AN: Yep, that took longer than I expected. Anyway, here it is :)
liysyl: the glue was just an accident :) the box was prepared too late and it leaked. Or maybe not ;P
HarnGin: everybody loves Teddy, but he belongs to Mina, so no touching ;)
Two suitcases were sitting in the main hall late Sunday morning. Elizabeth eyed them suspiciously, but decided not to comment. The twins would be in London, with Georgiana and they had mobile numbers to most of the family in case they needed something.
"Don't worry about them," Georgiana dragged her bag in. "Mina will be on her old stomping grounds and Rose can cope with almost everything, right? They are having breakfast right now and then the buses will be at school around noon. We're leaving at two, so, adding all the toilet breaks etc we should be in London by seven, tops. I will be sending updates."
Elizabeth nodded slowly and sank down to sit on the steps, pulling her cardigan about her.
"That feels weird," she finally managed to put the right words to it. "I just got married, yesterday. I changed my name, my... everything. And now my two daughters are leaving for a school trip, together. Do you know... It's just..."
William's quiet steps made her turn and look up.
He looked slightly rumpled, but that was to be expected after the night they had had (which was quite fine, thank you, and fond smirks of her older sister when they met in the hall were not going to affect the afterglow!). The nascent beard was putting a slight shade on Will's face - it was probably the first day for a month and change that he had skipped shaving - and the scrape of his stubble on her cheek when he leaned closer sent little shivers all through her rather weary frame.
"Will, the girls are leaving after lunch," she managed to point out. "Maybe you should drop them off at school? This way Georgie won't have to worry about leaving her car there long-term."
A long mm-hmm purred into her ear.
"First, coffee," she said decisively, standing up. "Come on, mister. We need to up your caffeine to the 'conversation possible' level."
####
The buses were waiting, kids milling about, teachers trying to check the lists and drivers watching it all with bored eyes of seasoned professionals, pouring themselves cups of coffee from their thermal flasks and munching on sandwiches.
Dad pulled their cases from the boot while Aunt Georgiana slung her bag onto her shoulder and lifted the guitar case with the other hand.
"I expect you two to be careful and behave," Dad warned them in an undertone. "I mean it. And listen to Georgiana, don't make her life harder than it will be anyway."
Mina rolled her eyes, but Rose nodded and poked her sister in the ribs.
"We will, Dad. Thanks for dropping us off."
"Go home, tell Mom we'll be fine."
"Scram, Will. We need to report that we are present and load our luggage. Give our love to Elizabeth and just, you know, make use of that week."
Rose rolled her eyes and picked up her suitcase and backpack, Mina following suit.
Dad hugged them tightly and pressed a long kiss on each forehead.
"Now, I know you two have your cards and your allowances and Georgiana will be with you most of the time, but..." he pulled out his wallet and counted out a few notes. "Just in case, OK? Keep the cash in different places on yourselves - in an internal pocket, some in the backpack, some in your trouser pockets... just so that you have a few quid whatever happens, clear?"
Rose sighed and hugged him back.
"Clear. And we know how to get to aunt Jane's if something happens and we have all the mobile numbers and we have aunt Georgiana's number written on paper and we remember the address where we'll be staying. And I will stay with Mina and Mina knows London, so we won't get lost. Really, dad."
"My rational Rose," he ruffled her hair a bit. "Mina, make sure she doesn't fall into the Thames or some pond in the park, will you?"
"I'll try," her sister snorted. "If she listens to me. But, seriously, dad, she can take care of herself. She did survive being there mostly on her own for three weeks and she had to pretend being me at the same time. At least now we will be ourselves."
Dad sighed, but let them go, so they ran quickly towards the teachers who were holding lists, checking everyone off and directing them to the buses.
#
Miss Yang, handling the list for their group, directed them to the fourth bus in the lot, ordering them to put their cases in the storage and find places as soon as they can and stop standing around in cold, if they could. Please. They absolutely did, as the wind was picking up and it seemed to be getting much more chilly than in the previous days.
Their cases safely stored, they had checked themselves in with the teacher managing the list for their bus and started making their way inside, looking for someone to sit near.
What they weren't expecting to see was a lean, long-legged Year 10 sitting by one of the windows.
"And what are you doing here?" Rose asked, looking at him with exasperation.
"There are too many people in our bus - one of the seats was broken or something - and they asked for a volunteer to ride with the younger year," Teddy smiled innocently. "I was only trying to be helpful. I hope you don't mind."
Rose snorted and looked back at her sister.
"I don't, but you should ask your girlfriend what she thinks about you being an insistent little stalker."
"Rose!"
Mina looked between the two of them, trying to make a decision. There was no way one of them wouldn't feel hurt if she sat with the other one, and now...
"Mina, are you sitting down?" aunt Georgiana was standing behind her and this whole situation was becoming even more tense.
"Sit with him, you ninny," Rose grabbed her sister's sleeve and forcefully sat her next to Teddy. "You, let her have the window seat for some time. I will sit with aunt Georgie. And I will be watching you two."
"Well, so will I," added aunt Georgiana. "Hello, Teddy."
He rose from the seat and gave her a half-bow.
Mina took her water bottle and her tablet out of her backpack and pushed them into the net pocket in front of her, not looking up at Teddy for a moment.
"You don't want to sit with me?" he sighed. "I mean... It will..."
"It's not that. It's just..." she looked up finally. "Aren't we pushing it a bit? I mean, that whole dating rules stuff...?"
"For one, your aunt and your sister are sitting across the aisle from us. We will be chaperoned better than an average Regency pair. Two, the classes will be separated for most of the week, so it's not like we'll have a lot of time to just, you know. Talk, or stuff."
"I hope you two aren't going to be talking all the way," Tatiana leaned over their seats from the back. "Because if you go into 'too sweet' category, I am going to be sick."
"Don't even talk about being sick, or I will be sick!" someone cried from even further back.
Mina looked at Rose in despair and all Rose could do was to shrug.
"Put on your headphones and don't listen to them," she advised. "And think about all the things that we can show them in London, yeah?"
Suddenly the nearest few seats went silent as their occupants realised what kind of resource they had at their disposal.
"Oooh. I kind of forgot. Darcy, you've lived in London all your life. Are you going to be our guide? Or something?"
"I want to just go there, see the sights, you know. Like everyone else. If you are nice, I may give you hints on what to buy where, but I don't think we'll have a lot of time for shopping," Mina rolled her eyes.
"Actually, on that note," Mr Anders, one of the physics teachers, rang a small bell, asking for their attention. "If I can have everyone sit down...? Thank you. The program is, in fact, rather packed, but there will be a half-day period for all of you to go shopping, explore a bit and just look around. Although, due to the size of the whole group, we will not allow you to run completely free, so each set will have to go with their guardian and negotiate internally on what they wish to see. Make sure not to annoy your guardians too much then. Very well. First point - check who you are sitting with. For every trip that we take as the whole big group, sit with the same person. This way we will be able to quickly report when that person is missing. Second, most of the time we will divide you according to form groups and these trips will be taken using public transport. At these times, each of you has to stay with their adult guardian. The assignments are as follows. Miss Darcy! Thank you for volunteering, you have... ah, I see..." he smiled "Darcy, Darcy, Harrington, Chou and Mayhew. Miss Owens, please show yourself, thank you. Your charges are..."
Rose let it wash over her. At least their group would be reasonable. And with Mina they'd be able to steer whatever free time they were granted to something interesting.
"Strickland, you are with Mr Evans, David's father. Remember to report to him when we're finally at the hostel. Everyone knows who they are with? Perfect. Let's get this show on the road then. Everyone! We will be at the hostel in four hours or so, barring any unexpected stops. There will be supper waiting for us and then a gathering to present the program for the coming days. Is this clear?"
A chorus of "yeahs" allowed him to finally sit down.
The bus started a bit shakily and rolled out of the parking lot. Mina closed her eyes and leaned on Teddy's arm, revelling in the proximity, the well-worn flannel of his shirt soft under her cheek.
His hand went around her and hugged her closer.
Sneaky, sneaky Teddy.
Well, as long as aunt Georgiana isn't protesting...
She opened her eyes slightly and saw Rose smirking at her.
Shrugging, she burrowed closer into Teddy's warmth.
London, here I come.
Did you change a lot?
I sure did.
I'm a Darcy now.
She glanced at Rose, just to make sure her sister actually was there now.
I am a Darcy now.
And there are two of us.
####
Rose wasn't sure she was more looking forward to or dreading seeing London again. There was that feeling of going back to something, despite the fact that she had lived there for less than a month. On the other hand, it was the place where she had met Mom…
Mina smiled at her from where she was snuggled up to Strickland - Teddy. That boy was becoming more and more a part of their lives, somehow, unexpectedly. Rose tried tasting her feelings about it, but there was nothing more severe than a bit of vague resentment about someone stealing Mina's time. She wasn't jealous anymore (as several of their classmates had suggested she should be), because of what? She had all Mina's time at home and most of it at school already and it was already more than some sisters had. Looking at Mom and aunt Jane and Mary - and Kitty - each relationship between sisters was unique, but nobody had what she and Mina did. And all that based on knowing each other for scant four months! As to Teddy... If she looked closer at how aunt Jane treated Dad - with a bit of an eye-roll for his various foibles - and how Mom casually smacked uncle Charles or hugged uncle Ted (and thank all heavens uncle Ted was just Ted, not another Theodore, or they'd be in for some severe name duplication trouble…) - it was good to have a brother in law. Or sister's boyfriend, keeping it realistic - at their age. She watched them for a moment as Teddy absentmindedly rubbed his cheek on Mina's hair and closed his eyes with a small sigh.
Was she jealous? Would she want to have the same with… with someone? Maybe. Perhaps. She frowned and looked away, trying to identify her feelings. One thing for sure, she wasn't jealous of Teddy. Meaning, she wasn't jealous of Teddy's attentions. Teddy was fine as he was, two seats away, holding her little sister in a loose hug, smiling that goofy smile he tended to present whenever Mina was nearby. No, Teddy definitely wasn't it. Who would be it, then?
"Everything OK, Rose?"
She shrugged, but then… Aunt Georgiana may have some better answers.
"When did you know that Miss Yang was the right person? I mean, you… You met at school and then, what? Was it something specific, or just…"
Aunt Georgiana shot the pair across the aisle a look and smiled.
"What, looking at them makes you think about it?"
"Kind of," Rose gestured uncertainly. "I mean, they… People were suggesting Mina took him away from me and I had to explain so many times that I was absolutely and completely fine with it…! I started thinking about, you know, me. What it would look like, I don't want to ask Mina, because everyone keeps bugging her about him and the last thing she needs now is to confess to me in details, but…" she looked beseechingly at her aunt.
"Oh, OK. I didn't know it was so hard for her…" they looked at the two again and Mina was leaning on Teddy's arm and watching something he was showing her on his phone. "They do look rather fine together, don't they?"
"A bit like Mom and Dad, I think," Rose whispered. "He is much taller than both of us and kind of darker and, well, built. Did you know that half of the girls in school drool over his muscles and legs?"
"Rose!"
"What? He is a rugby player, he runs around in shorts on regular basis. On purpose. I'm not in that half, mind you. Also, it would be kind of weird to be watching my sister's boyfriend like that. But I like the way they look together. And," she turned to Georgiana and lowered her voice "He is good for her. I mean, the fact that she has him is doing her good. After that fucked up - sorry, sorry - school she was at in London, Teddy is like a completely different species of a boy, you know."
"I hope this lasts. Not that I expect it to, most of highschool romances end around the time people part for college, but let's hope for a peaceful breakup and not something loud and crazy..."
"Don't even mention this in front of Mina," Rose shook her head. "Teddy is a year over us and he has plans. Wants to study civil engineering, of all things."
"That's… big stuff. I mean, this will be a long and rather heavy course. Not a lot of time for leisure…"
Rose nodded slowly.
"None at all, and knowing Teddy, he will be… diligent. And…" she glanced at Mina, checking if she may be listening, but fortunately her sister was focused on someone else. "And he will have the scholarship from the Army, almost like guaranteed. But he will have to sign up for several years after that. To, you know, work it off."
She heard her aunt's soft curse.
"Poor kitten."
"Yeah. So I don't want this time, whatever they have, to suck for her more than it has to, you know. So I don't want to interrogate her for details and stuff. Let them be. Mom and Dad are putting enough pressure on her anyway."
"Does Mina know about his plans?"
"Yep. I was there when he told her about the conditions of the scholarship. She just doesn't know his application is already as good as approved. He doesn't know either, mind you, so don't spill it."
Her aunt looked at her with narrowed eyes.
"How do you know it then?"
"Uncle Richard can't keep a secret worth a damn. Well, from me, at least. And he is worried about Mina, too, kind of, you know, after that thing he did after the singing contest, but he feels he can't really like talk to her… because he is afraid he will mess up. But he told me, to watch out for Mina when Teddy gets the news."
"Richard, you sneaky bastard," her aunt sighed. "He kept calling me for updates on Mina every other day... Well, I see your point about not asking Mina, absolutely… so as to me and Lucy, well…" she bit her lip. "It kind of just felt right. We were in that classroom, talking about music and about playing the harp and the piano and I looked at us holding hands and thought 'I could do it all day' and then she… it was like she saw me seeing her… and I couldn't look away and then…" she sighed. "It was just that feeling that hey, this is nice and she makes me feel like…" she lowered her voice "not sure how to put it. But it's like I matter, as a person."
"Bbbut, you always matter! You…" Rose whispered, shocked. "You are important! You are my aunt! Like the… well, not that I'm demoting you, but half a year ago you were the second most important person in my life!"
"I suppose Elizabeth holds the first place now" Georgiana joked weakly.
That gave Rose a pause and she quieted for a moment, examining her feelings. "Actually... no. She does," Rose gestured to the other side of the aisle. "Mom is important, but Mina is more important."
"That makes sense," her aunt sighed. "You two should have never been separated, so now you are catching up… Don't worry, I feel quite fine being in just top five most important people in your life, actually. But Lucy - with Lucy it was different - she saw me, as me, you know. Georgiana Darcy and not just someone's aunt or sister. She saw me and she thought I was interesting for myself. It's like with Mina and Teddy and you. You love her as a sister, and that's in a big part just because she is a part of you and you love her as that other you, but Teddy sees her as a separate person, interesting for being Mina Bennet. Or rather, of course, Mina Darcy. Lucy looks at me and sees someone who likes music the same way she does and who is interesting and interested… you know. It is a different thing."
Rose nodded slowly, although she didn't really fully understand it. But it seemed like a good explanation, or part of one. Definitely something she could keep in mind and maybe, at an opportune moment, discuss with Mina.
"So…" she licked her lips and looked up at her aunt searchingly. "How did you know you liked girls more than boys?"
Georgiana sighed.
"Full of interesting questions today, aren't we?"
"Sure. Well?"
####
Mina watched Rose and aunt Georgiana talking and glancing at them from time to time, but she firmly chose not to care. They could look all they wanted. She was doing nothing wrong and neither was Teddy.
She closed her eyes for a moment and just… was. It was nice to just be. Teddy was a warm, steady presence against her side, the engine of the bus was growling and burbling, the slight movement was making her sleepy.
Teddy was… nice. She wasn't sure about whys and hows, but thinking about Teddy made her a little warmer and maybe a tiny bit giddy.
Oh.
He was leaning against her, too.
That made her a bit more giddy than before.
"Starlight," he murmured. "I have some photos from the ceremony I took yesterday. I mean, well… If you want to see them?"
Teddy's phone was slightly banged up, but worked correctly and had a more than efficient camera. It was weird to look at the whole thing from such a completely different angle, but also rather interesting. Oh, and here was Rose, looking stiff as a board, holding the box… opening the box… and aunt Jane brandishing the multitool.
"Oh my," she gasped. "She looks as if she was going to kill these poor rings!"
"Well, she almost did murder the ceremony…" he snorted. "I suppose the nice registrar lady doesn't see sharp weapons in that chamber that often."
"Well, probably not, unless someone tries to claim they know of some impediment and enforce it by additional stabbing. I can imagine some spurned ex-girlfriends would sneak in and try to disrupt the ceremonies from time to time."
"At least this one didn't end with bloodshed," he swiped to the next photo, of her dancing with uncle Richard. "You… you looked nice."
"Thank you," she looked down."You looked quite dashing yourself… Did your mother give you grief about the trousers?"
"She never even noticed" he huffed. "I put them in the wash and then dried them, so I could pack them for the trip."
"Good," she rubbed her cheek on his shoulder. "You saved the day, you know? I mean it. Rose had been guarding these rings like a dragon and then aunt Jane comes and pliink… hop goes the ring."
"Well, I just saw where it fell, and…" he shrugged slightly.
"If you didn't, they would have had to get married with something stupid, like a curtain ring or someone's goth skull ring or whatever."
"Or one with a silly plastic heart…" he mused.
Mina looked up.
"Are you having me on?"
"What?" he smiled innocently.
"You…. you watch stuff like this?"
He turned his nose haughtily up.
"I don't have any idea what you are talking about!"
"You, Teddy Strickland, have watched Four Weddings and a Funeral. How on earth?"
"I will let you know that the movie evenings on the camp were next best thing to obligatory and… eclectic."
She turned to get a better look.
"So what else did you watch during the army camp?"
He sighed, pretending to be greatly put upon.
"Some classics, some action movies… Well, a bit of sci-fi, obviously…"
"Aaand?" she prompted.
"A musical or two. Singing in the rain, to be specific."
She raised her eyebrows in mute question.
"And Much Ado about Nothing, OK? Whole bloody…"
"And of course you didn't enjoy it one bit?"
"Not at all!" he claimed immediately.
"And that other musical would be then…?"
Teddy rolled his eyes and mumbled something.
"Can't really hear you."
"Mamma Mia, ok?"
"My poor, traumatised boy," she patted his shoulder and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Who tortured you with this terrible, terrible thing?"
Teddy moaned.
"Your own uncle, if you must know! He is a terrible sap and he watched it all with us! Singing along to the music!"
"And what do you listen to, hmm?" she poked his MP3 player. It was sleek, black and had no display to show the current track title.
And Teddy blushed. Adorably.
Not that I will ever use that word...
"Well, I could, you know..." he pulled out his headphones. "Ah. No, well, I'd like to share, but," he showed them to her. Just like hers, they were no earbuds, but full, over-ear ones with a band.
"Well, I have the same problem," she pointed to her own pair. "But I also have a solution."
"Hmm?"
"Mom gave me this," she pulled out the Y-shaped cable splitter. "Come here, give me your player."
She rolled her eyes impatiently as, sending her a cocky smile, he plucked the splitter from her hand and connected them both to the source of music. Leaning again on his shoulder, she pulled her headphones on.
The intro to the song was familiar, with something like bells, then the piano, then some voices singing "uaa", but...
How many times do I have to try...
"You are listening to Annie Lennox?" she looked at Teddy up and sideways.
"Not you too, ok?" he groaned. "Half of my class is making fun of me because of this already... I thought you wouldn't..."
"Shh. It's nice. I like, well, Mom likes her, so I've been listening to her a lot. She has a really great voice," she closed her eyes and leaned on his shoulder, as much as she could with the big headphones on. "Let's hope there will be no group singing and we can listen in peace."
#
An hour later she was cursing herself. She might have been better off not saying that. They closed their eyes, turned the volume up on Teddy's player and tried not to pay attention to their schoolmates attempting to scream their throats out in poor imitation of some contemporary singers Mina could not identify.
Across the aisle, Rose was chanting quietly to herself while aunt Georgiana looked as if she was in about as much pain as Mina.
#
Unfortunately their companions managed to keep the racket up almost until they arrived in London. By the time the city loomed on the horizon, Mina and Teddy had been asked several times to join the "fun", to which one answered with a vehement "No!" and the other just rolled his eyes.
"I have the carol contest to think of," she sighed when one of the girls in front of them insisted she should 'sing' with the others. "Mom would never forgive me if I purposefully screamed myself hoarse."
"Oh, don't tell me you are going to keep practising during the trip!" Mariah moaned. "This is supposed to be... not-school. Outside. You know, a trip. Do you even know the idea of letting go?"
"Aunt Georgiana will help me with the exercises," she shrugged and turned her face into Teddy's side, smiling softly. "I can't let this one win another contest due to pure negligence, can I?"
"You two are... disgusting."
"Why, thank you," Mina closed her eyes, hoping for some quiet time.
#
The announcements were made once they had been all gathered in the meeting hall of the hostel.
"Everyone knows their guardian, right? Very well. You keep with your mates and your grownup at all times. Take their mobile numbers, add them to your contacts and give them your numbers. If you get separated, call them. If you can't call them, find the nearest police station and ask them to help you. I know you are big children and you know this, but I am required to remind you, so please, don't comment, just listen. Learn the address and the name of this hostel, if you get lost and can't contact anyone, get back here. One of the teachers will be staying behind every time. Now, we have the following plan for the next few days..."
There were plans for common trips, trips in form groups, trips for all Year Nines and all Year Tens separately, free time, optional walks and some organised entertainment planned. Mina and Rose listened attentively to all the destinations, exchanging a few looks and shrugs at the most obvious choices - the British Museum, the Science Museum, Baker Street, Kensington Gardens - while furiously planning their own list of things to see and do around the spots they had already visited.
It was going to be a good week.
####
The all-day trip to British Museum was preceded by the introduction of the Year Nines to the London public transport system. Mina and Rose were called on to explain the details as "Subject Matter Experts" as Mina dubbed their function and provided their schoolmates with their insight into the intricacies of the Oyster Card and the Tube. Rose admitted to having got lost a few times during her stay in London, warning everyone of the perils of using the Tube in the rush hour.
"And that is why, despite the fact that you've all managed to gather for breakfast in such a timely manner, we will set out only in half an hour. I'd rather not get all of you lost on our way to our destination," Mr Jones pronounced. "We reassemble here, ready to go, at half past ten, everyone."
And so they went. Year Nines to the British Museum while Year Tens, split into groups, were treated to a walk by the Thames and to the Millennium Bridge, then St Paul's Cathedral and then, optionally (all opted in) a walk by the St Bartholomew's Hospital and a visit to the Museum of London. When everyone reconvened in their hostel later that evening, all teenagers reported being "quite done in" and the dinner was a subdued affair, mostly filled with sounds of eating (or, in more extreme cases, discreet snoring).
Mina and Rose, having happily derailed their group at the BM, managed to do some shopping in one of the shops inside and were now reviewing their purchases with their tablemates. Mina was holding onto one of the books rather protectively, claiming nobody would be touching it until she had a chance to inspect their hands for cleanliness.
"She bought '7000 Years of Jewellery'," Rose chewed on a bit of meat. "Don't even try to touch it, she may bite. Mina, if you didn't want anyone touching it, you should have left it in the room, you know?"
Mina sighed and shook her head.
"You just don't understand it. I can't possibly leave in unsupervised!" she declared haughtily. "But you aren't much better, sister. You bought that large package of handmade Indian paper that..."
A hand on her shoulder made her pause and she looked up at Teddy with a smile.
"And here it comes," Mariah remarked dramatically. "I wonder if all of us will one day find a switch-off button like this."
Rose grimaced.
"I hope you are not talking of Teddy as such," she whispered theatrically. "Remember, Mina is the one that punches people."
####
"What are they doing today?"
Elizabeth pulled her tablet closer by its cable and unlocked it, blinking to focus on the letters.
"Science Museum..." she squinted. "And Globe Theatre. Good, Mina has never seen the Globe, at least she will have something new. And the Science Museum is always nice and has a lot of temporary exhibitions."
"I see an exhibition right here," he grazed her shoulder with his lips. "I would like to scrutinise it in utmost... detail..."
"William!" she dropped the tablet as she scrambled to hold on to the mattress. "What are you doing?"
"Just admiring the view," he said innocently as he dragged his hand lower and squeezed suggestively.
"You are... ah! doing much more than just - aaaah! - admiring, Mr Darcy!"
"Would you like me to conduct this whole thing completely hands-off, Mrs Darcy?"
Elizabeth hid her face in the pillow and groaned softly, luxuriating in the feeling of William's hands doing... things.
It wasn't that they hadn't had sex before - after all, they did have children! And they had been sleeping together (mostly sleeping, though, due to being generally worn out) for some weeks already.
But this? This was mad. They were like, well, she shied away from the word "teenagers", because she really didn't want to go there, but it seemed to be a rare hour when one or the other wasn't all over their partner. It was definitely more sex that they had had ever before, condensed into scant two days since the house was emptied of everyone but them.
On Sunday evening, they had nipped downstairs to eat a piece of the cake and something resembling dinner and promptly returned to their bedroom and fell into bed again.
On Monday Elizabeth had spent half an hour on the phone with the Imperial, agreeing on the details of her lecture and all the little, insignificant elements like the time and place of the conference and what other lecturers would be invited. She conducted it sitting half-naked in their bed, so it had strained William's self-control considerably to not crawl under the duvet and do unspeakable things to her - ones that would have most probably produced reactions that could have damned her career at the Imperial College before it even took off.
Tuesday was more of the same - checking their mobiles from time to time (in case an emergency arose even Georgiana and Mary couldn't resolve) and falling back on the pillows to continue the activities from the previous days.
That was, until William's other mobile pinged.
"Stacy has a panicking investor at the office, demanding to see me and threatening to withdraw from a deal," he sighed. "Do you think we could... take some air? I could book us a table in Piedaniel's for a dinner?"
She rolled onto her back and frowned at him.
"Ricci's," she countered.
"They don't take bookings."
"Oh, well..." she stretched a bit. "Maybe that Indian place then? Or we could call Ricci's, order a takeaway and come back here?"
He pulled her up and kissed her already swollen lips.
"I was planning to show you off a bit, actually," he explained with a huff. "But if you'd rather come back here, you little minx, I will be glad to... accommodate..."
Elizabeth rolled her eyes and pushed him away lightly.
"Piedaniel's it is," she sighed with a put-upon expression. "The question now would be, what I should wear."
He frowned and shrugged.
"Something reasonably comfortable and warm, I suppose?"
She laughed weakly.
"Oh, William. Will-iam. You have a sister and a daughter - well, two - and still you have no idea, right?"
He tried to loom imposingly, but it is next thing to impossible to be imposing when one stands in the middle of a very messy bedroom in a pair of black boxer shorts, so he quickly gave up after Elizabeth started giggling like crazy.
"OK, what is it that is so funny?" he growled.
"You really don't know, do you?" she smiled. "Or are you having me on? I mean, William, really. You want to show me off - I'm assuming that means you want to parade me around the town a little bit and let everyone see what kind of woman you've married. Silly as it sounds, I have nothing against the notion. I have half a mind to do the same in London, should we have a chance to go there for a longer stay. I'd gladly parade you in front of my distant family and so-called family friends, just to see their stupid expressions. Not that I'm a vindictive little witch, not at all. But... If I wanted to do that, I'd ask you to wear something specific, just to make sure none of them would ever forget seeing you. I'd have to choose between the country squire William Darcy in his olive tweed, the businessman William Darcy in his fitted dark blue three piece or the badboy Will Darcy in his leather jacket and black denims. Therefore, dear, tell me, which of the possible Elizabeth Darcy's do you want to be seen outside with?"
#
It was the Professional Yet Whimsical Elizabeth Darcy that finally got out of the car in front of the company offices and that William escorted inside. She had unearthed her wine-red pantsuit with almost corset-like waistcoat and ivory silk shirt, twisted her hair into a semi-tame knot and added matching flats. She felt reasonably confident in the way she presented herself, but William's smile as he held the door open for her confirmed she did, in fact, look rather fetching in that set.
"William, thank goodness!" a slightly older man accosted them immediately as they exited the elevator. "I tried to contact you, but your phone seems to be off, and...!"
"Actually, I am off this week," William frowned and looked past the man, to a woman standing by a large potted plant and rolling her eyes. "Stacy should be able to resolve any issues you have. She has the full power of..."
"No, this is not about the contracts... Stacy resolved this for us, very nicely indeed, I was surprised actually. This is about that damned heating thing. I mean, we had just been given copies of that software that is supposed to manage the power and it just... doesn't do anything! I tried turning off the fireplace and upping the temperature and the simulation... Just doesn't work!"
Elizabeth smothered a snort.
William shot her a dirty look and she just raised her eyebrows in question.
"I think you should try one old trick," she suggested mildly, smiling at the exasperated man.
"Turning it off and on again?" he growled. "That's not even funny at this point... and the vendor says everything is in perfect order! I am seriously considering lodging a complaint about that."
Elizabeth made eye contact with the woman by the plant and smiled.
"No, I meant that old trick that's called 'reading the help file'."
"There is nothing about that in the help file...!"
"Jonathan, can you show us?" William intervened smoothly and threaded her arm through his. "I already tested that program and it finally cooperated, your copy shouldn't be that different."
They were led to a meeting room, where two big laptops were set up.
"OK, so what does help say?" Elizabeth asked lightly. "I think..."
"The disconnected operations mode," Jonathan read aloud, voice tense and angry. "Is indicated by the yellow background of the interface. This mode allows the user to simulate changes to a single, disconnected element of the heating system. In order to switch to the full simulation mode, click the red flag..."
The sounds around them dimmed slightly.
"Yeah, click the red flag and mark the needed options," Elizabeth suggested happily. "Now, Will, what about that investor? Stacy will be waiting for you."
"Oh, now it works. Good, finally," Jonathan growled at the screen as William turned to the door.
"It's nice to feel appreciated," Elizabeth smirked and turned to Will.
"Thank you for the suggestion," Jonathan nodded curtly. "I would have gotten there at some point."
She smiled thinly.
"No, I mean, I wrote this," she sighed.
"Oh, the help file, well, that's nice, I suppose. I mean, someone has to," he smiled at her artlessly.
"Love, please stop tormenting my contractors," William leaned closer and pulled her away. "Some of them are still wrapping their heads around the fact that women know which way the keyboard goes up."
Elizabeth rolled her eyes and sighed theatrically.
"I wonder what these will say when they learn you've married a software engineer."
Jonathan choked on his coffee as she sent him a wide smile.
"And mind the settings, you have to include all the elements you want to see connected. That was a pain to write, actually."
####
The investor pacified, Jonathan quieted by a few more suggestions as to which parts of the manual he should read before he starts arguing with his laptop, Stacy quietly enchanted by Elizabeth (she had poked William in the ribs and murmured her approval), and they had left the office before someone found something more for him to sign, resolve or discuss.
Piedaniel's had a table ready for them and they managed to eat their lunch in a reasonably quiet atmosphere - middle of the week, almost everyone but them at work, a few other pairs similarly very much not paying attention to their surroundings.
"You didn't tell me to read the help file first when I had the same problem," William remarked over pudding. "I am not complaining, but you could have ordered me to read the fffriendly manual," he winked at her.
"At the time, it was quicker this way and Jonathan seemed much more... aggressive about it. He needs to learn to check in the help file by himself anyway."
"I suppose I should, too," he sighed and speared another piece of the apple tart on his fork.
"Nah. You have me, after all."
####
Considering they had spent their day touring some of the best-known literary spots on the London map - the Kensington Gardens, Paddington Station and Baker Street - it came as no surprise to anyone that the evening entertainment turned out to be a literary quiz. Each team of four was made of two younger and two older students in order to even the odds. Rose just rolled her eyes when Teddy quickly attached himself to them and brought one of his 'mates', Steven, to join them.
They didn't do very badly and, with the number of people participating - fourteen sets - someone had to be the fifth, after all. Rose felt a bit disappointed but they had all agreed that they weren't the best-read team in the room and the first place was won fair and square.
Mina quietly tracked Teddy's answers, checking the books he was certain of (read many times), ones he knew answers about but wasn't perfectly sure (read but long ago/once) and ones at which he grimaced. Finding out that they weren't 100% compatible in their book tastes was actually something of a relief - if they both loved fantasy, old kids books and classics, it wouldn't be as interesting. Teddy turned out to be well-versed in the Bond series (books, as he explained, more than the movies) and knew his way around SF, including "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". Still, with their common ground being the works of Terry Pratchett, she hoped they could come to some kind of agreement on the topic of favourite quotes.
She leaned on his shoulder with a happy sigh as the program and division of groups for the next day was read.
I hope we can get Teddy's group with us into the capsule. And maybe aunt Georgiana will allow us to swing by the Paperchase on Cheapside when we go to St Paul's...
Her head was tipped back - cautiously - and Teddy pressed a small kiss to the corner of her mouth.
"What do you think about tomorrow plans? Have you ever been up there, seen London from that tiny little cars?"
"Don't tell me you are afraid of heights," Rose rolled her eyes.
"Not necessarily, but if it makes someone hug me, I could," Teddy squeezed Mina's arm. "I am, after all, a boy of a rather delicate constitution."
Mina shook her head with silent laughter and kissed his cheek lightly.
"Disgusting," someone murmured behind them.
Mina and Rose stiffened, recognising Davison's voice. They had managed to successfully steer clear of him at school and, with Teddy switching the buses and then being assigned to a room with some reasonable boys, he also mostly avoided James during the trip.
Their luck had apparently run out.
"Oh, just go away, Jim," Steven didn't even turn to look at the annoyance. "Let them be. The fact that your girlfriend told you to get lost doesn't mean you are entitled to making others miserable."
The sound Davison emitted was rather uncivilised, but suddenly there were at least three adults standing around the small group, watching him intently.
"I think it's the time you went to your room, James," one of the teachers remarked mildly. "You have had enough excitement for today."
Mina felt Teddy's hand around her shoulders relax only when Davison finally left the room.
"I just hope he won't be in the same capsule with us," she sighed. "I don't want to spend half an hour with that."
Teddy only hummed in assent.
####
They muddled through Thursday, despite the weather being less than attractive. Staying indoors was of course the solution, but after spending their whole Wednesday in bed, Elizabeth decided they should move. Some vertical activity would be good for them.
William's suggestion to check the site of the new house seemed just perfect, so they pulled on long boots, covered themselves with heavier jackets and set out to see the progress made since the previous week.
"Fortunately the part I picked was already pretty much empty of trees," William explained as they passed through one of the garden gates. "So there won't be much loss here. I told them that all the old trees around the house must be kept as they are, there is ample space for the trucks and machines to come, turn and operate, so there should be no additional trees removed - probably we'll need to add some bushes to cover the balder parts..."
The site was a beehive of activity. The "technical road" that would later become their drive and the parking slot (the yard to-be) were filled with people and tools of various calibres. Long walkways were thrown across the hole in the ground (basement) and the hole itself was showing first signs of becoming something building-shaped. Or rather base-of-a-building-shaped.
"So, correct me if I'm wrong... The drive goes down here," she murmured, trying to again put the whole thing together in her head. "So here are the garage doors, more or less - and the second part of the basement is... what?"
William shrugged innocently and kicked a loose clump of grass and soil with the tip of his rubber boot.
"Maybe storage? A lot of things that we could keep down there. Preserves, for example. You seemed rather intent on making them this year, so I suppose we'll have to make sure we have space to store them... Or, you know, some people keep their workshops in places like that..."
Elizabeth looked down again and saw the separate spaces in the basement, marked with slabs of concrete being fitted in.
"Oh."
"Mhm. There will be a ventilation system installed and once you decide how to set up the interior, we'll connect the specific vents to it, to make sure you have the light and airflow you need. I know that sewing usually doesn't produce a lot of dust, but there will definitely be some. And Mina has that Dremel set which she had not had a chance to use yet - well, not a lot - so she could use a table with a good vent, too..."
"You and Rose too," she pointed out, pulling him closer. "Don't make that face, I know you had a kind of workshop in that old shed, Rose told me when she was showing me around the grounds. And she wanted a chance to do some manual stuff, too."
"I made a bird house once. And a feeder."
"M-hm. And a spice rack, and that cute little shelf that Mrs Reynolds needed in the corner and..."
"That was just an experiment. I..." he shrugged. "I didn't really have time to focus on it a lot. We mostly did anything when the school started workshop classes and some idiot wanted to separate girls and boys and make girls embroider handkerchiefs and teach boys to hammer in nails and so on. I still remember one of the mothers - she had an older boy and a girl a year younger - she stood up and claimed that she feels it is completely unfair for her boy to be unable to learn how to embroider a hankie with flowers and the man who was trying to convince everyone that this separation is good just didn't manage to stop himself."
"And?" she looked up and met his eyes, narrowed with mirth.
"He said 'why would you want your boy to learn something that useless?!' and she asked 'so why would I want my daughter to learn it?'. Everyone started giggling and the guy was lost. He didn't understand what was wrong with teaching girls something pretty but... well, not so practical."
"And what happened finally?"
"The 'boy' part was pretty much useless, too, because the first teacher they got was some kind of wood-lover. He talked to them about types of wood and how each of them feels in the hand and so on. I remember Rose coming home one day and asking me if I think that guy kissed his door when he came home instead of his girlfriend. Fortunately they found a new one who went with them through the safety rules, the ways the tools work, like a saw and a hammer and pliers, and why we wear safety goggles and how to operate bigger things, like a jigsaw. And then, once they were done making the bird feeder - which by May was pretty much useless, mind you - they were separated into smaller groups, still mixed gender, and taught how to sew a patch on torn trousers. One of the fathers actually suggested it, saying that he himself wouldn't have minded a sewing lesson or two when he was at school, but why embroidery and not something practical, like mending a sock or sewing a patch. Mending the socks was downvoted - reasonably, I suppose - so they sewed these patches on. I'm afraid that is all the needlework Rose had learnt..." he sighed. "When it comes to this kind of fiddly soft details, I'm all thumbs."
She reached up and pulled him down for a kiss.
"Don't worry. If she wants to learn, I will help her. To balance this out, I will expect you to show Mina how to use a jigsaw, because she was fascinated by them at some point but we never had a chance to use one."
"Oh. Fine, absolutely. We could... Well, a lot of things. I have all these tools in the shed, it's just I didn't have time and really..."
She stopped him with a finger pressed into his lips.
"You will have time. Maybe not this year. We still have a lot to do and, as a boss, you have a lot more responsibility than I do, but, William, you have to make time and have something for yourself."
"I have you," he lowered his head to catch her lips in a kiss.
"Mmm... But I meant something that is just you. Airing your head. Independent. And I will help, now that I'm here. You can't do all these jobs at once."
He sighed.
"I'm fine, Lizzy. Really. It's what I do. It's not like I'm working all around the clock, after all."
"You are the owner of your company, one. This is your nine-to-five work. Then you come home and manage the estate matters. Maybe not a full time job, but still you have to do it. Then there is the foundation and these awful budget reviews and applications and people who want to participate and events you have to organise. How do you expect to keep this up much longer, reasonably?"
"I... Come on, Lizzy. I can do it. Don't..."
"William."
He turned to her, face drawn.
"I've been doing quite fine for the last thirteen years," he uttered. "I think I can keep this up for a while longer. I will be glad if you stop expressing your lack of trust in my ability to do my job correctly."
And he was striding away from her, hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched and tense.
"William! Oh, stop, you long-legged madman! William!"
Seriously!
"William, what about the house then?!"
He stopped and turned to her, eyes shadowed and tense.
"What do you mean, 'what about the house'?"
She walked up to him and laid her hand on his shoulders.
"You have just added a fourth job to the list. And I know, yes, I know, you have overseen sites before, but none of them was right under your nose and none of them was a house you were planning to move into. There are decisions to be made that are made by the future owner and not the site overseer. This will require attention. More involvement than any other construction you've worked on."
"I..." he inhaled deeply. "I... Why do you say things like that, Lizzy?"
She slid her hands around his waist and burrowed into him as much as she could.
"Because I want to help you, you big idiot," she mumbled into his chest. "Come on! There are things in the foundation and at the estate that need an analyst, not a manager. Give me the budget papers - I won't make a decision for you, but damn if I can't make it easier by checking for correctness! You know I see numbers better, right? It's not a weakness to delegate, William. It's reason."
"But... but you are my wife. I can't just... dump the tasks on you..."
She felt his heart gradually slowing down as he relaxed and his hands went up to her shoulders, hugging her closer to him.
"You can and you will. You can sign a contract with me, for unpaid, charitably donated services of checking the stupid numbers or I will start stealing the documents from your study and doing them anyway. The foundation belongs to the family, I'm family, I will work on it. I can't do human contact part, because I know nobody and mostly I'm useless in this area, but I can and will deal with the numbers. You do the people part."
"But, Lizzy..."
"But me no buts, mister. If you work yourself into an illness, who will take care of everything? I don't see Georgiana suddenly stepping up and taking over the family business. So please please do keep yourself in working condition. Delegate. Share. Divide tasks and make sure you are not the only one who manages all of them. Please?"
"Elizabeth, I can't just... just make people take things over from me!"
She sighed and shook her head.
"Home. Coffee, something sweet and the fireplace. And I will explain to you, in detail, what and how you are going to hand over. Because, Mr Darcy, now that I have you, I don't intend to stand quietly on the side and look passively as you work yourself into an early grave, clear?"
"Liz..."
"Am. I. Making. Myself. Clear?"
He huffed a weak laugh.
"Yes, dear."
"Good. Now, home. Go go go. They are quite able to follow your plans and they will all work better without the two of us distracting them from their tasks."
"Yes, dear."
####
Camden Lock was wet and not as attractive to see as it would have been in the summer, but several kids stayed around to watch another barge being lowered through the whole system. That included Teddy, who hung over the barrier in order to see the mechanism better and had to be hauled away by his collar as his group lost their patience. The rest of the morning was spent on a lazy walk through the Zoo, where each group set out in a different direction with their guardian and the objective to show up at the appointed meeting place by the six in the afternoon. Several groups tried to tag along with the one led by aunt Georgiana, counting on Mina's insight into the local shopping options and only left once she explained (trying not to laugh) to their guardians how to find specific shops on the Market and where to look for the t-shirts and other random gift kind of stuff.
"And we will only go there at the very end, once they are gone" she threatened her group. "Because if we go now, you will all buy totally random stuff and have to carry it around. So. Anyone wants to see the penguins?"
#
Once all the animals available late in the autumn had been seen, a light lunch was eaten and whoever needed, made use of the facilities, they set out back towards the Camden High Street to "just look at all that plastic crap". Of course, there were stalls full of everything. T-shirts, baseball caps, wallets, purses, handbags, jewelry ("Stop that, this will give you allergies, Mariah"), hats, mobile accessories ("Oooh, lookie, a Loki cover for my iphone!"), various services ("how many tattoo parlours can you have on one street?" "way too many") and food.
The little assembly of three groups, to the total of ten girls, five boys and three grownups, moved slowly but with small stops onwards. Teddy nipped out into one of the shops and came back with something wrapped in a white plastic bag and then into another, where he bought something small enough to fit in his pocket. Rose simply had to have the purple fedora hat she saw on one of the stalls and even Mina finally caved in and allowed herself to be tempted by a handbag shaped like an old audio cassette.
Once they passed by the Lock (this time not allowing Teddy to watch for too long) and turned into the Market Hall, it was hard to keep each group in check, but Mina and Rose helped their aunt by hauling their classmates along when they froze in front of more attractive displays. Pretty soon everyone's backpacks were heavier (or at least bulkier) and pockets much lighter, despite the fact that Mina warned them about Stables Market being another place for them to visit. By the time they got to the second location, most of the kids were out of money, while Mina and Rose stayed strong. As they turned into the gate with huge "Stables Market" sign over it, Mina pulled them forward, then a little left, then a little right and...
"Behold," she pointed to the shop in front of them. "The Cyberdog."
The collective moan of "Whaat?" arose from the group.
#
Mina's backpack was exactly as full as she planned it to be (two t-shirts, one glowing in the dark and one with Tom Hiddleston's profile; seven patterned hairbands, three glass bracelets and several items she carefully secreted at the bottom of the bag, hiding them from everyone's view), Rose managed to stop herself at three t-shirts (although one was fabulously creepy - Halloween pumpkins with glow-in-the-dark print) and three hairbands, but she also asked everyone to wait for her three times when she saw a particularly interesting booth. Aunt Georgiana watched them with an indulgent smile until she too heard the siren call of a clothing stall and fell in love with a bottle green wool cloak. Smaller items like sweets, a scented candle or two (or four...) and a paper fan almost didn't register after that.
Mr Evans was rather efficient when it came to keeping his boys to the chosen route (which was mostly "following Teddy, who follows Mina", but nobody complained) so pretty soon they were out of the Market and heading towards the Regent's Park Road and turning towards the Primrose Hill. As the group got staggered a bit, some stopping to have a look at the train tracks and some slowly strolling in the direction of the park, Mina and Teddy brought up the rear, making sure nobody got left behind. Thus they were the ones to witness everything from the best vantage point at the middle of the walkway.
####
"Mina Bennet, what are you doing here!?"
Teddy looked up, a bit surprised, to where an elderly lady had accosted Rose and was now showering her with reproofs.
"Shit."
Well, that was shaping up to be an interesting day. His girlfriend had just cursed.
"Teddy, I need you to do something for me," Mina grabbed his hand and turned him around. "I need you to go ahead, find a grocery shop and buy Rose some chocolate. She will need it. Give me five minutes, OK?"
"But, Starlight...?"
"Teddy," she frowned at him. "Please. Now. I will deal with this. She is not... She is not a threat. It's just my grandmother."
"Your what?"
"My grandmother. Yes, my Mom's mother. No, it's not a good idea for her to see you. Just... even better, look for aunt Georgiana. Tell her we are here and what happened. We won't move from here, but, you know..."
He sighed and dropped a kiss on her lips.
"I will go find your aunt."
His girlfriend inhaled deeply and turned to face the commotion caused by the older lady, Rose and now three additional passers-by, who were trying to intervene. He hurried up, trying to catch up to Miss Darcy who was right now herding the other three girls and moving back to find her nieces.
Good.
So. What now? :)