Chapter 2
Since their aunt and uncle had been members at the club for so long, there were also additional "free" amenities available to both themselves and their guests. This meant that Liz and her sisters were able to enjoy recreational activities, such as kayaking, paddle boarding, and sailing. In addition, they had a five star spa at their disposal as well as drinks and hors d'oeuvres on Palm Isle every weekend at 5pm. The Club also hosted free events in general around the holidays to keep guests out and about, enjoying the facilities.
By the time the girls arrived at Palm Isle, the seats near the inlet were all taken, so they instead opted to lie near the lagoon where the lounge chairs overlooked the ocean. The lagoon was a decent size and it boasted a variety of marine life. There were small kayaks and pedal boats available to smaller children who could not yet venture into the ocean themselves. A the heart of the lagoon floated a dock and kids often would play chicken, pushing each other off into the refreshing water. Nearby, a group had begun a volleyball game in the sand and a father and son were taking a boat out to go sailing.
Liz turned a page in her book. She sat contentedly underneath the shade of an umbrella, the breeze coming off the ocean making the heat somewhat tolerable. Palm trees grew from the sand and hammocks were swinging contentedly between them. The rock wall, which separated the sea from the elevated beach, provided soothing noise as the waves came in and lapped against the rocks. Since she had a slight break from scholarly articles and boring textbooks, Liz took the opportunity to reread one of her favorite novels. Lydia had convinced Jane to try paddle boarding with her, since she did not want to look like an idiot all on her own should she not succeed. The ramp leading into the ocean was several meters to Liz's right, and Lydia instructed Liz to take flattering pictures of her as they sailed by, wanting to show off all of her adventures and slimming beach body on her social media sites.
Liz sighed happily, releasing the last bit of her pent up stress and these rare moments like this where she found herself alone. She placed her book down on the empty lounge to her left, where Jane had placed her beach bag before being dragged off by Lydia. Looking out at the ocean, Liz took in the scenery. Of all the places she had traveled to, The Club was still her favorite. Granted she hadn't traveled outside of the U.S. all that much, but despite her partiality to cold, rainy weather, this is what came to mind when she found herself retreating to her happy place.
"Liz!"
She glanced out into the water and saw both her sisters standing on their paddleboards in front of her. The ocean was relatively placid and both girls only wobbled slightly in their upright positions. Reaching for Lydia's phone, Liz began taking a series of photos for her sister, hoping one of them would be to her liking, lest she hear about it later.
Jane cautiously raised an arm and waved. Liz waved back and she could hear Lydia complaining how her legs were aching already from the short paddle out there.
Liz snapped a few pictures of her sisters with her own phone before the girls began paddling back towards shore. Turning around, she also snapped pictures of the scenery. After checking for messages from her roommate and best friend, Charlotte, she tucked her phone safely away in her bag and pulled out her sunscreen. Once she felt satisfied her shoulders, arms, legs, stomach, and face wouldn't burn as they normally were prone to, she reached for her water bottle.
She took a sip and immediately engulfed more than she intended to. The culprit, a lone white volleyball, landed in the sand next to her chair. Instinctively shrieking from the cold water, Liz stood and grabbed a towel, patting herself down. Upon seeing her book sopping up the remaining water from the sideways bottle now next to it, she scowled.
"Oh! I am so sorry!" said a man rushing towards her. He appeared to be only a few years older than her. He had light brown hair and had a shy, boyish smile, which was on display now. His bathing suit hung low on his hips and he carried himself like he came from money but did not appear to be pretentious about it.
"My friend," he said, pointing to a tall, handsome man behind the volleyball net, "has not yet mastered the ability to keep the ball within bounds."
Liz glanced over at the man and instead of receiving a vocal apology or apologetic wave, as she expected, she was instead met with a dark scowl.
"Well, it appears he has a lot to work on," Liz responded, turning back to the man in front of her. She hoped he caught her double meaning.
"I'm Chris," said the new acquaintance, holding out his hand.
"Elizabeth, but you can call me Liz," she replied, shaking his hand politely. Remembering her book, she removed her hand and reached over, pulling it out of the puddle.
"Is it ruined?" he asked with genuine concern.
"No, it'll dry, but I don't believe I will be able to read it anytime soon," she responded, placing it on a dry spot on a small table near her chair.
"Again, I am so sorry. We kind of got carried away with our competitiveness."
"Liz, what happened?" asked Jane alarmed as she strolled back over, Lydia beside her.
"She was unfortunately the target of a stray volleyball serve," said Chris to her eldest sister with a charming smile.
Lydia laughed. "It's just your luck, Liz! No matter where we are, she always manages to attract balls. The last time we were at a baseball game, we were sitting between third plate and home and the batter hit a foul. The ball flew over the safety net and struck the bleachers right next to where she sat. Oh! And another time…"
"Thank you, Lydia…." said Liz quickly interrupting her from telling another embarrassing story. She tried to ignore the blush rising to her cheeks from her sister's unintentional innuendo. At any other moment she would have been proud of her sister's knowledge of sports terminology, but right now all she wanted to do was redirect the topic of conversation. "Chris, these are my sisters, Jane and Lydia."
"Very nice to meet you," responded Chris sincerely. "Were you both paddleboarding?"
"Yes," confirmed Jane with a smile. Liz noticed she had not taken her eyes from him since she walked up.
"I typically go out every morning," Chris said. "Either that or kayaking. The mangroves opposite Palm Isle are particularly fun to go through because the waters are so calm." He hesitantly added, "You should come sometime," glancing hopefully at Jane.
"I would like that," she responded, obviously flattered at receiving his attention.
Leaning over, Liz picked up the ball at her feet and tossed it over to Chris, who caught it easily. She thought he was nice and all but she didn't want her sister to get swept up in some fleeting weekend romance that would never last. She'd seen it so many times before. Goodness men rounded the block vying for her sister's attention. Once they had her, however, they took advantage of her gentleness and then dumped her once another conquest came into their sights. No way was she going to let anyone break her sister's heart this weekend. She eyed Chris and hoped he'd take the hint.
"Would you three want to join our game?" he asked suddenly, still eyeing Jane.
Jane glanced over at Liz, her face obviously giving away that she wanted to. Before Liz could protest, Lydia answered in the affirmative.
"Great!" he said, leading them over to the volleyball court. Before following, Liz lifted her book from the table, dabbed it dry, and sat it down on a nearby lounge chair in the sun. The pages flipped back and forth from the breeze, and she hoped it would dry quickly as she had just gotten to one of her favorite parts. She saw the notes she'd made in the margins were already starting to bleed. Sighing, she pulled her hair into a ponytail and ran after them.
To Liz's disappointment, Chris ushered her over to Mr. Brooding's side of the net.
She couldn't deny she found him attractive… very attractive. With his six-pack abs, dark wavy hair, intense eyes, and tan skin. He had a confidence about him that demanded respect, especially now with his arms crossed over his chest, but all that came secondary to the fact that he was an arrogant snob.
Lydia was on her team, for any consolation that offered. She was currently by the net, slightly bent over with her hands on her knees. Her butt bounced up and down as she pumped herself up for the game. Mr. Brooding stood directly behind Lydia, scrutinizing her behavior. Liz noticed he snuck a look in her direction, but she pretended to ignore him. She expected at least an attempt at another apology once she was within five feet of him, but he still remained silent.
"Hi!" said a friendly British voice from behind her. "I'm Georgiana."
"Liz," responded Elizabeth, extending her hand. The girl looked about Lydia's age, but carried herself with more finesse. She had raven colored hair and dark brown eyes, which accentuated her tan skin. Her nails were nicely manicured and she wore a modest black and white Chanel bathing suit and a matching hat.
"I'm sorry about the volleyball," she offered. "Was your book ruined? I saw you trying to dry it off."
"Yeah I hope it will be, but it wasn't your fault," she said, shooting Will a pointed look.
"Regardless, I wanted to say I was sorry all the same," she said sincerely. Liz began respecting this one friend of Chris'. Despite her obviously affluent upbringing, Georgiana appeared humble and down-to-earth. "I'm so happy you and your sisters could play with us," she continued. "It gets so boring playing with my brother and his friends."
"Chris is your brother?" Liz asked. It made sense given their kind, outgoing personalities.
"Oh no!" Georgiana said with a laugh. "Will is my brother."
She pointed at Mr. Brooding.
"Seriously? But you're nothing alike," Liz blurted out before she could help herself. She glanced over at Will and saw he had been observing their conversation.
Georgiana released giggle that implied she had heard that response more than once. "Tell me about it," she said.
"You guys ready?!" hollered Chris from the other side of the net. He stood behind the line with the ball in hand, prepared to serve. Georgiana stepped back to take her position near the front of the net and Liz stepped back next to Will.
The teams looked pretty evenly matched. Will, Georgiana, Lydia, and Liz stood on one side, and Jane, Chris and two other females Liz had yet to meet were on the other. The guys both stood in the back and the females filled in the gaps.
"Yes!" most of them cheered. Chris threw the ball into the air and served it over the net. It bounded towards Will, who easily hit the ball, sending it flying back over the net towards Jane. She tried to keep the ball in play but it went sideways and flew out of bounds.
"Good try, Jane!" Liz shouted encouragingly to her sister. Chris chased after it and came back a few moments later, ball in hand. He tossed it to Will.
His serve crossed over the net and one of the unnamed females skillfully popped the ball up in the other's direction, setting her up to spike the ball over the net. The ball landed in the sand near Liz's feet before she knew what happened.
Bending over, Liz picked up the ball and tossed it towards one of the girls. She was rewarded with a glare from the youngest, who eyed her like she was invading on her territory. Liz stared back confused until she saw the girl's eyes move towards Will.
Liz couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled out of her. Did this girl seriously think she was vying for Will's attention? If anything, she wanted to get as far away from him as soon as possible.
Before she could convey any motions indicating that was not the case, the youngest girl served. The volleyball headed straight at Liz. Raising her arms, she bumped the ball high into the air outwardly towards Will. He jumped up and hit the ball in his sister's direction. She jumped up near the net and knocked it over to the other team's side. Jane saved the ball, which gained her an encouraging "whoop" from Chris, before the elder anonymous female attempted to save the awkwardly bounding ball, which hit the net and fell to the sand.
"Yeah!" shouted Lydia, who had remained pretty much stationary by her spot near the net so far. She enthusiastically threw her arms up in the air and wiggled her butt once more. The group played for several more rounds. Sweat fell from Liz's brow as her team scored one more point. She high fived Georgiana and saw Chris walk over to say something to Jane, who giggled in response.
"Chris," Liz heard the youngest female coo suddenly from the other side of the net, "don't we have lunch reservations at one? We should probably get going if we are to make them."
"Do we?" responded Chris, furrowing his eyebrows.
"Yes," said Will, speaking for the first time, surprising Liz with his rich British voice. "Care made them yesterday."
The female threw Will an affectionate smile. Liz wanted to gag.
"Oh," said Chris, looking a bit downcast. "Well, it was a pleasure meeting you all."
"You as well," said Jane softly.
"I am sorry the game had to be cut short," Chris quickly added, "but Jane we have a 9 o'clock tee time tomorrow morning. You mentioned earlier that you are an avid golfer. Would you be interested in joining us?"
Liz saw her sister's face light up.
"Of course she would!" screeched Lydia, clenching onto Jane's arm.
"It's settled then," responded Chris enthusiastically. "I shall have a car pick you up at 8am."
Liz tried to be supportive as they exchanged information, but she couldn't help but feel like her sister would end up wounded come Tuesday.
She learned in conversation Caroline was the name of the female that shot her a piercing glare earlier. She stood next to Chris now, trying to discretely urge him away from Jane. The older female, Lou, suddenly piped up, her shrill voice saying she didn't want to be late meeting her fiancé at the restaurant.
So one of the girls, Liz reasoned, was taken, and if she had to guess, Caroline and Will were together, as he had affectionately called her "Care" earlier. Curious nickname. Liz wondered if she even possessed a caring bone in her body.
Chris nodded and the three walked away. Will caught Liz's eye and offered a stern but polite goodbye. Under any other circumstance, Liz would have melted at his strong British voice. Georgiana walked over to Liz after he left and, surprisingly, gave her a hug.
"We should get together tomorrow, " she said. Liz voiced the same sentiments, already feeling a genuine friendship forming, and they agreed to meet for lunch while everyone was out golfing.
After they left Lydia went over to sit in the hot tub and "ease her sore muscles from the volleyball game" as she put it. Liz and Jane chuckled at their little sister's antics as they walked back to their chairs for neither one recalled seeing Lydia touch the ball once during the game.
Liz picked up her book, which had dried somewhat. The pages were still damp and were drying crinkly. Her annotations in the margins had run down the page, leaving them unreadable. Liz sighed, realizing she would have to buy a replacement and start from scratch. Even the white cover was turning a yellowish sickly color. She placed it back in the sun and plopped down on a lounge in the shade.
"What happened to your book?" inquired Jane as she offered her a bottle of water. Liz updated her on everything she missed while paddleboarding with Lydia. When she was done, Jane said, "It's not like he did it on purpose, Lizzy."
"Maybe not," Liz admitted. "But still, he didn't offer a single apology. Will's sister was more sympathetic than he was."
"Georgiana? Yeah she seemed sweet, although I didn't get much time to speak with her. Caroline and Lou were very kind. Chris is the middle sibling."
"Oh," said Liz after she swallowed, "they're all related?"
"Yeah. Chris said they just joined the club a few months ago."
Lydia came back just then. Picking up a towel, be began drying off and said, "Who knew they would be so down-to-earth?"
"Who?" asked Liz.
"Christopher and Caroline Bingley," she said nonchalantly, dropping into an open chaise.
"Oh my gosh. I can't believe I didn't realize it," said Liz, knowing it made sense.
"For always saying you're so intelligent," retorted Lydia, "you can be really stupid sometimes."
"Thanks…" said Liz dryly.
"You're most welcome," Lydia said with a smile. "Jane, wait until mom hears you already met the infamous Chris Bingley! I bet she will start arranging wedding details and picking our your children's names."
"I think it's best we hold off on telling her," said Liz quickly after seeing Jane's wide eyes. "You know how she can be."
Lydia looked as if she was about to argue, but thought better of it. Instead she said, "Ok. Only if you agree not to tell her I am going out this afternoon with a boy I met at the pool."
Well that didn't take too long, thought Liz. "Fine," she said, "but don't do anything reckless."
"Lizzy, Lizzy, Lizzy," Lydia chastised, "has anyone told you lately you're too uptight? Get your nose out of the books and live a little this weekend. Meet someone. Have a fling."
"Guys are either arrogant or stupid," said Liz.
"One of these days, you'll meet someone and have to eat your words," mocked Lydia.
"Lydia's right, Lizzy," said Jane softly. "Besides, I saw the way you were eyeing Will."
Liz gasped. "I was not!"
Jane smirked.
"Oh, she isn't lying, Liz, we all saw," Lydia mocked.
"I am not pining over Will! If anything I was turned off by his rude behavior. He's so arrogant and condescending," argued Liz. "Seriously we played for what, an hour? And in that time he did not say one word to me. Not one! Who does that?"
Liz was met with giggles from her sisters. "You are so into him!" shrieked a giddy Lydia.
"No, I am not!" her sisters continued staring and giggling at her. "Ugh! I'm going for a swim." Liz got up from her chair. Grabbing her goggles, she made her way over to the pool, wanting to swim laps to rid some frustration from her tense body.
That night they sat in The Galley, an upscale restaurant at The Club that overlooked the marina. Large ship wheels and rope decorated the walls. The nautical theme even carried itself to the table where iron breadbaskets were delivered in the shape of boats and salt and pepper shakers stood in the form of mini lighthouses on the table. The menu boasted a number of seafood options and, despite not being a seafood eater, Liz was always able to find something on the menu to her liking.
Her family was sitting at a table near a window when Chris, his sisters, Georgiana, Will, and the mysterious fiancé were ushered in.
"Oh!" gasped Mrs. Bennet. "That's him, Jane! That's him!"
Turning around, Jane's eyes caught Chris'. He waved and began walking over, leaving his party behind.
"He's coming over!" barked their mother. "Everyone behave naturally."
"Hello Jane, Liz, Lydia, lovely to see you all again," said Chris, flashing a brilliant smile.
"You as well, Chris," said Jane. "These are our parents and aunt and uncle."
"Christopher Bingley," he said in greeting. "Yes, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, lovely to see you again. I did not mean to interrupt your meal, but I could not bypass the opportunity of introducing myself to your parents and ensure we are still on for golf tomorrow morning, Jane."
Liz knew that comment would send their mother into a tizzy. "Oh of course you are!" Mrs. Bennet said feigning importance. "Jane is quite looking forward to it! Aren't you, dear?"
Jane stared wide-eyed at her mother, not knowing what to say, for she was too shocked. She eventually managed to look at Chris and offer a shy smile.
"Very well then, I shall see you tomorrow. Good evening." With that, Chris walked across the room and rejoined his table.
Will caught her eye for a moment but Liz abruptly broke eye contact. Why did she always catch him staring at her?
"Girls!" scolded their mother in a hushed voice as she leaned over the table towards them. "Why didn't you tell me you'd already met Christopher Bingley?! Or that Jane was going out with him tomorrow?!"
Liz shared blank glances with her sisters before realizing they were leaving it to her to speak on their behalf. "Really mom, we had no idea it was him," Liz began. "We played volleyball with Chris and his sisters earlier today and he never gave any indication."
"Who's that man with him?" their mother asked, eyeing their table. "Val, is that the friend you were talking about? William Darcy?"
Val nodded in the affirmative as she took a sip of her tea. Liz never understood how she could drink it even on the most humid of days.
"My is he handsome," said their mother, staring blatantly at him from across the room. "And to think he is richer than Chris! Lizzy, maybe you should see if you can go on this golf outing tomorrow as well. Get to know Will better."
"I can't just invite myself, mom," Liz retorted. "Besides, I already have plans with Will's sister."
"Very good, Lizzy! Getting in close to his sister first, that's the way to do it," Mrs. Bennet nodded approvingly before continuing her tirade.
Liz threw a "help me" face to her dad and he soon, along with her uncle, had the entire table engrossed in a conversation about their fishing adventure that afternoon involving an old fishing pole and old, wet boot.
