Текст книги "Prom and Prejudice"

Автор книги: Elizabeth Eulberg

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Eleven

I CAME CLEAN TO JANE THE NEXT EVENING AT DINNER. IT should've been suspected that when I relayed Wick's story to her, she didn't share in my disgust at Darcy's actions.

"George Wickham, Lizzie? I haven't heard good things about him." Jane looked worried.

"There's a surprise."

"I'm sure there has to be an explanation for all of this. First, Darcy wouldn't do something like that. Second, Charles would never have a friend who was so despicable. It's probably just a simple misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?" I was astonished. "Why is it that I'm always misunderstanding something? How could someone misunderstand being expelled from school without just cause? Didn't you hear anything about it last year?"

Jane looked thoughtful. "I do remember he got kicked out, and that Charles knew him, but it wasn't something Charles talked to me about."

I couldn't believe that someone getting kicked out of Pemberley wouldn't be gossip du jour at Longbourn.

Jane continued. "I'll ask Charles and see what he has to say. But, Lizzie, just be careful. And please give Darcy a chance to explain his side. You have him painted as this maniacal villain, and it couldn't be further from the truth."

"You're just saying that because Darcy being a vengeful loon would reflect poorly on Charles."

Jane ignored me and cut up her salmon.

Our silence lasted only a moment, until Lydia stormed over to our table and dropped down her overflowing tray. "Jane, I just spoke with Mommy and she said she talked to Vera about your prom dress."

Jane looked around the dining hall. "Shh, Lydia. I haven't been asked to prom yet. Keep it down."

Lydia grunted. "Please, Jane. Anyway, Mommy said that you have an appointment with Vera when we go home over Presidents' Day weekend, and then you'll have your fitting over spring break. Vera – aren't you just dying?"

I believed Jane was dying, but from embarrassment of her brash sister. Lydia shoved several French fries in her mouth and asked, "Where are you going to get your dress, Lizzie?"

"Well, I highly doubt I'll be going to prom. I guess if I go, I'll probably just get it at Macy's or something."

Lydia's jaw dropped open. "You can't do that! It's prom!"

I took a deep, calming breath. "I know, but it's just one night and I really think it's silly to spend thousands of dollars on a dress you only wear once." I turned to Jane. "No offense."

"None taken," she replied. "Lydia, you really need to learn to be more modest. Not everybody is lucky enough to have connections with designers."

Lydia snorted. "Please! This school is all about connections. But I haven't told you everything yet. Mommy said that we can't go anywhere over spring break this year. Can you believe that? She said that since Daddy hasn't gotten a job yet, we shouldn't go galloping through Europe."

"I'm sure she said gallivanting through Europe, and I agree with Mom, Lydia. We're going to have to start making some ... sacrifices." Jane looked uncomfortably at me. She knew that their sacrifices would be of the business-instead of first-class variety.

"That's so not fair!" Lydia pouted. "It isn't our fault that Daddy's business was sold. Why do we have to be punished?"

"Lydia!" Jane exclaimed. "Enough! You sound like a spoiled brat. You should feel lucky that Dad got a nice severance package or we'd be out on the street. I don't want to hear another word about this." Jane got up from the table, and I joined her. How they both came from the same family, I would never understand.

Jane put her tray on the conveyer belt. "I'm really sorry about that, Lizzie. She was always very hyper and into materialistic things, but being here has made her worse. I don't know what I'm going to do with her." She looked behind her to make sure Lydia wasn't in earshot. "I haven't told her yet about the party on Saturday. Charles told me to invite her, but ..."

I understood. Lydia could be a little too much at times.

"You're still coming, right?" Jane asked. "It should be fun."

We'd had variations of this conversation so many times before, with Jane telling me something would be fun and it turning into a headache for me.

"Of course," I told her as I always did.

I was, after all, excited about this party. Just not for the reasons Jane thought. I didn't want to tell her it was because there would be some unexpected guests. I should've felt some remorse, since Charles had been nothing but kind to me. But my desire to spend more time with Wick eclipsed any feeling of betrayal I had.

Twelve

JANE, BEING JANE, ENDED UP INVITING LYDIA TO CHARLES'S party. It was either because she is perhaps the greatest (and most forgiving) older sister on the planet, or because she was in especially good spirits, since Charles had asked her out on a date for Sunday. That would make two nights in a row they would spend together.

Maybe Jane's mother had been right in giving her old friend Vera a call.

Nothing could ruin Jane's mood, and because I was going to be seeing Wick, nothing could ruin my mood, either. For the first time since I'd arrived at Longbourn, I was genuinely excited to be getting ready for a party.

I spent the majority of Saturday going through Jane's closet, trying to figure out what to wear. I didn't want to wear anything that screamed expensive, since I didn't want Wick to think I was like every other girl at Longbourn. But I did want to look nice for him.

Jane studied herself in the mirror while I debated between which earrings to wear with the jeans and gray, fitted cashmere sweater I'd borrowed.

Lydia came barging in. "My first upperclassman party! I am so excited. Freshman boys are, like, so childish."

Jane studied her sister with wide eyes. Lydia was wearing a very short skirt and had enough makeup on to put a circus performer to shame. Jane grabbed a tissue and started wiping Lydia's face.

"Jane, stop it!" Lydia protested.

Jane was not deterred. "Lydia, you shouldn't cover up your natural beauty."

My hand paused as I was putting on another coat of mascara. Since she hadn't been talking to me, I continued. But a little more lightly than before.

"Now, remember what we talked about." Jane sat down next to Lydia, who nodded.

Jane had only allowed Lydia to come after Lydia agreed she wouldn't talk about money or prom dresses.

"Are we ready?" Jane asked as she studied herself in the mirror one last time. I think she was asking herself more than us. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

We arrived at a large private room at one of the upscale restaurants in town that catered to the faculty, students, and parents of Longbourn and Pemberley. It was a beautiful space, filled with oversize couches, a large window overlooking the river, candles, and a slightly elevated stage where some students were already dancing.

I scanned the room for Wick, but couldn't see him anywhere.

"Who are you looking for?" Jane asked when she caught me surveying the crowd.

"Just having a look around. I want to make sure there aren't any traps."

Jane grimaced.

"Only joking!" I said. I felt my phone vibrate and saw that Wick had sent me a text. "Oh."

"What's wrong?"

My heart sank. "Oh, nothing. Nothing at all."

Wick wasn't coming. He said that he really wanted to, but thought it would be best to avoid a certain gentleman. I glared over at Darcy, who was in a corner with Charles and Caroline.

Any hope I had for a wonderful evening quickly dissolved. Now I was stuck in a room full of people who despised my very existence. Instead of hanging out with Wick, I would have to brace myself for whatever was going to come my way.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Jane looked concerned.

"Yes, fine," I lied. I didn't want to ruin her evening.

A waiter came over with a silver tray filled with wontons and egg rolls.

"Yum." Lydia grabbed a handful of food. "So much better than the crap they serve in the dining hall." She made a disgusted face as she shoved an entire egg roll in her mouth.

Jane sighed.

"Hey!" Charles approached us with a huge smile on his face. "Thanks for coming." He kissed Jane lightly on the cheek before hugging both me and Lydia.

While Jane chose to never see the bad side of people, I sincerely believed that Charles didn't have a bad side. He even put up with Lydia's incessant questions about the party, the food, the private room – I was surprised she didn't ask him to open up his wallet so she could see how much cash he was carrying.

While Lydia played twenty inappropriate questions, I started looking around to see who was there. The standard cash cliques were in their respective groups, but I did catch a few of the Longbourn girls whispering and looking at us. I looked down at my outfit, but realized that I could be dressed head to toe in designer clothing and they'd still look at me with disdain. I was a reminder that there was life outside the precious little bubble they lived in. And I knew that they despised me for many things, but most of all for thriving despite their best efforts to bring me down.

I brought my attention back to my group and could see Jane's eyes getting wider every time Lydia opened her mouth.

"Charlotte's here," I said, nodding toward the door. "And Lydia, they just brought out something that looks like quesadillas."

As I thought she would, Lydia homed in on the server and mercifully left us.

I leaned in closer to Jane and whispered, "Have fun with Charles. I'll keep an eye on Lydia."

Jane smiled gratefully and went over to a group of couches with Charles. I waved Charlotte over, but Colin, mistaking that my enthusiasm was for him, approached as well.

"Hello, Elizabeth," he said. "It is a pleasure to see you here, and dressed in such a pleasing manner. What blend is that fabric?"

"Yeah, uh, nice seeing you as well."

He leaned in and put his hand on the small of my back. "Elizabeth, do you think I could persuade you to join me on the dance floor?"

"Oh, um. Have you met Charlotte Lucas?"

Charlotte and Colin exchanged pleasantries. I was hoping this distraction would keep me from dancing with Colin.

"So, shall we?" Colin motioned toward the platform where a few couples were moving to a slightly slow song.

I couldn't think of a good excuse, so I decided that I may as well get it over with. I walked with Colin to the dance floor and, once there, he awkwardly grabbed my waist and I cautiously lowered my arms around his shoulders. I didn't realize until we were standing there that he was a couple inches shorter than me.

He started to move and stepped on my foot. "Oh, I'm so sorry," he said, staring at our steps as if they were a math problem he could solve.

"That's okay." I started to move back and forth, trying to not make my movements too sudden.

"Well, you certainly are a good dancer."

"Thanks."

"You know, Elizabeth, you can play the piano, dance, are smart enough to get a scholarship and, might I add, make a mean latte. Is there anything you can't do?"

I forced out a laugh. "Oh, you know ..."

"Know what?"

"Sorry?"

"You were saying, you know. What am I supposed to know?" Colin looked at me expectantly. I didn't have anything to say. And I wasn't one hundred percent sure, but I think Colin was under the horrible impression that I was flirting with him.

My back stiffened. "No, nothing. Sorry."

He nodded. "No, no, it should be me who apologizes. I simply misunderstood. It is something that can happen easily, especially when the music is playing at such high decibels."

"That's okay."

"Once again, Elizabeth, you are too gracious."

"Uh, thanks."

"You are more than welcome."

I tried to avoid any more awkward exchanges by pretending I was enthralled by a painting that hung on the wall behind Colin until the song thankfully ended, allowing me an escape from my misery.

"Having fun?" Charlotte laughed as I approached.

"Tons. You?"

She shrugged. "These things have gotten easier for me –" Charlotte bit her lip. She had always felt guilty that the torture she endured became less severe when I'd arrived on campus. I was fresh meat.

She tried to smile. "Plus, the food's good." She held up a miniburger.

"That does look good. I –"

Darcy was suddenly in front of us. "Hello."

"Uh, hi."

"I was hoping that you could join me for a dance."

I was completely shocked by his invitation. When I didn't respond, he said, "I'll see you in a moment." And with that, he walked away.

"Wait a second." I looked at Charlotte. "Did Will Darcy just ask me to dance?"

Charlotte's mouth dropped open. "That's Will Darcy? Lizzie, he's hot." "What?"

"That guy" – she motioned her head in his direction – "is hot."

"Are you crazy?"

"He really must have made a bad impression on you if you can't see that not only is he gorgeous, but that he obviously has a thing for you."

"Oh, please ..."

Charlotte paused. "And I think you have a thing for him."

"What?"

She laughed. "If you don't have any feelings for Will Darcy, why are you blushing and fixing your hair?"

I pulled my hands away from my hair. "Okay, you've clearly lost your mind. There is nothing going on between me and Darcy. Obviously, he's setting me up for something."

"Lizzie!"

"I'm serious. Plus, he asked and then just disappeared. He's planning something."

"Yeah, well, he's heading over here again."

Darcy stared intently at me and nodded toward the dance floor before walking over there.

I looked at Charlotte. "Am I supposed to follow him?"

Charlotte pushed me. "Will you just go already?!"

I was in a daze as I got on the dance floor. It was like having an out-of-body experience. I found myself going through the motions, but also looking around trying to figure out where the ambush was coming from. Darcy slipped his arms around me, with much more ease than Colin had, and before I knew it, we were in something approximating an embrace. Darcy was several inches taller than me, and he leaned his head down so our eyes locked.

I was face-to-face with the enemy.

"I see you made it home safe the other night," he said.

"Yes. I'm touched by your concern for my safety."

I broke away from his stare, but ended up being greeted by dozens of eyeballs transfixed on us. At first I thought they were waiting for something to happen. But then I noticed the jealousy on the girls' faces. And outrage. It seemed that not a single girl in the room could believe that Pemberley's most eligible student would be slumming with me.

"You know" – I turned back to him – "working has many benefits. It's a really great way to make new friends."

Darcy clenched his jaw. "Ah yes, George Wickham. He's really good at making new friends. Retaining them, however, has always been a challenge for him."

"I'm sure he cries himself to sleep every night, thinking about losing such a wonderful friend as you. How will he ever recover?"

Darcy greeted my response with silence. We swayed to the music for the remainder of the song. When I thought I was going to be free, he tightened his grip around my waist. A new song began.

"So, what kind of music do you like to listen to for fun?" Darcy asked out of nowhere.

"Excuse me?"

"I thought I'd change the subject."

"Oh. Were we discussing something you weren't comfortable with?"

"No, I was just trying to see if there was something we could talk about that wouldn't end up in an argument."

"Ah. Good luck with that."

"Yes, apparently I'm going to need it."

His attempt at being friendly unnerved me.

"You know," I said, "I can't figure you out at all."

"Really? Are you finding yourself thinking a lot about me, then?"

The conceit, again! "Hardly. But you don't seem to make any sense."

"And you do?" He smirked.

"At least I'm consistent."

"And I'm not consistent?"

I thought for a moment. "No, I guess you are." I stepped back from him and pulled my arms away. "You said that you think I have a problem with people with money. But I think you have a problem with people without money."

He looked down at the floor. "You're right. You don't understand me at all."

"Well, I guess we're a lost cause." I turned my back on him and walked off the dance floor. I tried to not seem desperate as I looked for Charlotte in the cluster of people around the room.

I felt a tug on my arm. It was Caroline, who was with Cat. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked accusingly.

"I don't know what you mean," I said.

She looked disgusted. "I heard from Jane that you've been hanging around with George Wickham."

"So?"

Her lip curled up. "So? He's not to be trusted."

"I'm sorry, Caroline, but I really doubt you have any concern about who I hang out with or my well-being."

"I couldn't care less about your well-being," she admitted. "But I do care about Darcy. The mere mention of Wick upsets him. After everything Wick has done to him."

"What Wick has done?"

Caroline grabbed my arm tightly. "We don't want him around, okay? We heard that his little group was thinking of coming by tonight. Believe me, we put a stop to that. And to think that my brother and I have been nothing but kind to you. You only think about yourself, don't you?"

"Caroline." I spoke slowly so that, hopefully, one of us could start understanding the other. "I don't know what you are talking about. Yes, Charles has been very kind to me. I know there are issues between Darcy and Wick, but why should that matter to me? It's not like I'm friends with Darcy ... or you. Who I hang out with isn't really any of your business."

"Suit yourself." Caroline walked away.

I went to find Jane, but Cat blocked my path.

"You know, scum, for someone who claims to have no interest in Darcy, you seem to spend enough time with him."

I turned and walked away. Jane was waving me down from the other side of the room.

"Lizzie!" She approached me with a worried look. "What was that all about?"

Even Jane knew something had to be off if Caroline and Cat were speaking to me. Especially Caroline – her influence over her brother and his unexplained respect for her were the only things about him that I didn't like.

After I relayed the exchange, Jane sighed. "Lizzie, I haven't been hearing good things about George Wickham. You should be careful."

"Not you too." I didn't like that Jane would take Caroline and Darcy's side.

"It's not that. I asked Charles, and he said that the story Wick told you was an absolute lie."

"Yeah, but whatever information he got was from Darcy. So, in my book, it shouldn't be trusted."

Jane looked over at Charles. "I don't know, Lizzie. Charles couldn't tell me exactly what happened because he made a promise to Darcy, but he really doesn't have a reason to lie to me."

"I know, I know...."

"JANE!" Lydia barreled over to us. "I'm having so much fun. Can you believe I'm the only freshman here? Like, this totally has to be a huge mark for my social standing. And, can you just imagine, I mean, what if I get asked to prom, too?" Lydia screeched so loudly that half of the room turned around to glare.

"Lydia," Jane whispered. "Please."

Lydia didn't hear her. Or, more likely, chose to ignore her.

"Caroline!" Lydia shouted to a stunned Caroline. "So, like, during spring break, we're going to Vera's for our prom dresses. I mean, for Jane's dress. Do you know if a freshman has ever gone to prom? Like, ever?"

Caroline looked at Lydia with even more disgust than she usually reserved for me.

"No," she said dismissively. "Prom is for junior women at Longbourn. While it is tradition for most of the women to be taken by men from Pemberley, some exceptions are made." She shot a look at me. "But any straying from custom is frowned upon."

"Do you want to come with us to Vera's?"

"I will be spending my vacation in Greece."

Lydia squealed again. "That's so awesome."

Caroline nodded coldly.

"I mean, I wish we were going somewhere, but no ..." Lydia started sulking. "Like, Daddy got millions in his buyout, so the fact that we can't go somewhere fabulous like Greece is so unfair."

"Lydia!" Jane stood up and pulled her sister away from Caroline. "Enough!"

The majority of the students on our side of the room had heard everything Lydia had said.

"I'm just having fun," Lydia protested. "You're so uptight." Her eyes grew wide and she started jumping up and down. "No. Way. This song was, like, THE song from camp last summer. I totally remember the routine we came up with." An up-tempo pop song started playing on the sound system, and before any of us could stop her, Lydia was on the dance floor, spinning around with her arms stretched out. In less than ten seconds, she cleared a space of about ten feet around her. She was relishing the attention.

Jane was horrified. "Please make her stop." Her voice was nearly inaudible.

I headed over to the platform. Lydia was doing something that looked like the Charleston, but with her usual manic energy. She started spinning her fists in the air and shouting "WOO!" every few seconds. I could hear the snickering as I passed through the crowd.

"Um, Lydia." I got as close to the platform as I could safely get without bringing too much attention to myself or getting kicked in the face by Lydia's current attempt to channel a Rockette.

The performance was pure agony to watch. How Lydia could've thought she was impressing people was beyond me. I wanted to look away, but it was one of those horrifying scenes that you just can't take your eyes off of. Just when I thought it couldn't get worse, she did jazz hands. Full-on, Broadway-style jazz hands.

When the song was over, Lydia took a deep bow. A few of the guys started whistling while the majority of the Longbourn girls were laughing. A few had even recorded the dance on their phones.

Poor, poor Jane.

"Oh!" Lydia exclaimed when the next song came on. I quickly grabbed her arm. "Lizzie, let me go!" she protested.

I ignored her and dragged her along until Colin stepped in my path.

"Why, Lydia, that was delightful," he said.

"Thanks!" she replied.

"You really have such a great enthusiasm. I haven't seen leaps like that since an evening I spent at the Joffrey Ballet during fall break last year. I remember that time of year so well because it was unseasonably warm. The program was a delightful one – you may have enjoyed it yourself...."

Colin was making things worse. What we needed was to get Lydia out of there, but Colin was prolonging the embarrassment by giving a detailed review of her performance.

Finally, Jane couldn't take it anymore. She rushed over, grabbed Lydia, and walked her outside.

"Oh, well ..." Colin was taken aback by Lydia's abrupt departure. "So, Elizabeth, dare we take the dance floor again in hopes of repeating that splendid performance given by Lydia?" There wasn't an ounce of sarcasm in his voice. He was being completely sincere.

"I ..." I glanced at the door. I really needed to go help Jane. Or possibly prevent a murder.

Fortunately, Charlotte came to the rescue. "Colin, I was hoping you could tell me more about your family's sailboat." While Charlotte was getting an earful, I dashed outside. Jane was sitting on the curb, shivering.

"Jane," I said, "it's freezing out here. Come inside."

"I can't. I'm so humiliated."

"Where's Lydia?"

"I don't know – and, honestly, I don't care. She ran off when I was trying to reason with her. She has zero respect for me, our family, our school, Charles...."

I didn't know what to say. I would do anything for Jane, but I couldn't turn back time.

"I want to go home," she said.

I headed back inside to get our things at the coat check.

Charles approached me. "Lizzie, is Jane okay?"

I handed our tickets over to the coat check person. "Yes, she's fine. She ... uh, she has a bit of a headache, so we're going to head home. It was really a great party, Charles. Thanks so much for inviting us."

Before Charles had a chance to respond, the girl at the coat check handed me Jane's coat. She bit her lip. "Um, the other coat isn't back here."

"I gave you the ticket."

Her cheeks became flushed. "I know, but that hanger's empty." "What?"

Charles grabbed both tickets from her hand and went behind the counter to look for my coat. But I had a sinking feeling that he wasn't going to find it.

"What's going on?" Colin came over, with Darcy behind him.

"Nothing," I said.

"This is ridiculous!" Charles exclaimed. "How could someone just walk off with somebody else's coat? I want to see the manager."

The girl looked nervous. "That's not necessary. What did it look like?"

"It was a gray peacoat, it came above my knees...."

The girl's eyes grew wide. "What brand?"

I looked back toward Colin and Darcy. "It was Old Navy."

"Oh ..." The color drained from the girl's face.

"What do you mean, 'oh'?" Charles was furious. This was the first time I'd ever seen him angry. And I also realized that he was standing up for me. My bottom lip started to quiver. I was used to being attacked, not defended.

"Some girls came over a few minutes ago to get their coats and one of them said she'd lost her claim and identified the coat. And, well, I didn't think ..." The girl was embarrassed. I knew what she was going to say: When there were all these expensive designer coats in the room, who would lie about having such a nonglamorous item of clothing?

"Just forget about it." I tried to keep my voice even.

"Lizzie, I'm so sorry." Charles was aghast.

"I'm going to go...."

Colin started to take off his blazer. "Here, at least take my jacket."

Charles took out his wallet. "You have to let me pay you for it. I'm horrified that something like this happened at my party. I can't believe it."

The thing was, I could believe it. Something had to happen this evening. I couldn't attend a party without some sort of humiliation. All along, I'd assumed somebody was going to throw something at me, or trip me, or set my hair on fire. But instead, they'd stolen from me. And not because they wanted what I had. Simply because they could.

I quickly waved away Colin's and Charles's generous offers and went into the winter night unprotected. The freezing cold was a reminder that things were never going to get easier.