A/N: I still don't own Pride and Prejudice. However, I'm really pleased with all the reviews I've been getting. Please keep up with the reviews; they really make writing the story worthwhile.

Chapter Ten: At Least I'm not Like All Those Other Old Guys

Lizzie's POV

We went to the Easter vigil at a small Catholic church near Char's apartment. We got home around midnight and made crepes while watching a movie; this is an old Lucas family tradition and no one really knows how it started. We decided to watch She's the Man because it's light-hearted, amusing, and requires little thought at one in the morning. It was the perfect movie for three exhausted girls. The next morning, we were all leaving to go stay in a house Mrs. DeBourgh had rented for us out in the Hamptons. Ethan was already staying with his boss and her family, and apparently they just could not wait for our arrival. I had a feeling her nephew could wait to see me again and I could definitely wait to see Will again, but I wasn't going pass up a chance to spend a week in the Hamptons. This could possibly be the best week of my life and I was not going to let a self-centered asshole like Will Darcy ruin that for me.

And yet, I couldn't reconcile the asshole that Damien had described to me with the man I had seen on Friday. The man I had seen then was playful with his nephews. I never would have chalked Will Darcy up as someone who was good with children. But there he'd been holding that little boy and entertaining him when he was bored. He'd been so gentle with baby Isabella; I hadn't imagined that Will could ever be like that. I figured he was the kind of guy who ignored children at all possible costs and would rather flirt with heiresses and socialites than spend time playing on a playground with a four-year-old. But maybe he was just acting like that because these were his cousins' children. Maybe if those four kids had been strangers to him he wouldn't have given them a second glance. But I supposed that I'd see enough of him in the ensuing week to determine his character in relation to small children.

Maria was very nervous about Easter dinner at Mrs. DeBourgh's house. "She's so rich and she inspects everything. She'll probably inspect my clothes and ask me where I bought them and they're all from the mall. You're lucky, Lizzie; you've at least been to Chicago and bought nice clothes from H&M there. I bought my dress at Juliana's and even though that's a nice store, there's only one in the whole world and Mrs. DeBourgh has probably never heard of it and she'll look down on me for shopping at small local stores instead of wearing Prada and Ralph Lauren."

I smiled. "Maria, darling, take a deep breathe and relax. Your dress is gorgeous; I like it better than half the designer dresses out there. Yes my clothes are from H&M, but I'm out of college; people expect me to spend more money on my clothes. You're a poor college student, struggling to make ends meet; people will understand if your clothes aren't top of the line." Or at least, sensible people will understand that fact.

Maria Lucas was twenty-years-old and she should have been a junior in college. Unfortunately, she'd been in a bad car accident during the second semester of her sophomore year of college. She'd broken her back and had needed several surgeries and a lot of physical therapy to recuperate. She was now doing much better and only needed crutches once in a very rare while. She was planning on returning to school, Michigan State University, in the fall. She was a little discouraged because she would be twenty-one and only a second semester sophomore but I knew things would work out for her. She's very smart and has a lot going for her.

Maria scurried back to her bedroom to change into her supposedly simple dress while I changed into my outfit, which was indeed bought at H&M. I was wearing a knee-length black and white floral print skirt with a white v-neck cardigan over a black camisole and a pair of black peep-toe pumps that Steve Logan calls my "sexy salsa-dancer shoes." I was wearing a silver necklace with pearls and pearl drop earrings that I'd bought at Target a few weeks earlier and I'd just put some mousse in my hair and let it hang free in curls. I wasn't really trying to impress anyone at this dinner. I figured I'd met all of these people once and if they were going to judge me based on the way I was dressed and where I bought my clothing, these people weren't worth knowing anyway.

We were supposed to arrive at the DeBourgh residence at one in the afternoon and since the house was a five minute walk from our house we decided to leave at ten to one. Maria was wearing a knee-length white wrap dress with navy blue flowers sprinkled liberally around the fabric; it had a fabulous v-neck that she was emphasizing with a white pendant hanging from a silver chain. She had a pair of strappy white sandals on her feet, her light brown hair was pulled back with a silver clip, and she looked amazing. "Maria, no one will ever care where you bought your dress," I told her. "You look wonderful."

She smiled at me. "Charlotte's prettier. Everyone agrees that Char's prettier than I am."

"Well, I beg to differ," I replied. "Char looks great, but so do you.'

Char was wearing a dark green halter-dress that fell to her knees. Her shoulder-length brown hair was pulled back with a silver clip that matched her sister's; she was wearing a simple string of pearls with matching earrings. She looked very sophisticated, not like the crazy graphic designer who would lie on my couch wearing sweatpants and drinking beer while watching chick flicks. I smiled at her. "Charlotte Rosalie, when exactly did you grow up?"

She shrugged and spun around in a circle. "It was somewhere between first grade and two minutes ago."

I laughed. "I remember first grade. You wore your cat dress every chance you got and you always wore it with your pink turtleneck."

"Yeah, I loved that dress and turtleneck. They were so cute."

"Okay girls," Maria said. "Let's hit the road. I don't want to be late for dinner."

I nodded. "The kid's right; let's get going."

We arrived at Mrs. DeBourgh's house at 12:58pm to find everyone else waiting around for us in the living room. Ethan was sitting in a chair near Mrs. DeBourgh listening to every word she was saying; despite the fact that I'm not sure she knew he was sitting by her. Anne DeBourgh was lounging on a couch in a designer dress while holding her infant daughter. Her son was sitting nearby playing with some toy trucks. Rick and Evelyn Fitzwilliam were talking to Mrs. DeBourgh about her brother, George Fitzwilliam Sr., who was living in Seattle and had been unable to join his family in New York. George Fitzwilliam Jr. was apparently in another room playing with Rick and Evelyn's sons and Will Darcy. "Will is so devoted to those dear children," his aunt commented. "I'm not sure how he has the patience for them or the energy to keep up with them, but I'm glad someone enjoys those children."

"Speaking of children, why is Ryan still out here?" Anne asked. "I thought I told William to take him into the playroom when he took Logan and Connor."

I could see that she was very frustrated and no one seemed willing to deal with her little boy. "I'll take him back there," I offered. "I don't mind."

"Oh thank heavens," his mother sighed as I picked up her little boy and his toy trucks.

I carried the willing little boy over to the playroom where I found Will and his cousin, George, playing with two of the cutest little boys I've ever met. "Anne wanted me to bring Ryan in here because he was being ignored," I told them.

"Of course he was being ignored," George remarked. "His own mother doesn't pay attention to him; why would anyone else?"

I set the little boy down and looked around. "Do you guys need me in here or should I go back to the living room?"

"What are they talking about in there?" George asked. George was tall, like Will and Rick. He had very short light brown hair and blue eyes. His face was long, like Will's, but he didn't have Will's long nose and large ears.

"They're talking about your parents," I replied. I was stunned by George's good looks. Unfortunately, he was probably as much of a stuck-up snob as his cousin and therefore, not worth knowing.

He sighed. "Of course they are. Aunt Catherine is probably ranting about how her idiot brother and his ridiculous wife wouldn't come to her fancy Easter vacation because they were too busy spending time with their newborn granddaughter. Never mind that Hannah is their first granddaughter and only their third grandchild; Catherine thinks my parents are selfish for preferring to spend the week with my sister and her new baby."

"Someone should mention to Aunt Catherine that I'm planning to fly out to Seattle early next week to go visit Rob, Alicia, and the new baby," Will remarked as he pulled Ryan into his lap; he then turned his attention to the two-year-old. "So Ryan, where are your trucks? Did you bring me your dump truck?"

I looked at the trucks in my hand and smiled. "Here you go," I said, handing Will the toys. "Sorry, I forgot I had them."

Will nodded and thanked me. "These are Ryan's favorite toys; he loves trucks of all kinds, but his favorites are garbage trucks."

"Miss Bennett, you can sit down and play with us," Connor said, looking up at me. "You can play with my trains, and I'm sure Logan will let you play with one of his dinosaurs."

I smiled at the three-year-old as I sat down between Logan and Connor. "Do you like trains, Miss Bennett?" Connor asked me. I noticed that he had unusually clear diction for a little boy who wasn't even four years old yet. "My favorite train is Thomas the Tank Engine. Uncle Will bought him for me for my birthday last year."

"That was very nice of him," I replied, not really sure of what else to say.

"Oh it was nothing," Will Darcy remarked softly. "Connor loves trains and he seemed to like the Thomas the Tank Engine videos, so I thought I'd buy him a couple of the trains from the show."

Before I could think of any reply to that, Connor had another question for Will. "Uncle Will, when do Logan and I get to see Aunt Georgie's baby again? She's so pretty and I think she's really cute. She looks like a doll. Can we go visit her again when we get home?"

He smiled at the little boy. "I'll have to ask Aunt Georgie how she feels about it, but I'm sure she'd be glad to let you visit Emily."

Connor's face lit up with a bright smile and his uncle was smiling too. I looked at Will Darcy, shocked at the way I was seeing him now. He was playing with his cousins' children, like he had been on Friday. He seemed genuinely happy to see the little boys and play with them. And he had a niece; his younger sister had a baby recently. His face lit up when he was talking about his niece; apparently her name was Emily. I was confused as to where Emily and her mother were this weekend; maybe they were spending Easter with Emily's father.

Darcy's POV

Easter at my aunt's house was ridiculous. I really wished Georgie and Emily could have been there. It was great to see Lizzie; she was as beautiful as she'd ever been, especially all dressed up for Easter dinner. She was also taking an interest in all the little kids around my aunt's house. I was glad to see someone take an interest in Ryan; so few people did. It was also fun to watch her play with these little boys. She and Connor were off in their own corner of the world playing with the trains I'd bought Connor for his birthday last year. I think she was a little stunned by the amount of attention I paid to my cousins' kids, but I love kids. Maybe I'm not the first person you'd chalk up as someone who loves little kids and wants to be a dad someday soon, but that's the truth about me. I want to be a dad.

Dinner that afternoon bore an unusual resemblance to the Spanish Inquisition-without the burning corpses. My aunt was asking Lizzie dozens of questions about her family, career, and other aspects of her personal life. She was also intensely interested in Charlotte's plans for her August wedding to Ethan Collins. "And you're getting married in your parents' church in Meryton? Whatever for? There are so many lovely churches right here in New York; surely that would be more convenient for you and Ethan."

"It would be better for us, but not for anyone else in the wedding. Our entire wedding party is from Michigan and most of our guests are from Michigan," Charlotte replied.

"Yes, but isn't Ethan's father from Chicago?"

"He lives there now, but that's not where he's originally from. Most of his family still lives in Michigan," Ethan replied. "It's actually less expensive for us and for our guests if we have the wedding in Meryton. For example, we can have the reception for free if we have it at Lucas Lodge."

"And who are you having in your wedding party?" my aunt inquired. "How large will it be?"

"It won't be huge, but it won't be small either," Charlotte replied. "Two of my three sisters will be in bridesmaids as well as Ethan's two younger sisters and my cousin, Carolyn, and then Lizzie will be my maid of honor; also my youngest sister and my youngest brother will be the flower girl and ring-bearer."

"And then I've asked my friend, Philip Lowell, to be my best man," Ethan added. "Char's younger brothers, Mark and Paul, will be groomsmen as well as my half-brother, Michael, my college roommate, Tom Blake, and my friend, Andy Haas. I also asked Char's brother, Isaac, to be the head usher."

"So in total there are fifteen people, plus the two of us, and our parents in the wedding party," Charlotte finished.

"And what are your wedding colors?"

"We decided on a dark red and silver," Char said. "We also decided to have each bridesmaid pick her own dress because we have girls of different heights and sizes and what looks good on Maria might not look good on Lizzie."

"That's an unusual but good idea," my aunt said, very condescendingly. "What sort of flowers are you having in your bouquets?"

"My bouquet will be red roses with their stems wrapped in a white ribbon and the bridesmaids' will carry white roses with their stems wrapped in a red ribbon. The groomsmen's' boutonnières will be white roses and Ethan's will be a red rose."

"Will your flower girl throw petals?"

The bride-to-be shook her head. "No, the priest asked that we refrain from that tradition. However, she is going to carry a basket of red and white roses down the aisle."

"Nick and Elinor will be really cute," Lizzie remarked. I smiled listening to all this wedding planning; Lizzie would be a gorgeous maid of honor, even if I never got to see it or any evidence of it. I'd seen her wearing dark red tops before and I knew she looked wonderful in red.

"Actually, Lizzie's going to be a maid of honor twice in the next six months," Ethan inserted.

"Oh really?" my aunt said, her interested obviously piqued. "And who else has asked you to be in their wedding, Miss Bennett?"

"Another of my really close friends from forever, Rebecca Gilbert is marrying my friend, Stephen Logan, over Labor Day weekend," Lizzie explained. "Rebecca asked me to be her maid of honor about two weeks before Char did, but Becca's wedding is almost a month after Char's."

"That's because Steve and Becca don't love each other as much as much as Char and I do so they don't need to get married as desperately as we do," Ethan commented pompously, batting his eyelashes and his lady love.

Lizzie, who was sitting directly across the table from me, cringed and covered her face with a napkin as she laughed. I understood the temptation. Who could quantify love or say that one couple loved each other more than another couple did? Also, Ethan was constantly sucking up to my ridiculously condescending aunt. He seemed to view her condescension as an honor while I viewed it as disgusting and repulsive.

"So Miss Bennett," my aunt said, eyeing Lizzie like a lioness eyes a piece of meat. "What is your current relationship status? Are you single?"

Lizzie sighed. "I'm currently single," she replied, looking downcast.

"Oh," my aunt said, raising her eyebrows. "You're single. So, what's wrong with all the men out there? Are they all ugly? Or are they not rich enough?"

The victim of my aunt's insane ranting had become unusually interested in the pattern on her napkin and her cheeks were tomato red. I shot her a sympathetic look, but she seemed not to have noticed. She did, however, look very sad and distressed and I felt for her. She was a guest in my aunt's home and she had done nothing to deserve my aunt's treatment of her. Just as I slammed my fist down on the table, my cousin George jumped to Lizzie's defense. "Perhaps, Aunt Catherine, the problem is not that the men are not rich enough or good-looking enough for Elizabeth, but rather she has not met a man of good moral fiber who respects women and can care for her in the way she deserves."

Lizzie shot George, who was sitting to her left, a grateful look and he smiled back at her. Was my cousin falling for the charms of Miss Elizabeth Bennett? I wouldn't put it past him. Lizzie was a great girl; smart, good-looking, and not afraid to speak her mind. I could see her making George very happy, but I didn't want that to happen. I was interested in Lizzie and I wasn't about to surrender and stand by while my cousin wooed her. George may be charming and all, but he's not good at making relationships work and that would be ten times harder for him considering that he lives in Seattle and Lizzie lives in northern Michigan. It would be extremely hard for him.

By the time dinner ended, I became sure that George was interested in Lizzie, but I also started to note that she didn't seem interested in anything more than friendship. I was starting to think that she wasn't extremely interested in finding a guy right now. She seemed to be busy with work, friends, and some unexplained family drama. I hadn't heard any details but apparently someone in her family had been in the hospital recently. I wanted to ask her about it, but I knew that wasn't going to happen. She still seemed very intent on hating me for whatever evils Damien Wickham had accused me of.

On Tuesday, I found myself playing with my niece and nephews and Lizzie. We had taken them to a local park at Evelyn's request; she needed some time to herself. I had been planning to take the kids by myself when Connor went and found his new friend "Miss Lizzie" and asked her to join us at the park. Even though she wasn't crazy about spending time with me, she still agreed to play with us because she knew how important it was to Connor. I was still curious about which member of her family had been in the hospital recently but I knew now wasn't the time to ask. She had talked to Jane on the phone the night before and she had been more upset when she got off the phone than she'd been before her sister called her. I was starting to worry that my interference in Jane and Charlie's relationship had actually hurt someone. But then maybe it was just her grandma was sick and in the hospital; plenty of people have grandmothers who get sick and end up in the hospital. When I was five years old, my grandmother Fitzwilliam became very ill and went to the hospital. Maybe that's what happened to Lizzie; her grandmother must be in the hospital. There's no way my meddling could have messed things up THAT badly. Jane's just too level-headed and normal for that.

"So," I asked as the children ran around us. "Are you on Easter vacation this week?"

She nodded. "Yep, they insist on calling it 'Spring Break' to pacify those parents who expect political correctness at all times. But it's basically an Easter break; it corresponds with Easter and I think that's the real reason for it. Plus we teachers really need a break from those kids by mid-April. Let me tell you; high school students, especially seniors, are really annoying by the time Easter break rolls around."

"Oh I'd believe it; this may amaze you but I was in high school once. Granted, it was about a hundred years ago but I was in high school."

She laughed; she still had an amazing laugh. "Oh, I bet it's been less than a hundred years since you were in high school."

I smiled at her. "Well, I graduated from high school about twelve years ago. That's a little less than a hundred, but I bet you most high school kids today would think I was pretty ancient. I might not be eating bran muffins daily and drinking prune juice with every meal, but I don't wear my pants low enough to show off my boxers anymore either."

She smiled and I was glad she found my jokes amusing. "You aren't so old that you can't play with Legos and dump trucks in the sandbox," she said in a teasing tone.

"Very true," I replied. "But you must admit I am mature in certain ways. I'm not taking fashion tips from MTV or trying to stick it to the man with my every move."

Lizzie shrugged. "Yes but have you become the man that you were once trying to stick it to?"

Why did she have to go and say things like that and ruin a perfectly good afternoon? I was just having a friendly chat with her and then she goes and insults me for no real reason. It's been like this since I met her and I'm not sure why I bother with her. I'm not even really sure what attracts me to her anymore. Maybe it's the fact that she's unattainable or that she's not throwing herself at me constantly. I don't know what it is but I'm pretty sure I love her against my better judgment.

A/N: Please review! I hope you guys like it.