“His will? What kind of problem?”
“Mr. Darcy had left a substantial income from the restaurant to my father, with the stipulation that it would revert to me in the event of my father’s death. Will had his family lawyer, one of the best in the country, had the Coroner state that my father died before Mr. Darcy. That being the case, my father couldn’t inherit since he wasn’t alive to inherit, resulting in my getting nothing. Having been at the reading of the will, I heard how much Will inherited, and let me tell you, anything I would have gotten from the restaurant would have been a drop in the bucket to Will. Here he was, worth millions while I couldn’t even afford to put myself through college now that I no longer had my father to help. I had a little from my dad’s insurance but there were bills to pay and I needed a car to get back and forth to college. Later, I did remind Darcy of his father’s words to us both but he didn’t seem to care. He also didn’t seem to care that I was in this predicament simply because my father had accepted a ride home from his father that night…”
George tailed off, lowering his head to stare at the table. Elizabeth reached out and placed a hand over his. “I really am sorry, George. I never imagined anything like this when I asked.”
He looked up and gave her a brave smile. “During my second year of college he came to his senses and paid something towards my tuition, nothing like what he was lavishing on Richard, but something at least, something to set me on the road to achieving what Mr. Darcy Senior had wanted for me.”
“To be a partner in the firm?”
“Exactly.”
“Well, I can see that didn’t happen.”
“No, it didn’t,” George said, his mouth a thin line. “I asked for summer positions at the firm every year so that I could start learning the ropes, but Darcy refused me every time. He told me I’d never work at that firm, that he didn’t care about his father’s wishes.”
“That’s horrible! After everything you did for him, after all the times you’d been there for him!”
“I know, right, but it gets even worse. He cut me out of his life altogether and when the meagre sum he’d given me ran out, I couldn’t continue to study law. My future was ruined. It was over for me. He’d taken everything from me and left me with nothing.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “Wow, I don’t even know what to say. I knew right away when I first encountered him that he isn’t the man everyone believes him to be, but I never thought…”
She was unable to finish, couldn’t quite find the words to express her disgust and hatred of the supposedly fine, upstanding man who ran one of the biggest, most trusted law firms in the state.
“I know, Lizzy, and believe me, I only told you because I wanted to warn you. Try to stay away from him if possible; he ruins lives at the drop of a hat. Anyway, enough about him. We should be getting back to work.”
“Oh yes, yes, we should. I hadn’t realized the time! Thanks for lunch, George, and thanks for sharing with me. I know it was hard for you, but you’re doing fine without him so I won’t say anymore. It was fun meeting everyone. Maybe I won’t feel so much like the new girl from now on.”
Chapter Twenty-One
“Well, thank you very much for your time, Miss Bennet. It’s been invaluable as always.”
“No problem at all, Mr. Collins. Thank you for your business, and please call me Elizabeth.”
“Elizabeth, such a beautiful name for a beautiful girl.”
Elizabeth smiled a tight smile. “Thank you, but I can assure you the compliments aren’t necessary. You’ll receive the firm’s best attention regardless.”
Mr. Collins chortled. “I realize that, but I can’t help the compliments; they come naturally to me around you.”
She ushered him out the door as quickly as she could. When she finally managed to close it behind her, she rested her back against it and breathed a sigh of relief. Mr. Collins was always polite, but she couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable when she was alone in the office with him during the interviews. She couldn’t quite put her finger on why, apart from the obvious fact that he’d taken a liking to her and always tried to flirt a little on his departure. She dreaded these meetings but there was no way she could do anything to jeopardize this job. He would ask questions about her school, what her father did for a living… the sort of personal things she really didn’t want to share. She just had to be polite while being as vague as she possibly could, trying to remain distant. The last thing she wanted to do was encourage him!
The rest of her day was hectic as always and as she made the journey home, all she could think about was changing out of her work outfit and relaxing in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt for a while. She had some studying to do, too, but it could wait until after dinner. She was ravenous. Whose car was that parked in front of their house?
She walked into the living room to greet her parents, stopping in her tracks when sitting there was none other than Mr. Collins. “Oh…um... hello, Mr. Collins. This is a bit of a surprise.”
“Lizzy, darling,” Mr. Bennet said. “Do you two know each other?”
“Yes,” she answered, composing herself and moving forward to shake Mr. Collins’ hand with a smile on her face. “He’s a client from work.”
“How fortunate is that, and such a wonderful man, too!” Mrs. Bennet said. “It turns out that he and your father went to the same college. He dropped by to discuss alumni business. Wasn’t that nice of him?”
“Yes,” Elizabeth agreed, although she wasn’t sure if she should think so or not. She really hoped his reasons were genuine. She would give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that her being the daughter of an old college acquaintance was as much a surprise to him as it was to her. Though if memory served… he had asked if she was attending the same college as her father had…
“So what’s the alumni business, Dad, anything interesting?”
“Mrs. Bennet, I really must compliment you on these cookies. Did you bake them yourself?”
Mrs. Bennet beamed. “I did! My secret is a little special ingredient or two. Can’t tell you them though,” she added, tapping the side of her nose.
“I thought so. They’re…unique to say the least. Maybe I can charm you into giving me the recipe.” He winked at Mrs. Bennet and she tittered while Elizabeth shuddered.
“Please have another,” Mrs. Bennet said, pushing the plate towards him. “Or maybe, when I think about it clearly, you’d like to stay for dinner instead? It’s almost ready and I’ve added my own special twist to it too!”
“I’m sure Mr. Collins is a busy man, Mom,” Elizabeth cut in. “Far better things to do with his time than hang around here with us.”
“I didn’t have any dinner plans at all, but I was wondering if Elizabeth here would like to accompany me to a restaurant.”
“Oh, no, I–”
Mrs. Bennet clapped her hands together in delight. There was nothing she liked better than a romance playing out in real-life, even if they were never quite as exciting as on her programs. “I think that’s a marvelous idea, don’t you, dear?”
Lizzy noticed the familiar mischievous gleam in her father’s eyes. “You’ve been working so hard recently, it might be nice to go out and be spoiled for a change.”
Elizabeth looked at her parents with growing horror, realizing that Mr. Collins had wormed his way into her mother’s good book and her father’s rascally one. The devious Mr. Collins!
“Lizzy,” her mother added, “Did you know, Mr. Collins works for Catherine de Bourgh. The Catherine de Bourgh!”
Who that ever met the man didn’t know!?! Lizzy smiled and answered with a firm tone. “Yes, he did mention that a time or two. And, I’m sorry but no, I can’t accept the invitation, Mr. Collins. Thanks for the offer, but I’ve got a lot of studying to do and need to get started on it straight away. I won’t have time to eat dinner at all. I’ll see you at the next scheduled appointment, Mr. Collins.”
She walked calmly out of the room but
as soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs, she made a dash for the sanctuary of her room. That was a close one! She wondered if she was being unfair thinking that he might have an alternative motive for being here. Perhaps the alumni business was genuine but it seemed like a huge coincidence, possibly too big. She sincerely hoped it wasn’t going to cause a problem at work; she’d had enough trouble getting the position in the first place. Thank goodness that it would be a month before she needed to meet with him again.
******
“That new bikini of yours would look much better on me!”
“Baloney! You don’t have enough up top to fill it.”
“Better than having too much on the bottom to fit into it.”
“I do not!”
“Girls, please,” Mrs. Bennet cried from the front seat of the car. “Stop bickering in the back. It was good of Charles to invite us all to this pool party so can we try and behave while we’re there?”
Sitting behind her parents in the seven-seat SUV with her exuberant and excited sisters, Elizabeth resisted the temptation to request the same of her mother. She’d had a sensible and calm morning, which Elizabeth knew maybe didn’t bode so well for the rest of the day. Her mother’s moods could shift at the drop of a hat. She was only really going along to this for Jane’s sake. This was the first time that her family was going to be introduced to Charles’ family, two sisters, and a brother-in-law. She was hoping that at least she could make a good impression as she had a feeling the other women might not give that point as much consideration as it deserved. She was glad that Jane would already be there, invited to come early and be by Charles’ side to greet the guests and be introduced to everyone as they arrived. She would be worried sick if she could see how enthusiastic her two youngest sisters already were.
“Besides, there will be a lot of influential people at this party,” Mrs. Bennet continued. “You could all grab the attention of an important young man.”
“By important, do you mean rich, Mom?” Kitty asked before she and Lydia dissolved into helpless giggles.
“Well, either or will do nicely,” Mrs. Bennet answered with a breezy wave of her hand, “but it’s always about connections. That’s what you’re looking for today.”
“I thought we were here to have fun,” Lydia pouted.
“Fun!” Mary sniped from the back row of seats. “What on earth could be fun about everyone wanting to show off their bodies in skimpy swimsuits and cavorting around in the water? I don’t see why I had to come at all. Why did you have to drag me to this, Mom?”
“You’re all here to meet Charles and his family,” Elizabeth reminded them. “So try to think of Jane now and again and concentrate on the impression you’re making on the Bingleys before anything else. Besides, I’m not sure this will be the type of party you’re expecting. Just follow everyone else’s lead before you do anything rash.”
Her tone was sharper than she’d intended and the two girls pouted at her. “Sorry. I’m not saying don’t have fun, but let’s try to keep everything reined in a bit, okay?”
Her sisters soon got over their mood and chattered again for the rest of the journey. Elizabeth herself wasn’t sure how she felt about the upcoming afternoon. She was looking forward to seeing Charles again and if he were anything to go by then his two sisters would be easy going and good company. She wasn’t really one for parading around in a skimpy swimsuit among strangers, but she assumed that a pool party at a prestigious lawyer’s house would be different from all the wild college pool parties she’d attended or heard about. She was hoping that actually using the pool wasn’t obligatory. What was worrying her most was that there was every chance that as his business partner and friend, Darcy, would be in attendance. She certainly didn’t want to see him again in a hurry and was concerned that her run away mouth wouldn’t be able to keep shut around him. Being rude to her was one thing – that she could probably overlook – but the way he’d treated his best friend was shocking. She had a good mind to out him in front of all his colleagues and clients!
No, absolutely not, she scolded herself. She reminded herself that it was none of her business and that whatever George had told her, he’d done so in confidence. She couldn’t break that trust, not when she was just starting to make friends. Besides, what sort of lawyer would she make if she couldn’t hold her tongue! The only thing to do was make sure she avoided him and didn’t give him the chance to wind her up and make her mad. There would be masses of people there so it should be pretty simple.
They were shown through the impressive house to the back patio by a member of staff. Kitty and Lydia immediately ran off to the pool house to change into their bikinis. Lizzy tried to grab them to stop them but they were too fast. She wasn’t going to make a scene by chasing after them.
“Did you see those works of art in the hallway, and look at the number of caterers and the platters they’re carrying,” Mrs. Bennet cried. “He must be even richer than I thought to host this event.”
Elizabeth cringed as a few people within earshot turned to look at them. “Keep it down, Mom. Remember we’re trying to make a good impression.”
“Oh, Lizzy! The rich only buy such pieces so that others will admire them,” her Mom said with a giggle. “Where’s my darling Jane? Oh look, there she is!”
As she swept off, greeting Jane with loud enthusiasm, Mr. Bennet gave Lizzy a wry smile. “I’d best pay my regards to Charles, then I think I’ll go and find a quiet corner to stand in.”
“We’d be better digging a hole to crawl into, but a quiet corner is better than nothing I guess.”
“Now, now, Lizzy. No need to despair so soon; she’s just excited, that’s all. She’ll settle down. Everything’ll be fine.”
Just at that moment, Lydia and Kitty exploded from the pool house in their tiny bikinis, squealing and giggling, running through the crowds of sedate people and leaping into the pool hand in hand, emerging from beneath the water laughing loudly. No one else was in the pool, not a single other person even wearing a swimsuit. Mr. Bennet took one look at Lizzy’s mortified face and hurried off.
“What an embarrassment!” Mary huffed. “Come and find me when you’re ready to go or get thrown off the premises. I’ll be sitting somewhere quiet with my kindle.”
“You didn’t bring a kindle to a party! Mary, that’s really rude. You…”
It was no use. Mary was gone.
Left standing alone, Lizzy closed her eyes for a few seconds, taking deep breaths to calm herself. She could feel eyes on her but she tried to ignore them. She seriously thought about turning around and leaving. It was tempting, but Jane would be disappointed if she thought she hadn’t even come. This was the first event they were more or less hosting as a couple and Lizzy had promised her a little moral support for a while. She decided she should greet them both, meet Charles’ sisters then with duty done, she could maybe gather up her slightly crazy family and usher them out as soon as possible before they did any more damage.
She scanned the crowd of dignified people standing around, many with champagne flutes or cocktail glasses in hand. The women were mostly dressed in sundresses or light, cotton outfits, managing to look cool and carefree while still retaining a degree of classiness and decorum. The men were mostly wearing chinos and short-sleeved shirts, a few buttons open at the neck to get away from the stuffiness of collar and tie that they probably wore all week. She glanced at her own outfit, deciding she fit in well enough although it didn’t sport the designer label that she suspected many of the creations here today might display. She wished she could say the same for the white harem pants and off the shoulder gypsy blouse her mother had paired with a black and white paisley bandana for the occasion but never mind; her mom would always just be Mom and Charles must be used to her by now.
She spotted Jane leading her mother over to a group of women of similar age and introducing them. She looked for Charles, thinking it was a perfect moment to greet him and thank him for the invi
tation. However, it was another man that caught her eye, standing a head above the others. Mr. Darcy! Her heart sank. Logically, she’d known he would be here but she’d still hoped that perhaps he’d been unavoidably detained by an important case or client, or had better things to do, maybe even drowned in the pool for all she cared, anything so she didn’t have to face him. But no, there he was, and he was standing with Charles, two women, a younger girl, and another man that Elizabeth didn’t recognize. She weighed up the pros and cons and decided to bite the bullet. She could greet Charles and practically ignore Darcy if he was even mentioned, just as he’d done to her twice now. Maybe he’d do her a favor and walk away again. She took one last deep breath and placed a sweet smile on her face as she approached.
“Charles, so nice to see you. Thank you for inviting us all to your beautiful home.”
“Miss Bennet, Elizabeth, lovely of you to come. It’s a pleasure to see you again, you and your family of course. I see your sisters are enjoying themselves.”
Elizabeth glanced over to where Lydia and Kitty had quickly convinced some of the younger attendees to join them for a game of Marco Polo. It was getting a little rowdy, but they didn’t seem to be doing any harm. Those who didn’t want to have their designer clothing and shoes splashed had moved further away from the pool. She shook her head but couldn’t help but smile. Trust them to liven things up. “Yes, they seem to be.”
Legally Darcy: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice Page 10
