HI there. I've been missing my readers and definitely need the feedback to keep me going! I love you guys and am thrilled to see your interest. There was a bit of confusion as to what actually happened so I've tried to correct that in this chapter. Happy reading...
The phone kept ringing and they admitted to one another that they likely had much to deal with given the insertion of the press into their lives. As much as they were enjoying their new favorite activity it was time to get up and get on with the day. Lizzy headed off to shower and found herself sore in a way she'd never been before. She figured it shouldn't really be a surprise given her newness to the activity. A hot shower was exactly what she needed. The past twelve hours had been filled with the highest highs and some terrible lows and she needed to clear her head if she had any hopes of getting some studying done today.
Toweling off she could hear William talking vehemently to someone on the phone. He didn't sound happy. "I want you to figure out who gave these photos and the story to the press. Who leaked that Lizzy is here illegally? There weren't many at the wedding who could've taken those pictures. Mrs. Reynolds is pulling a list of every staff person and guest at the wedding. Likewise, I want you to get in touch with the Charles Hotel and do the same. I want to know who the potential suspects are and I want you to find out who gave them those pictures," he thundered.
Lizzy couldn't hear the other side of the conversation but deduced that William expected to hear back from whoever he was on the phone with at 4:00. She pulled on sweats to settle in for a long day of studying. William was pacing the living room floor, his right hand clenched. He needed to calm down.
"Will, can I make you some tea before we settle down to study?" she asked calmly.
"I'm not getting any studying done today," he said dismissively. "Oh and you've had about six calls. Jane, Charlotte and Maddy were among them. I let the ones I didn't recognize go to voicemail. I think you should at least call back your old roommates and Maddy. I tried to reassure them but they're worried about you." William said as he continued to pace.
She eyed him over and figured he needed to get this out of his system if he had any hope of calming. William clearly had a million thoughts flying around his head and she figured if she remained calm she'd hear all of them and maybe help him. "Did anything else happen while I was showering? It seemed like you were speaking with someone when I walked in." Lizzy pressed gently.
"Um, yes. I was talking to Pemberley security. I think you should also call Maria. The press hasn't put those pieces together yet but it won't be long. I've got Pemberley security investing and they'll be sending protection for you and I am thinking Maria might need some as well. Georgie should be fine. The school she's at has tight guidelines around the press and publicity for its students."
Lizzy was stunned. Protection? What could he mean? "I think you need to sit down and explain what's going on more fully. I don't understand why security is involved or why Maria would need to be protected." Lizzy responded sharply.
The edge in her voice finally slowed William down. He needed to focus on Lizzy, not his to-do list. "I'm sorry, my mind is running at a million miles a minute and I just want to make sure everyone is taken care of and any eventuality is considered."
"I can see that and the carpet has born witness to your stress as well. Sit down and explain to me what you're thinking and we'll work through this together. Ok?" Her eyes bore into his face and he could do nothing but sit beside her at that moment.
"Ok," he said with a sigh. "There are press trucks sitting outside the entrance to the condo building and at my uncle's home and office. We're working to get them to leave. I've also spoken with Matthew and, given the stay on deportations for your category of illegal immigrants, and that you've filed an application for a green card, you're protected from deportation, for now. That said, we've received word that there are some who want to make a spectacle out of this because of my Uncle's pending re-election campaign next November. As a result, there's some concern about demonstrations. While Cambridge, Massachusetts is pretty accepting, there are some that will use this as a fundraising catalyst for anti-illegal immigration candidates. My uncle's acceptance of you will likely spur support for candidates across the country who want tougher immigration policies. Because of all of these issues, I want you, and likely your sister, to have some manner of physical protection when you need to leave the building for any reason. I'm so, so sorry. Marrying me has been a terrible decision for you."
Lizzy had been trying to process all that he was telling her when he made that final statement. Of everything he had said, this was the most troubling. "William, this is a bump, ok a mountain, that has sprung up in the middle of the road, but I told you last night and I'll tell you again, I Love You. And I believe I've heard you say the same to me. Unless you're telling me that our love is a mistake then marrying you has been the best decision I've made in a long, long time. It's the idiots in the world that are making terrible decisions and I refuse to allow idiots to influence me."
He was proud of her strength. William smiled, "I love you so much Elizabeth Darcy. Don't ever doubt that. I just worry that you'll prefer Mexico over me after you're confronted by the media circus."
Shrugging her shoulders she laughed, "Seeing as how I aspire to join the circus I might as well try out the clown cars and the flying trapeze now."
William leaned over to give her a kiss. They were actually enjoying the break in the tension when the house phone rang. Reluctantly pulling away, William went to see who was attempting to visit them. "Darcy residence," he answered.
"Mr. Darcy, it's Cooper downstairs. Your friend, Charlie Bingley is here with two women. Can they come up?"
"That'd be great. Are the press trucks still circling downstairs?"
"Yes but I understand from building management that the police are coming by to encourage them to move along. The other tenants of the building do have a right to come and go without being hassled by the press and given this isn't a matter of national security we expect to have them dispersed by the afternoon." Cooper reported.
"Thank you. Please call once they've all left." William answered.
"Will do sir. And your guests are stepping onto the elevator now." Cooper informed him before ending the call.
Hanging up the house phone William called out, "Lizzy, Charles is on his way up with two women. I'm assuming its Jane and Charlotte." He walked over to the door to let in their guests. Lizzy knew something must be wrong when his smile faltered a bit. "Charlie, thanks so much for bringing the recording by." Reaching over to place a kiss on her cheek, William greeted their next guest, "Jane, Lizzy will be so happy to see you." Lizzy was looking at the door expectantly wondering at the strained tone in William's voice when she heard the reason.
"William, aren't you going to greet me too? When I saw the papers this morning I went straight to my brother's home to see what the Bingley's could do to support you at this time of difficulty. I mean your family must simply be up in arms over the accusations against your uncle and all because of Lizzy. I'd heard she wasn't here legally but who knew the pressure your uncle would be under!" Caroline exclaimed as she waltzed through the front door.
Darcy shot Charlie a look of displeasure. He'd already had one conversation with his friend about his sister and now would need to have a second one. Jane gave a nervous look towards William and then headed straight for Lizzy. Following Charlie and Caroline into the living room, William could see them the former roommates in a tight hug. He was so glad Jane had come by. He was pulled from these thoughts when Charlie began speaking to him. "Darce. I'm sorry to bring a crowd but Jane and Caroline wanted so much to check on you two and make sure you're hanging in there."
"I'm sure Lizzy appreciates you bringing Jane by." Darcy responded keeping silent on the other member of the party.
Charlie caught the omission of his sister and sheepishly added, "I couldn't simply leave Caroline at my house. What did you want me to do?" William shrugged his shoulders and walked into the living room where Lizzy and Jane were catching up on a far couch. He'd have to take on the burden of Caroline being here. Lizzy was already handling so much. She didn't need to deal with Charlie's sister too so he guided the Bingley siblings to a couch nearer the fireplace.
"I'm going to get some coffee and tea together. Any preferences?" William asked the group. Three coffees and two cups of tea were requested and William headed into the kitchen to get things together. Lizzy surprised him by joining to get some snacks together.
She placed some cookies and left over muffins on a serving plate and grabbed a stack of small plates and napkins placing them on a tray. William carried out the tray with snacks while Lizzy prepared serving bowls with milk and sugar along with mugs for the coffee and tea. William returned for the tea and coffee and Lizzy loaded up the tray again. "We make a good team don't we," she smiled. William's response was a kiss. They remained that way until they heard a small, "Oh." Breaking apart quickly, they saw a red-faced Jane standing in the doorway.
"I'm so, so sorry for interrupting. When you didn't come back I thought you might need some help. I'm sorry." Jane said, eyes averted.
"Oh Jane, you've nothing to apologize for. We can get a bit carried away. I'm sorry we kept you all waiting." Lizzy blushed.
Jane and Lizzy sat on the couch a bit apart from the other three when Jane began. "I've been worried about you. Are you doing ok?"
"I appreciate your worry but I'm really fine. I was shocked when I saw the news online and the press trucks outside but it seems surreal. I guess I'm not really affected just yet. Maybe when I try to leave the building it'll hit me."
Jane was relieved but wanted to warn her. She didn't think she understood the scope of this news, or its impact. "Lizzy, you won't believe it. The whole dorm was in an uproar this morning with the news. The combination of your wedding and the immigration news had the whole place talking. I simply can't believe the frenzy. Charlotte and I were actually woken by our housemates when they saw our pictures in the papers and on-line."
Lizzy was taken aback. She couldn't believe that her former roommates had been so impacted. "I'm so sorry. You're welcome to stay here if its easier for you, if you're not staying at Charlie's that is. What's going on there anyway?"
"I can't believe you're even asking with everything going on in your life." Jane answered, completely astonished.
"Well, I don't like to worry about things I can't control. At a minimum, I can at least be there for my friends." Lizzy shrugged. "Anyway, I'd rather talk about you and Charlie then this media mess outside my door."
Clearly Lizzy was trying to avoid the main event unfolding outside and so Jane decided to humor her. "We've slowed things way down. I'm not staying at his place for awhile. I want us to date before we get into the physical stuff again. Besides, I'm a little disappointed in the way he's handling things with his sister. She walks all over him and I want to see if he can figure out how to handle her. He hasn't impressed me lately but I think he's trying...not that its obvious today." Jane sighed, looking over at Caroline. Jane decided to try and turn the conversation back towards Lizzy, "Do you have any idea who leaked the photos?"
"No. But I haven't really focused on that issue. I've been more worried about William's aunt and uncle. They've been unbelievably supportive of us and I feel terrible that my situation is causing them so much trouble. Besides, I think William's having the photo release investigated by professionals he's hired so I can't really contribute anything there." Lizzy said with a sigh.
Jane looked closely at her friend. She really was handling this relatively well. When she'd been awoken by the banging on her door this morning and saw the news, she was really worried for Lizzy. She was such a private person and to have her life splayed across the front page of these publications had to be bothering her. Speaking with Darcy earlier, he seemed a bit frantic for Lizzy and she knew she needed to come see her best friend and hopefully distract her from her stress. It was with this intent that she drew Lizzy's attention back from gazing at William. "You do seem to be enjoying the other elements of married life. You and Darcy were really into one another when I interrupted you before."
Lizzy had the courtesy to blush at this remark. "Married life is... wonderful. William is wonderful. He's so gentle and caring. I really love him and only hope that all of this stress doesn't damage what's so new."
"I think you have a choice, don't you? These events will either strengthen or damage your marriage. You've got some control over that outcome. I'm trying to strengthen my relationship with Charlie. Of course it takes two and we'll see if he's up to the challenge." Jane sighed.
"Jane, what's going on? Talk to me. What are you thinking?" Lizzy asked with concern. She put her hand on Jane's trying to coax her to share more.
"Oh Lizzy, you know me. It's easy for me to see the good in people and there's a lot of it there to see in Charlie. In the past, when he frustrated me, I just reminded myself of his good parts and pushed the negative thoughts away. But after awhile, it was harder and harder to do that and I began to wonder if I'd have regrets. We all have flaws, issues, and I began to wonder if I could accept all of Charlie's for a lifetime or if he'd be willing to work on some of them to make me happy. I know I'd work on mine for him. So Lizzy, you have a choice too. You're going to have a lot of challenges ahead. William will likely do somethings to annoy you, and you will annoy him too. But will you try to change for him? Will he try to change for you? You're married and so you don't really have a choice but to work together. I'm not, and I'm not sure if Charlie can change the things that bother me but I've started to tell him more when he does. I hadn't before and it didn't serve us well."
Lizzy was shocked at how much insight Jane had conveyed in this short, two-minute speech. Still waters run deep, she thought, and, when Jane allowed herself to open up, she really shared tremendous insight. It was why Jane had quickly become her best friend freshman year. "Thank you. I think your advice is incredibly well timed," Lizzy reflected. The two sat in silence taking in Jane's remarks. It was a lot to contemplate. She was no longer worried about whether Jane would make a mistake with her current relationship but she was curious as to whether things would actually improve. "Jane, how has Charlie responded thus far?"
"Things have been really great since the weekend. He took me out last night for Italian food and we had a lovely conversation. I enjoyed myself so much and I thought he understood my issues with Caroline, but maybe not. I've come to realize she's not a healthy person. While I appreciate his loyalty to his sister, she hasn't demonstrated that same loyalty to him. He knows I'm unhappy about Caroline being here today and we WILL be talking about it more later." Jane said with some vehemence. "I don't want to make it an ultimatum but he knows how you feel about Caroline and to bring her here, when I wanted to come support you, well, it makes me question how much he is willing to stand up for what's important to me."
The two girls fell into silence again. Sipping their tea, Lizzy wondered how to move from such heavy topics. There didn't seem to be an easy escape. Lizzy finally decided to tackle the elephant sitting in the room. It's grey mass threatening to cast a gloom on their entire morning. "Alright, since you are so wise this morning Jane. What should I do about this media mess? What should I do about the chaos on campus? I honestly just want to take my finals in peace and slip away for the holidays hoping that this chaos will be over by the time classes resume at the end of January. Do I have a chance?"
Jane reached over to her friend and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry Lizzy, but, no. I don't think you have a chance to enjoy any quiet. The truth of it is, that the more you're quiet, the worse I think it will be." Sighing Jane had to tell her friend the full truth. "Lizzy, even those who've known you for the past two-and-a-half years are questioning your motives for marrying William. While many are defending you, there are some who are questioning you. This morning was... very, very hard. I was surprised by some of the people we'd counted as friends over the past few years."
Lizzy looked closely at Jane and could see her friend was clearly troubled. She knew Jane would have tried to vehemently defend her and Lizzy wouldn't, couldn't, let Jane fight her fight. Lizzy had never shirked any duty and she wasn't going to do so now. She was beginning to formulate a plan and hoped William would support her. "Jane, I really appreciate your support and friendship. You and Charlotte have been amazing and I am so glad I have you both as friends. Please tell anyone who questions you to ask their questions directly to me. I'm happy to answer them. I've got nothing to be ashamed of or scared of."
This was the Lizzy she knew,strong and principled, and Jane was happy to see her. Jane leaned in and whispered, "Let's go see if we can intimidate Caroline. She doesn't know who she's messing with." Lizzy laughed uproariously. Jane was typically nice to everyone so Caroline must've really pissed her off. Walking over to the other three, William looked up.
"And have you two finished catching up enough to join us?" William asked.
"Well we saw the three of you hovered around the laptop and wanted to find out what could possibly be so interesting." Lizzy teased as William pulled her down onto his lap displacing the laptop towards Charlie.
"We were simply reviewing the press coverage. Caroline luckily escaped the notice of the press but the rest of us weren't so fortunate. We were all featured in the pictures and commentary. I'm also glad to see that Georgiana wasn't featured. There don't seem to be any pictures of her in the photo montage online." William remarked.
"Well I don't see any good pouring over these pictures. William, you should probably download Charlie's recording so these good friends can be on their way. I know we all have a lot of studying to do for finals." Lizzy reminded them.
Leaning over to give her a quick kiss, William agreed, "We've taken enough of everyone's time on this mess. Charlie, will you join me in my study so I can copy your notes and recording? I'm sure the three girls can entertain themselves."
"Let's go." Charlie agreed as he went to grab his bag in order to head towards William's office.
Jane and Lizzy looked over at Caroline. She was watching the boys walking away and Lizzy was a bit insulted that Caroline seemed to be checking out her new husband. Lizzy was determined to pull her attention away from 'her man'.
"Caroline, it was so kind of you to disrupt your study schedule to come see us. Especially after being away last weekend." Lizzy began.
Caroline quickly turned her attention back to Jane and Lizzy. "You know me, anything for a dear friend," she smile pasted on.
"You must be so relieved that you haven't been caught up in this media frenzy. How fortunate that you're not in any of the pictures." Lizzy offered.
Caroline maintained the smile plastered on her face. "Yes, well, at least if I do end up in any press photos, I won't have to worry about whether I'm representing the Bingley family well. We learned from an early age how to dress and look well in case we are noticed." Eyeing Lizzy's ponytail and sweats, the look of disdain was apparent. "If I can be of any help to you dear you shouldn't hesitate to ask."
Jane was horrified that Caroline would be so openly rude and was about to speak when Lizzy gave her a look to signal, 'I've got this.'
"Carrie, you're too generous with your time. I couldn't impose. Besides William's always asserted that I have a good sense of what to wear for a given occasion, and his reaction is the only one I'm concerned with. For example, William loves seeing me wearing his sweatshirts. A day lounging around the house to study only requires that I'm comfortable and that he thinks I look good doing it. Of course, when I'm heading out, I've no doubt that my personal shopper at Saks, combined with Aunt Sophia and Jane's good taste, will ensure that I'm ready for anything the press might demand." Lizzy said.
Jane was ready to jump right in. "Lizzy, you really shouldn't give me any credit. You've always had an excellent sense of what accentuates your coloring and build. I can't wait to to join you at Saks." Jane smiled.
Fortunately for all of them, Charlie and William walked back into the room at this point. "We should be heading out ladies," Charlie announced. Jane grabbed Lizzy into a tight hug. "Call me or Charlotte later, ok?" she whispered.
"Will do. Thanks Jane. I think I know what to do." Lizzy whispered in response.
Lizzy and William walked their friends to the door and were saying good bye when her cell phone began to ring. Looking at the caller id, it said "unknown" and Lizzy almost allowed it to go to voicemail when something compelled her to press the talk button. "Hello?"
"Hola mi lucero," her papa responded.
Tears sprang to her eyes and she immediately peeled away from the group. "Papa!" She exclaimed.
"I opened the paper this morning and saw my beautiful baby girl featured in a series of photos with her new husband. I'm so sorry I wasn't there to walk you down the aisle but I know he's a good man. I feel better knowing you're married." Tomas Benetez said in a rush.
"Oh Papa. I wish you were here. I wish you'd been here last weekend. I missed you and mama and my sisters so much. Where are you?" Lizzy pleaded.
"Now don't worry for us. We're fine. I just wanted you to know that I love you and I'm happy for you. I approve of your choice and wish you many years of happiness mi lucero."
"You talk as if we won't see each other again. We will see each other. I know it." Lizzy demanded.
"It's my dream as well but it's enough for me to know you're safe. I know that your new husband will protect you and care for you. That was obvious from the first time I met him. I love you. Good bye my Elizabeth."
The call ended abruptly. There was no number for Lizzy to call back as the phone number had been blocked, but it warmed her soul to hear from her papa. William wrapped his arms around her. "Are you ok? Was that your father?" he asked.
Lizzy couldn't speak; she simply nodded her head yes burrowing into his chest. 'Her papa was ok. Her family was ok. They knew she was married and were watching her from afar. It was the best she had for the moment and it had to be enough,' she thought. Lizzy sat numbly on the couch. All thoughts of the visit from Jane, studying for finals, the press sitting outside, had fled her mind. Her family was fine and for now, that was most important.
Thank you so very much for your feedback. You will see your suggestions unfold in the next chapters...an editorial, what should it say?, suspicions raised about certain characters - the ground has been laid. There's been some questions raised about precautions taken. Let's just say that William has been waiting and prepared for them to deepen their relationship. He's got it under control ;)
I'll take additional constructive feedback, insights, applause, encouragements in the comments box below...