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Elizabeth returnedfrom her morning run and took a quick shower. Bill had called, as he said he would, and she told him she would be there this afternoon with a friend in tow. Her plan was to stay for only an hour or so; she and Charlotte would have to come up with an excuse to make an early exit.
Her phone rang and she saw it was Jane. They discussed the cookout, and Jane mentioned that she’d noticed William had been staring at Elizabeth quite a bit, plus she’d witnessed their dance in the water and knew they’d danced again later. She also told Elizabeth that as soon as Elizabeth and Charlotte had departed, William had headed home.
Jane began asking a multitude of questions, for which Elizabeth had no answers. The only thing she could say for sure was that her opinion of him had improved, even though she still didn’t know him very well.
After thinking on it for a moment, she decided to finally tell Jane that the infamous Mr. Arrogant from the beach was, in fact, William Darcy. Jane was rendered speechless, and before she could barrage Elizabeth with more questions, Elizabeth told her that they’d discussed the whole matter and decided to put it behind them. Elizabeth asked that Jane not mention anything to Charles, as she didn't want William to feel uncomfortable, especially since they’d moved on to being friends. Jane promised she wouldn't say a word and then laughed, telling Elizabeth she was fooling herself if she thought William just wanted to be friends.
“A man who wants to be just friends with a woman doesn't look at her the way he was looking at you,” Jane stated emphatically.
Elizabeth very decidedly told her sister she had things to do before she left for Bill's cookout, determined to put a stop to the conversation and her sister’s line of thinking.
“Oh, Lizzy, come on! How can you think—?”
“I’ll talk to you later, Sis! Bye!”
Elizabeth hung up, and when the phone immediately rang again, she was sure it was Jane calling her back.
“I have nothing else to say about William Darcy,” she said when she answered. “Give it a rest!”
It fell silent, and then a tentative voice spoke.
“Elizabeth? It's–it's William.”
Her face heated. Oh, shit. “Hi, William. Ugh, I’m so sorry. Really. I thought…I assumed you were Jane. I just got off the phone with her, and I thought…ugh. I’m sorry.”
“Didn't we have a conversation about making assumptions?”
She grimaced. “You remember that, huh?”
“Yes, but barely, as I have been advised to remember the past only as it gives me pleasure.”
“Excellent advice—from a brilliant person, obviously.” She grinned when he laughed. “My sister was badgering me. She drives me crazy. I thought she’d called back to harass me some more.”
“She can't be any worse than my sister. I got the third degree too.”
“I guess that's what sisters are for, right?” She felt slightly less mortified.
“So let's start over. We’re good at that. Hello, Elizabeth.”
She smiled. “Hi, William.”
“You can call me Will, by the way. Everyone does. William is too formal. Um, I was just wondering if you had any plans for today.”
She sighed. “I do. I’m going to a small party at a coworker's house for a few hours this afternoon.”
“Oh, okay. Well, what about tomorrow night?”
“What did you have in mind?”
“I thought we could go to dinner. Though I have to admit, I'm not familiar with many of the restaurants in Falmouth.”
“There's a great place that’s right on the harbor. It’s nothing fancy, but the food is good.”
“Sounds perfect. I'll call you tomorrow, and we can figure out a time?”
“Sure.”
