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Richard and Olivia were alone in Hugh Fitzwilliam's study, where they had taken refuge from the cacophony in the living room. All the guests had departed save for Olivia. William couldn't locate her when he was ready to leave but assumed that Richard would eventually get her home. Olivia was curled up in Richard's arms and he was showing her how to use her new telephone.

"You don't even have to learn my new number. I've already programmed it in for you." Olivia peered over Richard's arm and saw that the phone had been programmed with Lizzy's home and office numbers, the number of Jane's shop, a few numbers for William, and no less than five for Richard.

"What are all those numbers for?" she asked.

"My apartment, the office, my phone here, my old cell, and my new cell. I'm keeping the old phone. Tineke insists that every Yuppie worth the title has at least two cell phones," he grinned.

"Oh," was Olivia's only reply. She was feely somewhat drowsy, exhausted by the day's activities. Richard looked down as she slid lower in his lap so she could rest her head on his thigh. She listened to the remainder of his instructions about how to send and retrieve e-mails, but Richard could see that she wasn't terribly interested in what he was saying and gave up. He laid the phone on the table.

"Are we still on for tomorrow?" he asked as he toyed with a wisp of hair at her ear. She batted at his hand unsuccessfully.

"Yes? Are we still going hiking?"

"Snowshoeing, I think. Or cross country skiing. Your choice." Richard gently ran his finger along Olivia's jaw line. Olivia turned over and looked up at him. Richard lifted her up slightly and kissed her deeply. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Richard," Olivia said huskily. Voices were heard in the hall and Olivia quickly sat up. A second or two later, Hugh opened the door.

"Oh! I..." He sputtered in embarrassment. Richard rose, but Hugh waved his hand.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude," he finally managed.

"You aren't intruding dad. This is your office, after all. We were just looking for a little peace and quiet," Richard confessed as Olivia stood up beside him blushing slightly.

"And you found it. Enjoy." Hugh grabbed a book from his desk and quickly left the room, his face even redder than Olivia's. When the door was shut again, Olivia giggled and sat back down. Richard fell back into his seat.

"Why did I just feel as though I was sixteen again?" Olivia tousled his hair.

"I don't think I want to know the answer to that," she teased. Richard turned toward her with a threatening expression on his face and she squealed and fell back among the pillows at the end of the long couch. Richard dove on top of her and tickled her until he had a better idea and took advantage of the opportunity to kiss her. Olivia wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his kiss. When Kathleen came looking for her husband some minutes later she found the pair thus entwined. Instead of rising, however, they froze at the sound of the muffled gasp.

"If you two intend to continue that any farther, I suggest you go upstairs," Kathleen suggested archly. "It's more discrete, not to mention far more comfortable." She closed the door with a smile playing about her lips. Richard immediately sat up.

"Sorry." He extended his hand to pull Olivia to an upright position.

"Sorry you kissed me? Or sorry that we were caught at it?" she challenged. Richard was silent for a minute.

"I'm sorry I can't take you upstairs," he admitted finally. Olivia was slightly surprised by his candor, but she tried to lighten the tension.

"Didn't clean your room again, eh?" Richard smiled a tiny bit as he turned to look at her. "Not funny?" she pouted.

"I don't want to rush you into anything..."

"I don't feel rushed. You know, if you kissed me the way you did the other night, I might not even notice the condition of your room..." she said suggestively as she wrapped her arms around her arms around Richard's neck once more.

"What way is that?" He asked as he pulled her onto his lap.

"Remember that moment that we had on Thursday night when we kissed and the whole world seemed to disappear?" Richard smiled. "That kiss."

"So all I have to do is recreate that moment of perfect bliss?" Richard chuckled. Olivia nodded.

"Why don't you work on that? You almost managed it Friday morning," she said as she rose and straightened her dress.

"Where are you going?" Richard asked as Olivia headed for the door.

"To get my coat so you can take me home. It's getting late." Richard rose.

"But what about my practice?" Olivia smiled.

"Oh, we'll have all day tomorrow to practice. But right now," she paused to yawn, "I need some beauty sleep." Richard denied it as he helped her into her coat.

"Hey! I thought I did manage it on Friday!" he exclaimed a few minutes later after Olivia had said her good byes to the family and they were in the Range Rover.

"I was faking it!" Olivia teased. Richard gaped at her and she giggled.

"Faking it, huh?"

"Yes, I was simply tired of your incessant kissing," Olivia laughed. Richard stopped the vehicle and turned to glare at her.

"Now I know you're lying! No one ever tires of my kisses!" Olivia rolled her eyes.

"Really? Will I be receiving a flood of testimonials from all your ex-girlfriends and casual trysting partners as to the veracity of this claim?" Richard smiled sheepishly.

"No, I intend to convince you all by myself. Starting tomorrow," he added as he put the Range Rover back into drive and continued toward William's house.

"You know, Mr. Fitzwilliam, it's not tomorrow yet," Olivia observed ten minutes later as she gently attempted to disengage herself from Richard's embrace.

"So?" he asked as he nuzzled Olivia's neck.

"So you should probably go home and rest up for your big day. I'll look for my Chapstick and call the Guinness Brothers before I turn in," Olivia quipped before she slid out of his grasp and hopped out of the Rover. She turned and waved at him before she went into the house. Richard shook his head and headed back to his parents' house. When he arrived, he shrugged out of his coat, threw it over the banister and headed up the stairs. As he passed his grandmother's room on the way to his own, he noticed that her door was ajar, the lights were on, and he heard the unmistakable tapping of fingers on a computer keyboard. Richard pushed the door open and entered the room.

"Oh, lord, another cyber-junky has been born. I do hope you're not looking for instructions on how to build a pipe bomb." Bess didn't deign to respond to his jibe.

"This is so fascinating, Fizz. I told William before he left how thrilled I was with this present, and I want to thank you, too. You two should have given me a computer years ago! I could entertain myself here for weeks!" she said delightedly.

"Try decades, GB. There are millions of sites on the web and thousands more being created as we speak."

"Woohoo!" Bess exclaimed. Richard's mouth fell open.

"Since when you do 'woohoo'?" Bess shot him a glance.

"Since when do your pants make noise?" Richard stared at her for a moment. Then he looked down as understanding dawned and pulled his cell phone from his pocket and opened it.

"Hey, this thing works!" Olivia said of her new cell phone before Richard had a chance to speak.

"Did you think it wouldn't?" he replied as he watched Bess navigate her family tree.

"No. I just wanted to hear your voice again before I went to bed." Richard just smiled for a moment; then he remembered himself and asked Olivia to hold on.

"Good night, Grandma Bess," he said and bent to kiss her cheek.

"Good night, Fizz," she smiled. Richard put the phone back to his ear and started for his own room.

"Wait a moment!" Olivia cried. "May I speak to Bess for a second?"

"Sure," Richard said, turning back to his grandmother. "Olivia wants to say good night," he said as he handed Bess the phone.

"Good night, Olivia," Bess said, her eyes fixed on the screen before her.

"I wanted to thank you again for my gift. I promise to put it to use right away," Olivia vowed.

"Remember what I said," Bess replied with a glance at her waiting grandson. "It's just a bunch of rocks." Olivia laughed and Richard eyed his grandmother warily. "Good night." She handed the phone back to Richard, who squinted at Bess before he left her to her net surfing.

"Was she talking about me?" he asked a bit defensively as he crossed the hall and entered his room. Olivia laughed again.

"No, of course not." Richard turned on his lamp and surveyed the room. It was reasonably neat, in his somewhat biased estimation.

"No?" he repeated, as he began unbuttoning his shirt with his free hand.

"No, Richard. What made you think that she was?"

"The two of you were whispering conspiratorially," he sniffed. Richard slipped out of his shirt and casually tossed it on a chair.

"No we weren't!"

"Why can't I believe that?" he asked as he undid his belt buckle and began to remove his pants. Olivia changed the subject.

"You may believe whatever you like, but that won't make it so," Olivia said indulgently.

"Thank you. I choose to believe that you two are conspiring against me." Olivia sighed.

"What time are we meeting tomorrow?"

"How does 10:00 sound? Unless you'd like to meet a bit later?" Richard kicked off his shoes, dropped his pants, and stepped out of them. He retrieved them and tossed them on the chair next to his shirt.

"No, 10:00 sounds great. Which of us is making lunch?" Olivia asked.

"Leave all the details to me. You just remember to dress warmly," Richard reminded her as he sat on the edge of the bed and pulled off his socks.

"Will do. Sleep well, Fizz."

"Like a rock?" he smirked. He hung up and stood to pull off his tee shirt and headed for the bathroom. He brushed his teeth and returned to his bed. In moments, he had burrowed under the covers and was fast asleep.

Caroline Bingley drunkenly reached up to turn off the lamp. She lay back in her bed and stared at the dark ceiling, illuminated only by lights from the street below. Her conscience still gnawed at her in spite of the half bottle of wine she'd consumed on returning to her apartment. Lily Church was a good neighbor but an insatiable gossip. Caroline reconsidered the dangerous tack she'd taken when she'd chosen to bad-mouth one of William's employees--indeed, one of Lily's coworkers--in her presence.

"What's done is done. I can't take it all back now," Caroline slurred as she turned onto her stomach. "Blasted Charles! This is all his fault. It's all their fault! Well, I hope that Lily does tell someone what I said and I hope that Olivia-'I'm-Richard's-scrawny-loudmouthed-girlfriend'-Crenshaw becomes the laughingstock of Darcy Corporation!" Caroline opened her eyes and thought for a moment.

"And tomorrow I will call my attorney and see just how difficult it would be to get Lizzy Bennet out of Cherry Blossom as well!" Satisfied, she soon fell in a drunken slumber.

Part 16

Richard awoke early the next morning, slipped into his robe, and went down to the kitchen to have a word with the cook before he returned to his room to shower and shave. A half hour later he reappeared downstairs, this time fully dressed and bearing a duffle bag, a newspaper under one arm, a plaid wool throw over one shoulder, and an enigmatic smile on his face. He paused in the morning room to kiss each of his parents on the forehead on his way to the kitchen. He emerged from the kitchen moments later and stopped at his customary place at the table only long enough to pour out a mug of coffee. He splashed in a bit of milk and headed toward the garage with the hot brew.

"Aren't you going to have any breakfast?" Kathleen called after him.

"I'll be back in about a half an hour," he said. He took the duffle and newspaper into the garage and came back a minute later, placed the empty mug on the table, and went back into the kitchen. Hugh and Kathleen exchanged a glance when Richard came out carrying an insulated tote.

"I take it you have plans for today," Hugh surmised. Richard waggled his eyebrows expressively.

"See you in a bit." The door swung shut behind him and peace was restored to the room. Hugh and Kathleen exchanged another amused glance.

"Olivia," they said in unison.

"So where are you going today?" Jane was asking Olivia at that moment. Olivia was tucking the bottom of her turtleneck into her ski pants and Jane was lounging on her bed.

"Well, when I was here last month--before all the snow--Richard took me on a tour of the property and there was a lovely little wooded area we didn't get to see. We're going there today," Olivia said as she finished dressing and took a brush to her hair.

"I think I rode there once. The grounds here are really beautiful, especially around the pond, although it's probably frozen over now."

"Oh, I had no idea there was a pond on the property. I'll have to make sure Richard shows it to me. Now," Olivia said, turning on her friend. "You still haven't answered my question. What was it that Charles was so angry about?"

"I don't know exactly. Something to do with Caroline, I think. Apparently she said something so offensive to him on the way to the city that he left her at the curb in front of her place and headed right back up here. But he didn't say what it was." Jane sat up and tucked in the last exposed bit of Olivia's top.

"Thanks."

"Whatever it was, though, it must have been really bad, because he tossed and turned all night." Olivia frowned.

"What could Caroline have said to him that could be so bad? I daresay she probably bad-mouthed me all the way back to the city, but that wouldn't mean anything." Jane shrugged. Olivia grabbed her new cell phone. "Well, I'll give Richard a call and see if he can get over here a little early. Maybe he and William will be able to calm Charles down." Olivia hit the code that connected her with Richard's new phone. He answered on the first ring.

"Good morning, Angel."

"How did you know it was me?" Olivia smiled.

"Simple. I haven't given this number to anyone else. What's up?"

"What are you doing? You sound a bit out of breath." Richard placed the now-empty duffle bag on the floor.

"I'm unloading firewood."

"Firewood?"

"It's cold outside, or haven't you noticed?"

"I could make some mushy declaration about scarcely noticing the cold due to the frequent proximity of a certain very hot gentleman, but it would only go to his head, and Lizzy probably wouldn't appreciate it, anyway," she teased.

"Hey!"

"More importantly, Jane is here and she's got a problem."

"Problem?" Richard immediately grew serious. "Is something wrong with Charles?"

"I'll let her explain." She handed the phone to Jane.

"Hello, Richard. I know that you and Olivia have plans but do you think you could make a little time to see Charles today...preferably sooner rather than later? There's something troubling him and he won't talk to me about it. I know that he'll confide in you. I'd really appreciate it."

"Have you got any idea what it's about?"

"He won't say, but it has to have something to do with Caroline. He came back from New York yesterday wired, although he tried his best to hide it. By the time we went to bed last night he was muttering to himself, and he didn't sleep well."

"All the signs of a pot about to boil over," Richard concluded, based on his intimate knowledge of Charles's rarely seen but extremely dangerous temper. "I'm scheduled to be over there at ten...I'll try to get there earlier and do anything I can to help."

"Thank you, Richard," Jane sighed in relief. She knew too well Charles's nature. He tended to turn his anger inward on himself and she wanted whatever was troubling him dealt with before that happened. And if Caroline Bingley happened to be the target of her brother's anger Jane was not at all averse to having it turned on her full bore. She handed the phone back to Olivia.

"This sounds serious. We may have to delay our outing a bit," Richard said regretfully.

"That's all right. I've seen Charles this morning. I think making him a priority is a good idea."

"I love you."

"You, too," Olivia replied, aware that she was not alone. "See you in a little while." Olivia and Jane went downstairs and found Charles in William's study, his laptop temporarily hooked up to William's direct Internet connection, but they didn't disturb him. He seemed intent on finding something in his files. Jane and Olivia exchanged a worried glance and headed for the kitchen. They greeted Mrs. Reynolds and poured out some coffee. A few moments later they were joined by Christopher.

"Where's Charles this morning?" he asked, noting to himself that he rarely saw Jane without Charles at her side during their stay at William's home.

"Oh...he...had some work he needed to look at this morning," Jane managed awkwardly. Christopher privately wondered at her discomfort and dropped his follow up question. William came into the kitchen and joined the others at the table.

"Good morning," he smiled as he took a seat beside Jane. But as soon as he had spoken he could tell that all was not well with Jane. Over the course of their friendship, William had picked up Jane's gift for sensing when something was wrong. Jane's face showed signs of worry and a sleepless night. Jane averted her gaze from William, which only served to confirm his suspicion. "What's the matter?" Jane glanced at Christopher, who promptly started to rise and leave the friends to talk. But Jane reached out and grasped his forearm before he could leave.

"You may as well hear this, too. Something is bothering Charles. You know how he is," she said, mostly to William. "He hates to trouble me when something is bothering him. Well, he came back from New York yesterday upset about something, only he won't tell me about it. I've already spoken to Richard and he's coming over in a little while. Maybe you two can also try to get him open up." Jane's eyes were pleading. William placed his hand over Jane's and assured her that he would do whatever he could to help.

"Where is he now?" Christopher asked.

"He's in William's study, on his computer. He seems to be looking for something. Maybe the problem is with a client," she suggested.

"Then he would have discussed it with his partner," Olivia interjected. Lizzy entered the kitchen just then and all eyes turned toward her.

Richard arrived back at the house and entered the morning room from the garage. He kissed his grandmother on the cheek and, taking her face in his hand, peered into each of her eyes.

"You didn't stay up all night surfing the net, did you?" Bess simply blinked at him. He winked at her and sat down. A steaming bowl of Irish oatmeal was placed before him and he wasted no time in attacking it.

"What have you been doing?" Kathleen asked suspiciously.

"Cleaning," Richard replied with his mouthful, earning a distasteful look from his mother.

"Cleaning what?" Hugh asked.

"The playhouse. We're having a picnic there today," Richard said as he poured out a second cup of coffee in the mug he'd left earlier.

"You're having a picnic indoors?"

"It's twenty-five degrees outside, Grandma Bess. Would you like to picnic outside today?"

"Why don't you just have lunch here?" Richard snorted and Hugh and Kathleen exchanged a knowing glance.

"Hey, where are the evil twins?" Richard asked suddenly, noticing for the first time that only the usual inhabitants of the household were at the table.

"I do wish you'd stop calling them that," Hugh groaned.

"I can't speak for Corrine and Evan, Fizz, but Caitlin is feeding the babies upstairs. You made such a fuss on their last visit, I can't say I blame her," Kathleen explained.

"Oh, and you had no problem with Caitlin breastfeeding at the table?" Grandma Bess slapped Richard's hand so abruptly that he dropped his spoon.

"The baby had better table manners," Bess said, turning away. Richard gave her a dark look as he picked up his spoon and resumed eating. "And don't look at me like that, boy," she said so softly that Richard wasn't sure he'd heard it. He gulped down the rest of his coffee and rose from the table.

"Gotta go," he exclaimed. He wiped his mouth with his napkin before he kissed his grandmother's cheek once more.

"What's your rush? It's nowhere near lunch time," Bess quipped with a glint of impishness in her eye. Richard smiled back.

"I have to see Charles first." Richard paused to kiss his mother and then he was gone again.

William and Christopher collected their coffee mugs and went to the study, leaving the women to their breakfast. They tried to appear casual as they entered the room. Charles looked up and rose to his feet.

"Oh, did you need to use the desk? I thought...I mean, I was just trying to locate--."

"No, no, Charles! As I said before, feel free to make use of the office for as long as you need it," William replied quickly. Charles ran a hand through his uncombed hair.

"I was trying to locate some legal papers in my office. Mina faxed a few things up and I'm printing them out now, and then I'll be out of your way," Charles said absently as he began to collect a bunch of papers that had been strewn across William's desk.

"Take your time!" William urged. Charles looked haggard and frantic about something. There were no outward signs of anger on his face, just worry. William wasn't sure how to approach the troubled man and said a silent prayer that Richard would arrive soon. Although William and Charles had grown close over the years, he had never been as close to Charles as he was to Jane, even though he'd known Charles since their days together at Harvard. William felt somewhat impotent under the circumstances, and looked to Christopher helplessly.

"Legal papers?" Christopher said with an air of ease as he sat down. "Sounds like there's trouble brewing. Anything we can help you with?" Silence ensued, as Charles collected the papers. He merely shook his head. Christopher pursued the matter gently, in a voice that was calculated to soothe. "I am a licensed solicitor, you know. If I can be of any assistance--."

"I'm not sure I need any, yet." Charles replied, looking up at Christopher.

"Yet?" William asked. Charles threw the papers down on the desk and flopped into a chair to begin his tale.

Richard, meanwhile, appeared at the side door of William's the house and let himself in. He handed Mrs. Reynolds her Christmas gift and collected a kiss on his way to the den.

"Hello?" Jane and Lizzy looked up from the television program they were watching.

"Hi, Richard. Livy's gone upstairs, but she should be back in a moment," Lizzy offered, but Richard barely heard her. His eyes met Jane's and she rose and went to him.

"Thanks for coming so soon," Jane said when they were out of the living room. "Charles is in the study. I think William and Christopher are with him now." Richard nodded curtly and headed for the study. Olivia came down the stairs as he passed but she did not call out to him. Instead she joined Jane in watching his retreating figure.

"What's going on?" Jane and Olivia started and spun around to see Lizzy glaring at them, hands on hips.

Richard slowly opened the door to the study and heard the end of Charles's explanation. He gently closed the door behind him and listened to Christopher's response.

"Well, it would mainly depend on the terms of the agreement, but it appears that she can't do very much if your shares and Lizzy's combined outweigh hers. The two of you have enough votes to suppress any motion she makes. She wouldn't be able to fire you as president." Charles sighed, not totally convinced.

"She'll find an angle, somewhere. I know she will." He ran a hand through his hair. "That's it! I owe her money," he cried, slapping his knee for emphasis. "I borrowed money from her last year. At the time it was no big deal, but now she'll use that against me."

"How?" Richard asked. The other occupants turned to look at him. He had entered so quietly they were not aware of his presence. Charles rose and went to him.

"Caroline is going to try to take over Cherry Blossom." Richard would have laughed at the notion outright had it not been for the expression on his friend's face. He could tell that Charles was in deadly earnest.

"Why on earth would she want to do that?"

"We had an argument yesterday morning. That's why I returned to Connecticut." Charles fell silent and walked away.

"What did you argue about?" Richard prompted, following him with his eyes.

"Olivia."

"Olivia? What's she got to do with this?" Richard asked warily.

"The two of them had a bit of a confrontation yesterday," William explained. "Apparently, Caroline left here with thoughts of vengeance in mind." Richard frowned as he tried to take it all in. He wanted to know more about the argument, but for the moment, at least, he needed to concentrate on where William was headed.

"What manner of vengeance?" Richard asked protectively. He glared at William awaiting his response, but it was Charles who answered.

"Well, for one thing, she flatly forbade me to ever hire Olivia again," Charles revealed, as he began to pace. "And when I refused to knuckle under to her demand she threatened to start throwing her weight around as the principle stockholder of the company." Richard took a deep breath and sat down.

"But she's...how likely is Caroline to actually carry through on her threat? In fact, how much of a threat does she actually represent?" Christopher rose to his feet and stretched his legs as he responded.

"I was just explaining to Charles that his shares and Lizzy's combined constitute fifty-five percent of the voting shares in Cherry Blossom, enough to block any motion Caroline might put forward to the board in spite of the fact that she personally owns forty-five percent of the business." Christopher leaned against a mahogany bookcase and crossed his arms.

"Yes, but she could still have me by the short hairs," Charles said, grabbing a seat and whipping out a pen. He turned over a sheet of paper and began to scribble. "Caroline gave me a loan last year when I bought my loft. It was one of those things: I had found the perfect place and it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Caroline was easier and faster to deal with than a bank. She wrote a check and I got the loft. If she should decide to get really ugly I could be in serious trouble."

"You mean if Caroline decided to call in her debt," Richard stated evenly. Charles nodded.

"I'd have to give up part of my shares to repay her." Richard glanced down at the math on the paper before him. Charles's loan, paid out in shares of Cherry Blossom, would give Caroline nearly sixty percent of the company. He slid the sheet of paper over to William's side of the desk where Christopher read it over William's shoulder. He raised an eyebrow.

"I don't suppose an apology from Olivia would help," Richard deadpanned. He stretched his arms over his head as he pondered the situation. "What's the likelihood that Caroline would really go the distance on this? I mean this is Caroline we're talking about here, not--."

"She may never think of it, but her attorney certainly will--if he knows about the loan," Christopher mused. "And a shrewd attorney who saw such an opportunity to collect the commission on her suit would strongly advise Caroline to go for it."

"Against her own brother..." Charles murmured. Richard put a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

"Hey, you're not alone in this, pal."

"It seems to me that there's a simple way to forestall this. Buy her out." William leaned back in his chair and tented his fingers.

"With what?" Charles cried.

"Not you. Us," William said, looking at his longtime business partner, who nodded.

"Caroline won't sell. Not if she's hell-bent on having her way. Not if it means she can get Lizzy out of the company," Charles whined. William's interest was piqued.

"Lizzy?"

"Oh, yes! She'd love to get Lizzy out of the company, too. In fact, I think she'd be happier to see Lizzy unemployed than Olivia." William and Richard exchanged a glance. Christopher, too, understood. He began to calculate a hostile takeover strategy in his head. Hostile takeovers of privately held corporations were hardly common, but he knew how it was to be done.

"Can you get a hold of your business prospectus? And I'd like to see a ledger sheet," Christopher added.

"You're wasting your time," Richard interjected. "Charles is right. Caroline won't sell, and especially not to William. Heck, that would just be adding insult to injury."

"I can handle it myself then, through Brandon, Ltd." Christopher had no serious interest in owning an Internet-based company, but he trusted William's business instincts. Moreover, Caroline Bingley had eroded his nerves over the last few days to the point that he was willing to help out Charles merely to spite her. Cherry Blossom was a small company. Brandon, Ltd. could absorb the cost of its acquisition without so much as a ripple in its quarterly earnings forecast.

"I have a better idea." All eyes turned toward Richard. He paused to look at his watch.

"Well?" William asked impatiently.

"Gentlemen, I am now ten minutes late for a very important assignation, so I'll be brief. Charles, I want you to calculate exactly what you need, cash-wise, to stay solvent if the Black Widow decides to go after you. I'll also need that ledger sheet," he added as he picked up the jacket he had thrown off and headed for the door. "Tomorrow morning, we'll go into town and meet with my banker."

"For what?" Charles asked.

"I'm going to give you a long-term, no-interest loan to pay off your sister, plus enough money to buy out Lizzy."

"Why should I buy out Lizzy's share of the company?"

"A safety net, just in case Caroline comes up with anything else. You'd be better off if you personally owned the majority of the company. With that much clout you two may be able to leverage a buy out from Caroline," he said to William and Christopher. "Heck, I'll buy her out myself! I feel a vengeance motive of my own coming on," Richard smiled as he opened the door. He turned to leave and found himself confronted by an angry Lizzy.

"No one is buying me out of Cherry Blossom."

"I want you to look over every inch of that contract, Mr. Hong. I want to know exactly what my rights and privileges are."

"Is there something in particular you're looking for?" he inquired.

"Yes," Caroline leaned forward conspiratorially. "I want to know how I can use my advantage to influence the president of the company to see things my way," she said with a predatory smile. Mr. Hong unconsciously sat back in his seat.

"And the president is Charles Bingley."

"Yes."

"He's your husband?"

"My brother." Mr. Hong looked at his client warily. He'd seen enough rivalries between family members who co-owned businesses to be unruffled by her request. But it was always an ugly business and he didn't have much stomach for it.

"I'll call you as soon as I have something," he said.

"I hope that's very soon, Mr. Hong," Caroline replied with just a tinge of a threat implied in her tone.

Richard was backed into the study as Lizzy bore down on him.

"I only own fifteen percent, but I put my blood, sweat, and tears into Cherry Blossom and I'm not selling," she declared, glaring at Richard.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you that it's bad manners to listen at doors, Bright Eyes?" Richard smiled engagingly, but Lizzy was not dissuaded.

"I'm glad I did! When was I going to be let in on your 'old boys' network' scheme?" she exclaimed. William rose to his feet and went to Lizzy.

"Wait a minute, love; it's not what you're thinking," he said as he tried to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. But Lizzy shrugged it off and turned on him.

"Oh really? How do you know what I'm thinking? I'm thinking that the four of you are closeted back here plotting against me while Jane and Olivia act as your lookouts. I'm thinking that whatever--."

"Aw, shut up, will you?" Richard said, throwing his jacket down and pushing Lizzy into a chair. William's eyes blazed for a moment, but Richard had effectively silenced Lizzy, who stared up at him, stunned. Christopher ran a hand over his chin to mask his smile. Richard pulled up another chair and sat across from Lizzy.

"Look, Bright Eyes. No one is trying to pull a fast one on you. And this is not an 'old boy's network' scheme, or anything like that. Not against you, anyway. We're just trying to help Charles out of a potential jam." Lizzy glanced at Charles.

"What sort of jam?" Charles was about to respond when he looked up and saw Jane standing in the open doorway with Olivia slightly behind. He sighed.

"You may as well both come in and hear it all." Charles paused while Jane and Olivia filed in. Jane sat on the edge of William's desk and put her hand reassuringly on his arm.

"After your little set-to with Caroline yesterday morning," he said to Olivia, "Caroline and I got into an argument in the car on the way back to New York. She said some things...well, she told me not to ever employ your services again." Olivia raised her eyebrows.

"Where does she get off telling you whom you may or may not hire?" Charles sighed.

"Caroline holds forty-five percent ownership in Cherry Blossom. Now she's not the one who should be making the hiring decisions--I'm the president of the firm--but by the time we reached the city, she seemed determined to make trouble for me if I didn't cooperate. She said she'd be contacting her attorney this morning."

"How does that add up to buying me out?" Lizzy persisted. Richard and Charles began to speak at once, but Christopher cleared his throat to gain the attention of the group. He explained the situation in dispassionate and concise terms.

"I must say that I agree with Richard," he concluded, "Only if it becomes necessary, mind. But if Caroline should decide to go through with this, it would give Charles a great deal of leverage."

"But--."

"He could always sell it back to you when everything's settled," William advised. Charles nodded.

"But you won't do anything unless it's absolutely necessary," Lizzy repeated. Richard and Christopher both nodded and Lizzy sighed in relief. "I'm sorry I went off on you like that," she said meekly. "I thought..." Richard rose to his feet.

"You thought that William would let us big bad boys trample all over you?" he smirked. Lizzy turned crimson and looked up at William, who was gazing at his cousin and pondering his words. But Richard only had eyes for Olivia.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I think I've spent enough time being a serious business man this morning. I have a date." He picked up his jacket again and waited for Olivia to join him at the door. "I'll speak with you later, Charles." He winked at Lizzy and departed. Christopher took that as his cue to make some excuse to leave the room. Jane and Charles also left, hand in hand. Charles discretely closed the door behind him. Lizzy went to William and put her arms around his neck.

"I know what you're thinking," she began.

"That Olivia looks really hot in ski pants?" Lizzy playfully slapped him on his shoulder.

"Is that all you're thinking?" she laughed. William shook his head.

"I was wondering where I could get you a pair," he countered with a smile, but it vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared. "Did you really think I would buy your share of your company out from under you, or let anyone else do so?" Lizzy lowered her eyes. "And with no good reason, or without even discussing it with you first?"

"No," William lifted her chin. "Well, yes...for a moment. All I heard was Richard say he was going to loan Charles the money to buy me out and I saw red. I'm sorry. I didn't think. You wouldn't do something like that and neither would Richard."

"No we wouldn't. If anything, I'd buy you your own company, if it wouldn't hurt Charles's interests. You should trust me, Liz."

"I do." She forced herself to meet William's gaze and saw the hurt in his eyes. "I am sorry, Will. Can you forgive me?" William sighed heavily, and Lizzy tightened her grip on him.

"Okay, but as penance, you'll have to buy your own ski pants. You might need them soon."

"Why? I don't ski." William pretended to be shocked.

"Well, actually, I have gone skiing a couple of times, but I never was any good at it. I was always better at the après ski stuff--you know, curling up in front of the fire with a cup of hot chocolate, preferably with a tall, dark and handsome man at my side."

"Really?" William raised an eyebrow. "And just who was this guy?"

"Oh, let's see...Mel Gibson the first time, and the second it was--." Lizzy broke off when William playfully poked her in the ribs. "All right, I can't remember! It was years ago." William peered into her eyes for a moment, and the smile faded from Lizzy's face. He pulled her to him and held her for a minute. "William," she said after a while. "Why might I need ski pants soon?" William smiled.

"Well, so far you've only been able to use one of your keys. I thought we should test out the one for the house in Vermont next." Lizzy lifted her head to look into William's eyes.

"I'd love to go to Vermont! Jane came home in absolute raptures about the house and I've been dying to see it, since.

"Jane came home in absolute raptures about Charles, I think, and that colored her judgment about everything else. It's just a small place," William chuckled. "I doubt if it's larger than 5,000 square feet." Lizzy's eyes grew wide.

"And that's small in your estimation."

"Compared to my other houses, yes. I think only my apartments in Tokyo and London are smaller." Lizzy shook her head. She had yet to grow accustomed to looking at the world from the perspective of a millionaire.

"So tell me about this fight you had with the Black Widow," Richard prodded, as he headed for the backwoods of the Darcy-Fitzwilliam property.

"The 'Black Widow'?" Olivia repeated. "Why do you call her that?"

"Well, it's a long story. The Bingleys were this nice quiet middle class family from New Jersey that suddenly made a great deal of money when Professor Bingley made a killing on a real estate investment just before the market crashed in the late eighties. It made the Bingleys instant millionaires--on paper, at least--but they continued to live in their relatively modest lifestyle, except for Caroline. When I met her, Charles and I were undergrads and she was just out of high school and very eager to break into the first circles of society."

"And she saw you and William as her ticket?" Richard shook his head.

"She didn't meet Fitz until some time later. I was her target of choice." Olivia laughed. "What?" Richard asked, furrowing his brows.

"Did she ever tire of your kisses?" Richard rolled his eyes.

"I have never voluntarily kissed that woman, nor would I ever! She stalked me for two years before I was able to convince her that I was not interested. During that time, however, she was able to hang onto my coattails and meet some very prominent people. Wherever Charles and I went she tagged along." Richard turned off the main road onto a narrow path and snow flew up around the Range Rover as it plowed into the woods.

"Aren't you glad your parents gave you the Rover for Christmas?" Olivia observed as she watched the snow fly.

"Yes. If I had to use the Mercedes, we'd have been blazing this path on foot. By the way, I brought snowshoes, since you never gave me your choice."

"Cool! I've never gone snowshoeing," Olivia replied. "But finish your story." Richard shot her a glance.

"Okay, but then I want to hear yours. After she met several people, mainly through her connection to me, she began to get her own invitations to parties and openings and the like, and became a regular society darling. At some party or other, I introduced her to Fitz--."

"...And the rest is history," Olivia concluded.

"Wrong. Fitz had pretty much the same reaction to her as I did, but with his British 'stiff upper lip' upbringing, he tolerated her presence far better than I ever did, and never was able to convince her that she had no chance with him. So she just hung around him whenever she got the chance. When he failed to take notice, she took up with an elderly business associate of his, just to spite him."

"How elderly?"

"He was 68. I think Caroline was around 22 or 23 at the time. Anyway, he asked her to marry him and she accepted."

"But I thought she wanted William," Olivia frowned. Richard shrugged.

"One in the hand..."

"So where does the Black Widow bit come in?"

"The poor guy died about six months after the wedding." Richard paused as he brought the Range Rover to a stop.

"Was Caroline accused of killing him?" Richard shook his head as he applied the emergency break.

"No, but I've been calling her that ever since, anyhow. There was a lot of gossip about the whole thing. Everyone knew she married him for his money. He left her around $10 million," Richard replied as he popped the back door lock and got out of the vehicle.

"And so she returned her focus to William, and lacking that, you." Richard made a face.

"I guess she would have me if she couldn't get William, although she's professed to hate me for the better part of the last five years."

"All her taste is in her mouth," Olivia murmured as she made her way around the back of the vehicle. She stepped on an unblemished patch of snow and sunk in to her knee. Richard reached out to help her climb out of the ditch she had unwittingly stepped into.

"You have to watch your footing. The snowshoes will prevent you from sinking in, though." He picked Olivia up as though she was a small child and sat her on the bed of the Rover's cargo area. He explained the basics of how to maneuver in the snowshoes and attached a pair to her boots before he put on his own. He helped Olivia to stand and reached into the vehicle and pulled out a large waist pack. He closed the door and took Olivia's hand and led her around the vehicle. It felt awkward, moving on the snowshoes, at first, but she managed.

"Wait a minute. Is that all we're bringing with us?" she asked Richard as he began to lead her off the path. He turned and looked back. "I thought we were having a picnic!" Richard smiled and extended his hand to her.

"We are. You'll see. Come on!" Olivia spent the first five minutes staring at her feet as she strode across the snow, in spite of Richard's admonition to the contrary, but she soon forgot about the snowshoes and began to make better progress. They strolled side by side. When Olivia had found her rhythm, Richard asked her again about Caroline as they paused for a cup of hot chocolate from his thermos.

Christopher borrowed a car from William and headed into New York City to run a few errands and meet an old friend for dinner. Jane and Charles--after spending some time talking by themselves, joined William and Lizzy for an early lunch, after which they retired upstairs for a nap. Garren and Georgiana had gone out with friends, so Lizzy and William were left to fend for themselves. They went into the den and William turned on the television, while Lizzy rummaged around in a large plastic bag and came up with a pair of knitting needles and a skein of yarn. William joined her on the couch and picked up the skein and read the label.

"What are you making now?"

"Another scarf. I'm not ready for anything fancier yet, although Livy said that if I could make a scarf I could make a sweater." William observed Lizzy as she cast on a number of stitches and began to knit. She took the skein from his hands and pulled out a length of yarn. William took the skein back from her and tossed it up and down. Lizzy caught it mid-toss and put it to the side of her away from William.

"Hey!"

"I thought you were watching television."

"There's nothing interesting on," William whined, like a little boy. He picked up the remote and turned the set off. After a second, he rose and went to the stereo and put on an opera.

"Is this something we've heard before?" Lizzy asked from the couch.

"I don't know. Are you familiar with 'Lakme'? "

"I don't think I've heard of it. Come read me the plot." William reclaimed his seat beside Lizzy and read the notes on the relatively obscure Delibes opera.

"You will recognize some of the music even if you're not familiar with the opera, particularly one aria, which has been used in countless movies, television programs, and commercials." William grew silent again and sighed. Lizzy arched an eyebrow at him and continued to knit. William reached across her and picked up the yarn again and played with it until Lizzy took it from him a second time. William rose and went to the stereo and looked through CD's but soon went back to the couch, bored. He rested his head on Lizzy's shoulder. She kissed it and asked him to move because the weight of his head impeded her work. William sighed audibly as he shifted his position.

"Why don't you find something to read?" William left the room and came back with a book, but within twenty minutes he had thrown it down and taken off his glasses.

"I'm bored," he confessed.

"William, you're behaving like a ten year-old on a rainy day. How can you be bored?"

"I don't know, but I am." Lizzy suppressed the smile that came to her lips when William looked at her plaintively.

"Why don't you play pool, or go on the Internet, or take a nap?" she suggested.

"I wanted to spend the afternoon with you. This is supposed to be our time together, remember?" Lizzy put her knitting in her lap and wrapped her arms around one of William's.

"Well, then, why don't you think of something we can do together?" William cast a sidelong glance at her.

"Would you care to learn how to play pool?" Lizzy made a face.

"Not particularly," she admitted.

"I really don't feel like it, anyway," William said sulkily. "Besides, you're already occupied."

"I don't have to knit right now. I'd be happy to do something else," She said, resting her head on his shoulder. But William shook his head.

"That's okay. Go on with your knitting." Lizzy sighed and released William's arm. She looked at him for a second or two, before she took up her work. A minute later she smiled at him.

"Would you like to learn how to knit?" William glanced at her and shook his head lethargically.

"I already know how to knit," he replied, and began twiddling his thumbs in his lap.

"So I want to hear about this fight."

"Oh," Olivia smiled. "It could hardly be called a fight. It was just that Caroline pushed all the wrong buttons and I lost my temper. It all began because Jane looked so miserable yesterday morning. It was Christmas day, everyone was supposed to be in a cheerful mood, but she just sat there at breakfast looking as though she was on the verge of tears."

"How did Charles look?"

"Annoyed, extremely so. He and Caroline had had words upstairs. Anyway, I was speaking to Jane privately and telling her how unfair I thought it was that Charles had to go back to New York and leave her alone on Christmas. I said something--." Olivia paused as her foot got caught up in something. Richard bent to free her from a branch that lay hidden beneath the snow and they continued.

"Go on..."

"Where are we going?" Olivia asked. She paused and made a slow circle to take in her surroundings.

"You'll see," Richard said cryptically.

"Jane said that there was a pond around here somewhere."

"There is. You'll see it at lunch, if we ever get there." Olivia took the hint and turned back around and caught up with Richard. When she reached him, he took her hands and bent to kiss her before they continued their trek.

"Go on with your story."

"Oh. I was saying something about Caroline having spoiled everyone's fun, or something like that, and Caroline overheard it in passing and called me on it."

"Is that all?" Richard asked.

"Well..." Olivia blushed a bit. "I also told her what I thought of her beaning you with a candlestick," she admitted.

"My little tigress," Richard smiled.

"And then she called me flat-chested and I lost my temper." Richard began to laugh.

"Did you try to scratch her eyes out?"

"No. Charles and William showed up before I could tell her what I thought of that melon she'd cut in half and had shoved up her chest." Richard stopped in his tracks and doubled over. "It's not that funny!"

"I just recalled Charles and my initial reaction when she first acquired those 'fruit cups'! We teased her about her implants so much that she avoided both of us for more than a month. I would have paid to see Caroline's reaction to that remark!"

"Well, fortunately--or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it--Caroline never got to hear it. And I hate to think that Caroline is going to try and ruin her brother because of something I may have said." Richard sobered.

"Don't trouble yourself. I can assure you that Caroline marches to the beat of her own drum. If she's going to go after Charles it'll be because of her own agenda, not anything you said or did."

"Yes, but what I said or did would still be her excuse for hurting Charles. I feel kind of guilty about it and wish I'd kept my mouth shut." Richard tried his best to console and reassure her as they continued through a small clearing. He took Olivia's hand and began to lead her down a gently sloping hill. Towards the end of their descent, Olivia caught her first sight of the frozen pond and she noticed smoke rising from the chimney of a small building that sat at its edge.

"Watch your step," Richard said as he helped her over a rock.

"What's that building?" Olivia asked.

"That, my dear, is where you and I are having lunch."

"Excuse me? Did you just say that you knew how to knit?" Lizzy asked incredulously.

"Yes. I learned in my youth, back in England," William replied matter-of-factly.

"This I've got to see," Lizzy said, handing William the needles.

"What, now?" Lizzy nodded her challenge. "It has been a long time, Liz; I wouldn't want to ruin your work."

"Don't worry about that. I can always pull it out later. Come on, I want to see." William took up the needles and just as quickly put them down again.

"You know, I've just had the most wicked thought--."

"Nice try, Mr. Darcy! Knit!" Lizzy commanded. William sat up, animated for the first time all afternoon.

"No, listen!" Lizzy crossed her arms and scoffed at his stalling tactic. William looked down at the knitting in his lap and rolled his eyes.

"All right," he said as he picked it up, "But listen--." He paused as he held up the work and then glanced at Lizzy. "This is backwards!"

"It's not backwards, and stop making excuses! Knit!" William shrugged and peered at the knitting once more. He turned it around several times and finally wrapped the strand of yarn around the forefinger of his left hand and prepared to begin.

"That's the wrong hand! You have it backwards!" Lizzy took the knitting from him, turned it around and put it back into his hands. He gave her a dark look.

"Do you want to see me do this or not? Bad enough I haven't done it in years..."

"Did you learn it at Eton or Cambridge?" She ducked as the ball of yarn came flying at her head. William turned the knitting back around, wrapped the yarn around his finger and silenced Lizzy's protest with another glare. She retrieved the skein and sat beside him meekly.

"As I was saying," William began as he slowly and deliberately knitted a few stitches, "You know how we were speaking earlier about the possibility of Charles buying out your shares of stock?" Lizzy barely heard him. Her eyes were riveted to William's hands. As he found his rhythm he gathered speed and his fingers began to fly. "I just had a brilliant idea. Of course, I doubt that Charles would do it..." William calmly paused and turned the work around to begin a new row. A glance at William's face told Lizzy that he was no longer watching his hands as he worked. He was gazing at her, his eyes glowing with mischief.

"What if, instead of Charles buying you out, you were to buy his shares of Cherry Blossom?" Lizzy blinked.

"What?" She had missed what he'd said.

"Think about it--both you and Charles have been talking about getting Caroline out of the company for months. What faster way to get rid of her than to have Charles sell out to you?" It took Lizzy a moment to catch up with his line of thinking. William turned the knitting and began a third row with obvious satisfaction. "I think I'm getting the hang of this."

"So I see," Lizzy said in awe. She brought her eyes back up to his. "So you were saying?"

"I was saying that if you were to become the principle owner of Cherry Blossom, Caroline would probably want to be rid of the company. However, if Charles were to buy you out, Caroline would hold onto the company just to be able to keep a hold on him."

"Say!" Lizzy grinned. "But I can't afford to buy Charles out! That'd be--."

"Very easy, if you'd allow me to help you," William finished. He paused to hold up the knitting, eyed his work critically for a second and then continued.

"William, that's brilliant!" Lizzy exclaimed "You're right! We'd be rid of her in a heartbeat...maybe. She might just hold onto it to spite me. Besides, even if you were to loan me the money--which I'm not so sure I'd be comfortable with--I doubt that Charles would go for it," she said as her enthusiasm for the idea drained from her. William set aside the knitting and pulled Lizzy onto his lap.

"Who said anything about a loan? I'd buy it for you as a gift."

"I couldn't let you do that Will," she said uncomfortably.

"You couldn't really stop me!" he retorted.

"You wouldn't...not against my will, would you? And what about Charles? Cherry Blossom was his baby. He was just starting up the business when Livy and I began freelancing for him and he put everything he had into it. I couldn't condone your taking that away from him," Lizzy argued impassionedly.

"I wasn't thinking of depriving Charles; I'm merely proposing the counterfactual of Richard's idea. It would just be a temporary strategy for ridding Cherry Blossom of Caroline, and when the dust clears, Charles could have his share of the company back. In fact, you should arrange to become equal partners in the firm." Lizzy sighed.

"I still think Charles would be uncomfortable with it." A slow smile spread across her face. "But I'd give anything to be able to sit across the desk from Caroline as the principle stockholder," she laughed. "Almost." William smiled at her for a moment, then slid her aside and took up the knitting once more.

"Hey! That's mine, remember?"

"I know, I know," he said as his fingers flew. He peeked over at the bag of yarn beside Lizzy. "Have you got another pair of needles?"

"No," she said sarcastically. William threw down the knitting and stood.

"Come on, then" he reached for Lizzy's hand and pulled her to her feet.

"Where are we going?" she asked as they went into the hall for their coats.

"To the yarn shop," William smiled. Lizzy raised her eyebrows. "I've found something we can do together this afternoon."

Richard and Olivia reached the pond and trekked along its bank as they discussed their mutual love of skiing. Olivia was an avid cross-country skier as was Richard, but he preferred the thrill of going downhill to a quiet trek in the woods. Olivia was an experienced downhill skier, but she was fonder of taking her skis and touring George Knightley's property after a big snowfall. The couple debated good-naturedly until they came to a small dock, from which the cousins fished the pond as boys. Twenty feet away stood a tidy little cabin in a picturesque setting.

The cabin had originally been built for the children of Bess's generation. It had been moved to the property some twenty years ago and was played in by both Kathleen and Stewart's children, along with William and Georgiana. By the time the youngest of the six cousins-David--was in prep school, the cabin had fallen into disrepair and Kathleen advocated razing it. But Hugh thought differently and refused to see it destroyed. About five years ago, Hugh had the cabin moved to its current location, where it was lovingly restored and renovated. The fifteen-foot square edifice was electrified and now had a lavatory and a mini-kitchen. One wall of the cabin had been removed to make way for a stone fireplace, flanked by a pair of French doors that looked out on the pond. Hugh used the place occasionally as a hideaway when he wanted to be alone with his thoughts or just go fishing.

"The playhouse was originally built in Litchfield, where Uncle Stewart lives in the house that my great grandfather built with the profits of his banking business. After my grandfather died, Grandma Bess decided to move in with us and let my uncle be master of the house he'd inherited," Richard explained. "While the arrangements were being made for her to move here, Grandma Bess used to joke that she was going to come live in the playhouse. Fitz and I were aghast and considered having a new house built for her on the property."

"How long ago was that?"

"About ten years ago. She strung us along for months!" he laughed.

"She's a very sharp lady," Olivia mused.

"Sharp as a tack!"

"Then why does she sometimes--?" Richard knew where she was headed.

"Why does she sometimes do the doddering old lady routine?" He shrugged. "As far as Fitz and I can figure out, she behaves the way her son and daughter expect her to. They want to take care of her in her dotage and so she complies by allowing them to feel needed. It's kind of comical to watch sometimes."

"Is your father in on the game?" Richard laughed again.

"It took him a little while, but he figured it out. I think that's the only secret he's ever kept from my mother." They reached the playhouse and Richard stepped up on the deck and helped Olivia gain purchase. He helped Olivia to remove her snowshoes and opened the door. Olivia stepped into the cozy space. There was a plaid blanket laid across a thick woolen rug that lay in front of the massive fireplace. Richard immediately set about stoking the fire and threw in another log as Olivia surveyed the place. The walls were knotty pine, and shelves lined the wall on either side of the room. They were filled with books, games, model sailboats, and old toys. At the back of the room were three doors. In the middle of the room were a large, old leather couch and two matching chairs that had seen better days. Everything about the cabin spoke of comfort and ease. Olivia removed her jacket and sat down in a chair to remove her boots. Richard rose from where he was kneeling by the fire and wiped his hands on his pants.

"Hungry?" he asked as he shrugged out of his jacket.

"I'd like to use the bathroom, first, if there is one." Richard showed Olivia to the lavatory and went into the kitchen, where he washed his hands and then began rummaging through the insulated bag. Olivia soon joined him, but he shooed her out of the tiny room and told her to make herself comfortable. Olivia went and sat on the blanket and leaned against the base of the sofa. She grew pensive as she looked around the room at all the artifacts of the Fitzwilliam family, and felt a twinge of nostalgia for her own family's summer cabin in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. Richard joined her a few minutes later with a tray that bore a bottle of merlot and two glasses, a plate of cheeses, and a baguette. Olivia smiled as Richard put on some music and took a seat on the floor beside her.

"The soup will be ready in a few minutes. I hope you like mushroom barley; it's what the cook is serving for lunch at the house today."

"You mean you didn't make it yourself?" Olivia teased.

"No," Richard confessed. "But I did make all the cheeses myself and got up at dawn to bake the bread." He cast his endearing smile at her and any residual chill Olivia felt after her half-hour trek in the frigid weather melted away. Richard poured the wine--assuring her that he'd opened it earlier to let it breathe--and offered a toast to new beginnings. They sipped their wine in silence until they were interrupted by the sound of the timer going off. Richard got to his feet and went to take the soup out of the microwave. Olivia stared into the fire until his return. Richard came back and laid out placemats, napkins and cutlery, and then returned bearing two steaming bowls of soup. The couple ate as Richard told tales of his youth spent in the playhouse with his father, uncle, and cousins. He even took Olivia over to a corner to show her where Bess had carved her initials in the paneling as an eight year-old girl. The meal over, Richard cleared the lunch dishes and returned with a plate of warm brownies. He offered Olivia more wine but she declined, saying that she didn't want to get tipsy again.

"I kind of liked you tipsy," Richard said as he stretched out on the blanket with his back to the couch, his head propped on one hand. "You had this slightly wicked smile..." Olivia's mouth fell open.

"I did not!"

"You most certainly did, madam! Have two more glasses of wine and I'll prove it to you," Richard grinned with a slightly wicked smile of his own. Olivia slid down to the floor and rested her head against his chest. She took his free hand in her own. Richard couldn't see her face from his position, but he could tell that she was thinking about something. He waited patiently as she gathered her thoughts.

"My dad would have loved this place," she said finally, and Richard could tell right away that she was crying. He sat up and cradled her in his arms and held her tightly. She was quiet for a few minutes, silently sobbing in Richard's arms. "Everything in here reminds me of him. He had an old couch in his old rumpus room, and he collected decoys. And he loved to fish, too...taught me when I was five. I gave it up, though, when my stepbrother tried to tie me up with fishing line one day when my dad fell asleep at the lake," she added with a small smile.

"Ouch!" Richard winced.

"A year ago today..." Olivia gulped and couldn't speak for a moment. She took a deep breath. "He fell into a final coma on December 26th and never woke again." Richard kissed Olivia's forehead and rested his cheek on the top of her head. Olivia pulled away slightly and looked up at him.

"He used to call me his angel, too. Did I ever mention that?" Richard shook his head and cupped her cheek with one hand to catch the tears that dripped down her face.

"Do you think he would have approved of me?" he asked with a wry smile.

"He wouldn't have approved of your early proposal, but I'd think he'd agree that you have good prospects and would take good care of me," she smiled and hugged him tightly.

"I wish I could have met him," Richard replied.

"Me, too," Olivia managed before she began to sob again. Richard held her until she had cried herself to sleep in his lap, feeling somewhat awkward and helpless as she cried her heart out. He had shed tears too, unknowingly, and was a bit surprised to find that his cheeks were wet after he had he gently lowered Olivia to the floor, carefully placed a pillow under her head, and lay down beside her. Richard wrapped his arms around Olivia and fell asleep as snow began to fall outside.

"So where did you learn how to knit?" Lizzy asked as William scanned the street for a parking space.

"My nanny taught me," he answered as he spied one up the block and accelerated to reach it before it could be nabbed by the car behind him.

"Your nanny?" William spared her a glance as he maneuvered his sister's BMW into the space. "Yes, but I haven't held a pair of needles in my hands since I was fourteen or fifteen," William said nostalgically.

"You had a nanny when you were fourteen?" William sighed.

"Well, by the time I was fourteen she had become Gee's nanny, and I had a few lessons with her when she taught Gee to knit." He explained. "You'll have to be careful getting out. There's a huge pile of snow on your side," William cautioned. Lizzy opened the window and peered over the side of the car before she opened the door and gingerly stepped out. William came around the car and helped her over the snow berm and they strolled hand in hand to the store. A short while later they headed for Harpy's for a cup of hot chocolate.

"Will I be forced to have a cheeseburger deluxe before I earn the respect of your lady friends in there?" Lizzy teased as William held the door for her. The place was surprisingly crowded for a mid-week afternoon, especially given the conditions outside. William and Lizzy took a tiny booth in the corner. Phoebe came over and unceremoniously kissed William's cheek.

"Merry Christmas, and thank you both so much for your little present. You boys are always so thoughtful," she gushed. "Hot chocolate?"

"Yes, for two. And is there--?"

"Pie? I'll check, hon." The waitress disappeared and Lizzy smiled and shook her head.

"She didn't even acknowledge my presence!" William grinned.

"You know, a lot of my dates have made similar complaints."

"I'll bet." Phoebe returned and placed a plate before William.

"Sorry, the pie went fast today, William," she said as she placed a fork next to the huge slab of devil's food cake. William smiled at the expression on Lizzy's face and handed her the fork as the waitress turned away.

"There are calories in that, you know," Phoebe said over her shoulder as she went to get the hot chocolate. Lizzy angrily dug into the cake as William scooped up a bit of icing on his finger and tasted it. Phoebe returned with two cups of hot chocolate. "Decided to live dangerously, did you?" She winked at William as she dug a fork out of the pocket of her apron for him and walked away. William laughed aloud.

"I think she likes you."

"Likes? She probably poisoned my chocolate!" Lizzy countered as she looked into her cup suspiciously. William laughed again.

"Phoebe would never do that. She knows that if she killed you I would never come back here." Lizzy shot a look at William and then smiled and flicked a bit of icing from her fork to his nose. "You don't want to start that Lizzy."

"Why, will your lady friends throw me out on my ear?"

"Oh, you'd have nothing to fear from them. It's me you'd have to worry about. But I'm in too good a mood for retaliation," he said as he checked his reflection in the window to see if all traces of the chocolate were gone.

"And why are you in such a good mood?" Lizzy indulged him.

"Oh, because I'm staring into the face of someone I love very dearly. And because we have this new project to do together."

"So how is this going to work, exactly? I can't see how we can make a vest together."

"No, we'll each make our own vest. Or I'll make one for you and you'll make mine." Lizzy arched a brow.

"I still don't think I'm ready to make a garment yet. Have you ever made one?"

"No, but the instructions don't look too hard, and we could always ask Olivia if we get stuck with the increases and decreases."

"You mean you'd go public with this?" Lizzy was surprised that William would be seen knitting in front of anyone.

"Why shouldn't I? Lots of men knit. The shop owner didn't bat and eyelash when I asked for yarn."

"But you did kind of throw her when you asked for needles by their British size," Lizzy smiled. William scratched his head.

"Well, I had no idea that there was a difference."

"A huge difference--."

"As if you'd known that until the shop owner pointed it out," William sneered.

"Couldn't we just make scarves?" Lizzy pouted.

"Oh, come on, Lizzy! Where's your sense of adventure?" William asked as his cell phone rang. He pulled it out and opened it as he made a face at Lizzy.

"Hello, Grandma Bess. How are you?...Just peachy," William smiled, as he reached out a wiped a bit of chocolate off of Lizzy's chin. "What can I do for you?...It's no problem, Grandma Bess. What are your questions?" As Bess began to describe her first problem as Lizzy offered the last forkful of cake to William. He chewed it and swallowed and then made a show of running his tongue around his lips as Lizzy giggled.

"Had you bookmarked it?... No, you don't have to do that unless you want to return to that page again without having to look up and type in the URL...Universal Resource Locator...it's...would you hold on a minute?" William covered the mouthpiece with his hand. "Would you like to stop by and see Grandma Bess on the way back to the house?"

Olivia opened her eyes and started when she felt the weight of Richard's arm around her. It took her a few moments to get her bearings. Then she slid out of his grasp so as not to wake him and went to the lavatory to wash her face. When she was done, Olivia went to the French windows and stared out at the pond. Behind her, Richard stirred and made a noise as he stretched catlike on the floor. Olivia turned and watched him until he resettled and then turned back towards the view outside. A moment later she jumped when Richard put his hand on her shoulder.

"Have a nice nap, Angel?" he said in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her. Olivia nodded.

"Think we'll be snowed in?" Richard sighed.

"Not a chance. Last night's weather report only predicted flurries for today with no real accumulation. Besides, you wouldn't believe how close to the house we actually are. I just chose the route I did because it's far more scenic. We could walk back to the house in less than fifteen minutes." Richard nuzzled his favorite spot at the base of Olivia's neck, or tried to; he found that the collar of her turtleneck presented an impediment. "Hey, you've covered my favorite spot," he complained.

"I just followed your orders, Mr. Fitzwilliam. You said to dress warmly," Olivia replied archly. Richard rolled his eyes.

"Me and my big mouth. No matter, I won't be deterred. I'll get to your throat if I have to crawl up your sleeve to reach it." Olivia laughed and released him to go back to her spot in front of the fire.

"No imagination," she muttered just loud enough for Richard to hear it as she passed him.

"Oh, I have plenty of imagination," he replied, accepting her challenge.

"And lots of practice finding your way to women's throats," Olivia countered as she tossed the pillow at him.

"Speaking of practice," Richard said, neatly catching the pillow and tossing it over his shoulder in one smooth movement. He dropped to his knees before her and smiled, "I believe I owe you a few dozen kisses."

"Just a few dozen? I remember talk of incessant kisses!" Richard frowned.

"Hey, that slightly wicked smile is back. Were you drinking while I slept?" Instead of answering, Olivia reached out and pulled Richard down to her. The pair lay back on the blanket, where they very soon completely lost count of Richard's kisses and shortly thereafter, all track of time.

By the time Richard and Olivia reached the Range Rover, the sky was beginning to darken and the wind was picking up. The trek back to their starting point was rather leisurely at first, as neither was eager for the afternoon to come to an end. But when the wind picked up, Olivia found the going difficult, and Richard regretted his decision to bring the bag containing the leftover food, dishes, and other paraphernalia back with them rather than returning for it later. He had to hold Olivia's hand as well as shoulder the heavy bag for the last leg of the trek and the going was tedious.

"Just flurries, you said," Olivia chided, as Richard unbound and pulled off her snowshoes. She scooted through the cargo area and into the passenger seat. Richard followed her lead. He immediately turned on the radio and learned that a storm was headed for the area and the earlier prediction of flurries had been upgraded to a winter storm advisory.

"Let's go back to my house and see how this thing is going to develop," Richard suggested. A short while later, Richard parked the Range Rover in the garage to keep it out of the snow. They kissed one last time before he led Olivia into the morning room, where Bess was quietly sipping a cup of tea.

"Hello, GB," Richard said cheerfully as he kissed her upturned cheek. He continued into the kitchen with the bag while Olivia pulled off her jacket and sat down beside Bess.

"Hello," she said, as she, too, offered Bess a kiss. Bess gazed at her for a moment.

"Oh, my!" she said, raising a hand to her mouth. "You and Richard have had sex!"

"How did you--?" Olivia blurted out before she clamped a hand over her mouth shut and blushed crimson. Bess smiled knowingly.

"Why child, you're positively glowing!" she smiled and leaned in closer and spoke in a low voice. "If you two are still intent on keeping your relationship a secret from William and Lizzy, don't go upstairs." Olivia frowned in confusion.

"Why not?"

"They're upstairs in my room, finagling." Olivia's mouth fell open. "Something or other went awry with my computer. They're up there changing settings or some other such nonsense." Olivia swallowed hard and put her hand to her hot cheek. Richard returned to the morning room. "Lizzy and William are upstairs in my room," Bess repeated, before she picked up her cup and left the two alone in the room.

"Cool," Richard exclaimed. "Do you want to go up?" He started toward the door, but paused when Olivia didn't move. She managed to raise her eyes, but she was still in a daze. The last thing she wanted to do was face Lizzy--or anyone else for that matter--in her completely flustered state.

"Go on ahead, I'll join you in a minute. I want to get a drink."

"I'll get it. What would you like?" Richard replied helpfully. Olivia didn't respond immediately and Richard squatted beside her chair and peered into her eyes. "Are you all right?" Olivia looked at Richard dazedly and nodded. "Are you sure?" Olivia reached out a hand to stroke his cheek and Richard leaned over and kissed her. "We don't have to go up, you know," he said softly in her ear. "There are places in this house where they might never find us." The bubble burst then and Olivia smiled. Richard kissed her again. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. A sigh escaped her lips.

"We won't be able to hide from the world forever," she said wistfully.

"Don't you even want to try? At least till the end of the week, or we run out of food--whichever comes first," Richard teased as he stroked the back of her hair. Olivia laughed and pulled away so that she could look into his deep blue eyes.

"I love you, silly man!" Richard acknowledged her declaration with a kiss on her forehead.

"Even if I confess that I seriously considered leaving you in that snowdrift when you fell on the way back?"

"I would have forgiven you. After all, I wouldn't have wanted to you to have to tell your mother that you lost her Spode place settings in the snow trying to rescue me, to say nothing of her Waterford crystal," Olivia grinned as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"That's what I love about you, Livy. You have a very practical perspective on things." Olivia put her forehead to Richard's shoulder and chuckled. "I would have come back for you, you do know that--as soon as Pierce completed her inventory."

"Never doubted it for a second." She lifted her head to look into Richard's eyes again, and they met in a kiss that lasted until Richard's knees began to ache from being too long in that position. Olivia released him and he stood up. "Why don't you go on up and see what Lizzy and William are up to. I'll just get some water and join you upstairs in a minute," she said, sliding out of her seat and heading for the kitchen. Richard watched her go, hesitating for a few seconds to leave her, then headed for his grandmother's room. He encountered Bess on the stairs.

"What went on between you two down there?" Richard asked out of curiosity. He suspected that Olivia's sudden attack of awkwardness was somehow connected with their brief encounter. Bess smiled.

"Oh, I just made an impertinent observation about how you two spent your afternoon," she said casually. Richard froze mid-step and stared at Bess.

"Grandma Bess!"

"You aren't going to try to deny it are you, because Livy certainly couldn't!" Bess smirked.

"I wasn't going to...I just can't believe you--. Grandma!" Richard found that even he was not immune to blushing at the candor with which his grandmother addressed him.

"Shouldn't I be the one doing the lecturing?" Bess sniffed as she reached the top of the stairs. She turned and winked at him before she walked on to her room. Richard paused for a second to recover himself and then followed her into her room.

"Hey, Fitz, Bright Eyes. What's up?" William looked up from where he stood at Lizzy's shoulder. Lizzy sat at the computer, typing away.

"You made it back safely then. Did you get caught in the storm?" William wondered aloud.

"Only over the last eighth of a mile or so." Lizzy spared a glance back at Richard.

"Where's Livy?" Richard glanced at his grandmother self-consciously.

"I knew I forgot something back at the playhouse," he said as he snapped his fingers.

"You took her to the playhouse?" Lizzy stopped typing at William's inquiry and Richard rolled his eyes. She turned and looked at him with interest.

"What playhouse?" Richard sighed and cursed himself for mentioning it.

"It's just a little cabin beside a pond on the property. We hiked through the woods and had lunch there." He looked at Bess again, but her eyes were buried in a computer manual.

"How far did you two go?" William asked. Richard sputtered and quickly covered his reaction with a cough.

"I believe that the playhouse is a little over a mile from here," Bess offered mildly without lifting her eyes. "But how far they traveled would depend on where they started the trip. Where did you walk from, Fizz?" Richard wanted to throw himself across the room and kiss her. Instead he favored Bess with a grateful smile that she did not deign to notice.

"We hiked in from the road. You know that little service road we used to use to get to Suicide Hill? We left the Range Rover there and hiked across the wood." William nodded.

"You still haven't answered my first question," Lizzy persisted. "Where's Livy?"

"If Fitz made her walk that far and back, she's probably lying down somewhere resting," William joked.

"Oh, it wasn't that bad," Olivia said from the door. Lizzy watched her as she entered the room and sat on the bench at the foot of Bess's bed. Olivia looked slightly pale.

"Tired you out, did he? Shame on you, Richard!" Lizzy accused. Bess lifted her head and gazed at Olivia from her easy chair.

"You can stretch out there on my bed, if you wish. Or if you'd like a bit of quiet you can go across the hall and lie down in Fizz's room." Olivia felt her face grow hot again but she tried to divert attention from herself.

"What are you guys doing?" she asked, nodding toward the computer.

"Oh, just a little mending," Lizzy replied.

"Mending? And what was there to fault in my handiwork?" Richard demanded, crossing his arms defensively.

"Nothing," Lizzy assured him. "Grandma Bess decided to get a little creative and download a JPEG file. We came over to convert the JPEG into a BMP file, so she could use it as wallpaper." Both Richard and Olivia raised their eyebrows at that.

"Elvis or N'Sync?" Olivia elbowed Richard in the ribs. "What?"

"She couldn't set it up on her own so she asked for a hand. Want to see it?" Lizzy closed the file she was working in and sat back. William smiled and Richard turned to his grandmother.

"Where on earth did you find that?" Bess closed her book and removed her spectacles. At the age of seventy she still only needed glasses for reading or driving.

"Aren't they dreamy?" she smiled.

"I certainly wouldn't try to argue with you," Lizzy said with a glance at William.

"Uh unh!" sighed Olivia.

"Well, I'm glad you ladies are happy, but that doesn't answer my question," Richard persisted.

"Well, if you must know, I got if off your own website," Bess revealed as she made her way over to the computer to get a closer look at the screen.

"I don't have a website!"

"She means the Fitzwilliam/Fitzwilliam website," Lizzy clarified.

"I decided to try and find out what it is you actually do for a living, so I went to your site and I found that picture," Bess explained. Richard stared at her.

"...And you decided to use it as wallpaper..."

"A brilliant notion in my book," Lizzy grinned.

"And I doubt that she's the only one! I bet every woman in Fitzwilliam/Fitzwilliam has it up as wallpaper," Olivia smirked.

"Oh, there were other pictures as well, but I chose the one of my two gorgeous grandsons," Bess smiled.

"Other pictures of what?" Richard wanted to know, unaware that his and his cousin's pictures were on the company's website.

"Who cares?" Olivia smiled as she nudged him.

"You know, I have a picture of William at home I'd like to scan and make into wallpaper," Lizzy smiled. William and Richard shared a look. Then William turned to peek through Bess's curtains.

"Maybe we should go now. It looks like it's coming down pretty hard." Lizzy rose and joined him at the window. Richard and Olivia looked at one another, Richard chewing his lip thoughtfully.

"Why don't you leave Livy here? That way, if the storm gets really bad, Richard won't be lonely," Bess suggested innocently. Richard smiled at his grandmother's suggestion and moved to the keyboard.

"Why don't we look at the weather forecast?" he said as he typed. "Let's find out if our dinner plans are going to be affected by this unexpected gift of Mother Nature's."

"Dinner, too? Hmmm!" Lizzy said approvingly with a sidelong glance at Olivia, who steeled herself and gazed right back at her unflinchingly. William looked out the window nervously.

"I don't want to get Gee's car stuck in the snow."

"According to the National Weather Service, Gee's car is safe for now. The forecast is only for three to five inches." Richard turned to Olivia. "Do you want to go back with them and change? It's nearly...5:00 now and our reservation is for 7:30. I want to allow a little extra travel time due to driving conditions." William looked at Olivia, who nodded.

"Oh, I left my jacket in the morning room. I'll meet you downstairs," she said and headed for the door.

"Are you two sure that you want to be out in this weather?" Bess worried. "Why don't you stay home tonight and go to dinner another time? Really, Fizz, there's no need for you to be out in that." Richard's eyes met Olivia's.

"What do you think? Would you mind postponing our dinner till another night?" Olivia glanced at Bess, who clearly was dead set against their going back out unnecessarily.

"No, not at all." Bess smiled, and Lizzy grabbed William's hand and quickly dragged him to the door. He forestalled her hasty departure only long enough to kiss his grandmother.

"See you all tomorrow," Lizzy called as she led William from the room. Lizzy turned made a face behind William that Olivia could not, nor wanted to decipher. In the car a few minutes later, Lizzy smiled as she pulled on her gloves.

"If she makes Richard bring her home tonight, I'll wring her neck."

"Lizzy!" William threw her a disparaging glance.

Continued In Next Section