Chapter 7
The Christmas holidays weren�t easy for Jane. She missed Charles terribly. The day after the Holly Hop he had flown off to Oslo with Caroline to spend Christmas with their parents. From there he would go to London until he completed his graduate studies in architecture in May. Amid a tearful farewell he had promised to write her. She missed him as soon she said goodbye to him for the last time, waving incessantly as the red tail lights of his Mustang disappeared into the night.
Once Lizzy and Jane were home, the bustle of the holidays helped take Jane�s mind off Charles a little. She immersed herself in Christmas shopping and decorating the Bennet house in its traditional Christmas finery. Lizzy was thankful she had something to take her mind off Will and Charles as well. She didn�t know how to broach the subject of what she�d overheard Will and Caroline discussing. What if they didn�t succeed? She didn�t want to plant any doubts in Jane�s head that Charles would drop her as soon as he was in Europe if their plan didn�t work. Should she warn Jane of the possibility, knowing it would only alarm her if it didn�t come to fruition? Lizzy was in a quandary, and thinking about it only made her head ache.
Adding to her headache was a pain in the neck: George Wickham. The more she thought about him, the more she doubted he had told her the truth the night he canceled. Will�s words came back to haunt her, �He doesn�t deserve your sympathy, Elizabeth. He�s a louse and a loser.� She wondered about him. Did he make it up? Was George really sick? She tried to convince herself not to believe Darcy, but it just wouldn�t stick. If George called, she planned to tell him she�d never go out with him and not to call again.
Unfortunately, that was only part of Lizzy�s man troubles. There was another one that was interested in her � Bill Collins. Ucch! She shuddered. Ever since the Holly Hop he was convinced they were an item. He asked her to go steady the night of the dance. At first she was polite and tried to let him down easy, but he wouldn�t take no for an answer. When he persisted and called her over the Christmas break � long distance from his house on Long Island � she had to draw the line. She told her sisters that in no uncertain terms, if Bill Collins should call again, she was not at home! Eventually, he stopped calling, and she was grateful he had finally seemed to get the message.
Her woes of the masculine kind had one more annoyance � the fact she couldn�t get the arrogant, yet irresistible, Will Darcy off her mind. Though she told herself she hated him and he was far worse than she could have ever believed possible, she couldn�t forget what it felt like to be with him. In her weakest moments her mind would replay their dance together: the way she had stumbled and fallen into his strong arms; the feel of them around her, the smell of his aftershave; the way his lips curled up when he smiled, revealing those dimples. Her breath caught when she remembered the magnetic look in his eyes as they twisted on the dance floor. �Ooh!� she cried out loud. Why does he have to be so tempting?
As was their tradition every Christmas Eve, the Bennet family�s good friends, Edward and Madeline Gardiner, with their three children came to visit for the holiday. They lived north of the Bennets in New York�s Westchester County. Thomas Bennet and Edward Gardiner attended college together at Dartmouth and remained great friends, although the two could not have taken more diverse paths. After Dartmouth, Thomas married his sweetheart, Fanny Worth, and they settled in Fanny�s hometown of Meryton. Thomas chose a career in education. Edward Gardiner went on to Harvard Business School, then married his wife, Madeline, and became very successful on Wall Street in investment banking.
After dinner, Madeline drew Lizzy aside and asked her if she would be interested in being their �Mother�s Helper� for a month that upcoming summer on Fishers Island, where they owned a house.
�I�d love to!� Lizzy answered.
�Good, then it�s settled.� Madeline was pleased; her children would be rapturous having Lizzy at their disposal for a month on the island. Lizzy was delighted too; this would be a great summer job and a chance to get out of Meryton for a month. She loved the Gardiners and couldn�t think of a better situation. Lizzy had never been to their summer house, but she heard a great deal about it. Fishers Island, off the coast of Connecticut but officially part of New York State, was small, and home to the bastions of Eastern high society. To get there, one had to take the ferry from New London, Connecticut or fly in on a small airstrip that the island provided for private aircrafts. Many came from the �old guard,� names that conjured up elevated wealth and privilege. The Gardiners, though not as wealthy as most of the residents on Fishers, came from an old family line and had summered on the island for generations.
Lizzy felt much better now that she knew she had a summer job. At the same time, she couldn�t help but see how sad Jane was growing as the Christmas break went by. She still had not received any mail from Charles, and she had no idea where to write to him. He had told her he would write to her with his address. Lizzy was tempted to tell Jane what she knew. It now looked obvious to her that Caroline and Will�s plan had worked; otherwise she was sure Jane would have received a letter from Charles long before now. Hoping for the right time to break the news, she finally decided to wait until their Christmas break was over and school had started again.
Adding to the emotional sadness of Jane�s loneliness, Lydia was unwittingly rubbing salt in the wound by constantly playing one particular Beatles song that seemed tailor made for the way Jane was feeling.
There must be some mail today
From my girlfriend so far away
Please mister postman look and see
If there's a letter, a letter for me
Jane unconsciously substituted the word boyfriend for girlfriend, just like the earlier version by Martha and the Vandellas, as she absently sung the lyrics to herself � while staring out the window. Why hasn�t he written? She couldn�t believe it had been two weeks since she had last seen him. Maybe he got the address wrong, she thought, hoping a letter would come any day.
I've been standing here waiting Mister Postman
So patiently for just a card
or just a letter
Saying she's returning home to me
Please Mister Postman
Lizzy could see all too well what the song was doing to her beloved sister.
�Lydia! Do you have to play that song over and over?� she pleaded to the younger one.
�Yes, I love it!� Lydia retorted. �Besides, it�s Christmas Vacation. I can do whatever I want.� She turned her back to Lizzy and went back to reading her 16 magazine. Lizzy was tempted to pull the plug out of the wall, but decided against it.
So many days you passed me by
See the tears standing in my eye
You didn't stop to make me feel better
By leaving me a card or letter
Lizzy was bitterly certain Caroline and Will Darcy were behind Jane�s sadness. They had obviously succeeded in convincing Charles to end his relationship with Jane. She was sad for Jane, and disappointed that Charles had been so easily led. She had hoped he had more substance than that.
You gotta, wait a minute wait a minute oh yeah
Wait a minute wait a minute oh yeah
you gotta, wait a minute wait a minute oh yeah
you gotta, wait a minute wait a minute oh yeah
Once school was back in session in January, Jane was resigned to the idea that Charles was not going to contact her. She hadn�t received a single card or letter from him and she had no idea where she could reach him. She had been certain she would have heard from him by now. Seeing the pain her sister was experiencing, Lizzy knew it was time she told Jane the truth.
"Jane, there's something I haven't told you because I wanted to be sure, but now it looks like that something I was afraid would happen has."
Jane looked up from her sociology book, surprised at the seriousness of Lizzy's tone. "What are you talking about, Lizzy?"
"It's about Charles." Lizzy nervously fidgeted with her hands, hating what she had to tell her sister.
Jane waited serenely for Lizzy to continue, although Lizzy could see the interest in her eyes.
"I overheard Caroline and Will Darcy talking the night of the Holly Hop about you and Charles."
Jane, ever the watchful older sister, chastised her, "Lizzy, you know you shouldn't eavesdrop."
Exasperated, Lizzy rolled her eyes. "I know, but don't you want to know what I heard them say?"
"About us?" Jane was surprised at Lizzy, who was obviously upset. She couldn't imagine what would have her so worked up. "What was it? Was it something bad?"
"Yes." Lizzy said stoutly. "They were planning on breaking the two of you up. I heard them scheming together." Once Lizzy started, she let loose the floodgates. "Caroline asked Will to talk to Charles and convince him to break up with you while he was in London." She saw the look of hurt on Jane's face and felt awful for what she was telling her. "I even heard Will say that Charles was always meeting someone new anyway, and it would be better if he were rid of you."
Jane couldn't believe such a thing coming from Will. He had always been so kind and pleasant to her. Caroline too had always been pleasant to her, albeit a snob, but she had never given her any cause to believe she didn't want Jane to date her brother or didn't like her.
"Are you sure about this? I find it incredibly hard to believe." Jane looked at her doubtfully.
"I know what I heard, Jane. There's no doubt in my mind. Caroline has always looked down her nose at us. The case is this: we are not rich enough or grand enough for them."
"I think you're exaggerating. Frankly, I find it hard to believe that Caroline could talk Will into anything. You must have misunderstood them or misheard."
"She talked him into going to the dance with her, didn't he?" Lizzy pointed out, without mentioning how that thought had still rankled deep down inside.
"Yes, that's true, but we don't know what the whole story is there either. Charles was very vague about it when I asked him about it." Jane remembered her surprise upon learning Will was Caroline�s date to the dance at Longbourn. She still could not quite believe it.
Charles wouldn�t listen to Caroline, though. They were hardly close.
"You think his sister has so much influence over him that she could convince Charles to forget about me?" Jane asked.
"Yes, with his friend Will's recommendation, I do." Lizzy said folding her arms, determined she was right.
"I can�t believe it. Why would they try to influence him? I�m sure they only wish his happiness; and if he is in love with me, no other woman can make him happy."
"Jane, you just refuse to believe that some people can be mean and devious. Not everyone looks to make other people happy, you know." Lizzy said shaking her head.
"That's not all true. But I refuse to believe someone is guilty until proven so, and Will Darcy has never done anything to make me believe he would do such a thing to Charles and me. He's always been a true friend, he encouraged Charles to date me � at least that's what Charles told me."
Lizzy refused to believe, but let it rest. If Jane wanted to walk around with her head in the sand, refusing to believe the truth about Caroline and Will then let her.
A few days after their talk, Jane began to have second thoughts about what Lizzy had told her. Especially when she bumped into Caroline at the school bookstore and Caroline was less than enthusiastic at their impromptu meeting. She made it clear to Jane that she did not intend to pursue any friendship between them. Caroline's coldness on campus seemed to be the final nail in the coffin. Charles has dumped me. While she began to believe Caroline capable of duplicity, she could not believe it of Will. He was too good and too much a gentleman to behave the way Lizzy described. He and Lizzy may have their misunderstandings but he had always been a friend to her.
She tried to throw herself into her studies, but it was hard. She couldn�t forget him, she loved him! There was also the niggling worry that he had dropped her for the more glamorous girls he was probably meeting in London. Jane couldn�t help but envision him dancing and living it up. He probably hadn�t given her another thought since he left her that night. Counting the days on the calendar since she had last seen him, she bit her lip, worried; wishing she had done things differently. If only�
�It�s so good to be back at school again, isn�t it?� said Charlotte merrily. �I really missed it!�
Lizzy looked at her roommate, somewhat surprised at her demeanor. If she didn�t know better, she�d say Charlotte was hiding something from her.
�You�re awfully chipper, Char, what gives?� Lizzy asked her, raising an eyebrow. �Are you keeping something from me?� Charlotte blushed and then looked up and grinned.
�I have a boyfriend, Lizzy!� she said joyfully, �Can you believe it? I�m so happy!�
A broad smile lit up Lizzy�s face. She was floored! At the same time she was delighted for her friend. Charlotte finally has a boyfriend? She wondered when it happened and with whom?
�When? How did this happen? Tell me all about it!� Lizzy assaulted her with questions as they curled up on their beds, ready for a good girl talk.
�Oh, Lizzy, he is so wonderful, and it was such a surprise!� Charlotte said dreamily.
�Is it someone you met back at home?� Lizzy asked, curious about whom the mystery man was.
�Yes, he lives near me at home, but he goes to school here.� She blushed again and looked down at her hands, suddenly embarrassed.
�Here?� Lizzy was puzzled. Who could it be?
�I hope you don�t mind, but he was your date from the Holly Hop. Lizzy eyes widened in surprise.
�Do you mean your boyfriend is Bill Collins?� Lizzy asked slowly, in disbelief.
�Yes!� she jumped up from the bed and twirled around. �He is so wonderful!�
Lizzy was stunned, but did her best to hide her disgust from Charlotte who was so obviously happy.
�I�m very happy for you, Charlotte,� she said warmly. �Tell me how this all happened.�
�Well, it turns out that Bill lives nearby me on Long Island. I live in Hunsford Village. It�s just the next town over from his. One night, my girlfriends and I went out bowling, and who do we run into but Bill with some of his friends! He recognized me right away and came over. One thing led to another and we all wound up hanging out together for the rest of the Christmas break.�
�Charlotte, it sounds great. So, now that you two are back down here, you�re definitely going steady?� Lizzy asked, still finding all of this hard to believe, and not a little worried that Charlotte might be rushing things.
�Yes � look! He pinned me!� She pointed to the pin she was wearing on her sweater. It was small, orange and black with a �P� on it for Princeton.
Any reservations she had disappeared as she saw how joyful her roommate was. So what if it was Bill Collins? If he made Charlotte happy, that was all that mattered. Lizzy gave her a big hug and kiss.
Lizzy felt a proclamation was in order. �I think this calls for a celebration. How about we go to Bond�s and get some burgers and Awful Awfuls?�
Bond�s was the local hamburger hang out, famous for their super big milkshakes called Awful Awfuls.
�You�re on! But only this one time, I have to watch my figure!� Charlotte replied, and they both laughed and headed on out.
�Well, well who do we have here?� a deep voice said from behind.
Lydia turned around and a great big smile spread across her face. �George!� she cried out. Lydia had hoped she would run into the Paul McCartney look-a-like salesman at Korvettes, and her wish was granted.
George had been relaxing with his co-workers, Denny Grubb and Alex Carter, before finishing up for the day, when he noticed Lydia saunter into the record department. It had been a while since he�d talked to her sister, Elizabeth. That one�s a lost cause. He realized in hindsight it had been an error in judgment to leave her in the lurch the night of the semi-formal, but at the time he had no choice. There had been more important matters to deal with that evening. Attending some dull college dance, with barely the chance of a quick feel and some necking � and that was if he was lucky � or heading to a high stakes poker game where he could win a bundle of money in poker? Hmm, not a hard decision to make � money definitely won out. And there was always the need to avoid a Darcy.
Now, here was her sister, who looked as eager as ever. This could be interesting. He ignored the warning in the back of his head that said Jail Bait and sauntered over, approaching her from behind. What was her name again?
A lone, melancholy figure appeared in the moonlight. Slowly he walked to the iron railing in front of him. Leaning against it, he stared into the dark, frigid water of the Thames. His only thoughts were of the girl he loved. He sighed as he remembered the words of his best friend. How could she do this to me, especially after our last night? He would never forget her. He had thought he knew her feelings, he would have sworn she loved him back. He was brokenhearted.
The world is treating me bad
Misery
I'm the kind of guy
Who never used to cry
The world is treatin' me bad
Misery
Embarrassed to find a tear had fallen down his cheek, Charles wiped it away, fearful of anyone seeing his vulnerability. He shook his head, still puzzled over how it all happened.
I've lost her now for sure
I won't see her no more
It's gonna be a drag
Misery
I'll remember all the little things we've done
Can't she see she'll always be the only one
Only one
As his mind wandered he painfully thought of all the happy times they�d spent together.
Send her back to me
Cause everyone can see
Without her I will be
In misery
Charles knew he�d never be the same without her. He found his true love but here he was, miles away from her, helpless.
I'll remember all the little things we've done
She'll remember and she'll miss her lonely one
Lonely one
Send her back to me
Cause everyone can see
Without her I will be
In misery**
Sadly, he wiped his eyes again, squared his shoulders and headed back across the bridge named Waterloo towards his lodgings.
*Please Mr. Postman performed by the Beatles, written by Dobbin/Garrett/Garman/Brianbert � 1962 Jobete Music Company Incorporated, USA. Dominion Music Limited, 127 Charing Cross Road, London WC2. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured.
**The Beatles, �Misery� - performed by The Beatles, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. � 1963 Northern Songs. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured.
� 2004 Copyright held by the author.