Lizzie wasn't sure how long she had stood wrapped in Darcy's arms, crying like an infant. She pulled back from him and wiped her eyes, feeling incredibly embarrassment and defeated. She had sworn never to let Darcy see that she was weak, but being strong right now felt virtually impossible. Lydia had no idea of the consequences of her, and Wickham's actions. There was so much debris to clean up, and Lizzie didn't have the slightest idea of where to start. Darcy's voice sounded, interrupting her thoughts.
"I can drive you back tomorrow," he said. His voice was cold, and Lizzie was sure that he was only offering this to her to be polite. To save him the misery, she declined the offer.
"Thank you. I have my car here, but I just can't drive right now." She motioned her head towards the bottle of wine that was still sitting on the table next to her phone which she ignored, despite it's constant buzzing.
"Of course." Darcy replied, nodding once.
Lizzie sat on the lounge where Darcy had been sitting previously, took off her heels and curled up on the couch. She didn't know what else to say about the situation, but Darcy stood before her, waiting for her to say something else. Lizzie tried desperately to grasp a single thought from amongst the mess in her mind, but she couldn't.
The full gravity of the situation had hit Lizzie so hard that she felt as though she'd never be able to face the world again. Her baby sister, Wickham, Gigi. The thoughts whirled around inside her head making her more anxious than before.
Darcy picked up the bottle of wine next to him, opened it and poured some into two scotch glasses. Then, he came and sat beside Lizzie and handed her a glass. She looked at him quizzically.
"Might as well," he said simply, shrugging his shoulders.
Lizzie accepted the glass gratefully and took a large sip, feeling some of the tension in her body ease. It wasn't ideal having Darcy know these intimate family details, but if anyone had to know, then she was relieved that it was him that knew. Darcy had prior experience dealing with Wickham when he had tried to take Gigi down with him, and if anyone knew what to do in this situation it would be Darcy.
"I don't want to drag you into my problems," Lizzie said suddenly.
"You're not," he replied shortly, swishing the wine around inside his glass.
Lizzie tried to decipher the look that was etched upon his face. It looked like he either wanted to get away from Lizzie as soon as possible, or single handedly strangle Wickham. Or perhaps it was both. Simultaneously. Lizzie sighed.
After what seemed like hours, Darcy spoke again. His voice was quiet, and had a slight edge to it.
"It shocks me that Wickham is still causing this kind of trouble, that's all. It amazes me that people can be so enticed by his personality, and be so gullible when it comes to anything the man says."
Lizzie felt her face flush with embarrassment. Darcy must have realized what he had said at once, because his eyes widened and he spoke hurriedly.
"Forgive me, Elizabeth. I exclude you from that comment. Whatever happened between you and Wickham is none of my business, but I know that you are able to fend for yourself. Gigi was not so lucky."
Lizzie shook her head.
"But I was gullible too, wasn't I? I believed his side of story for such a long time."
Darcy looked at her for a few moments before replying.
"I assume from that comment that now you believe what I told you about him in my letter."
Lizzie nodded and took another sip of her wine before answering.
"I've believed you for months actually."
Darcy raised his eyebrows in surprise and took a sip of wine too, but didn't say anything.
Lizzie fiddled with her glass, and noticed that she was shivering. It was cold up here in the library, and she hadn't thought to bring her jacket upstairs when she fled from the kitchen after Jane's call. She presumed she would go up to her room, crawl under the bed covers, fall asleep and pretend that today never happened. Yet she sought out the comfort of a room full of books instead.
"I can't stop thinking about this … this disaster. I don't know how my family is going to fix this. It's impossible!"
Again, Darcy said nothing. He sipped at his wine occasionally as though deep in thought.
"I am truly sorry this has happened to you and your family," he said finally. "I wouldn't wish this on anybody."
Her head was spinning from trying to process all the information Jane had told her, the alcohol and the fact that she was sitting here with Darcy and confiding in him.
He took off his jacket and pressed it gently into Lizzie's hands. She accepted it gratefully and slipped her arms into the jacket, wrapping it tightly around her body. She caught the scent of Darcy's cologne on his jacket and felt a twinge in her chest.
It occurred to her that perhaps she didn't hate Darcy as much as she thought she did, and accepting that emotion almost broke her heart for a second time that evening. Lydia's actions would ruin everything between them, and once again they would revert back to being strangers.
Lizzie took another mouthful of wine, before resting her head against the back of the lounge and closing her eyes. Darcy sat next to her in silence, occasionally shifting his position on the couch, but otherwise leaving her to her thoughts.
Tomorrow, everything would be completely different between her and Darcy, and she bet that secretly he would be glad that Lizzie's rejection of him had allowed him to dodge this bullet. The thought of his feelings for her suddenly made her heart heavy, especially knowing that now, just when she believed her feelings for him were starting to change, that there was no change they would ever be offered to her again.
Lizzie often believed that things happened for a reason, though try as she might, she couldn't find any reasoning for what had just happened to her family. She felt another tear escape from her eyes, and she pulled Darcy's jacket around her tighter.
Tomorrow, everything would be different … And Lizzie wasn't sure she wanted to know what was waiting for her when she woke up in the morning.