A/N: Before I move any further, I just want to say hello! And to explain a few things.
1. Today you get two chapters, but I'm really not good at fast updates. So... don't expect too much!
2. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries doesn't belong to me. Pride and Espionage comes from this video on youtube:
watch?v=hYOuDl13Zgw
3.
Actually, that's pretty much it! Thanks!
Chapter 2: The Tale of Darvid
His hands shook as he answered the phone.
"William Darcy." He made himself sound as strong and flippant as possible.
"Wil- Darcy." He heard her start. "I need you."
It skipped a beat. His heart, that is. And every other piece of his body with a pulse.
He hadn't heard those words in forever. Suddenly, his vision was clouded with memories from another life, another undercover assignment. One where he was the CEO of a huge multimedia company, where a journalist posing as a grad student came to investigate some discrepancies in the company funds.
Things got a little bit complicated from there. And then they got more complicated when that journalist discovered his identity.
He had to hand it to her, Elizabeth Bennet had a way of getting to him. Maybe that was why he had fallen in love with her.
"What is it?" He managed to choke out, remembering the situation at hand.
"I know I- I promised I wouldn't call, but- Well, I know this is out of the blue…" she scrambled for the right words, eventually blurting out, "My sister's been kidnapped."
"Are you okay?"
"There was blood on the window. William, I… You have to find her."
"I can help you."
Lizzie wasn't just pacing. She was walking with a mission. Her mother was convinced that her second eldest was leaving indents in the floor.
Mrs. Bennet just didn't understand.
Not only was Lizzie facing the disappearance of her baby sister, she was also facing the imminent arrival of her ex-boyfriend who, oh yes, happened to be a world-class spy. Add those facts to the fact that no one in her family knew about William or his profession, and that she had stormed out on him two years ago and had not spoken to him since, and Lizzie had one hell of a situation on her hands.
She told herself that this was about Lydia. She called Darcy because he could help find Lydia. She had left Pemberley Digital two years ago for a reason, and the only reason she had called her ex-boyfriend was because she knew he could help. This was about Lydia.
The doorbell rang. Lizzie fought the urge to go hide in the nearest closet.
"That most certainly better not be a reporter." Cried her mother, with minute traces of amusement.
Now, Mrs. Bennet was by no means any less distraught than the rest of the family over the kidnapping of her youngest daughter. She was just… more willing to speak about it publicly.
"I'll get it!" Lizzie rushed to the door, lightly pushing her mother out of the way. She placed one hand on the handle and quickly smoothed her hair with the other. When the door opened, she couldn't help but take a step back.
He looked older than she remembered. Of course he would, with two years having passed. But there was something deeper in his countenance, as if it had been much longer than two years. The lines in his face were unnerving, as if he had lived another lifetime since she had been away.
"Ms. Bennet."
"Mr. Darcy."
It felt too formal. She let him in, turning situations over in her mind that wouldn't arise suspicion to her family.
"And who is this fine gentleman, Lizzie?" Her mother swooned the minute she saw him. When Lizzie just looked between Darcy and her mother desperately, William took action, silently snaking his arm around her waist. It felt too familiar.
It was the only cover he could take, under the circumstances. Lizzie's life developed more situations hourly.
"Um, Mom, this is Dar- Will. William Dar-vid. We, uh… met… online?" She hoped it would be convincing enough for Mrs. Bennet. She would come up with a better story later.
Of course, Mrs. Bennet would have believed any situation that involved a man and one of her daughters, especially if it meant a marriage prospect. So she chatted away with William Darvid about his work as a computer programmer and his three roommates in Chicago and how he and Lizzie met on an online dating website and how when Lizzie had called him he just had to come and comfort her.
It was dizzying how fast he could spin a tale. He probably had three cover stories on standby at any given moment, tucked in his back pocket like some spare change.
When the small talk was over and Lizzie could finally pull Darcy into her room, her complacent smile became a scowl.
"Look, Lizzie, I'm sorry that-" He began.
"I get it, William. I should have come up with something sooner."
"I know you don't like-"
"Secrets? No, I don't. But unfortunately, today, secrets are a necessity. So, moving on- Lydia's room."
The police had come and searched the room; they'd taken samples of the blood and a few articles of Lydia's clothing, but not much else. The yellow crime scene tape remained in tact- not that Lizzie hadn't investigated herself.
Darcy managed to pull gloves out of nowhere and began to methodically inspect the room, placing everything back perfectly after he had examined it.
When he reached the window, he pulled a small vial with a cotton swab out of his pocket and gently swiped the blood with the swab.
"Has anyone looked at that?" He asked, referring to Lydia's laptop, which remained in tact on the ground next to her bed.
"Not that I know of." Darcy slipped one finger under the top of the computer to open it. It was password protected.
But what kind of sister would Lizzie be if she didn't already know it?
Jane Bennet was a wreck.
One day, she had two crazy, spitfire, completely lovable sisters, and the next day…
Lydia was missing. And Lizzie had apparently been dating someone.
Jane may have been nice. But that didn't make her stupid.
The police were convinced this was just another one of Lydia's crazy escape plots, heightened to a fake kidnapping. Jane didn't think so. Lydia would never leave without her phone. If this was a cry for attention, then why didn't she leave herself any way of getting it?
And Lizzie… Lizzie did not date boys online. Lizzie barely dated boys period. She was so particular that Jane could count on one hand the number of serious relationships her sister had been in. Lizzie was a highly independent person. There was no way she would call in even a 'serious' boyfriend from out of town to comfort her while her sister was missing. Something was fishy about William Darvid.
It didn't help that Bing wasn't calling her back. It was bad enough that neither of her sister's could speak to her, but her boyfriend too? It was so unlike him.
So Jane spent a lot of her time knitting.
So far, she had made two scarves, a pair of mittens, and a sweater so long it could almost be a dress. She was on her third scarf. It was red.
Lydia Bennet was waking up.
The floor was damp.
She thought she smelled peaches.