The Trials of the Honorable F. Darcy (32 page)

Charlotte leaned forward. “Since when do you know how to make the perfect cup of English tea, just the way he likes it?” she challenged. Elizabeth sucked her tongue between her teeth but didn’t answer. Charlotte smiled in satisfaction, and continued.

“OK, but I understand it’s a secret. So here, I’ll tell you my secret, and we’ll call it even. I’m a lesbian.”

Elizabeth snorted. “God, Charlotte, that’s no secret.”

“What? What do you mean, of course it is!” Charlotte said in dismay.

Elizabeth shook her head. “’Fraid not.”

“How did you know?” Charlotte leaned forward again. Elizabeth laughed.

“Charlotte,
hello
, Lou is my best friend. He told me he kept seeing you at gay clubs.”

“Well, then my secret is as poorly hidden as yours,” Charlotte smiled, leaning back.

“Oh, honestly Charlotte, we are not
...”
she lowered her voice to a whisper and leaned forward, “sleeping together.”

Darcy returned and slid a pastry in front of Elizabeth.

“I know you like the cheesy ones,” he said as he sat down.

Charlotte crossed her arms in triumph and chirped “Mm-
hmm
.”

Darcy looked up and saw Elizabeth and Charlotte staring each other down and wondered what the hell was going on.

“Darcy! We’re sorry we missed it, there was a wreck on the freeway,” Bingley said as he and Jane approached. Darcy stood up and offered his chair to Jane, then stooped to receive her peck on the cheek.

“We tried to call your place but you guys were already gone,” Bingley continued like a dolt.

“
Bingley
!” Both Darcy and Elizabeth exclaimed in dismay. He looked at them in shock.

“What?!”

“Bingley, this is Charlotte Lucas, an attorney in my courtroom,” Darcy said significantly.

“And at my lawfirm,” Elizabeth added, glaring at him. Bingley shifted his eyes about in confusion.

“OK, nice to meet you Charlotte Lucas-who-is-an-attorney-before-Darcy-and-works-with-Elizabeth.
Oh
! Who
appears
before
Darcy
and
works
with
Elizabeth
! I see. Yes, good to meet you!” he said as the implications finally penetrated his distracted mind. Then he rolled his eyes. “Good lord, I almost gave you away!” he said comically.

Charlotte put her hand over her mouth and closed her eyes, laughing. The look on Darcy’s face was priceless, really. Some mixture of anger, embarrassment, humor, and resignation. Elizabeth wasn’t faring much better. Both glared at Bingley.

“Bingley, you are an idiot,” Darcy grumbled. “Let’s go get dinner.”

Elizabeth shot a look at Charlotte. Charlotte twiddled her fingers innocently.

Elizabeth could say nothing, but gave Charlotte a warning look. Charlotte nodded and smiled. They said their goodbyes, and Charlotte watched them exit the coffee shop. Darcy had taken Elizabeth’s hand in his before they were two steps out the door.

***

Elizabeth stepped out of the bathroom in her new yellow confection, hair falling all around her shoulders. Darcy was lying on the bed paging lazily through a magazine. He
looked up at her and let the magazine fall to the floor. He said nothing for a half a minute.

“Well?” she said, shifting uncomfortably. She had posed herself in the bathroom doorway but now she wasn’t sure it was the best idea.

“Don’t move,” he said, cocking his head. He studied her for another minute. She creased her brows.

“Breathtaking,” he said softly. “Absolutely lovely.” She smiled in relief and walked toward the bed. “Turn around?” he asked. She did a slow turn for him. When she faced him again, he was smiling contentedly.

“It’s yellow,” she said, at a loss for words. He nodded, still smiling.

“Yes. You look beautiful in yellow.”

“Like a canary?” she teased, sitting next to him.

“Like a daffodil,” he corrected, pulling her closer to him. “You bought this for me?” he asked. She nodded. Why was she suddenly feeling shy?

He was ridiculously flattered that she thought of him enough to buy such an article. It was lovely; it showed her shapely legs, it let a little of her belly peek thru, but was essentially modest in cut. The ruffled trim was feminine without being cloying, the color complimented her tanned skin. He sighed again in contentment.

She began to untie the string in the front of the nightie. He stopped her.

“No, it’s too pretty. Leave it on,” he said. She smiled, and curled into his arms.

He sighed into her hair as they made love.

“You really are the most beautiful creature on earth,” he said to her, nuzzling her ear. “I am the luckiest man alive.” She smiled and did not try to repay the compliment; at least, not verbally.

Georgiana Darcy wanted to protect her brother. She didn’t want to interfere with his relationship but she was watching Elizabeth
Bennet
closely. Since they had reconciled, Will had seemed content and happy. But she wanted to know more about Elizabeth. She suggested that they go camping with Fletcher at Yosemite. She wanted to see Elizabeth in the elements, in nature, to see how she acted with Darcy.

When she proposed it over coffee with Will and Elizabeth, Elizabeth’s eyes lit up.

“Camping! How fun! I haven’t been in years.”

“We don’t use a camper, you know,” Georgiana said cautiously. “We pitch tents.”

“Of course, how else would you do it? Campers are for sissies,” Elizabeth laughed. Georgiana smiled.
We’ll see
, she thought.

Elizabeth flew in Thursday night and they all took Friday off, piling into Fletcher’s SUV Friday morning
,
having cancelled the concert due to ov
erwhelming attorney attendance.
Elizabeth stretched out in the back seat, sticking her feet out the window and putting her head in Darcy’s lap. Each time Georgiana turned to say something to them, she spied one of them teasing the other: Darcy would trail a string across Elizabeth’s forehead while she tried to doze; Elizabeth would flick Darcy’s earlobe as he tried to look out the window; they would pinch and tickle and tease each other like six-year-olds, laughing the whole time. Georgiana had never seen her brother acting so juvenile!

They arrived at their campsite in the early afternoon. All four got out, eager to stretch their legs after the long drive. Darcy extended his long arms high above his head, pulling his back into alignment. Elizabeth tickled his ribs and he brought his arms down quickly, laughing an indignant “Hey!” Then he put his arms around her and kissed her, which had been her goal all along.

Georgiana and Darcy set about unpacking the car while Fletcher and Elizabeth pulled out the tents. After several laughing mis
s
starts, the tents were erected and sleeping bags stashed inside. Camping season was nearly over; they were relatively alone on the campgrounds, meeting few people on the paths and seeing few other tents. It was going to be a very pleasant weekend.

With plenty of daylight left, they went on a short hike to explore the area. Georgiana watched as Darcy helped Elizabeth climb onto a boulder, steadying her as she stepped up to the top and then joining her a moment later. Darcy sat on the rock overlooking the valley. Elizabeth stood beside him with one hand resting on his head, absently fingering his curls. Georgiana smiled at the affectionate gesture that seemed unconscious on Elizabeth’s part. Then she remembered her resolve to be suspicious of Elizabeth and frowned.

After a time, they climbed down and returned to camp. Fletcher gathered firewood while Darcy made a fire and Elizabeth sharpened roasting sticks. Georgiana pulled out a little cook stove and began to boil water.

“What are you doing?” Elizabeth asked as Georgiana dropped a hotdog into the pan of hot water.

Georgiana looked at her as if she had spoken Martian. “I’m boiling hotdogs,” she replied slowly.

Elizabeth creased her brow and plunged her hand into the water, pulling out a wiener.

“I’ll have mine roasted, thanks,” she said, stabbing the wiener onto her stick.

Roasted
? Georgiana had never roasted a wiener over the fire before; they had always boiled them in water. She watched as Elizabeth stood near the fire and stuck her stick into the flames. Soon, she had a blackened, bubbly wiener. She smiled and put it in a bun and took a bite.

“Mmmmm, delicious,” Elizabeth said. She offered a bite to Darcy, who agreed that it was delicious. “You’ve never roasted them before?” she said, amazed.

Georgiana shook her head.

Elizabeth continued. “When I was little, we went camping for at least a week every year. With five kids, my parents couldn’t afford to take us on big vacations but we always could go camping. We’d ride our bikes around and go fishing and walk in the creeks. And we’d always roast wieners on sticks.”

Fletcher nodded. “So did we,” he said. “What’s the purpose of building a campfire if you’re not going to roast things in it?” He tossed a bag of marshmallows to Darcy.

Darcy roasted marshmallows in the fire, pulling the little flaming blobs over to Elizabeth, who watched until they were burnt to perfect crispy blackness and then blew them out with a puff of breath. She pulled them from the stick and handed them to Darcy.

She tipped her head back and dropped one of the crispy, blackened marshmallows into her mouth with unaffected delight. She was completely unconscious of the picture of sensuality she presented as she sucked the sticky goo off her fingers.

You have really got to stop thinking about sex,
Darcy told himself as he tried to dampen the little flame of desire that was lighting in his belly.

Georgiana watched them closely. Darcy seemed barely able to keep a smile off his face. Even when he wasn’t really doing or saying anything, he seemed to have a private smile, as if he were thinking about something pleasant. She watched as Darcy sat on the ground and pulled Elizabeth to sit between his legs before the campfire. Elizabeth talked animatedly to Fletcher, twitching her head for emphasis when she spoke. Her ponytail swung and flicked Darcy in the face; he repeatedly brushed her hair from his face and finally pulled the band from her hair and spread it out over her shoulders. Georgiana saw him put his nose in Elizabeth’s hair and sniff then rest his chin on her shoulder in contentment.

After dark, both couples retreated to their tents. Georgiana sat up playing cards with Fletcher. They talked about their friends and tried to ignore the sounds coming from the tent next to theirs. They heard Elizabeth exclaim “Ow!” followed by Darcy’s laughing “Shush!” There was an “Oh,” from Darcy and a giggle from Elizabeth. There were lots of sounds of sleeping bags being zipped and unzipped, and a curse from Elizabeth followed by Darcy’s laugh. Then there was a long period of silence, punctuated by an occasional sigh or grunt, and finally, a soft, gasped “Lizzy!” from Darcy.

Georgiana threw her cards down in disgust and Fletcher laughed silently.

“Come here, sweetie, you’re just jealous,” Fletcher whispered, pulling her to him. She smiled reluctantly and soon her mind was distracted from Darcy’s love life and more pleasantly engaged on her own.

Darcy lay behind Elizabeth, his knees tucked snugly into hers, one arm draped over her waist and the other folded under his head. He breathed in deeply, smelling the damp earth and pine needles. He smiled. Here he was, naked, in the woods, the alpha male having just taken his mate; he felt primal. And yet that primal feeling was tinged with a savage tenderness. His chest swelled a little and before knew what he was doin
g, he was crooning into her ear.

He stroked her arm with his finger and traced the outline of her ear with his nose before continuing.

He rose to his elbow, gently rolled her to her back and tipped her chin up to look at him.

Although his initial intent had been to sing her to sleep, his soft melodic voice whispered into her ear, for her ears only, had quite the opposite effect.

***

“Will, I’m going to suggest that the tents be moved a little further apart,” Georgiana said delicately the next morning as Darcy helped her prepare breakfast. He looked up at her, and she gave him a meaningful look. He blushed deeply and mumbled an apology but nodded. Later, he claimed to have slept badly on a rock and he and Elizabeth moved their tent further away.

After breakfast, they took a hike. Elizabeth and Fletcher seemed to be getting on famously, to Georgiana’s approval. They seemed to have quite a bit in common; Georgiana idly wondered if she and Darcy had a propensity toward a certain type of personality. They crested a hill and looked down over a valley. Elizabeth put her arms around Darcy’s waist and gave him noisy, rapid-fire kisses on his neck. He smiled and hugged her tightly.

She broke away from him and said “Last one down is a pasty-faced limey!” She and Fletcher began a breathless, laughing run down the slope. They turned somersaults at the bottom. Georgiana and Darcy took a slower approach.

“You love her, don’t you?” Georgiana said. Darcy nodded and looked at her.

“Yes. I do.” He laughed and looked around. “I do. I love her.” He seemed to enjoy just saying it. “I want to spend the rest of my life with her, I want to marry her, have kids with her, grow old with her. All the clichés.” He smiled at Georgiana. “You don’t approve?” he asked nonchalantly.

“I’m not sure. I want to know her better. She put you through hell and I don’t want it to happen again,” she said. They walked slowly down the hill.

“I’m not innocent, Georgie, we put each other through hell,” he corrected her. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take. I can’t let her go again. I’d rather die,” he said simply. “I believe she loves me but I wouldn’t care if she didn’t, as long as she could be content living with me. I’m not happy without her.”

Georgiana nodded. She smiled at him and squeezed his hand.

“When will you ask her?” she asked. He shrugged.

“I have no plan. We have things to work out. The work situation, living arrangements. I don’t want to rush her. I’m content for now.”

Elizabeth and Fletcher were lying on their backs in the grass, basking in the sun, talking and pointing out cloud formations in the sky.

“Well, if it isn’t the pasty-faced limeys,” Fletcher said, sitting up.

“Not me, just him,” Georgiana said, hitching her thumb at Darcy behind her. “He’s the last one down and he’s the pastiest and the limiest.”

They spread out a blanket and Fletcher pulled out some snacks for lunch. Darcy and Elizabeth strolled about the meadow, picking flowers. He stuck some in her hair and she smiled. He pulled the band from her hair, releasing it from its loose knot at the base of her neck. She stood obediently as he put more flowers in her hair.

“When did you fall in love with me?” she asked quietly. He smiled ruefully.

“I can’t fix the hour, or the spot, or the look, or the words that laid the foundation. It’s too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew I had begun.” He paused and tucked a daisy behind her ear. “But I remember exactly when I
discovered
I was in love with you,” he continued. “It was the day we picked wildflowers. I put them in your hair and you sat up and brushed the stems off your blouse. I knew at that exact moment that I wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you,” he mused. She smiled at him and turned her face up for a kiss. He gave her a gentle kiss on the lips and squeezed her fingers in his.

“We are going to have to tell Mr. Gardiner and everyone else soon,” she said. “That run-in with Charlotte was nerve-wracking, and I want to get it out in the open.” Darcy nodded.

“I’m ready when you are,” he replied.

Unbeknownst to Darcy and Elizabeth, Georgiana was watching them like a hawk. Fletcher did not fail to notice. As they walked back to camp, he pulled her a discreet distance behind Elizabeth and Darcy.

“What is it with you?” he said quietly to her. Georgiana looked at Fletcher in confusion. “You haven’t taken your eyes off them all day,” he smiled. “I’m feeling a little ignored.”

She shrugged. “I’m just looking out for him,” she replied somewhat crossly.

Fletcher put his arm around Georgiana’s shoulders.

“Look at them,” he said softly. “I mean, really look at them. Stop trying to find fault with her, and look at how happy he is.”

As he said this, they watched Darcy give Elizabeth a piggy-back ride. Then Elizabeth attempted to give him one, taking one staggering step beneath his weight before they tumbled into a giggling heap in the grass. Georgiana smiled despite herself.

“She does make him laugh,” she conceded.

“Be fair, Georgie. He loves her. You have to support that, or he’ll never be truly happy.”

Georgiana nodded and looked down. Then she looked up at Fletcher and smiled brightly.

“At least he’s too preoccupied with her to see how unsuitable you are for me,” she teased, and gave him a quick peck on the lips. He laughed at her, and they caught up to Darcy and Elizabeth.

After dinner, Fletcher, Georgiana, and Darcy all pulled out guitars and began to strum. Elizabeth watched with some envy, wishing she had learned to play, as they picked out aimless tunes and snippets of songs. Elizabeth sat next to Darcy and began to hum; he picked up on the melody, and soon they were playin
g the Dixie Chicks’ version of ‘Landslide.’
Elizabeth sang in her soft voice with Georgiana and Fletcher singing backup. For the first time, Georgiana and Elizabeth felt a connection through this expression. They smiled at each other and seemed to come to a truce.

They spent Sunday fishing at the river and crossing streams. Darcy caught several fish, much to the consternation of the others.

“My worm keeps falling off,” Elizabeth wailed in frustration. Fletcher and Darcy both tried to show her how to secure it on the hook properly but she kept getting grossed out. In the end, Darcy loaded her hook for her each time. Which was quite a few times, considering that she kept losing her bait. She sighed at him.

“Are you good at everything?” she asked him, annoyed. He laughed.

“Certainly not. I can’t speak in public, I can’t dance, I’m a terrible cook.” He thought for a minute. “I have a hard time controlling the weather,” he grinned at her. “But I can bait a hook. You might even say I’m a master at it.” He glanced at her with a smirk on his face; she tried unsuccessfully to suppress her giggle at his uncharacteristic saucy joke.

Elizabeth gave up on fishing and waded in the water instead. Despite being early October, the weather was hot. Fletcher joined her and together they hopped river stones to the other side. On the other side of the bank they walked to a waterfall and then, daring each other, dashed under it and emerged wet and shivering but laughing.

Darcy caught enough fish for dinner and Georgiana scaled and gutted them with few exclamations of disgust. They ate crispy fried fish while Fletcher and Elizabeth dried their clothes and hair by the fire. Darcy took off his own sweatshirt and pulled it over Elizabeth when she shivered next to him. She accepted it gratefully, enjoying both the warmth and smell of him that it gave her.

“Lord, when did I get so old?” Darcy groaned as he sat on a stump before the fire. His back was sore from their day of fishing and hiking and he was ready for bed at only 9 o’clock.

“Poor old Judge Darcy,” Elizabeth said, standing behind him. She began to massage his shoulders. “Did you have your strained peas today?” she teased him.

He smiled and closed his eyes and let Elizabeth work the knots out of his shoulders.

“That feels very nice,” he said.

“Lou taught me,” she answered.

“Then I supposed he is good for something,” he said under his breath. He had not forgotten Lou’s refusal to disclose Elizabeth’s whereabouts in San Diego.

“I heard that,” she replied.

Darcy was ashamed of it but he was jealous of Lou. Lou had grown up with Elizabeth, was her confidante and best friend.
He
wanted to be those things to her. When she had broken up with Darcy, Elizabeth had sought solace with Lou. He suspected that Lou knew an awful lot about him; it made him uncomfortable.

Elizabeth had picked up on this undercurrent of jealousy and knew that Lou had his own reservations about Darcy. She wondered if they could be reconciled; she did not want to be forced to choose between the two most important men in her life.

She sighed, and put her arms around his neck.

“He’s my friend but you’re my lover,” she whispered in his ear. “Just so we know what
you’re
good for.”

He could not repress his smile at that.