“Charles told me,” she answered with a smile. “He said that Darcy has the hotel open the pool for him after concerts. That’s how he knew it would be open when you went downstairs.” She grinned. “So, what did he say this time?”
“Oh, forget about that, Jane,” she said with an aggravated snort. She sat down on the couch beside Jane. “Tell me about Charles.”
Jane glowed with a smile that lit up the room, “He was wonderful. We sat and talked and laughed. He’s very smart. Did you know that?” Elizabeth grinned and shook her head. “And he is so nice. He is the nicest person I’ve ever met.” Jane sighed and leaned back against the couch. “Did you see how he came to me, Lizzy?” Her voice was soft with a happy disbelief.
“I saw,” Elizabeth assured her, “and I have to say, I was impressed.”
“And he never tried to kiss me, not even once.”
Elizabeth frowned, “Jane? Are you sure he’s not gay?”
Jane shook her head with a wicked grin. “I kissed him good night, and yes, I am quite sure he is not gay.”
The sisters laughed together, then Jane took Elizabeth’s hand and insisted that she tell her what had happened with Darcy. Elizabeth related the whole story, including his remark in the elevator.
“Maybe he was trying to compliment you, Lizzy. Maybe he is just awkward with words.”
“Or maybe he was threatening me and letting me know if we don’t play up to snuff, we will be out on our asses!” Elizabeth snapped. She stopped and sighed. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m not mad at you. It’s just that man!” she hissed. Elizabeth got up and paced the room angrily. “First he was staring at me at the pool.”
“Oh, and I’m sure you didn’t look at him,” Jane challenged her gently.
“Yes, but—” She stopped and frowned thoughtfully. “It’s different when he looks at me. I always feel like I’m not good enough or something.” She remembered she was angry and resumed her pacing. “And then he has to go and be so insulting like that in the elevator. Ohhhhhhhh, he makes me insane!”
“Do you think you might be overreacting, Lizzy?” Jane frowned. It was unlike her sister to get this upset over anything.
“Oh, if you could have heard him, Jane, you would know I’m not. He was so snide about it, so superior.” She kicked a sofa pillow. “Arrogant prick!”
Jane smiled kindly. “Come on, Lizzy, we need to go to bed.” She rose and gestured for Elizabeth to follow her.
Elizabeth agreed. She was tired and her body was aching. She took a hot shower, letting the water carry away the rage and the chlorine from her body, and tucked herself into the strange hotel bed. Within minutes, the arrogant Fitzwilliam Darcy was forgotten, and she was asleep.
Chapter 5
“Lizzy!” Elizabeth Bennet felt herself being shaken. “Lizzy, wake up!”
Elizabeth opened one eye to see Alex sitting on her bed, smiling at her. “Go away,” she grumbled and attempted to roll over.
“Oh no, Lizzy. You gotta get up. You have breakfast in a half hour. Now up!” He pulled the blankets off her with a flourish.
“Fuck!” she swore. “Jesus, Alex, can’t a girl have some privacy?”
“Oh, like it’s anything I haven’t seen before?” he questioned her mockingly. “I’m serious, Lizzy, you need to get up now.”
Elizabeth sat up, rubbing her face, and gingerly opened both eyes. She was cold now, wearing only a T-shirt and boxers. “I hate you,” she growled.
“Then it’s probably a good thing we broke up. Let’s go, Liz!” he replied cheerfully as he headed for the door.
“Gah,” Elizabeth moaned, expressing her view of the world at the moment. Elizabeth Bennet was not a morning person.
Thirty-five minutes later found Elizabeth, Jane, and Charlotte entering a private dining room filled with large round tables and a buffet to one side. Elizabeth made a beeline for the coffee and found herself next to Caroline, who was refilling her cup.
“Good morning, Lizzy,” she said brightly.
Elizabeth covered a yawn and nodded, reaching for a cup. “Good morning, Caroline.”
Caroline smiled. “You can call me Caro. Everyone else does.” Elizabeth nodded her thanks. Caroline waited for Elizabeth to get her coffee and then walked with her toward the table. “Did you girls have a good time last night?”
Elizabeth wasn’t sure what Caroline meant. At her confused look, Caroline added, “At the show?”
Elizabeth took a big sip of coffee. “Oh yes! Thank you. We had a great time.” Her enthusiasm died when she realized that she had followed Caroline to a table where Darcy was already seated.
Their eyes met for a moment; Elizabeth’s were uncertain, Darcy’s patient, then Alex came up beside her, distracting Elizabeth. “Push over one, Lizzy. I need to talk to Caro,” he said, planting a quick kiss on her cheek.
Elizabeth shifted over a seat, finding herself between Jane on one side and Alex on the other.
Elizabeth focused on her coffee before she could face the question of food. She struggled to pull herself together, letting the caffeine banish the fuzziness from her brain and increase her awareness. As she sipped, she let her eyes wander the room, taking attendance. Almost everyone from the tour was there.
“Where are Mr. Collins and Ms. de Bourgh?” Elizabeth asked Alex, as she realized they were missing.
“Gone,” Alex answered easily.
“The studio people don’t have a whole lot to do with the tour, Lizzy,” Caroline explained. “They only come down to observe or if there’s a problem.”
Elizabeth nodded at the explanation and went back to her coffee. She noticed Richard, standing in the doorway kissing the girl from the elevator last night. As she watched, he handed the girl something and she left with a walk that would have done Jane Russell proud. “Who was that?” she asked quietly.
Caroline looked up from her notes and answered briefly, “That’s the flavor.”
“Flavor?”
“Flavor of the Day,” Caroline said with a meaningful look.
“Her name is Lissa,” said Richard in a voice that was loud enough to carry to Elizabeth but not be overheard by the other tables. “And since she is coming to the show tonight, she has moved out of the ‘groupie’ category into ‘short-term relationship,’ thank you.”
Elizabeth was taken aback. Not by the fact that Richard had one-night stands with his fans, she was too experienced in the business for that to faze her, but by the matter-of-fact way he talked about it. “Oh,” she said dumbly.
“Don’t let him get to you, Lizzy; that’s just the way Richard is,” Charles said with a reassuring smile. “He has no shame.”
“And why should I?” Richard asked as he returned with a plate of food and coffee. “If a lady and I wish to have a meaningless physical relationship, and we are both consenting adults, what is the problem with that?”
Darcy seemed to be deliberately ignoring the conversation and focusing on his food, periodically casting surreptitious glances at Elizabeth.
Charles just laughed and shook his head. Elizabeth felt like she was watching a discussion that had been repeated numerous times before. She left the table to get a plate of food. As she returned, Caroline rose and moved to the front of the room.
“Since everyone is finally here,” she flashed a look at Richard, “let’s begin. Last night was good. I was very impressed with LBS.” She looked at the girls. “Nice work, ladies, welcome to the tour.” There was a brief smattering of applause. “Today is an easy day. I want everyone to relax and try to catch up on sleep; the rest of the week is going to be tough. Tonight and tomorrow we are at the arena. Everything is packed up Sunday night, and we go to Houston. The crew will be leaving with the stage, but the artists get to spend one last night in this fine hotel.” There was a wave of laughter at her sarcastic comment. “Enjoy it; we will be on the buses for the rest of the week. Monday night is Houston, Tuesday night is Shreveport, and so on from there. Any questions or problems?” She looked around the room. “Okay, have a good day, and we’ll be meeting again for breakfast tomorrow, as usual,” she concluded and returned to her seat.