Realizing he was still looking at her, she smiled politely and turned her attention to her food.
It was dark as Charlotte leaned against the wall of the hotel, watching the luggage as it was unloaded from the buses. She smiled to herself as she heard the familiar footsteps and took another drag off her cigarette.
“I was wondering,” Richard said casually as he took his usual place beside her, pulled out a cigarette and lit his, “if you had any plans for tonight.”
“Again?” Charlotte asked in a mockingly aggrieved tone.
“Well, you do know that I’m scared of the dark.”
“I think you just don’t like to sleep alone.”
He smirked. “It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?”
“I should get you a teddy bear,” she said.
“So?” he dragged the word out.
“I think I could clear my busy schedule, somehow,” she grinned.
“That’s my girl.” He smiled and kissed her once, while he pressed his keycard into her hand.
Charlotte smiled, grinding out her cigarette with her shoe. “I’ll see you later,” she purred and went back inside, sauntering for his benefit.
Richard laughed at her performance and took a long drag.
Elizabeth heard the mistake, sighing just a second before Darcy’s voice rang out across the stage of the empty theater. The rehearsal was not going well. Charles was a competent musician, but she was asking him to learn a lot of music under a hell of a deadline.
Nor was Darcy helping. Prowling about the stage since they began, he was all over Charles, erupting at every mistake. Elizabeth watched him as he stormed across the stage to confront Charles, and she stepped forward to block his path. “Will, please stop,” she said clearly.
Darcy halted, surprised by the challenge. “He’s doing it wrong.”
“You think I don’t know this?” Elizabeth said, a smile softening her words. “I wrote the song. I just think that yelling is not going to help.”
“This isn’t working,” Darcy snapped.
Elizabeth could see he was concerned about the performance. “It’ll work if you just step back and let me handle it.”
“What are you going to do if he’s not ready?” he asked, his voice low.
“He’ll be ready.”
Their eyes locked, Darcy’s demanding assurance and Elizabeth’s calmly waiting for him to yield. They stood locked in that pose until Darcy turned away and strode off the stage.
“Charles,” Elizabeth said pleasantly, “come over here.”
They walked to Charlotte. “Let’s go through just the changes again; it’s always down by a fifth, okay?”
Charlotte lightly tapped out a rhythm while Elizabeth and Charles went through the chord changes of the song. Elizabeth didn’t sing but instead called out the notes to Charles. They made it through once perfectly, and Elizabeth immediately insisted they repeat it. After three repetitions, Elizabeth declared they would try it with the words and they resumed their places onstage.
This time the song was successful. When they were done, Alex and Richard clapped for them, but Charles turned to Elizabeth with a look of dissatisfaction.
“It doesn’t sound like the way Jane plays it.”
Elizabeth frowned. “Oh, that’s because she does a hammer-on to add a little trill.” She put her guitar on the stand and held out her hands. “Here.”
Charles passed over his Stratocaster bass and she demonstrated the technique. “See?” Charles nodded. “It’s not that important to the song. Jane just added it ’cause she was bored,” Elizabeth explained jokingly, and then looked up to find the dark face of Darcy staring down at her.
“You play bass?” he said coldly.
“Yes,” Elizabeth answered, puzzled but not intimidated.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Why should I?”
“Because if I had known, I could have played guitar for you and we wouldn’t be in this situation.”
Elizabeth closed her eyes for a long time. “Yes, you make a good point,” she conceded slowly. “But we’d be in a similar situation, the difference being that you would be learning the songs and I would be playing an instrument that I am less comfortable with.” She sighed and shrugged. “I think this is a better solution, frankly.”
Darcy studied her. Something had clicked when she said “less comfortable,” not “less familiar” or “less proficient.” He realized then that she was also nervous about tonight and immediately backed down. “Sorry, Lizzy. You’re right,” he apologized as he began to walk away.
“Will,” she called out to his back. He turned to see her smiling to him. “Thanks for the offer.”
He nodded once and moved off the stage. Elizabeth nodded at Charles and Charlotte and they began the song once again. When they finished, Elizabeth was disturbed to find Mr. Collins approaching her.
“I want a word with you, now,” he glared at her. Elizabeth looked to Alex with a look that said, “What now?” Alex held up his hands and shook his head.
Elizabeth put her guitar down and followed Collins off the stage. “I am dismayed by your behavior, Lizzy. Who do you think you are, talking to Mr. Darcy like that? May I remind you exactly who is the star here? He could have you off the tour like that.” He snapped his fingers. “I very much doubt he appreciated being spoken to in such a manner!”
Elizabeth pushed images of bodily harm being inflicted on Collins away. “Mr. Collins, what I think he doesn’t appreciate is you taking my time away from a very important rehearsal,” she told him coolly. She looked to see the subject of their discussion watching them, his lips drawn into a thin line, and embarrassed, she turned and walked back to the stage.
As she knew they would, by five o’clock Elizabeth, Charlotte, and Charles had the set together. Elizabeth went to take a well-earned break and to find something to eat while Faust ran the sound check for Slurry.
Grabbing a plate from the hospitality table, Elizabeth found a quiet corner in the green room and sat down. Her lips curled into a smile as familiar hands began rubbing the tension out of her shoulders. “Hey,” she said softly.
Alex hushed her. “Don’t talk, don’t think, just relax.”
Elizabeth nodded and followed his directions, letting him work out the knots in her muscles. After a while, she felt limp and relaxed. Alex stopped and sat down next to her, eating the food off her plate.
“Stop that,” she muttered, slapping his hand away. “Get your own food.” She looked at Alex, recognizing the pathetic look he gave her, and passed over her plate with a sigh. “You better get me more.”
“I will,” he mumbled, his mouth full.
Elizabeth stretched out her arms and rolled her shoulders. “So, how are we doing?” she asked.
Alex tilted his head, considering. He was easily recognizable as Charlotte’s brother. They shared a similar build, though he was six inches taller. They had similar nondescript features and coloring, and like Charlotte, it was Alex’s personality that made him truly unique. He had a wonderful head for business and a love of music that had kept him alive in a tough industry. “Well, the good news is that ‘Everything You Are’ is in the top ten, and it looks like the video will make Top 20 sometime next week.”
“But the bad news is that Jane is injured, so she can’t perform our big hit,” Elizabeth finished for him.
“That’s about the size of it,” he said as Elizabeth sighed. “Don’t worry, Lizzy; it’s simply bad timing. It’s not even a serious setback, really. In a week everything will be fine, and in fact, I think we’ve got much more name recognition because of the injury.”
Elizabeth turned her head to look at him squarely in amazement and laughed. “Only you! Only you could take Jane’s concussion and find something good in it.”
“I’m the eternal optimist, aren’t I?”
Elizabeth nodded. “Yes, you are.” She paused to take a sip of water. “About Mr. Collins,” she began.