A/N: So, you all have to believe how terribly sorry I am that this chapter has taken me so long to write. I've been working really hard on some original stuff for the last year or so, but my mind never really abandoned this story. It's always been there wanting to be finished. So, here I am, working on finishing it. I think I'll have it done by the end of the month. Oh, and I still don't own Pride and Prejudice, the song "There's Us" or any of the brand name items mentioned in this story, or this chapter specifically anyway. I'm probably going to go back through and rewrite a bunch of the chapters too. So, here's to a returned muse!
Lizzie was up the next morning almost before dawn. Sophie was still fast asleep and so she quietly slipped her bath robe over her shoulders. She grabbed her guitar out of its case, flipping up the clasps as softly as possible, and then softly slipped out of the room. Someone had already been up and made coffee and so she poured herself a cup in a faded blue mug and then slipped out onto the front porch to sit in the swing and mull over what she had written the night before.
As she sat there and watched the sun rise she absently strummed chords on her guitar. Every now and then she struck a chord progression that she particularly liked and scribbled it down on the notebook next to her. The front porch faced east, giving her a magnificent view of the sun rising over the town. She could almost imagine that she could see the top of Pemberly from where she sat. The sun rise from her spot on the front porch was probably one of the most beautiful sights that she'd ever seen. But in spite of her beautiful surroundings and the happiness in her heart, her song just wasn't reflecting that.
For some reason the song sounded sad and she didn't understand why. Everything just seemed too wonderful beyond words and yet the song she was writing was coming out like something bad was about to happen. She just couldn't come up with a chorus that she liked. Lizzie strummed the opening chords to the song on her guitar and then softly sang and played the first verse. She tried to move on to the chorus but something just didn't sound right. She kept strumming and trying out different chords but couldn't be content with what she had written.
Suddenly the front door opened and Sarah stepped out onto the porch already showered and fully dressed. "Lizzie?" she questioned with the frown. "Aren't you going to get ready? You're leaving for Pemberly in half an hour."
"What?" Lizzie nearly screamed as she bolted up from her spot on the bench and nearly threw her guitar across the porch. She tossed her aunt her guitar, an unspoken request for her aunt to put it back in its case, and then flew into the house and down the hall to Sophie's room. She ran to her suitcase and started throwing her clothes around in her haste to find something to wear. She finally settled on her favorite floral skirt and a pale yellow tank top then ran down the hall again to the bathroom.
In spite of the fact that she'd only had half the usual amount of time she took to get ready, Lizzie was standing on the porch ready to go with three minutes to spare when a glossy black car pulled up in front of the house and Will Darcy got out.
"You're on time, I'm shocked," Will joked as Lizzie made her way down the porch steps.
"I can be on time when I want to be," Lizzie replied. "Is it okay if I bring my guitar? I'd really like to do some song writing at Pemberly…"
"That's more than fine," he assured her and opened the back passenger door so that she could safely stow her instrument case there. He knew that he never let his guitar ride around in an empty trunk and figured she wouldn't either.
"So, am I just meeting your sister today?"
"Charlie's at Pemberly too, with Caroline," Will informed her as he climbed in the driver's side and restarted the car. "I hope that's okay…"
"I'd love to see Charlie again," Lizzie assured him as she stared out the window at the lovely day outside. "He was a lot of fun when we were stuck at that hotel over Christmas. Caroline…"
"I'd prefer that she didn't follow Charlie everywhere," Will interjected as he stole a glance at Lizzie. He wouldn't have believed that she'd had to rush to get ready. She was as beautiful as ever in his eyes. He would have thought her beautiful if she had just rolled out of bed. In fact, he had found her beautiful when he'd seen her Christmas morning when Charlie woke them both up.
Lizzie stared out the window and nervously fingered the hem of her skirt. Will glanced over and noted her nervous gesture. Will smiled slightly and then took her hand in his. Lizzie looked down startled as he twined his fingers through hers, but didn't pull away when she saw the smile on his face. Will Darcy, she thought, needed to smile more. He was gorgeous when he was all dark and broody, but he was breathtaking when he smiled. They sat there with her hand in his until they reached Pemberly and a teenage girl came running down the front steps to meet them.
"That's Gina," Will informed her quietly as Lizzie grabbed her guitar case. "She's been dying to meet you. She's a huge fan of your band."
Gina skidded to a stop in front of them in her scuffed sneakers and opened her mouth to say something, but suddenly looked really shy. Will opened his arm to his sister and she slid to his side. It made Lizzie smile to see how close the two of them were. The way a guy treated his sister was a very good indication of how a guy would treat his girlfriend, not that Lizzie's mind was going there. She wasn't exactly sure what she and Will Darcy were, but they were definitely not at that stage yet.
"Gina, this is Lizzie," Will said with a smile. "Lizzie, this is my little sister, Gina."
"It's nice to meet you," Lizzie smiled as she held out her free hand to Gina. The younger girl took it shyly and burrowed a little closer to her brother. "Will tells me that you're a musician too."
"I'm not as good as you are," Gina replied shyly. "Will just raves about you."
"But you play the piano," Lizzie laughed. "I can't play the simplest song on the piano and Will just raves about your abilities."
"Come on you two," Will laughed. "We do have other guests waiting."
"Caroline won't leave me alone, Will," Gina whispered loudly into her brother's ear. "I came running out to escape her."
"And here I thought you were just that excited to meet the famous Lizzie Bennet that you couldn't stop raving about," he teased as they started making their way back into the house.
"I was very excited about meeting you, Lizzie," Gina said with a small smile. "Willie's been raving about you for weeks."
"Gina!"
"But you have," she replied impishly. "It's always 'Lizzie this' or 'Lizzie that.' He's been driving Richard and I nuts. I thought Caroline was going to go into cardiac arrest the other night when Will started talking about you at dinner."
"Charlie brought it up."
"Charlie brought the band up," Gina amended as they walked through the front door. "He mentioned how ya'll are supposed to have another single coming out."
"That's actually what I'm supposed to be working on right now," Lizzie laughed. "I'm here on sabbatical trying to get some inspiration."
"And have you found anything to inspire you?"
"Other than being in Jack Darby's house?" she grinned. "This is completely surreal to me. I've dreamed of this place since I was six years old. I think I wore black every day for nearly three months every day when I found out he'd died."
"Uncle Jack died before we were born…" Gina frowned questioningly.
"No one informed me of that when I first discovered his records," Lizzie replied with a shrug. "But he was the one who inspired me. He made me want to be a musician. All I asked for for Christmas and my birthday for years was a guitar and then my dad finally cracked one year for my birthday. I taught myself to play for the most part and wrote my first song when I was sixteen."
"Wow," Gina said as they walked into the room Charlie and Caroline were sitting in. "So why did you choose country music? Uncle Jack was more rock and roll."
"Well, Jack Darby was my first musical inspiration," Lizzie began. "But my mom loves Martina McBride and she always seemed to be playing in our house when I first started to play the guitar. The first song I ever sang at a talent show was 'Concrete Angel.' I wanted to be just like her."
"That is most fascinating, Eliza," Caroline interjected, causing Lizzie to start a bit violently. She had barely realized then been walking and hadn't realized at all that they'd entered a room. It was the same room she'd been in with Will the night before as they'd been talking about their favorite bands. The sight of that entire wall of records, tapes, and CDs still took her breath away. She'd thought she'd had a lot of music before seeing it. "So, you just copy other artists?"
Lizzie recoiled as though someone had slapped her. "No," she said firmly. "I've tried to give myself and my band our own distinct sound and style. We don't copy anyone. I've never recorded a cover for one of my CDs. In fact, I write most of the music we sing myself."
"Lizzie's quite the talented song writer," Will chimed in and wrapped an arm around Lizzie's shoulders, feeling them shake with anger. "Don't let her get to you," he whispered into her ear.
"I've never…" she hissed back.
"I know," he replied and let his hand caress her hair once. "She doesn't know what she's talking about."
"Well, I found your story quite fascinating, Lizzie," Charlie called from his place on the black leather sofa. "I always think it's interesting to hear about artists' musical influences."
"It's your job to interested in that crap, Charlie," Caroline retorted.
"Will, why don't you show Lizzie a little more of the house?" Gina suggested, a bit of her initial timidity returning because of the high level of tension in the room.
"I know one room that you'll love," Will sighed heavily as he turned to face Elizabeth. "Will you let me show it to you?"
"Sure…"
"Why don't we all go?" Caroline called out as she stood up from the arm chair she'd been sitting in.
"Actually, Caroline," Gina began painfully. "I bought a dress the other day that I'm not quite sure about. I'd really love it if you would give me your opinion. Will you come up to my room with me and take a look? Will you be alright by yourself Charlie?"
"Go on!" Charlie urged with his usual exuberance. "I'll find something on the TV to watch while you all go off on your adventures."
Caroline looked as though she was going to protest, but Gina dragged her away from the room before she got the chance. Charlie produced a remote and was quickly entranced by the glories of ESPN.
"Shall we?" Will asked with a smile as he held out his arm to Elizabeth.
"We shall," she replied with a giggle and slung the shoulder strap of her guitar case around her before wrapping her arm around his.
"I could carry that for you," he suggested as they made their way out of the room and towards the marble staircase that dominated the front hall.
"I appreciate the offer," Lizzie smiled. "But I'd much prefer to do it myself. You know musicians and their favorite instruments…"
Will nodded understandingly and they made their way up to the fourth and top floor of the house. He gave her some of the details of the rooms on the other three floors as they made their ascent, but wouldn't let her veer off to inspect any of the rooms. "Just be patient," he would say and gently pull her back towards him. "This is worth the wait."
"But I always wanted to see…"
"Later."
Lizzie pouted a little, but perked up when they finally made their way onto the landing of the fourth floor.
"This room was supposed to be a ball room," Will informed her as they stopped in front of an ornately carved door. "But Uncle Jack didn't really see the need for a ball room." He pushed the door open and Lizzie felt her jaw drop open. Not because of the furnishings in the room, because the room was completely empty save one folding chair near the far wall, but instead because of the marvelous view that you could see because the far wall was a solid piece of glass.
"The architect who Uncle Jack hired to restore Pemberly hated the idea of making this wall solid glass," Will informed her. "He insisted that it couldn't be done. But Uncle Jack told him that he wasn't paying him to tell him what he couldn't do. He was being paid to do what Uncle Jack wanted him to do. So, here we are. Uncle Jack wrote most of his songs in that folding chair."
"Will…" Lizzie trailed off breathlessly. "I can't believe this! I can't believe I'm actually standing here! In this room! Where Jack Darby did most of his song writing! This is just incredible! And the view! I think I can see Aunt Sarah's family's house from here! This has to be the most incredible thing in the world!"
"I'm glad you like it."
"Like it?" she replied incredulously. "I love it!"
"So, do you feel inspired?"
"How could you not?"
"Would you like me to leave you alone for awhile?" he asked. "I always come in here whenever I'm having trouble writing a song."
"Could I?" Lizzie whispered. "Could I really?" When Will nodded his head, Lizzie flew across the room and flung her arms around his neck. She squeezed him as tightly as he could and when she pulled back, his cheeks were flaming red.
"I'll leave you to it then," he said quietly as he made his way back out of the room. Lizzie looked around the room incredulously for a few more minutes and then took a seat on the floor near the glass wall. She thought about sitting in the chair, but couldn't bring herself to do it. There was no way she could sit in Jack Darby's chair. The greatness of it would leave mind in a puddle of mush and she needed that to work out this song. She unzipped her guitar case and placed the guitar on her lap. She strummed a few chords to make sure that it was still perfectly in tune and then started to play the song she'd been working on that morning.
"There's me, looking down at my shoes," she sang softly. "The one smiling like the sun, that's you. What were you thinking? What was the song inside your head?"
.............................
By the time Will returned to the living room, Gina and Caroline were back as well. "I was watching that, Caroline!" Charlie snapped irritably as his sister grabbed the remote from the coffee table to changed the channel to the entertainment network.
"You've already seen that football game four times, Charlie," she snapped back. "Oh! I hate that dress! Some people have no sense of fashion!"
Gina held back a snort as she looked over Caroline's attire. Once again, she was clad in nothing bur orange. Whoever had told her that orange was her best color had been lying to her.
"It's the Gators!"Charlie exclaimed. "You can't watch them play enough!"
"So, where's Eliza?" Caroline inquired snidely. "Off drooling over some of your uncle's old garbage?"
"No," Will replied coldly as he took a seat next to Charlie on the couch. "She's up in another room working on a song she's been writing. Pemberly inspires her."
"I must say, that skirt of hers was soooo last season," she said snidely. "I wouldn't be caught dead in that ratty old thing."
"I thought Lizzie looked quite nice," Gina interjected when she looked over and saw how tightly the skin was stretched over Will's knunckles ad his hand curled into a fist. "Yellow is quite a pretty color on her. I think it has something to do with her hair."
"But a tank top!" Caroline exclaimed. "I swear, I don't know how men find her attractive. She has absolutely no fashion sense. Don't you think, William? I remember you once said something about that stupid cowboy hat she always wears on stage."
"I never said anything about her hat, Caroline," Will inwardly seethed. "And I don't find Elizabeth to be the least bit unattractive. I think she's probably the most beautiful woma I know. Not to mention the fact that she's beautiful inside as well, and doesn't feel the need to belittle others to make herself seem more important."
"Well..." Caroline began and then suddenly stood up. She threw the remote back at Charlie and stormed out of the room without another word.
Charlie immedately punched in the number for his desired channel and stood up and cheered. "Alright! Touch down! Hurricanes can't stop Superman!"
.....................................
Hours past completely unnoticed by Lizzie and she jumped violently when someone knocked on the door.
"Lizzie, it's time for lunch," Gina called softly into the room. "Are you hungry?"
"Famished," Lizzie replied as placed her guitar back in its open case and zipped it up. She rose to her feet and stretched her stiff muscles before leaning back down to pick the case up and sling the strap around her torso. "What's for lunch?"
"One of Mrs. Reynolds' specialties," Gina replied as they made their way out of the room.
"I must look like a mess," Lizzie laughed as she looked down at her wrinkled skirt. "I should have known better than to sit like that in my skirt."
"You look fine," Gina assured her. "I don't think anyone will care how wrinkled your skirt is."
Lunch passed by quickly and although Will and Gina begged her to stay a while longer, Lizzie begged off. "I forgot my cell phone and my aunt and uncle have no way to get a hold of me," she explained. "I should probably get back and touch base with them. Besides, Uncle Jake is probably ready to kill me for leaving him alone for so long."
"You'll come back with your aunt and uncle for dinner though, right?" Gina pleaded hopefully as Lizzie and Will made their way towards the front door.
"I'll ask," Lizzie assured the younger girl. "I'll send Will back with a yes or no answer." She hugged Gina goodbye and then they made their way out the door.
"Gina likes you a lot," Will said as they made their way to the waiting car.
"I really like her too," Lizzie replied with a smile. "She's a sweet girl. And she's obviously very fond of you."
"Our parents died when she was seven," Will replied. "I've practically been her father for the last ten years. We're really close."
"That's really great that you became her guardian," she said thoughtfully. "Most people would just pass their younger siblings on to a relative."
"Well, the only relative that could have taken her in at that point would have been Aunt Catherine," he explained. "And you can see why I couldn't let that happen…"
Lizzie shuddered at the memory of Catherine de Bourgh and nodded her head in agreement. "Yes," she laughed softly. "I can see exactly why you wouldn't let that happen."
"So, have any creative bursts?"
"Sort of," Lizzie sighed. "I got the music part of the song written. But I'm kind of lost on the lyrics. I really like what I have, but I'm not sure exactly where I'm going with it. It just doesn't sound as happy as I want it to for some reason."
"Can I hear what you've got?"
"My guitar's on the back seat."
"Just sing it," he instructed as he reached over and turned off the radio.
"This is embarrassing…"
"Please?"
Lizzie sighed heavily and began to sing:
There's me, looking down at my shoes
The one smiling like the sun, that's you
What were you thinking?
What was the song inside your head?
There's us, going on about a band
Working out how we play our hand
I lay there dreaming
Later, all alone in my bed…
"That's all I've got so far," she shrugged. "I need a bridge and a chorus, and another verse or two."
"I like it," he nodded slowly as he pulled into the driveway. "I really like it. I can't wait to hear the rest of it."
"Well, don't get any ideas, mister," Lizzie laughed. "You can hear the rest of it with the rest of the world when I finally release it as a single."
Will laughed as well and then sighed as she unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car. "Oh," he said as she leaned into the back seat to grab her guitar. "Don't forget to ask your aunt and uncle about dinner."
"I'll do that right now," she assured him as she grabbed her guitar case and pulled it out. "Their rental car is here, so they should be inside."
Will waited anxiously as Lizzie ran into the house. He watched the minutes tick by slowly. It felt like an eternity, but in reality was only about three minutes before Lizzie came bounding out of the house with a happy smile on her face. "We'll see you tonight at seven," she informed him after she'd made her way over to the driver's side of the car and he'd rolled down the window. "Aunt Sarah's really excited."
"Gina and I will be looking forward to it," he replied.
There was an awkward silence for a moment before Lizzie leaned in impulsively and softly pressed her lips to his cheek. "See you tonight," she called over her shoulder as she made her way back towards the house.
"Lizzie, wait!"
Lizzie turned around to watch him get out of the car and make his way towards her. He stopped when they were only inches apart and pressed his lips against hers in a brief kiss. She froze for a minute, but when he felt her start to kiss him back, it was pure heaven. He reluctantly broke the kiss and got back into his car "I'll be here to pick you all up at seven," he called through the still open window.
"T-t-that's really not necessary," Lizzie stammered breathlessly. "We've got the rental car…"
"I insist," he replied and buckled his seat belt before pulling out of the drive way. He looked at the clock on the radio. It was 3:30. In three and a half hours Lizzie would be on her way back to his house and he wasn't going to let her leave it again without her knowing that he was still in love with her, maybe now more than ever. He knew those would be the longest three and a half hours of his life.
…………..
Lizzie's mind was reeling from the kiss and she completely forgot to look at her phone when she got back into the house. She got embroiled in a rather epic game of Go Fish with Sophie's two nieces and youngest nephew and it completely slipped her mind. It wasn't until she came back from the bathroom after showering to get ready to go back to Pemberly that Sophie finally said something to her about it.
"I meant to mention it when you got back, but it totally slipped my mind," Sophie began as she flipped through the pages of a fashion magazine. "Your phone's totally been ringing off the hook all day."
"OH!" Lizzie exclaimed as she scrambled across the room to where she'd left her purse. She pulled out her Blackberry and groaned. She had fifteen missed calls. The one day she didn't have her phone on her had to be the day when everyone tried to call her. But as she looked back over the call history, she saw that they'd all been from Jane. After walking out onto the porch to get some privacy, she pressed in the speed dial for Jane's number and then waited for her sister to pick up.
"Lizzie!" Jane exclaimed breathlessly as she answered the phone. "Thank God you finally answered! You have to come home right away!"
"What?" Lizzie asked with a puzzled frown. "Why?"
"It's Lydia," her sister explained. "She's gone missing! She never made it to her interview last night and she's not in her hotel room either. The maid said that no one has slept in the bed for the last three nights!"
"Oh my God!" Lizzie cried. "How did this happen?"
"We don't know!" Jane replied. "The limo driver dropped her off at her hotel and she checked in, but then she just vanished! No one has any idea where she went!"
"Jane!" Lizzie heard Kitty scream in the background. "Lydia just sent me a message on Facebook!"
"Hold on a minute Kitty and let me put Lizzie on speakerphone so that she can hear too," Jane instructed as calmly as possible. "Okay, go ahead."
"Kitty, you'll never guess what I'm up to," Kitty read breathlessly.
I'm having the best time ever. Ya'll will be soooooo jealous! Jack and I are running away together! I think we're going to Mexico! Lizzie would never let us go on vacation there! Jack met me in New York and now we're running off together! I'm not sure where exactly in Mexico, but Jack says that he as lots of friends there! I'll let you know more later
"Jack?" Lizzie asked quietly. "Jack who?"
"Jack Wickham," Kitty replied softly. "Lydia ran into him one day not long after you left, Lizzie. I think they've been seeing each other."
"Oh no," Lizzie said and rested her head in her hands. "I'll go talk to Uncle Jake and Aunt Sarah. I'll let them know that we have to leave right away. I'll call you when I know what time my plane will land."
Lizzie said goodbye to her sisters and let her head sink down into her hands. Poor, stupid Lydia… She felt the tears brimming up in her eyes start to course down her cheeks. How could this have happened? How could Lydia have done this? This was going to ruin their reputation as a band… Wickham was not well liked among the various people involved in the country music industry. Oh God… The joint bank account… Lydia had access to it. They'd just gotten their last check from their record sales… Oh God…
"Lizzie," she heard a masculine voice call. She looked up to see Will getting out of his car and quickly making his way towards her. "Lizzie, sweetheart, what's wrong?"
"Lydia," she managed to choke out as the sobs built up in her chest. "She's run off with… Wickham!" As she choked out the name, the sobs escaped her. She sat there on the somewhat rickety porch swing sobbing and felt Will sit down beside her. He tentatively wrapped his arms around her and she burrowed her way in closer to him, sobbing against his broad chest. She cried for Lydia, for the way the band was going to suffer because of her sister's thoughtless actions, and for herself. Because she knew that even though Will was holding her at the moment, once she'd explained the whole story, he probably wouldn't want anything to do with her ever again.