Page 28 of First Impressions (Passion and Perseverance #1)

Chapter Nineteen

As she watched the DeBourghs walk away from her towards Mr. Darcy, Beth finished the remainder of her glass of wine.

Unable to stop herself, she turned her head to see Darcy and Anne’s reunion.

She wished she’d been stronger . Anne walked right up to Darcy, who embraced her in a tight hug and kissed her cheek.

As his lips left her skin, he opened his eyes and looked right at Beth, daring her to keep watching.

Apparently, two could play at that game.

She quickly turned her head away, trying to ignore the sting of jealousy that shot through her when she saw their warm embrace.

She’d never seen him interact so familiarly with anyone before.

She wished Anne would have been a cold bitch, just like her mom, then she wouldn’t feel guilty for hating her right now, but she did and she felt miserable.

She regretted instigating his anger, she regretted giving Mrs. DeBourgh a straight shot to him, but mostly she regretted pushing him away.

But he wants you to leave him alone. Then why did he approach her? He wants to be with Anne. Then why had he kissed her? Why did he desire her?

She was staring off out the ballroom entrance when a waiter stopped in front of her to offer her a new glass of wine which she readily accepted. She needed to drown out the voices in her head and she needed to stay away from Darcy.

When she turned around, she saw that Anne and Darcy were still talking closely and Mrs. DeBourgh was curiously missing.

Unwilling to torture herself by being near them any longer, she walked off purposefully towards the other end of the room in search of Jane, whom she had yet to see.

Stopping to welcome a myriad of guests along the way, she finally paused on the other side of the dance floor where she deemed herself a safe distance away from seeing anything that would further upset her.

Taking a moment to look around the room for her sister, she saw Jane and Charles by the far corner of the bar on this side of the room talking to George and Lydia.

Jane looked beautiful as always, wearing a dusky rose, strapless, form fitting gown that Charles clearly appreciated; then again, he always looked at Jane in awe.

Beth made her way over to the group, hoping that as long as she was in proximity to George, Darcy would keep his distance.

She felt a hand on her elbow and immediately flinched; turning her head, she met the eyes of her concerned father.

“Oh hi, dad. I didn’t see you there,” she said, trying to keep her voice light.

“Are you ok, Beth? You seem a little jumpy.”

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine. You just scared me; I was focused on finding Jane.” She gave him a hug, trying to make her story sound more convincing.

“Ok…” He responded with worry in his eyes. “Have you seen your mother?”

“No, not since earlier.” Thank God. “ Sorry.”

“Alright. I guess I’ll try over by the entrance.” He gave her a half smile and grabbed her hand. “If you need anything, you come find me, ok?” Her dad knew her too well not to realize that something was up, but he also knew that she liked to handle things on her own.

“Thanks.” She kissed his cheek, but before she could escape to Jane unscathed, she heard her mother approaching and cringed.

“John! Beth! There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Where have you been? Have you heard who is here?” Her mother’s cheeks were flushed - from exertion at rushing over to them or from excitement, it was hard to tell.

“I’ve been looking for you, dear. I left you with George and Lydia and when I found them again you were gone,” John said, trying to calm his wife down.

“Yes, well I had to deal with Kat who’s upset that George is Lydia’s date and that she couldn’t have one.

I told her that Beth doesn’t have a date either, and you don’t see her falling apart, do you?

” Even though she was sure her mother thought what she had said was a compliment, it certainly didn’t sound like one.

If she only knew how close Beth actually was to falling apart.

“Anyway, have you seen who is here? You won’t believe it.”

“Dear, if you would just tell me, I promise to believe it.”

“Mrs. DeBourgh – of DeBourgh Diamonds! And her daughter, Anne. Did you invite them? How did they get here? Is there something that you aren’t telling me?” Her mother pried.

“No, mom. She is my client and I mentioned our event in passing and she graciously offered her support, so I sent them invitations.” Her mother’s eyes widened realizing that her daughter actually worked with some pretty famous people.

“Why didn’t you tell us? We should have greeted them immediately! Where are they sitting? Are they with us?”

“I didn’t think it was that big a deal, and yes, they are at our table, so you will have plenty of time to talk to them.”

“Oh, wonderful! We should go introduce ourselves and welcome them now, John. Mrs. DeBourgh is already sitting. Oh! And her daughter has been talking with Mr. Darcy, of all people, this whole time! They seem very comfortable together, I wonder if they are—”

“That’s a great idea, mom. Oh, look, Jane just saw me and wants me to come over there. I’ll see you both later.” Beth turned and walked off towards Jane before she had to listen to painful speculation and really set a bad example for Kat.

Deep breaths.

“Hey,” Beth addressed the group as Jane came up and gave her a hug, whispering in her ear to ask if she was ok. As they pulled apart, Beth gave her a weak smile and nod.

“Beth, you look lovely tonight. So good to see you,” Charles was beaming and gave her a hug as well. Even though he had complimented her, his focus quickly returned to Jane.

“George. Lydia,” Beth addressed her younger sister, who seemed to be in a better mood now that George was back by her side. Giving her a small hug, Beth moved to the bar to exchange her fourth glass for a fifth.

She strategically stood with her back to the bar, giving her a full view of the room and a fair warning should anyone decide to approach their group.

She remained in the conversation passively for several minutes, letting her nerves calm down as she began to survey the quickly filling room.

Feeling comfortable and safe from Darcy, her anxiety began to lower and she felt all the alcohol she had consumed to precipitously take effect.

As she listened to the conversation, she noticed that while Charles was certainly nice to George, there was a hesitation that formed some sort of barrier between them.

She assumed it was because Charles knew only Darcy’s side of the story about George.

Beth stared blankly at George as he finished telling some story about his travels in Europe.

It had something to do with sheep in Scotland, but her brain was too fuzzy to focus on his words; she definitely needed some food.

Was it hot in here? She felt like she was burning up when her brain registered that George had stopped talking and was looking very grimly at something or someone.

Adrenaline kicked in as she recognized Anne DeBourgh standing next to Lydia, which could only mean one thing; her eyes fell on Mr. Darcy.

She blinked twice, not trusting that he was actually standing there and that she wasn’t imagining it.

She heard Anne being introduced to everyone else in the group, her attention sharpening as Darcy acknowledged George.

“Mr. Wickham.” The coldness is his voice was unmistakable and menacing.

“William! It’s good to see you, brother.

” George tried to play it off with a laugh and warm smile, even though she could sense that he was clearly uncomfortable.

Mr. Darcy’s eyes blazed with anger at his informal address, his fist clenched as though he was ready to strike when Charles came to the rescue.

“Anne, it’s so nice to see you again. How have you been?” The rest of the group, who probably hadn’t even noticed the tension between the two men, were quickly distracted with the new guests.

“Feeling much better, thank you,” Anne responded with shyness, still somewhat hiding behind Darcy as if she needed his protection.

Beth watched George the whole time. He appeared to take in the situation and realized that this group encounter was to his benefit to confront Darcy about his future job, interjecting back into the conversation with cavalier confidence.

“So, Darcy, I was just telling these beautiful ladies of my wonderful time in Europe, but how I’m really looking forward to being back and beginning my corporate position at Fitz.” His eyebrows raised, waiting for Darcy to challenge him in public.

“Oh, are you?” Darcy ground out. He was barely holding it together, and now, she wasn’t the only one who noticed. She knew there was more to this story but without knowing it she just couldn’t fathom why Darcy would refuse to hire someone who he’d grown up with as a brother.

“Yes, I’ve gained a lot of perspective and insight while I’ve been away.

I’m sure that if dad were here he would be excited to see the changes I plan to bring to the company,” he continued with excitement, oblivious to the rage he was instigating.

With the mention of Darcy’s father, she knew that George had gone too far.

His eyes flared but as he went to move towards George, she saw Anne discreetly rest her hand on the back of his arm, bringing him back to reality and calming him.

Beth shivered as the cold rush of jealousy washed over her body. It hurt knowing that he was clearly capable of letting people get close to him, just not her. She knew her face must have betrayed her pain when his eyes caught hers and the anger in them was replaced with something softer.

Don’t let him fool you.

She felt the pain building inside her as her eyes glazed over with unshed tears. She needed to get away from him. About to excuse herself to go to the ladies’ room, she heard her name.

“Miss Bennet, if I might have a word with you?” His silky-smooth voice cut through the white noise of the party going on around them and through the fog in her brain.

She knew everyone was looking at her, intrigued by his singular request and waiting for her response; a response that she didn’t want to give.

She couldn’t face him alone right now. She also knew that she couldn’t publicly refuse him without causing a commotion.

Sacrificing herself to make sure the night continued smoothly, she sighed in resignation and was about to acquiesce when her father’s voice came over the DJ’s speaker system.

“ Ladies and Gentleman, thank you so much for your presence and generosity tonight…”

Thank you, Lord. Beth sent up a silent prayer as everyone’s attention was drawn to her father as he continued to welcome the guests and prepare them for his big announcement. Everyone’s attention except Darcy’s. He still stared at her, his gaze unbroken by her father’s speech.

“If you’ll excuse me, I need to go find my mother.

” She wasn’t walking towards her mother so much as she was running away from him, but he didn’t leave her any choice.

He’d pushed her too far and she was afraid she wouldn’t recover from another encounter alone with him.

When she felt confident that he wasn’t watching her anymore, she veered off towards the women’s restroom.

As she walked, she heard her father reminisce about their family and growing the firm to its current position, the loyal clients that they’d over the years, and how it was time for a new chapter to start.

She entered the women’s room as her father introduced Charles Bingley as the man who would be taking over their firm and continuing on their tradition of quality representation.

She could hear the applause from inside the stall as she let the barely caged tears fall freely down her face.

Don’t fall apart here. Just a few more hours.

Beth exited the stall and look a look at herself in the mirror.

Thank God for waterproof makeup. Grabbing a paper towel, she wiped carefully around her eyes.

Her face still looked a little flushed but nothing that would give her away.

She threw away the paper towel just as the bathroom door opened and Anne DeBourgh walked in.

She walked over and stood by Beth in the mirror and began to wash her hands.

“Everyone just sat down for dinner,” Anne said as if she needed to explain why she was in there to wash her hands.

Putting on her hostess mask, she gave Anne a small smile and said, “Wonderful. I hope you are having an enjoyable time.” Beth moved to leave the restroom but stopped and turned as she heard Anne speak again.

“Miss Bennet. Be careful of George Wickham.” Beth was totally unprepared for that statement and looked at her with a confused expression.

What was her angle? Did Darcy send her in here?

What was his game? Seeing her confusion, Anne continued, barely meeting her gaze, “He can’t be trusted. Please, be very careful.”

“Why? What did he do?” Beth asked determined to get to the bottom of this. When it was clear Anne couldn’t, or wouldn’t answer her, she continued, “Why should I trust you if you can’t tell me what he has done?”

“It’s not my place to say,” Anne stuttered meekly, unprepared for a confrontation as her face turned red.

“I see. Well, I have no reason not to trust George, who has been open about himself from the moment I met him. Your date, on the other hand, from whom I assume this warning is coming, I do not know because he refuses to open up to anyone. What I do know is that George was promised a job by his dying father, a promise your date refused to honor. So, until I’m presented with alternative information please inform Mr. Intolerable that I’m perfectly capable of handling myself and that the only person this discussion leaves me not trusting is him.

” Trying to ignore the shocked and stricken expression on Anne’s face, Beth turned and left the bathroom.

She felt bad for persecuting the messenger but Darcy wasn’t the only one whose emotions were barely contained and bolstered by her five glasses of wine.