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At four o'clock, her weekend officially began, and she called Jane to ask if Charlotte could tag along to Charles’s cookout.
“I'm sure Charles won't mind, and I would love to catch up with her,” Jane said.
“Thanks. Bill wants me to stop at his house on Sunday for a little party he's having. I don't really want to go but I feel like I should, especially since other people from work are going. I might have to suck it up and make an appearance.”
“Why don't you ask Charlotte to go with you to that too?”
“Actually, I mentioned to Bill that my sister would be here, and he said he'dloveto meet you.”
“Sorry. Charles and I are having lunch with Mom and Dad on Sunday.”
“Mm-hmm, I bet you’re sorry. I’ll see you on Saturday.”
“Sounds great, Sis. Talk to you soon.”
* * *
Two daysbefore Charles’s party, Will decided to confess to his friend thathewas the man who’d argued with Elizabeth on the beach almost two weeks ago. Charles was surprised, and though he understood the reason behind Will’s reaction, he also had no qualms telling Will he’d misjudged Elizabeth—which Will had already begun to figure out on his own.
“Jane says wonderful things about her,” Charles said. “She’s obviously intelligent and seems very nice.”
“Maybe you only think she's nicebecauseshe's Jane's sister and you want to believe she's as perfect as your angel,” Will teased. “Jane couldn'tpossiblybe related to someone who isn't equally angelic.”
Charles laughed. “Well, Lydia shot that theory down, didn’t she? And I'm telling you right now, Elizabeth is coming to the cookout and Jane’s parents will be here as well, so you’d better behave. Try to be pleasant. Don't just stand there glaring at everyone.”
“I’ll be the perfect gentleman.”
“Right. I've heard that before. And if Georgiana is coming with you, you'll need to tell her about Elizabeth, don't you think? She may recognize her.”
Will sighed. “You’re probably right. In the meantime, can you please not say anything to Jane about it? I don't know if Elizabeth has told her it was me that day, and I'd rather Jane hear it from her instead of you. It will only lead to questions about Georgiana.”
“Of course. No worries.”
They ended the call and Will placed his phone on the desk. He opened the top drawer, pulled out the pictures Elizabeth had taken that day, and flipped through them slowly. A vision of bright green eyes popped into his head, and with a groan, he dropped the pictures back into the drawer and slammed it shut.
* * *
On the morningof the cookout, Will finally told Georgiana about what happenedafterthey’d seen Elizabeth Bennet taking pictures on the beach, as Georgie only knew he’d gone to Elizabeth’s house the next day to retrieve the pictures. He told her about seeing Elizabeth at Charles's house for dinner and again at Monday Night Madness, and about their disastrous dinner at Whimsy.
“Why didn't you tell me it was Jane’s sister?” she asked.
“I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable around Charles, knowing it was his girlfriend's sister who’d taken the pictures.”
“Does Jane know it was us on the beach?”
“Charles doesn’t think so. She probably would have said something to him if she knew.”
Georgiana fell silent, and Will could practically see the wheels spinning in her head.
“I think…I think I'll skip the cookout, if that's okay,” she said. “I’m not feeling up to it, and I don't want you to be hovering over me all day.”
“Would you like me to stay home?”
“No, of course not. Besides, Mrs. Reynolds will be here. Maybe I can talk her into giving me some cooking lessons.”
They both laughed a little at that; Georgiana was not very talented in the kitchen, as they’d both learned over the past four months. Thank God for takeout, because other than grilling, Will’s culinary skills were nothing to brag about either.
“Well, I’m just a short walk away if you need me.” He eyed her closely. “I feel like I'm not being a very good brother, leaving you for the day.”
