Chapter 4: Reunions and Goodbyes

Darcy impatiently sat through his meetings on Monday morning. After his extended period of telecommuting and his abrupt disappearance on Friday, he could hardly tell the board to re-schedule the meeting because he was waiting for a vlog update. But he was. After he'd left Bing's on Friday, he'd considered going to work, trying to distract himself, but he had unfinished business. Bing's personal life might be back on track, but Darcy's was as dismal as could be. He couldn't allow her to think he hated her. What's more, his silence on the matter of Wickham had left Lizzie vulnerable and he had to rectify the situation.

So instead of heading to Pemberley or back to bed, Darcy found himself in the office of his personal accountant requesting records of the transactions between the Darcy estate and George Wickham. He then went home and began writing. He had a ridiculous monogrammed stationary set that his Aunt Catherine had given to him ages ago and somehow it felt like the proper outlet for what he had to say. He couldn't imagine pouring his heart out in an e-mail, or exposing his deepest secrets on a legal pad. It had taken at least five drafts and most of the day before he finally sealed the letter (in for a penny, in for a pound, he might as well use the wax seal). He'd given the letter to Bing that night to deliver to Lizzie and the furtive worry on his friend's face suggested he'd seen the videos.

That had been Friday evening and he knew that Bing had driven up on Saturday. Lizzie usually filmed Monday's post on Sunday. So now, Monday morning with a packed work schedule, he could do nothing but wait through his board meetings and budget reviews to see her reaction.

As soon as the lunch break rolled around, Darcy closed himself in his office, sat at his computer and refreshed his browser. A new thumbnail of her smiling face appeared and he eagerly clicked it.

Hi Everyone," she began with an enchanting smile. "So you're probably wondering what happened with Jane's life since my last video. Well... we hadn't heard anything. Days passed. And then last night our doorbell rang. My name is Lizzie Bennet, and guess who showed up on our doorstep in the rain last night?" The intro music rolled and Darcy smiled at her flair for the dramatic. Bing had called Jane and made plans to be at the Bennet house the day after her last video aired, but Lizzie's presentation was far more appealing to her audience.

"Bing Lee is Back!" Lizzie enthused in her video, splaying out her fingers as she spoke. "Apparently he'd heard that Jane kissed some guy at his party and freaked out, thinking that Jane didn't love him like he'd thought. Please Jane is so pure and good, I can't immagine her ever willingly cheating on anyone" [cut] "...or anything for that matter." She rolled her eyes up to the ceiling as if she was thinking about it.

"Anyway, there has been groveling and begging for forgiveness, I've seen it myself! He's spent most of his time with Jane, as it should be, but I'm still sure he didn't decide to jump ship and skip town all on his own. If there is fault here, it lies not with Bing, but with John the Bastard, and by John I mean Darcy!" Darcy's stomach dropped. Had she not read his letter? Had she read it and still not believed him?

She would no doubt have continued on her rant, but Bing appeared at her open door and knocked. "Lizzie?"

"Oh, Hey Bing! Come on in!" She shifted over and motioned for him to sit down beside her. "Bing, this is the internet, internet, let me officially introduce Bing Lee." Bing waved and greeted the viewers. Lizzie turned to Bing and added, "I'm so sorry I posted videos of you before you knew about my vlog."

"Not a problem, without your videos who knows how long our misunderstanding would have lasted. But hey, I heard Darcy's name and that reminded me — I've been a little preoccupied with Jane since I got back." Bing smiled and Lizzie gave that scrunched nosed smile she always gave when Jane & Bing were too cute to handle. "He asked me to give you this," Bing handed her his letter. Good, at least she hasn't read and rejected it, Darcy thought.

"Darcy?" Lizzie asked, clearly confused. "Darcy asked you to give me a letter? Why?"

"Well, he watched your videos and..."

Lizzie cut him off and asked in a panicked voice, "Darcy watched my videos?" She gave an anxious panicked laugh, "Oh God! He could sue me for some of the stuff I've said about him. Not that it's untrue! He's a really successful businessman, really successful businessmen sue people. Alot, so I'm told. Oh God, do I know any lawers?"

"Trust me, he's not going to sue you. He's not that bad a guy."

"I know he's your friend, but, on a scale of one to murder, how angry is he?"

"I've never seen Darcy so..." Bing struggled for words and Lizzie looked at him apprehensively "...defeated. He's not angry, I think he's mostly sad and upset at himself."

Lizzie snorted in laughter, "a self-deprecating Darcy? That'll be the day!"

Bing looked worried and sighed, "Please, just read his letter. Anyway, I've got to get back to helping Jane pack." Bing turned to the camera and gave a quick "bye" before heading down the hall.

Lizzie looked at the letter. "Is this hand written? And wax sealed? And it's in cursive! I don't think I've had to read cursive since they taught it in the fourth grade." She bent her head to the letter with a furrowed brow then quickly tossed it to the side and Darcy's broken heart cracked a little further. "Well forget about it, nothing he can say can change anything. Nothing! Out of sight, out of mind! So..." She gazed about the room as if looking for another topic, but after a moment of dithering finally gave in and picked the letter back up. She retained her self-righteous indignation for a few seconds before her expression turned grave, then worried.

She shook her head and reached her hand up to turn off the camera when suddenly George Wickham snuck up behind her, covered her eyes, and asked "Guess who?" Lizzie jumped and quickly hid the letter to the side.

"George..." she said nervously as he sat down beside her.

"Oh, hey. I saw your sister with a big smoothie, she's not going to spill her drink on me again, is she?"

"Well, let's hope not," Lizzie said, than added in a soto voice, "you're head's swollen enough as it is."

"What?" George asked, confused.

"What are you doing here, George?" Lizzie asked, and Darcy was pleased to note that her voice was colder than she'd previously used with Wickham.

"Oh! I've got to leave town."

"Oh really?" Lizzie asked suspiciously.

"I just got an offer to coach for the Meryton Marines, it's a club team but they want to dive straight into their off season conditioning."

"Congratulations," Lizzie said sedately, "when do you leave?"

"I just came by to say goodbye."

"Well, goodbye."

Wickham looked at her suspiciously, obviously expecting a more emotional reaction. "I'm sorry about the tickets to the music festival on Friday," he ventured, I'll be back in a few weeks and I will make it up to you. Promise."

"It's not a problem," she replied, "I'll take Lydia, I could use more time with my little sister."

"Ok, peach," he said and chucked her on the chin, "I'll see you in a few weeks." And with that he turned and walked out the door. The scene was so similar to Wickham's haughty departure from Gigi's life that Darcy's blood boiled.

The video cut back to Lizzie alone and centered in front of the camera. "Speaking of people who act like they like you. What is it with everyone?" Lizzie widely gesticulated with her arms. "I've got a letter from the one person I was sure hated me informing me ... well, he doesn't hate me at any rate, and the guy I was dating just up and leaves like it's no big deal. Jane has accused me of being paranoid, but this is just ..." Lizzie shrugged her shoulders and the video cut off. Darcy stared blankly at the screen feeling unfulfilled. She hadn't had time to read his letter before the episode ended. He was fairly certain he'd at least raised her suspicion against Wickham, but what about the rest? Would she believe him?