Apologies for breaking my promise. I would up with a sinus infection that made it almost impossible to keep my head up and eyes focused for sustained periods of time! That said, here we go...and thanks to my reviewers around the world - suggestions reflected below ;)
Eyeing herself in the bathroom mirror, Lizzy's eyes and nose were swollen and red. It certainly didn't help that her emotions were in a constant state of turmoil and she could cry at the drop of a hat. Lizzy was thankful the stress of the conversation didn't overwhelm her in front of a room full of Harvard college students attempting to eat their dinner. Splashing cool water on her face, Lizzy willed her face to a more even tone but the red splotches would likely be a permanent fixture on her face and neck for the next few hours. Lizzy pulled out her phone to find the battery dead. So much for texting Charlotte. She was resigned to facing her former housemates if she wanted to leave the safety of the bathroom and get home.
Lizzy pushed the door open to find Jerkface, as she'd named him, waiting for her, phone in hand. Grabbing at the phone she couldn't repress the urge to yell. "Don't you have anything better to do with your time?"
Dodging her attempts to wrest the phone from his hand he laughed, "Actually this is pretty fun."
The pair were attracting some attention and Lizzy decided a quick retreat was the better option to continuing this back and forth. She'd had enough. These idiots weren't worth it and she just wanted to go home. Even if William was away it was better than dealing with this scene. Walking towards the stairs she heard John's laughter behind her but she determinedly kept going, making her way back towards the dining hall to say goodbye to Charlotte and collect her things.
Charlotte was busy chatting with some friends when she spied Lizzy waving to her from twenty feet away. Squinting, she could easily tell something didn't seem right and quickly excused herself to join Lizzy. She was about half-way towards Lizzy when she spotted the swollen eyes and red splotches. Quickly catching up to her former roomie, Charlotte wrapped her arm around Lizzy's shoulders, "What's wrong? What's going on?"
Looking down towards the floor, Lizzy answered quickly, "I'm heading home Char. I'm tired and need to pack up. I just wanted to say bye. Go back and finish dinner and I'll see you tomorrow at lunch."
Charlotte began to steer Lizzy back towards the staircase. "You're not going anywhere until we talk about what's going on. You're upset and you will tell me what's bothering you. Everything was fine twenty minutes ago."
"I can't Char. I can't go back up that staircase. I just need to go home."
Charlotte looked at the staircase wondering what was at the top of those stairs Lizzy wanted to avoid. "Well I'm coming with you then. I'll grab our plates and clear and then we'll grab our stuff so we can go back to your place."
Nodding her head, Lizzy agreed. She really had no choice. Charlotte wasn't going to let her slip away at this point and it was likely better she wasn't allowed to wallow in self pity all night long.
It took no fewer then three minutes for Lizzy to find herself being pushed along back towards the study room. The occupancy was significantly lighter given the dinner hour and they quickly packed up their books into overloaded backpacks. Lizzy had the presence of mind to call a cab. A 25 minute walk in the daytime was one thing. On a cold winter night with backpacks filled with bricks, the walk would be painful. There were some benefits to having money and she'd quickly learned to appreciate them.
The pair were silent in the cab. Charlotte understood Lizzy would never want an audience when she discussed whatever had upset her, if she talked about it at all. When the going got tough for Lizzy, Lizzy got going... for a walk, run, hike...whatever would create the physical and emotional space that was necessary to sort through the issue. That said, over the past few years, Jane and Charlotte had broken down a few of those self-erected walls and occasionally, were permitted to help. This seemed like one of those times. Lizzy had easily acquiesced when Charlotte insisted on returning home with her. Marrying had changed Lizzy already, and Char wondered what other changes might come in the future.
Flipping on the lights, Lizzy quickly divested herself of books, coat and boots in the entryway. Charlotte followed suit and the two women headed to the kitchen to prepare their drink of choice, hot cocoa. As marshmallows were dropped on top of the creamy concoction, another clue was added to Charlotte's understanding of the seriousness of Lizzy's distress.
Sighing, Lizzy asked aloud, "Char, why does my life have so much drama? When will it end?"
"I guess this is a full blown pity party." Lizzy had the decency to look a bit abashed. "I think we can pinpoint the drama to shortly before Prince Charming swept you off your feet and took you off to his castle, fulfilling all your dreams and making the rest of the world jealous of your good fortune."
"You know those books always ended, 'And they lived happily ever after.' Of course the part I always especially appreciated was when the evil step sisters got their comeuppance too."
Charlotte eyed her friend closely. She really hadn't had an easy road through life and deserved more than a little happily ever after. That said, something had seriously upset the balance and Charlotte had already decided she wasn't going to allow Lizzy to wallow in sadness. "Lizzy, you should be grateful that life is infinitely more interesting than a fairy tale. I'm very interested to hear what happened in the twenty minutes we were apart that popped your happy bubble."
"I think you're confusing me with Jane. I do not exist in a happy bubble."
"Duly noted, but the point is the same. You left the table perfectly fine and returned red-eyed and blotchy. Tell Aunty Charlotte what's bothering you and we'll work to make it all better."
Lizzy rolled her eyes, "I think I'll ignore the patronizing attitude and give you the benefit of assuming you actually care."
Charlotte pulled her into a tight hug assuring Lizzy she cared very much. The hug and a few mild threats to tell William about some of their freshman year antics ultimately did the trick, coaxing the tale from Lizzy. Beginning from the whispering in the study room until her final encounter with Jerkface, Lizzy unfolded all before her friend, including her humiliating exit from the ladies room. It was actually in John and Aidan's best interest that Charlotte was now a solid mile from them as she heard the tale. Where Lizzy had been upset her situation had dearly cost the university that had provided her education, Charlotte's anger was purely directed at the two people identified as upsetting Lizzy. "I swear, this place has more than its fair share of assholes. I mean seriously, what's so entertaining in that story? It's pretty pathetic if you ask me. Another example of people throwing their money around trying to influence our institutions."
Lizzy watched as her friend started off on one of her rants. Charlotte could get truly righteous for a cause, especially if the cause was either her friends or the downtrodden. Lizzy figured that it was both in this instance and sat back to watch the show. It kind of felt good to listen to another's reaction and Char didn't disappoint. "Guess it's good that a $10 million gift to Harvard, if it was even that much, is a rounding error to our fine institution. I wonder if the story is even true. Did they say the name of this supposed family that was going to give so much money to Harvard?"
Lizzy shook her head no, she never heard the name, just a reference to the law school. "Hmph! I bet it was made up. They couldn't make it about someone we'd actually know so we couldn't figure out if it was true. Well no matter, we'll just have to make up some story about John and Aidan to get back at them."
"No!" Lizzy jumped up to emphasize her point. "We're not lowering ourselves to their level. They don't deserve it. I just want to forget about it. Forget about all of it." Lizzy slumped back down on the couch, seemingly exhausted from the turmoil of the evening.
Charlotte eyed her dejected friend trying to figure out a strategy to rouse her from her present funk. She wasn't good at making everything seem rosy. They'd always relied on Jane for that. Sipping quietly on their hot chocolate, Charlotte noticed a small smile begin to peak out of the corners of Lizzy's lips. "You're thinking of something evil. I can tell. You only get that little smirk when you're cooking up something."
Lizzy sighed and shook her head. "I'm just exploring a few...thought experiments, not anything I'd actually do. Besides, Aidan and John are just gossipmongers. They didn't actually do something that caused harm." With a shrug of her shoulders and a flick of her hair, Lizzy added, "So I'm a bit sensitive. I shouldn't let their stories get to me. It's my own fault for getting upset."
"You're right you shouldn't let them bother you. What are you going to do the next time you see them?"
"I'll ignore them. What else can I do? So they spread some stupid story around. Hopefully people will have better sense than to take their word about it and it'll blow over. I just get so mad that people use my situation to make themselves feel important. How is that helpful to anyone?"
"You're preaching to the choir my dear. Let's get some studying done so the night is not entirely lost. Physics is breaking my brain but I need to spend a few more hours on this problem set before I call it a night."
At some point, Lizzy transitioned from reading to snoozing. Book in her lap, it slid to the floor when she was jolted awake by the ringing of her phone. A bit dazed her eyes flew open when she noticed it was Georgiana calling.
"Hello? Georgie? Is everything ok?" Her sister in law had never called her spontaneously and only the worst scenarios flooded her mind.
"Hi Lizzy. I'm fine but I was calling to ask you the same thing. Is everything ok with you?"
"Oh. Thanks. Yea. Alls good here. It's great to hear your voice. How's school?"
"School's fine but are you sure everything is ok? Its just...well it's that...um, one of my friend's stopped by and showed me a picture of you posted on Twitter. It looked like you'd been crying and the tag line suggested there were problems with you and William."
Lizzy groaned. This wasn't happening. "What Twitter feed?"
"It's one that follows the Fitzwilliams, and someone posted a picture of you on it. I'll send you the link."
It took less than 60 seconds for the link to come through. Her image filled the phone screen; red eyes and blotchy face in all their glory. "Broken slipper? Only 3 months and she's back at the dorm."
Charlotte had been attempting to keep herself from eavesdropping however the complete panic in Lizzy's voice when she'd uttered the word "Twitter" had gotten her attention. She watched as the color drained from Lizzy's face and quickly got up to see what was on her phone.
The two girls looked at one another, incredulous that a casual evening of studying could turn into a media event. Lizzy could hear the strains of Georgie's voice coming through the phone. Turning on the speaker she realized a full minute must have passed since she'd first received the image. "Um, sorry Georgie. I was just looking at the picture you sent me. I still haven't gotten used to the idea that anything in my life is worthy of posting in social media."
"Sorry Lizzy. I wish it didn't happen. I saw the picture and worried something had happened with the baby. With William away I wanted to check on you." Charlotte's mouth dropped open at Georgie's words but Lizzy could only deal with one issue at a time. William's little sister was her primary concern.
"Thanks so much for calling. You don't know how much that means to me. Truly. Everything is fine with me and with William. I got some upsetting news about school this evening and was upset. Someone took advantage of that situation for no good reason."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes I am. I'm good although I think I should try to reach Uncle Henry. He'll be able to advise me on what to do, if anything, about this stupid picture."
"Ok. Call me if you need anything. And don't worry. It'll blow over as soon as William gets home on Friday night."
"Thanks. Have a good night." Lizzy disconnected the call to find Charlotte looking at her with a mixture of concern and confusion.
"Is there something you wanted to tell me?"
"Not really." Lizzy thought she saw a flash of hurt cross Charlotte's face. "I know. That's not a good enough answer."
"I respect your privacy but I'd like to know what's going on. I'm your friend, one of your best friends I thought. I'd hope you know you can trust me with anything."
It was likely best to get this conversation over with quickly. There was a more immediate issue she needed to deal with: the tear-stained image on Twitter. "When I had my concussion, it seems I messed up the schedule I was on for birth control. The result is that I'm about two months pregnant. I go for my first OB appointment next week when William is back from Asia. I'm due in September."
Charlotte had the presence of mind to not let her mouth gape open. Her face did not hide her surprise however. "Wow. Are you ok? What will you do about school?"
"I'm going to graduate but I'm probably going to take a year off. My advisor is working with me to develop a game plan."
"You seem resigned to this. Are you happy? freaked out? upset?"
It was in some way comforting to know that her friend could perceive she could be upset or freaked out. The understood each other very well. "I've been all three of those I think. I mean I've always wanted kids I just didn't think it would happen now. There are moments now when I'm excited by the idea of a baby. William is giddy and that helps. But yea, I was pretty freaked out at first."
Charlotte once again embraced her friend. "Well, I'm here for you and Jane will be too. But first we need to deal with this idiotic picture. What do you want to do?"
Lizzy giggled, "I'd like to employ some of the ideas I had earlier but that's probably not realistic."
"Humor me. You know what I always say, where there's a will there's a way." Charlotte grinned.
The girls diverted themselves with thoughts of revenge on Aidan and John for a few minutes. Ideas flowed...jalapeño juice in their shampoo and toothpaste, crazy glue on toilet seats and pillows filled with itching powder. Their musings proved a sufficient release from the frustration Lizzy truly felt at the invasion of her privacy. It was bad enough they managed to make her upset, but to post it on Twitter, coupled with lies, was too much. She wanted revenge and venting her thoughts to Charlotte helped her move past the genuine anger she felt.
Staring at her phone, Lizzy admitted, "I should probably call William's uncle. He'll have a view on whether or not I should do anything at all."
"Do you want some privacy while you talk to him?"
Smiling, Lizzy shook her head no. "Thanks but I like having a friend here. I'm so glad you came back here with me. I'd no doubt be wallowing in self-pity right now and you've enabled me to put those jerks in the proper perspective." Taking a deep breath, she found the Senator's cell number and pressed the button.
"Lizzy dear. What a pleasant surprise. Is all well?"
"I'm sorry for disturbing you but with William in Asia I need your advice on something that's come up."
"Of course dear. I'm glad you called. Let me excuse myself from this dinner, and I'll be right with you."
Lizzy waited a few moments while she listened to the Senator make his excuses. It hadn't occurred to her she'd be disturbing something important. Ever the politician, the Senator somehow managed to make her feel in the following moments that she had his full attention and that nothing could be more important than her silly photo on Twitter.
Lizzy shared the story of the evening, sending him the link Georgie had provided, and her subsequent retreat back to the condo.
"I'm sorry dear that such a scene unfolded but you are unfortunately in the public eye, whether you want to be or not. The combination of our family's long political position, and William's wealth, will unfortunately draw you in. Your immigration status doesn't diminish the story I'm sorry to say."
"But what should I do?"
"There is really nothing to do. Keep a low profile but go about your business as normal. Don't respond. Just smile, go to your classes, continue your normal routines. Given there is nothing to the story of a separation, it will blow over. When does William return?"
"Friday night. I can't wait." Lizzy sighed.
"Well then, make sure at some point this weekend the two of you are seen out and about. That will make those rumors blow over faster then anything else will."
"I'm sorry to have bothered you with this. I just wasn't sure who else to call and given it was posted on a Fitzwilliam Twitter account, I thought of you."
"Never hesitate dear. Sophia and I are old hands at this sort of thing. Why don't you come over for dinner tomorrow night. We'd love to see you and it will be good for you to have someone take care of you for an evening. I think Sophia is missing Rachel now that she's returned to school. You'd be doing me a favor as I think she'd like a night of mothering."
Lizzy smiled. It was no wonder why Henry Fitzwilliam was so successful. He was very good at putting people at ease and making them feel good. "I look forward to it. Thanks. I'll let you get back to your dinner and I think I'll try to get some studying done before the night runs out on me."
"Take care and we'll see you tomorrow around 6."
Lizzy ended the call and returned her attention to Charlotte. "So I guess I do nothing. Are you still up for having lunch with me tomorrow. Even if there are people watching us?"
"Of course. My mother would love it if I actually appeared in one of those gossip rags. You can't imagine how much she loved seeing me in some of the wedding pics that showed up in Popular magazine."
Lizzy rolled her eyes. "Stay tonight? I'd rather have someone here."
"Of course."
The girls settled down for another few hours of studying, Lizzy drifting off again before finally putting herself to bed. The nights of 1am study sessions were simply not possible given her body's needs right now.
His final day in Asia had been a successful one. Tomorrow he'd be boarding a plane for the long flight home but at least he was going back to the one place he truly wanted to be, with Lizzy. Strolling back to the hotel he made a quick stop at the Cartier store to pick up the necklace he'd chosen for his beautiful wife. It was almost as lovely as she was. The orchid, a unique and wild flower, yet soft and delicate, long associated with Singapore, and yet so emblematic of his Lizzy, struck him as the perfect gift to show her how often she was in his thoughts during this trip. The pink and purple stones, accented with brilliant diamonds and set in rose gold had captured his attention. He looked forward to seeing it rest on her beautiful neck, the tear drop stone falling below the orchid, dipping towards her chest. The Cartier salesperson seem thrilled to prepare the order offering to personally deliver the item to his hotel. William declined, wanting the opportunity to get a sense of the local vibe, observing the environment as a consumer as well as the CEO of a major luxury goods producer. These walks were as important to building his knowledge base as it was to meet with the buyers in each of the markets.
Re-entering the hotel, his phone began to buzz. It seemed a flurry of messages started to flow now in that he was back in wifi range, the hotel's wifi was providing a rapid download of all he'd missed while we was out and about meeting with clients all day. Two missed messages from Lizzy, one from his uncle, his aunt, Georgie and Richard. What could possibly be going on? He flipped to his email, scanning them for clues. Opening one from Lizzy with the subject line, I'm fine. It contained a hyperlink to a Twitter account. A picture of her seemingly distraught told him there was more to the story. Settled into his room he cursed the vagaries of technology and travel as he listed to the various voicemails while scanning email. Eyeing the time, his cousin Richard was likely the only one he could reasonably call given the hour in the US.
"Guess you got our messages but seriously 5am? You couldn't wait one hour?" Richard answered, a droll tone overlaying his sleep filled voice.
"Getting soft now that you're stateside?" William quipped.
"State dinner last night. I'm not used to these 1am events these politicians seem to enjoy. By the way, dad spoke to Lizzy and she's fine. I assume that's why you're calling?"
"What happened? Last I knew she had plans to study with friends and all was well."
Richard filled William in on the backstory. He'd been at the same dinner as his father and had been brought up to speed on the evening's events. Knowing how sensitive Lizzy was about anything related to her immigration status, and anything with money, William wasn't surprised she'd had such a strong reaction to the rumors. It didn't help that her pregnancy had made her a bit more emotional than usual. He was relieved she'd called his uncle for advice but it underscored how much he wanted to get back home.
"What a nuisance. I'm glad Elizabeth was able to reach your dad. He's right. We'll need to go out this weekend and be seen a bit. Of course, all I want to do is sit on the couch for two solid days."
"You don't need to do much I think. Go out for a meal at some swanky restaurant and get yourself photographed holding hands and being all lovey-dovey. It'll blow over."
"Do you think there is any legs to the Harvard gift story?"
"Dad was going to have his PR people contact the Harvard Communications team to see what they say about the gift. You know that anyone who can get Harvard and the Fitzwilliam's in the same headline will drive readership. Whoever this Jeff kid is, he either didn't understand that fact or else wasn't confident in his story."
"Hopefully there's nothing to it. Lizzy will not enjoy her immigration issues to be covered in the press this way."
"Any word on her temporary green card?"
"Radio silence. It could just show up in the mail one day for all we know."
"Alright. Well don't worry things here. Travel safe and let us help with Lizzy. She's having dinner with my folks tonight and they'll take care of her until you get back."
"I can't get back soon enough that's for sure. I should probably go pack up. I've got a final dinner tonight and then I'll be on a plane in the morning."
Ending the call he stared at his phone. It was 5:20 in the morning Boston time and there was no way he could call Elizabeth. He'd go to dinner and then hope to reach her at some point in his evening. It didn't stop him from sending a text however.
WD: Sorry to see your tears. Wish I was there to dry them. Love you so much.
Charlotte's an excellent friend isn't she? Fitzwilliams are awesome as always but wasn't it nice to hear from Georgie? She's actually thinking of others for a change. It will be so nice to have William back in the states won't it?
Thoughts, questions, comments are helpful and soooo appreciated :)