by Ruby Cruz
Ed did not get a chance to elaborate as we were called into the dining room. This time, Dr. DeBourgh sat next to me herself while she instructed Colin to sit at my other side. It seemed she was determined to keep me as uncomfortable as possible during my time with her.
As dinner progressed, I noticed that Dr. DeBourgh did nothing to encourage any conversation between the two of us which left Colin spouting monologues into my ear for the majority of dinner. I was able to keep my mouth shut until the conversation turned to Bingley and his sister.
“William, whatever happened to your friend and his sister? I believe you requested for him a transfer to the Princeton program.”
“Yes, Charles is grateful for the opportunity you arranged for him.”
“And what of his delightful sister, Caroline? She was a charming addition to the dinner party. I’m surprised you haven’t brought her back here. She is always welcome as a guest.”
Darcy shifted in his seat though his face remained impassive. “She travels much for her job.”
“Ah, yes, pharmaceutical global marketing director.” Dr. DeBourgh wrinkled her nose. “I must see if I can find a position for her on our team. She appears to be an intelligent and savvy woman. I am sure we can use someone of her talents for something more altruistic than pharmaceutical marketing. And I’m sure she would desire a position that bases her in the city.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from commenting. Altruistic was the last word that came to mind when thinking of Caroline Bingley.
Dr. DeBourgh continued. “She was so well-mannered and she perfectly presented herself. Didn’t you say the Bingleys were distantly related to the Kennedys?”
“I believe they are distantly related through marriage,” Darcy replied.
As the discourse continued and Darcy shifted ever more uncomfortably in his seat, I began to realize that perhaps Dr. DeBourgh’s praises of Caroline were not directed at Darcy but at me. Was she trying to imply that Caroline was a better woman than me? Even more disconcerting was the idea that she was implying Caroline was a better woman for Darcy and a better match for him than me.
Even though he had given me absolutely no undue attention that evening (in fact, he’d practically ignored me throughout dinner), I noticed that Dr. DeBourgh was watching the both of us closely and often her gaze would shift between us. Even though Ed seemed to show me much more interest, she appeared fixated on Darcy and me. This attention did not go unnoticed by Ed and even he began to watch the three of us more closely. Only Luke and Colin seemed to be unaware of the interplay amongst me and the family members.
When we adjourned to the drawing room for coffee and after dinner drinks, I was given a pass on the piano. While waiting for our drinks, Dr. DeBourgh once again talked about Caroline Bingley. “It’s been months since you've brought her and her brother here to see me. They must be extremely busy if they have not come by again.”
“Like I said, Caroline travels three weeks out of the month.”
“Well, she can’t work all the time. She must have some time off during the holidays.”
“I’ll make sure to extend the invitation to her when I next see her.”
Dr. DeBourgh seemed only partially mollified by the promise. She shifted focus to Ed. “And what of you, Edward? What are your travel plans after the holidays?”
Ed shifted his stance by the fireplace and answered, “After I return to North Carolina, as far as I know, my work should keep me on-base.”
“You won’t be deployed?”
“There is always the possibility given the political climate in the Middle East, but so far, no plans that I know of.”
She seemed satisfied with the response so she changed topics. “And what of your social life? Any women I should know of?”
Ed blushed and answered simply, “No. No one.”
“You’ve been living in North Carolina for six years and you’ve no attachments to anyone?”
“Well, I have friends, but no serious romantic relationships.”
“You’re not getting any younger, you know. With your career established as it is, you should seriously think of settling down and having a family.” Why she thought this was appropriate after-dinner conversation with mixed company, I have no idea.
Ed was so flustered, he didn’t respond, just stared into the fireplace. Dr. DeBourgh then focused her attentions to Colin and Luke. “Now, I know you both are of the homosexual persuasion. I have to admit that the legalization of gay marriage is a progressive act not completely in line with my personal beliefs, however, I consider myself modern enough to be accepting of such radical views.”
Colin sputtered, “I have not found anyone worthy of making such a stride, but of course, as my mentor and benefactor, you would be one of the first to know should I meet the right person.” He turned expectantly to Luke who coughed and said, “Uh, what he said.”
I was all ready to have to explain and defend my current single status when Dr. DeBourgh announced that she had early cases in the morning. I had almost forgotten it was Sunday night and most people were working the next day. Summarily dismissed, we, including Ed, gathered our things. Before I left, Dr. DeBourgh made sure to say, “Thank you for your presence this evening, Nurse Bennett. Your views have been, as always, illuminating.”
~
Because I wasn’t sure to what she was referring, I merely thanked her for dinner and escaped with the others. I wasn’t surprised when Ed suggested we go out again that evening. “I don’t know about you guys, but I need a drink or two.”
Luke seemed eager to go dancing again, so we returned to Darcy’s hotel and rode the elevator up to the club. Darcy procured a table and began ordering drinks while Luke immediately pulled me out to dance. “What is up with you? You were unusually quiet during dinner and I sensed some tension between you and the venerable doctor.”
“Nothing’s up with me. I just wasn’t in the mood to spar with Dr. Catherine about my chosen profession or my family.”
“That’s not the doctor I’m talking about. What’s going on with Dr. Darcy? He hasn’t taken his eyes off you all evening.”
“He’s probably disapproving of my table manners. I don’t understand how you can stand dealing with these people every day. Doesn’t it get exhausting, having to be on your best behavior all the time?”
“Hey, for what they’re paying me and all the perks that come with the job, I can be a good boy. Plus, I don’t think they bother me as much as they seem to bother you. Hey, why don’t you sit down, relax a little, sip some of that Cosmo that the doctor ordered for you?”
I felt slightly guilty for being petulant, so I obeyed and sat down next to Darcy and Ed. “Where’s Colin?” I asked by way of greeting.
Ed gestured vaguely toward the bar area where I spotted Colin animatedly talking to a good-looking, if slightly bored, man. I was impressed that Colin was so bold, especially since Luke had described him as being so closeted. I was in the process of sipping my Cosmo when Ed asked Darcy, “What are your plans for the holidays? Will you be in the city again?”
Darcy sipped his whiskey. “Aunt Catherine expects us for Christmas dinner, of course, but I am on-call New Year’s Eve. I believe Ana is planning on driving up to Vermont with her friends. If you’re free, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you joined them.”
Ed cleared his throat. “I know you don’t think much of my social life, Will, but I’d hardly think a thirty-something man is appropriate company for a bunch of college girls.”
“On the contrary, I’d feel much more assured if you were there to chaperone. As much as I love my sister, you and I both know that her judgment can be, at times, flawed.” There was a sudden, inexplicable tension at Darcy’s last statement.
“Still, I don’t think your sister would appreciate a brother figure playing babysitter.”
“Perhaps not, but I had to try.” Suddenly, Darcy fished his phone out of his pocket and checke
d the readout. “Excuse me, I have to take this call.” As he walked away, I could hear him bark, “What? Dr. Hart is on-call, you realize.”
“No rest for the weary,” Ed murmured to no one in particular. “Your friend seems to have found a friend of his own,” He gestured to Luke, who was dancing rather suggestively with an attractive man. I didn’t reply, a bittersweet feeling washing through me. At my silence, Ed clarified, “You and he are just friends, right?”
“Yes, of course. I thought we made that clear.”
“You just had a strange expression on your face just now. Sort of sad.”
“Luke and I grew up together. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that he’s finally able to be himself here and feel accepted but…”
“You miss him?”
“I do. He’s moved into another phase in his life. I’d be incredibly selfish if I begrudged him that.”
“I guess I know what you mean. Take my friendship with Will. We’ve known each other since prep school, kept in touch when he went to Princeton and I went to West Point, moved hundreds of miles away. We’ve known each other nearly twenty years and I still feel as if I could rely on him about anything. It’ll be the same way with you and Luke. The circumstances and distance may change the dynamic of your relationship, but you and Luke will always be friends.”
“Those are some wise words from someone who can’t be more than half a dozen years older than me.” I drained my Cosmo, weighed my next words carefully. “Let me ask you something and feel free to tell me if I’m out of line.”
“All right.”
“How is it that you and Darcy are such good friends? He’s so pompous and arrogant and full of himself…”
Ed began to laugh. “I know he seems that way but you don’t know him like I do. What you see and what he presents to the world, that’s his armor. He acts like an insufferable know-it-all when he feels uncomfortable.”
“Well, he must feel incredibly uncomfortable around me because he’s definitely insufferable when I work with him.”
He chuckled. “Will is actually a really good guy. I know you don’t think much of him, but it’s because you don’t know him well. He has his professional persona which, I admit, probably leaves much to be desired by his co-workers, but when it comes to his friends and family, you’ll find no one more loyal. He’s fiercely protective of the people he cares about.”
“Oh, really?”
“You probably won’t believe it, but he dotes on his sister, Ana. He practically had to raise her himself after their parents died, part of the reason why he is the way he is, I guess, elder son, grown up too quickly. She, uh, had a rough time about a year ago, and he did everything he could to help her out and help her get back on her feet.”
From his tone, I could tell that he wasn’t talking about some unpaid parking tickets. “What happened?”
For a moment, a dark look crossed his face. “It’s not my place to tell. I’m just saying that Will protects his friends and family. It’s why I could never….” He stopped himself and suddenly looked embarrassed.
“What?”
“Nothing. That was stupid of me.”
I searched his face and realization dawned. I glanced around, made sure that Darcy was still out of earshot. “You’re in love with Ana, aren’t you?”
His face bloomed beet red. “Don’t tell Will. I’d never act on it. She’s far too young for me and she’s practically my adopted sister and I live in North Carolina and after all she’s been through…please. Don’t say anything.”
“I promise. I won’t say anything. It’s not like Darcy and I are exactly best buddies anyway.”
He seemed mildly relieved and attempted to change the subject. “Okay, here’s another example. Just recently, he got his friend Charles that appointment at Princeton.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Well, did you also know that he did that to prevent his friend from committing to an imprudent relationship?”
My head whipped around to face him head-on. “What?”
“Yes, apparently Charles had gotten involved with some woman after his money. She had a child from a previous relationship and was pushing him towards marriage. Will intervened, told Charles what a bad idea it was, how the woman didn’t really care about him, that she was probably only after him for his money, how her family was unsuitable.”
“Unsuitable?”
“Something about the mother, I didn’t really get the full story. Anyway, from my perspective, he did Charles a huge favor.”
My heart threatened to pound right out of my chest. “So Darcy broke them up?”
“Yes. And then there was someone else. He didn’t specify exactly who it was but…you see, there was someone who used to be very close to us, to the family. An acquaintance of Will’s inadvertently became involved with this man and Will even went so far as to pay the man to leave her alone.” At first I didn’t comprehend him but then I knew he could only be talking about George Wickham. Which meant that the girl he was talking about was me.
Ed must have seen my expression because his tone became concerned. “Are you okay? You’re very flushed right now.”
After the realization hit me that Darcy had been the one to break up Jane and Charles, that Darcy had been responsible for making George leave me without a word, I couldn’t breathe. Ed immediately became concerned. “Lizzy, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
I pushed him away. My head was spinning and the contents of my last drink threatened to make an appearance all over Ed’s shoes. “I just need some air,” I managed to gasp out. I inelegantly stumbled away towards the exit, my lungs craving fresher air and distance from the noise and crowd.
Just as escape seemed possible, I felt a hand grab my arm. I whirled and was surprised to see that it was Darcy who’d stayed me. “Are you all right? I saw you running out just now.”
“No, I’m not all right. Just leave me alone.”
“If you’re not feeling well, maybe you should sit down. You’re looking pale.”
“Why do you care whether I’m feeling well or not?”
I made to move away but Darcy’s hand remained on my arm. “What do you mean by that?”
“Forget it. I just need some air.”
“No, tell me.” Darcy’s eyes bore into mine and his hand on my arm felt like a vise. I snatched my arm away and subconsciously rubbed where he’d held me. Instead of giving me the space I desperately wanted, he stepped towards me.
His proximity put me even more on edge. “You have some nerve. You know exactly what I’m talking about. I just got finished talking with Ed about how you ‘saved’ your friend from an ‘imprudent relationship,’ I think he called it. How can you stand there and pretend that you had nothing to do with Jane and Charlie’s breakup?”
Darcy’s expression became stony. “I did nothing but look out for the best interests of my friend.”
“Jane is the sweetest, kindest person in the world and you painted her as some kind of gold digger. Yes, she has a daughter. Yes, she’s not exactly rich. But to make Charlie believe that she was with him merely to trap him into marriage…”
“Charles is trusting and kind. He has been taken advantage of many times in the past. Your sister expressed no strong feelings towards him and yet he started talking about marriage after knowing her for only two months. What was I supposed to think when a single mother with no strong attachment to my friend was pressing marriage to him?”
“My sister never mentioned any intentions of marrying Charlie. She never would have been so presumptuous. God, when she was pregnant with Chloe she didn’t even talk about marriage to Chloe’s father.”
“Maybe she doesn’t tell you everything.”
“You’re right, maybe she doesn’t, but I do know my sister, and I know that she never would have pressured any man into marriage with her for the sake of money or providing Chloe with a father figure. Jane is way too independent for that.�
�
“You admitted that she depends on you to help her with her daughter.”
“Yes, she does, but I do that out of my own choice. I was the one who suggested we move in together. I was the one who offered to help with her day care. How dare you suggest that she would take advantage of me or anybody else when you don’t know the first thing about her, or me?”
Darcy had no reply but he remained close enough for me to have to tilt my head up to face him, for me to smell the faint scent of whiskey on his breath. “Well, I guess I have my answer, then.”
“What answer?” Something in his eyes had my heart pounding again and the combination with the alcohol in my system made me slightly lightheaded.
“The answer to this.”
And before I knew it, he was kissing me, his mouth ravaging mine in a kiss that shattered me. I’d had no defense, I’d had no warning. His arms had come around me, his fingers twined into my hair, his lips leaving mine to nip at my ear and trail down my throat. It was a moment before I realized that I was kissing him back fervently and that my own hands had sneaked under his jacket to feel the hard planes of his back and shoulders.
At the moment of realization, I gasped and broke free, my hands coming up between us to push us apart. Astonished, ashamed of my response, I directed my anger towards myself back at him and slapped him.
The sting in my hand was nothing compared to the shock in Darcy’s face. For a moment I could do nothing but stare at the reddened slash across his cheek. Then I let my instincts take over and I ran.
~
I was halfway back to the apartment by the time Darcy caught up with me. “Look, I’m sorry. I was out of line.”
“Yes, you were out of line. What the hell was that? First my sister isn’t good enough for your friend, my family isn’t good enough to associate with, but somehow that translates into it being okay for you to kiss me? You’ve got some nerve to think I’d get involved with you after what you’ve done to my sister.”
Darcy had no response at first, but then he started speaking so fast, I almost couldn’t understand him. “Lizzy Bennett, I’m in love with you. I know it’s crazy and we hardly know each other but I’m in love with you. I want to spend time with you. I want to get to know you, to know what your favorite book is or your favorite movie, where you like to go hiking or running. How you got that little scar above your left eyebrow. I want to know how you decided to become a nurse, how you came to know so much about music. Lately, every day I go to work I hope to see you, talk to you, even if it’s only about the patients.” He took a breath, continued. “I’ve been spending the past few months trying to convince myself that this would be a mistake. I mean, I’d be going against the advice of my colleagues, my friends, my own better judgment, but, yes, despite my reservations about your family and our professional relationship, I want to be with you. I came here this weekend to be with you.”
