000

"You have to come in and my brother."

Elizabeth Bennet smiled at the teenager and shook her head again. "There's no need for that."

"Fitz will want to thank you as well," Georgie insisted. "I know he will and he won't ever forgive me if I don't invite you in."

Elizabeth had been driving home when she found Georgiana Darcy standing on the road in tears. After convincing the girl that she only wanted to help her, she had got the whole story from her.

000

Georgie and her friend Bessie Young had gone on a double date with Bessie's boyfriend Jake and his friend Gil. The date had been a disaster. Bessie and Jake had been totally engrossed in each other, drinking and kissing and Gil seemed to think that he and Georgie should do the same when Georgie had rejected his attempts to kiss her for the third time he had called her a 'prissy miss.'

"Let's go to Jazzy's" Bessie said, after Georgie had been sitting in silence for almost fifteen minutes.

"I can't," Georgie said. "I have a curfew remember."

"Not until midnight," Bessie told her. "You don't have to keep your curfew. He's only your brother not your father."

"I promised him."

"Go home then."

Georgie had stared at her friend in shock. Bessie knew that she didn't have a ride home – Bessie had picked her up, and promised to get her home. In fact the only reason Georgie had agreed to go out that night was as a favour to Bessie. To top that off, she didn't have enough taxi fare and she didn't want to call Fitz who didn't like Bessie and had been against the whole idea in the first place.

To make matters worse, Georgie was so angry she felt tears begin to form in her eyes. If there was one thing Georgiana disliked about herself it was the fact that she cried when she was angry.

She stood up and left the restaurant and stood outside. She had tried the bathroom but it had been too crowded. She would cry in the dark and then call her cousin, Richard.

000

"You've driven me home," Georgie pointed out. "It would be very rude of you not to come in."

Elizabeth laughed. The girl was very clever.

"I mean," Georgie continued. "You're here now and it's not like you have anyone waiting for you."

Elizabeth told her that she lived with her sister Jane, who was away on a trip but would be back the next day.

"And," Georgie added, "You just live a few streets away, so there. You'll be home by midnight if you want to. Besides, you've the week off."

"I'm beginning to regret having told you anything about myself."

"You had to," Georgie smirked, "you needed to make me trust you and you've already seen me at my worst."

"I highly doubt that," Elizabeth said.

Elizabeth parked the car outside a nice looking three-storied house. She passed that house everyday on her way to work and she had to admit that she'd always wanted to see if the inside matched up to her imagination.

000

Fitzwilliam Darcy was on the phone arguing with his Aunt. Again. She didn't like the new contractors he'd hired to work on the new building. Then again, she hadn't liked the last two contractors either.

"You recommended them to me," Darcy reminded her. "Said they were the absolute best."

"Don't be smart with me, young man," Catherine de Bourgh told him.

Darcy was silent. He wished he could hang up on her but he was too well brought up to do that and besides he needed her approval otherwise the project that had stalled for too long would go on stalling and taking up more money.

"Fine."

"Fine?" Darcy couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"We'll stick with them," Mrs. de Bourgh said. "But tell Collins I'll be on site tomorrow to inspect."

"Good night, Aunt Catherine."

"Good night."

He put the phone down and stared out at bookshelves lining the study wall.

"Fitz, I'm home."

He wasn't expecting Georgie back until almost midnight but it was barely 10 o'clock. Maybe his prayers had been finally answered and Georgie was rethinking her friendship with Bessie Young.

"I'm in the study," he called back.

"Come out," Georgie replied, "I want you to meet someone."

Darcy had heard the car drive up and opening and closing of doors. He hoped she wasn't bringing Bessie's friend home to meet him.

000