Elizabeth of East Hampton (For the Love of Austen #2)

Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

Lizzy was on the roof outside her bedroom window, halfway through her new book, The Sword of Sin and Sorrow , when she heard the rest of her family get home from Charlie’s. She tried to ignore the drunken giggles and yelling coming from downstairs, but after restarting the same paragraph four times, she realized it was hopeless.

She dog-eared the page and rested the book on her stomach, listening to the muffled conversations and arguments happening beyond her bedroom. Closing the window might offer her a reprieve, but that would mean getting up and disturbing the rare peace she found out here. Besides, she knew she’d have a visitor soon who would do it for her anyway.

Sure enough, she heard the familiar knock a few moments later. Lizzy copied it against the windowsill, and then Jane appeared in her doorway.

“I didn’t know if you’d still be awake,” she said, making her way to the open window. She stepped through, then scooted over to her usual spot beside Lizzy.

They both stared up at the dark sky, ignoring the sounds of Lydia bounding upstairs, yelling down to Kitty about profile views. Once Lydia’s bedroom door slammed shut, Jane nodded to the book still resting on Lizzy’s stomach.

“What do you think?” she asked.

Lizzy sighed dramatically. “Well, they just made it to the inn where there’s only one room available and that room only has one bed, so we’ll have to wait and see.”

Jane laughed softly. The sound faded and was soon replaced by the chirping of crickets in the trees and muffled conversations still happening inside the house.

“How was the rest of the party?” Lizzy asked, staring up at the stars.

“Good.”

A lopsided grin pulled at her lips as she turned to look at Jane. “Couldn’t have been that good if you’re home right now.”

Her sister’s profile was a silhouette against the darkness, but Lizzy could still see her smile falter.

“What is it?” Lizzy asked, suddenly concerned.

Jane released a long breath. “We were on the beach, and Charlie said he wanted to take me away on a romantic weekend. He was asking me if I’ve ever been to Paris or Rome just as the fireworks started and it was all so perfect…” Her voice stuttered, then came back in a whisper. “Then he told me he loved me.”

Lizzy sat up with a jolt. “Oh my God. That’s amazing!”

Jane nodded slowly. “Yeah. It’s amazing.”

“Okay… why don’t I believe you?”

Her sister finally turned to her, her eyes lined with tears. “I didn’t say it back.”

An ache shot through Lizzy’s chest as she reached over and took Jane’s hand, squeezing it gently. “That’s okay. You’re not obligated to love him just because he loves you.”

“But that’s the thing. I do .” Jane’s voice was suddenly earnest, almost panicked. “And I wanted to say it back. He was looking at me, and the words were right there. I was just…” She swallowed, waiting a moment. “I didn’t expect it. I just froze, Lizzy. And then…” Jane hesitated for what seemed like an eternity, then covered her eyes with her hands. “I panicked and told him I had to pee and ran back into the house!”

Oh God .

“I’m sure he understands, Jane,” Lizzy said after a moment. “It’s a big step. You were just caught off guard.” After all, Lizzy thought to herself, this was Jane’s first serious relationship. Maybe… her first real relationship. A little grace was important.

“I know,” Jane replied, then gave her a watery smile. “But the look on Charlie’s face tonight when I didn’t say anything… then I left him there…” Jane shook her head, small, jerky movements. “I feel so awful.”

“So call him and tell him now.”

“Right.” Jane threw her sister a cynical expression even as a small smile teased her lips. “Just call him up and say ‘Hey, sorry I left you hanging earlier, but I love you, too!’?”

“Why not?”

Jane let out a soft laugh. “I’m not sure that’s the grand gesture that’s going to fix this.”

“So make it a grand gesture,” Lizzy said, nudging her sister with her shoulder. “Plan something super romantic, and then tell him.”

“Just… tell him?”

“Wait until he’s completely entranced by how you tie your shoes or something equally erotic, then say, ‘I’m totally and completely in love with you,’?” Lizzy mimicked Jane’s light and airy voice, then dissolved into laughter.

“I do not sound like that!” Jane said, trying to maintain some level of indignation in her voice, even though she was laughing now, too.

“Yes you do. But don’t worry, he’s ten times worse.”

Jane let her laughter fade before she looked back up at the stars.

“It doesn’t have to be a grand gesture, Jane,” Lizzy added after a moment. “But if you want it to be, then let’s make it happen.”

Jane nodded, though there was still a line of worry between her eyebrows. It was like she was trying to convince herself, too. Another moment passed, then she spoke again. “What about you?”

“What about me?” Lizzy asked.

“You and Tristan.”

“There is no me and Tristan.”

Her sister’s face fell. “No text?”

“Nope.”

“Is that why you left early?”

Lizzy shrugged. “I was just bored.”

“So bored you walked home?” Jane asked, skeptical.

“It’s not that far.”

“Lizzy. Charlie’s is a lot further away than the Lodge.”

“Well, if it makes you feel better, I wasn’t alone.”

Jane blinked. “Someone walked you home?”

“Technically, he didn’t walk .”

“I’m very confused right now.”

You’re not the only one , Lizzy thought. Then she scowled. “Will followed me home in his car. Or Charlie’s car. He was in somebody’s car.”

“Will… Darcy?”

Lizzy nodded.

Jane shook her head slightly, as if it would help organize her thoughts. “Why didn’t he just drive you?”

“Oh, trust me, he tried. Even after I explained to him numerous times that I didn’t want a ride and I was fine to walk. Then he still went and got in his car and drove behind me at like five miles per hour the entire way.”

“Really? How long did that take?”

Lizzy thought for a second. “Probably like forty-five minutes.”

Jane’s eyes widened.

“It’s not like I asked him to!” Lizzy continued, suddenly feeling defensive. “Did Charlie put him up to it or something?”

“Doesn’t sound like he had to.”

Lizzy scrunched up her nose. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Maybe Will was genuinely concerned about you.”

The memory of Will’s face as he stared at her on the front drive, how it changed from annoyance to concern so quickly. How his deep voice softened as he asked, Are you okay?

But Lizzy pushed the thought away. “Or he’s a control freak.”

“Or he’s a good person.”

Tristan’s full account of Will’s moral code was right there on the tip of her tongue, but Lizzy swallowed it down. Telling Jane would mean dissecting it, looking too closely at its motivations, at the men involved. And the last thing she wanted to do was linger too long on the memory of Will Darcy.

“Or he’s a serial killer and I just narrowly escaped death.”

“Or he likes you.”

Something in Lizzy’s stomach tumbled. She ignored it. “I know you and Charlie have been trying to get us together, but it’s not happening. The guy can’t stand me.”

“Isn’t that how all the classic love stories start?”

“This isn’t a classic love story, Jane,” Lizzy groaned. “No one is wandering over the moors at dawn to propose. This is a guy who has never smiled in his life and wears oxford shirts to the Lodge. He’s probably a psychopath.”

Jane sighed, leaning her head on Lizzy’s shoulder. “I can’t see Charlie being best friends with a psychopath.”

Lizzy rested her cheek against the top of Jane’s head. “Whatever. It never would’ve worked anyway.”

“Why not?”

“You know I never get invested in a love story where the main love interest is blond. That’s romance novel 101.”

Jane’s shoulders shook as she laughed. “You’re awful.”

Lizzy shrugged her free shoulder even as she smiled. It wasn’t a lie. But as she stared out at the darkness, at the stars and the dark wisps of clouds overhead, she let herself wonder if it wasn’t exactly the truth, either.