Pride and Prejudice doesn't belong to me.

Chance Meetings

The restaurant was small, elegant and very tastefully decorated. Elizabeth Bennet sighed softly and smiled at her companion, George Wickham. Any moment now he was sure to produce the ring. George hadn't exactly said anything about proposing to her this evening but Charlotte had seen him enter Barney's the exclusive jewelry on 2nd avenue and they had been dating for three months now. According to Elizabeth's schedule it was about time George proposed to her.

Although she had told herself not to jump the gun, and Jane, her older sister, had insisted she for wait for George to actually ask her to marry him, Elizabeth had gone out and bought herself a new dress that she couldn't afford, after all George had asked her to this restaurant, the restaurant where everyone got engaged and they had talked about marriage once.

George was his usual charming self, talking about a new deal that was about to come through. Elizabeth listened to all this impatiently while waiting for him to produce the ring. Finally, George reached out and took both her hands in his. Elizabeth had to stop herself from saying yes – you have to let him ask the question, Jane had told her repeatedly.

"So how about it then?" George asked.

"Sorry?" Elizabeth replied. Had she somehow missed him proposing to her? She had to stop spending all that time in her head.

"You want to me actually spell it out for you, don't you?" George smiled at her. "That's one of the things I love about you."

Elizabeth smiled at him and forced herself to keep quiet. She wasn't going to miss her proposal for the second time.

000

Elizabeth stared at George in shock. He was actually laughing at her. "Elizabeth, don't be such a goose. Brighton will be fun. You won't even know that Denny and Carter are in the house."

Elizabeth just continued looking at him.

"You actually thought I was going to propose to you, didn't you?" George continued. "Don't get me wrong, you're a great girl and all but honestly I can't afford to get married especially to -." He stopped mid-sentence and looked down.

Elizabeth waited wondering she couldn't just get up and leave the restaurant since it was perfectly clear that George wasn't about to propose. She hated this weakness in herself but she loved Wickham and honestly she couldn't think of anyone else she would rather marry and who knew maybe he was even rethinking the whole marriage plan. Maybe he was going to propose now.

George smiled at her. "Come on, Lizzie, be a sport."

Elizabeth heard herself say, "I must be the most unsporting girl in the world," and watched in horror as George stood up and walked out of the restaurant.

000

Elizabeth sat frozen at the table. She couldn't believe George had actually walked out on her. It was no use pretending that he was coming back, it had been ten minutes already and he hadn't returned. She would have to pay the bill for this extravagant dinner; luckily she had brought her purse and wallet.

Two minutes later, Elizabeth was ready for the earth to swallow her. She'd changed bags at the last minute and she didn't have her wallet. She had no money. Well, at least she had a phone. She'd call Jane and have her bring the money.

Jane agreed to help her out but she would be a while since she was at the other end of town. "Just order a few more drinks," Jane rang off, laughing.

Elizabeth looked around the room for the first time that evening, she was ashamed to admit that she'd been so taken up with thoughts of getting engaged, and then thoroughly embarrassed by having her date walk out on her that she hadn't looked at the other diners until now. One man stood out, and she had to admit that if she hadn't been so taken up with herself she would have noticed him before.

He was sitting almost directly opposite her, sharing a table with a young couple. He was also a young man, well-built with dark hair, slightly curling at the front and dark eyes that were staring at her, and very good-looking. She looked down when she saw him staring at her and then turned her gaze to the other side of the room. Unfortunately this meant that she looked straight at the waiter, and that man seeing her look at him, smiled and bent and picked up the bill and put it in the little bill-folder and made his way towards her table.

"Your bill, ma'am," the waiter told her a few seconds later and went back to stand at his station. At least there was no law that said that one had to pay the bill as soon as one received it. She couldn't resist taking a peek at it though.

000

Fitzwilliam Darcy had arrived late for dinner with his sister Georgina and her husband, Richard. They were in town visiting with him and had insisted on dining at the newest acquisition in their chain of restaurants. The Darcy group had only recently acquired Charlie's and they hadn't changed anything at all, in fact the staff was not even aware of the change in management. This dinner would be a good opportunity for Darcy to get to know the service and the staff better.

He looked around the room and couldn't help noticing the dark-haired, dark-eyed beauty that was sitting on one of the best tables in the room. She had an air of excitement about her and Darcy wondered if she'd just got engaged. A closer look at her squashed that notion and made him take a closer look at her companion.

He couldn't believe it.

The woman who'd grabbed his attention was dining with George Wickham. Luckily, Georgiana's back was to him – she wouldn't be able to see the man who'd broken her and stolen from them, Darcy would do everything in his power to ensure this.

As the evening progressed Darcy couldn't help but occasionally glance at Wickham and his date. Something was wrong. Darcy couldn't hear their conversation but he heard Wickham's unkind laugh and the hurt look on the poor girl's face was a dead giveaway.

He watched in shock as Wickham stood up and left the girl sitting by herself and it took all his restraint not to stand up and go after him, especially when he saw a few minutes later that the girl clearly had no money. I really should stop staring at her, he told himself, but he couldn't stop.

000

Darcy wasn't sure what he was going to do until he did it. He excused himself and walked over to the girl's table just as she was gazing at the bill in horror.

"Hello," he said as he sat down in the chair Wickham had vacated, "how delightful to see you again. I didn't want to intrude as you seemed to be dining with someone."

"Hello," Elizabeth told him uncertainly. What did he want? Hadn't she been humiliated enough already?

"It's a pity you seem about ready to leave," Darcy continued, "we could have had coffee."

As the waiter who had obviously still been watching her table made his way over, Darcy opened the bill-folder and put his card in it without even glancing at it. "I don't think we should still wait for your companion, do you? We're about to leave, why don't you join us? It's been too long I'm sure we'll have a lot to catch up on."

The waiter brought back his card, and after he'd signed, Darcy stood and helped her up and they joined Georgiana and Richard who were also ready to leave.

000

"That was very kind of you," Elizabeth told him when they got outside. "My companion had to leave … suddenly."

"Come on," he urged her to the car. "I'll give you a ride home."

"I have to wait for Jane, my sister," Elizabeth told him. "She's joining me -" she stopped and looked at him.

"We'll wait for her together," he suggested.

They stood together in companionable silence until Jane arrived a few minutes later.

000

"Who was that?" Jane asked her sister.

"Can you believe I didn't even ask his name?" She probably should have asked him but she still couldn't believe that Wickham had walked out on her like that.

000

"So who was that beauty you couldn't keep your eyes off?" Georgie teased her brother.

"I don't know," Darcy replied. But intend to find out, he added silently.

000