Compulsively Mr. Darcy

by Nina Benneton

  “Her passport? What? Where is she going? What about Wickham? Did you talk to Brandon?”

  “Wickham’s here in New York. Brandon told me Wickham arrived last week. If he had gotten anywhere near any of us, especially Georgiana or Elizabeth, I would have known it that second,” Darcy said. “As to where Elizabeth’s going, I’m guessing it’s to Vietnam if she needed her passport.”

  “What? Vietnam? What did she tell you?”

  “Nothing. That’s the thing. She didn’t talk to me.” Darcy punched the seat.

  Surprised by his cousin’s outburst, Richard jumped. “Calm down, Darce.”

  “I don’t exactly know for sure that she’s heading back to Vietnam or I’d already be on my way there. I prepared the jet to leave, but I can’t get ahold of her sisters in Vietnam to confirm anything. I would contact her parents in California, but I don’t know them and I don’t want to alarm them unnecessarily until I hear from her.”

  “This is so sudden. Must be some family emergency.”

  “Her sister told Mrs. Reynolds it’s an emergency, but no details. I don’t know why Elizabeth didn’t wait for me. Whatever it is, she should know I would drop everything and go with her.”

  “She probably tried to call and couldn’t get through.”

  Darcy shot him a pointed look. “Elizabeth knows she can always get through to me, no matter where I am or who I am with. Even if she couldn’t reach me on my cell, she knows she could call my office.”

  “Maybe her cell phone was dead. If she had been receiving calls from Vietnam or wherever the emergency was, she probably ran down the battery talking,” Richard offered.

  “It’s not difficult to find a phone to make a call in New York City, Richard,” Darcy said in a tight voice. “I can’t help feeling something is wrong.”

  “Darce, man, you’re overreacting. She probably wants to talk to you in person. It may be something sensitive involving her family.” He patted his cousin’s knee. “Go home and wait for her call. If you’re sure she’s safe from Wickham, then there’s nothing to worry about. I’m sure she’ll call you soon. Let me end my date and I’ll come to your house.”

  Richard went back inside the restaurant and discovered Helena had gotten tired of waiting and left. He read the message from her, shrugged at the written insult, and made his way to Darcy’s townhouse. He found his cousin in the study, slumped in a chair and staring at the ceiling.

  “You’re being a sap, man.” Richard tried to cheer up him. “She’ll call soon. Don’t forget, she was coming to see you when I ran into her outside DDF.”

  Darcy perked up slightly. “She never came to the building before. I’ve been waiting to give her a tour when she has more free time.”

  “Did Georgiana know anything?”

  “No.” Darcy went back to staring at the ceiling.

  Richard decided to go upstairs to talk to his younger cousin. Georgiana didn’t know any more than her brother. When Richard came back down to the study, ten minutes later, he found his cousin downing a generous helping of brandy. He took the tumbler out of Darcy’s hand. “Hey man. You’re losing it. At this rate you’re going to be too sloshed to talk to her when she calls.”

  Darcy reached for another glass and filled it full. “She already did.”

  This was not good! Richard again grabbed the brandy away and pushed Darcy into a chair. “Tell me what she said.”

  Head plopped back and staring at the ceiling again, Darcy said in a flat voice, “She didn’t get the job offer at the hospital. She decided to leave New York to think things through. There was a”—he paused for a moment to swallow—“a liability issue. She’s sorry this is sudden, but she needed to figure out what she was going to do with her life.”

  “What the hell does she mean ‘what she’s going to do with her life’?”

  Darcy reached for the brandy where Richard had placed it and drank it in one gulp before wiping his mouth carelessly with his hand.

  Richard impatiently repeated his question.

  His cousin shrugged. “A life that wouldn’t involve me. She was sorry she didn’t get to tell me in person, but she needed to leave right away. She’ll send for her things later.”

  “I’m so sorry, Darce. Did she…” Richard tried to take it all in. “Did she actually say she was breaking up with you? Maybe you misunderstood her. Maybe she just wants some time—”

  “She said she realized it’s not going to work out between us.”

  “I still don’t get it.”

  “It’s simple, Richard,” his cousin said in a cold voice. “Elizabeth is very dedicated to her work, to medicine. I’ve always known that about her.”

  “And? What does that have to do with leaving you so abruptly?”

  “Apparently, there’s no room for anything else, including me.”

  Darcy sounded so certain, so accepting, as if he had expected this all along. Richard couldn’t think of anything else to say except to tell his cousin no more brandy and take the bottle away. The suddenness of it all stunned him. Then he remembered Elizabeth’s abrupt leaving in the taxi this afternoon. Perhaps she had come to break up with Darcy in person but lost her nerve when Richard unknowingly intercepted her. That would explain her paleness and distracted manner and her sudden flight without luggage, as if she feared losing her nerve again and wanted to be far away when she told Darcy.

  Over the next few days, Richard hovered at his cousin’s side until he felt certain Darcy wouldn’t do something rash or stupid. Darcy was not the type, but Richard worried. At times, though, he found himself wishing Darcy would do something, anything, instead of withdrawing into himself. He refused to discuss his thoughts or feelings about the breakup—not that Richard would know what to do if he wanted to talk. Still, Richard knew it wasn’t healthy for his cousin to keep it all inside.

  A week after Elizabeth left, two of their companies in Europe ran into difficulties, requiring DDF headquarters to send a team of troubleshooters. Richard pushed Darcy to go with the team. Darcy had lost some weight and wasn’t sleeping well. Mrs. Reynolds revealed that he frequently roamed the townhouse late at night, often ending up in Elizabeth’s old office or his study.

  While Darcy was away in Europe, Mrs. Reynolds received a message from one of Elizabeth’s sisters asking for her things to be shipped to her parents’ address. Dr. Bennet needed her medical books and journals, etc., as well as the personal items she had left behind. She had accepted a position with Doctors Without Borders.

  Using his contacts, Richard confirmed that a Dr. Elizabeth Bennet was on the roster for the humanitarian organization in Darfur, Sudan. After Richard informed Darcy on his return from Europe that Elizabeth had moved on, at least professionally, Darcy rallied and became his pre-Vietnam grave self. Except now, he worked constantly. He never took time off for a run, no matter how much Richard urged him to get out for some fresh air and exercise.

  Worried for his cousin’s health, Richard forgot himself one day and inadvertently mentioned to Anne his concern Darcy’s trying to kill himself with work, now that he and Elizabeth had broken up. He kicked himself when he saw a satisfied gleam in Anne’s eyes before she masked it. Of course, the bitch was happy; Darcy was now free. She even looked like she had known it all along.

  ***

  Georgiana closed the door to the study, approached her brother’s desk, and sat down. She had some bug with her laptop and until she got it fixed, she had to sneak down to her brother’s desktop in his study. The messages from Elizabeth had been encouraging. Georgiana still didn’t know exactly what had happened between her brother and Elizabeth two months ago—neither would talk about their breakup or about each other—but she was glad her brother’s ex-fiancée still kept in touch. Though she felt disloyal to her brother, she needed Elizabeth’s friendship. Georgiana had no other friends—probably why Elizabeth didn’t abandon her. The emails had been mostly about Georgiana. Elizabeth had been pushing her to think about returning to college again
, to try to meet new people, and to put her experience with George Wickham in the past.

  A few days ago, Georgiana had sent an email stating she had decided to go back to school. She hadn’t heard back. Clicking on her email account, she saw one new message in her inbox. She eagerly read it, laughing aloud as she got to the end. When she clicked on an attachment, a picture appeared. She was still smiling at the picture when Mrs. Reynolds informed her a big package, too big for the housekeeper to carry to the study, had arrived for her. Squealing, Georgiana excitedly ran out to see her congratulatory gift from Elizabeth. She lugged the package to her room. It was a guitar—Elizabeth’s old guitar.

  ***

  Tiredly, Darcy walked into his study. Georgiana’s uncharacteristic giddiness during dinner baffled him. Pretending to be in a good mood so he wouldn’t ruin her evening had taken much of his energy.

  He sat down at his desk to do some work he had brought home. While laying spreadsheets out on his desk, his hand hit the computer mouse by accident. He frowned at the unusual placement of the mouse, two inches too far to the right. He moved the mouse back to its usual spot. The lit computer screen cast a glare onto his hand. He glanced up and froze.

  Elizabeth’s smiling face stared back at him from the computer screen. He had not seen her for eight weeks, three days, and almost twelve hours now. Her hair was short in the picture, an inch below her chin. Looking tired around the eyes, and a little sad, she smiled at the camera.

  “Lizzy,” he whispered and raised his hand to the screen. His elbow inadvertently shifted the mouse; the screen blanked and she disappeared. He frantically moved the mouse. She came back on the screen. He didn’t even stop to think before he read the email.

  She’d been in touch with Georgiana. The email was brief, mentioning that she was attaching a picture of herself with her guitar at a Berkeley Vegan Earth Day.

  All “green” musicians got free admissions (I have no idea why) to the fair. That was the only time I’ve used the guitar in the last ten years, so I’m sending it to you as a gift for deciding to return to college. Btw, a tempeh pastrami is as nasty as it sounds. Couldn’t complain, though. It was also free.

  Darcy smiled before he could stop himself. God, how he loved her. Even though she had broken his heart, she still made him laugh. He sobered. Why couldn’t you have loved me enough to stay, Lizzy?

  ***

  Through the crack of the opened door, Georgiana swallowed a gasp at the unguarded view of her brother looking longingly at the computer screen. She closed the study’s door as noiselessly as she had opened it. Back in her room, she called Richard.

  CHAPTER 26

  Clue. Pattern.

  Leading Mrs. Reynolds and Georgiana, Richard entered the study without knocking. Darcy pushed something underneath a file on his desk and scowled at them.

  Richard held up a hand. “No, we didn’t knock. We’re here for an intervention.”

  “I don’t have time for your nonsense,” Darcy snapped. “I have work to do.”

  “Yes, you do. You’re going to work with us to figure out what went wrong between Elizabeth and you. Since you’re obviously clueless, we’re going to help.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s over. I haven’t thought about her for—” Darcy paused, a wary expression on his face as Richard edged close to the desk.

  With a quick movement, Richard lifted up the file and had a photo in his hand. “It’s over? Haven’t thought about her? Who’s this, then?”

  Almost reflexively, Darcy grabbed the photo back. “Get out.”

  Richard motioned for Mrs. Reynolds and Georgiana to sit. “You might as well get comfortable. This isn’t going to be quick.” He turned back to Darcy. “You won’t go see a doctor, so we’re doing it this way. We’re not going to leave until you talk.”

  Darcy’s lips tightened.

  Richard sighed. “We care about you, William, and we care about Elizabeth. Maybe you two aren’t meant to be together, but until you figure out why it failed, it’s not over and you can’t move on.” He watched as the anger left his cousin. Darcy sat and stared at the photo in his hand. Gently, Richard asked, “What do you think went wrong?”

  Darcy threw the photo onto the desk. In a defeated voice, he admitted, “I don’t know.”

  Georgiana reached a hand toward her brother. “It’s okay, Will.”

  “No, it’s not.” Richard firmly cut off the flow of sympathy. “He thinks he knows what went wrong and blames himself. That’s why he hasn’t gone after her.”

  The anger returned to Darcy’s voice. “She left me to go and figure out what to do with her life. It’s simple: she discovered medicine’s more important than being with me, and she realized I was a liability, excess baggage.”

  “Oh, come on. You don’t believe that, do you?” Richard asked. “Did she actually say those nonsense words?”

  “She used ‘liability’ and mentioned PTF in the same sentence. You and I had a discussion on this very issue in Central Park that one day, remember? What I predicted happened. She left because she didn’t get the job. I didn’t matter.”

  “I don’t care, even if she did say those exact words; she’s not that shallow,” Richard asserted. For a while, he had lost faith in Elizabeth, but now, having heard that she was still in contact with—and obviously cared very much about—Georgiana, he wanted concrete answers before he would give up.

  “I agree,” Mrs. Reynolds spoke.

  “Me too,” Georgiana added. “Even if she did say it, I don’t believe that was her reason. You might have misunderstood because you were upset.”

  “I know what I heard,” Darcy insisted. “She specifically asked me not to go after her.”

  Georgiana’s face fell. “Oh.”

  “Perhaps so,” Richard said, “but it still doesn’t fit. She can’t be that good of an actress to fool all of us. It doesn’t fit with a woman who came to New York to get a job to help you! I was the biggest skeptic of her at the beginning, but it wasn’t long before I recognized her feelings for you were genuine.”

  “Richard is right,” Mrs. Reynolds said.

  Georgiana straightened in her seat. “Yes, it doesn’t fit, Will.”

  Richard watched as hope tiptoed into Darcy’s eyes. “Yes, we all agree. She cared about you, Darce. Her face always lit up whenever you were near. But something happened. Let’s figure out what. Talk it out with us, okay?”

  After a long moment, Darcy nodded.

  Richard suggested, “Let’s start when you first met until the day she left. We might see something you missed. Well, leave out the intimate details, that’d be TMI, unless that was the problem? I knew I should have given you some pointers there.”

  “In your dreams,” Darcy immediately shot back. His face flushed, as if he suddenly remembered the presence of his sister and Mrs. Reynolds in the room.

  Her own face pink, Mrs. Reynolds smiled. Georgiana snickered. The tension in the room lessened.

  “Yes, do talk, William,” Mrs. Reynolds said. “It’s not good to keep everything bottled up inside you.”

  The kind, motherly voice did the trick. Darcy talked. He ended up revealing a lot more than he had meant to while Richard relentlessly flooded him with questions to keep the narrative going.

  “And then she came to New York, and you know what happened after that,” Darcy ended and waited.

  Silence met him for a long moment then a titter came from his sister, followed by an uncharacteristic giggle from Mrs. Reynolds. Darcy looked offended.

  “I’m so sorry, Will. I shouldn’t laugh,” Georgiana apologized. “You and Charles were gay partners adopting a baby. Haahaaa!” She almost fell off her chair laughing.

  Mrs. Reynolds said, “She may not have known you very well, but she really loved you.”

  “That’s it! She doesn’t know you well. Do you see a pattern here?” Richard knew he had been given a gold mine of material to tease his cousin about later, but now was not the
time.

  Darcy’s hands spread. “What pattern? I’ve been through it a million times trying to find the clues I might have missed.”

  “She keeps misunderstanding and misreading you,” Richard said. “That’s the pattern. Who could blame her? You’re not an open book, even to us.”

  “She does have a tendency to act impulsively when she has decided on something. She’s convinced she’s right until proven otherwise.” Darcy brightened, but then the hope in his eyes dimmed. “She also likes to rescue people. I was a sad sap when we met. Maybe that’s all I was, a pity job.”

  “Oh, stop it with the pity party. She wanted you. The hospital job was an excuse to be with you,” Richard pointed out.

  “Then why leave me when the job didn’t work out?” Darcy countered. “If it wasn’t important, why would she have found another job just a week after she left here? It doesn’t make sense.”

  “No, it doesn’t.” Richard agreed.

  “Aunt Catherine’s birthday call!” Georgiana exclaimed. “That was the day before she left. What you said might have upset her.”

  Darcy looked perplexed. “What? What did I say?”

  “You said something about not wanting her to meet Aunt Catherine, and how you’ve never taken any woman you dated to meet her.”

  “Fitzwilliam Darcy, you told your fiancée that you didn’t want to introduce her to your aunt, just as you didn’t with any of the other women?” Mrs. Reynolds said in a shocked voice. “How could you?”

  “I… uh… I…” Darcy turned to his sister. “Did I really say that?”

  “You did, Will.” Georgiana nodded. “I heard you.”

  “Ouch. Even I know better than to say something like that to a woman I’m dating, much less engaged to,” Richard said. He started. “Engaged! Your secret engagement! Wait a minute, Anne looked too satisfied when I mentioned you and Elizabeth had broken up. Did you ever do anything about Anne? Keep her from Elizabeth? I warned you she might try something.”

  “Will, what if Elizabeth heard about Anne and you?” Georgiana asked. “You know Aunt Catherine truly believes you two will get married one day. And no matter how much you deny Anne’s being a part of it, she has never actively discouraged Aunt Catherine.”