Beginning, Section II
Jump to new as of August 11, 1999
Jump to new as of August 13, 1999
Jump to new as of August 17, 1999
Chapter 13
"Is this the right room?" Jane asked while suddenly getting a shiver.
"Yes, and Patrick said 6:00pm. I wonder where everyone is."
Before Elizabeth could suggest they retreat into the Red Room to wait for the others, Charles and Darcy walked blindly into the large room and helped find the light switch hidden near the kitchen door.
The four gathered near a small bar that was set up near the door and poured themselves some champagne. The conversation was obviously drawn to the attire that the women were wearing.
Jane and Elizabeth both donned dresses that one could only describe as conservative and old. The heavy brocade fabric reached from their necks to the floor and down to the tips of their fingers. Scratchy lace circled their neck and a plastic-looking cameo topped of the 'Little House on the Prairie' costume. Both women felt exceedingly warm and dabbed at their temples with tissue. Elizabeth longed to pull her dress above her waist to allow the hot air to escape and Jane endured the constant itching of her crinoline along her bottom area and legs.
The men were suitably fit in top hat and coattails accompanied by a black cane. They, too, felt a bit overdressed for a simple meal after a snowstorm, but none wanted to offend their hostess and therefore refrained from complaining.
"I wonder if this is meant to be a costume party?" Charles asked as he poured himself a glass of water. "I feel like I'm about to get married!"
The party exchanged a few other guesses regarding their historic attire and drank a large pitcher of ice water between them. All felt silly wearing their costumes, but did not dare put it into words for fear of being overheard by staff or electronic devices.
The mantle clock rang 6:30pm and Elizabeth was beginning to be a bit irritated by the lack of staff and the tardiness of Linda. She knew this was not considered a formal state dinner, but thought that the First Lady should allow dinner to be served soon. None of them had eaten since noon and their hunger was beginning to affect their polite conversation.
Patrick finally appeared from the hallway and waited for those present to turn their attention to him.
"Ladies and gentleman, the First Lady!"
Patrick bowed to the side and indicated that the rest should do the same. Jane, Charles and Darcy gave a polite bow, while Elizabeth stayed erect as Linda breezed into the room wearing a beaded, white gown which was obviously designed to resemble something from Marilyn Monroe's closet. The First Lady's hips shifted seductively as she walked slowly toward Darcy. Her long, white neck was encircled with a delicate strand of freshwater pearls. From her wrists dangled layers of gold and pearl bracelets and her left leg was provocatively exposed to the top of her thigh as she walked. When she reached Darcy, she only flipped up her long eyelashes and flashed a witty and sexy smile.
After she had welcomed Darcy, she turned to her other guests and directed them to their seats at the table. Linda, of course sat at one end of the table with 'her Will' at her right. Charles sat to her left leaving Jane next to Darcy and Elizabeth next to him.
Elizabeth, staring at Linda's plunging neckline which hardly controlled her breathing chest, wondered about the difference in women's attire and mentally prepared an appropriate question.
"Mrs. DeBourgh," Elizabeth called across the table. "I was just wondering where you found these delightful historic dresses that Jane and I are wearing?"
Linda, irritated by the obviously knowing question poised to her, only explained that Patrick had ordered all the costumes they were wearing to be brought up from storage. And that there were many garments kept in the White House for occasional costume parties.
"Those dresses looking stunning on you two. I wanted to make sure you were kept very warm tonight, it tends to get cold downstairs in the winter, old houses you know!" Linda said while giggling to herself.
"We thank you for your thoughtfulness Linda," Jane answered before her sister could cause a scene. She, herself, was irritated with the costumes but didn't want to upset such a lovely evening.
The dinner passed peacefully enough as the four-course meal was served by Patrick, apparently the only domestic staff-member engaged at the time. Elizabeth was thoughtful of the fact that no other servant had been seen the whole time they had been in the White House.
Chapter 14
After dinner, Linda took Darcy's arm and led the group to the Red Room for an after dinner drink. She sat directly on the red velvet love seat and pulled her escort down next to her. She was little concerned about making sure the furniture was arranged so Jane could sit comfortably in her wheelchair among the rest of the group. Her eyes were fixed upon Darcy and scarcely looked at anything but his body. Her chest seemed to heave and expand as she skidded closer to her seat mate and the slit in her dress rode higher to reveal more every time she leaned forward to reach for her glass.
Linda was beginning to feel desperate. The perfect evening she created in her mind did not become reality last night. She purposely directed Darcy to sleep in the guest room located right next to her room and planned to call on him after her other guests had retired for the night.
The timing seemed perfect as she crept down the hallway in a see-through black negligée and high heal slippers. She knocked playfully on his door only to find it ajar and took it as an invitation to enter. Tiptoeing to his large bed, she rationalized that her husband had little use for her since he had found 'that woman' to satisfy his needs. He explained openly that his mistress not only satisfied him sexually, but emotionally and always had time to listen to his problems.
"Listen to him?" Linda sneered. "He won't listen to me, why would I listen to him?"
But at the moment all she could hear was her heart pounding and her body screaming to crawl into bed with 'her Will'. As she reached for the bedcovers to climb in, she had forgotten that there was a small stool used to climb into the high bed. Her toe hit one of the legs and it was all she could do to keep from screaming. She rushed back to her room and cried half from pain and half from frustration. She had Darcy in her house and she was going to get what she wanted before he left!
Elizabeth noticed that Linda was beginning to look at the clock and act a bit edgy. It was an added dramatic action to her usual flirting and heavy breathing she had enacted since their first meeting. The First Lady would take a sip of her champagne, secretly look at the clock then shift her eyes slightly as if she were waiting for something.
Just when Elizabeth was sure that Linda would burst, Patrick walked in the room with a telephone and handed it to Darcy.
"Congressman, a Miss Charlotte Lucas is calling for you."
Elizabeth noticed a slight recognition in Charles' face which quickly faded when he looked at Jane. Darcy grabbed the phone wondering how she found him.
"Congressman?" Charlotte asked.
"Yes, I'm here," Darcy replied. "How did you find me?"
"Well, I've been calling around everywhere. I thought you may be visiting your cousin. I'm so sorry to disturb you!" she said nervously.
"That's ok, what's the problem?"
"The manager of your apartment building has been trying to find you. A main water vein has burst on your street and you won't be able to return to your apartment until it is fixed."
"My what? Well what am I supposed to do? Don't they know who I am!!???" he yelled into the phone scaring Charlotte beyond words. "Oh, never mind, I'll figure it out tomorrow."
After Darcy returned the phone to Patrick and took a drink, he relayed his news to the group. Everyone felt terrible for Charles and Darcy, only Linda was wearing a faint hint of a victorious smile.
Chapter 15
After the fated telephone call had ended and Darcy had relayed the bad news, everyone thought it would be best to head upstairs to their rooms. Tomorrow was Monday and all had to be at work early.
Elizabeth helped Jane off with her heavy dress and into a tee-shirt. As she hobbled up the small stool to bed, Jane reflected on the evening.
"Jane," she called to her sister from the bathroom. "Did Linda seem a little too attractive tonight? I mean for just a simple dinner party with her cousin and his friends?"
"Oh Elizabeth," Jane sighed as her sister walked back into the room. "I just don't know what to think. Although Linda and Congressman Darcy are not blood related, I just can't believe that they would be fooling around. She is the President's wife and he is a Congressman. It just wouldn't look good."
Elizabeth thought this over for a few minutes and decided that circumstantial evidence must prove that they were having an affair.
"But there is more than circumstantial evidence, Jane," Elizabeth defended. "I overheard them talking in the library earlier. She said she needed him and he said he couldn't let her into his personal life again. And that he couldn't keep lying to President DeBourgh."
"But that could be anything Liz!" Jane answered.
"Yes, but he all but spelled out that their first affair lasted four weeks and the second only two. You have to admit that the odds are for an affair."
"Possibly, but I would hate to know that they are indeed doing that," Jane said soberly.
"And under this very roof!" laughed Elizabeth.
Darcy, too, had gone directly to his bedroom and read a couple chapters of a book before turning out his lights. As he was adjusting his pillow and getting comfortable, a knock at his bedroom door startled him.
"Yes, who is it?" he called anxiously.
"Will, darling. It's me, Linda," came a soft and syrupy voice . "May I come in? I need to speak with you."
Darcy could think of no reason to deny her request and turned on the light.
Linda heard his affirmative response and shifted the bodice of her negligée to allow her chest to be seen better. Her heart beat rapidly as she turned the doorknob and entered. She found Darcy sitting up in his bed rubbing his eyes and yawning.
She watched as he seemed to freeze in position as he finally laid eyes on her. He gasped at the sight that stood before him. Linda stood seductively in front of a lamp which backlit her see-through white negligée. Her hair was piled on top of her head and she carried one long stemmed red rose. Almost as if to keep her nerve, she extended her arm and handed the flower to him.
"Linda, what are you doing?" Darcy stammered.
"What I know we both want and need," she responded while climbing the small stool and sitting on the edge of his bed. "I know you want this too."
"I don't want anything!"
"Oh, I think you do...Tiger!" the First Lady purred as she leaned in close for a kiss.
Neither party could explain the next sequence. It could only be recounted the next morning as a silly bit of sleepwalking which led Linda to walk into a wall. Neither Darcy, the First Lady or Elizabeth would ever allow the bedroom scene to pass their lips and end up in the black and white printed pages of the Washington Post.
However, it was commonly known that Elizabeth and Jane Bennet where as close as any two sisters could be, leaving no room for lies and much support for sharing the dizzying knowledge that burdens them.
"Sex, with Mr. Darcy?" Jane questioned softly. "Are you sure?"
"Jane I witnessed it myself! He has no cause for denial, I saw them plain as day in bed together. In his bed!" Elizabeth explained as she paced the Lincoln Bedroom.
"But are you sure that's what they were doing? Are you sure they were not just talking?"
"Oh, Jane. I know for sure! Congressman Darcy was in bed, Linda was leaning in for a kiss and all she was wearing was a half-yard of tulle!"
Jane thought over the story and wondered, out loud, how she had gotten the black eye.
"Well, as far as I can tell, I startled them when I walked in. He jumped up, she fell backwards, a book fell off the bed and landed binding-down on her head. I don't think it could be recreated if we tried!" Elizabeth laughed.
"Elizabeth, it is not nice to laugh at people!" she chastised behind a well-hidden grin.
"Oh, I know. But I saw what I saw. And that is that."
"But are you sure you saw it correctly?" Jane questioned. "I mean, you saw how Linda was throwing herself at the Congressman this weekend with no response from him! Maybe all the seduction is hers, and Mr. Darcy was just about to ask her to leave. You did say he was fully clothed in pajamas."
After Elizabeth conceded that Jane's scenario was possible, she felt that she needed to explain why she, of all people, ventured into Congressman Darcy's bedroom.
"Jane, I wanted to speak to him. I felt I needed to inform him of the potential problem in having an affair with the First Lady, and not to mention his cousin!"
"Not a blood-related cousin, remember," Jane added.
"Don't defend him! He is having an affair. No one knows except me, and I'm not telling anyone. People end up at the bottom of the Potomac River fitted with cement shoes for knowing things worse than this!"
Chapter 16
The sky was blue and the sun shone upon the newly fallen snow as Jane, Elizabeth and Charles entered the Cannon House Office Building from the west, street-level entrance. Charles showed his Congressional ID and signed Jane in as a VIP guest, while Elizabeth went through the metal detector. Once the three were safely inside Charles' office, he once again whisked Jane into his arms and placed her gently on his leather couch.
"Well Jane," Elizabeth chided. "I don't think I will ever have the privilege of having a man carry me in his arms twice in one weekend!"
"Oh, Elizabeth," Jane responded behind red cheeks. "I'm sure Congressman Bingley would assist any woman with a sprained ankle."
Charles laughed at this statement and assured her that only the most lovely women ever command his attention, and two of them were in his office at that very minute.
As Jane was making herself comfortable and Charles was fluffing her pillow, Elizabeth returned with a list of phone messages and the days schedule.
"Well, Charles, your sister Caroline called this morning. Apparently she would like you to pick her up at the airport on Thursday at 1:30."
"What!" Charles asked. "She's only been gone for a day and a half. I'd better call her and straighten this out," he said as he excused himself to use Elizabeth's phone.
"Jane, you should visit more often! Looks like I get Charles' office while you're here" Elizabeth laughed.
Congressman Darcy entered his office and gave a short greeting to the few staff who were brave enough to say 'hello' to him. After he poured himself a cup of coffee and turned on his television, he finally sat back and enjoyed his freedom from his cousin.
He never seemed to realize that Linda had such feelings for him. Although he knew that she would feel this way about any man stuck in her house for the weekend, he was afraid he may have brought the infatuation on himself. Didn't patients sometimes fall in love with their doctors after a long illness? But, Darcy was no doctor, only someone who took care of a desperate situation when her husband was unable to.
After a while he finally turned off his television set and opened the blinds to allow some sun in his office. Charlotte, who had been waiting outside his door for signs of life, took the bright strip of light coming from under his door as an invitation to knock on his door.
"Come in!" Darcy said harshly. He hated to be interrupted in the middle of a thought, but instantly welcomed an opportunity to think of something other than that Elizabeth!
"Congressman," Charlotte said meekly. "You are due in the Science Committee in 30 minutes and are free until then. Congressman Bingley's scheduler wondered if you could swing by and pick him up. I guess he tends to get lost."
If Charlotte had not been in the room she never would have believed it. 'Did Congressman Darcy just laugh??' she almost said aloud to herself. 'No I must have imagined it. But I'm sure it sounded like a laugh.'
Darcy took no time to pack up his committee folder and hike up the stairs to room 425 to get Charles. He was aware of his beating heart as he entered the office and instantly blamed it on a brisk climb up three flights of stairs.
"Congressman," Elizabeth reminded after looking at the clock on the wall. "Your committee meeting starts in five minutes, I think we'll have to wrap this meeting up and send you on your way."
"Ah yes," Charles laughed. "I always do seem to lose track of time when I am having a good conversation."
"I too enjoy a good conversation," said the distinguished looking lobbyist sitting across from Elizabeth and Jane. "And I will not keep you another minute, I can finish these statistics with Miss Bennet if you must leave."
"Why thank you. I know I will leave you in good hands."
The lobbyist only laughed in agreement as Elizabeth stood up and walked across the room to give Charles his notebook and committee folder. He took a long, secret look at her as she stooped to pick up a fallen piece of paper. He noticed that her ankles looked smooth and her legs, well, everything looked shapely and smooth under the suit he tried to erase from her warm, beautiful body.
Luckily enough, he snapped out of his dreamy voyeuristic peep show in time to accept an invitation to walk to the door with Charles. He scurried to place his pad of paper on a table and quickly made his way to the door.
"Charles!" Darcy said impatiently as he glanced at his watch and began to turn around. "We need to get going."
"Yes, of course Darcy. But may I introduce you to someone I think you may be interested to know?"
Before Darcy could respond with an indifferent how-do-you-do, he found himself staring down into the eyes of Mr. George Wickham who was smiling crookedly and weakly reaching for his hand.
"No you may not," Darcy said as he turned abruptly on his heal and left the office without Charles.
"Well, Mr. Wickham," Elizabeth said in astonishment. "I must say I'm glad I do not work for Congressman Darcy and have to explain his behavior."
"I assure you, Miss Bennet. I can better explain his behavior if you would allow me to take you to lunch."
"But, I should stay with my sister," Elizabeth said hastily.
Only after Jane assured her sister that she would prefer to take a short nap before heading to the doctor that afternoon, did Elizabeth consent to lunch in the Longworth House Office Building.
Chapter 17
"Please call me Elizabeth," he was corrected .
"You see, Elizabeth," he started again gratefully. "My father was once a partner in law with Congressman Darcy's father. Old Mr. Darcy had entertained the idea of opening his own law firm in 1943 when he graduated from law school. My father, who had been practicing at the large, local firm in Minneapolis agreed to leave his secure job and become partners with the, then young, Mr. Darcy."
"But, why would your father leave a successful job to be a partner in an unproven firm?" Elizabeth asked between bites of her tuna fish sandwich.
"Well, my father told me once that he saw great success in Mr. Darcy when he worked as a clerk before taking his bar exam. He wouldn't go so far as to say it outright, but my father was Mr. Darcy's supervisor back then."
"Well, who put up the money to begin this practice?" Elizabeth asked anxiously.
"There was the downfall of the whole operation. Of course this is only my view, but old Mr. Darcy's family had old money, and a whole lot of it too! Nevertheless, Mr. Darcy had class and gave my father the same 49 percent share that he himself kept."
"And the other two percent?" she asked with wide eyes.
"The last two percent was offered to the young woman they hired as their secretary. She worked for hardly any money for the first year. But that two percent share sure benefited her as well as old Mr. Darcy."
"Why is that George?"
"Because the secretary married Mr. Darcy giving him a 51 percent share in the law firm."
"But, from how you describe him, Mr. Darcy surely would not have let that affect the partnership."
"No, he still ran things as it was before. All decisions were 50/50. That is until my father became sick and could no longer work. I was...oh, about 6 years old when my father found out he had cancer. After the primitive treatments of the early 1970's didn't seem to slow the growth, he finally decided to sell his shares back to Mr. Darcy at a fraction of its real cost!"
"Why did he do that? Why didn't he give it to you or your mother?"
"Well, my mother was not very young when she had me. My father was 57, she was 40," George explained with glistening tears in his eyes. "She died shortly after I was born," he finally finished while almost deliberately daubing his eyes. "I never knew her."
"Oh, I'm so sorry. But I still wonder why your father didn't save his shares for you," Elizabeth said while trying to hold back tears of her own.
"Well, as I understand, it was necessary for tax purposes. I, alone could never keep up the shares at the age of seven. Mr. Darcy also promised to take care of me and put me through law school then welcome me into the firm. My father thought it was only right to sell his good friend those shares."
"And did you get through law school then?" Elizabeth asked, hoping for a happy ending.
"Well, yes and no. Oh, this is the part I promised I would never reveal. I don't want to sound too harsh. I am not a vicious person and I don't want you to think I am."
"Oh I won't!" Elizabeth said while sitting on the edge of her seat.
"I was in school until the very day that old Mr. Darcy died almost two years ago. I know, I took a couple years off between college and law school. I should have gone straight through. That way I would have made it," he said as if in a dream.
"Why didn't you make it George?"
"Well, old Mr. Darcy died and his son Will refused to pay my tuition any more. I was left stranded only two semesters away from graduating with no money and no way to get a loan. So, now I am a lobbyist."
Elizabeth could hardly understand why the vivacious, good looking and smart man who sat across from her would allow such a thing to happen to him. Why didn't he speak out about Congressman Darcy's behavior? Why didn't he stand up for his rights?
"I had no rights," George said almost as if he could hear Elizabeth think. "I had no claim to the money and that was that."
"But surely you could have brought this up during the campaign," immediately regretting she suggested sabotaging a campaign.
"No, I will not be the one to bring Will Darcy to justice. It's not my way."
"Oh, I feel terrible for you! It must be awful being denied what you've always strived to do," she said passionately.
"Yes, I had always dreamt of following in my father's footsteps and buying back his share from Darcy. But he made it perfectly clear that I will never be welcome through any door he owns!" George said with a hint of disgust.
Chapter 18
Charles, after sitting through two hours of testimony regarding the NASA program and its never-ending need of funds, felt extremely tired and out-of-sorts as he returned to his office on Capitol Hill. He was not sure if he would accept an invitation to the Kennedy Center's gala fund-raiser to benefit illiteracy programs in Washington, DC that night. He knew Jane would not be there since her ankle needed to regain strength, and hoped that he could ask her to the White House ball next week. During committee, he had weighed his options of asking Elizabeth for political purposes, or Jane for entertainment purposes. It never occurred to him to ask Charlotte Lucas, and he had nearly forgotten about their failed acquaintance until he ran into her on the way back to his office.
He was lost somewhere in the basement of a very old building. He found some sort of railway, subway system that took him somewhere unknown and he was too embarrassed to ask the conductor where he was. So alas he ended up on the Senate side of the Hill and was escorted back by Charlotte herself. She had been to a meeting regarding the Metropolitan Airport Commission and never expected to be seen in the basement of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. However, she spoke cordially during the long trip back to the Cannon Office Building which proved awkward and unpleasant for both parties. But, the trip gave Charles time to make up his mind, and he was to ask Jane to the ball.
The Kennedy Center stood in a haze of small white lights and candles lighting the walkway to the front door. The rare open flames adorning the sidewalk was the cause of much astonishment since there was a law against fire in federal or city parks. However, the evening's hostess refused to relent in her campaign for candles and won her battle by throwing the first lady's name into the ring. Alas, the fund-raiser had its candles complete with two attendants with fire extinguishers near by.
Elizabeth walked up the steps and gazed into the night. She felt somehow romantic as the stars sparkled above and the candles flickered below her. Somehow she felt a melancholy wave of regret and pity for Mr. George Wickham, whom she had only just met. She had relayed her information to Jane during the cab ride back to their apartment that afternoon. But the two could not prove one bad or the other good. Jane contended that there must be more to the story and they have not heard Congressman Darcy's side. But Elizabeth was ready to convict Darcy on George's story alone. "He gave me all the particulars," she plead to Jane. "Names, dates, places, everything I would need." But somehow Elizabeth felt it her duty to leave a small window open for Darcy to explain himself.
Elizabeth quickly found her mother and father and received kisses and inquiries as to Jane's health from both. She scanned the grand foyer and found Mary reading on a small bench near a back door, and her two younger sisters standing a trifle too close to two Navy cadets.
"Mother," she asked coyly. "Do you know where Lydia and Kitty are?"
"Of course, do you think I would allow my two youngest to get lost in such a large crowd?" she responded quickly. "Oh it is a large crowd isn't it Elizabeth! I will surly become fast friends with the first lady once she sees the large crowd and even larger donations I have solicited at this benefit. She should be here very soon, very soon I should think!"
Elizabeth did not want to get into another confrontation with her mother and therefore refrained from relaying the recent departure of the first lady that morning. She was not sure if she should have had such privileged information in the first place.
As Elizabeth watched the door for her boss, she caught the eye of Congressman Darcy checking his hat and coat at the door. She stepped behind a large marble pillar and waited for him to pass so she might avoid him all together. No such luck!
As soon as her mother laid eyes on the distinguished gentleman from Minnesota, she reached out and tugged on his sleeve to gain his attention, which did not wish to be had.
"Mr. Darcy," Mrs. Bennet said sourly. "It is so nice of you to grace my little fund-raiser with your presence. I think I should be entitled to call you Mr. Darcy. Or maybe Willy. I did change your diapers once you know," she added in a twitter of laughter.
"Yes, Mrs. Bennet, and I truly appreciate it!" Darcy said as he attempted to walk away.
"Yes, Mr. Darcy, I'm sure you appreciate everything I and my husband have done for you. You seem to take assistance as needed and rarely reciprocate!" she sneered.
Elizabeth gasped from behind the pillar and debated whether to reveal herself and save the congressman from her rude mother. But the decision was not hers.
"Mr. Darcy," Mrs. Bennet shouted. "I believe you have never met my daughter Elizabeth. She is right here around the corner."
"Yes mother," Elizabeth said while trying to keep her eyes off the ceiling. "We have met."
"Oh, when?" her mother asked eagerly.
"When Jane broke her ankle," Darcy explained.
Mrs. Bennet's face fell and her eyes grew wide. Elizabeth herself turned very pale and Darcy made a mental note to himself to never offer information to Mrs. Bennet again.
"You see mother," Elizabeth said quickly.
"How, why, when was Mr. Darcy in your apartment Elizabeth!" Mrs. Bennet said while holding a lace handkerchief to her forehead. "Oh Elizabeth, if I had only known!"
"No mother, you see Congressman Darcy stopped by my apartment with Congressman Bingley. He had a few letters to sign and was dining in Georgetown. That's when Jane missed a stair and sprained her ankle."
Darcy looked relieved at Elizabeth and received an icy stare in return.
Charlotte walked slowly down Rock Creek Parkway shaded from the streetlights on one side and land-locked by the Potomac River on the other. She held the collar of her trench coat close to her chin hoping to chase away the goose bumps that weren't necessarily caused by the cold. Earlier, she had trembled while erasing a voice mail message left by a brusque and rapid voice in her office.
"Meet me at 9:00pm in the usual place," was all the voice said. That was all Charlotte needed to hear before rushing home to get ready. Glancing at her watch and holding her coat closer to her body, she wondered what he would want now? She had been able to avoid his demands for the past two weeks and hoped he would finally leave her alone. Recent memories of their encounters flooded her mind and she shook it forcefully to clear her head. "I have to be in control," she whispered.
"You'll never be in control as long as I have what you want!" growled the raspy voice Charlotte dreaded.
After Darcy had freed himself from the dreaded Mrs. Bennet, he walked slowly around the large marble foyer and watched people drink champagne with fake smiles on their faces. He hated these fund raisers, but knew he must attend if only to make sure the media didn't play him up as a cold-hearted villain who cared little about children. He was amused at the thought of a possible headline in tomorrow's Star Tribune, 'Congressman Darcy alienates children for leisurely night at home.'
With a silly smirk on his face, Darcy turned to face his friend.
"Charles," he said. "I'm glad you are here, I thought I would be stuck by myself doing nothing."
"You could mingle," mused Charles knowing full-well that Darcy did not mingle.
"Some of us do not posses the gift of meaningless small talk which you seem to have acquired."
"Oh, it's easy," laughed Charles. "Ask people about the weather, their children or their job."
"I have little concern for a stranger's children, job or their opinions on the weather," Darcy said in a tone which relayed his final opinion on the matter.
Charles stood for a while gazing into the crowd and perked up as he remembered a favor he wanted to ask Darcy.
"No!" Darcy almost yelled at Charles. "I don't think that would be very wise. Besides, what if I wanted to bring Charlotte?"
"But, I assumed you probably wouldn't. I mean you didn't bring her last year."
"And how do you know this?" Darcy asked anxiously.
"Well, I ran into her this afternoon and we chatted on the way back to my office."
"Get yourself lost again, eh Charles?" Darcy laughed.
Charlotte finally mounted the steps to the Kennedy Center with an exasperated feeling of dread. She kept running the conversation she had by the river through her mind. 'Will this never end?' she asked. 'Oh, God, please help me!'
Chapter 19
"Charlotte!" Elizabeth smiled in delight. "I am so glad you could come. I was beginning to believe I would have to talk to Congressman Darcy all night."
The bewildered woman only smiled back and grabbed a glass of champagne from the waiter. She was very aware that her boss was standing not five feet from her, but the thought of being a prudent drinker did not cross her mind at that moment. She was, however, wondering if there was a full service bar available. For once in her life she longed for a shot of whiskey. 'You got yourself into this mess,' she mused to herself. 'You may as well act the part!'
Elizabeth noticed a small frown on her friend's face and silently worried. Charlotte had always been a private person and never relayed much about her life. She had a reputation for being quite and collected, no family problems and generally amiable. But, she had been acting strangely since Elizabeth reunited with her just a couple weeks ago. But maybe that's what Washington does to you.
"Charlotte," Elizabeth said aloud as she noticed her mother walking near. "Let's go talk to my mom, I know she would be so glad to see you again."
Charlotte relented and walked with Elizabeth to greet Mrs. Bennet.
"Why Charlotte Lucas!" said a delighted woman as she laid eyes on the plain, sallow looking girl. "You look absolutely tired! I hope you're getting enough sleep. I know I have not lately. The children, Mr. Bennet and my volunteer work weigh on me greatly," the woman said while making a grand gesture with her right fingers placed on her temple.
"That's terrible," Charlotte squeaked out.
As if Mrs. Bennet realized that no one was going to press her for more information about her problems, she turned the conversation in a more interesting path.
"My dear," she addressed Charlotte. "I hear you work for Congressman Darcy. What is he like to work for?"
"Oh, he is just as any other congressman would be I suppose," she responded.
"Well, I don't think I could work for him after the way he treated my family!" Mrs. Bennet growled as she excused herself.
Elizabeth, aghast at her mother's behavior, tried to apologize to her friend.
Charlotte was equally apologetic for not answering her mother's question very well, and did inquire as to her past history with her employer.
"Well, you see," began Elizabeth. "The year Congressman Darcy was running for congress, my father also threw his hat into the ring, so to say. Mother felt it would be a positive career move for him."
"Did he really want to run for congress?" questioned Charlotte.
"Well, not exactly. He really just wanted to stay working at his insurance agency."
"That's why he sold it?" Charlotte questioned. "I heard it went out of business."
"It would have if he hadn't sold it," Elizabeth said with tears in her eyes. "Mom was spending the company's money on non-business related things for the house and her wardrobe. And Lydia made out well too."
"Oh, my!" Charlotte responded while temporarily forgetting about her own problems.
"Anyway, dad didn't win the endorsement, Darcy did. And, the Minnesota Republican Party always requires candidates to pledge their full support for whoever wins the party's endorsement at the convention. So mom and dad had to work on behalf of Darcy's campaign."
"And in all that time you never met Congressman Darcy?" asked Charlotte.
"Well no. Mom hated him so much that she did not allow any of us to go to his campaign headquarters. And I was at school anyway."
"Oh, that's right," smiled Charlotte.
The two girls walked slowly towards the stage, with the other guests, when Mrs. Bennet made the announcement that the program would begin. The waiters were refilling champagne glasses and retreating into the kitchen for the duration of the speeches.
All was quite as the lights dimmed and the band began to play 'Hail to the Chief'. Charlotte's face turned completely white and her knees began to buckle. Her stomach started churning and she felt as if she would faint. "The President! Here?" She whispered to herself.
Elizabeth, thinking the question was directed to her responded. "Oh, no. The first lady is expected and mom thought she could impress her by playing that dumb song. It's really not appropriate, but she somehow always gets her way."
Charlotte began to regain feeling in her legs, but still feared seeing the first lady. She had been avoiding a confrontation and was determined to stay in the shadows.
"But, " Elizabeth added. "I secretly know that Linda flew out this morning to meet the President. So she will not be here. I wonder who they sent to replace her?" she added with a laugh.
Her question was answered quickly as Mr. Henry Collins took command of the microphone.
"Welcome my fellow Americans! I am, of course, Henry Collins, the President's press secretary," he began as he spat into the microphone. "I am soooo pleased to be here on behalf of the lovely Mrs. DeBourg. She has condescended to allow me to relay her most humble apologies for not being here tonight. You all hold a very special place in her heart and I beg you to allow me to make her most humble speech in her admirable absence."
Elizabeth heard no more of the speech from the bathroom where she had followed Charlotte and nursed her after she lost her two glasses of champagne.
Chapter 20
After his sister was settled into her hotel, Charles began to edge his way out the door for work. As he suspected, she insisted on joining him. She complained about walking three blocks to the Metro; complained about having to ride the Metro; and then shook herself off as they finally reached street level once more. She finished her performance by spraying some expensively rank perfume on herself to cut the 'poor people stench' she thought had rubbed off on her.
Tony, the southeast elevator operator in the Cannon Office Building, laughed with secret amusement as the uptight woman refused to allow her brother to push his own floor button. It had become a well known fact among all the capitol hill elevator operators that Congressman Bingley liked to press his own button. This seemed to make Charles an instant favorite with them.
Caroline entered Charles' office first and took a tour of the desks and its occupants, then reported back to her brother.
"Charles, I do not like that Elizabeth!" she quickly said as she placed her purse and white gloves on his desk. "She is never here, as far as I know, and your staff runs positively wild. Most of them are gone and all have papers piled on the floor as well as their desk. I think they need a little lesson in productivity."
Charles was aware that his sister did not particularly like Elizabeth, but he certainly wasn't going to fire her if that what she was hinting at.
"Caroline, my office runs very smoothly as it is," he explained. "Elizabeth spends most of her day covering committee meetings for me and the rest of the staff have to research, write and rewrite responses to over 600 individual letters I receive every week. Actually I admire their efficiency. They work about ten hours a day with a two day turnaround time on responses. I could never do my job without them."
Caroline huffed while she rolled her eyes. Charles was delighted when she finally sat down and kept quiet. If he only knew what was churning in her brain.
Elizabeth sat quietly in Charlotte's chair while writing a letter to a constituent and straightening out her bosses schedule for the upcoming week. She was all too aware that Caroline would be arriving at her office and refused to be there when she paraded around as if she were the member of congress. Charlotte had stayed home ill, and Elizabeth thought it wise to borrow her friend's desk for the day and offer any assistance to Congressman Darcy if he would need Charlotte.
Darcy entered the staff office area quietly without really looking up from the newspaper he read. He dropped a pile of papers before Elizabeth and said, "Charlotte, you are the lead legislative assistant around here, please make sure Nicole learns how to write a sentence before allowing her to draft a letter which will be sent out on my stationary!' he growled.
"Oh, yes, Congressman," Elizabeth stuttered with incredible shock and amusement. "I will take care of this."
Darcy walked out of the room only to return a moment later. He slowly peered around the corner and confirmed his fear. Elizabeth was sitting at Charlotte's desk. He was furious, but decided to hold hid tongue. It was bad enough that she had heard his rude comments about his staff.
After he had apologized and she had offered to take a look at the letters and tutor Nicole in drafting a letter, Darcy asked if she would join her for a cup of coffee.
"Yes, that would be nice Congressman."
"Good, meet me in my office after you brew some," he said with a smile. He knew she would not take kindly to being ordered to brew coffee, but she had offered to help out with Charlotte's job. And he still didn't think she had enough experience to be a chief of staff.
Elizabeth was slightly amused and wasn't sure if he was kidding or not. But after he retreated to his office, she scooped out some coffee grounds and turned on the machine. She waited for the pot to fill, turned it off and marched into his office.
"The coffee is done sir," she said with an Irish maid's accent she had heard in the movies, then curtsied prettily before sitting down.
"I guess I deserve that," he laughed.
"Yes you do," she responded with no intention of actually bringing him coffee.
After he returned with two ceramic mugs, they sat together on the couch and spoke softly. Darcy to make sure he didn't sound like an ogre again and Elizabeth tried to match his tone. They had been discussing silly party politics when Caroline burst through the door. She stopped abruptly followed by Lynn, the soft-spoken staff assistant.
"Congressman!" Lynn said with an hint of fright. "She, she wouldn't allow me to announce you, I am so sorry." Darcy only waved her away and asked that the door be closed.
The two women nodded a swift greeting to each other and avoided eye contact. Caroline spied the coffee mugs and asked if her 'dear Darcy' would ask his little assistant to get her one. Elizabeth stood up quickly and offered to talk to Lynn herself, as she needed to get back to her own office.
"May I walk you out, Elizabeth?" he asked. "I have one last question for you."
As the two left the room, Caroline glared at their backs and vowed she would get rid of Elizabeth somehow. Caroline had devised a plan to win Darcy over for good. And it would all start at the President's Ball that her brother would assuredly escort her to.
As Elizabeth gathered up her papers after promising to meet the congressman for lunch, she witnessed his kind request to Lynn for another mug of coffee to be brought into his office.
"Should I hold your calls Congressman?" she asked timidly.
"No, this won't be a very long visit. But please make sure that my door always stays open when Caroline is visiting me. And, if in about 15 minutes she hasn't left, come in and remind me of my committee meeting," he whispered lightly to her.
"But you don't have a committee meeting this morning," she answered.
As Darcy winked at the naive, but trustworthy girl, Lynn laughed pensively and promised to do that small favor for her boss.
Elizabeth smiled secretly to herself. She wondered how she can hate Congressman Darcy one minute and like him the next. He did have a most confusing personality.
Before she left, she decided to check Charlotte's messages in case there was something urgent to attend to. She found the password written on the first page of her phone book and dialed into the voice mail system.
She listened to two messages and almost hung up the third. She had no idea what it meant, but was sure that it was accidentally left on her friend's line. She resolved not to upset Charlotte by relaying the frightening prank phone call to her while she was ill.
"Where were you?" the slimy voice demanded from the other side of the telephone line.
"I, I am home sick. I do not feel well," Charlotte stuttered while holding back tears.
"I don't care where the Hell you are! I left a message for you to meet me and now I am here and you aren't!" he screamed.
"I'm...I'm...sorry," she cried. "I can be there in twenty minutes."
"Forget it!" the voice said acidly. "I'm coming over and be ready to go!"
"Where?" she asked.
"To New Jersey, remember my darling? We're getting married today if you haven't forgot!"
Charlotte hung up the receiver and held her head in her hands and cried. She knew she couldn't call the police and she couldn't leave. She had to get ready and do as she was told. Everything depended on it.
Chapter 21 A
It was Saturday again and Elizabeth woke early to get a quick run in before breakfast. She left Jane sleeping peacefully in her room with a note explaining her whereabouts. After closing the door quietly and tuning her headphones to her favorite station, she took just a few steps before running into George Wickham.
"Charles," asked Caroline over the phone line connecting her hotel room to her brother's apartment.
"No, it is not!" Darcy said crisply while trying to hold his head up off the pillow enough to talk on the phone.
"Oh, Will," Caroline said coyly while trying to find something unintentionally sexy to say. "Did I get you out of bed?" she added.
"No, I'm still in bed."
"Oh, so am I," she said in a breathy voice before giggling like a school girl.
Darcy thought it was about time to pass the phone off to the rightful recipient and therefore bellowed Charles' name. After he heard his room mate pick up the extension, Darcy hung up the phone and went back to sleep.
Charlotte lay awake in her marital bed and stared at the wall. She was positioned with her back to her new husband and breathed a steady, heavy rhythm so he would think she was still asleep. She had had enough for one night and was not ready for any more. After he noticed her sneaky gesture to wipe away a tear, Charlotte's husband decided it was time to get up.
"Woman!" he yelled. "Get up and order me some coffee, with cream!"
The young, pale woman wiped away one final tear and stood on her feet. She began to don a dressing robe when she was ordered to leave it off. He said he wanted to 'see what he got.' But after he made her spin around in the light, he quickly demanded that she put her robe on and always make sure she was covered in the future when he was present.
Charlotte stifled a wail before she made her way to the bathroom. The man only smiled from the bed while lighting a cigarette.
"Mr. Wickham," Elizabeth said startled as she stared up from the sidewalk. "I didn't know you lived around here."
"Oh, I don't. A friend of mine does and I stayed at h(er)....his house last night," he quickly corrected. He scolded himself for almost revealing his nightly trysts with one of the young college girls he frequently spent his time with.
After Elizabeth had regained her composure and dusted herself off from being knocked to the sidewalk, she invited him to join her for a run.
"Oh, I'm just finishing mine up," he said quickly. "But I would like to meet you later at Starbucks for coffee."
"Sure," she said while flashing a smile. "See you about 9 o'clock?"
Elizabeth ran off while George tried to come up with an excuse to break a previous breakfast date he had made with his latest 'conquest'.
Caroline arrived at Darcy and Charles' apartment shortly before 9:00am in a taxi. Her brother had been waiting by the door to let her in since he knew she hated to be left waiting. He graciously took her coat and offered her a glass of orange juice. She declined stating that she would wait for the champagne brunch at the Hotel Washington on Pennsylvania Avenue.
After Charles had excused himself to finish getting ready, Caroline decided to do some investigating. She was intent on finding Darcy's bedroom and finding out more about him to help her plan in uniting them in marriage. When she reached his door, she was thrilled to see that he was still sleeping. The sheets did little to cover his masculine and tanned chest or anything else for that matter. She smiled as she thought about 'winning' a silly bet with herself. "Will does sleep in the nude!" she whispered.
Her eyes swept over every part of his form and rested on his face. She pushed the door open and slipped in. His bedroom was decorated in a masculine blue and his mahogany furnishings glowed from being polished weekly. A small picture of Georgiana and himself rested on the bedside table while a larger photo of his father hung above it. Caroline sat gingerly on his bed and swept a dark brown curl from his forehead. She quickly touched her finger to his lips and pretended that they were her lips touching his.
Suddenly she bent over and really did place her lips upon his and gave him a soft, gentle kiss. She noticed that he smiled and tilted his head up to indicate his wishes for more. She obliged eagerly and hopefully assumed that he was dreaming of her. But, before she could play her game any longer, she abruptly stood up and walked out of the room.
Charles was waiting for her in the living room. He was stunned to find that his sister was no longer in the mood to go to brunch and left without saying good-bye.