Jump to new as of February 24, 1999
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Jump to new as of February 26, 1999
Chapter 1
"You will be very pleased with your purchase, Mr. Wright." said Mr. Wickham in a charming voice. In his office, George Wickham and Mr. Wright sat looking a final time at the papers to a 1998 Jaguar.
"I hope so, but I'm still not sure about the price, are you sure we can't lessen the sting this is going to have on my pocket book?"
Wickham rubbed his chin a minute before saying, "My boss, Mr. Darcy has assured me this is the lowest price that is available for the model, sir." Wickham said in an assuring tone, "What I might do for you though," he said picking up the phone on his desk, "is call sales and ask one last time." Wickham talked into the mouthpiece for a minute and said, "You are in luck Mr. Wright, I have negotiated $850 off the sticker price!"
Mr. Wright smiled, "You have yourself a deal then! Give me a pen and lets make this final."
Wickham fumbled with his pencil holder and got a ball-point pen and handed it to Mr. Wright.
After the signatures were penned and the keys handed over, it was past Mr. Wickham's working hours. His phone rang loudly de-railing Wickham's train of thought. "Mr. Wickham, I want to talk to you about your job performance. Be in my office A.S.A.P." With that said, Darcy hung up the phone.
Mr. Darcy, head of Darcy's New and Used Car Sales, had been looking over his annual financial reports and found some discrepancies. He had called George Wickham, head of his used car department, up to his office a minute ago. He wanted to ask Wickham if he knew anything about it.
Knock knock.
Darcy almost jumped out of his seat. When he had re-gained his composure he said, "Come in."
The door open and Wickham came through, "Mr. Darcy, what can I help you with?" Wickham said nervously after seeing the Financial Reports on his desk.
"Mr. Wickham, I called you up here to talk about the books. They're just a little confusing and I was wondering if you could answer some questions I had." Darcy said calmly.
"Sure Mr. Darcy, what is it?" Wickham asked, suspicion creeping into his voice.
"My first question is: there is $1000 dollars missing over three months, maybe I'm reading this the wrong way but it looks like there is someone skimming. I know you do most of the finances, so I thought I'd come to you first before I started making wild accusations."
Wickham's face went pale at the sound of Darcy's words, I've been found out! What am I going to tell him? Wickham cleared his throat and spoke, "I probably just figured a few numbers the wrong way."
Darcy watched Wickham shift his feet on the carpet, "Wickham, clear your desk out and pack your things up, because from now on you no longer work for me." Wickham opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it, there was no use arguing now. He had been found out.
Chapter 2
Depressed and lonely, Wickham packed up what belongings he had in his desk.
That Darcy, what does he know? thought Wickham optimistically.
"Mr. Wickham, what are you doing with all of your stuff in that box?" asked Wickham's secretary, Elaine Jones.
"You might say, Ms. Jones, the company no longer requires my skill. I have been let go." Wickham said slightly annoyed that she said nothing and left the room.
As he walked out of the one-story building, George Wickham turned around to see his former place of work one last time.
Darcy pulled into the parking lot of his condominium, got out and locked the doors. He stood by his black, 1995 Mustang and looked at the stars, contemplating the day gone past. Tired, he went up to his home and went to bed.
"A Mocha and an Almond Biscotti, please." Wickham said to the man behind Starbucks counter. There was a rush in the coffee shop this morning, so Wickham took his coffee with him to the unemployment office.
He wasn't in much of a hurry, but it being just May, the mornings still chilly, and he forgetting his coat, he was on his way all the quicker. When he got there, Wickham saw a woman he had seen in the coffee shop and smiled at her on his way to the counter, "Sir, fill this form out, please, and get it back to me." said the woman behind the desk, not looking up.
After a few minutes of writing Wickham slid the sheet onto the large oak desk and asked the woman, "I-I-I-I-I-I-I'M back. Now what?"
The woman, Ms. Jackson--he read from her name-plate on the desk--looked up at him slightly surprised at the speed of the form coming back. "Have a seat in the lobby, and I'll call you back in about twenty minutes. You don't have work to go to, do you?" Ms. Jackson chuckled about her last jab at Wickham.
He walked out to the waiting room, sitting where there was the only chair--next to the woman in the coffee shop. "Hi, how are you today? I saved you this seat." The young woman said, pointing to the seat.
"Hello back, and I'm doing just great. George Wickham," he said, extending his hand "and your name?" he finished. "Lydia Bennet, nice to meet you George." she said returning the hand-shake.
"Ms. Jones, good morning." Darcy said absent-mindedly, walking past his secretary into the office marked, 'George Wickham', Darcy was there to see if Wickham had left anything behind the past day in his rush to leave. Seeing to his satisfaction everything was right, he thought, I am surprised he left the very desk and telephone, knowing Wickham the way he did. Darcy went to his own office to see a light flashing on his answering machine, a women's voice started,
"Mr. Darcy, this is Elizabeth Bennet, I am calling about the accounting position you advertised in the paper. If we could set up an appointment at your earliest convenience, that would be great. I have all the recommendations you will need, anyway, thanks again. I can be reached at all times on my cell phone the number is 555-3495. Thanks, good-bye."
Chapter 3
Darcy listened to the message over and over thinking he had heard the voice before, Must be my imagination, on any account, I've business to attend to. No time to play match the face to the voice. Darcy thought. Darcy picked up the receiver, still sensing something was strange, and dialed the phone number.
After a few rings, a voice came on, "Elizabeth Bennet here." Darcy paused a moment, "Yes, this is Mr. Darcy, of Darcy's Automotive, getting back to you about the accounting job." Darcy started,
"Yes Mr. Darcy, thank you for calling me back so soon." Elizabeth said quickly.
"Ms. Bennet, Ms. is it?"
"Yes. Mr. Darcy."
Mr. Darcy audibly cleared his throat, "Well, I was thinking would tomorrow morning around nine a.m. be a good time for the interview?" Darcy asked. "Oh, yes Mr. Darcy, that would be great. And thank you again." She said hanging up the phone.
RING RING went the phone. Darcy answered it, it was Chuck Bingley.
"Hi Chuck. How's the shipping company doing?" Darcy asked, pleased to speak with his friend.
"Its doing well, you know, I'm thinking about buying a piece of property with a house on it outside of town. What do you think?" Chuck asked Darcy.
"Well, I'm not really an authority on real estate. Hey you want to meet somewhere for lunch later?" Darcy said doubtful Chuck would really go through with such a risk.
"Na, I gotta take a look at the house, the owner said there were some things wrong with it. Maybe next week Darcy. I'll talk to you later." he said and hung up, leaving Darcy with a dial-tone.
"Mr. Wickham!" Ms. Jackson yelled into the crowd, which had become quite large. Wickham got up and went over to the desk. "Have a seat, Mr. Wickham. I would just like to ask you a few questions then you can have your check. Your last place of employment?"
"Darcy's Auto."
"When and how did you become unemployed?"
"Two weeks ago, and I was fired for reasons I'd rather not say."
"Uh huh. Reasons you'd rather not say? Then I have reasons I'd rather not fill my part of the form out. That reason being the form is incomplete. If you don't tell me why you were fired," she said, adding emphasis on the word 'fired' "I deem this form useless." she started to tear the form and Wickham spoke up.
"All right, no need to be so hasty." She continued tearing. "All right!! I was fired for unauthorized use of company funds."
She stopped tearing, "Ah hah! So the truth comes out. Ok," Ms. Jackson proceeded to fill out the rest of the form. "If you don't get your check in the mail, Mr. Wickham, in five days, come back here so we can do this whole fun thing over again." Wickham was getting annoyed at Ms. Jackson's whole demeanor. But he politely said "Thank you." and left her office.
The next morning, Darcy still couldn't put his finger on what was bothering him about Ms. Bennet. She seemed nice enough on the phone but there was just something. Maybe my mind is finally going! thought Darcy, not really believing that. Darcy checked his watch it said 8:50 a.m. Ten minutes 'till opening. He killed time by reading over a few forms Wickham had dealt with. George Wickham, a man could get around virtually any problem, legitimately or not. The word 'oily' did not describe him adequately. "MR. DAR-CY!!!" Darcy's thoughts were interrupted by the wail of his secretary---William Collins. His aunt, Lady Catherine De Bourgh, had 'persuaded' Darcy to take Collins on in some way to his business.
Darcy pushed a button on the intercom and said, "Mr. Collins, excuse me, Mr. Collins, press the button with the--what sticker is it now?--"
"A smiley face, Mr. Darcy." Collins yelled.
"Ok," Darcy said again into the intercom, "just press the smiley face button and talk into it." Darcy waited a minute, Collins was probably cleaning his hands, he had a strange habit of doing that.
Obsessive compulsive (in the area of cleaning), the doctor said? "Mr. Darcy, are you there?" came Collins' voice came over the speaker.
"Yes Mr. Collins. I am here. What was it that you needed?" Darcy said.
"Mr. Darcy, there is someone on my carpet that says she has an appointment with you. Hurry, I really don't know if I can stand her being on my carpet any longer." Collins had a piece of carpet that was his.
It was understood that everyone was to stay off his carpet. He was an agoraphobic so he had a cubicle. "All right, send her in. It is Ms. Bennet, right Mr. Collins? Oh, and Mr. Collins, take deep, cleansing breaths." Darcy said. Deep inhaling breaths could soon be heard, then a very deep exhale followed, several times this was repeated until Mr. Collins had everything under control. Soon through his door came a young lady, Darcy guessed about 25.
"Please, take a seat, Ms. Bennet." She sat down in one of the chairs in front of Darcy's desk.
"Thank you, Mr. Darcy. Shall we start?" she asked.
"Yes we shall, let us start with references. Have you any?" Darcy looked as Ms. Bennet opened her case and pulled out two papers.
"Here," she said, giving the paper to Darcy, "those are the people I've worked for in the past. I'm sure they will give me an excellent recommendation if you call them."
Darcy read the papers, "I'm sure that wont be necessary, well, lets discuss your salary. I paid my last accountant $35,000 a year, plus a fine health plan." Darcy heard Ms. Bennet snicker, "Is there something amusing?" he asked her.
"Well, Mr. Darcy, that is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me." Darcy was shell-shocked at her last statement.
"Well, Ms. Bennet, that is an awfully arrogant statement as you have not yet secured the position." Darcy challenged.
"Well, Mr. Darcy, with all due respect, there are few people in this city as adequately equipped for this position as I," she said as she threw the ball back in Darcy's court. "Well Ms. Bennet, if you are anything like your recommendations say you are, you will be with my company many long years. You have the job." Darcy finished, shaking her hand.
Chapter 4
"Well, Mr. Darcy," said Ms. Bennet, not quite grasping what had just happened, "I do thank you very much. If you don't mind my asking, when can I start?" Darcy mulled it over in his head. It would take a little time to convince Mr. Collins that Ms. Bennet was going to be okay.
"Mr. Collins," Darcy said into the intercom, "I've hired the woman that was on your carpet, so your going to be seeing her a lot from now on. Okay, Mr. Collins, press the button with the smiley face and start talking to me."
"Mr. Darcy, I wanted to bring that up, its no longer the smiley face because--well--I am convinced it was watching me. Every move I made, it was right there, observing me. I found a nice clean heart sticker. I feel much better." Mr. Collins finished, a deep inhale could be heard.
Probably sniffing more of his soothing herbs. thought Darcy. "Mr. Collins is an obsessive compulsive," he told Ms. Bennet, "Anything that might seem odd to you is probably very normal for Mr. Collins. For example, you may have noticed he became greatly vexed when you stood on his carpet?"
Ms. Bennet nodded. "That is one of his little oddities." He felt no need to tell her how Mr. Collins became his secretary. How his aunt had plagued Darcy to take Collins on in some way. Darcy felt it better to grin and bear it, than deal with the chewing out he would receive from his aunt. He loved his aunt but some times she was just too much. "You can start today, Ms. Bennet, if that would be good for you. I'll pay you the whole day's wage if you get right to work." Darcy told her. "Let me show you around the office."
Darcy led Ms. Bennet through the office, being careful not to disturb Mr. Collins, and the showroom. "And here, Ms. Bennet," Darcy motioned into an small room, "Is your office. You'll find all the paperwork to certify your employment here. Sign them and get them to me. Not Mr. Collins. He will give you a headache, most assuredly." Darcy finished by showing her the compartments in the desk and her way around the computer system.
"Thank you, Mr. Darcy. All I need to know is where the financial records are." Ms. Bennet said, already signing the job documents.
"Well, I can't take care of that right now," Darcy said looking at his watch, "But if you need anything more, ask your secretary, Ms. Jones, she can tell you everything you need to know. By the way, I'm having someone come around tomorrow to put your name on the door, what would you like put on?" Darcy asked urgently. There was no real business that was in desperate need of attention, he just had to be away from Ms. Bennet.
"Elizabeth Bennet is fine," she said and proceeded to give Darcy all the papers, signed in full.
'Elizabeth Bennet...' Darcy muttered, "Is that Elizabeth with an 's' or a 'z'?" Darcy asked writing it down.
"A 'z', Mr. Darcy, now if you'll excuse me, I do have a job to do." she said, coaxing Darcy out the door.
Wickham stayed around the office for quite a while waiting for Lydia's return. At last she returned, "Oh! Hi George. I didn't know you'd stayed. Boy, they sure do drill you in there, huh."
She said, pointing back to the row of desks. "Yea, they sure do. Do you want to get some lunch or something?" Wickham asked. "Well, my sister, Elizabeth, is supposed to call me about a job she interviewed for later on. But, I suppose we could go." Lydia said.
Chapter 5
Darcy sat in his office for nearly an hour trying to put his finger on what exactly was bothering him about Elizabeth. She seems extremely sensible, and devoted to her work, but of course that could change with time. Darcy thought, he was trying to find something to justify the feeling inside of him. As he thought more, he could find no such thing.
"Mr. Darcy." Darcy's thoughts were shattered by the voice of Mr. Collins.
At least he isn't yelling this time. Darcy thought before speaking into the intercom, "The heart button, Mr. Collins, press the heart button." he said through the speaker.
"Mr. Darcy," came the response. "There is another woman here to speak to you about her......Car. I hate just the thought of them, so dirty, you never know where they've been. What has been on them, just thinking about them makes me want to wash my hands. She says her name is Charlotte Lucas," came from Collins' end.
"Send her in please. And Mr. Collins, deep, cleansing breaths." Darcy said. In through his door came a young woman, with a distressed look on her face. "Ms. Lucas, what can I help you with?" he asked her.
"Well, Mr. Darcy, the thing is, I recently bought a car from you. Over two weeks time it has developed a leak of some kind. Every time I park somewhere for more than half an hour, a spot develops right under the engine. I thought I should come back to you and tell you about it. The warranty is still good," she said handing him the slip of paper, "So I was just wondering if there was anything you could do about it."
Darcy finished reading the paper and said, "Certainly, Ms. Lucas, if you'll excuse me just a moment, I'll call the maintenance department, and they'll get right on it." Darcy was on the phone a little while then hung up.
"Ms. Lucas, if you can give Marty your keys, and tell him which car is yours," he said pointing to the man who had come into the office. "He will get right on that leak."
Ms. Lucas gave the man in the cover-alls her keys and said, "It's the amber Mazda Miata right in the front." Marty took the keys and left, soon the sound of an engine being started could be heard. "Um, Mr. Darcy," Ms. Lucas started, "If you don't mind my asking, I noticed your receptionist was a bit nervous when I came in, is there anything strange about him?" she finished.
"I believe the term is Obsessive Compulsi-" She cut him off, "Obsessive Compulsive Disorder!" she finished for Darcy. "I'm a psychology student, and I have a major paper due on this subject. Do you think I could sit with him until my car is done?"
Darcy couldn't imagine why anyone would want to sit and talk to Mr. Collins for any length of time. "He is very nervous about people he has not met before. But nevertheless," Darcy started, "Mr. Collins?" Darcy said into the intercom, "Ms. Lucas is going to come into your 'space' for a little while." he let off the intercom button.
"Go right in, Ms. Lucas." Darcy told her. Ms. Lucas walked down the hall and saw Mr. Collins' cubicle, she knocked on the side and went in. She felt a tickle in her nose and grabbed for a box on Collins' desk. Her eyes already closed she took what she thought was a tissue---she was wrong. She pulled out something like latex as she sneezed, when she opened her eyes again she found herself holding a surgical glove. She dropped it immediately out of instinct then looked at Collins.
He was washing his hands with some hand-held cleaner. After washing his hands he then put a new pair of latex gloves on. "Oh, Miss, you've touched the box! It is now infected!" he said, in a slightly whiny tone. She quickly apologized and put the box on Collins' desk, that triggered a fit from Collins. "Now the box has touched the desk, in turn, contaminating it!" He started sniffing something from a vile on his desk, then he started deeply inhaling then exhaling. Ms. Lucas pulled out a pad of paper, a pen and started writing.
'This Mr. Collins, it is perhaps the strangest case I've ever seen.' she wrote after observing him for another half hour.
"Ms. Lucas, your car is ready." said Darcy, poking his head through the doorway. "It was a transmission leak. You should bring it in early next week to have it replaced. Mr. Darcy absent-mindedly tossed a few pieces of mail on Mr. Collins' desk, "Mr. Collins, could you sort the- Oh! No. I'm so sorry Mr. Collins, I forgot!" this was followed soon with Collins pushing himself in his chair from the desk. He took many deep breaths. Charlotte was busily observing and writing down the odd behaviour exhibited by Mr. Collins. Darcy quickly retrieved the post from the desk, this calmed Collins a bit. "Ms. Lucas, I would advise you and I leave and give Mr. Collins room to calm down." with that, Darcy and Ms. Lucas left Collins alone.
Chapter 6
Beep beep
Lydia answered her cell phone in anticipation it was Lizzy. "Hello." she said.
"Lydia? Its Lizzy. I got the job! I'm working at a car dealership called Darcy's New and Used Cars. I am the new accountant." They went on talking about the job then Lydia told Elizabeth about George Wickham. "Oh, Lydia. I have to go, my break is over. I'll talk to you later," with that Elizabeth hung up.
Lydia concentrated on driving after her phone call. She and George were going to dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant and her announcement would make the evening all the more special. She arrived at George's house and went up to the number he had specified.
"Hi, Lydia. Come on in. I just have to get my shoes on," he said, looking at his feet, "And we can go."
The evening went along nicely, until Lydia mentioned her sisters new job. "And now she's working at Darcy's New and Used Cars as an accountant," she told Wickham, excitedly. Wickham didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything at all.
She took him home and they parted ways. The next day, Lydia got a call, "Oh, hi, George. What's up?" she asked over the phone.
"Lydia, I was wondering if you could meet me somewhere so we can talk, its urgent," Wickham said.
"Ok, I'll meet you at the park on third, ok." she said, then hung up. I wonder what it is. Lydia thought as she drove to the park. When she got there, she found George sitting at one of the benches watching ducks at the pond. "So, George, what's this all about?" Lydia asked curiously.
"Well, Lydia, everything I tell you here is not to be repeated to anyone. Understood?" Lydia nodded her head. "Good," he started, "Against my own better judgment, I'm telling you this because I need help." He started. "Well, I am part of a program headed by a secret government organization named Libeous Inner-city Autoparts Recovery Service, we have reason Darcy's New and Used Cars is using stolen car parts." Wickham said, hoping to himself she would believe him.
"Darcy's Auto, how can I help you?" Darcy said, picking up the telephone on account of it ringing.
"Yes, I'd like to talk to Mr. Darcy himself, and make it quick!" the man on the other end said.
"Mr. Darcy speaking, how can I help you?" Darcy said, regretting he picked up the phone.
"Yes, well, this is Mr. Lacey. I bought a car from you late last month and I am shocked and appalled at what you are doing with these cars!" Mr. Lacey said, almost yelling.
"Mr. Lacey, would you please tell me what this is all about?" Darcy asked, almost matching Lacey's tone.
"I most certainly will! As if you didn't already know! I received a call this morning from a young lady telling me that you, sir, use stolen auto parts in your cars," finished Lacey. And adding to this he stated, "And Mr. Darcy, do you know what a Chop Shop is? Well as you run one, I would imagine you do!"
"Mr. Lacey, I can assure you, we do not use stolen materials. If you will give me the name of the woman that called you, I will straighten this up at once." Darcy was thoroughly shocked at this call and outraged at the same time.
"The name of the woman was Lydia Bennet, and she mentioned she was calling on behalf of George Wickham. I am sorry if I have indulged in rumors that are false," with that Mr. Lacey hung up.
George Wickham! I never thought he would sink to such a level as spreading such blatant untruths! Darcy thought. He could just see Wickham doing it, straight-faced no less. Darcy got three more calls, that day, of the same as Mr. Lacey's.
"Mr. Darcy, excuse me," said Ms. Bennet, poking her head through Darcy's open doorway, "I'm going home now. Goodnight."
Elizabeth started to leave when Darcy asked, "Ms. Bennet, you said you have sisters?" She said yes. "All right, goodnight." finished Darcy.
Chapter 7
Darcy stayed late that night thinking about what had happened. The last he looked it was two in the morning and Darcy was beat. Darcy would think of some way to fix what Wickham had done later. He woke the next morning tired, but still refreshed. He had also been thinking, the night before, about Elizabeth. She had him, and didn't even know it, her voice, her eyes, everything he had finally put his finger on what it was. Not something negative, but positive, so positive. Darcy was captivated by her. Come to your senses man! You don't even know her, how can you love her with the heart you think you do! Darcy had to accept his better judgment. I will have to propose marriage. Darcy was planning it out when he looked at his watch: 8:30 a.m. He drove in to work testily. He knew what he had to do, even if this would be degrading to his family.
"Ms. Bennet, would you come into my office for a second?" Darcy spoke into his intercom. She appeared in his office a minute later,
"Yes, Mr. Darcy?" she said.
"There is a car show this weekend and I was wondering if you could make it; there will be other of my employees also coming." said Darcy.
"Mr. Darcy, I don't know if can make it. I'll see if I can find the time."
"All right, we will be meeting at the Convention Center at ten o'clock Saturday."
"Thank you, Mr. Darcy, is that all?"
"Yes, Ms. Bennet, that is all. By the way, do you have a sister named Lydia? And does she associate with a man named Mr. Wickham?"
"Yes to both, is she in some trouble?" she asked, troubled.
"Maybe, but it is certainly nothing to worry about. It is Mr. Wickham, that dastardly man is no one to be messed about with."
With that she left. There is no turning back now, old boy. he thought. It being Friday, business was sure to pick up, so Mr. Darcy couldn't focus on personal things. He was wrong, however, only five people came and looked at automobiles. Only one bought a car, and Darcy had nothing to do with that. All in all, it was a day Darcy regretted getting up on.
The next day, Darcy woke feeling queasy, but soon got over it. Darcy had lied to Elizabeth, no one else was coming, it was just a ploy to get her to come, hopefully. As he pulled up, he noticed a woman standing outside the door to get in, upon closer sight, he found Elizabeth. He parked and walked to her.
"Ms. Bennet, glad you could make it. Have you been standing out here long?" Darcy stared.
"Mr. Darcy, I have not been here long, I was just waiting for you and the rest."
"Well," Darcy said, "Lets go inside and wait, maybe the rest will find us." Darcy finished.
"All right, where to first?"
Wanting to get it over with, Darcy stopped them in a secluded corner, "Ms. Bennet." Darcy said, nervously, "You must allow me to tell you how I so feverishly love you. Against my better judgment I have decided we must marry. I have weighed the consequences of what I am doing, this will, undoubtedly, bring indifnity to my family. But my love is more than that."
"Mr. Darcy, I have not known you yet two weeks, and even if I had known you two years, this proposal could not tempt me in any way that could make me love you, much less marry you. Now, Mr. Darcy, I will be leaving. Good day." Elizabeth finished.
Darcy was shocked, he had all a woman could want, money, rank, and most important, love for her.
Chapter 8
All through driving home, Elizabeth kept thinking about the inept proposal Mr. Darcy had made. The nerve of him! I've not known him long enough to even consider being his wife. Elizabeth was coming up on Lydia's apartment, so she decided to stop by. "Hi, Lydia. Surprise." Elizabeth said when Lydia opened the door.
"Lizzy! Come on in. I didn't know you were coming!"
"Sorry, if its a bad time I can stop by some other time."
"No, don't be silly! Come on in."
Elizabeth went in and sat down on a black leather chair. "Tell me, Lydia, what is George Wickham like?"
"Oh, he is wonderful. So thoughtful and caring. All though, he does get very quiet when I mention Darcy or his business."
"Oh, don't mention Mr. Darcy, please. You know, he had the nerve to ask me, not out, but to marry him!"
Lydia squirmed with joy at this, "Oh, Lizzy, I am happy for you! Have you set a date?" Lydia asked to Lizzy's disappointment.
"Oh, Lydia, stop being so childish! If you had heard the way he talked down to me; he had the poise to tell me, essentially, he was doing me a favor! He told me it would dishonor his family, but he would marry me any way!"
"Oh, Lizzy, you should not take his words so hard, he was probably nervous. You have let your pride get in the way of what you really want." Lydia closed at the sound of a knock at the door.
When she opened the door, George Wickham was standing there. "Oh. Hi George, this is Elizabeth Bennet, my sister," she said pointing to Lizzy.
"Lydia, I didn't know you had company." She motioned George in and went into the kitchen, leaving George there to talk to Lizzy,
"I'll get us some drinks." Lydia said, in the kitchen.
"Well, Mr. Wickham, how are you today?" Lizzy asked.
"Please, call me George, Ms. Bennet, and I am doing great."
"Please George, call me Elizabeth."
"Your sister says you work at Darcy's Auto? I should warn you of Darcy's character before he fools you into thinking something different." The words 'Darcy's Auto' came off Wickham's tongue like acid.
"Is there something about Mr. Darcy that is so bad?" Lizzy asked, half-heartedly.
"Well, I'm not sure I want to lay this on you, but since you asked, Mr. Darcy is a cheap thing. Why, when I was a boy, my father died, my mother was already gone, so there was no one to take care of me. Well, George Darcy, Darcy's father, God bless that man's soul, took me in and gave me a place to live. I was to stay at the family estate as long as I wanted, that is until George Darcy died, well, William Darcy took it upon himself to kick me out and cut off what little money I had coming from the inheritance. That jack_ss is not to be trusted with anything." George finished with a slight smile on his face. Lizzy was puzzled by this, but did not ask about it.
"Wow, I had no idea Mr. Darcy was such a despicable creature." Lizzy said, shocked by what she had heard. "You must be very unhappy about this, George." she finished, sure it was an understatement. Lydia came in just as Lizzy was finishing.
"Unhappy about what, George?" Lydia asked.
"Why," he said lighting the tone in his voice, "I am unhappy I have not seen the view from your balcony." he lied silently telling Lizzy not to say anything.
"Well, you shall have the view now, come with me." Lydia said sliding her arm under his and taking him outside.
Chapter 9
Wickham walked into the unemployment office for the second time that month, he was required to bring in the names of people he had gone to for work. Of course he had not even attempted to search for a job, but he had a trick up his sleeve; Lydia Bennet. He worked it out with Lydia the day before. She had agreed to provide Wickham false references, and in turn, he said he would commend her in the 'report' he would submit to his superiors for the LIARS team.
Lydia was to use her cell phone, her sister Mary's cell phone, her sister Jane's Cell phone, and her own home phone. He also gave Ms. Jackson--the last person he wanted to try this fraud on--Lydia's E-Mail address, though she did not accept it, to Wickham's disappointment.
"Oh, its you again, Mr. Wickham is it?" Ms. Jackson said when Wickham was told to go to her desk.
"Yes ma'am. Here is my list, you all require it don't you...." he said, more a statement than a question.
"Let me do most of the talking, Mr. Wickham. Its my job to talk, not yours." she said, smiling sarcastically. "I see you have phone numbers here, can you tell me where they are before I call? You know I will be calling before you leave, right?"
"I do know," he went off to rattle off the names of the places. "And go ahead. Call, by all means." he said, picking up the phone and handing it to her.
"Mr. Wickham! If you shove anything in my face again, I will put you out, and you will never see the inside of this office again!" she said loudly.
The rest of the visit went on without incident. She started calling the numbers Wickham had provided her. "Yes, this is Ms. Jackson, I'm with the unemployment office here in downtown, yes, I am calling to confirm someone coming to your office looking for a job," she said to the person on the other end, looking at Wickham every once in a while. When she was done, Ms. Jackson made a motion towards the door; apparently Wickham was to leave. Wickham hoped Lydia had done her job. If not, he would be facing major problems, he would have to crawl back to Darcy and face the humiliation of being turned down. Whatever the outcome, he was determined to ruin Darcy; whatever way possible.
Chapter 11
Lizzy went to work the next morning with a sense of uneasiness. Mr. Darcy had asked her, not three days ago, to be his wife, the office would be tense for a week or two. When she got to work, she found a note;
Ms. Bennet,Please come to my office as soon as you can, it is in regard to the events of the weekend.
Sincerely,
William Darcy
'Ha!' was the first thing that came to Lizzy's mind after reading the note, He wishes me to hear more of his 'superiority'? Although, I still must, but I will not tolerate any more of his rudeness. Lizzy decided to herself.
"Ms. Bennet, please come in," Darcy said when she cam through the doorway, "I have been awaiting your presence all morning." Darcy said fighting back the urge to call her 'Mrs. Darcy'.
"Yes, may I inquire as to why I am here?" she asked.
"I just wanted to clear up any miscommunication we may have had. I asked you to be my bride and you said--" he let the sentence hang in the air a moment before Elizabeth picked it back up,
"--And I, Mr. Darcy, said no. I will say it again if I have to."
"Oh, Ms. Bennet, you are depriving yourself of so much, I can give you a lavish house, servants at your command, virtually anything." Darcy said almost pleading with her.
"The only thing I am depriving myself of, Mr. Darcy, is your rude nature and insufferable manners!" she said with a sharp tone in her voice. She continued, "And even if I had accepted your offer, I would have cut it short on the grounds of your dealings with George Wickham!" she finished, on the threshold of screaming.
"My dealings with Mr. Wickham, are my own affair. As I told you before, he is not to be trusted. What exactly did he tell you? So that I may point out the faults in his story--and it is nothing more that a badly written story--tell me what he told you." Darcy finished.
Elizabeth proceeded to tell Darcy all that Wickham had told her, with much contempt. After she told the whole story, what Wickham had told her, she left. They did not talk the rest of the day. Darcy's was only interrupted by William Collins.
"Mr. Darcy, I need to talk to you, right now!" lamented Mr. Collins.
"Press the heart button, man!" said Darcy over the speaker of the intercom.
Mr. Collins' voice came over the speaker, "Mr. Darcy, it is not a heart. I could no longer be in the presence of such a thing." Collins said with disgust in his voice.
"Why not Collins? Why can you no longer stand the heart sticker?"
"Well, Mr. Darcy, just think about it! What does a heart do? It pumps blood! But I found an adequate replacement! It is a sticker that says simply, 'Inspected By #777.' Now I shall say, that will work fine."
Chapter 12
"Now, if you want to get into the car, we can get going with the test drive, Mr. Greene." Darcy said getting into the passenger side of the 1973 Pacer. Darcy couldn't imagine why anyone would want to buy this car. His aunt had given it to him as a birthday gift, he thought she had unloaded the car on him rather than given it to him as a gift from her heart. His aunt rarely did anything from her heart unless there was something for her in it. Mr. Greene wanted it, however, and Darcy wasn't about to stop him.
"Ok, here we are. Is this a manual or automatic transmission?" Greene asked strapping the seatbelt in place.
"Why, its a manual. I hope that's ok." said Darcy.
"Why of course. That is what I was looking for. I especially like the orange and yellow color, the way you have the orange from the bottom of the windows down, then the rest yellow."
"And on top of that, Mr. Greene, it has scarcely been driven since I received it three months ago."
"Ah! Good! Well, shall we roll on?"
"Yes, we shall." said Darcy.
Mr. Greene started the engine and they were off. There were no red lights all through the city so they got on the highway.
"Ok, Darcy, lets see what she can do!" Mr. Greene said, pushing the accelerator to the floor.
The speedometer went all the way up to 75 m.p.h. When Darcy said, "Uh, Mr. Greene, maybe we should head back to the shop and get the papers?"
"Yes, maybe you are right. I think I will be making this part of my automotive life! But, is there something wrong with the brakes? I----can't---seem--to----slow---down!" He said pumping the brakes hard.
"Right about now, Darcy should be facing death, and if he gets out of that, severe anger from his customer, he he he." Wickham said to himself from an abandoned warehouse across from Darcy's Automotive. He was watching Darcy and the man with him from the warehouse with binoculars. Wickham knew exactly what was wrong with the car; the brake lines from several of Darcy's most popular cars, had been severed almost all the way through. Wickham was sure he would never be blamed for this, and even if Darcy could trace it back to Wickham, Darcy wouldn't be able to prove it was him. Wickham had given a guy in an alley wearing a leather jacket five hundred dollars to cut the brake lines on a list of cars Wickham had given him.
Chapter 13
Six Months Later
Darcy began writing in his journal about the events of late May. The day Mr. Greene and himself had taken a test drive in a used car. Darcy was just getting the full use of his right hand back from the accident six months ago. From his hospital bed he wrote;
I am making this account of the accident which claimed me from my life for half a year. As in my previous entries, I still believe George Wickham to be behind the accident. I will resume at the time the brakes failed. We were coming into a rural area, that gave Greene little comfort.The man had sweat dripping from his forehead, his hands fluttering on the wheel, and his mind, I imagine, in an utter state of confusion. In short, he was scared stiff. To make matters worse the road was deteriorating in quality, and, shortly after getting the car, I discovered an uninvited guest; a black menacing, scaled snake creature.
I told Greene nothing of the snake until we had stopped, quite by accident, from lack of gasoline. We were still going fifty miles an hour when the engine failed, and Greene was so disoriented he lost control. We slid over a small embankment and stopped rolling, the snake was rather unhappy with this, so he sunk his fangs into my right arm. I am lucky the serpent wasn't poisonous. We, later, heard the wail of sirens and the firefighters cut us out with a huge saw. Greene was in trauma but other than that escaped with minor injuries. I am returning to work this morning and hope to be able to get back to my life.
William Darcy
Wickham was sitting in a chair reading the paper looking at an article;
Man released from hospital following car crash/snake bite accident. He read on; William Darcy is being released from Metropolitan General Hospital following, what he calls, 'a freak attempt at revenge'. Police say foul play may be involved, this stemming from rumors that the brake lines, on the car Darcy was taking a customer for a test drive in, were cut.
"Yes! You morons are catching on!" Wickham said after reading the whole story. He didn't have to read the story, however, because he knew all the details. "Now all you have to do is receive the anonymous call," Wickham said picking up the phone and dialing six numbers, "Naming Johnny 'Skull' Robertson the perp in this crime." he said dialing the seventh number.
When Darcy walked in, on crutches because of his sprained leg, everyone clapped. Darcy soon found out why; a stack of newspapers were on his desk, one of them had a front page saying, "Local man rolls over embankment."
Chapter 14
".......back to you Katie." the picture on the evening news turned back to the regular newscaster in studio. Darcy had flipped through the channels and found nothing decent for himself to watch, so he settled for the news. He listened and watched further.
"Thank you Sharron. In other news, William Darcy was released from MGH today following a six month stay at the hospital and grueling physical therapy. The car salesman's test drive almost turned deadly when the brakes failed and he rolled off an embankment where he was then bitten by an adder. Police said, in a press confrence, the brake lines on Darcy's car appeared to have been cut causing the accident. Darcy is set to speak with the police regarding a suspect. We have been telling you about this story for......." after the segment on him ended, Darcy turned off the television. The next story was about a tanker ship that had run aground and was leaking oil somewhere off the west coast. He didn't listen to the rest of the news that evening, he just sat and thought about the broadcaster's words, 'Darcy is set to speak with the police regarding a suspect', Darcy had no idea the police would release that information. He hadn't been explicit in telling the police not to tell the media but..... His thoughts were interrupted by the knocking at the door. Darcy opened the door and his jaw almost dropped open; it was Wickham.
"Hiya, Darcy, ol' boy. Hows it going?" Wickham said in a sly voice, letting himself in.
"How dare you show your face here? After what you've done." Darcy said.
"Now, whatever do you mean, Darcy, after I come all this way to visit you when you're having a down time? Tisk tisk. Very unappreciative." Wickham said sitting down and wagging his finger at Darcy.
Darcy's blood was boiling at his last statement, Darcy could hardly speak, but he did manage to get to the bathroom to splash some water on his face. Once he had his composure gained, he returned to find Wickham shoving one of Darcy's antique half-dollars into his jacket.
"Oh, uh, Darcy. I was just admiring your silver." Wickham tittered.
"Why are you here, Wickham?"
"Aw, Darcy, tisk tisk, a person can't visit an old employer?"
"A person could, Wickham, but not you."
"Mmm, Darcy, have we gotten cranky since our little 'accident'?"
Darcy could hardly stand this man insulting him in his own home, but just said, "You would know about accidents, wouldn't you, Wickham, you are so good at them, but I know what you did and I vow to find a way to prove it. Now get out of my house before I call the police!" Darcy finished, yelling the final part.
Chapter 15
Elizabeth Bennet's thoughts were disrupted when she heard her phone ring in the next room, she had been going over some records for the company. "Yes, hello, Elizabeth here." she answered still looking over the paper in her hand.
"Oh, Lizzy, I'm glad I caught you." Elizabeth recognized the voice of her sister, Jane.
"Hi Jane. How are you?"
"I'm doing well. Chuck and I just came back from shopping." Chuck Bingley and Jane had gotten married three months ago, they loved each other very much.
"Guess what? My boss, Darcy, got back from the hospital yesterday. Had to give him back control of the dealership." Elizabeth said, not really regretting Darcy was back.
"I am almost afraid to ask, but here it goes, do you still find Darcy cold, and inhuman?" Jane asked.
"Well, Jane, I don't quite know. You know--yes--I think I do not find him all those things you say. He has changed his whole demeanor, he now has a little warmth in his heart, I believe. I also got an E-Mail from him, six weeks ago, telling me about George Wickham. Darcy says in his letter that Wickham is just about as nasty as they come! I do not know if I shall inform Wickham of this, but I do know my feelings toward him have certainly changed." Elizabeth said, explaining what the rest of the E-Mail said.
The next day was busy with excitement, the dealership was getting in a new stock of Imports.
"Sixty BMW's, thirty Mercedes...." the delivery man said checking off the boxes on his list. "Yes, thank you." Darcy simply said after paying him the shipping charges. After about fifteen minutes, Darcy could never really be sure nowadays, Darcy took his break. Elizabeth Bennet was outside also enjoying the summer air. "Mr. Darcy, this is a surprise, how are you?" she asked.
"Um, quite well, Ms. Bennet, quite well, and yourself?" Darcy spoke uncomfortably.
"I am well indeed, Mr. Darcy."
"I must talk to you, Ms. Bennet, do you still think me the cruel harpy Wickham made me out to be? Because, if you do, after receiving--and I assume reading-- my letter, I will press the matter no further." he awaited her response eagerly.
"I confess, Mr. Darcy, I do not find you to be a 'harpy' as you put it. My reading your letter had little bearing on you yourself, it did however cast an evil shadow on the way I perceive Mr. Wickham. No, it was not your letter, it is the way you have been acting, the whole air of you has changed. To put it shortly, my feelings for you have changed, drastically have they changed."
Darcy was caught off guard by her answer, he had naturally assumed he still repulsed her. This--this was an unexpected turn. "Elizabeth Bennet," he said not recognizing the voice coming out of his mouth, "Would you be my wife? Will you marry me?" he finished.
Chapter 16
"George? Do you really mean it? We will be married?" Lydia screamed in delight.
"If you will have me, we shall elope, in, say, Rio de Janeiro?" George said.
"Oh, no, George. Not South America, I always get terrible jet lag. There is a great little place in the Northeast part of town. A charming little shop, the also do tattoos, oh George, we could get married and get matching tattoos."
George wasn't crazy about either of the suggestions, the northeast part of town was the bed for drunks and stoners. He wouldn't do well getting a tattoo either, he got nauseous at the sight of a flu shot he had three years back, no, a tattoo wouldn't do. "Well, we could get married there and get *gulp* matching tattoos, but don't you think Rio would be better? We could have our honeymoon there, and we could stay there for a while and learn the, uh, culture. And I'll bet the have Tattoo Parlors there too." Wickham added grudgingly.
"Well, its not the Chapel 'o' Love, but I suppose we could go. But it must be after this weekend."
"Oh, but Lydia, we should go right away. It would be so romantic." at the word 'romantic' Lydia readily said yes. They got on the first plane the next morning and were headed to South America.
Darcy and Lizzy were done with wedding preparations by the night before, they had worked tirelessly almost non-stop planning for the joyous occasion. Lizzy's mother insisted she have a say in what dress Lizzy wore. "Oh, Lizzy, I am your mother for crying out loud! I know what you will look stunning in." with that the matter was closed. Lizzy didn't mind much, she had grown up with her mother being in every little thing and commenting on it as well.
"I now pronounce you man and wife, you may kiss the bride." said the minister with a thick Spanish accent. Wickham was married. "Oh, George, isn't this wonderful! I am Mrs. George Wickham! And you?" Lydia asked.
"And I am Mr. George Wickham." he said, puzzled at his last words.
From the back room of the church wonderfully adorned with roses, Lizzy heard the organ. She walked up the aisle with her father and stopped in front of the altar. Virtually the thing she heard was, "We are gathered here in the sight of God and man alike. Is your intention to marry this woman? To cherish her as long as you both shall live?" the minister asked Darcy.
"It is, and I do." Darcy said in a full voice.
"And is it your intention to accept this man to be your husband? To cherish him as long as you both shall live?" he asked Lizzy in return.
"It is and I do." Lizzy replied in a quieter voice than she normally used.
"Then, by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."
The minister said, in a cheery voice.
Darcy kissed Elizabeth for the first time and someone hurried them out to where there was a white limousine waiting for them, Chuck Bingley, Darcy's best man standing by the open door.
The rice was thrown and Darcy smiled the way Lizzy had never seen, If he smiles like that all the time we are married, it shall be a very happy union indeed. she thought.
Eight Years Later
"Danny! No running in the house! Oh, Victoria, I'll play tea set with you in a minute." yelled Lizzy as Danny Darcy ran through the house, covered with mud. His cousin, Chuck Jr., soon walked through the door--not a spot on the child--and said hello to his aunt Elizabeth. Jane had brought C.J.--as he liked to be called--up so well. Her being a teacher helped. Lizzy, Jane, Lydia, and Kitty were preparing the food for a barbeque the family was having. Mary Bennet wasn't there because she had to stay with her friend, Mary Musgrove, who was feeling very ill today. Mary would not have enjoyed a barbeque anyway, Lizzy guessed. William, Chuck, and Bernard--Kitty's husband--were all standing around the grill trying to start the coals with, what Lizzy guessed, a Zippo lighter and half a car tank full of starter fluid.
Knock Knock
Wickham got up to answer the door, he was, however, too late. He thought it would be safe for him to return to the States, but he was--as he now guessed--wrong. The door busted open and men dressed in black and blue, wearing POLICE on the back of their jackets, rushed into the house with guns pointed and voices shouting. He was thrown up against the far wall of his apartment and handcuffed.
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of Law. You have the right to an attorney........" Wickham stopped listening after he recognized what was going on; he was being arrested. His Miranda rights were being read to him. It took him a while, before the obvious entered his head, the man that handcuffed him said,
"You are being arrested for two counts of attempted murder, associating with a known felon,--Jimmy Robertson-- violating parole..." the list went on, he realized he was going to be prosecuted for trying to kill William Darcy eight and one half years ago. He was promptly stuffed into the back of a squad car and brought to a holding cell. "Hiya. We're gonna be roomies, me and you?" a burly asked getting off one of the cots in the cell. Wickham could hardly stand the thought but he just casually said, "I hope not." The big man was not happy about it, but went back to reading a magazine one the cot.
Ten months later, Wickham was sentenced to thirty five years, no chance of parole. "Because I granted you parole last year, and, as I can see, you abused that privilege." the Judge told him, frowning on Wickham.