Beginning, Section II
Jump to new as of December 4, 2000
Jump to new as of December 6, 2000
Jump to new as of December 10, 2000
Part 9
The sheer number of people at the buffet breakfast and the demands of common politeness, were conspiring against Liz and Darcy getting any opportunity to speak to each other privately. Instead they had to be content with mundane conversation, and just looking at each other across the table. The preceding evening had been everything that Darcy could have desired, but he needed to hear from Liz that her behaviour was not just part of an act to protect her from unwelcome attention.
He resigned himself to the fact he would have to be patient. He'd have his chance to talk to her later in the morning, when he drove her to the airport for her return flight. Unfortunately his plans did not factor in the considerate attentions of Mr Lucas, who came across Liz and Darcy in the lobby just as they were about to leave.
"Hello there, are you off to the airport too?" he asked in a fatherly manner.
"Yes, as a matter of fact we are. Liz has a flight home today, and I'll be following on Wednesday."
"So you're making the trip all the way out to the airport just to drop Liz off?" Mr Lucas exclaimed, suddenly struck with a very helpful scheme. "I'm about to leave now, and I'd be happy to give Liz a lift. It'll save you a lot of running around."
Unluckily Mr Lucas was not possessed of even the small amount of perception, he would have required to read the reluctance and distress in the couple's eyes.
"No thank you Mr Lucas, but it's no trouble at all for me to drop Liz off," Darcy answered firmly.
"No, no! I wouldn't hear of you driving all that way when it's in my power to be of assistance," Mr Lucas insisted with a benevolent smile.
"Seriously, Mr Lucas, I'm very happy to take Liz myself."
"I'm sure you are lad," Mr Lucas pushed on with his magnanimous gesture, "but I'm going to the airport anyway. Would you really begrudge me the company of this lovely young lady for such a short time?"
"YES!" was what Darcy wanted to say, but Mr Lucas's kindness had headed him off too effectively.
Liz's eyes expressed her exasperation to Darcy as she said goodbye to him and gave him a light sweet kiss.
"We'll talk as soon as I get back," he told her softly, and kissed her in return.
"I'll look forward to it," she told him with a smile.
He watched her leave with regret, but comforted himself with the thought that there seemed to be a common understanding of what had actually gone on the night before.
Liz returned to the office on Monday in a cheerful mood that not even Caroline could dispel with snide remarks and implications. Liz however, became a bit concerned when on Tuesday Caroline herself came to work looking extremely smug and self-satisfied.
"I was talking to an old friend last night.." Caroline smiled at Elizabeth.
"That must have been nice for you Caroline," Liz answered.
"Let me finish!" Caroline snapped. "Even you may be interested in knowing that my friend was Mark from Albatross Books."
"So?" Liz answered levelly.
"So, he had some very interesting things to tell me about you and William on Saturday night."
"Caroline," Liz said calmly, "I never thought you'd be one to credit shop gossip."
"Don't play innocent with me Elizabeth!" Caroline shot at her, annoyed that Liz was not reacting the way she had foreseen. "I know what you and William have been up to behind our backs for the last few months, and believe me, soon everybody else will know as well."
Liz tried not to worry about Caroline's threats too much. She wasn't concerned for her own sake, but she was for Darcy's. She had seen first hand on the weekend how perfectly Darcy's vocation sat with him. She wouldn't easily forgive herself if she was means of him losing his job. She hoped to have a chance to talk the situation over with him before he was confronted with it at work.
William's flight from the Book Fair got into the airport early afternoon on the Wednesday. He was still feeling frustrated that he hadn't had the opportunity to really talk things over with Liz, so rather than go home and report in by phone, he decided to catch a taxi straight to the office.
He had been in the place for less than five minutes when he was summoned to a meeting with Mr Bourg. It was no surprise to him when he met Liz, also on her way to Mr Bourg's office, but unfortunately she was accompanied by Mr Bourg's secretary, which put an end to any effective communication.
On being seated in his office Mr Bourg looked at them sternly. Oddly enough Darcy felt strangely calm at the prospect of what was to come. It would take the decision over whether to resign out of his hands, and if Elizabeth was the prize, he found it hard to care.
"I don't want to jump to any conclusions here," Mr Bourg had learned that much from his last interview with this couple, "but I have heard reports of inappropriate behaviour between the two of you at the Fair. Do either of you want to make any comments on the matter?"
"Sir, I'm not sure what you have been told, but it may have been correct. Any thing that happened was my fault," Elizabeth replied, braving the disapproval in Mr Bourg's eyes. "On the Saturday evening I was suffering from unwelcome advances from some of the men in attendance. To cut a long story short, I implied that Mr Darcy and I were a couple to get them off my back, and William played along with it."
"Oh... This does throw a different complexion on things," he replied, relief evident in his voice. "And Darcy, what about the report that you shared the same room for the weekend?"
"That's a report I can categorically deny," Darcy said, and stopped himself before adding 'mores the pity'. "In fact I spent until 2.30 Sunday morning trying to sort out some problems with Mr Lucas. You can phone him about it if you like."
"No, no, I don't think that will be necessary. Miss Bennet, I can understand you wanting to escape the attentions of these men, but in the future I will have to ask you to use more subtle methods to get rid of them. I don't want the image of Emu to be tarnished in any way."
"I am sorry Sir, I did try to give them the hint, but there had been a lot of drinking and I think nothing less subtle than a knee in the groin was going to work for some of them, and that might not have been the best advertisement for Emu Publishing either."
"Yes... you probably made a wise choice... and this charade with Mr Darcy put an end to the harassment?
Elizabeth, balking at the word 'charade', framed her answer very carefully, and looked at Darcy as she replied.
"Mr Darcy's assistance put en effective end to any unwanted attention that I might have received for the rest of the evening."
A spark in his eyes as she spoke, and the small smile that began creeping onto his face at the word 'unwanted' gave some relief to her fear that he may misunderstand her meaning.
"Good, good. As I've said before, I'd hate to see us open to any litigation over harassment... Now Mr Darcy, I know you've just got back, but I've been having real concerns about our eastern agent's competency in a few matters, and I'd like you to go over personally and sort out what's going on. It shouldn't take more than a few weeks so I think you'll have it completed by Christmas," he paused on noticing Liz was still there. "Miss Bennet, thank you for clearing up the other matter for me. I don't know what I'd do if I'd found it necessary to replace Mr Darcy. You may leave now."
As Liz left the office she overheard Mr Bourg tell William that he was booked on a plane leaving at seven that night.
Darcy and Liz hardly had time for more than a few public words in the office before he was off again. The frustration she felt on his going away with out their 'situation' properly resolved was acute, and only matched by his own.
The fates seemed to working against them, as the mess that Darcy found at their eastern agents was worse than even Mr Bourg had imagined. This meant that Darcy was not to arrive home until the afternoon before Elizabeth, Jane and Bingley left to spend a week with the Bennet family over Christmas. On top of this, the time apart was working on them both to make them feel insecure. As nothing had been spoken they wondered at how much of their intimacy might have been imagined, and how much could have been a game.
The first thing Darcy did on arriving home from his labours was to seek Liz. He was however, disappointed upon reaching the Bennet girls' flat, to find only Jane and Bingley were in.
"I'm surprised to see you here," Bingley spoke up on seeing his friend. "you normally get home from these sojourns totally anti-social, and want to do nothing more than sleep."
"Thanks for the welcome," he smiled at his friend, "but as per usual, I have absolutely no desire for your company. I'm here looking for Liz."
"What does she look like," Bing asked, "and I'll tell you if I've seen her around."
"She's just gone down to Macy's café ," Jane said, effectively putting an end to Bingley's teasing. "I think she thought she was getting in our way a little so she decided to go out for a coffee."
"I dare say the true story is that she couldn't stand being in Bing's company any longer, and she just needed a break," Darcy offered. "I'll just duck down and see if I can catch her."
"It's about time those two started getting their act together," Bingley commented as Darcy left. "Watching the little dance they've been doing around each other the last few months has been excruciating."
"I'd have to agree with you there," Jane laughed, and her placing of a soft kiss on his lips caused Bingley to forget all about his friend.
Darcy spotted Liz as soon as he entered the café, but hesitated as he saw she was sitting with a well-built and handsome man. He approached them regardless and was rewarded by a bright smile from Liz, and an invitation to sit down. The other man seemed quite forgotten as she welcomed him back and asked after his trip.
"Oh," she added as an afterthought, "this is George Wickham, an acquaintance of mine from back home. He's in the Airforce and has just received a posting over here."
Wickham exclaimed at her introduction.
"Acquaintance! Liz, that's such a sad introduction! What she means to say is 'good friend'," he explained to Darcy. "I'm an ex of hers. I can't understand how she can call me an acquaintance when we were such a hot item not that long ago."
"How are you settling in over here?" Darcy asked out of pure civility.
"Ok thank you, but things are looking up now that I've had the good fortune to run into Liz, we'll have to make sure we get together for old times sake."
"Sorry George, but I'm actually leaving tomorrow for Christmas back home with the family."
"So when are you getting back?"
"Not for a while," Liz answered vaguely.
"When exactly is that?" he pushed. He'd spent a lot of time and effort on Liz and didn't feel he'd got enough back in return. Not liking to think he'd failed, he wasn't going to let this opportunity to renew their relationship slip through his fingers.
"Just before New Year," she answered to get him off her back.
"Great," he said. "Are you doing any thing on New Years Eve?"
"Yes," she replied simply, looking at Darcy and wishing he would intervene on her behalf; hoping he would claim that they were engaged for the evening.
"Well what are you up to?" Wickham continued.
"I'm going to the party at the Arts Centre." Elizabeth wondered why Darcy was just sitting silently by, and insecurities about his feelings towards her, began to resurface.
"Who are you going with?" the inquisition continued.
"So far Jane and her fiancé," Liz answered. If William had not been there she would have been quite happy to say she was in another relationship, but it was very awkward with him sitting right beside her.
"Great, then it's a perfect opportunity for us to catch up. I got your address from your mum before I came over here," he said as he stood to leave. Then, without waiting for an answer, he added "I'll pick you up at seven."
Part 10
Elizabeth didn't know if her primary emotion was anger at Wickham's presumption, or despair at Darcy's reaction to it. She had been almost sure that there had been an understanding between her and William, but now she wondered if she'd misread the signals. Maybe he had just been a friend all along, playing a part for her protection. Maybe he'd previously felt something for her, but changed his mind in the weeks he was away. What if he'd met someone else?
At the same time as these thoughts were chasing through Liz's mind, Darcy was reading Liz's silence as a negative reaction to his presence. Had his emotions not been so intricately tied up with his feelings for Elizabeth, he no doubt could have more accurately read the scene that had just been played out before him, but love is not always clear sighted; particularly when jealous thoughts arise and insecurities come into play. In short, Darcy was at a loss as to how to react, so he played it safe by reverting to the act of casual friendship that he had been playing since Elizabeth first came to work in his office.
The couple talked about irrelevancies as they walked back toward Liz's flat. On seeing her to her door, he declined the invitation to come in, and simply wished her a happy Christmas before leaving.
Bingley, on his arrival home that night, wasted no time in confronting his friend over his behaviour towards Liz.
"What on earth is going on between you and Liz, Darce? I thought that you were going to sort things out with her when you got back."
"Well, it looks like things are sorted Bing. I think I totally misread her interest in me."
"Are you addle brained or something?" Bing asked with incredulity. "Even Blind Freddy could see that you two are absolutely made for each other. For heaven's sake, what makes you think that she's not interested?"
"I found her with another man when I went down to the café," Darcy replied simply.
"What exactly do you mean by 'with', Darce?" asked Bingley, unable to accept that Elizabeth would have spent all these months just playing his friend for a fool.
Darcy tried to dodge the subject, but with continual pushing and prompting from his friend, eventually the whole story came out.
"...so in the end he left saying that he'd pick her up at seven," finished Darcy.
"And you just sat there through all that and let him move in on Elizabeth?" Bingley asked, shaking his head. "Honestly Darce, sometimes I really have to wonder about your intelligence. I swear Darce, she likes you, not some smarmy 'flyboy'!"
"Did you say 'smarmy'?" Darcy asked, suddenly looking very thoughtful.
"Actually, that was the term Elizabeth used to describe him," Bingley answered.
Darcy could have hit himself. So this was the boyfriend she was speaking of on the day that they first met. The one she said she'd be pleased to see the back of.
"I've managed to stuff everything up big time," Darcy groaned.
"I couldn't have put it better myself," Bingley laughed, "but nothing's irreparable, Darce. Why don't you come out to the airport in the morning with us, and sort things out then?"
"I can't," Darcy said in exasperation, "I have the family arriving for Christmas first thing tomorrow morning. I haven't seen them for months and mum will never forgive me if I'm not here when they arrive."
"Seriously Darce, I'll put in as many good words as I can for you while we're away, but promise me you'll get this thing sorted when we get back!"
"One way or the other," Darcy grinned at Bingley, feeling so much better for his friends interference.
Liz too, felt a little more encouraged after talking to Bingley in the morning. Bing was going to leave all explanations of love to Darcy himself, but he did account for some of Darcy's odd behaviour by putting it down to exhaustion after the trip, and a fabricated raging headache. Bing also managed to say enough during the week they were at the Bennets, to stay most of Elizabeth's fears regarding William's feelings, and she was able to enjoy a happy Christmas with her family.
William too was enjoying his family, but he was anxious for New Years Eve to arrive so he could see Liz at the Arts Centre Party. He was still annoyed at himself though, for not intervening on the 'date' she had with Wickham.
The care Liz took in her preparation for New Year's eve was not for Wickham sake, but he took it as a compliment for himself, and upon seeing how she looked, gave himself congratulations that this might finally be the night that he'd crack it with Elizabeth.
Elizabeth only paid cursory attention to what Wickham was saying, and found herself totally surprised when he pulled into another party 'for starters', before intending to go on to the Art's Centre. Elizabeth tried to be gracious to the new and friendly people she was being introduced to, but her mind was solely at the other party. It also peeved her that Wickham seemed to be parading her about like his little prize, and implying far more of a relationship between them than had ever existed, even at the height of their short lived romance.
Darcy, at the Art's Centre, was becoming disillusioned at the fact that Liz had not yet shown. He began to think that she was deliberately avoiding him, and that Wickham's good looks and charms might have won her over in the end. He would have gone home when she had still not turned up at 11pm, had he not brought his sister, Georgie, and his cousin Anne with him.
They finally arrived, and even Wickham, who had been drinking fairly steadily all night, was able to discern that Liz was not in the best of moods with him.
As soon as they entered the room Liz's eyes looked around for Darcy. They brightened considerably as she found him, but dimmed again on perceiving that he was with another woman. She fought back tears of hurt and frustration as she realised that her suspicions at the café had been right. He thought of her as nothing more than a friend. Why had she ever thought different?"
She needed to get home and giving Wickham the slip, began to look for Jane and Bingley. On not being able to find them she finally approached Darcy, and with a great effort to appear casual, wished him a happy New Year and asked after her sister and Bingley.
"They stepped out not long ago for a walk along the river, I wouldn't expect them back for a while yet." Darcy answered politely. "Elizabeth, may I introduce you to my sister Georgie and cousin Anne?"
Elizabeth smiled at them with genuine warmth as she said how pleased she was to meet them. The relief she felt, at her realisation that the girl she had seen Darcy with was not a date, lifted her spirits considerably. She began to enjoy a pleasant tête-à-tête with the two young women, as Darcy looked on. Her enjoyment, however was dampened upon noticing Wickham moving about the room, obviously in quest of herself.
"William, would you mind making my apologies to Jane and Charles, I was going to see if I could cadge a lift home with them, but as they're not here I'll catch a taxi."
"What about your date?" Darcy asked, still unsure of exactly what had been going on that night.
"He's been drinking all night," Elizabeth replied in disdain. "If he thinks I'm going home with him he's dreaming."
"Why don't you just stay with us until after 12," Georgie invited. "I'm sure we can drop you home."
"Thank you so much for the invitation," Liz smiled as she changed places to keep out of Wickham's line of sight, "but I've had a depressing evening and don't feel like playing cat and mouse games to keep out of the way of my date for the rest of the night. I really think I should go home."
"I'll drive you," said Darcy. "You'll never get a taxi tonight."
"But I can't ask you to miss out on the turn of the year just for my sake."
"I can't possibly miss it," Darcy laughed at her, "It'll happen whether I'm here or in the car. You girl's won't mind if I abandon you for half an hour will you?"
Anne and Georgie assured him they'd be fine, and they exchanged a conjecturing look as Darcy led Liz from the hall.
Things were relatively quiet as Darcy drove Liz toward her home. Finally Darcy broke the silence.
"Are you upset that things didn't work out between you and Wickham tonight?"
"Upset? ...No way! Angry at the arrogant jerk? ...Yes! First he has the effrontery to push me into this date with him, then he drags me off to a party with a group of people I've never even met, when he knows I'm supposed to be meeting others elsewhere. He parades me around like I'm his little doll, and on top of it all he drinks himself silly. He should have been drowned at birth!"
"I'm sorry you had such an awful night," Darcy said, not really sorry at all, as he pulled up outside Liz's units. "Come on, I'll see you to your door."
Liz was just putting the key in the lock when loud cheers, and honking alerted them to the fact that it was now the New Year.
"Do I get a kiss?" William asked with a slight smile.
Liz didn't answer, but happily complied with his request, standing on her toes and slipping a hand behind his head. Darcy groaned as he felt her body draw close to his and her lips touch his lips. He pulled her even closer, with one hand at he small of her back, his other hand running up to caress the soft curls of her hair. The kiss held all the passion of their pent up feelings over the last few weeks. When they finally pulled away from each other neither of them was capable of saying a word.
Eventually Liz spoke.
"You know that you left your little sister and cousin unchaperoned back at the party."
"Damn! I'd better go. I'm seeing the family off tomorrow, so I'll have to catch up with you at work."
"I'll be looking forward to it," Liz smiled, and took the time for one more soft kiss before slipping inside.
Five minutes later, as he drove back towards the Art's Centre, Darcy, in one last pang of insecurity, asked himself if Liz might just have meant the kiss as a friendly New Year's gesture.
"She couldn't have," he smiled as he recalled the passion. He knew he was going to have some sorting out to do as far as the firm was concerned, but he couldn't bring himself to care.
Conclusion
Darcy should have found presenting himself to Mr Bourg on 2 January, in order to tender his resignation, much harder than he actually did. The preceding day he had toyed with the idea of speaking to Elizabeth about whether she'd be willing to look for another position, but he dismissed this idea almost immediately. He was not about to start this relationship with the taint of coercing a sacrifice from Elizabeth for his benefit. Elizabeth's willingness or otherwise to leave the firm, was beside the point. He was not going to put her in a position of having to choose.
Mr Bourg looked very distressed over the news of Darcy's leaving. Over the years he had come to trust and respect the exceptional talents of this young man, and he did not want to lose him.
"William," he said solemnly, after reading the resignation through, "If there are aspects of your employment that you are unhappy with, I'm sure that with a small amount of negotiation we'll be able to resolve them to your satisfaction."
"I do appreciate that Mr Bourg," Darcy replied, "but this is not a matter of the Job itself or the conditions. As I stated in the letter, it's a personal matter that I don't believe I can appropriately resolve while still an employee of Emu.
Mr Bourg shook his head and looked more thoughtful still.
"William, your work over the years has been exemplary. And for some time now I have been considering offering you a seat on the board. If you agree to stay on I believe we can confirm this position as a certainty. Not only would it present you with new challenges, but it would also mean a substantial increase in earnings."
Darcy could hardly be insensible to such a compliment. There had never been anyone younger than there late thirties on the board, let alone somebody still in there twenties. A position on Emu's Board would be like a dream come true. He'd often considered what new directions and changes in emphasis, he'd like to implement if Emu ever gave him the opportunity. Darcy also knew a job like this would make his father even more proud of his achievements, and his fathers pride in him meant so much. Still, he didn't dwell on these things. His priorities were sure and his mind made up.
"Mr Bourg, I'm truly honoured that you'd place such trust in me but..."
Here he was interrupted by Mr Bourg.
"Now son, could I ask you to at least take the rest of the day to think this over before you give me your decision. I'd like to think you'd given all proper consideration to such a major life change. You know that I think of Emu more as a family than a firm. It was upsetting enough when Miss Bennet gave in her notice before the holidays, but losing you would create a huge hole."
It took Darcy a few moments to take in what had just been said.
"I didn't know that Miss Bennet had resigned," he said, suddenly very attentive.
"Yes, apparently she's leaving us for a job in a Newspaper office. It's a real shame William. She's only been with us a short while but I've been impressed with her work... Now will you at least take today to reconsider your resignation?"
"Yes Sir, I will," he replied, before quickly leaving Mr Bourg's office to seek out Liz.
On being unable to find her at her desk his enquiries told him that she was in Grant's office. Impatient to see her as soon as possible, he left a note on her desk, to that effect.
Though it felt to him like an eternity, it was only 20 minutes later that her light knock on the door came.
It seemed like a totally bizarre setting for the conversation that was about to unfold - him seated behind his desk - Liz facing him from the other side. She gave him one of her little smiles. Her physical presence never failed to stir him, and he took the time to appreciate her beauty as she sat herself down.
"I believe you wanted to see me," she said brightly.
"I've just been told by Mr Bourg that you're leaving us for a newspaper job."
"I'm sorry," she replied, a little embarrassed. "I never seemed to find the right time to tell you. A 'newspaper' is rather too grand a title for where I'm going. It's just a small local rag."
"You'll be wasted there," said Darcy seriously.
"You're not going to try and talk me out of it, are you?" Liz asked, suddenly anxious at the direction of the conversation. He couldn't possibly still want them working together the way things stood at Emu.
"It may sound selfish," Darcy replied, "but I wouldn't try and talk you out of it for the world."
Liz smiled with relief.
"May I ask when your last day is?" he inquired, not taking his eyes from hers.
"Friday," she answered, feeling slightly self-conscious.
"Liz, would you like to have dinner with me Friday night?"
"William," she replied with a delighted laugh, "I'd love nothing more."
"So tell me about this job of yours," he asked in relief. "How did you come by it?"
"I started applying for other positions the Monday after the Book Fair, " she told him.
Darcy couldn't keep the grin from his face.
"I wish I'd known - it might have saved a little confusion."
"I did mean to tell you," Liz admitted, "but I didn't know what was going on after the afternoon in the coffee-shop, and I thought you might think me foolish or presumptuous."
"Liz sweetheart," he began.
Liz thrilled at his use of this simple endearment.
"I have to confess," he continued, "to having had many thoughts about you over the last few months, but 'foolish' and 'presumptuous' never entered my head."
Liz was too embarrassed to reply.
"Well..." Darcy sighed, relief clearly apparent in the one simple syllable, "...I guess all that remains is for me to pop up to Mr Bourg's office and withdraw my resignation."
"Your what?" exclaimed Elizabeth. "What ever possessed you to resign?"
"I thought that would be fairly obvious Elizabeth," Darcy answered with a teasing smile, as he ran his eye unashamedly over her body.
"But William," she said, a blush rising in her cheeks, "what is fairly obvious is that it would be far more appropriate for me to leave. How could my months of work measure against your years of devotion?"
"Liz, I couldn't ask that of you." He answered simply.
Liz didn't know if she was more horrified or moved by the fact that he was willing to sacrifice his career for her.
"It's little wonder that I fell in love with you," she said, as an overwhelming wave of emotion directed her around the desk, where she lightly seated herself in the only place available, his lap.
Darcy breathed in the delicate scent of her perfume as she slipped her hands around his neck, and he only made the slightest protest as she places some soft kisses up his neck and her lips came to rest behind his ear.
"Do you think this behaviour is appropriate for an employee of Emu, young lady?"
"What are they going to do?' Liz laughed as she moved her lips to lightly brush his, "Fire me?"
Darcy was disinclined to argue with such logic and it was some time later that Liz pulled out of the middle of a rather passionate embrace to ask in concern:
"Are you sure Mr Bourg will let you withdraw your resignation?"
"Quite," Darcy answered with a grin. "He offered me a position on the board to keep me here"
His lips then returned to the occupation that Liz's question had interrupted, in so untimely a fashion. It was much later still that William this time, pulled back and looked intently at Liz.
"I suppose when we're married I can see if Mr Bourg will give you your job back. It can hardly leave the firm "open to litigation for sexual harassment" (He did a very credible impression of Mr Bourg here) "If our relationship is within the bounds of Holy matrimony."
Elizabeth just laughed her musical laugh, before being
silenced by his mouth again seeking hers.
Oddly enough, despite the fact that their morning's conference was of some duration, that day's crossword never did get done.
THE END