“Lizzy, don’t worry about him. We have to tolerate him, but I think you put him in his place today.”
Elizabeth frowned, her eyes thoughtful. “But what if he is right? What if Will was offended by what I said?”
“Lizzy! Since when have you cared about other people’s opinions?”
Elizabeth looked at him and frowned. “I guess since it meant possibly losing our tour.”
“Lizzy, remember, they need LBS as much as you need them. And frankly, I think you are right. Darcy is much more concerned about the show being okay than about you mouthing off to him, especially when he deserved it.” He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her tight. “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine,” he told her as he kissed her hair.
She looked at him and smiled gratefully. “You’re right. Thanks.”
Alex nodded. “It’s my job, handling you temperamental divas. Now finish eating, then get cleaned up and dressed.”
As Elizabeth walked to her place for the meet-and-greet, she could tell something was different. It wasn’t just the obvious lack of Jane, as they had decided Jane would stay out of public view until she was stronger.
But there was more. The number of people who wanted to talk to LBS had been steadily increasing, but overnight it had multiplied. The quantity of people who knew her name and asked about Jane’s condition staggered Elizabeth. She signed more autographs and posed for more pictures than ever before.
At one point a tall man with blue eyes approached her carrying a large bouquet of yellow roses. “Oh, are these for Jane?” she asked, slightly surprised.
“No, they’re for you,” the man said smilingly. “I’m a huge fan of yours, Lizzy.”
“Thank you!” Elizabeth said, delighted. She stopped to smell the beautiful blooms before putting them down.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said, offering her hand.
“I’m Lewis,” the man said, shaking her hand.
“Lewis?” Elizabeth repeated the name thoughtfully. “Have I emailed you?”
“You remembered?” He laughed. “I’m very flattered.”
“I don’t get as much email as you might think,” Elizabeth deferred charmingly.
“You know, I’m really impressed that you actually take the time to answer your fans.”
Elizabeth laughed. “I’m just so delighted when anyone likes our music enough to take the time to write us.”
As she talked to the attractive man, Elizabeth was entirely unaware that she was being watched. Darcy was staring at her, watching her every smile and laugh with increasing unease.
Finally Elizabeth offered her hand again, signaling the end of the conversation, and standing on her toes, offered Lewis a kiss, which he gladly accepted.
Smiling shyly, Lewis reached into his pocket. “I’ve never done this before, but you’re even more beautiful in person.” He pulled out a keycard to the hotel. “Can I give you this?” he asked politely.
Elizabeth could feel her face turning red. “Oh, thank you,” she ducked her head, embarrassed, “I’ve never received this kind of offer. Um, I’m flattered, but we are leaving tonight, right after the show.” She laughed nervously. “I can’t.”
“Take it anyway, as a memento. You know, your first groupie,” Lewis grinned good-naturedly.
Elizabeth smiled back and accepted the card. “Maybe next time?” she said as she gave him another kiss.
Darcy was aware of pain in his arm. The pain flared again and he realized that Richard was hitting him, hard. “Hello? Earth to Darcy?”
“Stop,” he snapped.
“Nice of you to join us,” Richard quipped. “What is your problem?”
“Nothing,” Darcy growled as he watched the man move away from Elizabeth. He was shocked at the jealousy he felt. He thought he was going to bolt across the room when he saw that stranger pull out his keycard. The only thing that stopped him was the question: “And do what?” He had no right to interfere with Elizabeth’s relationships with anybody. Spitefully, he wondered if she regularly slept with her fans. He didn’t know.
Taking a deep breath, he admitted to himself that she didn’t sleep around. He had watched her closely enough to know that, at least. But he was deeply disturbed, not so much by what he saw but by his own reaction to it.
Darcy had never been so glad to see the end of a meet-and-greet. The fans were being led away and he was entering the green room when he saw Alex stop Elizabeth. “Make sure you are extra pretty tonight, Lizzy; the press is here.”
Elizabeth’s eyebrows disappeared into her hair. “Oh!” she exclaimed. “Okay, no problem.” And she moved off to her dressing room.
Darcy stopped Alex by blocking his exit with his body, anger coming off him in waves. “Don’t do that to her,” he said in his lowest voice.
“Do what?”
“She’s nervous and you’re making it worse.”
“She’s not nervous; she’s fine,” he snarled defiantly as he pushed past the taller man. “And, Darcy, don’t you do that to her either.”
Darcy scowled at him, retreating to his personal hideout: the instrument area. He was not surprised to find Elizabeth there as well. He watched her walk back and forth, her guitar cradled tightly in her arms, talking softly to herself. Darcy observed her long enough to realize she was talking herself through the set.
She wore her concert outfit, the sleeveless green shirt with the low cowl neckline and black jeans. Her face was pale, and her eyes were wide and troubled. Why was he the only one to see she was clearly in a panic? Not that he was surprised. It was completely natural; she had fans out there, the press was there, she was performing a new set she had barely rehearsed, and she was going on without Jane. Darcy was impressed that she had held it together as well as she had so far.
He was tempted to talk to her to try to reassure her, but then he thought about what he knew of her personality, and he had a better plan.
“Are you ready?” he said abruptly.
Elizabeth’s head jerked up. She hadn’t noticed him watching her. “Yes,” she said distantly as she visibly pulled herself together. “I’m ready.”
“I hope so. I wasn’t sure if you could play without Jane,” he said coldly. “After all, she is the pretty one, and that’s what your fans care about, right?”
Darcy could see he had hit the target as her mouth dropped open. He casually turned away and muttered, “At least I know that Charles will get a rise from them.”
“How dare you?” she sputtered. Darcy smiled to himself before changing his expression to a scowl as he turned to face her. “Who the hell do you think you are?” she ranted.
Oh yeah, get a real good mad on for me. He closed the distance between them and got into her personal space, their noses almost touching. “I am Fitzwilliam Darcy. I’m the man every single one of those people came to see, and don’t you forget it, Lizzy.”
“You arrogant fuck!” she seethed.
“Jealousy doesn’t become you, Lizzy. If you want to get ahead, you might want to try Jane’s method,” he sneered.
Darcy watched as her eyes got even larger. Before she could reply, Alex called her to the stage.
Elizabeth was too angry to say anything further to Darcy. She stormed onto the stage and directly into her first number, playing with a passion that bordered on violence.
She got through the set perfectly and was even able to cover up Charles’s occasional stumbles. With a bright smile and a wave, she left the cheering of her fans and went directly to the instrument area.
“There you are,” she announced as she closed in on him. “What the fuck was that about?” she snapped.
Darcy grinned guiltily. “You’ve got a hell of temper, Lizzy; I just helped you use it.”
Realization dawned on her. “What? You said those things on purpose! Why?” she demanded.
“I knew you were nervous, performing solo for the first time,” he said softly. “I also knew if I got you mad at me, you would charge right out there and be okay.”