On Bended Knee

Chapter 10

Frederick stood at Lucy's kitchen counter buttering whole-wheat toast while wearing his boxers and nothing else. He smiled inwardly as he watched Lucy trying not to watch him as she scrambled eggs. He was exhausted this morning, but too happy to care. Darrin, his makeup artist, was the only one who needed to know how little sleep Frederick had gotten.

It was worth it. Last night had been one of the most memorable of his life. Lucy had been so miserable when he arrived, he'd been certain that she was going to break it off with him. He was glad that she had given him a chance to explain. If Lucy had simply taken Neva at her word, she might have tossed Frederick to the curb, and last night would never have happened.

He knew now that Lucy had been through so much. The death of her father, the humiliation she'd endured after her last break-up, leaving her life behind to move here. But she never let it crush her. From the moment he'd laid eyes on her, he'd liked her indomitable spirit. Whatever she was warring with inside, she never let it show. And she wasn't like some women he'd met who 'never complained' but moped around desperate for someone to ask them about their troubles.

Lucy spooned eggs onto two plates next to the oranges he'd sliced earlier just as Frederick finished with the toast. Even in the kitchen, they were a good team.

Frederick took the plates to the table while Lucy followed with their steaming mugs. After a few bites, he spoke.

"We should go public," he said. She was strong. She could handle a bit of the spotlight. And he was sick to death of hiding her. She deserved to be seen. The fact that he'd be able to kiss her whenever he wanted was the icing on the cake.

"Public? What public?" Lucy asked, worry written across her usually smooth forehead.

"The movie set. Your friends here in town. The local public."

Lucy set down her toast. "Did you forget my story last night about my last relationship ending very badly, and how public humiliation is one of my least favorite things ever?"

"I remember every word. That's why you should do this. Face your demons. Show ol' Boss Banger that you're stronger than one bad relationship."

Lucy's face fell even further. "Is there even any point? I mean, you're only shooting here for what, a few more weeks?"

That stopped Frederick in his tracks. Since his relationship with Lucy had begun in earnest, he had hardly thought about leaving. It was an artifact of sinking deeply into the character he was playing; the imaginary world started to bleed into the real one. Mr. Darcy had always lived in his ancestral home in Derbyshire, and always would. It was easy to forget that he, Frederick, wasn't so settled.

"All the more reason to enjoy our time here," he said, charming his way through his discomfort.

Lucy looked down into her mug, refusing to meet Frederick's eye. "Maybe," she said. "Can I think about it for a while?"

"Of course. But the sooner you agree, the sooner I can take you out for a proper night on the town."

"On the town?" she asked, one corner of her mouth curling upwards. "Where, The Restaurant, or the gas station?"

"Leave that to me."

Frederick had been wanting to do something special for Lucy for a while. His handful of wildflowers, hastily yanked from the field behind the trailer town, was not nearly enough. Not for her. He'd already set some of the wheels in motion. Now he knew what he had to do.

* * * * *

Lucy had previously managed to reschedule all of her clinic appointments, and the day after her and Frederick's heart-to-heart she was expected on set about the same time Frederick was. Nevertheless, she insisted that he leave before her, saying that she needed a few more minutes to get ready. The skeptical look on Frederick's face told her that he wasn't fooled, but he didn't argue and allowed her the dignity of arriving at the set a discrete ten minutes after he did.