Moonlight and love songs never out of date,
Hearts full of passion, jealousy, and hate;
Woman needs man and man must have his mate,
That no one can deny.
All eyes were on them, they could not walk away.
William took the first step and approached Lizzie. She sighed and also walked towards him. When they were in front of each other, he extended his hand. Lizzie hesitated but finally took it. Once again, she felt that strange sensation when she touched him. And she felt it again when he put his hand on her back and his thumb brushed her skin.
They had not been this close in a really long time, and Lizzie was nervous about that proximity. William started to move and she followed his lead, which was not difficult. Soon, other dancers joined them.
Even with her heels, Lizzie was still shorter than Darcy and so her eyes were at the level of his Adam's apple. She saw him swallow a couple of times as if he was getting ready to speak.
William at last had her in his arms and it felt good despite the circumstances. But he also felt like he needed to say something, take advantage of the situation. He just did not know how to start.
"Your sister looks very happy," William finally said.
"Perfect, small talk," she thought before answering. "She is. She married the love of her life."
"Jane and Bing are very fortunate to have found each other."
"Yes, it is really hard to find someone you can trust with your heart."
"Have you found it yet?", he asked.
Lizzie did not expect that question, and it took her an instant to reply. For sure he knew about her engagement.
"Yes."
William felt a jab in the chest.
"Are you really happy?," he asked again.
"Why would not I be?"
William exhaled.
"Liz… Elizabeth, I wish things between us had not gone astray."
"Me too," she conceded.
"Really?," William was surprised by her answer.
"Yes, I liked you." This time, Lizzie looked him at the eyes.
"Then why are we still strangers?"
"Because it's hard to forget what you did to him."
"'What I did?' Lizzie, what about the … ," William said, but Lizzie did not hear him. The music was suddenly too loud, and some people were already applauding.
In that moment, the song died. Lizzie dropped her arms and took a step back from him. But he did not let go of her hand.
"Lizzie, I get that you don't want anything to do with me, but, please, don't dismiss Georgiana because of that," he said.
Before she could reply, George appeared next to them.
"Is he bothering you, Lizzie?," he asked, staring at William.
"No, George, he was only thanking me for the dance," she said.
"Okay," her boyfriend murmured and did not move.
William gave George a hateful look before walking away from them.
He saw Gigi, waiting for him with a nervous look on her face. She asked him if George had said something to him. He shook his head, kissed her on the temple, and asked if she had any cake left for him.
He wanted her to keep away from Wickham.
When Darcy left them, George took Lizzie in his arms and started to dance.
"Where were you before? I was looking for you when my mom dragged me to catch the bouquet," she asked him.
"I went to the restroom and then wandered around a little. Sorry I missed the whole garter thing, you wouldn't have to dance with Darcy," he said.
Lizzie shrugged; it had not been as bad as she thought.
They kept dancing until the married couple thanked their guests and disappeared together.
Lizzie did not stay longer after that as she was exhausted. She told George that she wanted to leave and he agreed. She looked around for her family to say goodnight and her eyes saw the exact moment when Caroline effusively hugged Darcy before he left the reception hall.
The morning after the wedding, Georgiana woke up as early as it was possible for her. She took a quick shower, got dressed and went to the restaurant.
As she had not agreed on a time to talk with Lizzie, she hoped she would see her during breakfast.
Her brother was sitting alone on a table, away from the rest of the guests.
"Good morning, Gigi," he greeted.
"Good morning, William. How long have you been here?," Gigi said as she sat next to him.
"Not long. I went for a walk first."
"But it's freezing outside!," she said out loud.
"I did not mind. You know I like the cold."
Gigi sighed. It was obvious that William was not in a good mood. And he was not, given the events of the previous night.
"What troubles you, William?," she asked.
"I don't think Elizabeth read the letter," he said.
"Why do you think that?"
William mentioned their little conversation while they were dancing.
"Maybe she chose not to read it or it was lost somehow," he added.
"That could explain things, I will ask her. Have you seen her yet?"
William shook his head. The last time he had seen her, she was dancing with George.
"Well, I hope she'll be here soon."
They ate their breakfast and chatted a little about the wedding. When Gigi looked at her phone and realized that it was rather late to be breakfast time, she decided to look for Lizzie. She went to the front desk, and asked for her.
"Are you Georgiana Darcy?," the receptionist asked.
Gigi nodded.
"I'm sorry but Miss Bennet went out earlier this morning and left this for you."
The woman extended her a piece of paper, which Gigi took and she thanked her. Georgiana did not waste an instant to read the note.
Apparently, Mrs. Bennet had wanted to tour around the Hamptons and had insisted on bringing her daughter along. Lizzie promised she would do anything to return to the manor as soon as possible. At the end of the note, she had written her cell phone number, just in case.
Frustrated, Georgiana returned to William and told him about Lizzie's note. They could only wait.
"Gigi, can you please stop? You are making me dizzy," Fitz said.
Fitz, Gigi and William were in the library, and she had not stopped pacing around for the last fifteen minutes.
"I have to leave in a hour, and she has not come back," Gigi replied. She was returning to New Haven that day.
"You already texted her and she said she was on her way back," Fitz said.
"I know, I know…"
In that moment, Brandon arrived with coffee for all and William's phone rang. He excused himself and left the room. Gigi sat next to Fitz and waited for her brother.
When he came back, he looked distressed.
"Darcy, are you okay?," Brandon asked.
"I have to go to Pemberley."
"Now? I thought you were leaving tomorrow," Gigi asked, puzzled.
"Not Pemberley Digital; Pemberley, England."
"Why? What happened?," she said again.
"It was the groundkeeper. Apparently, someone has been stealing resources from Pemberley and they need me there."
"It's very serious then," Fitz said.
"I could be," William replied. The groundkeeper had not given much information.
Gigi rose and hugged her brother.
"Why did that happen? This is definitely not how I expected this day to go," she said.
"Me neither, but these things are always unexpected," he answered, "I'll have to go to the airport now, see if I can get a seat in the next flight to London."
"I'm going with you," Gigi spoke.
"No, you have school."
"William, I'll go with you. I am only taking one class and doing an independent study. I'm sure I can arrange things with my professors."
"Gigi…"
"I want to help and support you. Besides, Pemberley is also mine."
"Okay," he sighed, "let's go then."
"We'll take you to the airport," Brandon offered.
"Thank you," William said, grateful.
"Gigi, what about Elizabeth?," Fitz said.
"I'll talk to her when we get back."
"As you wish," William finally said and the four of them left together.
On the way of the airport, Gigi texted Lizzie and apologized for her sudden leave, and promised to contact her.
As time goes by - Tony Bennet.
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