Beginning, Previous Section, Section III, Next Section
Chapter Nine
Rebecca made a face. "Not yet." As Dan frowned at her, she made an attempt at defending herself. "I just haven't found the right moment, yet." She went back to brushing her horse.
"You're just spineless," Dan said as he tightened the girth on his saddle. "Why don't you forget about your Dad and ask your Mum instead? She sounds easier to convince than him."
Rebecca laughed lightly. "You sure don't know my Mum! Anyway, it's easier for me to talk to Dad than to her." She tossed the brush back into her tack box and reached for the saddle.
"Spineless, like I said." Dan smiled at her. "If you don't do it soon, I'll come over and tell them myself."
"You wouldn't!" Rebecca stared at him, then smiled when she realized he was teasing her. "Okay, okay. I promise. This weekend."
They both finished tacking up their horses and headed into the arena. A tough hour of training and all four were hot, sweaty and tired. When the horses were finally cooled down, cleaned up and put away, Dan and Rebecca headed into town for a drink before going home.
Despite the cold January evening they both ordered cool drinks. Sipping on hers, Rebecca listened to Dan's stories from last year's summer in Europe.
"Stop, Dan," she said finally. "You're making me impatient to go!"
"That was my idea," he said with a grin. "So you'll go home, find your Dad and make him say yes!"
"Yes!" she said laughingly. "Actually, it's my sister's birthday this weekend, so everyone will be home and in a good mood. I suppose I'd better just go to it."
They finished up their drinks and parted company. Rebecca glanced at the clock on the car radio and noted that it was unlikely that her father would still be up. When she got home, she simply went up to her room to shower, then climbed into bed, planning to catch him first thing in the morning.
There was a crowd at the breakfast table the next morning, as Anna and Ben had come home the night before. Everyone wished Anna a happy birthday, her twentieth, and Elizabeth reminded them all about the special dinner celebration that evening.
With most of them finished their meals, Rebecca stayed behind, waiting for an opportunity to speak with her father. When her mother finally left and only the two of them remained in the room, Rebecca opened her mouth to speak.
"Dad, I wanted to ask you something."
Will scrutinized her over the rim of his coffee cup. "And that would be?"
She took a deep breath. "I was hoping you would give me permission to go to Europe for the summer shows."
He raised an eyebrow. Rebecca looked down at her fingers, playing with the edge of the tablecloth.
"I would also," she began slowly, then rushed out the rest of her sentence, "like to stay in Europe for the winter circuit." She glanced up cautiously to see the reaction.
Will sat watching her silently. He glanced down, and carefully placed his cup back on the saucer. Then his eyes met his daughter's once more. "I thought as much."
"You what?" Rebecca was staring at him, mouth open.
Will smiled. "Your life is horses, Rebecca. You'll be finished with school this term, and I didn't see any indication of you wanting to study anything else." He chuckled. "You are a lot like your grandmother. My mother. She was the horsewoman. Not that I remember much myself. She had the opportunities to go on, but she married your grandfather and decided to stop there, although there were always horses here at Pemberley. You should have the chance if it's what you want. I only stipulate two conditions."
Rebecca was still having difficulty believing what she was hearing. "Two conditions?"
"Yes. First, that you sit you're A-levels, and you pass every one of them!"
"But I won't need them if I'm going to keep riding," she observed.
"Oh, yes you will," Will stated flatly. "You can't ride your whole life. You will need something to fall back on if your first option doesn't work out. You have the opportunity and the means to pass the A-levels now and you are going to do it. No pass, no Europe. Is that clear?"
"Yes," she said meekly.
"The second condition is that you work hard. I expect to see you improve over the time you spend there. You'll have one year to train, gain experience and decide if it's really what you want to spend your life doing." He paused, waiting for her to comment.
"But I already know it's what I want to do!"
"You might change your mind after you've been in the thick of it. And if you do, then you'll need to consider what other careers might interest you." Will watched her as she digested what he'd said.
After a few moments, Rebecca looked up at him. "Thanks, Dad. I was so worried that you'd say no. I guess I should go talk to Mum, now."
Will shook his head. "I'll speak with her. We've actually had this conversation a few times already. I was just wondering when you'd get around to asking me." He frowned slightly as a sudden thought occurred to him. "Rebecca, how many of you are going from your stable?"
"Six. Heather, Jim, Randy, Ann, Dan and me." She smiled, her eyes sparkling.
Will mused over the names. "Alright. Remember, Rebecca, you pass all of you're A-levels or you don't go."
"Yes, sir!" Rebecca jumped up from her chair and ran around to his to plant a kiss on his cheek. "Thanks so much, Dad. I love you." Then she ran out of the room and upstairs to call Dan.
Almost immediately Elizabeth entered the room and sat down in a chair next to Will. "She finally asked you?"
Will nodded. "I know you don't want her to go, Elizabeth, but we did agree that if she asked, the answer would be yes, on the conditions we decided upon. Now we'll see if she pulls it off."
They were both silent for a moment.
"There is one thing I'm concerned about, though," Will added. "It's this Dan she keeps mentioning."
"Oh, Will," Elizabeth chuckled. "You aren't going to start that again? Once she's in Europe she'll forget all about the boys back home."
Will's gaze never wavered from his wife's face. "He's going with them."
Elizabeth's eyes widened. "Oh."
The wine had flowed, the food was eaten and Anna had opened her gifts. The evening was coming to a close with everyone relaxed and laughing. Anna was still admiring the beautiful ruby necklace she'd received from her parents, and the matching earrings that Ben had given her.
The younger members of the family were now making their way upstairs to bed, leaving Anna and Ben with their parents and aunt to finish off the wine and cakes.
"Anna, have another one." Ben offered her the plate.
"I couldn't eat another bite!" she laughed.
"You finish them," Elizabeth suggested with a smile. "You know you will, anyway." She glanced over at her husband, sitting quietly opposite her. "You've not said much, Will."
He gave her a small smile. "I was just musing on the events of twenty years ago, when Anna was born."
Elizabeth's smile faded slowly, and Georgiana's gaze alternated between her brother and sister-in-law.
"Now, Will, don't go getting all gloomy on us." Georgiana poured him another drink and held out the glass. "It was twenty years ago, and you and Elizabeth have had many long, happy years since."
Ben and Anna looked at each other questioningly, then both shrugged their shoulders. Will sipped at the glass his sister had given him.
"You were only twenty then yourself, Georgie," he said wistfully. "Where does the time go?"
Elizabeth patted his leg. "Feeling old, my dear?" She chuckled. "Well, if you want to reminisce, I think you should choose something a bit more cheerful. How about my first visit to Pemberley?"
"Oh, yes," Anna exclaimed. "Would you tell us about that?"
Will cleared his throat. "I don't think there's much of that I'd care to tell, or would dare to repeat, Elizabeth."
"Oh, you mean how you sent me flying into the rose garden?" Elizabeth looked at him in a way that said she knew exactly what he meant.
Georgiana smiled at them. "Oh, yes. I remember that."
"Thank you, dear," Will said sarcastically. "I had wished to forget that particular moment."
Anna leaned forward eagerly. "But I'd like to hear it."
"Your father looked so handsome," Elizabeth told her. "And so embarrassed!"
"But what happened after that? Where was this garden? Did you fall in love instantly?" Anna sighed.
"I can't believe you've never told your children that story, Will," Georgiana said, then added in a suggestive tone, "I should think Ben might be interested in it especially."
Will stared at her. "I can't believe you even know that story! I didn't tell you." He looked over at his wife who glanced away quickly.
Ben raised his eyebrows at his parents. "Is this something I would be interested in?" When his mother blushed and turned away, he grinned as he realized why they must have kept it quiet. "Ah, I understand."
"I don't." Anna looked at them, puzzled. She met four pairs of staring eyes. "Oh." She blushed.
Ben returned home unexpectedly in the middle of the next week. It was unusual for him to appear at any time other than a weekend.
"I had a free day, and thought I'd pop in to see my family," he explained to his parents. He really wanted to do as he'd promised his sister; keep an eye on their father. Ben had noticed that Will wasn't his usual self on the weekend. He took advantage of the opportunity of his free time, much as he would have loved to spend it with a certain lady, and travelled home to make sure his father was alright.
Elizabeth was sceptical of her son's story, but happy to see him nonetheless. Will managed to persuade Ben into driving into Derby to a jewellers to pick up an anniversary gift for his mother. Ben had chuckled when his father had asked him. He remembered that Will had never waited until the last minute to find a gift for his wife on their special day. As a matter of fact, he often purchased several gifts, not always waiting until the day to present them to his wife.
Will was grateful that Ben agreed to make the trip to Derby in his stead. He had finally compiled all of the necessary files for Georgiana and had arranged to go over the information with her that afternoon. When Ben appeared out of the blue, it was a golden opportunity for him. He hadn't relished the thought of driving all that way on a simple errand, only to come back home to sit for several more hours in his study with his sister. Ben seemed eager to do him the favour and Will was quite happy with the arrangement.
He was about to take the files up to Georgiana when the telephone rang. Quickly picking up the extension on his desk, he heard a breathy female voice reply to his "Hello?"
"Hello darling. You left some things at my place this morning."
Will smiled. "I think you've mistaken me for someone else."
"I did? Oh, I'm so sorry." The woman sounded embarrassed. "I was sure I'd dialled the right number."
"Who are you looking for?" Will already knew what the answer would be.
"Ben?"
Bingo! "He's not home at the moment. I sent him into town to pick up something for me. Would you like to leave a message?" This was rare. One of Ben's girlfriends actually ringing the house!
The woman laughed lightly. "You sound just like him! He didn't tell me he has a brother."
"Well, he does," Will laughed in reply. "But I'm not him. I'm his father."
"Oh. You sound just like him." she repeated.
"So, would you like to leave a message?" Will asked again.
"Oh." She laughed once more. "Just tell him I called, thanks. Ta ra!" She'd rung off before Will could ask her name.
He hung up and went in search of his sister.
When Ben returned later in the day, just before tea as it happened, he quickly sought out his father to make sure the parcel in his possession was put away safely before his mother saw it. Will grinned like a little boy as Ben placed the item into his hand.
"Did you see it before they wrapped it up?" he asked.
Ben whistled. "It's beautiful, Dad. Mum's going to love it."
"I hope so."
"Dad, has she ever not liked anything you've given her?"
Will grinned again. "No, but that little bit of apprehension only heightens my pleasure when I hear her express her satisfaction with my choice!" He clapped a hand on Ben's shoulder and steered him down the hall. "Let's go down for tea. I'm hungry, and you always are."
Laughing, Ben said,. "I have to admit that you're right!"
"Oh, I almost forgot," Will said, giving his son a quick glance. "Someone telephoned for you. She said you left a few things at her place."
Ben stopped in his tracks, but Will kept walking. "Brenda called here?" Ben asked.
Will looked back over his shoulder. "Is that her name? She didn't tell me. But I suppose you'd know whose house you were at this morning," he said with a smirk. "At least, I hope so." Will stopped and turned around. His son's complexion had changed to a shade of red that he had rarely seen. Oh, now this could be fun! he thought. "She thought I was you, at first."
Ben's eyes grew rounder. "She did? What did she say?"
"Well, let's just say I'm glad your mother hadn't picked up the extension to hear another woman saying things like that to me!" Will was hard pressed to contain his laughter as Ben's face now drained of all colour. "It certainly surprised me, though. But not as much as it did her!"
"Excuse me, Dad."
Will waited until Ben was out of sight before he let the laughter go.
Having seen nothing to alarm him as far as his father was concerned, Ben came to the conclusion that his sister was a worry-wart, and left Pemberley immediately after dinner that evening. He was still smarting from the teasing that Will had inflicted upon him, for after he'd spoken to Brenda he knew that he'd been set up. Time and again on the long drive back to Cambridge he relived the scene at the dinner table as his father would look at him and chuckle, and his mother watched them, trying to figure out what was going on.
Ben had never made any secret of the numerous girlfriends he'd had over the years, but he had not considered any of them seriously enough to warrant introducing them to his parents. It hadn't seemed to bother his father, and his mother just learned to live with it. Brenda, however, was different. Ben really wanted to be able to bring her to Pemberley, to make her a part of the family picture, and to show her what a wonderful family he had.
Unfortunately, life wasn't that simple.
He sighed. In the end it would all work out, he knew. He and Brenda would be together, his parents would accept her and love her like he did. It would just take time.
It was late when he finally walked in the door of his flat, threw his keys on the table and checked his messages. There was nothing that couldn't wait until the next day, so he decided to ease his sister's mind and picked up the phone to call her.
"Hi, Anna," he said when she answered. "I went home today like I promised."
"And how was Dad?" she asked hurriedly.
"Fine. I really think you're overreacting, Anna."
"Well," she said hesitantly, "if you really believe that....."
"I do." Ben paused. "I'm sure you'd know it, too, if you'd seen him today. I was a source of great amusement for our father this afternoon."
Anna giggled. "What did you do?"
"Actually, it was Brenda. She called and mistook Dad for me when he answered." Ben heard Anna laughing. "He just loved it, Anna. All those years of me embarrassing him and Mum, and he got his revenge in one day."
"I doubt that!" Anna was still laughing. "I'm coming home with you next time. I'm not going to miss this!"
"Just be sure you keep your comments to yourself," he warned. "I know a few things about you that might not go over all that well."
"Advice taken, Ben. When are you going home again?"
"Probably not until next month," he replied. "I've got some assignments that I've neglected. I have to pay a little more attention to those. I'll plan for Mum and Dad's anniversary. Mum said that Aunt Jane and Uncle Charles will be coming the weekend before, so they'll likely celebrate it then."
"I'll see you then, I suppose."
"Okay. Bye, Anna."
Ben put the phone away and pulled out his books. Opening the first one, he turned to the paper he had partially completed and began to read it over.
Elizabeth woke early and slipped out of bed carefully so as not to disturb her husband. Quickly dressing, she went downstairs to the kitchen to get herself some breakfast before the others surfaced.
Elizabeth had plans for the day. With one week before their wedding anniversary, she still had to finalize the menu she had prepared, and confirm the number of guests for dinner. She smiled when she thought of how Will would be surprised to see his cousin, Richard, and his wife Laura, when they arrived on the Friday. Georgiana knew they were coming, and had been a tremendous help in arranging everything as well as making sure that her brother didn't find out.
One more trip into Leeds to pick up her new outfit and Elizabeth would be ready for next weekend. She planned to leave right away to be able to complete that task and be home again before lunch. Finishing up her breakfast, she deposited the dishes by the sink and went to her office, looking for her keys. On average, she misplaced them twice a week, and today was no exception. Standing in the middle of the room she tried to think of where she may have left them this time.
Snapping her fingers, Elizabeth left the room to hurry back upstairs. She opened the bedroom door very quietly and crossed to her night table. Just as her hand closed around the key ring she heard the bedclothes rustle.
"Where are you off to so early?" Will mumbled as he peered at her through slitted eyes.
"Shopping." She sat down next to him on the bed.
"Hmm," he said, snaking a hand around her waist to pull her closer. "Can't it wait?"
"No," Elizabeth laughed as his other hand rose to cup the back of her neck and draw her face down to meet his. Their lips met and her mind briefly toyed with his suggestion. Then she drew back and grinned at him. "Of course, you could come with me. We could spend the day away from here."
"An attractive prospect," Will said thoughtfully. "I think I will! Can you wait until I'm ready to go?"
"Of course. But you'd better make it quick!" Elizabeth clapped her hands together twice, sharply.
"Yes, ma'am," Will said with a smile and threw back the blankets. He had only made four steps from the bed when he suddenly stumbled and reached a hand out to grab the nearest piece of furniture for support.
"Will!" Elizabeth cried, rushing to his side.
His breathing was laboured and his face contorted with pain. Already beginning to double over, he was slowly sinking to his knees as she reached him.
"Will, what is it? Oh my -!" She put her hands on either side of his face and anxiously waited for him to open his eyes. A heart attack! He's having a heart attack! she thought wildly. "I'll call 999!" she said tearfully and started to get up from where she knelt beside him.
Will's hand suddenly gripped her wrist. His pain-filled eyes were locked on hers. She could see him struggling to control his breathing. "No," he managed to gasp. "It..... will.... pass," he finished between breaths.
Elizabeth stared at him in indecision. In a matter of seconds, however, he had his breathing under control and she saw that the tenseness was leaving his expression. She waited, hardly breathing, herself, until he took a deep breath and sat back on his heels.
"I told you it would pass," Will said, smiling weakly at her.
Elizabeth felt relief wash over her, followed in quick succession by heated anger. "What do you mean, telling me it will pass? Has this happened before?"
Will nodded.
"How many times?" Elizabeth demanded.
"Four or five."
"Four or five??" Elizabeth was furious. "And you didn't tell me??" She grabbed a shirt from the closet. "Get dressed. I'm taking you to the hospital right now!"
"No."
"No? Don't you dare you say no to me, Will Darcy!"
Will was smiling at the angry flash in her eyes. "There is no need, Elizabeth."
She stared at him, aghast. "No need! I'm not about to argue with you on this, Will. Get dressed, now, or I'll take you there without any clothes on!"
"Elizabeth." Will would have laughed if he thought it wouldn't hurt. "Liz, I've already seen my doctor."
"When?" she asked, clearly not believing him.
"About a week ago, after the third time I'd experienced one of these attacks." Will slowly got to his feet and waved off his wife's attempt to assist him.
"What did he say?" Elizabeth was hovering near him, wanting him to go back to bed and lay down.
"He sent me for some tests. I have an appointment on Monday to see what the results are." He began walking around the room, gradually moving more easily.
"Shouldn't you be laying down?"
Will took her hand and squeezed it. "No, I feel better as I move around more. Don't worry, dear. I'm not going to die on you. The pain is just damned inconvenient, that's all."
"Inconvenient, you say? That's all? You need your head examined as well as your body!" Elizabeth followed him around the room. "When is your appointment on Monday? I'm going with you."
"Ten thirty. Now, Elizabeth, this is why I didn't tell you. You're getting yourself all worked up already." Will stepped around her to walk through to the shower. "I wanted to be able to tell you exactly what the problem is, so you wouldn't have to wonder."
"Oh, that's so considerate, Will." Her reply was laced with sarcasm. "And if you'd died in the meantime?"
"I am not dying, Elizabeth!"
"It certainly looked like you were not five minutes ago!" Elizabeth stalked into the room behind him.
Will opened the shower door and turned the water on. "Go do your shopping, Elizabeth."
"And leave you here alone?" she asked incredulously. "Not bloody likely!"
Will shook his head. "I'm hardly alone. The house is filled with staff, my sister and four teenagers!" He met her determined gaze with one of his own. "Go!"
The war waged in the air between them, their eyes fixed on one another. At last Elizabeth let out an infuriated "Argh!" and whirled around to stomp out the door. She did not go far, however. Plunking herself down into a chair, she crossed her arms over her chest and waited while her husband took his shower.
Chapter Eleven
The phone's ringing continued long enough for Elizabeth to conclude that no one else was going to answer it. She put down her paintbrush and picked up the phone.
"Lizzy?" Jane sounded surprised. "I didn't expect you to answer. What are you doing?"
Elizabeth looked at the brush resting on the edge of the paint can. "Painting a chair."
"You were what?" Jane asked. Elizabeth could almost see her shaking her head in disbelief.
"You heard correctly, Jane," her sister laughed. "What's up? Did you or Charles forget something here on the weekend?"
"Not this time," Jane replied. "I need to talk to you. Could you and Will come for dinner on Wednesday?"
That caught Elizabeth's attention. "I'm sure we can," she said, sitting down. "You sound serious, Jane. Is something wrong?"
"It's just some information that Charles recently received. We need to discuss it with you and Will."
With her own husband's condition prominent in her thoughts, Elizabeth enquired, "Charles isn't ill, is he? You're both alright?"
"Oh, nothing like that, Lizzy. You know I'd tell you right away if that were the case," Jane assured her.
Her sister felt a twinge of guilt. "Thank goodness. Wednesday will be fine, then. We'll see you around six?"
"Perfect. I'll let you get back to your painting, Lizzy," Jane chuckled. "I wouldn't want you to lose the motivation."
They said their goodbyes, and Elizabeth returned to her task.
A few hours later she heard the sounds of the children returning from school. Already, Rebecca was calling her name. Elizabeth poked her head out into the hallway.
"I'm in here."
Rebecca was speaking before she even entered the room. "I forgot to tell you this morning, but then Kathleen said she wanted to come, too."
"What are you talking about, Rebecca?" Elizabeth patiently asked her daughter.
"We're going to Dan's for our tea. He asked me yesterday, and Kathleen asked if she could go with me. Is that alright, Mum?"
Dan, again, Elizabeth thought. "That's fine, but you mustn't be late. It's a school night. Do either of you have homework?"
Kathleen, standing in the doorway, shook her head. Rebecca said, "I did mine at school on my free period. We won't be late. Thanks, Mum!"
Both girls raced out the front door before Elizabeth could say another word. With Will and Georgiana at the solicitor's going over more papers, that would leave her and the boys alone for their tea. Elizabeth set about cleaning up her workspace and put away the paint cans. Then she went upstairs to get cleaned up herself.
Aaron and Rich were already into the food before she appeared in the dining room. Elizabeth shook her head. Ben's appetite as a teenager was something to behold, but having two such voracious appetites in the house at once was something else!
Rich looked up guiltily when he saw her enter. "Sorry, Mum. We were hungry."
Elizabeth waved off his apology and sat down. "Rich, you've met your sister's friend, Dan, haven't you?"
Rich nodded as his mouth was full.
"What can you tell me about him?"
Rich reached for his glass of milk and took a large gulp. "He's one of the grooms at the stable."
Elizabeth suppressed the urge to sigh. "That much I know, dear. Do you know anything else about him?"
Rich shrugged his shoulders disinterestedly. "He's a nice chap. He's got a really nice car! I think he bought it with the money he earned last year in Europe. Well, I think that's what he said."
"Oh, Dan went to Europe last year, too?" Elizabeth tried to sound casual.
"Yep."
Elizabeth cringed slightly at her son's use of that word. She knew he'd picked it up from Aaron, along with a few others she wasn't very fond of.
"Actually," Rich continued, "I think he's been over a few times."
"A few times?" Elizabeth asked, her curiosity piqued a bit more. "How old is he?"
Rich looked up thoughtfully. "Oh, he's got to be at least twenty-one!" he said in a tone which indicated he thought that was very old indeed.
Elizabeth thought it best to drop the subject at that point. Rebecca would be the one to answer the rest of her questions, and Elizabeth planned to ask them as soon as possible.
"Rebecca?"
Elizabeth's middle daughter paused on her way past the music room door. Popping her head into the room, she smiled.
"Yes, Mum?"
"Would you come in here, please. I'd like to speak with you for a few minutes."
"Well," Rebecca began and stopped. She looked behind her quickly, then back at her mother. "Okay."
As she entered the room, Elizabeth asked her to close the door. Rebecca complied and took a seat on the sofa beside her mother.
"I'll come straight to the point," Elizabeth said, "before your father does. What is going on between you and Dan?"
Rebecca stared at her mother in silence. Then she smiled. "There's nothing going on, Mum. We're just friends."
"Just friends." Elizabeth pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Is this your opinion, or Dan's?"
"Both." Rebecca frowned. "Mum, he's twenty-five. Besides, he's not interested in me that way."
"Oh, really. And you're sure about that?" Elizabeth looked sceptically at her daughter.
Rebecca laughed. "Yes, I'm sure! He's not interested in any of the girls." She could see her mother still didn't believe her. "Mum, he's not interested in girls!"
Elizabeth was speechless, her mind at first refusing to grasp what her daughter was saying. He doesn't like girls? He's..... he's a....... She had to think about her reply before she dared to open her mouth, and then all that came out was one word. "Oh!"
"So you see," Rebecca said with a smirk, "he's not out to corrupt me. He's not trying to steal me away, nor is he going to sell me into a white slave ring! He's just a really good friend who has been a tremendous help to me in my training."
Recovered from her surprise, Elizabeth didn't take kindly to her daughter's remarks. "Don't belittle our concerns, Rebecca. After what we went through with Kathleen, you should be more understanding of our feelings."
"I'm sorry," Rebecca said sincerely. "I just didn't want... Well, I mean, I know how Dad is about the time I spend at the stable, and who is there."
"The boys." Elizabeth laughed softly.
Rebecca smiled. "Yeah, the boys. I hope you and Dad realize that I'm not interesting in finding a boyfriend at the moment. I want to concentrate on my riding, and I have to concentrate on my studies if I expect to pass the exams and go to Europe. I really, really want this, Mum! A boyfriend would just get in the way right now."
Elizabeth shook her head in amusement. "Well, your father will be relieved to hear that at least. I wish you had told us this earlier, Rebecca. It would have saved us a lot of unnecessary worry."
Wednesday had been a quiet day, and both Elizabeth and Will were looking forward to dinner with the Bingleys. They left Pemberley early since it was still at least an hour's drive to Jane's place.
Conversation over dinner consisted mostly of family; what their respective children were up to, the latest gossip about their sisters and, of course, Mrs. Bennet.
Will had very little to add to this discourse. Even after twenty one years of dealing with his mother-in-law he had never found much patience with her annoying habit of interfering in her daughters' lives. Elizabeth was a particularly favourite target of her mother, something that had never changed, and that woman's interest in his wife's domestic satisfaction irritated Will to no end. Still, Elizabeth managed to keep her at bay, and no longer let her mother's insensitive remarks upset her.
Having had enough of sitting, Charles and Will went to look at Charles' new car following dinner, while their wives viewed Jane's latest undertaking at decorating in the upper sitting room.
"This is lovely, Jane!" Elizabeth looked around in appreciation. "When are you free to come to Pemberley and help me? There are three or four rooms I've neglected for too many years!"
Jane laughed lightly. "Well, if you like, I'll help you get started this summer. I thought you were finally beginning to enjoy those domestic chores, Lizzie, when I caught you painting when I rang on Monday!"
"Oh, that!" Elizabeth grinned. "Well, it wasn't much of a job, even if it did take me most of the afternoon to finish. It hardly qualifies as an accomplishment." She looked at her sister seriously for a moment. "Jane, what was it you wanted to talk to Will and me about?"
Jane glanced away briefly. "I need to show you something first," she said and crossed to the small table next to the sofa. Pulling open a drawer, Jane withdrew an envelope. She returned to her sister's side and removed a photo from it.
"Lizzy, I found this photo that Rob took," Jane said as she handed it to her. "You know how he's forever taking his camera everywhere."
Elizabeth looked at the photo. She looked at Jane again. "This is Ben." She shrugged her shoulders and held out the photo.
"Look closer, Lizzy. That's Ben's girlfriend, isn't it?" Jane watched her puzzled expression.
"Ben has lots of girlfriends, Jane, but none of them serious." Elizabeth shook her head. "I don't see what you're getting at."
"Lizzy, when I found this photo I thought that Ben and this woman looked rather cozy, so I asked Rob who she was. He said that she's Ben's girlfriend and her name is Brenda McIntyre." Jane paused, waiting for her sister to respond.
"He must have been mistaken, Jane. Ben's never mentioned anyone named Brenda, and he hasn't said anything about a girlfriend." Still, Elizabeth studied the photo once more. Ben did look pretty coy with the woman. She was sitting on his lap, and his arms were wound tightly around her waist. "What is your point, Jane?"
"Charles recognized her."
Elizabeth met her gaze. "What do you mean, he recognized her?"
Jane took a deep breath. "Charles went to a conference a year ago and was partnered for one of the sessions with a young man from Cambridge. They became rather friendly over the four days, and often met in the evenings for dinner or a drink."
"What does this have to do with Ben?" Elizabeth asked impatiently.
"I'm coming to that." Jane took another photo from the table beside her and handed it to her sister.
Elizabeth glanced at it. In it there were Charles, another young man and a young woman. Elizabeth looked from one photo to the other, comparing them. "The women look similar."
Jane sighed. "That photo was taken at the conference. The other man is Ian, and the woman is his wife. Brenda."
Elizabeth looked up sharply. "You expect me to believe that the women in these photos are the same? That my son has a girlfriend that he hasn't told us about, and that she is married? Is that what you're telling me, Jane?"
"I didn't want to believe it either, Lizzy, but it was Charles who recognized her. And it was Rob who said she's Ben's girlfriend."
Elizabeth laughed out loud. "You amaze me, Jane! The idea is so absurd. I can't believe you would even think it!"
Frustrated, Jane closed her eyes. She hadn't thought that Elizabeth would be willing to accept what she had to say. Despite her own reluctance, she had been forced to concede the possibility in light of the evidence before her eyes, and Charles' own assurance that the women in the photos were one and the same. Once Jane had realized its likelihood, she knew that telling Elizabeth would be a difficult and dangerous step. But she could not let her sister be left in the dark, not when she, herself, knew what Ben was up to. Elizabeth would be devastated if she believed her now, and even more so if she discovered it on her own later.
Elizabeth was still laughing, although it sounded more cynical than amused, when the door opened and Charles and Will joined them.
"What's so funny?" Will asked with a smile.
Jane and Charles glanced at one another. Elizabeth picked up the photo of their son and handed it to Will.
"That is your son's girlfriend, I'm told." Elizabeth smirked.
Will raised an eyebrow and examined the item. He chuckled. "So, that's Brenda, is it? I hadn't pictured her quite like that from the sound of her voice."
Elizabeth stared at her husband. "Did..... did you say.... Brenda?" she asked quietly.
"Yes," Will said cautiously, his gaze flitting between his wife, Charles and Jane. "Why?"
"You knew that Ben was seeing her?" Elizabeth's gaze hardened.
Will put his hands up in front of him as if to ward her off. "Wait a minute, Elizabeth. I don't know anything yet. All I did was answer the phone one day and a woman asked for Ben. He told me her name was Brenda." He looked at the other three again. "What's going on?"
"She's married!" Elizabeth spat out.
"Married?" Will refused to believe that. "Don't be ridiculous. Ben would never involve himself in that sort of situation."
"Brenda is married, Will." Charles looked guilty just saying the words. "I met her and her husband about a year ago at a conference."
Will studied his friend closely. Charles would never have mentioned this if he didn't really believe it to be true. He sat down wearily on the sofa. "Alright, tell me everything you know, Charles."
Elizabeth joined her husband on the sofa, while Jane and Charles sat on the opposite one.
"A year ago last October," Charles began, "I was at a conference in Cardiff. My partner for most of the week was a young chap from Cambridge. He was a nice fellow and we got on rather well. We spent many of the evenings together. On the Saturday, his wife drove down to get him, so that he wouldn't have to take the train back. The three of us had dinner together that night." Charles passed the other photo over to Will. "That's the three of us on Sunday morning before we all left. If you'll look at the woman in the photo with Ben, I think you'll agree with me that they are the same woman."
Will studied the two photos. He had to admit that Charles was right, they were the same woman.
"Rob took the photo of Ben and Brenda at a party before Christmas," Jane explained. "I found it quite by accident a couple of weeks ago when I was tidying up downstairs. Rob often leaves his photos laying around. I didn't think too much of it at the time. Other than idle curiosity about this woman, and what relationship she had with my nephew, I wasn't suspicious. It was when Charles saw it and said that he recognized her that we started to become concerned."
"Rob would only tell us her name and that she and Ben were seeing one another." Charles glanced at Elizabeth. "I'm sorry, Lizzie. I don't know what else to say."
Will slammed the photos down on the table beside him. "What the hell is he doing?" he roared. "I'm going round to see him tomorrow. First thing tomorrow I'm leaving for Cambridge and I'll get an explanation from him if I have to shake it out of him!"
Elizabeth put her hand on his arm in an attempt to restrain him. Will shook it off and sprung from his seat to angrily pace the floor.
"Wasn't it just last week that we were saying how responsible he is? How trustworthy?" Will blew out his breath forcefully. "And to think I was going to allow him some real responsibilities! To take over for me in a couple of corporations!"
"What?" Charles looked at him in surprise. "When was all this to happen?"
"After he finished university," Will said between clenched teeth. "I thought he was ready. I thought he was mature enough to handle it! It seems I was wrong."
Elizabeth brought her head up. "You can't change your mind, Will. You have to do it."
"I know what I said I'd do, Elizabeth," Will snapped. "But this puts things in a whole new light. How can I possibly trust Ben to make rational, competent business decisions when he's preoccupied with running around with some other man's wife!?"
"Wait a minute," Charles interrupted. "What did Lizzie mean, 'you have to do it'? Is there something else going on here?"
Will met his wife's gaze and held it. His anger with his son seethed on the surface, but the unspoken communication with Elizabeth said it was time to let the Bingleys in on his condition.
"I'm trying to pass on some of my obligations, Charles. I need to ease up a bit."
Charles looked at him in alarm. "What do you mean? Are you ill?"
Jane leaned forward and touched her sister's knee. "Lizzie, tell us."
"It's nothing serious - " Will began.
"Like hell!!" Elizabeth interrupted.
Will glared at her. "It's manageable," he said sharply.
"What do you mean it's manageable?" Charles asked. "What is it you're talking about?"
"Angina." Elizabeth shot a sideways glance at her husband. "He's suffering from angina."
Charles furrowed his brow in thought. "Your heart? You haven't had any heart attacks, have you, Will?"
Will shook his head impatiently. "No, Charles, I haven't! I told you, it's manageable. I have medication for the attacks and it works very well indeed."
Elizabeth's eyes widened and she stared at him in outrage. "You've had attacks since we were at the doctor's and you never told me???"
Will closed his eyes and prayed for patience. "What good would it have done to tell you? I am not one of the children, Elizabeth. I can look after myself. I am not an invalid."
"Yet," Elizabeth grumbled.
"Lizzie," Jane ventured in a soft voice. "Tell us honestly Will, how serious is this condition? What are the risks of something more critical, like a heart attack, happening?"
"As long as I keep my medication on hand at all times, that risk is minimal."
"Bull!" Elizabeth shot back. "The medication is only a stopgap."
"It is not a stopgap, Elizabeth!" Will was growing quite frustrated with her negative outlook. "The medication controls the intensity of the angina attack and that's the key to preventing anything more serious from happening."
"Will," Charles said worriedly. "Should you be getting yourself all worked up like this?"
Throwing his hands up into the air, Will paced the room. "I've had enough talk about me! The real question here is what Ben is doing. I'll tell you again, I'm going to Cambridge first thing tomorrow morning and knock some sense into that boy!"
Will's eyes darted around the room, daring any of them to contradict him.
There was a pounding on the door to the flat.
"What on earth?" Ben grabbed his trousers from the floor and was still pulling them on as he stumbled into the other room. He managed to get them fastened by the time he reached the door, and opened it quickly. "Dad! What are you doing here? Is something wrong?"
Will stormed into the room and whirled around to face his son. "Just what sort of game are you playing, Ben?"
Ben looked at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
Will took in Ben's state of undress and his eyes darted toward the open door of the bedroom. He looked at his son once again. "What are the two of you playing at?"
Ben was taken aback at his father's tone, but he wasn't beyond defending himself. "I'm not sure I know what you mean," he said cautiously.
"You, carrying on with a married woman! Ben, what happened to everything we taught you? Have you no decency? What is she, that you would engage in such behaviour?" Will's eyes bored holes in Ben, he was so angry.
"Dad, you don't understand."
"Oh, I understand perfectly!" Will retorted. "I was your age once, although I never thought I'd see my son taking up with a .... a...." His tirade ground to a halt as he caught sight of Brenda in the bedroom doorway. She was wearing Ben's robe. His eyes narrowed and he drew himself up stiffly. "I see we shall not be having this discussion this afternoon."
"I don't think we'll be having this discussion at all." Ben crossed his arms over his chest.
Will stared at his son, unwilling to believe what he was seeing and hearing. "Have you lost complete control of your senses?" Ben refused to answer. "Very well," Will said as he moved to the door. His gaze flicked from Ben to Brenda, looking for an answer from her at least. "How can you live with yourself?" He looked back at his son. "How can either of you?"
Ben stepped toward his father, but Brenda put a hand on his arm. He stopped, continuing to glare at Will. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that. I'll pretend you didn't come barging into my flat accusing me, us, of immoral behaviour. And," he said, dropping his voice down into a low growl, "I'll ignore the fact that you nearly accused the woman I love of being a cheap tart!"
Will's head snapped around and he looked away for a moment while his thoughts raced. Finally he drew in a deep breath and faced Ben. "Unless you've come to your senses," he said, teeth clenched, "don't bother to come home."
He left the room as quickly as he'd entered it. Ben followed as far as the doorway, calling out after him, "I won't!" He slammed the door forcefully. When he turned around, Ben saw that Brenda was still standing where he'd left her, tears sliding down her cheeks.
"Why did you let him go?" she asked. "Why didn't you tell him the truth? You let him leave here thinking the worst of you... of me!"
"Did he look as if he'd believe anything I had to say?" Ben was seething with anger for the accusations his father had thrown at them. "He won't listen to me until he's cooled down, anyway."
"He came here to listen!" she pointed out. "He came here to find out what was going on and you virtually confirmed his worst fears!"
"He came here to lecture me," Ben argued. "He'd already decided that what he'd heard was true, that you and I are having an adulterous affair, and he hoped to talk me out of seeing you again!"
"And you are just as bad as he is!" Brenda stormed into the bedroom and began throwing her clothes onto the bed. "You are too pig-headed to listen to him, to tell him that he's wrong, because you," she swung around to point a finger in his face, "are too arrogant for your own good! You've charmed your way through life so far, but let me tell you, Ben Darcy! Your charms aren't going to work in this instance. Your father, and most likely your mother, too, are not going to sit idly by when they think you've hooked up with some lowlife tart out for a good time!" Brenda tore off the robe she was wearing and began putting on her clothes. "'Thank you so much, Ben. You've made it practically impossible for me to ever face your parents in the future."
As she shrugged her shirt over her head, Ben caught her arms in his hands.
"Let me go," Brenda said irritably.
"No. I'm not letting you leave like this."
Brenda shook her arms free. "It's your father you should never have let leave, Ben."
"It's you I love, Brenda. It's you I don't want to let go." Ben said defensively.
She moved past him and grabbed her bag from the chair. At the door, she paused and without looking back, said, "Grow up, Ben. Grow up and then come find me."
Then she was gone, and Ben was left standing alone and confused.
Chapter Twelve
"He wouldn't deny a thing, Elizabeth." Will leaned his head against his hand as he held the phone to his ear. "And she was there, too. Bold as brass, in his flat."
"What did he say, Will?"
"He said I didn't understand, then he refused to discuss the situation." Will sighed. "He also said he loves her."
"Oh, Will." Elizabeth's voice was heavy with emotion. "We're not going to lose him over this, are we?"
Her husband grimaced as he remembered his parting remark to their son. "I hope not."
"Where are you now?"
"I took a room in a Bed and Breakfast around the corner from Ben's flat. I'll go back tomorrow and see if he's more willing to talk." If he even lets me in the door, Will thought grimly. "I'll call you after I've seen him tomorrow, my dear."
"Will, you have to make him see reason. He can't be in love with her. She lives with another man!"
Will could hear the sobs that his wife was trying to hold back. "Elizabeth, please don't upset yourself. I'll deal with him in the morning. I promise you won't lose him, Liz." But I can't make that promise for myself.
"I know you'll do everything you can, Will," Elizabeth said in a stronger voice. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Liz." Will put the phone down and lay back on the bed. Thanks, Elizabeth. You just gave me some ammunition for tomorrow. Ben has always been more afraid of your disapproval than mine.
Brenda came through the door on a tide of angry emotion. She let the door slip out of her hold and it closed with a loud thunk.
"Brenda? Is that you?" came a woman's voice from the front room.
"Yes," she called, adding under her breath, "It's just me."
"I didn't expect you back so early." The other woman appeared in the front entry. She was around twenty with short blonde hair and a freckled face. She noticed Brenda's troubled expression. "What happened? Did you and Ben have a row?"
"Oh, yes, did we ever!" Brenda whipped her shoes off. "After he finished arguing with his father!" She peered through the house to the window that looked out on the back garden. "Where are the kids?"
"Sarah is playing in her room, and Kevin went to Jared's house. He'll be back soon."
Brenda went into the front room and threw herself into a chair. "Oh, Andrea, what a mess!"
Andrea sat down on the sofa and flicked the television off. "Tell me all about it."
"Ben's father showed up at the flat, all of a sudden. He was livid! He had found out about Ben and I seeing each other, but he was under the impression that I was married! He thought Ben was having an affair with a married woman!"
"But Ben set him straight on that, right?"
"No!" Brenda huffed. "He practically told him to mind his own business. His father said Ben isn't welcome at home until he comes to his senses. Then he stormed out of the flat. I could have strangled Ben for letting him go without telling him the truth."
"Is that what you argued about?"
Brenda threw her hands in the air. "I can't believe he would be so stubborn! That he would deliberately let his parents believe that I am some cheap whore corrupting their little boy, just because he is too proud to let his father know what is really happening. Ben would rather let his father find out his mistake on his own and then have to apologize!"
Andrea looked puzzled. "I don't quite follow you on this. First of all, why would Ben's father even think you are married?"
"I don't know, but Ben has never told them about me. I can only imagine what a shock it must have been for his parents to find out."
"Especially in light of what they're thinking the situation is." Andrea was silent for a few minutes, her mind formulating an idea. "Brenda, what if you talked to his parents yourself? You could straighten everything out."
Brenda put a hand to her forehead. "I don't know. I thought of that, too, but I'm not even sure they'd want to see me, let alone listen to anything I have to say." She sighed and looked at her friend. "I suppose it's worth a try."
The front door slammed. "MUM?"
"Later tonight," Brenda whispered, then called out over her shoulder, "I'm in here, Kevin."
A nine-year-old boy ambled into the room and stationed himself at Brenda's elbow. "I'm starved, Mum. What's for tea?"
Brenda tousled her son's hair. "How about you get your sister and all four of us go to the chippy?"
"Yeah!" Kevin's face lit up and he raced from the room. His feet could be heard pounding up the stairs.
"Have you said anything about Ben to your parents, yet? Or Ian's?" Andrea enquired. "If you haven't, I don't think you should be quite so hard on Ben for keeping it to himself."
"I told my parents at Christmas that I was seeing someone. I didn't elaborate." Brenda looked away. "Ian's parents are another matter. I'm not sure how they will react to the news. After all, it hasn't even been a year since Ian died, and you know how they are."
A thunder of feet announced the return of Kevin with his sister.
"Come on, Mum!" Kevin yelled as he opened the front door.
"My son, the bottomless pit," Brenda sighed as she got up from the chair and followed her children out the door. Andrea was right behind her.
Brenda pulled her address book closer and flipped it open to the B's.
Ben......home.........Pemberley.......
She reached for the telephone. After three rings it was answered by a woman.
"May I speak with Mr. Darcy, please?"
"I'm sorry. He's not in at the moment," the woman replied.
"Oh. Is this Mrs. Darcy?"
There was a giggle from the other end. "No, I'm Rebecca. Just a minute and I'll get my Mum."
Brenda waited anxiously, debating whether to hang up or not. Suddenly there was someone on the other end again.
"Hello?"
Brenda swallowed nervously. "Mrs. Darcy? This is Brenda McIntyre. Please don't hang up on me. I need to speak with you."
There was silence. Brenda thought she'd lost her audience. "I'm listening," the other voice said.
Brenda suddenly had no idea what to say, how to start. "I'm Ben's girlfriend." Idiot! She knows that. "I mean... you know that already. Oh, where do I start? I'm not married. I don't know where your husband got that idea, but I'm not married and I'm not having an affair with your son. I mean, I am having a relationship with Ben, but....... oh!"
"Brenda." Elizabeth's voice was cautious. "You had a husband. What happened to him?"
Wondering again how they could have possibly found out these things, Brenda replied, "He died about ten months ago."
"Oh." Elizabeth said. She couldn't quite work up any sympathy at this news.
"So you see, I'm not married. Not anymore."
"Then why all this secrecy about your relationship with my son?" Elizabeth went on. "Ben should know we would have no objection to him becoming involved with a widow."
Brenda bit her lip. "There's a little more to it than that."
Once again the only thing Elizabeth could say was, "Oh?"
"I have two children."
"Two children." Elizabeth repeated. "You're a widow with two young children." She was starting to see a different motive here, and it wasn't a pleasant alternative to her previous belief.
"And I'm older than Ben," Brenda added tentatively. "I'm thirty. I wanted you to know everything now, to avoid any more confusion."
Thirty! A widow with two children and she's thirty? Oh, Ben. What have you gotten yourself into? "Brenda, I'm not sure what you expect me to say. Assuming everything you've told me is the truth, why didn't Ben tell his father that this afternoon?"
"I think it's because we, I mean, Ben was caught by surprise. They were both angry and Ben was stubborn." Brenda made an effort to keep the defensiveness out of her voice. "I hoped Ben would go after him and set him straight, but I have no idea what happened after I left."
"I see. Well, Brenda, thank you for calling and letting me know the truth." There was an edge of finality in Elizabeth's tone.
Brenda took the hint. "I felt I had to. I don't want to be the wedge that drives Ben apart from his family."
I'll bet you don't, Elizabeth thought.
"I hope Ben and your husband settle it between themselves soon." Brenda continued. "I'll let you go, now. Thank you for listening to me, Mrs. Darcy."
"Goodbye Brenda." Elizabeth replaced the receiver thoughtfully. She sighed and raised her eyes upward. "Ben, I thought you were smarter than this."
Elizabeth went to her office and picked up the telephone there, punching in Will's mobile number. When he answered, she told him everything that Brenda had related to her.
"What a fool!" Will growled. "A stubborn, pig-headed fool! If he'd only said as much to me this afternoon! This changes everything."
"It certainly does," Elizabeth said. "Now instead of a jealous husband she's got two little kids. Will, I'm afraid she's using him as her ticket to a nice, comfortable life."
Will sat up straighter. "You don't really think she went after him for money, Elizabeth?"
"Will, think about it," his wife said testily. "She's got two small children and no husband. Add to that the fact that she's thirty years old."
"What does her age have to do with it?"
"Ben is only twenty-three, Will! How could she go after him, knowing he's so much younger than she is, unless she had an ulterior motive?"
Will rolled his eyes. "Elizabeth, aren't you being a little presumptuous? Ben may have been the one chasing her."
Elizabeth snorted. "Ben's never had to chase a girl in his life! You know that, Will. They flock to him."
Probably why he found Brenda far more interesting than all the others, Will thought, but he would never dare say that to Elizabeth at this moment. "I'll have a long talk with him tomorrow, my dear. I'll pop round to his flat first thing in the morning and catch him before he leaves."
"You do that," his wife said sharply. "And you'd better get him to see what she's really up to. I'll expect him home on the weekend, Will. He needs some enlightening."
After she hung up, Will gave a whistle and shook his head. "Heaven help you if your mother is right, Ben."
Standing outside the door to Ben's flat, Will felt like a fool. He glanced at his watch and knocked once more.
Where is he? It's too early for him to have left for class. Will considered that his son may have gone to Brenda's house when there was still no answer at the door. He flipped open his directory and called up her name, but he immediately rethought paying her a call. Instead, he decided to wait out the morning at a café down the street, in the hope that he could catch Ben before too long.
Three hours later the result was the same, and Will resigned himself to going home without seeing his son.
Elizabeth was not happy when she learned that their misunderstanding had not been straightened out, and that Ben would not be making the commanded appearance the next day. She was convinced that her son was making the worst mistake of his life, and that if she could only see him, and speak with him, she would be able to make Ben see that.
Will was far from agreement with her on the subject. He knew better, however, than to arouse her ire by criticizing her zeal in the protection of her offspring. There weren't many felines on the plains of Africa that could match his wife for tenacity in that regard! Elizabeth was quite stable when dealing with her daughters, but when it came to the boys, and Ben in particular, she could be very irrational. Will mused that at times he could see some aspects of her mother in her personality, more discernible as the years passed.
Several times he tried to reach Ben, but there was no answer at his flat. If he is anything like me, Will thought, he's probably taken himself off somewhere to think until his mind is numb.
He wasn't far wrong.
Following his argument with Brenda, Ben had hopped into his car and driven until he found a place in the countryside where he could sit and brood. He knew that she had been right, that he should never have let his father walk out of the flat without a proper explanation. Now that he'd admitted it, though, how was he to go about correcting the problem? His father wouldn't be taking this situation lightly, as he saw it anyhow. He had issued Ben an ultimatum, and despite the facts of the situation having changed, Will Darcy was not a man to back down easily. Ben knew that if he appeared at the front door of Pemberley, the first words out of his mouth would have to be what his father wanted to hear, or he wouldn't be granted an audience.
Still, if he didn't make some sort of effort to mend the breach then Brenda wouldn't speak to him either!
Or would she? he thought, a smile slowing spreading over his face.
It was too late to make it back to Cambridge in time to put his idea into action. Besides, he wanted to give her a couple of days to stew about it and come to the realization that she couldn't live without him. Ben grinned to himself as he climbed back into his car. With a plan to formulate, he put the car in gear and drove off in the opposite direction from which he had come.
"Hello?"
"Anna, have you spoken with Ben lately?" Elizabeth waited tensely for her daughter's reply.
"Uh, no." Anna sounded surprised. "Why? Is something wrong?"
"You could say that," her mother muttered. "There's been no answer at his flat for two days."
"Well, maybe he's at -." Anna stopped.
"Brenda's?" Elizabeth finished for her. "No, he's not there. And how did you know about her? Were your father and I the only ones not told?"
"Well, I..... I guessed one day and Ben had to tell me." Anna was suddenly afraid that her brother's relationship with his girlfriend was at the heart of this telephone call. "I have met her, Mum. She's really nice."
"I'll bet she is," Elizabeth snapped.
Anna was shocked at her mother's tone. "Really, Mum. She's very nice and she cares for Ben a lot. I can tell."
Elizabeth laughed harshly. "And you are such a woman of the world, Anna! You can't even discern your own feelings, how can you tell what someone else's are? Never mind. If you hear from your brother, tell him to come home immediately. I'm going to straighten this out before it's too late."
Anna stared at the phone after her mother hung up. What happened? Where are you, Ben? She thought for a few minutes and then grabbed her directory. Keying in a number, she waited for an answer, fidgeting nervously with the telephone cord.
"Rob!" she said quickly when it was picked up. "Is Ben with you?"
Her cousin answered cautiously. "Yes, Anna, he is. But he's not in a mood to talk."
"I don't care," she interrupted. "Put him on!" She listened to voices in the background until finally Ben came on. "Ben, what's happened? Mum rang here looking for you."
"Don't worry about it, Anna. I'll have it all sorted on Monday."
"You'll have it all sorted? What will you have sorted?" Anna was confused. "Ben, why haven't you been at your flat?"
"Anna," Ben said impatiently. "I really don't want to get into it. I've got to get back to Cambridge today so that I can do what I need to do tomorrow."
"Did you argue with Mum and Dad about Brenda?"
Ben gave a short laugh. "I argued with Dad, that's for sure! Anna, they don't know Brenda at all, and jumped to the wrong conclusion." He took a deep breath. "Anyway, I don't care what they think. I have to make it up with Brenda. That's all that's important to me right now. Once Brenda and I are back on track, then I'll consider what needs to be said to Mum and Dad."
"But, Ben -."
"I don't want to talk about it anymore, Anna," Ben said sharply and hung up the phone before his sister could say anything else.
Ben turned around to see Rob looking at him, one eyebrow raised.
"So, when are you leaving, then?"
"In about an hour. I want to be sure that I miss Brenda's call at home. She usually rings me Sunday night when the kids go to bed."
Rob looked at him curiously. "You want to miss her call?" A lopsided grin from Ben was his reply. "Oh, you aren't playing games with her, are you? Don't be an idiot, Ben."
"Now don't you start, too!" Ben huffed. "I know what I'm doing, Rob. By this time tomorrow everything will be fine. Brenda and I will be tucked up cosy once again and I couldn't be happier."
"But what about your parents?" Rob persisted. "Aren't you going to let them know you're okay? They must be worried sick!"
Ben grunted. "Brenda comes first."
You mean you come first! thought Rob. "I think you're going about this all wrong."
"What?" Ben stared at him. "I don't have to listen to this! I can just as easily spend an hour at a pub than be insulted." He grabbed his keys and coat and headed for the door.
"Ben, wait!" Rob called, but his cousin was already halfway down the walk to his car. Rob stood in the doorway and watched him drive away.
Will looked up at the sound of a knock at the door. Georgiana smiled at him.
"Can I come in?" At her brother's nod, she came and sat next to him. "What are you reading?" she asked, glancing at the front of his book.
Will shook his head. "I'm not really reading. I think I've been sitting here for the last half hour staring at the words on the page."
Georgiana smiled, then looked serious. "Will, thanks for filling me in on what's been going on with you and with Ben. Now I understand why Elizabeth has been so much on edge the last few weeks."
"I think everyone has been staying out of her way for the most part. Everyone but me, unfortunately," he grimaced.
"Oh, Will. She loves you, and she wants to make sure you're around for a few more years at least." Georgiana appeared a little saddened with this comment.
Will put his arm around his sister's shoulders. "It's been a very tough year for you Georgie. I'm sorry it's been one thing after another since you came home, too."
Georgiana bit her lip anxiously. "Actually, Will, it's home I came to see you about." She looked up to meet his gaze. "I've decided to go back to New York."
"New York!" Will's shocked expression told her how he viewed her leaving. "But this is your home, Georgie. I thought you were going to stay here!"
Shaking her head, she said, "No, Will. I never intended to stay. If you'll remember I said I'd only come for a visit. I've stayed a lot longer than I had planned. Don't mistake my meaning. I love you and Elizabeth and all of your children, but my home is in New York now. The home that I built with Brian and lived in with Brian for twelve years. It's where Aaron was born and raised." Georgiana met her brother's gaze, hoping he understood why she was doing this. "I need to go back and face what's left. To build again from there, with Aaron."
"You know that you are always welcome here, Georgie, if you change your mind." Will looked and sounded so hopeful that his sister felt a pang of remorse.
But she had made up her mind and they were going. "I'll let Aaron finish out this school year, then we'll leave. And, of course that means I'll be here to see Ben graduate, and Rebecca."
Will frowned. "Rebecca I have no doubt about, but Ben?" Will shook his head. "I don't know what that boy is up to, Georgie. I thought I knew him. I thought he had his head screwed on right!"
"He does, Will. I think he's just having a little trouble focussing at present." She gave him an enquiring look. "Don't tell me you don't remember what that was like?"
Will only grunted in reply. Georgiana patted his arm and left him alone with one final comment.
"Don't let him stay away too long, Will."
Chapter Thirteen
Brenda picked up her belongings and left the office. It had been a lousy day at work, and her mind had kept wandering from the task at hand, puzzling over Ben's whereabouts. Even her supervisor had noticed her preoccupation. Brenda sighed as his words of reprimand echoed in her head.
It had been four days since her argument with Ben at his flat. Although she felt terrible about some of the things she'd said, Brenda knew that he had to settle his differences with his parents before she could allow Ben back into her arms. That was going to be the hardest part of all. She didn't want to be the cause of any estrangement between him and his family. Ben needed his family, and Brenda wanted to make sure he realized it.
So, she'd come to a decision that afternoon.
Brenda picked her way along the sidewalk to the bus stop and waited with the crowd just beginning to assemble. The bus arrived, and the people arranged themselves in an ordered line to get on. Once seated, Brenda merely stared out of the window, her mind still very far away.
Her stop appeared. She got out and pasted a smile on her face as the school building came within sight. Kevin and Sarah would be waiting for her just inside the wall of the schoolyard. Brenda rounded the corner and halted in her tracks.
"Ben!" she cried in surprise.
Ben was holding Sarah with one arm while he kicked a football back and forth with Kevin. He glanced up at Brenda and grinned. "Hi there." His tone was nonchalant, as if nothing unusual had happened only three days ago. As if he hadn't disappeared in the intervening time. As if she had no reason to be angry with him!
Brenda finally found her voice. "What are you doing here?"
Ben used his most charming smile and aimed it at her. "I missed you and the kids. I thought perhaps I could take you three out tonight."
"All right!" Kevin cried excitedly.
Brenda felt her blood boil. How dare you, Ben! How dare you come back here and try to ignore everything that's happened? And to use my children to get to me!! "Have you spoken with your father, yet?" she asked in a tightly controlled voice.
Ben's smile faltered for a moment, but he recovered quickly. "No, I've been away."
"Mummy, can Ben stay for tea with us?" Sarah's wide-eyed expression made any refusal heartbreaking.
But Brenda had made her decision earlier. "Not today, sweetheart." She met Ben's gaze with a hardened one of her own. "He has to finish up something with his father before he can come to our house." Ever again, she added silently.
Ben's smile faded. He looked as if he couldn't believe what she'd just said.
"Aw, Mum!" Kevin whined, kicking at a stone on the ground. "But he was going to take us out tonight!" He looked up at Ben. "Couldn't you come over after you talk to your father?"
Ben tried to smile at the boy reassuringly, but he felt far from assured himself. His entire plan was falling apart before his eyes. "I guess it won't be tonight, Kevin," he said, eyes never leaving Brenda's face. "It will take more than a telephone call to work things out with my Dad."
Kevin grumbled and complained while his mother and Ben continued to eye one another cautiously. Finally Brenda moved to take Sarah from Ben's arms.
"We must be off now, so that I can get these two their tea."
Ben relinquished his hold on the little girl. Brenda felt a pain in her heart at the hurt expression on his face.
"Could I call you tonight?" he asked faintly.
For a moment she wasn't sure what the answer should be. Then, dipping her head, Brenda nodded. She gathered her children to her and left the schoolyard, not daring to look back at the lone figure who stood watching them go.
Several hours later, the children had been put to bed and still the phone had not rung. Brenda sat next to the stubbornly silent thing and stared at it.
Why did I say he could call? He's only going to try to break down my defences.
She went to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea. She couldn't help recalling the picture of Ben and the kids in the schoolyard that afternoon. He had looked so relaxed with them, so natural. He'd certainly come a long way since first meeting Kevin. Brenda chuckled at that memory. Ben had expected an angry, brooding boy. His own cousin had recently lost his father, and Ben's experience with Aaron's hostility had caused him to anticipate the same in her son. But Kevin had surprised him by taking to Ben almost instantly. So much, in fact, that Ben was hard pressed to find time alone with Brenda. Kevin was constantly crying for his attention.
Brenda sighed as she stirred her tea. Her son's attachment to Ben was a troubling item for her. Although she was pleased to see how well they got along, she was nonetheless apprehensive about Kevin getting hurt in the current crossfire. And even Sarah was already firmly devoted to Ben.
They both missed their own father, but Ben was more than just a substitute for Ian. Ben had made them all laugh again.
The telephone rang and Brenda raced into the other room to pick it up. The voice that greeted her was Andrea's. Swallowing her feeling of disappointment, Brenda confirmed the times she would need her childminder's services for the rest of the week and they said goodbye. She returned to the kitchen for her tea, then resumed her position in the chair next to the telephone.
Sipping her warm drink, Brenda glanced at the clock. Where is he? Don't play this game with me, Ben. The voices warred in her head. Stop being so eager to hear from him. You should be angry!
I am angry!
Not enough, apparently.
He should never have used my children to get to me! That was low. That was what I warned him I was afraid would happen, when I refused to date him in the beginning.
But he promised you he was different, that he would never do such a thing.
Yeah.
He lied.
No he didn't! He's hurting. I hurt him. His Dad hurt him. And now I'll have to hurt him some more......
The clock chimed and startled her from her thoughts. Ten o'clock and still nothing. Where are you, Ben?
The phone rang.
"Ben?" Brenda berated herself for sounding so hopeful.
"It's me," Ben said quietly.
"I was...." she paused, not wanting to say that she was worried about him. ".... wondering if you were really going to call."
"I went out. Down to the pub." Ben's words sounded a bit slurred. "Brenda, I love you. I'm sorry I did that this afternoon. You were right. I'm too arrogant for my own good. Can you forgive me?"
Of course I forgive you. I love you, Ben. "Why haven't you spoken to your parents yet?"
"My parents?" Ben was having trouble connecting this question with his own. "What do they have to do with it?"
Brenda closed her eyes. This was going to be far more difficult than she had thought. "Ben, I already told you. I'm not coming between you and your parents. Until you've worked out your differences with them, don't count on seeing me." There, I've said it. Oh, Ben.. Please do as I ask.
He was silent for so long that Brenda began to wonder if he'd had more to drink than she had thought at first. Then he finally spoke.
"I don't like ultimatums, Brenda. I didn't like it when my father gave me one, and I don't like it coming from you, either. I made my choice. I chose you over my family, and if you aren't willing to accept that, then......." his voice trailed away.
Then what? "There was no choice to be made, Ben," she said sharply. "It's all or nothing. I'm not going to be used like a pawn in a power struggle with your father. If that's your idea of love, then you can keep it." Brenda bit back the tears in her words. Why are you being so difficult about this?
"Brenda....."
"Yes?" She tried to sound cool.
"Do you love me?"
With all my heart! "Ben, you're drunk. Go sleep it off, then go to Pemberley and call me when you get back."
"When I get back...." he repeated, uncomprehending.
"Yes, now go to bed, Ben."
She heard him take a deep breath. "I love you Brenda."
"Goodnight, Ben." She couldn't bring herself to say goodbye. That was too final, and she still held out hope.
There was a click on the line as he disconnected. Brenda held onto the receiver like it was a lifeline.
"I do love you, Ben. More than you think. How else could I risk letting you go?"
She put the phone back and went upstairs for a good cry.
The silence was disturbing. Ben lay in the dark, wishing his mind was as hushed as the room.
One day.
All it took was one day, and his world had come apart.
What was he thinking? Why had he been so stupid? Brenda may never forgive him now, and without her he suddenly had no idea which direction to turn.
He couldn't even ask his father for advice. He'd burned that bridge already.
Then again, he wasn't sure he even wanted to face either of his parents at the moment, nor any of his family.
He wanted to be alone.
Utterly alone.
Anna wasn't, by nature, particularly patient. So when Wednesday evening rolled around and she still hadn't heard from her brother she began to make enquiries.
Since there had been no reply at his flat the dozen times she had tried there, she next called Robert Bingley, where Ben had last been.
"Sorry, Anna," Robert told her. "I haven't seen him since Sunday. He left here in a mood, and I doubt he's coming back anytime soon."
She thanked him and said goodbye, not wanting to spend too much time when she could be continuing to look for him elsewhere.
Anna and Ben had always been rather close. She tagged after him as a child, forever into her big brother's toys and wanting to do everything that he did. A pest she may have been, but Ben hadn't minded altogether, and as they grew older they had grown closer.
Which was why Anna was worried now. It simply wasn't like Ben to hide himself away like this.
The quickest way to find him would be the university, she decided. And with that in mind, Anna didn't waste any time. She drove straight to Cambridge and sought him out in class.
"What are you doing here?" Ben hissed as he joined her in the hallway outside the classroom.
"As if you have to ask!" Anna hissed back. "Where have you been?"
"Around."
"Don't be smart. Mum is worried sick about you. How can you be so inconsiderate?" Anna pulled on his arm, turning him to face her. "What happened on Monday, Ben?"
He looked away, then brought his eyes around again to meet hers. "I screwed up. I screwed up big time."
"Oh, Ben." Anna felt her brother's pain just looking at his face. "Are you sure? Can't you make it up?"
"I doubt it. I did everything that I promised her I wouldn't do. How could she trust me again?" Ben shook his head and started walking down the hall.
Anna trailed along beside him. "You can't just give up, Ben. Isn't Brenda worth fighting for? Isn't your relationship stronger than that?"
Ben came to a sudden halt and spun around to glare at his sister. "I don't need any lectures from you, Anna! I feel like a jerk and I deserve to feel that way. Don't give me any condescending reassurances because I don't want them. Just leave me alone."
"But -," Anna began.
"I said to leave me alone!"
"Let me go. Let me go, Jason!" Kathleen yelled.
Jason laughed but wouldn't release her.
"Are you two at it again?" Rebecca grinned. "I'm glad I'm not so ticklish as my sister!"
Kathleen screeched as Jason's fingers drove into her ribs. "It's not fair. It's not fair! You're bigger and stronger than I am. Oh, Rebecca, HELP!" she beseeched her sister.
"Don't do it, Rebecca," Jason warned. "You know you'll hurt me!"
Rebecca laughed. He was right! His scrawny build was no match for her muscles, toned from years of riding. "Have no fear, Jason. I'll leave you both to your tickling match. I have some homework to do anyway." She sauntered off across the lawn, enjoying the warm spring sunshine on her face.
Entering the house, Rebecca paused at the door to the music room, glancing in to see her mother seated at the piano. Elizabeth was halfheartedly picking out a tune on the keys. Rebecca sighed. The atmosphere at home had been so tense for the last month. It had been longer than that since her elder brother had been to Pemberley.
Not since Mum and Dad's anniversary, she recalled.
Rebecca had seen, if not been privy to, what Ben's actions had done to her parents. Her brother's lack of communication with them was particularly hard on her mother. Ben spoke with Anna regularly enough, only because Anna tracked him down repeatedly and demanded he speak with her, but he had yet to contact either mother or father in the last five weeks.
Continuing on up the stairs, Rebecca found her father in the gallery, sitting in one of the chairs that lined the wall facing the family portraits. He seemed to be studying the one of her mother.
"Dad?" she said tentatively.
Will's head turned toward her and he smiled. "Yes, Rebecca?"
She felt a bit easier once she saw the smile. "We were making shipping and stabling arrangements for the horses for June. I need to talk to you about the costs. I know my going isn't final for quite awhile, but the details have to be worked out before April."
"Rebecca," Will said seriously. "I'm sure you'll pass your exams, and that you will be going. When do you need the money?"
She smiled. "Not for a few weeks, yet. Thanks, Dad. I appreciate your confidence in me."
Will rose from his chair and stood facing his daughter. "You haven't given me any reason not to be confident of your success." He placed a kiss on her forehead. "Did you happen to notice where your mother was on your way up here?"
"She's in the music room."
"Thank you." Will nodded and left her in the gallery. He took the stairs quickly, noting the time on the hall clock as he passed it on the way to his wife.
When he looked into the room and saw Elizabeth's dejected state, his heart sank. She was taking Ben's rejection of them very badly. Not surprising, of course, but it did nothing for Will's current opinion of his son.
Will walked over to the piano bench and sat down next to Elizabeth. She maintained her focus on the keys until he placed his hand over one of hers. He heard a heavy sigh and then felt a tear drop on the back of his hand. Will placed his finger under her chin and pulled her face around to look at him.
"Don't let him do this to you, Liz." He wiped the other tears away with his fingers. "You know he'll be back. He's just being selfish and childish, but he'll be back."
Elizabeth's eyes met his, but there was little hope in their depths. "When, though? Why is he being so stubborn?"
Will knew perfectly well the answer to that question. It was because both of his son's parents were stubborn, and he certainly had inherited that quality in double strength! "Liz, we can't take this so personally. He hasn't even been in contact with Brenda in all this time."
"How do you know that?" she asked, sniffling.
"I spoke with her yesterday." Will smiled tentatively. "You see, I have been doing some checking despite our agreement to wait for him to come to us. I just wish I knew where he was. He's obviously taken a room somewhere else, because he hasn't been at his flat for weeks." Will rubbed his temples with his fingertips. He had a headache building up.
"You've been talking to Brenda?" Elizabeth's tone was sharp.
"Yes, I have," Will replied in the same manner. "I thought that she, at least, might have some clue to his whereabouts."
"And what did she have to say for herself?"
Will frowned at the scepticism in her voice. "She's not what you thought, Elizabeth. She sent Ben on his way and told him not to come back until he'd reconciled with us."
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes disbelievingly. "And you think she was telling you the truth?"
"I have no reason not to believe her. Look Liz, whether you want to accept it or not, Ben has fallen in love with her. And he's behaving like a complete imbecile at the moment," he finished in a growl.
Elizabeth pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Well, perhaps if he's not even seen her, then his feelings are not as strong as you suppose. There might be hope, yet."
Will had no answer to that.
"Mum, can I call him now?"
Brenda bit off a sharp reply. "Kevin, for the last time, Ben isn't at home. You can't call him. Just drop it!"
"It's not fair!" the boy whined. "He promised to take me to see the new -."
"Kevin! He's not home! I can't change that, and you can't change that. Go and find something to do." She watched as her son stomped away, slamming the front door on his way out. Then she looked at the telephone beside her. Her resolve had been good so far, but it was so tempting to pick it up and dial his number. Unfortunately, Brenda knew he wouldn't be there. She hadn't spoken with Ben since that horrible night she'd told him not to come back until he'd seen his parents.
And she knew that he hadn't been to see them yet.
Brenda leaned her head against the chair back and stared at the ceiling as she recalled her rather heated conversation with Ben's father.
Will Darcy, she thought, is just like his son. Or perhaps I should say Ben is just like his father. Not only do they sound alike and look alike, but they are both hard-headed and strong-willed!
Surely he must have asked her at least five times if she'd heard from Ben! Did he think she was lying? His tone had been bitter, his questions demanding. But surely he must have realized that she was just as worried about Ben as they were?
A sudden terrible thought entered her head that perhaps they didn't believe that she cared about their son at all. After everything she had said, all of her self sacrificing declarations to Will Darcy, it was all for nothing. They blamed her for Ben's retreat, and now she had not only lost any chance of gaining their good opinion, but she quite likely may have lost Ben as well.
Brenda pulled one of the pillows over and hugged it to her chest. She lowered her face into it and fought back the tears.
She had never intended to become so involved with him. It had never occurred to her that it would be possible! But now that he was gone, Brenda felt an emptiness she hadn't felt since Ian had died. All she wanted was to see Ben again, to tell him that she was sorry for all that she had said and done, but now it was too late.
Angrily, she threw the pillow across the room. It knocked over a china ornament, smashing it to bits on the floor. Brenda spat out a curse and crossed the room to pick up the pieces. Holding the shattered remains of the figurine between her fingers, tears fell drop by drop onto the carpet at her feet.
It had been a gift from Ben.