Round 8: Henry Crawford
Lizzy sat back down to man Number One. Okay, she thought, waiting for the bell to sound. Just four more after this one. Only four more…I can do this. She put on a smile for the next man. He was tall, graceful, with curly blonde hair and a devilish smirk. There was something off about him. Something in his eyes that told her he was there looking for more than someone to contact later on to meet for drinks.
"Hi there," she started, reaching out her hand for him to shake. "I'm Lizzy." Number One put on a genial smile and returned the handshake.
"Henry Crawford. Pleasure to meet you." Oh, man this guy's a tool, Lizzy thought, but she never let it show.
"Wow, another Henry. Must be a popular name here tonight." Number One—Henry laughed along with Lizzy. If it wasn't for the fact that he was actually paying attention to Lizzy, she would have dismissed him as a "No" right away.
"So Lizzy—" he drawled. He was almost too smooth for Lizzy's liking, but there were worse people she could be sitting across from…one of which had left her two more text messages for her to read. "So, Lizzy, that's short for 'Elizabeth', I presume." Oh, you're really trying, here aren't you Romeo? She gave a short laugh before picking up her glass of water. Why did I switch from the wine?
"Why, yes, yes it is. I've never seen you around before. You're new to Masontown aren't you?" Henry shifted a little in his seat, clearly uncomfortable with being called out on not being a resident of the city.
He cleared his throat while Lizzy watched with satisfaction. There was no way he would be able to pull that "I'm-funny-and-charming" look in front of her. "Uh, yes, I am new here." He took a sip of his drink, his crystal blue eyes flitting around the room. "I actually just moved here, thought I'd get to know some people."
Lizzy just stared and smiled at him. There was something that he was hiding—probably a girlfriend at home, or he slept with a married woman. Or he could be gay and trying to hide it. Lizzy almost laughed out loud, which would have caused her to receive even more stares from the other patrons. As much as Lizzy wanted to find out and expose this guy, she couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Sighing, Lizzy softened her gaze and whispered, "She turned you down, didn't she?"
Henry only nodded and instead of taking a sip, downed his drink in one gulp. "I did everything I could possibly think of." He rasped. Lizzy just sat there and listened. "I flattered her, I paid attention to her when no one else did, I even went to her house and met her family for god sake!" He was on the point of hysterics now. It saddened Lizzy to see this. But what hurt her more was what she was thinking as he ranted and raved about his failed proposals and attempts at making Felicity—Francy—Fanny! love him. It had finally dawned on her that she had probably made Will Darcy feel the same way that Henry Crawford was feeling right that moment.
Suddenly, there was a pang of guilt that made its way into the far corners of Lizzy's stomach. Had she really been that horrible to Will? Even if she hadn't, did he feel just as bad? The bell rang. Henry stood and nodded to Lizzy, a silent "thanks for listening" before heading off to the next table to try his act. There was too much to think about, but one thing was for sure. Lizzy took a quick glance at the next man to come to her table. There was still some time before he came over, and that was just what she needed. Snatching up her phone, Lizzy frantically scrolled through her messages landing on the second of the three. Well, she thought opening the highlighted box, it's now or never.