Jump to new as of February 20, 2002
Chapter 1
"Down here." A hand waved from the pit under an elevated car. Richard walked toward the hand. He stopped a few steps from the car and whistled.
"*whistle* ... very nice car. I haven't seen this one here before. New client?"
"Nope, this is Mr. Elliot's new baby, the Mr. Elliot who has the Bentley, the Aston Martin and the BMW," Elizabeth Bennet climbed out from the pit. "Hi Rich, how's it going?"
"Yeah good thanks, Liz. How are you going?"
"Well thanks," Lizzy replied, then turning her eyes to the car. "This one is a beauty, isn't she?" She traced her finger along the car's outline.
"Sure is," Richard said as he walked around the Alfa Romeo. "So Edward let you work on this car? Do you get to drive it around as well?" He asked in an envious tone.
"Well not really. The car is a tad too expensive for an amateur to work on, though Uncle Gardiner says that I can check out the car before he does the formal inspection. After that I can help him restore the engine and fix the body. As to driving it, I'm sure I am not suppose to take this car even an inch beyond the garage door. Apparently there isn't that many around now. This one is in pretty good condition too - minimal rust, original interior panels and upholstery. The engine needs a bit of work though." Returning her attention back to Richard, she continued. "Say, what are you doing here? Nothing better to do on a Saturday morning?"
"I came to look for Edward. A friend of mine just bought a Bugatti and needs it fixed up. I came to see if Edwards work with this sort of car and if he does, to organise a time for the car to be dropped in."
"Uncle Gardiner has just gone down the store room to look for some shock absorbers, he shouldn't be long. So which one of your friend bought the Bugatti? Do I know him?"
"His name is Charles Bingley, he's one of my mates from Uni. You may have seen him a few months ago at the Christmas party at my place."
"Hmmm, can't say I recall the name ..." As Lizzy was trying to put a face to the name, Edward Gardiner came out from the store room. "Hi Richard, how's it going?"
After they exchanged greetings, they got down to business.
"Yep I have experiences with this sort of car, so have you got much history on the car? Maintenance records, manuals, that sort of thing?"
"I think the previous owner kept a set of maintenance record, but other than that I am not too sure. Neither does Charles - he is still new to the classic car scene and this is his first classic purchase."
"His first classic car huh? And he chosed this car? Bugatti can be quite temperamental and fickle."
"Well ... let's just say that Charles can be impulsive at times. That's why I suggested to him that you give his car a thorough run down, especially since he wants to go into the 'Hertfordshire to Derbyshire Classic Rally' this year."
"Well that would give us about six months before the race. How about bringing that car in next Saturday morning around 9?"
"That should be fine. I'll call you if there's any changes."
After Richard left, Lizzy went back to the Alfa Romeo. Lizzy enjoys restoring old cars; turning a rusty old thing into a shiny vehicle that turns heads on the street is very satisfying indeed. Since Lizzy started working part time at her Uncle Gardiner's garage at the age of 16, and then throughout uni, she had help her uncle restore numerous cars and every one of them had been a rewarding job. When she and her sisters were little, her beloved uncle would take them out for rides in his collection of classic cars. As the sisters grew older, Lizzy was the only one who maintains an interest in it. She had expanded her interest in mechanics into studying mechanical engineering at uni, despite her mother's on going complain about it being a "butch" subject. She is now working in an engineering consultant company but Lizzy always finds time to help out in her uncle's garage.
Chapter 2
"Good morning," Bingley said as he looked around the place, a little surprise by the presence of the two ladies and the absence of male in the garage. "I am Charles Bingley, Richard's friend. I've made an appointment with Edward Gardiner about my Bugatti."
"Oh Uncle Gardiner is at the back, I'll go and get him." Lizzy bounced to the back store room to look for her uncle.
Jane Bennet smiled at Bingley. Bingley smiled in return. He was in silent admiration of Jane. However, as being tongue-tie is not in Bingley's character, he soon recovered and started a conversation with Jane. By the time Lizzy and Edward got back to the counter, both Jane and Bingley decided they would like to get to know each other better.
"Hello Charles, how do you do?"
"Morning Edward, nice to meet you. Richard told me so much about your garage and your car collection. He is always going on about your passion on classic cars and how much you know about them. He highly recommended that I have my car checked out by you."
"Well I know as much as other people who have an interest in classic cars but Richard got the passion bit right. So he told me that you have just bought a Bugatti and you would like to go into the 'Hertfordshire to Derbyshire' this year. Let's have a look at that car."
As Bingley and Edward went to look at the car, Lizzy asked Jane about her conversation with Bingley earlier.
"So Jane, what were you two talking about? Richard mentioned that we might have seen Charles at his Christmas party last year. Do you remember seeing him there? Was he there?"
"I didn't remember him at first, though he looked somewhat familiar," Jane replied. "Then as we got talking I remembered that I did see him at the party and we had said a few sentences to each other, but there were so many other people at the party I haven't met before. Oh and his friend was the guy who was staring at you and had made some comments about you. You remember, the serious looking one?"
"Oh I remember, now that you mentioned 'Grumpy'." Lizzy recalled.
Three months ago, at Richard's Christmas party ...
It was still early in the evening and people were still arriving at the party. Lizzy was returning a bottle of soft drink into the fridge when she overheard a conversation. There were two young men standing at the kitchen door, with their backs turned toward her and looking into the living room. Lizzy was sure they did not see her as she was behind the fridge door.
"Darcy, stop trying to go and hide in the kitchen. You must join us for a while more, we haven't even found Richard yet," Bingley said.
"I'm sure we will find him sooner or later, just follow the out of tune singing after he has a few to drink." Darcy looked around the living room. "I must say though, it might be a bit hard to hear him over all this noise! Where does Rich meet all these rowdy people?"
"Come now Darcy, they are just having fun, it is a party after all." Bingley replied, waving hellos left, right and centre. "I must say I never met with so many pleasant girls in my life; and several of them uncommonly pretty." Bingley's eye landed on Jane, whom he had briefly talked to a little while ago. "Especially the one in the aqua dress."
"Yes Charles, you were talking to the ONLY pretty girl at the party; I must agree with you on that point there." Darcy said, looking at Jane.
"Oh yes she is the most delightful girl I've ever met," replied Bingley. "But what about the girl she was talking to earlier? The one wearing the red dress, with reindeer antlers on? She looked quite cute with those on."
"She was tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me." Darcy replied coolly. "And besides, she must be so drunk to want to keep that silly thing on her head. I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are plastered so early in the evening. It is only just past 8 o'clock!"
Lizzy looked at the reindeer antlers on the kitchen bench. She was wearing it a moment ago before she looked into the fridge. Were they referring to Jane and me? Lizzy thought. Richard had a bunch of the reindeer antlers headbands at the door and had the guest put them on as soon as they arrived. Every one else had taken them off after a few minutes but Lizzy had kept them on for a bit of fun. There could have been other girls who still had the reindeer antlers on, but Lizzy looked at her red dress, and remembered Jane's aqua dress. They must be talking about Jane and me!!
Lizzy took a peep above the fridge door and tried to see if she could see who were talking. The young men had started to talk about something else and had shifted position slightly so Lizzy can see their faces. From their voices, Lizzy can tell that the blond one was the one who had found Jane a delight. He talked in an animated tone and had a pleasant disposition. He seems a nice enough fellow. The same can't be said about his friend though. His friend was handsome, to be sure, but he was so rude.
Wondering whether she should make her presence known by the two gentlemen, Lizzy softly closed the fridge door. After coming to the conclusion that she will not waste her thoughts on such a jerk, she made a move. Lizzy put the reindeer antlers firmly back on her head, carried her drinks and moved quietly towards the kitchen door.
"Excuse me gentlemen," Lizzy said in a not too quiet voice when she was standing right behind the two young men. She had clearly startled Bingley and Darcy.
"Oh yes of course, sorry" Bingley said with some confusion, moved aside and let Lizzy move through the door. "We didn't know you were in the kitchen." He looked at Lizzy, trying to see in her expression whether she had overheard his conversation with Darcy.
"Oh I was just getting myself a drink," replied Lizzy with a smile. "And I was enjoying the quietness here too. It is so noisy in the living room that you can't hear yourself talk, unlike in the kitchen." She looked at Bingley, then pointedly at Darcy. Darcy was desperately trying to wipe off as much expressions (guilty expressions, that is!) off his face as he could. True he had not thought much of her, but it would not do if she had heard his comment of her, and his comments of Richard's friend. He was hoping that she is as plastered as he thought she was and had not heard him. As he sneaked a look at her, he realised that there is not a trace of tipsyness in her sparkling eyes, but, rather, a trace of knowing. And what fine eyes they are, Darcy thought, then winced. This means that she might have heard what I said!
Lizzy saw the expressions on their faces and knew that they were indeed talking about her. And from how uncomfortable they looked she knew that they were wondering if she had heard them or not - mission accomplished! She excused herself and went to find Jane. She wanted to tell Jane what had happened, and she wanted to hear Jane's opinion of Bingley.
Jane blushed and was flattered about Bingley's comments of her. She only exchanged a few sentences with him but had thought him to be nice and agreeable. However, she was most horrified at Darcy's comments about Lizzy.
"What a terrible thing to say," said Jane. "But are you sure he was talking about you?"
"Well do you see any other girl in a red dress wearing reindeer antlers, standing with a girl in an aqua dress?" Lizzy asked. Jane looked around her. She seems to be the only one favouring aqua tonight and Lizzy was indeed the only girl, red dress or no redress, with those silly antlers on.
"That wasn't a particularly nice comment to say to any girl at any rate," continued Lizzy. "But no matter, he is of no consequences. If 'Grumpy' here fails to see the humour in a pair of reindeer antlers at a Christmas party, I can't really take any of his comments to heart. Let's not talk about him any more. Let's talk about his friend." Lizzy smiled innocently at Jane.
"Lizzy! There really isn't that much to talk about. We only exchanged a few pleasantries."
"Well make sure you talk to him a bit more when you see him again tonight."
As it happened, Lizzy and Jane did not see Bingley again that night. Lizzy did see Darcy later that night though. People had been drinking for a while by then and were becoming quite 'merry'. The sisters had not got that merry however, as Lizzy liked to keep a clear head and had only had a little, and Jane never acquired the taste for alcohol.
Lizzy was talking and laughing with Jane and a group of half-drunken girls when she felt someone's intense eyes on her. She looked up and saw 'Grumpy' again, standing at some distance away, staring at her with a sombre look on his face.
"No doubt he disapproved of such merry behaviour as well, even at a Christmas party," thought Lizzy. "What a rude, stuck-up man!" Determined to irritate him some more, Lizzy lifted her wine glass and flashed her most dazzling smile at the young man to show him how much she was shamelessly enjoying their "merriness". Before she could see his reaction, however, her view was block by a girl wearing an orange outfit so bright that it outshone the Christmas decorations.
Chapter 3
With a car half finished, a trusted mechanic moving interstate, and only four more months to go till the 'Hertfordshire to Derbyshire', Darcy was in need of a good mechanic, and quickly.
"Granted he may have done a good job for Richard and you, but does he know anything about BMW 328s?"
"Well you can go with me to meet him tomorrow and you can ask him a few questions to see if you are satisfied with his knowledge on BMWs."
Darcy didn't reply. He didn't tell Bingley that after his father's death, spending time working on the classic cars had ceased to be an enjoyment. When he was young, Darcy and his father would spend time every weekend working on the number of classic cars that they had, enjoying each other's company. Even when Darcy had grown older and the Darcy's business had kept them both busy, they would always find time every fortnight to go for a drive, or work on the cars together. They had enjoyed going into races, and had won a few of them along the years. After his father past away a few years ago, Darcy was too busy looking after the business and helping his mother with looking after Georgiana to continue his father's passion other than entering in the race every year. But the real reason was that it was too painful for him to spend much time with the cars without his father's presence. Darcy still went into some of the races, which had become more of a networking exercise than anything else. He had leave all the car restoring to a trusted mechanic.
"Well what do you say? You can come with me tomorrow and have a look around the place," Bingley continued.
"I suppose it won't hurt to have a look. What did you say the name of the place and the owner is again?"
"His name is Edward Gardiner, his garage's called 'Gardiner's Classics'." Darcy noted it down. He is going to ring Dave up and see what his opinion of 'Gardiner's Classics' is.
As Darcy was writing down the address, Bingley remembered that he had forgotten to mention to Darcy that the girl with the reindeer antlers worked at 'Gardiner's Classics'. Bingley had frequented the garage in the last two months and he knew that Lizzy is there most Saturdays. During his visits he had talked to Lizzy and had got to know her a bit. He knew that she was the girl at Richard's party whom Darcy had made some rude comments about. However Lizzy had not brought up the incident. As Bingley himself was never really sure if Lizzy had overheard them, he had hoped that Lizzy had forgotten about it, so Bingley kept quiet as well. If Darcy knows that Lizzy might be there on Saturday, he might decide not to go after all and Bingley wasn't going to risk that.
Thinking of Lizzy reminded Bingley of her sister, Jane, the main reason why he wanted Darcy to go to Edward's garage. Jane had been at the garage a few times that he was there. She always seems happy to talk to him but Bingley hadn't asked her out yet. He wasn't sure if she was just being polite or if she feels something more. Beside, Edward and Lizzy are there and Bingley always felt a bit awkward talking to Jane for long periods of time at the garage rather than talking to Edward or Lizzy about his car. If Darcy goes there this Saturday, Bingley was hoping that he could have a bit more time with Jane while Edward and Lizzy are busy with Darcy and his car. Plus, more visits to the garage means more time with Jane. Then maybe he would work up the courage to ask Jane out.
Chapter 4
Bingley was thinking about the same thing. Remembering that he was hoping to spend a bit more time with Jane, he regretted agreeing to Caroline joining them this morning. He was thinking about Jane and had absentmindedly answered yes to his sister's request yesterday.
Before Bingley could answer, Caroline Bingley appeared at the bottom of the stairs, in an orange dress and matching three inches heels. She put on her most seductive smile at Darcy and tried to put her arm around Darcy's. "Ok boys I'm ready. Let's go!"
Darcy turned his face and cringed slightly. As they moved through the front door, he took the opportunity to disengage his arm from hers and moved quickly to his car. Darcy knew that Caroline would want to ride in his car instead of Bingley's. He had the urge to jump in the car and drive off before she can reach him but restrained himself.
"So do I get a ride in your car before you drop it off in the garage" Caroline batted her eyelids at Darcy.
"I suppose so." Darcy said weakly.
When Darcy and Bingley arrived at Gardiner's garage they were half an hour late. Darcy looked around the place. It was a smallish garage but the place was tidy and the tools, hoists and winches looked in good order. Darcy was impressed at the selection of cars parked there. It seems that although the place was small, Edward was trusted with some rare and expensive cars. Bingley was looking around for Jane and was disappointed that she didn't seem to be there. Caroline was looking around making comments about the small size of the place and the lack of impressive looking equipment.
When Caroline was complaining loudly at the smell of the workshop, Darcy saw someone working underneath a car. He cleared his throat, "Excuse me ..."
Lizzy slide out from underneath the car and stood before them in typical grease monkey attire - a pair of overalls, her long brown hair tied up and concealed under a cap, complete with a spanner in hand. She saw Darcy and Caroline, but did not see Bingley. Dressed in a not too loose T-shirt, well-fitted jeans and loafers, Darcy cut a fine figure and Lizzy had to try very hard not to stare at his body for longer than is polite. Mmmm, very nice, thought Lizzy. Noticing a shade of bright orange at the corner of her eyes that look somewhat familiar, Lizzy turned her eyes to his companion. She saw Caroline winkling up her nose as if detected some disgusting smell and eyeing Lizzy up and down with a disapproving look.
"Good morning, how can I help you?" Lizzy moved toward them with a smile.
"We came to see Edward about my car." said Darcy. He was a bit surprised to see that the person working under the car was a female. "My name is William Darcy, Charles Bingley and Richard recommended your garage. Sorry we are a bit late." Without realising it, he was eyeing Lizzy up and down as well. Lizzy noticed it with a hint of annoyance, but she did not betray it on her face. Why do some people have such a problem with girls in workshops if they are not actually on some calendars? she thought, then a realisation hit her. Hang on a minute, I recognised him! That look, that face! Lizzy shot him a dagger look from under her cap. And he is Charles' friend. He is that grumpy and very rude guy from the party!
"Hello there, Liz!" called Bingley from behind Darcy. "I've come to drop my car in and I have also bought my friends here. He would like to talk to Edward about his car. Lizzy, this is William Darcy and my sister, Caroline. Darcy, Caroline, this is Lizzy. Liz helps out at her uncle's garage."
After introductions were exchanged, Lizzy went to look for her uncle. As soon as she disappeared behind the counter, Caroline started commenting on Lizzy.
"Did you see her in that outfit? I thought she was a boy when I first saw her crawling from under that car! All covered in grease and going under cars! Her hands and fingernails all dirty! What female in their right mind would want to work in a place like this??!! My, so unlady-like. I'm sure you wouldn't want Georgiana doing anything remotely like that." sneered Caroline. "She must be a lesbian or something. I wouldn't be surprise if I see her chewing tobacco and spitting it out!"
Darcy distractedly muttered something about this is perhaps not Georgiana would want to do. He was thinking about the pair of eyes underneath the cap. He wouldn't see Lizzy's eyes or face very clearly under that cap of hers, but strangely they had reminded him of a pair he saw last Christmas. The pair of eyes that had left him with quite a few sleepless nights after Richard's Christmas party last year.
From a distance, he had first deemed the girl with the reindeer antlers not handsome enough, and had voiced his thoughts to Bingley. How he had regretted his comments when he saw her up closed! What fine eyes she has! And to think that she might have heard his comments! After she startled him at the kitchen door, he did not see her again until later that night.
Darcy wasn't comfortable in big crowds of people and, as usual, he was trying to hide himself in a corner after some chitchat with Richard. It was then that he noticed the same pair of fine eyes at some distance from him. Mesmerised, Darcy faintly remembered that he was staring at her for a considerable period of time.
He wanted to go and speak to her, but he does not know what to say. Should he apologise for his comments? Would she forgive him for such rudeness? But what if she hadn't heard him after all? Then he would have to tell her the reason for his apologies or make up some limp reasons. As these questions ran through his mind, his face turned from a solemn expression to a light frown, then to a deep frown.
As he was struggling with his own thoughts, the owner of the eyes noticed his stares, gave him a dazzling smile and lifted her wine glass to him. Before he could figure out what the smile meant or how to respond, Caroline had appeared from nowhere, blocked his view of the girl, and had ushered him away to meet some friends of hers. He had tried to look for the pair of eyes later that night but was unsuccessful.
The thought of asking Richard about her had crossed Darcy's mind but he really would have no information to give to Richard. It is rather hard to describe in words the brilliance of those eyes. He wondered, again, whether she had noticed him staring at her. She must have,, he thought to himself, I must have been staring at her for at least 10 minutes!
"Darcy, Darcy!" Bingley's calls bring him back to earth.
"Umm ... sorry ... yes?"
Bingley gave him a quizzing look, and introduced him to a man standing next to him. "Darcy, this is Edward Gardiner. He is the owner of the garage. Edward, this is William Darcy."
"Hello William. This must be your BMW. This is in very good condition. What can I do for you?"
As the three of them discussed Darcy's car, Caroline was standing close to Darcy, interrupting their conversation with exclamations of how nice Darcy's car is, how expensive and rare the car is, how well Darcy had looked after it and how much money he had spend on it. She soon gave up, however, as she really wasn't interested in cars at all. Looking around, she looked for something else to do. Seeing Lizzy go back to working on the car, Caroline then spent her entire time staring disapprovingly at her.
After a while, Bingley walked off to talk to Lizzy. After a few exchanges on the weather and the car that Lizzy was working on, Bingley finally came to the point.
"Will your sister be dropping by this morning?"
Lizzy looked up. "I was wondering when you are going ask where she is. She will be here in about 15 minutes." She smiled mischievously. "She gave me strict instructions to keep you here till she arrived; but I didn't tell you that." After talking to Bingley and getting to know him, she thinks that Jane and Bingley would make a charming pair as their temperament are so similar, both thinks the best of everyone, so genteel and easy going. Lizzy can see that Bingley is very keen on Jane and Jane had told her that she is partial to Bingley, but Jane kept her feeling to herself so well that Lizzy decided a bit of help won't hurt.
Bingley grinned upon hearing her answer. He looked around, then ask Lizzy in a nervous tone, "Hmmm Lizzy, can I ask you something? You don't have to answer me if you don't want to."
"Sure Charles. Fire away."
"Do you think that Jane likes me more than as a friend? You can tell me the truth. I'd rather know where I stand with her than not know."
"Oh yes I would say that Jane likes you more than as a friend. I don't think the reason why she comes to the garage so often lately is due to her sudden interest in Bugatti. More like an interest in the owner of a certain Bugatti. Again, you didn't hear it from me."
Chapter 5
"Lizzy, which one of these should I wear? The pale blue dress looks a bit too formal, doesn't it? How about the lilac top with these pants?"
"Hmm, I like the lilac top, but you'll look lovely in whichever one you choose anyway. I'm sure Charles will agree as well."
Jane blushed. "Do you really think so, Lizzy? Oh but what am I thinking - I'm sure he only thinks of me as a friend so I hardly think he'll be paying much attention to what I wear."
"Jane, how can you think that?!" said Lizzy. "He's so attentive to you whenever you two talk. This morning when you weren't at the garage, Charles asked me where you were. Plus," Lizzy paused, fixing her eyes on her sister, before continuing. "This morning he also asked me if you like him as more than a friend! He wanted to know where he stands with you! I think his question clearly shows that he has regards for you."
"Oh." Jane was speechless for a few seconds. "He really asked you that?" Jane asked after she rediscovered her voice. "So what did you say?" Jane was dreading what her feisty sister said to Bingley.
"Well, what would you have wanted me to say? Just friends? Or more than that?" Lizzy grinned at her sister.
"Lizzy, do stop teasing," Jane pleaded. "What did you say?"
"Well ... I won't bore you with the particulars. Let's just say that I gave Charles an encouraging answer."
"How encouraging?" Jane looked a little worried. "What will he think of me now? I'll be so embarrassed when I see him again."
"Well, Charles will think that you're an angel. And he'll think himself a very lucky man to have obtained the favour of such an angel," Lizzy reassured her. "There is nothing to be embarrassed about. I merely gave him an indication that you do like him as more than a friend. Would you rather have me tell him that you're indifferent to him? I can hardly tell him that as it's not true."
"Well no." Jane said thoughtfully. "As much as I am uncomfortable about what 'encouraging' things you said to Charles, I probably wouldn't like the idea of you telling him that I am indifferent either."
"So am I forgiven now?"
"Lizzy, I wasn't mad at you. I was just a bit uncomfortable about what you may have said to Charles, that's all. I just hope it didn't sound like I was throwing myself at his feet"
"How can you think that? You're not throwing yourself at his feet at all. I've seen you two together and even a blind man can see how he feels about you. Really, his question definitely shows his regards for you." Wanting to change the direction of the conversation so Jane would not dwell on what Bingley would think of her, Lizzy changed the subject. "Oh look at the time. We'd better hurry up and finish getting ready otherwise we'll be late. You know how hard it is to get a park near the cinema on The Parade on a Saturday night."
The girls were getting ready for dinner and a movie with Bingley, Richard, and Richard's cousin, Georgiana. Richard had dropped by the garage that morning, and on seeing everyone there, suggested they join Georgiana and himself to see a movie that night.
William said that he couldn't make it as he has a meeting with one of the managers who had to leave for the US the next day, and he didn't know how long the meeting would go for. Caroline declined as well, as she was going out with her sister, Louisa. The truth was that if William was not going to be there, she wouldn't bother either. Plus, she wasn't interested in some fairy tales.
"Well I'm glad that William and Caroline are not going tonight," said Lizzy.
"Lizzy, what have you got against William and Caroline? William was a bit quiet this morning, but surely you don't have anything against that? And I thought Caroline was alright, she joined in the conversation and was pleasant enough."
"Well you should have been there earlier. Caroline was positively sneering at me when she first saw me. Maybe she doesn't like girls in overalls or something."
"Maybe you misinterpreted her expression. She was friendly enough when we were talking."
"That's because you're such a sweet person. No one can ever find a reason to sneer at you."
"I still think you might have misunderstood her. Anyway, what about William? Did he sneer at you too?"
"He did much more than that! Do you remember one of Charles' friends who made some rather rude comments about me at Richard's Christmas party last year, and who had also stared at me later that evening? Well that was him! As if that night wasn't enough, he was looking at me up and down in the garage this morning as well - no doubt noticing more things about me that he does not approve of!"
"Lizzy, you don't know that for sure. Maybe he's just curious that a female would work at a garage."
"Curious? Shocked more like!" Lizzy replied as she stood up.
Lizzy walked in front of the full-length mirror. She was wearing a pair of dark denim fitted hipster bootleg jeans, a plum coloured slightly off-the-shoulder velvety top, and a pair of kitten heel mules. A dainty diamante necklace adorned her neck and a matching anklet around her ankle. Her dark brown hair fell loosely about her shoulders. "So Jane, what do you think? Do I look ok? Do I look too dressy?"
"You look fine Lizzy, very nice," Jane assured her. "You don't look too dressy at all. Stop worrying about it."
"Well this is rather different compared to what I'm used to wearing to work - baggy chino pants, steel-toed cap boots and no makeup. Often I wonder if I've gone overboard with all this," replied Lizzy, gesturing to what she was wearing. "Don't get me wrong though, I do like to get all done up in heels and makeup sometimes."
"I would hardly call what you are wearing 'overboard'. Chic, yes; but definitely not too dressy," Jane reassured her. "You look fine."
"Jane, you're a sweetie." Lizzy smiled. "Now, if what I'm wearing is fine then I'm all set to go. Are you ready yet?"
Ever since Darcy saw Lizzy at Edward's Garage that morning, he couldn't stop thinking about her.
At the garage, Darcy was only half listening to Edward. Lizzy occupied his mind. He was stealing glances at her when she was working at the other car, and he was quietly irate at Caroline when he realised that Caroline was growling at Lizzy virtually an arm's length away from her. He knew Lizzy was aware Caroline was sneering at her (who wouldn't? Caroline's contemptuous aura could penetrate a 5mm steel plate!). As he was desperately trying to think of a way to get Caroline away from Lizzy without bringing Caroline's attention back to himself, he caught a glimpse of Lizzy's face. There wasn't a look of discomfort as he had expected, but rather a look of amusement. Darcy was slightly surprised, as he knew that Caroline had unnerved many a mere mortal with her manners when she chose to do so.
What Darcy saw next was even more unexpected. He saw Lizzy look up from the engine bay, look around innocently, and "notice" Caroline standing close behind her. Lizzy said something to her and Caroline put out her hand, looking bored. It seemed that Lizzy had asked Caroline to hold onto something for her. Turning her back towards Caroline, Lizzy then pulled out a coil of greasy timing belt and put it into Caroline's hand before Caroline had a chance to see what Lizzy was handing her. Just as quickly, Lizzy returned her attention to the engine. Caroline gave a little squeak when she felt the slimy object in her hand. She shoved it right back to Lizzy and hurried towards the sink. Although the sneering didn't stop, Caroline did not go near Lizzy again that morning.
An hour later, Richard turned up at Edward's garage as Bingley and Darcy were about to leave. Darcy saw that Lizzy greeted Richard warmly and he felt a pang of envy. After they left the garage, Darcy was trying to find out more about Lizzy.
"Richard, have you known Lizzy for long? I think I might have seen her at one of your parties but I'm not too sure."
"Lizzy? I've known her since Uni, and that's quite a few years. I wouldn't be surprised if you had met her before."
"Was she at last year's Christmas party at your place where you insisted that everyone wear a pair of those silly reindeer antlers?" Darcy persisted, even though he was not too sure if he wanted to know the answer.
"Let me think." Richard thought for a while. "Oh yes, she was. Jane, her sister was there too."
Upon learning this, Darcy's first reaction was one of delight, that he had finally found her and would now have a chance to talk to her.
Richard was still thinking about the party. "Hah! Those antlers were funny, weren't they? Although most of you took them off almost straight away, except for Lizzy."
That comment reminded Darcy that Lizzy probably didn't want to talk to him after what he said about her. I'll make amends and apologise when I see her next. Even if I can't make it to the movies tonight, I'll bound to see her again if she works at the garage.
"Say Darcy, why are you so interested about her?" Richard eyed Darcy with curiosity. "Have you taken a fancy to her or something?"
"Me? Noooo." Shaken out from his reverie, Darcy hastily denied he has any feeling for her. "I was just curious as to where you met her that's all. She is quite different to all the other girls that you know."
Chapter 6
"Liz, Jane, this is Georgiana. Georgiana, this is Lizzy and Jane."
After the introductions were made, Lizzy sat down next to Georgiana, leaving the empty seat next to Bingley for Jane.
"Now, we have about two hours before the movie start. As it is quite busy tonight at the restaurant, I say we order first, chit chat later," Richard suggested.
"Fine with me," everyone agreed.
As they decided that they are going to share the dishes, there was a lot of discussion back and forth about what everyone liked and what to order. Jane and Bingley were happy with whatever as long as it was not too spicy, Richard and Lizzy preferred something on the fiery side, and Georgiana said not a word and let Richard ordered for her.
After the waiter took the order, everyone settled in a conversation about the movie and some of the reviews that they had read. During the conversation, Lizzy noticed that Georgiana scarcely said a word. Several times Georgiana looked like she wanted to say something, hesitated, then didn't. Lizzy tried to include Georgiana in the conversation but could only get a timid smile and a single word answer from her. After a while, conversation turned to cars as Richard asked Bingley about how his Bugatti was doing, so Lizzy and Jane tried to start a conversation with Georgiana.
"So Georgiana, are you still studying?"
"Yes I am."
"Are you still at high school or are you at Uni now?"
"Uni. I started this year."
"Ah that's right. Richard did tell me that you'd started at Adelaide Uni this year. So what are you studying?"
"Social Studies and Humanities."
"Sounds good. Are you enjoying uni so far?"
"Yes I am. It's been pretty good."
"Are you going to major in an area? Or haven't you decided yet?"
"I'm hoping to get into law next year."
"Oh that's good. I've got several friends who have either finished or are still doing law." Lizzy then proceeded to tell Georgiana some comments that her friends had said about law while Georgiana listened.
The conversation continued to be one-sided for a while. Even though Richard had told Lizzy that Georgiana was quite shy, Lizzy was unsure if Georgiana wanted to be left alone. Bingley had drawn Jane into the conversation with him and Richard, and Lizzy was wondering if she should join in and leave Georgiana alone. But she decided to have one more try.
"So what sort of things do you like to do besides studies? There's many clubs at Uni. Have you joined any?"
"No, I haven't had a chance to look at all the clubs yet. I hope they have some sort of music club though. Maybe choir or an orchestra," Georgiana replied.
"I don't know about orchestras but I know that they had a choir when I was studying there. My friend was in it. She might still be involved in it. I can ask her if you like."
"Oh could you ask her about the choir? That would be great!" Georgiana was clearly excited about the idea of joining a choir. "Oh I've always wanted to join a choir and I was going to join one a couple of years ago until ... ummm ..." Georgiana suddenly stopped, looking a bit distressed.
Lizzy waited for Georgiana to finish what she was saying, but she seemed to have forgotten that she was saying something and became quiet again. Georgiana seemed to be thinking about something that was troubling her. Lizzy had no idea what she had said that could possibly caused this. The only explanation could be that whatever they had been talking about had dragged up bad memories for Georgiana. Puzzled and concerned, Lizzy tried to pick up the conversation.
"Well the last two years of high school are always hard going if you want to get a good mark to go into uni. I'm not surprise that you wanted to concentrate on your studies and forgo the choir. You seemed to have done well so now you can have some fun, join a choir and sing to your hearts content." Lizzy said in a light tone. She had no idea if what she said would do any good.
To her relief, Georgiana recovered after a few minutes. She still looked a bit pale, but managed to smile and said, "yes, they were rather hard years but they're in the past now. I am looking forward to the rest of uni and joining a choir. That should be fun."
"That's the girl. You have lots of things to look forward to .... "
They continued to talk about music and other things for a while. By the time they finished their dinner, Lizzy was glad to see that Georgiana was talking a bit more and seemed to be more relaxed.
As they were waiting for the bill, Richard asked Georgiana if she had asked Lizzy to help with her assignment yet.
"But I know nothing about social science. Richard, you should know that." Lizzy was puzzled.
"Georgie's assignment is on women in non-traditional fields of work," said Richard. "I think she needs to interview someone. As a mechanical engineer, you would be perfect."
"Yes it's for my gender studies assignment," Georgiana said. "I need to talk to different people and get their points of view."
"So you want to talk to me?" Lizzy asked.
"Oh may I? That would be great! I haven't talked to anyone yet," Georgiana said, relieved that she finally found someone to interview. "I won't take up much of your time. I promise!"
"That's alright. If you need more people to talk to, perhaps I can organise to have you come into my workplace. There are a few female electronics engineers there, and you can also talk to some of the guys and see what they think about having females colleagues."
"Yes please! That would be a great help if you could organise that." Georgiana cried. "Oh thank you so much for that!"
"No problem. Do you have an email address? I can check with my boss on Monday and send you an email next week."
Darcy stretched and looked at his watch: 6:34pm. The meeting ended earlier than he had anticipated. His manager had done his preparation well and they managed to go through the documentations and what he had to do in the States in little over an hour.
Well it's too late to join them for dinner; but maybe I can still see the movie with them, Darcy thought. Georgiana had told Darcy that they were meeting Annesley at the cinema at 8:00pm for the 8:30 session. And Lizzy will be there too.
Chapter 7
"Jane, would you like to get the tickets while I go and get some snacks?" Lizzy asked.
"I'll help you with the snacks," said Richard.
"Charles, maybe you can keep Jane company? There might be a bit of a wait," Lizzy said, beckoning to the line in front of the cashier. "Richard and I will be ok."
Jane smiled at Bingley shyly then headed towards the line. Bingley smiled at Jane hopefully before following her. Richard looked after them with amusement.
"I take it you had that in mind all along?" Richard asked Lizzy as they pushed through the crowd.
"It was only a wee little help." Lizzy smiled mischievously. "If they feel nothing for each other then nothing will come out of it."
"Maybe you can help me too," Richard said, putting on a pleading look.
"I'm sure you don't need my help, 'Mr Popular'." Lizzy laughed. She lightly patted him on his face as Richard put on a pout.
It was 8:10pm when Darcy walked into the cinema. Looking around him, he knew that he had a slim chance of finding anyone in the crowd. He spotted Richard as he was getting ready to ring Georgiana on her mobile phone. When he was about to call out to him, he saw something that made his heart skip a beat - Lizzy. She was touching Richard's face as she was laughing at something Richard said. Then Darcy saw her stumble in the crowd, and lose her balance. Richard put his arms around her immediately to help her regain her balance. One of his arms remained around Lizzy's waist as she turned and smiled her thanks to him.
All of a sudden, Darcy did not feel like facing them. He turned his face slightly so they wouldn't see him. Part of him still wanted to see Lizzy, but part of him just wanted to turn around and walk out of the cinema. As Darcy was deep in thought, Georgiana saw him and walked towards him with Annesley.
"Wil! I didn't know you were coming!"
"Hi Georgie, hi Annie." Darcy smiled weakly "The meeting finished earlier than I expected so I thought I'd join you guys for the movie."
"That's great. Oooo you'll like the movie I'm sure. We'd better get you a ticket quickly though. Charles and Jane are lining up at the moment. We saw them just a minute ago and the line was still long."
"Ok. I'll go and find them now."
After Darcy left to look for Bingley, Georgiana thought that he was looking a bit odd. She thought that it could be because he was a bit tired after the meeting but he almost looked sad. However, she did not have much time to think about it as Annesley reminded her that they were on their way to help Richard and Lizzy carry the drinks and popcorn.
"Richard, you remember Annesley. Annie, this is Lizzy. Lizzy, this is Annesley. She is my very best friend from high school. Pity we are not doing the same course in uni, but at least we are in the same uni," Georgiana said as they joined Lizzy and Richard in line. "Oh and Wil came after all. His meeting finished early so he thought he'd join us for the movie. He'd gone to find Charles to get one more ticket."
Lizzy was not terribly thrill with that news. The evening was going so well and he had to come and spoil it. Now, now Liz, calm down, think of what Jane said. Don't let him get to you. Act civil. Or simply just ignore him. Yep, that's what I will do. Just ignore him.
With ten minutes to spare till the movie start, the group reassembled after the various purchases were made.
"Darcy! Glad you could make it!" Richard called as he shoved a huge box of popcorn in his hand.
Darcy greeted Richard then looked toward Lizzy. Lizzy smiled back a 'Hi', and turned away. Darcy was about to say something to her when Bingley called for their attention.
"Ok everyone, we'd better hurry to Cinema 1 if we want to get good seats."
As they were walking towards Cinema 1, Darcy deliberately lagged behind so that he could observe the interaction between Lizzy and Richard. He also noticed that Jane and Bingley seemed to be getting along quite well too. Seems I missed a lot of happenings by not going to dinner.
After the movie, they decided to go for a coffee before heading home. At the café, Lizzy was happy to see that Jane and Bingley were enjoying each other's company. Bingley continued to be attentive, and Jane smiled her encouragements ... a lot. Lizzy herself was enjoying Georgiana's company as well. At first Georgiana was shy; but once Lizzy got to talk to her a bit more, she found her to be quite sweet and amiable, and intelligent too. Lizzy was taken aback when she realised that Darcy and Georgiana were siblings. Brother and sister are such polar opposites! I'm more likely to think that Georgiana is Richard's sister than William's.
While Lizzy was observing Jane and Bingley, Darcy was doing some observing of his own. Seated between Richard and Bingley, he could be as quiet as he liked as the two beside him chatted on. He took this time to observe his sister. He watched as Georgiana seated herself between Lizzy and Annesley. Sitting next to Annie was the norm, but choosing to sit with someone she'd only just met rather than with Richard or himself was almost unheard of since ...
Georgiana was relating to Annesley what she and Lizzy had talked about during dinner, and was laughing at Lizzy's anecdotes about her time at uni. It was not lost on Darcy that Georgiana had been quite relaxed and was not at all timid as she chatted to Jane and Lizzy with ease, despite the fact that this was the first time they met. Normally Georgiana would just listen to everyone's conversation, and would only say a few things to Annesley. What strange effect you have on us two, Lizzy, he sighed. You turned the sister from a shy, quiet girl into a laughing, chatty girl and the brother into a tough-tied fool!
As Darcy was looking at Lizzy, he could not help but scrutinise how she and Richard acted towards each other. He wanted to see if there were any intimacy between them, to figure out if they were an item. Richard was always popular with girls; and he had many "good female friends", platonic or otherwise. When he was between serious relationships, Richard seemed to go out with lots of different girls and the girls didn't seem to mind. Darcy wondered if Lizzy is one of those girls. But she seems so different to all the others. Darcy tried to comfort himself. So Richard must be serious about her then. He did not like that idea at all. Darcy was so immerse in his thoughts that he did not realised he was staring at Lizzy for longer than was polite.
Lizzy, meanwhile, was happily chatting to Jane, Georgiana and Annesley about uni life when she felt someone's eyes on her. Uh oh, sense of deja vu coming up, she thought with slight annoyance. Lizzy casually looked up, looked around her and then glanced toward Darcy. Sure enough, Darcy was staring at her. Why does he keep staring at me with his criticising eye? No reindeer antlers, no overalls this time. What can he possibly not approved now? I wish he'd leave me alone! The more Lizzy thought about it, the more annoyed she became. After a few more glances, when she was sure that he still had his eyes on her, Lizzy stared back at Darcy with a "Whadayawant?" look in her eyes. Darcy seemed to start at this and quickly averted his eyes. Satisfied, Lizzy went back to the conversations with her friends. Undeterred, Darcy looked for an opening to talk to Lizzy.
His opportunity came when a group of Georgiana and Annesley's friends turned up at the café, and the two girls went to join them for a chat. Unfortunately, Darcy still could not speak to Lizzy privately as Richard was sitting between them. Darcy was also nervous that he would say the wrong thing when he was in such close proximity to Lizzy. He listened and watched Lizzy in silence while she and Richard did most of the talking.
Darcy's silent gazes made Lizzy feel conscious of herself, and she was annoyed at herself for feeling so. In an attempt to get rid of the feeling, she decided that she would draw Darcy into the conversation.
"William, I remember a few years ago the Classic Rally was won by a George Darcy. In fact, he won that race for quite a few years. Is he any relation of yours?"
"He was my father," replied Darcy. "He passed away a few years ago. He really loved the classics."
"Oh. I'm sorry to hear about your father. I didn't know." Lizzy became quiet. She didn't mean to bring up painful memories for Darcy. She gave him an apologetic little smile.
Darcy was quiet too as he thought about his father. He felt a bit comforted though, when he saw Lizzy's smile. The three sat in silence for a while. Richard, wishing to break Darcy from his reverie, started talking to Lizzy.
"I believe Darcy here had decided that the Darcy family is going to re-claim the throne at this year's Classic Rally."
"Is that right?" Lizzy lifted an eyebrow as she looked at Darcy.
"Only if I can find a good enough mechanic," Darcy sighed. "Dave was the best. Since he moved interstate at the beginning of the year, my beamer has been in a half finished state. I am seriously thinking that I should just hire Dave back over here for a good half year so he could finish my car."
"Well I'm sure there are other good mechanics in this state, have you had a look around?" Lizzy said, slightly offended at what Darcy was implying, especially since he only dropped his car off at Uncle Edward's garage this morning.
Darcy, oblivious to what it might sound like to Lizzy, continued. "Yes, I had a look around, and I have tried a few of them out too. So far I haven't found one that I'm satisfied with, and I am too busy to breathe down their neck all the time to make sure they are doing things to my standard."
Well what a stuck up person! This certainly confirms my first opinion of him! Lizzy thought crossly. She was about to retort when she saw Georgiana and Annesley coming towards them. As Lizzy did not want to start an argument with Darcy when Georgiana came back; she simply said coldly, "Well I hope that Uncle Edward's workmanship will be to your satisfaction."
No, I didn't mean Edward! Darcy thought in horror as he realised what he had said could imply. Damn, I shouldn't have open my month! He frantically tried to think what he could say to redeem himself.
For the rest of the evening at the café, Darcy tried several times to get Lizzy attention, but she was determined to avoid speaking to him, or even looking in his direction.
They stayed at the café for about an hour. As it was getting quite late, it was decided that someone should walk Jane and Lizzy to their car.
"It'll be my pleasure," Bingley promptly volunteered.
"Well I parked just around the corner from you so I'm going that way too," Richard said. "Georgie, I presume that you'll be going home with Darcy now that he's here?"
"Yep, and we'll need to drop Annie home on the way as well."
Darcy nodded his agreement. He had no excuse to walk Lizzy back to her car as his was parked in the opposite direction from them. There was nothing Darcy could do except watched Richard walk away with Lizzy, all the while wondering if Richard really did park his car close to Lizzy or was it just an excuse.
As Darcy drove into his driveway, he remembered that he still had not apologised to Lizzy. He cursed himself for not trying hard enough to find an opportunity to do so; and he cursed himself even more for offending Lizzy ... again.
Meanwhile in Jane's bedroom ...
"So Jane, did you have a good time tonight?"
"Yes I did. It was excellent! Much better then I thought it would be."
"What about the company?"
"The company? Oh you mean Charles," Jane blushed. "He is a delightful person, isn't he? Such a nice, sweet guy."
"So, are you just friends, or more?"
"Oh Lizzy," Jane blushed even more.
"Well?"
"Ok, maybe a bit more," Jane finally said, smiling happily. "He asked me if he could ring me next week to organise a dinner or something. With just the two of us!"
"That's great, Jane!" Lizzy gave her sister a hug. "See, I told you he likes you."
"Yes, you did," Jane smiled. "What about you Lizzy, did you enjoy tonight?"
"Yep, I did. The movie was great; the company was fine, with an exception of one individual, of course."
"From what I saw tonight, you were having a good time with Georgiana and Annie, and you've known Rich for ages, so I presume it's still William that you are having problems with?"
"I'm not having problems with him. He is the problem. I can't believe that he and Georgiana are siblings! Georgiana is so sweet and friendly, while he's so rude and ... well ... just totally opposite to Georgiana!"
Jane tried to reason with Lizzy that Darcy can't be that bad as Georgiana seems to get along with her brother very well; and that Bingley and Richard are good friends with him.
"Well they don't count. Georgiana and Richard are family; and Charles is, hmmm, such an easy going guy."
Lizzy could be stubborn in her opinion if she chose to be. Jane knew this so she decided to drop the subject. Instead, she asked Lizzy about Georgiana and the two sisters conversed for almost an hour before going to sleep.