A/N: Well, I'm sort of hating myself right now, because I would have had TWO chapters to post but I did something incredibly stupid that I can't figure out how to undo and lost about three pages of the second chapter that I will now have to rewrite – it'll have to wait until I calm down, however, because right now I'm really frustrated that I lost so much. However, here is the first chapter; at first I'd had them as one big chapter but it was just too much.

Important: For those of you who have been reading the story since before the last chapter came out, I just wanted you to be aware that I went through and revised the first seven chapters. If you don't want, or don't have time, to re-read the story (both of which are perfectly understandable), here are a few highlights:

First, Charles and Jane are technically not boyfriend and girlfriend. They are just friends.

Second, I didn't really like the way I was portraying Darcy's involvement with Charles and Jane: I want him to be telling the truth later when he says he did it only because he thought Jane wasn't in love with Charles, so I revised it to coincide with that. I also made his objections to Eliza a bit stronger, and threw in a bit about him being resigned to marrying Anne.

And now it's time for what we've all been waiting for: Monsieur Slimeball himself, George Wickham.

Chapter 8 – New Acquaintances

"Oh, Charles what a magnificent home! Is that real gold?"

Eliza's heart dropped with a thud as her mother's voice echoed from the foyer. She was ten minutes early, no doubt a minor part in her grand scheme to get Jane to stay. Eliza hurried to throw her last few toiletries into her suitcase, zipped it quickly, and began to run downstairs.

What met her eyes, however, brought her to a screeching halt. At the bottom of the stairs, examining the foyer as if they were at a flea market, was not just Mrs. Bennet, but also Lydia, Cate, and Mary. Charles, Caroline and Darcy at his side (they had not gone back to Long Island the night before as promised), was smiling as genuinely as he could muster, no doubt, as Mrs. Bennet picked up a crystal vase and rapped her fingernails on its surface. Lydia was admiring herself in a gold-plated mirror, while Cate held up a candle muffler over her head, staring at it as if trying to figure out how to use it, and Mary just stood by the door, looking aimless as usual.

"Eliza!" her mother trilled the moment she appeared. "Good, you're ready to go. Is Jane not ready? Oh, she probably doesn't want to leave yet, she can't possible feel well enough."

Eliza rolled her eyes. "She's just finishing packing, Mom."

Mrs. Bennet shot her a glare before turning back to Charles. "I cannot express my gratitude enough, Charles. This really was too kind of you."

"It was my pleasure, Mrs. Bennet," he said, his expression, for once, as unreadable as Darcy's.

"Of course, she was supposed to stay a few more days… I don't know why she thinks she's well enough to move…"

"I've called the doctor, and he said that by now, she should be fine," Charles said.

"Oh… well, then…" Mrs. Bennet trailed off. She flicked a few of the flowers that sat on the middle table idly, obviously unaware of the smirks on the faces of Caroline and Darcy.

"I do hope you'll stay at Netherfield for a long time, Charles," Mrs. Bennet began. "It is such a beautiful house… and such a wonderful community, don't you think?"

Charles politely nodded. "Yes, I daresay it is."

"I know people usually only rent those homes for the summer, but it's not unheard of to stay longer. You could stay here all through the winter if you'd like."

Charles made no response.

"Everyone really loves that you're here, too," she plowed on, undeterred. "You really should stay, it's a wonderful place to live. And a wonderful place to bring up a family, too."

Completely embarrassed, Eliza murmured harshly to her mother, "Okay, Mom, you've made your point."

Mrs. Bennet shrugged and continued to walk about the foyer, running her hands through a crystal light fixture, sending the glass ringing for several seconds.

"And it's a wonderful alternative to the city. Although of course, the city is really no better than Long Island," Mrs. Bennet began again; Eliza buried her face in her hand. "I mean, what does the city have that we don't? Oh, a few more museums and bars… but the people in Long Island are just as cultured, just as intellectual… and in such a nicer, slower-paced place as well. I really don't see why anyone would go back to the city after having been in Long Island, do you Lizzie? I certainly don't…"

Charles was still smiling politely, but Caroline was barely containing her laughter, and even Darcy had allowed a smirk to grace his features. Eliza's cheeks were burning from humiliation; her mother had embarrassed her before, but she had never felt it quite so keenly as this.

"Yes, Mother, that's… great," she said loudly, glaring fiercely at her mother. Mrs. Bennet seemed to take the hint, but it didn't stop her from finding a new subject.

"I must say, I was so distraught when my little Jane fell ill," she said. "She's never really been sick before, you know. She has such a wonderful temperament… don't you agree? And such beauty… most beautiful girl in the whole neighborhood, in all of Long Island I'd even say! Wouldn't you say so, Charles? Yes, my little Jane… of course, my Lizzie is pretty, but it was always Jane who had the suitors! Lots of them, practically lined up at the door! She always turned them down… waiting for something more special, I suppose…" she said, looking meaningfully at Charles.

This was just too much. Eliza could almost feel tears at the back of her eyes, when Jane finally appeared at the top of the steps.

"There you are, dear! We were just talking about you!" Mrs. Bennet exclaimed. Eliza jumped, and scurried up the stairs to help Jane with her suitcase.

"Just duck and run, duck and run," she muttered under her breath. Jane just chuckled.

"Well, I guess if you're all packed…" Mrs. Bennet said sadly when she saw the suitcase. Jane nodded, kissed her mother on the cheek, and then turned to Charles.

"Thank you very much for letting me stay in your home," she said softly, her eyes not quite meeting his.

"You're very welcome. It was least I could do," he said, his eyes suddenly looking very sad as said goodbye. Eliza sighed at the sight of them, but then went up to Charles as well.

"Yes, thank you so much. I hope we weren't too much of a burden," she said with a smile.

"Not at all," Charles replied. She then reluctantly turned to Darcy.

"And thank you, too. I mean, it is your house, as well," she said, giving him as authentic a smile as possible.

To her surprise, he smiled graciously. "Not at all," he said.

"Will we see you at my sister's dinner party on Sunday?" Mrs. Bennet chimed in. The Bingleys and Darcy looked uncomfortable for a moment, but then Charles nodded.

"Yes, of course."

"Wonderful!" Mrs. Bennet cried.

"Okay let's go," Eliza said quickly, grabbing the suitcases and herding her mother and sisters out the door. Once outside, she finally sneaked a glance at Jane, who was looking at the ground but wasn't visibly upset. Eliza's heart fell a little; Jane rarely admitted to being upset, and Eliza didn't feel comfortable pressing her about it. She suddenly remembered her conversation with Charlotte… was she too late?

The following day, Jane and Eliza were eating their lunch in silence when Cate and Lydia bounded up to them, mischief written all over their faces.

"What do you want?" Eliza asked, her eyebrows raised.

"What, we can't just join our sisters for the mere pleasure of their company?" Lydia asked innocently. Jane and Eliza looked at each other, and then both shook their heads.

"Fine," Lydia said, sitting down next to Eliza. "Mom and Dad told us to come ask you, because otherwise we can't go." She took a deep breath. "Rob and Matt and their band are playing at a club downtown tonight and Dad says we can't go unless you two go." She paused and evaluated her sisters' reactions; Jane seemed to be contemplating it; Eliza, however, looked exasperated, so Lydia launched into whiny mode.

"Oh please, Lizzie, we wanna go so bad, and besides, it wouldn't kill you two to get out, you haven't gotten any in years," she said, but one look at Eliza and she knew she'd gone too far. "Plus," she switched tactics, "you know we'll just find another way to go, so you might as well go to keep an eye on us."

Eliza sighed, knowing what her sister said was true. They'd probably just climb out their window or smuggle themselves out of the house one way or another, and she would much rather take them legally. She looked at Jane, who nodded. Sighing deeply, Eliza threw up her hands.

"Alright," she said.

"Yes! Oh thank you, Lizzie, thank you!" Lydia shrieked, throwing her arms around Eliza's neck. Then, beckoning Cate, they fluttered out of the room.

"We'll leave at nine!" she called behind her.

Eliza watched them go with her usual mixture of pity and shame. Why, when Jane, Eliza, and even Mary were level-headed, intelligent human beings, had their youngest sisters turned out to be such flighty, boy-crazy twits?

"Oh, Lizzie, it is better if we just go with them, at least then they won't get into trouble," Jane said, moving closer to Eliza and brushing a piece of hair from Eliza's face.

"Yeah, I know… but are you sure you're feeling alright?" Eliza asked quizzically.

"Actually, I feel great," Jane said with a smile. "It was nice to be in my own bed."

Eliza opened her mouth, but shut it again and smiled at her sister. Last night, Jane had willingly talked to their mother about Charles and hadn't seemed terribly distressed about it, so maybe Eliza was blowing things out of proportion. She supposed she would just have to wait until the following night at her aunt's to see.

That night, all primped and pressed, Jane and Eliza steered Cate and Lydia out the door, after a very long and stern lecture from their father and a "good luck!" from their mother. Jane took the wheel of the black Honda Accord as Cate and Lydia talked excitedly to each other. Eliza slumped in the front seat; sure she loved a good concert as much as – if not more than – the next person, but she would have preferred not having to baby-sit her sisters at the same time. She knew it was going to be an endless job, and she had absolutely no aspirations to enjoy herself.

They parked in a parking garage nearby and walked the short distance to the club, which had a surprisingly long line gathered outside. Lydia pushed her way to the front, yelled her name at the bouncer, who consulted a list and then waved them in. The noise was close to deafening; the band had already started and dozens of people were yelling and screaming in the crowd. To Eliza's chagrin, they bypassed the bar as they followed Lydia, who made no bones about shoving her way through the crowds to get to the front. The band stood on a five-foot-tall stage, and consisted of a lead singer (Rob, as Lydia told her), a guitarist (Matt), a keyboardist, bassist, and drummer. Lydia nor Cate could remember the other members' names, and immediately began to shout out for Rob and Matt, who looked like they still hadn't showered since the last time Eliza saw them. The keyboardist and bassist were obscured by large amounts of facial hair, so Eliza turned her attention to the drummer. To her surprise, he was looking right at her; when their eyes met, he winked and grinned. Eliza felt herself smiling back… he had long, thick blonde hair pulled back into a low ponytail, sparkling blue eyes, and a knee-weakening smile. He was exactly what Eliza liked – a hot, and yet hygienic-looking, musician. He continued to look at her periodically throughout the set, grinning each time. Despite suddenly feeling very light-headed, Eliza continued to make sure she and Jane were always right behind Cate and Lydia, cornering them in case they got any big ideas. They didn't seem to be going anywhere, however, as Rob kept leaning down and playing with their hair and winking at them.

The show ended an hour later, and Eliza joined in with the cheering, as they had, in fact, been rather good. Jane yelled over the din that she was going to go bring the car around, but no sooner had she left than Cate and Lydia grabbed Eliza's hands and were pulling her away.

"Where are we going?" Eliza demanded. "Jane's going to get the car, she'll only be a few minutes."

"Oh, we have to go say hi!" Lydia said, her voice hoarse. She led them around the stage and through a back door. They had entered into the dressing room, where the guys were lounging around, drinking (Eliza breathed a sigh of relief) water. Rob and Matt strolled over to say hello to her sisters, while Eliza tried to subtly search the room for the drummer. Unfortunately, he was nowhere to be seen.

After a few minutes of her sisters' high-pitched squeals of delight, Eliza had to firmly tell them they had to leave. The guys seemed a little put out, until the door opened again and another group of gaggling girls entered the room. Eliza seized her chance and grabbed both her sisters by wrist and whirled them around. Unfortunately, in doing so, she rammed headfirst into the person behind her.

"Oh, I am so sorry…" she mumbled, rubbing her head. She opened her eyes, only to find the drummer in front of her, holding his own head.

"All my fault, I assure you," he said, smiling. He had a smooth British accent, and Eliza couldn't help but smile, not entirely noticing her sisters had let go of her and ran off.

"Would you like some ice? Water?" he continued, reaching over and running his fingers lightly over her forehead. Trying to suppress the fluttering in her stomach, Eliza shook her head.

"No, I'm fine, thanks."

He continued to smile. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Eliza Bennet," she replied. "And you?"

He reached for her hand and placed a light kiss on her fingers. "George Wickham."

"You're quite sure you want to go back?"

"Yes, Will, for the thousandth time, yes."

Darcy and Charles were driving back to Long Island. Charles had seemed in a very strange mood ever since Jane and the Bennets had left, and Darcy wasn't entirely sure it was a great idea to go back. Of course, he himself didn't want to go back, but that was for different reasons.

The Bennets' visit at his apartment had only solidified his ongoing argument with himself against Eliza. Their manners and overall behavior was beyond embarrassing; indeed, he had been most uncomfortable with them perusing his foyer as if it were a museum gift shop. And Mrs. Bennet with her painfully obvious overtures about Netherfield and Jane, and how Bingley should stay… he didn't know how Charles could possibly think he could stomach this forever. Of course, he had to admit to himself, every time he had looked at Eliza, her face had been buried in her hands, the tips of her cheeks pink. It looked as if she was humiliated, and somewhere deep down he had wanted to comfort her, to take her away from all this, where she obviously didn't belong. But that's where it stayed: deep down.

"Look, I've just… got to get this cleared up," Charles said. "She looked upset when she left… didn't she look upset?" he asked agitatedly.

"Sure," Darcy said, sighing. "But Charles, you have to admit, her mother…"

"Jane is nothing like her mother," Charles said forcefully.

"Yes, but tying yourself to a family like that?" Darcy said before he could stop himself. "God, Charles, what would your father say?"

Charles opened his mouth, but shut it again. Darcy knew he couldn't argue with that… Charles, while not close to his father, still clung to every word his father said. Darcy knew he would certainly rather die than let down his father. Charles let out a deep sigh and slumped in his seat. Darcy sighed as well and fell silent. He hated doing this to Charles, but who else would that Charles would actually listen to? He was quite certain that Jane wasn't in love with Charles, but promised to observe them once more Sunday night. If he was still convinced of Jane's neutrality, then he would be forced to make Charles leave. It was just the way of it.

The rest of the ride was silent; Caroline was there at Netherfield to greet them when they pulled up.

"Will I just spoke with your sister," she said as soon as he got out of the car.

"Really?" Darcy replied; he was always pleased to hear mention of his sister.

"Yes, she said she's done for the day now if you'd like to call her."

Darcy nodded, and then walking quickly so as to lose her, he left Caroline behind and went straight to the kitchen. Pouring himself some water, he picked up the phone and dialed his sister's number.

"Hello?" came her sunny, clear voice.

"How dare you talk to Caroline Bingley before you talk to me," he replied.

She laughed on the other end. "I'm sorry, brother, but she called me. I couldn't think of an excuse to hang up in time."

He chuckled. "How are you, Georgia?"

"Good. Better than Hannah, anyway, she broke her ankle today."

"How'd she manage that?"

"I passed her ball when she wasn't looking," came Georgia's succinct reply.

Darcy fake-gasped. "Georgia! That's horrible."

She laughed again. "Oh come on, you know Hannah, she's been trying to overthrow me as captain all year."

"So what else has been happening?"

"Well, we got a lecture today from some stuffy old bugger about sportsmanship."

"I hope you paid attention," Darcy said, smiling.

"I tried!" Georgia protested. "But really all he did was tell stories from his glory days."

"Ah. How very boring," he said in an exaggerated accent, without realizing it. Georgia laughed.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Oh… nothing," Darcy said, burying his face in his hands. "Just something a… person here said."

"Really?" Georgia asked, her voice excited. "Who? I thought you weren't going to talk to anyone there."

"Just… someone."

"Ohhhhhh," Georgia said smugly. "It's a girl, isn't it?"

"Well, if you must know, yes, it is a girl," Darcy said, marveling at how easily his sister could figure him out.

"Who is she?"

Knowing she wouldn't give up until he talked, he said, "Her name's Elizabeth… Eliza. She lives a few blocks away."

"And….?"

"And she's about the only person here worth having a conversation with," he said.

"So you like her?" Georgia asked mischievously.

"No," he said emphatically. "She's just… nice to talk to."

"Right," Georgia said. "Oh come on, Will, you can talk to me."

Will paused, evaluating the situation. No, he couldn't deny that he liked Eliza, but telling his sister this would get her too excited, and probably only disappoint her in the end, because nothing could ever come of it. Georgia would probably never even meet Eliza.

"She's funny," he decided on. "And she likes my car."

Georgia giggled. "I told you that was a chick magnet!"

"Hardly," he said. "Besides, Charles and I are likely going back to Manhattan soon."

"So, what, you'll never talk to her again?"

"Most likely," he replied. He could almost see his sister rolling her eyes.

"You're ridiculous sometimes, Will," she said.

"Back at ya."

"Seriously, Will!" she exclaimed. "I don't want Anne Gumby to be my sister, she's boring."

"Her name is Anne Lundi, Georgia," he admonished. "And she's… perfectly lovely. You've never really spoken to her."

"How can I when she doesn't speak?"

Darcy shook his head. Georgia was thankfully still young enough to think that even if Will and Anne weren't actually a couple, Will was somehow in love with Anne; she'd figured the truth out eventually, and then would most likely be vehemently against their marriage, but Will hoped that wouldn't be for awhile.

"I don't get why you like her. This Eliza sounds far more interesting," Georgia went on.

"Yes, but she's also American. Really, Georgia," he continued in a mock scolding tone, "has Aunt Catherine taught you nothing about upholding the family name?"

"Name, shmame," Georgia said. "That's a bunch of 18th century bullocks and you know it!"

Unfortunately for Darcy, he did know it.

"So Eliza Bennet, what brings you back to our humble dressing room?" George asked Eliza.

She rolled her eyes lightly and gestured over to her sisters, who were now practically fighting with the newly arrived girls.

"My sisters," she said heavily. "Your bandmates are from our neighborhood, actually."

"Ah, Long Island?" he said.

She nodded.

"Yeah, they talk about it a lot." He paused to smile at her. "Would you like a drink?"

All thoughts of Jane far gone from her mind, one drink turned into two, which turned into three, as Eliza and George sat in a corner by themselves and talked. He had come from England two years ago, auditioned for the band, and was still living with them in a tiny, roach-infested apartment a few blocks away. They went on tour every so often, but didn't really have any big plans for the future. They talked for awhile about NYU, and Eliza's internship. She certainly wasn't keeping track of time, so she wasn't sure how long it had been before her phone rang, startling her.

"Hello?" she answered cautiously, suddenly very aware of how long it had been since Jane left.

"Hey, Lizzie, sorry I'm not there yet, they put the car in the wrong section and it's taking them forever to bring it around, but they said only like another ten minutes… have you tried to call me?" Jane said.

"Er… yeah, I have – do you not get reception in there?" Eliza lied quickly.

"Not very much – I hope you weren't worrying too much."

Eliza's stomach fell in guilt. "Um… no, we figured it was something like that."

"Ok, well I promise I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"Okay, we'll be outside."

She hung up, and immediately sprang up. George rose as well, looking worried.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said with a smile. "It's just we were supposed to be waiting outside for my sister." She turned to find her sisters practically groping the other boys; hating herself for being so negligent, she nearly grabbed them by the hair and started marching them out the door.

"Lizzie! We can't leave now, Rob was just…" Lydia started to whine.

"No, we have to meet Jane outside," Eliza said.

"Eliza!"

She turned around at the sound of her name. Shushing Cate and Lydia ahead of her, she found George striding toward her.

"Hey… I'd like to see you again, if I may," he said. Damn that smile! Eliza thought to herself.

"I would, too," she replied; then a thought sprang into her head. Why not? Everyone else in the world is going to be there…

"Would you like to come to a dinner party tomorrow?" she asked; the moment she said it, she realized how ridiculous it sounded. "I know it doesn't sound very exciting, but my aunt usually has amazing food, and there's going to be tons of people there, so…"

"You'll be there," George said.

She smiled. "Yes, I will."

"Then that's all the incentive I need," he said. She tried to stay balanced as she gave him the time and directions to her aunt's house. With one last wink, he walked back to the dressing rooms and she walked outside to meet Jane, trying very hard to suppress the grin that threatened to stay on her face all night.

To those lovely reviewers who asked, college is going splendidly. I'm a freshman, who is utterly and completely undeclared seeing as I have no idea what I want to do. The theatre show I was working on wrapped up nicely, but I don't plan on doing another one next semester.

So hopefully I can bring myself to rewrite the end of the next chapter in a decent amount of time. Finals are this week, so I really can't promise anything, but I'll try. Please review! Last chapter got 200+ hits, so I know more people are out there! Reviews will probably also get me more motivated to keep writing the next chapter, so help a gal out!

Love you all!

Love, luck, and flying Ringwraiths,

Emma the NazgulQueen