Chapter Twenty One
About half an hour after Colin left, Jane and I were about to leave to go to Katie's house when the door bell rang. Lydia ran to answer it and we all jumped when she let out a piercing shriek of laughter.
"You'll never guess who it is!" she snickered as she ran back to join us in the living room. To my horror, Colin appeared behind her carrying his bags with a sheepish yet defiant look on his pudgy face followed by Charlotte.
"Charlotte was kind enough to offer me a bed at her house for the night, but her parents would not allow it." he said setting his bags down, "I completely understand, after all they don't know me, but I always assumed that I make a good first impression on people." Lydia and Kitty snickered at this statement, "I'm spending the evening with Charlotte but I shall be sleeping here...and eating here."
"Yes alright," said my father politely standing up and leading them back to the front door, "Mary will you bring Colin's bags back upstairs? We'll see you for dinner then Colin, have a good time with Charlotte today!"
"Mr. Bennet," said Colin standing in the open doorway looking fearfully at my mother's gardens outside, "are there many snakes in the garden out there? One must have gotten into my suitcase on the way over to Charlotte's house when I left earlier."
"Oh yes, plenty," my father said cheerfully ushering Charlotte and Colin outside, "they're not poisonous of course, but then again what do I know about snakes? Good afternoon!"
Jane and I left soon after Colin and Charlotte's second departure and headed over to Katie's house to swim in her pool. To my great delight, Jake was at Katie's house with Denny and a few other people when we got there. For most of the afternoon we sat beside each other in Katie's pool side chairs talking. He briefly explained the reason for his absence from the party at the Bingley's and then dove into the pool. I dove in after him and we lay on a floating pool bed together talking until Jane and I left to go home for dinner.
After dinner and scrubbing the chlorine smell from my hair I spent most of the evening in my room with Jane quietly talking about my ordeal with Colin. We were constantly interrupted by Kitty or Lydia poking their heads in my room and quoting bits of Colin's speech, though he was downstairs in the living room watching T.V with Charlotte.
"Jane," I said lying back on my bed and covering my face with my hands after slamming my bedroom door on my giggling sisters for the third time, "why is it that only the weird guys are interested in me and all the normal ones like you? Is there something wrong with me?"
"Of course there's nothing wrong with you! What do you mean only the weird ones like you?" Jane asked looking up from her laptop and giving me a confused look, "Remember at the beginning of the school, Peter Allus liked you? He seemed nice."
"Yes, but when he took me out for dinner, all he talked about was how his big toes were cut off at woodworking camp, and he kept looking under the table at my toes like he wanted to steal them!" I said throwing my hands up in frustration.
"Well," Jane said carefully, "what about David Labeo? Wasn't he on the swim team with you? I thought you said that you two made out in the hot tub after practice one time?"
"Yes, but he had extremely chapped lips and he plays that childish Yugioh card game!" I said glaring at Jane, "You're boyfriends have always been normal! And I'm sure that their breath never reeked of-"
"Dearest Elizabeth!" shouted Lydia in a deep voice throwing open my bedroom door and running across my room to kneel in front of me, "all that is left is for me to express to you the violence of my affections!" Kitty began howling with laughter out in the hall way and Lydia collapsed on the floor giggling uncontrollably.
"Get out of my room you bloody twat!" I shouted as I rolled Lydia out into the hall way then slammed the door on my incapacitated sisters. I stomped back over to my bed and sat down next to Jane who put her arm around me. A few seconds later her laptop beeped indicating a new e-mail in her inbox. She squeezed my shoulders then turned to read the e-mail.
"It's from Caroline." she said surprised and I watched as her smile faded, then her whole expression darkened as her blue eyes scanned the screen. When she finished reading, she looked up at me and smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes, "Louisa, Charles, Will and Caroline have all gone to spend the rest of the summer in London with some of their school friends. She says that they won't be back until the next school holiday to visit their parents, that's in October!"
"WHAT?" I yelled spinning her laptop around and reading the e-mail for myself. I skimmed over Caroline's shallow promises of everlasting friendship and intentions of keeping in touch, "They can't spend the whole summer in London! Can you imagine how hot it must be in the city? No, I bet they'll be back soon enough, I mean they just moved here!"
"She says that only Charles and Will need to go into town to get ready for university," Jane said glumly turning the laptop around and reading the e-mail over again, "but she and Louisa miss their friends and want to see Will's sister again so they plan to spend the rest of the summer in the city as well."
"Is this the plan for Charles, Will and Louisa as well," I asked doubtfully, "or is Caroline just speaking for herself?"
"No she means all of them," Jane said expressionless, then looking hurt as she looked up at me, "but the last part of her e-mail does make me sad. She mentions Georgiana again and insinuates that Charles and her are in a relationship, or soon will be in one. I guess Charles only ever thought of me as nothing but a friend and Caroline must have noticed my feelings for him and kindly warned me to be careful, so that I don't get my feelings hurt."
"Jane!" I said exasperated hitting her on the head with my pillow, "You really are an idiot! Can't you see that Caroline knows that Charles likes you! If she wasn't so in love with Will I'm sure that she wouldn't have bothered in the first place. The only reason I can think of her keeping him away from you is that you're not as posh, or as chic, or as rich as their London friends! She's gone into London with Charles to try and convince him to go out with someone she isn't embarrassed by-not that you're embarrassing in the least- Georgiana!"
"Caroline isn't like that," said Jane weakly hugging her knees to her chest and resting her chin on them, "you shouldn't talk about her that way."
"When Charles get's back and asks you out," I said ignoring her last comment, "are you prepared to spend more time with his evil sisters? You must think carefully young Jedi," I said grinning and earning a weak smile from Jane, "do you like this storm trooper enough to undergo constant exposure to the dark side?"
"You're so nerdy Lizzie!" she said laughing then standing up and looking worried again, "Do you really think that he'll come back this summer? I mean they left today, and it's only the beginning of August."
"Patience Anakin," I said sitting cross-legged and waving around my imaginary light sabre with my eyes closed, "he will return soon enough, the force is strong in you and he won't be able to resist. Now leave me apprentice, I must meditate."
"Okay Master Kenobi." Jane said smiling and leaving my room closing the door behind her.