Prom and Prejudice

Tara smirked. "My, we certainly have strong feelings for someone, don't we? Are you sure you detest him, or is it something else?"

"Please."

"Well, he only sits down with his coffee when you're here. When you aren't, he leaves."

"Believe me, he's only doing it to punish me."

The punishment continued for another couple weeks. Finally, nearly a month after Charles's party, he caught up with me on my way home. He was with a guy in his late twenties.

Darcy and his friend joined me on the sidewalk. "Hi, Lizzie," Darcy said, as if we'd just happened to encounter each other. "We're heading over in your direction -- do you mind if we walk with you?"

"I'm Will Fitzpatrick," the guy said to me. "It's my ten-year reunion at Pemberley. I'm just visiting my little cousin before heading to our party."

"Hi," I replied. He had a friendly disposition, very opposite to Darcy.

"Fitz, this is Elizabeth Bennet," Darcy said, making the proper introduction.

"Please call me Fitz -- all my friends do. With two Wills in the family, it just made it easier for everybody to refer to us by our last names."

I smiled politely, although I wasn't really interested in why everybody called Darcy by that name, and not Will.

"I've heard a lot about you," Fitz said warmly.

"That's unfortunate," I replied. "I can assure you that I'm not nearly as awful as your cousin has made me out to be."

Fitz laughed. "Awful? Quite the opposite. He only has nice things to say."

"I'm afraid it is only Lizzie who has unkind words to say about me," Darcy added.

Fitz stopped in his tracks. "What exactly has my idiot cousin done to deserve that?" His smile was curious and friendly.

"I'm glad you asked; I've been wondering the same thing," Darcy replied drily.

"Well, how much time do you have before your party?" I responded.

"Oh, Darcy!" Fitz grabbed Darcy by the collar. "You have such a way with the ladies. Miss Bennet, on behalf of my family, my sincerest apologies for whatever offenses Sir Grumpsalot over here has bestowed upon you."

He reached out his hand and did a slight bow. I accepted his hand with a laugh and nodded in acceptance of his kind gesture.

"Maybe I should skip the reunion and instead try to make amends. Come to think of it, there are a few former teachers that I wish to avoid." He winked at me.

Several girls from my dorm walked past with big, puffy garment bags.

"Oh, wow, I forgot that 'tis the season for prom insanity." Fitz shook his head. "Are you suffering from pre-prom pandemonium?"

"Absolutely not," I assured him.

"Good for you. Even some of Darcy's friends seem to have lost their minds. You had to talk one friend out of going with some real character, didn't you?"

Darcy's expression changed immediately.

I felt my blood begin to boil. I had assumed it was Caroline who was keeping Charles away from Jane. But it was Darcy. Of course it was Darcy.

"What's this?" I asked.

Darcy just brushed it away. "Nothing, it's nothing."

Yes, it was nothing to him. But it was everything to Jane.

"Oh!" Fitz glanced at his watch. "I must make my way to the Headmaster's House. Lizzie, a pleasure." He shook my hand. "Cousin" -- he turned to Darcy -- "don't be an imbecile. Good families are dime-a-dozen, but a good woman is rare."

We watched him cross the quad toward Pemberley.

"I like him," I stated. Anybody who could give Darcy such a ribbing was all right in my book. I turned to head toward my dorm and was surprised when Darcy followed. "Is there something I can help you with?" I asked.

Darcy shook his head. "No, I just thought I'd walk you the rest of the way."

"Again, your concern for my well-being is so touching."

He replied with silence.

"So, how's Charles?"

He paused for a moment. "Charles is fine. He's been really busy."

"So I hear." I balled my fists up tightly. I even bit my tongue. Seeing Darcy on a regular basis was wearing my patience thin. And knowing that he was the cause of Jane's unhappiness made it almost unbearable.

"I work on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday nights, as well as Sunday afternoons," I said.

He stared at me.

I continued. "We seem to be running into each other a lot lately, and I thought you'd like to know my hours. So you can avoid them, of course."

He nodded abruptly, then turned away. I didn't expect to see him in the cafe again.

Eighteen

ONCE AGAIN, I WAS WRONG. INSTEAD OF AVOIDING ME, DARCY as there at every shift. Sometimes he would leave when I was done and walk me back. I found it easier to not fight it. It was a short walk, and most of the time he would mercifully walk with me in silence. If we talked, it was generally small talk about classes.

"So where's your boyfriend?" Tara asked me one night.

"Who? Wick? He's not my boyfriend." As if I needed to be reminded.

"You know that's not who I'm talking about."

"Darcy?" I scoffed. "Please, he's more like a ..."

"Stalker?"

I shook my head. "I believe stalkers have to generally care about their prey."

"Your bodyguard?"

"That would be ironic since he's the person I need protection from."