JANE SLOWLY OPENED THE DOOR AND FOUND ME FINISHING up my unpacking. "Lizzie, where did you run off to?" she asked. "Are you all right? I was worried about you."
"I'm sorry, Jane. I got coffee on your dress. Actually, Cat de Bourgh got coffee on your dress. Or, even more accurately, Cat wanted to get coffee on me, and your dress got in the way. However you look at it, I had a really bad night."
"Don't even worry about the dress."
"If dry cleaning doesn't fix it, I'm going to pay you back for it."
Jane sat on my bed. "Truly, I don't care about the dress. I care about you. Are you okay?"
I nodded. I didn't have the energy to tell her about Darcy. Plus, I was positive Jane's evening had been the opposite of mine. Her face was glowing.
"I'll be much better once you tell me all about what happened between you and Charles," I said.
The glow turned into a blaze. "It was amazing! We spent the entire evening together. He wanted to hear every detail about my holidays. He didn't even shy away about what happened with my dad. And ... he really wants us all to meet up soon."
"Us all?"
"Lizzie, I really want you to get to know Charles."
"I will admit, he seems like a good guy."
"He really is. Plus, Darcy is considered to be quite the catch...."
A laugh escaped my throat. "Darcy? I know you only see the good in people, but seriously, Jane. That guy is so full of himself. Plus, I overheard him telling Charles that he basically went away to London to get away from scholarship kids."
"Oh, Lizzie, stop it!"
"I'm telling the truth."
Jane patted my knee. "I'm sure you misunderstood whatever you heard."
"How can I misunderstand 'I went away because I'm a pompous jerk who can't be in the presence of anybody who doesn't have a trust fund'?"
Jane laughed. "Well, if he said that."
"Okay, I might be paraphrasing a little. I promise you this -- I am more than willing to go out and get to know Charles. In fact, I look forward to it. But I make no promises when it comes to Will Darcy. Unless someone can promise me that I never have to see him again."