I should have mentioned this last chapter, but mvnlaredo- you're a star. Thanks also to DW.618, EmlynMara. Reviewing each chapter is so kind and has really made my week!
Hi all, this is a longer chapter than usual because I'll be away for a couple of weeks. But I know lots of you were anticipating this chapter so I didn't want to hold out.
19 April 2024
G walked into Netherfield giving herself a few hours before Will was to arrive. She saw most of the family there. She was no longer surprised to see Richard interact with them too. It wasn't just Lizzy he was close to. It was all of them.
"Uncle Richard, that's not how you hold a baby," laughed Mary.
"It isn't?" he asked confused.
Lizzy rolled her eyes and took Olivia from his arms and showed him the right way to do it.
"I don't think I've held a baby since Georgie was one. And that was a good long while ago. I was 13 when she was born, Will was 12. We thought she was the most beautiful thing we'd ever seen."
Georgiana had tears in her eyes hearing this declaration. As soon as they looked up they saw G standing there. And she ran to Richard and threw herself at him. "Oh Georgie, still. You're still so very beautiful. I wish I'd taken better care of you to save you from the likes of Wickham."
Still hugging him she said, "I made a choice, albeit the wrong one, Richard. But it's done. I'm here now. Do you- would you-could we go somewhere and talk a little?"
It was an emotional conversation in the kitchen just the two of them, no buffers. She told him some of what had happened after they lost touch. All he wanted to know is if Wickham hurt her. Not wanting to lie she said yes. He asked her why she hadn't left. She said that she wasn't sure where she could go, she didn't have money. How would she have made it to them? He asked her how she arrived in Meryton and found Lizzy. She was more than happy to tell him about the happier times with the Bennets. After an hour she left. As she left, she hugged Lizzy and said thankyou, and left.
As soon as she left, Lizzy went to the kitchen as fast as she could, more of a hobble. It was now her turn to comfort him as she saw tears in his eyes. They talked about what all Georgiana had told him. Lizzy knew all of that and more. She knew that Richard would beat himself up about it. And that more than anything she wanted to help him. They talked for hours, he reproached himself and Bea allayed his fears just holding him. She waited for him to be done with his rant and listened to him, just as she had done after Mozambique. More than anything his voice was tinged with sadness, guilt, and anger. So much anger. This was the side of him that Lizzy always shied away from. Though, even so, she knew what she wanted to do for him. She told him that while his feelings were his feelings and important, they weren't the only thing in the equation. She knew he needed to feel these things, but she also forgave him the only way she knew how, by being there. "Love, I understand you're in pain. Trust me. I do. We need to focus on what next rather than what has already happened so far. Do you think you can do that?" Neither of them realized how late it was and it was.
...
Darcy had happily left work a little early to make his way to Netherfield. He had the forethought to take a few changes of clothes to see if Charles would let him stay with them this weekend. Actually to see if Elizabeth would let him. He knew that despite what he wanted he had to let her make these decisions. He knocked on the door, almost excited. Realizing how long it had been since he last saw Elizabeth. In his minds eye, she had grown more beautiful the longer he'd been away. She'd been quite pale the last time she saw him. Hopefully being able to rest in a comfortable environment had done her some good. When Charles answered the door, he shook hands with Darcy and simply said, "Lizzy said you'd join for dinner. Wasn't sure you'd be here this early."
"I wasn't sure either. I just wanted to ask Elizabeth for some advice. I have some bad news for Caroline. But such is life."
"Ah, interviewed candidates, did you? She's not going to like that. But the sooner you tell her the better." Charles laughed.
He shrugged. He walked over to the room Charles pointed out and knocked softly.
He heard a female voice say, "come in". He presumed it to be Elizabeth.
They were talking softly his hands around her. His eyes widened, unsure what he was intruding upon. "I'm sorry to intrude. I'll wait outside for you both." He started leaving. His thoughts were swimming all around him, jealousy unchecked. He knew they were close but this was a lot to take in. He hadn't seen Richard's expression to understand that she was comforting him, only what looked like a lovers embrace.
Richard said in a nasal voice, "wait up, Darce. Why don't we all head out."
Elizabeth turned to him and said, "nope. You will stay here and think about what we've discussed and take some time for yourself, Ruff. I'll go out."
He gave a short laugh but acquiesced to her request. She kissed him on the forehead and whispered, "as soon as you start wallowing, come and join us. But I want you to think about some of what I said."
He nodded and lay down in bed, while Elizabeth walked slowly over to Will. He was already outside the door standing awkwardly and then began walking away.
"Will do you think we can walk a bit slowly. I'm still not up to full speed. I hope you don't mind."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to rush you." Despite his jealousy, he wanted to be near her. He didn't want to see his cousin as a rival even though both of them had assured him he wasn't.
She smiled at him as he took her hand and helped her to the sofa in the living room. She saw the agitation in his face and wondered if this was about the issue, he wanted advice on. She figured that must be it. But before she could broach that topic, he said, "how're you feeling? Are things better now?"
"Yes! I'm much better."
Will asked tempering his jealousy, "and Richard? Everything ok with him?"
"Yes, I think so. He just needs sometime. He'd had an emotional time off late. I don't know how much you know about what he does? But doing that can take a toll. I should know. And then on top of that there've been a few other things in the past few days. He'll be fine but he needed me. Where else would I be?" she shrugged.
"I see. He's always maintained that it's classified. And you're not at liberty to tell me these things, or what happened in the past few days?"
She smiled, settling on the couch, "not really. He'll tell you, I'm sure."
"You know him very well." It wasn't a question.
"He's important to me," she shrugged. She knew what he was asking, and after a few breaths she said, "he's part of my life, there's nothing about Richard that could surprise me at this point." She hoped he'd get the point. She was so confused about her own feelings that she didn't really examine his. If she had, she'd realize that at the heart of his question he wanted to know if she'd have space for another person in her life. When he didn't say anything more, she asked him, "what did you need advice on, then?"
He took a few moments before answering her knowing that he would have to think more on this later. He looked at the curious face of the woman sitting near him and said, "I don't know if I've spoken to you about this. The head of legal at Pemberley left 2 months ago. In the interim Caroline took over by seniority, despite the fact that she isn't a great lawyer. When I took leave from the company I'd asked Joe, my second in command to interview the candidates we'd shortlisted. He further narrowed the list down to 3 people and I met with them all briefly this week but don't know how to choose among them."
She smiled, "I can help, but I'm not sure why you'd need my help. You've made decisions about your company for years. I'm not sure if I could add anything."
The fact that she said nothing about Caroline or gloated in anyway made him respect her even more. "It's just… They're your run of the mill lawyer. They seem so staid not passionate at all."
"Will, when I did contract work I wasn't passionate either. Human rights and the work I do has made me so. But let's see their resumes. I reserve the right to say that your initial instinct that none of them are right may be correct."
They went through the resumes. There was nothing wrong with them. With Elizabeth's words he decided there was no point in comparing them to her. She was a different type of person and unless she joined Pemberley, he'd never get her passion. Yet, asking her was out of the question since she would never leave human rights work. With the business portion of the evening seemed over and he was thankful for it. He could concentrate his efforts in getting to know Elizabeth more. Nothing about her was boring. Everything seemed interesting if it was related to her. He wished it were easy to understand her, to get to know her. And then he decided to ask her views on the question of happiness that they had been discussing off and on for a few weeks now.
She was also enjoying his company and getting to know him outside of the hospital. In a situation where they could just be two people becoming friends. She always liked getting to know new people. But this felt like something else. When he described his ancestral estate in Derbyshire, she could imagine herself there rambling the wooded paths, him walking beside her in companionable silence. As a lawyer she was always a talker. But to be able to imagine silences with someone, it wasn't really a feeling she'd ever had before.
He then abruptly changed topics, "will you tell me your view about happiness now? It's been a few days and I thought we could pick that up again, if you want." He hesitated, not sure if this was the right thing to discuss with her.
She laughed, "Will, you clearly said something that impressed an astute woman like Ms. Reynolds. I'm sure you have the right of it."
"Even if I do, I'd like to hear your take. You have a different view on life than others seem to. Just the way you live your life is with a kind of joie de vivre I've not seen. I'm wondering how that is."
"It's not really a secret or anything."
He looked at her curiously, wondering if she would tell him.
Elizabeth drew in a breath and said, "it's going to sound silly now that the way I've put this off has raised your expectations and you're going to expect something profound. I'm afraid it's rather simple." Trying not to ramble, unsure why she was nervous to share this with him, "it's just. In my work, and in life, I've always found that the simplest solutions are usually the best ones. It's true of legal arguments, it's true in life. There's an elegance to the simplicity. So, my view of happiness isn't profound, rather the opposite." She looked at him, wondering if he still wanted to know. She looked into his eyes as he looked into hers, both of them lost in the moment. She looked away quickly, remembering herself, "many things in life are out of our immediate control, especially when they involve things external to ourselves. I used to get caught up in trying to control all of that. I've slowly come to realize that those things, being out of my control as they are, don't necessitate constant thoughts or worry. Instead, I choose to focus on smaller things in my life and have fun with that anyway. I can't control the outcome of a case. But I can do what's in my control – doing the best on my work. Instead of obsessing over that, I choose to focus on small pleasures that life has to offer and find ways to have fun with those. I can go out for a meal with friends, I can watch a good movie, you know the small things. I can't control how my recovery will go, there's things I can't do. But I can choose to have fun with my family and Richard and enjoy myself. It's not a secret, nor is it particularly profound. But it has made how I think of the world rather different and allowed me to not lose sight of the things that matter in my life, people, relationships, and love."
He was almost bowled over by what she said. It was so simple, so true. As she spoke the pieces of the puzzle that were Elizabeth Bennet that he had been struggling with fell into place and he felt a calmness wash over him. He then remembered that she had once told him that when things happen sometimes they feel right, just right. And that's what he was feeling right now. He smiled at her, to try and convey what he was feeling.
She looked at him curiously, "you're disappointed aren't you? You were expecting something more?"
She was normally so good at reading people, he was surprised that she couldn't understand all that he'd tried to convey. He reassured her, "not at all, it's perfect. It's so right. I think you told me that I got the gist of it, but I should zoom out and think. That's what you were leading me to, wasn't it?"
"It's not really up to me to lead anyone anywhere. I can just tell you what I think, and you decide if you think that makes sense to you or not, I suppose."
Richard had come into the living room and was pretending to play on his phone while surreptitiously watching them. It seemed that both of them were so lost that they had barely noticed his presence. At a lull in their conversation he simply said, "so getting to know each other, how's that going?"
Lizzy blushed and said, "are you feeling better?"
He laughed at her deflection, "you don't need to take care of me, Bea."
At that moment, his phone chimed. It was Maggie, the lawyer who got Wickham's bail application denied. She had bad news. Despite the rejection of his application, Wickham had somehow managed to exploit some lesser known technicality and get pre trial bail and no one knew where he was at the moment. Maggie didn't understand how it happened, but it had.
He called Mark and made sure that their resources were used to find him through the CCTV network. It wasn't strictly legal, but it would have to do for now. Bea would find out and she would be very upset. But nothing doing, she needed to know.
She saw him when he reentered the living room, "what, what is it? You look frustrated."
He took her hand, "I have to tell you both something. Please Bea, just listen. A few hours ago, Wickham was released on bail. I don't know how. Mark is checking CCTV footage to find out where he is. I'm also checking to see who called the judge or visited him."
"That's not legal," she pointed out.
He shrugged, "I don't particularly care, right now. They'll find him and take care of it. A trial won't be necessary, we'll have him shipped off."
Her inner code would never allow that to happen, "I can't let you do that."
Will hadn't said a word at this exchange, his mind churning at what that would mean.
"It's my job, Elizabeth," said Richard resolutely.
She swatted his arm, "illegal activities are not your job. None of you should be involved in this."
"Elizabeth, maybe you should let him do this?" Will spoke up.
She was annoyed, "if either of you bothered to ask, I've got a far easier way to figure this out. Ruff, call Mark, tell him off. Then call Lee. I'll find out the other things."
"Oh, really. How will you do that?" asked Richard as if Elizabeth was trying to do the impossible.
Will wasn't surprised at her taking charge in that moment. He should've known she would. Richard knew that he'd been told what to do and now he had to do it. He decided to let her do it her way. Though he could still hate it.
She picked up her phone and called a number. "hi John. How're you? It's Lizzy Bennet. I hear you're representing the man who assaulted me, a Mr. Wickham?"
"It's good to hear from you. I'm glad you're alright. Yes, unfortunately I have no choice, Ma'am."
"No, of course. I know that. We all have a part to play in the system, John. I'd never ask you to do anything else. I'm just calling to find out about the bail he's been granted, now. It makes no sense after yesterday's hearing. What do you know about that?"
"Nothing, till yesterday he'd been denied bail. And now suddenly I got an email from the court clerk with the unconditional bail order."
"That's odd. Do you know if there's any other lawyer involved? Did anyone visit him?"
"Let me find out from prison logs. I'll let you know what I find out."
"Thanks, darling. You're great. And come talk to me when I'm healed up. I've some ideas for you."
"Thanks ma'am. I appreciate the support! It's very nice of you to do that."
"Not at all. Talk soon!"
Will just sat there in awe of this woman in front of him. "You'll help Wickham's lawyer?"
She spoke as if it were obvious, "indeed, I will. We all deserve some help in life. It's not his decision to represent Wickham. All of us have a role in the system and it works. So, we should just let it. John is a good lawyer, if a bit green. It'll be good to help him."
"You're amazing, you know? Your capacity for doing things your way. Richard would've got the answer, but I can see your way is better." His desire was getting the best of him, he didn't know how to handle himself with her in front of him.
Richard came back, looking annoyed. She filled him in on what he found out. Then he said, "Lee and Grant are fairly certain they know where he is. The best they can do is follow him."
"We'll have to wait for him to make a move," she shrugged. Though anyone watching her would see how frustrated she was.
...
Caroline was pleased that things had gone her way. On her way over to her brother's house, she wondered what she would say and do to get Will's attention. She wondered who this Richard character he'd mentioned on the phone was. When she reached Netherfield she wondered aloud, "how can he live here? This is such a backwater country hell hole! I don't know what's gotten into Charles ever since he married Jane." She saw Will's BMW parked in Netherfield's driveway. She was beyond annoyed that he was here and that she had to spend her time in this place. But she would do it for him. She would do anything for him, knowing that they were meant to be together.
She rang the bell, and it was answered by someone she didn't know. He was a well built, good looking man, with a commanding presence standing in front of her in a black henley and jeans.
"Hi, who're you?" he asked.
She cooed coyly, "I'm Caroline, I'm here to meet my brother."
He internally groaned at the flirtatious tone she used. "Ah, I've heard so much about you."
She couldn't help but be flattered. He seemed to be a few years older than Will. "And you are?"
"Richard, Richard Fitzwilliam," he said authoritatively.
"How do you know my brother?"
He walked her into the living room where the others were sitting, "I met Bing, through Will."
"Will Darcy?" Who was this man, why was he here, how did he know everyone and why didn't she know him?
"Yes, he's my cousin," he said matter of factly.
"Cousin… Fitzwilliam? Then you must be Lord Matlock's son."
"Yes," he responded tightly.
She had to work hard to restrain the part of herself that deeply wanted to flatter him, say things about his parents who she had met a few times. "I've met the rest of your family. How come you're never at their Christmas parties?"
He really didn't want to continue this conversation, unsure why she was even here, "I tend to make a short appearance to appease them. I'd much rather spend any Christmas time I do have with Elizabeth."
Caroline didn't know what to say now. Eliza Bennet was at the centre of this once again. She didn't know what all was going on here. Why was the son of an Earl talking about spending time with her? What was happening, "oh? I didn't know she was so well connected."
"We don't see it as a connection, more as a friendship," he said firmly.
"Of course," Caroline responded officiously.
Lizzy's voice cut through, "who was at the door, dear?"
"It seems Charlie forgot to mention that he invited his sister for dinner, love."
"Hi, Caro," was all she said.
Caroline heard the little endearments. For a few moments, she felt like she had nothing to worry about. Maybe it was Richard and her in a relationship and she had been mistaken about Will's interest. She almost felt bad for siccing Wickham on her then. She thought she might have acted too hastily, and wanted to watch tonight and see. Maybe she could call him off. But she had no idea how to get in touch with him. When she entered the living room, she saw Eliza sitting on the couch talking to Will, while Jane and Charles were on the other couch. She took a seat on the arm rest Will was using.
"What a surprise, Caroline. I had no idea you were dropping by. I don't think we have enough food," said Charles. He was trying to be amiable. But it was hard. He'd told her after the snowstorm that she wouldn't be welcome here. He didn't like conflict though, could he ask her to leave? He had a feeling she was only here because of Darcy.
"I doubt it, Richard will eat you out of house and home, if you let him," said Will.
"I am famished." Richard added jovially.
"Don't worry. I'll just have salad or something. I heard that Eliza was unwell and staying here with you. I just came to check on her."
"That's kind of you, Caroline. But as you can see, I'm perfectly fine. You could've just called. It would've saved you a trip." She knew that Caroline had another motive even if it wasn't yet obvious what it was.
"Well while I'm here I might as well join you," she sneered.
Elizabeth grated her teeth. After the news of Wickham's bail she really didn't want to deal with the snide behaviour that Caroline would put on tonight.
Jane, ever the peacekeeper smiled hoping that Caroline would behave herself. She knew that Richard and likely Will would put a stop to her behaviour if it bothered Lizzy too much. But she didn't want Lizzy to have to deal with the stress when she was finally doing better.
"So, Richard you never mentioned how you and Eliza know each other?" asked Caroline.
Lizzy rolled her eyes.
Richard responded, "oh, we go way back. She helps me out at work every now and then."
"And what is it that you do?"
"I work for the government."
Charles was unsure what to do. But seeing as no damage was being done, he let it be.
"Oh, Eliza, I had no idea that you worked for the government."
"Well, Caro. Someone has to keep them in check. I do what I can."
"Really, and how is that?" asked Caroline trying to gather as much information as she could.
"That's classified," said Richard, in a tone that brooked no challenge.
Caro made a sour face, then instead of being dejected she saw Will sitting next to Eliza and decided that her evening was better spent talking to Will. After all he was the reason she'd come here.
Richard saw her mind working, and with military precision decided that he would keep her attention tonight so that Darce and Bea could continue their conversation. They had enough problems without this person in the way too. "So, Caroline tell me about yourself. How do you know my parents?"
Elizabeth looked at him, completely confused why he would voluntarily talk about his parents when he barely spoke to them. He looked them and winked, as if giving a secret message. Lizzy rolled her eyes and grimaced at him. They were good at these secret conversations that they could have in front of everyone without anyone knowing.
Will tried to pick up the thread of earlier conversations a few times, but found Elizabeth distracted. "Are you stressed that Caroline is here, or worried about Richard paying her attention?"
"Not stressed, Will. Richard talking to her about his parents is odd, given he sees them a few times a year for less than half an hour each time, don't you think?"
"He's distracting her."
"And you're not concerned why he's doing that?"
"I presume it's so she can't make any more snide comments about you," he smiled.
Caroline watched Will and Eliza out of the corner of her eye, she saw that they were softly smiling at each other. Will had never smiled at her like that. She decided was done with this inane conversation, as much as the second son of an Earl was an interesting commodity, the man was no Will Darcy. Her mind churned for a way to draw others into conversation. Having spoken to a few people about what had happened convinced Caroline that she knew the details of what happened. Maybe talking about her injury would cause Will to see how insane she was. "So, Eliza, how exactly did you get hurt?" she asked loudly.
"I was attacked, I fended off the attacker. He's in jail." Elizabeth didn't want it to be common knowledge that Wickham was out on bail. Jane would become stressed and that couldn't be good for the baby.
Caroline was smug at the idea that she knew that Wickham was out on bail, but Eliza didn't. "Was it a random mugging, or something more?"
"Why does that matter?" asked Will.
"Well, if this person had an agenda against Eliza, then she should be careful. Who knows what people like that will do?" she said trying to keep her voice even. But Richard, Lizzy, and Will all heard the glee in her voice.
Richard narrowed his eyes, "what could you mean? The man is in jail. How could he do anything?"
"Well, how do you know if he was alone, or part of a group?" she dissembled, trying to keep calm.
"Oh, don't worry about that. We've got our best people keeping a close eye on him. I won't let anything happen to her," volunteered Richard. Completely serious, but also wanting Caroline to realize that Lizzy wasn't defenceless, on her own or with them.
"Does the government do that sort of thing?" asked Caroline surprised, if Wickham was being watched what would that mean. It could mean that her plan would unravel rather quickly.
"I do that sort of thing. And for her I'd do anything," said Richard.
Elizabeth got up, pulled him up by the collar led him to the dining room slowly and started talking to him, trying to keep their voices down, though the others could hear most of the conversation. "Why must you always parade private business like that, Ruff. You know how much it bothers me."
"I've decided to do what's best for you whether you want it or not," he said calmly despite knowing his answer and tone would likely just make her more irate.
"And how exactly was it necessary to say that?" she smacked his face softly just to make him realize how annoyed she was.
"I have a feeling, Bea."
"I hate you sometimes, you know?"
"You know that's untrue." He then whispered, "go on then, you should spend time with Darcy. Let me handle her tonight?"
"There's nothing to handle."
Meanwhile, Caroline was trying to talk to Will, "I had no idea Eliza was so smart as to attract an Earl's son. That too your cousin. Did you know?"
"Caroline, I'd watch what you're saying," he said in a low tone. Anyone paying more attention than Caroline would've heard the warning in his tone.
"Could've fooled me," said Caroline
"Well it wouldn't take much," muttered Will as he saw Richard and Elizabeth come back. Richard had a murderous look on his face.
She got a message on her phone from John, the only odd visitor W had was a Caroline Bingley. She met with him for 15 minutes. I don't know her, do you?She showed Ruff the message. "This was your feeling, wasn't it?"
He nodded but said nothing, watching Caroline closely.
"I hate it when you're right."
"I know," he kissed her on the cheek as they went back to the living room.
Richard was going to find a way to skewer Caroline Bingley's head on a platter. He launched into a loud boisterous story to keep Caroline's attention on him, peppering it with Barons and Earls.
Jane for her part had become a bystander in her own home. She had no problem with it but she wondered what was going on. It was clear that Lizzy was upto something but she couldn't figure out what it was. It was best to wait and watch in these situations she figured and told Charles the same thing softly.
Lizzy didn't know why Caroline would meet Wickham. Did it have to do with Georgie? Will? Or her accident? She emailed Judge Cosgrove's clerk to see if Caroline had spoken to him today. That would be proof of something untoward about the bail being granted so suddenly even if the clerk couldn't directly tell her anything. She was deep in thought and instead of going back to sit down near Will, a seat that was now taken, she went to the window. She took a few deep breaths and then noticed a hand on her shoulder. It was Will. "Are you alright? Can I help?"
"Will, you've done enough. Thank you for being here." She squeezed his hand. "I know a bit more about Wickham and the bail. Not the whole story yet, but I should soon. It's just disconcerted me."
"What did you find out? I presume you told Richard?" he said.
She sighed, "yes. It seems Caroline went to meet Wickham. I don't know about what, but I might pretty soon. Till that point, I think we just let sleeping dogs lie and let her be here where we can watch her."
His expression turned murderous, almost immediately. "She had something to do with this? Or is it about Georgie?"
She brought him back to the present, putting a hand on his cheek without thinking, "Will, look at me. I'm finding out what she knows. She only met with him for 15 minutes. I doubt it's about G. How would she even know anything about her?"
"So it's about you. Hurting you?" he said worriedly.
Caroline looked over and saw the intimate movement of Eliza's hand. So that was her game, she was stringing them both along was she? Richard and Will? She couldn't understand how Will didn't see what was right in front of him. It didn't even strike her that she was the one who hadn't understood the situation.
Elizabeth earnestly told Will, "who knows the games crazy people play. If it is, I've no doubt I'll be fine."
He calmed at her tone, the warmth spreading from her hand to his entire being slowly. Given these new developments he knew he needed to be here this weekend even more than before. He asked her slowly, "would it-Would it be alright if I stayed here this weekend too? I just – I thought if you were tired of being with Richard all the time, it might be a nice change for you. If it's ok with you?"
She started with a caution, "I don't need to be protected." Then took a breath realizing Will wasn't being paternalistic. He'd asked her, so she responded, "I can't say it won't be nice to have another person when I can't really go anywhere. This has been the most entertaining evening I've had in two weeks. At least we can thank her for that."
He smiled at her and squeezed her hand back in response. They stood there in companionable silence for a few moments, each taking in the other's presence. Lizzy was still worried about what this all meant. She thought that she had some idea what it would feel like to let someone into the walls that she'd built up around herself. But now that she thought the moment was here, she felt like she had no idea at all. She thought she wanted to let him in, he'd proven trustworthy, he was trying not to be arrogant, he was changing because of these past few months. More than any of the rationality she tried to use as a shield, she felt something in his presence that she didn't understand. He didn't encroach on her boundaries, though he still worried about her, he wasn't officious in the way Richard could sometimes be. It felt like he was genuinely concerned about her, yet willing to let her take it at her own pace. That was a quality she appreciated. She still had no idea what it meant, but she could appreciate it nonetheless. Instead of trying to decipher it she moved to another question: what did it look like in reality though? What did it look like to let someone in? She had no idea. They drifted closer to each other, neither of them realizing their actions.
Caroline had so far been distracted by Richard's story and what felt like to her seemingly unrelated questions about what she had said earlier. She found herself unable to veer the conversation in the direction of the seemingly obvious love triangle in front of her. She didn't understand the draw of Elizabeth Bennet, but if she could use it to her advantage, who was she to say no? She was good at finding and leveraging these opportunities she thought, first Wickham now this. Maybe she would finally best that stupid chit.
As they went to dinner, Caroline started in, "Richard, I thought you'd want to sit next to Eliza, given how staunchly you're protecting her."
"I don't need protecting, Caro. I'm fine on my own," smirked Elizabeth knowing how this would rankle Caroline.
"Wouldn't you want to sit next to your girlfriend?" asked Caroline innocently, waiting to see if Will would realize what she was trying to say?
Everyone at the table laughed, "girlfriend? You think Elizabeth is my girlfriend?" asked Richard laughing.
"Isn't she?" said Caroline losing some of her confidence.
Elizabeth answered, "he's my best friend, Caroline."
"No wonder you're trying to get to Will," she said in a tone, meant to be a whisper but came out more caustically than she intended.
"Get to me? I'm not sure I like being spoken about like that," said Will sharply.
Caroline looked aghast at having being heard. But she doubled down, "I didn't mean anything by it. Surely, you can see she's trying to entrap you."
Elizabeth's phone chimed distracting everyone and she showed the email to Will, it was from the court clerk.
Lizzy! It's good to hear from you. I hope you're recovering well. I normally would never give out any personal correspondence the Judge Cosgrove had, but you asked about a Caroline Bingley directly. I can simply say that I'd never heard that name before today. I hope this helps and that you're back in court soon. – Diana
She immediately forwarded the email to Ruff, with a note Cosgrove is too upright for straightforward bribery. I don't understand the dynamics. I suppose that isn't important, but yes. It was her.
Will spoke to her quietly, "I refuse to sit here and pretend that we don't know what she did."
"I know, but let her bluster."
"Richard looks about ready to murder her."
She looked at Richard, arched her eyebrow, and with a small gesture of her hand asked him to wait. This was her show. He wasn't going to take it away from her.
Elizabeth launched back into the earlier conversation, "for your information, Caro. I'm not trying to entrap anyone. That's not how people function."
Caroline bit back, "you've never been normal a day in your life. How would I know what you do?"
Lizzy's trilling laughter echoed through the room, "and damn proud of it. But that's neither here nor there. How about we play a game? Let's each of us tell everyone here what we've been up to for the past two days. Won't that be fun?" she smiled sweetly. "I'll go first. I've finally been allowed to walk, though I'm still hobbling around. I spoke to family, and spent time with Richard. Ruff, you go?"
He chuckled seeing her game, "I spent time at Netherfield, met someone I hadn't seen in a few years as well as a new friend. And worked through some things with your help."
"Jane?"
Jane had no idea what was going on but understood enough to play along, being a bit vague, "well, I made dinner. I took you to the hospital for your appointment. And started working on renovating a room in the house."
"Charles?"
He was starting to realize that something was going on here and Lizzy was asking them this to reveal it. "Hmmm, I worked, I did stuff. Helped Janie."
Lizzy smiled at her brother-in-law and then looked apologetically at Jane. "I should mention, though I didn't want to do it so dramatically Wickham got pretrial bail. Suddenly after his bail application had been denied, Judge Cosgrove seemed to have changed his mind. As a fellow lawyer, I'm sure you know how strange and not in keeping with court procedures that is even if there was an odd technicality he used, Caroline."
Caroline took in a sharp breath, not sure what to say. She was startled that Eliza knew what happened. Did she know more? She could get disbarred. And her job? How would she keep Will close if that happened?
"Why don't you tell us what you've been up to, Caroline?" said Richard menacingly.
She looked pleadingly at the object of her affections, "me, nothing. I've been working. Tell them, Will."
Elizabeth piped up refusing to take that answer, "I'm not sure, meeting Wickham in prison, and what I'm sure is blackmailing Judge Cosgrove counts as nothing, Caro." She said it in almost a bored way. But there it was now out in the open.
Charles stared at her, Will crossed his arms, and Richard stood up.
"What did you do?" asked Charles. He hated conflict, but this was beyond the pale.
"Nothing, Charles. This is all lies. I haven't met anyone with that name, ever." She said, trying to feel a sense of finality so they wouldn't uncover the truth.
Will joined in, "maybe I should tell you all what I've been doing in the last two days." He was angry, and he would've thought this incredibly cruel to anyone who hadn't done what she had, "I found a new head of legal and have decided to let you go, Caroline."
She paled, "why Will! How could you?"
"You sit there and ask me how I could do something, when the person whose hurt two important people my life is now roaming the streets free? Elizabeth risked her life to put him in jail, and you went and undid all that work. You did this to yourself, Caroline. If he hurts a single hair on the head of the people I love, I will find a way to hurt you more. But for now, I think it would be best if you leave. No need to clear out your office."
"And don't come back. You're not welcome here anymore," said Charles. Taking Jane's hand asking her if she was ok silently. Jane nodded tears in her eyes. He started showing Caroline out leading her by the hand.
Only Richard noticed the look on Elizabeth's face when Will was talking. She was sitting down, but she was flushed, unsure that she heard him right. She couldn't have heard him right. There was no way. She might have some feelings that she didn't understand. But love? "Love?" she said whispered out loud, staring at him.
Richard smiled, decided to go out and give these two sometime. They were going to need it.
Will was embarrassed, "ummm, can we pretend you didn't hear that?"
Elizabeth was stunned, they barely knew each other. How could this be? "You meant it? You love me?"
"Uhhh, yes." He continued, "I'm sorry it slipped out like that. I didn't mean for that to happen. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I love and admire you."
She was confused after hearing that and she couldn't stop herself letting out some nervous laughter. He was getting increasingly upset, "no Will, I'm not laughing at you. Just your choice of words. It's not the 19thC these days, I'm not sure people talk like that anymore."
"You're not upset?"
"They're your feelings. I'm not sure I have a right to be anything." That was all she said in response. She knew she needed time to process what all had happened here. She got up and left the room. She went to her room and lay down, somehow managing to avoid Richard, Charles, and Jane. She knew all of them would have something to say to her. She just couldn't deal with it right now. She'd started changing her mind about Will a few weeks ago and each day that passed showed her something new about him. But with his declaration every bone in her body was telling her she needed to protect herself. What would she do?
Will was astonished at the reaction of the infuriating woman. Was that the only answer he was going to get from her? He wanted to run after her, to ask her how she felt, to hope that it was something more than walking away. He had no idea that it could hurt so much. In theory when he had told Richard that she could make her choice, he had no understanding of the pain it would cause if she did reject him. He wanted to follow his first instinct and get in his car and drive back to London immediately.
Richard decided to intervene knowing his cousin and Bea, "you can't leave, Darce. Trust me. Just give her some time. I see her, I know her. She wasn't expecting so much forthrightness from you on this yet. She thought she could put a toe in the water and see it's temperature and you jumped right in. It wasn't entirely your fault, but just please listen to me about this. I'm right."
The Will Darcy before he'd met her would never have considered that a woman like her could reject him. After all wasn't he an eligible bachelor? Wasn't he wealthy and a great catch? But her words, her actions, everything about her had taught him what it meant to truly be worthy of a wonderful woman like her. He just hoped that she wouldn't keep on running.
After reheating their dinner and eating a little bit, Jane decided that she had given Lizzy enough time and went to her room leaving the men with their drinks. She took a bowl of the stew and bread she made for Lizzy.
"So," said Jane.
"So," responded her sister.
"I heard what Will said."
Lizzy deflected, "I shouldn't have let it get out of control like that it's not good for you or the baby."
She smiled at her sister, "it was Caroline's fault. Not yours. Could you have handled it a bit more delicately, sure. But hindsight is 20/20. Don't worry about me, Lizzy. Let me be the big sister for once."
"What do you mean for once?" she asked almost indignant.
"I mean, ever since Lydia left you take care of everyone and everything around you. This whole entire episode with Wickham could've gone down differently. I understand why you behave that way. But know that you don't have to. You never let anyone take care of you, willingly anyway. What Richard does he does by bulldozing you and out of sheer stubbornness. But wouldn't it be nice if you let people take care of you once in a while? Let them show you how valued you are."
She defended herself, "and you think that's what Will wants? He didn't ask me anything. Simply made a declaration. There was nothing to reply to."
Jane pursed her lips to hold in a laugh, "you can't lawyer yourself out of this one, love."
She sighed, "what do I do? I was just thinking earlier this evening that I might let Will break down my boundaries and actually let him in. And then this happens. And I can't stop thinking about our history because he's wheedled his way into my life already. I hated him so much at first, and then slowly, I got to know him. He's so flawed, so stupid sometimes. But he's also not. I don't know what to do. How am I supposed to deal with this, Jane? I don't know how! Love requires a kind of strength that I don't know if I have anymore, not after last time..."
Jane gathered her sister in her embrace, "I think you know exactly what to do, you're just scared. My darling sister, you are by far the strongest person I know. Do you remember when we were younger? You were such a romantic, Lizzy. I know you've been through a lot since then. Don't fight what happens. Let it. Don't let your fear rule you."
Lizzy said nothing, she was staring up at the ceiling, not even sure when she lay down. She spent the whole night twisting and turning, as much as she could, with her ribs still smarting. At 4.30 in the morning she decided to wake up. there was no point going on like this when she wasn't able to sleep anyway. She went to the kitchen, not sure exactly what she was doing making a cup of tea without even thinking about it. A few minutes later another person entered, of course it was the one person didn't want to see. It wasn't that she was trying to actively avoid him, it's just that she wasn't sure what to say and hoped that she would have to say nothing.
He stared at her. He had hoped to avoid her. But it looked like that wasn't going to happen.
He stared at her until she asked him, "tea?"
He nodded and took a place at the kitchen island. She put a cup in front of him and sat down opposite him. Neither of them knowing what to say. The silence was full of tension, not companionable as it had been in the past. He asked her the only thing he could think of to start a conversation, "was my behaviour to Caroline last night, firing her in front of everyone cruel?"
"I don't know, Will. My judgment is clouded by the fact that someone related to me could go to such lengths to free someone who assaulted me. I don't know that I've ever felt that kind of hatred from anyone in my life."
"When she was leaving, she told Richard, under threat of force, that she asked Wickham to kill you and then she'd pay for him to leave the country."
"Richard would've alerted all ports, harbours, and immigration staff by now. But I suppose Wickham doesn't know that. So, we wait."
Stonily he said, "I suppose."
She wasn't sure what else to say. But she needed to know, needed to understand why he hadn't run away, "I'm surprised you're still here."
"Why?"
She knew that both of them had their own walls, that he found it as difficult to trust as she did. She told him the truth then, "Because…because I'm not sure I still would be."
Saying more confidently than he felt, "what I feel would be so very little if I was somehow unable to stay and make sure you were alright."
"Thankyou, Will. Not just for staying."
"I suppose that is better than nothing," he said more petulantly than he meant.
She smiled sadly at him, "Will, it's not that I don't feel anything for you. I do. I just, I'm confused, I don't know what to make of all this."
He didn't know what to say, "I see."
"I hope you can give me some time."
He said nothing. Lost in his thoughts, he knew that she felt something. If she needed time he'd wait for her for a long time. Hadn't Richard counselled patience?
"I'm tired of sitting inside, would you like to go for a walk?" asked Elizabeth.
And so, the other occupants of the house woke up to two possible lovers on a walk in Netherfield's back garden.
I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did :) Caro comeuppance stories are some of my favourite.
What did you think about Lizzy brushing off Darcy at the end?