Chapter 13

Darcy walked into Elizabeth's office at about four o'clock the next afternoon, intent on taking his sister's advice and warning Lizzie about George Wickham as soon as possible. But her office was empty.

"Lily!" he called, probably a little too harshly, and Lizzie's assistant came rushing in.

"Yes, Mr. Darcy?" she asked.

"Where's Elizabeth?" he asked.

"She said something about leaving early because she had to run home before her date tonight," Lily answered truthfully, it wasn't unusual for Lizzie to leave early since she was known to work sporadic hours.

"A date?" He asked, "With who?"

Lily gave him a look and he knew he was asking the wrong person, and realised he probably sounded like a jealous fool.

"She didn't say, but I assume it was the same guy who sent those," she gestured to the large flower arrangement on the cabinet behind Lizzie's desk, "And she literally just left, I don't know how you missed her," she added as Will strode over to the flowers and picked the card off the holder.

He growled out loud when he read the signature 'George Wickham'. He turned and marched out of her office, quickly heading towards the elevators. Ahead of him he saw her, Lizzie was laughing a goodbye with Charlie outside the break room.

"Well, I'm happy you're finally official!" he heard her say then she turned to walk away, she called back at him teasingly, "Who knows, maybe soon I'll be able to call you my brother!" Charles blushed and disappeared into the break room and Lizzie kept heading to the elevators.

"Elizabeth, wait!" he barked. She looked back and saw him, and actually stopped. He'd expected her to bolt again. He reached her and grabbed her elbow, steering her into the open conference room just behind them, he didn't say anything and she let him lead her into the room, he shut the door behind them.

"What's up?" she asked, there was no snarky tone to her voice at all, and it surprised him for a moment that she wasn't trying to attack him for manhandling her.

"Um, I wanted to talk to you about something," he started, "And given that I just found out that you're going on a date, I don't want you to interpret this as, jealousy or manipulation. I was honestly on my way to tell you this before I knew that." He stopped to gauge her reaction, her expression was curious, but relatively neutral.

"I um…" he paused again, he felt odd the two of them standing like this, several feet apart and staring at each other. He moved over to the conference table and leant back against it.

"I saw the flowers in your office, from Wickham," he said, again shocked that she didn't blow up at him for invading her privacy. Something was definitely different with Lizzie today. "I didn't mean to snoop, really," he added, "But I'm glad I did, because you should know that George Wickham isn't the man who you think he is."

She came over to the table and put her things down before taking the seat at the head of the table, Darcy moved to face her, sitting in the chair to her right.

"I know he's probably already told you some story about me, but I hope you'll believe what I say."

"I know George isn't all he appears to be," she interrupted him, "I can tell that much, thinking back on it, things don't really add up with him. And Jane doesn't trust him, and even Charlie warned me off him. So, despite what he said, I'm ready to listen to your side of the story."

He gave her a smile, which she returned, and he felt better knowing this wasn't going to fall on deaf ears.

"He said you were friends when you were younger," She said, "Is that true?"

"It is," he said, and he started his sordid story.

"But we haven't been close for quite some time. George was the son of my father's old business partner, he was born about a year after I was, and our mothers were close friends, so we would often have play dates. We were very close friends for most of our childhoods, things changed somewhat after Georgiana was born, I wasn't able to stop everything and play with him at the drop of a hat anymore, I was too busy being smitten with my baby sister!" He had a big smile on his face as he spoke of Georgiana.

"But it wasn't until we were at Eton that things really changed between us. George was in the grade under me, so he joined me at Eton when I was in my second year, I hadn't seen him since the previous August as we'd been travelling for the summer. Something about George was very... off putting when we reunited. He wasn't the same George that I was expecting.

"He started acting out, misbehaving, he got a lot of detentions, but managed to charm his way out of any more serious punishments. What was most difficult though, was he would use his connection to me, and my good reputation to offset his own. Once I graduated, he still had a year remaining, but without me around to, I suppose, pseudo-protect him, he didn't fair very well. The other boys didn't like that he got away with so much trouble before, often meaning the blame would fall on his accomplices, of which he had many, in his final year he got into many fights, and in the end was expelled. So close to his final exams he couldn't enter a new school, and he refused to repeat the following year. He never graduated, which is how he ended up in the army. Are you still with me?" he smirked.

Lizzie had been listening intently, George had never shared anything of his past with her beyond his occupation, and the distasteful, what she was now assuming to be lies, about Darcy. She nodded for Will to continue his story, and he obliged.

"About five years ago, George's father, Paul, got very sick and couldn't work anymore, George was overseas at the time, on duty, but even Paul knew that his son wasn't suited to this kind of work, so he sold his percentage of the company to my father, who placed it into my name. I was already working here, learning the ropes of Darcy enterprises at that time. A few months later, Paul passed away. George was still deployed so he couldn't come to the funeral. So it wasn't until my father suddenly passed away that George finally resurfaced, about six months later.

"Even thought his own father had thought George unsuitable, my own father, unbeknownst to me had willed thirty percent of the company to George with the proviso that I taught him everything he needed to know about working here. George visited me after he got the news, and told me, he didn't want his thirty percent, instead he wanted the cash value of his percentage. I agreed, and bought him out. He received several million dollars for his share, and went on his merry way. I was relieved, I hadn't wanted him privy to the inner workings of the business. I'll admit I didn't trust him, and my father's business means a lot to me. I had been trying to think of a way to entice George away from wanting anything to do with it. But he offered an out before I had to try.

"I don't know how he possibly did it, but he managed to lose most of the money in bad investments, gambling and over indulgence. About six months before you arrived here, George came back. He wanted back into the company, but I refused. Our father's had been gone longer enough that I no longer felt obligated to bow to George's every whim in their honour, when I declined him his percentage, which I had legally purchased and he had no claim to, he demanded I give him more money. Which I also refused, he left in a huff, and I never expected to see him again."

Darcy choked up a little at the end of that sentence and Lizzie could sense there was something more to come that had nothing to do with George's stake in Darcy Enterprises. She waited patiently for him to continue.

"Two months after he visited me, I discovered that he had been in contact with Georgiana, he had been using his charms to entice her to go out with him. I believe he thought that Georgiana was his way into our family's money. The thirty percent that was once George's, I had put in Georgiana's name, but at the time, she wasn't aware of that. She was only sixteen then. I came home early one day, and George was at our house, he was…" Darcy paused and took a deep breath, Lizzie reached across the table and brushed his hand with hers, breaking his deep reverie.

"He was trying to force himself on her" he snarled, looking Lizzie in the eye. "She'd refused to go to bed with him, so he was going to force her. I heard their struggle when I got into the house, and raced up to her room. He had her held down on the bed and his pants around his knees. Luckily I was in time to prevent him getting any further. I threw him out and called the police, but he never faced any real charges because 'attempted rape' isn't actually 'rape'," his voice was dark, and his body was tense. "His commanding officer gave him excellent commendations and he got off with a warning and a restraining order against him. He's not allowed anywhere near Georgiana or our house. The whole ordeal almost ruined her, she's come so far since then, but sometimes I'll catch her in a moment of melancholy and I'm sure it still lingers in her memories. There's nothing else I can do for her…"

He trailed off and looked up at her face, and after enduring that tale, it was like a breath of fresh air. He looked at the spot on the table where her hand rested against his as if it was the first time he was noticing it, and she drew her hand away quickly.

"And that's everything?" she asked finally, her voice quiet.

"Yes. You can ask my cousin Richard or Georgiana to back up my claims, and even Charles to an extent, he knows most of what happened when it comes to the company. I never told him about Gigi, because well, that's private. But she gave me permission to tell you the whole truth when we spoke last night."

"He lied to me," she said, "He said you'd refused to honour your father's will and left him without his share of the company which he'd been counting on to make his way in life, and because he didn't have a college degree was stuck in the army."

Darcy scoffed.

"I can see that your story makes more sense, I do believe you Darcy. And I'll stay away from Wickham after tonight."

"After tonight?" he asked, "You're still going to see him tonight?"

"It's too late for me to cancel," she said "I'm going to have to go straight from here as it is."

"I wish you wouldn't,"

"I know," she smiled "But if it helps, I'm going to break it off with him now that I know the truth. My heart wasn't in it Darcy, I realise that now." She stood up and gathered her things. She turned to leave the room and he grabbed her hand, she turned her head to look at him.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this. But go easy on him." He said,

"You're right, I can't believe you said that!" she teased him, but she stopped when she saw his serious expression.

"The man has an awful temper, Lizzie. Don't give him a reason to take it out on you. You know what he's capable of now, just, be careful," he said earnestly.

"I will, goodnight," she promised with a smile and then she walked away.

"I just want you to be safe," he murmured to the empty room, he watched her step on the lift and his heart dropped as the doors closed on her.