In case anyone missed it there was an article in the Washington Post this week about an illegal immigrant getting a full scholarship to Harvard. Thanks atthetouchoflove for flagging it for me :) For those who want to see the wedding dress that I was envisioning you can search for "jenny packham mimosa 2013." Happy reading...
William had a few minutes to kill before meeting with Professor Gardiner. He found himself browsing through the Harvard COOP. Spying a range of key chains he realized he needed to buy Lizzy a ring of a very different sort. Fingering his way through the key chains he came across one with a simply drawn image of a girl sitting, flashing a broad smile, waves simply drawn behind her. Written under the figure were the words, 'life is buena.' He continued looking through the key chains but kept coming back to this one. It reminded him of their morning on the beach when he first proposed. Picking up the key chain he brought it over to the register and noticed they did engraving too. "Excuse me, how long to get something engraved on the back of this?"
"The computer does it so it only takes a few minutes. Just write out what you want to say on this piece of paper. I find that easier so I don't make any mistakes."
"Perfect." Darcy answered. Ten minutes later, William walked out of the store with a new keychain, the back engraved. A quick stop at the hardware store across the street ensured a new set of keys to the mailbox and doors to each of their homes could be added to the ring. These little things made it all feel so very real. Keys in hand he walked back to the Yard and headed towards Professor Gardiner's office. He noticed the door was partially ajar and poked his head in to observe the professor pouring over some papers.
"Good afternoon Professor." William called out.
Looking up from his papers, the professor smiled and waived him in. "Thank you from disrupting me from these blasted papers. I should be thankful I'm teaching Harvard students because I couldn't imagine the junk I'd get from a freshman writing seminar at some other colleges. Please sit down." The professor slid his chair in front of the couch and faced William.
"Doesn't your teaching assistant review those papers for you?" William asked.
"I feel it's important to read through their papers to get a feel for how things are going. I leave the grammar corrections to my TA's but I need to understand for myself if my students are developing as critical thinkers and writers." The professor said with conviction.
William noticed the document he had handed to the professor the prior day. He could see that it'd been marked up. "I don't want to take up too much of your time. I can see you've spent some time with the first draft of the agreement. I'd appreciate any initial thoughts so I can share them with council. I'm also a bit curious as to what you might say to Lizzy about the document, but only if you're willing to share." William inquired.
Sitting in bed the prior evening Edward and Madeline Gardiner had read through the agreement. Their astonishment at the document left them with more questions than answers. To them, gaining a chance at citizenship was more than enough benefit for Lizzy to enter the marriage with this high quality young man. It was a rare individual who received such strong approbation from Solomon Gilpin. Edward's longtime mentor could not say enough good about William Darcy and his family when Edward had called him that morning. But to also have access to the financial benefits William was willing to confer to Lizzy was more than they'd ever anticipated. He was looking forward to gaining some better understanding of the young man's motivations in this conversation. "I'm no lawyer, despite Gilpin's strong encouragement for me to be one. From a layman's perspective, it seems to be a well constructed document. I've marked up a few sections I think could be worded more concisely and I put a call into my brother-in-law to see if he could review the document. He's a partner in a local law firm and does trusts and estates so he said he'd look through it as well. I haven't heard back from him and will let you and Lizzy know what he says. My question for you is, why are you doing this? Knowing Lizzy as I do, I'm pretty confident she doesn't want your money and won't expect it."
William should've expected this reaction. It always made him laugh that the people he'd like to help, or would like to give his money to, were usually the last ones to ask for or expect it. "I know that sir but there are really two reasons I constructed the document as I did. The practical reason is that I'm worth a lot of money. If I don't give her a reasonable amount in the pre-nup the courts might invalidate the document and it could cost a lot more in the end. I could likely get away with giving her less but a second reason comes into play as well. I have more money than I could spend in a lifetime. A week doesn't go by without someone asking me for money. I like the idea of giving money to someone I care about, who cares about me, and NOT my money. Lizzy's a smart, thoughtful person. If she's given money, I believe she'll do smart, thoughtful things with it. In reality, I am trusting her with a lot more than $2.5-$15 mm dollars. The Darcy name, my sister, my homes, (my heart, he silently thought), are worth a lot more than the assets contained in these documents."
Edward could appreciate these challenges and realized he'd need to help Lizzy prepare for a similar set of issues. William had grown up dealing the less appealing realities of wealth. This will be an entirely new world for Lizzy. "Thanks for humoring my question. By the way, I agree that if you were going to give money to someone, Lizzy is a wonderful person to give it to. Now did you and Lizzy work out her other questions. I know she'd written out quite a list." Edward asked.
"I believe so. We talked through several things, including the wedding and living arrangements. She seemed satisfied. There was one more thing I was hoping you might think about. Would you and your family consider joining us in Maine for the wedding next Sunday? I realize it's a lot to ask but as Lizzy doesn't have a lot of family around, I'm sure she'd want you there." William asked.
"Does Lizzy know you're asking us to be there?" Edward inquired.
"Um, no. We're having dinner tonight and thought we might discuss it but I didn't want to raise her hopes if it couldn't work out with your schedule." William admitted.
"We'd love to be there, if you don't mind us bringing our four children along."
"Of course. The whole family is invited. We could put you up in the cottage house next to our home. That way you could have enough space for all of you." William offered.
"That's incredibly kind. I'll chat with Maddy and Lizzy and confirm tonight if that's ok." Edward said.
"Thank you. I'm so glad Lizzy has you and your family to support her. I can't imagine how she'd have dealt with everything these past few weeks without you."
"Alright. Enough of the thanks. I should probably get in touch with Maddy and my brother in law before Lizzy comes by. Can I scan in my mark-ups and send them along to you later tonight?" Edward asked.
"That would be perfect. I'll look out for your email." The two men shook hands and parted ways.
Lizzy was barely able to concentrate in her afternoon class. Images of her wedding dress kept flashing in her mind. It was so beautiful and she couldn't imagine finding a more perfect dress if she'd spent months shopping for it. She was excited to return to the shop on Wednesday for her fitting. Thankfully class ended and her professor didn't seem to notice how she was distracted for much of it.
Running over to University Hall, she took the stairs two at a time as she headed to Professor Gardiner's office. Breezing into his office she plopped down on his couch completely out of breath.
"Well hello Lizzy. You didn't need to run here. I wasn't going anywhere," the professor teased.
Catching her breath Lizzy laughed, "I've had such an incredible day and I felt like I needed to run in order to release all of my pent up energy. I feel like a coiled spring ready to burst upwards. These past few days have been bewildering and yet feel so very good. Does that make any sense?"
"Yes I would say it actually does make sense. I'm glad you're sitting because I think you'll be a bit more bewildered with what I'm going to share with you. As I believe you know, William will need you to sign a prenuptial agreement. His company board will require it of him and really, anyone with his level of wealth should have one. It's good planning." Edward looked at her to make sure she was in agreement.
"Of course professor. I understand why its necessary. He mentioned that he'd asked you to take a look at it. I'm not marrying him for his money anyway so as long as I get to keep any assets I bring to the marriage I'm fine." Lizzy said unconcerned.
"Well, that's what I want to talk to you about. Lizzy, William has been quite generous. Even if you're only married for a short time, and then divorce, you'll receive quite a sum of money. I think it makes sense for you to read it yourself and then we can talk about it," the professor suggested.
Wrinkling her brow, Lizzy picked up the document and began to read. It didn't take long for her to reach the seminal parts of the document. Her mouth dropped. $2.5 million a year? Was he trying to buy her? What was this about? "I don't understand why he'd do this? Why is he giving me all this money?" Lizzy asked stunned.
"That's what I asked him. He was pretty compelling but I think you need to be comfortable with his reasoning as well."
"Can you share what he said?"
"Certainly. Part of it is for his and his company's protection. If he gave you nothing or close to nothing, you could have grounds to sue in a divorce. A good lawyer would say he unfairly used his position and legal resources to negotiate an unfair deal. A contract requires there to be a reasonable exchange of value between the two parties."
"Ok, I understand that but $15mm? That's quite the exchange of value. I don't know what I'd do with all of that money." Lizzy exclaimed.
"And that's his second reason. It's precisely because you don't want it and wouldn't waste it that he's being so generous. He trusts you to be wise and prudent with these funds. One thing you'll have to consider is that when you're Mrs. Darcy, people will attempt to befriend you and use you for your wealth. William's dealt with it for years. It will be a big adjustment for you."
She hadn't really thought about it that way. "What do you think? Do you think I should sign this document?" Lizzy asked.
"Well, I took a look through it and had some minor tweaks. I hope it's ok but I also shared it with my brother-in-law, Phillips. He agreed with my suggestions and felt that overall, while generous, it's an appropriate and fair agreement."
"Thank you," Lizzy whispered. It seemed as though every hour there was something new to adjust to. How many times had she paused to adjust to a new set of circumstances in the past 48 hours? This was just one more example.
"Lizzy, there's one more thing that I wanted to talk to you about."
"Ok"
"William invited me, Maddy and the kids up to his home in Maine for the wedding. He hadn't said anything to you previously because he didn't want to raise your hopes if we couldn't make it. Do you want us there?"
Rising up from the couch, she threw her arms around her professor. "It would mean the world to me to have you and your family there. You've been incredibly supportive and I'd love it." Tears had formed in the corners of her eyes her emotions overwhelming her senses.
"We wouldn't miss it. I'm sure the girls will be so excited to see you as a bride. I can just imagine the dress up that will take place for weeks to follow."
Lizzy was quiet for a few minutes. After debating the question for a few minutes in her mind, she decided to ask, "Professor, I'd like to ask you something but if you aren't comfortable with this request, I completely understand."
"What is it? You can ask me anything."
"Would you consider walking me down the aisle? I mean, I know I'm not your daughter, its just that, my papa won't be there and you and Maddy have become almost surrogate parents in a way, especially over the past weeks." Lizzy was biting her lip almost afraid to look up at her professor, advisor, mentor and friend.
Edward couldn't believe how choked up he was. Reaching over to give her another hug he said slightly above a whisper, "I'd be honored."
Lizzy released the professor and sat back to read the document once again. She'd need to discuss this all with William herself before she would be ready to sign the agreement. "It's been quite a day. Can you tell Maddy I'll give her a call tomorrow? I'm not sure I'll be able to tonight."
"Of course. She'll be ready to talk whenever you want."
Lizzy grabbed her coat and backpack and headed back out the door. She was supposed to be heading to William's for dinner and to discuss everything but she decided to take a circuitous route. She needed to clear her head.
"Hello?"
"Hi." Lizzy shyly responded. "I'm downstairs, can you let the doorman know that I can come up."
"Sure pass the phone over to him." William paused for a few moments listening for the handoff, "Mr. Grant? It's William Darcy. Standing before you is my beautiful fiancé Elizabeth and come Sunday she will be my beautiful wife. Can you please add her to the building registry so she can access the building without delay? I will be giving her keys tonight."
"Very good sir and congratulations."
"Thank you."
When the elevator reached the top floor, Lizzy found William waiting as the doors opened. He reached down to give her a kiss, took her hand and led her into the apartment.
"Well that was a lovely welcome." Lizzy teased. "Should I expect that every evening?"
"I wish. Sadly life won't likely support that. I do have a present for you however and I can't wait to give it to you."
"A present. William you already bought me a wedding dress and veil today and wrote out a contract with an absurd amount of money in it. I don't think I can handle any more gifts. Especially when all I can give you are kisses and the occasional cooked meal." Lizzy sighed.
"Your kisses are worth more then all of that combined. So, open your box." He handed her a flat gold box with a bright blue ribbon. Raising an eyebrow, she untied the ribbon and lifted the lid. A key chain, with seven color coordinated keys, laid on the cotton. She admired the image on the pendant, thinking back to when she fell on the beach and he kneeled beside her. Turning it over she saw her name engraved on the back, well almost, "Elizabeth Darcy."
It was one thing to see this name scrawled on the back of her notebook and a completely different thing to see it elegantly engraved on the piece of brass in her hands. It almost took her breath away.
"The keys with the crimson colored cover are for this condo, the ones with the green covers are for Maine and the yellow ones are for our place in NYC." William said as he pointed to each set of keys.
Swallowing hard, Lizzy looked up at him, "thank you." She really didn't know what else to say.
William looked her over. She seemed very shy and quiet this evening and he began to worry that he was overwhelming her. "Lizzy, are you ok? You don't seem like yourself this evening."
She reminded herself that she couldn't pull away like she'd ordinarily do when overwhelmed. No, she needed to share what she was thinking and feeling. "I guess I don't really understand why you're doing all of this. It's all so much and completely unexpected."
"I've been trying to figure out the best way to answer that question for both of us. This afternoon, while waiting to have my conversation with Professor Gardiner I was passing time in the Square and walked by Fire and Ice. It hit me then how I could explain this to you."
"Fire and Ice? The restaurant where we met?"
"The very one. Do you remember that when dinner was done, as usual, Charles and Caroline simply handed me the bill with the full assurance I'd be paying for everyone? Now don't get me wrong, I had always assumed that I'd be paying. But every once in awhile it would be nice for someone to not assume, and maybe even treat me. You're the only one who has done that. I can't remember a time since my mother passed where someone who I haven't paid, a friend, came and cooked me dinner, or truly worried if I was eating well and taking care of myself. I know that Mrs. Reynolds cares for me, but the reality is, I pay her. With you it's a partnership. We do things for one another. I can do this for you, and I know you'll appreciate it, not simply expect it."
Lizzy thought about William and his life to now. He was very alone and everyone seemed to have so many expectations of him. Well, he was going to be her responsibility from now on. Looking up at him, Lizzy reflected on the vows she'd be saying in less than a week. "I guess that's what they mean when you say, to honor and keep you. It is vowing to take care of the other person. To keep their needs and wishes in focus. I will say it in front of everyone next Sunday but I'm saying it to you now, 'I will honor and keep you.'"
William didn't know what to say. He looked into her eyes and leaned over to give her a slow and gentle kiss.
I've been working on a few chapters but decided I liked leaving this one at their kiss. I'll fill in the rest of their evening in later chapters. As always, your reviews and thoughts motivate me and serve as inspiration while I'm writing so please share your thoughts and comments!