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Both men stared at him with wide eyes. “What?” Darcy asked.
“Are you sure she didn’t slap you?” Fitz asked.
“I would’ve,” Hilliard said under his breath as he returned his attention to his notepad.
“Very funny,” Darcy mumbled.
“No wonder you’re still single,” Fitz said.
Darcy massaged the back of his neck in a futile attempt to loosen tense muscles. “Um…there’s more…Somehow she found out that I also encouraged Bing to break up with her sister.”
“Shit!” Fitz snapped his fingers. “That was her sis— I’m sorry, Darce, I didn’t know.”
One mystery solved. Darcy waved it away. What was one more disaster in a whole string of them?
“Is there anything else?” Hilliard asked a bit desperately.
“Yeah.” Darcy gritted his teeth when Hilliard made the sign of the cross. “She also got a load about me from our friend Wickham.”
“Damnit!” Fitz punched the bulkhead.
“That is…not good,” Hilliard said slowly. Knowing Wickham might attempt to sabotage Darcy, they had discussed him at the beginning of the campaign.
“He told her I cheated him out of his inheritance,” Darcy spat.
In the ensuing silence, Darcy realized that Hilliard’s eyes had gone unfocused again. “Or I could have been a math teacher. They’re in high demand…”
Fitz watched the press secretary with concern. “Bob, maybe you should be thinking about a vacation.”
“Bob, focus!” Darcy said sharply.
“Sorry, sir.” Hilliard grimaced and made another note. “Okay…so we need to be…concerned about the media.”
“Understatement of the year,” Fitz muttered. Darcy glared at him. “When did she meet Wickham?” Fitz asked.
Darcy dug his hands into his pockets and slumped against the back of the sofa. “I don’t know for sure. I saw them talking at the Carlisle Ball.” The image of how Wickham had stood waaaaay too close to Elizabeth was branded in his memory.
A chill raced down his spine. “What if Wickham got his hooks into her? What if she’s dating him?” His skin crawled. Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse…. “No. No. She said she didn’t have a boyfriend. But maybe it’s a casual thing…” Darcy grabbed the arm of the sofa against the impulse to race through the door and ask her.
Fitz clasped Darcy’s shoulder. “She’s smart. I’m sure she’ll see through him.”
Darcy gave Fitz a level stare. “Like she did with the story of the inheritance?”
“That isn’t relevant,” Hilliard snapped. “We need to focus on damage control. How did she come to be on Air Force One in the first place? She didn’t fly to Paris with us.”
Now Fitz stood and started pacing. Noticing the broken glass on the opposite sofa, he gave Darcy a speculative glance, which he ignored. Fitz leaned against the bulkhead. “Her flight was canceled.”
“So you offered her a lift?” Hilliard sighed.
Fitz shrugged. “I knew Darcy liked her, so I got him to invite her. I gave her a ride to the airport.”
“You procured a woman for your boss,” Hilliard said flatly.
Fitz stood up straight. “I wouldn’t put it that way.”
Hilliard shook his head slowly, staring at his notebook. “I’m going to be subpoenaed one day, aren’t I? And I’ll have to testify in front of a congressional hearing. I should have become a fireman. When I was seven, I loved firetrucks. I never should have given up on my dreams.”
“It wasn’t like that!” Fitz protested. “There hasn’t been a woman who caught Darcy’s eye in ages. He’s been talking about Elizabeth Bennet for months but wouldn’t make a move because of the president thing.”
