Pride and Prejudice

it's her

Darcy's POV

After my lengthy answer to Charles on why I didn't want to be introduced to Jane's sister, I decided it wouldn't hurt to at least see what she looked like.  

I adjusted my posture to turn and look at her. I could barely see her profile because most of her curled brown hair fell in front of her face. She had on a sparkly dress, and from what I could tell, seemed to have a decent figure.

She stood up a few seconds later, and when she turned to walk away, my stomach dropped. Hardly anyone has a scar on their shoulder, much less one that looks like a bullet wound. I stood up so fast that I knocked my chair over.

Smooth Darcy.

But I HAD to know.

She slightly turned her head at the sound, as did plenty of other people within a twenty-foot range, making me feel like a blundering idiot, but it hadn't been enough of a head turn for me to get a look at her face.

After righting the chair I stood back up to locate her, quickly turning to Charles, I asked with a little less breath than I would have liked, "What is Jane's last name?"

"Uh, Bennet. Why?"

"Blimey, excuse me," I turned away from him immediately before he could begin to question my entirely out-of-character actions. Charles was understandably surprised and confused, but he was willing to let me go as Jane was walking toward us.

As soon as I saw the scar, the memory of that fateful day came flooding back. If it was her, I was glad she had the confidence to wear a dress that didn't hide it. Speaking of the dress, I scanned the room searching for the sparkly dress.

I found it moving away from me towards the refreshment table and I began trailing after it, only being able to see the woman's dark hair from behind and the scar. 

Was it her? The thought kept turning over in my mind. Out of seven billion people, had I finally found her? I had thought it was impossible. I tried to find her for years after the incident, but neither I nor my contacts had ever been able to locate her. Could it be possible... had I finally found her? Had I found the woman who had plagued my dreams for years? It had to be her, it was the right last name.

My thoughts had been distracted almost daily by hopes of one day seeing her smile and hearing her laugh. Now, was it possible that the woman who had such a confident, yet laid-back posture could be her?

I looked at her dress closer, you could tell a lot about a person by the clothing they wore. Examining the whole dress I realized only the top part was sparkly, below that, the dress went to a pink color on the bottom. It wasn't too showy, tight enough to show she was a woman, but loose enough to show she was a lady.

Unlike lots of other women here. In fact, vastly unlike her younger sister, but more like her twin.

She seemed to know that the way that she dressed affected the way a guy thought about her and how he thought to treat her. For that I was glad. Overall she seemed like a respectable enough person. It is difficult to tell these days though.

Our last meeting wasn't exactly the epitome of um, respectability. No, that isn't the right word. We didn't meet under average circumstances.

I continued to mimic her motions as she walked across the room to the punch table to see if it was her. I stopped a couple of feet away from her while she filled up her cup, positioned so I could see her full face when she lifted it up. When she finished, her gaze lifted up from my chest to my eyes and in that instant, when her eyes met mine, I knew.

It was her.

I went cold as our eyes locked. My heart skipped a beat or two, making it hard to breathe, but I forced my outward countenance to portray its usual stoicism. The inner turmoil raging inside of me, however, made it difficult to keep my impassive expression.

I found her.

The stunning woman glided over to me with her cup in hand as my stomach did an odd tumble.

"So, Mr. Darcy, is it?" she started with an airy voice.

She remembered.

I stared down at her, unable to say a word.

"I'm curious as to why after saying someone, to put it nicely, probably resembles one of her sisters, you decide to follow her halfway across the room. Can you tell me why? Did you just have to see for yourself if I was as.. loose... as one of my sisters?''

I just called the woman I have dreamed about for years basically a slut and she overheard. Good job William. Why did you not think that she and her twin could have similar tastes and be the best of the bunch?

I looked away from her and said tightly. "It appears you might not be."

"Oh, that's very comforting. Might I add something too, Mr. Darcy? Despite you thinking I would have tattoos covered by makeup, as one of my sisters supposedly does according to you, I do not have any."

I gave her a curt nod, and without looking at her, decided to make my exit, "Excuse me, Ms. Bennet."

Without waiting for a response, I walked away from her and the staring mothers. I didn't stop moving until I was past the glass doors and had reached the relative safety of the side of the building, out of sight of anyone looking through the doors. Only then did I allow myself to absorb what had transpired, wincing as I thought of the words I had used to describe Ms. Bennet before ever seeing her.

On the night that Georgianna tells me she is pregnant, I find "Bennet" and make an utter fool of myself.

I pulled out my phone and clicked on one of the secure contacts. Holding the phone to my ear I waited. Despite the time difference wherever I was, he always picked up.

"William," the voice greeted me.

"Gavin. I need a favor."

"I take it that it's a personal favor?"

"Yes, don't tell the others. If it works out I will tell them. They would have my head if they knew right now."

"Name?"

Surveying my surroundings once again to make sure no one would overhear me, I shared the name and location, "Elizabeth Bennet. Somewhere around Merytown, Texas."

"Wait, her?" I could hear the surprise in his voice.

I stared into the parking lot and slowly exhaled, "Yes."

"Wow, okay. What was it like?" 

"Not ideal."

"Are you certain you want my findings?"

"Yes."

"Okay." He ended the call.