cocooned in her long coat, Beth was determined to enjoy it for as long as she could. By the time she finished work, it would already be dark.

The timer on the oven demanded her return to the reality of life, and she hurried inside, pulling off her scarf as she went, to take the day's scones out of the oven. Light, airy and traditional, these were her best seller, served with clotted cream, plenty of strawberry jam and tea by the pot. They were also, she thought with a smile, the easiest thing in the world to make.

The patter of small feet announced the imminent arrival of Jacob in the kitchen. The moment he entered the kitchen Beth swept him up into a big floury hug and kissed him noisily on tip of his nose before depositing him on the counter in front of her as Charlotte, her best friend since junior school and long-term housemate stumbled sleepily into the kitchen.

"Morning Char," sang Beth in her purposely most annoyingly happy manner. Without even appearing to hear her friend's greeting, Charlotte helped herself to a glass of orange juice and poured another for Jacob before leading him through to sit at a table in the shop.

"And what would madam and sir like for breakfast this morning?" Beth called from the kitchen.

"Just cornflakes for me. I'll get them myself as soon as I can be bothered to move," was Charlotte's mumbled response.

"Eggy bread," cried Jacob.

"No problem," said Beth. "Coming right up. Charlotte are you ok to drop my little monster at school this morning?"

"Can we go and see the ducks on the way? And I'm not a monster."

"There's some bread you can take for them if you want, and you're my little monster until I say otherwise."

"If the two of you would kindly be quiet and let me have my breakfast in peace I'll take Jake to the pond on my way to work," interrupted a slightly grumpy Charlotte.

"Just to the pond?" inquired Jake. "Not to school as well? Hooray!"

Beth laughed as she slid the egg-sodden bread into a hot pan on the stove. Mornings, whatever Charlotte might have preferred, were Beth's favourite time of day. Noisy, busy and full of the love that her funny little family shared. The egg around the edges of the bread began to sizzle and turn golden in the pan. Back in the other room she could hear Charlotte and Jacob chatting away; well, Jacob seemed to be doing most of the chatting with Charlotte merely inserting a few words here and there. Beth flipped the bread over and went to look for Jacob's school bag, checking once she had found it for any old apple cores, wet conkers or other delights that might be hidden in the bottom. Finding only yesterday's lunch box, she replaced it with the one she had packed for him that morning and set it on the counter for him to take with him when he left.

"Do you want syrup or ketchup with you eggy bread Jake? And don't say both."

"Syrup please. Lots and lots."

"The Bennet sugar addition strikes again," said a somewhat more alive Charlotte with a grin.

Doing her best impression of a silver service waitress, Beth placed Jacob's breakfast in front of him with a flourish.

"Serve from the left, take from the right," she instructed as she did so. "After breakfast, I need you to - "

"Go and find your reading book, clean your teeth and put your shoes on," Charlotte and Jacob chorused. It was the same every morning, but, for some reason, Beth always felt the need to say it.

"Right! Jane's going to be picking you up from after-school club today, ok Cakey-Jakey?" He nodded happily. Jane always had sweets in the glove box of her car, making her a clear winner in the favourite aunt stakes. "What's your day looking like Char?"

"The usual, except that today I get to do payroll too. Whoopee!"

"Well, try not to have too much fun. How are those teeth coming on mister?"

"I'm going, I'm going." Jacob ran upstairs while Charlotte cleared away the breakfast things.

"Are things really that bad?"

"I don't know Beth. I'm just bored I think. Bored with work, with Meryton."

"With your housemates!"

"Don't be stupid. You're the only ones keeping me here. And I mean that in a good way. It's just, I need a change. I didn't exactly spend three years at university looking forward to the day when I could come back here and run my dad's business for him, you know?"

Beth pulled her best friend into a cheer-you-up hug and was surprised to hear the door open as she did so. Her first customers didn't normally arrive for half an hour or so yet, Meryton not exactly being on the commuter belt. A peep round the door revealed two well dressed men she didn't recognise, so she hastily kissed both Jacob and Charlotte good bye while wiping her hands on a tea towel. Following them as they made their way out via the front of the shop, Beth called out her goodbyes and just caught the look of appreciation that Charlotte gave to two men in front of her.

"Morning gentlemen. What can I get you?"

"Hi, how are you?" responded the blonde, tanned one. Cute, thought Beth, but so not my type. "I hope we're not too early?"

"Not at all. The menu's on the board there, can I get you some drinks while you take a look?"

"I'll have an orange juice. Darcy?"

"Cappuccino. Double strength, no cocoa."

Beth was disappointed with the abruptness of the second man - the one thing she could not tolerate in other people was rudeness. She looked at him for a second: he ticked all the boxes - tall, dark, handsome - but his smart casual look was as boring as he was rude. Definitely not her type either, she decided quickly.

As she sliced and squeezed oranges, she heard the men discussing the breakfast options. The sound of the coffee machine drowned them out, so that Beth was surprised to see the friendly one of the pair standing before her when she turned back.

"I was just about to bring these over."

"I can take them. I'll have a full English breakfast please, and he'll have scrambled egg on toast."

"Normal toast or brioche?"

"Not sure. Darcy?"

The abrupt one looked up from his paper.

"Normal toast or brioche?" his friend repeated.

"Brioche," he stated before returning to his article.

Beth managed to hold back an amused smile just long enough to finish her conversation with the friendly one. While she broke the eggs into a bowl she couldn't help laughing quietly over the contrast before the two men who were currently sitting in her shop. Even now she could hear the first one chatting away to his silent friend. She wondered how they knew each other, and what they were doing in Meryton. Beth cracked three eggs into a bowl, adding mustard, cream, seasoning and a generous handful of herbs before gently whisking them together. For a while the men's voices were lost amid the sounds of cooking. In her head Beth thought of the day ahead, of all the jobs she had to do. Checking the clock she couldn't help but notice that her sister Kitty was already late for her shift. Two voices drifted back to her as she served the food onto large plates.

"Probably swimming in grease and too much salt." That must have been the rude one she thought, absently checking the plate before her for signs of excess grease and finding none.

"Darcy, relax. You're on holiday. And this looks like a great place. I've heard really good things about it. And she," he gestured towards the kitchen, "seems charming."

"Indeed. If you discount the fact that she's a gay single mother who earns a living waitressing. Lovely."

Bingley gaped at his friend in amazement. Whatever he said in response was lost to Beth who had dropped the spoon she was holding onto the floor with a loud clatter. She didn't know whether to laugh or be furious. "Gay single mother who earns a living waitressing." Well, she mused, she had called Charlotte 'darling' as she left, and now she thought about it, they'd probably seen her kiss her as well. Amusement won over fury, which combined with a natural sense of professionalism just managed to prevent Beth from succumbing to her urge to spit in Darcy's food. Instead, holding her head high and composing her features into polite indifference, she delivered the two breakfasts to their owners before retreating into the sanctuary of her kitchen. Next on her schedule, lemon syrup loaf and indulgent chocolate cupcakes.

Over the next hour, several other customers came in, giving Beth and Kitty, who had finally arrived, time to finish the baking while Bingley and Darcy ate their breakfasts, read the papers and made several calls. The scraping of their chairs on the floor indicated their readiness to leave, so Beth went through to add up their bill.

"Something smells great. Chocolatey," smiled the friendly one.

"Cupcakes. They're still in the oven I'm afraid or I'd give you one to try. I'm still trying to find the right balance between the chocolate and coffee."

"Well I guess we'll just have to come back and try one another time - we're staying just outside the town for a few months. I'm Charles Bingley by the way. This is Will Darcy."

"Hi," said Beth as she reached out to shake Charles' hand. She glanced up at Darcy, expecting him to recoil against the introduction that his friend had so happily made, only to be met by his steady gaze. Discomforted by his stare more than his earlier rudeness, Beth got on with giving Bingley his change, surreptitiously checking her apron for any incriminating stains or spillages. As the two men left, she found herself in the unusual situation of disliking someone on so brief an acquaintance. The entrance of Mrs. Long and Mrs. Philips, two of her regular customers, brought a welcome end to her speculations.

The rest of Beth's day passed as usual. Business went well; her cupcakes were the best yet, with a warming hint of coffee beneath the dark richness of the chocolate; and all of her customers were amused by her tale of the arrogant American who thought Charlotte and Beth were lovers!

Chapter Two - Apple Tart

Occasionally, Caroline, Bingley's sister, accompanied the two men. Beth wasn't the only person caught sniggering over Caroline's exaggerated attentions to Darcy, which were met only by an increase in Will's usual broody silence. She wasn't quite sure what to make of Caroline: it wasn't that she was actively unfriendly, it was more like she simply couldn't be bothered to make an effort with anyone. Beth got the impression that Caroline looked down on their little town.

It hadn't taken long for her to hear that Bingley had rented the old manor house for the next few months, and the rumour was that the Bingleys were interested in setting up a new business venture locally. Beth assumed that it must be the thought of a successful investment that had enticed Caroline into the area, as she didn't seem at all interested in making friends or enjoying the beautiful surroundings. Beth only hoped that whatever plans the Bingleys had would bring prosperity to the area: her fear was that they were about to embark on some personal money making scheme which would simultaneously suck the life out of their town, or worse, that Caroline and Will would become permanent residents in the town!

Life carried on as usual for the majority of the inhabitants of Meryton. Only in her sister Jane did Beth perceive any difference. Close though the sisters were, Beth was used to Jane's quiet nature, so she did not expect to be told directly what was causing the smile that so often graced her sister's face these days. One day however, a clue came from an unexpected direction when Charles asked if he could buy a selection of cakes to take away.

"I'm meeting the family of a friend. I think she said there'll be about a dozen of us altogether. That's right isn't it?" he asked himself before counting them off on his fingers. "Two of us, two parents, three sisters and a nephew, someone else that I can't remember, oh and Darcy and Caroline. So eleven."

He looked up too late to catch the brief smile of understanding on Beth's face.

"That's quite a bunch. She must be a special friend for you to be meeting the whole family?"

"She's amazing. I mean, I've met lots of lovely women, but this is different. She's intelligent, beautiful, caring, funny. And besides, I love family dinners."

"That's lucky!" said Beth, somewhat surprised by his enthusiastic description of her sister. "Dinner with the parents must mean it's pretty serious. More than just a holiday fling?"

"Much more. It's a bit soon to be proposing marriage, but well, I've never felt like this about anyone before."

"Wow - well, good luck with the family anyway. So, these cakes - are you meant to be taking dessert, or are these just a gesture?"

"More of a gesture. Maybe you could choose a selection, and put them in a box for me."

"Sure - maybe some biscuits and chocolates rather than cakes then," said Beth, fully aware that her mother had already asked her to bake an apple tart for dessert. "I'll add it to your tab for you."

"If that's ok. In fact, I should probably settle up with you while I'm here. That tab must be getting pretty big by now."

A few minutes later, Bingley left the shop carrying a large ribbon-tied box of Beth's handmade treats, while an excited Beth looked across at the ladies sitting at the table nearest the counter.

"Well, it looks like your parents are having guests to dinner tonight Beth."

"Indeed. And if you'll excuse me ladies, I think I should go and phone Jane and find out what else she hasn't been telling me."

"Oh how is the sweet girl? Has she finished her studies yet?"

"She got last results through at the end of the summer. She's got a job with a small firm of solicitors in Bristol next month."

"Oh wonderful. Good for her. Give her our regards won't you dear."

Beth smiled at the pair, one of whom had been her father's primary school teacher many years before, and went to find her phone to call her sister.

The traditional Bennet family meal took place every week on a Thursday night. Non-family members were often invited to join them, although the more timid of their acquaintances rarely returned more than once. The success of the evening mainly depended on Mrs. Bennet's state of mind. On a good day she was a tremendous host, truly having taught Beth everything she knew about entertaining. On her bad days though, people couldn't get out of the house fast enough. The whole family found themselves praying fervently that Thursdays would be good days.

Beth was intrigued to see how the Bingley party would react. Charles, she hoped, would enjoy himself. His happy personality would allow him to join in the family banter and might even allow him to overlook their mother's eccentricities. Caroline would no doubt feel everything beneath her: not for a moment could Beth imagine her sat around a table crowded with her family and assorted friends. But it was Darcy's reaction that she most dreaded.

People reacted to her family in various ways. Some were amused by their liveliness and the contrasts between the four sisters and their mother. Others found them too loud and were nervous of their sisterly rivalries. Darcy, she was sure, would simply be silently disapproving, in which case her family would probably just ignore him and leave him to his own arrogant stupidity. Beth just hoped that her mother be in a reasonable mood. She wanted tonight to be a success for Jane's sake, which meant making sure that Darcy and Caroline didn't have too much to complain about when they got home.

Having promised Jane that she would get to her parents' house before Jane and her friends, Beth arrived early at her mother's house with Charlotte, Jacob and the large apple tart that she had baked that afternoon. Ringing the doorbell to announce themselves, Beth took a deep breath as she let herself in the front door.

"Once more into the breach dear friends," she muttered so that only Charlotte could hear as her mother came rushing towards them.

"Oh thank goodness you're here," she began immediately. "I was beginning to worry that you'd never arrive and then what would I do? Serve Jane's friends ice cream for dessert? Can you imagine? At least you're here now though. Charlotte be a dear and finish setting the table for me would you? You just wouldn't believe the day I've had today, and your father's been no help. Not that that should come as any surprise. Hiding away in his study with his nose in a book while I was left to clean up after him."

Beth hid her sigh of resignation at her mother's verbal onslaught. Altogether though, it seemed as if she was having an ok day - there were no obvious signs of trauma, no tears and only a modicum of hysteria. Maybe if she and her sisters could just indulge her mother for a short time, Jane might be spared the worst of it.

Bending down to hug her grandson, Mrs. Bennet couldn't help noticing Beth's skirt.

"Really Elizabeth," she scolded. "If you must wear skirts all the time, you might at least wear tights and a petticoat. You can't afford to go getting ill now that you've got your own business. Not to mention a child. Who'll take care of him if you get ill? Me I suppose! But maybe I've got better things to do. Didn't thing of that did you. Can't always rely on good old mum to come and bail you out all the time."

"Mother," Beth replied, before taking a deep breath to control her anger, "When do I ever ask you to look after Jacob for me? If I get ill, which I'm not going to, Charlotte's always here, or Jane, or Kitty, or Dad if needs be. And I may be wrong, but as far as I know petticoats aren't quite NHS issue for defence against the flu."

"Well really. I was just trying to look out for your health. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Beth sighed in disbelief, grinning when she caught her Father's gaze as he entered the room.

"You look well enough to me my Lizzy," he declared as he kissed his daughter on the cheek. "And how's my favourite grandson today? Did you bring your reading book for Granddad to listen to?"

"Hello Granddad. Beth's got it in her bag. Do you want to come and play in the garden?"

"Alright then. You girls can come and get us when Jane and her young man get here. Hello Charlotte. See if you can calm your mother down a bit would you Beth?" he added in a low voice. "Got herself into a bit of a tiz about Jane's new man, so you'll be in for the usual I'm afraid. Can't see what her hurry is to get you all married off, last thing I want is to be left alone and daughterless. The longer you girls stay single for the better as far as I'm concerned - you too Charlotte. Jacob and I need you all too much to have you running off with other men. Oh, and if Mrs. B says anything about moving to Kent, do me a favour and knock the idea right out of her pretty little head would you? Right then Grandson Number 1, lead on to the garden." And with that, Mr. Bennet picked up Jacob like a sack of potatoes, threw the laughing child over his shoulders and marched out into the garden at the back of the house.

"Welcome to the mad house!" said Kitty as she walked passed them into the living room. "Before you go tonight Beth, can you have a word with Dad and convince him to let me go to London with Becky for New Year? He'll let me if you ask him, he always gives in to you. Please?"

"No way. Sorry Kitty, but after Lydia, you're going to have to prove to Dad that you're mature enough to go or he won't let you. Simple as that. But chin up, two more years and you'll be able to do whatever you like."

Kitty's frequently seen pout was chased from her face by the ringing of the doorbell. Beth couldn't help smiling broadly as Jane came into the room hand in hand with Charles, with Will and Caroline following unhappily behind. Hesitating before embracing her sister, Beth delighted in watching Charles' face as he recognised the woman he had been spilling his heart to earlier in the day standing in front of him.

"Beth!"

"Hey Charlie!" she said brightly, in a voice that betrayed her prior knowledge of his presence that evening. "Surprise!" she offered weakly, suddenly wondering if he would think that she had unfairly tricked into revealing more of his feelings than he might have wanted.

"Indeed," he laughed in reply, pulling her into a friendly hug. "Mrs. Bennet," he greeted the lady that had just entered the room, and presented her with the box of goodies as he did so, "these are for you. I don't expect they're all that nice though, I bought them in some dodgy little shop in town."

"Ugh, not that nasty little Gingernut place?" teased Beth.

"The exact one!"

Everyone watched Charles and Beth as they shared their private joke. Mrs. Bennet coughed loudly in a not-so-subtle attempt to remind Jane that she had not yet introduced her friends to the rest of the family. Desperately trying not to sigh at her mother's over-eagerness, Jane took the plunge and exposed her new friends to her unfortunately unpredictable mother.

"Mother, this is Charles Bingley; his sister Caroline and his friend Will Darcy."

"Pleased to meet you, pleased to meet you. We've heard so much about you of course Charles. Renting the manor house for the whole summer. How delightful. You've discovered the wonderful view from the east side of the building I'm sure. Oh my, what a lovely coat Caroline. So 'of the moment' as they say, and very expensive I'm sure. Maybe you could show Jane where you shop sometime. She really is so beautiful, wouldn't you agree Charles? And William, goodness me, two such handsome young men in my house at the same time, won't I be the talk of the town? The neighbours' tongues will be wagging tomorrow. Come through, don't be shy. My goodness I hope you're all hungry. I've spent all day in the kitchen, and don't my feet know it. And my back. And my arms. Goodness me. But it's all worth it for our dear Jane. Take a seat now Caroline. Get some drinks then Kitty. Chop chop girl."

Slightly taken aback by Mrs. Bennet's gushing, the party nevertheless all shook hands politely enough. Beth watched Darcy closely, noting his obvious disapproval of the situation, until his gaze settled alarmingly on her. Preparing herself for another awkward conversation with him, she forced herself to return his stare for a moment, taking the opportunity to really look at him and read what his eyes had to say. Encountering only a stern gaze that reminded her of the one that she used to receive from her GCSE geography teacher when she was caught whispering in the back row with Charlotte, she found herself wondering if he still thought she was a lesbian. Slowly, deliberately maintaining eye contact with him, Beth drew one arm around Charlotte's waist.

"I'm going to get Jacob and Dad in from the garden," she murmured into her ear. "Want to come with me?"

"Ok, if you want," said Charlotte somewhat dubiously.

Beth couldn't resist sneaking a look at Darcy as they left the room. But all she saw was the back of his head as he made his way over to peruse the books on the bookshelf. Not much there to entertain him, she thought to herself; cookery books, gardening manuals, a few of those novelty books which seem funny on Christmas day but turn into junk by the turn of the year. But what Beth couldn't see was Will's gaze as it fixed on a photo of her and Jacob standing together outside Gingerbread. The picture has been taken on Beth's first day in business, capturing her looking flushed with success and unfulfilled ambition. Against his will, he had been drawn to the picture. She was beautiful, happy. Will felt an unexpected surge of jealousy rise up in him at the lucky person who was present that day to capture the moment on film.

In the garden, Charlotte was laughing as Beth told her the reason for her outward display of affection. "But really Beth, you shouldn't tease him. I'd give anything to have someone as gorgeous as him look at me like he looks at you. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't be wasting my time flirting with you."

Beth looked at Charlotte in horror. "You're kidding me right?"

"Honey, you may be beautiful, but strong, silent and devastatingly rich has it's own attractions! Really though, it's plain as day that the man fancies you. And given the amount of time you devote to moaning about him, I'd venture that his interest in you isn't quite as one-sided as you'd have me believe."

"What?" Beth spluttered. "You can't possibly think I like him. Trust me, if you saw as much of him as I do, you'd moan about him too."

After pondering the possibility that Will might be attracted to her for at least three seconds, Beth dismissed the idea as not only ridiculous but also deeply disturbing. They remained in the garden until Mrs. Bennet came to fetch Beth to make sure that dessert was taken care of, at which point everyone was summoned through to the dining room. Beth was ashamed to see the way her mother fawned over her guests at dinner, and her constant demands for Charles to compliment Jane's beauty grated on everyone's nerves. For his part, Will was astonished that Beth and Jane were truly Mrs. Bennet's offspring. That two such beautiful, intelligent women could have grown up under Mrs. Bennet's care was nothing less than a miracle. That she was responsible for her other two daughters seemed less remarkable - Mary was a plain, bookish girl who nevertheless seemed determined to impress everyone with her dismal attempts at profound statements, while Kitty struck him as rather shallow and immature for her sixteen years.

Somehow they all got through the main course without any major incidents. As usually happened at her mother's dinners, Beth found herself continuing her day job and waiting table and preparing the dessert. Normally she didn't mind, it gave her a chance to escape her mother for a few moments, but tonight she was loathe to leave Jane to battle against their family alone. Since all she needed to do was load the plates into the dishwasher and take the tart from the oven, the time she spent in the kitchen was brief. Re-entering the dining room with the warmed tart in one hand and a jug of cream in the other, she was relieved to see Jane and Charles talking quietly at their end of the table, while Mrs. Bennet subjected everyone else to her unique form of conversation. Caroline looked just as she had when Beth had left - bored and resentful - while Will maintained a stony faced silence, having given up any attempts at conversation long ago.

"Are you sure the tart's warm enough Elizabeth? How long has it been in the oven for? Why you decided to make something that needed warming through I don't know. Just to give me something else to worry about I'm sure. You always did like to vex me - not like dear Jane, such a good girl, and so beautiful, wouldn't you agree Charles?"

Not wanting to appear to be agreeing with Mrs. Bennet's criticisms of Beth, Charles wasn't sure of the appropriate answer to such a statement. Luckily, Mrs. Bennet didn't seem to require an answer, turning her attention back to Beth in order to direct her in serving the dessert. Beth bore with her mother's fussing patiently. She'd endured twenty two years of her mother and was well prepared to handle whatever she chose to throw at her. Indeed, she was glad to have her mother's attention directed away from the others for a time, and was rewarded when Charles seized the opportunity to start a new conversation. She thought that she even heard Will's voice asking her father about the history of the area, but her mother's instructions prevented her from listening more closely.

Having served the tart to her mother's satisfaction, Beth returned to her place, only to find everyone looking at her.

"Sorry, did I miss something?"

"Jane was just telling us that you don't have a degree Liz, and I was saying that presumably you hadn't been able to go to university because you got pregnant," said Caroline with a smirk that made Beth instantly want to punch her. "You must have been quiet young I'd imagine. It must have been very hard for you, what with the father not being around and everything."

Everyone was astounded by Caroline's presumptuous comments. Beth fought against the tide of anger rising inside her, a feeling that wasn't helped when it was Kitty's sensitive-as-a-brick voice which she heard next.

"Oh Jake isn't Beth's son. He's our little sister's child - Beth adopted him when he was still a baby after Lydia was killed in a drink driving accident."

No-one knew what to say next. This wasn't the kind of conversation that people usually got into over the dinner table. Beth's heart broke over the damage that her family were inflicting on Jane's new relationship while still fuming at Caroline and her own sister. To his credit, it was Charles who broke the silence.

"This looks delicious Beth. I don't think I've tried your apple tart yet. What's the flavouring in it, I can't quite place it?"

"Cinnamon," burst in Mrs. Bennet. "It's an old family recipe, so glad I asked you to make it for tonight Elizabeth, especially considering it's our Charles' favourite. I've always said you should have a warm dessert when the weather is cold, don't you agree?" she asked no-one in particular.

Relieved that the awkward moment was over and amused at her mother's ability to deceive herself, Beth was only too happy to correctly identify the mystery ingredient as ground cloves, her personal preference over cinnamon, and the recipe as one she had thought up while looking for a way to use up some excess pastry. Will was fascinated as she sensually described how to caramelise the apples in butter and sugar before layering them into the pastry case and adding the flavoured custard. By the time she had finished, everyone had all but forgotten Caroline's heartless comments. Beth soon excused herself to take a thankfully oblivious Jacob to bed, accompanied by her father who was looking forward to his chance to read his grandson a bedtime story. She couldn't help looking at Will as she left the room, only to find him gazing absently out of the window.

Not too long afterwards, Caroline yawned rather pointedly, leaving her brother no option but to bid farewell to Jane and her family before leaving with his sister and friend. Beth wished Charles goodnight, hoping with all her heart that he would see past their family to Jane's worth as a singularly wonderful woman. To the others, she managed a polite farewell, holding in her sigh of relief at their early departure until she was certain they were out of earshot.

"Well, my goodness," began Mrs. Bennet, "what an evening! Jane my dear, I am so proud of you. Charles is a dish, a hunk as you girls would say."

"Mum, no-one under the age of forty five would ever use the word hunk. He is pretty fit though!" giggled Kitty.

Not feeling up to listening to her mother and youngest sister gushing over Jane's boyfriend, Beth quickly dragged Charlotte and Jane into the kitchen. Full of apologies to Jane and Charlotte for the embarrassments that had been heaped on them by respective family members and guests, they soon ended up laughing over Caroline's shock that Beth had not completed university, and the myriad faces she had pulled in response to Mrs. Bennet's enthusiastic attentions.

"When she told her she could recommend a good hairdresser where she could get her roots done I thought I would die," gasped Charlotte through her laughter.

"'Just mention my name and they'll take extra special care of you'," mimicked a teary eyed Beth. "Man, I don't know what we did to deserve a mother like Francis, but surely we've been punished enough now. I really am so sorry though Jane."

"It's ok. If Charles really likes me, and I think he does, then he'll see past mum. And you're sure you're ok Beth? I'm sure Caroline didn't mean to sound as rude as she did."

"I'm not, but yes, I'm fine. It's hardly news to me that I dropped out of uni. I could have throttled Kitty though. If I were you Jane, I'd sit Charles down tomorrow with a glass of red and tell him the whole story - Lydia, Jacob, the car crash, Francis' breakdown. The whole lot. Then dazzle him with your beauty and beg him to rescue you from the whole lot of us. Let him whisk you away to his castle and forever after pander to your every whim!"

"But beware the big bad Darcy dragon and the wicked witch with the enchanted credit card, spreading her evil wherever she shops," added Charlotte.

The girls continued to chat and laugh as they cleared away the remainder of the dinner. Beth was glad that their guests had left early, and by half past ten she was able to carry her sleeping son out of Jane's car and into his own bedroom.

"Goodnight little man," she whispered softly, kissing him on the forehead before tip toe-ing out of the room.

Falling into her own bed, Beth reflected on the absurd nature of her family. She had often wondered what had gone wrong in their lives - she and Jane, she was fairly sure, were nice, normal people: intelligent, thoughtful, aware of other people's feelings, that sort of thing. But her mother! Even her father had not bothered to greet Charles as he should have done. And he did nothing to rein in her mother. Maybe he's just given up, and silence is easier than a divorce, thought Beth. Poor father. Poor mother too I suppose. No-one should lose a child.

Letting her mind wander over recent events, Beth soon encountered Will Darcy. He seemed to have developed an irritating habit of coming for breakfast every morning, often arriving before she had even had a chance to unlock the door. But, since he rarely said much, she supposed it wasn't too much of an inconvenience. Except for the other morning when he had asked if he could see the kitchen.

Beth assumed that he had wanted to check it for cleanliness. She was more than confident that it would pass any inspection, so invited him back for a look. He had followed her through, then merely leaned against the doorframe, watching her, disrupting her working rhythms. Moments passed in an awkward silence, until the oven timer shattered it. Feeling the need for some form of conversation, Beth said the first thing that came into her mind.

"How's your work going? I thought you were meant to be on holiday but you always seem to be working."

It was a moment before Will replied, almost as though he had forgotten where he was. "Strictly speaking, I am on holiday, but things don't run themselves, and by doing an hour or so of work each day now, I can save myself a whole load of catching up when I get back to New York."

"And what is it that you do? Someone mentioned that Charles might be looking for investments in the area but otherwise you two are quite a mystery."

"Actually it's Caroline that's looking for investment opportunities. Charles and I work for the Pemberley group."

"Right," said Beth, who got the feeling that he obviously did not want to discuss his work with her. She flushed with anger at the thought that he probably assumed she wouldn't understand what he did, being just a poorly educated waitress.

"What about you, Elizabeth? Do you plan on staying in Meryton all of your life?"

The way he said her name disconcerted her. Very few people called her Elizabeth, although she had always loved hearing people say her full name. Somehow his use of it felt shockingly personal, like it had the power to strip her of all her defences and reveal her raw self to his scrutiny. Disliking the feeling intensely, she refused to look up at him, her temper getting the better of she perceived his dislike of her hometown in his question.

"Actually I like it here. The countryside is beautiful, and I hate going to sleep without the sound of the sea in my ears. I have my own business, my friends are here, Jacob's happy. Commuting for miles to work long hours in some faceless international corporation with bad ethics and a dull dress code just to earn a big salary and pay a fortune in child care may be some people's idea of success, but not mine. You wouldn't understand I'm sure, but I like it here."

Turning to put the pastry dough that she had been working on into the fridge, Beth caught the open expression on Will's face as he heard her words. It was a look she didn't understand and a puzzle she didn't care to try. Wishing that someone would come in and distract her attention, Beth instead found herself trapped in the kitchen with Will blocking the doorway and an awkward, strangely personal conversation happening between them. For his part, Will had not expected such an impassioned response to his question. His respect for the woman before him increased even as he watched her sudden anger begin to fade. Her independent spirit and uncompromising principles impressed him more than he was willing to admit; what he did know was that he was becoming increasingly captivated by Beth Bennet, a fact which he was not entirely comfortable with. But a new sensation had crept into Will's heart over the last few weeks. Something that bound him to this small town, to her. He couldn't explain it any more than he could walk away from the doorway he was leaning against.

"Trying any experiments today?" asked Will suddenly. Beth was surprised by the question - he'd never shown any interest in her attempts to come up with new recipes before.

"Not today," she replied unthinkingly, simply wanting him out of her kitchen. In truth, she had been planning to try a new cookie recipe, but that would have to wait now until after he had left.

"Pity. You seem to enjoy cooking so much. It must be nice to have made a business out of a hobby."

Beth felt her temper flaring inside her. Everything he said belittled her and her business, prompting her to feel the need to explain. "After Jake came along, I had to find a way to support the two of us. Mum and Dad helped me out with some money, and I started this place. But having already worked over fifty hours this week, I'd hardly call it a hobby."

Will could have kicked himself for eliciting such a response. All he wanted was to have a normal conversation with her, but somehow that never seemed to happen.

"No, I guess not. What's the climate like for new businesses here?" This was territory he was more comfortable with.

"It's tough. I mean, I've never tried to start a business anywhere else but, this isn't the most prosperous of areas. There aren't all that many jobs, and those that there are don't pay too well. But we're doing well, we're turning a profit in our first year and I think there's room to grow in various markets. But if Caroline's looking for investments, I'd guess that you know all of that already."

The two of them talked shop for a while longer, until a call that Will had been waiting for interrupted them. Excusing himself, he stepped out of the kitchen, allowing Beth to get on with checking the order she was about to place with the local organic farm. Good ethics were just as important to her as good food, and she prided herself on using the very best ingredients from the very best suppliers. Finding herself getting disproportionately angry at finding several mistakes in her order, she was annoyed that she felt so aggravated after her conversation with Will. Something about him really wound her up but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. Charlotte had teased her about her growing obsession with him, but to her mind she was perfectly justified in her dislike of him. He was rude, insensitive, and downright boring. Pressing the send button with a defiant click, Beth resolved to think no more about Will Darcy.

Lying in bed two days later, she once again refused to be agitated by his arrogant manner. If he chose to be dismissive of her, then she would be of him too. Whatever Charlotte thought of their relationship.

Chapter Three - Devon Cream Tea

"He was fine about the whole thing, Beth. All he said was that he felt sorry for us all that we'd had to go through so much. He lost his parents about ten years ago, he was still in school at the time, so I guess he has an idea about what we all went through. But he was so great about it all. He even said that he didn't think mum was so very terrible anyway. I think he found her rather amusing!"

"Crikey. I guess maybe she is if you don't have to live with her the whole time. Sounds like he's a keeper."

Her sister's silence was more eloquent than any words. Jane had fallen hard for this guy, that much was clear, and from what she had just said, it sounded like the feeling was mutual. Beth was delighted for her sister, but she just had one question.

"Did he say anything about dear Caroline's reaction to the evening? Somehow I get the impression that she didn't find our mother so entertaining."

"Er, well, no. To be blunt. He didn't say much, but it was kind of clear that she didn't exactly have a good time. But I think we could be friends in time. She's not a bad person, and maybe when we've had more of a chance to get to know each other more without mum around things will be better."

"Maybe. But either way, it's not her you'd be marrying anyway!"

"Beth Bennet, you know that's not what I meant. We've only just started going out."

"Ok, Ok," Beth paused, then added mischievously, "but when you do get married, it still won't be to Caroline will it?"

Jane laughed, but Beth couldn't help smiling at how quickly her shy sister changed the topic of conversation.

Knowing something of Charles' and Caroline's response to the evening, Beth couldn't help wondering what Will had made of it, what he thought of Jane, how low his opinion of herself had now sunk. She'd only seen him once since the dinner party. She thought of asking Charlotte about it, but then remembered her comments in her parents' garden and decided against it. The last thing she wanted to do was encourage her housemate's flights of fancy. When he had come in for his morning coffee on the Friday, she was again taken aback by his abruptness. That anyone could be so rude amazed her, and that he continued to treat her like a stranger infuriated her, especially since she knew that she served some of the best food that he had tasted in a long time. Her anger distracted her, causing her to overcook a tray of muffins that she forgot were in the oven and giving her yet another reason to dislike him.

After his usual hour of business and phonecalls, Beth heard the tell tale signs of him preparing to leave. Expecting at the very least his customary approach to the counter to say goodbye, she wiped her hands on a cloth and went through to the shop. Just as Will picked up his bag, the door opened and one of the most gorgeous young men Beth had ever seen walked in. In her struggle to maintain some sort of dignity, Beth almost missed the look that the two men exchanged. Before she could even begin to process the emotions on each of their faces, Will shouldered his bag and stormed out of the shop, leaving the door to bang loudly in the wind as he did so.

Beth found herself looking expectantly at the beautiful stranger in front of her, as though he owed her an explanation. She couldn't help drawing comparisons, and in every one this man came out on top. Where Charles was cute, and Will was all-American but slightly boringly handsome, this guy was just incredibly sexy. His jeans were a great design and fitted perfectly, his cord coat was trendy and just begged to be touched, she even adored his stripy scarf. Everything about him was perfect for her; Beth wondered if she did believe in love at first sight after all.

"Hi, can I get a cup of tea? I'm gasping," he said, breaking a silence Beth wasn't even aware of. But as soon as she heard his voice, all she wanted was to hear it again. Instantly she knew that she could listen to his lilting Irish tones for hours without getting bored. It would be like bathing in chocolate, while drinking the finest champagne and being fed strawberries by, well, the gorgeous man in front of her maybe. Coming back to the present, Beth told the man to take a seat while she brewed him a pot.

Making the perfect cup of tea was something Beth was very particular about. Before opening Gingerbread, she had spent days searching for the best chinaware she could afford, seeking a set of tea pots that retained the heat and poured flawlessly every time. Now, she selected her very favourite pot - small and round with a chubby little spout, decorated with multi coloured polka dots and a bright blue lid - warmed it with hot water that she took from the heating kettle, then drained out the water and popped in a filter to hold the tea leaves, before adding two teaspoons of lovely English breakfast tea. With the water still bubbling in the kettle, she poured boiling water into the pot, gave it a quick stir, then set the pot, a cup and some milk onto a tray.

"Only the one cup?" he smiled up at her. "Call me old fashioned, but I think it may be a little early in our relationship for us to be sharing a cup."

Beth couldn't help laughing as she reached for a second cup. Spotting the fresh scones on the side, she slid two onto plates with a heap of jam and clotted cream each and took them back to the table with her. Introducing herself as she sat down, she and George chatted away easily. She quickly discovered that he was visiting friends in the area, was as charming as he was handsome and that he had known Will Darcy since he was a boy. Beth couldn't hide her reaction to this information. It went some way towards explaining the expressions of each man as they had met in the doorway, but there was obviously a history between the two men other than that of two old school friends.

Without having to so much as prompt him, Beth sat rapt as George revealed to Beth his tale of woe.

"Will and I grew up in the same part of New York. Will's dad was my God-father, so we knew the family well. Mr. Darcy had always promised to help set me up in business when I graduated university, which he did just before he died. It wasn't anything outrageous, a small accountancy firm, but it was my life, something I'd been dreaming of for years. But a few weeks later, Mr. Darcy finally died of the cancer he had been suffering from for years. Will was overseas at the time, and Georgi - that's his sister - was away at school, so I was the only one who was there with him when he was rushed into hospital. I spent the whole day at his bedside, talking to him, comforting him, before Will and his sister arrived. As soon as he got there, Will threw me out of the room without an explanation. He refused to let me attend the funeral, saying that it was to be a private affair for family only. Obviously Mr. Darcy was the only one who had ever considered me family.

"But Will had just lost his father so I gave him the benefit of the doubt and avoided the funeral, however much it cost me personally. But I had a new business to keep me busy. I considered it Mr. D's legacy to me, so I poured all of my energies into making it a success. At this stage, because I was trying to get myself established, Mr. D had been paying my rent. It must have been about two weeks after the funeral when I was served with an eviction notice. Will was kicking me out. I went straight round to his office to ask him what the hell was going on, but he wasn't having any of it. Even though his father had left provision for me in his will, specifically instructing Will to continue supporting my business, he simply refused. The team I had working for me were sacked and I was left with nothing; no business, no home, and a ruined reputation in the business world thanks to the rumours Will started about me.

"So I left New York, moved back to my mother's home town in Ireland, and started again there. Will's malice can't hurt me there, and I've finally managed to get myself back into management again. Now all I need is a good woman to share it all with!"

He finished his story with a disarming smile that clashed with Beth's hot anger.

"What a bastard!" she burst out. "How can anyone be so heartless?"

"The super rich live in a different world Beth. They can do what they please, and can afford to pay the people in power to turn a blind eye. You do know that Darcy is one of the richest men in New York? Able to buy anything and anyone he wants."

Beth was not impressed by this new piece of information. She had little time for wealthy people - in her experience they all too often tended to be arrogant, selfish snobs.

"What is arsey Darcy doing here anyway?" asked George. "No offence, I mean, I love the countryside and all, but this isn't exactly his usual territory."

"He's on holiday - as if he even knows the meaning of the word. With Charles Bingley?" George nodded as he recognised the name. "I think they're helping Charles' sister Caroline to check out some investment opportunities in the area."

"Really?" asked George, suddenly interested. "Any idea what kind?"

Beth shook her head. Thinking that he perhaps needed to explain himself a little, George added, "You may want to be careful around Will. He has this habit of acquiring successful little businesses, or if he can't just buy them, of setting up his own and forcing the competition out. When it comes to business he's the ultimate ruthless operator. In fact, I'm surprised to have found him in a place like this. Ethical business policies aren't exactly his style - not enough of a profit margin for his liking." He paused and looked meaningfully around him. "You appear to have a good thing going here. I'd watch him very carefully if I were you."

She couldn't miss the meaning of his words. Her mind flew back to the conversation she and Will had had a few days before. His interest in her business took on a more sinister motive.

"Tell me, beautiful Beth, tell me that you have not succumbed to Darcy's wealth. Tell me that you at least do not want to join his fan club."

"Fan club?" laughed Beth. "You won't find one of them in Meryton." She soon had them both laughing over her tale of Will's remarks about her on his first trip to Gingerbread.

"Just promise me that it's not true," pleaded a mock-desperate George.

"That what's not true, George?" asked Beth sweetly.

"That you're not, you know, gay," he asked in a charmingly awkward manner.

"And why would that be of any interest to you?"

"Because, Miss Bennet," he murmured, leaning towards her across the small table, " I find you quite the most deliciously tempting woman I have met in a very long time."

Chapter Four - Morning Coffee

Posted on Thursday, 27 October 2005

As soon as Charlotte got home that evening, Beth began relating to her all that she had learned from George.

"Isn't that just terrible? I told you he was a nasty piece of work."

"I don't know Beth. It all sounds a bit far fetched to me. You don't just ban someone from their Godfather's funeral for no good reason."

"You do if you're a jealous, selfish git like Will Darcy. He obviously felt guilty that George had been there when his father had needed him most, and took it out on George. It's pure spite that made Will disinherit him, spite and greed."

Charlotte sighed at Beth's adamant tone. She knew her best friend well enough not to bother pushing her any further. Will Darcy simply wasn't worth ruining their friendship over, and besides, she'd had a long and frustrating week at work. All she wanted now was to collapse into a hot bath and addle her brain further with trash tv.

"Sorry Char," Beth said, noticing for the first time how tired her friend seemed. "Why don't you go up and make us both a gin and tonic? I'll be done here in a few minutes. There's some soup left over for dinner."

As she finished cleaning the work surfaces and unloading the dishwasher for what felt like the millionth time that day, Beth pondered Charlotte's reaction. Jane was always the one who saw the best in people, Charlotte tended to be quite reserved in her judgements, whereas she had always believed herself to be a good judge of character. Maybe I'll get Jane to ask Charles, she thought. But then, I've seen enough to know what I think based on my own evidence. Will Darcy has never gone out of his way to be friendly to anyone: he's dour, abrupt, arrogant and uninterested in anything that doesn't offer him a chance to make even more money. George on the other hand is honest, open, funny, and more than slightly gorgeous! To her mind, there was no contest between the two men. No doubt the others would come round to her way of thinking once they actually met George and heard his story for themselves.

Beth was surprised not to see George again for a few days. After such a good chat, she had expected that he would reappear the very next day. Meanwhile Will, Charles and Caroline continued to come in most mornings. Caroline continued to be a great source of amusement to Beth, who now enjoyed Will's discomfort around his friend's sister all the more. It became obvious that Charles and Will were helping Caroline to draw up a business plan for taking over a small group of hotels around the UK. Her one aim seemed to be to gain five star exclusive status and a mention in Mr. and Mrs. Smith as soon as possible. That the project had trendy overtones was no surprise to Beth. That did, after all, appear to be Caroline's main interest. But Beth couldn't dislike Caroline: true she wasn't as friendly as her brother, but neither was she overtly rude or deliberately unkind. The worst Beth could accuse her of was snobbishness, but that was hardly surprising given her privileged background.

George's words stuck in her head, prompting her to eavesdrop more than was her wont on Will's phone conversations. If he was planning to try and put her out of business then she was going to be ready. His transatlantic phone calls all seemed to be about other topics though: stock markets, personnel disputes, media campaigns, some kind of business merger. Unwillingly she was impressed by the range of problems he dealt with so casually over his morning coffee. The only thing that seemed to phase him was Caroline's poorly timed requests for help with the business plan that she seemed to spend hours pretending to write. Having written several such documents of her own, Beth found herself itching to tell Caroline how to do it, if only to stop her from plaguing Will and all her other customers with her whining whenever she got stuck.

Beth mused over the strange friendships of Charles, Will and Caroline as she restacked the cups next to the coffee machine. It was odd that they were so close as a group and yet all so very different. Not for the first time she was struck by how much more natural a friendship between Charles and George would seem.

George. Beth would not have believed it was possible to miss someone so much after only one meeting. No doubt he was avoiding coming back while Will was there - never had Beth wanted a customer out of her shop as much as she wished Will away at that moment. Thankfully it seemed that her wishes were granted and she heard the scraping of chairs as Will finished his phone call. Alas it seemed that he was only getting up to use the bathroom. Beth sighed and went to serve an elderly couple who had just sat down, feeling Will's eyes on her as he returned from the gents. Subconsciously she adjusted her skirt and shook out her long dark hair. Shortly afterwards, while noting down the couple's order, she heard Jacob and Jane enter the shop.

The pair joined Charles and Caroline at their table, Jacob happily seating himself on Charles' lap and showering him with droplets of water from his still wet hair as he did so.

"Hey - you're getting me wet!" Charles protested.

"I've been swimming. Jane took me on the red slide."

"You were very brave," praised Jane. " Jake's teachers all have training today so the school is closed, and since I'm not busy either I thought we'd go for a swim. The red slide is the biggest one at the pool - and just between us, I'm not sure whether it was Jake or me who was most scared about going down it!"

Beth was happy to hear Charles' laughter at Jane's conversation. With the school closed, a number of mothers and their children were in the shop, making it a busy morning for her. Having Jane around to look after Jacob was a Godsend. She wasn't sure what she would do when Jane started her new job: although she wasn't planning on moving to Bristol straight away, she'd have much less time for Beth and Jacob. For today though, she was just happy to have her sister around. Beavering away in the kitchen to get orders ready, leaving Kitty to do most of the serving, she didn't notice that Jane's attention was being lavished almost exclusively on Charles. Nor was she aware that it was a male voice that was making Jacob giggle, a male voice that wasn't Bingley's.

"I can't believe how busy we are!" commented Kitty as she came into the kitchen to collect the food Beth was preparing. "Table three would like some more crumpets. And we're running low on tea - I'll grab some more when I get a second."

"Thanks Kitty. You're doing a great job. Jacob seems to be enjoying himself!"

"I know. Who'd have thought that that Darcy bloke would be so good with children? Doesn't exactly strike you as the fatherly type does he?"

Beth started at Kitty's comments. "What do you mean? What's Will Darcy got to do with anything?"

"It's him that's playing with Jacob. Telling him stories about mermaids and sea monsters or something."

Whipping the pan she was using off the stove, Beth rushed to the kitchen door. Even after Kitty had told her what to expect, she was amazed by the sight before her. Jacob, sitting on Will's lap, listening with wide eyes as he told him some fanciful tale of enchantments and magic, fairy queens and talking whales. As Beth watched, she saw Will acting out parts of the story, pulling faces and using his hands expressively to add to the drama of his tale. At that moment, he looked more attractive to her than he ever did in his more composed, executive moments. From her distance she couldn't hear much of what he was saying, but she could see Jacob writhing with laughter and Jane's amused smiles reached her easily enough.

"Beth," called Jacob when he caught sight of her watching them. "Will tells even better stories than Granddad. And he does the voices. He's funny."

Not wanting to ruin the atmosphere, Beth had no choice but to indulge her son. "Better than Granddad? Wow - it must be a really good story. I hope he's not bothering you Will," she added, hardly making eye contact as she did so.

"Not at all. We're having fun." In fact, Will was as enchanted by Beth and her son as Jacob was by his story. He tried to tell himself that he should be more careful, that it certainly wasn't fair to ingratiate himself with the boy without winning Beth first, but he just couldn't help himself. "Why don't you take a break and join us?"

"Because I'm busy?" replied Beth in a voice that dripped with sarcasm. "Jake, I want you to go and make your bed when you're done here. Then why don't you get your colouring things out and draw a picture to take to Granddad's tomorrow." Even as she spoke, Beth flinched at the harshness of her tone.

"Now?"

"No, when Will's finished his story. I'm sure he has other things he needs to be doing." Beth paused, feeling altogether unlike her usual self. "Thanks for keeping an eye on Jacob. I'll bring you all over another round of drinks," she offered by way of conciliation.

"Make mine an apple and carrot juice would you. With plenty of ice," responded Caroline, oblivious to the tension surrounding the table. "I can't get my head round these figures at all Will. Be a darling and take a look for me."

Before Will even had a chance to roll his eyes at Caroline's ill timed request, he heard Beth's huff of anger and watched with disappointment as she stalked back to her kitchen hide out.

"Really Caroline," began Charles, "was that quite necessary?"

"What?" Clearly, from the look on Caroline's face, she honestly did not have a clue what was going on. "Sometimes they don't put ice in the juices here. I'm sorry Jane, I know this is your sister's place and usually I'd say she does a pretty good job of it, but in the US you'd never be served a juice without ice in."

The others could only shake their heads at Caroline's obtuseness. Jane was beginning to grasp something of her new friend's nature - she wasn't intentionally cruel, she was simply the most self-centred person Jane had ever met. If Caroline was involved, then things ran to her schedule. Unless Will expressed a contrary opinion of course, in which case Caroline would immediately adopt his view on the matter in hand. Jane was having less success in figuring out the relationship between Will and Caroline. She was certainly possessive of him, in many ways she acted the part of his girlfriend, yet Charles had told her that the two of them had never dated, nor were they likely too. No, Jane was sure that Caroline felt only a mild attraction to Will. More likely, she was attracted to his lifestyle and the options it gave her. Being the sister of Will Darcy's best friend gave Caroline increased status in the socialite circles she loved so much. But the more Jane observed the pair of them, the more convinced she was that they were two very different people. And, she was beginning to notice, they had correspondingly different reactions to her younger sister.

"Sorry Jake," whispered Will to the small boy on his lap, "it's looks like we'll have to finish our story another time. Guess you'd better go make your bed like your mum, sorry, Beth said, then you can bring your colouring things back here and we'll do some drawing together."

"Do I have to?" asked Jacob, more to his aunt Jane than Will.

"I'm afraid so Buster," she replied. "You heard what Beth said. But if you go and do it now, you can be back here in less then five minutes and all your chores will be done."

Will lifted the little boy down from his lap and watched him as he scurried off through the kitchen. Turning his attention to Caroline, he was dismayed to see her gazing at a set of figures they had already been through at least twice.

"The thing that I really don't understand Will is why you and Charles won't give in and back me yourselves? You could write a cheque for this right now and I wouldn't have to go through al of this."

Not for the first time, Will saw the sense in Caroline's plea. He could save himself and his friend a lot of hassle by backing down on their decision to help Caroline secure funding from a third party rather than handing the business to her on a plate. It was, in their view, important for her to go into business independently, thus ensuring that she would only do so if she was willing to put in the necessary work herself. But at times like this the easy option was so much more appealing. Charles noticed the pained look on his friend's face and stepped in to answer on both of their behalf's.

"We've been through this Caroline. There's no way Will and I are financing this project. But it's a great business proposition and I really can't see that you'll have and trouble getting the capital together. Let me see those figures again and I'll try and see where you're having difficulty."

While Charles and Caroline were chatting, Will's phone rang again and Jane took up the newspaper, so that when Jacob returned to the table bearing an amount of colouring equipment that would have made any primary school proud, all of the adults were occupied. Ignoring the phone at Will's ear, he nevertheless happily crawled back onto the man's lap and caused him all kind of discomfort as he wriggled around sorting out his drawing equipment and selecting some paper to work on. Feeling surprisingly at ease with the interruption, Will was more than content to let him stay there. Jane observed the enigmatic man carefully, wishing to protect her friendly young nephew from being hurt by his unlikely new friend. But everything about his body language communicated affection for the boy, so she left the two of them alone and returned to the newspaper.

Beth had returned to the kitchen deeply distracted by all that was going on at Will's table. A pile of orders denied her any time to reflect, demanding instead that she focus her attention on blending smoothies and preparing various dishes. Pulling herself out of the distraction which had left Kitty to do most of the work for the last five minutes, she reluctantly left the relative safety of the kitchen and went out to the coffee machine to make the drinks she had promised. As she meticulously ground and tamped the coffee beans and steamed the jug of milk, she watched, fascinated, as Jacob resumed his position of Will's lap. Her heart was heavy as she watched the interaction of the two, Will gently tickling her son as he spoke on the phone. She knew that this was not a relationship she should encourage, that Will was not a suitable friend or role model for her son.

After putting all the drinks on a tray, Beth felt her resolve abandon her. Feeling unequal to the task of confronting Will with any semblance of control, Beth asked Kitty to serve their table. With an odd look at her usually composed older sister, Kitty took the tray and walked over. It was over quickly, all of them were too engaged in what they were doing to pay her much attention apart from brief thank you's, making Beth feel ridiculous for her lack of courage.

Soon after finishing their drinks, the Bingleys and Will got up to leave. Beth caught Will's eye as he was putting his coat on. He smiled a small smile and nodded to her before Caroline turned and called for him to open the car for her. Charles lingered for a moment, confirming his dinner plans with Jane for the next evening. He had hoped to spend the rest of his day with her, but she and Jacob had tickets for a story telling event at the local library. Having promised to pick her up at seven thirty, Charles followed his friends out of the shop and Jane and Jake wandered upstairs to sort out their wet swimming gear.

The morning rush dying down at last, Beth found herself confused by the events of the morning. Finally feeling free to venture out into her own shop without any sense of intimidation, she sighed in frustration as she wiped down the tables and collected in the dirty cups and glasses left behind by many happy customers. Who was this man who could be so cruel and yet so loving? She needed to know more, she was hesitant to let Jacob form a friendship with a man who thought so little of hurting people. What if Jacob had interrupted an important business call? She dreaded to imagine Will's furious response to such an accident.

The door banged in the autumn wind as three customers and a whirlwind of fallen leaves, were blown into the shop. Not being one to brood on unpleasant what-ifs for long, Beth resolved to put William Darcy out of her mind for the rest of the day and get on instead with the much more pleasant task of running the business that she loved.

Chapter Five - Sausages And Mash

On the night Jane had told him everything about her family's history, Charles had been moved to lay bare the truth of his life to Jane's inspection. He had told her of his past girlfriends. From everything he said, Jane got the impression that he just enjoyed women's company. The women he'd dated sounded varied, a few leggy blond types but also academics and professionals, from all regions of the world. He spoke of the women he had dated respectfully, but even so, Jane was not interested in adding her name to this list. She didn't want a casual relationship - she didn't have time in her life for that kind of thing. But she knew that she could find time for the right man. She had dreamed of falling in love since she was a girl reading Judy Blume books, and for the first time she thought that maybe it was happening.

Unfortunately things were more complicated than that. Three and a half thousand miles and a string of ex-girlfriends more complicated. Her heart was telling her to go for it, to trust him and let herself keep on falling. Her head told her the exact opposite, and Jane didn't know which to trust. Usually, despite appearances, she was a head person, putting her family and career above everything else. As a small girl she loved spending time in her uncle's solicitor's chambers in London, and had always known that she wanted to follow him to the bar. When Lydia had died and it became clear that her own parents were ill-equipped to care for Jacob, Beth had insisted that she be the one to leave university and look after the child. As much as Beth loved history, she knew that it wasn't exactly a vocational subject. Her great dream was Gingerbread, and an in-depth knowledge of Cold War history wasn't going to be much help when it came to setting up in business. Jane on the other hand needed to excel at university to do what she had always wanted, so really there had been no choice. And everyone was delighted with the results - both sisters had achieved their dreams and Jacob was a happy, well loved child. But suddenly, in the last few weeks, something had become more important to Jane than her career.

Playing with her hair, trying to decide how to wear it for her date with him that evening, Jane wondered, for the thousandth time that day, what were Charles' intentions towards her? Was there any future in their relationship or was it destined to end as soon as he met another pretty face?

Deeply confused yet not wanting to lose hope, Jane reached for a clip to fix into her hair and instantly knew her own heart. She would give love a chance. In her own, cautious way, she would go for it. Feeling giddy at her own boldness, Jane looked at her reflection in the mirror and was slightly disappointed by the sensible nature of her outfit. Discarding her original choice of a plain cashmere jumper, she looked through her wardrobe and discovered a beautiful white top that Beth had brought her for Christmas the previous year. At the sound of Charles pulling up outside the house, Jane grabbed her bag and umbrella and ran downstairs, excited and hopeful at the prospect of a night with the man she had fallen in love with.

While Jane was out having fun with Charles, Beth sat at her desk wishing that she could be cleaning the oven. Instead, she sat doing the job she hated beyond all others - the shop accounts. Trying to keep on top of the accounts was the bane of Beth's life, yet Charlotte and Jane, both more than capable of doing them in less than half the time it took Beth to make a complete mess of them, insisted that she should start them before they would help. And so Beth unhappily sat down one evening every fortnight and battled with sheets of figures in a vain attempt to make them balance. All of a sudden she found herself identifying with Caroline Bingley!

Pulling her hair in exasperation at yet another receipt that she couldn't identify, Beth was relieved to be distracted by the ringing of the phone. Charlotte was working late again and wouldn't make it home that night. Beth tried to encourage her stressed friend to call it a day and come home but to no avail. Charlotte's father, who ran an import-export business, had an important deal to close and Charlotte needed to get all of the paperwork together before she could finish. They were ordering in take away and looked set to pull an all-nighter to get the necessary work done. Beth could hear the misery in Charlotte's tone as she spoke and wished with all her heart that there was something she could do for her best friend. Charlotte, not being in the mood for platitudes, however well meaning, kept the phone call brief, leaving Beth no option but to go back to her accounts with even less enthusiasm that she had for them before.

Just as she sat down, Jacob wondered into the room rubbing his eyes.

"Hey buster, I thought you were in bed."

"I was, but the phone woke me up. Can I watch Thomas?"

"No baby. You need to be in bed. How about we put one of your tapes on and you can lie in bed and listen to that?"

"Ok." Seeing that he was about to fall asleep where he was standing, Beth picked up her bundle of joy and gently carried him back to his bed. Giving him a kiss on the forehead as she tucked him in for the second time that night, she put his favourite story tape into the cassette player, turned the volume down low and tiptoed out of the room, confident that he would be sound asleep within minutes. How much easier life was when you were five she thought to herself.

Picking up her highlighter pen she again squared up to the pile of invoices and receipts in front of her. Five minutes later, having made almost no progress, she fidgeted irritatedly in her chair, frustrated by her lack of ability. For the umpteenth time that day, an idea crept into her head. He's an accountant. He could have this done in no time, then I could make him dinner to say thank you. Beth picked up her mobile phone, the screen already displaying the name George and a mobile number.

With a deep breath, Beth hit the dial button and waited while the phone rang. Half expecting it to go straight to voice mail, she was embarrassingly surprised when a lilting Irish voice answered.

"Beth, hi! I was just thinking about you. How are you?"

"Hey George, I'm not so good actually. Are you busy right now?"

Falling straight back into easy conversation, George immediately accepted Beth's invitation of dinner in exchange for help with her accounts. Apparently he had spent the last few days visiting an old friend in Cornwall, but was now staying near Meryton again. Within half an hour of hanging up the phone, his gorgeous body was once again sitting at a table opposite Beth who was having to fight more than ever to concentrate on the figures in front of her.

With work all but forgotten, the pair chatted on about George's travels, cut short by the unseasonably bad weather they were having, and events in Meryton over the last few days. It didn't take long for Darcy's name to come up, although Beth chose not to tell George about Jacob's new friendship with Will. Not for anything would she let her son become a pawn in the argument between the two men. And anyway, there were many more interesting things to talk about than Darcy that the conversation soon moved on. She was pleased that George seemed genuinely keen to help her out with the accounts, and they talked for some time about the business, how she got the finance together to set it up in the first place, how it was going, what plans she had for it in the future. Beth felt that she had met a kindred spirit in George, someone who understood her passion for good food and hospitality, who appreciated the place of good ethics in business and who, conveniently enough, had an excellent head for figures.

Eventually, at George's request, they turned their attention to the pile of papers in front of them. Beth was sheepishly forced to admit that, while she tried to do the books every fortnight, it may have been slightly longer since she last looked at them properly. Moving her chair round so that she was sitting close enough to George to be completely distracted by the smell of his fabric softener, a smell she had always found sexy, she willed herself to concentrate on the spreadsheet she was showing him. Understanding her simple set up quickly enough, George soon had Beth reading out figures and finding receipts for him while he entered the information onto the laptop.

"I have an idea," said George when it became perfectly clear to him that Beth was more than capable of doing her own accounts except for the fact that she completely lacked the ability to sit and concentrate on them for more then three minutes at a time. "Why don't you go and fulfill your part of this deal and I'll do this without your so called help?"

"And I was beginning to think you'd never offer!" said Beth with a cheeky flirtatious smile. "How does sausages and mash sound?"

"Like home," was his simple answer.

Since Beth's desk was better known as the kitchen table, she and her accounting guest were able to chat while she made the dinner. By the time the meal was served George was nearly finished, so they lingered over their meal and a bottle of wine that he had brought with him. Mashed potato was Beth's favourite comfort food - for all that she cooked some amazing dishes, there was something special about potatoes, cooked with a clove or two of garlic, then mashed and mixed with mustard, butter, and milk. Served with good quality pork and apple sausages from the local butcher and plenty of onions, they were the kind of food that saved Britain's culinary heritage from the rubbish heap.

They soon got talking about their families, Beth telling George all about her sisters and idiosyncratic parents. As much as George laughed at many of her stories, he seemed to be troubled by something she had told him.

"So your sister's going out with Bingley?" Beth nodded. "You do know his reputation I take it?"

"What reputation? I don't believe it - Charles is a sweetie."

"I guess he might appear like that, but trust me, he's a womaniser. He's got a list of exes that's longer than your menu, and not many of them have much good to say about him, although he did leave a few of them with things to remember him by if you take my meaning. Seriously Beth, I've known Bingley for years, and always with his arm round a different girl. If you don't want your sister to get hurt then I'd get her as far away from Charles Bingley as possible."

Confusion walked across Beth's face. Then, she suddenly remembered that Jane was out with Charles that evening. If what George had said was true, then she might already have been hurt.

"Do you mind if I just go and call her? Only she's out with Charles now and I just want to make sure she's ok."

"Sure, you go ahead. I'm nearly done here so have a chat with your sister and by the time you've finished I'll probably have this all tied up."

"Thanks George," Beth smiled at him. She picked up her phone and walked through to call from the privacy of her bedroom.

"Jane?" she began as soon as her sister answered.

"Beth, are you ok? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm sorry for interrupting your date. It's just, I wanted to check you're ok."

"I'm fine. Better than fine - I'm having a wonderful time. Truly. Why were you worried?"

"No reason. Can you come over some time tomorrow? It feels like ages since we've had a good chat."

"I know! There's so much I want to tell you about, but Beth, our desert just got here. I'll see you tomorrow ok?"

"Cool. Have a good night sweetie."

"Night Beth."

Beth sighed as she hung up on her sister. The last thing she wanted was to see Jane get hurt. But this was new territory for the pair of them. Neither of them had dated much in the past, Beth not at all since leaving university, so their knowledge of womanising super-rich Americans was fairly scanty. She would just have to talk to Jane tomorrow and see what was going on. Her sister was a sensible lady - it was unlikely that she'd developed any deep feelings for Charles so soon.

Remembering that she had a guest, and feeling slightly guilty about having left him to do all her work for her, Beth went back to the kitchen were George was just filing away the last of the papers in her small filing cabinet.

"You didn't have to do that."

"It's a pleasure. I don't mind really," he reassured her with a grin. "It's nice to complete a piece of work and get it all tidied away. Otherwise I get the impression that the papers might just sit here in a pile for a few more days until Charlotte or Jane take pity on you and put them away for you."

"You know me too well!"

"No, but I'd like to," he murmured in what she supposed was meant to be a sexy voice. "I'd like to get to know you very well Gorgeous."

No doubt it was intended to sound romantic and tempting, but Beth had to fight down a sardonic grin at his words. The moment was lost, and she found herself longing for her bed. Deliberately not suppressing a yawn, Beth led the way out of the kitchen and down to the front door, hoping he would take the hint.

"Thanks for all your help tonight George. I really enjoyed your company."

"Me too. Any time you need help with your accounts, or anything else for that matter, I'll be here."

"Are you expecting to be in town much longer then? I thought you were just passing through."

"Initially I was, but it seems there's more to interest me in this little town than I expected." The slightly leery tone had returned to his voice.

Standing in the hall by the door, Beth found herself strangely anxious to get George out of the house. His attitude had somehow changed and it was disturbing her. The way he was looking her up and down made it clear that he wanted something from her, something she wasn't prepared to give, and she wasn't sure of the best way to get rid of him. She reached for his coat, but before she could hand it to him he had her pressed against the wall, with his face leaning down into hers.

"Let's go back upstairs Beth," his hand carressed the side of her face, sending shivers of disgust through her. "Then I can show you exactly how interested I am."

"George, no. What are you doing?"

"You know you want this, Gorgeous. And god knows, you're all I've been able to think about for the last few days."

Shocked by his actions, Beth found herself unable to think clearly. When he moved his hand to her thigh and went to kiss her, she responded instinctively and brought her knee up to his groin. Bending over in pain, George swore at her in a breathless voice as he pulled his coat on, all of a sudden keen to leave the house.

"You stupid tease. Is this how you get your kicks? Pretending that you're going to give some out and then changing your mind at the last minute?"

Unexpectedly, the front door opened and Charlotte walked in. Taking in the scene in a quick look and seeing how pale Beth looked, she moved to stand next to her friend.

"Are you ok? What happened? Beth - speak to me."

"It's alright Charlotte. George is just leaving. Thanks for your help George. I'm sorry it all worked out this way."

Without another word, George walked through the open door. The two women watched as he got into his car and drove off, then they carefully locked the front door and walked upstairs together. Charlotte was surprised to see tears in her friend's eyes as she turned out the lights in the hallway.

"Beth?"

"It's ok Charlotte. Nothing happened. You came home just at the right moment."

"I'm just glad I did. Come on, let's go upstairs, you can tell me all about it in the morning."

At the top of the stairs, the girls hugged tightly, then turned and went to their separate bedrooms.

Continued in Next Section