by Sara Marks
Wil’s ears turned red, and his jaw clenched.
“Is that all?” Wil said.
“Isn’t that enough? Nothing you say could ever convince me that you love me or that I could return those feelings.”
“You have made everything perfectly clear. I am sorry to bother you.”
The two of them stood facing each other, fuming, until Wil left the cottage without another word.
Charlotte came back to the cottage alone about thirty minutes later. Lizbeth had been talking to herself and pacing around the house.
“Lizbeth?” Charlotte called when she walked in the door.
“Do you know what William Darcy did?” Lizbeth said from the kitchen, where she was aggressively cleaning up her breakfast.
“I don’t know exactly what he did, but based on what I saw when he returned with a brand new bright red palm print across his face... well, I have theories.”
“He told me he was in love with me and kissed me!”
Lizbeth threw a sponge into the sink as she said this.
“I KNEW IT!”
“What?”
“I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! I knew he was in love with you!”
Lizbeth stood there looking at her friend.
“Is that who you meant when you said someone was crazy about me?”
“Lizbeth, there’s no point telling you what you don’t want to see. He’s been in love with you since... well, at least since Halloween, but probably sooner,” Charlotte said, walking into the kitchen.
“Does everyone already know this but me?”
“Everyone who pays attention. Jane certainly does, and I suspect Caroline does as well. Chris, Anne, and Katherine probably knew it as soon as you got to the house this weekend. That’s why Katherine has been trying to take you down a peg. This morning she didn’t shut up about how amazing Caroline is. She was going on about it when we got to breakfast. It was weird when we got there: Wil was fighting with Katherine, he looked like he didn’t sleep, and everyone seemed anxious. When you didn’t show up with us, Wil just left. When he came back it was clear he was not happy and that someone had slapped him.”
“What did he say when he got back to the house?”
“Nothing, he went right up to his room. He was muttering something and Chris followed him. Katherine was not pleased and said she hoped the departure of all this company would allow things to get back to normal.”
Lizbeth took a deep breath. Talking about it with Charlotte only made her more confused.
“You really knew how he felt? How did I miss it?”
“The same way you missed how I decided against graduate school. The same way you miss noticing the good things Marie and Lydia do. The same way you miss that Jane and Charlie weren’t clicking. Sometimes you don’t see what’s in front of your face and sometimes you misunderstand what you do see. Wil’s an introvert with social anxiety and you’re an extrovert. The more I saw him, the more I understood why you seemed aggressive to him.”
“He doesn’t have social anxiety issues.”
“How would you know?”
“He goes to parties all the time.”
“He’s clearly dragged to parties by his extroverted best friend. What was he like when you were working on that French project at the townhouse?”
“The same as he always is. He would sit in the main room and work on his own stuff, ignoring us.”
“Did you ever consider that he wanted to be where you were?”
“He was never around me.”
“He’s usually around you. He looks for you at parties. He probably has no idea how to deal with an extrovert who isn’t the center of attention. Like how he ignores Lydia and lets others give Charlie the attention he needs. You aren’t like that. You like being around people, without having all eyes on you. Anyone paying attention can see that he worships you and it scares the shit out of him.”
***
Lizbeth enjoyed her belated Thanksgiving with her family. She shared all her stories about Katherine. While her parents were concerned at her being so secretive, this was one time they enjoyed the outcome of these secrets. She slept well that night and was woken up the next morning by her sister, Becca.
“Lizbeth, the most beautiful man has come to see you.”
Lizbeth opened her eyes to see her younger sister leaning over her.
“What?”
“Someone named Wil?” her sister Becca asked.
“Did you not pay attention last night?”
“No. Who is he?”
“The nephew of the woman I spent Thanksgiving with.”
“He’s hot.”
“He’s miserable. Why is he here and what time is it?”
“It’s eight am and he said Charlotte told him to come here to see you. He is looking a bit overwhelmed. Nana is talking to him.”
Lizbeth bolted out of bed. She loved her grandmother, but she didn’t want her talking to Wil. She got dressed as quickly as she could and ran down the stairs to the large entryway of her grandparents’ house. Wil and both her grandparents were standing near the door. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but her grandfather was talking. Wil looked like he hadn’t slept. He was dressed in jeans and a simple white undershirt, his black pea coat, and his black Chucks.
“Oh, Lizbeth, my dear,” her grandmother said when she saw her on the stairs. “This young man came all the way over from Ms. de Bourgh house to see you. It turns out he thought you were staying farther away than the property next door.”
“Wil.”
“Lizbeth.”
“My love,” her grandfather said to her grandmother, “let’s go see what our son-in-law has made for breakfast. I think I smell the British back bacon that we adore.”
Lizbeth waited until her grandparents had walked away to talk to Wil.
“What do you want? Please don’t tell me about how you love me.”
“No, I went to see you at Charlotte’s and she told me you had come here. This is your grandparents’ house?”
“Yes.”
“You live here?”
“No, I visit here.”
“You heard us talking about buying their horses.”
“I heard you talking about buying MY horse.”
“The white mare is yours?”
“Yes, her name is Windfola.”
Wil tilted his head to the side.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” he asked.
“So you could change your opinion of me based on my family’s wealth, connections, and position in society? Why did you come here? What’s so important?”
Wil handed her an envelope.
“You said some very harsh things to me yesterday and I felt the need to illuminate you about things clearly unknown,” Wil said as he handed her the envelope.
He turned around and walked out of the house. Lizbeth stood in the open doorway watching him drive away until he was out of sight.
“He is the one you don’t like?” Becca said from behind Lizbeth.
“No, I don’t like him at all.”
“Pity.”
Lizbeth went back up to her room with the letter. Brunch wouldn’t be ready for a while. She looked at the envelope. It was high-quality stationery. Her name was written on the front of it in neat handwriting. A wax seal held the envelope closed. Lizbeth rolled her eyes as she broke it and pulled out four sheets of paper. The letter was written in the same immaculate handwriting and each page was filled on both sides, all the way to the edges. Lizbeth felt overwhelmed at the idea of reading all of it. She was not going to let Wil ruin her morning with her family, so she put it down and started to leave the room. She got to the door, but went back to her bed and picked up the letter again. She didn’t put it down until she was done.
Lizbeth,
>
I’m sure you put off reading this until you had no other option. I assure you, I will not be reasserting my feelings for you or expecting any response from you after you have read this letter. Two of the charges you laid at my feet have left me feeling a need to give you a fuller picture of what has happened.
My friendship with Charlie has been an important one for the last few years, since my father passed away. He has always accepted me as I am--flaws and all. What I value in him is also his flaw. He sees the best in everyone and can’t conceive that anyone could have harmful motives. He is inclined to trust without discrimination. He has been hoping to fall in love. His wealth and nature make him an easy target for manipulative women. I promised Caroline that I would make sure nobody took advantage of him this year. I knew of Charlie’s feelings for Jane almost as soon as they met. It was the sincerity of Jane’s feelings for Charlie that remained unclear. The more I saw them together, the more I felt the intensity of his feelings far outweighed those of your friend. Her reluctance to spend time with him or to speak her feelings convinced me she wasn’t as attached to him as he believed her to be or as others, specifically your housemother and Lydia, communicated them to be. I can admit that the behavior of people surrounding Jane did not improve my impression of her and the company she keeps. For example, your housemother’s inexplicable presence at the Halloween party. I know she is expected to be at sorority parties and events. The audacity of the woman to show up at our home for a personal party was irritating. What was unforgivable was her getting drunk and making a scene. What called Jane’s motivation into question was Mrs. Collin’s proclamation about how she had successfully helped Jane secure a rich husband. Both Caroline and I became concerned at that point. I encouraged Charlie to take a step back from his relationship with Jane, and to focus on his school work. Caroline promised she would speak to Jane personally. We agreed to stop spending time with our fraternity. If I wounded Jane’s feelings because of my actions, it was unknowingly done. Still, I do not regret looking out for my friend, as you do for yours.
As for Jorge, I have no regrets at all for the way I have treated him. While I do not know the specific charges he has laid against me, I believe Jorge has misled you on a number of important points. Yes, it is true that we grew up together, and my father loved Jorge as he loved my sister Ginny and me. My father passed away when I was eighteen, Jorge was twenty-one, and Ginny was fourteen. In his will, my father created a trust, of which my uncle, my mother’s older brother, was executor. The trust provided for Jorge’s final year at the school of his choice. My uncle gave Jorge the option to take one lump sum or to leave the money in trust with an allowance and bills paid directly from it. Jorge chose to take the lump sum and it was gone before the year was over. He had withdrawn from all his classes and dropped out. My uncle quickly lost track of him.
My sister continued to live in Manhattan to attend school. My uncle hired someone to live with Ginny since I was at school at Tulane. Ginny insisted she didn’t need me to transfer to a closer school. I wanted to allow her the chance to learn independence and how to take care of herself. Approximately this time last year I learned that my geographical distance had allowed Jorge to make my sister’s portion of my family’s estate, the object of his desire. He had moved into our apartment when he needed a place to live. I came home early from school at the end of the fall semester that year. I wanted to surprise my sister with a trip for the holidays. I found that Jorge had taken out many credit cards in her name, maxed out the cards’ limits, and thus ruined her credit. She might be able to rebuild that, but it has shaken her trust, especially in men. I quickly arranged for Ginny to go to a boarding school closer to me and promised that I would transfer to a university closer to her. This is how I came to a new university in my senior year. I felt very fortunate to have Charlie’s friendship, as he agreed to transfer with me without hesitation.
We learned Ginny wasn’t the first and probably won’t be the last young woman Jorge has taken advantage of. He doesn’t limit himself to young woman. We have found middle-aged and older women that he has manipulated. He has convinced women to give him money from their savings, in addition to maxing out their credit cards for him, and taken out credit cards in their names. I encourage you to check your credit, just to be safe. My family can afford to hire lawyers to help my sister. I can only imagine the difficulty it has caused the other women. When I saw him here at our university, I promptly contacted our private detective who was working with the police both there and in New York to arrest him.
Lizbeth, this is the truth, and nothing but the truth, as to why I have no love for Jorge and why I involved myself in Charlie’s love life. I promise you I have not withheld anything. I know you may wonder why I didn’t tell you this the other morning. Honestly, I didn’t trust myself or feel I had the clarity of mind to be anything but angry. Still, if you think I’m still being biased and unfair, you can confirm all of this with Chris. He knows of everything that happened with Jorge, and, as you clearly already know, I told him what happened with Charlie. I will end this letter here as I must deliver it to you. I will not bother you again. You will not see me on campus. Good luck with the rest of your year and with your thesis.
William Darcy
December
Lizbeth got back to school Sunday afternoon. She was surprised to find Lydia and Mrs. C at the house. Mrs. C was walking around, anxiously putting things in their proper place. Lydia followed Lizbeth up to the bedrooms, chattering about how bored she had been.
“Jorge came looking for you,” Lydia told her as Lizbeth unpacked her bags. “We invited him to join us for Thanksgiving.”
“What do you mean Jorge came looking for me? Why were you here? I thought Mrs. C was with one of her kids?” Lizbeth asked.
“He came by the house and said he was looking for you.”
Lizbeth didn’t understand why he would have done that. She hadn’t heard from him since Halloween. She hadn’t gotten an explanation for his absence at the party.
“Did he explain why he thought I’d be at the house on Thanksgiving weekend?” Lizbeth asked.
“No, Mrs. C and I were just happy to have some extra company,” Lydia said bouncing on Jane’s bed.
“I thought you were going home?”
“My father had a last-minute business trip to London, and my mother went with him. They couldn’t afford to take me too.”
Lydia’s family was not wealthy. Even Lizbeth would need her parents help to fly to London on short notice. She and Jane had been saving money all semester for their spring-break trip to Paris.
“I wish you had said something. I know my family is a little non-traditional about Thanksgiving, but you could have come with me to see Charlotte,” Lizbeth said.
“Deal with Colin Collins? I’d rather be with his mother. She’s much better company and willing to do all the work. Plus, she doesn’t try to control me like you do.”
Lizbeth was taken aback. Lydia had never been so nasty to her. She decided that she wouldn’t say anything more about this or about Jorge. She didn’t feel comfortable telling Lydia the details of anything she had learned over the holiday.
“You are going home for Christmas break though?” Lizbeth asked.
“I’m going to Mexico! My parents will be traveling over the whole break so I’m going with some friends. We are going to lay on the sand and drink an obscene number of margaritas!”
Lizbeth stopped what she was doing and looked at Lydia.
“Do you really think it is a good idea? Can you afford it? If you want, you can come out and stay with my family while we are in NYC.”
“Warm, sunny Mexico or cold, bleak, New York City? Lizbeth, really, it’s like you have no idea what fun is. Plus, it’s not like we’re friends and would bond together. You just don’t want me to embarrass the sorority or some crap like that.”
“How can you afford the tri
p? I’m offering you a free place to stay, a chef who will cook for you, and the one city everyone seems to want to be in for New Year’s Eve. Maybe, if you came, we could bond and become better friends.”
“Why do you care so much?”
Lizbeth hadn’t figured out a kind way to tell Lydia she was an embarrassment and needed some better influences. Lydia walked away when Lizbeth wouldn’t answer. Lizbeth went back to thinking about her family’s reaction to Wil’s arrival at their home.
“He is quite an attractive young man,” her grandmother said. “Too bad that awful woman is related to him.”
They had kept asking questions until she left the table and went for a walk, still holding the letter as she headed for the stables. She sat with the horses, brushed them, fed them treats, and read the letter again. First her thoughts dwelled on Jorge. Lizbeth tried to put his behavior into context, but in the end merely felt like a fool.
She got angry again when she thought about Wil’s role in splitting up Charlie and Jane. Yes, his reasons made sense. She kept her family’s affluence secret to avoid being used by others. Lizbeth and Charlotte had commented on Jane’s conservative approach to this relationship; Jane had shown less interest in other men, but had moved faster. The behavior of their sorority sisters was often inappropriate. Lydia was constantly making herself the center of attention, drinking excessively, and throwing herself at men. Wil had seen a lot of that at parties. He was right about Mrs. C. Her behavior was something Marie had wanted to report to the sorority’s national office. Lizbeth had heard Mrs. C take credit for Jane’s relationship with Charlie. For Wil to look out for a friend who had supported him was warmhearted of him. Lizbeth was not use to thinking of Wil so positively. She wished Wil had asked for insight from people who knew Jane best.
