The Flight Path Less Traveled

by Leigh Dreyer

  When he finally landed at the strip at Pemberley, he grinned at the sight of Georgiana, Richard, and Mrs. Reynolds waiting for him.

  “Will! I’m so happy for you!” Georgiana said as she rushed the plane, hardly allowing him space to climb out of the plane before jumping into his arms.

  “Getting married on Christmas? You must be out of your mind. Why couldn’t you have waited a few weeks and been married from Pemberley. We could have presented a lovely reception. Pemberley has always hosted beautiful weddings and—”

  Darcy held up a hand, still gripping Georgiana in the other. “Mrs. Reynolds, this has nothing to do with Pemberley’s hospitality, I assure you. Mrs. Bennet was similarly upset by the timing.”

  “Irritating the in-laws already?”

  “Nothing out of you, Richard.”

  “Not a peep.”

  “Are you sure she wouldn’t be willing to move it to Pemberley?”

  Darcy shook his head and sighed.

  “Dad called his pilot to come to Florida for them,” Richard said. “I think Mom will eternally sing your praises for getting her out of Christmas dinner at Nana’s.”

  “Understandable. Mrs. Reynolds, did you take care of the things I asked for?”

  “All is as you requested.”

  “Are you ready to go then?”

  “Let me grab the bags,” said Richard.

  “I’ve got to gas up.” Darcy let his arm drop from Georgiana’s shoulders and began a walkaround of the plane.

  “Do you need anything from the house?” Georgiana asked, bending down to look at him under the wing.

  “I don’t think so. I trust Mrs. Reynolds packed everything I need and probably whatever I didn’t know to ask for.”

  Darcy continued to move around the aircraft. He wanted to get in the air before too long. If he did not, he would max out his flight time and require crew rest somewhere. He also wanted to lessen the amount of time he had to fly in the dark. He did not enjoy the monotony of night flying.

  “Will?” Georgiana called from the opposite side of the plane. Darcy glanced at her, noting that Richard and Mrs. Reynolds had gone back to the house.

  “Yes?”

  “Will Elizabeth like me?”

  “She thinks you’re great.”

  “How does she know?”

  “She met you, remember?”

  “But, but she doesn’t even know me. We haven’t spoken since then.”

  “She was in the hospital. She wasn’t up for much talking—even with me.”

  “I understand that, but you will get married tomorrow and then what?”

  Darcy looked at his sister. He leaned on the wing, his hands folding gently. He shrugged.

  “Frankly, I don’t know. All I can tell you is that I love you and I love her. If the two people I love most in the world don’t love each other, I don’t know what I will do. As for right now, you stay with Aunt Peggy for a month or two while we let Elizabeth get acquainted and then you are more than welcome to come home. She has four sisters so I’m sure there is nothing you can do that will turn her against you.”

  “But—”

  Darcy held up a hand. “I don’t want you to feel anxious or afraid. She’ll adore you.”

  “What if she—”

  “Georgiana, if we don’t get in the plane soon, it won’t matter because she’ll be so mad at me for missing our wedding that there won’t be one. You will have to have your moment of panic another time, my dear.”

  She laughed. Richard, dragging a suitcase behind, put his arm around Georgiana.

  “Glad to see you’re feeling better.” He turned to Darcy. “Did she tell you she was freaking out? I told her there was nothing to worry about, but does she believe me? I see where I rate. That’s it. You can pick up your own suitcase and put it in the plane. I don’t know what you packed anyway. Bricks? Bowling balls? I mean, we’re not even going to be gone two days!” He rustled her hair and looked at Darcy for agreement. “Women, am I right?”

  Darcy simply shook his head.

  “I know, I know. We’re burning daylight. Come on, G! Let’s get this man back to his Lady Fair.”

  “I simply cannot understand why you wouldn’t want to wear a lovely new wedding dress, Lizzy.”

  “Mom, I told you. We want to get married tomorrow, and I need a dress now. Jane’s dress is still being preserved so I need something that will work.”

  “You’re going to look awful in that.”

  “Lydia, if you can’t be helpful, you can leave.”

  “It’s not my fault she’s going to look horrible. She’s gained weight in the last few months and that dress was skin tight before. She’s going to look hippy. Besides, that color always looked better on me than it did on her.”

  “I have gained weight?” Elizabeth said to Jane.

  “You have not! You’re just not as toned as you were because you haven’t been running.”

  “Why don’t you wear your mess dress?” asked Kitty.

  “I just—I just don’t feel right wearing it when I’m not going to be in the Air Force any more. I don’t want to look at wedding pictures and think about what could have been. I want to think about what will be.”

  “Speaking of wedding pictures, who is taking them?” asked her mother.

  “Courtney,” said Jane.

  “Who?”

  “A teacher friend.”

  “Well, if you took some time you could have a proper photographer.”

  “Mom—we are getting married tomorrow whether you like it or not,” said Elizabeth.

  “Then I have one request.”

  Elizabeth sighed deeply.

  “What, Mother?”

  “Try on my wedding dress.”

  All five Bennet daughters spoke over the other.

  Elizbeth said, “I thought you didn’t want anyone to wear it.”

  “That dress was supposed to be mine!” shouted Lydia.

  “You don’t even like that dress. I wanted to wear it,” said Kitty.

  “Honor thy father and mother,” said Mary.

  Her mom placed her hands on Elizabeth’s shoulders.

  “It’s my one request, Lizzy. I won’t fight you on anything else. I know we’ve had our ups and downs, especially recently.” She chuckled uncomfortably. “You need a dress, and I have one. If there was more time, maybe we could work something else out, but Lizzy, you know we already have too much to do. The cake, the invitations, the organizing of the inn, and taking care of the guests we have. What else will you wear? You’ve already said you won’t wear your uniform. What about it? Will you at least try?”

  “Well! I want a big wedding. I want everyone in town to be there to see me walk down the aisle in a perfect dress, and I don’t want a veil, just a tiara to show off my hair.” Lydia droned on and on about her wedding while Elizabeth stared at herself in the mirror.

  Her body had changed since the wreck. Her legs and stomach had been muscular and svelte, but over the months she had turned soft. Her hair was the same dark brown, spiraling in curls that she had hated growing up, but her eyes had changed. They were still the color of cream and coffee, of course, but they now held a sort of maturity and growth that had dimmed their sparkle and aged her face. Her skin was marred with the scars of injuries and the surgeries required to save her life; she had been lucky though and the majority of them had begun to fade. While she had never felt particularly confident in her appearance, she tried to recall feeling pretty in the last months since the crash and struggled to find a single moment those thoughts had passed her mind.

  “Don’t you think, Lizzy?”

  “Hmm?” Elizabeth turned toward her sisters who all looked at her expectantly.

  “Don’t you think that I should be your maid of honor?” asked Lydia, once more whining on several of the words. Elizabeth was completely taken aback.

  “What on earth would give you that idea?”

  “First of all, I am your prettiest sister,” be
gan Lydia, ignoring snorts of derision around her. “Secondly, without Wickham and me, you would never have started dating Darcy. Thirdly, I’m the youngest so I should get to be the maid of honor.”

  “Being the youngest has nothing to do with it. Normally it’s the oldest,” exclaimed Kitty.

  “And you’re a slut, so you don’t fit the maid description, do you?” asked Mary, causing Jane to gasp at the wildly out of character language.

  “No one will be my maid of honor, because we won’t have any. No attendants. I can barely figure out a dress for me, let alone someone else. Besides, I don’t care. I just want the people I love to watch me marry the man I love. I won’t hear another word about anything missing from my wedding or any more ideas to make you the center of attention, Lydia. That goes for the rest of you as well. I’m done. The wedding is tomorrow, and I already wish it was over.” Elizabeth sat on the bed exhausted.

  “It’s going to be beautiful. You just let us know what you need from us,” said Jane.

  “Well, I was thinking we could go to Wal-Mart for the cake.”

  “Wal-Mart! Absolutely not!” Her mother, carrying a large box, shuffled back into the room. “Wal-Mart indeed. Who do you think we are here? I haven’t cooked and cleaned for ungrateful guests for the last twenty years for my daughter to have a wedding cake from the grocery store. Those may be perfectly fine for normal people, but you are not normal. You’re special, and tomorrow will be the most beautiful day we can scrape together in the next thirteen hours.” She shooed her daughters from the bed to center the box on the comforter.

  Reverently she opened the box and pulled out a wedding dress. The dress had once been pristine white but had faded slightly with age and now was a perfect cream. Her mother held it up to Elizabeth’s shoulders.

  “Whether you want to admit it or not, Lizzy, you are shaped just like me.”

  Lydia snorted and was promptly smacked by her other three sisters.

  “Try it on,” said her mother.

  Elizabeth took the gown gingerly from her hands and laid it out on the bed. She pulled the other dress over her head and tossed it to Mary who had been hanging each rejected garment and placing them back in the closet. Elizabeth carefully stepped into the gown, pulling it over her shoulders. Her mother then began fastening the covered buttons.

  “I remember getting married like it was yesterday. We had the big wedding—you’ve seen the pictures—but the way you are doing it is very romantic. That man adores you, and I know he’ll have just the same reaction your father did when you walk in the room.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” Elizabeth held her hand to her shoulder and her mother took it while they both looked at Elizabeth’s reflection in the mirror. Unlike many dresses from the 80s, this dress did not have huge puffed sleeves and a billowy skirt. Instead, it was short-sleeved and sleek, hugging Elizabeth’s curves perfectly before gently sloping away from her hips and into a train. It fit like a glove and, with shoes, it would be the appropriate length.

  Her mother wiped a tear away. “You’re beautiful.”

  Elizabeth struggled to hold her own tears in and did not speak, squeezing her mother’s hand in response.

  “You have to wear that, Lizzy,” said Mary.

  Kitty simply nodded with Jane. Lydia folded her arms but eventually muttered, “You look fine. We’ll have to call my friend Kelly to work a miracle with your hair, and you definitely need new shoes, but that will work since it’s sentimental, I guess.”

  “It’s really happening now, isn’t it?”

  Looking in the mirror at her daughter, she said, “Yes, Lizzy. It’s really happening.”

  26

  “Lizzy, wake up!” Elizabeth’s blankets were ripped from her bed, and she protectively huddled into the fetal position. “Get up! This is the second time I’ve come in here. If I have to come in again, you won’t like it.”

  “Leave me alone, Lydia!”

  “Fine! Look like a troll. See if I care. When everyone is more impressed with your little sister than you, I hope you remember this moment.”

  The door slammed. Finally, some peace and quiet. Elizabeth had had another nightmare and was exhausted. Every time she had hit the ground in her dreams, she would startle awake, and when she fell back asleep, she could hear the terrifying echo “straight and level, straight and level” which had become her own personal circle of hell.

  She sat up and placed her feet on the floor. Too scared to look in the mirror and see horrible dark circles under her eyes, she squinted her eyes in an attempt to keep them closed as she stumbled from her old room to the bathroom at Longbourn.

  Flicking the light switch on, she closed the door, and turned on the shower. She kept one hand behind the curtain feeling the water slowly warm up while she ran the other through her tangled hair. After another furious knock on the door, she shouted, “I’m up!” and got in the shower.

  Two hours later, Elizabeth had been blow-dried, curled, painted, polished, powdered, and sprayed. Lydia had “slain her heinous deficiencies” and Kitty had contoured her cheeks within an inch of their lives. Though she hated to admit it to her younger sisters, Elizabeth felt stunning.

  For once, Elizabeth was proud of her family and every event they had hosted. It felt like they had all been secretly preparing for this day as a well-oiled, well-coordinated machine. Jane, Mary, and her mother had been kept busy reorganizing the great room of the inn, determining seating, icing the cake that had been made in various stages throughout the day yesterday, and putting together hors d’oeuvres. No other residence in town boasted a chef, dining facilities, and enough table linens for the RSVPs which had come in despite only having a day’s notice.

  Elizabeth was impressed by the number of guests. The Lucases, Gardiners, Phillips, Musgroves, Darcy’s family, several of the pilots in her training class, five in Darcy’s squadron, Bingley, Charlotte and William Collins, and more of her friends from town. She tried to take a deep, calming breath and then remembered that Lydia had insisted on putting her in two pairs of shapewear so that she didn’t have “unsightly bulges.” All Elizabeth wanted to do at the moment was rip everything off and run out of the door. Fortunately, her father caught her before she had a chance to plan her escape.

  “I’m glad you decided to treat your mother by having the wedding here, my dear, and—if I’m completely honest—I’m glad you and Jane had pity on an old man and got married quickly. Your mother has had no time to complain about her nerves, and I am hardly inconvenienced.”

  “Glad I could make you happy, Dad.”

  “And you do. I’ll miss you, Lizzy.” He squeezed her shoulder in a hug.

  “I’ll miss you too.”

  “You don’t have to lie to me. I know you’re still upset. You keep looking around the place like a skittish deer. I can see that you’re completely terrified, and right you should be. Your mother and I took the safety and comfort of your home and turned it on its head. I’m sure you feel like you don’t belong, like we betrayed you, and in many ways, you’d be absolutely right. Your Darcy seems to have a good head on his shoulders though and, even when it would have better served him to prevaricate, he’s always told you the truth. I do hope that you’ll be kind to him and, one day you’ll come to forgive us. Phillip would have been proud of all you’ve accomplished, but I’m proud to call you my daughter.”

  Elizabeth felt a rush of warmth pass through her heart. “Thank you, Dad,” she said softly.

  “Shall we, my dear?” He held out his arm and gestured toward the door to the great room.

  Elizabeth could only nod.

  When the doors opened, Darcy saw Mr. Bennet hand Elizabeth through the door. Their eyes met and Darcy could no longer register the rest of the room. When playing it back in his mind in later years, he would remember hearing Kitty coughing, Lydia giggling, whispers of “how beautiful” and “she looks so happy.” He would remember Elizabeth’s brilliant smile and how her rich brown hair shone in the soft winter sunli
ght streaming in through the windows. Later, he might think of her dress and the pale cream against Elizabeth’s natural tan, but at that moment, the only thing that Darcy could see were Elizabeth’s fine eyes.

  She was next to him before he knew it, and the base chaplain’s voice droned. Elizabeth smiled sweetly and then tilted her head at the chaplain.

  “Pay attention,” she whispered. He turned toward the other man but did not hear anything until he was addressed by name.

  “William Andrew Darcy, are you ready for the vows?”

  He nodded, taking the notecard from his breast pocket.

  “So you know the little voice in your head that tells you things? Well, I’m glad I listened and looked up, because when I first saw you at a Drop Night, of all places, I was instantly drawn to you. After four hundred and twenty-five days of training, friendship, care, ups, downs, and being there (along with some pride that has been checked), I get to marry my best friend. The person who has loved and believed in everything I am as a person and everything I will be. I promise to love and believe in all that you are. I promise to forever cherish everything that we will be. I promise to hold every moment with you close to my heart where you belong. You are a wonderful, beautiful woman. I love you.”

  Elizabeth fidgeted with the notecard the chaplain had handed her. “I can’t promise you that we won’t go through hard times or that our marriage will be perfect, but I can promise you that I will be your best friend and biggest supporter. I vow to make my love stronger than fear, hate, anger, and especially hunger. I promise to honor your wants, emotions, and most importantly your dreams. In the time that we’ve spent with each other as friends, you have held me with tenderness, offered patience, and overflowed with encouragement, and I promise to do the same for you. I never would have thought that my trip to Rosings to talk to the Base Closure Committee would find me a husband, but since we have met, I’ve known that you were special to me. It’s evident in the way we talk, laugh, and love now, even if it wasn’t before. I have never met anyone I can trust more than you, and I think some people wait their whole lives for that. William Darcy, I give you the promise of my everlasting love, in sickness and in heath, in failures and in triumph, as long as I live. And I promise to never stop you from flying an airplane.”