Chapter 11 - Moving On?
The rest of the week passed relatively quickly. The shock from the Bingley's departure seemed to have reverberated throughout the entire neighborhood, and many expressed their surprise that Jane and Charles were no longer (nor had ever been) together. Eliza couldn't bear to talk about it with Charlotte for more than a minute, because Charlotte kept giving her that I told you so look, and Eliza realized with a heavy heart that her friend may have been right. Perhaps Charles really hadn't known how Jane had felt about him… perhaps Jane's shyness and modesty had served her ill for once. But still… Eliza couldn't help but keep saying to herself.
Sunday afternoon, Jane and Eliza were standing in their room, both trying to pick out an outfit for work on Monday. Eliza had been trying very hard since Wednesday to keep up a cheerful conversation, but Jane didn't seem ready for it. So now they were both standing silently in front of the closet, pondering what to wear.
"I haven't worked in two weeks, Lizzie!" Jane suddenly exclaimed. "I just realized… that's horrible of me, how could I have taken that much time off?"
"Well, you got sick, remember?" Eliza said.
"Yes, but still…" Jane trailed off. Eliza chuckled quietly to herself. "I don't even know what to wear anymore."
"Me neither… what sort of outfit does a curator's assistant wear?"
Jane chuckled, but reached into the closet and pulled out a pair of gray linen-blend pants, a printed camisole, and a one-button matching jacket.
"There, chic yet good for summer," Jane said, handing it over.
"Shoes?" was Eliza's next question.
Jane searched through their mammoth pile of shoes before producing a pair of pointy-toed, purple kitten heels.
"They go with the shirt," she said.
"Perfect!" Eliza said, laying out the outfit on her bed. "And now for you…"
She pulled out a pair of khaki chinos and knitted black tank, and handed it over to her sister. Jane smiled.
"Shoes?" she inquired.
And then Eliza dived into the shoes and rummaged for a pair of black strappy espadrilles.
"Excellent," Jane said, and then she, too, laid out her outfit on the bed. Eliza noticed with some excitement that Jane looked like she was ready to talk; unfortunately for Eliza, she still had a certain thorn in her side to deal with, and Tom chose just that moment to show up.
"Good afternoon, ladies," he said as entered the room. He seemed different than usual; his crisp white shirt was rolled up to his elbows, and he kept bouncing from one foot to the other, twisting a handkerchief in his hands.
"Jane, might I ask," Tom began to say, but Jane was ready. She stood up and smiled.
"Of course, Tom," she said, and with an apologetic look to Lizzie, she left the room.
"Good afternoon, Eliza," Tom repeated.
"Hello, Tom," Eliza said, immediately springing up from the bed and busying herself with picking up a few odds and ends on the floor. She had known this conversation was coming, but was afraid she might not have the stomach for it now that it was actually happening.
Tom sat down delicately in the armchair and watched Eliza as she flitted around. When he didn't begin to speak, her stomach fell a little and she resigned herself to sitting across from him on the bed. He smiled shakily at her.
"Eliza, my feelings can be of no great mystery to you," he began. Here we go, she thought.
"I have found myself quite under your spell ever since I arrived," he continued, in his drab, nasally voice. "I know I have never said it outright, but I do think I am in love with you."
"Tom, you really shouldn't-" Eliza started to say, but Tom raised a hand to cut her off. Her stomach sunk lower.
"Please, allow me to finish, before I get carried away with my emotions." She rolled her eyes while he took a deep breath. "Almost as soon as I entered this house, I found your modesty, grace, and wit to be of the most exemplary level. I know I may be rushing things, but surely you will be excited when I tell you that Lady Catherine has offered me an apartment in her building in Manhattan, and she, in her infinite wisdom, has advised me to bring along a companion. And I choose you, Eliza… Lady Catherine may not approve, but I'm sure once she gets to know you, she will change her mind. We move in next Friday," he finished, looking at her complacently.
"Hold on, Tom, don't forget I haven't given you an answer yet," Eliza said, appalled by his audacity.
Tom just smiled. "Oh Eliza, there's no need for an answer; I see it in your eyes."
"Then surely you know that my answer is no," Eliza said. Tom's eyes bulged, but then he chuckled.
"There's no sense in playing hard to get now, Lizzie. We know each other too well."
"On the contrary, Tom, you hardly know me at all, or else you wouldn't be asking me this," Eliza said, feeling a horrible mixture of pity and alarm. "I would never insult you by playing hard to get. So you must know I'm telling the truth when I refuse your generous offer," she said, hoping it sounded more polite to his ears than it did to hers.
Again Tom paused, but then smiled and laid a hand on hers. "I know it is a woman's way to want to be chased and pursued."
"Tom, trust me, I would never want to be chased by you," she said, and then bit her tongue. She picked up his hand and patted it. "Believe me, you could never make me happy, and I know I'm the last woman on Earth who could make you happy. Moving in is a huge commitment… don't you want to wait for someone who you'll truly enjoy living with?"
Tom's face fell, and he seemed to finally hear what she was saying. Withdrawing his hand, he stood up, his face frozen.
"I… well," he stuttered, and then abruptly turned to open the door, only to find Jane, Lydia, Cate, and Mrs. Bennet all huddled together on the other side. Lydia and Cate were trying to muffle their giggles, while Mrs. Bennet immediately caught hold of Tom as he tried to make his way to the stairs.
"Tom, darling, don't be distressed, Lizzie will certainly come around, I know she's very fond of you and would love to move to the city," she was saying to him, but he continued to plow on.
"I apologize, Mrs. Bennet, for trespassing on your hospitality so many times," he said. "I really must be going."
And with that, he tore away from Mrs. Bennet, hurried down the stairs and was out the door. Mrs. Bennet watched him go and then immediately rounded on Eliza, her face bright red and fury etched into every wrinkle and line.
"Lizzie, how could you!" she screeched. Eliza leaned against her door frame, ready to wait out the storm. She couldn't deny that she felt immense relief now that Tom was gone, but also knew that her ears would be ringing for days after her mother was through.
"I'm sorry, Mom," she said valiantly, but to no avail.
"Sorry? Oh, do you hear that? She's sorry," Mrs. Bennet raged. "Lizzie, you could have lived in the city, you could have moved out!"
Eliza stood a little straighter at this. "Is that what you want? Me to move out?"
Mrs. Bennet grumbled under her breath for a moment before saying, "Well, what do you think, Lizzie? Five girls! One already out of school and one almost out, and still all five are living at home! Will I get no peace and quiet? Will nothing ever calm my nerves?"
Eliza was nothing short of flabbergasted at this speech; she looked to Jane, whose eyes were on floor, her arms crossed. Eliza turned back to her mother.
"Mom, I had no idea…" she trailed off.
Mrs. Bennet's face brightened. "Go on, Lizzie, you could still catch Tom!"
Eliza groaned. "No, Mom, I am not living with that man."
"Oh, I'm sure he would settle for something platonic, you know, you wouldn't have to…"
"Ew!" Cate and Lydia cried; Eliza, too, felt sick at the allusion her mother made.
"Mom, Tom wants a girlfriend, a girlfriend that his precious Lady Catherine will love and that he'll marry within a year," Eliza tried to explain.
"Not necessarily," Mrs. Bennet said, but Eliza shook her head.
"Mom, barring the fact that Tom is one of the most pompous, disgusting men I have ever met, I am not getting married right out of college!" Eliza cried.
"I got married at twenty," Mrs. Bennet said coldly.
Eliza paused. What could she say to that? She certainly couldn't say what she was thinking, which was that while Mrs. Bennet had gone to college like Eliza, she had never planned on having a career. Luckily, Jane saved her.
"Yes, but Mama, you loved Dad," Jane said.
Mrs. Bennet was not to be deterred, however. "Lizzie could learn to love Tom."
"In an alternate universe, perhaps," Lydia said with a laugh. Mrs. Bennet gave a huff, threw up her hands, and stormed downstairs. Cate and Lydia immediately followed, saying words of comfort as they went.
"Why does she always have to do that?" Eliza asked Jane when it finally became quiet once more. "Send on me huge guilt trips?"
Jane smiled and gave Eliza a hug. "That's what mothers do," she said. Something in Jane's demeanor was not quite right, however.
"You alright, Jane?" Eliza asked, worried that Jane was thinking about Charles again. "Is it-?"
"No," Jane said emphatically. "No… I was just thinking about what Mom said."
"What's that?" Eliza asked curiously, her brow furrowed.
Jane sighed deeply and leaned against the wall.
"Perhaps I should move out," she said.
Eliza's heart sunk right to the floor. "Jane, no, you cannot leave me here all by myself," she said frantically.
Jane smiled. "I know, but Lizzie… I'm almost twenty-five. I've been out of school for two years; I have a steady job… I have some money saved up; perhaps I could get something right in Brooklyn…"
Eliza groaned; she could tell Jane was serious about this. And she couldn't help but feel lonely already.
"Well… I think Mom would rather have me out of the house than you, but…" She smiled.
Jane kissed Eliza quickly on the cheek, and then went into the study. Eliza turned into the door and banged her head against it in frustration. Suddenly, her week was no longer looking up.
The following morning, Eliza and Jane woke up around the same time; it took both of them around forty minutes to get to work. Eliza groggily pulled on her clothes, spruced up her hair, and put on her makeup before going downstairs to gulp down some coffee, grab a bagel and then meet Jane outside at the car. Jane drove Eliza to the bus station in a tired silence. She wished Lizzie good luck and then drove, leaving Eliza to curse the morning traffic that made it impossible for her to drive to work.
A small knot of anxiety was quietly forming in her stomach, but Eliza ate her bagel as the bus rustled on to Manhattan; although her assignment had been switched at the last moment from a Picasso exhibit to a newer one, she had already met her boss, a very nice, if somewhat intimidatingly intelligent and sophisticated, woman named Victoria Emerson. Besides, today would be little more than a training session, so that Eliza could learn what she would be doing every day.
After what felt like an unbearably long bus ride, she was finally dropped off on Fifth Avenue just in time: it was five to 9:00.
For the first time in her life, Eliza walked right past all of the fabulous art that would normally cause her to spend hours wandering around with no direction… instead, she proudly showed her employee badge and went into the administrative offices. Feeling encouraged by the warm smiles that greeted her from the people walking in and out of their offices, coffee mugs in hand, she walked straight to Ms. Emerson's office and knocked confidently on the door.
"Come on in," came Ms. Emerson's crisp yet warm voice. Eliza entered with a smile, walking up to Ms. Emerson's huge mahogany desk. Her office was very nicely decorated with framed prints of different pieces of art, along with many pictures of Ms. Emerson herself next to assorted artists and officials.
"Ah, Miss Bennet!" Ms. Emerson said.
"Good morning, Ms. Emerson," Eliza said, quickly checking one last time with her tongue for poppy seeds from her bagel.
Ms. Emerson stood and waved a hand. "Nonsense, call me Victoria."
"Good morning, Victoria," Eliza said again with a smile. "And you can call me Eliza."
"Eliza… how nice; you don't often hear that nickname for Elizabeth anymore," Victoria commented.
Eliza chuckled. "Yes, well, I used to have a very strong affection for My Fair Lady."
Victoria laughed and motioned for Eliza to sit.
"Well, we're going to be moving around quite a lot today, so you can always leave your purse or other belongings in my office," Victoria began.
Eliza nodded, and reached over to hang her purse on Victoria's coat hooks. Clasping her hands in her lap, she tried to not to crack her knuckles as she looked back to Victoria with a smile.
"Well, we'll get the essentials out of the way first. Lunch will normally be at noon; at least, that's when I take lunch. You will usually be able to take it whenever you wish, with the sort of work you're doing. As long as you're back within an hour," she said, mock-seriously. Eliza nodded.
"We'll be working on the new Charles Rochester exhibition, so as we get closer to the opening date, you'll be staying later and later, but for now I'll probably send you home around five," Victoria continued. "Mostly you'll be working alone, but there may be times when I'll need you to fill in for me."
"Alright," Eliza said.
"Well, then, shall we get started?"
The remainder of the morning consisted of Victoria and Eliza walking around the huge area where the Rochester exhibit would be held. The paintings themselves would be moved in early next week, but Eliza would be busy overseeing the preparation of the walls, plaques, interactive features, that sort of thing. Eliza was introduced to no less than a dozen people, all of whom she would be working with on an almost daily basis. It was certainly nice to feel in charge, Eliza thought with a smile.
As promised, at around ten to noon, Victoria told Eliza she was going back up to her office and then to lunch, and that Eliza should feel free to do so, as well. After lunch, Eliza would be on her own, holding a meeting with her many workers.
The moment Eliza was out in the bright sun, she took out her phone and dialed George's number. She hoped he was somewhere nearby so it wouldn't take him too long to get to the museum.
"Hello?" His voice was husky and groggy.
"George? It's Eliza," she said.
"Oh, Eliza, hi," he said. Eliza couldn't help but feel a little disappointed at the lack of his usual excitement when he talked to her.
"So… are we still up for lunch?" she asked awkwardly, trying not to think he'd forgotten.
"Oh… lunch, right," he murmured. "I'm so sorry, Eliza… something came up, I don't think I can make it."
"Oh, well that's alright," she said.
"I'm so sorry, I'll make it up to you, I promise," he said, clearing his throat.
"That's fine… I'll talk to you later," she said, and quickly hung up. Shading her eyes, she scanned the street for a nearby deli… she would just eat quickly alone on a bench. Rallying her spirits, she told herself that she shouldn't be too upset; after all, George was a musician, and probably kept all sorts of crazy hours… for all she knew, he'd just gone to bed that morning. I should've just waited for him to call me, she told herself.
Determinedly keeping her mind off of George, Eliza ate her lunch quickly, basking in the warm, breezy day. Going back into the museum, she promised herself to focus completely and utterly on work. That was the only way to keep her mind off of… other things.
Will was quite thrilled to go back to work; he had promised himself to focus completely and utterly on work… that was the only way he was going to keep his mind off of… other things. The New York branch of his law firm was currently being run by a good family friend, Mr. Vyse, who, even though he was technically Will's boss at the current time, still let Will basically run the place from the moment he stepped into the office.
"Mr. Darcy, how good to see you!" Mr. Vyse said cordially. "I hope your vacation was good."
"It was fine," Will allowed. "But it is good to be back."
"And it's certainly good to have you back!" Mr. Vyse said; Will was tiring of his flattery already.
"What's on the agenda, Mr. Vyse?" Will asked as he settled himself at his desk.
"Well, I have Mr. Rochester coming in at ten," Mr. Vyse began. "He really should've been in a week ago, but he insisted on only dealing with you."
Will nodded as he opened his briefcase. "Anything else?"
"Well, Mr. Rochester might be taking up a lot of your time," Mr. Vyse said with a weary smile.
Will chuckled. "I thought as much. When does his exhibition open?"
"Two and half weeks, sir."
"Mr. Vyse, you don't have to call me sir."
Mr. Vyse shook his head vehemently. "No, Mr. Darcy, I must. You are my superior, just as your father was."
"Not yet, Mr. Vyse," Will reminded him.
"No, sir, you truly are my superior," Mr. Vyse insisted.
Well, I can't argue with that, Will thought. He nodded and waved a hand to dismiss Mr. Vyse, who smiled as he scurried out of the room.
Will busied himself with re-setting his computer and re-familiarizing himself with Mr. Rochester's file; at exactly ten o'clock, Mr. Charles Rochester himself burst into the office. Already a well-known artist in England, Rochester had spent a lot of Will's time (but had also paid Will a lot of money) to find just the right museum in America for his very first exhibition in the States. All manner of museums from all over the country had been vying for it, but Will had always known it would be the Met. Rochester was constantly saying how much he loved the Met, but at the same time, was constantly cursing them for what he thought to be their conspiratorial plan to ruin his exhibition.
"Will, thank God you are back!" Rochester exclaimed the moment he was in the room. "They're ruining it! Completely destroying my beautiful work! They want to put up poetry alongside the paintings! They want to make mugs! I don't want mugs! That's selling out!"
"Good morning, Mr. Rochester… please sit down," Will said calmly. Rochester grumbled, but took a seat in one of the armchairs.
"Now, Mr. Rochester, I know you're not going to like hearing this, but you did sign the contract that limited your involvement in the presentation of the exhibit," Will explained.
Rochester glared at him for a moment. "But I still have some involvement!"
"Yes, I know. I'll contact the curator who is coordinating the exhibit and tell her we will be coming by on Wednesday to check it out."
Rochester seemed a little comforted by this. "Alright. But you check that contract again!"
"I will, Mr. Rochester," Will said. Rochester seemed soothed, and in a few moments he was standing up to leave.
"Thank you, Mr. Darcy," he said, shaking Will's hand.
"Thank you, Mr. Rochester. Meet me in front of the museum at ten on Wednesday morning."
"Will do," Rochester said as he left the office. Mr. Vyse popped his head in after Rochester had left.
"Is that Charles Rochester leaving already?" Mr. Vyse asked.
"Indeed, it is," Will said.
"I don't know how you do it, sir… it always took us at least several hours to get him to leave," Mr. Vyse said in amazement.
Will smiled wryly. "I do seem to have that sort of effect on people."
Mr. Vyse smiled, but looked rather confused. Will sighed and returned to his work; this Rochester case would certainly keep his mind off things.
Later that afternoon, after reading and re-reading Mr. Rochester's contract several times, Will picked up the phone to call the Victoria Emerson, who was their contact at the Met.
"Hello, Victoria Emerson's office," a female voice answered the phone. The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but not like Ms. Emerson's.
"Ms. Emerson?" he asked.
"Oh, no I'm sorry, Ms. Emerson is in a meeting, this is her assistant, Elizabeth Bennet."
Will's stomach clenched. Eliza? But how…? Then he remembered her telling him that she was going to do an internship with the Metropolitan in a few weeks… or now, he thought. What to do?
"Hello?" Eliza asked.
"Oh…" Will stammered, unable to think. "Um… wrong number," he said quickly, and hung up. He let his head slide down to his desk… what was wrong with him? He could have talked to her; he was Mr. Rochester's lawyer, he had every valid reason to call. Besides, she was going to find out eventually; perhaps she was even going to see him.
Walking out of his office, he left a note for his secretary to call Ms. Emerson's office in the morning. Slumping back to his desk, he realized that this case was most definitely not going to take other things off his mind.
Ms. Emerson let Eliza go home around 5:30 that evening. The afternoon had gone very well; she'd run the meeting for Charles Rochester's exhibit and then had taken a few phone calls for Victoria while Ms. Emerson attended a few meetings. Victoria had expressed her delight with Eliza, and Eliza couldn't help but get on the bus with a large grin on her face. She immediately got out her phone to call Jane.
"Hello?" came Jane's clear voice.
"Jane!" Eliza said.
"Lizzie!" Jane said, sounding excited. "How did your first day go?"
"Stupendously!" Eliza cried. "My boss is fantastic, and the exhibit is going to be great."
"That's so great, I'm so happy, Lizzie," Jane said.
"What about you? Any news?" Eliza asked.
"Lots of news," Jane said. "Are you ready?"
"Hit me with it," Eliza said.
"Well, when I went to work, we had a huge staff meeting. Our office is going to expand, and it's going to have new locations in all five boroughs!" Jane said.
"Wow, that's awesome."
"Exactly… apparently we're just going to take over existing locations, but get this: my boss wants me to be the head of the Manhattan site!"
Eliza smiled wide; she could tell Jane was very excited.
"Oh, Jane, I'm so proud of you! That's amazing, congratulations!" she cried.
"Thank you. So then I thought, well, instead of moving to Brooklyn, I'll move to Manhattan instead."
"Are you sure? Manhattan is more expensive, Jane," Eliza said.
"Well, hold on, I'm not done," Jane said with a chuckle. "So I called Aunt and Uncle Gardiner to ask them to help me."
Eliza nodded to herself; that was certainly a good idea. John (Mr. Bennet's brother) and Anne Gardiner were realtors in Mahattan and knew the city inside out.
"But when I told them my budget, they thought it would be a good idea if I waited a little, since my new job will pay more," Jane went on.
Eliza's heart rose a little; perhaps Jane wouldn't be moving at all!
"So I'm going to move in with them for a few months until I save up a little more money, and then we'll all go apartment hunting together!" Jane finished.
Eliza's heart fell again. But Jane sounded happy, so Eliza forced herself to be happy as well.
"Jane, that sounds wonderful! I adore Aunt Anne and Uncle John… and their apartment is enormous," Eliza said.
"I know… Aunt Anne said that Uncle John is working more than her now, so she's been getting a little lonely. I get my own little suite with a bathroom and everything."
The two sisters chatted about Jane's new living situation almost until Eliza got off the bus, hurried home, and they continued the conversation in person. Mrs. Bennet could hardly contain her excitement, and they had the Gardiners over for dinner that very night. Jane was clearly excited, and while Eliza was terribly sad to see her go, she couldn't help but feel excited for her. This would be good for Jane… and besides, the Gardiners lived on Fifth Avenue, only a few blocks away from Charles and Darcy's building. Perhaps Jane and Charles would run into each other! Eliza just knew they loved each other, and that it had to work out.
Jane was gone by Tuesday evening. Eliza watched her go with a very heavy heart, even though they hugged for what felt like an hour and promised to visit each other all the time, seeing as the Gardiners lived so close to the museum. But as Eliza walked back into her room, which was now only hers, and her sisters were crowding around crying about who knows what, she couldn't help but feel she'd lost not just a sister, not just a friend, but an ally.
A/N: There! That's was like, the quickest update ever! So please review, my lovely readers!
Also, if anyone has any suggestions for the summary… I know it's not horrible, but is it terribly enticing? What made you want to read this story? Was it the summary or just that it was P&P? I'd really love to know!
Update: I'd really love to get at least ten reviews for this chapter before I update again; currently there are only 5 so PLEASE review! (sorry if that sounds whiny; I know people are reading but I want to know what people THINK of what they're reading!)
Love, luck, and flying Ringwraiths,
Emma the NazgulQueen