Caroline sat there, watching William. She had know William since her brother Charles (or as some uncouth people called him, Chuck) had gone to University together. William was perfect. He had money, connections, and looks. Some people compared him to Adonis, but to Caroline he was more than that. He was just perfect. She had never seen someone so perfect as William. He was the perfect older brother; she knew this as she had witnessed him raising his younger sister after his parent's were killed in a plane crash. Georgiana was a lovely talented girl. She was a little shy, but that was nothing Caroline couldn't fix, she was sure. She knew it was probably because of her upbringing. Her William was a wonderful older brother, but there are some things men can't do. Caroline remembered the day poor Georgiana began her journey to womanhood. William was on edge, he couldn't understand why his little sister was bleeding and why he couldn't make it stop. That is one of the reasons Caroline loved him. She knew he was a wonderful guardian and she knew he would make a wonderful father. Caroline herself didn't want children, but William would want an heir to take over his family's business. She was raised in his circle and understood that a son was important, but could always be taken care of by a nanny.
There were things about William she did not understand, they almost puzzled her. One such thing was the proposal. She knew that William Loved her. He never came out and told her as much, but she knew that he was just waiting for the perfect moment to propose. That's why she always put so much effort into her appearance. Caroline wanted to look perfect for her special moment. She also knew William would appreciate all the effort she put into it. She kept up with the latest fashions, read the hottest books (but only to keep up, one thing she hated was being out of the loop), and of course kept up with the latest gossip, only enough to be well informed, men don't really like a "smart chick". She was the perfect woman to William's perfect man. She was In Love and he Loved her back. Which is why she was puzzled. They had just come back to Netherfield, the old mansion her brother bought after being gone for several months. Charles had become involved with a questionable woman. Jane was a sweet girl, but underneath that sweet veneer was a cunning gold digger, Caroline was sure. She was puzzled over William's sudden 180º turn on Jane. Caroline knew William, and she knew he never took a misstep. If William encouraged Charles to come back, then he found something out, but what? Even though they were in Love William was still a very personal person and had not learned that when you were in Love you shared your thoughts and feelings with the one that you Love.
There were many things that did not puzzle Caroline, but they were things she didn't understand. She never could understand why they never went public with their relationship. William was going to propose to her, they were going be Married, why couldn't they hold hands in public. What was wrong with a kiss every now and again? Part of her understood, after all, William was a very private person. Caroline understood the way their relationship worked. They had been together for several years. She knew that he understood the value of anticipation. Of course, the kissing could be that William had never been kissed. She never brought it up because it could be very embarrassing.
Something else she didn't understand were the looks he was giving Elizabeth, Jane's sister. Elizabeth was almost the opposite Jane. Jane was kind, sweet, gentle, but Elizabeth well, she was crass. She took after her mother in encouraging Jane's "relationship" with Charles. The only thing Caroline could credit her for is being subtle in her encouragement. She knew William didn't approve of her "match making", but that didn't account for his staring. The staring she didn't understand. She hoped it was disapproval she saw in his eyes, but she has been known to be wrong about that. She was secure enough in their relationship to know that he would never cheat, but Caroline never did like a man that was a "girl watcher" or at least, one that wasn't very discreet about it. When Elizabeth was in the room, William was never discreet. Caroline tried to point out as many flaws in Elizabeth as possible to make William understand that she did not approve of his actions.
Of course, her brother rekindling a romance that was likely to head to the alter did have an advantage that she could see. William would see how easy a proposal is to make and that it did not have to be perfect (mostly for the fact that her brother never did do anything perfect) and perhaps it would speed his own proposal to her up. As much as she Loves him, she can't wait to start her life as Mrs. Darcy. Many of her friends knew she was going to be Mrs. Darcy (she would change her name for him as she knew he would not accept her keeping her maiden name). Pemberly needed an update. It was out of fashion and some of the staff, well, they were entirely too friendly! They needed to know their place and being friends with the master was not their place.
As Caroline reflected on these things, she did not notice what was going on in the sitting room of Netherfield. Jane and Charles were sitting very close together, heads bent towards each other whispering plans for the future. This was not something that was very monumental, Charles had told Caroline he intended to marry Jane, even though he could do much better for himself. What was unusual (and something she should not have missed) was Her William holding hands with Elizabeth. They seemed to be happy and content. Both were watching Jane and Charles with smiles on their faces. William would occasionally look at their interlocked fingers and then he would look at Elizabeth's fine eyes. If Caroline had looked up during one of these moments, she would have been hard pressed to continue to think that William was hers. The love and tenderness of the gaze William was looking at Elizabeth was a new look. William had never gazed at Caroline so tenderly before, as a matter of fact; he had never looked in her direction except in frustration or anger.
Will was very comfortable. He and Lizzy were trying to have a conversation with Jane and Chuck, but they were too wrapped up in each other to follow the topics. Lizzy, having noticed this was having fun by changing the topic every few sentences, everything from the normal, "what did you do today?" to the absurd, "I saw a purple and pink elephant in the upstairs china room. I think it was quite happy up there". The only answers she received were ones of decided distractedness.
Will noticed how happy Lizzy was, holding his hand and gently teasing her sister and her fiancée. He also knew she was happy about the ring that currently rested on the hand he held, on her left ring finger. They had been engaged for a week, but decided not to announce it so soon after Chuck and Jane announced theirs. Will knew that Mr. Bennet loved Lizzy more than his other daughters, indeed; he was hard pressed to think of anyone who could not. Lizzy was Mr. Bennet's favorite as she was so witty, smart, and not afraid to speak her mind. Jane, Chuck's fiancée, was fair blonde and bland. She was nice, but did not have the spark, the fire that Lizzy had; the fire that first attracted William to her.
Will could remember how he felt when she turned down his first proposal. He was devastated. It never crossed his mind that His Lizzy didn't love him or wouldn't marry him. He was rich, handsome and he knew she loved him. She always made sure he knew by the witty conversations they had together. At least, that's what he thought at the time. Thankfully, they had worked out their problems and were happy. Lizzy requested that they wait a week after they became engaged to announce it, first to Jane and Chuck, then to her family. Will relented because he was aware Chuck and Jane had just become engaged and needed time of their own in the spotlight. Tonight, however, they would announce their engagement. The past week was the longest week of stolen glances and fervent kisses Will had ever experienced.
As they were sitting down to dinner, Will stated he had an announcement to make. Caroline preened as she knew that this was when he was going to propose. She wished it were a more private affair, but she wanted to be married to Her William for so long it did not matter where he proposed, just that he did propose. Caroline did not expect the shock when she heard Her William proclaim joyously that he was engaged to the crass upstart Elizabeth. She felt the air leave her lungs as her mind furiously back pedaled. This was not supposed to be happening. She was supposed to marry him, have a child for him, to be in society and throw wonderful parties that would be the talk of society for weeks afterward. She could feel the tears coming to her eyes and hurriedly left the table, not caring if it were rude. She did not want William, no longer Her William, to see her cry. She didn't want him to see what he had done to her. She went up to her room and began to viciously pack her trunks. She didn't want to spend another minute around that, that hussy! She had stolen what was rightfully hers and she knew no matter what, William would not break off the engagement. One of his wonderful qualities was the way he kept his word. He would never back down, especially now that he's made the engagement public. She sniffed and wiped away her tears angry that she had never seen it before. He never really cared for her, she was just so desperate (she could say that to her self now, she had always been desperate, but could not bring herself to admit it to herself) for his money and status that she had blinded herself to his looks of contempt and frustration.
A knock on her door reveled Chuck. He was worried about his sister. He knew that Caroline put too much weight on her fantasies about Will being in love with her. He had tried to warn her that they were not dating, but was always told by her, "William is a very private person and I am respecting his wishes by keeping our relationship private and personal". He saw that Caroline was packing; it looked like a hurricane had hit the room with all of the clothes, hangers and toiletry items flung all over the room. As much as he loved his sister, he didn't try to change her mind about leaving. He knew that she had been pining over Will since he had introduced them, but she had never noticed how much Will really didn't like her. Chuck felt a little guilt thinking thoughts such as, "she brought this on herself" and "Lizzy really makes Will happy, I'm glad he finally found someone who makes him smile".
"Caroline, are you alright?" a concerned Chuck asked his sister while watching her throw everything into her suitcase. He was trying to get her attention, with out having a flying Jimmy Choo hit him.
"I just want to be alone!" Caroline wailed as she wearily zipped up her suitcases and pulled them off the bed. All she wanted to do was get out of this house. Perhaps she should go traveling. She has always wanted to see Italy, and thought that she would go on her honeymoon. Well, perhaps not Italy. Maybe France. She just knew that that Upstart, Elizabeth was laughing at her. She knew that William was hers and that's why she couldn't keep her hands off of him. She just wanted him given that he was hers. Well, if William wanted to marry beneath his sphere and be unhappy, well that's up to him. She would not be around for the nuptials and definitely not during the so called "honeymoon" stage. She would, however, be there when he realized that he had made a mistake by marrying someone so different and uncouth. William may be an honorable man when it came to keeping promises, but he was a just a man. Men have needs and she would be there for him. Becoming William's mistress was better than nothing. She did not want to be the laughing stock of her "friends" for her lack of securing William, despite all her years of trying to secure him.
As Caroline packed, Chuck paced outside her room. He felt sorry for her, but at the same time, relived. He had for years tried to show Caroline the light in regards to her delusions towards Will. He understood she wanted the prestige, the money, the spotlight, but marriage was more than just money and fancy gowns. One of the many reasons he loves his Jane was her love of spending the night in. She never wanted to go out every night, as a matter of fact; she very rarely wanted to go out. She would rather stay in and watch a movie, or just talk. If Will had married Caroline, she would have pushed him to do the one thing he really hated, socialize. It's not that Will was a hermit; no he just had a small fear of crowds. Add to the fact that he was one of the richest bachelors in the country; Will always said it felt like he had a bulls eye on his back. Chuck leaned against the door and slide down. He didn't know how to comfort is sister. He felt like a bad brother, feeling relived that his best friend was not marrying his sister.
Downstairs, Lizzy and Will were feeling guilty. Lizzy was trying to think of ways the engagement could have been announced with more delicacy. Lizzy was aware of the torch Caroline carried for Will. She even was told by Caroline that Will would regret marrying her within the year if they married for the reason that they came from completely different backgrounds. Lizzy herself had thought of all of these reasons, and then soundly rejected them. All she knew was when she was in Will's arms, she was whole. He had the ability to turn her knees to jelly and to stop all rational thoughts with a kiss.
Chuck came downstairs, sighing to himself. "Caroline is packing", he said sadly. "She says she won't stay here anymore. She thinks we're going to laugh at her. All she wants it to be left alone. I heard her talking about traveling, but I may be wrong. I was too busy dodging shoes". With this, Chuck wearily sat down. Jane reached over and patted his hand. She understood that Chuck had done all he could to try to persuade Caroline to stay however she was a proud woman. She had her sights set firmly on Will and only Will would do.
A loud noise was heard in the hallway. Thru the doors, the group in the dining room could see Caroline roughly dragging her expensive luggage to the door (the very luggage she had bragged to Lizzy about the cost, saying it was more expensive than her car). Once she had all of it loaded, silence reigned in the dinning room. No one liked Caroline, per se, but all felt sorry for her. She had spent a large portion of her life trying to be the Perfect Wife for Will, failing miserably. She never really had the chance to find herself and now, the "love of her life" was marrying someone else. They all silently wished Caroline the best as she obviously did not know what was the best for her. Chuck especially wished that she would be able to be happy. Lizzy wished she would fall on tough times, not to be mean, but understanding that it was during the trials of life that one really found out who one was. Jane, being a sweet woman, wished for smooth sailing and a fairy tale ending. Will wished that she would stay out of his life permanently. He felt the selfishness of such a wish, but knew that she would never make him happy.
Caroline left that night in tears, but on reflection years later, that night was the best night for her. It caused her to look and see who she really was. She wasn't the Perfect Wife for Will (she later learned William preferred to be called that), she wasn't even the perfect sister for Chuck (she still shudders when she says his nickname, but knows he prefers it). Thru the announcement of Will and Lizzy's engagement, she was able to do some hard, deep reflection. What she saw inside was not pretty. Caroline realized she wasn't even nice. She tried to make changes, small baby steps. Over the ensuing years, she became content and happy. She married a man who loved her for her and in due course was able to tolerate being in the same room as all the Bennets at once.
Authors note: not mine.