Chapter 36
'How's the house hunt going?' The sentence appeared in the screen.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes at Georgiana's question. She mumbled a curse before typing her reply, 'Total disaster. When the bedroom isn't too small, the living room is a battlefield or the rent is completely out of my reach. On top of it, your brother has a cold so now I must wait for him to feel better before continuing with my search.' She also wanted to tell her that to his snores, she had to add his sniffs and coughs and groans during the night but as Georgiana had never heard any of the vast collection of sounds that her brother produced, she preferred to keep that knowledge to herself.
'William is ill? He didn't tell me anything when I chatted with him today.'
Elizabeth could almost sense Georgiana's alarm so she tried to calm her. These were the dangers of passing this kind of news through the e-mails. Though they were a great way to communicate with the deaf girl -even more now that she was back in Peterborough-, they were rather impersonal and sometimes a simple phrase sounded worse than it was.
'He's all right, nothing serious, though he had a little fever yesterday. But don't worry, he's fine now.' She typed, hating him for hiding these things from his sister and not telling her about them.
'Maybe I'll go to Matlock for the weekend to check on him.'
"We were planning to go to your new house this weekend. William is anxious to see it." Elizabeth typed.
'Great, come along, but only if he's all right. He has a very sensitive throat, his tonsils can get really swollen and when that happens they fester a lot.'
Elizabeth frowned as she read the lines. Darcy complained a little about his throat the previous night, but she thought he was just exaggerating -in fact, he had been acting as if he were going to die of this cold since it started three days ago- and as his condition always worsened every time she announced that she was seeing a new house, she didn't pay him much attention. Anyhow, she tried to ease the girl's worries.
'He's working right now so, as you see, he's all right.' She typed, not very convinced of her own words.
'He's always working, that's the problem.' was Georgiana's reply.
'I'll check on him and I'll call you back later.'
Elizabeth ended the connection and walked towards Darcy's office.
"Hi, Margaret, is he busy?"
The secretary looked up at the young woman. What was her opinion of her when she first met her? A civilian, that's what she thought. But now, some ten months later, she still marveled at how changed she was, how balanced and confident this new Elizabeth looked. And for her boss, the change had been positive too. He was much more relaxed, he still barked a little, yes, but he wasn't so despotic and was far more tolerant and approachable. It was amusing, because she had never seen two people that, being practically opposite, were more suited for each other, with dispositions and temperaments and talents that matched so well and that complimented each other to perfection. Undoubtedly, a relationship to the advantage of both.
"He's on a call, but you can go in, he's talking to your father."
"How is he?" Elizabeth asked with a smile.
"Oh," Meg rolled her eyes, "he already asked for tea and a box of tissues. Take him home Elizabeth, he should be in bed."
"That bad?" She became worried.
"Men are all the same. When unwell, they act as if they are going to die. Though I don't think he's exaggerating in this case."
After a quick nod, Elizabeth opened the door of Darcy's office. She saw him reclined on his desk, head supported on his fist, phone pressed to his ear, speaking with a hoarse, nasal voice. He glanced up when he heard her coming in and showed her a faint smile.
"Hi, love." He shifted his body and opened one arm so she would stand next to him.
Elizabeth bent to kiss his forehead, which was warm, and waited for him to finish his call.
"What? No, not to you," he told John while placing his hand on Elizabeth's bottom, "Lizzy just came in," he smiled at what his partner was saying, "
I'll tell her
yes, the model will be here on the following week. Sam says that building the set will take more than three weeks so that's a decision we must make soon
" he sniffed and swallowed, with certain difficulty for what Elizabeth could see, "
mmmm? yes
I already had one
no, don't worry, I'm feeling much better now
I will
yeah, bye."
He hung the phone up and Elizabeth said, "you are looking awful."
"I'm feeling awful." Darcy placed his hands on her hips and leaned to rest his forehead on her stomach. "Your father sends you a kiss."
"Thank you. Will, why don't you go home and stay in bed for the rest of the day? Staying here will do you no good."
"Will you come with me?"
"I have work to do. The boss will kill me." She smiled.
"The boss won't say a word. I'll take care of him." He looked up at her. "Please?"
His eyes were red and glassy and he was looking awful indeed. "All right." She said while caressing his scalp with both hands. "But only if you promise that you'll stay in bed and that if you are not better by the afternoon we are calling a doctor."
"Mmmmmmh," he smiled blissfully. "This is what I need, not a doctor."
"William
" she admonished.
"Fine," he fell back on the chair. He had no energy to fight her, "I'm at your mercy. I'll finish a few things and we'll go."
"Give me ten minutes."
"Go." He patted her backside and she left.
On the way out, Elizabeth told Margaret that she succeeded in taking him home and the secretary, on hearing the panorama that Elizabeth painted about his health, immediately cleared his agenda for that and the following two days, just in case. Nearly an hour later, Darcy found himself in bed, tray on his lap, drinking tea while Elizabeth took his temperature.
"Well, sir, you have fever." Elizabeth announced. "You are staying in bed for the rest of the day. Open your mouth."
He obeyed.
"William, you've got two red golf balls in there. I'm calling a doctor."
"All right, but don't tell Georgiana about this," his voice was like a hoarse whisper, "she'll be worried sick and I don't ..."
"She already knows," she interrupted. "William, she's twenty three and old enough to know and worry about you. I've already told her that you were coming home so you are paging her and tell her how you are feeling, all right?"
"Yes, mother."
"Now, tell me who you call when you get ill."
"I never get
" as he replied, probably because the hot tea he had just drank, the congestion of his nose and chest erupted and he choked and started coughing violently. When he finished, he fell back on the pillows with an exhausted sigh.
"You were saying?" She smiled as she pulled the covers over his chest.
"Over there," he pointed at his nightstand with a noisy sniff. Whatever it was that he sucked back into his nose again, he swallowed it. Elizabeth shook her head disapprovingly. "In the phone book. Dr. Stevens."
Darcy's doctor was called, Elizabeth gave him a brief description of his condition and the physician told her he would be visiting them during the course of the day. Tonsillitis, was the diagnosis when the doctor came, and the patient was medicated with antibiotics and confined to his bed for the following two days. Darcy, though, after a brief negotiation, convinced him to allow him to get up and work from home in case he felt better.
For the following two days, nursing her big tough man back to health was Elizabeth's only priority and all plans about finding a new home were practically forgotten. Like a hen watching after her only chick, she was around him all day long, controlling how much he slept, his temperature, what he ate and seeing that he was warmly dressed. Fortunately, Darcy wasn't a difficult patient, he was quite obedient -even more if Elizabeth was there with him- so his condition improved quickly under her care and the medication he was taking.
On the second day he was up and about, though never left the house.
Appearances was in full pre-production mode and not wanting to delay it one second, he used this time at home to focus on the movie without the constant interruption of the office's daily routine. Most of the time he worked with Elizabeth, transmitting to her the artistic concept of the film and exchanging points of view with her so she could contact and coordinate the artists' work. And he was very impressed with her work so far. If he had thought her bright and efficient while she was his 1st AD in Africa -once she learned the job, of course-, in the producing area, she was just fantastic. She was all that he wasn't: organized, neat, meticulous but most of all, she was able to interpret what he wanted to transmit and was great at making it happen.
"Here you are," Darcy walked inside the kitchen while stretching his arms over his head. He had been working in his study for the past two hours and he needed a break.
"I was cooking something for dinner." She glanced over her shoulder. "Tired?"
"No, I'm fine." He patted her butt and stood next to her to check what she was doing. "What's that? it smells like
"
"Vegetable soup."
He frowned on seeing the contents of the pan. All vegetables, nothing that
would require a minimum amount of energy to be chewed. "What? No meat in it?"
"No meat, just vegetables." She smiled. Her man was absolutely carnivorous and he always complained when there was no meat in his meal. Unless she was making her super lasagna, the one with ham and cheese and ricotta and that spicy tomato sauce she learned from her mother that he liked so much. He loved her lasagna almost as much as he loved her.
"I've been living on hospital food for the past two days. Don't you think I need something more substantial? I'll never recover my energy if I eat just this."
"You are on medication." She smiled up at him. "You must follow a healthy diet."
"What wrong with a steak? It doesn't even have to be a large one."
"I don't have any meat in the refrigerator." She lied.
"There is, in the freezer, I saw it." He caught her.
"All right," Elizabeth admitted defeat. "A small one, and well done, nothing of that half raw meat you always eat for now. I don't want to risk an intestinal problem while you are still recovering from this cold."
"My little nurse," he pulled her closer so she was leaning on his chest, "What would have become of me had you not taken such good care of me?"
As it always happened when he told her now important she was in his life, she glowed. "Surely recovering, slower, but recovering nonetheless."
"No, I would probably be dead or at the hospital, with all those tubes coming out of my arms, sexy nurses giving me enemas
"
She laughed.
"No, seriously." He smoothed her hair. "If I'm all right, it's because of you. You are the best thing that happened in my life, Lizzy. Thank you, for everything you've done."
"You are welcome." She embraced his waist, a tender smile playing on her lips. Did this man know that every time he said these things he disarmed her, that he weakened her resolution of moving on her own? He probably did. No, she was sure that the sly thing knew perfectly well what he was doing, how he was slowly making her change her mind with every thing he did and every word he said. And she couldn't care less if he was, he was making her feel loved and needed and she loved him even more because of that.
Darcy kissed her nose and swayed their bodies in this sexy little dance. He gave her a kiss, slow and deep as his caresses and moves became deliberate and sensual.
"I think I'm feeling well enough to return to our routine tonight." He murmured against her lips. "This cold has been keeping me away from my manly duties for too long."
But his seduction was cut from the root when Elizabeth patted his chest with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, stud, you'll have to wait a few days for that."
His brows knitted instantly. Not her monthly, not now. "This is most untimely, Elizabeth."
"You can't stop nature from following its course."
He sighed and kissed the top of her head. "Where did you say the steak was?"
Elizabeth laughed and slapped his behind as he turned towards the refrigerator. That was her man, so absolutely basic and primitive. If his one of his appetites couldn't be satisfied right away, he would just switch and satiate the other one. Men, they are ruled by their dicks and their stomachs.
The weekend found them on the road to Peterborough to visit Georgiana, who had returned to her teaching routine two weeks ago and who they wanted to check on.
"Are you going to call Charlotte to design the wardrobe?" Elizabeth asked as he drove.
"She's a possibility, yes," he shrugged, "though I'm not sure she'll be able to handle the size of this movie. The dancers alone will have over 200 costumes and she has never worked in a project as big as this one."
"Neither have you." She smirked.
Darcy shot her a sideways glance. "I was planning to hire Luis for hairstyle."
Elizabeth raised her eyebrows. "Isn't he Caroline's personal hairdresser?"
"Not any more. He moved to London
" and added rather suggestively "
with Ted Hurst."
There was a pause where Elizabeth stared at him in mute astonishment. "Ted Hurst is gay?"
"Unbelievable, isn't it? I was very surprised when I learned about it, too." He chuckled and that made him cough, twice, so Elizabeth patted his back to help him recover.
"It's time for your antibiotic," Elizabeth checked her watch.
"I'll take it at Georgiana's. We'll be there in a while."
Elizabeth touched his cheek and he have her a quick kiss on her palm.
"You'll have to go prop hunting on the following week. There are a couple of companies that specialize in period furniture in Derbyshire that you can visit, Sam will give you the numbers."
"All right."
"You'll need a car to move around."
That was exactly what she was thinking. While Darcy had been her 'driver' during the last weeks, she knew that she couldn't depend of him for her daily work.
"The company owns a few cars you could use, though I thought of buying you a new one." He said quietly.
Oh no, she knew what he was trying to do. Now it was a car, surely redecorating his house would follow and her dreams and expectations of having her own place, no matter how cheap and tiny it was, would be gone forever. It was getting tougher every day, this cold he had almost made her reconsider her decision, so she didn't want to add the pressure of receiving a car when she was not going to stay with him in a definitive basis. No, no car, Mr. Darcy.
"I don't think it's necessary, I can use one of the other ones."
"A Mini Cooper." He just said.
Bloody bastard. That was a low blow, definitively a low blow. How could she say 'no' to a Mini Cooper?
Darcy glanced quickly in her direction and knew that he got her. But just in case there were doubts dancing around inside that stubborn little head, he hit one last time, knowing that this would be a temptation she would not be able to resist. "Metallic blue, white roof, or not, maybe the red one, with the white roof. I really like it in red. What do you think?"
"That's absolutely unfair, do you know that?" She accused.
"Yes," he smiled proudly. "I know."
"It's like blackmail."
"Yeah."
The man looked so absolutely pleased with himself that she laughed. "You are indeed incredible. I love you, William." She moved closer to kiss his cheek.
His eyes were fixed on the road ahead. "Well?"
"Metallic blue."
"William, she's not going to hear it." Elizabeth said as he rang the bell of Georgiana's house.
"She'll open, you'll see." He pressed the button once again.
"But she can't hear it! How is she
"
Georgiana opened the door at that same moment and Elizabeth looked at Darcy with incredulous eyes.
"Magic." He smiled at her.
Brother and sister mingled in a tight embrace and the siblings started exchanging signs where they updated the news of the past fortnight. Elizabeth's understanding of sign language was still very limited, but as Darcy always accompanied his signs with words so he wouldn't exclude her from his chats with his sister, she knew they were talking mostly about the moving, the furniture she had just acquired and then the 'conversation' turned towards the evolution of Darcy's cold and his recovery.
Georgiana then, looking so very proud of herself, showed her new home. It was large, with a nice garden, three bedrooms on the upper floor and already equipped with latest technology in devices to assist deaf people. That's how she learned that things as vibrating alarm clocks, wire free door chimes and door knock beacons existed. So it wasn't magic or telepathy as Darcy made her think.
After the short tour -there wasn't much to see anyway- they walked towards the kitchen because Darcy was seriously interested in seeing how it was equipped. He asked about fire and smoke alarms for non hearing people and then, declaring he was hungry, he headed towards the refrigerator to see what kind of food he could steal from inside.
Laughing at his unusual appetite, Georgiana told him that she didn't have time to go to the grocery store yet, but that she was planning to do so on the following day and invited them to come along.
"I will be delighted," Darcy smiled as he signed his reply. "Can you give me a glass of water so I can take my medicine?"
Georgiana nodded and walked away to get him what he asked for.
"Don't you think she's thinner?" Darcy asked Elizabeth as soon as Georgiana turned away.
Elizabeth looked at Georgiana's back, who was looking for a glass inside the cabinet. "No, I think she's fine."
"She's thinner." He declared. Georgiana turned around at that same moment so he smiled as if nothing had happened. "Thank you, darling, why don't we go have lunch together? Lizzy, what do you say?"
"Sure." She replied.
Something was going on, Elizabeth guessed, because Darcy was acting quite strange around his sister. When Georgiana was looking at him, he was all smiles and sweetness, but he would turn serious and pensive the instant the girl averted her eyes from his face. During lunch, he controlled everything his sister ate and the oddest request came when Georgiana excused herself to go to the restroom.
"Follow her."
"What?" Elizabeth raised her eyebrows.
"Go and see what she's doing. When she comes out from the toilet, pretend you are washing your hands or something. I want to know what she's doing in there."
"William," she questioned, "why
?"
"Do it." His tone turned harsher.
Elizabeth threw her napkin on the table and did what she was being told, though doing very little to conceal her annoyance for the order he had just given or the Despotic Director voice he used. Ten minutes later, she was back with Georgiana.
"Well?" He asked Elizabeth on the way to the car. Georgiana had stopped to see some books on the store next to the restaurant.
"Well what?" Elizabeth asked him.
"What was she doing?"
"Peeing, what other thing can be done in a loo?" She snapped angrily.
Darcy stared at her, a disgusted frown wrinkling his forehead. But Georgiana was approaching them so he forced a smile, "I'll tell you later."
For the rest of the day, they didn't have an instant of privacy for Elizabeth to find out what was troubling him so much so she had to wait until they retired that night.
"All right," Elizabeth's anger exploded as soon door of the bedroom was closed. "I want to know what's going on."
"I'm worried about her." Darcy removed his sweater and threw it over the chair. "She's thinner."
"Well, she just moved, and she's quite busy with school, from what she said, so it wouldn't be strange if she lost some weight. It's nothing out of the ordinary." Was Elizabeth's reply.
"Yes it is." He ran his hand through his hair. "You don't know how it is, Lizzy, you
"
"No, I don't know and I never will if you don't tell me!" She cried, obviously upset with him. Her tone softened when she realized that he was really concerned about this. "Why are you so worried about her?"
Darcy walked towards the bed and sat, cradling his head in hands. "I never told you, but Georgiana had an eating disorder when she was a teenager."
"What kind of disorder?" She was almost dreading his answer.
"Anorexia."
"Anorexia?" She asked quietly.
"Yes," he looked up at her with preoccupied eyes. "And I'm afraid it's happening again."
"Oh, Will, I didn't know, I
are you sure?" She sat next to him and placed a comforting hand on his back.
"I don't know. Her refrigerator is empty, she's thinner
I must check her bedroom to see if there are laxatives or other pills she might be taking. That's why I asked you to follow her to the bathroom, to see if she was throwing up her lunch. Sometimes she pretends that she eats and throws up later."
"She wasn't. She was just
"
He turned to face her, a sad smile on his face. "I'm sorry I spoke to you like that back at the restaurant, but I needed to know."
"William, why don't you talk to her?"
"Because she'll never admit it. The other times this happened, I didn't realize what was going on until it was almost too late, I
"
"Other times? Did it happened many times?"
"A couple of times." He sighed. "And it was my fault."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because it was. Instead of taking care of her the way I should I was traveling around the world. I went away for too long, she wasn't strong enough to be left on her own, not for such a long time. I stayed in Alaska for nearly months, filming, and there were times when I was unreachable
and when I came back, I started editing and I was also dating Ann and my life was too complicated to pay attention to her. Everything was happening in front of my eyes and I was too busy to notice it."
"William, you were working, she was
"
"You don't understand, I am responsible for her, Lizzy. With her antecedents, I should have known." He cried helplessly. "Georgiana had been very fragile since she was a child. I don't know why, but my father never accepted her deficiency so when my mother died, she was practically on her own. The little thing was so attached to me. I did everything within my reach to make her feel cared for but I was too young to make decisions for her. Then I went to school and Georgiana grew up thinking that nobody loved her. And when I finally became her guardian, I sent her away to that institute. It was devastating for her."
"But you said that you followed the doctor's instructions."
"I did, but I can't stop thinking that I also agreed with it because it was easier for me, too. I was only 25 years old, Lizzy. Suddenly, I became the guardian of a 15 year old deaf girl and I didn't know what to do. I was beginning to work in what I really liked, they were offering me fabulous opportunities and I allowed that to influence my decision. I agreed immediately, without considering the consequences that this would have on her. I should have known better." He shook his head. "She started thinking that she was some kind of burden for me and that I was sending her away because I didn't love her."
"You did what you thought best for her. You can't blame yourself for that!"
"Sometimes, I don't know what to think, Lizzy," he rubbed his face with his hands. "In the end, the change was very positive, she improved, she grew in confidence. But then George showed up and reinstalled that stupid idea that I dropped her in that place because I was too busy to care about her. She started to see herself as ugly and fat and she stopped eating. It was my fault, Lizzy, I placed her in that situation. I sent her to that Institute and left her there, on her own, for him to take advantage of her, Lizzy. I wasn't there to protect her."
Only then she understood how much he had hurt him when she accused so unfairly in Kent. Darcy was still feeling guilty for things that were beyond his control and nothing seemed to lessen the pain he felt. But he had to understand that not everything was his fault and that he had to move on.
"Will, you can't be always there for her. You have your own life and now she has her life and you have to let her go, for your sake and for hers." Elizabeth rubbed his back gently. "Anyway, I don't think she's ill again. She ate at the restaurant and she didn't throw up afterwards, so maybe she's just thinner because of the stress of moving into a new house."
"So she is thinner." He looked at her.
Elizabeth wanted to slap herself for what she just said. "No, she's not. Well, not much. She has always been thin, but nothing out of the ordinary."
He smiled for the first time. "Maybe I'm getting too paranoid. Her doctor told me once that I was almost as obsessed with her weight as she was. But I can't help it, Lizzy, if anything happens to her
"
"You are not being objective about this, William."
"It's not easy, you know," he took her hand, "I always felt responsible for her, she can't take care of herself, she
"
"She can, William." Elizabeth said softly. "She's not as helpless as you think, as you want her to be."
"Yes, maybe you are right."
Her hand went up to play with his hair. "Let's watch her during the weekend. You'll see that there's nothing to worry about."
"Do you know something?"
"What?"
"I never told this to anyone else. I feel much better now that I shared it with you."
"I'm glad I can be of help." She smiled.
Darcy put his arm about her and gave her a quick, noisy kiss. He whispered a soft 'I love you' and held her against his chest for a long while. And Elizabeth knew then that there would be no cuddling or lovemaking that night, that he was too worried about his sister and that he needed her support.
It was almost dawn when he was finally able to get some sleep. He stayed half of the night staring at the ceiling, praying that all his concerns were in vain and that, as Elizabeth said, Georgiana was all right.
The sight that waited for him in the kitchen on the following morning was one that brought a certain relief to his tortured mind. As he had guessed, Georgiana was already up, he heard her moving around the house, so he joined her in the kitchen. He placed his hand on her shoulder and kissed her temple as he stood next to her. Georgiana looked up at him with a radiant smile.
"What's this?" He asked with amused eyes. Georgiana wasn't exactly domestic, she practically never stepped inside Pemberley's kitchen, so it was amazing to see her making coffee, or whatever that black liquid was.
She pretended to be offended when she replied that she was fixing breakfast for her big brother. She asked him if he wanted some eggs.
"No, thanks," he replied, "we both know you can't cook them, so I'll have one of those muffins."
That cost him a slap on his arm before asking him about Elizabeth. Darcy took his mug of coffee, Georgiana did the same and they walked together towards the table. Once they sat, he told her that she was still sleeping and Georgiana teased him about how serious this relationship was getting and asked how he was coping with Elizabeth's idea of finding a new house.
"I must respect her wishes, if this is what she wants," he shrugged, "but that doesn't mean that I'm not doing everything at my disposal to make her change her mind."
She signed an 'I don't think she'll do it. She'll stay.'
"Do you think so?'
Georgiana nodded and took a muffin from the package. As she always did, she broke it into little pieces before eating it. Darcy shook his head disapprovingly, for he hated when she did this. He said that she ate like a hen, spreading the crumbs around and then eating them one by one. But at least she was eating, on her own.
She saw him staring at her and, smilingly, she gave him a bit of her muffin.
"Are you taking care of yourself, my sweet?" He asked her softly.
She knew what he was referring to and nodded.
"Are you sure?"
Georgiana ate another bit of her muffin to prove him that she was eating.
Smiling at her mischievous eyes, Darcy fed her with a bit of his. She told him again that she was fine, that there was no need to worry, that she wasn't a tiny, fragile little rabbit any more.
"You'll always be my little girl, darling." He squeezed her cheek.
And he would always be her big bear, her adored elder brother, the most perfect human being in the world.
'I'm very proud of you, did you know that?' He signed silently.
She smiled brightly.
"I really am." He smiled too and drank some of his coffee. And when he did it, the reaction was unavoidable: he wrinkled his nose and make his best effort not to spit it out so he would hurt his sister's feelings. Georgiana laughed heartily.
"Christ, this is horrible." He laughed too. "Do you have some tea?"
That's how Elizabeth found them nearly an hour later: chatting silently, both lost in that little universe they created when they were together, telling each other things that only they could understand.
"Good morning." Elizabeth approached them.
Darcy's head immediately turned towards his beloved and as it always happened when they saw each after being separated for some time -even if it was only for a while- their eyes glowed with the sight of the other. Elizabeth greeted Georgiana with a quick smile and her attention went completely towards her man, who was already pulling a chair for her to sit next to him. She had been so worried about him the previous night, she knew that he had very little sleep that he was too concerned about his sister to get some rest so seeing him this relaxed did marvels for her piece of mind. They kissed, whispered each other a 'good morning' and kissed again, as if the brief time they were apart had been too long for their liking.
As she observed their playful interaction during breakfast -they were stealing each other's food at the moment-, Georgiana wondered what will happen with these two when Elizabeth finally moved out of her brother's house. Darcy -even though he didn't like it- was already getting used to the idea, she knew he would handle it pretty well for he was quite used to independence and solitude, but she doubted that Elizabeth would survive more than a week without him. It was obvious that she absolutely adored taking care of him, that she couldn't live without checking what he ate and what he did, that he was the meaning of her existence.
Once they had breakfast, a trip to market followed. Georgiana's refrigerator was empty and Darcy didn't want to return home without assuring himself that his sister would have provisions for the following 3 months at the very least. The young girl knew better than to argue with him when he was so determined so she obliged him and allowed him to buy her whatever he thought was convenient for her even if she would never need it.
"Georgiana," Elizabeth touched the girl's arm to attract her attention, "we'll be over there, I want to show your brother something."
"I go for some things," she replied with her hoarse, unconnected voice. She glanced at her brother and rolled her eyes at the 'behave' he signed to her.
Elizabeth walked away and Georgiana headed to the frozen food section, focusing on elaborated aliments that only needed to be micro-waved to be eaten. The lasagna seemed good, those meatballs with gravy looked tasty -even if she was acquiring them to show her brother that she was interested in food- and there were those crepes she liked so much, she really like those and
"Hey, miss!" the man said, "that's my trolley!"
Georgiana continued to walk, oblivious that someone was calling her -and that she was pushing the wrong trolley- and picked a box of frozen pizza to check on the ingredients. She hoped it was for microwave too.
"Hey you!
oh, bugger," he walked after her and grabbed the sleeve of her sweater "
Can't you hear me? It's my trolley!"
Something similar to a shock of electricity was what she felt when an unknown person touched her arm. She knew it wasn't her brother or Elizabeth, they would never startle her like that, so she bolted around and saw this man talking to her. He seemed upset about something, she couldn't read him, he was gesticulating and she was so nervous -something not unusual when someone approached her in this way - that she couldn't find her voice to speak.
The man wasn't a bad man, he never overreacted in the way he was now with this young woman, but he had a bad day today. In fact, this had been the worst day of a very bad week so he just vented some of his frustrations on her.
"What's wrong with you? Are you deaf or what? That is my trolley!" He saw her flushed face and big, scared eyes staring at him and realized that he was being rough with her. He released her immediately. "All right, I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention to scare you. It's just that I broke up with my bloody girlfriend this morning and then some idiot hit my car in the parking lot and broke one of the tail lights and
it's my trolley you are taking."
At this point of his, in appearance, insincere apology -he sounded repentant while still looking upset so it was impossible for the deaf girl to interpret him correctly- Georgiana had noticed that she was holding the wrong trolley -probably it was his- and that the man seemed very angry about that. She raised her hands as an acceptance of her mistake and rushed towards her huge and protective brother, who would surely beat this man to a pulp if he followed her.
"Hey! I said I'm sorry!" And then, lowering his voice, speaking to himself, he added. "Skinny, but very pretty indeed."
"Here you are!" Elizabeth smiled when she saw Georgiana approaching them. "We thought we'd lost you."
Georgiana did her best to appear calm and composed after her recent 'confrontation' with the young man.
"Look, your brother found those hazelnuts you like so much. I think I'll take some for me, too."
Elizabeth's signs were a little confusing so the deaf girl turned towards Darcy for assistance. He translated, but he also asked for the trolley to place some stuff he got, too. Georgiana didn't want to tell them about what just happened, she didn't want to go back and risk facing that man again so she shrugged and told them that they kept the trolley, not her.
"No, darling," her brother signed. "You took it."
Georgiana insisted.
"Oh, there it is." Elizabeth saw it not far away and went for it. "Well? Are we ready to go?"
With signs, Georgiana told she was done. She just wanted to get away from that place as soon as possible.
Not far away, the young man was observing the scene with guilty eyes. He had followed the girl's steps since she walked away from him and saw her joining that couple at the end of the aisle, a tall man and a petite brunette, and saw them talking with signs. And it was then when he wanted to kill himself for being such a jerk: the girl was indeed deaf.
"No, no, put the cans first. They are heavier." Elizabeth told Darcy as he introduced the shopping bags inside the trunk of the car.
Darcy bit his lip and did what he was told. He could understand that she kept her closet absolutely neat and in perfect order, but the shopping bags?
"The bottles over there. That way they won't fall over the eggs."
This time he huffed. How he would love to send the eggs flying across the parking lot.
"Now the vegetables and
where's the chicken?"
"I don't know," he really sounded exasperated, "you were the one that catalogued the food by color, temperature, weight and size."
"Yes," Elizabeth said self-sufficiently, "that way it would be easier to put them away when we reach home."
"Elizabeth," he glanced up at her, "you are fastidiously neat."
"And you are insufferably untidy and disorganized." She retorted.
He introduced the last bag inside the trunk and closed it. "But, admit it, you can't live without me."
Wide grin on her face, heart melting at the sight of his wicked smile, she wrapped her arms around his neck. "No, I can't."
That was exactly what he wanted to hear. Soon she would change her mind about moving out of his house. "And I can't live without you." He embraced her.
Of course, they kissed, quick and noisy and then a second time, slow and deep, and so entranced they were in themselves that they didn't notice that Georgiana was staring at a man walking not too far away, that she averted her eyes when he looked at her and that she stole a quick glance in his direction when she thought he wasn't. No, they didn't notice that or how Georgiana quickly entered the car, bashful and agitated when the man smiled at her or when the girl chewed her nails because she had found the man quite attractive, even if he was rude with her not a moment ago. Anyway, why would they care about anything else when they were kissing so deliciously in the middle of the parking lot?