Chapter 15 – The Fine Art of Awkward

Fall semester came and went almost too quickly – as predicted, Eliza had aced every exam along the way. Although she tried to keep it to herself, she was quite elated. However, something else had also snuck up on her: her visit with Charlotte. From their phone calls, Charlotte sounded happy enough but very anxious for Eliza to arrive. Eliza was leaving tomorrow, the day after Christmas, and would stay until the first week of January. Eliza wasn't quite sure how she felt about it yet; on the one hand, she was very happy to be spending time with Charlotte, whom she had missed dearly for several months now. On the other, she was going to be spending time with Tom again, an event she would have rather not repeated.

Following the family's traditional ham dinner, Eliza trudged upstairs to begin packing. Jane joined her, bringing up their several gifts.

"Lizzie, I have to admit something," Jane said as she sat down on her old bed.

"What's that?" Eliza asked, pulling out her largest suitcase from the closet.

"This seems like it might be a bit… awkward," Jane said with a tentative smile.

Eliza laughed dryly, haphazardly throwing things into the suitcase. She had never been one for folding.

"To put it mildly," she said. She had tried not to think of how this visit was going to go; true, Charlotte had assured her repeatedly that Tom was not going to be around much, and they would only see him for dinner. But even dinner was too much for Eliza – what on Earth would they all talk about?

"But… I am not doing this for me, I'm doing it for Charlotte," Eliza went on, shoving some underwear into the suitcase. "I haven't seen her in forever, and she sounds so lonely every time I talk to her."

Jane sighed and nodded. "I know. But I really think you may have broken that poor guy's heart… it'll be so uncomfortable."

Eliza laughed. "Broke his heart? Please, Jane."

"I mean it, Lizzie. You should have seen his face when he left our room that day."

Eliza clucked her tongue. The idea that she could ever break anyone's heart was highly amusing.

"Fine, don't believe me," Jane said, throwing up her hands. Instead she held up a furry sweater complete with pom-pom balls Lydia had given Eliza for Christmas. "You want to take this with you?"

Next day, Eliza was standing on Fifth Avenue in front of the rather imposing Pierre Hotel. I cannot believe Charlotte lives here, Eliza thought breathlessly. Any apartment in here was at least 35 million dollars. At least!

"Ma'am, can I assist you?"

The doorman jerked Eliza from her thoughts; she closed her agape jaw and focused on him.

"Oh yes, sorry… I'm here to see Charlotte Lucas and Tom Collins in apartment 10A. They're expecting me," she stuttered as he led her into the spectacular lobby.

"Of course. Just one moment," he said. Eliza made a full circle, trying to take in her new lavish settings. Sure, her house was large compared to most, but nothing on Long Island came close to this.

"Miss Bennet?"

Again, Eliza hopped to find someone looking at her quizzically. "Oh! Yes, that's me," she said to the gentleman standing in front of her.

"Right this way," he said, gesturing to the elevators.

"Oh, right," she said and turned to pick up her suitcase… except it wasn't there.

"Oh! My suitcase!" she exclaimed, searching around for it frantically.

"Miss! Miss!" the gentleman said, taking her elbow. "We've already sent it upstairs," he said, a hint of a smile at his mouth.

"Oh," she breathed, feigning wiping sweat off her brow. "That's a relief."

She followed the gentleman to the elevator, which they took to the tenth floor. The doors opened on a lovely lobby with wood floors and a small chandelier. The gentleman led her to a door slightly off the left, and rapped his knuckles just below the 10A. It was opened by a hesitant-looking maid.

"This is –" the gentleman started to say, but he was interrupted by Charlotte flying through the door and throwing herself onto Eliza.

"Lizzie!" she cried in excitement. The gentleman just shrugged and went back into the elevator, while the maid held the door open for Eliza and Charlotte as they made their way inside.

"Oh, Lizzie, I'm so happy to see you," Charlotte said with a grin. Eliza couldn't help but grin, too, infected by Charlotte's enthusiasm.

"Me too!" Eliza said, before taking a moment to look around. "Charlotte, this is ridiculous. You're living at The Pierre!"

"I know!" Charlotte cried, clapping happily. "Isn't it beautiful?"

It sure was. The foyer was decorated in cream and gold and led into a gorgeous octagonal gallery, which was decorated by a few paintings. Charlotte excitedly showed Lizzie around; each room was grander than the last. First there was the wooded, plush library, then the huge living room, complete with piano and four separate clusters of chairs and couches; then came the dining room, which had a long, glistening wooden table and a sparkling chandelier; off of that was the kitchen, decorated all in white. Then Charlotte showed her the master bedroom, which not only had a Jacuzzi in the bathroom, but two separate walk-in closets complete with TV's and sitting areas. Finally, Charlotte showed Eliza her guest suite, which was right off the media room. Her room was beautifully furnished in cream and mint green, with a huge, lush bed, a handsome wardrobe, and a chaise lounge. Plus it had its own deluxe bathroom and a computer area. Eliza was in heaven.

"I may never leave, Charlotte," she said to her friend, falling back onto the bed.

Charlotte giggled and joined her. "I know, isn't it just amazing?"

"And Mrs. De Bourgh is paying for all of this?"

"Lady Catherine, Lizzie. Don't you dare call her Mrs. De Bourgh," Charlotte said, only half-joking.

Eliza just laughed. "Right, like I'll ever actually meet her."

Charlotte gasped. "Lizzie, didn't I tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"You will meet Lady Catherine. She'll be in New York by Friday, and she's staying two weeks. Oh, Lizzie, wait until you see her penthouse upstairs. This place will look like an absolute dump after you've been there."

"Wait a second. Lady Catherine lives in The Pierre penthouse?" Eliza asked amazedly. As any good New Yorker knew, the penthouse at the Pierre was perhaps the most spectacular penthouse anywhere in the world. Eliza couldn't even imagine how much it must cost.

Charlotte nodded gleefully. "It's exactly what everyone says it is and more, Lizzie. I'm so excited for you to see it!"

Before Eliza could ask anymore, the maid was at the door.

"Miss Charlotte, Mr. Collins is in the library," she said quietly.

"Thank you, Greta," Charlotte said, standing up.

"Charlotte, you have maids!"

Another Christmas has come and gone, Darcy thought. Although he would have liked to at last have Christmas in his own home at Pemberley, his aunt had insisted upon he and Georgia joining her and their entire extended family for Christmas at her estate. Georgia was still young enough to be lavished with gifts, and had certainly not complained too much about going. Darcy would have hated it horribly, but his cousin Richard was going to be there, too, whom he had not seen in some time.

"God, Darcy, what is with you? I've beaten you five times in a row," Richard was saying as he yet again crushed Will at a game of pool. Will growled and went to set the balls up again.

"Again?" Richard asked in disbelief. "Fine, but you've been warned."

Will didn't answer but instead leaned over to try and get a good shot. Richard, however, was not through talking.

"Seriously, Will, something's on your mind. I haven't beaten you at pool since we were eleven, and that was only because I wasn't even as tall as the stick yet," he said.

Will growled again and straightened. What was wrong? He had finished his law degree without any difficulty, had passed the bar exam in London just fine, and was assuredly going to do the same in New York, whenever he got around to it. He was going to graduate in just two weeks, and then finally start working at his firm. Everything was going perfectly to plan… but something was still wrong.

"I don't know," he said to Richard. "Can we just play?"

Richard was opening his mouth to retort, when suddenly their aunt swept into the room. She was followed, as usual, by Anne, who gave Will the most timid of smiles. He nodded in return, but felt the usual wave of disappointment as he looked at her. Will was by no means a shallow person, but Anne was not exactly the most drop-dead gorgeous woman in the world. She was very petite, with a waist so small she had to wear a belt even to make a size zero fit. Her hair, which his aunt had dyed every month, was thin and a sort of beachy, sandy blonde color. Her skin was pale to the point of transparency, and her eyes were a pallid blue. Hovering by her aunt, the older lady almost completely blocked her from view.

"William, Richard, I've decided I'm going to New York," Aunt Catherine pronounced. Will and Rich both gave a half-interested nod of the head. For Will, it meant he could spend at least a few days at Pemberley before leaving for London. His aunt bristled slightly at their lukewarm response.

"Of course, you can always join me," she said pointedly, looking between them both. Rich averted his eyes, while Will shrugged.

"Perhaps," he said. His aunt made a huffy noise.

"Fine, I tried asking, but now I'll have to demand. If I have to entertain Collins and his hicktown guest, then I shouldn't have to do it alone," she said. Will straightened and looked at Rich; surely Will could get out of this, and send Rich along. Rich shrugged, but nodded.

"Alright, Aunt, I'll join you," Rich said. Aunt Catherine nodded in satisfaction. Will nodded too, relieved.

"Who's the guest, Aunt Catherine?" Rich asked.

"Some friend of Charlotte's from Long Island," Aunt Catherine said, waving a hand, clearly not caring. "Bennet something or other."

Will pulled his neck, he looked up so fast. Bennet? Eliza?

"I'll come, too, Aunt Catherine," he said quickly, before he knew what he was saying.

All three of them looked at him in surprise.

"But, Will…" Rich started to say, but Aunt Catherine cut him off.

"Excellent! I leave in two days," she said briskly, beckoning Anne to follow her out the room. When the door had shut behind them, Rich turned slowly to Will.

"What was that about? I thought you'd want to go to Pemberly?" he said.

Will didn't answer. His heart had momentarily stopped. That's what was nagging at him. The mention of her name made it all very clear to Will. He had to see her, he had to somehow get her out of his head. He suddenly became very aware that he was close to snapping his pool stick in half.

"I don't know," he finally said to Rich. "I feel like going to New York."

"Will Georgia come?" Richard asked.

Georgia. No, Georgia could most definitely not come, Will thought.

"No… she wants to go to Pemberly… I'll meet her there later," he said.

Rich shrugged again, clearly confused.

"Wasn't Bingley's girl from Long Island?" he asked suspiciously.

Will sighed, trying yet again to get a good aim. He had told Richard all about Jane and Charles, prudently leaving out Jane's name. He had wanted Richard to observe Charles and see if he thought Charles' current state could possibly be explained by what Will had done. Rich had thought it was possible, but not very likely, easing Will's mind.

"Yes."

After a few minutes of resistance, Eliza relented and allowed Charlotte to steer her towards the library. When they entered, Tom was writing furiously at the desk, and barely looked up when Charlotte said a cheerful hello.

"Sorry, ladies," he said a minute later when he finished writing. He looked up now, and his smile was suspiciously strained as he reached to shake Eliza's hand.

"Elizabeth, how nice to see you again," he said, his hand lingering on hers. She pulled away and let her arm settle by her side.

"You, too, Tom," she said.

He raised his eyebrows, as if he suspected she was being sarcastic. She kept her face smooth and sincere; already it felt horribly awkward.

"I trust my dear Charlotte has shown you around the house?" he went on.

"Yes, it's lovely," Eliza said slowly.

Tom nodded, picking at imaginary lint on his sleeve. "Yes… I really can't imagine anyone not wanting to live here."

Oh, God.

"Anyone else want some coffee?" Charlotte broke in quickly, sensing the tension. "I could really use a second cup."

"Yes, I'll go with you," Eliza said quickly, praying Tom wouldn't come.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, my love, I really should be getting back to work," Tom said. He picked up the papers on his desk and then leaned in to Charlotte and gave her a long, lingering kiss. Eliza averted her eyes and tried to keep down her breakfast.

Once Tom was gone, Charlotte and Eliza walked in a somewhat uncomfortable silence to the kitchen. Eliza settled on a stool at the island while Charlotte busied herself with making the coffee. Eliza was just thinking that this was going to be an unbearably long few weeks when Charlotte sat down across from her.

"So… that was embarrassing," Charlotte said with a shaky smile.

Eliza chuckled. "Only a little."

"I really thought he was completely over you," Charlotte said, shaking her head.

Eliza gave a sputtery laugh, not sure how to answer.

"I just put a little dent in his ego, that's all," Eliza said, but Charlotte violently shook her head.

"You did a little more than that, I'm afraid," she said.

Eliza rolled her eyes. "Charlotte, if you're going to tell me that he was in love with me, then please save your breath," she said with a smile.

"He was!" Charlotte said.

"He barely knew me!" Eliza refuted.

"You can love someone without really knowing them" Charlotte said.

"No, you can't," Eliza said. She and Charlotte had often had this fight; Charlotte was a bit more romantic, believing in love at first sight. Eliza, on the other hand, refused to believe that you could love someone without at least having one good conversation with them. That was why Eliza was still having such a hard time wrapping her mind around the idea that Charlotte was doing this with Tom; it was the last thing Eliza had expected from her friend.

"So, you love Tom?" Eliza asked. Charlotte sighed.

"Please, Eliza," she said.

"I just want to make sure I have everything straight here," Eliza said, throwing up her hands.

Charlotte paused for several seconds before saying, "I don't mind him, I really don't. But in all honesty, Lizzie… I saw a chance to go to school and I took it. That's all."

Eliza smiled warmly at Charlotte. "Well, Charlotte, I have to say I'm proud of you."

Charlotte chuckled dryly. "For what?"

"For being so pragmatic."

Charlotte laughed this time. "Well, thanks."

"As long as you don't end up marrying the guy," Eliza continued pointedly.

"I highly doubt that," Charlotte said.

Eliza smiled and took the coffee that Charlotte handed her. As they settled into talking about more tasteful things, like movies and clothes, Eliza sighed with relief.Perhaps this visit wouldn't be quite so dreadful after all.

"But Will, you promised we'd go back to Pemberly together."

Will frowned as his little sister's face fell in disappointment. For several seconds, he reconsidered his decision to go to New York; anything that made his sister look like that surely wasn't worth it. But his desire to see Eliza won out… he had to see her, he just had to.

"I'll be there in a week," he said, patting his sister's shoulder. "And besides, I'm moving to London with you in January. You'll be sick of me by then."

Georgia rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said. "But just remember, my birthday is in March and I'll be expecting lots of presents."

Will laughed and ruffled her hair. She bounced out of the room, and he returned to packing. What exactly he was planning on doing upon seeing Eliza, he still had not quite figured out. What he had figured out was this: He loved her, and it was driving him crazy not knowing if she reciprocated. Whether he had the strength to tell her this was a whole other question.

Two days later, Rich, Will, their aunt and Anne were boarding Aunt Catherine's private jet. Will was extremely grateful for Rich's company, as he chattered on about this and that, keeping Will's mind occupied.

"So, Bingley's keeping the flat in New York after you move out?" Rich asked.

Will nodded. "Until he graduates, that is. Then we'll sell it."

"Such a pity," Rich lamented. "It's such a sweet place."

Will nodded again. He was going to particularly miss the library… but there would be room for all those books in his London flat. Besides, now any thought of that library led to thoughts of Eliza, and the image of her just sitting there on the window seat, reading.

"Well, I won't be in New York enough to use it, really," Will said. "Mr. Vyse does a fine job of running the States firm."

Rich rolled his eyes, similarly to Georgia. "Mr. Vyse is a pompous ass."

Will laughed. "Yeah, but a damn good lawyer."

Rich shrugged. "I guess."

They talked about work for the remainder of the flight. Touching down at JFK, Aunt Catherine bustled them out of the airport and into the limo. Suddenly, as The Pierre came into view, Will regretted his decision to come very much. But he was here now, and all he could hope for was that he had some time to prepare himself before coming face to face with Eliza after nearly five months.

A/N: Ack! I know, this chapter is a little short, but it's necessary. The next chapter will be much longer, you'll all be happy to know, but no, it will not contain the proposal just yet.

Just to note, the penthouse at the Pierre is currently up for sale and is going for $70 million. As I was perusing the real estate listings at the New York Times' website, I noticed that a "regular" apartment within the Pierre was also listed, so I thought it would be an excellent setting in place of Rosings. If you care to drool for a moment or two, you can see the penthouse and the other apartment at brownharrisstevens .com with the property ID#364979 and siroffices .com with the property ID #0014784 (without the spaces - for some irritating reason it won't let me just copy and paste the weblinks.) The second apartment is going for $35 million…. Not too shabby for our Charlotte!

Ok, so PLEASE review if you like how quickly I'm updating! Ten reviews per chapter is pretty good, but I just noticed another story that has less chapters but more reviews and that made me very jealous (hey, I am a Ringwraith, you can't fault me). So review – they make my life happier and I love hearing what parts you guys like or maybe (gasp!) didn't like as much.

Love, luck, and flying Ringwraiths,

Emma the NazgulQueen