The remainder of the day, Lizzie was more irritable than before. She refused to tell Charlotte what was wrong, and Collins paid more attention to her than usual. It was lucky that they weren't invited to Ms. Bourgh's house, for Lizzie didn't think she'd be able to even pretend to be civilized for that long and she knew she'd end up saying something she didn't mean. Or did mean.

After the rush of anger came the rush of quiet. By nighttime, she was moping about the house in a silent vigil, only answering questions. She'd divert the topic, however, when Charlotte asked her what was wrong.

The next morning she took it upon herself to act like nothing was wrong, as if her world hadn't just been turned upside down. She forced herself to talk to Charlotte, be civil to Collins, and help out around the house. Even though she now had a lot more to think of, she'd be going back home in two days and wanted to spend as much time with Charlotte as she could.

Lizzie was more than grateful when Charlotte took it upon herself to take them somewhere. So they went to the tennis court that Ms. Bourgh owned and played for a while. Lizzie was, under normal circumstances, very good at tennis but the current preoccupation of her thoughts caused her to lose many points that she may have won. Charlotte knew Lizzie well enough to just keep quiet on the way back and so the car ride was spent with the radio on and the top down.

"I have a letter for you, well more like a note," Collins announced after they went back in the house. Lizzie arched a suspicious brow, but took the letter in his hand and went to the kitchen to get some water. "Have you noticed anything strange about our guest lately, dearie?"

"Yes," Charlotte answered frankly.

Collins gazed back expectantly. "Well? What are we going to do about it?"

Charlotte shrugged. "Nothing. Lizzie shuts down when pressured, so we won't pressure her. She'll tell me when she's ready. She usually does." Collins merely shrugged and returned to writing his sermon.

Meanwhile, in her bedroom, Lizzie tore open the tape on the folded piece of paper. It wasn't in an envelope, and the only indication that it was for her was the small 'for L' written hastily at the top. Though she had her suspicions, it was still a bit of a shock when she realized that the neat, small handwriting was in fact Darcy's. She was intrigued, but still a bit suspicious. So with a cautious heart, she settled down on her bed to read the letter.

Elizabeth,

I can understand your anger over our talk yesterday, and I've had some time to think about all the things you said and would like to clarify a few things. Before I do though, I just wanted to say that I will be leaving this afternoon for California to do a project with Charlie so you can go about as you want without the fear of running into me.

As for my friend and your sister, all the reasons I gave to you for my intrusion on their relationship were seemed valid for me. That is, I felt that she didn't feel as strongly for my friend as he did for her. This was wrong of me to assume. I shouldn't have brought the rest of your family into this, and for that I apologize. The other, which I did not say, was that I didn't want your sister dragged into the same world that Charlie and I live in. It's a harsh world, with everyone judging your every move and tracking your every word. I didn't want to corrupt such a person as your sister in the same way I have, I've become cynical with the world. She would merely be Charlie's plaything, his brief affair, the way the rest of them have. I could tell that he felt strongly for your sister, but the pressure of show business might have destroyed that bond.

As for George Wickham, I am resentful of his lies. You can choose whichever story you believe, but I'll give you mine. Yes, he was my first friend. But he was also a child star. Children stars often turn rotten as they get older, and George was no different. As a middle schooler he was already trying different kinds of drugs and messing with his health. He paid millions of dollars to keep his name out of the newspapers, and it was soon after that he came to me. I refused to fuel his... lifestyle so he found a more creative alternative. Now a sophomore in high school, he went after my sister. My sister was in middle school at the time, and as most girls that age are, she was looking for attention. My parents had made the mistake of also putting her into Hollywood, so she had a fair amount of money for herself. My parents also didn't know of George's double life, so when he came to visit my sister with gifts, my parents were more than happy to do whatever he wanted. Recently after having the assurances of my parents, he decided that he needed more money from them so he took them out to dinner. Before they got to the restaurant, though, my father discovered that George was driving under the influence and tried to get him to pull over. He failed, and they crashed into a tree. George called the police, but escaped and hid in the nearby woods. He missed prison and the newspapers deemed my parent's deaths as a hit and run.

As you can imagine, I cut off all ties with him and he went bankrupt and hid in the shadows, with my parent's death on his hands and my heartbroken sister.

I can't expose him after so long, especially since he has long given up his drug and alcohol use to join the army... I still wouldn't trust him with taking out the trash.

I hope you can see from my side now and forgive me.

William.

Lizzie lay her head back against the headboard and released a long breath. The story that Darcy had just told her was far too fantastic to be true, yet it did confirm the negative vibes she had felt from George. As for her sister and Bingley, though it wasn't his place she found it easier to see why he intervened.

Resolved, she promised herself never to look Wickham in the eye again.

But how did she feel about Darcy?

***

Jane met her at the airport when she arrived at Logan in Boston three days later. She looked healthier than she had when she last saw her, but the sadness had not quite left her eyes. Lizzie was extremely happy to see her, and they spent the entire car ride back talking about their trips. Lizzie told her everything, except of course the last few days and the confusing turn of events. Lizzie decided that she would tell her sister about Wickham, but not until they both got home and she got settled in again.

Home was the same as usual, for the twins were gossiping about soldiers and their upcoming sophomore year. Lizzie was thoroughly filled in on the life of George Wickham and his apparent breakup with his girlfriend and Lizzie found herself lacking in emotion. But the news that did stun her was that her sisters were allowed to go to and see George before he went back to Washington.

"It won't be for too long," her mother assured her. "They just want to see him with their aunt, then they'll come home." Mrs. Bennet leaned closer to Lizzie. "A friend of your father's in Washington was even thinking of keeping Lydia there with him and his wife, just to visit him! You know, a few days ago he stopped by and it looked like they were getting along really well!" She leaned back only to be greeted by the horrified look on Lizzie's face. "Well, you can be happy for your sister! You just got back from Arizona, she needs to go places too!"

"But... why? Can't you see he's dangerous?"

Mrs. Bennet waved her hand. "Posh. He's a gentleman."

"You think so... he's a lot older than she is!"

"Only three years. There's a two year difference between me and your father."

Lizzie sighed. "But you met in college, that's different!"

So by the end of the night, Lizzie had lost the argument with her father to keep Lydia home, Kitty found out about Lydia's betrayal and was wailing about the house, and Lizzie found no time through the chaos to tell Jane about Wickham.