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Part 1

t's so cool that we've been asked to come to the Netherfield International Swim Meet again," said Charles Bingley enthusiastically. "We had such a good time last year." Being a breaststroker, he was always cheerful. For some odd reason, breaststrokers were lots of fun. "I wonder what Marianne's own swimmers are like." Marianne was the coach who was taking them and a few other good swimmers along with her own team.

"I've never heard of them. They probably can't even swim," William Darcy said without interest. He was a freestyler, and again for some odd reason, most freestylers took themselves and their swimming very seriously. No pre-start fun during a freestyle event, whereas breaststrokers were always laughing and joking before the start.

"Does that matter?"

"Yes, it does. Their interests and mine won't be the same, and they will only be a nuisance. They will run around all night, not caring that some of us need sleep."

Charles did not share his fears and laughed at him. "Oh do shut up! They won't even stay at the hotel with us."

At the airport, it was easy to pick out the swimmers, if only because some carried Speedo bags. Jane and Lizzie Bennet were taken there by their mother. Of the two, Jane was the better swimmer, and at age twenty-three she was two years older than her sister. Mrs. Bennet was one of those swimming mothers who attended every practice and every meet, armed with a stopwatch. Like the other mothers her chief occupation during the hours spent in the pool was to gossip about everyone in the swimming world. There was not a lot that she did not know, or thought she knew. Whenever a little piece of information was missing, she or one of the other mothers would simply make it up. Mrs. Bennet had eagerly offered to drive her daughters to the airport. It might give her something to talk about.

"That William Darcy is handsome, is he not?" she whispered to her daughters, who looked embarrassed, because she was always trying to pair them with everyone. "I hear he swims a 49 in the hundred freestyle."

"I wonder if he would be just as attractive if he swam a 59," Lizzie remarked to Jane. Personally, Lizzie had to agree that William was indeed handsome, but she thought he looked proud and conceited, and that was something she abhorred.

Everyone was introduced to each other, and they went to check in. "I have seat 6D," William said to Charles, who had 11A.

"You'll be seated next to Lizzie then," Charles said enthusiastically, as if he were telling William some wonderful news. As William pulled a face he looked puzzled. "What? Lizzie is a very nice girl. I thought she was almost as pretty as her sister when we were introduced just now, and good fun."

"She is tolerable I suppose, but I'm hardly in the mood to amuse myself with average swimmers."

Lizzie could not help overhearing this exchange, and she was speechless. She swallowed her indignation however, and decided to make light of it. She ran to her friend Charlotte and told her.

"I don't even want to sit next to him anymore. I don't think I could take it if he would be so condescending as to speak to me during the flight."

Charlotte chuckled. "Why don't you change seats with my neighbour?"

"Who's your neighbour?"

"I don't know yet. But I'm sure he or she won't mind."

"Are you going to buy anything when we're there?" Lizzie asked.

"Yeah. Speedo's! My training suits are all worn. They're even too thin to wear one over the other. And I draw the line at wearing three swimsuits. I really need new ones. Every time I make a flip turn..."

Lizzie giggled. "they hang at your knees," she finished the sentence.

Part 2

s they got on the plane, Charlotte discovered that she was sitting next to their teammate William Collins. Oh Lord! Where are you, Lizzie? Switch! William Collins was a pompous bore. The trip would have a very bad start if she had to sit next to him for an hour.

"Lizzie! There you are." She motioned with her eyes. "Why don't you ask Collins here if he can sit next to William?"

"Will you mind terribly if I sit next to Charlotte? You can have my seat next to William Darcy," Lizzie said with her most angelic smile. "He might teach you some tricks of the trade. You know, whether you should make a knot in the elastic band of your goggles or not. It could make a difference, in being aerodynamic, you know?" she said seriously.

William Collins rose quickly. "But of course I won't mind. Here, have my seat." He collected his hand baggage and made his way towards seat 6E.

Lizzie sat down, and burst into giggles. "He is so stupid!"

Charlotte looked ahead at his retreating figure. "That was a smart move. William Darcy is going to be overjoyed," she commented.

"Ha!" said Lizzie.

William Collins tapped William Darcy's shoulder. "Excuse me, I would like to sit next to you, if it isn't too much trouble for you to let me pass. You probably avoid excessive movements, to spare yourself for the races. One as good as you should do that. I praise such an attitude." He squeezed himself past William and sat down. "Catherine de Bourgh is your coach, isn't she? Yes, I thought so. She is a most excellent coach, an example for other coaches indeed. When I last spoke to her, she told me...Oh, how rude of me. I have not even introduced myself properly. My name is Collins, actually it's William Collins, but everyone calls me Collins. And with your name also being William, please call me Collins because you have far more right to that name than I do. You even swam in Atlanta, I believe?"

"I did."

"It's such a pleasure sitting next to you."

William Darcy turned to see if there was a familiar face nearby to rescue him. He saw Lizzie watching him with a smirk on her face. He could swear she was making fun of him.

Part 3

ot much happened before the meet. Lizzie had the chance to observe those she only knew by sight. Caroline amused her. She was always trying to impress William Darcy. It seemed like he was her next project. Of course she had heard all the gossip about Caroline. She had already dated quite a few top swimmers, but dumped them as soon as someone faster came along. She gave the impression of being friendly to Jane. Lizzie wondered if that was because Jane was also a fast swimmer.

The warming up had started, and most swimmers were in the water, except William. This is an important meet, but of course it's not worth warming up properly for if you compare it to the Olympics, Lizzie thought. Five minutes before the end of the warming up, when Lizzie and Jane came out, he took off his shirt and dug into his bag for his goggles. Oh right, five minutes should do the trick if you're as good as you are. That's probably all you need to win. Lizzie was a bit disgusted with his attitude, and walked away to change into a dry swimsuit.

Charles suggested they play a game of cards to fight boredom. He had no events to swim for a while, and neither had Jane or Lizzie. "Will you join us for a game of cards, William?"

"No," said William brusquely. "I have to concentrate."

Well, concentrate ahead, mister world-class swimmer, we'll have fun without you, Lizzie thought to herself. Who you think you are?

"Fitz?" Charles asked. "How about you?" Fitz Williams was a talented butterflyer, in and out of the water. All the girls fell for him, and he flew from one to the other like a butterfly. He agreed to play.

He was rather amusing and Lizzie could not help laughing out loud at some of his jokes, and she saw William watching her with a disapproving look. "Are we disturbing your concentration?" she said sarcastically, expecting him to say 'yes', but he didn't.

"Not at all," he said, but then his attention was claimed by Caroline, who wanted him to zip her into the latest model Aquablade swimsuit. Jane watched with interest, because she was still considering buying one herself.

"Where did you buy that one, Caroline?" she asked.

Caroline laughed at this stupid question. "I did not buy one, I never buy my suits."

"You steal them?" Lizzie asked innocently.

"Oh no, dummy! I get them, for rendered services to the national team," Caroline said proudly.

"I've heard about those services," Fitz said in a low voice and Lizzie burst into laughter.

Part 4

here were only heats in the morning, and the twelve fastest would qualify for the finals in the afternoon. Lizzie had not expected to make it into a final, so she was very happy when she finished fourth. The only one of their group who did not qualify for a final was Collins, but no one cared enough to feel sorry for him.

Lizzie did know that William witnessed her race, as most of them watched the others' races. What she did not know was that he was a little impressed.

"She has a good technique," he admitted to her coach Marianne, who happened to sit next to him.

"Yes, she does," Marianne agreed. She looked at her stopwatch and wrote down the split times. William could not help looking at them.

"Wow!" he said involuntarily. "Does she really swim the second two hundred as fast as the first two hundred?" That was something he had never achieved, unless he started out really slow. "How much is that above her best time in the two hundred?"

"Three seconds."

He swallowed. Three seconds! I couldn't do that. That's amazing. He began to have a little respect for Lizzie's swimming abilities, and the way she smiled when she came out. It was such a difference from Caroline's dissatisfied look and her complaints.

"Boys, who is swimming the 4x50 medley relay?" Marianne asked. A medley relay consisted of four people each swimming a different stroke. The question proved to be a difficult one, since there was not really a backstroker in the group.

"I do the butterfly," Fitz said with a big grin, as he stared after two blondes.

"And I the breaststroke," Charles added.

William said nothing, feeling that his position as freestyler was unchallengeable.

"Hang on!" Dan interrupted. He was thirty-one, and a breaststroker too. "What about me? You're not going to leave the backstroke for me, are you?" Breaststrokers are usually pretty bad backstrokers.

"I'm the fastest breaststroker now," Charles grinned.

"Overruled! I'm older," Dan retorted playfully.

"You have a good freestyle too, so if you do the freestyle, William can do the backstroke," Charles negotiated.

"No way," William said decidedly. "I will not swim the backstroke."

"Why not?" cried Charles.

"I want to do the freestyle, and nothing else."

"What are you all fussing about? Let Collins swim the backstroke if William doesn't want to," Fitz suggested.

This suggestion was met by horrified cries. They were ambitious enough not to let Collins ruin their chances of winning. The spirited debate continued for at least another fifteen minutes. At last, William had no choice but to give in and swim the backstroke. Lizzie had been listening to the whole discussion with interest, all too willing to see more proof of her being right in thinking William Darcy an arrogant and conceited person.

Part 5

etween the heats and the finals they had four hours of free time. The swimmers staying at the hotel retired to their rooms to rest, and the others had to amuse themselves, or go up to someone else's room. Lizzie stayed downstairs to watch TV, and Jane had gone upstairs to lie down on a spare bed because she had a headache. After a while, Lizzie got bored and walked up to check on Jane. The only problem was that she didn't know which room Jane was in. She had heard something about room thirty-two, so she supposed someone of their group must be occupying it. Tentatively, she knocked on the door, not sure what to do if a total stranger would open.

"Hi Lizzie, come in." It was Charles who greeted her.

"I came to see how Jane was doing," she said as she stepped into the room. Charles was playing cards with William, Caroline and her friend Louisa. They were using William's bed for a table, at least, that was what she thought. She couldn't imagine him occupying the other bed. It was totally covered with junk.

"Jane is resting in our room," Caroline sounded as if this was a great favour.

"Do you want to join us?" Charles invited her, but she declined, saying that she wanted to see if Jane was all right first.

When she came back, she told them Jane was asleep. Apart from Charles, no one seemed interested, but she had not expected them to be. Lizzie pushed some junk off Charles' bed so she could sit down. Even if they were ignoring her, it would be more agreeable to sit here than downstairs. Caroline was continually complimenting William, on his game, on this morning's performance, on anything. She tried hard to get his attention, but he was hardly ever tempted to say anything.

The radio was on, and when it played some rap song, Charles cried out, "this is good! Turn it up."

"Good?" William turned up his nose in distaste. "How can you like that? It's bad."

"Yes, how can you like that? It's bad!" Caroline echoed.

"Then what do you think is good music?" Lizzie asked. Not that she liked rap music, but for some strange reason she enjoyed challenging William's tastes.

"Good music, with good lyrics."

"And what is good music?" She tried to discover inconsistencies in his taste. Suppose he likes a song that has a rap part, when he says that he doesn't like them.

Unfortunately for Lizzie their conversation was interrupted by Jane's arrival. Caroline was overflowing with concern for Jane's headache, and Jane assured her that she was feeling much better.

"Thanks for letting me use your spare bed, Caroline. Lizzie, shall we go downstairs to call home?" Lizzie agreed, she wanted to call home too, and they left the room.

Caroline immediately began talking about them when they had left. "Jane is a nice girl, but I'm not so sure about Lizzie. Why did she come on this trip anyway? She can't win anything!"

"Lizzie is very nice too," Charles defended her.

"You're just being loyal because you like her sister," said Caroline's devoted imitator Louisa.

"No, really! I like her."

"But you have to admit that she really has no business at this meet," Caroline persisted.

"At least she smiled after she swam. If everyone acted as bad tempered as you did, can you imagine how awful that would be?" This defense of Lizzie came from William, unexpectedly, and it shut Caroline up most effectively.

The finals were about to start when the first child approached some of them for autographs, and soon more followed. Lizzie thought it was a hoot, after all, they were not exactly famous. But the children did not care, all they wanted was to have the most autographs. They even wanted Collins's autograph, and he swelled with pride. Lizzie spotted him practicing a distinguished signature on small scraps of paper and she was thoroughly amused. The whole autograph business seemed to be contagious, for it looked like every child among the spectators came by to ask for one. Fitz' autograph was the most looked after, he had been there for half a day, and already he had several female fans. They asked him to sign his name everywhere, even on their hands and on their arms.

William did not particularly like being approached for autographs because he never knew what to write, so he just scribbled down his signature. He was more occupied with other thoughts.

"Why are you smiling?" Caroline had sat down next to him, and she thought it was because of her. But he had not even noticed her.

"I'm not smiling."

"Yes, you are. What were you thinking of?" she said conspiratorially.

"I was thinking how funny it is that someone can make you smile without doing anything."

Caroline looked very satisfied. He must be talking about me! I know he is. This is working out just the way I want it.

Part 6

here was another swimmer at the meet whom some in their group were acquainted with, and frequently talked to. His name was George Wickham, and Lizzie thought he was quite likable. He was also one of the fastest swimmers, but contrary to William Darcy, he talked to everyone. It appeared he and William did not get along very well together. In fact, they did not speak at all.

"Do you know William well?" he asked Lizzie.

"As well as I would like. I have known him for two days, and I can't say I really like him," she replied.

"I have known him for a very long time, but it's not up to me to say if he is nice or not."

"I don't know if there is anyone here who really likes him, except Charles," she said doubtfully.

"Although he has wronged me greatly, I could never speak ill of him," said George Wickham, to Lizzie's great interest. What could he possibly mean? She was extremely anxious for him to expand on the subject.

"I'm very happy to come here. I was so disappointed two years ago that I almost gave up swimming. In fact I did, for about half a year," George continued.

"Why? What happened?"

"I missed Atlanta, through Darcy's doing."

"Really!" Lizzie could imagine what a blow it would be to miss the Olympics, and she was appalled to hear that William could have anything to do with it. She was dying to hear more. "What did he do?"

"I have know him for a long time. He does not like me, and he was afraid I would beat him. You see, we were competing for the same place on the team. It was either him or me. He prevented me from swimming my best, so I did not make the team."

Lizzie was shocked. It was incomprehensible to her that someone would willfully obstruct another person's plans, and thereby destroy his dreams, even if he did not like that person. She was so ready to condemn William, that she did not ask what exactly it was that he had done, and formed her own judgment.

"He can be good and nice, but only to his family and friends. He is generally thought to get along very well with his sister."

Lizzie knew the name Georgiana Darcy, because she was a young and talented swimmer. "What is his sister like?"

"I don't want to sound too bad, but though she was very nice and friendly when she was younger, she has grown just as arrogant and proud as her brother," George said apologetically.

No wonder they get along so well then. Lizzie was silent for a while. "How can Charles like him?" She really did not understand.

"I don't know Charles."

"I'm sure he is too good to realise what sort of person William is."

"Maybe he is. But William can be very agreeable, if he chooses. To people he thinks are interesting enough."

Here they were interrupted by Jane, who wanted Lizzie to come with her to the hall to look at swimsuits. She told Jane what George had just related to her. Jane was not so eager to believe him, and she refused to take a side.

Part 7

he finals went very well. William, Charles, Fitz and Caroline all won money. Lizzie did not know it, but she observed William a great deal. If someone would have asked her, she would have had to admit that William was not a bad sight in speedo's, but since no one asked, the thought did not occur to her. She was more occupied with his behaviour than with his looks. He's not even glad he won! Did he expect to win or something?

After the first day of the meet, the swimmers walked back to the hotel. Everyone was to eat dinner there, even the ones staying with families. Lizzie and Charlotte were the first, and they had already chosen a table when William showed up. Charlotte had left for a moment to make a phone call, and Lizzie was alone. He indicated the chair opposite Lizzie.

"Do you mind if I sit there?" he asked.

Lizzie was so surprised that she had no control over what she said. "No, of course not." He hung his coat over the chair and disappeared again. When he was gone, Lizzie realized what she had done and she regretted it deeply. How could I ever have been so stupid as to say I didn't mind? Of course I mind! He's the most...the most...oh! there is Charlotte again.

"You don't want to know who's going to spoil our dinner," she said to Charlotte when she sat down again.

"Who?"

"William! Oh! I should have said no!"

"What happened?" Charlotte was curious.

"He walked up to me and asked if I minded if he sat there! And I said no! I don't believe it!" Lizzie's agitation was obvious.

"I'm sure it will be all right. What are you worrying about, I'm still here too, aren't I?" Charlotte said.

"He must be in a particularly benevolent mood tonight after winning all that money," Lizzie said sarcastically.

"Why?" Charlotte frowned.

"Well, actually sharing a table with us, average people!"

"Who knows, you might even find him an agreeable table companion," Charlotte soothed.

"I'm sure I shall not," Lizzie said with determination.

Part 8

ollins was the third person to reach the dining room. He headed straight for their table since they were the only ones there. Lizzie shot an alarmed look at Charlotte. She had been complaining about sharing a table with William earlier, but sharing it with Collins was even worse.

"May I sit with you ladies?" he asked.

"That seat has been taken," Charlotte informed him. This had not the desired effect however, because he immediately lowered himself on the fourth seat, opposite Charlotte.

Oh, what a fun meal will I be having! Now I've got two people to annoy me. Why, why, why does this always happen to me? Why did I have to be the first in here so they had to join me out of politeness? Lizzie was not in the best of moods.

William did not say a word when he sat down, and Lizzie was not intent on speaking either. On the right side of the table, Charlotte and Collins were having an animated conversation. Ugh, Lizzie shuddered, poor Charlotte. William seemed quite content to be silent, and that motivated her to speak to him.

"How much did you win today?"

"Fifty," he answered, but he did not say any more.

After the waiter had brought them their soup, and William had still not said anything, she spoke again. "It's not forbidden to say anything, you know. You ought to speak to the people you share a table with."

"If you say so, I will, but I'm eating."

"That doesn't matter. It's uncivil to be silent. Although," she reflected, "sometimes it's more agreeable not to say too much," glancing at Collins who had been boring Charlotte with his monologue for the past ten minutes. "But now that we have spoken a few words and we have done our duty until the main course, we may be silent again."

William looked at her curiously. "Is that for your sake or for mine?"

"For both," she declared. "Neither of us likes to speak unless we have something great to say." He did not look as if he agreed with her statement, and she did not continue the subject.

"Did you swim well?" he asked when the main course was served.

"Yes, I did," was her short reply, and they ate in silence again until dessert.

"Do you know many people at the meet?" William asked.

"I know everyone in our group," Lizzie answered, "and I know George Wickham. I met him today, and I think he's really nice." William looked angry. Yes, you would be angry to hear that I like your rival, Lizzie thought.

When they had finished dessert, someone yelled "coffee everyone?" and they had to keep sitting for a while longer. William departed as soon as he had finished his drink. Shortly after that, their coach came into the dining room with a folded piece of paper. "Where is William? I've got a fax for him from Catherine De Bourgh."

"He's already gone up," said Collins, "but I'll give it to him." Collins took possession of the fax and eyed it hungrily.

"Collins!" Lizzie exclaimed. "You're not going to read it, are you?"

"Catherine De Bourgh!" Collins exclaimed, "the best coach in the country. She's truly excellent. What does she write?"

"You can't read a message meant for someone else," Lizzie urged him.

"Do not interfere. Marianne gave it to me and not to you. And people should not use faxes if they want their messages to be private."

Lizzie shook her head, not being able to argue with such stubbornness and stupidity.

Part 9

he next morning, Lizzie's host family had to be at the pool early, because they were part of the organization, and they brought Lizzie with them. It would be at least thirty minutes before the masses of swimmers arrived, so she sat down on the floor in the hall with a book. Her peace and quiet was disturbed by Collins, who also had been dropped off early.

"Hello Lizzie," was his enthusiastic greeting, and with a thud he sat down next to her.

Oh hell! Let me just say hello to him, and keep on reading. Maybe he will get the hint and move on. She gave him a barely civil greeting, but, alas, he did not take the hint.

He came a bit closer and lowered his voice. "Do you want to know what was in that fax William got?"

Lizzie closed her eyes. "No, I do not want to know!" Get away from me! She leaned the other way.

Collins grinned. "You're just saying that because that's good manners. But I know that deep in your heart you really want to know."

"No!" Lizzie said with her fists clenched, thinking she'd scream if he came much closer.

"I admire good manners, really, but you don't fool me. Catherine De Bourgh said..." and he closed his eyes to recall the exact words. "I expect to see a 1.50. Someone of your calibre is not worthy of anything less. You will take this meet seriously and you will not fool around. Now what do you think about that? I think -"

"Collins, I am really not interested in William or his faxes, or in Catherine De Bourgh, or in your opinions on all those things. Will you just shove off, it does not interest me!" and with an angry glare she got up and headed for the ladies' room, the one place he could not follow her into.

After the warming up, she had a chance to speak to Charlotte, whose attention had been claimed by Collins before that time.

"Catherine De Bourgh is coming," Charlotte told her.

"Nah! The queen of coaching herself. Why? Is her star pupil not behaving himself properly?" she said sarcastically.

Collins joined them, practically jumping up and down. "I have already spoken to her!"

It was on Lizzie's lips to say Good for you, Collins. Did she actually answer you? but she feared that was too rude.

"We must do our utmost best now that she is here," Collins continued.

"Really?"

"Oh look, there she is," he said with awe.

Catherine De Bourgh had a very authoritative manner, and it was obvious that she thought well of herself. Lizzie thought she was an interfering busybody. She had something to say to everyone she passed on the way to the chair Collins had reserved for her, regardless of if she knew them or not.

"Caroline, you should have done much better . Now if you had listened to me, and taken those vitamin pills, you would not have fallen ill three weeks ago," she said to Caroline, who tried to smile politely, but failed.

"And you my dear," she said to Lizzie in an icy tone, "hasn't anyone ever told you to stay warm during competition? Put something on!"

"No thanks. It's hot enough in here," Lizzie replied.

Catherine De Bourgh's eyebrows shot up. Obviously she was not used to people who questioned her good advice and did not obey her immediately.

During the morning heats, Catherine De Bourgh was talking to William, no doubt discussing his swimming strategy. Lizzie was listening to Fitz, who was telling one of his amusing stories. She noticed William watching her, but she could not understand why. Just before she had to swim her race, she went into the warming up pool to swim a few laps, and she noticed that William had placed himself on a chair that gave him a good view of the warming up pool. It was very disconcerting, and she was determined to let him know that she knew what he was up to.

"Perhaps you think you unnerve me when you observe my technique so closely. But I assure you, it will not work, and you will not see any faults, because I can swim tolerably well under close scrutiny."

"I will not defend myself, because I know you did not mean what you said. I know you well enough to know that half of the time you say things you don't mean," William answered, and he leaned his elbows on his knees.

"You're saying no one should believe what I say? It's not very wise of you, you know, to say something about me , because it follows naturally that I say something equally disturbing about you ."

"Go ahead," William smiled.

"You hardly provide interesting dinner conversation. If it weren't for Collins, our table would have been very dull indeed," she said humourously.

"I had nothing to say. I did not know my table companions very well."

Lizzie raised her eyebrows. "And it did not occur to you that this might have been an excellent opportunity to get to know them?"

Catherine De Bourgh came nearer, looking as if she disapproved of William wasting his time talking to Lizzie. "Why aren't you preparing yourself?" William rolled his eyes, but he got up, nevertheless.

Part 10

hat evening there was a party for the officials and the swimmers at the hotel. Lizzie wasn't planning on going, because she wanted to go to bed early to rest for the next day. She was surprised to see William approach her after the meet. What could he possibly want?

"I have been thinking," he said.

Oh.

"Are you coming with me to the party?"

Lizzie stared at him. He must be nuts.

"It's very hard for me to say this, I couldn't really be seen with you at that party, and I tried to overcome the urge to ask you, but...I couldn't. I really like you."

Lizzie still stared at him. He can't be seen at that party with me. Why not?

"It would not do, to take a lesser swimmer," he explained.

Lizzie kept staring. She could not believe her ears. This is impossible! I don't like him, and I thought he didn't like me either. And now he says he likes me, and he wants to take me to that party. But what is this about my not being a good enough swimmer for him? Really! Does he think I'll say yes after such an insult? He looks like he's confident that I will. No way, mister! It took a while before she could speak. "No, I won't go with you."

He looked surprised, and a little angry she thought. "You will not?"

His reaction only served to aggravate her further. "No, I will not."

"Why not?"

"Why not! You dare to ask me why not? I can't believe it! When I first laid eyes on you I knew that you were the most arrogant and conceited person I had ever seen. Everything you have said and done the past few days has proven that. I do not like you at all. You feel yourself to be above everyone who does not swim as well as you do. Why would I ever go out with you when you have insulted me like you did just now?" She turned and walked away, her heart beating fast and her head spinning.

Lizzie was so upset that she hardly heard what her host family were talking about. She was glad that they stopped talking to her for a while when their favourite soap series came on. For half an hour her mind was occupied trying to figure out who was who, because she never followed that series. After that, she had a cup of tea, and excused herself. In bed, she kept going over the little scene in her mind. Her head was in considerable turmoil.

William did go to the party. The others dragged him along and he did not want to explain why he did not want to go. Caroline was immensely pleased. She saw this as her chance to finally secure William's affections, now that there were no other competitors on the scene.

"William, want a beer?" said Fitz, and without waiting for an answer, he handed William a pint. William had planned to stick to orange juice or coke, but now that he had a beer in his hands, he might as well drink it. He took a sip. Caroline gave Fitz an approving look. Who knows what might happen if William had a bit too much beer? He might loosen up, and go after her. She stared into space dreamily, as she sipped her drink, non-alcoholic, because she had to keep a clear head to reach her goal.

Part 11

illiam was very mad at himself. Could I not have worded it differently? Why did she have to take it as an insult? It was not my intention to insult her. Without knowing what he did, he drank his beer, and a next one, and a next one, as long as people kept offering, like Caroline did. Caroline was not usually the type to buy someone a drink. She preferred to be treated to one, like she preferred to have her bags carried. But this case called for a different approach. Charles, who knew her fairly well, was only a little surprised, it was not in his nature to be suspicious.

"A few more and he's mine," she murmured to herself as she ordered the sixth round.

The next morning, Lizzie woke with a slight headache from a lack of sleep. She had thought about William's insult all night. She had been ready to kill him last night, but today was a new day. She rubbed her head and sighed. It was the last day of the meet and it would not do to let this affect her swimming. She would avoid William, and she would never speak to him again.

William woke equally miserable when his alarm went off. He felt like someone was banging him on the head. He moved. "Ah! Ouch!" he grunted.

"Morning!" Charles greeted him cheerfully as he jumped out of the bed energetically and pulled open the curtains.

"Charles!" William yelled, and he quickly closed his eyes.

Charles turned on the tv. "Turn it off!" William pulled a pillow over his head.

"Come on, get up! It's the 50 freestyle today."

"I'm not racing."

"What?" Charles shouted. "How about those fifty pounds?"

"I don't feel well."

"Ha! You could have known you'd be feeling bad after all those drinks. Man! You were so drunk, you didn't even know what you were doing!" Charles laughed.

"What did I do?" William asked suspiciously. If Charles was laughing at it, it must have been something stupid.

"Catherine will be mighty pleased," Charles said to vex William.

William turned to Fitz. "Fitz, what did I do?" he pleaded.

"Sorry pal, I was too busy with that backstroke girl. Ha! Do you think I paid any attention to you?"

William sunk back on his bed and closed his eyes. He feared the worst.

Part 12

he next day, it turned out that everyone had heard something about Darcy's behaviour. Even Lizzie's host family knew. They had attended the party, because the mother was in charge of security, and the father was presenting a medal. "I heard there was a swimmer who drank fifteen pints," Lizzie's host mother told her in a shocked voice when she was having breakfast.

"Really, who?"

"I don't know," her host mother confessed.

Arriving at the pool, she told herself that she was glad that she did not see William. She did see Collins, however. "You were not at the party last night," he stated.

"That's very...observant of you."

"You missed some great fun."

"No doubt. You missed some sleep."

"Oh! There is Catherine De Bourgh. I have something to tell her," he exclaimed with a malicious smile.

Lizzie was then approached by Jane. "I just called home."

"This early?" It was barely half past eight.

Jane grinned. "It may be early for you and me, but it's late for Lydia. She hasn't gone to bed yet - a party."

"I swear I think she's the milkman's sometimes. How can we possibly be related?"

"She had some most interesting news," Jane continued. "Caroline called Patricia in the middle of the night, and you know Patricia is a friend of Lydia's." She paused to look at Lizzie. "To tell her she's involved with William."

"What?" she gasped. "That's impossible."

Jane looked at her strangely. "Why?"

Lizzie recovered herself. Why should it affect her so much? Of course, she knew why; she was angry at his fickleness. This went to show that he cared about no one but himself. He shifted his attentions from one person to another like it was nothing. "Caroline must be in heaven. Well, she deserves him."

Collins tried to engage Catherine De Bourgh in conversation. "Mrs. De Bourgh," he said humbly. "I wonder if you could advise me on something. I have heard that your advice is excellent."

The lady rolled her eyes impatiently. "What do you want, uhh...?"

"Collins, William Collins," Collins said hastily. "But Collins will do, because your pupil William Darcy is also called William, and that might be rather confusing if -"

Mrs. De Bourgh cut him short, "yes, all right. I see."

"Would you advise me to buy aquablades?"

"Well, I'd say that is up to you. It's your money. But I have heard that aquablade swimsuits make you go faster. You should try it out, or ask other swimmers. William, come here!" she called to William, who was at that moment entering the door. William approached reluctantly. "Get a move on," his coach told him. "Why are you so late?"

"I'm not racing."

Catherine De Bourgh gave William a piercing look. "Did I hear that correctly?"

"Yes."

"No pupil of mine pulls out of a race. You're swimming." Whatever Catherine De Bourgh said always happened, and she was confident that William would listen to her.

"I don't feel well," he objected.

"How come?"

William closed his eyes. He did not want to tell her. "I'm all right," he said eventually.

"Good," said Mrs. De Bourgh with satisfaction. "Go get changed." William disappeared downstairs and she was left alone with Collins, who saw his chance to ingratiate himself with the great coach.

"I know why he isn't feeling well," Collins said confidentially.

Part 13

here were three highly popular shower cabins in the Netherfield pool. Contrary to the open shower area, one could adjust the water temperature here, as well as have some privacy. It was no wonder that they were usually all three of them occupied. Lizzie spotted a vacant cabin, and gladly took it. She wanted to be alone because she couldn't stop thinking about the whole situation. From her cabin she saw William pass by. Evidently he was also looking for a shower. He noticed her, and stopped. She felt a little alarmed when he came nearer. She had nothing to say to him, his behaviour had been disgusting.

"I need to talk to you," he said.

"But I don't want to talk to you ," Lizzie said emphatically.

"Please, you must."

"Go away, I don't like you. After all the things you have done, you expect me to be nice to you?"

"What did I do?"

"You dare to ask me? First, you go around acting like you're some kind of superstar who's too good or the rest of us. Second, I heard from George Wickham how you prevented him from making the Olympic team. Third, you have insulted me by saying you cannot be seen with me because I'm not good enough for you." She looked at him defiantly. She did not say, "fourth, you tell me you like me and then dump me for Caroline a few hours later," but it was somewhere in the back of her mind.

William's expression was even sterner than usual. Without saying another word, he turned and walked away. Lizzie let out her breath. He makes me so angry!

William walked away. He thought of her accusations. It did not take him long to realise that she might have been right about his attitude, but she was definitely wrong about Wickham. What could he do to acquit himself if she would not listen? He sat down on his seat and picked up the programme to see if he was due to swim soon. Absentmindedly he drew a circle around Lizzie's name. The pen in his hand gave him an idea. He would write down his explanation. That would be best, he was too tongue-tied in her presence and he would not be able to say things clearly the way he wanted it.

"Why isn't he feeling well?" Catherine De Bourgh demanded.

"I have heard, from some people, who are very reliable I must say, I have never caught them saying anything but the truth, that William had too much to drink."

Mrs. De Bourgh eyes blazed. "How unprofessional! And where did this happen?"

"At last night's party," Collins supplied eagerly. "I was there for a while, but I left fairly early because I take my competitions seriously, but nevertheless I heard..."

"This is not to be borne!"

"I heard more..."

"More!"

"Something that involved Caroline."

"He was involved with Caroline?" Mrs. De Bourgh was about to explode. "Does he not know that my Anne is in love with him?"

Caroline wore a very satisfied expression on her face. Knowing she could not catch William just by being herself, she had had to resort to mean tricks. And it had worked. She had fooled everyone into believing that she had been involved with William last night, even William himself. She had known William would be too decent to ignore her and tell her it had been a one night stand. Now he was hers and Caroline was quite proud of herself.

Part 14

illiam picked up his pen and bit on it. He had to make her believe him, so he had to choose his words carefully. Caroline hung over him and said affectionately, "are you upset?" He couldn't believe his stupidity in getting involved with Caroline. But he had been drunk, so he couldn't recall what he did. And Caroline had said...

He shivered with disgust and incredulity. No, not in a million years! Never would I be so stupid, not even when I'm drunk. "Bugger off, Caroline." She looked offended, and a little scared. Scared? Why? Scared that he would recall that nothing had happened? William sat up straighter, and looked at her very carefully.

"Nothing happened, and I'm not involved with you, Caroline," he said, sounding very sure of himself, but really hazarding a lucky guess.

Caroline was not pleased and tried to salvage the damage, but she could see he saw through her. William turned away from her in disgust. "Ugh! I have no other words for your despicable behaviour."

He walked to a quiet spot with his pen and paper, and started writing.

Dear Lizzie,

He crossed out the 'dear', it was too presumptuous.

Whatever you may think of me, please read this letter. I know you'll be reluctant, but if you want to know the truth, you must read this. You have accused me of several things. I will explain myself on these accounts, and leave it up to you to decide if I was wrong or not.

He thought of her accusations. First, you go around acting like you're some kind of superstar who's too good for the rest of us.

You accused me of behaving like I was too good for everyone. I am here to win, and not to humour little children. Please put yourself in my position. In order to win, I need to concentrate very hard. The difference between me and my rivals is so small, that concentration can indeed make the difference. Children asking for autographs and heaven knows what else, only distract me.

Second, I heard from George Wickham how you prevented him from making the Olympic team.

You also accused me of killing George Wickham's Olympic dreams. I will tell you what happened the day before he failed to qualify. We were all on a training camp, Wickham was there, and my sister Georgiana too. Wickham can be very charming, and he charmed Georgiana into thinking that she was in love with him. He persuaded her to break the rules. We all had to be in bed by ten, but Wickham wanted to go to a disco. He got Georgiana drunk enough to accompany him, and they were out until four in the morning. They were found out, of course, and he blamed it all on Georgiana, saying that she had begged him to take her into town. If I had not stood up for Georgiana, she would have been expelled.

William paused. Should he write that he had beaten the hell out of Wickham?

Since then, to say that Wickham and I are not the best of friends is an understatement. And since the qualification meet was the day after, he was not well enough to qualify due to an injury.

Third, you have insulted me by saying you cannot be seen with me because I'm not good enough for you.

He thought of her last accusation with pain. Whatever he wrote on this subject, she would not believe it, he was sure. It would only be words, and words were not enough. He needed to change, because she was right. It was ridiculous. Why would she be less than he just because she did not go to the World Championships and such? He was determined to show her that he could change, but he would not touch on the subject in his letter. He copied the letter and signed it. Now all he had to do was find Lizzie and give it to her.

Part 15

izzie was surprised when he handed her the letter, but she took it automatically. "Please read," he said, "And if you don't believe it, ask Fitz."

She started reading. His first explanation of his conduct did not impress her. Why don't others have that problem? Look at Wendy, she has time for everyone, and she's still winning. The second one put George Wickham in a totally different light. Lizzie was shocked that William would invent such a thing about someone she liked. She felt a headache coming up.

"Oh no, that's exactly what I need just before the 400 I.M.*," she groaned. Needless to say, she did not swim well. Neither did William, but he had one advantage: he could correct himself later, when he swam the final.

When she had finished swimming, she read the part about Wickham again. She compared it to what Wickham himself had told her and concluded that it was very different. Again she was shocked. Who should I believe? As much as she wanted to believe Wickham, he had told her nothing concrete, now that she recalled it. He had merely hinted at something.

And William...he had told her she could ask Fitz. Did he say that because he hoped Fitz would lie for him? But Fitz wouldn't do that. And if she knew that, then surely William must know it too because he had known him longer.

Shall I ask him? Lizzie frowned. But what do I say? How do I explain? She decided against it. He must be telling the truth! Would anyone disclose such things about their sister?

Usually, if something happened when the swimmers were away with the Federation, everyone came to know about it. The ever-gossiping Lydias and Mrs. Bennets would see to that. But this information about Georgiana and Wickham was new. Even Lizzie with all her dislike of William could not imagine him willfully spreading gossip about his sister. She supposed that William had seen to it that it was hushed up.

Unfortunately she ran into Catherine De Bourgh in the hall. "A lovely meet was it not?" the lady asked. "Did you swim well?"

Lizzie was surprised at her condescension. "Not very well today, I'm sorry to say."

"You must have been impressed by it all, I know. It's a whole new experience for you."

"In what way?"

Mrs. De Bourgh looked shocked that she dared to ask that. "Swimming at such a high quality meet of course. Surely you do not meet world class swimmers every day, and it is very understandable if you feel a little impressed."

"Oh," was all Lizzie could say to that.

"Now if you'd like, you can come with me when my team competes at Rosings in two weeks. It will be another good experience for you."

Lizzie's eyes widened at the thought. To be subjected to this woman all day was more than she could bear. Besides, she would probably encounter William again, and that was not what she wanted. "I'm sorry, but I have a waterpolo match."

Mrs. De Bourgh sniffed. "A waterpolo match! Do they need you?"

"Yes, I'm the ball fetcher."

"Well," said the lady, "if you think that is important..." with a slight emphasis on 'that'.

The next day, they flew home.

Part 16

izzie and Jane were collected from the airport by their mother and their sisters Kitty and Lydia. Lydia was full of news as always, and she hoped to catch a glimpse of George Wickham, but he had taken another flight. Mary didn't come, she was taking a time-official course.

Lydia was a huge fan of the Longbourn Swimming Club's waterpolo team. The guys were all she ever talked about. "They are going away to a tournament on Malta," she said sadly. Lizzie rejoiced silently. Perhaps now they could have some peace and quite when they had dinner after swimming. The waterpolo men were always coming in when they were showering, and Lydia was often very late for dinner because she had to flirt.

Lydia had been persuading her parents to let her go to Malta as a supporter, and to Lizzie's great distress, they had given their consent. Lydia would misbehave herself tremendously if she went to Malta, anyone except Mrs. Bennet could see that, and she supposed that her father had grown tired of her mother's nagging, and given in to her.

Lizzie's uncle and aunt Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner invited her to come on a short trip to Derbyshire with them. She accepted gladly, because her mother's whining about Lydia's absence was driving her crazy. They stayed in a town called Lambton, which made Lizzie rather uncomfortable since it was the hometown of Pemberley SC, William Darcy's club.

"Don't you want to go swimming to keep up the training, Lizzie?" her aunt kindly suggested. "We will go for a walk if you do, so feel free to go."

Lizzie doubted. What if she should run into William at the pool? "Uhh.."

"Now go, dear, I know you want to," and her aunt practically dragged her to the pool.

After Lizzie had done her five thousand metres and she was talking to her uncle and aunt on the balcony, the pool attendant approached her. "You must be with a team," the woman said.

"Yes I am."

"Not Pemberley SC, I think? I would know you."

"No, Longbourn."

"We have a very good swimmer who trains in this pool, William Darcy. Do you know him?"

"Didn't you see him at the Netherfield meet, Lizzie?" asked her uncle.

"Y-yes."

"Oh! And he is nice, isn't he? Always in a good mood, never forgetting to say hello to anyone. And the youngest swimmers adore him because he is always very kind to them, and sometimes he helps them with their technique for an hour after he has finished swimming."

The pool attendant obviously had a very high opinion of him, and her praise went on and on, while Elizabeth could hardly believe her ears. Is this the same William Darcy I met? It sounds like a total opposite!

"Look here," the woman exclaimed, "there's a picture of him presenting medals." She pointed at a glass cabinet full of trophies and pictures. She walked over.

"I thought you said he was bad, Lizzie," her aunt whispered to her.

"Maybe she is blinded."

"Hmm...she knows him best, so I suppose she is right."

Lizzie stared at the picture. He actually smiled in it, and she was almost convinced that the pool attendant had been right about him. She looked at him with a more favourable eye.

Her aunt and uncle talked some more with the woman, and Lizzie left for the shower. Her mind was so full of what she had heard, that she did not see a tall swimmer approach until she almost bumped into him.

Part 17

orry," Lizzie apologized to the person she had almost bumped into.

"Lizzie!" he said incredulously.

It was William. "William!" Lizzie gasped and turned red. She would have liked the earth to open up and swallow her. She didn't know what to say. Why did she have to bump into him, of all people!

"How have you been?" he said, blushing.

"Uhh...fine."

"Yes?"

"Yes."

"Oh. And your sister?"

"Fine too."

"Good, I'm glad to hear that." He looked uncertain of what to say next. "What brings you here?"

"I'm with my aunt and uncle, we're spending a few days here."

"I hope you are enjoying yourself," he said politely.

"Yes, I am."

"Uhh...good. If you'll excuse me now, I must get dressed," and with those words he rapidly disappeared into a dressing room, leaving Lizzie to stare after him. Her aunt beckoned her from the balcony.

"Was that him?"

"Was that who?" Lizzie said, pretending not to know who her aunt was referring to.

"William Darcy!"

"Yes, that was him."

"What did he say?"

"Nothing much." She shrugged, and went to get dressed too.

When she rejoined her aunt and uncle in the hall, she saw William at the other end of the hall, near the doors. At first, she thought he would leave, but to her great surprise, he walked towards them. He introduced himself to her relatives and asked where they had been and what they had seen. Lizzie was all amazement. William Darcy is showing interest in other people? People who don't swim? He's actually polite!

"You must come to my house tomorrow," William said when they were about to leave. "I'm having a party. My sister will be there, and some people you know, Charles, Caroline, Louisa...Would you like to come?"

Lizzie nodded automatically. She told herself she wanted to go because it would be fun to see the others again. He gave her the address, and they said good-bye.

"Really Lizzie, I don't know why you told us he was arrogant and conceited. He was perfectly nice!" Her aunt commented.

"Umm.."

"I'm sure that pool attendant overdid things a bit, but still...I wouldn't call him conceited," Mrs. Gardiner continued.

"And how nice of him to invite you to his party!" Mr. Gardiner added.

"Yeah..." Lizzie said absentmindedly.

Part 18

he next day was spent in anticipation of the party. Her uncle and aunt took her to visit a castle in the morning, and in the afternoon they went shopping. All day, Lizzie felt a little weird. She was both dreading and looking forward to the evening.

Lizzie changed clothes at least three times, and did not understand why she was so restless. She wondered what Georgiana Darcy would be like. Some people had said that she was as arrogant and conceited as her brother. Also, Caroline had spoken of her as if Georgiana were her best friend, and Lizzie did not feel particularly sympathetic to people who were friends of the vain and insincere Caroline.

William introduced her to his younger sister. Lizzie saw that Georgiana seemed very eager to meet her, though she seemed very shy and she did not know what to say. Lizzie smiled at her and asked how she had done at the Junior Championships. This drew Georgiana out of her shell a little, and soon the two girls were chatting away. Georgiana was actually a sweet girl, once you got to know her.

Caroline was dividing her attention between butting in on their conversation and trying to make Lizzie feel like an outsider, and trying to catch William's eye. Lizzie felt that Caroline's only reason for paying so much attention to Georgiana was the fact that she was William's sister.

Lizzie hardly spoke to William himself, but she noticed that he looked pleased that she got on so well with Georgiana. She dared not speak to him too much, because almost everyone was eagerly watching every word they exchanged. They must think he's in love with me. Is he? Does he still like me?

There were only swimmers at the party -- swimmers don't really have time to have a social life outside of the pool, especially because they practise every day, and it's only natural that they find their friends among the people they see the most. She talked a bit to the others she knew. Most of them she knew by sight, and there was even a girl she knew fairly well because she used to meet her in the summer competitions a lot.

"How was Netherfield?" the girl said. "I read all about it in the swimming magazine."

"Oh it was fun! I hope to go next year too! Why didn't you come, your team was there too, wasn't it?" Lizzie asked.

The girl looked sad. "I was supposed to go, but things didn't go at all well. I'm overtrained, and now I can only swim once a week, booh!" But then she smiled again, "but I have to do supervised fitness training three times a week, supervised by the hottest guy at the fitness centre! Those blonde bimbos who are always trying to catch his attention are going to be so jealous!" They giggled.

She saw Charles approach and he called out to her. "How is Jane doing?"

"She was fine when I last spoke to her. I'll tell her I saw you here."

"Do you think she would mind if I called her?"

Lizzie grinned. She knew that Jane was quite in love with Charles, and she was glad to see that he was interested in her too. "No, of course not! I'll give you our number."

Part 19

izzie had had a good time at the party, and to her surprise William had been very nice. There had been no trace of his former arrogance. When it was midnight, she said, "I should go back to the hotel."

"I have to be home in fifteen minutes," Caroline said. "William can you walk me home? You know how I hate to pass those scary bushes all by myself." She was referring to a well-lit path through a dog-walking area where there were always people walking their dogs, even around midnight.

"Lizzie has to go through some scary areas too," William replied. More scarier than what you have to go through, in fact. "I will drop Caroline off first, and then Lizzie, because we will pass Caroline's house first."

Caroline glared. She had assumed that Lizzie would call a taxi. "Why doesn't everyone come along? There won't be any people left if we are gone anyway." And that way William won't be walking Lizzie home alone.

"Good idea," Charles said enthusiastically. "A bit of fresh air before we go to sleep is very good."

They all walked Caroline home first. She had no other choice but to go in, and she did so reluctantly. After Caroline, they walked past the houses of two more guests, and then they dropped Lizzie off at her hotel.

"You can come to our club hour if you want to practice tomorrow," William told her, "it's at four o'clock."

"Thanks, maybe I will. Good night!"

Of course Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner wanted to know all about the party, and Lizzie told them who were there. "I knew most people. I hadn't thought I would. Charles was there, and that awful Caroline, and Fitz. They went to Netherfield with me - I think I told you about them?"

"Yes, you did. How were they, compared to Netherfield?" asked her aunt, who was more interested in William, and she waited for Lizzie to bring him up, but she didn't.

"Oh, the same. Caroline was a little worse, perhaps."

"What did she do?"

"She wanted to be walked home."

"What's wrong with that? I can understand it if she feels uncomfortable walking through some areas where the nearest house is two hundred metres away."

"As if there are any areas like that in this town," Lizzie sneered. "She was jealous when all the other girls were walked home too."

"Oh I see," said her aunt. I wonder who walked the girls home. William? And who were the other girls, just Lizzie? Tell me something, girl! I am dying to know what you think of William.

"Yes," Lizzie said, not wanting to bring the subject of William up, but on the other hand, she would not mind if her aunt did.

Part 20

n the afternoon, Lizzie was getting ready to go swimming, when the phone rang. It was Jane. "Hi Lizzie," she sounded serious. "I have some bad news."

"What?" Lizzie said, worried.

"It's about Lydia. Lydia has - oh!"

"Jane! Tell me."

"Lydia has run off with someone while she was at that tournament."

Lizzie was shocked. "What do you mean, run off with someone?"

"She has disappeared with George Wickham. The organisation is very upset because they paid him a lot of money to swim there. They paid Lydia too, come to think of it."

Lizzie gasped. "George Wickham! No! Where to?" She almost screamed.

"We don't know," was Jane's answer. "She called Mum at three in the morning to tell her that she was going to marry George. We're all pretty upset here, you can imagine that. I mean, Mum started to scream so loud that she woke us all up, and we haven't slept since because we had to calm Mum down."

"Do you want me to come over?"

"No, no stay there. You're on holiday." But Jane sounded very strained, and Lizzie could well imagine the whole household completely upside down with Jane as the only sensible person in it. She had to go home, she couldn't let Jane bear all of it alone.

"No, I will come straight-away."

"Okay, I'll be able to explain it all more clearly then. Bye."

"Bye," and Lizzie hung up.

She sat staring at the receiver for a few moments in shock. Lydia ran off with George Wickham! She is only sixteen...I need to find my uncle. She ran downstairs to the reception desk. "Excuse me, have you seen my uncle? I think he just went outside but I don't know which direction he took."

"No sorry, I haven't noticed that."

"Oh!" Lizzie groaned, and she ran outside just as William was coming in.

"Lizzie!" he exclaimed, noticing she was upset. "Where are you going?"

She tried to push him aside. "Let me pass! I need to find my uncle."

"Why? What happened?" William was concerned. "Sit down. You're not going to find him out there unless you know where he went. Look at all those people out there." He pushed her back into the hotel. "Calm down. What happened?"

"It's my sister Lydia." She tried to stay calm. "She ran off with George Wickham, and now she wants to get married!" She sniffed. "Lydia has no money, and no doubt George will dump her somewhere and then what? Oh! I know she is silly, but she is my sister and I don't want anything bad to happen to her."

William looked grim at the mention of George Wickham, but he said nothing.

"And I knew what he was like! If only I would have told her, then maybe this would not have happened. I should have told my father not to let her go when the waterpolo boys were going too. I knew something bad was going to happen! And it's not even with a waterpolo player! Oh!" And she burst into tears.

William didn't know where the waterpolo players came into the whole thing, so he concentrated on Lydia and Wickham. "Where have they gone?"

"Nobody knows," she said miserably. "I must go home right away." No one is ever going to invite a Bennet or a member of Longbourn SC to any tournament any more, thanks to Lydia. They will think we are all alike. She said no more, but just sat there looking upset.

William didn't know what he could do to help her. It would be best if I left her alone. "I suppose you won't go swimming then. I am really sorry to hear this, and I'm sorry I can't do anything for you now. I...well, I suppose I will go then. Bye."

She said good-bye to him, and he left.

Part 21

r. and Mrs. Gardiner returned shortly, and when they listened to Lizzie's incoherent story, they agreed that it would be best if she returned right away. They knew very well how Mrs. Bennet would behave. Since they were not far from Longbourn, they offered to drive their niece.

Jane was very relieved when they arrived. She had dark circles under her eyes. "I'm so glad you are here," she said.

"Where's your mother?" her aunt asked.

"She's in bed. But she's not sleeping, she has a nervous breakdown." And she keeps me running. To prove this last point, they heard Mrs. Bennet's shrill voice coming down.

"Jane? Jane? Where are you? Is that Lydia? My poor baby!"

They collectively rolled their eyes. How could it be Lydia! The girl was abroad!

Jane ran upstairs. "No mum, it's Lizzie."

"I'd better go and see her," said Mrs. Gardiner.

Jane came down a little later. "Now tell us what happened," Mr. Gardiner ordered her.

"Lydia was supposed to swim at that tournament in the south of France, and then go on to Malta with the waterpolo boys. She swam one day, but the next she had run off with George Wickham. They were both picked to go to the doping control on the first day, she said, and Wickham was afraid they might get caught if they had to go -"

"Doping control?" Lizzie interrupted with horror.

"Yes. We fear Wickham has been using banned substances, and Lydia too."

"Lydia?" Lizzie shook her head. "This will ruin us all!" If there was one thing that could give you a life-long bad reputation, or even worse, a ban from sports for some years, it was doping. Not only Lydia would be suspect, but also her family. There had been examples of that - people whose triple gold was overshadowed by their relatives' reputation.

"Yes," Jane said gravely. "They panicked and ran. They managed to get away from the doping person watching them."

"But why? It makes no sense!"

"Does anything Lydia does ever make sense?"

"It was Lydia's idea?"

"We don't know. It was probably Wickham's, he had been partying and maybe he really used something."

"What do we do now?" her uncle asked. "We need to find them first and hear them out. Escaping doping control is almost saying you're guilty."

Jane looked puzzled. "But no one would run away if they weren't guilty."

Lizzie smiled wryly. "I doubt Lydia even knows what's on the list of banned substances. If Wickham told her beer was on it, she'd believe him." He can be so convincing. Even I believed him.

Mr. Gardiner looked worried. "Lydia is somewhere without any money. Who was she with anyway?" he asked Jane.

"The Forsters."

"Do they know anything?"

"No, she left them a note, saying that they needn't worry, and that she would be lying low for a few weeks. They went to the police, but they were told that since Lydia left out of her own free will, they would not do anything."

"And she gave your mother no clue when she called?"

"I don't think so. Even if Lydia did, mum wouldn't have caught on to it. We only know what we know now because we have talked to the Forsters."

"I think there is no other solution than that I go to France with your father," their uncle said determinedly.

Lizzie looked doubtful. "What if they have gone somewhere else?"

"We could at least try to trace them from there."

Lizzie hoped fervently that they would find Lydia, and prove she had not been using doping. It was all together too horrible if she had. Though she knew that she herself would never use anything, other people would always look at her with doubt and suspicion.

Part 22

t was decided that Mr. Gardiner would go to France and look for Lydia. Mr. Bennet would look around in London. Mr. Gardiner drove back to Lambton to collect his belongings and cancel the one more night they were going to stay at the hotel. While he was doing so, William came by.

"I was wondering how Lizzie was doing."

"Unexpected problems called her home," Mr. Gardiner replied. "But Lizzie is doing fine."

"She told me her sister ran off with George Wickham."

"You know George Wickham?"

"Yes, very well. What are they going to do about it?"

"I am going to France to look for them."

"Do you know where to look?"

"No."

William thought this over. He knew the Wickhams had a holiday house somewhere in France. He had even been there once, but he couldn't remember the name of the village. All he knew was how to drive there, and that was hard to explain. "Do you speak French?"

"Ong petty poo," Mr. Gardiner answered.

William grinned. He would not get very far with his inquiries if his vocabulary was as bad as his accent. "I was wondering, sir, if you could use the assistance of an interpreter?"

"An interpreter?"

"Yes, sir, one who might have an idea of where they could be."

"I suppose you are talking about yourself, William?"

"Yes, I am."

"Where might they be then?"

"The Wickhams had a house in France, but I don't remember its exact location. I will remember when I'm actually in the area though. They could be there."

Mr. Gardiner's spirits rose visibly. "Go pack your bags, lad. We're leaving in half an hour."

William walked away, but halted. "On one condition, sir."

"What's that?"

"I don't want Lizzie to know about it."

Mr. Gardiner did not see why Lizzie could not know about it, but he assumed William had his reasons. "Condition accepted."

Part 23

n Longbourn, the rest of the family was still in distress, especially Mrs. Bennet. Every time the phone rang, they went into hysterics. "It is Lydia! Jane, give it to me. I must talk some sense into my little darling! Jane! Jane! Hand me the phone!"

"Mum!" Jane was embarrassed, holding her hand over the receiver. "It's not Lydia. It's the dentist. We were due there this morning."

"Ooooooh!" Mrs. Bennet whined, "who cares about that stupid dentist when my poor Lydia is missing."

The next one to call was William Collins. Lizzie happened to answer the phone. "Hello Lizzie dear, it's William Collins!" She shuddered.

"I have heard the unfortunate news. Bad news travels fast as you know. You must be really upset. This affects all of you. Haha! Are you using doping too, Lizzie?" he lowered his voice conspiratorially. "Too bad you can't see me wink through the line, but I don't have to tell you it was a joke since we share the same kind of humour."

Lizzie made some vicious gestures at the receiver, and she pretended to give someone a nasty kick.

"Catherine De Bourgh was terribly upset of course, and she quite agrees that everyone connected with you will be looked upon with suspicion, and will most certainly be corrupted like Lydia corrupted George Wickham. She does not believe in top class swimmers associating with the lower ranked - it will only lead to trouble, she said. And as usual, she was right, as she is usually is. For this whole business, I am glad that I made the transfer to her team, I can't think what would have happened if I had still been with Longbourn -"

I don't want to listen to this nonsense any longer. "Yo Collins, please excuse me, it's time for my daily anabol-- uhh, creatine intake. Bye!"

Lizzie jumped up and down a few times to get rid of her aggressive energy.

Part 24

r. Gardiner and William first went to the hotel where Lydia had stayed. They had brought a picture of Lydia, that Mrs. Bennet had not wanted to give, only after much pressuring. William had found a picture of George Wickham somewhere.

The girl behind the reception desk did not recognise Lydia, but she did recognize Wickham, who had been flirting with her apparently. "Mais oui, Georges, oh la la!"

At first, she could not enlighten them further than that 'Georges' had called a taxi a few times, and that she had let him use her phone for free because he had no small change for the pay phone.

"Who did he call?" Mr. Gardiner gestured.

The girl looked shocked. "Je ne crois pas...I not think..."

"C'est important."

"Madame Lejeune," she said reluctantly.

"Who is Madame Lejeune?" asked Mr. Gardiner.

The receptionist shrugged and looked as if he asked a very stupid question. "Comment voulez-vous que je sache qui est Mme Lejeune, moi!"

"What did he say?"

"Don't know..." but it was clear that she did know.

"What did he say?"

"Quelque chose sur une clé qu'elle devait mettre dans un seau près de la porte, ou quoi. Je ne sais plus."

"What did she say?" Mr. Gardiner looked confused.

"He asked a woman to put a key in a bucket near a door," William said excitedly. "That must mean that they are at the Wickham house!"

"I don't suppose this young lady knows where we might find that house?"

As it turned out, the receptionist had helped Wickham find Mme Lejeune's telephone number in the directory, and she recalled that it was in the village of M--. William knew he could find the house if he were in the village, so after checking a map, they set off.

Author's Note: I don't know how long it takes to get the doping test results, so I deliberately left it vague. Fin swimming = swimming with fins and a snorkel

Part 25

r. Gardiner faxed the Bennets to let them know he had found Lydia. He preferred to use a fax rather that a telephone, because he knew they would all want to listen to his phone call and that would be very confusing. Lizzie read the fax out loud.

Hello all,

I'm faxing you to let you know that I have found Lydia.

"Lydia!" Mrs. Bennet cried. "Where? Was she all right?"

I will let you know the particulars later. I shall try to persuade her to be submitted to a doping test, but as yet she doesn't see the need. She must be convinced that this is the only way to clear her name and avoid a ban; she says she did not use anything and that she only came along for fun, but I'm not sure is she is speaking the truth. I will let you know when I have more news.

Edward Gardiner.

"Of course Lydia did not use anything!" Mrs. Bennet cried out indignantly. "I will not have my little Liddy banned!"

"How strange that he doesn't mention George Wickham at all. Where was he? Was he with Lydia?" Jane mused.

"He must have been. Do you think Lydia would stay somewhere alone? Lydia, who needs to call forty people a day and goes crazy when no one calls her?" Lizzie said sarcastically.

She thought of William Darcy, and she was sure that he would not invite her to parties anymore if Lydia had really used something illegal. He would think that all the Bennets were using it, and she knew he was strictly anti-doping from an interview with him in a magazine. I think I'm going to cry if it happens. I don't want him to think ill of me.

A day later they received another fax from Mr. Gardiner and Jane read it to them.

Hello again,

Let me first assure you that Lydia is well.
Because of what has occurred, and considering the expected outcome of his test, George Wickham is giving up swimming -

"Wise choice!" Lizzie commented.

He's going to try his luck at fin swimming instead. It appears that he has some connections in that sport.

"He was so talented and handsome!" Mrs. Bennet wailed. "What a waste for the swimming world."

"A waste?" Lizzie muttered. "Good riddance!"

The rest of the fax did not contain anything important, except that they would have to stay in France for some time to await the results of Lydia's test. Mrs. Bennet was not happy to hear that; she missed Lydia very much.

As soon as Lydia's tests results came through, she and Mr. Gardiner returned to Longbourn. Lydia had tested negative, and her name had been cleared. The whole Bennet family was relieved, especially Lizzie and Jane who were the only ones to have understood the consequences of a positive test.

Lydia treated the whole thing like it had been a fun experience. "I thought it was rather exciting to sneak out of the pool! I felt like a spy. There was this doping woman that had to follow me around everywhere, and I slipped away when she did not pay attention. I would have loved to see the look on her ugly face when she noticed I had gone!"

Lizzie rolled her eyes. She had enough of it and got up to leave the room. Something Lydia said made her stay though.

"And then uncle Edward found us. That was very clever of him, but I bet that was only because William spoke French."

"William?" Lizzie asked, her curiosity piqued. There are only two Williams who knew about this...and only one William who knows uncle Edward.

"Oops!" Lydia said. "I promised not to tell."

"Not to tell what?" Lizzie almost screamed.

"That that stuffy William Darcy was with uncle Edward."

"He was? What was he doing?"

"I can't tell you. I promised not to tell; it's a secret." Lydia was obviously not going to reveal anything - she liked the power of having something that others wanted.

"Then you should not tell us that you have something you can't tell us," Jane reprimanded her younger sister.

Lizzie was dying to know what William had been doing there with her uncle, and decided to ask her uncle about it.

Continued in Section II