Posted on Thursday, 10-Dec-98

Darcy looked at his wife and smiled lovingly. She took his hand. An unspoken message passed between them, and she leaned back, blissfully content in her husband's embrace.

The End

Lisa gave a small sigh of satisfaction as she concluded her story. Lizzy and Darcy were of course united in marital bliss, and it could be safely assumed that they would live happily ever after.

She left her notebook open on her lap and leaned back against the rough, firm trunk of the jacaranda tree, gazing out across the busy yet relaxed university grounds. The jacarandas were in bloom, raining lilac blossoms on the passers-by - students carrying text books, friends talking and laughing, couples strolling hand-in-hand, lost in each other's gaze.

Lisa watched one such couple making their way toward the central library, stopping frequently to re-affirm their love for one another. Both were good-looking blondes - 'she' smiling and graceful, 'he' lively and adoring. Lisa grinned and shook her head wonderingly as realised they reminded her a little of Bingley and Jane. She seemed to have Pride and Prejudice on the brain.

But she could not help feeling a little wistful as she watched them disappear together. The idyllic scene before her ought to have instilled her with appreciation and contentment - and it did, to a certain extent. She was happy to be studying here. She enjoyed her course, meeting new people, making new friends, hanging out with old ones - she loved the lifestyle. But something was missing.

Lisa would be the first to admit that she set high standards for herself and for those around her. Unfortunately, nature had also condemned her with the affliction of hopeless romanticism.

The result was a Lisa who loved romantic novels, was reduced to tears by soppy movies, and who read Austen and Bronte and Shakespeare with enthralled enthusiasm, tempered by bittersweet reflections on the void in her own life.

She had male friends, but none of them could make her feel even half of what she felt for the passionate lovers of her fictional worlds.

It was a sad state of affairs, she mused. She was lonely and wistful, but her deep-rooted romantic ideals allowed her satisfaction with nothing less than perfection.

Looking down at the notebook in her lap, she re-read the last paragraph of her story and sighed again.

So beautiful, so impossible.

"Hi."

The voice behind her made her jump.

A young man stood leaning against the tree behind her.

"Sorry if I startled you. My name's Darcy Fitzwilliam."

Horrified, Lisa shut her notebook with a snap.

"How dare you read over my shoulder!" she exclaimed angrily, realising he must have read the name from the story she had just completed.

He did a remarkably good job of looking affronted. "I didn't read anything," he defended himself.

"Yes you did! You must have. I was writing... I mean, I was..."

"Wait a minute," he interrupted her, grinning now, "Let me guess. You were writing some essay or something on Pride and Prejudice, and you think I've picked up on the name of your handsome hero. Am I right?"

Lisa nodded mutely, still very suspicious.

He laughed. "Well, I guess my mother should have thought a little longer before she went and named me 'Darcy' with a last name like 'Fitzwilliam', but I'm afraid she was in love with Laurence Olivier, so I didn't really stand a chance. Look, if you still don't believe me, here's my driver's licence. There, Darcy Charles Fitzwilliam. Again, you must blame my mother, not me. I hope you can forgive me for having such a cliched name, because I've been watching you for about half and hour, trying to work up the courage to ask you out."

That threw Lisa off-guard. She looked at him in surprise, and asked - "Am I so intimidating?"

He grinned again. "I feel I am ill-qualified to recommend myself to strangers."

Her jaw dropped. "You can quote Pride and Prejudice?" She gave a wry half-smile. "Singular..."

"Well, with a name like mine, it pays to learn a few of the lines."

All of Lisa's qualms disappeared as she laughed in delight. "Sit down, then. Any man who can quote Jane Austen to me has won himself a date. And it certainly doesn't hurt if that man's name is Darcy!"

He obliged, saying jokingly, "Why just a moment ago you seemed ready to abuse me when I told you my name. Your opinions certainly change quickly."

Lisa smiled and replied coyly, "I'm ashamed to remember what I said then. My feelings are so different - in fact, they are quite the opposite."

He regarded her speculatively for a moment, then answered: "I'm not sure if I am quite qualified to call you 'dearest, loveliest Elizabeth' just yet - especially considering that your name isn't Elizabeth. Is it?"

"Actually, it is," she replied, blushing a little, "But my friends always call me Lis, or Lisa."

But he was laughing.

"Well, there you go. By the law of the Immortal Jane Austen, we are destined for each other!"

Lisa smiled too, still somewhat shocked by the sheer improbability of this meeting. The phrase 'too good to be true' came to mind.

'Elizabeth' and her new-found Darcy sat together amongst the jacaranda blossoms, talking and laughing, and mock-sparring with Austen quotes, until their lecture sessions resumed.

As they parted at last, Lisa found herself placing her story notebook at the very bottom of her bag.

Deep in her heart, she was hoping she would not be needing it any more.

The End