by Wendi Sotis
Because William was such a private man, his confiding in her about such a painful memory had meant a great deal to her. She smiled, still amazed that a year ago, she never would have believed that they could ever be friends. Now, they were each other’s confidants.
Since Elizabeth had first met Anne, she, on occasion, had brought home gossip magazines, but only when someone she knew was mentioned in them. Even though Elizabeth now knew William hated large social occasions, he had attended several events, usually benefiting a worthy charity, and photos of him would invariably appear in one or more of these publications the following day. At times, he had been with Anne, and those pictures were always fun to see, but there were several events to which he had escorted other women. Those women were always perfect in every way—and the exact opposite of herself: lanky, blonde, rich, famous, and well-connected in elite society. Most importantly, those ladies were all absolutely gorgeous.
No matter what Elizabeth wished for, she had to accept that her short frame and dark hair were not his type. She could never compete with the women he usually spent time with. Since “Most Eligible Bachelor” Will Darcy could never be attracted to her, the position of friend and confidante would have to do.
~%~
~A couple of days later...
William entered the new house to see how his ladies were coming along and ask whether they needed his assistance. He had opted for the furniture company’s rush delivery of the items they had chosen that did not have to be specially made, and the bulk of what he had ordered had been delivered the previous day. They should be ready to move in either later today or tomorrow.
“Georgie? Mrs. Reynolds?”
“I’m upstairs, Mr. Darcy.”
He smiled at her formal use of his name whenever she was unsure whether or not he was alone. Upon entering his bedroom, he saw Mrs. Reynolds was making the bed. He moved to help.
“Don’t bother, William. You have better things to do with your time than make beds. I can do it myself.”
“It’s not a bother. I worry that you’re working too hard setting up the house. Maybe we should get you some help.”
“Georgiana has been a big help, and so has Anne. I think your sister is enjoying herself, setting up a house for the first time.”
“Where is she now?”
“She went out with Anne.”
He straightened. His brow furrowed with worry. “Out?”
“Don’t worry yourself so.” Mrs. Reynolds smiled. “I know exactly where they went—to the grocery store.”
William ran his hand over the sheets to smooth out the wrinkles. “These sheets are so soft, I might never want to get out of bed.”
Mrs. Reynolds chuckled. “That’s exactly what Lizzy said. You’ve been—”
William straightened quickly. “Elizabeth?”
“Yes, she helped me—”
One hug, and she thinks she can take over decorating my house? “What did Elizabeth say to convince you she has the right to tell you what to buy?”
“She did no such thing!” Mrs. Reynolds folded her hands in front of her. “As you well know, William, when you’re not in a snit like you are now, Elizabeth Bennett is not at all like Caroline Bingley or any those socialites you’ve been hanging around with.” She hesitated a minute before continuing. “In case you’ve forgotten, I only just arrived. Since I had no idea where to go to get what I needed, I asked Lizzy for directions. Her father is being transferred to the rehabilitation center tomorrow, and she wanted to go to the department store to pick up a few things to bring to him, so she allowed me to tag along with her. She even let me drive so that I could begin to learn my way around the area. Lizzy finished her own shopping sooner than expected and found me in the linens section of the store. The only comment she offered was to say that she uses this brand of sheets, and because they’re so comfortable, sometimes she doesn’t want to get out of bed.” She sighed. “I asked for her opinion while trying to decide between two designs for the comforter and drapes. Lizzy actually seemed uncomfortable sharing her preference, but eventually told me which she liked better. As I began to say earlier, I purchased the sheets Lizzy said were very comfortable because you’ve been having so much trouble sleeping lately. You look exhausted, William.”
He closed his eyes. I’ve overreacted again. He opened his eyes and met Mrs. Reynolds’s gaze, and then took a deep breath and released it slowly. After several tense moments, his muscles finally relaxed. He nodded.
Mrs. Reynolds raised both eyebrows. “If you would prefer something different, I’ll see if I can exchange this set, but it’s already been washed...”
He looked around the room and shook his head. If he had gone shopping with Mrs. Reynolds, he probably would have chosen this design for himself. “No, no. This is fine. Thank you, Mrs. Reynolds.”
Mrs. Reynolds began to leave the room, then stopped and turned to face him again. “Please rest for a little while, William. You work too hard.” Her lips curled slyly and winked. “And when you’re tired, you certainly do get cranky.”
“Do you...” he hesitated. “Do you think it’s been wrong of me to reject so many women? To take them on a couple of dates but never get serious with anyone?”
Mrs. Reynolds examined his expression carefully with her grey eyes opened wide. He knew this wasn’t going to be a short conversation when she walked over to the bed and sat down. “Did you care for any of them, William?”
“I liked the girls I went out with in high school and college, but not the way you mean. I was physically attracted to some of the women I’ve dated since, but I didn’t want to continue and give them false hopes. I was too busy...”
“If the right girl had come along, you wouldn’t have been too busy for her, would you?” She shook her head in answer to her own question. “We had this conversation once before. Do you remember?”
“No.” From the tone of her voice, he had a feeling he should sit down. He took a seat next to her on the bed.
“It was during a very dark time, which I’m sure is why you don’t remember... during the time of your parents’ wake. Once the girls you knew realized you were going to inherit, they tried to get closer to you, showing false compassion to get your attention. You told me that you knew what they said wasn’t real, but also, you said something I’ll never forget—you never wanted to use women like you had seen some other men do.” She smiled. “Even with all your accomplishments, I’ve never been more proud of you than I was at that moment, William. I know your parents would have been, too.” She paused and raised her eyebrows. “Does your bringing this up have anything to do with Elizabeth Bennett?”
“Is it that obvious?”
Mrs. Reynolds shrugged her shoulders. “I’ve known you all your life. You brighten up when she walks into a room—and the way you look at her, William!” She wiggled her eyebrows and smiled. “Over the past couple of days there has been no doubt in my mind that you’re in love.” She nodded once. “I approve, if that’s why you’ve brought this up. Before I met Lizzy during that weekend she visited us in the city, I didn’t think there was a woman who could deserve you, but I knew right away that she does. I remember thinking it was a shame that you were too ill to meet her.” Mrs. Reynolds frowned. “And everything I’ve heard from Georgiana, Anne, and Richard confirms it. I expected to see you two together by the time I got here and was very surprised when I arrived and found that she doesn’t know how you feel about her, William. Why don’t you tell her? Or at least ask her on a date.”
William sighed deeply. “It’s ironic, isn’t it? The one woman I don’t want to push away is also the one woman I can’t have.”
“Oh, it can’t be that bad!”
“With Elizabeth working on the Lambton Project, if she and I had a relationship, it would end up ruining her reputation.” He explained the situation with Gardiner’s partnership and Elizabeth’s internship. “I even thought about hiring her—if I had to change the human resources rules for Darcy Co
nstruction, I would—but then she wouldn’t be able to get her license unless I hired a licensed architect who had been approved to be her supervisor, as well. I’m not sure they would approve if they realized I’d set it all up just for her. I looked into it, and an internship really should be served with a previously established firm. Then there’s the question of whether Elizabeth would agree to the arrangement...” He paused. “I need Elizabeth’s talents for Lambton. I can’t put my selfish wishes ahead of Dad’s dream, and I won’t risk Elizabeth’s career. Right now, we’re good friends, and it’s better to remain that way. At least until Lambton Village is completed.”
Mrs. Reynolds’s mouth dropped open. “The entire project?”
He nodded.
“That’s going to take years, William.”
“I know, but it doesn’t matter—I don’t think she feels the same way about me, anyway.”
“Then I guess you haven’t seen the way Elizabeth’s eyes follow you whenever you’re not looking. Or the way her face lights up when you enter the room.”
His heart skipped a beat. “Really?”
“Yes, really. She likes you, William.” Mrs. Reynolds reached out and gave his hand a squeeze. “There has to be a way around all that.”
He looked away. “I told her about Wickham.” He knew she wouldn’t miss the importance of that event. He hadn’t talked about it since the day after his parents died, when he had explained what had happened to Mrs. Reynolds. He’d even let Richard tell Anne and Georgiana about it, though he was in the room at the time.
She lifted her eyebrows. “Everything?”
William met her gaze. “Everything.”
Mrs. Reynolds nodded and rose from the bed. “That confirms it. You belong with Lizzy, William. I’m sure you’ll find a way to be together.” She kissed his forehead before heading toward the door. Upon reaching it, she turned. “If you aren’t needed at the jobsite, why don’t you lie down for a little while? You’re exhausted. I’ll knock in half an hour.”
William closed his eyes and sighed deeply. She’s right; I am exhausted. Maybe a short nap.
Just as he started drifting off to sleep, his eyes snapped open. He swung his legs over the side of the bed.
No matter what I do or where I go, I can’t stop thinking about her. I can’t even sleep without dreaming of her. This has to stop!
He rubbed both hands over his face and then looked around the room.
I’ve pretty much guaranteed it’s impossible to stop—I’ve rented the house where she grew up. I’ve spent enough time looking at her pictures to see her every time I walk into any room in this house. I ended up with her old bedroom.
I can’t even get away from her scent. After living in her room for a week, there’s a trace of her on all my clothes. Worst of all, I’m enjoying it!
And now, every time I go to bed, I’ll be surrounded by the bedding that she chose for me... that she admitted she’d love and would never want to leave.
His chest ached with longing to have Elizabeth within his arms, pressed firmly against him as she was two evenings ago.
How am I supposed to rest?
Chapter 13
~Three weeks later – Meryton Founder’s Day Picnic
As William approached Charles’s SUV, Charles was assisting Mr. Bennett into his wheelchair. William hurried to help hold the chair steady. He spied Elizabeth’s car a few parking spots away, but he didn’t see her.
Mrs. Bennett came up to them and said in a voice too loud to keep her comments private, “Now, Thomas, I know you want to stay all day, but I promised Dr. Jacobs that you would be at the Founder’s Day picnic for only two hours—and you will stay no longer. You’ve made a lot of progress, and we won’t have you exhausting yourself. You’re lucky he agreed to your coming out at all. You’ve only been home a couple of days.”
William detected Elizabeth’s scent and turned toward the direction of the breeze. When he met her gaze, she winked at him. “Mom is taking my father’s health more seriously these days.” Her expression changed to one more somber. “I have to talk to you—right now!” She pulled him over to the side.
His eyes trailed down her form-fitting tank top, shorts, and bare legs that seemed to go on forever. Realization hit him. “You wore something different on purpose, too?”
Elizabeth nodded, wide-eyed. “As a matter of fact, I did. I thought maybe if I wasn’t wearing the same clothing, that, uh...” she cleared her throat, “...scene wouldn’t happen, but look—it’s the strangest thing.” She handed him her phone. “I already knew you were wearing different clothes.”
As he took the phone, he saw her hands were shaking. William glanced down at the picture and then looked up quickly. “Our clothing has changed in the picture.”
“It’s crazy, isn’t it? But everything else is the same.” She nodded. “I looked at it before I left the house, and it was exactly as when you saw it last. When I got here, I thought maybe if it wasn’t going to happen, it would disappear off my phone, so I checked. Instead, it had changed. I’d been sitting in my car for at least five minutes—too shaken up to get out.”
He gestured to the photograph. “Well, I’m not going to let this happen, so don’t worry about it.”
“You might not have a choice, Will. Not everything is under your control.” She took her phone back. “Maybe if I tell Dan...”
William clenched his jaw. The pictures were their secret... along with Jane, of course. He knew he was being irrational, but he didn’t want anyone else in on it—especially Dan.
“I really don’t want to tell him, though.” Elizabeth slid her phone into the back pocket of her jean shorts. “He’ll think we’re nuts!”
Relief spread through him, so complete that he had to stifle a sigh. “It would be difficult to believe if you haven’t seen pictures come in before they happen, like Jane and I witnessed. Maybe they don’t want him to know about this.”
“They?”
“The gypsies.”
She smiled brightly. “I’m so glad you believe me, Will. You have no idea what that means to me.”
I hope she never stops smiling at me that way, he thought. “Can you come over to the house after the picnic? I have some questions on the plans for the hotel.”
“Sure. I thought you might. The county’s announcement of the change in the building code creates some problems. Uncle Ed went to a full-day lecture yesterday, and I went over it with him on the phone last night. Our ideas aren’t perfect yet, but when we get to your house, I’ll show you what we came up with.”
“Sounds good.”
~
The Bennett family pushed a few tables together so their family and friends could assemble around the patriarch for the few hours he was able to remain. Unlike gatherings in the past, Elizabeth’s father did not speak at all. Too soon, it was time for Jane and Charles to drive her parents’ home, and many of the others dispersed to visit with their neighbors. Earlier in the month, Mrs. Reynolds had discovered a few things she had in common with Mrs. Lucas, and the two ladies moved off to sit on their own.
Elizabeth, William, and Georgiana remained at the table, involved in a conversation about Georgiana’s job at the Darcy Construction trailers. Elizabeth was laughing at something William had said when a movement caught her eye. She looked in that direction, directly into the deep brown eyes of Dan King, who was wearing exactly what he had on in the picture. She could feel herself pale.
Dan’s trademark smile, which had melted a thousand hearts, spread across his face as he swaggered confidently toward their group. “Hey Lizzy, Georgiana.” Elizabeth watched with surprise as Dan’s smile faltered. His tone changed. “Darcy.”
I know that look! What could Dan possibly have against Will?
William stood and shook his hand. “Dan.”
Elizabeth almost laughed. When addressing men he didn’t know well, William usually called them by their last names, but William quite deliberately refused to use Dan’s last name w
hen addressing him, as if he couldn’t get himself to call Dan “King.”
As far as I know, they only met at the ribbon cutting ceremony. Did I miss something? There’s some sort of power struggle going on between them. Preventing that picture from coming true does not look promising.
Dan leaned over and, to her surprise, he kissed Elizabeth on the cheek. He sat too close beside her and swung one arm over her shoulders. Raising both eyebrows in Dan’s direction, Elizabeth scooted a few inches away from him, effectively removing his arm from her shoulders. What is going on here? He’s never been one to hang all over people.
Dan didn’t react. “Did I miss your father?”
Elizabeth opened her mouth to answer, but William spoke first. “Yes, you did.” He looked like he was a seven-year-old boy who had just scored a point in a game on the playground. She half-expected William to speak in sing-song next, saying, “I got to see him. You didn’t—ha, ha!”
Elizabeth looked over at Georgiana, who was glancing back and forth between Dan and her brother in amusement.
At least I know I’m not imagining things. Elizabeth cleared her throat. “Dad behaved himself and listened to the doctor’s orders to stay only a couple of hours. I think he was ready to go home. He tires so easily right now. Thanks for visiting him at the rehab center.”
William glared at Dan as he said, “It was a nice place, even better than the one our great-aunt had been in for a while last year.”
He’s trying to prove to Dan that he visited Dad, too? Elizabeth looked at Georgiana again, who, at this point, had pulled both her lips between her teeth to keep from laughing.
Elizabeth knitted her brow and shook her head at her young friend.
Georgiana nodded in agreement.
Elizabeth startled when Dan laid his hand on her arm. “Lizzy, do you remember the year when your father replaced the softballs with trick balls?”
Elizabeth subtly moved her hands into her lap, pulling away from him. She chuckled at the memory and explained to William and Georgiana. “I don’t know where he got them—they looked real. Dad was pitching, and when Mr. Lucas hit the first ball, it exploded into white powder.”