Disclaimer: Still don't have anything with Pride and Prejudice, The Beatles, or The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Still sending love to Brittany and Rainey-Dale for dealing with my incoherent emails at 2 am. Y'all are the best musketeers a girl could ask for [ .vici]
Uh, yeah, so here's the second chapter. I hope you like it?
She had been at Netherfield for thirteen days, and Darcy thought he was handling it quite well. He enjoyed their lively discussions about Russian literature and media exploitation and, once at breakfast, the best type of tea. He knew he probably looked at her too much than what was deemed appropriate, but he truly couldn't help it. He was fascinated be her. He marveled at the way he could read every emotion as it played out on her face. He adored the way her nose crinkled when she laughed at something Bing said, and the way her eyebrows lifted when she came across a surprising plot twist in the book she was reading. He longed to be the one to make her nose scrunch by a witty retort, or her eyebrows rise as if he was the surprise ending she was looking for. He knew these thoughts were not conducive to work, and so he had taken to avoiding her as much as he could, by hiding out in his room or the study. Caroline had joked that he was becoming a hermit at an early age and questioned why he was continuously avoiding spending time with her and their guest. He merely shrugged and retreated to his solace. He really did not want to think about why he was truly avoiding everyone.
Darcy was on his way towards the study to review some of Pemberley's quarterly reports when he heard it. He was near the guest bedroom in Lizzie and Jane's side of the house and someone was in the shower. And they were singing. He knew Caroline was downstairs in the living room, and Bing and Jane had gone into town to get food for dinner. His brain had already guessed who was currently in the bathroom just by the lilt of her voice. Lizzie. He was so shocked to hear her singing for the first time it took him a few moments to realize just exactly what she was singing.
"The sun is up, the sky is blue, it's beautiful and so are you! Dear Prudence, won't you come out and plaaaaaaaay?" As Lizzie held the long note, Darcy felt the breath he'd been holding rush out. "Dear Prudence" was a particular favorite of Gigi's and he was accustomed to her blasting it during any of their frequent road trips together. The weekend he and Gigi made the trek to move her into her dorm freshman year, this song was on repeat for 45 minutes as Gigi tried to calm the butterflies in her stomach. Darcy can picture the way Gigi's hair flew around her head as she tilted her head back and screamed out the last note of the song, her voice quickly dissolving into laughter as the song began once more. He expected the song in his car next to his sister, not in the hallways of Netherfield being sung by Lizzie Bennet. He heard the shower turn off and quickly ran from his spot to his hiding spot. As he collapsed into the chair behind the desk, his mind replayed what just happened, trying to make sense of everything. He didn't know if Lizzie was a fan of The Beatles, or maybe just overheard the song on the radio or something. Any chance of getting work done quickly evaporated as Darcy replayed Lizzie's voice over and over again.
The next day was their scheduled trip to the vineyard, and Darcy was doing everything he could to get out of it. He really couldn't take spending another day trapped in Caroline's claws while watching Jane and Bing be all cute and adorable together and trying to pretend that Lizzie's presence wasn't driving him insane with curiosity. All he wanted to do was get to know every aspect of Lizzie's life and that was not a smart idea; he needed to focus, not waste time on some girl from a small town. He repeated that to himself and he walked towards his car, preparing himself for the next few hours of torture. He tried to squash his disappointment when Caroline told him that Lizzie would not be attending their outing, telling himself it wasn't that big of a deal. Instead, Darcy focused on driving and ignoring the possessive way Caroline declared it would be easier now, since they could go off in pairs. Pulling out of the driveway, he reached forward and turned on the playlist he had created last night specifically for their drive out to the vineyard. It was different than one he would normally make, and he would be lying to himself if he said he didn't make it with a specific person in mind. They sat in silence through the first few songs, enjoying the bright summer day and warmth on their skin, and Darcy expertly wound through the roads.
Darcy smiled to himself when the fourth song began playing, and he could hear the familiar beginning of "It Won't Be Long". This song was a particular favorite of his father's, because he used to sing it to their mother over the telephone whenever he was away on business trips. He could still hear his mother's laughter as his father voice came screeching out of the phone, horribly off-key. His smile expanded at the memory, and he reached forward to turn the music up slightly. This action earned him an over-the-sunglasses questioning glance from Caroline in the passenger seat. When he didn't respond to her look, she spoke up.
"Really, Darcy? This is not something I would peg you to actually enjoy listening too" Caroline said with a sneer. He never understood why she thought belittling the things she thought he didn't like would cause him to like her more, but he couldn't figure out how to tell her to stop. He also couldn't tell her how important this song and The Beatles really were to him without sharing with her something extremely personal and special to him- and he was not about to do that with Caroline Bingley.
Luckily, he was saved from making a response by Jane, who leaned forward from the back and asked if he could turn it up more. Caroline shot him another disapproving glance as he obliged. Jane must have seen the look, because it wasn't long before she spoke up again.
"I think this is my favorite song of this album, although Lizzie would argue that it's 'All My Loving'" Jane offered with a smile. Darcy's interest peaked at the mention of her sister and couldn't stop himself from replying.
"I think I might have to take the side with you sister, Jane, although "I Wanna Be Your Man" is a close runner up." Jane's smile grew as she made eye contact, glad to see she was right about Bing's best friend. She was eager to keep the conversation going and couldn't resist getting to know him more. "And your thoughts on the "A Hard Day's Night" album? Please tell me you are not so cliché as to pick the album's namesake!" she questioned with raised eyebrows. Darcy shook his head as he mentally recalled all the songs on that particular album.
"No, while that is quite a nice song, I myself, am quite partial to "Can't Buy Me Love" and "If I Fell". What about yourself?" He answered. He was hoping that she could tell that he also wanted to know Lizzie's thoughts on this album as well. Lucky for him, Jane Bennet did not disappoint.
"I could listen to "And I Love Her" for days on end- it used to bug Lizzie so much when we were growing up. Lydia also loves that song, so she would blast it from her room and Lizzie couldn't escape it. You and Lizzie would agree on this album as well, "Can't Buy Me Love" is on her 'Top Ten All Time Beatles' Songs Ever' as she likes to refer to it." Jane smiled at the memories of her childhood and the song debates they would have over every album their father had. It wasn't a Saturday morning unless there was a Beatles' album being played all throughout the house and voices heard singing along. Of course there was other music in their life, but none ranked quite as special as The Beatles to the Bennet sisters. It was their way of communicating with each other when words weren't enough. If Lizzie was stressed, Jane knew which album to play from her room to cheer her up, and after every bad date the sisters had "Eight Days A Week" was the girl's go-to song. Lydia was particularly attracted to their later stuff, and her all-time favorite was the 'Revolver' album.
Jane met Darcy's smile in the review mirror, and she noticed the twinkle in his eye. Darcy felt his insides lighten at Jane's small story of their childhood, and he quickly stored all the information she had given him away. He couldn't wait until he saw Lizzie again and was able to ask her opinion on all the albums The Beatles ever released. He didn't care if she hated every single song he love, though he doubted she did, he just wanted to hear her thoughts on the shift in their writing and their progression of music through the decades. He was about to ask her thoughts on The White Album when Caroline decided that was enough discussion without her and added her opinion. "Well, obviously, 'Can't Buy Me Love' is the best of that album. What other song it there?" she declared, eyes watching Darcy's reaction. His smile faltered only slightly as he reached to turn up the volume more, rather than offering a response to Caroline's meek attempt at a conversation. The good mood that Jane's information had put him in soured slightly, and Darcy was once again wishing he didn't have to be in this car, but rather back at Netherfield with a red head who's singing voice he couldn't get out of his head.
