Chapter Three

The week following the party passed slowly. Lizzie noticed Jane in somewhat cheerier spirits than usual and attributed it to her meeting Charlie at the party. While Jane hardly spoke of him at all in front of other people, when she was alone with Lizzie he always seemed to come up in conversation.

They all were in the kitchen two days later, listening to Carter reciting a play-by-play of his and Lizzie's beer pong triumph when the subject of Bingley came up for the first time.

"...and then we were finally beaten, but it was close all the way until the end. It was a game that should truly go down in history. Then Lizzie and I found Jane being chatted up by this Charlie Bingles fellow."

"Charlie Bingley," corrected Jane. Lydia and Carly looked at Jane with eager interest.

"Let's hear all about him!" Lydia cried. "I want to know about this Charlie."

Jane told them about Charlie, his sister and his friend. "I really enjoyed his company. He seems like a very smart man. And his sister was wonderfully nice. I didn't get the chance to speak to his friend much, but I'm sure he's very nice too."

Lizzie snorted. "I'm quite sure he's not."

Jane looked up at her, somewhat startled. "What do you mean?"

Lizzie smirked and began to tell them all the story of what she had overheard Charlie and Darcy talking about at the party. When she got to the part where she had told off Darcy, Jane and Carly gasped and Lydia and Carter laughed.

"Anyways, it doesn't matter much what Sir William Darcy thinks of me seeing as how I don't give a shit about him," concluded Lizzie.

"But that didn't keep you from giving him a piece of your mind, did it, Lizzie?" laughed Carter.

Lizzie smiled. "Why should it? He had it coming. He is as conceited and annoying as Charlie is kind and charming. I'd be happy if I never saw him again."

Jane remained speechless for quite some time, no doubt trying, thought Lizzie, to justify Darcy's actions without hurting Lizzie's feelings. Later that night, Jane said, "Lizzie, I think Darcy must have been very tired and stressed. I can't imagine that a friend of Bingley's would ever want to offend anyone. It does not excuse his rudeness, but it may explain it."

Lizzie laughed. "Really, Jane. Don't worry about it. I'm not. In fact I'm glad I overheard Darcy and Charlie talking because I was able to hear Charlie saying how beautiful he thought you were."

Jane blushed slightly. "I really do like him, Lizzie. And I'm glad that he liked me too. He and his sister exchanged numbers with me and I hope I hear from him soon."

"You will, without a doubt. There's no way that he wouldn't call you," asserted Lizzie.

Lizzie was quite right about that, as it turned out. Caroline ended up calling Jane and inviting her over for dinner at the end of the week. Lizzie had mentioned to Jane that she didn't think much of Caroline, but Jane was so disposed to like her and Lizzie, not wanting to mar Jane's overall good opinion of Charlie, did not press the matter.

Lizzie woke up Wednesday morning, packed some of her art supplies and made her way across town to her weekly lesson with Rita Gardiner, a restoration artist with the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Rita gave several classes a year and Lizzie had been to each one since she had moved to the city. Lizzie's talent and her voracious appetite for new information and painting techniques led to her and Rita becoming quite close. After the class Lizzie stayed after to catch up.

"How're things at the gallery?" Rita asked while she cleaned up a bottle of spilled paint.

"Fine," replied Lizzie. "Luke is getting his new artwork in today, actually. I'm going to go help him as soon as I get off work. This new exhibit is supposed to be fantastic. You should come! It's in a few weeks; I think you'll really enjoy it. Plus, you'll get to meet Luke."

Rita smiled. "I'd love to come. I'm always interested in new art. And I've heard so much about your uncle's gallery. Let me know the details next week and I'll try to make it happen." Rita finished cleaning and sat down at one of the desks. "And what about you? What have you been up to this week? Any new art I should know about?"

Lizzie blushed. "Nothing worth showing you now. Although I have painted a lot this week, actually. Luke and I had a disagreement and I felt particularly inspired," she laughed.

"That'll about do it," grinned Rita.

"I haven't talked to him since then. I'll have to apologize to him tonight when I see him." Lizzie glanced at the clock. "I'd better run, I have to be at work soon. See you next week, Rita!"

"Definitely!" called Rita as Lizzie ran out the door. Lizzie got on the subway and made her way to the travel agency where she worked. It was a small business, but as it was in a busy part of the city it did very well. Lizzie liked it for several reasons. Mostly, it allowed her time to paint and do her art, even when she was at work she doodled in a sketchbook while on the phone with customers. It also paid very well and, every once in a while, Lizzie was offered a free vacation.

Ms. Long, Lizzie's absent-minded boss, greeted her as she came in the door. "Ah, Lizzie! Mr. Jenkins is on the phone to finalize his vacation plans and I can't find them anywhere. You handled his plans, would you take care of him? Oh, and how long are you planning on staying this evening?"

"You scheduled me until 7:30 tonight, Ms. Long. Do you need me to stay later?" asked Lizzie as she pulled Mr. Jenkins's file out of the filing cabinet.

"No dear, I was just wondering."

Lizzie spent the rest of the evening at work and at 7:30, locked up and left the travel agency. It was still light out and Lizzie decided to walk to the gallery, which was only a few blocks away. It would give her time to phrase her apology to Luke perfectly and it afforded a wonderful view of the setting sun. Walking around New York City always exhilarated Lizzie. The sights and smells inspired her beyond measure and she couldn't wait to paint after one of her walks.

She rounded the corner and the bright white face of the gallery stood out. She had composed her apology speech and as she pushed open the large glass door she looked for her uncle.

"Luke?" she called. "You here?"

"In the back," came the muffled reply. Lizzie found Luke sitting at his desk up to his elbows in paperwork. "Hi," he said, shuffling through his drawers. "The paintings came with this huge contract. It's nothing too important, but I've got to get my lawyer to look at it."

"Luke," Lizzie started, "Can I just say that I'm so sorry. I never should--"

Luke put his hand up. "I'm sorry too. Let's forget about it, shall we? Come, I want to show you the paintings!"

Lizzie followed Luke out of his office and down into the basement. She felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She and Luke were back to being friends! And she was so excited about seeing the new artwork that she could have burst. She had seen pictures of Pedro Siestra's work before, but Lizzie knew that nothing could compare to seeing the original.

Luke moved to the nearest canvas and lifted the dust cover. Lizzie gasped and moved forward. It was an oil painting about 2 feet by 4 feet and it depicted what Lizzie saw immediately as a sunset. Of course, Siestra's paintings could be interpreted a number of different ways. That was what Lizzie found so interesting about them. Everyone saw it differently.

"What do you see?" asked Luke, with a curious smile on his face.

"A sunset," Lizzie responded in a half-whisper. Luke moved behind her and looked at the painting from her angle. "That's interesting. Carly and I both saw a fire."

"Carly came by?" asked Lizzie forcing herself to listen to her uncle.

"Yes. She told me about the guy Jane met. I hope he's good enough for her."

Lizzie laughed. "Oh, he's seems very nice. Quite the gentleman. He'll do for now, either way. It's about time she had a boyfriend," she said as she walked around the basement, lifting up other dust covers and peering at the paintings underneath.

"What about you? Don't you think you've been playing tormented artist a little too long? Where's your date to my opening?"

Lizzie took Luke's remark as the joke he meant it to be. "Ha! I'm hardly tormented. But, now that you mention date, I am bringing a friend of mine. Rita Gardiner. I've told you about her."

Luke raised his eyebrows. "Rita Gardiner from the Met? Wow, that will impress the critics. I'll have to tell Siestra's agent that she will be attending. Are you sure she's coming?"

"She seemed pretty excited about it. I'll call her later this week to make sure and then let you know."

"Thanks," said Luke. He looked like he was only half listening.

"Well, let's get to work, then," said Lizzie with a determined smile. She wanted to make sure that these beautiful paintings were displayed perfectly for the opening.

Lizzie was walking down the corridor to her apartment Friday evening after work. She was very frazzled after working for the past ten hours and handling more than one snotty customer. It is unfortunate when your hotel doesn't serve caviar after your travel agent had called and checked that it did, but threatening a lawsuit won't get the rare delicacy to you any faster.

Lizzie sighed and pushed her hair back. She heard the high pitched screams of her roommates before she even got to the door. Must be watching 100 Hottest Hotties on cable, she thought sarcastically. Searching for her key, Lizzie saw the hall light reflected in something off the floor by the apartment door. It was water. Gulping, Lizzie turned the key, but before she could open the door, it was thrown open by Lydia and Carly.

"Oh, thank god you're here, we called Ms. Long's but you'd already left and we tried Jane at Charlie's, but no one's answering and oh my god, look at the floor!" Lydia pointed towards the bathroom.

The whole floor from the bathroom out through the kitchen and into the hallway was covered water. Lizzie dropped her bags on the couch and went to the bathroom door. Everything was soaked. She let out a little sob. "Ah! What happened?"

"We don't know. Terry and Gina upstairs have the same problem and so does Lady Nine Cats downstairs. They've all left to stay with friends. The super isn't here and we've all left some rather nasty messages on his machine," Carly said calmly. She and Lydia had some bags packed and waiting. "We tried to move the furniture towards the corner so it wouldn't get wetter than it already is. The bedrooms seem to be ok, but the bathroom, kitchen and living room are a mess. Obviously the carpet is completely ruined. We would have rolled it up and moved it too, but it was already pretty much soaked and we figured it would keep some of the water from going much further into the apartment."

Lizzie just stared. Eventually she managed to say, "Jane..."

Carly gave Lizzie a piece of paper. "She went to Charlie Bingley's for dinner. She left a number, but no one has answered for the past hour. I guess they're not taking calls. I've found his address, here it is. Lydia and I are going to be staying at Tom Perkins's place. You remember, the lacrosse captain. We tried to get them to let you and Jane stay too but apparently they have no more room. I was about to start calling some friends to look for a place for you when you came home. What do you want to do?"

Lizzie turned to look at Carly and gave her a hug. She'd had to deal with this abominable leak and, no doubt, a hysterical Lydia and she'd done it so calmly! Lizzie couldn't even begin to think of how much this was going to cost them and how long they'd have to stay out of their apartment.

Carly returned Lizzie's hug and said, "I made sure your art was well out of way of the water. Would you like help finding somewhere to stay?"

Lizzie hugged her tighter and then let go. "No. No, Carly, I'm sure you're exhausted. Give me your number at Tom's and I'll let you know as soon as Jane and I have found somewhere to stay. I'm just going to pack some things for us and I'll go get her at Charlie's place."

Carly was reluctant to go, but with Lizzie's reassurance and Lydia's pleading they left quite quickly. Lizzie grabbed two duffle bags and threw her clothes and Jane's clothes into them. She checked the water flow, which hadn't stopped yet, but it was running into the hallway and not into the bedrooms. She called a cab, turned off all the electricity and went to wait for the cab in the lobby.

She gave the driver Charlie's address and when they pulled in front of a very tall and regal-looking skyscraper, Lizzie sighed. Of course he'd be ridiculously wealthy. It had started to rain heavily and Lizzie had forgotten to pack a raincoat. She asked the driver to wait around the corner while she ran in.

The doorman stopped Lizzie before she could go inside. "Excuse me, miss. Whom are you visiting?"

"Uh, Charlie Bingley's place."

"Is he expecting you?"

Lizzie was about to scream. "No, he is not. My sister is here visiting him. I tried to call, but no one's answering and this is kind of an emergency."

The doorman looked her up and down with a poorly concealed sneer, which made Lizzie want to punch him in the nose. Apparently he thought her wet hair, soggy shoes and rumpled clothes indicated that she was in fact in an emergency, so he stepped aside and held the door open for her.

"Thanks," yelled Lizzie as she rushed inside and towards the elevators. They had benches in them.

Reaching Charlie's apartment, she rang the doorbell and an older man in a suit answered it. No way, thought Lizzie. He does not have a butler.

"Hello, miss. I assume you are Jane's sister?"

Lizzie must have given him a weird look because he smiled widely. "The front desk called up and informed me that the sister of our guest was here and in an emergency." He ushered Lizzie in the front hallway and produced a towel out of nowhere. Lizzie took it gratefully and began to dry herself.

"How come the front desk can get through on the phone, but I can't?"

"Separate lines," the butler said.

"Lizzie? Is that you?" a panicked voice called from further inside the penthouse. Jane came rushing into the foyer and hugged Lizzie. "What's wrong? Are you ok? Where are Lydia and Carly? I tried to call the house, but I couldn't get through at all."

"Everyone's fine, Jane, don't worry. It isn't that big of an emergency. I only said that so the doorman would let me in. I'm sorry I alarmed you."

Charlie slowly walked in. "I don't mean to interrupt," he said, "I only meant to find out if everything is ok."

Lizzie smiled at him. "Yes, everything is fine, thank you." She turned to Jane. "The apartment is flooded. Apparently something's wrong with the plumbing all along our side of the building. Our bedrooms are ok but the bathroom, kitchen and living room are completely soaked. The super wasn't there when I left but I gave him the number where he can reach Carly and Lydia; they are staying at Tom the lacrosse captain's house. Jane, we need to find a place to stay. I don't know how long it will take to be fixed." She lowered her voice, "We don't have the money to stay in a hotel and we can't commute from mom or dads. Do you know anyone we can stay with?"

Jane bit her lower lip and looked quietly at Lizzie. They both turned when they heard a little "ahem!" from behind them. Lizzie wasn't sure whether it was the butler or Charlie who had made it, but it was Charlie who spoke then.

"If you are looking for a place to stay while your apartment is being fixed, I hope you will stay with us. There is plenty of room here and it is close to campus. I would love to have you as guests for however long it takes for the problem to be fixed."

Lizzie looked at Jane blankly. It was totally up to her if she wanted to stay here. Charlie's sister came into the room then to inquire what the matter was. Charlie quickly explained to her the situation.

"Oh, yes, Jane! Please stay. We would be happy to help you out."

"I...I wouldn't want to impose. We don't know how long it will take..." Jane started.

"Nonsense!" Caroline. She practically pushed Lizzie and Jane into what looked like a library. "I insist. You need somewhere to stay, we have room and I must confess it will be fun having some girl roommates for a while. It gets very dull with only Charlie and Darcy here for company."

Lizzie stopped suddenly. Darcy? Darcy was staying with them? Lizzie groaned inwardly. This was going to be a huge mistake.

And there he was sitting in the armchair reading his little book by the fire. How quaint, thought Lizzie, eyeing him dangerously. Darcy looked up at the group and got to his feet.

"Nothing gone too badly wrong, then, I hope?" he inquired. A raised eyebrow was the only semblance of expression he allowed himself as he met Lizzie's eyes. Lizzie felt sure that her best efforts at controlling her expression were failing miserably. And she didn't much care. If she was going to have to spend the next few days in the same apartment as Darcy, a plan of action was needed, no matter how many libraries the damned place had.