Greetings Today is a special day for me so I decided to post an extra chapter :) Hope everyone has a great week. regards Janie(mj)

Chapter 16: New Friends

Lydia bounced around the room laughing and being annoying. "Lizzy, you will love George once you get to know him better. He's truly brilliant. He and Denny are best friends now." She giggled as she plopped down on the sofa next to her.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Lydia, I'm sure he's very nice. But honestly, I'm trying to finish my work," she told her as she moved off the couch and over to one of the wingback chairs.

"They will be here any time now so you should put your work away," Mrs. Bennet told her.

Elizabeth let out a heavy sigh. "Fine, I was barely getting anything done anyway," she told them as she closed her laptop and ran it upstairs. She took just a few minutes to check her hair then headed back downstairs. Considering how preoccupied Darcy seemed to be by the appearance of George Wickham in Meryton; Elizabeth was curious to know more about the man.

Elizabeth didn't have long to wait. Denny and his friend already arrived by the time she came back downstairs. She noticed George's smile as soon as she came into the room. He was handsome; she had to admit. "Hello Mr. Wickham," she said as she walked over and sat down.

"It's nice to meet you again, Miss Bennett," George smiled as he walked over and sat down next to her. "Please call me George."

"All right, but then you must call me Elizabeth," she told him.

He flashed her a smile, "That still sounds so formal, doesn't it," he teased her.

"Yes, I guess it does, but I have always hated the name Liz, and only those closest to me call me Lizzy," she explained to him.

"Well then, Elizabeth will have to do," he told her. "At least until we know each other better."

Elizabeth smiled, "My sister said that you are staying with Denny and his family?"

"Yes, I happened to meet Denny while I was at school and he was kind enough to ask me to join him and his family during our break," he told him.

Elizabeth's eyes narrowed some. "Pardon me for asking, but aren't you a bit old to be still attending university?" She felt bad when she realized how her questioned must have sounded. "I'm sorry, that didn't come out quite right."

"No, it is fine, really," he told her. "I have had to work as I go to school and it has taken me a little longer than I would have hoped."

"Yes, it can be expensive." she agreed.

"Yes, it can be," he sighed. "But I have met some truly amazing people. Although it was not my original plan, I would not change how things have turned out because of the friendships I have been able to make."

Elizabeth stumbled around for something else to say. She felt like he was hinting at something more, but didn't want to pry. She decided that changing the subject would be best, "I see you have survived shopping with my two sisters," she teased him.

George laughed, "Yes, just barely. I'm afraid I don't have the same energy level as your sister Lydia does."

"Not very many of us do," Elizabeth told him.

George smiled and said, "When we met the other day I thought I saw someone I once knew, Mr. Darcy of Derbyshire. I was so sure it was him that I mentioned his name to your sister and she said you spent this past weekend with Darcy at his friend's home, at Netherfield. Do you know Mr. Darcy very well?"

Elizabeth shook her head, "No, not really well. He did stay the weekend with Charles Bingley, but I was working a good part of the time, so we didn't have that much time together."

George looked at her. "I understood from Lydia that the first time you met Darcy, he was rather rude to you?"

"That's true; it was at a party for some friends of ours. He came along that night to meet Jane. She and Charles are dating, and Charles wanted his friend to meet my sister," she explained. "Sadly I don't think the company was very much to Mr. Darcy's liking. He was rather distant and guarded for most of the evening."

"I'm not surprised." He sighed heavily then repeated his words again. "Not at all surprised."

"How do you know Mr. Darcy?" she asked him. She wondered about the reaction Mr. Darcy had to George Wickham since Caroline mentioned him at lunch.

"Well that's a sad and long tale to tell." he began. "Mr. Darcy and I grew up together in Derbyshire. Our fathers were the best of friends and longtime business partners. Mr. Darcy senior was a wonderful man and treated me very much like his own son. When my father died, I was devastated. All my family was gone, but the older Mr. Darcy was kind and took me in. He raised me along with his own children, Fitzwilliam and Georgiana. I was very close to them both, or so I thought."

Elizabeth was not sure what to say, so she thought it best to say nothing. Wickham took the opportunity to continue his tale, "Darcy, that's what we all called him..." he explained. "Darcy became very distant and jealous of my relationship with his father. The closer his father and I became, the more angry and bitter Darcy was. I think he was jealous of the affection his father showed me, over him. When older Mr. Darcy grew ill, he called for me to come to him, but Darcy refused to allow me admittance to see him."

Elizabeth felt sorry for him, "Oh that's terrible."

"I was devastated, it was a terrible time for me. I honestly felt as if I was losing my dad all over again," Wickham told her. "After his father's memorial, I went to see Darcy. Before his father grew ill, he said that out of respect and friendship for my late father he wanted me to receive a sum of money to further my education. It was old Mr. Darcy's last wish that I become an equal partner in the family business. I'm told he spoke about this on his death-bed to Darcy. With his last breath, old Mr. Darcy said that he considered me every bit as much a son to him as his own son was, but Darcy wouldn't hear of it. He ordered me from the house."

"Oh, I don't know what to say," Elizabeth said. "That's horrible."

Wickham looked off into the distance and sighed, "That was the last time I saw Darcy. After that day, he wouldn't allow me to come to Pemberley ever again. Darcy was envious of me; he always felt the day his father took me in was a terrible mistake that he planned to rectify. He hired lawyers, and they convinced a judge that old Mr. Darcy was not in his right mind when he died. The judge agreed, and old Mr. Darcy's original last will and testament was upheld. His last wishes and his desire for my future were completely disregarded. I was even denied the cost of my education by his son. When I reminded Darcy of his father's last wishes, and of our childhood bond as brothers, he called security and had me thrown out of his office at Darcy Industries. I could have fought it I suppose. I could have demanded what I know in my heart old Mr. Darcy wanted for me. But I loved that man as my second father. I couldn't stand the thought of dragging his good name through the mud. I didn't want the media to tarnish his name. I loved him too much for that," he told her as he took in a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh. "His own natural son may not have cared about honoring his father's memory, but I found in the end, I had to," he told her.

"I must admit that I'm shocked to hear this about him. He has always seemed to be arrogant, one might even call him proud, but I didn't imagine that he would be capable of such cold and cruel hateful behavior," Elizabeth said.

"Oh, do not doubt it, Elizabeth. I can tell you firsthand of his vengeful, unforgiving nature," Wickham warned her. "Do you know his younger sister?"

"Georgiana?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered.

"Yes, I have met her," Elizabeth told him. "Why do you ask?"

He looked at her intently. "I only ask because it has been almost eight years since I have seen her. She was like a little sister to me. I loved her very much, but Darcy cut off all contact that I had with her. He's her guardian you see, and as such made sure I was no longer allowed to have any contact with her. She and I were at one time very close, but I fear Darcy's jealousy has taken that relationship from me as well. Believe me; Darcy can inflict all kinds of sorrow on those he doesn't like or approve of. He's not a man you want to be on the wrong side of."

Elizabeth fell silent for a moment. She did remember Darcy saying that he struggled with forgiving others, that once his trust was lost, it was lost forever. She never thought he could be capable of this kind of cruel and heartless behavior. "I am sorry George, that must be very hard for you," she said her voice filled with sympathy.

Wickham smiled and took her hand into his. "I only shared this with you as a warning. When Denny told me that Darcy was here, well I just had to be sure that people were put on their guard where he's concerned. Darcy is a very good actor, he lies and deceives to get what he wants, but in the end, his actions are self-serving at best."

"I will keep that in mind," Elizabeth told him.

"I wonder," he said softly his voice filled with emotion.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's just that Lydia mentioned something about you taking photos of his younger sister, Georgiana?" George said. "She told me you are a photographer."

Elizabeth hesitated, she didn't like it that her sister talked about her business affairs with others, but since it was not really supposed to be a secret, she admitted to it. "Yes, that's how Georgiana and I met."

George smiled, "I was wondering if I might have one of the proofs. You see it has been such a long time since I've seen her, and I still look at her as my little sister. I would very much like to see how she has grown. I suspect she has become very much the grown up young woman now."

"I'm not sure if that will be possible," she told him feeling sorry for him. "The photos I have taken of Georgiana are for her family. I do sympathize with your situation..." she said when he interrupted her.

"I do understand," he told her. "I wouldn't even ask it of you except that it has been so long and I do miss her very much." He lowered his gaze and took in a deep breath trying to keep his emotions in check. "As I said I have no other family and Darcy denying me the small pleasure of even seeing her as been very difficult for me."

Elizabeth wasn't sure what to do. She bit her bottom lip and hesitated a moment. "I'll see what I can do. I can't promise you…"

He smiled, "No, I understand, really, I do. Just knowing that you're willing to consider it means so much to me."

George smiled, if he could get his hands on some of those photos and sell them to the gossip rags he would be able to make enough money to cover his gambling debts. A recent photo of Georgiana Darcy was sought after by the entertainment magazines since Darcy's wealth had nearly tripled, making her heiress to a multimillion dollar estate. So many of the young, wealthy girls were flooding the news with their partying ways and wild behavior, but not Georgiana Darcy. Her older brother managed to keep her out of the press altogether. Georgiana's own fears and shyness helped keep her in the shadows as well. She was such a shy and timid girl that she didn't go out often and when she did her schedule was heavily guarded.

George thought about what might have been if only Darcy hadn't stopped him that day. He almost got his revenge on the great Fitzwilliam Darcy, but then all his plans were ruined when Darcy himself showed up three days early. At the time, George was only interested in getting Georgiana to run off and sleep with him. She was an easy mark, so trusting and completely naïve. It was a shame that he didn't think about taking pictures to sell later. He still could kick himself for not having a backup plan. If only things had worked out differently. It was the sound of Lydia's voice that brought him out of his thoughts.

Lydia came up to the two of them and demanded Wickham's attention, "Come on George we are going to the club for some dancing," she told him as she pulled on his arm.

Wickham turned to Elizabeth, "Will you be coming too?"

"I have work to do so I won't be going," she told him.

"Well it was very nice talking with you," he said. He was just about to leave but stopped and looked back at her. "Elizabeth, if I may ask you not to mention to Georgiana that you saw me or that we spoke. I would be most grateful. I don't want to be the cause of any sadness for her."

Elizabeth searched his eyes, "She's older now George. She might want to see you if she knew you were here..."

"No please, if she did arrange to see me it would only bring about Darcy's wrath on her, and I just couldn't live with myself knowing that I was the cause," he told her. "It's enough to know that she's doing well and perhaps if you choose to part with a few pictures so that I might see how she has grown."

Elizabeth was about to respond when Lydia interrupted them. "Wickham come on!" she cried out from the door.

Elizabeth watched as her sister pulled him along after her following, Denny and Kitty out the front door. She let out a heavy sigh. She was going to meet with Georgiana tomorrow to give her the photos so she and Darcy could review them. She wondered what she should tell her about seeing George Wickham. She didn't promise that she wouldn't say anything, but she knew that he expected her not to. She felt bad for them both. Georgiana would probably love having such a dear and old friend come back into her life, but if it would cost her close relationship with her brother then maybe it was best to leave things as they were. She went upstairs to her room and opened her laptop. She began thumbing through some of the less formal pictures of Georgiana. She thought maybe giving a few of them to George would be all right. He was after all practically a member of her family at one time. Still, as she looked through the pictures something inside her caused her to doubt if she should. As she closed her laptop, she was undecided as to what she should do about George Wickham's request and the knowledge she had learned about Mr. Darcy.