Chapter 7
Jane could see Charles’s hands shaking as he tried to unlock the door to William’s suite. He finally aligned the key card correctly, and the lock clicked open. Charles stepped aside to let Jane precede him into the suite. She walked into the room and turned on the lights.
The
suite was sumptuously decorated in rich shades of gold and blue. As Jane glanced around the
living room, she wondered with painful irony how closely it resembled the suite that she and
Charles had reserved for their wedding night, but that she would now probably never see. She
raised her eyes to meet Charles’s imploring gaze and took a deep, measured breath, praying
for the courage to do what she knew she had to do.
Before she could say anything, Charles took both her hands in his. With great remorse, he said, “I’m so sorry. I know I should have told you the truth. But I was afraid I’d lose you, and I couldn’t bear that.”
She shook her head sadly. “But, Charles, your dishonesty shows a total lack of respect for me.”
“That’s not true, sweetheart! I just hated to think about the pre-nup. I didn’t want to upset you by making you think I expected us to split up, or that I would ever try to leave you penniless, no matter what.”
She pulled her hands out of his grasp. “Have you forgotten that I’m an attorney? And not just any attorney, but one who specializes in family law? How could you imagine that I wouldn’t understand? Your father was absolutely right to insist on a pre-nup to protect his company’s assets, and I don’t blame him for being angry that it wasn’t signed.”
“Then you’ll sign it?” he asked, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
“I’m sure I would, if I had time to read it first, and to ask a friend of mine who has written quite a few of these agreements to take a quick look at it. But your father expects me to sign it immediately, tonight. So, no, I won’t sign it—not on your father’s terms, anyway. Besides, we have much bigger problems than that.”
He winced. “You mean the business about moving to LA. Again, I’m so sorry. But I wanted you to be happy.”
“And the way to make me happy was to agree with your father that we’d move there soon, and then lie to me about it?”
“I really thought I could keep buying us time, for a while at least. And I didn’t want you worrying about it.”
“But when we discussed it, we agreed that we were staying in San Francisco, that we were happy here. We even bought a house.”
“I thought we could stay here for at least a few years, but I guess I was being unrealistic. I should have told you about needing to go to LA. I realize that now. But why is it so hard to understand that he needs me there? Our company is headquartered in LA. If I’m going to run the company some day, can’t you see that I need to live there?”
“Yes, I can see that. But do you want to run the company? From what I’ve seen you’re miserable in your job.”
“I wouldn’t say miserable, exactly.”
“But I think you are,” Jane said gently. “You almost never talk about work, and when you do, you sound unhappy and bored. You’re always looking for reasons to get out of the office, and you’re usually so tense when you get home from work. It makes me so sad to see what it does to you. I’ve wanted to say something about it before, but … well, I didn’t want to dwell on something that’s unpleasant for you.”
Charles sighed, his shoulders slumping. “You’re right. I hate my job. But I’m his only son, and it’s his company. And some day it will be mine. What am I supposed to do?”
She took his hand in both of hers and looked intently into his eyes, speaking as persuasively as she could. “Let Caroline take your place. She loves the business and desperately wants to run it. You’d be happier, and so would she.”
“Father insists that as his son, I have to take responsibility.”
“I’m sure he’d adjust eventually, especially if Caroline did a good job. And I think she would. I’ve been thinking about this ever since we went to LA last month, and I really believe it would work out best for everyone.”
Charles was silent for a moment, uncertainty in his eyes, and then he stepped away from her. “No, he’d never consider it, and I can’t disappoint him that way. Come on, sweetheart, just agree to Father’s terms and everything will work out fine. Plenty of people hate their jobs. At least I’ll have you to come home to. And LA isn’t a bad place—the weather’s great, and we can go to the beach whenever we want. We won’t really have to live with them. We’ll get our own place, and we’ll make our own choices.”
Jane was losing hope, but she forced herself to remain calm. “I’m sorry, but I don’t believe you. Where your father is concerned, you have no will of your own. That’s what bothers me about moving to Los Angeles. He’d have even more control over you then.”
“I admit that Father’s very strong-willed. But he’s the head of the family, and he’s very smart. He built his company from nothing. He’s accomplished things that most men only dream of, and he deserves my loyalty.”
“Loyalty, yes. But do you owe him your free will? You’re 32 years old. Shouldn’t you be allowed to make some decisions for yourself?”
“So if you had a disagreement with your parents, you’d just walk away from them? That’s what you seem to expect me to do.”
Jane’s voice rose in pitch, and she fought back tears. “This is more than a disagreement. Your father controls your every action. With you in San Francisco, he can only control you at work. From what little you’ve told me, and from what I’ve heard from Caroline, he watches every decision you make and second-guesses everything, and half the time he countermands your instructions. He might as well be doing the job himself. It’s no wonder you hate it there—he makes you feel incompetent.”
He pressed his lips together tightly, his face flushed. “I’m not under his control,” he muttered. He crossed the room and stood looking out a window, his back to her.
“I think you are, and it breaks my heart to see it. I’ve wanted to talk to you about this before; I know I should have. But I’ve kept putting it off. I suppose that was a mistake.”
He turned to stare at her. “Besides, you tell me that I should make my own decisions. If I want to be close to my father and make him proud of me, shouldn’t that be my choice too? Why do I have to choose between the two of you?”
“But I think you’re obeying him out of fear, not because it’s what you really want.”
“That’s not true! I’m not afraid of him!”
“I think you are. When we were in LA last month, you became an entirely different man. You turned into a pale, quiet shadow. You let your father say terrible things to me. In fact, you did it again out in the courtyard just now. You never intervened, never defended me, never even tried to help me to explain things to him. You just stood there and said nothing.” Tears ran down her cheeks, and she continued in a broken whisper. “I lost so much respect for you that weekend in LA, and that’s why I broke the engagement back then.”
He covered the distance between them quickly and drew her into his arms, an expression of heartfelt regret on his face. “I know, sweetheart. But I thought we had put that behind us.”
Her eyes brimmed with pain. This was even harder than she had feared. “Yes, because I thought you’d had an honest conversation with your father and established new ground rules. But now I know it was all a lie. Charles, I can’t spend my life with a man I don’t respect.” Tears continued to flow down her cheeks, and she tried to stifle her sobs. “This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, but—”
A loud knock at the door interrupted her. “Ignore it,” he whispered. “They’ll go away.”
“Charles, Jane, it’s me,” Caroline trilled through the door. “Daddy sent me over with a faxed copy of the pre-nup.”
Charles reluctantly answered the door. Caroline bustled into the room, blithely ignoring the tense atmosphere as she handed several sheets of paper to Jane. “Here’s the pre-nup. Be sure you read it carefully. There are some conditions that you’ll probably need to think very hard about. I had no idea Daddy had asked the lawyers to write it that way.” Caroline stood between Jane and Charles, looking back and forth expectantly, as though she were a spectator at Wimbledon wondering which player had the tennis ball. An awkward silence fell over the trio.
“Thank you for bringing this. And I appreciate the warning—it’s very thoughtful of you to be concerned about my welfare. But could you excuse us now? We’re in the middle of an important conversation,” Jane spoke politely but firmly.
“Oh of course, I wouldn’t dream of intruding. But may I just use the bathroom first?” Caroline’s eyes fastened avidly on the door to William’s bedroom, through which she would have to pass to reach the bathroom.
Charles took her by the arm. “I think it would be better if you went back to Father’s suite instead. We wouldn’t want to invade William’s privacy, would we?”
“Oh, no, of course not, but …” Her voice trailed off as Charles firmly escorted her to the door. Jane felt a glimmer of amusement through her pain when she saw Caroline gazing at the bedroom door with almost palpable longing.
Caroline turned to leave, remarking, “I just wanted you to know that I’m rooting for you two lovebirds! I’m so sorry that this happened. I feel as though it’s all my fault, for accidentally discovering what had happened.”
Jane shook her head. “No, it wasn’t your fault. You’ve been kind to me and I appreciate it.”
Caroline beamed and opened the door. “Charles, be sure you do everything you can to hold on to your wonderful fiancée!”
He closed the door behind his sister and walked over to Jane, drawing her into his arms. “Sweetheart, I promise, we’ll work everything out after the honeymoon. Father is just really angry with me right now. And he has a right to be, just like you do. I lied to both of you.”
“Yes, but—”
“I bet if we agree to his conditions now, and show him respect, he’ll have cooled down by the time we get back from the honeymoon. He’ll be feeling more reasonable then, and I bet he’ll let us stay in San Francisco for a while.”
“Charles, no,—”
“So come on, sweetheart, sign the pre-nup, and I’ll see if the Bridal Suite is available tonight. How about a nice warm bath for two, some champagne and strawberries … and I’ll devote myself to making everything up to you. My hands and mouth and any other part of me you might find interesting are at your disposal, solely for your pleasure. Doesn’t that sound perfect?” He trailed a path of kisses along her neck in an attempt to coax the tension out of her body.
Jane tried to ignore the comforting feeling of being in his arms. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she said, “You don’t seem to understand. I’m not going to spend tonight with you. In fact—”
“Oh, right, I forgot. I can’t see the bride on the wedding day. Plus, you probably want to be with Lizzy on your last night of singlehood. Okay, I suppose I can wait till tomorrow to get you alone in the Bridal Suite.” His words suggested that he didn’t understand her; however, the frantic look in his eye and the tension in his voice indicated otherwise.
“No, Charles. That’s not what I meant.”
His face crumbled. “I told you, sweetheart, Father will change his mind when he’s not so angry. Please believe me.”
Jane pulled reluctantly out of his arms. “This isn’t about your father’s ultimatum, not really. It’s about the fact that you lied to me, and that you’re completely unwilling to stand up for me, or for us, or even for yourself, where your father is involved. I love you, but I don’t respect you anymore, and I can’t marry you. Not now, anyway. We have to call off the wedding.”
“But you know I can’t live without you!”
She grasped his forearms and gazed intently into his eyes, making one final attempt to reach him. “Then go with me to your father right now. We’ll tell him that I’ll sign the pre-nup tomorrow before the wedding, but not tonight, because I need more time to review it.”
“Okay. If it means I don’t lose you, I can do that. And I think he might understand why you need the extra time. After all, I’m the one who screwed up, not you.”
She took a deep breath. “And we’ll also tell him that you need to take a leave of absence from the company for a year or so. Caroline can take over for you temporarily, and you can look for a different sort of job and try to figure out what you’d really like to be doing. And then if you decide that you want to work for your father after all, we’ll move to LA.”
Charles blanched at the suggestion. “He’d never agree to that.”
“We’ll never know till we try.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but I can’t do that. He’d be terribly upset by the suggestion that I don’t want to work with him. Things would just get worse after that.”
“What’s the worst that could happen?”
“He could cut me off without a penny, like he threatened to do earlier.”
“But we don’t need all that money. I have my law practice, and you have an MBA plus your experience working for your father. You must have lots of contacts, so I’m sure you’d have no trouble finding a good job.”
He thought for a moment, but then shook his head. “I’m sorry. I just … I can’t do it.”
“You won’t even suggest this to him?”
“No. I’m sorry, sweetheart.” His voice was clogged with emotion. “I can’t disappoint him that way.”
Jane wiped the tears from her eyes and took a deep breath. “Then I have to say goodbye.”
“No, I can’t let you do that!”
Her heart broke as she watched a tear roll slowly down his cheek. She longed to kiss it away, but instead she squared her shoulders. “I guess everyone was right—we rushed into this marriage without knowing each other well enough.”
He brushed away the tear before it reached his jaw. “I love you, and that’s all I need to know.”
She shook her head, her heart weeping for both of them. “No, it’s not. You need to think about what you really want from your life. If you want to be your father’s shadow, then move back to LA. But I hope you won’t do that, because I’d hate to see you sacrifice your soul to that bitter, cruel man.”
“That’s my father you’re talking about. I know he’s difficult, but he’s still my father.”
“I’m sorry. I know you love him, and that you want him to love you. But you’re such a kind, wonderful man. You’re a son most fathers would be proud of, yet yours treats you with contempt. You deserve better, and I hope some day you realize that.”
He stepped toward her and took her in his arms. “Then stay with me and help me. I love you.”
The tears she had conquered began to swim in her eyes again. She stroked his cheek and kissed him gently. “And I love you. But as things are, I can’t be with you.”
She hated seeing the hurt in his eyes. “It’s not like you to be so inflexible.”
She stepped away him. “Is that what you thought? That I’m so pliable that over time I’d learn to bend to your father’s will? I avoid unpleasantness, it’s true. And I’m willing to do quite a lot to make the people I love happy. But I respect myself too much to let someone else control my life. And I can’t respect others who let that happen either. So I have to say goodbye.”
In contrast to the stormy atmosphere in William’s suite, all was peaceful and serene
in the Club Floor lounge. It was an elegant, comfortable retreat for well-heeled guests occupying
the luxurious rooms and suites on the hotel’s exclusive Club floor. On this evening,
the lights in the room had been turned down low, and a fire crackled in the ornate fireplace,
creating a cozy, inviting atmosphere.
The lounge had only two occupants. William sat on a gold damask sofa. He had chosen to sit there hoping that Elizabeth would share it with him, but she had selected the red overstuffed armchair across from him instead. She had removed her shoes and was curled up in the chair, her eyes closed. He reflected with disappointment that, had she joined him on the sofa, her head might be resting on his shoulder now instead of on the chair back.
He sipped his coffee, a contemplative smile on his face as he watched her sleep. Oddly enough, despite his long day and his exhaustion earlier in the evening, he was alert and awake now. He felt as though he were standing guard over Elizabeth while she slept, and it pleased him on some deep, primal level.
Although it was late, the city was not entirely asleep. A truck backfired in the street nearby. Elizabeth stirred and opened her eyes. She blinked and yawned, smiling self-consciously when she saw William watching her.
“I’m sorry—did I fall asleep? I didn’t mean to,” she murmured, her voice husky, her eyes still only half open.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said quietly. “This has been a very long day—you probably needed a nap.”
She rubbed her neck and stretched her arms, sighing. “And it’s not over yet. No word from Jane and Charles?”
“Nothing. I don’t know if that’s a good sign or a bad one.”
“I hope they can work things out, but I just don’t know.”
William took a deep breath. There was something he’d been waiting to say. “Elizabeth?”
She looked at him, eyebrows raised, and silently waited for him to continue.
“About what happened earlier.”
“You mean—”
“When we were out in the courtyard together. I should apologize.”
She glanced down at her hands, which were folded in her lap. “There’s no need to apologize. You didn’t do anything that I objected to.”
A hint of a smile touched his lips at her admission, but she had misunderstood him. “I wasn’t apologizing for … for anything that happened when we were alone. My only regret on that score is that we didn’t get the chance to finish what we started.”
“We finished our dance,” she said with a ghost of a smile.
“That’s not what I meant, and I think you know it,” he answered, his voice deep and caressing.
For a moment their eyes locked, and William felt the now-familiar wave of desire that Elizabeth so easily provoked in him. He wished again that she had joined him on the sofa. Had she been sitting beside him, he would have reached for her, gathered her into his arms, and tasted her enticing lips at last. But the distance between them felt too large to bridge, especially after she looked away from him, staring at her hands again.
He continued with his apology. “What I meant was that I’m very sorry that Caroline Bingley was so rude to you.”
“That wasn’t your fault.”
“Indirectly, it was, I’m afraid. Caroline and I have known each other for a long time, and she—well, if you’ll forgive the immodesty, she’s somewhat attracted to me.”
“From what I’ve seen, that’s quite an understatement.” Elizabeth paused and then asked, “So are you two—”
William shuddered. It bothered him that this thought had even crossed her mind. “Absolutely not. There’s nothing between us, except in Caroline’s imagination. In fact, I think this is the first time I’ve seen her in a few years. But she’s always been very difficult to discourage, and today that’s been particularly true for some reason.”
“Maybe the wedding atmosphere encouraged her.”
“Actually, I think it was for another reason.” He silently berated himself for inadvertently voicing his appreciation of Elizabeth’s “fine eyes.” In doing so, he had alerted Caroline to his interest in Elizabeth and had undoubtedly goaded her into intensifying her unwanted attentions. “I suppose if I were openly confrontational, I could get my point across, but I haven’t wanted to embarrass Charles that way, especially not today during the wedding festivities. But I’ve reached the end of my patience with her.”
“That must be very annoying. I’ve dealt with guys who didn’t want to take ‘no’ for an answer, but I get the feeling that Caroline would make them look like rank amateurs.”
William’s stomach clenched at the thought of men attempting to force their unwanted attentions on Elizabeth. “Anyway, she was rude to you because she saw us … dancing … together. She was trying to protect what she imagines, for some unfathomable reason, to be her turf. So I am the reason that she was rude to you. I’m very sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. You can’t help it if you’re irresistible.” She colored and quickly added, “To her, I mean.”
He suppressed a pleased smile.“Anyway, I wanted you to understand about her, and to know that she’s not part of my life.”
“I suppose she came looking for you to tell you about the pre-nuptial agreement?”
He nodded reluctantly. It annoyed him that Caroline had manipulated him into talking to Charles at a time when she could “accidentally” bring Mr. Bingley out to overhear the conversation.
Elizabeth glanced at a clock in the corner. “Goodness, it’s late. With everything that’s happened, are you still planning on going for a run in the morning?”
“I hope so. I try not to miss two days in a row, and I didn’t get any exercise today. But after a late night like this, I probably won’t go out too early. Will there still be fog by about nine o’clock, do you think?”
“Where did you say you wanted to run?”
“Somewhere down by the bay, maybe?”
“It’s hard to predict weather conditions here, but on warm days at this time of year the fog usually burns off pretty early—at least in that part of town. You might get to see the Golden Gate Bridge fogged in, though.”
“I’d like to see that.” William had only seen this particular phenomenon in photographs.
“It’s an amazing sight. And you know where you should go to run? Crissy Field in the Presidio. It’s down by the waterfront—they converted an old Army airfield into a recreational area. I haven’t been there yet but I’ve heard it’s beautiful. There’s just one thing.”
“Yes?”
“Well, driving around the Presidio confuses me, so I usually take the bus down there. I’ve gotten totally confused and wound up on the Golden Gate Bridge more than once trying to find my way around. But I suppose it goes without saying that you wouldn’t even consider taking public transportation and leaving the Z3 at the hotel,” she teased, an impudent light in her eyes.
He grinned smugly. “Oh, I think I can find my way around. I have an excellent sense of direction. And I’ll get a map from the concierge in the morning.”
“Well, in that case, I’d recommend that you park by Crissy Field. You can run there, or head west along the Golden Gate Promenade toward Fort Point—it’s an old fort right at the foot of the bridge. Or you could go east toward Marina Green. You’ll be right along the bay, and the views are gorgeous.”
“That sounds like an excellent plan. Thank you.” William felt a twinge of guilt that he was enjoying himself while his friend’s world was undoubtedly falling apart. Still, there was nothing he could do for Charles at the moment.
“You’re welcome. I’m not a runner, but I love going for walks, especially here.”
Noting the enthusiasm in her voice, he asked, “Do you prefer San Francisco to New York?”
“I like New York, but San Francisco is in my blood and I can always feel it calling me back.”
“And I understand that you have a job interview for a teaching position at Pacific Conservatory starting in the fall?”
“Yes. It sounds like a good opportunity, and it would be a chance to move back home. And considering the current situation, it would be especially good to be here for Jane’s sake. But my chances aren’t very good—I understand that there are several other candidates, and I have relatively little teaching experience.”
William smiled in satisfaction at this chance to win her gratitude. “You know, Catherine de Bourgh, the dean, is—”
They heard a door shut with a loud “thump”, and then Charles’s voice in the hallway. “Jane, please come back here! You can’t leave me!”
Elizabeth and William exchanged a worried glance and both stood up. As they did, Jane walked into the lounge.
“Are you ready to go, Lizzy?” Jane asked. Her voice was calm; however, Elizabeth saw the pain in her eyes.
Charles rushed into the lounge. “Jane, wait.”
Jane turned to Charles. “We’ve already been through this, and we don’t want to embarrass William and Lizzy by airing our private concerns.”
“I’m about to lose you, and you’re worried about decorum? Jane, please, don’t go. You can’t end it like this! I love you! We’ll work out the rest, I promise.”
Jane paused for a long moment, facing Elizabeth, her back to Charles and William. Elizabeth saw the agony in Jane’s eyes; however, Jane composed herself before she turned back to Charles.
“Are you saying that you’ve changed your mind and you’re willing to try to negotiate a compromise with your father?” Elizabeth was astonished by Jane’s calm self-possession, and suspected that she was drawing on skills she had learned in the courtroom.
“I wish I could, but as I told you, he’d never agree. We have no choice but to agree to his terms.”
“Then I’m very sorry, Charles, but I can’t marry you.” Jane turned to Elizabeth. “Please, can we go now?”
“Of course,” Elizabeth answered, grabbing her purse. She exchanged a brief look with William, regretting that there was no opportunity to say even a quick farewell to him, and hurried after Jane, who was already out the door of the lounge.
As they waited for an elevator, Elizabeth heard Charles’s loud voice coming from the lounge, followed by William’s response in a deeper tone, but she couldn’t understand their words. An elevator arrived, and they stepped on board. As soon as the elevator doors closed, tears began to run down Jane’s cheeks. “Please get me out of here, Lizzy,” she begged.
Elizabeth embraced her weeping sister, her own eyes wet with tears. “I’m here, Jane. I’ll take care of you.”
“The manager didn’t leave you a complimentary bottle of scotch? What kind of dump is this?” Charles was ransacking the bar area of William’s suite, in search of a liquid remedy for his pain.
William sighed. “Why don’t we sit down and talk about it.”
“I don’t want to talk. I want to get drunk. Very drunk.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Alcohol is—”
“Alcohol is the only thing that’s going to make me feel better right now. So do I have to leave here and go down to the bar, or are you going to call room service and order a bottle of scotch and two glasses—or one, if you’re going to make me drink alone?”
“Charles, really—”
“Okay, fine. I’ll see you later.” Charles got to his feet and headed for the door.
“No, wait. I’m calling them now.” Getting drunk was only going to make Charles feel worse, but if he was determined to do it, he would be much safer in the living room of the suite than roaming around on his own. William called room service and placed the order.
Charles collapsed in a chair, burying his head in his hands. “Oh, God, Will, I’ve made such a terrible mess of my life.”
“I’m sure things will work out in the end. You’ve made some mistakes, but you’ve been in a very tough situation. Your father is a difficult man to deal with.”
“According to Jane, the problem is me, not my father.” Charles’s face was a tortured mask. “She said that I was weak and pathetic, that I didn’t deserve anyone’s respect.”
William frowned. That didn’t sound like the warm, gentle Jane he had encountered earlier in the day. Still, he had seen with his own eyes how chilly and distant she had been when she returned to the lounge. It seemed strange that a woman who had just broken an engagement with a man she supposedly loved would be so calm and unemotional, and he began to wonder about Jane’s true nature. “What did she say about the pre-nup?” he asked.
“Refused to sign it.”
William raised his eyebrows. He thought back to Mrs. Bennet’s conversation with Mrs. Phillips:“Jane’s a lucky girl.” “No, she’s a smart girl. I taught her well.” The picture of Jane that was emerging suggested that she might be primarily interested in Charles for his money, as he had feared all along. Still, even with a pre-nuptial agreement, anyone marrying Charles Bingley would never be poor. So wouldn’t she have signed it and gone ahead with the wedding? William wasn’t sure what to think.
A waiter arrived with the bottle of scotch. William poured two drinks. He wasn’t particularly fond of scotch and didn’t intend to drink much, but he suspected that Charles would take offense if he didn’t at least pretend to drink with him. Kicking off his shoes, he sat down across from his friend. “What was Jane talking about when she mentioned negotiating with your father? What did she want to negotiate?”
Charles drained his glass and stood up to refill it. “I told you, I don’t want to talk. I want to drink.”
William sighed and settled back into his chair. It was going to be a long night.
Elizabeth crept out of Jane’s bedroom with a sigh of relief. Jane was finally asleep. It had been a long, painful evening for both of them. Jane had shared an account of her conversation with Charles, finally surrendering to the agonized sobs that she had struggled to suppress earlier. Finally, Elizabeth had coaxed her emotionally depleted sister into lying down. Despite Jane’s insistence that she would be unable to sleep, she had drifted into slumber a few minutes ago.
The spare bedroom was just across the hall. Elizabeth dropped her new dress at the foot of the bed and unzipped a side pocket of her suitcase, rooting through until she found the knee-length tee shirt in which she slept. She was surprised that she had picked the correct pocket on the first try. The suitcase had been a gift from Jane when Elizabeth had toured with Les Miserables a few years ago. Consistent with Jane’s hyper-organized self, the suitcase had at least five different pockets, but Elizabeth usually found herself packing items in randomly-selected pockets with no particular logic.
After changing into the tee shirt, Elizabeth padded into the bathroom to brush her teeth. Once there, she inspected her reflection in the mirror. Her hair had survived the evening surprisingly well. She reached up and captured a curl, watching absently in the mirror as she twisted it around her fingers, recalling the gentle touch of William’s hands in her hair.
I wonder what would have happened if Caroline hadn’t shown up right then? She shivered, remembering the warmth in William’s eyes in the lounge when he had told her that he regretted not finishing what they had started. She had half expected him to pull her out of her chair and into his arms at that moment. And I doubt I would have had the strength to resist if he had. She ran a finger along her lips, wondering what his mouth would have felt like on hers.
The phone rang, and she jumped, startled. She dashed to the kitchen to answer it, hoping that the sound had not awakened Jane.
“Hello?”
“It’s Charlotte.”
“Oh, hi, Char.”
“Sorry to call so late.”
Elizabeth glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall. It was 2:30 am. “It’s okay. I was still up. So, did you score a hat trick?”
Charlotte’s laugh was low and throaty. “You might say that. I was very thoroughly Rogered tonight.”
Elizabeth snickered. “Well, at least somebody had some fun.”
“So tell me, what happened?”
“Jane cancelled the wedding.”
“Oh, no, Liz, I’m so sorry.”
Elizabeth felt tears coming to her eyes again. “She’s so torn up about it. But I don’t blame her at all.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
Elizabeth thought for a moment. “Yes. Come to Jane’s place in the morning and bring your cell phone. We have a lot of calls to make to let everybody know the wedding is off.”
“I’ll do that. How is your mother taking it?”
“We’re going to wait and tell her in the morning when she gets here. It was so late by the time we got back here, and we just couldn’t handle another messy scene tonight. We left a message at the hotel for Uncle Edward and Aunt Madeline. We’re hoping they’ll pick it up first thing in the morning and we can get them here before Mom arrives. They’re really good at calming her down.”
“Any chance Jane will change her mind by morning?”
“I don’t think so,” Elizabeth replied. “Not unless Charles reconsiders his position. That’s what I’m hoping for. He wasn’t willing to stand up to his father at all. Maybe after a night of thinking about it, he’ll change his mind. I don’t think he really believed she’d break up with him.”
“Well, I’m very sorry about all of this. I know she’s crazy about him in spite of everything, though she deserves a man with some cojoñes.”
“Yes, she does. I just hope he figures it out and grows some.”
“Well, I’ll let you get some sleep. Oh, and by the way, I need to stop at home in the morning to change my clothes. So you won’t see me too early. Just call me on my cell if you need anything before I get there.”
“Okay, Char. Goodnight.”
Elizabeth hung up the phone and tiptoed down the hall to Jane’s bedroom, peeking in at her. Evidently the phone hadn’t awakened her. With a satisfied nod, Elizabeth returned to her bedroom and climbed into bed. Fatigue overtook her quickly, and she fell asleep thinking about a pair of intense brown eyes.
Copyright © 2006 by the author
Last updated
September 23, 2006