Beginning, Section II, Next Section
Part 17
"Richard, what have you been up to lately? I had expected you to call more often than once a month."
"I have been busy," he said vaguely. "Thanks, my favourite flavour." This was to Charles, who handed him the chips bowl. He started to concentrate on eating, ignoring his aunt. He held the bowl in front of Elizabeth.
"No, thank you. I don't really like those."
"They're good!" he said unbelievingly.
"Yes, I bet they are," Elizabeth laughed. "Still, I don't really like them."
"Why don't we put a cd on?" he asked.
"It would be nice."
He looked at William's cds behind him. "This one?"
"Yes, I like that one. He has some nice ones. Are you sure everyone would enjoy this one?" Elizabeth asked carefully, referring to his aunt.
Richard laughed. "It has some violins, doesn't it?"
"Richard, why don't you sit on the bed?" his aunt interrupted, seeing him laugh.
Richard took one look at the bed, and replied, "because I'd have to shout across the room to finish my conversation with--what's your name?"
"Elizabeth."
"With Elizabeth."
"What are you discussing?"
"CD's."
"Music. Good, that is a subject I'm well informed on. William, has Georgiana listened to that cd I gave her for Christmas?"
"Yes, I think so."
"It was an excellent piece of music, vital to a young lady's education."
William had probably never been so eager to jump up and refill Caroline's glass when she said, "can I have some more Sprite Light?" while holding her glass in front of his nose.
"Anyone else for a refill?" he asked to noone in particular after he had handed Caroline back her glass.
"I haven't even had a drink yet," Richard complained.
"Sorry! I forgot. What would you like, Colonel?"
"Grolsch?"
"Rolls?" Aunt Catherine exclaimed. "More food? You have just emptied that chips bowl! Be careful or you won't fit into your combat suit next week. William, why do you give your guests so much food?"
William rolled his eyes to Richard.
"Grolsch, not rolls. I know it rhymes, but I was talking about beer," Richard explained patiently.
Beer did not go down very well with Aunt Catherine either. "You are not driving, I may hope?"
"No, I'm staying the night."
Aunt Catherine had started talking to Charlotte, who had taken William's place on the bed to be able to hear her better. William sat down on Charlotte's chair after he had catered to his guests. He turned his chair a little so he sat directly in front of Elizabeth, practically towering over her.
Part 18
Posted on Monday, 13 July 1998
"You are coming here to make sure we do not vandalise your CD's," Elizabeth said to William with a smile. "You needn't worry, because we are taking very good care of them."
"I'm not worried, and you need not not worry either, because I know very well that you're just saying that without really believing it. You do it all the time."
"Oooh!" Elizabeth cried. "So I never mean what I say, you mean? What must Richard think of me now? Nah, I shall I have to enlighten him about you as well." She nudged Richard. "Prepare yourself."
"Go right ahead," William said.
"Do tell!" Richard said eagerly, "I would like to hear how he behaves here."
"For starters, he did not join in on our water fight--"
"I had just moved in and I did not know any of you."
"Oh right, and it's very difficult to throw a bucket of water at someone and say, 'hi, I'm William', I understand."
"I was not familiar with the habits of the people who live here, and I am just not the sort of person who would butt in..."
"Hmmmppphh," said Elizabeth. "I wonder why not? What do you think, Richard?"
"He was afraid that he'd get wet?"
"Hmmmppphh," Elizabeth said again. "Clothes can be dried, you know." Suddenly she giggled and whispered something in Richard's ear.
William saw a big grin spread across his cousin's face. What did she say? I know that grin, he's up to mischief...
At that moment, Mrs. De Bourgh chose to make her departure because Anne had to be in bed by ten. She told her nephews not to make it too late, and instructed them to call more often. A huge sigh of relief went up when they heard the door close behind her. Richard immediately turned up the sound.
Maria and Jane came home right after that, and they joined the party. Everybody was talking merrily except Caroline, who never had much to contribute to any merry conversation, and William, who was too reserved. He would have liked to join in on his cousin's conversation with Elizabeth, but he didn't know what to say, so he just listened.
Elizabeth rose to get a new drink, and walked over to Charlotte while she was doing so. "Where is that cute little watergun of yours? I was thinking of getting mine..." she whispered.
They had bought themselves two plastic yellow waterguns one day when they felt particularly childish, and the guns were a great way to initiate a water fight. It was a very hot night, so a little water would be very welcome.
"On my desk," Charlotte whispered back.
"Okay!" Elizabeth left the room and returned shortly with her own gun in her pocket and the other concealed in her hand. She handed it to Charlotte. "Let's do it the usual way."
Their usual way was shooting subtly at a person who was sitting right between them, so he would be totally confused. No one expected two people to have waterguns.
Elizabeth sat down again and winked to Richard. William saw the wink and wondered what that was all about. They certainly get along very well together.
She looked at Charlotte, who gave a slight nod in Caroline's direction. Caroline was to be the first victim...
Part 19
Posted Sunday, July 19, 1998
Just as Charlotte was about to shoot, William got up and blocked her view of Caroline. She shrugged. What's the difference? I'll just shoot at William. She signalled to Elizabeth to draw the attention to her side of the room and gave the trigger a gentle squeeze as Elizabeth exclaimed, "oh!" very loudly, drawing all eyes upon her. A wet spot appeared on William's back, but he did not seem to have felt it. He was staring at Elizabeth.
"A..a...spider!" she said quiveringly, pointing at the wall above Caroline's head.
All eyes turned to the wall, but there was nothing to be seen of course. Caroline jumped up and squealed nevertheless. "Where? I don't see it. Is it on me?"
Everybody laughed and Elizabeth took the chance to squirt Caroline.
"Ah!" Caroline yelled. "I felt something! Get it off me, someone, please!"
"It's not the spider, it's water," William said.
"Water? Your ceiling is leaking, William! Why do you have to live in such a dump?"
Charlotte could not resist squirting Caroline while Elizabeth squirted Maria. "Oooh!" they screamed in unison. They aimed at some others as well. Charlotte took care to squirt Elizabeth too, otherwise it would be very obvious that Elizabeth was one of the people with the guns. While doing Elizabeth, she did Richard at the same time.
"Wait a minute," he said to his neighbour, "I though you had that thing. How could you squirt me when you're sitting next to me?"
"Well, easy," she laughed and squirted in his face. "Oops, I need a refill." She got up and walked to the washbasin.
"How childish to play with waterpistols," Caroline said. "And thanks a bunch, you have just ruined my new blouse."
While Elizabeth was refilling her gun with water, Charlotte emptied hers on the rest of the people.
"Ack! You've got one too?" Jane laughed.
"You must get wet too!" Maria cried, and she jumped up and ran into the corridor. "It's not fair." She returned shortly with a glass of water which she threw at Charlotte.
"My room!" exclaimed William in horror.
Elizabeth squirted a 'z' on his back, "zorro!" she said with a grin, and ran into the corridor as he started to fill his glass at his washbasin.
Everybody now ran into the corridor, armed with a glass or water pistol, and the fight began. People threw glasses full of water at eachother until someone got the bright idea that you could get someone much wetter with a bucket. Fortunately there were only three buckets available, but the floor still looked like it had been flooded.
Slowly, everyone was beginning to get soaked through and through, except Caroline who sat sulking on William's bed, and William himself who was very good at dodging attempts to get him wet.
"You cannot escape us, William!" Richard said, eying the fire hose. "Does it work?" he asked Maria who was the nearest person.
"I think so, we never have fires so I don't know."
"Yes, the fire hose!" Elizabeth cried, running forward to unroll it. "He must get his share of water too!"
Part 20
Thursday, 23-Jul-98
Elizabeth rolled off the fire hose and tried to turn the water on. "How does this work?" she panicked, thinking that William would run off in the meantime. She was surprised to see him stay exactly where he was, and he even smiled. Ack! He doesn't believe me, he doesn't think I have the guts to really squirt him. Well, is he wrong, oh boy! I'm going to soak him through and through.
Somebody came along to help her and suddenly the water erupted from the hose at full force. Elizabeth aimed the hose at the first person in sight. It was Maria and she screamed and tried to get away, but unfortunately her room was on the other side of the hall and it would be a bit impolite to hide out in the room of someone who wasn't there. She ducked behind William, who also had nowhere to go, and who now received the full load.
"Yeah!" somebody cheered behind Elizabeth. "All wet!"
"What did I hear?" she turned with the hose and squirted the speaker. "You wanted to get wet?"
But William still wasn't completely soaked, so she focused on him again. Maria, still ducking behind him, opened the front door and sought refuge in the stairwell. William followed her. He did not mind getting a little wet at all, but Elizabeth seemed bent on soaking him all the way to his underwear. He hadn't counted on the length of the hose, however. All rolled off it easily reached into the stairwell. He ran down two flights, for fun, because he didn't think it was fun to run off completely like Caroline did; she had locked herself up in William's room. Elizabeth squirted the landing on the floor below.
At that moment, the lift opened and Colin stepped out. This was too good a chance to pass up, and Elizabeth aimed at him directly. He yelped, and tried to fit his key into the lock, but the force of the water blew it out of his hands. The others watched it from the stairs and Charlotte almost rolled down because she was laughing so hard. Luckily Richard was there to keep her balanced.
Colin finally succeeded in opening his front door and escaped. William had been laughing at Colin as well, and he was caught a bit unawares by the next blast from the hose. Soon he was completely wet, and his neat white shirt was a bit transparent.
"Yes, all wet!" Elizabeth cried as she turned the water off.
They all returned into their corridor to survey the mess. The floor was flooded, the walls were dripping, and the map and a poster that hung on the wall were pretty much ruined.
"Oh!" Jane cried, "look at that! It's going to take us ages to get it dry."
Caroline had reappeared in William's door opening. "What a fun birthday party, having to clean the floor. Yuck, William, look in a mirror, your shirt is practically transparent. Thank you for ruining his shirt, Elizabeth."
Elizabeth gave Caroline a dirty look before looking at William. Hmm, yes, quite transparent...he is quite well built...what if he took it off? Argh! Elizabeth, stop it. Remember, you don't really like him...
Jane had fetched the mops and handed them out. "If we all help, we'll have it dry in no time. After that we can get changed into dry clothes."
William's wet shirt clung to his body so much that it was hindering his movements. He took it off and threw it at Caroline, who squealed of course, afraid that her own shirt would get wet.
Elizabeth swallowed. Not bad, not bad at all. She returned her attention to the floor, but very often her eyes strayed.
After half an hour the floor was as good as dry. A lot of dirty water came off it--it probably hadn't been mopped so thoroughly in years.
"Shall we all change and come back to my room in ten minutes?" William suggested. He was completely and thoroughly soaked, and he was not exactly prepared to undress himself before an audience. "Caroline, will you wait in the kitchen?" Caroline looked seriously displeased with that, but went into the kitchen nevertheless while everyone else went into their own rooms to put on something dry.
Part 21
Posted on Saturday, 25-Jul-98
Everybody changed into something dry and less fashionable. Caroline looked even more overdressed than usual. When Charles and Caroline had to leave because they had to catch the last train, all the roommates left too, most of them for their beds, and some nightowls to study or watch television.
The next morning Elizabeth met Richard over an early breakfast. Elizabeth didn't mind eating with him, he was nice and funny. "What are you going to do today?" she asked him.
"I don't know yet. It all depends on William. Whatever he says." He looked round for William's cupboard. "What do I eat? Where is his stuff?"
She pointed it out to him. "He does like to get his own way, doesn't he?"
"Don't we all? He just has more chances to get his way. I'm forever bound by silly rules."
"Like what?" Elizabeth asked curiously.
"Like having to be back at the Academy for early morning call tomorrow and having to wear shirts with a collar."
Elizabeth saw that he was indeed wearing a shirt with a collar. "Why?"
"Academy rules," he said. "People will report me if they see me without a collar."
"That's ridiculous!" Elizabeth exclaimed.
"That's the academy," he answered wistfully.
"Then why don't you quit?"
A strange look crossed his face. "No, I shall not quit school because a girl wants me to."
Elizabeth suspected she had hit a raw nerve. "Someone wanted you to give up the academy?"
"Yes," he said curtly.
"But why?"
"Because she did not like the image of herself being married to a Colonel," referring to his nickname with a wry smile. "She preferred to think of herself as the wife of an executive or a lawyer."
"So she dumped you," Elizabeth said indignantly, "how completely and utterly selfish of her. She didn't care about you at all. I hope she realised what she gave up." She coloured slightly, because it could so easily be taken the wrong way. "You ought to be glad. She should have gone for William instead, they sound like a great match."
Richard said nothing and sipped his tea.
It dawned on Elizabeth what must have happened. It was Caroline. It had to be. It was so like her to do something like that, to dump Richard for William. "Oh," she said dumbly.
"He can be like that too. Only last night did he tell me he had persuaded a friend to dump a girl because of what she studied."
"What did she study?"
"Teaching, or something."
Teaching. Oh no. Jane! and his friend is Charles! She almost gasped. The presumptuous, meddlesome, arrogant villain! How dare he! She regained her composure, but she was seething inside.
Elizabeth had all day to work herself up into a rage until William returned. She was sitting in her room chatting on the internet to some of her friends, when someone knocked on her door. It was William.
"May I come in?" he asked.
It would be impolite to refuse a roommate entrance, so she said yes. He walked into the room and just stood there. Elizabeth wondered if he had come to admire her room, when he would begin to speak, and why he had closed the door behind him. What will people think if they see him coming out of my room when the door was closed? "Yes?" she turned round in her chair inquiringly.
He gave her an agonised look, sat down on her bed, and stood up again with the speed of light. "I have tried to repress my feelings for so long, but I can't do it any longer. I want to tell you, I'm in love with you."
This came as a big surprise to Elizabeth and she could only stupidly stare at him. "What?" she said when she had found her voice.
"I love you. You have been on my mind from the first day I came into this house and it has only gotten worse. I know it's wrong, because I'm sort of involved with Caroline, and besides, my parents would never approve of you, but my objections against your family and background were not strong enough to convince me that we are not the perfect couple."
The nerve! Elizabeth blinked her eyes a few times. "Excuse me? The perfect couple? You and I? No, no, no, we are far from being the perfect couple, and though I suppose I should take it as a compliment that someone likes me, I can't, not in this case."
William looked shocked and angry. "Are you going to tell me why not?"
Part 22
"All right, I shall tell you," Elizabeth said, her agitation rising. "You make it sound as if I was rude. If I was really rude, and I don't think I was, it's perfectly understandable after that speech of yours. It would be the pot calling the kettle black! Who can blame me? You said some pretty insulting things, but that is not all. You know I have more objections to you. How could I ever like you after all that you have done to get Charles to dump Jane. Jane, my cousin and roommate, your roommate too! You must have gotten to know Jane by now, if you had ever deigned to get to know all of us in this house, and you would have know that Jane is the nicest person on earth!"
William said nothing. He looked as if he thought she was exaggerating grossly.
This infuriated Elizabeth even more and she continued. "If you had thought that was all, think again. My opinion of you has never been good, and it has been strengthened by other people's accounts of your despicable behaviour too. First I heard from George Wickham what kind of person you are, and later I heard from your own cousin how his own girlfriend dumped him for you."
"George!" he cried angrily.
"Yes, George! And what he told me was not a pretty story."
"I bet it wasn't, knowing him."
"How dare you say that after all that you have put him through?" Elizabeth cried.
William walked to the window and looked out. "So this is what you think of me? If I had not spoken my mind about my objections against you and your family would you have reacted in the same way? If I had flattered you, for instance?" He turned around and looked at her. "But I hate being insincere, and I meant what I said. I am not ashamed of what I believe."
Elizabeth's anger only mounted at hearing this. "Oh, not at all. I am glad you were so insulting, really, because how would I have turned you down politely if you had been civil?"
William looked incredulous.
She continued. "From the very first day you came to live here, your conduct convinced me that you are an arrogant, conceited, spoilt and selfish brat. The more examples of your behaviour I saw, the more I disliked you. After a week I had already decided that you were the last person on earth I could ever love!"
William swallowed and said icily polite, "In that case, I wish you all the best in the world. Have a nice day." He walked out and shut the door with great care. He did not slam it.
Elizabeth leant back in her chair. She felt exhausted and close to hysteria. For some reason she wanted to cry. She stared at her computer screen blankly, but she felt she could not continue chatting so she logged off. She lay on her bed and cried for at least an hour.
Part 23
The next morning Elizabeth awoke unrefreshed, having slept badly because she could not sleep. Still, she had to get up because there were lectures to go to. She turned on her computer to see if there were any emails, and she saw there was a little exclamation mark next to the little envelope to indicate she had mail. Before she could go there to check it, she received an ICQ message. It was from her friend Rachel. "Don't you ever sleep?" Elizabeth muttered as she clicked on the little note.
Hey, Lizzie! Just wanted to say a "Hi!" because I'm so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed that it's disgusting. With Nicole in Chat, and she said I should nag you, so I do! ;) Telling her all of my sordid secrets ;D Well, just saying Hi! Bye!
Elizabeth looked at her watch. A chat would surely cheer her up, but she knew she'd be late if she went into chat, so she didn't. Hi! Sorry, I can't come--have to leave in 10 mins.
Ahhh! *grin* Well, that's OK! How's William?
Why do you ask? Elizabeth typed suspiciously.
Lizzie. . . you are the favorite object of his gallantry, you know!
How does she know that? How do you know?
Elizabeth, you cannot attempt to deny how highly he thinks of you! Always staring at you and all ;D
Uhh...
Oh, Lizzie! Whenever you two are there, you're always flirting together! :D How's that gorgeous Colonel, btw? Has he left yet?
Elizabeth flushed bright red. Flirting? How could I not have seen it coming when someone who I only write to, did? Luckily she did not have to reply, because Rachel was very quick in sending her a next message.
I've decided that I'm going to secure a mini-crush of mine that I've had my eye on for a while . . . I'll have to write a story with him now!
She was glad to abandon the subject of William, and typed, uh oh! not sure if this meant that Rachel was going to co-author a story with a boy, or writing a story about one.
What? It's just an innocent crush . . . I've always had a sneaking admiration for him--not Adoration or Admiration like I have for the Colonel, but I *do* smile when he comes onscreen . . .
Elizabeth giggled. on screen? qui???
You don't know? OK, I'll tell you . . . you mustn't tell the Colonel though . . . I don't want to make him jealous, you know . . . ;) I'm sure I've already confessed it to you . . .
I won't tell, Elizabeth typed solemnly, wondering who it could be.
*says in very small, whispered voice* _____
Elizabeth snorted. She could not remember what _____ looked like at all. __________________??????????
Thank you! But I'm going to bargain _____ for myself--everyone talks about what a puppy dog he is, but I like him! Kind of cute, in an odd way! Love those regimentals!--he seems to have a wry sense of humor!
_____! Well, good to keep that in mind. I'll save this for an appropriate teasing time! I have to run! see you tonight It was almost 11am and she really had to open her mail now, because her lecture started at 11.15.
LOL! Now I'm in for it . . . *sighs with a grin*
Well, bye! Have fun!
bye thanks Elizabeth typed quickly, and then she opened her mailbox.
"Whoa," she said as she saw there were six new messages. She scanned the senders quickly. Five from Colin and one from William. William??? No, I won't read it, even if it says PLEASE READ. I won't. The good spirits her little chat with Rachel brought her in, vanished in a second.
But after reading all five of Colin's stupid emails, she could not contain her curiosity any longer and opened William's email. It was dated almost two hours earlier, at 9.13, which meant he had sent it right after the university computer rooms were opened, because he did not have a connection in his room.
Hi Elizabeth, please read this, please continue reading. I promise I'm not going to repeat any of the things I said to you last night but I need to get some things off my heart. You said I told Charles to dump Jane, and you're right. I did. I thought it was the right thing to do. You see, I could see he was besotted with her, but she always seemed quite cool. I didn't think she was as interested in Charles as he was in her. He is my friend, I felt I had to protect him from this kind of thing. It has happened before and I did not want him to go crazy about some girl who was only stringing him along. I have tried to be objective, and I think I was. If I hurt her and you by doing so, I can only say I am sorry.I don't know what George Wickham told you about me, but I shall tell you the truth about our acquaintance. He lived next door to us all his life, his father was a nice man, but his mother spent so much money that they could not pay for their son's education. My father felt sorry for George, because he thought George could do better. He offered to pay his university fees. What he did not know, and I did, was that George had cheated his way through high school, and thus graduated with good grades, but he was incapable of making his way through university. He didn't show up for his exams or he failed them, and at the end of the year he was sent off. Miraculously, he was accepted onto the Military Academy, but he got sent off there as well, for undisciplined behaviour. George seduced my younger sister. He had taken her there, told her he loved her, and she was only 16! It was forbidden to have company at night, and he was found out. That, combined with other things, was what clinched it. Ask Richard, he knows because he was there.
As for your latest accusation, you can't blame *me* completely for that. I did not lure Caroline away from Richard, it was all her own doing. She practically throws herself at me, I would not be so cruel as to steal my cousin's girlfriend though it may seem like it. Does Richard act like he blames me? Again, ask him. He can tell you I'm speaking the truth, even if you do not want to believe me.
William
Elizabeth read it, and read it again. She was still angry about his interfering, and she could not forgive him for that, also because he kept insisting that he had been right.
The information about George was different. At first, she thought he was lying--trying to slander George. But then she started thinking. Why would he slander his sister as well, just to make George look bad? No brother would do that unless he really hated his sister, and William loved his sister. That was one positive thing she knew about him. Could George really be so rotten? It had to be. William would not lie about his sister, and besides, why did he ask her to go to Richard if she wanted the story proved? It had to be true.
She could well believe Caroline switching her attention from Richard to William, given her fashionable preferences, but still...he could have turned her down. He should have. Even if she was quite aware of the fact that he didn't exactly encourage her, he was not too enthusiastic in discouraging her either. Or was he?
She printed out the email so she could take it with her to her lectures. Elizabeth found it very hard to concentrate on what the lecturer was saying about the central place theory. During every break she re-read the email, and every time she became a little more convinced that he was speaking the truth and that she had grossly misjudged him. She kicked herself for believing George, just because he had pleasant, engaging manners. How could I have been so stupid? I did not even know him at all! And yet I was willing to believe all he said. She was forced to review William's behaviour, and had to concede that maybe she had always been misjudging him.
As she rode back home, she stopped at the supermarket to do her shopping, and ran into George. She now knew to distrust his friendly ways and his agreeable words.
"Ah, William's little roommate," he greeted her with a smile, thinking she'd be happy to see him.
Liar! Cheat! His smile made her a little sick, but she greeted him back politely.
"How have you been doing? Have you had any parties lately?"
She shrugged. "Yes, we had William's birthday party, and he had some friends, and his aunt and cousins there, it was quite fun. Do you know his cousin Richard?"
"Yes, I do," he said curtly, wondering if Richard had let anything slip about him. "He's very unlike William."
"No, they are different, but is that wrong? I think you just have to get to know William." George looked alarmed. He had not expected her to say anything like that, and that was of course exactly why she had said it.
"And then, after you go to know him better, would you say he improved his manners or his character?" George asked.
"I do not think his character has changed," she said solemnly.
George frowned, not sure what to make of this answer. To hide his confusion he went to weigh his vegetables.
Elizabeth continued when he came back. "I merely meant that one understands his character better when one gets to know him better."
"Well, I am glad," he said after they had walked through a few aisles in search of things on their shopping list, "although perhaps it was more the influence of wanting to appear a good person at his own party that brought on this change--I know what he is like, from my own experiences with him. He's very much afraid of his aunt, I know that, and he will do anything to please her, so she won't cut down on his allowance."
Elizabeth raised her eyebrows at this thought, but she was not really looking forward to a repetition of the story of George's traumatised youth, so she said nothing. The conversation ended when they joined different queues, and she chose not to wait for him until he had finished paying, but walked away quickly.
Part 24
Author's Note: A little note in case there are any Dutch: I'm thinking of the shutters on the houses on the Wibra-folder, and think CenterParcs with Johnnies & Anita's in camping-smokings.
Elizabeth did not see William very much after that. He stayed at his aunt's house to study quietly, and after his exams he went on a short vacation. She was glad she did not see him, because she did not know what she would have said or done to him. She certainly did not want her roommates to find out about it. Imagine what they'd say! They were always so eager to have something to gossip about--they had even ordered their single roommates to provide them with some gossip by bringing a stranger home. She refused to oblige them in that aspect, though.
The weeks passed by and Elizabeth was going away with her uncle and aunt to spend a few days with them in a bungalow park. They had invited Lydia as well, but Lydia had declined the invitation, saying to Elizabeth that there was no way she was going to do something as dull as that. Elizabeth was glad--she would have hated to keep Lydia in line, and share a room with a party animal like her sister who always came home well after midnight.
Elizabeth was a bit alarmed when her uncle and aunt told her they were going to the Lambton bungalow park. She knew William's family owned a house, or cottage, or second home, or whatever nearby. Anyway, the chances of running into William were very big. Elizabeth was soon tired of the tropical swimming pool, the tennis courts, the ponies, and the families dressed in unisex track suits, and she eagerly agreed to her aunt's suggestion that they take a big walk in the woods outside of the park, when she had established that they would not walk in the direction of the village. She assumed that William's house would be in the village.
They walked through the woods, and Elizabeth enjoyed the beautiful colours of the trees with the sunlight filtering through the leaves. Suddenly they came onto a better path and they saw some houses in the woods. If they thought the first ones were pretty with their wooden shutters painted in the provincial colours, they were absolutely impressed by the last one. It was bigger, stood in a little clearing and it obviously belonged to a wealthy family. Like the other ones it was quite old, but well-kept. The shutters here were also painted in the same colours, the same colour as the wooden gates.
They collectively gasped and stood admiring it for a while until Elizabeth began to feel a little uncomfortable. "What if the family are at home? Wouldn't they think it odd that we stand here gaping?"
"There is no car," her uncle pointed out, and the garage was open, so there was probably no one at home.
"This is really pretty," her aunt remarked. "I'm going to take a picture of it from over there and see if I can win any money by sending it to the Wibra for their flyer."
Elizabeth remained where she was and looked at the surroundings. It looked so peaceful here. Behind her a cow mooed and she stood looking at the cows for a while until she sighed and thought it was time to move on. She turned and stood still. Walking in her direction, with his head down so he had not noticed her yet, was William. Elizabeth was rooted to the spot. He eventually came close enough to notice her and his eyes widened. They both blushed.
After William had swallowed a few times and recollected himself, he came to her and greeted her. "Hi Elizabeth. What a surprise to see you here," he said politely.
"Uhh yes," she answered.
"I--I did not know you were in the vicinity."
"Neither did I. Uhh, I mean I did not know you were here," she added lamely.
"Have you been here long?"
"Uhh no."
"I did not know you were here," he said again.
"No."
"How long are you staying?"
Elizabeth couldn't remember. "Uhh a few more days," she said vaguely.
"Oh." He nodded. After a while he nodded again, and said, "well, nice seeing you. Yes." And he walked away.
Her aunt and uncle came up to her to ask who she had been talking to, and they were really surprised to hear that it had been her obnoxious roommate William. They walked on, but after looking at their watches they discovered they had to turn back. Elizabeth was mortified that they had to pass William's house once again and she hardly dared to look anywhere else than on the ground directly in front of her feet. She was even more embarrassed when they found William still in sight when they passed his house. He even walked towards them.
"Do you like the woods?" he asked.
"Yes, they are very pretty, and your house is wonderful," she began, but then she stopped.
He looked at her companions and introduced himself to them. Elizabeth was astonished. Why would he do anything as polite as that? He even talked to them, and her astonishment would not let her do anything other than listen.
At the end of the conversation he invited her to come with him, his sister and a few of his friends that evening when they went out, because he knew there wasn't much to do in the park at night. She was greatly surprised that he would ask her--after all she had not been very nice to him--and she accepted. They said good-bye, and Elizabeth and her relatives walked on. She now had to endure her uncle and aunt's questions and praise.
"What a nice boy! I don't understand how you can think him obnoxious," her aunt declared.
Elizabeth had to admit that she had never seen him as agreeable as this, and she had to listen to speculations about his character for the whole way home.
Part 25
"I wonder where he will take you, Elizabeth," her aunt said.
"Oh, please! We are going with a whole group," Elizabeth sighed.
"But it was still thoughtful of him to invite you to come with them," was her uncle's opinion.
"Yes," she had to agree, but she could not think of a reason why. How come he was suddenly so nice and polite? If she didn't know any better she'd even call him charming.
"I'm not sure if I should eat before I go," she said nervously.
Her aunt and uncle exchanged looks. "He is coming to pick you up at seven, isn't that a bit early to go to a pub?" Her uncle asked. "That sounds like you're all going to eat someplace first."
"I guess so. Well, I'd better get changed."
"Changed?"
"Uhh, yes. You hadn't thought I'd go like this, had you?" Elizabeth looked horrified. "I'm wearing sneakers and I have to wash my hair." She dashed off to the bathroom, not seeing the smiles on her aunt and uncle's faces. They began to suspect there was more.
At half past six she was completely ready, and she sat punching buttons on the remote control aimlessly until she would be picked up, driving her uncle mad.
William was very punctual: he was only a minute early. When Elizabeth opened the door of the bungalow, she noticed he had a girl with him, his sister, she guessed, because she looked a little like him. The girl was standing a little behind her brother, looking very shy, and she had obviously not come along voluntarily.
"This is my sister, Georgiana," he said.
Elizabeth gave her a reassuring smile. "Hi, I'm Elizabeth."
Georgiana's "hi" was barely audible.
"Shall we go? Charles has parked the car in front of the park's entrance. The others will meet us in town."
The others would probably be Caroline and company, and she wondered if that meant that they'd go to an expensive place to eat. Charles asked her lots of questions during the drive down, especially about her family and her roommates. Elizabeth wondered if he was fishing for information about Jane.
Caroline, Louisa, Heini and Richard were already seated at a reserved table for eight in a small pizzeria. Elizabeth was glad Richard was there, she noticed he sat on one end of the table, as far away from Caroline as possible, or maybe that had been Caroline's doing; at any rate they could not see each other without bending forwards or backwards. She sat down opposite to him, also as far away from Caroline as possible. William sat down next to Richard, so he had a good view of Elizabeth, and Georgiana squeezed herself between her brother and Caroline.
Elizabeth enjoyed the meal. She was surrounded by William, Richard and Charles and they provided some amusing conversation. At the other end of the table, Caroline was talking to Louisa and Georgiana, but that was too far for her to hear more than an occasional word of what they were saying.
After dinner, they went to a pub. It was still fairly quiet there, most people didn't arrive until eleven or so. Elizabeth and Georgiana settled for plain orange juice, which was smirked at by Charles' sisters who invited them to drink fruit juice with a tic. Charles challenged Georgiana to a game of pool, but she claimed she did not know how to play, so Caroline offered to show her how to do it. Elizabeth thought Caroline did this just to impress the guys, and to hang over the pool table in admirable poses, but it seemed that she had actually acquired some pool skills in doing so. Elizabeth, who only ever pocketed balls by accident, was impressed.
They all played a few games against each other, the ones not playing watching and talking, until it got too busy in the pub and the pool table was put away into a corner to make room for everyone. Soon it was so crowded that it was very hard to find your way to the bathrooms, and even harder to retrieve your friends once you got back. Elizabeth was sitting on a barstool talking to Georgiana and William who were also seated. Caroline was standing somewhere between William's knees, and occasionally offered a comment. Elizabeth had no idea where the others were, there were so many people in the pub and she had to concentrate very hard to hear what was being said. The music was so loud that they had to shout, and lean very close in order to make themselves heard.
"I have to go to the bathroom," Elizabeth shouted in Georgiana's ear. "I'll be right back." And she slid off her stool.
Georgiana looked frightened at the prospect of being left alone. She gripped Elizabeth's arm and gestured that she was coming too. Caroline had ordered William to push a way through the crowds for her twenty minutes earlier, and neither of them had returned yet. The two girls tried to push through the mass of people blocking their way, but it was very hard. They saw William make his way in the opposite direction a few people away, but he neither heard nor saw them. They finally arrived in the little passageway that held the restrooms and the sight there was surprising enough to make Elizabeth halt. Caroline and Richard were there, half hidden behind a kissing couple, and they were having a very big row by the looks of it. Georgiana saw it too, and pushed Elizabeth on urgently, feeling very embarrassed and intruding on their privacy.
"...just shut up, will you?" Richard yelled.
"Did you know?" Georgiana asked shyly as soon as they were in the restrooms. She hardly dared ask, but she felt she had to make it absolutely clear that William was not too deeply involved for Elizabeth to back off.
"Yes, he told me."
"My brother doesn't really care for her, you know, but she is very persistent."
"I guessed as much."
Georgiana looked relieved.
When they left, Richard and Caroline were nowhere to be seen. They made it back to were they supposed William was, and he was indeed there, talking to Charles, Heini and Louisa. "I'm hungry," Charles said. "Georgiana, I'll treat you to a milkshake if you'll go to McDonalds' with me." Charles always got hungry at around one o'clock.
Georgiana smiled and hooked her arm through his. She loved milkshakes.
A slow song came on and some couples started to sway if they had enough space to do so. Louisa and her boyfriend disappeared to find some more space, and Elizabeth was left alone with William. He smiled at her tentatively and gestured to the floor. She nodded. He put his hands on her waist, and she put hers on his shoulders at first, but then she slid them around his neck and they swayed to the song. When the song ended they parted and talked, but something had changed. She was even comfortable when he didn't say anything.
Charles and Georgiana returned with Richard who they'd found somewhere outside, and they all had some more drinks for an hour or so, until Elizabeth announced that she had to go to the bathroom again. William kindly offered his services in escorting her there, and she grabbed his belt so as not to lose him in the crowd.
He was still waiting for her when she came out. "It's nice and quiet here," she remarked as she grabbed his belt again. "How different from down there."
"Do you want to stay here for a while then?" he asked.
"Well, that would be nice."
"Oops, careful," he put his arm around her shoulder to pull her out of the way of a drunkard whose beer glass was threatening to spill over.
A long while later, William pulled away from Elizabeth. "Uhh...do you think they miss us?"
"I don't care. They'll come for us if they need us, won't they?"
"It's three o'clock," he exclaimed, looking at his watch.
"In that case, we had better rejoin the others. Some of them might be tired," Elizabeth smiled mischievously.
"Georgiana might want to go home," he said with concern. "She is not used to staying up all night."
"Neither am I, but I'm quite all right." She laughed.
William and Elizabeth came back to where some of the others were, looking very innocent. They had no idea how long they had been gone. "That was long," Georgiana giggled.
"Yes, there were a lot of people who wouldn't let us through," Elizabeth said with a grin.
"Where is everyone?" William asked. He only saw Georgiana, Richard and Louisa.
"Heini's gone to fetch us another drink," Louisa said. "And Charles was here a minute ago. No one knows where Caroline is. I haven't seen her since, oh, at least three hours ago."
Georgiana yawned.
"Do you want to go home?" her brother asked.
"Not if I'm the only one. I don't want to spoil anyone's fun."
"We had already decided that this was going to be our last drink," said Louisa and she took her glass. "But where is Caroline? She has the car keys."
"What is she doing with the car keys?" Charles reappeared. "She's been drinking peachtrees and beer."
"She drove us here, remember?"
They waited for a while after they had finished their last drink, but there was no sign of Caroline anywhere in the pub. Charles even climbed on a barstool to look over people's heads, but he didn't see her. He pulled Richard's sleeve. "I think you saw her last, when Georgiana and I went to the Mac, we saw you two having a row outside, and then when we came back, you were sitting there all by yourself."
"She was furious and she said she was going home," Richard replied indifferently.
"That would be the most selfish thing she could possibly do!" Charles cried. "We can't all fit into one car!"
"What's wrong?" William came up to them.
"Richard says Caroline went home."
"No, I said Caroline said she was going home."
"How could she?" William said irritably. "Seven people to one car is a bit too much. It's just like her not to care about the rest of us."
Richard shook his head. He was sure she was still somewhere around. "Let's just go to the car instead of jumping to conclusions."
They all walked to where they had parked the cars, and suddenly Louisa cried, "It's still there!" When they got closer they could see that Caroline was lying curled up on the back seat. Louisa knocked on the window and her sister sat up with a start. "Open the door," Louisa gestured and Caroline opened it. "What on earth are you lying in the car listening to Abba of all things for?" They could hear One Of Us playing softly.
"I was sick and tired of--" she stopped.
"Of what?"
"Let's just say I was tired, okay?" Caroline snapped.
"And that's why you hide in the car, getting us all worried?"
"Oh, I am sure you were not all worried," she said in a very sarcastic tone, taking a quick look at Richard.
"Yes, we were," Louisa cried.
"We are all tired. Let's go," William interfered in the sisters' argument.
They split up and William's car drove Elizabeth to the bungalow park while Charles drove the other one straight to his house. He had changed places with Caroline.
"I'll walk you there," William said. To his great surprise the very quiet Caroline did not even object. He walked Elizabeth to the bungalow she and her uncle and aunt were staying in. "I'll pick you up again tomorrow, uhh, today. We had planned on going to the beach. When we wake up I must have a serious talk with Caroline, about uhh, this."
"Yes," she agreed.
He kissed her goodnight and left.
Part 26
William drove home in silence, he was thinking, Caroline was thinking, and Georgiana was too tired to say anything. The others had already gone to bed when they arrived, even if they arrived only ten or fifteen minutes later. William shared with Charles, Georgiana shared with Caroline, Louisa and Heini shared too, and Richard had a guestroom alone.
William lay in his bed. Elizabeth is wonderful...I love Elizabeth...not Caroline. I never loved Caroline. I'll have to tell Caroline that I don't want anything to do with her and that I love Elizabeth, but I will do it when I wake up. I don't know what she was up to, clinging to me like that for the first part of the evening, but it was bloody uncomfortable. I'm glad Elizabeth didn't think anything of it...she wouldn't have kissed me if I had still been going out with Caroline, but I was afraid she'd think I was. I'll get to see her again tomorrow. What a coincidence that I should meet her here. He was too tired now, he thought as his eyes fell shut. Charles was already asleep. It was amazing how quick he always fell asleep.
Georgiana wondered if her brother had kissed Elizabeth. She supposed he had. They had stayed away an awfully long time in the pub. Caroline was not asleep yet, she could hear her tossing and turning. I wonder what that row with Richard was all about. Was that why she went to the car and why she wanted to drive back with us? She was very curious but she dared not ask.
Richard could not sleep. He had never had such a big row with anyone, and his heart was still racing from it. Did I say the right things? Did I get through to her? She looked pretty upset when we found her in the car. She hid it well, but I could see it. And that song...But I had to do it. It was going too far. He had stumbled on Caroline trying to kiss William in front of the restrooms in the pub. He had already been very annoyed to see her hanging onto William all the time, and when William had managed to escape, he had asked Caroline what the hell she thought she was doing and told her to wake up, that William didn't care for her, that it was plain to see that he was in love with Elizabeth, and that she shouldn't be so stupid. She had given him a big mouth of course, saying that she was old enough to take care of her own life, and that she didn't need him to interfere and tell her what William thought because he didn't know anything about it. Things had gotten a bit nasty, so he had dragged her outside to continue their row and she had told him she would go home, but he knew she wouldn't. She wouldn't give in so easily. And the most stupid thing of all was that he still cared for her, even if she made such a fool of herself.
Caroline felt rotten. Right after her fight with Richard she had seen William kiss Elizabeth in the pub though they had not seen her, and it had upset her more than anything. She was suddenly confronted with the truth: William did not want her, and it almost knocked the breath out of her. She had not wanted believe Richard, but now she had to. She had left the pub through the side door and headed straight for the car, where she had her Abba CD. She had laid down on the backseat so no one would see her, and cried. Now she was in bed and seeing her grave error in ever having dumped Richard, she cried under the covers because it would be quite unthinkable that he'd ever take her back. And she couldn't sleep. It was getting lighter and lighter outside, but she was still awake.
William woke up feeling very cheerful, even if it had been somewhat of a short nap, only six hours. I will see Elizabeth again today. The thought made him very happy. He wondered if he should go and pick her up, but then he looked at his watch and realised that she had only gone to bed six hours ago and that she very probably wouldn't be up yet. He could not stay in his bed so he got up and went downstairs. No one else was awake yet, so he turned on the TV, but he couldn't concentrate. He thought about taking a shower, but that would wake everyone up and they wouldn't be very grateful for that.
William decided to lay the breakfast table, and make coffee and boil eggs in case anyone should come down soon. Frequently he glanced at his watch, but time seemed to pass very slowly indeed. It had been ten o'clock when he got up, and he had decided he'd go to Elizabeth at one, nine hours of sleep should be enough, but at half past ten he wondered if he couldn't go half an hour earlier, just in case she had also slept very little. But then, he did not want to seem too pushy or eager or anything, so he'd better wait a while, he thought with a deep sigh. All breakfast things were ready, but there still wasn't anyone to eat it.
Elizabeth had been just as excited when she came home, but also very tired, so she had no trouble falling asleep, with a smile on her sleeping face. Neither did she sleep very long, though not as short as William, but she had a wonderful, happy dream, which featured William. What it had been about exactly was forgotten the moment she opened her eyes, but the feeling still remained.
Her aunt and uncle asked her how it had been, and they could see it had been fun from the way her eyes shone, but she was not very forthcoming with details, to their great disappointment.
All she could do now was wait for William and the others to pick her up, and dwell a little more on William's remarkable transformation.
Part 27
The second one to arrive down was Georgiana. "You are up early!" she greeted her brother.
"Early? It's a quarter to eleven!"
"Yes, I know, but remember what time we went to bed! If aunt Catherine knew she would be very angry and she would ground me for at least a year."
"She will never know. I won't tell her, and Anne is not here to tell her either."
"I think it's very dull of her not to have come. Good morning, Charles."
"Morning! I could have slept longer but I thought I had better get up if we still want to go to the beach like we planned," Charles said.
"Very good," said William who was glad that people were starting to wake up. "Are your sisters up yet?"
"I didn't check."
"I shall go and take a shower. That ought to wake them up," William decided, and he also saw a good opportunity to speak to Caroline now that Georgiana was downstairs.
He went upstairs and knocked on Georgiana's door. No one answered. He wondered if Caroline was still asleep, because she was not in the bathroom. He opened the door and looked in. There was still a shape beneath the covers. "Caroline?" he said. "Are you awake?"
The shape did not stir. He repeated his question a little louder, and he knew it had to have woken her up, but still she did not react. It puzzled him, because he had expected her to at least demand a morning kiss or something in that style. "I know you are awake."
"Well, then my silence should be telling you something, shouldn't it?" she said with audible hostility as she sat up. "Now that you are here I might as well tell you that I am dumping you. Sorry. I hope you will not be too upset. You'll get over it. Perhaps that girl, what's her name, will have you?"
Caroline got out of bed and walked past a stunned William. He had got what he wanted without having to do anything for it, but it was rather insulting to his ego. She is dumping me? How dare she call it that! And the nerve to tell me I'll get over it! I was over it before it even began. He shook his head in disbelief, but he was glad that he had not had to speak because he had been quite nervous about that. Of course the shower had to be occupied, so he shrugged and told himself there was no point in showering before going to the beach anyway.
They picked up Elizabeth and drove to the beach. It was impossible to get close to the beach with the cars and they had to walk at least fifteen minutes through the dunes. Elizabeth walked next to Georgiana, and chatted to her. William joined in occasionally, but he did not really know what to say most of the time.
Charles and Richard were a little ahead of them, with their long strides, and the others were walking behind them. Elizabeth saw that Caroline was flirting heavily with two tanned gym-types who were even carrying her things for her. She wondered if William had spoken to her, because she did not really look like a person that just got dumped, but she was afraid to ask him. She decided to keep an eye on Caroline.
They settled down on a quieter spot than directly at the end of the path through the dunes where there were lots of lazy people lying. Caroline lay down with her new-found friends, "for a while," but nobody minded very much.
William and Elizabeth walked towards the water and tried to get each other wet. The others joined them and it turned into a big wrestling event. Louisa did not put up any resistance and she was the first one to get her hair wet as William pushed her under. As he was doing this, Elizabeth tackled him and they both went under at the same time, with a bit of help from a wave. He kissed her as they came up.
After they had amused themselves for a while in the water, they walked back to their towels and lay down to dry and watch Caroline get a massage from one of the beach boys.
Charles had brought his ball and he and William started throwing it around. Elizabeth watched them, but especially William in his swimsuit. "Why are you not playing?" she asked Heini.
"We're going to get some ice cream. Want one?"
"No thanks. And you?" she addressed Richard who was reading a book. "Why are you not playing with them?"
"My shoulder is playing up."
Caroline, who moved her things over because her pals were leaving, overheard him say it. "Oh! But Richard, darling, you must allow me to give you a little massage. I do it really well!"
Elizabeth muttered, "Pass me a bucket," under her breath.
"No, thank you, Caroline," he said coldly.
Caroline was seemingly undaunted by this reply and patted his hand. "Oh well, you know what you're missing. I'm going for a little swim, darlings. Ciao." She walked away.
Elizabeth made a gurgling sound. "Richard, darling, did you not want a massage from our little beach bunny?" she said teasingly.
He blanched. "I am not very fond of beach bunnies."
"What are you two discussing?" asked William, who had overheard Elizabeth say "Richard, darling," and hoped she had not been flirting with his cousin.
"Beach bunnies," she replied.
"Are you flirting with Richard?" He pulled her up by her hands.
"Flirting? No, why?"
"Because you offered to give him a massage."
She guffawed. "No! It was Caroline who offered to do that."
"Caroline was flirting with Richard?"
The two cousins exchanged looks, and Richard shrugged. "Just like she was flirting with the whole beach."
"Oh," said William. "I am glad it was not you," he said to Elizabeth.
"I don't do massages," she replied.
"Aw," he said with mock disappointment. "I was hoping you would give me one..."
"I could try..." she said playfully, as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Richard interrupted their little tête-à-tête. "What did you do with that bucket, Elizabeth?"