by Wendi Sotis
The police officer narrowed his eyes at Lydia, who had tears flowing freely down her cheeks, and then raised an eyebrow at Elizabeth.
“Please?” Elizabeth begged.
“All right, but just a minute.”
Lydia threw herself into Elizabeth’s arms. “Do I have to tell them what I did?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
Her sister sniffed. “But I don’t want to go to jail.”
“I don’t know what’s going to happen, Lydia, but you should know by now that you’re responsible for what you do. Thank God you’re all right, but next time, you might not be so lucky. You’re going to have to change your ways.”
“I know. I never would have gotten into this mess if I’d listened more to you and Jane. If I hadn’t followed what you told me to do tonight, I wouldn’t have gotten out of it, either. It scares me to think what could’ve happened if you hadn’t shown up, Lizzy.”
Lydia glanced at William, who was a few feet away—trying to distract the police officer from the fact that they were talking, if Elizabeth had to take a guess.
Lydia said, “Maybe I should have listened to mom about going after Will instead of George, but Will’s so serious! He’d be much better for you, Lizzy.”
Elizabeth felt William’s gaze on her, but she didn’t want to look at him; she didn’t want to be able to see in his eyes whether or not he had heard Lydia. She also wished the lights were still off so the darkness would hide her blush. “Will and I are friends, Lydia.”
“I saw that hug before. He would be—”
“Now is not the time for this conversation, Lydia,” Elizabeth scolded. Never would be soon enough for me!
Surprisingly, Lydia let the subject drop. The police officer approached. “That’s enough—you really shouldn’t be talking at all.”
William pointed to Elizabeth. “Can I talk to her?”
The officer shrugged. “My only instructions were to keep the women away from each other until they’d made their statements.”
Elizabeth let go of her sister and nodded. “Can I call our house and let my parents know where we are?”
The officer answered, “Yes—make it quick, and make sure to tell them not to come down here. They won’t be allowed in.”
~
As Elizabeth made her phone call, William tried to decide which he liked better, Elizabeth wearing the almost transparent tank top or Elizabeth wearing his shirt. His tee was huge on her, but she still looked beautiful. Or was it just seeing her in his shirt that sent a thrill through him? He wasn’t sure, but he did know he wanted her to keep it... Maybe she’d wear his shirt to bed, too? William shook his head to clear where this train of thought was about to take him.
When Elizabeth was finished with her call, William said, “I’ll have to make a statement, too. I’m not sure about Rich and Charles... I came in just as the police arrived, and they ran interference for me so I could get into the building. I think I might be in a bit of trouble for that.” He grimaced and then smiled widely. “I finally got to punch out Smith when he came down the stairs. What was he doing here?”
“I might have caught the answer to that on tape.” With a glance at the police officer, she pulled out her cell phone again.
“Who are you calling?”
“Dan...” She started talking into the phone. “It’s Lizzy. The store was just robbed, and they caught Smith and two other guys in the act. If the police do their interrogation the right way, they might be able to find out all they need to know about the building department investigation.” She pressed end and looked up at William, who was looking at her strangely. “What? If Dan can get a confession from Smith and the others, maybe they won’t need you to do anymore undercover work, and there won’t be delays for Lambton.”
William held back his smile, but it was in his eyes. “You think well under pressure.”
“That’s what I’m told.” She sighed. “Unfortunately, some people don’t appreciate that ability. They think I’m trying to show off.”
“I value it as a skill.”
If the lights weren’t already on, Elizabeth’s smile could have illuminated the entire warehouse.
Again, William needed to change the subject. “From what I understand, they lost Wickham, but you didn’t lose any merchandise. They were still loading up the truck when the police arrived.”
“It makes sense, really. Wickham worked here, so he knew the store and probably had figured out the best way to escape if he was ever cornered here. For example, if I had seen him in the warehouse, I would have recognized him, and there would have been trouble.” She hesitated. “There was cash in the safe...”
“I’m not sure—Since I had received your text and knew where you were, I told Rich and Charles to tell the police and went straight upstairs once I was inside.”
Larry approached. “Hey, Lizzy, Darcy. You both know that you shouldn’t have entered the building, right?” They nodded as Larry shot them both a scolding look. “Lizzy, the safe doesn’t look forced—”
“No, it was me. I hoped if the safe was open, Wickham wouldn’t look for Lydia when he discovered she was gone.” She pointed to the top of a crate. “There’s a tape recorder up there, Larry. I think I recorded some of the bad guys’ conversation. Wickham’s fingerprints should be all over the labels on the crates they were loading. He said he changed them to fake ones so nobody would open them.”
“Bad guys?” Larry smiled and wrote what she said on his pad. “Not bad. If the tape isn’t admissible in court, at least we’ll have some information to use while questioning them. What made you think of grabbing a tape recorder?”
“Just a hunch.” She glanced at William and touched her phone. William raised his eyebrows in answer.
“I need to take your statements. I thought I saw a break room during our search...”
Elizabeth answered, “Yes, please! I need to sit down. I’ll make some coffee for everyone—if I’m allowed. It’s freezing in here.”
Larry said, “It didn’t look like they went into the break room. I’m sure we’d all appreciate some coffee.” He eyed William’s bare chest and spoke into his radio, “Can I get two jackets to the break room—”
“I always keep a sweatshirt in the back seat of my SUV—the doors are unlocked,” William volunteered.
Larry transmitted that information and changed his request.
Elizabeth whispered, “You left your SUV open?”
William colored slightly. “I was in a hurry.”
After they had given their statements, Larry said, “The store will have to be closed while we investigate. Why don’t you go home and get some sleep. I’ll call you later with any news.” He hesitated and looked over his shoulder at Lydia. “Your parents might want to get a lawyer for Lydia. I’m not sure if the D. A. will press charges against her.”
Elizabeth frowned and nodded.
Chapter 22
William followed Elizabeth and Lydia home. When Elizabeth turned the car off, Lydia turned to face her. “I’m sleeping out here tonight.”
“In the garage?”
Lydia nodded. “I thought it would be so much fun. I was supposed to be on a plane to Las Vegas by now, on my way to get married by a guy dressed like Elvis. We’d take a bunch of pictures to show you all when we got home, and we’d all laugh.” Lydia smiled wistfully, but it didn’t last long. “I swear I was only going to the store to get the paychecks that you were holding ‘til you met with George, Lizzy. I didn’t know what he had planned!” Lydia shook her head. “I’ve been thinking. Even if we really had eloped, it was still stealing. You were holding his paychecks back for a reason. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone—not you or mom or dad.” A tear ran down her cheek. “I hadn’t thought about how what I was doing affected anyone else.” Her voice became more forceful. “Never, Lizzy... not once in my life, no matter what you or Jane or Tom said to me!”
Elizabeth placed a hand on Lydia’s shoulder and squeezed lightly. “I k
now.”
Lydia sobbed. “What’s going to happen when we go inside, Lizzy? Is Dad going to be okay after hearing about this? I don’t want him to get sick again because of me.”
“I’m going to tell you the truth, Lydia, and it’s not going to be easy to hear. I don’t know what’s going to happen to Dad specifically, but nobody is going to be okay about this. This wasn’t some stupid prank. It’s real life, and there are going to be real consequences. Every one of us is going to spend time thinking about what we could have done differently to prevent you from doing this. To some extent, every one of us is going to blame ourselves for what you did.”
“But it wasn’t anyone’s fault but mine.”
Elizabeth’s mouth dropped open. Was this really Lydia? Had she finally grown up?
“I’m sorry...” Lydia’s voice trailed off.
Elizabeth’s tone was gentle but firm. “I wish I had better news for you, but saying sorry is not going to fix this one.”
They sat in silence for a minute.
Elizabeth suddenly remembered something that she had thought of earlier. “Oh... Why didn’t Lady bark when Wickham was in the house?”
She had never seen Lydia blush so thoroughly. “You knew he was inside?”
Elizabeth nodded. “I heard the two of you leaving.”
Lydia’s brow wrinkled. “Sometimes I’d take Lady for a walk by the lake. George would meet us there.”
Elizabeth sucked in a breath. “Did he ask you to bring her, Lydia?”
Lydia looked down and nodded.
Her eyes opened wide. “Does he know the pass code to the alarm system?”
“No! And I never told him... He’d never been to the house before.”
Elizabeth sighed in relief. “Maybe we should change it anyway.” She reached out and pushed a lock of hair behind her young sister’s ear. “You know, you’ll have to face Mom and Dad at some point. It’s time to go into the house.”
Lydia nodded. Elizabeth reached across the console and hugged her sister.
“Thank you, Lizzy.” Lydia looked up, over Elizabeth’s shoulder. “Will’s waiting.”
Elizabeth turned and briefly raised both eyebrows at William. He opened the door for her and helped her out. Lydia walked around to the rear of the car and waited for them.
When they caught up, Lydia held out her hand to William. “I didn’t deserve your help, and I’m pretty sure you know that, too. Thank you for coming anyway.”
William hesitated, looking into Lydia’s eyes for several moments. He seemed to decide that her sentiments were honest, and he shook her hand.
Lydia turned to walk away, and then turned back. “Will, did something happen at your house in the Hamptons?”
William’s shocked expression answered for him.
“George said something about not being able to find a girl at the alarm company here like he did at your house in the Hamptons, so he used me to get in, instead.” Lydia straightened her back and walked on ahead of them toward the house.
Elizabeth looked up at Will. “Was there a question about how Caroline Bingley got past your alarm system?”
William nodded and sighed. “We were never able to figure that one out. Now it makes sense that it had something to do with Wickham, though I can’t imagine how they met.” He shook his head. “I could have sworn I saw him one day at court. I thought he had been there to get a good laugh at my expense.” He huffed. “I guess he had a better reason to laugh than I had suspected.”
He raised both eyebrows and gestured at Lydia, who had slowed her pace when she got closer to the house. Elizabeth guessed she was waiting for them.
William put his hand on Elizabeth’s shoulder. “It seems Lydia has matured quite a bit tonight.”
She nodded. “I hope it lasts.”
~%~
Richard’s brother, Brian, looked at the jar William held in his hands. “What’s that for?”
“Elizabeth wants to keep the first shovelful of soil.”
“Don’t you find that a little strange?” Brian asked softly enough so none of the other employees could hear it.
“Not at all.” William glared at his cousin, and then consciously relaxed his expression. “I’ll explain later.”
Trembling with excitement, Elizabeth turned on her camera. “Go ahead, I’m ready.”
“Then give it to me.” William extended his hand to take the camera from her.
Elizabeth laughed. “Will, you can’t take a selfie of this—the camera has to be further away.”
“That may be, but I’m not the one who’s going to break the ground at Pemberley.” He held the shovel out to her. “You are.”
She was tempted, but it just wasn’t her place to do so. “It’s your house.”
“It’s been your dream to see it built on this land for a lot longer than it has been mine, Elizabeth.”
Brian raised his eyebrows and looked back and forth between the pair, who seemed locked in a private, silent conversation.
Her throat too constricted with emotion to speak, Elizabeth blinked back the tears that threatened. She nodded and exchanged the camera for the shovel.
Brian voiced the obvious solution. “Why don’t you stand with her, Will? I’ll take the picture.”
Not sure whether it would be okay with Elizabeth for someone else to handle her camera, William looked at Elizabeth, who smiled and nodded. After their photo op, Elizabeth filled the jar. William removed the shovel from her hand, took hold of her elbow, and led her away.
After a nod from William, Brian made the announcement everyone was waiting for. “Time to rock-n-roll!” The digging machine and dump truck moved into position and began to dig the foundation for Pemberley Deux.
“It probably wouldn’t be very professional of the representative of Gardiner & Associates to hug the owner of Darcy Construction right now—but consider yourself hugged.” Elizabeth smiled over at William as they watched the construction workers do their jobs.
“Probably not, but you owe me one. I was headed to the hospital site, but I have a few minutes. Do you have time to show me your treehouse?”
“Sure, and it’s really your treehouse.” Elizabeth placed her hardhat and jar of soil in her car before leading William away from the construction site, heading toward the tree line behind the spot where the rear of the house would eventually be located.
The trees broke ahead, and when they entered the clearing, Elizabeth stopped. In the center of the clearing was a natural pond. Directly across from them was a large treehouse spanning both trunks of a huge double oak tree.
Will whistled appreciatively. “It’s the mansion—in miniature!”
“Well, it’s a much earlier version, but it’s close enough. If you’re interested in seeing them, I saved all the sketches and floor plans I made over the years.” She started walking again. “I renovated the plans for the house quite a few times.” She gestured toward the way they had come. “I was going to build this close to where the mansion was supposed to be built, but I figured if that ever really took place—as it is today—it would have to be knocked down. So, it’s here by the pond instead of the lake. The proportions are pretty much correct, too.”
“And instead of the house being on a hill, it’s up in a tree. Do you think it’s safe to go up and take a look around?”
“It’s still in good shape. The paint preserved the wood fairly well.” She nodded. “I was up there a few days ago.” She shaded her eyes as she looked up at him. “I came out here over the weekend.”
“You should have told me. What if something had happened to you while you were here alone?”
“I’ve been coming out here by myself for years, Will. Besides, I wanted to sort of say goodbye.”
William stopped walking, but Elizabeth continued on. When she arrived at the tree, she began to climb the ladder that had been nailed to the trunk. Several rungs were made of boards and looked new. He wondered if she had anticipated some might not be safe and broug
ht along supplies to replace them during the past weekend.
William caught up. “Be careful.”
Elizabeth laughed. “This is the easy way to climb a tree.” She reached the top and moved onto a landing. “Come on! Oh, I can see the backhoe from here.”
Elizabeth went inside and opened the shutters while William climbed up.
Once up there, William realized that while the outside looked like the main house, the inside was one room with a large closet spanning one wall. There was a classic wooden picnic table with long benches and a high-backed chair at one end. The chair was painted yellow and had “Lizzy” crudely carved into the wood back.
“You were the queen of the castle, eh?”
Elizabeth looked confused. “What do you mean?”
He pointed to the chair. “It looks like a golden throne.”
Elizabeth’s mouth dropped open. “I never thought of it like that before... but I guess it does look like a throne.” She explained, “The other kids surprised me with it. They had already painted it yellow before they gave it to me. They carved my name in there, and then they cut their names into the table top, too.” Her eyes glistened with tears as she traced John Lucas’s name with her fingers.
“How did you get all this up here?”
Elizabeth walked over to the closet and pulled out a plastic bin. William joined her and looked inside.
“Pulleys and rope. John Lucas rigged up quite a system over the larger branches above us. I should really get a couple of new pulleys and clean this place out.” She pulled out another plastic bin. “Look at these games.” She chuckled. “Brings back a lot of memories.” She turned to William. “But, now it’s time to return to the present. I have to get back to the store.”
“I’ll follow you. I need to pick up a few things before I go to the hospital.”
When they reached the bottom of the ladder, Elizabeth gave William a hug. “Thanks for today.”
“Thank you for showing me this. You never cease to amaze me, Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth tried to hide her blush by letting go and looking away, but he had seen it.