Page 49 of Pride, Prejudice, & Pretense

Lizzy knew that tone of voice. This request would not go away. "Okay, Mom, I'll mull it over andI will call youwhen I have an idea. Won’t adding to the stone necessitate removing it from the graveyard for it to be carved?"

"Yes," her mother said in a whimpering way, "but it's not that expensive."

"Okay. How's the bridal shop, the front window?"

"Boring,boring, boring. I drive the other way through town so I do not nod at the wheel."

"Well, give my best to Aunt Christine." Her mother made an ambiguous huffing sound, non-committal. "I'll call you when I have an idea. Bye, Mom."

Lizzy ended the call. Her mother calling her was bad enough, and now this task would be on her mind along with everything else. She had grieved her father for a long time. Perhaps he had not been the best of fathers, but they had enjoyed one another's company. She was a daughter after his own heart, as he liked to say, and she had learned a lot from him. Not all of it was good, she knew, but much of it was.Some. She did not want to lift the lid on the cold obstruction of her father's death, risk letting loose the viewless wind of grief again. The first time, it had blown Lizzy into Langley.

Thanks, Mom.

At least she didn't ask me about meeting anyone this time.Lizzy glanced down at her ring finger, then glanced away.

I’m pretending to be a committed woman on the verge of infidelity. Vows make infidels.

***

Darcy arrived at her apartment in the mid-afternoon with his game face already on. He seemed reluctant to talk to her, reluctant to look at her for long.

She modeled the emerald sweater and jeans she planned to wear, the soft green suede boots. He nodded without any comment. Since Darcy was with her, and Charlie would be otherwise preoccupied, she wore a non-tech set of earrings and a necklace of plain gold.

Darcy wore a shawl collar sweater, terra cotta. It looked handsome on him, but she knew, almost immediately, that it had been inspired by the same thought that had inspiredWives and Daughters.It was a bit too much, a bit too fine, and the cable stitch a bit too noteworthy. Not effeminate, but soft. That particular effect was muted for her as she recalled the scars she had seen when he stood in front of the steamy mirror, the hard muscles of his back.Not soft.

He put down his coat, sat, picked up the copy ofMoby Dick,and started reading. She made them coffee. Her stomach felt knotted, tense. She was glad of the silence. She was sure he sensed that, was silent on her behalf, and maybe was glad of the silence, too.

Once again, she tried to avoid imagining the evening ahead of time.Stay blank and let the moments come to me, meet their demands without any prejudice. Trust my first impressions.

She poured them both a cup of the coffee, gave Darcy his, and took hers back to the window. Letting her mind wander, shewatched the gray clouds billow, form, and reform. They spent the afternoon like that together, apart, drinking coffee until the pot was empty and it was nearly time for Rook to arrive and drive them to Rosings.

Darcy sighed, closed the book, stood, and put on his coat. She was still at the window, now curtained up and closed, but she faced away from it.

He crossed to her and, unexpectedly, put out both his hands. She took them without hesitation. They were warm, and he smiled tightly. "I'll be there with you all night. Bingley will be nearby part of the time. You and I will leave together, no matter what. Focus. It's like American football players never tire of saying:One play at a time. I'll follow your lead. Remember, don't be with Wickham anywhere I can't see you. That will be in character for Ned tonight, a show of his mounting jealousy, suspicion. Are you ready?"

She nodded once, picked up her leather jacket, put it on, and grabbed her purse. They entered the elevator hand-in-hand, although Lizzy wasn't sure who had initiated the hand-holding outside the apartment.

Rook was already standing outside the car, the rear door open, when Ned and Fanny approached holding hands. Lizzy thought she saw one eyebrow twitch on the driver’s stony face, and she was careful to rest her left hand on the top of the door as Darcy helped her in. She was almost sure Rook saw the engagement ring but became certain after he came around and got inside?a smirk like a crack in concrete was visible in the rearview mirror.

Darcy slid her close and put his arm around her, chatting merrily and emptily, telling a funny cover story about stopping for coffee on his way to the office in New York. Ned and Fanny chuckled together and she kissed his cheek, snuggling into his arm tight against his body. Rook stared at them briefly in therearview as if he knew Fanny's actions were, if not outright lies, some form of hypocrisy.

At Rosings, it was Lady Catherine and Wickham rather than servants who stood waiting at the top of the stairs for Fanny and Ned. Wickham rocked on his feet as the car stopped and vaulted eagerly down the stairs.

Once Rook opened the door, Ned got out and helped Fanny, who glanced up into Wickham's face and gave him a weak, nervous smile?Lizzy’s first salvo of the evening. Something passed between Ned and Wickham after Wickham looked at her, but whatever expression Darcy had worn was gone by the time Lizzy could see his face.

"Welcome. You're the last guests to arrive. We're a small party, butintimate." Wickham inflected the final word with relish.

"George, let the guests come up the stairs so we can all get inside. It's chilly out here, and it may rain again." Lady Catherine gestured into the building with one graceful hand, the other holding her sweater closed. She led them inside with Ned and Fanny side-by-side behind her and Wickham bringing up the rear.

Darcy held Lizzy’s left hand, swinging it gently, happily, positioning it so the engagement ring was facing Wickham. She thought she heard a soft inhalation from behind them, a sign that Wickham had spotted it. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she saw a small smile on Darcy's face, but it passed immediately.

Inside the door, they were met by one servant, an old man Lizzy did not recall from the previous party, and he quietly and efficiently took their coats. Lady Catherine again waved for them to follow her, smiling.

The large front area of the house where the party had been before was not as brightly lit as it had been previously. Instead,it was subdued, shadowy. A light shone down a hallway that had been blocked at the party, and Lady Catherine led them down it toward that light. "It's just a few of us. I think everyone's face will be familiar, though perhaps not everyone's names."

They stepped into a small dining room dominated by a large oak table, the top gleaming reflected light from the many-candled candelabra hanging above it. Father Robyn and a slim, middle-aged but youthful-looking blond man stood around the table.

The two men were beside the couple Lizzy had noticed Lady Catherine talking to at the previous party. The man's eyes immediately latched onto Lady Catherine. "This is Henry and Maria Crawford," Lady Catherine said. "I didn't have the opportunity to introduce all of you the other night, but you must have seen each other.” She waved her hand in Darcy and Lizzy’s direction. “And these are Ned Moreland and Fanny Prince."

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