Jump to new as of July 18, 2000
Chapter One
She was kissing him.
She was crying.
He was going to move from Hillerstorp, a small place in the southern part of Sweden, where he had lived and gone to school since he was twelve. Now he was fifteen and the girl kissing him had been his girlfriend for about a year. Her name was Elizabeth Bennet.
"Hejdå, Wickham", she said, struggling to keep her voice steady. Bye, Wickham.
"Hejdå, Lizzy", said he, and walked to his moped. He started it and was gone within seconds. Bye, Lizzy.
What Lizzy didn't know, standing there crying, was that Wickham was heading for another girl's house, not home to pack as he said. In fact, Lizzy and that other girl weren't his only girlfriends. During the past year and a half he had been getting a new one (still keeping his old) almost every month. Some had broke up with him, but this day he still had six ones. It was a wonder that none of them had discovered his true nature, but they hadn't. Instead, they had bought all his stories about how bad he had been treated by a guy called William Darcy. This had taken place when Wickham still lived in England so no one was able to check if it was true. Not that anyone would have done it anyway. Everybody trusted Wickham. Something in his character made him easy to trust, although he was the last person you really COULD trust.
When Lizzy got home, she immediately called her friend Charlotte. She needed to talk to someone. After a few signals someone answered in the other end of the line.
"Charlotte", said someone.
"Åh, Charlotte. Han har åkt. Jag träffade honom och nu har han åkt. Han kommer flytta för alltid. Jag kommer aldrig se honom igen. Han är den enda kille jag någonsin gillat, och den enda jag någonsin kommer att gilla. Jag är så ledsen. Jag kommer aldrig bli glad igen." Oh, Charlotte, he's gone. I met him and now he's gone. He's going to move away forever. I'll never see him again. He's the only boy I've ever liked, and the only one I'll ever like. I'm so sad. I'm never going to be happy again.
"Lugna ner dig. Jag vet att du inte tror det nu, men du kommer över honom. Tro mig." Calm down. I know you don't think so now, but you'll get over him.
"Nej, jag kommer aldrig glömma honom. Aldrig!" No, I'll never forget him. Never!
"Jag sa inte att du skulle glömma honom, jag sa bara att du kommer över honom, så småningom." I didn't say that you'd forget him, I just said that you'll get over him, eventually.
The two friends talked for some time. Both were fifteen years old, but that was about all they had in common. The two of them were very different. Lizzy found it easy to converse with people and easily made new friends. She found it hard to trust people and had a tendency to think the worst of people. Charlotte however, was shy and had a few, but very close friends. She found it quite easy to trust anyone who took the effort of getting to know her, those who didn't, she didn't trust as easily. It was an ideal friendship; the two girls compensated each other. That they lived so close was just another thing that was good about it. Charlotte's parents had a farm. On it, there were two houses. In the big one, Charlotte's family lived, and the small one they had leased to Lizzy's family. The small one was really small, but nice and cosy, and the Bennet family wasn't big. It was just Lizzy and her parents.
Chapter Two
A quarter of an hour later she was on her way to the stable. She could see that Charlotte already was in there. But that wasn't unusual, she often woke up before Lizzy.
Lizzy opened the stable door, and greeted her friend.
"Hej! Har du hört att Eric's gamla ställe är uthyrt till slut??" Hi! Have you heard that Eric's old place is let at last??
"Ja, är det inte nån familj från England som har hyrt det?" Yes, isn't it a family from England that have leased it?
"Jo, jag tror det. Men jag har varken träffat eller sett dem än." Yes, I think so. But I haven't met or seen them yet.
The girls continued talking about the new family all the time they were in the stable. At 7.30 they split up to have breakfast, shower and change clothes before they got off to school.
An hour later they got on their bikes and started biking to school. It was four miles so it'd take some time. When they were halfway there Lizzy's bike got a puncture.
"Argh! Det är två miles kvar, jag kan inte gå så långt och hinna i tid!!!" Argh! It's two miles left, I can't walk that far and be on time!!
"Jag antar att du måste, men lugn, jag tänker inte lämna dig här. Jag går också." I guess you'll have to, but relax, I'm not going to leave you here. I'm going to walk too.
The girls started walking. After a while they heard a moped. Perhaps whoever was on the moped could take Lizzy with him or her on the moped, after all, the driver most probably went to the same school. But when the moped came in sight, the driver looked at them and then he just kept driving.
When Lizzy and Charlotte arrived to school they were fifteen minutes late. They hurried inside and gave their excuses to the teacher. Charlotte went to sit down at her desk and when Lizzy was going to do the same she noticed someone sitting at the desk next to hers.
Chapter Three
He had dark brown hair and, what appeared to be, blue eyes. He looked like a copy of Colin Firth, with one difference - 24 years. He was gorgeous.
"Eftersom ni två är sena (Since you two are late)," the teacher said turning to Lizzy and Charlotte, "har ni inte hört att det har kommit en ny elev till klassen. Han heter William Darcy, och eftersom bänken bredvid din är ledig, nu när Wickham har flyttat, gav jag den till honom, Lizzy. (you haven't heard that we have a new student in the class. His name is William Darcy, and since the desk next to yours is free now when Wickham's moved, I gave it to him, Lizzy.)"
At the mention of Wickham, Darcy looked distressed (Darcy didn't understand any Swedish, but he did indeed understand the name Wickham). Lizzy could understand it. After all he had done to poor Wickham, he should at least show some emotional movement. And that she, of all people, should be the one to sit next to him! It was unbelievable. Suddenly an image from that morning appeared on her retina. A guy on a moped. A guy in grey trousers and a blue sweater on a moped. That was exactly what Darcy was wearing. He was that guy that didn't stop! He was such a jerk.
"Tölp!" (Jerk!)
" What?" Darcy looked puzzled. He had moved there directly from England and didn't know a word Swedish. Now that dark-haired girl next to him had said something, but what??
"Nothing!" Lizzy made an effort to be as civil as possible but barely succeeded.
Darcy just remembered that he had seen this girl somewhere else. But where? Then, it hit him. It was the girl with the bike from this morning. He didn't understand why she was glaring angrily at him. Was it something I did, he thought to himself.
"Yes, it was!"
"What?"
"You asked if it was something you did."
"Oh..." Darcy said. "What did I do?"
"Well, for starters: This morning I had a puncture on my bike and when you came driving by on your moped you didn't even notice."
Chapter Four
"I'm sorry", said Darcy, "but I don't find myself qualified to recommend myself to strangers."
"The way you talk I believe you think of yourself as a gentleman, but let me tell you one thing: YOU are not a gentleman, for a REAL gentleman would never let a lady walk two miles and be late for school if he could possibly stop it." Lizzy paused to draw breath, and then continued. "You are a scum bag and a conceited jerk."
"Sch, quiet."
Lizzy looked at Darcy with astonishment. Did he dare to tell her to be quiet?? "Listen here you......."
"Is it something you want to share with the rest of us?" Mr. Harrie, the teacher asked with a not so perfect English pronunciation.
"No, Mister. Nothing at all." Lizzy turned red.
"Then be silent." The teacher turned to the black board to write something there. Then he turned back again. "By the way Lizzy. William doesn't know his way around here and he doesn't know the language either so YOU will show him around and teach him some Swedish. Just so he'll be able to get by in school. A few ordinary phrases will do."
"But..." Lizzy began but the look on the teacher's face made her shut her mouth. She turned to Darcy and gave him a look of disgust. "I guess I'll be stuck with you for some time."
"Looks like it," Darcy said and then he fell silent again.
Chapter Five
"Vad tycker ni om honom?" Maria asked. What do you think about him?
"Jag hatar honom!! Han har behandlat Wickham illa och han brydde sig inte ens när jag hade punka. Men, jag vet vad du tycker om honom Ika!" I hate him!! He's treated Wickham badly and he didn't even care when I had a puncture. But I know what you think of him Ika!
Maria turned red.
"Du har alltid sagt att killen i dina drömmar är lång, brunhårig och blåögd med en brittisk accent. Nå, här är han, och, vad gäller mig kan du ta honom. Jag hoppas att du står ut med honom." You've always said that the the guy of your dreams is tall, brown-haired and blue-eyed with a British accent. Well, here he is, and, as far as I'm concerned you can have him. I hope that you will endure him.
"Lizzy, han kan inte vara så farlig.( Lizzy, he can't be that bad.)"
"Åh jo, det är jag säker på.(Oh yes, I'm sure of it.)"
"När man talar om trollen (When you're speaking of the devil)" said Charlotte, and Lizzy and Maria turned around. There, in all his gorgeousness, was Darcy.
"Will you show me around?" he asked Lizzy.
"I'll rather eat snakes," was the response.
"But Mr. Harrie said that you would."
"Well, I don't give a d%n of what he said. I don't like you and you don't like me, all of us know it. So why don't you just piss off?"
"No language of that kind in this school, young lady." It was Mr. Harrie who had been coming down the corridors when he heard two students arguing. "You will show him the school and on Friday afternoon after school you will teach him Swedish for two hours."
"But Mr. Harrie....." Again, Lizzy's protests was ignored. She sighed. This day was just not her day.
"What are you waiting for? Off you go, show him the school. Every part of it, I will ask him about it later." Mr. Harrie had a stern look on his face. "Didn't you hear me? Go!!"
Reluctantly Lizzy began walking down the corridor, followed by Darcy. She was not looking forward to this.
Chapter Six
"I believe we must have some conversation. A very little would suffice."
Darcy didn't respond, so after a minute or two Lizzy continued:
"I could say something about the school and you could remark on the number of classrooms."
"You talk by rule then, when showing people around?" he asked.
"Well isn't that the point with showing people around? How are they else to know where they are or where things are, especially if they don't know the language?"
"You may have a point there." Darcy was again silent.
After a while he (surprisingly enough) broke the silence. "I believe that there are not so many students in our class?"
"No, there are not. Actually, there would have been one more, had he not moved last week. I think you know him. His name is George Wickham."
Darcy immediately turned red. "Well, uh... yes, I know him. Do you?"
"Yes, he is very nice. Everyone likes him."
"Mr. Wickham is blessed with such happy manners as may ensure his making friends - whether is may be equally capable of retaining them, is less certain."
"He has been unlucky as to lose your friendship, "Lizzy was getting quite angry as she spoke, "and in a manner which he is likely to suffer from all his life."
"Yes, his misfortunes are great indeed." At this point, Darcy too was quite upset.
None of them spoke any more during the rest of the tour of the school, except for Lizzy who said what and where things were. But that was all.
Is this day ever to end? Lizzy thought to herself. The tour she had given Darcy made her miss a class, but she didn't know if she preferred Darcy's company to a Maths lesson. Somehow, it seemed unlikely.
When school finally ended Lizzy remembered that her bike wouldn't be able to go home on, so she decided to take the bus. Her father would have to pick up the bike at the school but she didn't feel like walking four miles with a bike. However, Charlotte would bike so Lizzy would have no one to talk to on the way home. Normally, she wouldn't have liked the idea, but today was different. She had a lot to think about. One of those things was Darcy. In fact, every one of those things had something to do with him.
Chapter Seven
Lizzy had to wait ten minutes before the bus came into sight. But, she wasn't really surprised. It was nothing unusual.
On the way home the bus passed someone on a moped. Lizzy recognized the person as Darcy. She wondered where he lived. So far, she had but one clue and that was that he lived on the same way from Hillerstorp as she did. But that didn't say much.
When Lizzy got home she went directly to the stables and fetched two halters. She would take in the horses so that when Charlotte got home they'd just have to saddle up and then go riding in the woods.
"Fin häst!" (Nice horse!)
Lizzy's horse, Sinbad, was as usual hard to catch. Everytime she got close and thought she had him, he would gallop to the other end of the paddock.
"Kom till mamma!" (Come to mama!)
Nothing seemed to work. But finally, when Charlotte was there to help, they caught him.
"Ha! Fick dig!" (Ha! Got ya!)
They took the horses in to the stable and half an hour later they were ready to go into the woods. As usual Sinbad (being an Arabian and everything) saw monsters behind every stone and every tree. After a while he calmed down, much because he didn't think it was fun to be afraid all by himself. Charlotte's horse Jazz was always calm and that usually affected Sinbad after a while.
As the horses walked down the path, the girls on their backs had a conversation.
"Det är inflyttningsfest hos den nya familjen ikväll." ( It's a moving-in-party at the new family's place tonight.)
"Ja, mamma sa det när jag kom hem från skolan." (Yes, mum told me when I got home from school.)
"Tror du det blir kul?" (Do you think it'll be fun?)
"Säkert inte! Det kommer bara vara en massa vuxna, och de som inte är det kommer vara småbarn." ( Probably not! It'll just be lots of grown-ups, and those who aren't will be kids.)
"Som alla andra fester i den här tråkiga byn då?" ( As every other party in this boring village then?)
"Ja." (Yes.)
"Tråkigt!" (Boring!)
The girls made their horses trot for a while, although Sinbad seemed to think that a gallop would be much nicer and increased his pace. Lizzy easily got him to slow down, she was used to this.
"Ska vi galoppera? (Shall we gallop?)
"OK!"
They shorted their reins and told their horses to gallop. Sinbad and Jazz were happy to oblige so they galloped for about ten minutes before slowing down.
"Vi borde vända nu," (We should turn back now) said Lizzy. "Åtminstone om vi vill ge hästarna mat, duscha och byta om innan festen." (At least if we want to give the horses their food, shower and change clothes before the party.)
They pulled the reins and began to ride back the way they came.
Chapter Eight
Lizzy grabbed Charlotte's arm to make her stop and pointed towards the garage that was next to the house. There stood a familiar moped.
"Det är Darcy's moped!"(It's Darcy's moped!) she said.
" Allt stämmer. Darcy är ny i skolan och en ny familj har precis flyttat hit. Vi kommer att få spendera kvällen i hans sällskap. Såååå kul!"( Everything makes sense. Darcy's new in school and a new family has just moved in here. We'll have to spend the whole evening in his company. Sooo fun!)
Charlotte nodded in agreement, thinking to herself that Maria should have been there. The girls stopped outside the house waiting for the rest of their families. When everyone was there Lizzy's father knocked on the door. After a while they heard steps approaching and seconds later the door opened.
"You're all very welcome," said a woman in the age of forty. "Please come in."
"Thank you," said Lizzy and Charlotte's fathers and gave their hostess a bouquet of flowers. "From all of us."
"Now it's my turn to thank you," said their hostess. "I'm Mrs. Darcy but you may call me Anne."
Everyone in the Bennet and Lucas families introduced themselves. After they had been released from their coats and jackets they proceeded into to the living-room where the rest of the Darcy family was.
"I'm Mr. George Darcy, but please call me George. This are my children William and Georgiana. The other boy is William's new classmate, Denny Chamberlayne. Please sit down."
Once again everyone introduced themselves and then sat down on the sofa, or in chairs.
Lizzy felt uncomfortable where she sat in a chair. She felt like being watched. She turned her head and saw Darcy standing by the wall staring at her. Is it something wrong with my clothes, or why is he staring at me? she thought to herself. Quickly she decided that she didn't care and started talking to Sara.
Later in the evening Lizzy was looking after the kids that were at the party. It was exactly like she had predicted. Every party in the village ended this way. Today was perhaps a bit different since Charlotte had found the company of Denny very nice. At this moment she sat in the other end of the room, talking to him. Lizzy heard steps and looked up from the box of blocks someone of the grownups had brought for the kids to play with.
Chapter Nine
When school ended that day, he talked to Denny for a while. As he found him very nice, Darcy decided to invite him to his parent's move-in-party later that evening.
"Why don't you come to my place tonight? My parents are having a moving-in-party and I don't think it will be that fun, but perhaps a little better if I have a friend there."
"Sure, if your parents don't mind?"
"I'm sure they won't. But if it makes you feel better about it, why don't you call me this afternoon? I shall ask my parents if you can come and you will have the answer then."
"That sounds perfect."
"OK, my number is -----. Bye!"
Darcy was glad. He already had some new friends. He was quite surprised, usually it took some time for him to make friends, but this time it didn't. He wondered why. Wickham had lived there quite some time, and Darcy suspected he had told that story of how badly he had been treated by Darcy. He had at least told Lizzy. He walked to his moped and started it. He was going home.
About half way there a mini-bus overtook his moped. He didn't see who was in it and he didn't really care. Why should he?
When the guest arrived that evening Denny had been at the Darcy's place for an hour or so. He and Darcy were now good friends and equally surprised to see Lizzy and Charlotte. Denny had never taken much notice to where they lived and Darcy couldn't possibly know.
Half an hour later Darcy and Denny stood talking by the window in the kitchen. Nobody else was around.
"I haven't noticed before but Charlotte is kind of cute when you think about it. I think I will go and talk to her. Do you think I should?" asked Denny.
"Why not? I don't decide what you should or shouldn't do."
"No I know, but I asked anyway. By the way, what do you think about Lizzy? She's kinda pretty too."
"She's tolerable I suppose, but not handsome enough to tempt me. I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies slighted by other men."
"You consider yourself a man then? Very well, if you say so. But she isn't slighted by other men. She's been dating George the past year."
"George who?" Asked Darcy, knowing full well what the answer would be.
"Why, George Wickham of course. Who else? There aren't many named George in this country you know."
"I suppose not." Darcy murmured, and with louder voice asked if they would join the others. He didn't want Denny to know about his dealings with Wickham. Not yet.
Chapter Ten
"You like her, don't you?" she asked her brother.
"Like who?"
"Elizabeth Bennet of course. Who else?"
"No, I don't. She has fine eyes, I admit that, but there's nothing more to it."
"Are you sure? It doesn't look like her eyes is the only thing you admire...."
"Oh, what do you know? You're only twelve!"
"Yes, but very mature for my age you know."
When it was time to eat, Darcy found himself at a table in another room than the grownups. For some reason his parents had decided that everyone younger than sixteen would sit in another room. Darcy had no idea why. Around the table sat Darcy, Lizzy, Charlotte and Denny, Georgiana and five kids in the ages of four to eight. The only thing good about this table arrangement is the possibility of looking at Lizzy, he thought to himself. During the course of dinner he only did two things; eat and look at Lizzy.
After dinner Denny and Charlotte sat down on a sofa and continued talking as they had done throughout the whole evening, so Darcy found that he had nothing to do. But when he saw Lizzy looking after the kids, he got an idea.
Chapter Eleven
Darcy stood shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He didn't know how to begin.
"Would you let me show you the house?" he asked.
"But the kids.... I must look after them."
"My sister can do that. Will you come?"
"No, I won't. As I said in school, I don't like you. I don't want to take a tour around the house with you, and besides, Georgiana has already shown me."
Lizzy continued playing with the blocks, building a tower that an evil five-year-old immediately destroyed.
Darcy stood put about half a minute before walking upstairs to his room. He didn't return until it was time for the guests to leave.
All the way home Lizzy and Charlotte talked. Lizzy of how much she hated Darcy, and Charlotte of how glad she was that Denny finally had noticed her. She had had a crush on him the past two years, but he never seemed to know about her existence. Lizzy wondered how it was possible for him to be so oblivious to the fact that Charlotte liked him. All days long in school she stared at him and she was always trying to be near him.
Chapter Twelve
"Var är Charlotte?"(Where's Charlotte?) asked Lizzy.
"Åh, jag är rädd att hon inte kan gå till skolan idag. Hon är sjuk. Jag tror att det kan vara influensan."(Oh, I'm afraid she can't go to school today. She's ill, I think it might be the flu.)
"OK. Hälsa henne att hon ska krya på sig." (OK. Tell her I told her to get well.)
"Jag ska. Hejdå!" (I will. Bye!)
"Hejdå!" (Bye!)
As she ate her breakfast Lizzy remembered that her bike was still at school. Her father hadn't had time to pick it up last night so now she had to take the bus again. Not that it mattered, it wasn't fun to bike alone.
She was the first one to get on the bus and usually the next stop was after a mile. This morning however the bus stopped outside of Darcy's house and she saw Darcy and Georgiana locking the door and step inside the bus. It was a pleasant surprise to see Georgiana - Lizzy liked her. But her brother.... He was as despicable as ever before.
That day Lizzy spent the lunch and the other breaks talking to Maria. She told her about the previous evening and both of them were pleased to see that Denny seemed disappointed when he heard that Sara was ill.
That afternoon after school it was time for Lizzy's two-hour teach-Darcy-Swedish-lesson. She hated the mere thought of spending two hours with that...... that jerk. Perhaps she could tell him the Swedish words for what she thought he was.... No, knowing him, he would tell Mr. Harrie and she would get to teach him even more Swedish.
She opened her locker and threw in her Math-books, took out a pen and notebook and walked towards the classroom. Darcy wasn't there.
Fifteen minutes later, Darcy still hadn't come. Lizzy was getting more irritated by the minute. Who did he think he was? Didn't he think that she had more important stuff to do? She had to give Sinbad some exercise and since Charlotte was ill, most probably Jazz too. It would be beginning to get dark when she got home. Got home..... There was something she had forgotten. Right! She had taken the bus to school this morning. She wouldn't be able to get home. The bus was only going twice a day. In the morning before school and in the afternoon right after. Her parents weren't home yet, she knew that. It meant that she'd have to walk home and the it would definitely be dark when she finally got there.
"Hello!"
Lizzy looked up. Darcy had walked into the classroom and seated himself in the desk next to hers, but she hadn't noticed.
"Where have you been? You are 25 minutes late. Didn't it occur to you that I perhaps have stuff to do, other than sitting here waiting for you?"
"I'm sorry. I was talking to some of the boys and completely forgot the time."
"Well, we'd better get started, don't you think?"
"OK, you decide." Darcy opened his bag and took out a notebook and a pencil.
"So, what do you want to learn first?"
"I think I'd like to learn how to say hello, bye and stuff like that."
"OK, hi is hej. It's spelled h-e-j. Repeat after me: Hej."
"Hey."
Darcy scribbled down a note as Lizzy continued.
"Bye is hejdå. That's spelled h-e-j-d-å. Å is an a with a circle above. Repeat after me: Hejdå."
"Heydo."
"No, hejdå."
"Heydå."
Two hours later Darcy knew a few ordinary phrases, the school subjects and a little more. They reported to Mr. Harrie and he was pleased with what Darcy had learnt.
"Next week in every Swedish class you'll teach him Swedish. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Mr. Harrie." Lizzy answered. Why me?? she thought.
Darcy mused to himself, he would spend a lot of time with the girl with the fine eyes.
"May I use the phone?" He asked the teacher. "I have to call my father so he can pick me up."
"Sure, go ahead. Would you like to use the phone too, Lizzy?"
"No, I'll walk home."
"Walk? Seven miles? I'm sure my father can drive you home," said Darcy.
"Ah... well, I hadn't....," Lizzy begun but then remembered that it would be good before dark. "That would be very nice of you." She'd have to put up with his company, but what did it matter? Besides, it was only a ten minute drive.
As they stood outside the school waiting for George Darcy, Lizzy decided to teach Darcy some more Swedish.
"You know, there are three words in Swedish that describe you very well."
"And those words are?" he asked curiously.
"Arrogant, högfärdig och otrevlig"
"Oh.... And that means.....?"
"Arrogant, conceited and disagreeable."
Darcy felt an urge to tell her that his father couldn't drive her home, but he had already asked him and it would be hard to explain to him why she wasn't going with them, so he simply turned away from her and wished that his father would come soon.
Chapter Thirteen
In the woods Sinbad was very jumpy and nervous and saw monsters everywhere. Today he didn't calm down as he usually did. Being away from Jazz made him anxious to get home and therefore hard to hold from galloping away. After ten minutes of struggling with the reins, Lizzy's hands were very sore. A scared bird that flew across the riding path was the excuse Sinbad needed. He pulled the reins out of Lizzy's hands and started to gallop as fast as he could. Unfortunately the path was covered with stones and tree roots, so Sinbad hadn't galloped far before he tripped. Lizzy fel hard on the ground, hitting her head on a stone. As Sinbad vanished in the distance Lizzy drifted off into unconsciousness.
Chapter Fourteen
When Darcy came home he tried to watch TV, but he was too restless to enjoy the show. He decided to take a walk to calm himself down. He often did that back home in England and today he would explore some, to him, unknown paths.
The birds sang and a light breeze played with the leaves on the tree's branches. He inhaled the smell of earth and trees as he walked down the path he had found. The ground was covered in leaves and needles from the autumn the year before.
Darcy slowly started to calm down. When Lizzy had said those three words to him, he felt like hitting her, but he had pushed that feeling away, quickly. In the car on the way home, no one said anything. Lizzy had sat in the backseat looking out the window and he had done the same, in the passenger seat.
The present suddenly hit him hard, stopping him from dwelling in the past, with the sound of galloping hooves getting nearer. Darcy wondered who was out riding. He didn't think anyone in the village had horses but the animal coming out of a bend in the road proved him wrong.
He noticed with alarm that the horse looked frightened half to death, with wild eyes, reins hanging in two pieces from the bridle and the saddle under its stomach.
Darcy quickly got off the path, realising that nothing would stop this horse. He wondered who and where its rider was. As soon as the horse had passed he started running in the direction the horse came from, trying to spot the rider.
About half a mile later he saw a heap lying on the path. The heap was a human, the horse's rider. She (at least he thought it was a she) seemed to lay unnaturally still. He sprinted towards her. She was lying with her face turned away from him. He carefully turned her over.
"Lizzy!" he exclaimed, agony in his voice.
Chapter Fifteen
"Mamma, pappa. Var är jag?" (Mum, dad. Where am I? )
"Du är på sjukhuset. Sinbad kastade av dig och du slog huvudet på en sten." (You're in the hospital. Sinbad threw you off and you hit your head on a stone.)
"Vad hände med Sinbad?" (What happened to Sinbad?)
"Han mår bra. William Darcy fångade honom på en äng efter att han hade ringt ambulansen och den hade kommit." (He's fine. William Darcy caught him on a meadow after he called the ambulance and it had gotten there.)
"William Darcy?"
"Ja, han hittade dig medvetslös på ridstigen. Gud vet hur länge du skulle ha legat där om det inte varit för honom.""(Yes, he found you unconscious on the riding path. God knows how long you would have lain there if it wasn't for him.)
"Jag är lite trött. Jag skulle vilja vila ett tag." (I'm a bit tired. I would like to rest for a while.)
"Naturligtvis ska du det. Din far och jag går nu. Vi kommer tillbaka ikväll." (Of course you shall. Your father and I will leave you now. We'll be back tonight.)
When her parents had left Lizzy closed her eyes. She was tired but the real reason she had asked them to leave was that she needed to think. Time to think about Darcy. She was in debt to him. The thought wasn't pleasant, but it was true. She hated him for everything he had done to Wickham, and yet... if it wasn't for him... She didn't dare to think about what could've happened if he hadn't found her.
Later that evening when her parents came back they came in the company of a doctor. He told her that his name was Dr. Åhre and that she had a head injury. Although not as bad as it could have been, since she was found so quickly, and therefore she could go home tomorrow, but stay home the next two weeks and absolutely not go to school or horseback riding. After those two weeks she would come for a final check at the hospital and if it was something else she wondered about, she was welcome to call him. With those words he left her alone with her parents.
A week and a half later Lizzy was much better. Therefore, when Mr. Bennet's business partner told him about a business trip of great importance that both Mr. and Mrs. Bennet needed to go on, they had no other choice than to leave Lizzy home. They thought it would go well but wanted her to stay with Sara's or Marika's families while they were away. Maria's family however was in Spain and Charlotte's, who's illness turned out to be the measles, were now guaranteed to stop the disease from causing an epidemic, so neither of them could take her. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet didn't know what to do and were on the way of canceling the trip when the phone rang.
"Mrs. Bennet."
"---"
"Oh, hello!"
"----"
"Yes, but I'm afraid I can't go. We don't know anyone that Lizzy can stay with, so it is impossible."
"----"
"You do? That is very kind of you."
"----"
"Then it's settled then. We leave tomorrow and we'll drop her off at your place at 5 p.m."
"----"
"OK! Thank you and goodbye!"
Mrs. Bennet hung up the phone and went to tell Lizzy the good news. She found her in her room, resting.
"Lizzy, allting har ordnat sig jättebra. Mrs Darcy ringde precis för att erbjuda dig att bo hos dem när vi är borta. Jag accepterade åt dig, eftersom vi inte hade kunnat åka annars och du vet ju hur viktig denna resan är för din fars affärer." (Lizzy, everything's worked out just fine. Mrs. Darcy just called to ask ju to stay with them when we are away. I accepted for you, because we couldn't have gone otherwise and you know how important this is for your father's business.)
As her mother walked out of the room, Lizzy thoughts were in uproar. Stay at Darcy's house, four days? How am I supposed to stand it?
Chapter Sixteen
As soon as she had stepped out of the car and hugged her mother and father goodbye, she had a feeling that she would not enjoy the next four days. And it wasn't just a feeling like any other -- it was a strong feeling. She knocked on the door.
Soon enough, Mrs. Darcy, followed by Georgiana, came to open the door.
"Welcome Elizabeth!" she said. "Do come in! Aren't your parents here?"
"No, they had to go as soon as they had dropped me off, they didn't have much time to catch their flight."
"Oh, I see," turning to Georgiana she added, "Show Elizabeth to the guestroom," and, back to Lizzy, "That's where you are going to stay. I didn't think you'd like to share with Georgiana, if you get a sudden headache or something, due to the accident."
"That's very nice of you, Mrs. Darcy."
"Please, call me Anne."
"OK, thanks for letting me stay here, Anne."
"You are very welcome."
Lizzy followed Georgiana to the guestroom. Georgiana was very nice and if it wasn't for the age difference they might have been very good friends, but as it was, they were only good friends. One thought that often crossed Lizzy's mind was that Georgiana and Darcy were so different. Georgiana was a bit shy, but very nice. Darcy was very arrogant and not nice at all.
"This is the room. I'll leave you to unpack. I'll tell you when it's supper."
"OK, thanks."
An hour later Georgiana came to tell her that supper was ready. They went down to the dining room. The Darcy family and their guest ate in silence, the only ones speaking were Mr. and Mrs. Darcy. Darcy was spending the time like he used to when Lizzy was around; silent and staring at her.
The rest of the evening Lizzy spent watching TV with the others, until she got a headache and excused herself at about 10 p.m.
Chapter Seventeen
She wandered off down the stairs from the guestroom, through the living room and the kitchen and up another flight of stairs. There was the bathroom and she stepped in, locked the door and undressed. She turned on the hot water and got into the shower.
In the other part of the house Darcy lay awake in his bed. He had spent the whole night thinking about Lizzy. Her hair. Her smile. Her eyes! The way he felt after she called him those things; arrogant, conceited and disagreeable. The shock when he found her unconscious on the path. The relief when he knew she would survive. The anticipation when he was told she was going to live four days under the same roof as him. With all those thoughts on his mind it wasn't too surprising that he couldn't sleep. At a quarter to seven he decided to get up, he wouldn't get any sleep anyway. He didn't bother to change into something more appropriate than his pajamas. Lizzy would not get up in a couple of hours, at least, and by then, he would've changed clothes.
Pondering for a few minutes what to do, Darcy walked into the living room and turned on the TV. There was nothing but the Teletubbies, and since he didn't think this was a good time to go crazy, he turned it off again. He sat on the sofa staring into the air, and then, he suddenly knew what to do.
Chapter Eighteen
Lizzy quickly got hand of a towel and draped it around herself. Darcy turned away, the picture of Lizzy forever burned onto his retina.
"Eh.... um..... I'm sorry," Darcy stuttered, his face a very bright shade of tomato red.
"But I locked the door!" exclaimed an equally embarrassed Lizzy. "How could you...."
"You have to turn the key two turns in the keyhole," and with that he turned around and left the bathroom. As he walked away he heard the key turn twice in the lock.
Chapter Nineteen
"I had I had forgotten that Mr. Darcy and I have been invited to a dinner party tonight. I'm sorry about this, but I'm sure the three of you can manage on your own."
Lizzy looked up. Spending an evening with Georgiana and William, without grownups? After this morning? She didn't like the idea. She tried to say that she would go home, but Mrs. Darcy would hear nothing of it. She'd have to put up with it.
As soon as Mr. and Mrs. Darcy had left Georgiana suggested that they'd watch Pride and Prejudice.
"That's a good idea. Colin Firth is so gorgeous!" Lizzy said, and the second after realised that William looked exactly like him and most probably knew it. She blushed.
William, who of course had heard her last remark, looked at her. She was so cute when she blushed. And in the bathroom..... For heavens sake, try to forget that! he thought to himself.
Four hours later Lizzy got up from the sofa she had been sitting in the past hours.
"I think I have to take a turn about the room. Sitting on the same spot four hours in a row certainly makes your legs fall asleep!."
As she took a step forward she suddenly felt very, very dizzy.
"Are you alright, Lizzy?" asked Darcy who had noticed that she had grown very pale.
"I'm alright, thank you," she said and took another step forward to show that it was true. She felt even more dizzy now, but, determined not to let William know, she kept walking about the room. In the meantime he took a few steps her direction. When Lizzy fainted, he was immediately there and caught her in his arms as she fell. He carried her up to the guestroom and lay her down on the bed. Now he had no idea what to do next.
Chapter Twenty
A minute later Lizzy opened her eyes. What she saw was a bit confusing. William sat in a chair looking almost ....... relieved! As if he had been worried. Well, of course he is. I am in his house and I fainted. I'd be worried if any of my guests fainted.
"Shall I call your parents?" he asked.
"No, I see no need of that. I'm feeling fine, except for a slight headache. It would be unnecessary to worry them."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive." She turned away so she faced the wall. "If you wouldn't mind, could you please leave? I'd like to get some rest."
"Of course. If there's anything you want, don't hesitate to tell me or Georgiana."
With that he stood up and walked to the door. His hand on the doorknob as he turned around one last time.
"Are you absolutely sure that you are fine?"
"I have a headache, as I said, but it will pass as soon as I get some peace and quiet."
William got the hint and his muscular back as he walked out of the room, was the last Lizzy saw of him that night. Not that she minded not seeing him again. He was such a jerk...... but a gorgeous jerk of course. No Lizzy! No such thoughts. You hate him! Right?
Chapter Twenty-one
"...... and remember that at all times. Now I'm going to give you the homework for next week. It will be a bit unusual. You will be given a 'partner' and a doll and this weekend you will have to take care of the doll as if it was a baby. I have the boys' names in this hat and all the girls' in this cap. I will now pick one from the hat and one from the hat and the ones I pick will take care of a doll together."
The whole classroom was filled with low whispers and loud shouts. This was indeed a different homework.
"Quiet, or you won't hear the names when I read them!"
The boys and girls slowly quieted. Lizzy, who had been one of the whisperers, couldn't resist to say one more thing to Maria.
"Jag hoppas att jag inte ska göra det med William..... eller Bragd! ( I hope I don't get to do it with William.... or Bragd!)"
" Du är inte den enda som hoppas det. Åtminstone angående Bragd. Jag skulle inte ha något emot William. (You're not the only one hoping that. At least about Bragd. I wouldn't mind William.)"
"Girls, didn't you hear me? Be quiet!"
Mrs. Somme took a name from the hat:
"Ben."
And one from the cap:
"And Anne."
Ten minutes later everyone, except four, had been picked. The four ones left were Lizzy, Maria, William and Sanderson. There's still hope, Lizzy thought to herself.
"William," Mrs. Somme announced as she took a name from the hat, "and Lizzy," as she took one from the cap.
"No, not him!" Lizzy exclaimed.
"Oh yes, young lady. And what is it I always say about voicing your opinions about other people?"
"That you shall not voice them?"
"That's right. Now remember that next time."
Mrs. Somme started to hand out the dolls to all the girls.
"Don't lose them now. I will give each couple a bag with nappies, baby clothes and other baby stuff. You shall take care of the doll as if it was a real baby. Remember that it's capable of crying and screaming so you must comfort it if it does. Saturday morning you shall meet at one of your places and spend the day together. Same thing on Sunday. Any questions?"
There were many questions so Mrs. Somme had a busy time answering them all before she declared the lesson over.
Chapter Twenty-two
It was early Saturday morning, the weekend things would happen. Of course, Lizzy didn't know that when she woke up. She knew that she would spend the day with William Darcy, but she couldn't imagine what would evolve from that. If she had known, she probably wouldn't have gotten out of bed in the first place. But as it was, she did. And all she knew was that a new day had begun.
In another house, in the same village, William Darcy had just woken up. He knew a bit of what would happen and he looked forward to it. He was going to spend the entire weekend with Lizzy.
10 am the doorbell rung and Lizzy went to open the door. On the steps were William Darcy with a doll and a bag with baby stuff in his arms. Lizzy gulped inwardly. The sight wasn't totally unpleasant, he looked rather good, truth to be told. He smiled at her and her legs went rubbery for a second or two before she controlled herself. Don't like him! He's not a likable person!
"Can I come in?" he asked.
"What?" She snapped out of her reverie. "Um.... yes."
He stepped inside and took off his shoes and his jacket, and handed the doll to Lizzy.
"Here's your baby girl," he said with a smile and a mocking twinkle in his eyes.
"How do you know it's a girl?"
"I checked and, well, it wasn't a boy!"
"Ok, thank you." She took the doll and walked into the living room. "Follow me."
He did and when Lizzy sat down in the sofa, he placed himself in an armchair near her.
"Now what?"
"Well, the doll doesn't seem to be doing anything right now, so why don't we watch some TV or something." Lizzy said as she put the doll beside her on the sofa.
"Sure, whatever you say."
Lizzy turned on the TV and switched the channel with the remote control. Finally she found something worth watching. It was British comedy, The Black Adder. After a while Lizzy decided it was time to say something.
"Do you miss England?"
"Yes, it's a lovely country and since I was born there I'll always consider it as my native country."
"So you want to move back?"
"Yes, if my family hasn't moved back before I'm old enough to live on my own, I will."
"But you like living in Sweden?"
"It's not what I'm used to, but it's rather nice. But, you wouldn't always like to live here, would you? Don't you want to move to another country, like England?"
"Eh....."
That moment the doll started screaming and saved Lizzy from answering his question, since she had to turn her full attention to the doll. She quickly discovered that it needed a diaper change, so Lizzy ordered William to do it.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully and soon it was time for Will to go home. They decided that Lizzy would have the doll over the night. As she (Lizzy, that is) dozed off in her bed that night her thoughts were on poor Wickham and evil Darcy.
Chapter Twenty-three
The next morning found Lizzy very tired. Since she had had the baby during the night, she hadn't gotten much sleep. Actually, she had hardly slept at all. She couldn't believe how much a baby cried, even if it was a fake one. If it hadn't been because it needed a diaper change, it had been something else and it had driven Lizzy nuts. Fortunately, William would come over in no time and then she would get some help. This is the only time I've ever wanted to see William! she thought to herself. How amazing.
Two hours later, Will still hadn't come and Lizzy was beginning to doubt he ever would. She was, needless to say, quite angry and the feeling grew with every minute that went by without him showing up on the doorstep.
Another hour later he was finally there. Without an apology or anything like that he stepped inside and asked if there was anything he could do.
"Yes, you can take the baby and do what ever needs to be done. I'm going to get some sleep. Wake me up in about four hours." Lizzy said.
William was baffled but took the baby. It needed a diaper change so he decided to do something about it. When he was done with that he looked at his watch and realised it was time to feed the baby. He prepared some of the special doll food and began feeding it. He noticed that the doll seemed sleepy so he put it down in its bed and then he didn't know what to do. He turned on the TV and watched some rerun of an English soap. It wasn't fun, but at least it gave him something to do.
A few hours later he knocked on the door to Lizzy's room.
"Yes?"
"Four hours have gone now so I thought I'd wake you up as you asked me to."
"Okay, I'll be downstairs in a few minutes."
William turned his back on the door and went downstairs to the living room again. A few minutes later Lizzy came down.
"Did you manage looking after the baby?"
"Yes, everything went fine. She slept most of the time."
"Oh, how typical! When you're looking after her she's fast asleep, but when I do she can barely stop crying for a minute."
"It's just a doll, Lizzy!"
"I know that, but I still think it's annoying. What time is it?"
"It's a few minutes past five."
"It's time to feed her then. Should I do it or would you like to?"
"I think you should. I've already done it once today."
"Fine, I'll do it! But don't you think I did it earlier today when you were supposed to be here?"
"Well, I guess you did."
"In that case, you're right."
Lizzy went into the kitchen to prepare the baby's food. William stayed in the living room.
"Can I ask you something?" he called to Lizzy who was still in the kitchen.
"What?"
"Um... I'm wondering if you'd perhaps want to see a movie with me sometime? I really like you despite the fact that you're Swedish and like horses and everything."
Lizzy nearly dropped the plate she had in her hands.
"Do I want to see a movie with you?" she repeated. "No, never!!"
"Why not? It would be a privilege for you to go on a date with me."
"I can't believe you're saying those things! I never liked you, and what you're saying now certainly doesn't make me like you more."
"What have I done?"
"What you have done? You don't see anything wrong in what you have just said???????" Lizzy had a hard time speaking, she was so angry. "Well, first of all, you've treated George very badly, then you were three hours late this morning and didn't even apologize. As if that wasn't enough, you insulted me while asking if we could go see a movie. I just can't believe you!"
"Oh, indeed, I treated George Wickham very badly, and anything I said... Let's just say I had my reasons saying it. Perhaps I should go home now."
He walked to the door and opened it. Lizzy followed him.
"Yes, perhaps you should. And take the doll with you." She threw the doll at him. "May you have a sleepless night!"
The door slam shut in William's face and Lizzy went back into the living room. She just sat on the couch staring out into nothingness. She couldn't believe he had had the nerve to say what he had.
Chapter 24
The next day it was Monday and school day. Lizzy woke early and in the company of Charlotte, she went down to the stables. The horses had been in during the night since it had been raining cats and dogs the previous evening. Now they were dry and after the girls had given them their food they decided to take them out for a while.
"Vi hinner precis med en kort ridtur innan skolan, (We have just enough time to go for a short ride before school,)" said Lizzy.
"Vilken väg? (Where to?)"
"Jag vet inte, vi skulle kunna rida bort förbi Eric's hus. (I don't know, we could perhaps ride that way past Eric's house.)"
"Okej, det låter bra, men vi får skynda oss om vi ska hinna. (Okay, that sounds good, but we have to hurry if we're going to make it.)"
So the girls saddled their horses, and a few minutes later they were on their way. It was a beautiful, crisp morning and birds were singing in the trees that lined the path they were riding along. It was a long time since they had gone for a ride this early in the morning. Since Lizzy's accident she hadn't been riding very much, mostly because the doctor had told her that it wouldn't be the best thing to do. But now it was several weeks since the accident and she was glad they had decided to take the horses out. Whenever you were riding you're mind seemed to shut out everything that hadn't got anything to do with the present and the riding, and Lizzy was glad for it. She didn't need to think about William Darcy right now. She hadn't told Charlotte anything about yesterday afternoon, and she didn't plan to either. Some things it was best to leave untold, and forget about as soon as possible.
An hour later, Lizzy and Charlotte were sitting on the bus on their way to school. Neither Georgiana nor William had been waiting for the bus, and none of the Darcy family's cars could be seen outside their house. This didn't bother Lizzy the least, she was quite happy to avoid seeing William.
When they got to school there was still no sign of him, and when their teacher told them that he and his family had flown to England for a two weeks of vacation, no one was happier than Lizzy. The happiness soon disappeared when the teacher reminded her that she needed to calculate (a - 2b)(3x + 5) and other numbers like that.
The morning passed like any other Monday morning at school. After the fourth period it was lunch and when Lizzy, Charlotte and Maria had eaten, they decided to see if they could get a teacher to let them into the computer room. After a five minute search, they finally found someone and three minutes later they were each sitting in front a computer of 'their own'.
Lizzy decided to check her mail, so she logged into Hotmail. She had ten new e-mails. Nine of them were from different mailing lists she was on but the tenth mail was from none other than Will Darcy. At first she decided that she wouldn't read it but after she had read the others, she simply couldn't resist it any longer.
To: elib@hotmail.com
From: wdarcy@usa.net
Subject: Read this please.When I left your house this afternoon I was rather upset, and I must admit that I still am, even though not as much now as before. I feel that I have to tell you why I was late, and why I said what I did. Also, I think I should explain to you who George Wickham really is. That, and the reason I was late, I will tell you about first, since they are in a way connected. I haven't told anyone else about this, and neither has anyone in my family, so I trust you to keep it to yourself.
The same year as my sister was born, that is when I was two and a half, my family moved to a new neighbourhood in England. The family that lived next door to us was none other than George's. My parents and his immediately became very good friends, and George my new playmate. We were always playing together, and when Georgiana grew older, she sometimes joined us. When George and I were seven years old, his father went bankrupt. His family couldn't afford living in our neighbourhood anymore and they sold their house. However, my father knew how good friends George and me was so he made sure that he could go to the same school as me, although he lived in a 'bad' neighbourhood now. How bad I didn't understand until he started selling drugs in school. When he started selling, he wasn't more than ten. Most pupils knew he what he did, but not the teachers and definitely not his parents, or mine. He managed to continue selling until he was twelve. Then, he had sold some to a girl who wasn't more than nine, and when she overdosed, the teachers started an investigation to find out who it was that sold to the pupils. I told my father everything, and he didn't believe me at first. Eventually, he did though, and convinced the Wickham family to move to Sweden, since some of their ancestors were Swedish. He promised he wouldn't tell the teachers if they did.
In Sweden, you two started dating. I'm sorry to say this, but if he continued in the same way as in England (and now I don't mean selling drugs) you weren't the only girl he dated. Sometimes, back in England, he had three or four girlfriends at the same time. I don't know if he did the same thing in Sweden, but the chances are pretty big.
This morning, we found out that he and Georgiana had been e-mailing each other ever since we moved to Sweden (which was, by the way, the reason the Wickhams moved back to England). We didn't find out because Georgiana told us. Well, she did tell us but that was in a letter she left at the kitchen table when she left our house early in the morning. In the letter, she also wrote that she had left Sweden to go and see George - in England. My parents was, of course, devastated and immediately decided to go after her. They called the airline and booked plane tickets, and they also called the headmaster to get two weeks holiday for me and Georgiana. This is why I was late, I wasn't allowed to go to you until they had made sure that everything was fixed. We left for the airport immediately after I got home from you, and now I'm sitting on the plane writing this. If you don't believe me, I don't know what to do to make you change your mind. I can only say that all I have told you is entirely true.
As for the things I said to you, I realise now that it wasn't the best things I could have said. I have never liked horses. I did go riding a few times when I was younger, but I quit when I fell off a horse and broke my arm. Since then, I haven't gone near a horse, that is, until Sinbad came galloping towards me that they when you fell off him. I never did like Swedes either, because George's ancestors were Swedish, and since he's such a bad person, then all Swedes must be. I realised I was wrong when I got to know the people in our class, but when I asked you if we could go see a movie sometime, my old prejudices somehow came back. I'm terrible sorry for everything I have said, and I hope you will someday forgive me, although I don't think there's such a great chance of that.~ William Darcy
Lizzy sat gaping in front of the computer. She couldn't believe it. George had been a drug-dealer, and perhaps he still was. And he had had several girlfriends at the same time. If what William said was true, but why would he make up such a story? Especially the part about Georgiana?