Posted on Saturday, 29 March 2003

"William! Come in, come in! It's so good to see you," Jane said as she hugged her friend and drew him into her home. William Darcy passed through the vestibule and into the parlor of the cozy brownstone apartment Jane shared with her husband Charles Bingley.

"The place looks great!"

"Amazing what a few coats of paint and buying a little furniture will do, huh?" Jane said as she took his coat. "May I offer you some coffee? I just made a fresh pot."

"No thanks. If I drink coffee this late in the day I'll be up all night," William said as he pushed up his sleeves and examined the painting over the mantel. "This is quite good."

"Thank you. It was done by a friend of mine. We traded paintings; I got this in exchange for a portrait of her dog."

"I thought you only did people."

"I usually do, and with good reason," Jane laughed. "Dogs are even worse than small children when it comes to fidgeting."

"How did it come out?" William asked as he followed Jane into the kitchen.

"Tara was happy and that's all that matters."

"Is Tara the dog or the owner?" William asked.

"The owner; the dog was named Bingo. I discovered, by the way, that I could probably make a good living doing animal portraits; they've become very popular. But I think I would quickly go insane." Jane poured herself a cup of coffee and poured William a cold drink. They settled in at the large farmhouse table to get caught up. "You usually have to work from a photograph for an animal portrait rather than a live subject and I much prefer working from life."

"Yes, Charles told me something about your teaching a class in life drawing at the studio."

"Yes, I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave you on your own tomorrow night while I teach class. Unless you'd like to come watch..." Jane was mildly amused when she saw William color slightly. "Come on! When was the last time you picked up a pencil and paper?"

"You know perfectly well that I gave up my interest in art when Charles won out on the Jane Gardiner sweepstakes," William replied laughingly. Jane punched him in the arm. "Are you sure he doesn't mind my staying here while he's out of town?"

"Of course he doesn't. It was his idea, in fact. Too bad he won't be back before you leave or we'd all be able to spend some time together like the good old days."

"What good old days?" William sighed into his glass. Jane wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"I was referring to those carefree days when the four of us didn't have a care in the world." William snorted derisively.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to open old wounds, William," Jane said softly.

"It's all right. I've long since gotten over Julie." William said without remorse. "I left for London and grad school with a clear conscience and have never looked back."

"Then why do you sound so miserable?"

"I guess--I guess being in this temple to domestic bliss I--. Never mind; it's nothing," William said evasively.

"William! Tell me!" Jane withdrew her arm and stood. She reached for William's glass. "I see I'll have to resort to something stronger in order to loosen your tongue." She went over to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of wine. "I got this for dinner. It won't be ready for another half hour, but--." She handed William the bottle and a corkscrew. The pair sat down and talked through a glass of wine, a delicious dinner, and half an apple pie. By the time they were completely caught up on each other's lives, William could barely keep his eyes open.

"Why don't you bring that bag and I'll show you to your room." Jane led William upstairs to the guest room and helped him to get settled in. William closed the door and went to get ready for bed. By the time Jane knocked on his door to see if he needed anything ten minutes later, he was fast asleep. Jane went to her room and sat on the edge of the bed to untie and remove her shoes. She thought back to William's confession that he always felt a little envious of Charles when he came to stay with the couple. Being with them served as a reminder that although he'd achieved success as a business man, working his way to a very prominent position that enabled him to travel the world and largely call his own shots, he was still very much alone.

"Oh, come on, William! It'll be fun! You didn't fly all the way to New York to go see a movie. You came to visit and spend time with your friends."

"I haven't been in an art class in over seven years!"

"It's a beginner's class, Will. You'll fit right in." Jane didn't wait for his assent. She flagged down a cab and all but pushed him into it. Ten minutes later they were standing at the door to the classroom. Jane reached for the doorknob but paused when she heard her name being called.

"Jane, we have a problem," the studio's administrative assistant called.

"What is it, Lydia?" The younger woman didn't answer immediately, intent on studying the handsome man at Jane's side. She knew it wasn't Jane's husband. She'd seen Charles on several occasions. She smiled at him openly, confusing William as to her intent.

"Your model called. She's got baby sitter problems and won't be able to make it." Jane closed her eyes and swore.

"Have you called around?"

"I called Mike and Jess and Peter. Jess is doing the advanced class tonight and I couldn't reach either of the boys by phone." Lydia smiled at William again.

"Why don't I pose for your class?" William suggested. "That way I don't have to embarrass myself by making stick figures while everyone else draws decently."

"Thanks for the offer, William, but I couldn't ask you to do that," Jane said as she opened the door to the classroom. A few students were already inside milling about.

"I think he'd be a great model," Lydia said, eyeing William up and down.

"No one asked you, Lyd," Jane said. "Why don't you go and try the boys again." Lydia shrugged.

"All right, but if you ask me--."

"No one asked you," Jane snapped.

"I don't mind, really," William said as he followed Jane into the room. She walked through to a small office at the back of the studio. Jane held the door till William entered the office and closed it behind him.

"I don't think you realize what you're volunteering for, Will."

"What, sitting still for an hour or two? We used to take turns sitting for each other in that life drawing class we took together."

"Yes, William. But that was a different class. This one is life drawing of the nude figure." William went red and swallowed audibly.

"Oh."

"Yeah. Oh." William pulled off his jacket and hung it on the hook on the back of the door. Then he began to pull off his turtleneck.

"I'll do it."

"William!"

"It's no big deal. Uh...how big a class is it?"

"Eight students, although sometimes a few of the advanced students wander in. The maximum is fifteen, though. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I'm sure there are far worse things I could do," William said sheepishly.

"I'll give you a break. You can leave on your boxers."

"Gee, thanks." William said as he pulled off a sock.

"You know, our models don't usually use my office to undress." William blushed and so did Jane. "I'm sure Charles will get a laugh out of this, but lord knows what my students will think."

She stepped out of the office before William removed his pants, returning with a robe for him to slip into. Then she went out and got the class started. William stepped out of the office and looked at the students. They varied greatly in age. The oldest appeared to be a man in his seventies; the youngest couldn't have been more than fifteen. They all appeared to be rather serious about their work, which eased the butterflies in his stomach, somewhat. He feared being ogled, but William wasn't squeamish about being looked at as an object for study.

"I'd like to introduce our model tonight. Beverly had to cancel out on us so my friend William has bravely volunteered to sit in," Jane said. "We're very grateful to you, William," she said as she gestured for him to come forward.

There was a smattering of applause and William felt himself blush. Jane directed him toward a platform she had pulled out to the center of the room and asked him to sit on the simple bentwood chair. William removed the robe before Jane made him sit sideways on the chair and extend a leg slightly. She shifted his position till she was content.

"William has a beautiful head and shoulders, and I want you to try and concentrate your attention there. Those of you with more of a frontal view can also work on the torso, but if time is limited you should concentrate on the upper body. Those of you at the rear, really try to capture the angularity of the planes. Note here," Jane said as she lightly touched William's back, "the juxtaposition of the soft curls at the nape of his neck, the suppleness of the spine and the comparatively hard lines of his shoulder blades."

"Stop! You're making me hot!" someone called out. William rolled his eyes and started to shake his head.

"Don't move!" Jane admonished. William instantly froze.

"So, William, you're not a professional model?" the septuagenarian asked.

"No, this is an entirely new experience for me," William replied as he willed himself to relax a bit. He knew that if he held his position tensely he'd be sore when he moved again.

"What do you usually do for a living?"

"I'm an investment analyst." There was laughter and a few gasps of surprise.

"Baby, you're in the wrong line of work," the female voice called out from behind William.

"Really?" a mature woman beside the senior citizen asked.

"Yes, really," William smiled.

"I don't suppose you'd be able to hold those dimples for an hour or six, would you?" someone asked. William laughed and began to enjoy himself. Jane pulled out a pad and sat on the floor between a pair of easels to take William's likeness.

"Be very impressed, Val," she said as she made a quick skeleton on which to build his form. "William is a Harvard graduate with an MBA from the London School of Economics. He theoretically lives in Boston, although he's never actually there long enough to answer a phone message."

"Are you married, hon?" William pouted and shook his head just a bit.

"Wanna be?" the voice in the back called out.

"Bess, give it a rest!" Jane cried, although she was laughing. "The poor man is just here as a favor to the class and you're treating him like a hunk of meat."

"Prime rib." William heard a smacking of lips and chuckled. He sat for a half hour before taking a brief break. When he turned around he was surprised to see that the room, which originally held about ten people, was full and clearly more than fifteen people occupied the space. There were several people sitting on the floor and every easel was taken. He was also surprised to see the woman who was heckling him for the first time. She was a diminutive woman with grey hair and bright blue eyes. William doubted that she was a day under sixty and was privately relieved. "You're even prettier on this side, hot stuff," she said with a wink.

"Thanks," William said.

"You like older women?" Bess asked seductively as Jane grabbed her arm and dragged her away.

"Are you off your medication again, Bess? I thought you promised to take it before every class."

"I didn't bother since I thought we'd have Beverly again. So, exactly how good a friend is he?"

"Bess! Now you're making me blush!" Jane retreated to the far side of the room and resumed her study. After an hour, William shifted positions and the half of the class that had drawn his back now had a good view of his face. Jane noted with amusement that a few of the students had moved to follow the view. When class was over, William retreated to Jane's office to get dressed. When he came out, a couple of students were finishing the clean up and Jane was doubled over laughing.

"What's so funny?" William asked.

"Bess," Jane said as she fought for breath. "She said she wished you'd worn a thong. She would have left you a fat tip." William rolled his eyes.

"Let's get out of here. I need a drink." They went to a local hang out where many of the students congregated after class and ate dinner over a few beers and good conversation. Val asked Jane if she'd ever painted William.

"No, but I should. He's one of my dearest friends...and he has a birthday coming up in a few months..." Jane smiled. "William, why don't you sit for me while you're here? It needn't be for a long period, just enough to let me do a full rendering. I'd love to do a portrait for you." It was too generous and heartfelt an offer to refuse. Even after nearly ten years, William still had a soft spot for Jane, though it had long since been schooled into friendship.

"I'd--wait a minute; with or without clothes?" William asked cautiously.

"I think I'd like to paint you in that sweater you had on the evening you arrived. You looked very handsome in that."

"All right, then. I'd be delighted."

William spent part of the next day occupied with a business meeting, but when he returned to Jane's apartment he changed out of his suit and into his jeans and sweater. Jane took several photographs of him before she started to draw. They sat and talked in the third bedroom in the apartment--which Jane used as her home studio--for several hours. When they called it quits, the light was becoming too poor to see by.

"So what next?" William asked. "I leave tomorrow and you've hardly even begun."

"Well, I have to start fleshing you in. I'll probably do the background first and get the most important bit out of the way," Jane teased. "But then I will begin to build your figure. I work in layers of color and it's just as well you don't see that. Most people are aghast when they see layers of green, grey and blue going in under their skin."

"Sounds lovely," William said.

"I'll probably only be able to work on it a few hours a week. I've got two commissions to finish. But the next time you're in town you can sit for me again and I can fine-tune it a bit."

"Sounds like a plan."

The next day, William slipped into the small room and gazed at the blotchy sketch that was destined to become his portrait. He sighed and concluded that he could see no resemblance to the face he saw in the mirror on a daily basis at all. A few hours he was on his way to San Francisco, with a promise to pay another visit to the Bingleys in a month.

"So what else are you working on at the moment?" Lizzy Bennet asked as she looked around the room. She had commissioned her friend Jane to paint a portrait of her father for his fiftieth birthday celebration.

"Oh, I have a few things in the works. I'm kind of splitting my time between commissions and teaching right now," Jane said as she propped up the half-finished canvas for Lizzy to examine.

"Oh, he looks wonderful, Jane! Papa will be so thrilled to see this!" In her excitement, Lizzy jostled a stack of papers and other items poised precariously at the edge of Jane's desk. Lizzy bent to pick them up and as she rose she caught sight of another canvas, propped against the wall. "Who's that?"

"Hmm?" Jane replied absently as she frowned at the image of Thomas Bennet.

"This," Lizzy said as she walked over to the portrait and squatted to get a better look.

"Oh, that. That's William," Jane said as she went over and carefully lifted the canvas so Lizzy could get a better look.

"This is another commission?"

"Nope; Will's a friend of mine and I'm doing this as a gift."

"That's a very nice gift! But then, this is a very nice looking friend."

"Indeed. William is not only great to look at--there's a lovely man underneath the beautiful exterior as well."

"Sounds too good to be true." Lizzy turned back to her father's painting and Jane set William down. "I went with a guy who was beautiful on the outside. He seemed so good on the inside, too, till I realized that I was just deluding myself."

"That sounds painful."

"It was; I guess the moral of the story is don't judge a book by its cover," Lizzy said with a tinge of bitterness in her voice.

"No, you should never do that. But you shouldn't allow yourself to be put off by the pretty cover, either. Sometimes there's a beautiful story inside," Jane said sagely.

"Does William have a beautiful story?"

"I think he does," Jane said as she reached for his photographs. "And before I really answer that, let me show you just how lovely a cover we're talking about. You can't really appreciate him with those blue blotches on his cheek." She handed Lizzy the photos and Lizzy looked at them with interest.

"He's very attractive. What does he do for a living?"

"He's an investment analyst, and before you declare him to be capitalist sleaze, let me say that he works for a company that carefully vets all its investments so that its clients can put their money into safe, socially responsible investments."

"How noble," Lizzy deadpanned.

"But aside from that, William is a real honey." Lizzy sat down on a stool and watched Jane work on her father's portrait. As she watched Jane work, they engaged in a frank discussion about men. Jane frequently cited her husband Charles and her friend William as examples of all that was right with men; Lizzy used her painful experience to complain about all that was wrong with them. Before they parted that afternoon, Lizzy found herself wishing for a man such as Jane had described.

Three weeks later, William came down to the city for an overnight stay and took the Bingleys to the opera. The next day he spent an hour in Jane's studio so she could do some color correcting and fine tuning of the portrait. She would not allow William to see the painting at this stage, but her husband took great delight in describing it to him and peppering his closest friend with bits of trail mix when he thought Jane wouldn't notice.

"How's the portrait of the hunk coming along?" Lizzy asked as she stirred milk into her coffee.

"You know, I'm beginning to think that you come over here just to visit William," Jane accused lightly. "You don't even pretend to ask about your dad anymore."

"Well, I enjoy visiting you for your own sake, you know," Lizzy said, "but I like to visit the pretty picture, too."

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Lizzy looked at Jane over her mug. "Mr. B?"

"Oh him? I've seen that portrait a zillion times. I'd rather look at William," Lizzy smiled.

"I can't say I blame you. It is coming along nicely," Jane concurred.

"You know, after my last visit I actually had a dream about him," Lizzy said sheepishly.

"Do tell!"

"Oh, no! I couldn't--. It's too corny, like something out of a--."

"Dream?" Jane prompted.

"I was going to say a bad romance novel."

"Well, spill, girl, or you'll never lay eyes on William's picture again."

"You wouldn't do that to me, would you? He's become my ideal fantasy man!" Lizzy blurted before she could stop herself. Jane sat back with a smug grin and waited. "All right...I dreamed that I was in this huge bedroom lying in a canopied four-poster with this white gauzy fabric draped all around. There was a pair of French doors leading out to the balcony with the same fabric covering the glass. All the fabric in the room was fluttering in the gentle breeze. I was lying there looking at the shaft of moonlight coming through the open doors. Suddenly, something interrupted the shaft of light and I gasped and sat up to see what it was.

"It was William, wearing nothing but a pair of dark silk pajama pants, slung low on his hips. He stepped through the door and stood there, silhouetted in the moonlight."

"Oh, baby!" Jane said in a slightly mocking tone, fanning herself for effect. Lizzy shot her a look.

"Do you want to hear this or not?" Jane gestured for her to continue. "He stood there a moment and then he smiled at me. He walked over to the bed and knelt to kiss me. Then he--."

"Hello, darling. Hi, Lizzy."

"Hi, Charles," Lizzy sighed. Jane never did get to hear the rest of Lizzy's dream that night.

On Memorial Day weekend, William invited Jane and Charles up to his house on the Cape. While Charles and William fiddled with the task of sprucing up William's old John Dory, Jane sat on the pier and made sketches of Truro Bay. After a few hours of labor, the group adjourned to the house for lunch. Charles fell asleep on the sofa afterwards, leaving William and Jane to entertain themselves.

"So what did you sketch today?" William asked as he poked the fire he'd started in the stone hearth.

"See for yourself," Jane said as she slid the large pad his way. William took it up and opened it.

"I don't recall seeing her on the bay," William said as he turned the pad to face Jane.

"Oh, that's Lizzy," Jane said. "She's a friend of mine. I'm doing a painting of her father for her so she comes around a lot. She's got an interesting face so I like to draw her when I can."

"She's got a marvelous face," William said as he gazed at the image. He flipped the page and was enchanted once more. "She's beautiful."

"She thinks you're rather cute, too." William looked up sharply. "She's seen your portrait."

"Oh. Have you painted her?"

"No, but I'd like to; she's been dodging me," Jane said as she took in William's interest. "She's single, William."

"I don't recall asking," he said with a smirk.

"I never said you did."

"What does she do for a living?"

"She's an artist's rep. Lizzy's gotten my work into a few important shows, but I'm not really in it for the fame and glory so we're mostly just friends."

"I see." William turned the page and even from half a dozen feet away she could see the disappointment in his eyes as he encountered a picture of his boat. He quickly shuttered his face, however, and Jane smiled to herself.

"I'll be in New York for two days next week," William told Charles on the phone from the airport in Amsterdam.

"You'll stay with us, of course," Charles said without hesitation.

"I'll be coming in on the red-eye. It'd be simpler for me to go to a hotel."

"Don't offend us, Will. Come on over to our place."

"At two in the morning?"

"You've got a set of keys. Let yourself in. We'll have breakfast together in the morning."

"Lunch, maybe."

"All right, then. You and Jane can have lunch. I have a pretty busy day at the office, but we can all get together for dinner. I'll make the reservations."

"Sounds like a plan."

When William arrived at the Bingleys' house in the wee hours of the morning he found a note from Jane taped to the bedroom door informing him that she left him a snack should he need it and where he could find extra towels or other items he might need. William gently closed the door and quickly undressed for bed, smiling at the basket containing fresh-baked cookies, a container of juice and some fresh fruit. A small decanter of sherry was also set beside the lamp, with a glass. William poured himself a sherry and settled onto the bed, too wound up and tired to sleep. He put on the radio, tuned it to a classical music station and closed his eyes as he lost himself in the music of DeBussy. When he opened his eyes a picture frame caught his attention. He was certain that it hadn't been there on his previous visit. He sat up to get a closer look at the drawing in soft sepia-toned pencil. William smiled as he recognized the drawing and sat back to stare at it till he fell asleep.

"I want to meet her," William told Jane over a late breakfast the next day.

"Meet who?"

"Lizzy," William said softly.

"You know I'd been thinking exactly along those lines. I even invited Lizzy to join us for dinner tonight."

"But?" William could see the apprehension in her eyes.

"She's out of town, William. Her father's fiftieth birthday is this weekend and she's in Pennsylvania at a big family reunion." William's look of disappointment touched Jane's heart. "For what it's worth, I think you'd be great together." William averted his eyes.

"For what it's worth, I think I'm a fool for staring at a picture half the night."

"Oh, did you like it? I think it looks great in the room." William eyed Jane suspiciously.

"Why you little--!"

"What? This is my apartment and I'm the one who makes the decorating decisions. Why shouldn't I put up Lizzy's picture if I like it?"

"When did you put it up?"

"Before I went to bed last night."

"The party was phenomenal!" Lizzy concluded after telling Jane all about the family reunion on her father's farm in Bucks County.

"You missed a chance to meet William," Jane interjected bluntly. Lizzy looked up.

"What?"

"He was here for two days and even wanted to meet you."

"Get out! He doesn't even know I exist!"

"Yes he does," Jane said coyly.

"Jane Bingley, what did you say to that man?"

"Nothing; you saw his picture, he saw yours..."

"What?"

"I said--."

"I heard what you said. I want to know what you mean," Lizzy said as she felt herself go into a mild panic. "You told him that I--."

"He saw a few of my drawings, yours among them, and thought you were beautiful."

"He said that?"

"Those were his exact words," Jane replied, "and when he was here he said he'd like to meet you."

"So you did say something to him about me. Why else would he be interested in meeting me?"

"All right, so I might have mentioned that you were single and somewhat charming. Sue me."

"And I missed him," Lizzy pouted.

"Want to go up and see the painting?" Lizzy smiled.

"So when is he coming to town again?"

"Jane, I have great news! You've been invited to show your work at the "Art at the Armory" show."

"I've never heard of it, Lizzy."

"This will be the first one. A group of gallery owners and artists' representatives have been trying to think of ways to bring art to a larger audience. We decided to put on a show at the Armory on Park Avenue and I took the liberty of entering your portfolio for consideration."

"Lizzy!"

"Jane! You know you could use the exposure! I was just doing my job. Anyway you're allowed to show up to three pieces and you have a space limitation of 100 square feet, which should pose no problem for you. I think one of the paintings should be William."

"Lizzy, I'm working on a couple of other things right now. I'm not sure I'd have time to finish it; I don't even know when the show is being held."

"It's in late July so you have about six weeks to finish it. And then you can invite William to the gala reception to open the event and I'll be there, of course, wearing something flowing and sexy..."

"I see," Jane laughed. "This is the mother of all blind dates. I take it you've had another dream?"

"Humor me," Lizzy pleaded. She'd actually lost count of how many dreams she'd had in which William had played a key role. Of course, it helped that Jane had slipped a photograph of William into her purse one day. The gift was never openly acknowledged, but Jane knew it had done its job when Lizzy began to talk more and more about the man.

A few days later, when she received the formal invitation in the mail she called William at his office. After the requisite small talk, she got down to business.

"So what are your plans for the evening of July 28th?" William pulled out his appointment book and checked the date.

"Where would you like me to be?" he replied, his pen poised to write.

"In New York at the Seventh Regent Armory on Park Avenue."

"What's the occasion?"

"An opening night reception for a show. Your portrait will be on display."

"It's done?"

"It will be by that time, yes."

"Will I get a chance to see it before the show?"

"Hmm--probably not."

"So I suppose I have no say in whether or not you should show the piece," William said playfully.

"You're going to be shy about being seen in a sweater and jeans when you willingly exposed yourself to a group of strangers practically naked?"

"I'd be seen by many more people at the Armory."

"Do you make business decisions with such fallible logic?"

"This is not business we're talking about, Jane," William said defensively. "Cut me a little slack. It's one thing to sit in front of a couple of dozen people for a few hours. It's quite another to be stared at for who knows how long!"

"Three days, and they won't be staring at you. They'll be staring at your portrait. Will you come?"

"I suppose. That's a Thursday night-I can make it a long weekend."

"Good man."

"You look fabulous, Lizzy," Jane said as Charles kissed her cheek.

"Thank you," Lizzy said a little self-consciously. "You look great, too. There are a lot of important people here you should meet. Some of them have already expressed an interest in your work."

"Oh?" Jane replied, mildly shocked.

"I haven't seen Jane's display yet," Charles said.

"Neither have I, actually," Lizzy admitted. "I was assaulted almost as soon as I came through the door. Why don't we all go see your pictures?" The threesome began to make its way across the somewhat crowded space. Lizzy knew where Jane's paintings were to be hung, but she hadn't seen them, having left it to Jane to decide what to send along with William's portrait. "Did you choose a third one or did you just send William and Aunt Agnes?"

"Will you stop calling her Aunt Agnes?" Jane laughed. "Her name is Deborah, and she's very likely to be in the crowd tonight, so behave," she admonished. Lizzy drew nearer to Jane's ear.

"Where's William?" she whispered.

"He's supposed to meet us here," Jane said cryptically. Lizzy was the first to reach Jane's display area. Jane looked up and grabbed hold of Charles' arm and drew him back.

"What?" Jane put her finger to his lips and watched.

Lizzy walked over to the portrait of William and smiled. It was the first time she'd seen it properly framed and hanging under good light.

"Hello, William," Lizzy said to the portrait.

"Hello, Lizzy," a mellifluous voice replied. Lizzy spun around and discovered that she was within an arm's reach of the living, breathing, flesh and blood creature that had inhabited her dreams for months. She stared at him for a moment and then managed to turn her eyes from William's face to the portrait upon which he was fondly gazing. Her mouth fell open and she gasped at the familiar face before her.

"Oh my God!" she cried before she covered her mouth. William turned his head and smiled at her. "Forgive me, I--. I--. I--where on earth did this come from?" Lizzy finally managed as she stared at the portrait of herself.

"I fell in love with Jane's sketch and commissioned her to paint it." William gently took her arm as Lizzy began to swoon. "You look like you could use a seat," he said softly and led her away from the pair of paintings. Lizzy caught a glimpse of Jane and Charles smiling at her, but she could only manage to shake her head in bewilderment as she passed them by.

"I think my job is done here," Jane said.

"I agree. Let's go look at the art." Charles took Jane by the hand and kissed it before he led her over to the pair of portraits. He bent to read the cards that described the works. They shared the title: "Love That Knows No Distance Joins Two Hearts: Lizzy and William," Charles said. "Perfect!"

The End