I can't believe it's been so long since I've updated. It's short - for me - but it's better than nothing. I'm sure you all think that even more than me. I've got some good news though - kind of. I'm taking a six week leave from work this summer and it should give me a lot of time to work on finishing this story. So more to come in July and August to be sure! Happy reading.
William came barreling into the condo anxious to hear about their day and share some news of their evening plans. He was in fact a bit nervous. Louis and his wife had arranged for the entire leadership team to join them for dinner that evening. It made him wonder if the event had already been planned and was sprung on him at the last minute to ensure his agreement. Rushing into the family room he spotted Georgie propped up on one of the chairs, her feet resting on an ottoman. "Hello my sweet. Did you have a good day?"
Putting a lone finger up to her lips she shushed him as she pointed to Lizzy's sleeping form. Elizabeth was curled up on the couch, an afghan draped around her.
Concern wrinkled his brow, "Is Lizzy ok? How long has she been sleeping?"
Looking at the clock, Georgie turned back to William whispering, "About two hours now I guess. We had a great time shopping but I guess it wore her out. It's been so long since I've had so much fun." Recalling herself, Georgie continued, "Once we got in the town car Lizzy fought to stay awake. I went to put my new shoes away and when I returned she was passed out on the couch. I put that blanket on her and she's been sleeping soundly ever since."
Alarmed that Elizabeth was in such a deep sleep during the day, William quickly moved to her side feeling her forehead for fever. It was cool. Shaking her shoulder gently, he called to her, "Lizzy? Sweetheart? I need you to wake up love."
Lizzy slowly opened her eyes. Disoriented by her deep sleep it took a moment before the fuzziness began to clear. "What time is it? How long have I been asleep?"
Settling in beside her William helped her to sit up. "About two hours from what Georgie tells me. It's a little after 6:30. Are you feeling alright?"
"Fine I guess. Hungry. Actually, starving. Do I have time to eat something?"
Relieved, William teased, "You realize we're going out to dinner. We need to leave in about an hour."
"I'm really starving." Lizzy's stomach grumbled in agreement. She looked up at him, eyes wide in embarrassment.
"I'll take a look in the kitchen while you start to pretty yourself up," William offered.
"I'm not sure if I should be offended or grateful. How much work do I need to pretty myself up?"
"I'm not falling into that trap. You're gorgeous as you are but you might feel more comfortable in something a bit more, um, dressy."
Lizzy placed a quick kiss on his cheek and scooted off towards the shower. She was still bewildered she'd slept for so long. A quick shower would clear her mind and focus her on this business dinner. What did one do at a business dinner? Was it different when spouses were invited? Never had she felt so ill prepared for a new event as she was for tonight. Elizabeth tried to remember what she'd been told of any of the management team at Pemberley and Louis Wickham in particular. Her recollection was that Louis had been a close associate of William's father. He'd always spoken fondly of Mr. Wickham whenever his name was raised so Lizzy hoped she didn't have much to be concerned about.
Stepping from the shower, Lizzy smiled at the plate of cheese and crackers William had left from her. 'How did I find such a thoughtful man?' Lizzy quickly dried herself and began to work her fingers through her curls. As she worked, she wondered where William had wandered off. With little understanding of what to expect for the evening, they really needed to talk. They'd never really spoken about this part of his life and he seemed to simply float between the various burdens he had. Stepping from the en suite bathroom she was relieved to find her dress and undergarments hanging from a Barney's bag in her new closet. They'd been delivered at some point in the afternoon and hopefully all was prepared. She had enough to be worried about that her clothes were the least of it all. A soft knock was heard on the dressing room door. Lizzy opened it to find Georgiana waiting tentatively on the other side.
"I thought I might offer help getting you prepared for tonight. Of course, if you'd prefer to be alone I totally understand," she offered hesitantly.
"You're completely welcome. I can use all the help I can get!" Lizzy enthused.
A broad smile spread across Georgie's face, relieved that her offer of help was so warmly received. Their relationship, after all of Georgiana's missteps, was still quite tentative and she needed a lot of encouragement to put herself out there.
Quickly, Lizzy found herself in her new dress, her hair bound in a loose chignon and her lips covered in a brilliant burgundy lip gloss. She looked elegant but not overly done. Georgiana gushed over her attire and exited towards the hallway. Hopefully William would likewise approve.
Worry over his approval was short-lived. Lizzy stepped from her dressing room to find William half-dressed in a freshly pressed suit. He turned, taking her all in, dressed in silk, her olive skin warmed by the deep color and a wistful smile to accompany her shapely form. A smile graced his lips as he moved quickly towards her. William pulled her into an intimate kiss before moving his hands down her form. "You are stunning. Do I really have to take you out?"
"This was your idea not mine. But after shopping all day for this dinner I have high expectations for tonight. "
"Let me give you something to brighten the outfit." Pulling a velvet box from the top of his dresser he held the box open towards her. Soft grey and cream hued Tahitian pearls came together with a diamond clasp, matching earrings paired the bracelet. The set added a touch of elegance to the ensemble. Lizzy had never beheld such unique jewels let alone placed them on her person. "May I?"
Holding her wrist outstretched, William placed the bracelet on her left arm before she deftly replaced the plain earrings she'd worn previously. Smiling at him, Lizzy was at a loss for words as she thought about each of the items he'd taken care of for her these past weeks.
"How can I possibly thank you," she whispered.
"I'm just grateful you're the one joining me on this journey. We're in this together Elizabeth Darcy."
Taking her arm, the pair bid goodnight to Georgiana.
"Elizabeth, it is indeed a pleasure to meet you. William and the Fitzwilliams have sung your praises."
"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Wickham. William has told me much about you and your close relationship with him and his father."
"Please dear, not so formal. I'm Louis and this is my wife Candace. George was my best friend and William is like a son to me. I've been eager to welcome you to our little family."
"Louis you're going to overwhelm the poor girl." Taking Elizabeth aside, Candace began to orient her to who was attending and the structure of the evening she planned. Candace exuded warmth and shared just enough detail about each person to enable Lizzy to feel she had something to talk to each person about. Turning the discussion to the recent wedding, Candace shared. "I wish we could have been there to see you married but I understand it was a very small affair with only family and friends in Boston."
Lizzy was a bit uncomfortable, worried that the Wickham's might have felt slighted, "I hope you can excuse our impetuosity. It was very, very intimate with only a very few in attendance. We didn't give people much notice. The invite list was limited to those who were local. We didn't want to inconvenience people who lived far away but who might have felt some level of obligation to attend. "
"No excuses necessary. I'm just glad I've had the chance to meet you now. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you need any help navigating New York. Louis and I don't have any children of our own, save a son from his first marriage. We'd be happy to help in any way we can."
Lizzy caught William's eye and could see he was looking for her to join him. "Excuse me Candace. I believe William is signaling me." Making her way around to the other side of the room, Lizzy could see the tension in William's shoulders. Whoever he was speaking with was someone he didn't particularly like. Slipping her hand in his, William paused in his remarks to give her a brief smile. "I apologize if I'm interrupting something important. Should I come back?"
"Certainly not Mrs. Darcy. I was just telling your husband he certainly didn't make any trade-offs in the looks department when he picked you. I'm Marc Bradley. After all we've heard, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Lizzy wasn't quite sure what to make of such a speech. "It is certainly good to put faces to the names of people I've heard about. You're a more recent joiner to the Pemberley team if I recall correctly."
"Yes, I joined last March to lead channel management for Asia. I spend half of my time in the region but fortunately was in town for this event. Really William I don't know why you've been hiding her from us."
"I don't believe anyone was hiding and given your vast responsibilities I'm sure you've had much more important things to focus your attention than meeting me. Tell me about your favorite place to visit in Asia. With a region so diverse it must be fascinating to engage with such unique cultures." With that William got to observe Lizzy as she 'interviewed' Marc, engaging him with questions about the languages, people and customs of the region, probing how the regions differences impacted their business. She was good and he was proud to see Lizzy's intellect at work as she probed areas important to Pemberley. Marc Bradley made him uncomfortable to say the least. There was something not quite right about him but he seemed to know Asia as he listened to their conversation.
"Marc, I'm afraid I need to pull my dear wife away so I can introduce her to a few more members of the team."
"Sure boss. Can't keep her all to ourselves I guess. She certainly has the smarts to go with her looks. It's been a pleasure to meet you Elizabeth." Marc clapped him on the arm to which William fought against the urge to shrug his shoulders.
Over the next thirty minutes a similar pattern emerged. William would introduce Lizzy to a member of his team and then she would take over the conversation, gently inquiring into their interests, work, and lives. Wherever the discussion would go, Lizzy would follow, her attention on the individual never wavering. Person by person, Elizabeth Darcy was winning over the room with her intelligence, gentle laugh and ability to make each person feel as if they were the only person in the room.
It was almost nine before they sat at a large rectangular table. Taking a nap had certainly been an excellent idea. Lizzy couldn't imagine how William was still going given how early he'd started his day. She was disappointed to see that William was at the other end of the table but relieved that at least Louis Wickham was seated beside her.
"I hope you've managed to enjoy yourself thus far."
"I always love meeting new people. Thank you for organizing such a lovely dinner."
"Like I said, Candace and I were glad to do it. I hope to introduce you to my son George on your next trip to New York."
"Does he live near you?"
"As a matter of fact he lives with us. It's been wonderful to have him stay with us. He grew up in England, living with his mother but about 18 months ago he moved to the states to work."
"What kind of work does he do?"
"He works at an all girls school teaching and coaching field hockey. His first job brought him to New Hampshire but he found an opening her in New York and decided to jump on it so we could spend more time together. It's been good to get reacquainted."
Lizzy saw the sadness in his eyes and was sure there was more to the story. "It must have been hard to see him much as he was growing up given how far away he lived."
Louis sighed, recalling the long arguments with his ex-wife on visitation rights. "It was. George's mother and I didn't have a very pleasant divorce and I only saw him when I went to England. They left when he was eight and I probably only saw him a dozen times during the years." Shrugging it off, Louis placed a smile on his face and attempted to add some energy to his voice. "Well, at least now he's here and we've been reconnecting. It's probably been twenty years since William and George have seen one another. They were close as boys, I believe."
"Well it will be good to have them reconnect then. We'll make it a point to coordinate on our next visit." Lizzy said with a smile. Turning the conversation to easier topics, Lizzy began to inquire about Louis' role at Pemberley over the years. She found this was more comfortable ground and the first course of the meal passed quickly.
Lizzy was pleased to see there was an almost equal number of women on the leadership team as men. Two women, the CFO and the Director of Marketing were seated across from her and Lizzy was happy to get to know them. She knew little of finance but Maggie, the CFO was bright and engaging. Lizzy was pleased to find out that Maggie, and Kelly, the other woman, shared a common love of cooking and the three spent time chatting about various dishes they preferred to make and things they'd wanted to try. Lizzy began to realize that a business dinner didn't have very much to do with business at all, much to her relief. It was simply a chance to socialize with the people you work with. She imagined it probably made work easier and more enjoyable if you liked the people you're with 50 hours a week.
The dinner behind them, Lizzy was pleased to rest her head on William's shoulder as they sat in the back of the car. "Thank you for being such a good sport about the dinner. Was it ok?"
"I really enjoyed myself. Hopefully I didn't make a fool of myself. I wasn't sure what to expect really but everyone was lovely."
"You were lovely. The rest of team were their normal selves. I'm sorry about Marc. He's very knowledgable about his region but sometimes he makes me a bit uncomfortable. I hope he didn't bother you too much."
Yawning, Lizzy relaxed more into William's embrace, "I had you by my side. There was nothing that could bother me."
"I'm surprised you're so tired, especially given your nap."
"I'd think you'd be exhausted with your long day. I guess I'm still recovering from my accident. Today was the most active day I've had in awhile. I'm relieved I took that nap though. I don't think I'd have made it through dinner otherwise. Do you have another long day tomorrow?"
"I think so but hopefully I can join you and Georgie for dinner. I want one last night with my girls before we head back to Boston. Are you still getting together with Jane and Charlotte on Wednesday night?"
"That's the plan. You're going to take Georgiana out just the two of you right?"
"Yes. We likely do need some time just the two of us. Thank you for hanging out with her by the way."
"I think we had fun. It wasn't always easy to think of things to discuss but the shopping gave us a common goal."
"I'm glad it's getting easier. Let's hope this is the new normal." Slipping back into the condo, the home was dark with only the hall light providing illumination. "I'm going to check on Georgie. I'll meet you in our room?"
"Don't take too long. I don't want to fall asleep on you."
"You better not. I'm not ready for sleep yet. I've got other plans for you first."
Comments, Thoughts? I'm curious as to what you think of Mr. Wickham's little story...