"Are you sure you want to spend Thanksgiving with my family?" she asked as she set the table and opened up the take out containers.
"It's what you always do," Darcy said handing her a glass of red wine before sitting down at the table with his own.
"I know, but we could always start a new tradition," she said taking a sip of her wine, "this is really good."
"Thanks. It's from that vineyard I was thinking of buying."
"Well, although I think you buying a vineyard is a bit ridiculous, you have excellent taste in vineyards and I could get used to drinking this wine."
"Thank you Lizzie, but you can't just change the subject. Why don't you want to spend Thanksgiving with your family?"
"It's not that I don't that to see them," she said putting a dumpling in her mouth and chewing, "it's just that it's going to be a lot of pressure."
"Pressure?" he asked before stealing a dumpling from her plate.
"Yeah, pressure," she shrugged, "Well, my mother is going to ask why we aren't engaged yet even though we haven't even been together for a year yet. And then she's going to try to make me apologize to Lydia, again, even though she is the one who was at fault. I apologized to her once and I'm not doing it again. And Jane and Bing aren't even going to be there, so all the attention is going to be on us."
"And what's the alternative?" he asked sipping his wine.
"I don't know, we could say we're going skiing with Georgiana."
"Georgiana won't be back from England until the week before Christmas," he reminded her.
"I know that, but I'm not sure my family knows that she's abroad."
"You can't lie to your family."
"I know. I'd just rather not have to deal with my mother's meddling. She's too much to handle sometimes."
"I'm going to let you in on a secret," he smirked.
"What secret could you possibly be keeping from me?" she asked putting some lo mien into her mouth.
"Bing is going to propose to Jane over Thanksgiving."
She nearly choked on her noodles, "what?" she coughed before gulping down some wine, "William Darcy, you cannot just casually drop a bomb like that on me."
"Oh come on, you knew it was coming."
"Yeah, but now I really know. Crap. What am I going to do? There are two weeks until Thanksgiving. I can't just not talk to Jane for two weeks. Why would you tell me? What if I accidentally let it slip and ruin everything?"
"Calm down," he chuckled, "there is no need to get flustered. I have complete faith in you. You're not going to spill the beans."
"Okay. You're right. I can keep a secret. Jane won't ask me if I know anything. It's Jane. I can keep a secret."
"I knew you could," he said grabbing her hand from across the table, "that should take a lot of the pressure off."
"As long as Jane calls with her news before we sit down for dinner than we should be fine."
"I told you. Don't worry. I have an escape plan for Christmas."
"And what is this plan?"
"Well, I was thinking that we spend Christmas Eve with your parents and family, at least for a few hours before we leave for my house in Aspen."
"And do I get a say in this Mr. Darcy?" she teased.
"No, no you do not."
"Alright then," she smiled, "it's your loss when you miss out on real skiing to hang out with me on the bunny slopes with me."
"Lizzie, I'd sacrifice a thousand double black diamond runs for the chance to see you on the bunny hill just once."
"Shut up," she said stealing an egg roll from his plate, "I expect you to control yourself. No making fun of me for my lack of abilities."
"I wouldn't dream of it," he said, a smirk appearing on his serious countenance.
Later that night when they were curled up in bed watching House Hunters International, she sat up suddenly during a commercial break to address him, "We should enjoy this Christmas because it's going to be the last peaceful one we're going to get."
"What do you mean?"
"Okay, so it will probably take my mom and Jane like eight or nine months to plan a wedding so I'm guessing Jane and Bing will marry in late September."
"And?"
"And my mother will probably leave them alone at Thanksgiving, but I guarantee she'll be hinting at grandbabies by Christmas. I wouldn't be surprised if Jane gets baby clothes from her."
"I didn't even think of that."
"Exactly. You don't know my mother as well as I do. Next Christmas will be all about baby hints and then the Christmas after that; they'll either have a baby or one on the way. That's why we should just elope and move to Iceland or Croatia or somewhere else on this show. Somewhere where my mother can't get to us."
"Alright Lizzie," he chuckled, "you choose the location and we'll elope."
"Could you imagine?" she laughed, "my mother would kill me. 'Lizzie dear, you are such a disappointment running off with that handsome and very rich man denying your poor mama a chance to plan the wedding she's always dreamed of. I do hope you two ran off because you're pregnant. I know that Jane, your older and obedient sister, is working on giving me grandbabies but what a shock if I got them from you first. I thank God that that rich man got you pregnant and just had to marry you. It's a miracle from God. Oh Lord I'm so happy,'" she said dissolving into her mother's southern accent.
"Alright, so we won't elope then. We'll just get married at the vineyard, where your mother doesn't have control."
"Will, I haven't even seen this vineyard, but if it's as nice as the wine it produces would suggest, I'm all for it."
"Good, I'll show it to you tomorrow. My lawyer is putting in an offer on Monday, but I want you to see it first."
"Okay," she beamed as she kissed him. He kissed her back with such fervor that the episode of House Hunters was quickly forgotten.