Prom and Prejudice

I smiled at him. The reason it wasn't forced was because I was being normal. I'd found the door in his wall, and was just now opening mine. I had so much to say to him, so much to apologize for.

I kept thinking back on everything that I had said about him, all those horrible things I'd thought. And here he surprised me by giving me tickets to see his mom and opened his house to us. I didn't know what I did to deserve such thoughtful treatment from someone whom I had so openly loathed.

While our mothers were discussing having their children away at school, Darcy motioned for me to join him on the roof. The view of the park and east side of Manhattan was amazing.

"So, I have a favor to ask you," he said to me.

Immediately, the prom sprang to mind. He was going to ask me again, but this time, I wasn't sure what my answer would be.

He nervously drummed his fingers against the banister. "Georgie really seems to like you -- I guess it's a Darcy trait. She wants to come visit you in Hoboken, since she's never been, if that would be all right with you." He looked down at the street.

"Of course."

He turned his back on the view and looked at me. "I guess I should have told you who my mother was."

I shook my head. "It's okay, I don't know ..." I stopped myself from finishing that sentence. What I was going to say was I didn't know if that would've made a difference. If I'd liked Darcy solely because of his mother, I wouldn't have been any different from the snobs at Longbourn who didn't like me because my parents weren't famous, or rich, or from a "proper upbringing."

"Yes, well." He clearly was aware of what I was going to say. "To be honest, you're probably the only person who would have cared. My father's law practice seems to be what most people want to ..." This time he was the one to stop himself.

"I'm really sorry about that," I offered.

"Well ..." His voice trailed off into the night.

"And I'm sorry that I didn't respond to your e-mail. I tried to, but I guess I didn't know what to say. I'm not entirely proud of my behavior. And I ..." Something hit me, and I felt like an idiot for not figuring it out before. I looked at Will. "You gave me the coat." It wasn't a question. It was a revelation. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Would you have kept it if I had?"

I felt like the worst person on earth. "I ..."

He looked out at the park. "I didn't want to believe what you said about how you were treated at Longbourn. But after our conversation in the bookstore, I started paying attention. It seems ridiculous that it wasn't something that I'd noticed before. I'd genuinely thought Cat accidentally spilled her coffee on you. I guess it's easy to ignore something you don't have to experience. And when I truly looked, I was so horrified to see what you went through. And when your coat was stolen ... well, I wanted to do something to help, but knew you wouldn't accept it."

"How can you be so thoughtful to someone who has been so unkind?"

Will opened his mouth to speak, but we were interrupted.

"Will?" Georgiana came out onto the roof. "Did you ask?" she said meekly as she leaned against his arm.

He nodded. Georgiana looked like she was going to explode from happiness.

"Can we come tomorrow?" she asked.

"Georgie ..." Darcy elbowed her gently. "Be polite."

"No, it's fine," I said. "Tomorrow works. You know what? You should take the ferry over. It's really pretty although it's ... actually, nothing. The ferry would be fun."

I almost mentioned that the ferry was nearly four times more expensive than the train or bus to Hoboken, but realized that it probably wouldn't be an issue for them.

After we figured out our plans for the next day, we said our good-byes. I still had trouble speaking to his mother, Claudia Reynolds, and tried my best to not completely gush again at her brilliance.

As Mom and I headed to Port Authority to get the bus home, she grabbed my hand, like she used to do when I was little and we were visiting Manhattan.

"Elizabeth, that was such an amazing evening. That Will is charming and very handsome. Why haven't you mentioned him before?"

I tried to not laugh as I certainly had mentioned Will several times to my mother, but never by his proper name. Instead she'd heard the many names I'd given him, like "vile human being" and "pompous jerk."

Now I lied. "I didn't really know him that well -- at least, not as well as I do now."

It was only later, as I sat with that thought, that I realized that it wasn't really a lie, after all. It was the absolute truth.

Twenty-Five

I WAS EXTREMELY ANXIOUS THE NEXT DAY AS I WATCHED THE ferry carrying Darcy and Georgiana dock at the 14th Street pier in Hoboken.

Our greeting was a little awkward. I received a big hug from Georgiana, but when Darcy and I looked at each other, it wasn't clear whether we should shake hands, hug, or something else. So we simply nodded at each other. I'm pretty sure I heard Georgie sigh under her breath.