Page 112 of A Searing Acquaintance
“She makes it so hard. Like it’s her life’s work to confuse and anger us.”
“Carrot and the stick. She wants us to think she cares a hundred percent of the time, but as soon as one of us gets invested in thinking she’s interested in us, her real goal becomes clear.”
“That is so cold-blooded.”
“Actually, it’s Looney Tunes logic. I think she’s the Roadrunner and we’re the hapless Wile E. Coyote.” Elizabeth laughed at the incredulous expression on her sister’s face. “Well, maybe I don’t want to hit her with an anvil or blow her to smithereens, but Ihavebeen tempted to wring her neck a time or two.”
“So you’re giving up on trying?”
Elizabeth shrugged. “Yes. I don’t need the drama or the emotional roller coaster. Neither of us is alone anymore. Will and Charles want to see us happy. This isyourwedding. Sylvia chose the sidelines a long time ago, and she can stay there.” She squeezed Jane’s shoulder and looked up at the valet signaling their car had arrived.
“I’ll tell you this. When I get married, she’s not going to be there.”
At the request—or demand, depending on which sibling told the story—of Charles’s mother, her former home on Lexington Avenue was the site of an intimate, family-only rehearsal dinner. As Darcy was the only member of the wedding party not technically family, and Lynette Smathers-Bingley-Hall adored him, it was an easy enough request to honor.
Elizabeth’s family perched on the stiffly fashionable furniture, making small talk with Louisa and her mother. Caroline stood sentry, watching for the first sign of a disastrous drink spillage by the caterers or a ruinous social faux pas by the Kowalski-Bennets; it wasn’t clear which would be worse. She moved off after it was clear all the guests understood the use of coasters.
Elizabeth was happy to hear Charles’s mother pronounce Jane “fab-u-lous.” While they’d spent only a few days together over the past eleven months, it was obvious Jane and her soon to be mother-in-law had bonded over more than their shared love for Charles. “Charles is his mother’s son,” she had whispered to Darcy earlier in the evening, marveling at the conversational ease Lynette seemed to have with every member of the Kowalski-Bennet family. She and Barbara were waxing warmly over Charles’s charms, Herb Hurst’s doting on his expectant wife, and Jane’s promising forehand.
Ted’s semi-permanent smirk was in place, his eyebrows rising during the tennis talk before searching out the presence of his second daughter. Spotting her in the doorway, smiling at someone across the room, he turned and followed her gaze. His eyes narrowed when he saw Darcy smiling back at her before returning to a spirited conversation with Mary and Lydia. Caroline soon joined them, and Lydia drifted away.
Darcy glanced at his watch and then at Elizabeth. In between what felt like a territorial battle for his attention, with Caroline seeking out his company and Mary hovering about him as a protective younger sister and asking about his favorite books, he’d barely had a moment alone with his favorite Bennet. Of course, that’s what she wanted tonight, she’d said. “Focus on Jane and Charles, and keep the spotlight off of us.”
What she hadn’t explained was her cover story for her living arrangements. It was uncomfortably clear that everyone in the room except Lynette, Ted, and Barbara knew he was involved with Elizabeth. Knowledge on the depth of involvement seemed to vary with each person, but no one save Charles and Jane knew they were livingtogether. Awareness of their status hadn’t stopped Caroline from attaching herself—and often her hand—to his side for most of the evening. Elizabeth might not be ready for her father’s judgment and her mother’s opinions, but she wasn’t the one trapped by a jealous, overserved, and under-dated Bingley. Caroline hadn’t always been the Bingley less loved. She’d been her father’s favorite, but when he’d died three years ago, Caroline’s place in the family hierarchy had come undone. And now she was the last unmarried child. Lynette, who adored Charles and all his friends, failed to summon any sympathy for her daughter. And as much as he attempted distant politeness, Darcy was exhausted and annoyed by Caroline’s efforts to earn his attention.
There was too much scrutiny from every direction. After another quick check of his watch, Darcy excused himself and headed to the bar. Dinner would be served in a few minutes, and Caroline’s gleeful anticipation of Sylvia’s late arrival and Elizabeth’s angry concern over the same required he keep a clear head. He was pouring a tonic when he heard Ted’s voice.Shite.
“This is the way to go for a wedding. Have it in your living room and then spread out in the backyard.”
Darcy turned and gave the man a tight smile. “This is a family dinner, Mr. Bennet. And there is no backyard here.”
“Right, Mr. Darcy. I get that.” Ted eyed the young man next to him. “Money is no object for the likes of you, but weddings are prohibitively expensive for a working man with four daughters.”
“Good thing, then, that Charles and Jane are picking up most of the tab.”
“Well, yes.” Ted chuckled. “Odds are I won’t catch such a lucky break with any future husband of Elizabeth’s. Mary is not a girl who’d want lace and exotic flowers, and as it seems Lydia will only cost me community college tuition, I suppose it balances out financially.” The older man looked around the bar. “No bartender? We’re on our own?”
Darcy looked past him and saw Elizabeth watching them. He handed Ted the ice tongs. “Yes, on your own.”
He walked toward Elizabeth, desperate to kiss her and wondering how he could get through dinner without touching her. He wasn’t a man made for a grand dramatic statement, but he was ready to mark his territory. Her eyes widened when she saw his expression, and she gave him a soft, inviting smile. He took two more steps before the shrill ring of the doorbell drowned out Caroline’s announcement that dinner was served.
Elizabeth grimaced. She was closest to the front door, so she opened it and greeted Sylvia and her companion. Never known for a quiet entrance, Sylvia was more subdued than when Darcy had last seen her at the engagement party. The portly man accompanying her hardly seemed the reason. They stopped every few steps on their way into the apartment, pointing at the chandelier hanging over the entryway and exclaiming over the artwork.
Both were clad head to toe in black, normal attire for a night out in New York but a bit somber for a wedding-eve celebration. Matching Statue of Liberty scarves were draped dramatically around their necks.
After a protracted series of air kisses and hugs with Charles and Jane and everyone within arms’ reach, Sylvia proceeded to introduce her friend Bernard—“just Bernard”—to the families. She paused when she came to Darcy. “Are we family now? It’s about time we meet again.” Turning to her companion, she drawled, “Bernard, this is the man whose mansion I saw on Jane’s videophone last spring.” She extended her hand and squeezed Darcy’s fingers while pulling him down for an air kiss. “I bet your house looks even better in real life too.”
Darcy gave her a brief nod and moved off to the dining room. Elizabeth watched him walk away but not before noticing the return of the Imperious Darcy Face. She hadn’t seen that expression, the one she’d glimpsed at the football game, in months. She’d almost forgotten it; it hadn’t appeared since their first date when they encountered Penelope.
She followed Darcy into the dining room and found him staring at the place card next to his.Caroline.Elizabeth squeezed his hand and took the seat their hostess had reserved for herself. “Maid of honor trumps dinner hostess every time. Especially this time.” She smiled up at him.
The rest of the party sat down, and Elizabeth ignored the sensation of daggers in her neck from Caroline’s glares.Never let it be said a Bingley didn’t have good manners,Elizabeth thought wryly. Darcy stood and made a heartfelt toast to the couple and their love affair. He shook his head sadly at his friend’s continued love of all thingsStar Warsand lauded Jane’s patience with Charles’s techno geek passions—and hopefully, her clever de-cluttering skills. Elizabeth stood next and recalled the moment she knew her beloved sister had found true love. The happy couple talked about their first encounter, their honeymoonplans, and the wedding planner and florist they’d nearly fired. Lynette told amusing stories about her children, her late husband, and her excitement to be a grandmother. Then she asked whether Jane had always been such a sweet girl.
Barbara, who’d helped raise Jane from the age of ten, paused and looked at Sylvia. Unsurprisingly, the mother of the bride smiled and asserted her right of superior insight. “Janey has always been eager to please and do well. Slept through the night from day one, potty trained in two days, was invited to every birthday party in town, and always had a trail of cute boys lined up at the door.”
No one said anything until Herb laughed and nodded at his wife’s protruding stomach. “We’ll take one just like that. But no boys till she’s twenty-one.”
“I’ve got a couple of barnburners to sing tomorrow,” Sylvia continued, a touch too loudly. “ThatDirty Dancingsong will get everyone moving. And I have a special surprise for you, Jane. Remember how you loved the Spice Girls when you were little?”
