Tuesday, July 24

Lizzie took a bite of her quiche, her attention more on the door and hallway beyond than on her plate. The breakfast room was empty except for herself, and that was precisely what had her worried.

After she and Darcy had it out in the kitchen on Sunday, she had thought they might be able to reach a point where they could…well, not peacefully coexist, but maybe something close to it. But now, two days later, they had yet to coexist at all.

As the only early risers in the house, they had endured many an awkward breakfast during her time at Netherfield, but this was the second morning in a row that he hadn't shown. Combine that with the fact Bing had returned alone from announcing dinner last night and reported Darcy was "on the phone" and they shouldn't wait for him. Darcy used to bring his laptop down often and work in the corner during the evening, but not last night.

The longer this went on, the more she felt certain he was avoiding her. He would of course still be angry over her earlier videos, and understandably so, but watching the new video Charlotte posted on Sunday's events also brought panic when she tried to imagine how he might react to it.

It had made so much sense, in those late and exhausted hours Sunday night, to tell Charlotte to show Darcy's interruption and the events leading up to it. He had said he didn't care what she portrayed, and allowing him to speak for himself and admitting up front that she was having to reconsider some things seemed like the least she could do. She was determined to be more responsible in her future videos and wanted her viewers to see the reason for that change. The inherent drama of the scene and her viewers' ongoing clamor to see Darcy were undeniable, but she honestly believed those had not been deciding factors in her decision.

Darcy didn't know that, however. And he was the person least likely to give her the benefit of the doubt.

Approaching footsteps interrupted her worrisome thoughts. Darcy entered, and Lizzie stilled, watching him warily.

"Good morning, Lizzie," he said quietly.

"Good morning." She watched as he busied himself with the coffee. "Did you, um, sleep well?"

"Er…tolerably, I suppose. And you?"

"Same here."

He filled a plate, then gave a brief nod in her direction before heading toward the door.

"Darcy?"

He stopped to look at her, and she stood, picking up her latte and now-empty plate. "I'm leaving now, if you want to eat in here."

"Thank you, but that is not necessary. I have an early conference call and will need to eat in my room."

"Oh, okay." He made no immediate move to leave, and Lizzie went on. "I, uh, posted a new video yesterday."

"Yes, I saw. Based on the state of my twitter notifications, it was quite effective as a cliffhanger."

His tone was mild, but Lizzie still winced. "Yeah, about that…you said you didn't care what I put in the videos, and I took that and ran with it, but then I thought maybe you didn't mean showing you was ok, that I should have asked you first," she said, all in a rush.

"Lizzie, it's fine. I admit I was surprised you included that footage. But I meant what I said. I don't mind if you discuss, portray, or show me in your videos. If there is something I'd rather you didn't include, I will let you know."

Lizzie could only stare at him in response. That biting tone in his voice the last time they'd discussed her videos was now gone.

Seconds later, his watch beeped. "Excuse me, I must go. I have a meeting to lead in ten minutes."

"Ok. Sure." And for the fourth time in a row, she watched in total bewilderment as he left the room.

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"Soooo…what did you guys think of my last video?" Lizzie began playfully. "Were you surprised at how it turned out? Have you finally had enough of Darcy now that you've heard his voice? Or did you still want to see him? Oh wait, I've read through your comments—yes, that's right, all of them—so I already know the answers to those questions."

Then she straightened her shoulders and became more serious. "Since my questions have been answered…or at least the ones I asked just now have been…I'll answer a few of yours. Has Darcy watched my videos now? Yes. Did he give me permission to include that footage of him in my video? Yes. Is he going to raid Bing's medical bag for scary surgical tools to use on me? No, and he's not going to sue me either. He's actually being really decent about it…," her mouth curved a little, "dare I say, decent enough?"

She continued, "He did insist that we tell Bing about the videos, and I agree that was the right thing to do. And since I happened to be filming at the time, you're going to see exactly what happened. My name is Lizzie Bennet, and sometimes good can come out of the bad stuff in life."

Lizzie held for a long moment, then turned off her camera and sent the footage to Charlotte. That task completed, and with half an hour to spare before she needed to leave for her first tutoring session, Lizzie leaned back in her desk chair, her hands laced over her stomach.

"Decent enough." She hadn't planned to say that, to turn Darcy's words back on him, but now that she'd said it she knew she would leave it in. Her viewers would enjoy it. She could imagine the GIFs that would ensue. Or maybe she couldn't; her viewers' creativity was sometimes astonishing.

Astonishing. That adjective fit Darcy too. She could never have predicted his response to her videos. Their conversations over the last few days kept playing over and over in her mind. Him volunteering to help with her costume theater scene. His confusion when asking, "You think I dislike you?" The fact that even while incensed with her, he had not retaliated but instead protected and even complimented her. His parting words on Sunday: "After today, perhaps we should dispense with the illusion that either of us knows what the other is thinking." Lurking unsaid was the fact that she had been pleasantly surprised and he unpleasantly. And now his abrupt change of attitude toward her videos. There had been no need to ask this morning whether he was angry over the last few insults she had left in her video; he clearly wasn't. Was it possible he somehow understood her reasons for leaving them in? She wondered what he would have said, had she asked him about it.

A smile ghosted across her face a moment later when she realized she had done just what he suggested: wonder what he thought instead of assuming she knew.

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Thanks for reading my story! If you are so inclined, I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on this chapter and Lizzie's changing assessment of Darcy.