Beginning, Previous Section, Section VIII, Next Section
A soon as Richard and Olivia left on their date, Lizzy resumed punching at William while he resumed tickling her. She finally surrendered when she fell on the floor. Georgiana chose that moment to enter the living room. She pretended not to notice the disarray that they had wrought in the heretofore-immaculate room, nor Lizzy's unseemly position on the floor.
"Would you two mind," she began to smirk because she already knew the answer to her query, "If I leave you two alone for the evening? Or do you need someone to stay and referee?" William quickly answered on behalf of himself and Lizzy that she could be spared for the evening.
"Where are you off to?"
"I've been invited over to Tineke's house. The gang's all getting together over there and we'll probably go to a movie or something," Georgiana replied as she picked up a few pillows and put them neatly back into place before she sat down opposite the couple.
"So you want my car?" William asked, and Georgiana nodded enthusiastically. William nodded his assent and Georgiana crossed over to the other sofa to hug him.
"Don't think I didn't notice that you already took it out today," he warned good-naturedly.
"I didn't think you'd mind. Lizzy's little Beetle is too small for a major shopping expedition." William held her close for a minute and kissed the top of her head.
"Look, Gee, I'm sorry I lost my temper last night. I realize that you didn't mean any harm, but--."
"Richard and I had a long talk about it this morning," Georgiana interjected. "Believe me, it will never happen again," she said, but her eyes held a suspicious gleam as she eyed Lizzy, who was still sitting on the floor. "I think in future," Georgiana said rising and backing toward the door, "I'll just use my camera and sell the information." She lunged out of sight as a flurry of pillows followed her. William rose and helped Lizzy to her feet.
"I'm hungry," he said. "Let's try the chili." They went into the kitchen and sat at the counter and piled chili into large bowls. William topped his with all the condiments Olivia had left for them. Lizzy preferred hers plain and as they enjoyed the chili with hunks of rustic bread and cold Mexican beer, Lizzy told William about the chili parties that she and Olivia held while they were at Pratt.
"We were essentially broke most of the time, and chili is really inexpensive to make. Everyone would bring something and before long we had a huge feast on our table." William listened with interest and asked Lizzy questions about her relationship with Olivia. Lizzy told him about their early childhood together and about how they'd remained close since then. His earlier conversation with Richard was still playing on his mind as he tried to learn more about Olivia without arousing Lizzy's suspicions. But she soon started in with speculation about the potential for Richard and Olivia to hit it off.
"Do you think he likes her? He seemed to like her a lot yesterday, but Livy thinks he was just being nice."
"I think Richard likes her. But I wouldn't get my hopes up for those two," William advised.
"Why not? They're perfect for each other!"
"Maybe so, but I don't think that Richard's ready to open his heart to anyone new just yet." Lizzy looked slightly dejected. Since her talk with Olivia the previous night, her plans for Richard and Olivia were beginning to crumble.
"Did Richard tell you that?" she asked as she began to clear the table.
"Not in so many words...but I believe that he's a bit reluctant to become involved with anyone right now," William said before draining his glass. He looked at Lizzy as she put her glass down. She stood frozen in place before the dishwasher, the bowl forgotten in her hands. William rose and went to her. He took the bowl from her hands, put it into the dishwasher, and closed the door. He gently turned Lizzy toward him and she quickly bowed her head to hide her tears from him. But William had already seen them.
"What's wrong?" he asked softly. Lizzy wrapped her arms around his muscular frame and buried her face in his chest.
"Nothing's changed. I was hoping by now that things would be better, but he's still miserable and it's my fault."
"I wouldn't call him miserable, and it's not your fault. It's no one's fault. Richard would be the first one to agree with that." Lizzy nodded.
"Yes, he says that all the time. I overheard part of his conversation with Gee this morning, and he insisted that none of this is my fault. But the facts speak for themselves; we're happy and he's all alone and--."
"You're not the first woman Richard has ever lost, Lizzy," William said as he stroked her back. "Richard just needs time to..." Lizzy abruptly pulled away and looked at William.
"How can you be so sanguine about this? He's your own cousin and he has done nothing but sacrifice for our happiness--!" Lizzy cried. William cut her off sharply.
"Don't you think I know what he did? Don't you think I haven't agonized over this? I thought I made it clear to you last night what I'd been going through with Richard, and not just regarding you." William sighed, regretting his harsh tone. "Look...we both are uncomfortable seeing Richard as he is right now. But we have to accept that that's the way things are going to be for him right now. We can either avoid him for the next several months or we can just wait until things get better for him."
"I don't feel comfortable waiting for things to get better for him," Lizzy said, putting her hands on her hips. William reached out and grabbed her hands and brought them to his chest.
"Neither do I, but I have no choice. I have no intention of abandoning him to himself."
"Neither do I."
"Good. He needs his friends. But," William extended a finger, which he pointed at Lizzy's nose, "That doesn't give us the right to try and manipulate his life for him."
"I'm not trying to manipulate his life," Lizzy pouted, and William countered with a raised brow.
"Or Olivia's?" William questioned.
"I just think that they could be really good together! Is that so wrong?" William released Lizzy's hands and walked into the pantry. Lizzy followed. "And why shouldn't I manipulate him? He manipulated me!"
"No he didn't," William murmured, as he scanned the shelves. "He simply encouraged you to give me a chance. He knew that if you did you'd fall hopelessly in love with me," William deadpanned as he reached for a footstool to better explore the upper shelves. Lizzy snorted at his remark. "Well, you did, didn't you?" he asked, momentarily pausing in his search to look at her. William's gaze has retained its power to overwhelm her, and she couldn't deny that she was hopelessly in love with him. William, however, didn't wait for her to answer. He returned his attention to the upper shelves. Lizzy was about to ask what he was searching for when he let out a little exclamation of discovery and descended from the stool with his prize.
"You spent three minutes up there searching for a chocolate bar?" Lizzy was less than impressed.
"Not just any chocolate bar," William replied with a touch of awe as he hefted the heavy package. "This is very special chocolate. Mrs. Reynolds buys them to bake with, but she has to hide them from me or else I eat them as is." William collected a fondue pot and went back into the kitchen, where he gathered other ingredients from the refrigerator. He placed everything on the counter and, ordering Lizzy to unwrap and begin chopping the chocolate, he disappeared for a minute and returned with a few bottles from the bar. William set to work, explaining to a perplexed Lizzy that Mrs. Reynolds taught him and Georgiana to make chocolate fondue when they were kids and wanted to make a special dessert for their parents.
"You didn't include fondue in your repertoire the other day," Lizzy teased. "You're full of surprises, William Darcy."
"You don't expect me to reveal all of my secrets at once, do you? I only told you what I learned to cook in France," William smirked. William poured a dollop of Triple Sec into the fondue and carefully stirred it in. Lizzy looked at the other bottles.
"Are you planning to put all of these in there?" William laughed.
"No. I was undecided, so I just brought a few to choose from. We can drink the Armagnac. Why don't you open that?" Lizzy went and got a pair of snifters and poured out some brandy for the two of them. When the fondue was about ready, William carefully carried the pot into the den. He turned on the television and found an old movie. Lizzy brought in a tray of cut up pound cake, apple slices, strawberries, and bananas. William immediately told Lizzy that she couldn't have any of the strawberries, remembering her comments from an earlier discussion. Lizzy cried "no fair" and they fought over the berries for a while before negotiating a truce that would allow Lizzy one strawberry for every two that William ate. They enjoyed the dessert, which was accompanied with plenty of teasing and good-natured banter about Lizzy's waistline.
After a while, they settled into a cozy tangle on the couch and Lizzy began to nod off. William took advantage of the opportunity to dip the stem of a strawberry into the molten chocolate and, blowing on it a bit, traced a heart on the back of Lizzy's hand. She looked up at him in surprise, and William smiled innocently. Lizzy curled up in his arms and dozed off again, and William took up his homemade quill and wrote, "I love u" on the exposed part of her neck as she swatted at him. William was admiring his handiwork when Lizzy rubbed at the spot where he was adding a heart. She pulled her hand away when she felt the stickiness. William quickly leaned forward and licked off the chocolate, just as she noticed the heart on the back of her hand. William consumed that as well, effectively erasing evidence of his mischief. Lizzy sat up and dipped her finger into the rapidly cooling chocolate and turned to William. She pretended to think for a moment before painting his lips with the chocolate, but William licked it off before she had a chance to. She painted hearts on his cheeks and made a line of chocolate dots from his ear to his neck, paused to unbutton his shirt, and was poised to continue painting her willing subject, when the phone rang. She rose and retrieved the phone for William. He put it to his ear, smearing chocolate as he did. Lizzy sat on his lap and attempted to clean up the mess as he tried to speak.
"Hello," William said with a slight giggle, as Lizzy's lips tickled his cheek.
"Hello, Will," said Jane. William let out a little yelp, and Jane asked if he was all right. "I'm fine," William said, fending off Lizzy with one arm. "Were you trying to reach me or your little...ouch...sister?" William wagged a warning finger at Lizzy as he handed her the telephone. Lizzy took it and slid off of William's lap to talk.
"I didn't call at a bad time, did I?" Jane asked cautiously. Lizzy glanced at William, who had begun to dip his finger into the chocolate and menace Lizzy. She closed her eyes and tried not to convey anything to Jane as she answered.
"No, no. How are you? How are things...in Vermont?" Lizzy managed, as William put dots of chocolate on her nose, cheeks and mouth.
"Vermont is great, Lizzy. It's so beautiful up here, and William's place is so nice. But that isn't why I called." William leaned over and kissed the chocolate off Lizzy's lips. Fortunately for her, Jane was too absorbed in her own news to pay any attention to the slurping sounds William made and he sucked the chocolate from each of Lizzy's cheeks. "I've been trying to reach you at home for hours, but I didn't realize that you'd gone to Connecticut after all. I trust that things are better between you and William?" Lizzy pushed William's hand away.
"Things with William have never been better," she replied before licking the chocolate off of William's finger to prevent him from putting it on her nose again.
"That's great! I'm glad the two of you have worked things out. But Lizzy! I have such news! I've been dying to reach you so I could tell you. I should tell you the whole story because it's so cute. Charles is so cute, and he's such a sweetie. Lizzy! I'm engaged. I mean we're engaged! I still can't believe it! First, we had this big argument this morning on the slopes and we came back down to the cabin and Charles made a fire and then he said he had to go out for a while and I thought that he was still mad at me, so I said, 'fine,' and he said, 'okay,' and he went out and I--."
"What did you two fight about?" Lizzy asked, suddenly interested when she heard the word "engaged." Even William paused in his assault to listen.
"Well, we argued over what we should do about Richard, but that's not important right now," Jane said as William and Lizzy exchanged an expressive glance. "What is important is that we made up! Oh, Lizzy," Jane gushed, and William smiled and shook his head as Jane once again began to wax poetic about Charles's virtues.
"Jane, Jane! You were telling me the story of how Charles proposed?" Lizzy reminded.
"Oh, yes! So we had this fight, and then Charles said he had to go out a while--."
"Yes, Jane. You already told me that bit!" Jane ignored her interruption.
"So Charles went out, but I didn't hear the car or anything, so I thought he went for a walk or something, but after a few minutes I realized that he couldn't have gone for a walk because his ankle was sprained--."
"When did that happen?" It was William 's turn to interrupt.
"Oh, that happened when I pushed him on the slopes this morning. He wasn't badly hurt or anything, but it hurt him enough that he shouldn't go out walking. So after about twenty minutes I got worried and I decided to go out looking for him. So I put on my new jacket--you know the one I bought at Eddie Bauer?"
"Jane!" Lizzy and William cried in unison.
"Sorry! I went outside and there was Charles; he hadn't gone for a walk at all!" Lizzy and William exchanged a confused glance. "He was right there outside the house, writing these huge letters in the snow. He was writing, 'Will you marry me, Jane?' But I came out early and all I saw was this huge heart with 'Will you mar,' but I got the message and I screamed and Charles got mad because he had done all that work with a sprained ankle and I went and came out early and ruined the surprise. But I said yes, and he was pleased about that, so he didn't mind that I made him finish the message and then I took a picture of him with it and then he made me write, 'YES,' in the snow and then he took my picture..." Jane finally paused for a breath and William and Lizzy smiled in delight.
"I'm happy for you both, Jane," William said. "Please extend my congratulations to Charles."
"Me, too," added Lizzy.
"I've been trying to call you all afternoon...well, not all afternoon," Jane admitted, and Lizzy knew that Jane was blushing. "But I have been calling you for hours and it wasn't until Charles called Richard that we found out that you were in Connecticut with William."
"You mean Richard knows about it already?" Lizzy said. "He didn't mention it to us."
"I didn't speak to him, but Charles said that he reached Richard on his way to New York for dinner with Olivia. What's that all about?"
"Richard met Olivia when he was in Pennsylvania and he promised to take her out to dinner whenever she came north," William quickly explained.
"I think they'd make a cute couple, don't you?" Lizzy added, and William shook his head.
"Right now, I'm all for everyone falling in love and becoming part of a deliriously happy couple," Jane gushed.
"I'm sure no one could be as happy as you are right now, Jane," Lizzy laughed.
"Thank goodness," William whispered. He slipped away and cleared away the fondue things while Lizzy talked with Jane a while longer. When William came back, Lizzy was still talking, so he lay on the couch and rested his head in her lap until she was done. When Lizzy hung up the phone, she stroked William's hair and sighed.
"I'm very happy for them," she began, "But I'm sorry we were interrupted," she said as she drew her finger along William's jaw, which was still marked with chocolate. She bent over and removed the chocolate with a series of tiny kisses. "You know, you go very well with dark chocolate," she smiled. William raised his head to capture her mouth, and they spent several minutes kissing before William remembered that he had begun running a bath upstairs. He let out a cry, fell off the couch, rose to his feet, and bolted up the steps, leaving Lizzy to wonder what had come over him. She went into the hall and called after him. William's reply was that she was to stay downstairs until he came back. Lizzy stood in the hall for several minutes, occasionally calling out questions, but William wouldn't tell her what he was up to. Lizzy began to sneak up the steps, but as if reading her mind, William called out that if she tried to sneak up on him he would be forced to give her a sound thrashing. Five minutes passed, during which she could hear William rummaging, walking back and forth, singing, laughing to himself, and on one occasion cursing. Lizzy sat on the bottom step, quite intrigued by all the signs of activity emanating from the upper floor, but she was distracted when she heard a car pull up in the driveway. She got up and walked to the door, fearing that Georgiana had returned early for some reason and was about to spoil whatever scheme William was hatching above. Lizzy was surprised to find Richard and Olivia at the door. The couple had been gone less than four hours.
"May we come in?" Richard asked, subtly noting the fact that Lizzy was effectively barring their access to the house. Lizzy started and backed away, allowing first Olivia, then Richard to enter.
"You're early..." Lizzy murmured.
"Holiday weekend...no traffic," Richard answered as he removed Olivia's coat. Lizzy went to the bottom of the steps.
"Will? Richard and Olivia are back!" Lizzy called, and hoped that neither of them heard the high-pitched cry of, "What?" that William spat in return. But to Lizzy's embarrassment, Richard was standing right behind her, and he spoke to William when he appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Sorry if our unexpected arrival has put a crimp in your plans, cuz. We didn't realize..." Lizzy escaped from the embarrassing scene by walking into the den, where she found Olivia watching the end of the movie.
"You are back early," Lizzy said. "How was dinner?"
"Dinner was amazing! Richard took me to a restaurant where I got to eat at the chef's table, right in the kitchen--."
"You ate in the kitchen?" Lizzy exclaimed.
"Yes, at the chef's table. It's the latest thing; a few of the top chefs in New York and in some other cities have set up eating areas right in or very near the kitchen. I've read about them, but I never expected to eat at one. It was incredible! The chef waited on us himself, and we got to taste an amazing array of things. I had duck, and veal, and I tasted foie gras and truffles for the first time. If something interesting passed by and I asked about it, the chef offered me a taste. It was the most decadent meal I ever ate!" Olivia beamed.
"And then?" Lizzy prodded, as William and Richard entered the room.
"And then, what?" asked Olivia. She glanced at Richard, and by tacit agreement, they would not discuss anything further about their evening together.
"Then what did you do?"
"Oh. Then we took a little walk; we were both so stuffed and needed to stretch our legs," Olivia said brightly. Lizzy was growing impatient.
"And then..."
"And then we came home. Why else would we be here so early?" Richard smiled smugly. "And speaking of home, I have to go." He peered at Lizzy as he said good night to everyone. "You know, if I didn't know any better," he said impishly, "I'd say that was chocolate on your ear." Before Lizzy could form a protest, he was gone.
"Well, he couldn't seem to leave fast enough," Lizzy declared, as she quickly pulled her hair over her ears. She looked at Olivia sympathetically. "Was it that bad?" Olivia laughed as she rose and headed for the stairs.
"It wasn't bad at all. In fact," she said, pausing on the steps, "We had a great time. I'm beat. You two have a good evening. Hey, something smells good up here," Olivia said on the stairs before she disappeared, leaving a surprised Lizzy gaping at William.
"I had such hopes," Lizzy sulked. "They had such potential." William laughed.
"If you're trying to suss out a reason behind Richard's abrupt departure, it has nothing to do with Olivia. He left because of us."
"Us?"
"Come upstairs," he said, turning off the television and leaving only a few lights on for Georgiana. When he and Lizzy reached the master bathroom, she found that the bathroom was aglow with dozens of candles and the whirlpool tub was filled with scented water. William put his arms around Lizzy and began to undo the buttons of her shirt. "Let's get rid of all this chocolate, shall we?"
Lizzy awoke the next morning to the aroma of bacon. She sat up and ran a hand through her hair, noticing, as she did so, that William was not beside her. Lizzy swung her feet over the side of the bed and was feeling about on the floor for her slippers when she heard someone behind her clearing his throat. Lizzy turned around and saw William, bed tray in hand, glaring at her.
"Where do you think you're going?" William said in an accusatory tone.
"Bathroom? Please?" Lizzy said meekly. William sighed, sat on the edge of the bed and chewed on a piece of bacon until she returned. Lizzy quickly slid under the covers and declared that she was ready. William rose and turned to place the tray over lap, grumbling about time spent slaving over a hot stove while she took his culinary skills for granted. Lizzy kissed him to shut him up, and William smiled and pulled the cover off of her plate. Lizzy saw two and a half strips of bacon and a perfect omelet, accompanied by coffee, toast, juice, and a bowl of strawberries.
"Those are mine," William said of the fruit, and pulled the bowl off the tray. Lizzy coaxed him into sharing them, and in turn she shared her breakfast with him.
"Why didn't you make a tray for yourself?"
"I can't bloody well feed myself in bed, can I?" he said, slipping into a different accent. "I mean, how am I supposed to carry two trays at once, wait for you to use the loo," he tried to keep a straight face, "And then serve you like a proper lady--which, by the way I now know you ain't..." he gave up the accent, laughing, as he added, "Besides, I already ate with Olivia downstairs."
"Downstairs?" Why didn't you just call me, then?" William stretched out beside her on the bed.
"Because I wanted to let you sleep in. And I wanted to surprise you with my omelet. And because," he said, picking up a strawberry from the bowl, "Olivia and I got into a nice conversation and I didn't want to leave her downstairs all alone. By the way, she loved my omelet."
"You made her breakfast?"
"I thought it was time that someone besides her did some cooking. She was making coffee when I came down and I offered her an omelet. She made your toast."
"What did you two talk about?" Lizzy asked as she continued to eat.
"What do you think? We traded dirt about you!" William teased. Lizzy swatted at him with a neck roll. "Actually, we had a nice chat about her background, her interest in cooking, and other things. I didn't realize that she was an orphan like you."
"Well, neither of us are orphans, exactly. She has a half-brother in the military; I have Jane. We both have aunts. Mine was living somewhere in Asia at the time my parents died and was in no position to take us in. And Olivia didn't lose her parents until relatively recently." William put the bowl down on the tray and adjusted his position amid the pillows.
"She told me that her father died just last year."
"Yes. Brain cancer. He died on New Year's Eve. Livy had hoped so much that he'd live to see the start of the new millennium, but ..." painful memories of being at Douglas Crenshaw's bedside clouded Lizzy's eyes with tears. William quickly apologized for upsetting Lizzy, but she quickly recovered. "I never saw anyone die before. I mean...well, I didn't actually see him die, but...in my parent's case, it was all so sanitary. They just went out one day and never came back. Livy had to watch her father deteriorate over months and months. I don't know how she stood it."
"She had friends like you to support her," William said, putting his arm around Lizzy. "She told me how both you and Jane helped her through the worst of it." Lizzy let out a mirthless laugh.
"She did more to help us than we did to help her."
"You had each other, and that was what counted." Lizzy was quiet for a while. William ate her toast, as she sipped her coffee.
"That's another reason why I want her to find someone. She's been alone in that house for more than a year now. Her father was in a hospice for the last four months of his life, and before that he was in and out of the hospital. She shouldn't have to live all alone down there."
"It's her choice to make, Lizzy," William said. "She's obviously very attached to her home. I've never felt attached to this place since my folks died; to me, it lost its sense of being my home when they left it. But I imagine that Olivia sees thing just the opposite. In her mind, her home is all that she has left of her family."
"Perhaps. But maybe it's time for her to start thinking about building a family of her own." William didn't pursue the discussion. He didn't want to encourage Lizzy by agreeing with her. He had noticed a tinge of sadness in Olivia's words as he spoke with her at breakfast, not unlike the sadness he had seen in Richard. But he wasn't about to fuel Lizzy's matchmaking efforts. No, he would do all in his power to avoid that.
When Lizzy and William came downstairs, Olivia was out walking. They were putting Lizzy's breakfast dishes in the dishwasher when Richard came in. He responded to Lizzy's jibe about his missing Olivia's breakfast by informing her that his parent's cook was quite capable of feeding him.
"Where is she, by the way?" Richard asked. Lizzy said that she was out walking, and suggested that he might find her if he went looking. Richard looked at William, who shrugged his shoulders. Richard poured out a cup of coffee and sat down at the counter beside Lizzy.
"Are you trying to get rid of me, or do you really think she's lost?" Richard quipped. "And speaking of getting rid of things," he pulled Lizzy's hair aside and examined her ear. "Good job, cuz." Lizzy blushed and pulled away. William tried to hide his smile as he joined them at the counter.
"I come bearing an invitation. If you aren't otherwise engaged, mother would love it if you all came for lunch."
"Well, Gee's not available. She spent the night at a friend's, but the rest of us have no plans. Is it okay with you, Lizzy?" Lizzy nodded as Olivia came in through the kitchen door with an armload of twigs. Richard rose and relieved her of her burden.
"Hello," he said, with a smile that made Olivia's heart flutter.
"Good morning. Good morning, Lizzy," Olivia said as she sat in the stool that William evacuated at the counter. Her cheeks were rosy, and William offered her hot coffee, which she gratefully accepted. Lizzy noted that Olivia was once again wearing her contacts, and also that Richard hadn't taken his eyes off of her since she entered the room. Olivia shrugged out of her coat and wrapped her hands around the mug.
"You do realize that there's a whole cord of wood behind the house and that most of the fireplaces here have been converted to gas anyway?" Olivia looked at Richard quizzically.
"Oh, the twigs!" Olivia laughed. "I make things out of them," she explained. "I like to collect different kinds of wood when I can find them."
"What do you make?" Richard asked, propping his chin and looking deeply into her eyes. Olivia turned to her coffee before she answered. She explained that she dabbled in making miniature furniture and picture frames, and the foursome fell into a discussion about folk art (which William collected for the house in Vermont) and the crafts that Lizzy and Olivia had learned as Brownie Scouts.
"William used to have a thing for little girls in uniform," Richard smiled. William shot him a look.
"Only one, and she wasn't a little girl; she was the commander, or head scout, or whatever they called it," William said defensively.
"She was jailbait, William!" Richard accused. "Of course, so was he," he added, turning to Lizzy, "Being only twelve at the time, but if you can still find your Brownie uniform, I can guarantee you a very interesting evening."
"Sort of like you and the school teacher?" Richard acknowledged her point, and the conversation moved to a safer topic.
"I heard you got a call from Charles yesterday," William said.
"About the engagement, yes. Who would have thought it--Jane marrying Charles?" Richard deadpanned.
"You still don't seem very enthusiastic about it," Olivia frowned.
"You have to understand. Charles has been my best friend for years, and it seems like most of them have been spent talking about marrying Jane someday. His actually proposing to her was kind of anti-climactic," Richard explained.
"Not to Jane," Lizzy cried. "You should have heard her last night! I thought she would explode, she was so happy. Of course, William and I have known for months that Charles was planning to ask her."
"So everyone knew about this engagement except Jane?" Olivia laughed.
"Oh no," Lizzy explained. "She knew about it, too. They've been talking about marrying for some time now...I guess you're right, Richard. It was kind of anti-climactic. But we should celebrate anyway. What do you say to a small surprise party when they come home Sunday night?"
"I don't know, Lizzy--Charles will have been driving for five hours..." William began.
"Or Jane--they usually split the driving chores when the travel. Look, it doesn't have to be anything elaborate, just the six of us, maybe dinner and a cake?" Lizzy turned to Olivia beseechingly.
"I'm game," Olivia assented.
"I'm there," Richard seconded, pleasing Lizzy.
"Suppose they get back really late?" William asked.
"Listen, Mister Voice of Doom, I'll call Jane and tell her that we're cooking dinner for her and Charles and to try and be home early, all right?" Lizzy promised.
"That doesn't make it much of a surprise, then," William said, before everyone began to heckle and jeer at him.
An hour or so later, they four piled into the Range Rover and drove the short distance to Richard's family homestead. Lizzy and Olivia had dressed for the occasion, Lizzy in her new leather skirt, and Olivia in a wool challis skirt that fell to her ankles. The Fitzwilliams welcomed them warmly. Kathleen spoke privately with Olivia to make certain that she hadn't been adversely affected by her earlier experience in her home. The four were shown into the living room, where they were offered refreshments and good conversation until luncheon was served. Corrine and Evan were still at the house, and they came in to join the others. Corrine immediately claimed a seat near Olivia, much to Richard and William's collective dismay.
"I hear that you and Richard went out last night," Corrine hinted.
"Really, where'd you hear that?" Olivia neatly turned back. William looked at Richard and raised a brow.
"I...I heard it from Richard," Corrine replied uncertainly.
"Oh, then it must be true. What else did he tell you?" Olivia asked sweetly. Corrine was stumped as to how things had gone so awry in her quest for information that when her father addressed her she couldn't respond right away. Hugh glared at her a moment, and Corrine closed her mouth and henceforth kept her conversation to impersonal topics. Kathleen effectively engaged both Lizzy and Olivia in conversation about Christmas shopping, and expressed a hope that both women would come back and visit during the holidays.
"I've already invited Lizzy, Jane, and Charles for Christmas," William said. "And we'd love it if you would join us, Olivia." She was noncommittal in her reply, averting her eyes from Richard's as she talked about usually spending the holidays with her aunt.
"I'll have to let you know," she concluded. Kathleen urged Olivia to come for at least part of the holidays and even offered her a room in her own home. Grandma Bess came into the room, and she sat on Olivia's other side.
"Hello, dear. It's so good to see you again," she said to Olivia.
"Hello, Bess," Olivia smiled.
"Did Fizz tell you about my gift, dear?" Olivia glanced at Richard, who lowered his head and put a hand over his eyes.
"Gift?" Bess took Olivia's hand.
"I should never have counted on him to tell you," Bess said, with a disapproving look at Richard, who still had his eyes covered. Everyone else was engaged in conversation, save for himself, Corrine, Bess, and Olivia. Richard rose and went over to where they were sitting as Bess explained. "When you've chosen your china pattern, I want my gift to be twelve place settings." Olivia carefully masked her surprise.
"That's very generous, Bess. Thank you," she smiled, with an amused look at Richard, who heaved a sigh.
"Richard's my favorite grandson," Bess said, grabbing Richard's hand and giving it a surprisingly firm squeeze.
"He has a way with grandmothers, I understand," Olivia smiled.
"She only has four grandsons, and the other three are jerks," muttered Corrine. "Richard's just a pill," she said, smiling sweetly up at him. Richard smiled back with equal insincerity, as Bess placed Olivia's hand in his.
"I wish you every happiness, you two. And I hope that you have lots of children, none of whom have a mouth like hers," she said with a jerk of her head towards Corrine. At that moment, luncheon was announced and Richard led Olivia and his grandmother to the table. He wasn't at all surprised to find that Olivia had been placed beside him, but this time William and Lizzy were seated directly opposite, with Grandma Bess at William's side. Corrine was seated beside Richard and her husband, Evan, was seated beside Lizzy. The fact that Kathleen sat on his other side, at the head of the table, kept him from immediately peppering Lizzy with a dozen questions. At the opposite head, Hugh kept watch on Corrine.
They sat down to a green salad, followed by homemade pasta topped with a sauce laden with wild mushrooms. Kathleen and Olivia compared their experiences at the chef's table while Hugh engaged Corrine in conversation and Lizzy pointed ignored Evan's stare at her chest. Richard came to her assistance by glaring across the table in an unmistakably hostile manner.
"I thought you were with William," Evan complained to Lizzy, as he shrunk from Richard's gaze.
"Would you rather that he be the one to hit you?" Richard asked calmly. The room fell silent for a moment, and Evan sheepishly kept his eyes on his plate for the next ten minutes.
"So when are you getting married, William?" Bess asked him.
"I'm not getting married, Grandma. You're mistaking me for Richard."
"Don't treat me like an idiot, boy! I know who you are. When are you getting married?" Lizzy overheard the comment and tried to help.
"We're waiting for Richard and Olivia to marry first," she offered, earning surprised looks from Richard, Olivia, Kathleen, and William.
"But Richard and Olivia have only just met, dear. They went out for just the first time yesterday. I thought you knew that. You and William have been seeing each other for months, ever since Richard brought you together, and at great personal --."
"Mama," Hugh said, in a warning tone. He laid his hand on her arm for emphasis.
"You may all think I'm just a meddling old fool, but I've still got all my wits about me. Those two will marry, when they're good and ready," she said with a nod across the table to Olivia and Richard. "If you two are going to stall, you'd better think of a better excuse." Again, silence reigned at the table. Richard and Olivia looked at each other and quickly turned back to their plates. Kathleen hastily summoned the maid to clear the table. A dessert of cheesecake, with a caramel-nut topping was served.
After dessert and coffee, the men in the party retired to the study to watch football, while the women--except for Bess, who went upstairs for a nap--went back to the living room. Kathleen apologized to both her guests for her mother's forwardness.
"She means well, but she's getting on in years and is anxious to see a few more great grandchildren. Her granddaughters are married and have produced two, but her grandsons are all still single and that worries her"
"Well, I certainly didn't help any with my stupid comment about Olivia and Richard." Olivia crossed her arms and arched a brow, but Kathleen laughed.
"Oh, I think William's comment was far worse; mistaking him for Richard!" Kathleen laughed. "It's one thing for a girl to dodge her boyfriend's grandmother on a question about marriage. It's quite another to question your own grandmother's intelligence! Poor William!"
"You're out of her will, my man," repeated Richard. "All I have to do to earn your share is to marry Olivia." He took a swig from his beer and shook his head.
"Yes, but do you want to marry her?" William countered.
"I can think of worst fates, but even if I couldn't I'd do it just to see your face at the reading of her will," Richard sneered. William and Hugh both made faces at him. Evan was too absorbed in watching the game to attend to the conversation.
"Aren't you being just a bit macabre?" William asked.
"Oh, don't worry, I have no intention of pushing her down the stairs or anything. You know I want her to live forever. In fact, the longer she lives, the longer I get to relish the look on your face when she set you down!" William rolled his eyes and Hugh got up and left the room.
"I'm getting too old to put up with the two of you," he complained. "I'll be with the ladies." William and Richard exchanged a look. They drained their beers and returned to the living room.
It was early evening when William, Lizzy, and Olivia were shuttled home by Richard. He refused Lizzy's invitation to join them in the house, since he was intent on returning to the city that night. Georgiana was at home and after a great deal of discussion, she and Olivia managed to convince William and Lizzy to go out for the evening.
Neither of them was very hungry, so Georgiana and Olivia decided to watch a movie. As Olivia explored the options afforded by the bookcase full of videotapes, however, they fell into conversation, and for a while all thoughts of the movie were forgotten.
"So how was your date with Richard?"
"It was very nice," Olivia replied, knowing that she was in for another interrogation.
"What did you do?" Georgiana asked.
"We went to dinner at a fabulous restaurant on the east side. Then we took a short walk, then we came home, end of date," she said with what she hoped was an air of finality.
"Is that all? You didn't do anything?" Georgiana persisted, oblivious to Olivia's dismissal of the topic.
"We were just going to dinner, remember?"
"I know," Georgiana whined, "But I was kind of hoping that once he got you alone, he'd--." She broke off, due to a lack of courage in the face of Olivia's glare.
"I did warn you and Lizzy that you were getting yourselves all worked up over nothing. Tell me something: why are you and Lizzy so eager to see me paired off with Richard?" Olivia decided to take a confrontational approach, since subtlety was apparently wasted on the younger woman.
"Well, I can't speak for Lizzy, but I think she really hurt him and he needs someone to mend his broken heart and make him happy again." Olivia abandoned the tapes and took a seat near Georgiana.
"Do you really think Lizzy hurt him? From what I understand, it was Richard's choice to step out of the picture."
"Yeah, but he really didn't want her to go with William. I won't ever believe that! But she did go with my brother, and Richard hasn't been the same since." Olivia shook her head.
"Then you begrudge William and Lizzy their happiness--a happiness that Richard made possible for them?" Georgiana turned away slightly and screwed up her face.
"I don't know. William is happy...he'd been alone for a long time. I mean he'd go out with women--a lot of them--but he never seemed to take any real pleasure in it. When he met Lizzy everything seemed to change in him. He's been so happy and Lizzy's responsible for that. I think they're great together. I just can't justify the cost," Georgiana concluded.
"Listen, Gee. Life is not always a win-win proposition. Richard understood that. And William and Lizzy are painfully cognizant of what their happiness cost Richard. But neither they, nor Richard can undo what has happened. They've all accepted it. You have to, as well."
"I'm trying to. But it's hard, knowing that Richard is suffering."
"He doesn't seem to be suffering too badly to me." Georgiana practically jumped out of her seat.
"That's because he likes you. He needs you, Livy. You can make everything better for him!"
"Whoa, there, Gee! It's way too soon for Richard to be getting involved with anyone again. And I can't make everything better for him--even if I want to."
"Do you?" Georgiana asked hopefully, and Olivia knew she had said too much.
"No one can make anyone else's life perfect, Gee. But don't worry about Richard, he seems to me to be fairly resilient. Now what movie do you want to see?" Olivia asked as she returned to the shelves.
"How about Emma?" Gee suggested. Olivia rolled her eyes at the irony of Georgiana's choice and reached for the tape.
The following morning, after a last breakfast feast, William and the others closed up the house and prepared for the trip back to the city. Lizzy and Olivia took off in the Beetle and made their way back to Brooklyn Heights. They settled in and quickly set off again to gather food and flowers to make their celebratory meal. By mid-afternoon, Olivia had baked the cake and the dinner itself was underway. William arrived shortly after three, bearing wine for dinner and a couple of bottles of vintage champagne for toasting. Richard arrived sometime later with a large package for the happy couple. He offered to help with the preparations, and by the time Jane and Charles reached the house, everything was in readiness.
"William! Richard! We were just expecting to come home to Lizzy and Olivia," Jane said, as she offered a warm hug to each of them. Charles shook hands with the men and hugged Lizzy and Olivia. The happy couple was immediately shuttled into the dining room, since Charles insisted that he was famished.
"Jane wouldn't allow me to eat lunch in anticipation of Livy's dinner," he claimed. Lizzy protested that she also had cooked, and Richard proudly brandished the bandage on his finger as evidence of his own participation. The dinner of beet soup, roast pork loin with potatoes, green beans, and carrots, was quickly consumed. Olivia brought in a miniature rendition of a wedding cake and as everyone complimented and exclaimed, William popped the cork on the champagne. The happy couple was toasted, and Richard went and retrieved his present.
"You know how every engaged couple receives about seven toasters? I just wanted to be the first," He said, handing the box to Jane. She opened it and found the Rolls Royce of toasters, and Charles jokingly asked Olivia for a toast recipe. Everyone moved into the living room, except Lizzy, who insisted on clearing the table by herself. Jane slipped into the kitchen and they shared a private hug.
"Oh, Jane, I am so happy for both of you. I'm not crazy about the idea of losing you as a roommate, but if you have to go, I don't mind losing you to Charles."
"Who said anything about my leaving? Charles and I have been talking about putting you out!" Jane retorted. "Actually, Lizzy, we really haven't even thought about anything like that. We've just been too busy being happy," Jane smiled.
"I can see that. You're positively radiant!" Lizzy replied with a second hug. She turned her attention to packing up leftovers and Jane began to help her. "Oh, Jane, you don't have to do that."
"I know, but I wanted a word with you, and I may as well do something while I talk. What's this I hear about Richard and Olivia? They're dating?" Lizzy shrugged.
"They went out to dinner...just one dinner," she said disappointedly. "I thought I saw an attraction there. Livy was definitely interested in him when she met him down in Pennsylvania but she's been less than wildly enthusiastic since she came north."
"And Richard?" Lizzy made a face.
"I don't know. He seems interested, too. But he didn't make any moves. I can't see any sign that they're going to see each other again." Lizzy picked up the food containers and headed for the refrigerator. "I had such hopes for them. They seem so well suited. But William says that Richard isn't ready and that I am not to try and push." Lizzy paused. "But that doesn't preclude the possibility...do you think Charles might help?"
"I already asked him. We've been talking about Richard for a while. We actually got into a big fight about him. I think that we should try and fix him up, and Charles thinks we should stay out of it. But when I heard about Livy going out with him...it sounded like such a perfect pairing!"
"Ladies?" William called from the door. He had heard a few words of their conversation, enough to set off small alarms in his head. "Why don't you join the rest of us in the other room?" William looked pointedly at Lizzy and she knew that she'd been caught. They all went into the living room, where both Jane and Lizzy carefully observed the behavior of Richard and Olivia, who seemed to be assiduously avoiding each other. Lizzy quickly became frustrated and gave up, but to Jane's more discerning eye, their behavior seemed rather calculated. She began to formulate a plan in her head. She only needed Charles's cooperation to pull it off...
William perused the front page of the Wall Street Journal while waited for the elevator. He felt slightly edgy, anxious to be back in his office, a feeling Richard attributed to withdrawal. William never could stand being away from the office for very long, unless his absence was due to business, and he'd been away from the office for the better part of the week. Not that the time was misspent; he'd been able to spend some quality time with Lizzy and they were on solid ground once more. William knew that it would only be a matter of time before he asked Lizzy to be his wife. The only question was when. He sensed that Lizzy wasn't quite ready...perhaps after the New Year. Valentine's Day appealed, but William thought it would be kind of corny and he really didn't want to wait that long.
Of more immediate concern was Richard. William had been unable to shake Richard from his thoughts since lunch the previous Friday. Over hamburgers at Harpy's, William had come to understand something of Richard's frustration. William had also learned something about himself over the weekend, and as a result he had returned to New York no longer jealous of Richard and no longer plagued with guilt over the happiness that he'd found with Lizzy. He had also returned home determined to do what he could to repay his cousin for his sacrifice. William continued to stare, unseeing, at the paper before him as he considered alternative courses of action, until he became aware that he was being observed. He lowered the paper and found himself face to face with Danielle.
"Good morning, Danielle," he said somewhat sheepishly.
"You haven't gone deaf! I was beginning to worry," she smiled as they got into the elevator together. "How were the holidays?"
"Very good, thanks. Yours?"
"Same old, same old. Crazy family, lots of food...you know the drill." William smiled.
"Wait a minute--I thought that was my Thanksgiving," he said.
"William, that's everyone's Thanksgiving. I haven't seen any documentation, but I think it's the law." The elevator reached the 15th floor and Danielle got out. The door began to close when William suddenly stopped it and called out to her.
"Danielle, could you meet with me sometime later today? I may have an interesting proposition for you." Danielle placed a hand over her heart.
"Why William! This is so sudden! Is ten minutes too soon?" William reddened slightly as he smiled, and suggested that they meet for lunch in the executive dining room. The door of the elevator closed and Danielle turned around and ran smack into Richard, who had his hands on his hips.
"I'm shocked, Ms. Lewis! Shocked and disappointed," he continued, as she calmly walked around him and headed for her office. "You worked your fingers to the bone putting your husband through medical school, and now that he's a successful neurosurgeon you're going to dump him for a young, handsome millionaire?" Richard paused in the middle of Danielle's office. "Wait a minute, that isn't such a dumb idea! Never mind, go for it, girl!" he said, and threw himself into a chair across from Danielle's desk. She gazed back at him tolerantly.
"Is there some particular reason you came down here to play the fool so early in the morning, or did you just miss me?" she deadpanned. Richard insisted that he had missed her desperately. "Too late, I just gave myself to your cousin." Richard looked pained for a fleeting moment, but Danielle caught it and wondered if she had struck a raw nerve. The boys, as she referred to them collectively, seemed to be getting along much better of late after a few rather strained days a few months earlier. Since then, things seemed to return to normal between the cousins, but Richard hadn't quite been the same. Now Danielle began to put the pieces together and she looked at Richard sympathetically.
"How was your holiday?" she asked. Richard got up and began to rummage in her CDrack.
"Let's see: four days in the house with my vicious twin sisters, a bunch of dotty aunts and uncles and a dozen or so ankle biters...the usual. You?"
"Just like yours, except I have two brothers," Danielle said as she watched Richard closely. His behavior seemed to be calculated to avoid eye contact rather than to select music. Richard abruptly turned around.
"Really? Want to make a trade?" Danielle smiled.
"Honey, I wouldn't give them to my worst enemy."
"You're right," Richard said. "I like you, too. What was I thinking?" he asked, as he slipped out of her office with his music choice for the day.
Lizzy entered the offices of Cherry Blossom and was greeted by 118 messages on her e-mail. She cursed herself for obeying William's strict edict to leave her laptop at home over the holiday. She sighed and clicked on the first message, then the second, and then the next. At the seventh message, which had no subject, she smiled. It was an e-mail from William:
I love you!
The tenth message as was identical, as were all but eighteen of the messages queued up. Lizzy was enchanted, and she read and archived each and every message in her "William" file. She considered replying to each message, but she imagined that doing so might take up her whole morning. William had apparently started e-mailing her on Wednesday at the rate of 20 messages a day. Lizzy clicked on reply and sent only one:
Are you sure?
She got down to work and soon found that William had responded to her e-mail.
Am I sure about what?
Lizzy smiled and typed.
I knew it was too good to be true. Your type can't be trusted!
What has my blood got to do with anything?
You're in good humor today .
Actually, I'm not. I just got some disturbing news that might delay the launch of my computer.
How bad is it?
It could be much worse, but the delay might cost me a few million in Christmas sales.
I'm sorry.
I don't suppose you know anything about assembling computers and have a LOT of free time on your hands?
I'm afraid not.
It was worth a shot. So now what's this about my blood? Lizzy lost her enthusiasm for playing with William after she read his news. She thought for a moment, and as Charlotte entered her office for a meeting.
I've got a meeting now. I'll let you know about your effect on MY blood later.
She turned to begin her meeting, but a moment later she was notified of another message.
I love you!
Now where have I heard that before?
Olivia sat at the breakfast table with Jane, discussing her engagement with Charles.
"I know we haven't set a date yet, and I know it's tacky to ask a wedding guest for a gift," Jane began, "But Olivia, Charles and I would really love it if you would agree to make the cake for our wedding as a gift to us."
"As long as the wedding's not going to be an affair for 300 of your nearest and dearest, it will be my honor." They discussed Jane's ideas for the wedding, until Jane abruptly changed the topic.
"And when do you think you'll be tying the knot, Livy?" Olivia sighed wistfully.
"At this point, I can't say that I have any illusions that I'll be walking down the aisle in the foreseeable future." Jane poured out more coffee.
"Really? That surprises me. I heard you had a date with one extremely eligible bachelor over the weekend," she prodded. But Olivia didn't flinch.
"I had dinner with Richard Fitzwilliam, if that's what you mean, but he didn't propose marriage over dessert." Jane persisted in spite of Olivia's cool reply.
"You know, in spite of my close friendship with William, and the fact that he's Charles's closest friend, I can't say that I really know Richard that well. What's he like?"
"Well," Olivia sighed. "He's charming, intelligent, witty, well-read, sensitive, endearing, and sexy, not necessarily in that order."
"Mmm, he sounds dreamy," Jane smiled knowingly.
"Don't try and set me up with him, Jane," Olivia warned.
"Why not? It sounds as though you had a great time with him!"
"I did."
"So--?"
"Jane..."
"Just tell me why not?" she pleaded.
"Have you forgotten that he used to date your sister?"
"Of course not, but surely you don't hold that against him?"
"No, in fact I applaud his good taste," she smiled. "But he's still dealing with his breakup with her and I don't want to deal with his emotional baggage."
"But you're the perfect person to help him get over Lizzy! I saw the way he was looking at you last night." Olivia was surprised by Jane's revelation, but she quickly put it aside.
"It's too soon."
"Well, then," Jane said, "Just say 'when'."
William went down to Richard's office a few minutes after Richard called to tell him that he was off to meet Charles for lunch. He slipped into Richard office, ignoring Anne's offer to take a message, insisting that it was personal and he'd write it himself. He sat down at Richard's desk and began opening a few drawers. Anne came in and asked if she could be of use. Caught, William asked for a piece of paper. Anne went out and retrieved a pad and pen, handed them to William and left him to write his note. He quickly scribbled out a message and left it on Richard's desk. William rose and was about to leave when he found what he was looking for. He peeked out into the outer office and saw that Anne was occupied on the phone. He took the opportunity to flip through Richard's appointment book and made a few mental notes to himself. When he was done, he replaced the book exactly as he'd found it and slipped out of Richard's office. William went up to the executive dining room and apologized to Danielle for his tardiness. She accepted his apology and William sat down. As usual, William insisted on their enjoying their meal before getting down to business. In fact, as a rule, William disliked the whole idea of combining food with business, but he did it as a matter of convenience.
"So what's this about, Boss Man?" Danielle asked over coffee.
"Danielle," William said after he dabbed his mouth, "I'd like to borrow your professional services."
"Borrow? Don't I already work for you?"
"Yes, but this would be unofficial. You'll be compensated, of course." Danielle raised her eyebrows.
"Exactly what do you have in mind?"
"I'd like to investigate a business opportunity. Actually, I'd like you to help me draw up a whole business plan--market research, cost and profit projections--the whole ball of wax."
"This sounds like a job for the venture group, William," Danielle said suspiciously.
"It's too small, and besides, it's not for Darcy Corporation or any of its subsidiaries. If it comes off, I would be the primary investor, but I would be fronting the money for someone else," William replied.
"Does this have anything to do with Richard?" William visibly reacted, but he quickly recovered.
"Why do you ask that?"
"I don't know," Danielle answered. In fact, she wasn't sure what made her say that, but William's reaction left her in no doubt. "There's something going on, isn't there?"
"What do you mean?" William asked, concerned.
"Our Richard hasn't been himself lately." Danielle chuckled. "You know, if it was anyone else I'd say he had a screw loose. In Richard's case I'd say the opposite. There's something tight about him...forced. Like he's going through the motions but he doesn't find joy in anything." William smiled to himself and Danielle grew even more suspicious. "Look, Boss Man, if you want me in on this scheme, I don't want to be left in the dark. I'm very fond of my other boss, and I won't do anything that might hurt him."
"Danielle, hurting Richard is the last thing I want. In fact, if we can pull off this 'scheme,' as you call it, it might make Richard a very happy man in the near future." He invited Danielle up to his office and told her the entire tale of the triangle between Richard, himself, and Lizzy and how it had turned out. Danielle really felt for Richard, and she listened eagerly to William's plan for restoring Richard's happiness.
"So, when are you planning to do the dirty deed?" Richard asked between sips of water.
"In the spring. My parents will be back in the country by then," Charles replied before he tucked into his massive roast beef sandwich.
"Where are they now, exactly?" Richard continued. He, like Charles, had ordered a soup and sandwich combo, their response to the frigid conditions outside. Richard tasted his soup and found himself comparing it with Olivia's. It paled in comparison, and only the thought of having to face the elements again made him eat it.
"They're in Milan, at the moment. When I called them last week that's where they were headed."
"How much longer will they be in Europe?" Richard gave up on the soup and turned his attention to his pastrami on rye.
"Well, dad's semester ends in December, but my mom wants to see more of the continent before she comes home. Dad is retiring at the end of the academic year, so he won't be going back to Europe in an official capacity, and mom thought that they should see as much of Europe as they can while they're there."
"Being a visiting professor must be a neat gig."
"He loves it. But that's not why I invited you here today," Charles smiled and Richard looked at him expectantly. "I want you to...that is I'd be honored if you would be my best man."
"The honor would be mine, Charles," Richard returned the smile, just as Charles's began to fade. "What?" Richard prodded. Charles looked into his soup.
"Jane plans to ask Lizzy to be her maid of honor. You don't have a problem with that, do you?"
"No, of course not. Why should I?" Richard replied so casually that Charles visibly relaxed.
"You're getting over her, huh?" Richard ran a hand through his hair.
"Why does everyone think I'm carrying this torch for Lizzy? All right, I admit I fell for her...fell fairly hard. And, yes, it's been a little difficult seeing her with William, but I did the right thing and I can live with it."
"You've been depressed of late."
"Charles, compared to you and Jane, everyone's depressed," Richard retorted, wishing to change the subject. He knew that he had been out of sorts lately. He couldn't quite put his finger on what was bothering him. Perhaps Charles was right--he was depressed. Richard wished that everyone would just forget about the whole ordeal and let him get on with his life. He was beginning to find the constant references to Lizzy more upsetting than any other aspect of his decision not see her anymore. Richard abruptly came out of his reverie when he heard Charles mention Olivia's name.
"Jane seems to think that Olivia will agree to it," Charles concluded.
"Excuse me?"
"You haven't heard a word I said, have you?" Charles grinned. "I have half a mind not to tell you what I was talking about." Richard smirked as he signaled for the check.
"You do have half a mind, Charles," Richard countered. "Pity. And by the time you're married, I fear you'll have no mind left at all." Richard picked up the tab and returned to his office a few blocks away, where he found William's note on his desk. He dialed his cousin upstairs.
"Fitz, I don't speak Sanskrit."
"That's nice to know."
"I can't read it, either."
"Thank you for that vital information. Are there any other deficiencies you care to report?" William smiled at his own wit.
"What happened to the guy who used to win the penmanship prize every year at Eton?"
"Richard, there is no penmanship prize at Eton."
"It's just as well. What did you do, write this under water?"
"Oh!" William feigned surprise. "You're speaking of the note I left. I'm sorry, I was in a hurry."
"Hurry? You must have been doing the hundred-yard dash. Exactly what is this supposed to say?"
"I just wanted to tell you that I found your watch up at the house when I closed up on Sunday. I meant to mention it yesterday, but it completely skipped my mind when I was with you in Brooklyn."
"Proximity to Lizzy," Richard smirked.
"What?"
"Sort of like being a lemming and trying to read Hemingway when there's a cliff beckoning nearby."
"What the heck are you talking about?" William was completely confused.
"Nothing. Look, cuz, I didn't leave a watch at your house."
"You were the only man at the house besides myself all weekend..."
"Have you asked Gee? Maybe she had a male friend over."
"A friend who took his watch off?"
"Look, Fitz. You can stay on the line and play the outraged big brother. I've got work to do." They both hung up and William smiled. There had been no watch. The message had merely been a ruse to justify his presence in Richard's office. William picked up a piece of paper and wrote down a few notes on the information he had gleaned from Richard's calendar. He laid it aside and picked up the phone.
"So what did Richard say?"
"He didn't say anything. In fact, I don't think he even listened," Charles admitted. Jane sighed.
"Well, why don't you ask her anyway? Maybe he'll have a better reaction when he finds out later."
"I doubt it, honey. Besides, you just had your web page redesigned a couple of months ago. How would you explain it to Charlotte and Lizzy?" Charles scratched his head in frustration. He didn't want any part of Jane's machinations.
"Find something else to give her, then! I don't care what it is, as long as you find some sort of assignment that will keep Olivia in New York."
"Suppose she wants to do the work from Pennsylvania?" Charles reasoned.
"Give her a deadline for goodness' sake! Come on, Charles; you're not even trying!" Charles cringed at the whiney tone of Jane's exasperated voice.
"You know how I feel about this, Jane. I don't think Richard will appreciate it."
"Well, he will someday. Please, sweetie?" Jane's tone shifted from whining to cooing.
"That reminds me, I have to give Caroline a call and see if she got back to town." Jane briefly considered hanging up on him for his unflattering comparison, but she decided that it would be better revenge to use his sister's methods to torment him. Charles quickly relented and got off the phone as quickly as possible. He rose and wandered over to Lizzy's office.
"Lizzy, do you think that Olivia might be interested in taking on a little work while she's up here?" Lizzy turned to look at Charles as he spoke, and a smile spread slowly over her face. Charles recognized that smile, and resisted the impulse to beat a quick exit from the room.
"Hey!" Lizzy cried, leaping to her feet. "That might just be..." She quickly reigned in her enthusiasm. "You know, what with being with William and Richard's family all weekend, I hardly had a chance to spend any time with Livy. Maybe if you can find a reason for her to stay on a bit longer..." her eyes twinkled, dangerously, to Charles's mind.
"You could spend. more time with her," Charles completed Lizzy's rationale, but he wasn't fooled for an instant. He sighed and pulled out a chair to sit down. "What have we got that she could work on?" Lizzy and Charles went through some of their new accounts, Charles leaning toward short-term projects and Lizzy attempting to steer him back toward long-term complicated ones. As they argued good-naturedly, Lisa poked her head into the office.
"Charles, your sister is on the phone." Charles winced and went back to his office to take the call.
"Hello, darling," Caroline purred. "How was your trip to Vermont?"
"Wonderful! Jane and I got engaged," Charles said.
"Did you get in any skiing while you were there?" Caroline prattled on.
"Yes, until I sprained my ankle. And then Jane and I got engaged," Charles repeated, knowing that she wasn't listening.
"That's nice. Louisa and John send their love."
"Great."
"Well, aren't you going to ask about my time in California?" Charles dutifully asked about Caroline's vacation in Santa Monica.
"It was absolutely dreadful! John's relations are so boorish and vulgar. And their little brat kept drooling all over me!" Caroline whined, sounding much like Jane had a half hour earlier. She proceeded to relate to her brother every sordid detail of her encounter with her niece. "So how's Jane, dear?" she said, coming up for breath.
"Fine. We're engaged now, you know."
"Yes, Charles. You already said that. "
"Well, aren't you going to congratulate me?" Charles cried, his enthusiasm for speaking to his sister long since gone.
"Congratulations," she replied dully. "Oh!" she brightened suddenly. "I should give the two of you a party to announce your engagement! I'll have a small, intimate affair, forty or fifty, perhaps. Are you free this weekend? I'll have Raul's do the food...call Maria about getting an appointment at the spa...let's see, what else do I need?" Charles rolled his eyes. "I take it that William will be your best man?" Caroline hinted.
"No, I've already asked Richard," Charles replied, anticipating Caroline's reaction.
"Oh...well, I wish you had consulted me first, dear."
"Why?" Charles asked, and almost immediately regretted it.
"You know what I think of Richard. He's so..."
"Resistant to your charms?" Charles taunted.
"He's a pain in my rear! Why did you choose him over William anyway?" Caroling pouted.
"That pain in your rear happens to be my best friend. And if it weren't for him, I probably wouldn't be engaged to Jane right now." Caroline gave a derisive snort. Charles had had enough.
"Look, Carrie, you caught me at a bad time. I'm in the middle of something with Lizzy. Can we talk later? I'll call you back." Relieved, Charles returned to Lizzy's office. In his absence, Lizzy had picked out a couple of nice projects for Olivia and was digging out her concept files on each of them. Charles looked them over dubiously.
"This one will take week!" Lizzy nodded with an eager smile. Charles shook his head. "Well, I'll give her a call," he said, rising. But Lizzy suggested that she bring Olivia with her to the office tomorrow so they could pitch their ideas to her in person. Charles reluctantly agreed.
The following morning, Olivia went to the office with Lizzy. She had spent the previous day shopping in Brooklyn and spending some time at Jane's shop. Today she planned to meet with Charles, have lunch with Lizzy, and then do some Christmas shopping in town. Olivia followed Lizzy into her office and removed her coat as Lizzy eagerly turned on her computer and sat waiting for it to boot up.
"Aren't you going to take your coat off, Lizzy?"
"I want to see if William sent me any e-mail." Lizzy shrugged out of her coat and scarf with her eyes still focused on the screen.
"So the two of you still send e-mails to each other? How cute." Olivia picked up the picture of William that Lizzy kept on her desk. In it, William was apparently laying in a pile of leaves, gazing intently at the photographer, presumably Lizzy herself. The look in his eyes was decidedly intimate, and Olivia felt like an intruder as she quickly put the photograph back on Lizzy's desk. Lizzy disappointedly began to read her e-mail. There was nothing from William. Olivia went down the hall to the conference room, where there was always a pot of coffee going, and helped herself to a cup. She brought back a cup for Lizzy and sat down.
"So exactly what is it that you and Charles wanted to see me about?" Olivia asked Lizzy.
"I'll let Charles explain."
"That's what you said yesterday. Don't tell me that his business partner has been kept in the dark," Olivia challenged.
"I didn't mean to suggest that I have. I just think that Charles would rather pitch his idea himself." Lizzy couldn't be more wrong. When Charles asked Olivia into his office a short time later, he was considerably less than eager to broach the subject.
"What's the big mystery?" Olivia coaxed. Charles stared at the large black pin on the shoulder of Olivia's chartreuse sweater. "Charles?" Olivia waved her hand, startling Charles.
"Oh, I...I'm sorry. I was thinking...that is, I was wondering if you would be willing to take on a project while you're up here visiting.," he managed.
"I'm only going to be here until tomorrow, Charles." Olivia smiled.
"Can't you stay a few days...uh, weeks more?"
"A few days, perhaps. After that, I want to get home." Charles felt somewhat relieved. He would be able to satisfy Jane's demand that he do something, but not get in so deep that his conscience would prick him too deeply. Charles pulled out the two files that he and Lizzy had discussed. Olivia agreed to do one of the projects, working out of an office recently vacated by a departing staffer. She went back to Lizzy with the news.
"You're only going to take on one? I thought surely that they were both up your alley!"
"Oh, I'm perfectly willing to do the second project, but I want to get back to Pennsylvania by the end of the week. I can't ask Marisa to take care of my cat forever, you know," Olivia laughed. Lizzy pretended to pout for a while, but Olivia ignored her. She picked up her things and prepared to leave.
"Where are you going?" Lizzy exclaimed as Olivia buttoned her coat.
"Shopping! If I'm going to have to work until the end of the week, I'd better get to the stores right now!" Lizzy suggested that Olivia meet her for a late lunch and gave directions to a restaurant nearby. When Olivia was gone, Lizzy picked up the phone.
"Richard Fitzwilliam's office."
"Hello, darling," Lizzy cooed. On the other end, William started.
"Is that how you always greet Richard?"
"Of course not, silly. I recognized your voice. What are you doing answering his phone?"
"What are you doing answering my phone?" Richard asked from the door. William looked up.
"I was trying to be helpful. Here, it's Lizzy." Richard walked over to his desk and took the phone while William continued to pore over the report he had been reading before the phone rang.
"Hello, Bright Eyes. How are you?"
"I'm fine. I just checked to see if we were still on for lunch today. It's the last Tuesday in the month, you know."
"So it is. May I invite the man sneering at me from across the desk?"
"Yes, please," Lizzy smiled. William happily accepted the invitation and Lizzy informed him that she'd need to meet him a bit later than their usual time. When they were done talking, Richard turned to William.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, cuz?"
"I need your help, Fitz."
"Shoot." Richard leaned back in his chair and put his feet up, his posture markedly contrasting with William's more business-like posture in the chair opposite.
"I've got a scheduling conflict."
"You? I bet Jo committed hari-kiri when she found out! She's always prided herself on keeping you so organized," Richard smiled.
"It wasn't her fault," William replied curtly. In fact, she doesn't even know about it, yet, he thought.
"What's the problem, and how can I help?"
"Well, you know that there's that Tech Expo down in Pennsylvania next month..."
"The 9th and 10th of December in King of Prussia," Richard said as he brought up his calendar on his handheld organizer. William gazed at the object in Richard's hands for a moment. He'd forgotten that Richard usually carried an electronic notebook, and hoped that the information he'd gleaned from Richard's appointment book earlier was reliable.
"Yes. Well, I've been invited to speak at Harvard Business School on the 9th --."
"And you want me to cover for you at the Expo? Consider it done," Richard began to make an entry on his machine.
"No! I was rather hoping that you'd go to Harvard in my place."
"Me?"
"Why not? You're a graduate of the school. You've started a very successful business, and they want someone who can talk about opportunities in the tech field. You'd be perfect." Richard looked at William suspiciously.
"I'm the schmoozer in the trenches. You're the one given to giving pretty speeches, pal." William hesitated for a moment.
"All right. I have an ulterior motive for asking you to go to Cambridge," William confessed. "I'm having delivery trouble with the Companion."
"Big trouble?"
"Shipments may not reach our shores until late February. I want to be at the Tech Expo to do damage control. So far, word hasn't gotten out about the delays, but it's only a matter of time. I want to be positioned to stay on top of things." Richard whistled.
"When did this happen? How did it happen? I though that the factory that you bought..."
"Labor troubles--couldn't get enough people on board fast enough to make production deadlines. I wish they had let me know sooner. It's my own fault, really." William ran a hand through his hair. "I had originally scheduled the launch for January, but I let my marketing people talk me into moving up the date to take advantage of Christmas sales. Now it turns out that not only will I miss Christmas, but the original launch date as well."
"Couldn't you launch with a smaller shipment? Scarcity might make the Companion this year's Tickle Me Elmo." William smiled. Richard was extremely astute. His ability to see potential benefit where everyone else only saw a problem was what made William want to go into business with him in the first place. He just hoped that Richard wasn't so shrewd that he'd catch onto his scheme.
"Well, we've got the limited edition into the Neiman-Marcus catalog, and that alone will create a buzz. But I'd like to be able to get at least some product into the mainstream market before Christmas. I may have to go back to Japan to sort this out," said William.
"Well, you know you can rely upon me to do whatever I can, Fitz."
"Thank you, Fitz." William rose and started to leave. He turned back, "By the way, how come I never see you using yours?" Richard opened the desk drawer where his virtually untouched laptop sat. Richard was the proud owner of the 0001 machine, which William had given him on the day the first models arrived at his office.
"I'm saving it for posterity. I think it ought to go into a museum someday," Richard said in all honesty.
"But I have the prototype and a few unnumbered models for the archives," William replied.
"Oh! Well, in that case, I should dump this on E-bay," Richard laughed. William shook his head and left his office.