Chapter 23: Loyalties

Will's two week stay with Gianna had gone more quickly than he wanted. He desperately wished that he could wipe the fragile situation that she was in completely away so that she could return to her normal life. Although she was keeping her spirits about her impressively considering everything, the youthful light in her eyes had faded and was replaced with something else: a wariness of the world around her.

On the evening before he was scheduled to leave, he knew that there was one last conversation that they needed to have. As they finished putting together their ice cream sundaes in preparation for their movie night, he began, "Gianna, I think I need to tell you that I might have met someone."

Gianna's eyes lit up in surprise at her brother. "Really Will? That's great! Who is she?"

"Don't get too excited. It's much more complicated than it sounds. She is the manager of a marketing team that I selected to use for one our companies' campaigns."

Gianna furrowed her brows. "Well, it's not like she's your direct employee, right?"

She always has a way of making things sound simple. He smiled at her. "No, she's not, but it felt that way many times regardless. I caught a break though: Bingley started dating her sister."

Gianna giggled in delight. "Oh my goodness, that's perfect! Well, out with it Will. I want to know all about her."

Will's eyes warmed at the recollection of Elizabeth. "I have to admit, I was first captured by her looks. In my eyes she is indescribably beautiful. However, even you know that's not enough for me to really pursue someone. But then, as I got to know her I was struck by her spirit and independence. She is a very strong woman, Gianna; she definitely knows her own mind."

"She actually sounds sort of perfect for you…you need someone to balance out your own stubbornness." She playfully poked him in the ribs. "Have you kissed her yet?"

Will glanced down in embarrassment. "We've flirted a bit but, actually, we're working on being friends first."

Gianna's face fell flat. "Will, are you serious?"

"It's been complicated." He thought about the addition of Wickham and groaned. "Actually, it seems to get more complicated daily."

"I don't care how complicated it is. You should tell her how you feel."

"I want to G. But there are a lot of things that I need to consider before we can move forward. We're still just getting to know each other."

Gianna shook her head in exasperation. "It's very like you to be unnecessarily cautious. When are you going to see her again?"

"Right when I get back. We have a date planned."

"Well, that's good. So you are making some progress."

Will thought about Lizzy's unwillingness to agree to stay away from Wickham and gave a sad chuckle. "I hope so. I just wanted to let you know, in case things do work out. This is by no means guaranteed."

Gianna reached out and gently touched his arm. "Of course they're going to work out, Will. I've never seen you look that way when talking about a woman before."

Will raised an eyebrow at his sister. "You know, that's pretty much what Bingley said."

Gianna flashed him a knowing smile as she pulled a large, gold trimmed envelope up from the kitchen island and opened it. After glancing it over, she handed it to her brother. "Looks like Aunt Catherine's invitation to the family vacation this year."

"Bugger, I completely forgot about it." He considered for a moment, then continued, "I don't think I'm going to go G. I'd rather spend time with you and keep you company. Besides, they might set a date for your trial around that time."

Gianna pursed her lips in thought before continuing. "Will, I actually think that you need to go. If you and I both don't show up, the family is going to know that something is wrong. Aunt Catherine won't be able to sleep until she finds out what it is."

Will folded his arms and leaned forwards on the kitchen island. "Yes, she can be a bit overbearing, but…"

Gianna interrupted, "Will, if she finds out about my case, we can kiss any secrecy we have goodbye. Sure, she would never spread the information openly; but in her excessive efforts to help us, you know that she would eventually give too much information out to the wrong person."

"Gianna, of course if she found out we would also tell her about the gag order. We are allowed to inform immediate family of the details of the case."

Gianna shook her head. "But that wouldn't matter, Will. Aunt Catherine always thinks she knows better than everybody…even the courts." Will hesitatingly nodded his head in acknowledgement of his sister's words, and Gianna boldly continued on, "No…I actually want you to go. Make some excuse for me; say that Dartmouth is kicking my behind this semester and that I need to focus on my studies. School is a convenient excuse for everything, really."

Will ran his hand through his wavy black hair. His sister was right about everything, of course; not that he wanted to admit it. What he wanted to do was to wrap his arms around her and protect her from the world, just like he did when she was ten years old and their father had suddenly died. However, she didn't seem to need as much protecting as she used to; the entire conversation had shown him just how much growing up Gianna had done in the past six months. The shy, reticent girl had disappeared behind a delicate, yet blossoming courage and strength – a boldness he assumed must be necessary to face the stress of the impending trial. He rubbed his temples as he thought; it's a shame that it took these wretched circumstances to finally bring you out of your shell, G.

"Besides," Gianna tenderly added, noticing his weariness, "you look like you could really use a vacation."

Will returned to the Bingley Mansion around 8pm Sunday evening. He was surprised to find the house bustling with activity.

In the sitting room, he saw some of Caro's friends relaxing with cocktails in their hands, gossiping about the latest fashion trends. When they caught sight of him the room hushed, and each woman primped or shifted into a sexier pose. One blonde even reached into her shirt and crassly insisted on making sure that her breasts were better positioned. All six pairs of eyes had settled suggestively on him. Nauseated by the entire scene, Will barely offered a slight nod as he walked briskly by.

Arriving to friendlier faces, he found Jane and Charlie in the kitchen baking chocolate chip cookies. He was surprised to find Jane sitting up on the counter with Charlie standing between her legs. Charlie was energetically reaching around Jane in a manic attempt to grab the nearly empty mixing bowl. Jane was evading his skillful hands, laughing as she told him that he would get sick from eating raw eggs.

When they saw Will in the doorway, Charlie stepped back sheepishly and grinned at his friend. "Hey Will, welcome back. How was the trip?"

"It was good. Too short, really; but it went well."

Will suddenly felt a pair of slender arms slowly creep around his waist from behind. "We all should have gone with you to take advantage of the early ski season at Killington, Will. It would have been a fantastic mini–holiday, and Gianna could have had us all for company."

Taking a stealthy step beyond Caro's grasp, Will turned his body so that he could partially face her. She gets bolder every time I see her, he mused. "In theory that sounds wonderful Caroline, but Gianna was too wrapped up in her studies to be able to go anywhere. We spent a couple of very quiet weeks at home. I promise, there would have been nothing to amuse you."

Caroline could tell that she had been put off and looked it. Skillfully, she changed tactics. "Well, just know that you were greatly missed Will. Without you around, I discovered that I am a definite third wheel to these two lovebirds." She gestured teasingly in the couple's direction.

Jane blushed and hid her face in Charlie's sweater. Bingley narrowed his eyes at his sister and replied, "Caro, stop begging shamelessly for Will's pity. You know perfectly well that we've all been having a great time these past two weeks. And those houseguests of yours in the sitting room have been here for over forty-eight hours. At this point, I don't know when I can expect to use my home theater in privacy again."

Caroline tittered and blithely retorted, "Maybe when you and Jane give up the Jacuzzi?"

That was it. Jane's ears went tomato red as she released a soft, embarrassed squeal from her hiding spot. Charlie rose to the defense of his girlfriend, grabbed some flour and tossed it at his sister, causing Caroline to yelp and retreat. Caro ran from the kitchen, shouting, "Not on my Tom Ford, Charlie! You know better. And since you are my younger brother by eleven minutes, you both better get used to my teasing!"

When she was out of earshot, Charlie addressed his friend, "And this is what you've been missing. Who knew Caroline could make jokes? Really bad ones, but still; jokes all the same."

Will shook his head in bafflement.

Charlie noticed the duffle still in his friend's hands. "Here, come on, I'm going to have to give you a different guest room than you normally have. Jane, we'll be right back."

Charlie led Will down the hallway. Halfway to their destination, he stopped and grabbed Will's shoulder.

Will turned to face him. Charlie began, "Remember that request you made of me at midnight last week?"

Will's eyebrows raised in expectation as he waited for his friend to continue. He had experienced the same nightmare every night since that phone call, and his nerves were constantly on edge. Uncertainty and distance had allowed his habitual caution and reserve to return. Although he had given Gianna a heads up about the potential for a new girlfriend, overall his newfound clarity was telling him that he had entertained his feelings for Lizzy too hastily; he loved her, but simply didn't know enough to be able to trust her fully.

"I mean, I didn't dig too deep, but…she did see him, Will."

Will closed his eyes and drew breath at the sharp pain in his chest. "Do you know if she saw him a lot?"

Charlie looked at him wonder. "Darce, you're lucky I was able to find out what I did. If I had asked anything else, Jane would have gotten suspicious. I reiterated that you think he's dangerous and that she should pass that information on to Lizzy. I left it at that."

Will nodded. "Thanks Charlie. I appreciate you finding out."

As he settled his belongings into his room, Will's mind was a raging sea of thoughts. One part of him was not surprised; the other was dumbfounded. The thought of Lizzy and Wickham together made him physically ill; unable to really do anything to separate them, he also wasn't sure that he could pursue her while she insisted on maintaining a connection to that bastard. Angry beyond reason, he went over to Charlie's bar and poured himself a cognac. How could she do this? Why didn't she listen? She cared about him, didn't she? His heart felt grievously sick, and the cognac he had finished in one swig had not helped in the slightest.

Coming within inches of punching the wall, Will realized that he should get back into civilization before doing damage to himself or Bingley's home. He blindly stormed down the hallway before remembering to try to appear at ease. Returning to the kitchen, he stopped when he noticed a laptop open on the nearby dining room table as he passed.

Maybe I should catch up on some work items… At least I know where I stand with those, and I can settle my mind by focusing on the mundane.

He called out to Charlie, "Bingley, can I use your laptop?"

He heard a shouted reply, "What laptop?"

"The one on the dining room table."

"Oh, that's Jane's." Then a female voice, "You can use it, Will!"

"Thanks Jane," he called back.

Will sat down at the table and ran his finger over the touchpad. The dark screen hummed to life.

At first, Darcy tried to look away, but too many key words had leapt out from the screen at once. Reading the entire email, Will shut his eyes at the sensation of his stomach flipping over. The tumbling thoughts in his head now distinctly matched the churning of his conscience. After a moment of reflection, his only choice was clear; steeling himself for what needed to be done, he took out his cell phone and snapped a clear photo of the screen and its contents.

Will felt his indignation place a vice grip around his heart, slightly softening the earlier pain. He allowed the risky balm to continue its healing work; relief was welcome, regardless of where it came from or what it cost him.

Perhaps these Bennets really are just too good to be true.

A/N

I would like to take a moment to thank my "Honorary Betas": NYT, Beckirs and Celebrian54. These wonderful friends helped me with the hurdle that was preventing me from posting this chapter. Thank you all so much for your communication with myself and your willingness to give me feedback. I hope to continue our conversations and enjoy many further collaborations in the future!

I keep adding things to my profile for the story (added some music recently!), so feel free to check it out from time to time if you are bored and looking to supplement your Magnets experience.