This chapter was a little hard to write. I was trying to picture Charlotte marrying Collins in the twenty-first century lol.....

A week past since the night she ran into George and Elizabeth was doing a little better. There were times though where she was still reminded of Darcy. If there were two people who changed that and made her think of other things it was Charlotte and Collins.

It had been awhile since she met Charlotte up for coffee. For the longest time it had become a tradition to meet every week for a drink. It was a time for Elizabeth to complain to Charlotte about her family.

The two sat down at the table and Elizabeth took a sip of her coffee before starting up a conversation with Charlotte. She wanted to know what was going on. The moment Charlotte walked into Starbucks she could see something was going with her. She hoped Charlotte finally found someone. Charlotte deserved to be happy.

"So what's on your mind tonight?"

She heard a sigh come from Charlotte. "What about you? Anything you want to chat about? Maybe your family?"

She gave a little laugh. "Oh come on. Just tell me what's going on."
"Well I found someone."

Elizabeth set her coffee down. "I'm so happy for you. I can't wait to meet him." She started to ask a billion questions at once not letting Charlotte answer.

Charlotte laughed when Elizabeth finally stopped asking questions. "If you would let me tell you I will tell you about him.

"Sorry. Go on."

"Well I don't want you to get upset."

She raised an eyebrow. "Why would I get upset? Whoever you end up with, I'll be happy."

Charlotte glanced over at everyone surrounding them and took a big gulp of coffee. Elizabeth flinched. How could she drink that when the coffee was still extremely hot?
"I'm with William."

She crossed her arms and gave Charlotte a confused look. "Who?"

"William Collins."

Why was Charlotte acting like she would know this man? She didn't know any William. Well maybe a Fitzwilliam. She shook her head to get him out of her mind. As she took another sip of coffee she nearly spit it out as remembered who William Collins was.
"Oh my god. Are you serious?"

Charlotte frowned and started to play with her now empty cup. "I knew you would get like this."

"But why? There is someone better out there for you."

"I'm thirty-five. I'm getting old."

"I know a lot of single people who are your age."

It was no use. No matter how many comments she told, Charlotte would not back down.

As much as she didn't want to, she promised Charlotte she would meet her and Collins for dinner. When she went to bed that night she was afraid to sleep. Afraid to know what kind of nightmare she could have knowing Collins would be in her circle of friends. Well she couldn't let it happen. She would have to find a way to show Charlotte that Collins was the wrong person.

The dinner was not a success. Everytime she would give a smart aleck remark to Collins, Charlotte would shake her head. She was waiting for Charlotte to point her finger to the corner and give her a time out. She hoped in time her plan of breaking them up would work but after two weeks Charlotte did the unthinkable.

Elizabeth was enjoying her macaroni and cheese while she watched the newest version of Wuthering Heights. The phone started to ring but it was out of reach. She reached her arm out as far as she could but it was no use. She would have to get up and grab it. Well there was no way that was going to happen. She was too comfortable in her spot. She leaned back into the couch cushion and continued to eat her dinner. The answer machine picked up.

"Hi Lizzy, you are not going to believe what William and I did today." She thought she was going to lose her dinner if she had to hear what they did. "We went to city hall and elope." Her eyes became wide and the bowl of macaroni and cheese fell to the floor. She started to choke on her food. Due to Jane not being home she had to hit herself a few times to get the food out. She held onto the coffee table in front of her as she caught her breathe from the choking.

She ran to the phone and hit the speed dial to return Charlotte's call. The moment she answered, Elizabeth started to speak a mile a minute.
"Are you freaking serious? Why? Was this his doing? Do you know how insane that is?"

There was a pause after she asked the questions to Charlotte. Finally Charlotte spoke. "I knew you would be upset. I really wanted you to be there but I knew you would find a way to stop us and I couldn't let that happen."
"But the two of you only have been dating what two weeks?"

She didn't answer Elizabeth's question. "There is another thing."
Elizabeth found herself sitting down. She had a feeling it would be bad news. She put a hand to her mouth. What if Charlotte was pregnant with Collins baby? The thought made her gag a little. "What's the news?"

"I'm moving to Kent to be with William."

She sat straight up. "Why? You love living here."

"I do but I want to move to Kent. I feel it's for the best. He got a job working at the local church."

It was no use. It was too late for Charlotte. "I love you and support whatever decision you make."

There was another moment of silence. She wondered if Charlotte was debating if she believed Elizabeth or not. After a minute Charlotte talked. "I'm glad and the moment you get a chance. I want you to come down and visit us."

How could she say no to Charlotte? "I would love that. Just tell me when and I swear I'll be there."

She hung up the phone with Charlotte and couldn't get back into Wuthering Heights. First Darcy comes into her life and for awhile she thinks George is the one. Next Jane deserts hers thanks to Bingley and she can't get Darcy out of her head no matter what she does. Now Charlotte was leaving her. What would that leave Elizabeth?