Lizzie stared at him expectantly, waiting for his reply. She didn't know what she wanted from his answer but she wanted it nonetheless.

"Believe me when I say, Lizzie, I only included the people most necessary to the task at hand," William began hurriedly, "Fitz has the connections I needed. Gigi… well Gigi gave me no choice, you saw that in her Domino videos. Lydia… I felt it necessary to ask her permission before gaining full rights to her video. Also, I thought she would like to be the one to personally dispose of them." As he finished this last statement, he looked up at her face waiting for a reaction. She seemed to be mulling over what he had just said allowing for a silence that left him feeling uncomfortable. "I really didn't want to get anyone else involved…" he trailed off, unsuccessfully alleviating the awkward silence.

Lizzie remained silent, nodding as he spoke. Truth be told, she didn't care about this. She asked him as a means of diverting the real issue. She wanted to know why he did it, not why he didn't tell her.

Lizzie was sure that the answer to this question would cure her anxiety and allow her some peace of mind so she threw caution to the wind and barely whispered "But why?"

Noting his confusion, she calmed herself, fixed her gaze on him and asked more clearly "Why did you…why would you go to all of this trouble?"

This is what William had been afraid of. He looked at her expecting face and his heart raced. Of course it was for her, all of it, but he couldn't bring himself to tell her this. The thought of opening himself up to her once more terrified him and he knew he couldn't handle her rejection for the second time.

"I… I just…um" He couldn't think of how to answer her. He didn't want to lie to her but he also couldn't tell her the truth. He could feel breath quicken under the pressure of her stare.

Not knowing what else to do, he quickly flipped open his pocket watch and said "You know what, it's getting really late and I still have to get home, do you think we can continue this conversation another time?"

"Oh… yeah…yeah, of course. We will continue another time." She was disappointed to say the least.

"Okay then, goodnight Lizzie" He said, forcing what he hoped was a warm and reassuring smile on his face.

"Goodnight William" she returned, her smile less reassuring that his. This conversation did not go as she wanted at all. "Wait!" she said quickly before he ended the call. William looked at her, eyebrows raised. "I just wanted you to know that I… just, thank-you. Regardless of why—and I still want to know why—but I want you to know that we are so appreciative for what you did. You have no idea how much it means… to us." To me, she added in thought.

He smiled shyly at her, "You are most welcome, Lizzie. And we will discuss this more, I promise." She nodded and ended the call, maintaining her smile until she was sure she was out of sight.

Darcy swore loudly as he threw his phone on his desk. Smooth, he thought to himself as he considered the nonchalant we he avoided her question entirely.

He needed to fix this immediately but how could he answer her question? His mind was at war with itself. One part of him knew the only way to answer her was with the truth—to tell her that he had done everything for her.

However, the other part made the equally convincing argument that the last time he opened up and was honest with Lizzie Bennet she ripped his heart into tiny little pieces.

No matter how hard he tried, the prospect of being rejected by her again was too much for him to handle and side two of his brain remained reigning champ of this ongoing argument.

After much debate, he decided to confide in Gigi. As much as he hated her meddling and matchmaking, Darcy knew she was the only one who knew him well enough to set him straight. The idea of confiding in his little sister on such a personal matter did not do much by the way of consoling Darcy, but it did put his inner war to rest.

Replaying the events of their conversation, she cursed her sudden awkwardness. So much for curing my anxiety, Lizzie thought as she tossed her phone in frustration and buried her face in her hands. She groaned at the thought of her rambling in tandem with his confused look, Ugh, he probably thinks I'm an idiot!

Needless to say, the conversation didn't go as she had planned…then again, she didn't really plan anything so that was to be expected. Why did he have to look so damn hot? Lizzie was convinced this was part of the problem. Her last memory of him had obviously failed her as it really didn't do him justice.

She shook her head trying desperately to focus back on their conversation and not on the brand new fantasy of unbuttoning the rest of his shirt. The tie really worked for him but there was something to be said about William Darcy with an open collar.

She bit her lip at the thought, FOCUS LIZZIE!

Regaining control, she considered the end of their conversation. Did he really have to go or was he avoiding the question? If he was avoiding the question, why? Why couldn't he tell her why he had helped them? This phone call ended up causing more confusion than anything.

But he did promise that they would talk more about it later which meant two things for Lizzie:

will finally be able get the answers she wants and needs to move forward and figure out how to make it up to him.

AND

2. She, somehow, has to pull herself together enough to have a coherent conversation with the man

A repeat of today's conversation was not an option and so Lizzie decided to she needed help. She needed someone to talk to, someone to give her advice on how to approach the delicate subject and not make herself look like a complete ass.

She needed Charlotte.

Of course admitting her feelings for Darcy to her bestie leaves her subject to endless "I told you so's" but Lizzie would just have to grin and bear it because only Charlotte would tell her what she needed to hear, whether or not she wanted to hear it.

At 2:15 a.m., Lizzie finally convinced herself to get some sleep with the prospect of talking to Charlotte tomorrow. Whether or not Darcy and his tie (or lack thereof) would find his way into her dreams, she could not say but she could hope couldn't she?