Chapter 24: Fold

Elizabeth made a mad dash out of the cab towards the entrance of Max Brenner. Even though she had brought a change of clothes and makeup to freshen up at work so that she could come directly to the restaurant, she was still running about ten minutes late.

She had tried very hard not to make this evening a big deal in her mind; she even refused to allow herself to call it "a date". There was a lot of heavy conversation to be had, and there really wasn't any way that it could ever end positively. In fact, a fair to middling outcome might even be asking a lot. She had heard Greg's side of the story, and now it was time for her to hear Will's. She found it hard to believe that he would be able to defend himself, particularly considering his rash behavior at Ella, but she had to give him the opportunity to try. If for no other reason, it was her way of thanking him for defending her to her mother.

Still, there was that tiny part of her hoping for more; wishing beyond reason that he would redeem himself in some miraculous and incredible way that would make the soft spot she had developed for him slightly more acceptable to maintain. It had begun to irk her to no end that Will Darcy could continue being a jerk and she had yet to let him have it. Tonight was going to be a turning point in their acquaintance; although she hoped for the better, Lizzy was prepared for the worst. There were just too many things that she had left unsaid.

As usual, Max Brenner was packed. Weaving through the crowd of waiting patrons, she arrived at the host station. Straining her neck to look beyond the young boy standing there, Lizzy tried to catch Darcy's face in the crowd. She was surprised to find that she didn't see him.

The host was not amused. "Are you looking for someone, Miss?"

"Yes. I thought he would be here by now."

"What was the name on the reservation?"

Lizzy suddenly realized that she hadn't heard from Will for two weeks, and she wasn't sure if he had even made a reservation. "It would be under Darcy."

The boy punched the name into his computer. "There is no reservation for that name. You can sit and wait for your party to arrive and then we would be happy to get you a table."

Taking one final, hopeful glance at the seating area, Lizzy trudged over to the bench and claimed a narrow seat between a heavy woman burdened with shopping bags and a six-year-old who couldn't stay put. Glancing at her cell phone, she winced as she realized that Will still didn't have her number. I guess something delayed him. Having no other option, Lizzy leaned her head back, closed her eyes, and waited.

Will Darcy glanced at his watch and noted the time: 6:16 pm. He had already made his driver circle the area four times and was now parked on a street three blocks down from the restaurant.

Taking out his cell phone for the twentieth time that day, he re-read the email that he had discovered the night before.

To: jane_bennet

From: ahamilton86

Subject:

Hey you,

I'm at work so I have to keep this short.

I'm glad that you asked me to spend the night Thursday – it's been awhile. I hope that we didn't keep Lizzy awake.

You gotta tell this Charlie guy to give you a little breathing room so that I can see you more. ;)

To be completely honest, I understand why you're seeing him – he's loaded. I would pick him over me as a lunch date too.

We should meet up again soon

Andy

His lips curled in disdain as he once again forced himself to accept the undeniable truth that the email revealed: Jane had spent a night with another man - one whom she also seemed to have a previous and ongoing relationship with.

He could still see the look on Bingley's face when he had showed it to him. Charles had sunk into a nearby chair and seemed to barely support his head in his hands. Two seconds later, he asked to read it again.

Darcy could see the confusion and hurt in his friend's eyes. "I'm sorry to have to show you this Charles. I didn't think it would be right to hide it from you."

Charlie looked back at him in a daze. "No, I'm glad you showed me Darce. I'm just…shocked. I still can't believe it. I never thought that she would betray me...that she could betray anyone."

Will looked at his friend in concern. "I have to tell you Charles; I've always found her incredibly hard to read. She's very private. I think this just shows that the concerns I expressed at Tiffany's had some basis: she's obviously not in the same place in the relationship as you are. In fact, it seems that she has different motivations all together…similar ones to her mother, most likely."

Bingley simply rubbed his palm along his forehead.

"What are you going to do?"

"Honestly Darce? I don't know."

As much as he had been tempted, Will couldn't bring himself to say that Jane's deception seemed to be a family trait. The more he thought about the fact that Lizzy had gone against his recommendation and seen Wickham, the more he thought that common decency was possibly something that the Bennet's generally lacked. And yet, Lizzy was still only guilty of an improper association, not an outright betrayal. A tormenting thought began to dance around his mind: how would Bingley feel? How could I pursue Jane's sister in the wake of what he currently faces?

His mind then returned to the day that his altered perspective on Elizabeth had first taken root: that phone call. What he had initially assumed to be a tough day on her part had turned into a rift he had yet to find the source of. He had tried to be there for her – to protect her – and yet she had chosen her own path and continued to see Greg even after he had made his own romantic interests known. Wasn't that enough to tell him that, just like Jane and Bingley, she and him were not in the same place in regards to a relationship?

But no, he continued to hope and became a glutton for punishment. Shortly after, the doubts had settled in; along with them, the nightmares that had been the cause of many sleepless nights. The potential that she and Greg were close friends, or perhaps even more than friends, subconsciously terrified him. Why else hadn't he sent the police to her job to question her on Wickham's whereabouts? There were two reasons: he hadn't wanted to involve her and, more directly, he really didn't want to know the answer. He was so absurdly trapped in his feelings for her that he dreaded knowing the truth about the extent of the liaison between Lizzy and Greg Wickham.

When had he become this man? He never needed a woman: he had lived his entire life without ever falling in love and until now, had not felt anything lacking. Enthusiastically pursuing someone was unheard of before Elizabeth, particularly someone he had early acknowledged that it would be inappropriate for him get involved with. He was astonished at the ease in which he had allowed that fact to be forgotten; how she had effortlessly scaled the walls around his heart. How had he let it come this far?

In an instant, William Darcy knew how. He loved her, and with every passing day the ardent sensation had embedded itself more permanently in his heart. He had known it at her house that night, and he knew it now in an all-encompassing way. The passionate emotion had flooded his soul; the unexplored and unknown depths of it stirring a painful yet wondrous ache in his chest. He was practically drowning in his love for her; drowning in an emotion that would almost certainly lead to his ruin.

A dagger pierced his heart as he realized that, after arriving slightly late, she was probably sitting in that restaurant - at this very minute even - wondering where he was. For a brief moment, he was tempted to run into Max Brenner and wrap her in his arms; to claim her only to him and hold her against his heart. He would move heaven and earth if he could only create an understanding between them that could transcend every present circumstance and leave no doubt that their minds were truly one. However, the reality was that the situation had become too complicated, and any desire of that sort could only be the vain hope of wishful thinking.

Even so, his long-nurtured tender feelings towards Elizabeth threatened to spur his body into immediate action; it was only his longer developed will-power that stayed him. Physically, his body was in agony as his determination to reason the situation out to its conclusion forced his rigid muscles to stay immobile. He sat, tense and erect as he considered the dilemma, fingernails digging into the leather of his backseat and mouth tightly pulled into a defiant and determined line.

Closing his eyes, he finally released the tension that had built to a breaking point in his chest. He had his answer: the best possible outcome considering all that demanded his attention. Will Darcy called to his driver and gave him his instructions.

Lizzy was startled out of her daze by a tap on her shoulder. Rousing herself, she discovered that it was only a young man asking her to slide over so that he and his date could sit down. Lizzy gave the couple a half-hearted smile and shifted, retrieving her cell phone from her purse as she did so.

The time on the screen read 6:34 pm.

Looking up, the lobby was as full as ever, but William Darcy was still not in it.

"Miss Bennet? Elizabeth Bennet?"

Lizzy looked up to see an older gentleman who looked like a chauffeur. The man made eye contact and walked towards her.

"Are you Elizabeth Bennet?"

"Yes?" she cautiously replied.

He extended a folded piece of paper in her direction. "This is for you, Miss." He then turned and left the restaurant.

Lizzy unfolded the note.

Miss Bennet,

I regret to inform you that circumstances have prevented me from attending our meeting tonight. I apologize for not being able to tell you sooner.

Greg Wickham is capable of hurting people. At University, he plagiarized my report and handed it in as his own. He was summarily expelled for his behavior, but not before my own conduct was also called into question. I must repeat my prior warnings to stay away from him.

Take Care of Yourself,

William Darcy

For a moment, all Lizzy could do was read and re-read the short, handwritten note.

Lizzy could never have seen this coming. In all of her imaginings surrounding this evening, and the many really terrible ways it had the potential of going, the actual outcome of the night had never presented itself as an option to her. Disappointed in herself for her lack of foresight, fuming as a result of her frustrated hopes and wholly disgusted by one consummate asshole now permanently crowned PNC, Lizzy angrily re-buttoned her coat and stormed out of the restaurant.

William Darcy had stood her up.

A/C (Author's Confessional…Yes, it's that serious)

:::Ducks from the rotting fruits and vegetables being hurled in her direction:::

The chapters that have been tormenting me for the past 2 weeks are finally out in the open.

From the very beginning I have promised you all mostly canon in a newly inspired way; I would never live up to that promise if Jane and Bingley just happily went along with nothing to interrupt their romance.

What wasn't in my plans, however, was Will standing Lizzy up for their date. The date was supposed to happen. In fact, I still have the entire date chapter written out…maybe one day I'll turn it into a one-shot of sorts. It was this major alteration in plot that spurred the revisions I have been alluding to in my previous Author's Notes.

Thank you for listening and staying with me. Please follow/favorite and most importantly, review! I love hearing from you all. Your comments truly do give me renewed excitement and energy! You all are awesome.