Prom and Prejudice

"Lizzie, how could you? Will Darcy, of all people. You even said yourself that he's a spoiled snob, right?"

I froze, horrified that Darcy had heard it, and repulsed with myself for not only thinking that of him, but saying that to Wick.

Wick approached me. "He thinks he's so much better than us."

"Don't lump me in with you."

"So you finally learned what I've been trying to tell you. These people aren't really worth anything, except what you can get from them. The funny thing, Will's sister wasn't even worth it." He chuckled slightly.

Something in me snapped. I stood there and watched this horrible person make fun of taking advantage of Darcy's sister.

He grabbed my arm. "I knew it was only a matter of time before you saw things my way. Don't stand here and pretend that you're better than me. You want in on the game, too, don't you? You know that it's not enough to play the piano. You're at Longbourn because you want to play the best pianos in the best places. That's nothing to be ashamed of. But you're fooling yourself if you think that you can get by on talent alone. You need connections. Talent and connections. You've got the talent part, but do you have it in you to get those connections, no matter the cost?"

I pushed his arm away from me.

Wick leaned in and whispered in my ear, "Don't be naive. You and I are cut from the same cloth."

"Leave her alone!" Darcy came over to intervene, but before I even realized what I was doing, my fist came in direct contact with Wick's face.

Wick fell to the floor and pain surged in my right hand.

Darcy's eyes were wide as he stood over Wick's unconscious body.

"Ow!" I held my throbbing hand. Darcy quickly ran over to the kitchen area and put some ice in a towel.

I'd never hit anybody in my entire life. I'd never even really thought about it. Certainly, I felt the urge my first few weeks at Longbourn, but I never thought I would actually do it.

Darcy took my hand in his and applied ice to the place of impact.

Mr. Meryton knelt down near Wick to check the extent of his injuries. He looked up and finally spoke. "Darcy" -- he nodded toward me -- "I like this one."

Twenty-Seven

WHILE MR. MERYTON WAITED FOR WICK TO WAKE UP, Darcy took me to his suite to see Jane and Lydia.

Jane was in the bathroom making Lydia take a shower. Darcy went into the kitchen and started to brew some coffee.

"How did you get this room?" I looked around at the gorgeous hotel suite that took up nearly the entire top floor. I sat down on one of the large plush couches in the living room area that faced the floor-length windows with a magnificent view of the Empire State Building. I was thankful to have something to distract me from the throbbing pain in my hand.

Darcy shrugged. "We needed a key to get upstairs, and this was the only room they had available. How's your hand?" He came over, unwrapped the towel, and gently examined my hand.

"That was stupid. I don't know what came over me."

"George Wickham -- that's what came over you."

"Darcy, I'm so sorry."

"You don't have to keep apologizing." He took another towel and ran it under cold water. "Not that I didn't enjoy the spectacle, but you have to be careful with your hands, Lizzie." I hadn't even thought about how my little violent outburst would affect my playing. Darcy carefully wrapped the towel around my hand.

"Thank you."

He nodded.

"No, thank you for helping. I don't know what we would have done without you, truly."

He looked sad at my comment. "I guess I did hide behind my money today."

"What are you talking about?"

"The room? Mr. Meryton? I guess you were right about me after all."

I grabbed one of his hands with my good hand. He looked shocked. "What you did was thoughtful and kind. And I, I ..." The words got caught in my throat.

The bathroom door opened and Jane emerged, escorting a bathrobed Lydia by the arm. "You are going to sleep this off, and I will try to think of how to explain this all to Mom and Dad." She dragged Lydia to the bedroom and put her to bed.

When Jane returned to us in the living room, she was clearly rattled and exhausted.

"What happened?" she asked when she saw my hand.

"Oh, nothing." I was completely embarrassed by my behavior.

"Darcy, how can you be laughing?" Jane scolded him.

I turned around and saw that Darcy was indeed laughing. "I'm sorry, Jane. I am, but ..." He turned to me. "Do you want to tell her or shall I?"

I was horrified that my reputation was about to get worse. I couldn't tell if it would be better to be known as a bruiser than a charity case. But then maybe people would think twice about messing with me....

Jane eyed us both suspiciously. I shrugged.

"It seems as if Miss Elizabeth Bennet has been hiding one of her many talents from us," Darcy said. "One that, I might add, I really wish I had known about earlier, as I would have approached things in a very different way."

"What?" Jane shook her head in confusion.

"I punched Wick," I admitted.

"She knocked him out," Darcy added.