Chapter Four - A Judge of Character
Elijah slept late the next day, enjoying the welcoming comfort of his mattress and bedside fan. There was a dull throbbing in the back of his skull, not strong enough to be painful but definitely making its presence known, reminding him that he'd had a fair share of the expensive champagne the night before. He was comfortably tangled in the sheets, and he wanted nothing more than to stay in the idyllic fantasy world his subconscious had crafted for him. A fantasy world filled with five o'clock shadows and frosty blue eyes.
All at once, Elijah's eyes snapped open, and he groaned at his traitorous brain. He had been so warm and comfortable; the last thing he wanted to be thinking about was William Darcy. All of his undeniable physical attractiveness did nothing to make up for the fact that he was an intolerable, elitist asshole.
Well, there was no way he was getting back to sleep now. Elijah reluctantly dragged himself out of bed, tugging up the sagging waistband of his flannel sleep pants, and wandered out of his bedroom. He could hear music coming from the kitchen, and he wandered down the hall of their tiny flat in search of the source. When he rounded the corner into the combined kitchen and dining room, he stopped short.
Jane was wide awake, already dressed in her yoga clothes with her hair piled up in a high ponytail on the top of her head. She stood at the counter, mixing something in a bowl and singing along with a top forty hit on the radio. Her hips were bouncing in time to the beat, doing an energetic dance as she sang in a bright, lilting soprano.
Elijah smiled as he leaned against the door frame, folding his arms over his chest. "Someone's in a good mood," he teased.
Spinning around so quick she almost stumbled, Jane fixed him with the look of a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. "Eli, you're up."
"How could I sleep with your caterwauling?" he asked with a smirk. Jane shook her head, but a pleasant flush had crept across her cheeks. His eyes flicked passed her to the bowl of pale batter, and he immediately perked up. "You're making pancakes. Definitely in a good mood, then."
"I just thought I'd make you breakfast," Jane said, turning back to the batter. "To thank you for taking me with you last night. I really had the most wonderful time."
"I'm glad," Elijah said. He moved over to lean against the counter, dipping a finger into the batter. Jane tutted in mock disapproval as he stuck the digit in his mouth. "So, you and Charlie seemed to hit it off."
Jane had clearly been keeping herself under control all night, but now that it was just the two of them, her real feelings burst out with an enthusiastic, "Oh Eli, he's incredible."
Naturally beautiful from birth, Jane Bennet had grown up being idolized and sought after by everyone. She was the girl that all other girls were envious of and that all of the boys wanted to have for their own. Her kind nature stopped the attention from going to her head, but it still left its mark on her. She was so used to the public eye that she had learned from an early age to temper herself and kept all of her emotions carefully under wraps.
This was most especially true when it came to the world of men, where her inability to see the bad in anyone had led her astray more than once. She had grown careful and selective in her choices, and she rarely got swept up in the rush of burgeoning relationships. Used to being fawned over, she did not openly react to flirting or advances. It took someone who knew her well to see the emotions brimming beneath the constant soft smile she wore.
Which is how Elijah knew that she was serious as she continued to go on about her night with Charles Bingley.
"I've never met somebody I've connected with like that before," she said. "We have everything in common. And he's so sweet and charming, and the perfect gentleman. He has such a great sense of humor; I never stopped laughing. We talked for hours and never ran out of things to say. Did you know that he does volunteer work in the city? Like, not just throwing his parties, but he actually visits people and teaches kids to read? He's the most amazing person."
Eli beamed at the smile on his big sister's face. "You guys really seem like a perfect match," he agreed. "Both of you are unbelievably nice and spend your time giving back. Think of how much good you could do the world together? Like the world's politest superheroes. Are you going to see him again?"
"He asked for my number," Jane admitted, her cheeks turning from pink to red. "Do you think he'll really call?"
"Of course," said Elijah. "I'll bet you he even breaks the guy code and calls today."
"You think?" Jane asked hopefully. When Eli nodded, her face broke out into an enormous grin again. "I'm just so amazed he even wanted to dance with me in the first place."
"Why? You're five times prettier than anyone else that was there," Elijah said. "Well, I'm glad you like him. He seems like a nice guy. Definitely better than that last asshole you dated."
"Eli!" Jane admonished.
"Well, he was," he said unrepentantly. "You were just too nice to see it. You always see the best in everyone, Janey. I've never heard you say a bad word about anyone in your life."
"I just try not to judge others too quickly," she replied, turning her attention back to making the pancakes. "Unlike some people I know."
Elijah frowned. "What, me?"
"You do tend to make snap decisions about people," said Jane. "You take little details and use them to make sweeping declarations about people. Especially when it comes to men, even men you like. Like with Rick."
"He didn't even bother to ask what I wanted before he ordered for me," Elijah said disparagingly. "I could've been allergic or a vegetarian for all he knew. He apparently didn't think I was capable of thinking for myself. He just wanted someone to pay attention to him."
"And Ethan?" Jane prompted.
"He was such a hermit; he never wanted to go out. And even when we did, he was always just looking forward to going home. Like when we went to the club and he refused to dance at all. He spent the whole night lurking," Elijah said, shrugging. "He was such a bore, and he never wanted to do anything fun."
"Or maybe he was just self-conscious," she suggested. Elijah scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Not to be rude, but you do sometimes jump to conclusions about people."
"What about William Darcy?" Elijah said. "Do you think I'm wrong about him? Even you have to agree he's an insufferable jackass."
Jane cringed. During the taxi ride home, Elijah had filled her and Charlotte in on the conversation he had overheard between Darcy and Bingley. Even Jane had been indignant about what Darcy had said about Elijah's book; Charlotte had been downright livid. "You might have heard it out of context," Jane offered, digging a spatula out of the drawer and flipping the pancakes.
"And what's his excuse for the rest of the night?" Elijah pressed. "He was standoffish and rude all night. And the way he kept judging me about my love of poetry? Or for not being published already? It was like he was just looking for things to criticize me about."
"Okay, I will agree that his behavior was less than friendly at times," she conceded. "There could have been a reason for it, though. Charlie says he's painfully shy."
"He's painfully something," Elijah muttered.
Jane gave him an exasperated look, the closest she came to ever being openly annoyed with someone. "I'm just saying maybe you should give him the benefit of the doubt before making up your mind."
"And I'm saying that benefit of the doubt is how Sam broke your heart," Elijah said. He regretted the words the moment they'd left his mouth. Across from him, Jane visibly flinched. "Janey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."
"No, you're right," said Jane. "Sam betrayed my trust. I believed in him, and he proved me wrong. But Sam is just one guy. There are still plenty more out there. I want to believe - I have to believe - that there are still good men in the world. Maybe you should too." Elijah tipped his head, drawing designs on the countertop with his fingertip as he tried to come up with a good argument.
"I'm just worried for you," he admitted. "I'm afraid that one day someone else will try to take advantage of how nice you are. I don't want you to get hurt again."
"I know," Jane said. She walked around the counter to hug him. "But that's my problem, not yours. Just think about it, okay?"
"Okay," Elijah agreed. He tugged the end of his sister's ponytail playfully, and she swatted him with the spatula.
"Okay, enough seriousness for one morning," said Jane. "Sit yourself down. Pancakes are ready."
Elijah obliged, setting out two places for them as Jane brought over the platter of pancakes and bottle of maple syrup. They sat down and dished up their breakfast before Elijah spoke again. "So, for the first time in weeks, we both have a Saturday off," he said over his cup of coffee. "We are having a Jane-and-Eli day, which means greasy diner lunch we'll regret tomorrow and window-shopping for clothes we can't afford."
Their day together went even better than they planned. Despite their plans not to spend any money, they stumbled across a special one-day sale in a boutique. They left the store more than an hour later, arms laden with shopping bags. They carted their treasures with them into their favorite local hole-in-the-wall and were immediately greeted by the owner, who was making the rounds among his customers.
"Hey, Bennets!" he greeted them brightly, his thick, Brooklyn drawl dragging the vowels out. "I hoped I'd be seein' ya today. Come in, then, ya favorite spot's still open." He ushered them to a cozy little table by the window and produced his notepad with a flourish. "'Cho gettin' the usual, then?"
"I'll have a coffee instead of a Coke today," said Elijah. "Other than that, I'm good." When Jane nodded her agreement, the owner took off with a grin. He brought back their drinks with a promise that their food would be out shortly and then left Jane and Elijah alone to chat.
Jane was in the middle of an amusing anecdote about a finger-painting session with her youngest class at the Y when her phone began crooning a jazzy indie girl song. She glanced at the number on the screen and frowned curiously before answering. "Hello?"
Elijah watched in amusement as her face changed shades very quickly, her natural gold complexion going briefly pale before giving way to bright pink patches high on her cheeks. She smiled into the phone, and he guessed who it was a split second before she said, "Oh, Charlie, hi."
Sitting back in his chair, Elijah tried not to act too interested as she talked to Charles Bingley, but he couldn't help overhear her side of the conversation. "I wasn't expecting you to call so soon...Oh, that's so nice of you...Yes, I had a wonderful time...Really?...Oh wow, that's...Are you sure?...Um, yeah, Monday sounds great...I'll see you there...Alright, bye."
She hung up the phone, unable to contain the broad smile on her face. She met Elijah's gaze across the table and an excited squeak escaped her. "I told you he'd call," Elijah said triumphantly. "What'd he say?"
"He asked me out to dinner on Monday," Jane said. "He's taking me to Daniel."
"Seriously?" Elijah asked in surprise. "Damn, he's not sparing any expense on impressing you."
"I don't think he's trying to impress me," Jane said, her cheeks still flushed. "His sister recommended it. She says they have the best lobster and Charlie remembered me saying that I liked lobster."
"Oh right, his sister," Elijah said, less than enthusiastically.
"She's actually really nice," said Jane. "She was just tired, she'd been away on a photo shoot all week and just got back that afternoon. But she gave me loads of tips on how to do my hair. I really like her."
"You really like everyone," Elijah said, but he laughed to soften the comment. "Well, I'm glad you like her. The way things are going, she might be your actual sister someday."
Jane turned red all the way to the tips of her ears. "Eli, don't tease."
"Alright, sorry," he said, holding up his hands in surrender. "I really am happy for you, though. Although I'm not looking forward to tomorrow night's dinner." Jane wrinkled her brow questioningly. "Think how Mom's going to react when she finds out you've got a date with one of the richest men in New York. She's gonna have kittens."
"Oh." Jane winced slightly. "She'll care about more than just the fact that he's rich, though."
"Will she?" Elijah asked skeptically.
"Of course," Jane said. "She married for love, that's all she wants for us as well. All of us," she added, reaching across the table to squeeze Elijah's hand.
A distraction arrived at that moment as a waitress brought out their lunches, and Elijah gratefully seized the change in topic. He loved Jane dearly, but he wasn't as optimistic about their mother's acceptance of his sexual orientation. So he picked up his fork and said, "So what are you going to wear? Have to dress up for a place like that." Jane latched onto the subject eagerly, and they spent the rest of their lunch discussing her impending first date with Charles Bingley.
