Darcy scowled at his newspaper. He was attempting to read the reviews of his theater's latest show, but it was increasingly difficult to focus. Georgiana had woken up long enough to drink some milk, but she was asleep again. Jane had cleaned and bandaged her cuts, and given her a sponge bath, but there wasn't much else to be done until Georgiana woke up properly. He wanted to talk to his sister, to confirm that she was okay and alive and that all would be well, but he'd just have to wait.
Billy King swaggered across the stage as if he owned it in his debut role as...
"Hey, daddy, I noticed you were working hard over here."
Go chase yourself, Caroline, thought Darcy. It wasn't enough that his sister was sick upstairs, he also had to deal with Caroline draping herself over him like the boyfriend he certainly wasn't.
He gritted his teeth. He couldn't offend Caroline with Georgiana upstairs, still too ill to be moved. Caroline was a good dancer, and she turned all heads when she got dolled up, but he regretted having taken her dancing from time to time. She'd read more into it than he'd ever intended.
He shook the newspaper to straighten it. "Yes, Caroline, I am working."
She didn't take the hint. "You read those reviews every day, don't you? I think it's just wonderful how well you know your onions," she purred.
"I read what I have to," he replied. He glanced up at the clock. Just past one: too early to check on Georgiana again.
"How is dear Georgiana? I'm so sorry I must stay away from her room, I'd have liked to sit with her. We always have such lovely conversations - she absolutely slays me!," said Caroline.
Darcy had told Caroline that Georgiana had come down with measles, to keep her away from Georgiana's room. Quite aside from Caroline's tendency to gossip, Darcy had no wish to subject his sister to Caroline's insinuations.
"She's as well as can be expected," he replied tightly.
"Do tell her I hope she is better soon. It is so kind of you to hire a nurse for her! Such a brotherly thing to do."
"Well, as I am her brother, I suppose that's to be expected."
"Of course. It's also clever of you to hire that Jane. My brother is a sap, but even he can't ignore that she's not worth his time if she's just an employee. Though I do think you should be concerned about exposing Georgiana to her. You wouldn't want her to learn bad habits. I'll visit Georgiana as soon as I can, so she has something to listen to besides that woman's inane chatter."
Darcy closed the newspaper and stood up, grabbing his coat as he did so. "I'm going out," he announced, "I'll be back for dinner."
He didn't slam the door, even though he wanted to. He tucked the newspaper under his arm and started striding down the street, determined to put as much distance between himself and the house as possible.
After a minute, the walk and the cool air had refreshed him, and he slowed down. This really was a charming little town. His managers would be surprised that he hadn't returned to New York as planned, but the town was pleasant enough to make a spontaneous vacation believable.
He stopped and took a deep breath. Now where was he going to go? He wanted to finish his newspaper, and his secretary had sent him some paperwork to look over, but of course that was still in the house. Did this town have a library? At least he could get a little reading done.
The town's main street was a ten minute walk, and once he was there he had to ask a couple of people before he found someone to direct him to the library. It was a tiny brick building with a bright green door. The collection couldn't be large, but he was sure he'd find something to read.
He entered, and the librarian looked up from the card catalog to see who had entered. Her brown bob, blue eyes, and delicately pointed chin were familiar, but it took him a minute to recognize her. She'd been wearing makeup last night, of course, but she also looked calmer and more confident today.
"It's Lizzie, isn't it?" he asked, "I think we met last night?"
She straightened and brushed off her gray dress. "That's right. You're Will Darcy. I heard you were going back to New York today?" she asked.
"I...my plans changed. Charles...needs some help, so I'm staying to keep him company."
Keeping his friend company, an impulsive vacation, a case of the measles - the stories he was trying to keep straight were growing. Not to mention whatever story Jane might have told her family. Well, he only had to maintain it for a week or so. If he failed, the situation would rapidly begin resembling one of the comedic farces his theater produced every summer.
"I see," Lizzie replied crisply. "What can I do for you, Mr. Darcy?"
"I was mostly hoping for a quiet place to finish my newspaper," he said, waving it vaguely for her to see.
She briefly narrowed her eyes at him, but then turned and pointed to the adjoining room. "There's some comfortable chairs in there, if you like. And we do get a selection of papers, if you wish for others." She turned back to the card catalog and knelt down to resume filing cards. He found himself following the path of her slim fingers as she found the place for the next card, and noticing how her smooth hair skimmed along her jawline.
He realized he'd been staring at her. "Thank you," he said to her back.
He shook his head to clear it and headed towards the chairs.
Lizzie heard him go and sighed. It wasn't enough that Mr. Big Cheese Will Darcy had to come and ruin everyone's night last night, apparently he just had to come to her library and stare at her. At least the library would be closed in a few hours.
This is (probably) the last chapter for this week. We'll get more Darcy-Lizzie interaction in the next few chapters, so that should be fun.
Please review! Even just a smiley face makes my day
