Chapter 7
Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, Kitty, Riley, and Wickham all watched with attentive interest. Mary and her boyfriend Frank also showed up at the last minute.
The play was actually a bit of fun, reviewing how Lizzy and I met with surprising accuracy, minus the actual dialogue, that is.
I wasn’t much of an actor, but the others more than made up for my grimaces and stoic lines.
Then again, the script seemed to be written for it, so I wasn’t sure how to feel when Lydia winked at me from the side and whispered, “You’re doing great. ”
Then we came to the part in the gnome’s tent when he’d assumed Lizzy and I were a couple coming to get our love fortunes told. Mine and Lizzy’s first kiss. I frowned. That was in here?
Lizzy blushed fiercely as she also realized where this was headed.
Back then, Charles had teased me about how, after all those women throwing themselves at me because of my position, I’d finally found one who couldn’t stand the thought of kissing me. The idea that she might still feel that way made my heart sink.
I looked at Lizzy. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Hey, that’s not in the script,” Lydia whispered.
Lizzy bit her lip but stepped toward me, much like she had in that moment in the gnome’s tent all those months ago. At the time, she’d had to so we could try breaking the spell that linked us together, but now there was nothing forcing her hand.
“It’s just a play,” she said.
I swallowed as I moved a step closer. The draw of her gaze reeled me in as it had in that moment. “It’s not real.”
She stopped in front of me, so close that her body heat prickled against my torso.
I had to lock my arms at my side to resist the urge to pull her to me right then.
Lizzy looked up into my face, something like anticipation burning in her blue eyes.
Or maybe it wasn’t anticipation. It was too difficult to separate my feelings from hers.
“We have to give our audience what they want,” she whispered.
“After all, this is what happened.” I placed my hand under her chin, and she tipped her chin upward.
She rose on her toes, and I leaned in. Our kiss was soft and gentle at first. I pressed harder, letting this be the only time, the last time.
Heat seared through me, and I wanted to move closer, to convince her to stay wrapped up together for the rest of our lives.
The ache in my heart exploded, but I didn’t let that stop me as she moved a little closer, her hands on my chest. If I could have this last moment with her, this last kiss, then I’d take it and treasure it inside me for years to come.
We pulled back and her hands fell away, but for a moment it was only her and me.
Until the applause and cheering started. Lydia motioned at us from the side. “Don’t forget your lines!”
The play went on from there, hitting lightly on each interaction—when Jane was hurt at Netherfield and Lizzy stayed with her.
We went over when we ran into each other at the Netherfield Halloween party and I’d missed my opportunity to invite her to dance.
Even when I tried to ask her out at the Collins’ house but failed.
Jane and Charles helped fill out the play, taking on multiple roles at once, surprisingly good at acting.
And then we got to my proposal. I saw dread on Lizzy’s face at the same instant that I realized we were going to be forced to relive this—one of the worst days of my life.
Her words replayed in my memory. “Only if you want me to ask why you thought it was a good idea to tell me that you liked me against your will, against your reason, and even against your better judgement. How else was I supposed to take that except as an insult?”
As the surprisingly accurate lines rolled out, my stomach churned, and I dropped the pages. “You had every right to turn me down. What I said was unforgivable.”
“I think we need to skip this part of the play.” Lizzy shifted her stance, her shoulders tense.
“But there can’t be a happy ending unless we show the hard times you went through.” Lydia stuck out her bottom lip in a pout.
“Lydia.” Lizzy ran a hand down her face.
“Perhaps we should stop here,” Jane said.
There would be no happy ending. Not for me and Lizzy, because I’d blown it.
“Dad’s asleep, anyway,” Kitty pointed out from the crowd. “We should move him into his room.”
“But we haven’t even gotten to the big reveal where Darcy pays for Wickham and my wedding,” Lydia said.
Everyone froze.
My fists clenched. Was that what this was leading to? A big reveal of how I’d interfered in Lydia and Wickham’s affairs? I’d specifically asked that that information never get back to Lizzy.
Wickham, who sat in the crowd, cleared his throat. “Love, perhaps a play wasn’t the best way to—”
“What did Darcy do?” Lizzy crossed her arms and looked around the room, as if daring someone not to answer her.
I’d tried so hard to keep that hidden and dreaded the thought of seeing the outrage on Lizzy’s face. She hadn’t wanted Wickham and Lydia to marry, and I didn’t know if my actions would be justifiable in her eyes. “I should go. Forgive me everyone. Have a good night.”
As I headed toward the door, I heard Lizzy’s no-nonsense voice as she addressed Lydia. “Tell me everything, now.”
I made it outside and to my car when I heard the door to Cupid’s Confections ding open and Lizzy called, “Darcy, stop!”
I took a deep breath and released the driver’s handle, turning to face her. The air was frosty, and she was still shoving her arms into her coat as she approached. The breeze toyed with her soft brown hair.
“You paid off Wickham’s debts before you even knew it was a misunderstanding. You had them get married so they’d be safe from suspicions—why?”
“It was the only way I could think of to help. You were worried about losing your job and not being able to help with your dad’s medical bills. Forgive me if it wasn’t the most effective way to—”
“The article was going to print. About my family. About Lydia and Wickham.” She twisted her hands together the way she did when she got agitated.
“They were going to print the article and fire me from the paper. Riley saw the ‘let go’ notice. But when they got married, they scrapped the article, and well, I still have my job.”
“It was that close?” I’d known that her job was on the line, but I hadn’t known she was that close to being fired.
“It was. The cost of Dad’s care has gone up since then. We almost had to move home to pay the bills, but Charles stepped in to help Jane and I pay rent. But before they got back together, if my job hadn’t kept things afloat, I really don’t know where my family and I would be.”
I pulled off the snow cap I didn’t realize I was still wearing. “I didn’t want to meddle—”
“Meddle? Darcy, without your meddling, we’d all be lost.” Her eyes filled with a soft warmth. She reached for my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Thank you for caring enough to meddle. I—I haven’t a clue how to repay you.”
She was so beautiful with snow falling around us, little flakes landing in her hair and her face flushed from the cold. I stepped closer, wanting to warm her, wanting to simply be with her.
“It’s not necessary for you to repay me, Lizzy, I—”
“Darcy!” a female voice shouted, and a ball of blond hair came bounding toward us.
Lizzy jerked back in surprise, dropping my hand.
“We’ve arrived a day early!” Rosalie said, walking up and throwing her arms around my neck. “Isn’t that exciting? And I saw your car and thought I’d surprise you here and now.” She brushed a kiss across my cheek.
I grabbed her and untangled her arms, moving her back. “Rosalie—”
She swiveled, taking in Lizzy in a quick once-over. “Oh, hi! What’s your name? I’m Rosalie, Darcy’s girlfriend.”
My heart dropped into my stomach at the shock in Lizzy’s expression.
“His girlfriend?” she asked, her voice soft.
“Yup, aren’t we adorable together?”
Lizzy blinked a few times, her hands balling into fists. “I’d better get back to my family. Thanks for your help, Darcy. Goodnight.” She hurried away.
“Wait, Lizzy!” I called after her, but she’d disappeared inside Cupid’s Confections. I turned to Rosalie. “Why did you say that?”
“Say what?”
“That we’re boyfriend and girlfriend. We’re not.”
“Are you sure?” She gave me a skeptical look, her hand on her hip. “I thought it was being arranged so that you and I were going to be a thing. Aren’t you coming to the dinner tomorrow night at Lady Catherine’s?”
“Yes, I am, but we don’t even know each other. And I haven’t agreed to anything.”
“But you’re at least going to give us a chance, right?”
I didn’t want to. I wanted the girl who had disappeared inside Cupid’s Confections, but she didn’t want me. I knew that, but I was having a harder and harder time with all of these Valentine’s activities accepting it. “We aren’t getting married, Rosalie. I need to go.”
Getting into my car, I pulled out of the stall. I drove to Netherfield by myself, unable to forget the kiss between me and the only woman who had completely captured my heart.