Lizzie opened her eyes and William helped her out of the car. She realized that they were inside of the garage. William opened a door and guided Lizzie through a dim-lighted hallway.
When she stepped out of it, Lizzie saw Georgiana standing next to a woman, Kate, in the kitchen of the Darcy house.
"Lizzie," Gigi said when she saw her.
"Hello Gigi," Lizzie replied shyly.
Kate stepped forward and extended her arm.
"Hello Lizzie, I'm Kate. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too," Lizzie said and shook Kate's hand.
Kate was an attractive woman; with dark brown hair with some grey on it and amber eyes. She was smiling and Lizzie found it comforting.
"I think we should take Lizzie to her room, she was already sleeping in the car," William said, after greeting his family.
"Of course. Gigi and I just prepared one of the guest rooms," Kate responded.
"I'll show you, Lizzie," Gigi offered.
Lizzie nodded.
"Thanks for receiving me, Kate. William, thank you for everything," Lizzie said and followed Gigi.
William just nodded and watched go with her sister.
Lizzie crossed the spacious dining room to get to the foyer and the main staircase. The house was bigger than she had imagined, but did not have the energy to admire it.
"I felt relieved when William texted me you were coming with him. I wanted to know how you were after that..." Gigi said.
"I'll be okay, Gigi" Lizzie said. She did not want to tell her about the argument with George.
"Of course," Gigi sighed and then changed the topic, "I found some clothes that I think can fit you, so you can change to sleep."
"Thank you," she said and they continued up the stairs.
Lizzie followed her up the stairs and they walked past some doors until Gigi stopped.
"This is it, I hope you like it," she said and turned on the light of the room.
"It's gorgeous," Lizzie said. Everything in the room was a light shade of turquoise and it was very cozy.
"My mother decorated this room with her favorite color. She always said it was soothing. It's one of my favorite rooms in the house, and I thought you would be comfortable here. It has its own bathroom," Gigi commented.
"Thank you," Lizzie said once more.
"You're welcome," Gigi said, "try to sleep and rest, Lizzie. If you need anything else, we are just down the hall."
"Right, good night."
Gigi was about to leave when she turned and said, "Lizzie, I want you to know that you can think of me as a friend, even though we've just met and... you know, other things."
"Thanks," Lizzie smiled weakly in return. Gigi responded with a smile too and closed the door behind her.
Lizzie took off her coat and put it on a chair as well as her purse. On the bed were the clothes Georgiana had left for her. A pair of pajamas pants, a tank top and a Yale sweatshirt. She changed and went to the bathroom to wash her face.
She was pulling the covers off the bed when someone knocked the door. She quickly put the sweatshirt on, opened the door and saw Kate, holding a tray.
"Sorry to disturb you, Lizzie, but I forgot to ask you if you wanted something to eat or drink, so I brought you something."
"Oh, you did not have to bother. Please, come in."
Kate stepped inside and put the tray on the bed.
"I made you some tea and these are scones that I just baked."
Lizzie was not really hungry but when she looked at the food, she changed her mind. They looked delicious.
"Thank you very much, you are very kind, Kate," Lizzie said.
"It's the least I can do. Hopefully, they will make you feel better," Kate replied, "if there is something else that you need, let's us know."
"I will, thank you again."
"I'll go now. And Lizzie, maybe it's too soon to say this, but things will get better. They always do," Kate finished with a reassuring smile and left.
Lizzie sighed and sat on the bed. It was amazing how all these people that barely know her, worried and wanted to help her. For the first time after her talk with Gigi, she left safe and calm.
She drank the tea and ate one of the scones. It was truly delicious. When she finished, she got under the covers and tried to sleep.
William had stayed in the kitchen and was pouring himself a cup of tea when Kate returned.
"How are you, William?," she asked.
"I want to kill him. I couldn't stop him from hurting Gigi and he did again with Lizzie. I should have tried harder to uncover him. I could have saved her this suffering," he said in rage.
"She would be still hurt when she discovered the truth. It was just a matter of time. Lies like those could not be alive for long," she replied.
"She is right, William. Don't beat yourself up. The important thing is that she knows everything now and she's here and we can help her," Gigi said as she reappeared in the kitchen.
William did not say more but he was still feeling bad and tired. The three of them stayed in the kitchen a little longer, until William excused himself and went to his room.
When he passed in front of Lizzie's door, he stopped. He leaned in did not hear noises. He sighed relieved, he hoped Lizzie was resting.
It turned out that he could not sleep and so read until his eyes were too tired to distinguish the characters. It was not a peaceful night for him, he kept dozing and waking up. Frustrated, he decided to get more tea and went down to the kitchen.
On his way back, he heard crying coming out of Lizzie's bedroom. He wondered if he should knock but he did not want to intrude. He moved towards his room and the floor underneath him cracked.
In that moment, the door was opened and Lizzie poked her head around it. Her hands quickly wiped her eyes.
"William?," she said, "sorry, did I wake you?"
"No, I... I was just coming back from the kitchen... and...," he uttered.
"You heard me," she said.
William nodded and asked if she was okay.
"I will be. This was the last time I cried because of him," Lizzie replied.
The tea that Kate had given her had helped sleep for a while. But she had woken up in the middle of the night. At first she did not recognize where she was, and then she remembered everything that had happened with George and started crying.
"Elizabeth, cry all you want now, but this will be the last time. He does not deserve your tears, he does not deserve anything from you," she said to herself.
When she was finally calming down, she heard some muffled steps and floor cracking and feared that she had woken someone. She had opened the door and met William, wearing a white t-shirt and plaid pants.
"William, I need to ask you something." There was something in the back of her head that kept bothering.
"Yes?"
"Why are you being so nice to me? After the way I treated you... and... you said you wanted me safe."
William did not expect that question. Could he tell her the truth? That he was in love with her?
"I… care about you," he murmured.
Lizzie's mouth formed an "O". What? He cared about her?
William cleared his throat.
"We used to be friends, right?," he said.
"Yes," she answered.
"Well, friends care and look after each other, don't they?"
"Ah…mmm… so are we still friends?," she asked.
"Certainly, if that's what you want," he replied.
"Yes, I'd like that," she responded. She wanted to make amends with him.
"I like that too," he said.
Even in the faint light, Lizzie could feel the intensity of his eyes on her face and his nearness and that hint of affection was once again in his voice.
She did not know if her fatigue was deceiving her, but for a moment she felt that he wanted to kiss her. He seemed closer to her somehow.
She rubbed her eyes and realized he was still, in front of her. She was clearly imagining things and needed to rest.
"I won't keep you up any longer. Good night, William, and thanks again for everything," she said.
"You're welcome. See you in the morning," he smiled to her and walked away to his room.
Yes, he wanted to be friends with her again, even though he had wanted to kiss her right there. But he knew he could not tell her how he truly felt about her. Not now, it was not the time or the place.
Once all those hurtful events were behind her, he would tell her.
After her late night exchange with William, Lizzie managed to sleep, no dreams. The curtains and blinds of her room did not let the sunlight thru and so she slept in late. In fact, everyone in the house, except for Kate, slept in. She had gotten up early to go to her bakery.
The house was in complete silence until there was a loud crack and a curse.
Lizzie heard those noises close and immediately opened her eyes. She was getting up to see what that was when she heard a song, a very weird song.
She opened the door and saw someone standing in the middle of the hallway. She instantly recognized the afro.
"Fitz?," she said but he did not seem to hear her. He was holding a plate with one hand, and his phone with the other.
At that moment, Gigi came running from the other end of the hallway.
"Fitz! Wait," she cried behind him.
"GGD! I was waiting for you! Come on!"
There was another noise and William stepped out of his room.
"What's going on?", he asked, still somnolent.
"Sorry, Lizzie, William, this wasn't supposed to happen," Georgiana apologized and took the phone from Fitz's hand and turned the music off.
"Gigi, what are you talking ab...?" He started to say and then by the corner of his eye he finally saw Lizzie standing there. What was Lizzie Bennet doing in the Darcy house at that time in the morning? His jaw fell open and the plate almost fell.
"Good morning, Fitz," Lizzie spoke.
"Hello, Lizzie?", he managed to say and looked back and forth between William and Gigi, looking for an explanation.
William approached the group and looked at Lizzie. He now knew what was happening.
"I'm sorry Fitz woke you up, Lizzie. He had good intentions," he said, running a hand through his hair, as if he was thinking what to say next.
"It's just that... it's my birthday," he finished.