Section I, Next Section
Part 1
Mr William Darcy resisted the urge to roll his eyes as the portly little man beside him continued to prattle on about a wonderful real-estate venture that Darcy would be mad not to invest in. Darcy marvelled at the man's ability to talk without any apparent need to pause for breath.
"Well, at least he doesn't seem to require much of a response from me," Darcy thought as he looked for a bright side to his situation.
He half smiled as he imagined a plot on behalf of the airlines, to always seat him next to their most irritating passengers. In his minds eye he could see a computer notation come up next to his name every time he booked a ticket:
NB - This man once argued about the amount of hand luggage allowed on a plane. Please seat him next to salesmen, elderly ladies with hundreds of photographs of their grandchildren, or yobbos who have had a little too much to drink at the airport.
His attention to the little man's words drifted even further away, as he noticed an attractive young lady board the plane.
"Now why can't they, just once, sit me next to someone like her," he wondered, as his eyes followed her progress down the aisle of the plane. She seemed a little confused, checked her ticket again, and made her way back up the plane to the nearest Flight Attendant.
As Darcy returned his focus to his neighbour he realised the little man had actually paused and seemed to be expecting a reply of some kind. Fortunately he was saved from the embarrassment of having to admit he hadn't been listening, by the flight attendant calling the attention of the little man to herself.
"Excuse me sir, May I check your ticket for a moment?"
The man looked disgruntled at the imposition, but never-the-less produced his ticket for the attendant.
"I'm sorry Sir, but it appears you're in this lady's seat. If you'd like to come with me I'll show you to your allocated seat."
"This is very inconvenient!" puffed the little man. "This gentleman and I were in the middle of a business discussion. I'm sure the young girl won't mind trading seats with me for the duration of the flight."
"I'm sorry Sir," the attendant countered, catching and understanding the mute plea for pity in Darcy's eyes, "but airline policy does not allow for that."
"I'm sure there'll be no difficulty in making an exception here," he replied in a patronising tone. "I'm a very loyal customer of this airline. This gentleman and I would particularly like to have the opportunity of talking together on this flight, and the girl could hardly have any objection to..."
"I'm sorry ...Mr Collins," the attendant cut across him, reading the name from his ticket, "but apart from anything else, it would be unfair to take this woman's business class seat, and to force her to take your economy seat in return."
Darcy smiled his gratitude to the Flight Attendant, and mouthed 'thankyou' as Mr Collins fished around under his seat for his briefcase. Still murmuring to himself about the outrageous inconvenience, how he'd be taking matters further with the airline, and with a word to Darcy that he would catch up with him after the flight, he followed the attendant further down the plane.
Darcy sighed with relief, and appreciatively took in the form of his new companion as she stretched to put her hand luggage in the overhead compartment.
"This is too good to be true," he thought to himself. "There'll have to be a catch here. She'll have a voice like Lamont in 'Singing in the Rain', or be without two brain cells to rub together."
He caught the soft scent of her perfume as she lightly seated herself beside him, and decided that it didn't really matter.
Part 2
The girl gave a slightly embarrassed smile as she settled herself down.
"I'm sorry if I've put you out at all. I really wouldn't have minded changing seats."
Her voice was delightful.
"Please don't apologise. I don't know the man at all. You've actually saved me from a very tiresome journey. He was trying to interest me in a property investment of dubious merit. Who knows, from there he may have moved on to an attempt to sell me the Eiffel Tower.
She responded with a slight musical laugh.
"He wasn't very pleased was he? I wonder what he'd think if he knew I'd just made this flight on 'stand-by' after a cancellation. He probably paid quite a bit more for his ticket than I did for mine."
Her eyes spoke her amusement at the situation. Darcy, a little too distracted by the aforementioned eyes, was not quick enough to keep this verbal exchange going, and noticed with disappointment that she now intended to focus her attention on a newspaper she'd brought with her.
He watched as she expertly flicked the cumbersome broadsheet and folded it into a manageable shape for easy reading. She seemed so contented in her occupation that Darcy felt it would be intrusive to interrupt her. He satisfied himself with the thought that he'd certainly have opportunity to talk with her sometime during their cross-continental flight, and settled back with his own novel.
The awareness of her presence, however, was proving too much of a distraction for him to give his full concentration to the book. She had now turned up the crossword, and he was impressed to see that she was making rather short work of it. On her pausing for longer than usual though, Darcy suspected that she had hit one of those stubborn little crossword corners. He looked across at the clues.
"Asmara," he said, and on registering her blank look he continued. "29 across, the capital of Eritrea is Asmara."
"Oh... thank you," she replied, bestowing a grateful smile on Darcy before filling in the answer to 29 across, and also the answers to a few of the remaining clues.
"You wouldn't happen to know a malleable element, six letters, second letter 'o' fifth letter 'e'?
"Copper," he replied, with hardly a hesitation.
"Drat, I suppose should have been able to work that one out. I hate geography and science questions," she told him. "Dad and I usually do the crossword together and I have to admit to leaving him to answer all of those questions. Occasionally I'll try and commit some of these facts to memory, but my brain says 'No, not interested' and drops them into a blackhole somewhere."
He found her smile and the life in her eyes very attractive.
"I think I can relate in some way," Darcy replied, not letting this opportunity for conversation go begging. "When I lived at home my mother would often express amazement at the amount of trivia I could retain in my head, while never being able to recall which night I was supposed to put out the garbage. No matter how many times I was told, the information wouldn't stay."
"That's nothing to do with your brain." There was that musical laugh again. "That's solely to do with your gender.... By the way, what time do you make it? Shouldn't we have taken off by now?"
"It's 5.20, we're about 15 minutes behind schedule. They'll soon be making one of those confidence building announcements about us being held up due to technical difficulties."
If he was at all concerned that his words might foster some nervousness in fellow commuter, his mind was put at rest by her unworried reply.
"You know, that's probably why they insist on all passengers being in their allocated seats. It must be a lot easier to identify the bodies when they're strapped into the correct seat number."
Darcy laughed out loud at this.
"It could be awfully disconcerting otherwise," he put in. "I can just see your grieving family going into shock at the viewing when, instead of their precious little girl, they find Mr Collins in the casket."
"It'd be an easy mistake to make," she countered with a serious expression on her face, only her eyes reflecting the humour of her comment. "Maybe the family wouldn't notice.".
As if on cue the pilot's greeting came over the intercom system, and they both bust out laughing as the he finished off his address...
"...we will be running slightly behind time due to minor technical difficulties..."
It was actually close to an hour after scheduled departure time, when the plane taxied down the runway for take off. Normally Darcy would have found this circumstance quite frustrating (he would have been near mad if he had still been beside Mr Collins) but time moves quickly when you're seated next to a vivacious, intelligent, and very pretty young lady. Her conversation was proving a delight, and he wouldn't have minded if the plane had sat on the tarmac for an hour or two more.
"I hope my sister rings to check on the expected arrival time," she commented. "I was only able to give her notice of which flight I'd be on at the last minute. She was going to have to rearrange everything in order to leave work early to pick me up."
"So, do you live in the west?" he asked. This was the first time their conversation had touched on more personal details.
"No, but my sister does. Jane moved over there a few months ago for her job. I've missed her terribly and she's quite homesick. This is the first time I've been able to visit her. I wouldn't mind giving Mum the slip for a bit, so I'm half inclined to look for a job while I'm over there myself."
Darcy was half inclined to offer her one, he may have even done so, had not the firm he was an executive with, practised a very strict policy against internal office romances.
"It's not an easy decision to make such a big move," he replied. "You wouldn't feel you were leaving too much behind? Do you have a boyfriend at home?" Was that too obvious?
"Not one that I wouldn't mind throwing over," she laughed. "Actually it would give me a great excuse to get rid of him. Personally I'm surprised that he's still hanging around."
"Why's that?" Darcy had difficulty in imagining any guy who'd not want to hand around this delightful girl.
"Oh, I think he's finding his lack of progress in the relationship a little frustrating," she answered with seeming amusement. "I get the impression he's used to his relationships moving a lot further a lot quicker. When he finally gets the idea that it's just not going to happen I don't think I'll see him for dust. He's a bit on the smarmy side."
The relief Darcy felt on finding out she was not seriously attached took him by surprise.
"That's what I like to see in a relationship," Darcy smiled, "respect!"
Part 3
Jane sat at the domestic terminal and wished she'd brought her novel. If she'd thought about it before she'd left her office, she would have taken the time to ring up and check whether the plane was expected on time. The truth was though, she'd been so excited about Lizzy's visit that she wasn't thinking about practicalities. Jane smiled as she caught herself checking the arrivals monitor again. It was like the proverbial watched pot. No matter how many times she checked it, the plane wasn't about to arrive any earlier.
She amused herself for a few minutes by watching the interplay between an increasing restless little boy, and a nice looking young man who, it seemed, had caught the toddler's attention. It had started off with a shy game of Peek-a-boo from the child, to which the man had reacted, and now the little fellow appeared to have claimed him as his personal property. The boy was animatedly chatting to the man about his action figure. If the young man could understand 3 words in 10 he was doing well, but he happily gave the child his full attention, and appropriately responded to the little boy's enthusiasm.
This new friendship however, was broken up by the arrival of a plane carrying the little one's grandparents, leaving the young man in peace.
Jane turned again to the monitor, and sighed with exasperation as she noted the arrival time had been put back a further 15 minutes.
"It's very frustrating isn't it?"
Jane looked up to find the pleasant young man addressing her.
"Are you waiting for flight 317 too?" he continued.
"Yes, to both your questions," Jane replied with a smile. " Should have known better than to expect it to arrive on time."
"I know what you mean. The friend I'm picking up will no doubt think me a fool for not having the sense to ring up and check before coming down here," the young man smiled. "Look, I was just about to go in search of a cup of coffee. Would you like me to bring you back one as well?"
Jane would have loved a coffee, but she was a little concerned about the propriety of accepting one from a stranger.
The young man seemed to be reading her thoughts and continued.
"Better still, we could go and find a café. We still have 45 minutes to kill until the plane gets in... And just in case you don't associate with strangers I can remedy that with an introduction. I'm Charles Bingley, ... more commonly known as Bing." He gave her a wonderful smile and held out a hand for her to shake.
Jane gave him a disconcerted look, and hesitated before accepting his hand.
"Hi, I'm Jane," she said, giving in to his undeniable charm. "Jane Bennet."
~
Darcy was taken completely by surprise at the announcement to remain seated and that all seatbelt should be on. How on earth could the trip have gone so quickly?
It suddenly occurred to him that he was running out of time to make a move on his enchanting young companion. He realised with exasperation didn't even know her name, but it seemed a little odd to be belatedly introducing ones-self at such a late stage of the flight.
As they finished off a conversation, on some of their favourite novels, Darcy looked for a casual opening to naturally find out her name and to introduce himself. The opening didn't appear and, as the plane taxied into the terminal, he readied himself to just ask her straight out.
He was on the point of speaking when the helpful flight attendant addressed him.
"I thought I should warn you. Mr Collins is very intent on catching you as soon as the flight ends. Would you like some assistance to make a quick get-away?"
Darcy winced at the idea of being cornered by Mr Collins again, but neither did he want to throw away his opportunity to get at least the name and phone number of his neighbour.
He looked from the flight attendant, to the young lady, in indecision.
"Go on," his companion laughed, "or you'll miss your chance of escape."
It then occurred to Darcy that he'd have no difficulty in catching up with her at the baggage retrieval.
"I've really enjoyed your company on this trip," he told her as he collected his hand luggage.
"And I yours," she smiled at him as the Flight attendant led him toward the front of the plane."
~
Bingley and Jane talked companionably as they walked back to the arrivals lounge. Bingley was hopeful that the plane might have been further delayed, giving him more time with his beautiful new acquaintance. His hopes however, proved ill founded as Darcy was already waiting for him on his return.
"No problem," Bingley thought to himself as he took his leave of Jane. "I have her name and place of work, and that should be enough to start with."
~
"Good flight, Darce?" Bingley asked.
"Actually, It was a great flight," Darcy replied with a smile.
"What's this? I thought I'd find you in a state of restrained exasperation at the very least. The plane was over an hour late.... I can only assume that the flight attendants must have been particularly attractive on this run."
"I didn't really pay close attention to the flight attendants," Darcy laughed, "but my fellow passengers were extraordinarily good company."
"Passengers?" queried Bingley.
"Well.... Passenger" answered Darcy.
"Oh... I see," Bingley replied with a grin. "What's her name?"
"I didn't actually get her name," Darcy admitted with a little embarrassment.
"Didn't get her name!" Bingley exclaimed. "Then who are you going to ask for when you call her up? Are you just going to describe her over the phone?"
"I didn't get her phone number either," Darcy grimaced. "I'm intending to catch up with her at the baggage retrieval."
Bingley only laughed.
"Darce," he said. "Sometimes I just don't believe you. You're now so used to waiting for the girls to throw themselves at your feet, that you've become lazy and forgotten the basic pick up rules - number one of which is at least to get the girl's name!"
Darcy grimaced again at this depiction of himself. Bingley did have a point.
"I'll just have to take a refresher course from you then, Bing. I'm sure you would never have made such a basic mistake,"
"No, indeed," Bingley cried. "As a matter of fact I've just been putting my money where my mouth is. There was this absolutely stunning woman here this evening and, even if I say so myself, I've made a pretty reasonable start. At least I know her name."
"Stop gloating. I'll soon know mine's name as well. Come on let's get to the baggage retrieval. I don't want to risk missing her."
~
Jane ran to Elizabeth and hugged her warmly.
"Oh, I've missed you!"
"Janie, it's so wonderful to see you!"
After another hug and more enthusiastic greetings Jane and Elizabeth sat down in the lounge to do some more catching up. Despite the fact that Elizabeth would be staying for close to three weeks, it seemed imperative that so many things be said and done right there and then.
It was at least 40 minutes later that enough had been shared to allow them to think of more mundane things, like picking up the luggage and getting back to Jane's flat.
"Oh, I forgot to ask, did you have a pleasant flight over here? How did you cope with the delays?"
"Oh, the flight was fine. I had a terrific companion on the way, so easy to talk to, very well informed and with a great sense of humour. You wouldn't believe how quickly the trip seemed to go."
"Was he cute," Jane asked.
"Oh, 'cute' doesn't come close to describing him," Lizzy laughed. "Move over Adonis.... By the way I'm sorry you had to wait so long for me."
"Don't be," Jane grinned. "I actually found some very agreeable company myself. I ended up having coffee with a rather handsome young man."
"Go Janie!" Liz laughed, "and where did this uncharacteristic bravery come from? I would never have thought you'd allow yourself to be so casually picked up at an airport."
"How can you make a simple coffee sound so sleazy?" Jane was still smiling.
"Well, did he ask you out, Janie dear? I'm waiting for all the gory details."
"No, but he knows where I work, so I hope I'll hear from him.
"Well, you're doing much better that me then." Liz sounded a little disappointed. "I don't even know the name of my mystery man."
"What about George?" Janie asked. "Are you losing interest in him already?"
"Oh, forget George Wickham," Liz smiled "He's all packaging and no substance. The best case scenario I can think of with him is that he'll run off with someone else while I'm over here. It'll save me the trouble of having to dump him."
Part 4
"I'm sorry to say this Darce, but I think she's given you the slip - possibly when you went diving for cover to avoid your friendly little real-estate salesman."
Darcy reluctantly admitted that Bingley was probably right. They'd been waiting now for close to 3/4 of an hour, and there'd been no sign of her. She must have somehow come and gone with out him seeing.
"We can wait a while longer if you'd like," Bingley offered, "but if we leave now we'll make it back to the car in time to avoid a further $10 on the parking fee."
"I think I should just face the reality that I've managed to stuff this one up," Darcy sighed. "I'll regret this one, though. It's giving me a strong sense of lost opportunity."
"Come on Darce. Don't be so negative. Truth be told you'd have no doubt ended up as dissatisfied with her as you have with the rest of them. You set pretty high standards, you know. I'm yet to meet a woman who could come up to them."
"You might be right, ... I would have liked a chance to find out for sure," Darcy replied, "but there's no use in crying over spilt milk."
"No use at all, " agreed Bingley encouragingly, "and while we're talking in clichés - remember that there's plenty of fish in the sea."
Darcy laughed at this.
"Bing, one minute you say no woman meets my standards, and the next you're telling me that there's plenty of fish in the sea. Choose one or the other - you can't have it both ways."
"Do I always have to watch everything I say with you?" Bingley asked with a grin.
"You should be used to it by now," Darcy smiled as he slung his pack over his shoulder, and he and Bingley turned to leave. If either of them had taken the time to glance back, they would have caught sight of two extremely attractive young women, still talking animatedly, as they collected a lone suitcase.
On Monday evening Darcy noticed Bingley, upon arriving home from work, was a little out of sorts. The two had shared the (rather impressive) Darcy family home for three years now; ever since Darcy's parents and sister had moved from the city to a country estate. These men had been friends since early in their school days, and they could read each other's moods with little difficulty.
"Well, are you going to let me in on what's troubling you?" Darcy asked after giving Bingley time to settle down and have a makeshift tea.
"Nothing really," Bingley answered.
Darcy just raised his eyebrows at this.
"Oh well, if you must know, I tried to get in contact with the girl I met at the airport the other day," Bingley explained, "and was told that she'd taken the week off work... The problem is that I don't know whether it's true, or whether she just doesn't want to see me."
Darcy couldn't help but laugh at the situation.
"You were a lot more sanguine when I was in your position the last Friday. What was it you told me...? 'plenty of fish in the sea'."
Bingley gave a sheepish grin at Darcy's amusement.
"You forget," he sent back, "that I still happen to know my dream girl's name... and I still have the hope that she might be back at work next Monday."
It may be needless to say, but on the following Monday Bingley returned from work in a much better mood. William Darcy was not by nature one to indulge himself in regrets. He was quite willing to take responsibility for his actions and move on from there. Still, by the third Monday following his East Coast trip, his friends even greater than characteristic cheerfulness, was almost getting on his nerves. Bingley's good fortune seemed to be an ever-present reminder of what he'd missed.
Bingley, aware that Darcy was still harbouring a slight sense of loss, tried to be sensitive to his friend's feelings by not talking of Jane too much. He was finding Jane everything that his first sight of her, had promised her to be. Her physical beauty seemed to be totally in accord with a beautiful nature. Sure, they'd only had one coffee and two lunches, but Bingley knew he'd never in his life been this attracted to anyone.
"Darce," Bingley broached cautiously, "I've asked Jane out for dinner tomorrow night, but she has her sister visiting at the moment. Would you mind coming along with us to make up the foursome?"
"Would you really mind if I didn't go?" Darcy asked, ignoring a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that there was something about Bingley's words he should really think through. "I've got a lot on my plate at work at the moment and I was planning to stay back late tomorrow night to try get on top of it."
"Are you sure that's all it is? You're not still brooding over your mystery flight girl are you? If Elizabeth is any thing like Jane I'm sure you'll find her great company and very attractive."
"Bing, you'd have to I admit I'd be pushing my luck to expect to run across two girls as attractive as my 'mystery flight girl', as you so eloquently put it, in the space of a few weeks. Honestly, I really should stay back at work. It's good to have a clear run at things without out any distractions."
"Caroline Bentley still getting on your nerves?" Bingley asked.
Darcy rolled his eyes in reply.
"You know, any time I'm tempted to feel annoyed about our firm's intrusive and archaic 'No Personal Relationships' policy, all I have to do is think of Caroline, and I'm suddenly blessing the person who instituted it."
Bingley laughed at this.
"Oh well, if you really can't come I'd better ring Richard and see if I can line him up."
"Oh the poor girl, do you really think that she deserves Richard?" Darcy asked with a grin on his face.
"She's only here for two more days. I don't think that that's enough time for him to break her heart." Bingley smilingly replied. "Mind you, with Richard you never know."
Bingley was in high spirits when he arrived home late the following night.
"You should come Darce, we had a great time," he enthused. "Jane is incredible, and I'm sure you would have loved Elizabeth - She's a bright girl."
"I'll have to take your word for it," Darcy smiled. "How did she get along with Richard?"
"Very well I think, but she's no pushover, he had the charm on 'full' all evening and she still managed to keep him at arms length. He'd just be getting confident and she'd hit him with a smart line that would send him back a few paces."
"Maybe I should have gone, that would have been worth seeing," Darcy laughed.
The weeks moved on but Darcy found himself still occasionally thinking of the bright, vivacious girl he'd met on that flight. He'd also met Jane a number of times now, and understood why Bingley was so smitten. She was a beautiful girl, maybe a little quiet for his taste and a little hard to really get to know, but obviously good natured and intelligent.
He hadn't quite put it together in his head, but it was often after spending time with Jane that he thought of the other girl. Some times an expression of Jane's, the way she phrased something, or a physical mannerism seemed familiar to him.
On the whole, Darcy watched the growing relationship between his friend and Jane with pleasure, but occasionally the thought that she might not feel as strongly towards Bingley, as he did for her, disturbed him.
That Bingley would do anything to please Jane was obvious, and it didn't surprise Darcy when he found himself in the middle of a conversation with him, over whether there might be a job in the publishing firm Darcy was fairly high up in, for Jane's sister Elizabeth.
"...And may I ask why, if she's as good as you say she is, you aren't offering her a job in your own company?"
"Darce, even you should understand that there aren't many opportunities for a person with graphic design and marketing qualifications, in the chemical engineering field."
"Ok, ...conceded, " Darcy went on, "but if she's so good she should be able to get a job without my help."
"I have no doubt she could," Bingley argued. "She's only just made the decision to move here, and it does create some awkwardness in that she lives so far away. On top of that, I knew you were looking for someone."
"So you're only advocating this for my benefit." Darcy laughed.
"Of course not. Jane will be over the moon if her sister gets a job here, but Elizabeth is a great girl and you might be impressed if you take a look at her C.V," Bingley countered.
"You just happen to have a copy of her C.V. on you?" Darcy asked in amazement.
"Yes, I lifted it from a bunch that she sent over for Jane to drop off at prospective places of employment. Jane doesn't know I'm asking. I wouldn't put you in that position."
As a result of this conversation, a fortnight later, Darcy found himself back at the airport's domestic terminal, waiting to pick up Jane's sister. Not only had he been conned into giving her a job, but because both Jane and Bingley were attending a work function Jane had been unable to get out of, he'd also been roped into picking her up from the airport.
"How will I recognise her?" he'd asked Jane. " Does she look like you?"
"In some ways," Jane had answered, "but her hair is darker and longer, she has darker eyes, and is a little taller than me."
"If all else fails," Bingley grinned, "she'll be the lost lonely passenger left over after everyone else has been picked up."
On Jane looking alarmed at this, Bingley continued.
"There's really no need to look so worried honey, He's quite capable of collecting your sister from the airport. Thanks so much for this Darce, we really do appreciate it."
"Not only this, but the Job," Jane smiled at him. "I don't think you'll have cause to regret it. Liz is pretty good at what she does."
"So I gathered from her résumé." Darcy smiled back at her.
As he waited in the arrival lounge Darcy couldn't help but remember the last occasion he'd been there, and caught himself thinking about that beautiful young lady once again. So it was, that when she entered the lounge, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. Then something in his mind seemed to go click, and it all made perfect sense. He walked quietly up to her, and she looked at him in astonishment as he addressed her with a smile.
"Elizabeth Bennet I presume."
Part 5
"William Darcy?" Liz asked in confusion, Still trying to work her mind around the fact that it was him standing in front of her.
"At your service, and may I say what an extremely pleasant surprise this is. If I'd have known it was you, I wouldn't have complained near so much about this commission to collect you from the airport."
"Thank you... I think," smiled Elizabeth.
Darcy fought to remain casual in the face of that smile. It was one that he'd seen many times in his imagination over the last few months, and the reality of it in no way fell short of the dream.
"Well, this is a bit of a coincidence, isn't it?" commented Liz.
"Not really when you think about it, but let's talk about that after we get your luggage. I hate airport lounges."
Liz followed as he led her towards the baggage claim. She was acutely aware of the times he took her arm, or placed his hand on the small of the back, to guide her through the push of the airport.
"I'm afraid it's a little heavy," Liz apologised as she pointed out her bag to him, and watched as he easily lifted it from the conveyer belt. " It's actually 20 kilo's over the limit, but believe it or not, the airline clerk didn't charge me any excess."
"It was a male clerk, wasn't it?" Darcy asked dryly.
"As a matter of fact it was," Liz grinned.
"And you smiled at him, didn't you?"
"I may have. I smile at lots of people."
"Hmm..." was Darcy's only response to this. "Come on let's find somewhere nice to catch up."
They made their way through the crowded terminal to the car park and both visibly relaxed as the car pulled away from the airport.
"Well Elizabeth, - it's so nice to actually know your name - how was your flight?"
"It didn't go nearly as quickly as the last one," she admitted. "I was seated next to a 16 year old girl who, like, was going to, like, visit a friend that she hadn't, like, seen for, like, years... And did I think that pink, like, suited her, because she always, like, had; but then she read this, like, magazine article that said people with darker colouring should, like, never wear pink..."
"Enough, enough!" cried Darcy
"On top of which," finished Elizabeth, "she was no help at all with the crossword."
Darcy had to laugh at this. He was understanding afresh why he'd been unable to get this delightful and beautiful girl out of his mind. They continued on with some inane small talk until Darcy took her to a lovely little café overlooking the river, where they were seated at a corner table.
After ordering a light supper, Liz again broached the coincidence of Darcy being Bingley's good friend.
"It might seem odd, but when you think about it, it's all perfectly logical," Darcy stated.
"Pray, enlighten me on this logic of yours," Liz encouraged, "for I'm still far from seeing it as anything but odd."
"Well, Bing met Jane at the domestic terminal while he was waiting to pick me up from our flight, and where Jane, in her turn, was waiting for you. Bing has a certain radar for the most beautiful women, and it seems to me quite obvious (I don't know why I didn't figure this out earlier) that the most beautiful woman in the arrivals lounge would have be your sister. The chances of there being another girl, from such an attractive gene pool, would be remote to say the least."
Liz didn't quite know how to react to this 'logic'.
"I only wish I'd thought this through earlier," Darcy continued. "I would have acted very differently if I'd known."
"In what way?" Liz asked; curious as to what he was alluding.
"Well, for a start I wouldn't have let Bing line you up on a date with Richard."
"Mr Smooth," Liz laughed. "It's been a long time since I've heard so many lines in one evening..."
Liz looked up and found herself feeling a little warm under William Darcy's intense gaze.
"Before," she asked, trying to get his eyes out of her mind, "when you said Charles had a radar for beautiful women, were you being perfectly serious? I mean, he's not a philanderer is he?"
"I was serious, in that he certainly has an eye for beauty," Darcy answered, suddenly thinking of how his statement may have sounded, "but he in no way trifles with people's affections."
"Oh, I'm glad to hear that. I'd hate for Janie to get hurt. Her tendency to think the best of people, can put her in positions where others can take advantage of her."
"You needn't worry about that," Darcy smiled. "I've never seen Bing so devoted to anyone in my life."
"Nor I Janie," Liz smiled back. "She never wears her heart on her sleeve, but it's not hard to see that she feels very differently towards Charles, than she has to any of her many other admirers."
Darcy was glad that Elizabeth had broached this subject. It set at rest the vague disquiet that he'd felt about Bingley's and Jane's relationship.
"Well, tell me about this job of mine," Liz asked pertly, taking a complete change of subject. "Am I going to have to get you cups of coffee, and call you 'Sir'?"
An hour or so later, Darcy walked Elizabeth to her sisters apartment. Jane, eagerly anticipating Liz's arrival was at the door as soon as she heard their voices. Darcy found himself momentarily forgotten as the sisters enthusiastically embraced, and both talked over the top of the other in their excitement.
"Is Bing still here?" Darcy asked at his first opportunity.
"Oh, William," said Jane, for the first time acknowledging his presence. "I'm sorry, he thought Lizzy and I would want some time alone, so he's gone home early."
"Well, in that case I'll be off myself. I've enjoyed our evening Liz."
"So have I, very much. I really appreciate that you picked me up too." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek by way of thanks, and watched as he disappeared down the stairs.
When she turned back to Janie she noticed her sister looking at her with a questioning look on her face.
Liz just grinned at her, and when they'd shut the door behind them, she did a little spin around, before dropping herself onto the sofa. Janie was still watching her with the same expression.
"You'll never believe it," Liz said, answering her sisters look, "but your Mr William Darcy, and my Mr 'Tall, Dark and Handsome' from my last flight, are the one and the same person."
"You're kidding me," Jane answered.
"Nope, Scouts honour," Lizzy grinned. "What possible reason would I have to lie to you. Apparently it was William that Charles was waiting for on the night that he met you."
Jane was about to admit that it did make sense, when she was interrupted by a gasp from Lizzy as she suddenly began searching through her bag.
"What have you lost now?" Jane asked, a little surprised at Liz seeming to leave the subject of William behind so quickly.
"I've just had a terrible thought," Liz said as she pulled out a copy of her employment contract that she had completed and signed the week before. "Oh dear, here it is. What do you think of this Janie? '...I understand that as a condition of my employment with Emu Publishing, that I am to refrain from forming any sexual or romantic relationships with any other employees of Emu Publishing....' Do you think they include executive staff in this prohibition?"
"Oh, how could they possibly enforce that?" Jane asked. "A firm has no right to dictate the personal lives of it employees."
"Well, why do you think they have it in there?" Liz asked. "It can't be just there as decoration."
"Well, you can always quit," Jane suggested, but only half seriously. Liz hardly knew William, and as attractive as he might be, she knew Liz was pragmatic enough not to throw away a great job opportunity on a romantic whim.
"That'd look great," Liz laughed. "He's gone out on limb to employ me as it is. It'd be a great start to any relationship for me to leave him in the lurch over this."
"I can see you explaining it to him now," Jane joined in her sister's laughter. "I've decided to resign on account of the fact you have a very cute butt...." It'd be very subtle."
"Ah well," Liz sighed after their giggling had subsided. "We'll just have to see how everything pans out. I'm still glad I've met him again."
"Charles Evan Bingley, " Darcy called out as he let himself into the house.
"What have I done now?" Bingley asked, reacting to the use of all three of his names. "Don't tell me that you didn't like Elizabeth. I would have thought you two would get on famously."
Darcy gave Bingley an exasperated look. "That's the problem Bing. It was Elizabeth that I sat next to on that flight all those months ago."
"Ha! I knew you'd like her," Bingley congratulated himself. "I am now, however, at a loss to see what the problem is."
"The problem is, Bing, that you've managed to talk me into employing her. Now I'm not allowed to date her!"
Bingley some how found the situation very amusing, but when he stopped laughing he did try and encourage his friend. Look on the bright side. Maybe you can sack her."
Darcy just groaned. "That'd be a great start to any courtship, wouldn't it? 'Liz, you're fired, now would you like to go out with me tomorrow night?'.
"But if I hadn't talked you into employing her you may never have met her again," Bingley grinned.
"Yes I would have," Darcy half smiled, "We no doubt would have met at yours and Jane's Wedding."
Part 6
"Yes I would have," Darcy half smiled, "we no doubt would have met at yours and Jane's Wedding."
This flippant remark of Darcy's caused an immediate, and surprisingly earnest, response from Bingley.
"Do you think that I should?" asked Bingley
"What? Marry her?"
Bingley nodded.
"Why are you asking me? I would think that's a decision only you can make," Darcy replied in amazement. "How serious are things between you two anyway? I mean, I can't help but notice that you never stay over at each other's places."
"She won't stay over," Bingley replied. "She hasn't slept with me... She hasn't slept with anyone."
Darcy looked thoughtful at this and didn't reply. He was not so much thinking of Jane, but rather of her younger sister and of what her attitude might be in this regard. His musings were interrupted by Bingley speaking again.
"I think I'm going to have to marry her."
"What! For sex?"
"Of course not, stupid, because she is the most beautiful woman I have ever met in my life, because her nature and her approach to life are as lovely as she is; because thoughts of her consume nearly all of my waking moments, and I dream of her every night; because I can't imagine how empty it would be to spend my life without her, ...and then," he finished with a sheepish grin, "there is the sex."
"Oh my!" Darcy laughed. "I don't know whether to applaud or gag! That was quite a speech."
"Well, what should I do? Do you think we've known each other long enough. I'm concerned that if I push things too fast that I might scare her off. Do you think that she feels the same way about me as I do about her?"
"I can't tell you that?" Darcy answered, "but I can say this. Elizabeth told me tonight, that she'd never seen Jane so smitten."
"Excellent," smiled Bingley. "Excellent."
Darcy didn't see Liz again until Monday morning. According to his usual practise he arrived at the office early, and found her entering at the same time. He smiled in admiration as he saw her, for the first time, in a skirt. It was not so short as to be to be trampy, but it did give one an appreciation of her long and shapely legs.
Darcy was able to show her around while everything was relatively quiet and introduce her to most of the staff in her area as they arrived. She found them to be, on the most part, open and friendly. The exception to the rule seemed to be a Miss Caroline Bentley, who began sending out 'cold pricklys' almost as soon as they met.
The truth was, that as a very attractive young lady, Caroline appreciated the attention she received from a number of the males in her section. It didn't take more than a cursory glance at Elizabeth to perceive that she may be a very real threat to her position in this regard.
Caroline was not the type to let a little clause in her employment contract get in the way of her desires. She was very discrete about the fact that she'd had illicit affairs with two of the men in the office, but far less discrete on the fact that her heart was set on a third. Truth be known, Darcy had been the object of her aspirations all along, and it was a source of eternal vexation to her that he remained so inflexible in his loyalty to the firm, and to it's 'no relationships' policy.
After going over Liz's duties with her (a task that Darcy would have normally left to one of his staff) and making sure Liz was left in good hands, Darcy returned to his office to reflect. He was not going to lose his head over this situation. There was no need for over-reaction and no need for him to make any big decisions now. Working together might actually be a good thing. He'd have a chance to get to know Liz better, to see how she dealt with the pressures and strains of everyday life. He could enjoy her company and if any thing developed, then.... he'd deal with it at the time.
Darcy made a valiant effort to put Liz out of his mind and focus on his work. He was successful too, in part, as he didn't find himself thinking about her above once every few minutes.
11 o'clock rolled around, and Darcy heard a soft knock on his door.
"Come right on in," he called, and was pleased to see Liz enter with two coffees.
"I hope I'm not intruding. Do you also take a break at 11?"
"When I think of it," Darcy smiled, taking the cup she offered him. "How did you know how I take my coffee?"
"I remembered from the other night," she replied, sitting her self down and crossing those long legs. "Actually William, I came to ask your help on an important matter."
"I'll do my best to be of assistance," he answered, not too distracted by her legs to miss the seriousness of her tone.
"Great!" Liz smiled as she produced that day's paper. "Do you know a 9 letter word meaning evil, third letter 'f', eighth letter 'u'?"
"Nefarious," Darcy answered with a grin.
By the end of Liz's second week at the office Darcy felt himself in a real bind. His infatuation with Liz showed no sign at all of abating and, as much as he might like to pull back a little to think things through rationally, he could not stay away from her. On top of the times that their actual work brought them together, they were also spending an increasing number of their lunch hours and coffee breaks with each other.
"Bing, you know I'm going to lose my job over this!" Darcy complained on Saturday morning. "Mr Bourg, would not be happy if he could see what's going on in my mind."
"He can't fire you," Bing laughed. "You haven't done anything other than look."
"Yes, but I don't want to just keep looking," Darcy groaned. "I want to touch! Seven years devoted service to the firm, and it comes to this. I glad it's finally the weekend. I need some space to clear my head and to think."
"Look Darce, it's such a great day I was thinking of going to the beach. Why don't you come along with me. The fresh air and exercise will do you good."
Darcy agreed, and 40 minutes later they were walking down onto the warm sand.
"Oh, look who's here!" Bingley exclaimed in mock surprise.
Darcy shot Bingley a murderous look. Bingley just grinned.
"You'd be pleased to see me lose my sanity, wouldn't you?"
"Come on Darce, would you really want to miss a view like this?" Bing was not looking at the sea, but at the Bennet sisters.
"I'm going to lose my job," Darcy murmured to himself as they approached the girls.
Pleasantries were exchanged as the two men settled themselves down next to Liz and Jane. It was difficult for Darcy to stay focussed on the conversation as he watched Liz apply sunscreen to her long and toned legs. Jane and Bing soon separated themselves from the others to wander up the beach hand in hand.
"It didn't take them long to make a get-a-way," Liz laughed, "but Jane should not have left before doing my back. Would you mind?" she asked, throwing him the sunscreen.
"Job be damned," Darcy thought to himself as he began massaging the cream into her back in long, gentle strokes.
Part 7
Elizabeth was awakened late on Sunday night (or was it early Monday morning?) by Jane creeping into her bedroom.
"Lizzy... Lizzy..." she whispered. "Are you still awake?"
"Sure Janie. I've just been lying here the past two hours pretending to be asleep," Liz answered. "OK, now that I am awake, what did you need to tell me? Did you have a good night out?"
As Liz shook off her stupor she noticed that Jane had an expression like the cat that swallowed the cream.
"He asked me!" Jane burst out, unable to hold it in any longer. "We're engaged!"
"Oh, Janie!" Liz exclaimed as she threw her arms around her sister.
The two of them finally calmed down enough for Janie to remember her ring and show it to Lizzy.
"Whoa, what a rock!" Liz laughed. "It really must be love!"
Janie just grinned.
"Come on sis, out with it! Where did it happen? How did he propose? Give me details!"
Janie was only too pleased to comply and, as a very fine author once said, 'all was acknowledged and half the night spent in conversation'.
Monday morning Darcy and Elizabeth both arrived for work looking a little weary around the edges.
"Were you awakened in the middle of the night too?" Darcy asked with a wry smile.
"Is it that obvious?" Liz asked with a grimace. "I knew I should have worn more makeup today."
"No, you look fantastic, as usual," he smiled. "I was only assuming that Jane may have been as keen to share her good fortune as Bing was."
"Was she ever!" Liz grinned. "I couldn't shut her up. You wouldn't believe how many hours of Bing's charms and perfections I was subjected to."
"Oh, you have no idea of how much I can empathise. Bingley's effusions were also sickeningly long and sappy."
"Well, I suppose our 'love-struck' encounters last night were not strictly wise, and we'll pay for our lack of sleep today," Liz smiled at him. "but I still think last night was very special and don't regret a moment."
Intent on their exchange, they did not see the look of horror on Caroline's face, as she managed to catch Liz's last comment to Darcy.
"The b****!" thought Caroline. "The stinking, manipulative little b****!"
Over the last few weeks she had been more than concerned at Elizabeth's apparent closeness to Darcy. She had watched their lively exchanges and smiles with a jealous eye, but she'd no idea that their intimacy had progressed this far.
She was not, however, going to take this sitting down. Not Caroline. Never slow to see anything to her advantage, Caroline reasoned that if Darcy could break the work code with Elizabeth, he could break it with her.
It was mid morning she presented herself at Darcy's office with a smug look on her face.
"Did you have a good time last night?" she asked meaningfully.
"If you must know, it was rather tiring," Darcy answered, wondering from her manner if he was missing something.
"Tiring?" she asked with a smirk. "Is that the best have to say about it?"
Darcy gave Caroline an extremely blank look.
"Caroline, if you are trying to say something you'd better do it outright, because I don't have the patience for little games this morning."
"Oh, you're good at this," Caroline shot back at him enigmatically. "Your innocent little act is almost believable."
"What innocent little act? "
"Oh, you know very well William dear. The question should really be, what do you think Mr Bourg would think if he knew?"
"Again, you are being too clever for me, Caroline. I have not the slightest idea as to what you are going on about."
Caroline almost hesitated. Could she be wrong? No, she knew what she'd heard.
"I'm talking about yours and Miss Bennet's little liaison last night!"
"Our what?" Darcy exclaimed, a look if incredulity on his face. "I did not have the pleasure of seeing Liz at all yesterday, let alone 'liaise' with her last night! I suggest you be a little more sure of your facts before you start making accusations."
"Have it your way!" she spat it at him, "but remember, it's not wise to take me for granted."
Darcy watched as she left his office, taking with her every hope he may have had of breaking the code, without it being brought to Mr Bourg's attention.
After the coffee break, Elizabeth's manner left Caroline in no doubt that Darcy had informed her of their little exchange. It was not shown, as Caroline might have expected, by any awkwardness or embarrassment in Liz's behaviour, but by a big grin and wink as she caught Caroline's eye.
Caroline's increasing animosity was given voice a few hours later, when Darcy dropped into the section to run over some details with a few of his senior staff. Caroline had wandered over to Liz's desk and began looking through some of her drafts for the cover of a new novel.
Darcy looked up in concern as he heard the assault begin.
"Really Elizabeth," Caroline stated in a clearly audible and patronising tone, "your inexperience in this area is glaringly obvious. Only a rank amateur would ever think work like this might be close to acceptable."
"Maybe this doesn't reflect my best work," Elizabeth smiled sweetly back at her. "I'm just absolutely exhausted today. I hardly got any sleep at all last night."
While Caroline stood speechless for a moment, seeking for some words to retaliate, Grant, the firms artistic design 'guru', walked into the area.
"Liz," he queried, "do you have those drafts finished yet? I have the author in my office."
"Yes, they're right here," Liz answered, handing him the file that Caroline had just been looking through.
Grant stood there a moment to flick through the file.
"These are perfect Liz. Exactly what I was looking for." With that he turned on his heel and left the section, without even noticing Caroline's black look, or that half of the staff were trying to suppress laughter.
For the next few weeks Darcy felt Caroline's attention on him, like a continuing stifling presence. He was impressed at how Liz let Caroline's constant attempts to belittle her just run off her back. Liz only occasionally retaliated with a little teasing, such as calling Darcy "Darling", in Caroline's presence, or maybe blowing him a kiss (which he didn't mind at all).
It came as little surprise then, when both Elizabeth and Darcy were called to Mr Bourg's office for "a quiet word".
Liz had never been in Mr Bourg's office before. It was extraordinarily elaborate, with a huge mahogany desk and book cases, a deep burgundy leather lounge suite, some rather large, and relatively tasteless paintings in gaudy frames, and (Elizabeth could hardly believe it) a moose head mounted on one wall.
Mr Bourg sat behind his desk, in all his state, looking disapprovingly from one to the other.
"A disturbing report has reached my ears," he began solemnly. "I have been led to believe that the two of you have been carrying on a covert sexual relationship right under my nose. After all these years of service Mr Darcy, I am terribly disappointed to hear of this behaviour from you. I have appreciated your excellent work and talents, and you have risen to a high level within my firm at an extraordinarily young age. I would have hoped to have had my trust in you rewarded with your loyalty ...And you young lady, as yet still in your probationary period... I am exceedingly distressed."
"As am I Sir, to see these allegations accepted as fact without any question." Elizabeth immediately replied. "I do not particularly appreciate having my morality discredited."
Mr Bourg looked momentarily disconcerted at the forward reply from this young girl.
"Miss Bennet, are you trying to tell me you are not sleeping with, or dating Mr Darcy?"
"That's correct Sir."
As if not willing to accept the girl's word for it, Mr Bourg turned to Darcy.
"And what have you to say on this matter young man?"
"Miss Bennet and I are not currently in a romantic or sexual relationship."
Mr Bourg did not seem to register the word 'currently' in Darcy's denial, but Elizabeth had picked up on it immediately, and a small smile appeared on her face.
"Then what, may I ask, is it that the two of you do each morning when you shut yourselves away in Mr Darcy's office during the coffee break?"
"The crossword," they both answered simultaneously.
"Oh," Mr Bourg looked slightly taken aback, but not for long. "I was also told that you definitely are planning to see each other this Saturday night."
"Mr Bourg," Darcy answered, "my housemate is engaged to Miss Bennet's sister, and we are throwing them an engagement party at my home this Saturday night. I make no secret of the fact that Miss Bennet and I often see each other outside work hours. Given the relationship between my friend and Miss Bennet's sister it is only to be expected."
"I see..." Mr Bourg said, rising from his seat and moving to stare out his window.
Liz threw a half alarmed, half amused look at Darcy, and he just smiled some reassurance back.
"It seems to me," Mr Bourg suddenly continued, "that this confusion is understandable. I think it probably best if the two of you refrain from seeing each other outside work hours. Sexual harassment is a serious thing within the workplace, and I do not want to open this firm up to any litigation in this regard."
The amusement suddenly left Liz's face, but it was replaced by relief as she heard Darcy's uncompromising reply.
"With all due respect Sir, it's not appropriate for you to make such a request, or reasonable for us to conform to it. We are not breaking any of our contractual obligations by our friendship."
"Yes, yes, maybe you're right," Mr Bourg murmured. Elizabeth suspected that he might be thinking that any continued action in this matter might end up opening him up to litigation for unfair dismissal in lieu of sexual harassment. "Well, we'll leave things they stand." And with that he dismissed them from his presence.
Liz and Darcy exchanged relieved looks as they left his office.
"All this has left me with a big question Will. If Mr Bourg so strictly enforces his policy that none of his emloyees can sleep together..." Liz paused looking slightly confused, "...how has Caroline manage to move up as high as she has in the firm?"
Caroline, who was lurking at the end of the corridor to see the outcome of the conference, was not pleased to see them laughing together. She would have been even less pleased had she known what they were laughing about.
That night Liz told Janie of her interesting day.
"Liz," asked Janie, at the end of her story. "What is going on between you and William?"
"Nothing obviously," Liz replied in a slightly disappointed voice.
"And it seems nothing is going to happen if you continue to work in the same office," Janie stated matter-of-factly.
"Oh Janie, I really enjoy my work and the people I work with (with one little exception). It's the kind of job I've always dreamt about, but I'd leave it in a second if I thought that William had serious thoughts about me."
"Are you sure he doesn't?" Janie asked.
"No, sometimes I think he'd like to take things further, and other times I think he's just satisfied with our friendship the way it is. I suppose I'm just waiting for more of an indication of where I stand."
At work Caroline's vexation had received no relief from Mr Bourg's interference. In fact it was pushed closer to breaking point by an announcement of Mr Bourg that he had chosen Elizabeth to accompany Darcy to a nation-wide Book Fair.
"Mr Bourg, may I speak to you for a moment," Caroline requested as she knocked on his office door."
"Certainly Miss Bentley, what is it that's on your mind?"
"Sir, I was wondering why you overlooked me for the Book Fair. I've been attending it for the last four years."
"I thought the experience would be good for Miss Bennet. I've been looking at some of her work and have been surprisingly impressed."
"But Sir..." Caroline stammered, "do you think its wise given the situation between Mr Darcy and Miss Bennet."
"I appreciate your concern Miss Bentley, but I looked into that matter a week or so ago. It's quite all right - they're practically related."
Part 8
"Well, doesn't this feel familiar?" William asked as they seated themselves in the plane. "I couldn't believe my luck when they moved Mr Collins and put you in his place."
"You never know William. You may have missed out getting in on the ground floor of an excellent investment opportunity." Liz returned.
Liz was looking forward to the opportunity of spending this time with Darcy; hoping it would give her more insight into his feelings. He was a cool operator, that was for sure. Sometimes Liz felt she knew him so well, and at others she thought she was only beginning to scrape the surface. It had been arranged that she was to stay at the Fair for the Friday and Saturday nights, and Darcy was to stay on into the following week. The flight proceeded well enough, but despite William being as charming as ever, Liz was still unable to discern if his feelings went any further than friendship.
Darcy himself was more ambivalent towards their trip away together. There had been no abatement in his attraction to Liz. His desire for her now, as he sat beside her on the plane was bordering on acute. For all that he told himself to take a step back, and look at things rationally, he just couldn't do it. Seeing her constantly, engaging with her in playful conversation, hearing her delightful laugh, seeing the life playing in her eyes, looking at her body.... it bewildered his senses and played havoc with his reasoning. It had become an almost constant discipline to maintain his casual exterior.
But there was so much at stake. He was proud of his achievements at Emu Publishing. He had put so much of himself into the firm over the years. On top of which he knew he'd been treated well by Mr Bourg, and that he owed him loyalty in return. Did he leave it all behind for this woman... this beautiful, funny, delightful, intelligent woman? There was no contest. He knew he'd do it in a heartbeat if he was assured of her love in return.
Friday night was just drinks and an introductory session. It was very low key and many people wandered off to their motel rooms reasonably early, to settle in after their long trips. Liz was one of those to break away early, leaving Darcy to hold up the end for Emu Publishing.
She had been introduced to a number of people from other publishing companies, distribution outlets and marketing firms. A couple of the men had asked after Caroline and expressed disappointment that she was not going to be at this conference. When Darcy, however, presented Liz to them as Caroline's replacement they showed great interest, and seemed to indicate that she might do just as well, or maybe better. These men's attentions were so direct that Liz was pleased to be able to plead tiredness as an excuse and escape to her room.
The events of the following day gave Liz a marvellous insight into Darcy's considerable talents, and she understood how he had managed to progress so far at his young age. She watched in admiration as he worked the room, promoting the interests of Emu and it's authors. He addressed people by their names and remembered their backgrounds. He seemed to be aware of their interests and patterns of thinking, and presented Emu to them in a manner to which they would be most receptive. Liz thought that he would make the consummate diplomat. Even more impressive to Liz was the way he included her in the process, drew her into the conversations he had with others, and invited her opinion on subjects.
The day was full of interest and mentally challenging, and both Liz and Darcy looked forward to the respite that the evening's cocktail party would bring. Although they would still be required to represent the interests of Emu, every thing would be less full on.
Darcy was taken aback when he called at Liz's room to escort her to the function. He'd known from the moment he'd first laid eyes on her that she was beautiful, but tonight...
"Liz, you look absolutely stunning!" he breathed, and almost melted at the smile she gave him in response.
"So what's exactly required of us this evening?" she asked him.
"Nothing too demanding," he replied, trying to clear his head enough to think about his responsibilities. "We just have to mingle and do a little 'smoozing', when called upon to do so."
"Is that all," Elizabeth laughed. She had little idea of how much her laugh effected Darcy. "I think I can cope with that for an evening."
"Liz and Darcy stayed relatively near to one another for the early part of the night, but as things warmed up they were pulled apart by the interest and demands others. Darcy was using all of his discipline to stay fully aware of what those around him were saying, but he often caught himself looking across to where Liz was talking to an enthusiastic young man. He was becoming concerned that the young man was standing too close to Liz, and that he seemed to want to move in even closer. He was relieved when Liz, on breaking away from him, moved over to rejoin Darcy.
Her move, however, did not free Liz of the attentions of the young man, and he appeared again at her side after getting himself another drink (one he really didn't need).
"William, this is Mark from Albatross books," Liz introduced them. William was very amused to see the exasperation in Liz's eyes.
"Yes, I think we met this morning. How is Mr Dylan going is he recovering well from his By-pass operation?"
Mark's short answer showed he didn't want to talk of Mr Dylan's health and he soon turned all his attention back to Liz. Darcy's amusement increased as he saw all the subtle, and eventually not so subtle, signals Liz was sending out saying clearly that she was not interested.
Mark showed no indication that he was receiving any of these signals.
Elizabeth's eyes were sending Darcy pleas for help, but the play being acted out before him was so diverting he was almost loathe to intervene.
In desperation Liz could see there was only one way out of this predicament, and she commented on how she was attending the function with William. Mark was still not getting the hint and her eyes again sent an appeal for help to Darcy, to which he finally responded by placing an arm around Elizabeth. Even Mark could not miss this signal.
"Oh, you mean that you're together?" Mark asked in disappointment. "Umm..., I've just spotted Julie from Curtin Advertising. I needed to catch up with her," and with that he was gone.
"Thanks for your belated intervention," Liz threw at Darcy. Her feelings of relief somewhat overwhelmed by the sheer physical pleasure she was receiving from Darcy's arm around her.
"It was far too entertaining to watch," Darcy smiled down at her. He knew he should release her now, but felt very little inclination to do so.
Elizabeth too, seemed to be showing a similar reluctance to move from his side, but on his being addressed by someone on a matter of business, she seemed to recollect herself.
"Well, I'd better be off for some more mingling," she sighed, and Darcy watched in regret as she walked away.
If Liz thought being free of Mark was going to end any unwanted attention she might receive that evening, she was very wrong. I suppose it can be considered a downside of beauty, but the minute she seemed unattached she caught the eye of some other of the men, whose confidence had been boosted by a fairly liberal alcoholic consumption. Darcy watched from a distance as she politely an deftly side-stepped a few of her admirers, but excused himself to intervene when he noticed her a little while later, fairly cornered by an amorous suitor.
Liz smiled her thanks as he arrived and drew her away on the pretext of discussing a work matter.
"You arrived none to soon," Liz said in appreciation. "Do they think this is a meat-market or something?"
"What's wrong with you, Liz?" Darcy teased. "Caroline just loves it."
"William?" Liz asked, slipping her hand into his, "would you mind very much if we were a 'couple' for the rest of the night? I don't think I can take much more of this."
"I would be an absolute pleasure," he smiled, lost to everything but her close proximity and her touch.
From then on the evening for both of them improved no end, and the line where convenience ended and natural feelings took over was blurred beyond recognition. Liz was continually aware of Darcy's presence and contact. She would delight as a strong arm would draw her to him, or as a hand would occasionally come up to play with her hair, or to caress her cheek or throat. Darcy could not help himself. He'd been waiting for this opportunity for so long.
That they made a handsome, and obviously loving couple, was remarked on by more than one person that evening.
As the night wore on, and the rhythm of the music slowed, Darcy led Liz to the dance floor. He was oblivious to every one but Elizabeth and he held her close, as they moved lightly about the floor. He thrilled as, every now and then, she would stretch up to whisper some aside in his ear and he delighted as he heard her laugh in response to his own
observations. The only thing that made the evening less than perfect for either participant, was a vague uncertainty as to how much of their partner's behaviour was from the heart, and how much was just part of an act.
There is always one person who doesn't know when to leave well enough alone, and feels the need to interrupt perfect bliss. At this function it was a Mr Bill Lucas who cut in on their dancing with a desperate need to talk to William on a distribution matter. William forced himself to return somewhat to the real world.
"If you just give me a few minutes, Mr Lucas, I should just see Liz safely to her room." William answered with more grace than he was feeling toward the older man."
"That's fine," Mr Lucas replied. "I'll come up with you and we can use the conference room on the fifth floor."
Mr Lucas followed the couple, still holding hands, to the elevator, and waited close by as Darcy led Liz to her door.
"Thanks for everything tonight Will," she smiled at him. "I had an absolutely marvellous time."
"It was truly my pleasure," William answered, making her feel slightly self-conscious because of the look in his eyes.
"Don't mind me, man, give her a kiss," Mr Lucas interrupted.
William didn't need to be told twice, and with a slight smile he lent into Liz for a kiss that began softly, but deepened as William's arms came around her and he pulled her even closer to him.
What seemed like an eternity later, they were brought back to the real world by Mr Lucas clearing his throat.
"Why don't you just go in William?" he said. "I can catch up with you before I leave in the morning."
"Mr Lucas," Liz shot him an impertinent grin. "I will have to ask you to refrain from issuing men with invitations to my motel room. I'm not that kind of a girl."
With that, Liz stood on her toes and placed another quick, light kiss on Darcy's lips before slipping though her door.