Chapter 2

Darcy had given himself plenty of time to drive from his Aunt Catherine's to the Bingleys' house. Really, he couldn't wait to get out of there first thing in the morning. He was sure that Bingley wouldn't care, and from what he knew of Jane, she wouldn't either. Georgiana wasn't particularly a morning person, so she had promptly fallen asleep in a well reclined seat in the back of his rented SUV, but surprisingly to him, Anne hadn't joined her. Instead she sat across from him, happily chirping about the things they were passing. They were ordinary things to him (a broken-down barn, some half-grown brown calves in a field, giant cylindrical bundles of hay, and the like) but seeing how much joy she took in them, Darcy regretted that he hadn't helped his cousin to escape from her mom's house earlier.

"Are you sure that it is okay that I am coming with you?" Anne repeated for probably the fifth time, so Darcy hurried to reassure her once again.

"Yes it is fine. Bingley and Jane are some of the nicest people you will ever meet. They would feed the whole world if it showed up on their doorstep. Thanksgiving is about sharing what you have with other people and celebrating that you have the bounty to do so, so an extra guest or two is just fine. And anyway, I texted from our last stop."

Darcy smiled a little in recalling how much Anne seemed to enjoy the convenience store. First she looked at all the variety of candies and then she spent at least five minutes admiring the little crystal animals and the wood carvings. He had been ready to get going, and tried to be patient as she considered them. Finally she bought a little unicorn, which the proprietor wrapped up in a scrap of newspaper.

Darcy was relieved that they were finally about to go, when Anne's eye was caught by the scratch ticket display. She considered all the choices before finally handing over a $100 bill and asking the lady behind the counter to give her an assortment. She came away with several "Holiday Cheer" varieties along with some "Break Fort Knox" and lots of other tickets with names that resembled game shows. The scratch tickets kept her busy for a while as she methodically scraped them off with a quarter. He tried not to care that little bits of the scrapings were going all over the SUV. He kept reminding himself that it was a rental and it didn't really matter. But he didn't like the idea of getting those little metallic flecks on himself or returning the SUV to the airport that way.

And then there was that magic moment when Anne whooped loudly and exclaimed, "I won! I won!" She carried on for a long time, even managing to get Gigi to pull her wireless ear buds out of her ears to see what all her excitement was about, before finally answering his question about the amount. It turned out she had won $25 at a game aptly entitled, "$25, $50 or $100 Blowout."

Anne was still celebrating fifteen minutes later, saying, "I've never won anything before, these scratch-offs are so much fun," when he finally interjected, "but you lost money playing."

"Oh who cares about that, it is not like I can take it with me and the money goes for education or some such. I am just happy to have fun while I can."

Darcy had no reply to make to that. Anne had been battling leukemia for a long time, but she was in a period of remission and while thin was no longer looking skeletal. Aunt Catherine was always taking about plans for Anne's future when she was finally well, but that future never seemed to come.

Anne took his silence for an invitation and commented, "If it comes back, I am done. I am not going to live the rest of my life in a hospital bed or cooped up in Mom's house. I'm going to refuse all treatment and have signed my DNRs. I should have died plenty of times already and I am not going to continue to live the rest of my life like I have. I've had more fun today than I have had in years. Thank God you agreed to take me with you today!"

"You mean this is more than just a weekend trip for you?" Darcy faced ahead, he was a careful driver and had never been in an accident yet (well not one that he had caused, he still remembered being a teenager and making the mistake of being in a car with George when he had a few. When they crashed, George tried to get him to switch seats with him before the cops showed up. Darcy had refused and that had been the beginning of the end of their friendship).

"Yes. I would love to move in with you and Gigi, but you don't have to take me. I have plenty of money in my trust fund to rent a good place, but I would rather be with family. It would be so exciting to live in New York City!"

It was a good thing that Darcy was facing straight ahead as suddenly a vehicle pulled out from a side street in front of them on the highway. Darcy slammed on his breaks and sounded a long blast on his horn. "What kind of idiot takes a right turn without looking to their left?" he grumbled to himself.

Anne laughed, "Well that was exciting!" I think you burned rubber and everything, and I don't think I have ever felt my seat belt lock before!"

Darcy let Anne's good cheer lighten the mood. As the car that had cut him off sailed ahead, he got a glimpse of curly brown hair that made him think of . . . "Elizabeth" he breathed to himself. But she would be at her parents and not at her sister's and also, they were probably a good twenty minutes away from the Bingleys' house.

Darcy maintained a safe three-second driving distance on US-40, which meant he could barely see the other driver. He told himself that there were a million drivers with curly hair and that it might even be a feminine looking man, or an old lady with a wig, but still, what little he could see of the driver still made him think of her. There were very few cars out at two p.m. on Thanksgiving.

When they hit the next light, he kept staring the person in front of him in the compact Toyota Corolla which had seen better days and sported a variety of dents. He tried to recall if Elizabeth had ever said anything about the car she drove. He noted that the car had Kentucky plates while they were now in Indiana, but told himself: Get a hold of yourself, what are the chances that it is her. Kentucky and Indiana are border states so there are bound to be plenty of Kentucky license plates around. He tried to ignore the hammering of his heart, which insisted with every rapid beat: It is her!

Just before the light turned green, the driver of the Corolla tucked her hair behind her right ear. The gesture was so familiar and he thought he saw a silver bracelet on her wrist, but he could not really make it out for sure.

Darcy kept following her car even when the GPS told him to take a left turn.

"Did we miss our turn?" Anne asked. Darcy ignored her; he was fixed on seeing who was in that vehicle.

The GPS told him to take the next left. He gave a soft sigh when the Corolla signaled left.

He followed the car through several turns. It turned at exactly the same places that the GPS indicated. He was almost sure now.

"Is that car going to the same place as we are?" Anne asked. "It has been in front of us for a long time."

Again Darcy said nothing. He gave a louder sigh of relief when the Corolla turned right down a long gravel driveway and parked in front of the house he recognized from Bingley's texted photo. He parked to behind the Corolla. There was no place else to park. He turned off the ignition and waited to see who would emerge from the Corolla.

The driver fumbled with something on the passenger-side seat. Her purse, his mind helpfully suggested. He could see a bit of her profile as she did it. Definitely a woman. He knew, and yet he was scared to hope that it might indeed be her. The last time they had parted, he hoped they might be friends, but then he heard nothing. He had hoped to see her at Bingley's wedding six months earlier, but Anne had another crisis and everyone had thought it might be the end and so he bailed on his best man duties at the last minute and sent a Kitchen Aid mixer in a pink shade that matched the sweater Jane was wearing in her engagement photo to make up for it. Bingley had been very understanding.

Anne whispered to Gigi in the back seat, "Your brother is acting weird. Who is that?"

Gigi turned off her MP3 player and pulled out her earbuds. She had not heard what Anne had said, but recognized that they had stopped. "What did you say, Anne?"

Anne repeated herself. Gigi said, "That almost looks like . . . I think . . . its Elizabeth, Elizabeth Bennet."

"It is her, isn't it." Darcy said. His voice sounded strange to her. Almost like he was about to cry. He kept sitting as she lifted her trunk lid and started pulling a large suitcase from her trunk.

"Don't be an idiot, Darcy." Gigi exclaimed. "Don't just sit here. Go help her with her suitcase."

Darcy obeyed with alacrity, exiting the car without even closing the door. He was oblivious to the fact that the SUV was beeping because the key fob was in his pocket and he hadn't shut off the engine.

Elizabeth glanced up. Her eyes widened. "Darcy! I didn't know you would be here." If she heard the beeping from the SUV, she ignored it. Elizabeth let him take the suitcase and carry it to the door, walking beside him in silence. Anne observed that while they walked, their heads were tipped toward each other.

When the door closed behind them, Anne pulled her eyes away and looked back to Gigi. "So tell me everything. Just who is this Elizabeth Bennet?"