"So Lizzie Bennet, where did your boyfriend go?" George Wickham went back to Lizzie an hour after Darcy left the bar. Lizzie had been standing in the corner hoping that no one would come up to her, and so far no one had. However, Wickham, proved to be a notable exception once again.

"None of your business," said Lizzie.

"Hmm, not very friendly are we," he said.

"Look, I don't know what happened between you and William, but you are going to leave him alone. And you're going to leave me alone too."

"Who would have guessed that William Darcy could inspires such loyalty," sneered Wickham, "well, you should know that your boyfriend is not the good guy he seems to be. He denied me the inheritance I was entitled to and then he made the girl I was in love with leave me. Think about that, Lizzie Bennet."

Lizzie felt bile rise up in her throat. She just wanted to get out of here. Lizzie went to the bar and grabbed her sister's arm. "We're going home now," she said.

"I'm not ready yet," whined Lydia.

"I don't care. You've had enough. We're going now."

-/-

"William, can I see you today? Do you have time?"

"I have a conference call until 2:00 but then I'm free. I would like to take you out tonight, Lizzie."

"Are you asking me out on a real date."

"Yes. We could have dinner at that little Italian place and then we could watch a movie at Netherfield. Bing is taking your sister out tonight after she's finished with work, and Caroline is still in LA."

"Sounds perfect."

"Great. I will pick you up at 6:00."

Lizzie hung up and fell backwards onto her bed. Try as she might, she could not forget what George Wickham had told her about Darcy. Was it true? No. It couldn't be. Lizzie decided she would just ask him what happened. He would tell her the truth.

-/-

It was 5:30 and Lizzie's stomach was in knots. In a half hour she would have her first official date with William Darcy. If someone had told her two months before that she would be on a date with a rich, handsome CEO she would have said they were insane.

"Lizzie, you look beautiful. so glad you decided to give Darcy a chance."

"Yeah, me too," said Lizzie. "Thank you for helping me pick out a dress."

"I was happy to do it. I'm so excited. Now we can double date."

"Oh yeah, Caroline will love that. Her two favorite people going out with small town girls."

"Oh, Lizzie. Caroline is super sweet. I think you'll really like her once you get to know her better."

"Maybe. All I'm saying is that once she finds out that Darcy and I are dating she is going to hate me."

"I'm sure that isn't true, Lizzie."

"We'll see when she gets back from LA."

Jane shook her head. "You'll tell me all about your date and last night at Carter's tomorrow, right?"

"Definitely. Will you help me with my video tomorrow?"

"Of course. I'm sorry I've been so busy lately."

"It's not your fault. I know how hard you work."

"Well now that our summer line is almost complete, things should slow down for a few weeks," said Jane.

"I hope so," said Lizzie.

"Elizabeth, your young man is here."

"I'll be right down, mom," called Lizzie. "Have a good night with Bing, Jane. I want details."

"Same goes for you," said Jane, giving her younger sister a hug.

-/-

Darcy's heart skipped a beat when he saw Lizzie coming down the stairs. It was cliché, but it was true all the same. She was wearing a dark blue sundress with a black cardigan and heels. Her heir was curled and swept to the side with a sparkly clip.

"Keep her out as late as you want, Mr. Darcy," said Mrs. Bennet as she sent them out of the house.

Darcy took Lizzie's hand in his. "You look beautiful," he said softly.

"You clean up pretty good yourself," said Lizzie.

Darcy smiled and opened the car door for her. When he got in the on the driver's side he leaned in and kissed Lizzie lightly on the lips. "I'm glad we're finally doing this, and I'm sorry I left you last night."

"You can explain later tonight, William. Let's enjoy our date first. Or at least we can try. First dates are always super awkward."

"As long as it is not as awkward as our first dance I believe I can manage."

Lizzie grinned at him, "You're getting better at loosening up, William."

"It's because of you," he said seriously.

They arrived at the Italian restaurant, Mia Bella, a few minutes later. Darcy, ever the gentleman opened the car door for her and offered her is arm. She laughed and looped her arm through his. "You're so ridiculously formal."

"Yes, I am."

Darcy said to the hostess, "Two under Darcy."

The blonde girl smiled and led them to our table. "Your waiter will be right with you, sir," she said, leaning in far too close to Darcy.

Lizzie scowled. She remembered that girl from High School. She was the type of girl who never dated the same guy for over a week. Lizzie was glad that they were getting a waiter.

Darcy looked up from the wine list only to find a sour expression on Lizzie's face. "What's wrong, Lizzie? I though you liked this restaurant."

"I do, but I don't like the hostess. Her name is Chloe and she was the textbook definition of slutty cheerleader in high school."

Darcy smirked, "Do I detect jealousy, Lizzie?"

"No, of course not," said Lizzie, a little too quickly.

Darcy chuckled and placed his hand over hers. "I didn't even notice her, Lizzie. Only you."

"You're placating me," huffed Lizzie.

"No, I'm not, but believe that if you like."

When the waiter came, Darcy ordered the most expensive bottle of white wine and two glasses. Lizzie looked at him over the rim of her glass. "Do you always do that?"

"What?"

"Order the most expensive item on the menu."

"It's become a habit," said Darcy stiffly.

"I guess a CEO is only used to the best," said Lizzie.

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," said Darcy apologetically.

"No, it's fine," said Lizzie. The fact that Darcy and her were accustomed to completely different lifestyles was thrown in her face. This was going to take some getting used to.

After they ordered their food, they were enjoying talking and getting to know each other until an unwelcome interruption came to the table. "I don't think I've ever seen William Darcy in a restaurant that had less than five stars."

Darcy's jaw clenched. "Leave us alone, Wickham," he said severely.

Lizzie looked up at George Wickham and gasped when she saw whom he was with. "Lydia, what are you doing here."

"You and Jane aren't the only ones who had dates tonight," said Lydia. "I met George at Carter's last night and he asked me out. I didn't know he knew Darcy."

"Oh yes, we're old friends," said Wickham. "Well I guess we will leave you alone," said Wickham, "Come on, peach. I need to carbo load." He and Lydia headed off to their table.

Lizzie took Darcy's hand. "Do you want to go? We can just get the check and order take out."

"I don't want to let George Wickham ruin tonight."

"He won't we can go to Netherfield, order take out, talk, watch a movie, whatever. Our first date won't be ruined."

"Are you sure?"

"Completely," said Lizzie.

Darcy paid the check and they quickly left the restaurant.

-/-

"Are you going to tell me what happened between you and Wickham?" asked Lizzie.

They were sitting on one of the sofas in the media room. They had brought back Chinese and Lizzie had selected a period romance from redbox.

"I want to tell you," said Darcy, 'It's very hard for me to talk about it."

Lizzie leaned into him. "You don't have to say if you don't want to. It's just that he might be here for a while, and we might see him around town. He seems like a jerk, and I don't want him getting his claws into Lydia."

Darcy visibly cringed. "I want to tell you. I don't want George to do to Lydia what he did to my sister."

Lizzie's eyes widened. "What did he do? He told me things last night. I didn't believe him, of course, but he told me you denied him money that was legally his and that you made the woman he love leave him."

Darcy scowled. "That's what he told you? Oh, that's rich."

"I didn't believe him," said Lizzie. "We may not know each other very well, but I know you would never do anything like that."

Darcy put his arm around Lizzie and pulled her close. "I'm glad you didn't believe him. George Wickham was my best friend growing up. Our fathers worked together. He was with me through every major life event, high school graduation, driver's education, when my parents—"

"What?"

"My parents died in a car crash seven years ago. I was twenty years old."

"I didn't know," said Lizzie. "I'm so sorry, William."

"I was forced to grow up too soon. I had to finish school and take care of my thirteen-year-old sister all while taking on the position of CEO. It was George, and Bing and another friend Fitz who were there with me when I got the phone call about my parents. It was the worst time of my life, but I couldn't let Gigi down, or Pemberley Digital. I transferred from Harvard and finished school in California. There was an interim CEO while I was finishing school. My aunt helped with Gigi when she could, but my aunt was forceful and wanted Gigi to go to private school. I wouldn't allow that."

Lizzie nestled closer to him. "William, if this is too painful for you to talk about, we don't have to."

"No, Lizzie. I want you to know. You are important to me. I would like to be able to share these things with you."

Lizzie's heart broke at those words and she was left with only the desire to kiss away his pain. It was strange having such deep feelings for a man that she had only known for a couple of months. Yet, here he was, bearing his soul to her. It showed a level of trust and intimacy that she was unfamiliar with.

"Anyway, George Wickham was there for me through all of it. Until I read my father's will. My father was a great man, and he saw George almost as a second son, and he wanted to help him through school. George was to attend Stanford. I offered to pay the university directly, but George preferred to be paid the full amount directly. I didn't want to dishonor my father's memory so I wrote him a check. He dropped out of Stanford after one semester and spent all of the money that my father had given him in less than a year. He came back for more money and I refused. Our friendship ended after that. I thought I would never see him again."

Darcy was silent for several long moments. At length he resumed his story. "I saw him again last summer. Gigi was trying to make Stanford's swim team. I didn't know it at the time, but George found her and offered to coach her. They spent hours together and he helped her make the swim team. Gigi was living in our condo at the time, and they moved in together. A few months later I flew in to see her. It was a surprise. George was there when I arrived."

"What happened?"

"I have never been more furious in my life. I walked in to discover that my oldest friend was taking advantage of my baby sister. I could have strangled him on the spot. Gigi tried to tell me that he had changed, but I knew better. I knew that George was in it for the money, so I wrote a check and offered it to him to make him leave Gigi alone. He took the money and broke my sisters heart."

"William," said Lizzie, "I can't imagine how awful that must have been."

"Gigi was furious with me. She blamed me for ruining her life. We didn't speak to each other for nearly a month after George left. Eventually she forgave me and saw George for who he really was. I don't think she had gotten over it yet, but we managed to mend our relationship, and it is stronger than it ever was. Seeing George last night brought all the pain back. I didn't want to leave you with him last night, but I couldn't stay either."

Lizzie pulled Darcy into her embrace. At first he was very stiff. "William," she whispered, "you are accustomed to taking care of everyone around you. Every once in a while you should let someone comfort you."

At that, Darcy relaxed in her arms. They sat together in silence for a long time. The movie and the food were forgotten.

It wasn't until Lizzie started to drift off to sleep that Darcy spoke. "Lizzie, I should probably take you home. It's getting late."

"Okay, but first I want to tell you something," said Lizzie. "Thank you for trusting me with this painful story. You didn't have to."

"I wanted to. I want us to have a good and honest relationship. I don't do anything half-heartedly."

"I'm glad. Neither do I."

"It wasn't the greatest first date," he said dryly.

"No. It was perfect," Lizzie leaned in and kissed him lightly. "You're a really great guy, William Darcy."