Bing was absolutely over the moon when Jane and Lizzie arrived at Netherfield. Lizzie was kind of surprised his feet were still touching the ground. He bounded forward, waving with an almost scary enthusiasm as they climbed out of the car. While Jane and Bing hugged and he murmured some sappy thing in her ear, Lizzie looked around and noted that Darcy was lurking by the doorway, his usual scowl in place. When he realized she had spotted him, he looked startled, frowned deeper and slunk inside.
She almost hadn't packed her props for costume theater. Her suitcase was already pretty stuffed thanks to two weeks' worth of clothes and all her filming equipment. But she tossed it all in a bag at the last minute, a bag she was currently carrying on her shoulder. After seeing Darcy skulking around like that, she was very glad to have the cap and bowtie with her. Venting about him in costume might be the only thing that kept her from going insane during their stay at Netherfield.
"Do you need any help with your stuff, Lizzie?" Bing asked, already comically laden with Jane's suitcases.
"No, I'm good, thanks," she answered as she fought a smile. "I'm pretty sure you've reached your load limit."
"Yeah, I guess," he grinned, "but Darcy could help. Hey, Darcy! Get out here and be useful."
"That's okay," Lizzie said very quickly. "Really, I'm fine." It was a totally irrational fear, but what if he glanced in her bag and saw the cap and bowtie and started asking questions? Or noticed how heavy her suitcase was and realized there was more than just clothing in there? Maybe filming her videos here was a bad idea after all.
No, she was just being paranoid. She was going to carry her own stuff, and she was going to be careful, and Darcy would probably avoid her just as determinedly as she planned to avoid him. She noticed that he hadn't reemerged even after Bing called him. He'd probably retreated to some dark corner of the house where he wouldn't have to lower himself by interacting with other human beings.
Surprisingly, she didn't need the costume at first. She was preoccupied with Jane and Bing and ethical quandaries, and with Caroline's unexpected friendliness. It was Caroline, though, who encouraged her to bring out the costume when she could see just how much Darcy was getting on her nerves. It was surprisingly helpful. Sometimes he got so aggravating that all she could do was glare at him and think Just you wait till I'm making my video. The thought of the cap and bowtie waiting in her bag was an almost tangible comfort.
By the time their overextended stay at Netherfield had finally ended, Lizzie found she had become very fond of the newsie cap. It reminded her that whatever Darcy might think of her, she was clever and witty and quite capable of eviscerating him, thank you very much.