Chapter 16

When Elizabeth woke up on Sunday morning, the last thing she felt like doing was getting out of her warm comfy bed. Yet, to her dismay, an hour later she still found herself sitting in the backseat of Charlie's BMW on their way to her parents' house for the Bennett family's weekly brunch.

"So what did Mum say when you told her you were bringing Charlie?" she asked Jane, who sat in the front seat holding Charlie's hand on the gearshift.

"I didn't tell her, perse," Jane blushed. Elizabeth moved forward to lean over the front seat with interest gleaming in her eyes.

"What exactly did you tell her?" she asked, Charlie was wearing a knowing grin so she knew that she was the only one left out.

"I simply told her that I would be bringing a gentlemen friend to brunch, so could she please set another place,"

"Gentleman friend?" Lizzie laughed at the phrase, "I can't believe she accepted that!" she scoffed,

"Well, she wasn't happy that I wouldn't tell her who it was, and she tried to get it out of me for a good twenty minutes, but eventually I just hung up," she laughed.

"Bravo!" Lizzie commended, Jane frowned at her and shook her head.

"Should I be scared?" Charles interrupted.

"Always," Lizzie laughed, "But don't worry, you're rich and handsome so she will definitely love you."

"No, what you should be afraid of is her starting to plan our wedding before we've even sat down to eat!" Jane said, "She can be a little… exuberant."

"A little? Charles, I hope you realise the full ramifications of your coming today,"

Jane shot her a glare then, she didn't want to scare her new boyfriend any more than necessary.

"I can take it," Charlie piped in, reaching across the car and putting a hand on Jane's leg, "Anything for the woman I love," he grinned, Jane blushed fuchsia.

"Aww, it's no fun teasing you if you're going to be so nice about it," Lizzie groaned leaning back in her seat, her face arranged in a fake scowl.

"But I'll forgive you, just this once, because you're so damn cute," she smiled and turned to look out the window at the passing countryside. It wouldn't be long until they arrived at her parent's house so she would savour the short amount of silence she had left.

After they'd arrived and Lizzie felt that she'd endured enough of her mother gushing over Charles and talking up her sister, she decided to go up to the study and look for some books she wanted to borrow until brunch was served. She was sitting on the floor in the corner, still listening to the distant sounds of her family downstairs, when her dad found her.

"Lizzie my dear, hiding away are we?" He asked, sitting in his desk chair.

"Raiding your collection, actually," she smirked back, holding up a book.

He smiled in reply and sat silently watching his daughter for a few more minutes before he broke the silence again.

"How are you Lizzie?" he asked, he could sense everything was not well with his daughter, but wasn't sure exactly what was bothering her.

Lizzie sighed, not wanting to tell her father about what had happened the other night with Wickham, but knowing he wouldn't leave without some sort of answer. He spoke again before she had to answer him.

"Is it to do with your boss and…" he trailed off, not wanting to say the words, but used a rolling hand gesture to get his point across.

"Daddy," she groaned, but he smirked, he knew his Lizzie well enough to know he'd hit a sore spot.

"He's not taking advantage of you because of what happened is he?" he asked protectively.

"No!" she cried instantly, surprising her father with her defensive response. "No, he's not…" she continued, "Actually, I don't know what to think anymore daddy, this week has been so… different."

"Different?" he asked, "What do you mean? Is he pressuring you? Mistreating you?"

"No, no nothing like that Dad, Darcy has been… very amiable," she said.

"Amiable?"

She nodded, "He's almost like the Darcy he was when we first met… I, it's hard for me not to like him," she tried to explain.

"Lizzie, I thought you hated the man!" He exclaimed to which Lizzie shook her head.

"No… I mean, I thought I did too. But he's been so different, so attentive and frankly, friendly this week, I feel like I'm seeing the real Darcy at last."

"Are you sure? We both know what a proud and unpleasant man he's been since you started working for him, that's a lot of time to just sweep under the rug because of one week of pleasantries," he argued.

"I don't know Dad, I feel like I was wrong… maybe? You took my side when I complained about him, but your impression meeting him was completely based on my prejudices. I know you can't be unbiased. Jane says I've been wrong all along…" She paused, "There's still a lot for Darcy and I to discuss, but I haven't made a decision about everything yet. All I know is that I really like the Darcy that I've seen this week, and I'm not ready to dismiss that man yet."

"You tell me when you figure it out," he said getting up out of his chair, "I best go back down and reign in your mother before she scares Jane's new fellow away… or should I let her?" he asked

"No, Charlie is great. He and Jane are perfect together," Lizzie assured him.

"Then, I'll go and rescue them, see you downstairs," he said, leaning down he kissed the top of Lizzie's head before leaving the study.

"LIZZIE"!

Her youngest sister's high pitched screech drew her from her book and she heard footsteps thundering down the hall as Lydia ran towards the study. She appeared in the doorway suddenly.

"Mummy sent me to fetch you, we're eating now," she said before turning on her heel and barrelling back down the hall, Lizzie rolled her eyes at her sisters exuberance and began to follow her at a regular pace, until she heard the all too familiar voice at the bottom of the stairs of cousin Collin and she understood why Lydia was sprinting around the house like a mad woman. She followed suit and ran as fast as she could to the table. Panting slightly, she secured a seat between her sister Katie and Charlie, who was protected on the other side by Jane. It sounded mean, but there was only so much she could endure this weekend, and felt that she'd been through enough already.

"Why," she breathed heavily, "Is Collin here again?" she asked. Katie smirked,

"He showed up unannounced, mother was frantic. Poor Mary's going to have to sit next to him and she doesn't even know he's here yet," she giggled. Across the table Lydia had taken the seat next to their mothers, and their dad was already sitting at the head of the table. The two remaining chairs were directly across from Lizzie and Katie, and Mary was taking the one next to Lydia, her expression questioning why her sister was being so insistent.

"I'm sitting! Gosh Lyddie, what is wrong with you?" Mary asked as Lydia grabbed her arm and pulled her roughly into the chair. The next second Collin was standing behind her smiling, all be it awkwardly.

"It looks like we're to be dining companions today Mary," he said.

"I hate you," she whispered to Lydia before turning to smile at their cousin, "Hi Collin," she said, "I wasn't expecting to see you today."

"Nor I, but I woke up this morning and thought, what better way to spend my Sunday than in the company of my dear cousins,"

Katie leaned over to whisper in Lizzie's ear, and they all left Mary to her own devices with Collin. They all knew he would eventually shut up and sit in silence because he'd run out of things to say, so none of them were too concerned about their sister.

"Are you sure it's ok for me to come and stay with you Lizzie?" Katie asked for the tenth time since Elizabeth had offered her the fold out couch in her and Jane's apartment for the few weeks before she started her semester at university.

"Of course its ok, otherwise I wouldn't have offered," she replied, "Besides, with you starting work with me next week, it makes sense that you stay for a few weeks. Until you get used to the city, it's much easier to get to the office from our apartment than from campus."

"I really appreciate it," she said, "I'm still so nervous!"

"Don't be, honestly, the job is not that hard and you'll get all the training you need until you feel comfortable with your tasks,"

Katie laughed, "You make it sound like answering phones and giving directions is an important endeavour,"

Lizzie smiled, "Hey, you might be a receptionist, but you'll be an amazing receptionist!" she teased.

"If you say so," she laughed

"Did you want to come back to the city with us this afternoon?"

"Yes!" she cried, "My stupid car died on me this morning at the grocery store, I thought I was going to have to get the train."

Lizzie grinned, "Poor Bertha!" she exclaimed, "I told you when I passed that car onto you it wouldn't last very long, I'm surprised it's still running this long."

"Apparently it's not," she laughed, "Pass the waffles?"

Lizzie took one for herself before passing her sister the plate, then turned her attention to the rest of the family, a content smile on her face. As much as her family drove her nuts at times, they were still her family, and she loved them all dearly, even Collin in his own special way. After the weekend that she'd had, it was nice to have some normalcy in her life, so she enjoyed the rest of her day at her parents, and when she left that afternoon with Charlie, Jane and now Katie in tow, she felt calmer than she had in days.

The same could not be said for Darcy. By the time Sunday night came around Will was anxious for the weekend to be over. As it was, he'd spent most of last night and today sitting in his study, staring at the walls thinking about Elizabeth, and hadn't managed to achieve anything productive all day.

It was nearing dinner time when he heard Georgiana get home from running her errands so he went to find her and ask what she wanted to eat.

"Have you actually done anything today?" She asked when he found her in the kitchen, "You haven't even changed since I left this morning."

"I guess not," he sighed, opening the refrigerator, which was looking depressingly empty.

"I picked up some takeout from the market," she said, opening a bag on the bench, "Heaven forbid you actually do some grocery shopping while I'm away. What have you been eating since I left anyway?" she asked.

He gestured down to the takeaway container she'd passed to him and grinned, "A lot of this," he said. She shook her head but didn't comment.

"So, what's got you all reclusive Will, is it Elizabeth?" she asked, he sighed loudly as he took a seat at the counter and opened his chicken salad.

"You know it is, Georgie," he replied, "I haven't been able to stop thinking about her, I'm worried about her and I'm worried about Wickham and I miss her,"

"So call her," she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I don't want to pester her, we're in this weird limbo of a relationship right now, things between us are improving and I don't want to push too hard and push her away," he admitted.

"So you can't call her? That's ridiculous William, and you know it."

He shrugged, "She's not around anyway," he confessed, "I called Charlie and tried to get him to play some golf and distract me, but he's been with Lizzie and Jane at their parents' house all day."

"Ah, yes, the Bennett Brunch," She nodded, "You should have asked her if you could go, I'm sure she'd have loved your company,"

"I'm not going to intrude on a family thing,"

"It's hardly formal Will, even I've been to a few. It's usually the just all the Bennett's and a dull cousin, actually, you've probably met him. He works for Aunt Catherine and actually likes her!" She giggled, and then sighed before continuing.

"Speaking of Aunt Catherine, she found out that I've come back for the break and I've been summoned to high tea tomorrow," she narrowed her eyes accusingly and Will jumped to defending himself.

"I didn't tell her!" He exclaimed, "You know I wouldn't!" She laughed, taking pity on him.

"I know, it was Richard, the man can't keep his fat gob shut for two minutes! So anyway, I'll need your car tomorrow, if that's ok?" she asked, Darcy nodded.

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll have Charlie pick me up," Georgiana checked her watch and looked up with a coy smile, she grabbed her dinner and headed for the stairs.

"It's still early, you should call Elizabeth, I'm sure she'd love to hear from you!" she said, and then disappeared from the room. For a moment he considered his sister's advice, but he didn't call her. Instead he tidied the kitchen and went upstairs to his room, where he attempted to watch the news, to no avail. After spending a few more hours lying on his bed thinking about Elizabeth and trying to find a way out of this murky territory they were in, so he could tell her how he really felt about her, and what he truly wants from their relationship.