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Part 5

This section is dedicated to my best friend Calla, for her 19th birthday, on the 7th of December. I hope we get to see many more birthdays together.

The following day, Elizabeth completed a deal selling her rights to a company who would merchandise her work. She would receive royalties as long as the sales went on. She was pleased with the deal. Her work would be well known and the deal would provide her with enough money to be comfortable and still save some and still support Mary in school.

That evening, when Jane had left with Charles, Elizabeth called Colin.

"Hello, Colin?"

"Elizabeth?"

"Who else would it be? Do you have that many female callers?"

"As a matter of fact I do!"

"Sure."

"Hey, do you mind if I put you on speaker phone? My hands are kind of busy."

"No, not at all. What are you doing?"

Elizabeth heard some changes on the other end and then heard a more distant Colin saying, "I'm cooking. I have a friend over for dinner."

"Hmmm, a female friend?"

"Sorry, only an old chum of mine."

"Did you know that Charles took Jane out tonight?"

"No, I didn't, but I figured he had asked her out. So you're all alone in Cleo?"

"Yep."

"So you called me."

"What else was I going to do? Talk to my mother?"

"No, I'm glad you have me to call if nobody else. So... how did the deal go?"

"Very well. I signed off on it after some negotiations."

"What will they be making out of your work?"

"Oh, the usual things: flowers, chocolates, promises you don't intend to keep...Just kidding. That's one of favourite movie quotes. They'll make different items. Calendars and posters, even a screen saver, I believe."

"Wow. You'll be famous."

"Not quite." She heard a loud clanging noise. "Colin? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sorry. Just dropped a couple of pans. Anyway, I was going to ask you if you could, like, send me the stuff, or tell me where to get it. I want to start a collection of it."

"I'm flattered, but I'm sure they'll send me the stuff, and I sure don't want it. I'll send it all to you."

"Thanks. What will you be doing now?"

"Actually, I really don't know. I still don't have freedom since Mary is still in school and my father is looking to retire soon. I think I'm just going to go back on the road photographing some more."

"Why don't you hitch up with a magazine or a company?"

"I like doing the freelance work. I like the schedule it allows me to have and the freedoms."

"Won't you ever want to settle down and have a life?"

"I do have a life. Just not an average life. And maybe one day I will lose the urge to be traveling constantly. But right now, I don't think I've seen enough of this country to satisfy me. And then there is the rest of the world."

"I will never understand you."

"I don't expect to be understood by people like you."

"What do you mean 'people like me'?"

"People who get up at 7 and go to an 8 to 5 job in the big city then come home and have another life. You lead double lives. One at work and one out of work. My work is my life."

"I know a few people like that. My cousin, Will, being one of them. Except I guess you would call people like him a workaholic."

Colin expected Elizabeth to pick up that subject. Like 'How is your cousin, by the way?' or 'Speaking of Will... what is he up to?' Anything on that subject. But instead, she said, "When is your chum coming over?"

"He came over at eight."

"Isn't he late?"

"No. I mean he's already here."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were entertaining company now. I'll go."

"It's okay. I'm still cooking."

"Well then where is your friend?"

"He's around and about. We're close enough that I don't have to entertain him per se."

"I see. So, when are you going to be leaving your 8 to 5 job?"

"I don't see any such plans in the near future. I lead my double life quite happily, thank you. At work, I make enough money to do the things I want to do the rest of the time."

"Must be horrid."

"It's not so bad. You get used to it and I don't mind my job that much at all."

"Well, I'm going to let you go. I'm sure I'm distracting you from your cooking. And Lord knows you need the extra concentration."

"You don't know how good my cooking is!"

"You're right, I don't. I'm fine with my current diet."

"Call me again before you leave New York, won't you?"

"Sure."

"When are you leaving, do you know?"

"No, sorry. It might be longer than I anticipated if Jane and Charles become more attached."

"Yes, I could see how that would happen. Well, maybe you and I can go out alone one evening."

"That'd be nice."

"Call me later on then."

"Bye."

"Good bye."

Colin hit the speaker button, hanging up the phone. He turned back to the simmering sauce on the hob.

"Why did you do that?"

"Do what?" asked Colin, his back still to his guest.

"You damn well knew I had to listen to the entire conversation. Why did you do that?"

Colin shrugged and said innocently. "You could have left the kitchen any time you wanted. I needed my hands to do the cooking. Really, Darcy, you are paranoid. What do you suspect me of?"

Will eyed Colin's innocent back warily. "I suspect you of something along the lines of matchmaking."

"Oh! Preposterous! Me? Matchmaking? Never."

It turned out that Jane had the night of her life and was fast falling in love with Charles. The same could be said about him, but he was more lovestruck. Elizabeth, therefore, prepared to spend quite a few days in New York. She did travel a little bit around the city and around the New York countryside taking pictures. One evening, Colin took her out to dinner and a movie. Elizabeth enjoyed his company, except when he tried to introduce Will into the conversation. Elizabeth's opinions about Will had not changed one bit. Will had yet to call and make an apology about his horrid behavior to her that last time she saw him and there was the unforgivable crimes on the environment his company was responsible for.

Jane and Elizabeth left New York a week and a half later. Jane was more subdued on the way home than she had been going up. Elizabeth was a little concerned. She finally broached the subject to her sister.

"How did you leave things between you and Charles?"

"He's going to write me."

"That's it?"

"What else can he do? Move to Elsah? Impossible."

"So you two are just going to have a long distance relationship indefinitely?"

"For now, yes." After a long pause, Jane continued, "But, Lizzy, if things did become serious enough between us, I would consider moving to New York again."

"And do what?"

"I could easily take up modeling again. Not as high profile as I used to, but for catalogs and other low-key jobs. Enough to make a modest living."

"And live with Charles," Elizabeth finished.

"If it came to that, yes. But Lizzy, it is still very, very early on to be predicting my future."

"Of course," Elizabeth agreed, with a distinguishable smirk still on her face.

The two sisters took their time returning home. Elizabeth had more leisure to stop and take pictures. She tried to take Jane to places she had never been before. Jane, however, did not seem to be too keen on sightseeing and birdwatching at the moment, so Elizabeth resignedly took her home to Elsah.

Elizabeth decided to go ahead and develop the three rolls she had taken while she was home. At the same time, she compiled another folder of her best works to be sent to her new partner. When she had done everything she needed to do at home, she prepared to go out in Cleo once more.

Right before she left, Jane received a letter from Charles. When Elizabeth came to say good bye to her sister, she witnessed a very happy and almost completely contented Jane.

"Good bye, Jane. Remember to pick up my mail and check up on my house, won't you?"

"Of course, Lizzy. Be safe and I hope you get some good stuff. Call me every once and a while, right?"

"Only if you will give me news about you and Charles. I don't get to watch soap operas on Cleo, so you and Charles will have to suffice."

Jane blushed scarlet. "I will tell you the censored version of our relationship."

Elizabeth laughed at her sister's embarrassment, and hugged her affectionately.

"Good bye, Lizzy."

Will had taken up a new hobby. Avoiding Colin. Colin had become excessively fond of bringing up the subject of Elizabeth. Colin kept telling Will he should call Elizabeth and apologize to her. Deep down inside, Will wanted to get back into Elizabeth's good graces, but he didn't want to do that by calling her and begging her forgiveness. He still had enough pride to be disgusted by that proposal. Instead, he hoped to see her some day, so he could apologize in person and right after that, strike up an intelligent conversation with her, so she would immediately see he had changed. Will kept these daydreams to himself, and instead... avoided Colin.

In other aspects of Will's life, things were going fine. The company was back on its feet with extra careful eyes watching environmental regulations. Will had a somewhat limited social life. He attended the necessary social events for his company, but avoided all dates and rarely chose to go out with his friends. Charles had been the most successful at bringing Will out of his apartment and office, until he met Jane. Will found the constant chatter of a man lovesick over the sister of Elizabeth to be insufferable. Therefore, Will became a hermit. He was not in love with Elizabeth. He had liked her company before their argument, but that was all. He did not think about her everyday, nor wonder where she was at that moment, nor wish he was living in Cleo again, nor look for her photographs every chance he could. Believe what you will.

Elizabeth was successful at her merchandising. It took quite a few months for things to start rolling, but once they did, her work became a fad. Even her company partner had not expected her work to become so popular so easily.

As promised, Elizabeth sent Colin the things ahead of time. Little did she know exactly what Colin was doing. Colin had decided that he was going to wage a campaign against his cousin.

It was a usual Monday morning, Will was feeling grumpy at the amount of work sitting on his desk to be done that day. He didn't complain, but just rode the elevator up to his office, walked through the office ignoring all the looks from the personal assistants. On his desk, however, lay a calendar. He looked at it, confused, turned to his personal assistant, and asked, "What's this?"

"It was delivered for you, sir."

"By whom?"

"I do not know, sir."

Will picked it up and tossed it onto a chair by his desk, sat down and started to do his day's work. It wasn't until his lunch break did he pick up the calendar to let an expected guest sit down in the chair after the lunch hour. He paused before throwing the calendar in the waste paper basket. His eyes caught the name, 'Elizabeth Bennet'. Startled, he took a closer look.

The calendar was named 'Nature's Clouds'. Will turned it over, and looked at the back. There he saw twelve striking pictures of different cloud structures. One was at sunset, one was of a thunderhead, and another was of some stratus clouds. He recognized two of the photos from Elizabeth's portfolio. He had sort of known that she was doing this, but had never really grasped the concept of her becoming almost a household name. But she wasn't. This was just a calendar that had appeared on his desk. It did not mean that she was successful and it did not mean that she was a household name. That was taking it a bit far. No, this was just a little souvenir that could be found in those roadside shops. Colin must have sent it to him, mistakenly thinking he still cared about her. Will took the calendar and put it in his wastepaper basket. He was not going to start thinking about that woman again.

The second time a Bennet product arrived on his desk, it was a mousepad. Will stared at this thing with a beautiful picture of some clouds perfectly framing a mountaintop. The sun hit the clouds and the mountain just right to produce a marvelous effect. He had to admit to himself that it was an excellent photo. Shaking his head, he put the mousepad in the same place he had the calendar.

Over the next few months, many more objects sporting Elizabeth's work on them were placed mysteriously on Will's desk. He grew more and more annoyed, but had stopped throwing them away. Instead, he had a box in which he collected the items. Finally, the scariest mysterious deposit of Bennet paraphernalia was a screensaver.

Will had come in half an hour late to his office. He was prepared to work the day, but was disconcerted by his computer being turned on. He slowly walked in, turned on the office lights, put down his briefcase by the door, and faced the screen. On it, Elizabeth's photographs were flashing every ten seconds. Some of the photos he had seen before. Indeed, one or two were becoming particularly famous. Will stood staring dumbly at the screen. While what should have been going through his head was 'How did someone get onto my computer to change my screensaver?', he was truly thinking of Elizabeth. For he had seen one photo he was sure had been taken when he was with her. He recognized the place, time and beauty of the photo. Surely he could not be wrong.

Will's personal assistant walked in with papers and a small envelope. Will was startled out of his reverie by the lady. He looked up at her vacantly as she began to rattle off all the meetings he had to attend and all the calls that had come in already. Finally, she stopped, looked at him, and asked, "Mr. Darcy, are you all right?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine."

"Do you remember anything I said?"

"Yeah, just tell them to call Jim and tell him-"

"Mr. Darcy, I said they had already talked to Jim and Jim sent them back to you."

Will stared at her. "Ms. Wilson, how did this new screensaver get on my computer?"

She looked at the screensaver for minute, and said, "Oh! Those are beautiful! How did you get that?"

Will sighed heavily and buried his face in his hands.

"It's Elizabeth Bennet! I love her work. I have a calendar of hers. Actually... I think I got it out of your trash can last year."

Will said, "Ms. Wilson, can we continue the day's briefing?"

"Yes, sir."

She started back over his schedule and calls. Finally, she ended by giving him the odd white envelope, and said, "This was left for you."

Will examined the envelope and murmured, "Thank you, Ms. Wilson. If that will be all...."

"Yes, sir," she replied, and left his office, closing the door behind him.

Will started to open the envelope as he walked over to the door to pick up his briefcase. He stopped in the middle of the room and read the card.

Will, You really should get some better passwords on your machine. That was just too easy. I think it is high time you made some sort of apology to her. - Colin

Will turned back to his desk to pick up the phone. He called his cousin, and learned he was out of the office. Will left a message for Colin to call him back, and hung up. There was nothing more that he could do. Well... he could delete the screensaver off his computer. Nah, they were beautiful pictures, and it was a lot better than flying windows.

By the time Will was leaving after a full day of work, he had forgotten that Colin was supposed to call him back. He remembered as he left and spotted the card Colin had written him. Instead of going home, Will went straight to Colin's apartment. It was a gamble, since there was no guarantee that Colin would come home after work. Will was in luck. Colin was there, and seemed a little intimidated by Will's appearance as soon as he saw him. Will walked into the apartment and shut the door.

Belatedly, Colin said, "How nice to see you, Will. Come in and make yourself comfortable."

"What are you playing at?"

"I'm trying to get you to come to your senses."

"Has it worked so far?"

"No."

"Then why don't you quit? Stop bugging me!"

"I won't until you at least apologize to Elizabeth."

"And who are you to be her knight in shining armor?"

"I'm her good friend. One of her best, in fact."

"And that gives you the right to break into my computer?"

"Any way it takes, cousin. You are one of the most stubborn men I know. And you are being one of the most cruel-hearted over Elizabeth. For Pete's sake! She's a genius at what she does, and you accused her of being uneducated. Maybe she doesn't have formal education, but she doesn't need it in what she does. Just like you wouldn't expect a car mechanic to have an English major. You were totally out of line saying what you did, and you... need... to... apologize!"

Will's impregnable stern glare did not waver once. He just turned around, walked out of the apartment door and slammed it shut. That was the last time the two cousins saw or spoke to each other for many months. The deposits of Elizabeth's merchandise ceased, and relations between Will and Colin remained strained. Will secretly missed the gifts of Elizabeth's things; he began to buy the things whenever he found some he didn't already own. The box of items came out of his closet, and he began to use them around his office and then finally in his apartment. The last step was framing his favourite poster of hers and placing it on his home office wall... even though it did not match the décor!

Charles felt the break most acutely, particularly at this time with a long distance relationship forming with Jane. He was vulnerable and needy, without his girlfriend or two best friends to turn to. It was ultimately this change that forced Jane to make the decision to move to New York.

The decision was a major one that caused Elizabeth a lot of anguish. She was not at all certain this was a wise thing for Jane to be doing. Not only this, but she would also have to find someone else to take care of her house while she was away on long trips. Someone had to fetch the mail and water the plants. Maybe she should either give up her wandering lifestyle, or move her homebase to a more convenient location. The only advantage to Elsah was the beauty of the house, surrounding environment, and the community. But if she wasn't picky, she could certainly use another homebase. Maybe even New York, but the rent for an apartment she never used would be too much.

Jane began making preparations to move to New York while Elizabeth was still on the road. When Jane had found several modeling job offers and had an agent once more, Elizabeth drove home to handle her domestic affairs. Elizabeth visited Jane the following day after her return to pick up the mail as well as to say hello. The two sisters hugged each other tightly, and then proceeded to weed from each other the tales they had not recounted by telephone. Jane handed her sister the boxes of mail- there was more of it than ever before- and then said, "There's one more thing that was delivered to you. I've been keeping it alive for over a month now."

"Alive!?"

Jane brought out a potted hyacinth. The blooms were just coming out in a beautiful lavender color and a sweet fragrance. Elizabeth was well pleased, and putting down the crates of mail, took the pot- which in itself was a beautiful work of pottery and glazing. Protruding from the soil was a clear plastic cardholder, holding a small white envelope that would inform the sisters of her benefactor. Elizabeth opened the card and read I am truly very sorry. My words and actions were unpardonable. I hope you can learn to forgive in due time. I am trying hard to change. Congratulations on your success as a photographer, you are really very good at what you do. Will Darcy. Elizabeth was absolutely shocked at receiving an apology from high-and-mighty Will Darcy after so long a silence between them. Had it taken him this long to realize what he was doing was wrong?

Jane was pressing to see whom the plant was from. Elizabeth made a quick decision not to show her the card, and told her dismissively that it was only from the company congratulating her on her success.

"That's right! I had no idea you would be such a hit!"

"Neither did I," Elizabeth replied, drolly.

"I'm quite proud to claim you as my sister."

"Almost as well known as you."

"Oh, Lizzy, I was only well known among the fashion industry. You're becoming a household name!"

"Not really. Hoover is a household name. Coca Cola and Mr. Clean are household names. Not Elizabeth Bennet."

"Whatever you say," Jane said submissively.

Elizabeth hated it when her sister did that. Frustrated, she plopped the plant in one of the mail crates and picked them up to carry them home. There, she sorted through her mail, throwing out the junk, putting aside the bills and bank statements, and finally opening the private mail. There was a surprisingly large amount of private mail. Upon opening the second and third pieces of mail, she realized she was so famous she was starting to receive fan mail. Elizabeth pushed aside all mail at this revelation. It was too much of a shock to her. Instead, she left the kitchen table filled with mail and immersed herself in her dark room. She worked for several hours, refusing to think about what she had just realized. But finally, she knew she would have to accept the fact some day. Might as well be that day. So Elizabeth left the dark room and stared warily at the piles of mail for a few minutes. Then she sat down, and began sorting the fan mail from the other private mail. Over the course of the next week, Elizabeth answered every piece of fan mail by hand, wanting to show appreciation for the support.

Jane came over for dinner one evening to discuss their future plans. Elizabeth started out by being doubtful of Charles' commitment to a relationship that moved her sister to New York. It took Jane some persuading before Elizabeth would support Jane's move to New York. In the end, Elizabeth called Colin.

"Colin, what do you think about this thing between Jane and Charles?"

"What do you mean what do I think?"

"Well, is he serious about the relationship, or is it just another fling to him."

"Why?"

"If Jane is going to give up a settled, comfortable life here in Elsah and move to New York to be near him, I want to make sure he won't break her heart in a couple of months and leave her living alone in New York, possibly without work."

"Liz, I think I can safely say Charles is very serious about Jane. In fact, I've never seen him this attached to a girl before. He is really looking forward to Jane's move and has talked to me about it quite a bit. You can be as safe with Charles as any other guy who wants his girlfriend near him."

"Thanks Colin."

"Sure. I'll be here for her anyways. And I have the vested interest of more frequent visits from you if Jane moves to New York."

"So you were biased in your opinion, huh?" she teased him.

"Not at all. Truly, you can put your mind at ease. Jane wants to do this, and so does Charles. It would be wrong of you to prevent them, even if it was the wrong thing to do."

"I know," she sighed. "Well, thanks for your advice, oh wise one."

"Anytime, doll."

But then there was the question of what Elizabeth would do. Elizabeth told Jane of her idea to move homebase to a more convenient location. Together, they discussed other alternatives, but could not find a better option than New York where Jane, Colin and Elizabeth's company was centred. So it was decided that Jane and Elizabeth should lease an apartment jointly, where Elizabeth would stay there whenever she was in the area, but would otherwise stay in Cleo. Both sisters would sell their houses in Elsah.

"What am I going to do with all this stuff that won't be able to fit in the apartment? And what about my dark room?"

"We'll just have a to find an apartment that can accommodate your dark room and your stuff you could easily sell off."

"Yeah, I'm sure ebay would be ideal for some of my old junk."

Jane smirked and said, "You never know. If you wait until the height of your fame, you could make a lot of money off of furniture you used to own and use."

"I don't think it will ever come to that, sister dear."

"We'll see."

Elizabeth didn't know what to think about the flower and card Will sent. She had a hard time convincing herself he had actually sent it instead of someone else sending it in his name. The very fact that he had sent her a live potted plant instead of a bouquet of cut flowers from the hothouse seemed to imply he did know her quite well. She was touched by the show yet not ready to forgive him. If he was so changed, then why did Darcy Inc. still exist? Shouldn't he close down the horrible polluting company if he had truly changed. And why had it taken so long to send an apology? His words still made Elizabeth wince in shame and anger. If Elizabeth did not feel so insecure about her lack of a formal education, she would pass off Will's harsh comments with a shrug. But she was insecure and Will's words therefore hurt her doubly. She resolved not to reply in any manner to his gift, but to just go on with life. She only prayed she would not run into him while in New York. But how likely was that to happen? New York had millions of people. What was the chance of them meeting there?

Elizabeth and Jane put their houses on the market, and began the arduous task of sifting through their things to decide what to keep and what to throw out. Elizabeth, who had less stuff than Jane, flew to New York to stay with Colin and look at some prospective apartments. Elizabeth would be financing the move and the first several months of rent while Jane got on her feet with modeling once again.

Colin picked up Elizabeth from the airport and they drove to his apartment, talking along the way.

"Oh, Charles has invited the two of us over to his place for dinner tomorrow night. I said it was okay, I hope you don't mind. I think Charles wants to get to know his potential sister-in-law."

"Please don't take it that far. I am still a little nervous about this whole thing. I know Charles is a really nice guy, but this whole plan is a little too spontaneous and impulsive for my taste."

"I cannot believe this! You're someone who flies about the country, coming and going on a whim!"

"That's different! That isn't life changing, like Jane is doing."

"Relax, Liz, everything is going to be okay. Most kids who come to New York looking for glamour and fame don't have the connections and credits you and Jane have. You already know three men very well here in the city and you have stable careers."

"Three men?"

"Charles, Will, and I."

"Oh. When are you free to come and look at apartments with me?"

Colin sighed at her unwillingness to talk about Will. She was just as bad as Will. "I can go all tomorrow."

The pair of them looked at most of the apartments available, and Elizabeth decided on one that had several rooms, one of which was ideal for a dark room. There would be plenty of room for Jane and a small room that Elizabeth could live in.

That night, Elizabeth and Colin went over to Charles' apartment for dinner. He cooked quite well, actually, and his apartment was nice, though perhaps lacking in some feminine touches. Elizabeth got to like Charles a whole lot more and felt infinitely better about Jane's move after the pleasant evening.

Charles expressed a wish to see the apartment Elizabeth had chosen when they went to close the deal the following day. Elizabeth acquiesced, resigning herself to a closer acquaintance with Charles than she would have expected. He was all ease and friendliness to her. It helped a lot that Colin and Charles were best friends. This meant Charles was already along the lines of a friend Elizabeth would make anyway.

The next day Elizabeth signed the contract leasing the apartment starting two months from that day. Elizabeth returned to Elsah, bringing photographs and measurements of their apartment to Jane so she could have a better time choosing what to keep and what to sell.

Will learned about all of this via Charles, who came to visit him several days later. Will never asked about Elizabeth, but didn't have to, since Charles provided him with more than enough information by talking about Jane.

Will did not know how he felt about Elizabeth moving to New York. It meant there would be a bigger chance of them meeting. Did he want to meet her again? No, he decided. He would be too mortified to hold his head up in front of here. And he was certain she had not forgiven him. Even after he had sent her the potted hyacinth, she had not ever contacted him. He deserved it, he thought. For he had said mean things to her. In Will's mind, the most pressing and puzzling question was, why did he even care? He did not know her very well and she did not like him and he had not liked her before. So why did he think about her so often? Well... he did know her better than any other woman he knew. And he had to admit he wished he had never said those nasty things, and he did like her now a lot more than he did before. But that was no excuse for this stupid behaviour. He resolved to put her out of his head for good. Ha ha ha.

Elizabeth sold her house remarkably quickly, and had to hurry to move her things out before the new owner came to take possession of the house. Elizabeth suspected her new success as a popular photographer was behind the sale. The buyer asked her for any of her old photos she didn't want. Elizabeth explained there were never any photos she would not want unless they were ruined ones.

Jane sold off the superfluous household items and packed up the rest of the things. When the time came for them to take possession of the new apartment, Elizabeth employed a moving van and led the way with Jane in Cleo. Jane still had not sold the house, but Elizabeth felt it best to go ahead and move, allowing Jane more time to start her work. She had no doubt they would sell the house soon. Elizabeth refrained from putting it on the market under her name just to sell it off quickly.

Charles met them at the apartment and Jane couldn't get out of Cleo quickly enough to hug him. Elizabeth, moved by the sight, quickly picked up her camera and took some shots of a couple long separated and finally reunited. She felt better about the move after that.

With the help of Colin and Charles, the two sisters moved into the apartment on the sixteenth floor. It took several days before the house started to look neater and more like a home.

Charles was at their apartment very often, and almost always had dinner with them. Elizabeth was happy in the knowledge that Jane was so much happier. Colin came over every once in a while, as well.

Will had heard they had moved into the apartment the week before. He wondered what it would look like. Was there another dark room? There must be if Elizabeth had nowhere else to do her work. What was she doing in the city? She rarely ever stayed this long in one place. Did she have anything new being sold? Did she still drive Cleo? Or had Cleo retired? ...Will resolved once again to put the woman out of his head.

Elizabeth did not stay long in New York. She didn't like it nearly as much as Elsah, but it did serve well as a homebase. She would enjoy visiting with Jane, Charles, and Colin when she came back to develop her pictures. And it was so much more convenient to have the company so near, as well. But New York was quite a big change from the tiny village on the banks of the Mississippi. To make it seem more like home, Elizabeth hung several of her pictures of the Mississippi and the surrounding wilderness on her walls. However, as soon as she could, Elizabeth left New York and began her travels, once again.

Jane began to start modeling again, receiving surprisingly good offers considering her long absence from the business. She would soon be able to support herself once again without Elizabeth's help. She and Charles remained steady, and Jane grew more and more confident that this was the right decision.

Elizabeth stayed away from the city for five months straight. She hadn't been to the west coast in so long that she decided to spend quite a bit of time there, especially since it would be harder to go there now that her homebase was on the east coast.

Elizabeth's return was a surprise to her sister and friends. She hadn't given them any warning, wanting to surprise them after such a long absence. That evening, Charles was introducing Jane to a good friend of his. Colin would be there, and Charles obviously extended the invitation to include Elizabeth.

Colin thought it was just another dinner party at Charles' place, and didn't think much more about it. Only when Colin arrived and found out that Will was to be the friend Jane was supposed to be unacquainted with did he realize what that night was going to be like.

Colin talked to his friend in the kitchen. "Charles! What do you think you're doing?"

Charles looked at the oven to make sure the roast was doing fine and said, "Colin, I have not the foggiest idea of what you're talking about. Please calm down and do make sense!"

"Didn't you know that Elizabeth was coming tonight?"

"Yes. I invited her myself. What's wrong with that? We haven't seen her in five months."

"But Will is coming."

"Yeah, so."

"Does Jane know that Will is going to be here?"

"Actually, now that you mention it, I don't think I told her who my friend was. It was such a surprise to me that Will would actually accept my invitation that I forgot to mention who he was to Jane. She doesn't know him anyway, and I thought this would be the best way to acquaint my girlfriend and my best friend with each other."

Colin buried his face in his hands. This was going to be a loooong night. "Charles, did you not know that Will and Elizabeth have had a past history?"

"No, I didn't. I thought Elizabeth didn't know who he was. You never mentioned Will when she was around. How do they know each other?"

"When you were travelling, Will got exiled from New York. I arranged for him to stay with Liz in Cleo for a month."

"Oh! How pleasant!"

"No, not these two. They didn't hit it off very well and now they hate each other. They've avoided all contact with each other for this long, and now we have accidentally brought them together."

"Oh... dear."

"'Oh dear' is right. Elizabeth is going to be furious with me when she finds out."

"Furious with you?"

"She always blames it on me."

Charles was silent for a bit. "Colin, I think you're exaggerating this whole thing. Liz and Will are mature grownups. I think they can handle one evening together without any untoward things happening. Besides, with Jane, you and I around, they will hardly have to talk about anything unpleasant. I for one, am determined to enjoy myself with my dearest friends around me tonight. Oh- could you get the door while I check on the potatoes?"

Colin resignedly walked over to the door and opened it. Elizabeth gave him a big hug, but then noticed his gloomy mood. "Are you all right? Have I got into your black book while I was gone?"

"Will's going to be here," Colin said, bluntly.

"Will?" Elizabeth stammered.

Colin nodded dolefully. Jane came back from greeting Charles in the kitchen. "What's the matter?"

Elizabeth said, "I'm going home."

Charles came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on his apron. "Elizabeth! How good of you to come back again? How was your trip? I've been hearing bits and pieces of it from Jane every now and then, but you must tell us all about it at dinner. Oh! Close that door, Colin, it's cold out there. Forgive me for not giving you a hug, but I'm a little bit sticky. I'll give you a kiss instead." Charles kissed Elizabeth's cheek avoiding touching her with his hands.

Colin obediently shut the door sealing Elizabeth's fate of being doomed to spend an evening with Will. Charles ushered them into the living room and proceeded to take orders for drinks. They sat around in the living room talking until Charles had to check on the meal. Conveniently, the doorbell rang, and Colin got up to answer it, with a resigned look on his face. He had yet to speak to his dear cousin since that afternoon Will had refused for the last time to give Elizabeth the apology she was due.

When Colin left the room, Elizabeth gave Jane a panicked look. "Jane what am I going to do?"

"I don't know. Just ignore that it ever happened."

"That's impossible! Oh Jane, is there no way I could get out of this engagement? Can't I go home with a headache?"

"No," Jane said firmly. "This is the first time in over five months we've all been together. Will is surely not going to make a scene in front of his friends."

Colin, meanwhile, had opened the door, and the two cousins stared each other down. Will finally caved in, and walked in the open door. Colin shut it and neither said a word. Will heard Charles in the kitchen and went in to see how he was faring.

"Charles, good evening."

"Will! I'm delighted you're finally going to meet Jane." (Will had neglected to ever tell Charles he did actually know Jane.) "They're all sitting in the living room. Why don't you get a drink and join them? I won't be a minute."

Will poured himself a Dr. Pepper and walked through to the living room. He nearly dropped the soda on Charles' new gray carpet when he saw Elizabeth sitting beside her sister on the sofa. Elizabeth did not look at him, but Jane stood up and held out her hand to Will.

Will recovered from his shock, somewhat, and took Jane's hand. Jane said, "It's a pleasure to encounter you once again, Will."

"Likewise," he managed to say and then before he said anything he regretted, he decided to retreat to a safer distance. Will walked over to the window and looked out on the streets of the city, which is wholly entertaining in itself.

There was a rather ugly, long silence unbroken until Charles came out of the kitchen and said in a boisterous voice, "Dinner is coming along fine. Anyone want a refill?"

There were heads shaken but no verbal replies. Charles began to become nervous. He absolutely loathed uncomfortable situations like this. But it did not make him incapable of finding a solution.

"Elizabeth, do tell us what are the latest adventures you have experienced."

She laughed shakily, and said, "I don't have any real adventures, like hanging off the edge of a cliff for dear life, but I did have plenty of neat experiences on my travels."

"I'm sure I haven't heard half of them," said Charles, "so do begin to recount some of them to me."

Elizabeth faltered, but then began to tell a few of her stories. She felt nervous in the same room as Will. She was self conscious about the way she acted and sounded, and especially her grammar and vocabulary. She felt so stupid and... uneducated and inadequate. She felt like she was being judged by Will.

Charles left to put dinner on the table and Jane went to go help him. This left three rather awkward and uncomfortable people in the room. After a long silence, Colin said to Elizabeth, "So you still live in Cleo?"

"Yes."

"Isn't it time you retired Cleo and bought another RV? I mean, you use it so much, I'm sure Cleo must have at least a hundred thousand miles on her."

"Yes, but I'm afraid I'm too sentimentally attached to Cleo to replace her. I know very soon there will come a time when I have to replace her, but that doesn't mean I'm looking forward to it. I should probably replace her now. She broke down in Utah of all places. Had to spend three days in a motel waiting for her to be fixed."

"What was wrong with her?"

"Oh I don't know. I never understand what the car mechanics spout out at me." Elizabeth suddenly realized how ignorant she must sound, and stopped talking.

Jane popped her head in the door and said, "Dinner's ready."

The other three walked into the dining room where the circular table was nicely laid and a delicious meal was waiting. Charles sat with Jane on his left and Will on his right, with Colin sitting with Will on his left and Elizabeth on his right.

Conversation during the meal was light and pleasant. News of any interest was relayed to Elizabeth and plans in the future discussed. They talked about politics and movies they had seen or not seen. Charles began to think there was never anything to fear from this evening after all. He had all of his dearest friends at his table talking pleasantly. What more could he want?

When everyone had finished, Charles cleared the plates and brought out coffee and a rich cheesecake, made with the New York recipe. When talk had slowed down, Charles glanced at Jane, who nodded. He stood up and said, "It was such a surprise to have all of us here, tonight. And since this opportunity is so rare, I would like to take this opportunity to inform you, with immense delight, that Jane and I are engaged."

Elizabeth was surprised. She had no idea it had come to this. Colin had figured as much, and stood up to enthusiastically shake Charles' hand and give Jane a hug and peck on the cheek. Will followed suit, which left only Elizabeth staring numbly at her sister.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked.

"Well it was hardly the sort of thing you say over the phone. We haven't told anyone else until you knew."

Elizabeth was silent a minute and then laughed and shook her head. She stood and hugged her sister tightly. Then she said, "I'm really happy for you both, but just a bit... shocked. I had no idea you were this serious. I guess I was still thinking of you two as when I left." Elizabeth hugged Charles and said, "Congratulations."

Talk resumed with a more excited pitch. Elizabeth remained silent for a while before coming out of her reverie to join the conversation. Half an hour later, Elizabeth and Jane got up to go home.

"I'm afraid I actually have a deadline to meet in two days," Elizabeth said. "I haven't given the company much to work with recently. I must be off to the dark room. Thank you so much for a lovely evening, Charles."

"You're welcome. I'm so pleased you're home."

Elizabeth gave Colin a hug and nodded curtly at Will, "Good evening."

She walked out of the apartment and waited while Jane and Charles shared a more private good bye. When Jane joined Elizabeth outside, they walked all the way to the elevator and then out of the building before talking to each other.

"So, what do you think?" asked Jane.

"About what?"

"About my engagement."

"Well, I was really surprised. You never gave me any hints."

"Do you think I'm being foolish or too rushed?"

"No, not at all. Well, I do think that, but only because I have not seen you together much. I have complete faith in your judgment. Charles is as nice a man as you could find, and I think I would have a much stronger instinct to dislike him if I were really upset about the engagement. ...Did that come out right?"

"I understand. You like Charles and you're okay with him, you just need time to adjust."

"Yes, that's what I said. So what are your plans, then? Have you set a date for when you're getting married?"

"Not yet. We were kind of waiting until you came home. I didn't want to set a date and you not be there. Nor did I want to suddenly move out of the apartment that we're renting jointly."

"Don't worry about me, Jane. I can handle myself. As long as you keep me well informed of your plans, I promise I will be there to support you whenever you need it. So that means... you are not allowed to have any early childbirths, all right? If you want me to be there for you in the hospital room, you have to make sure you are punctual."

Jane laughed and said, "I'm not thinking of children any time soon."

"You never know. One of my teachers from high school was pregnant a week after she married."

"I'd like more time than that to get adjusted to marriage. We haven't talked a lot about what we would do with our jobs. I guess I would keep mine until I did have any children, and then I would stay home and look after them."

"Sounds like a sound idea. Or you could do the modern thing and have Charles be the stay-at-home parent, and you support the family."

"I don't know if I could on my modeling."

"Well, you have plenty of time to think it over."

The three friends left in the apartment sat in comfortable silence in the living room. Charles broke it, saying, "What have you been up to Will? I haven't seen you for ages."

"I haven't been doing much more than working and avoiding your sister."

"Oh, Caroline. Sorry. What's she doing, now?"

"Well, I keep running into her at places. It's getting more and more suspiciously coincidental, if you know what I mean."

"I wouldn't put it past her to stalk you. Have you made your intentions clear?"

"Several times, but she feigns surprise and says she just wants to be friends blah blah blah."

Charles was silent for a while. Then asked, "Is there something wrong between you two? You don't talk to each other anymore."

Colin shrugged and said, "Ask him."

Will looked down at his clasped hands in silence for a long time. The silence was now uncomfortable, strained, and tense. The rift between the cousins and friends was becoming more apparent to Charles. Finally Will said in a very quiet, low voice, "I did apologize to her, Colin."

Colin was- and looked- surprised. "You did? When?"

"She was still living in Elsah at the time."

"I had no idea. How did you apologize?"

"I sent her a potted hyacinth and a note saying I was sorry and asking for her forgiveness."

"Did she reply?"

"No."

"How do you know she ever received it?"

"I don't."

"Well it could happen."

"I doubt it. It was delivered from a flower shop in Elsah and Jane took care of her mail and would have given it to her. Is there anything else you think I should do? You can obviously see from this evening that she still hates me and does not forgive me. Did I ever behave condescending or mean?"

"No, but then you didn't exactly act very friendly, either."

"How could I when I was certain of cold rejection?"

"Elizabeth isn't like that. If you made the first move to reconciliation, she is likely to respond in kind."

"It's useless, Colin. Give it up."

Charles, who had been listening the banter, said, "Well I hope you won't let any of this interfere with many pleasant evenings like tonight."

"No, Charles, I think we can safely meet without any untoward scandals."

Elizabeth worked hard to turn in a new portfolio of photographs for the company to work with. This meant long hours in her dark room. She did come out once to see Jane shooting for a catalog. And Colin came over to visit with her one evening.

"Heard about Will's apology," Colin said.

"Really."

"You didn't reply."

"No."

"Why?"

"What was I going to say? It took you long enough? I don't forgive him and he still hurt me really badly."

"At least he apologized."

"Sure."

"So there's no possibility of you two making up in the future?"

"Not by the looks of it. He doesn't seem too keen to get on my good side anyway. It really does seem like he has said an apology but did not mean it."

Colin was sad, but was at a loss as to how to solve the problem. He couldn't solve it. It was up to Will and Elizabeth. He needed to let them run their own course.

Elizabeth turned in her portfolio and decided to stay a couple of extra weeks working on the rest of her photographs and putting them into order. Meanwhile, the group of friends had dinner one evening at every apartment. The last one Elizabeth attended before she left the city was at Will's apartment.

Charles was picking Jane up from the studio and taking her to Will's, so Elizabeth traveled to the luxurious building in front of Central Park alone. She was five minutes late when she rang the doorbell, feeling not a little apprehensive over eating dinner at Will's place.

Will answered the door, and let her in, saying, "Good evening."

Elizabeth entered the apartment shyly. "Thank you."

Will led her through to the kitchen saying, "Colin called to say he would be about half an hour late. Jane and Charles should be here any minute."

Elizabeth panicked. Alone in Will's apartment. Good Lord, what was she going to do?

The apartment was very nice. Richly, yet tastefully furnished and decorated. His wealth was shown subtlety rather than overtly, and Elizabeth had to confess she liked his tastes.

In the kitchen, Will asked, "Can I get you something to drink?"

"A coke or Sprite is fine, thank you."

Will fetched a Sprite from the fridge and asked, "Ice?"

"No thank you." Will poured the can into a glass and handed it to her. "Thanks." After a long pause, Elizabeth asked, "How is your sister?"

"Georgiana? She's doing fine."

"Is she at college, now?"

"Yes, she's attending Cornell University."

Elizabeth guessed that Will expected her to know where that was, but didn't want to ask.

Will checked the dinner, found it satisfactory and then turned back to Elizabeth. He had to think of something to say, but couldn't seem to think straight. Her work. Ask her about her work.

"How is your work coming along?"

"I'm doing quite well, actually. I still enjoy doing what I do, and I used to think that after a few years, I'll have seen everything that could be seen. But even now, I find new wonders in nature to take pictures of."

"It must be nice."

The polite thing would be for Elizabeth to ask how Will's company was doing, or something along those lines, but she did not want to ask one bit. She knew it was probably doing just fine polluting the countryside mercilessly.

"I wonder what's keeping Jane and Charles?"

"Probably bad traffic. Elizabeth..." She was shocked to her him start this way. "Did- did you... receive my... apology?"

Elizabeth looked down at her glass and swirled patterns on the marble countertop. "Yes, I did."

"D-do you forgive me?"

Elizabeth sighed, and knew she must be honest. Oh why didn't Jane and Charles ever arrive on time? "You said you were trying to change. I might be more willing to forgive you if I saw more evidence of the change. As I do not, I am more inclined to believe Colin put you up to apologizing than you meant it."

Will was silent. Elizabeth was not going to be the next one to speak again. She had spoken honestly, and he must live with what she said. The doorbell rang. Elizabeth scowled. Perfect timing as always, Jane.

Will did not move to answer the door. "I..." he started. "I do not-" He tried again. "I will try harder." Then he left her to answer the door.

Elizabeth was in wonder. She didn't understand what he meant. Why did he want her forgiveness? Why should he care? Because now they were thrown together so often nowadays? Her face burned scarlet for some reason. Thank goodness she was leaving the next day.

Jane and Charles came through the door to the kitchen. Charles gave Elizabeth a kiss on the cheek. "You do look a bit flushed, Liz, are you too hot?"

"Yes, I think I shall go to the restroom to splash my face with water," replied Elizabeth a little shakily.

"Don't bother, Will, I'll show her to the bathroom," said Jane, and led her sister out of the kitchen and through the hall to the bathroom. They passed Will's office and Elizabeth, who glanced in as they passed, stopped short in surprise. She backed up and looked inside the room. There, on the wall opposite the door between two windows, was one of her photographs on a poster on the wall. She knew it instantly. It was one of her favourites. In horror, Elizabeth recalled she had taken it in Tennessee when Will had been with her.

"Lizzy? It's right here."

Elizabeth turned to catch up to her sister. Jane left her alone in the spacious bathroom with marble and silver fixtures. Elizabeth leaned wearily on the sink and stared at herself in the mirror, having a mental dialogue with herself.

Why is he acting like this? It must be because he doesn't want animosity when we're thrown together so often. Then why does he have one of your pictures up in his office? He probably just likes it. He was there when you took the picture, so he probably bought it to remember the place because he liked it. So he did mean his apology? It sounds like it, doesn't it? But he hasn't changed. Hasn't he? He has never said a single unkind word to you since the argument. Maybe he does regret saying those things. But then why didn't he apologize much much earlier? Pride? Stubbornness? And he said he was trying to change. His company is still evil, so how much changed could he be? That's right. His company best reflects his personality. Look at what they do, not what they say, right?

"Lizzy?" Jane asked, knocking on the door. "Are you okay?"

"Just a second, Jane, I'll be right out."

Elizabeth splashed her face with cold water and dried it with a towel. She took a deep breath, and then walked out to the living room where the others were seated.

"Didn't get lost, did you dear?" asked Charles.

"In a way, yes. I was lost in a daydream. Sorry."

Will handed her her glass of Sprite, but did not look at her. Colin rang the doorbell, and Will left to get it.

The evening went well. Conversation was relaxed and pleasant. The dinner was excellent and Will received compliments even from Elizabeth. She, however, rose to leave early, as she wanted to be on the road the next morning before eight. Colin and Charles gave her goodbye hugs and Jane said she would be home later that evening. Will, being a polite host walked her to the door.

He expected her to just say good bye and leave, but she instead paused, and said, "Will, I must add that I still believe your company is the reflection of your true character. I hold that grudge against you just as high as your words to me."

Will could think of no other reply than, "I hope your trip goes well. Be safe and good night."

"Good night," Elizabeth murmured, and left the apartment.

Elizabeth packed that night, and talked a little to Jane before going to bed. She slept uneasily, with too much on her mind. The next morning, she rose early.

Jane said, "Lizzy, you're getting too much mail for me to keep all of it for five months. Why don't you rent a few of the Post Office boxes so I can forward the mail there for you to pick up periodically?"

"Fine. I'll be going south to Florida for a bit. I'll choose a few strategic PO boxes, and will tell you which one to forward to each week. Thanks so much for all you do for me."

"It's no trouble, at all, I assure you. Drive safely and remember to always lock your doors."

"I worry more about you here in New York than myself. Don't walk alone at night, and stay out of the bad parts of town."

Jane kissed her sister and embraced her. They said goodbye, and Elizabeth left the city, heading south.

Continued In Next Section