Chapter 4

Feast Basket A basket used to carry all the things a person needs for an SCA feast: plates, bowls, glasses, spoons, knives, (no forks) napkins, candles, etc.

Saturday, February 10, 2001.

Elizabeth studied her reflection. Her gown was a dark plum linen that had the effect of making her skin look even paler than usual and her eyes even brighter. Her hair was pulled back into a french braid.

"LIZZZZZY!!!! Come on! We're going to be late!"

"Ok, who are you, and have what have you done with the real Jane?"

Jane scowled. "I just don't want to be late, Lizzy. It would be rude," she huffed as she rushed by with a feast basket in her arms.

This was ridiculous. Jane scowling? Lizzy would have never believed it if she hadn't seen it herself. Her sister, who Lizzy thought she knew better than anyone, was acting in a way Liz had never, in all her 25 years, seen before.

'I just hope it won't be like the last time,' Liz thought ruefully. All that rushing to get to the fighter practice and then Jane froze up like a glacier as soon as she got within 5 yards of Charles. It was just so unlike her! Jane was the kind of person who could talk to anyone. She was the one who would learn everyone's name and life story while she waited on line at the bank. As a rule, she was warm and friendly, but in the presence of this one man she completely transformed.

Elizabeth was not at all comfortable with this transformation of her sister. At least, Charles had finally gotten Jane to talk to him. She had told him, among other things, about the event they were going to today. And earlier this week, they had shared an awkward phone conversation in which they had finalized their plans. But it was just weird. The more Jane got to know Charles, and the more she liked him, the more withdrawn she was becoming.

Elizabeth took a final check on her appearance. 'Not bad for a kitchen girl,' she thought. "Have you got everything, Jane?" she called out.

"Yes!" she answered impatiently. Elizabeth looked at the clock, it was 9:15. Jane had been up since before 8 am. Normally Jane wouldn't even be awake yet. Usually they would get to the event around noon, like everyone else. But no, Mutant Jane had to rush Elizabeth out so she could study her feet in Charles' presence and Elizabeth could have the pleasure of hanging out with Sir Stare-a-lot.

"Let's go!" Jane had reappeared in her cloak. Elizabeth rolled her eyes, put her own cloak on and grabbed her basket. She normally didn't wear garb when traveling to events outside her own Barony, but today's event was in the neighboring shire of Nordenhal. It would only take them forty minutes to get there, so it made sense to dress in the comfort of their home, rather than hauling all their stuff to the site and dressing in a crowded bathroom.

"We are stopping for coffee," Liz commanded as she walked to the car.

"Oh, that's a great idea! We can get some for Charles and the others."

Well, at least that sounded like Jane.

They stopped at the Stewart's and got 5 cups of hazelnut brew. Jane didn't know how Charles and Caroline took theirs, so Lizzy got extra sugars and a little milk in a cup for them. While they waited in line, the man behind them asked if they were in a play. Jane smiled and politely gave him the short version of the SCA ('No, we're members of a group that studies and re-creates the middle ages and renaissance.') while Lizzy paid. 'Well, she's kinda acting normally so far. Maybe there's hope?'

****

For the fifth time that hour, William asked himself if he was making a mistake. Charles was in a happy mood. (Strike that, saying Charles was in happy mood was the same as saying Charles was breathing.) Charles was in a insanely happy mood as he drove the light blue Suburban through the unfamiliar streets, generally ignoring William's directions. "Charles, your other left," he corrected his friend, and waited while Bingley, whistling, turned the car around for the third time.

Last weekend William and Charles had been at Birka, the large mid-winter shopping event in Vermont. There he had seen friends he had known for years. As a member of the Queen's Guard, he had the liberty of not talking much. Best of all, there had been no Caroline and no Bennet sisters. He had enjoyed Birka.

Today he was going to a tiny nothing event in a tiny nothing shire where he knew nobody, to spend a day with Caroline and a girl who seemed to want nothing to do with him, while he watched Charles make a fool of himself over Jane. Somehow, he didn't think he would enjoy it.

"Oh, 'arles, 'onestly!" Chimed Caroline from the back seat. Caroline, for some reason, had decided an accent was appropriate for today, so she had spent the whole ride speaking with a horrible cockney slur. "I don't think you could find your way out of paper bag."

William looked out the window at the road. They were going over 50 mph. Surely he wouldn't survive if he jumped out now.

***

The Suburban followed the Volvo into the lot. Parking beside the station wagon, Charles' door was open before the engine quit. "Jane!"

Jane smiled a devastating smile before she ducked her head. "Hello, Charles."

William was intently watching his friend and was surprised by Elizabeth appearing by his door. "Lady Elizabeth!"

'Uh-oh, titles already.' Elizabeth used her polite tone, "Good morning, Sir Fitzwilliam." She held up his cup. "Coffee?"

"Thank you," he said carefully, as he accepted the cup. The fact of the matter was, Darcy liked titles. It made him more comfortable to have some formality and structure when dealing with people. Also, titles meant that people would have to recognize that he was a knight and of a higher social rank than most.

Caroline stumbled slightly as she slid out of the truck. "Oh, Eliza, how do you manage in these skirts?" she whined.

Liz frowned briefly in puzzlement at her accent, then answered as nicely as she could. "You get used to it. It takes practice, like everything else." She handed Caroline a coffee cup. "I recommend to my newbi- um, newcomers that they spend a day in garb while at home, doing their usual things, to get used to moving in the skirts."

"Oh, how clever you are," she simpered.

Liz couldn't decided of she was really being that phony or if it was the accent. "Um, yes. Jane has sugar and milk if you need it."

"Thank you," she minced around the car to Charles and Jane.

'Weird,' both William and Liz thought, as they watched Caroline leave.

"So, it seems we are early." Liz tried gainfully at conversation.

"Yes." he answered flatly.

Elizabeth was really ready to give up now. It was clear that William didn't want her company. "Excuse me, I have to unload the car."

'Stupid! stupid! stupid!' he railed at himself. 'No wonder she doesn't want to have anything to do with you.' "Lady Elizabeth, may I help you?" he asked, trying to recover some lost ground.

Liz smiled. "Thank you," she said as she looked over the now empty car. Jane had the feast basket and she had the banners and her basket, "but I think we've got everything." He followed her into the building.

After being the first ones to check in they entered the main room. Elizabeth recognized Lady Alayne, the autocrat for the event as she approached them. "Hello,"the plump, smiling woman said brightly. "It's so good to see you." Jane and Elizabeth said hello and introduced the others.

"We brought some banners for the hall. Anyplace in particular you would like them?" Liz asked.

"That's great. Right along that wall would be wonderful. There are hooks if you can reach them." She pointed to a mostly bare wall.

The site was actually a Mason's Hall, but for the day it was being 'transformed' into a medieval french tavern. Bright heraldic banners of Coats of Arms were hung around the place, disguising modern eyesores and giving the place a festive and medieval atmosphere.

"Lizzy, Charles and I are going to take the feast baskets downstairs and claim a table for dinner." Jane lead Charles and Caroline down the stairs to the dining hall.

Elizabeth put her basket down and pulled a chair over to the bare wall. There were hooks placed at regular intervals along the wall. The problem was, they were about nine feet off the floor. Elizabeth carefully climbed up on a chair, but was still a few inches short of reaching the hooks. She was startled to feel a pair of strong hands bracing her hips.

Looking down at William, she shook her head. "It's no good. I'm too short. Do you think you could reach them?"

William nodded and handed her down from the chair, then climbed up himself. Working together they quickly had four banners hung on the walls. Each was two feet by three feet with the designs appliquéd on.

"Can you tell me whose Arms these are?" he asked.

"Of course. The first one is mine." She pointed to a banner with a green background. Centered on it was a gold diamond. On the diamond a black cat slept and in the upper left hand corner there was a gold star.

"The next one is our camping household, Longbourn." She indicated the one with a green background and a white stripe down the center, to the left of the stripe was a cooking pot and on the right a wagon.

"Then this is the Barony's," The banner was blue with a silver stripe across the center. Above the stripe were two silver stars and below it was strange silver fish.

"What kind of fish is that?"

"I think it's a sturgeon," she shrugged. "But honestly, you would have to ask the Baron to be sure. The last banner is Vivienne's." The last banner was white with three red fleur-de-lis in a row across the top. Beneath them was a black stirrup.

"They are very nice, did you make them?"

"Yes, I did," she said proudly. "Did you bring any?"

William shook his head. "I'm afraid that most of our tournament gear is still back in Boston." He lead Elizabeth to a seat. "So, you have a household?"

"Not really a household. It's just our Pennsic camping group. It wouldn't even have Arms if Mary wasn't looking for heraldry practice."

"Who's Mary?"

"Oh, you've met her. She's the Barony Dance Mistress. She's one of my sisters."

William vaguely remembered a slight, sallow girl from the fighter practice. "How many sisters do you have?"

Lizzy grinned. "I have four. Jane's the oldest, then there's me, then Mary, then Kitty, who I don't think you've met, and Lydia, who was at Twelfth Night."

William's face looked suspicious. "And all of them are in the society?"

She shook her head, "No, Jane, Mary and I are the only active members, Lydia will sometimes go to local events, but Kitty only goes to Pennsic." Why did she feel embarrassed by his question? "Do you have a household, Sir Fitzwilliam?"

"Yes."

'So, is he trying to avoid talking about himself?' she wondered. "Tell me about it," she coaxed.

His posture became more ridged. "It is called Pemberley," he explained. "It's a fighting household. Bingley, myself and our squire brother founded it." He looked away, "It's mostly just our squires and men-at-arms."

Elizabeth was tickled, "You have squires?" She knew a squire was just the formal student of a knight, and she knew many of them, but still the idea of having one amused her for some reason.

"Only one. Charles has two and Richard has one as well."

"Any ladies in your household?"

He was definitely blushing, "Only my sister."

"What about Caroline?"

His lips drew into a hard line. Elizabeth became aware she had accidentally hit a sore spot. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

Those intense dark eyes flashed upon her face. "No, you didn't offend me." He seemed to be sizing her up, considering how much to tell her. "It just that Caroline is very new to the society and I don't know what I will do if she asks to join my house."

Elizabeth studied him. 'That was very instructive.' She noticed the way he had said my house. It was also clear to her now that there was nothing personal between William and Caroline.

As if speaking her name had invoked her, Caroline appeared with Charles and Jane.

"Lizzy, the banners look great!" Jane bubbled. She proceeded to point them out to Charles and Caroline. Charles looked charmed and his sister confused.

"You see, Caroline," Charles explained, "each member of the society is allowed to have their own Coat of Arms. The heralds help you design it, then it goes through a review process to make sure they are unique and no one else has that particular design. Once your Arms are passed, they are yours alone and you can display them at the events you attend."

"Groups, like Kingdoms, Baronies and Shires have their own Arms as well," Jane continued. "Any member of a group can display the group's Arms at an event, to indicate that members of that group are there. That's why we brought the Barony's banner."

"I see," said Caroline in a bored tone. At least she had dropped the accent. It was unclear if she really didn't understand or if she simply didn't care. "So, where is your banner, William?" she asked sulkily.

"It's in storage in Boston."

"What does it look like?" she purred.

Elizabeth listened with mild interest as she extracted her needlework from her basket.

William paused for a moment, recalling, then he recited, "Azure per pale embattled or, a sable triple spired tower between two wyverns displayed or."

Elizabeth frowned while Caroline resembled a trout. She didn't like William playing 'pick on the newbie' even if it was Caroline. She decided to offer Caroline some help. "Hmm, let me see if I can translate. Azure, that's blue. So a blue background with 'per pale embattled or', a gold stripe. Is it going up and down?"

William nodded, amused by her struggles.

"Okay, blue, with a gold up and down stripe with a 'sable triple spired tower'. Um, a black tower on it between wyverns? That would be baby dragons. So, a blue background with a gold stripe with a black tower on it between two baby dragons!" She grinned as he nodded again. "Caroline, heralds use a special standardized way of describing Arms, called blazons. Unfortunately, it is half in French and therefore, it is difficult to understand if you're not trained in it."

"And are you trained in it?" She asked coldly.

"Me? No. I've just picked it up. That was pretty much my limit and I still needed help from Sir Fitzwilliam." She tried to ease Caroline's feelings. "I've been in the SCA for over five years. It takes awhile to learn things. I know it all seems strange now, but feel free to ask me any questions you have."

"Thank you," Caroline replied politely.

"In fact, could you help me with these?" Elizabeth held up what looked like long linen strips.

"What are they?"

"There my tipplets," she smiled. "They are false sleeves you pin on. Normally I'd get Jane to do it, but she's missing." It was true, Jane and Charles had left the hall unseen by the others. "I don't put them on at home, because I can't drive in them. They get tangled up"

William said, "You sound like you've tried it."

Elizabeth grinned. "Once."

"I don't sew." Caroline said defiantly.

"Oh, these are just pinned on. See, at one point in fashion, women would pin big, fancy sleeves on their gowns, to make them look nicer and show off their wealth. Gradually the sleeves got longer and longer, until they dragged on the ground. Then fashion shifted and the sleeves stayed long, but changed into these thin little strips." The tipplet was a flat strip thirty six inches long and two inches wide, with a short band that ran at right angles from the top. "The band pins to my upper arm, midway between the elbow and the shoulder."

Elizabeth handed Caroline a small box of straight pins and held the left tipplet in place. "You pin along the top and on the inner arm, where the edges overlap." she indicated.

Caroline looked doubtful, but gamely tried to place the first pin.

"That's good," Liz encouraged. "Try and bury the pin point in the tipplet."

Caroline overshot her mark and buried the point in Lizzy arm. Lizzy took a sharp intake of breath and quickly pulled out the offending pin.

"I can't do this!" Caroline wailed melodramatically and stomped off.

Luckily, Jane and Charles had returned. "Lizzy! Let me get that for you," Jane offered. In less than a minute, Jane had the tipplets attached.

"Are you okay, Lady Elizabeth?" William asked quietly.

"Oh, yes." She waved it off. "I was just trying to help her feel useful."

"That was very . . . thoughtful."

"Not very, judging by the results," she said, shaking her head.

He looked over at Caroline, who was across the room as far as she could be and still be seen by William. Charles was talking to her, but she was pouting at William. "I'll go talk to her," he sighed.

Elizabeth sat down with her sister. "So, where were you?"

A small smile on her face, Jane answered in a low voice, "I was giving Charles a tour of the site."

"I see. Anything else?" Liz lifted an eyebrow in jest.

Jane shook her head. "We just talked."

'That's an improvement,' she thought. "What did you talk about?

"Oh, Charles told me about many things. His house, his family, his car, his fighting style, his childhood, his personal philosophy."

"Jane, did you say anything?"

Jane paused for a moment, thinking. "Umm, not really, no." Elizabeth put her hand over her face. "Well, I guess I did, a little. But Charles is so interesting I really don't feel like I need to say anything." She added brightly.

"Jane," Liz started, and then stopped as she noticed that the others were joining them.

"Well, I just spoke to the autocrat and they are going to start fighting soon. Would you ladies do us the great honor of coming outside and watching us?" Charles asked.

Jane gave him a bright smile and said, "We would love to."

Charles took her hand and lead her to the doors, to the listfield outside. Elizabeth walked along side William with Caroline hanging off his other arm, figuring the day couldn't get much worse.

Chapter 5

The weather was remarkably warm for February. It was in the 50's already and would probably be warmer as the day went on.

The list field was on the other side of the parking lot. It was a roped off square, forty feet in length. Seven men and a woman were armored and warming up on it. Charles stopped and turned to Jane. "Lady Vivienne, may I please fight for you this day?" he asked formally.

Jane looked at him warmly. "I am deeply honored by your request, Sir Charles, but should not ask your sister?" She indicated Caroline.

"You are right." He turned to Caroline, "Lady Guinevere, will you inspire me today?"

Both Liz and William were amazed at how he was able to call her that without snickering.

Caroline frowned. "No, I don't want you to fight for me," she sniffed.

Charles eyes widened slightly at his sister's tone, but then it occurred to him that he could have his first choice and he happily lead Jane to the edge of the listfield.

William looked at Caroline who was watching him in an expectant manner and than at Elizabeth, who was ignoring him, and made his decision. "Charles, I'm going to marshal today."

He was wimping out. William would have liked to have asked Elizabeth to fight for her, but he couldn't be sure of her response, and then Caroline would be a bitch for the rest of the day. And he did not want to ask Caroline. He was worried enough that she was going to demand to join Pemberley when she found out about it, and he didn't want that. He accepted Caroline as Charles' sister, but that was as far as it went, and even that was sometimes a strain.

That left him with no one to fight for, and as a knight it would be vainglorious and beneath him not to fight for anyone, so he took the only way out: marshaling.

"Darcy!" Charles protested. "Come on!"

"No."

"Darcy!" Elizabeth could see where Caroline got her whining from.

"Bingley, I don't feel like it." He was trying to get Charles to back down. "Now let it be."

Liz knew what was going on. 'No one here good enough for you to fight for, eh Sir Fitzwilliam?'

Charles gave his friend a look, then stalked over to his gear and started putting it on. William put on his own armor, leaving off his helm, which he wouldn't be needing.

Jane had taken off one of the gloves she had on her belt. When Charles was suited-up, he walked over to her. She offered him the glove, saying, "My lord, please take this, as a sign of my favor for you, and to inspire you to fight honorably and well."

Charles accepted the favor, saying, "My lady, you do me honor I do not deserve. I am happy to fight this day for you. Thank you." Jane then helped Charles pin the glove to his belt, (as he couldn't do it with a gauntlets on) and she was pleased to see the only other favor he wore was the Queen's.

William had a short conference with the other marshal, and soon was wearing a black tabard with crossed gold swords that indicated he was a referee.

Charles was fighting first against David, a squire of Sir Geoffrey. Elizabeth listened to the formula that proceeded every fight: "My lords, do either of you come onto this list bearing any offensive steel?" the herald cried out.

"No, my lord," was the answer.

"My lords, do honor to your worthy opponent." Facing each other, both fighter touched their swords to their helms.

"My lords, do honor to that lady who inspires you today." Charles saluted Jane, David his wife.

"My lords, do honor to the King and Queen of the East." There was a quick discussion on where the royalty actually was that day. "North" was the general consensus and the two men saluted towards the north. The herald then stepped out of the square and William stepped closer. "Are you ready, my lords?" he asked. Receiving an affirmative from both, he lifted up his staff and cried out, "Lay on!"

Neither Jane or Elizabeth had ever fought, but both had seen enough of it over the years to recognize talent when they saw it. And no doubt, Charles was talented. He threw out three quick blows, to test David, then quickly judging his opponent, he let David try and hit him for a full five minutes, now and then calling out things like, "Watch your shoulder" and "good!". When Charles had judged his opponent had enough, he finished David off with a lightning fast left-right combination and a shot to the head. David fell over dead, and William called out "Hold!" Charles then removed his helm and helped David to stand, saying encouraging words about his technique and asking him to join them at the Barony fighter practice.

The rest of the tournament went along those lines. Charles would play with a fighter, size him up, let him get in a little practice, then take him out quick. Jane, being Charles' 'object of inspiration' was required to stay and watch the whole thing, and did so happily, chatting with Charles when he wasn't fighting and explaining the rules to Caroline.

After twenty minutes or so, Elizabeth got up and left, heading to the kitchen. She wasn't surprised to find Charlotte there, helping out.

"I was wondering when you would turn up," She laughed.

"I'm on fighter duty with Jane," she pointed to the listfield.

"Sir Charles?"

Lizzy nodded, then smiled. "He's carrying her favor." She spoke for a few moments with the kitchener, Lady Bridgett and left after that, carrying a two gallon jug of drinking water and a large bowl of orange wedges. She placed this items on the Mistress of the Lists table, and pointed them out to William, who wasn't marshaling that round.

"What is that for?" Caroline asked when Liz rejoined her.

"The fighters get dehydrated very easily, even on a cool day like this, so it's important they have water. The orange wedges are just a quick pick-me-up for the fighters. It's something they can eat easily without getting messy.

"I see," said Caroline. She put down the embroidery Jane was trying to teach her and grabbed a cup, which she filled, then made a big point of offering it to William. He accepted the cup with a nod, and went back to watching the fighting.

'Well', Elizabeth thought, 'at least he ignores everyone equally.'

Caroline huffed back to her seat. "Is this all they do all day?"

Lizzy looked up from her needlework, to the fighters and nodded. "Yup, they hit each other with big sticks." She shrugged, "It's what they do for fun."

"It's as dull as watching paint dry."

"Oh, no!" said Jane. "Its very interesting. Watch a little more, Guinevere."

Privately Elizabeth agreed with Caroline. At the top level, heavy weapons fighting was interesting, but this was 'Sir Charles' fighter clinic'. She was sure the fighters were having fun, and even William seemed to be enjoying himself, making suggestions to one fighter on form, and to another on stance.

Jane, of course, was having fun. She watched devotedly every time Charles fought, and spent time visiting with the other ladies and the fighters who were waiting, while she worked on favors for the Queen.

"If you are bored with the fighting, Lady Guinevere, I believe they are teaching dance now in the main room. I can hear the musicians." Lizzy suggested.

Caroline pouted, "but who would I dance with?"

"There are a lot of nice men in there I could introduce you to, if you wanted."

"No, no," Caroline fluffed. "I don't want to dance with any of them." She sighed. "I'll just wait here."

Elizabeth gave Jane a look and Jane just gave a tiny shrug. It was clear Caroline's interest in the SCA started and ended with William and nothing was going to change that.

In less than two hours the tournament was over. Charles was declared the winner, and was given a wreath of red rosebuds (this being a Valentine's day event) which he crowned Jane with in great style. Jane blushed prettily and gave Charles a chaste kiss on the cheek. Charles and William had planned to stick around and do some pick-up fighting, but Caroline protested loudly, so everyone went in.

The hall was now filled with almost a hundred people. Many different times and counties mingled together. Ancient Celts rubbed shoulders with formal Elizabethans. Vikings discussed siege weapons with Burgundians. On the stage, a group of 8 musicians were playing a dance tune on period instruments, while Mary and another dance master moved up and down the rows of couples, calling out instructions to the dancers.

Charles and Jane lead the group through the hall to the dining room, where more people sat, eating, talking and playing board games.

"Oh, good. The sideboard is still out," Charles said, indicating a pair of tables loaded with food.

Jane nodded. "Yes, Lady Bridgett is very good about that. She always leaves enough food out until late in the day."

Charles smiled good naturedly. "Well, I'm glad to see it. At some events, they have lunch put away before the fighters have a chance to eat."

They were getting their plates when a pair of ladies carrying trays came out of the kitchen. "I have leg of lamb here, with rice and sauce, and stuffed pork loin with sauce, just out of the oven," one of them shouted to the crowd.

When the group reached the buffet, Caroline sniffed, "What is this?"

Jane smiled pleasantly, "Oh, Lizzy will know. She always tells me what's what."

Elizabeth back smiled at her sister and quickly identified what was on the table: lamb with mushrooms and lemons, baked ham and mustard sauce, pork tenderloin with prune stuffing, garlic torta, beef burgundy pie, assorted cheeses and fruits, and bread and butter.

William looked at her quizzically. "How do you know all that?"

"I've worked with Lady Bridgett before. I know her recipes," she shrugged. "And I have been cooking feasts for years. You pick up some things, after awhile," she winked.

"Elizabeth, what's good?" Charles asked.

"Here? Everything, but I do recommend the garlic torta, if you like garlic." Charles' eyes lit up. In her experience, Elizabeth had found that fighter types liked meat, garlic, and more meat. "The lamb is always excellent too."

They loaded their plates and sat down. As Elizabeth expected, Caroline had only taken the ham. She didn't look like the adventurous type. Liz was surprised to see that William was trying almost everything, and seemed to be enjoying it.

"You like period food, Sir Fitzwilliam?"

He nodded. "Yes, when it's well made, I enjoy it very much." He lifted an eyebrow, "does that surprise you, Lady Elizabeth? Did you think I was merely a stick-jock?"

"I must admit, it does surprise me a bit, sir. But it is a pleasant discovery."

William grinned, while Caroline asked, "What's a stick-jock?"

Elizabeth raised her chin, but William beat her to it. "A stick-jock, my lady, is a fighter who is only interested in the society for heavy weapons fighting. He often has only one set of garb and leaves the event as soon as the fighting is over." While he was speaking to Caroline, his eyes never left Elizabeth's.

Elizabeth matched his stare defiantly. She seemed about to add something when she was tapped on the shoulder. It was Lord Stephen, the shire's Seneschal. "Excuse me, Lady Elizabeth, are you still doing your classes at the fabric store?"

She nodded at the tall, quiet man, "Yes, the next one will be on Sunday, February 25th. I'm doing fourteenth and fifteenth century England and France. Next month with be fifteenth and sixteenth century Italy."

Lord Stephan thanked her, and promised to make sure it was in the Shire's newsletter.

Charles and William exchanged glances. "What is that about, Lady Elizabeth?" Charles asked.

"I've been giving a series of workshops at the fabric store where I work," she said conversationally. "What I do is focus on specific times and places, and what was worn then. It's nice, because I have the fabrics right on hand, to make it more understandable. The purpose is to help people make their garb more authentic, rather than improve their sewing skills."

"Is this open to anyone?" Charles asked.

She nodded, "Yes, there is a large class area in the back of the store. I've been mostly having people from Meryton, but some of the people from Nordenhal have come."

"Would you object if we were to come and bring our squires?" William asked.

"All the way from Boston?" Boston was 4 hour drive. "I'm not sure it's worth the drive, the class is only a couple hours long."

He shook his head dismissively. "That's not an issue."

"See Elizabeth," Charles explained. "The truth is our squires need help with their garb-badly!" He grinned. "They don't sew, so they have to buy or barter for it, but they don't even know what to buy. Truth be told, Darcy and I aren't much better. If it wasn't for Georgianna, I don't know what we would do." He laughed at the confession.

"And your class is exactly our time period. Fifteenth century England and France," William added.

Elizabeth smiled, "Well then, I would be pleased to have you attend."

William looked at her puzzled, "I though you said you were a teacher, Elizabeth."

"Yes,I am," she answered. "I teach high school math full time, but I started working at this place in college, for pocket money, and I've never left." She wrinkled her nose. "It's kind of a guilty pleasure. I only work there once a week, but I really enjoy it and I get a nice discount on the fabric."

Jane smiled, "And her sisters get a discount too."

"Yes, I don't think Jane or Mary would let me quit."

Caroline watched this with displeasure. It was clear that William was paying far too much attention to this little miss nobody and not enough to her.

"Eliza! You cook, you sew, you teach. Why, you are a regular Suzy Homemaker!" she said, none too nicely.

Elizabeth locked eyes with her. "And what do you do, Caroline?" she asked her challengingly.

Caroline's drew back, "Why, I've just joined the society. I haven't found my area of expertise yet."

Elizabeth didn't back down. "I said 'Caroline'. I meant what do you do for a living?"

"Oh! I'm an executive sale representative for BP," she said smugly.

"I see." She noticed that William was looking down and trying to hide his face, and Charles was looking very uncomfortable.

"Charles, I have a headache!" Caroline announced.

William shut his eyes, looking like he might have one too.

"Caroline, is it a bad one?" Charles asked. He was clearly torn.

"Yes, you must take me home," she commanded.

Charles looked apologetically at Jane and Elizabeth. "I'm sorry, Caroline gets migraines and sometimes they can last for days. I've got to take her home.

Jane nodded understandingly. "I'm so sorry, Caroline." She looked at Charles, "we will see you at the workshop, yes?"

"Yes, I'll call you next week, so I can get the details?"

Jane smiled and nodded.

"Thanks. I really had a nice time today."

"So did I. I'm sorry you will miss the dancing."

"Me too." At this point, Caroline had started moaning. "Elizabeth, it was nice seeing you," added Charles. Elizabeth said goodbye and Charles lead Caroline out of the hall. William said goodbye to Jane, then gave Elizabeth a particular look and said goodbye to her too.

Silence filled the car as Charles, Caroline and William drove home to Netherfield, the furnished estate BP had leased for their use. William thought about Elizabeth, with her fine eyes and her full mouth. She puzzled him, but he realized ruefully, this was nothing new. Sometimes she seemed annoyed, or even angry at him, but at other times, he thought she had enjoyed his presence. His lips drew into a tight line as he recalled that every time they seemed to be getting along, Caroline had interrupted, finally ending the day prematurely with her 'headache'.

Frankly, a part of him was relieved at their early departure. It had saved him from screwing up with Elizabeth, which he knew he would have done if he had stayed. But still, he would have liked to have danced with her. He definitely would have asked her again. The possibility of her saying yes was worth the risk of her refusal. He smiled at the idea of getting to stand close to her, of seeing her eyes brighten and her cheeks redden from the exhersion, her skirts twirling around her legs and her hands in his. Oh yes, he definitely would have asked her to dance.

*****

The sisters had no trouble finding friends to sit with and men to dance with for the rest of the evening. They got home late that night, tired but happy.

As Elizabeth crawled into bed, she recalled the strange look William had given her just before he left. This had been her third meeting with William Darcy and she was still completely confused by him. One minute he was arrogant and rude, the next he seemed to be . . . flirting? No, that was too strong a word, but he was being pleasant to her. Maybe he was only doing it for Charles' benefit. After all, it was clear that if Charles and Jane continued their relationship, the two of them would be spending more time together. That was probably it.

Although she was tired, her mind was restless, replaying again and again her time with William. What he had said. What she had said. What he had done. She remembered the feel of his hands on her hips when she was trying to hang the banners. Instead of relaxing, her mind was going faster and faster, and she was getting no closer to falling asleep. Finally she pulled off her sleep shirt, determined to calm her mind the best way she knew how.

She closed her eyes and ran her hands over her breasts. Her thoughts turned inward and she imagined a pair of strong, manly hands caressing her, slowly dragging his fingertips over her nipples until they became hard and pointed. She sighed as she imagined his strong naked chest, well muscled and with a light covering of dark hair. One of his hands moved down across her flat belly, stroking her smooth skin, then slipped inside her panties.

A soft, breathy moan escaped her lips as she felt a finger part her folds, slipping inside of her. Finding her wet, the fingertip gently moved to the tiny nub of pleasure at her core. Licking her fingers as she stroked herself, she imagined him taking her nipple into his mouth, sucking gently while the tension in her body grew. Her back arched, lifting up her breasts to her lover while waves of pleasure washed over her. As the stroking became faster, her soft mews rose in intensity. Her body became hotter, as she pushed herself on. She knew she was very close. She saw his eyes before her, and heard his rich, deep voice command, "Come for me, now!" as she reached her release. With a cry of "William!" she climaxed, and shaking, sank back down onto the bed.

Her eyes were wide open as her breath rushed in and out of her body. 'Ohmygod!' she thought in shocked dismay. 'I just masturbated to William Darcy!' her mind rattled. The quiet she had hoped to find was totally shot to hell as her mind reeled.

"STOP!" she said out loud. 'Calm down,' she told herself. 'Okay, so I thought about him. No big deal. After all, he is gorgeous, and he does have the body of a god. That's okay, its perfectly normal,' she reasoned. 'And it's not like he will ever know. It was just meaningless fantasy sex.'

After all, it's not as if she liked him or anything, right? She rolled over and tried to settle down to sleep. She took a deep breath and wished her hands would stop shaking, because what she felt, and thought, there in the dark privacy of her room, made her feel very scared.

Chapter 6

Tuesday February 20, 8:53 pm

The phone rang. Without taking her eyes off the TV screen Jane answered it. "What?"

Silence, then a confused voice hesitantly asked, "Jane?"

"Yes," she said distractedly.

"Jane, are you there?"

"Could you, um, please hold for two minutes."

"Of course."

The two minutes passed. Jane turned back to the receiver, which had been sitting in her lap. "Hello?"

"Jane, it's William Darcy, is everything okay?"

"Will! I'm sorry. I was, um, busy. What can I do for you?"

"I need the details about Elizabeth's workshop on Sunday."

"Elizabeth's right here. Hold on."

Elizabeth took for phone. Silently mouthing, "make sure the tape is running," to Jane, she left the room. "Hi, Will. What's up?" she said cheerfully, ignoring the butterflies in her stomach.

"Elizabeth, is Jane all right?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"She didn't- I don't know, sound like herself. I mean, she just said 'What?' when she answered the phone."

"Oh! Sorry. It was a new Buffy tonight."

"Oh," pause. "Did you like it?"

Liz nodded into the phone, then realized he couldn't see her. "Yes, it was good. It was about a killer robot girl*." Then she frowned as she realized what she had said. "Will?"

"Yes?"

"You don't watch Buffy, do you?" she asked as a sinking feeling came over her.

He sounded amused at her embarrassment. "Not a bit."

"Oh." Feeling like an idiot, she took a deep breath and asked. "So, why did you call, may I ask?"

"I need directions to the workshop on Sunday." His voice was still warmed with mirth.

"Okay, are you coming from Charles' house?"

"No, the airport."

Airport? "Which one?"

"Albany." The warmth had faded, he was all business now.

"Okay," Elizabeth gave him the directions, the time of the workshop and the phone number for the shop.

"Elizabeth?"

"Yes?"

"I want to thank you for letting me, uh, us come. I'm looking forward to it. Could I take you out to lunch afterwards?" his voice was quiet and subdued.

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Thank you, Will. That's very nice of you."

"It is the least I could do. Bye Elizabeth."

"Bye."

Elizabeth hung up and walked back to the couch. Angel was on, but she only paid half a mind to it. 'Had William just asked her out? No. He said he was bringing his squires, and Jane & Charles would be there too. Definitely just a 'treat the teacher' thing, not a date.' She was displeased when she realized that she was slightly disappointed.

*****

It was a cold, cloudy day as Elizabeth turned her key in the lock of Stylish Fabrics. She hurried in with Jane close behind her.

"Liz?" Ellen's voice called from the back of the shop.

"Good morning!" she answered.

"You can leave to door unlocked."

Liz removed the keys from the lock and walked down the center aisle of the store to the back. The store had once been part of a chain back in the 50s. Now it was the only one if its 15 siblings to survive. The store had gone through four owners until Ellen had bought it five years ago. Elizabeth admired Ellen. She was putting her heart, soul and life into the little shop and it was only now starting to show a profit.

On the right side of the store were close to 1000 bolts of the quilting cottons that represented most of the store's business. On the left side was the dress fabrics: linens, wools, silks, rayons, and polyesters. Halfway back were the notions, two large cutting tables and the cash register. Then there were the remnant tables and a large class area. Elizabeth loved all of it. She made more money an hour teaching than in her whole weekly paycheck from working here, but she wasn't here for the money. She worked there so she could be with the fabric. The fabrics stimulated her senses. She loved the rich colors of the quilting cottons, the smoothness of the silks, the crisp roughness of the linen. She also enjoyed the patrons of the shop, who were generally kind, creative ladies, most of them older than herself. It was a pleasant contrast to teaching high school, where she was always the oldest person in the room.

Ellen greeted the girls as they passed by her office, on their way to the small back room, to hang up their coats. Jane stayed to chat with Ellen while Elizabeth put her class notes out on the table and then went to the front to grab the bolts necessary for her examples. Her arms were full of fabric when she heard the door open. She looked over to see Charles, Will and two men she didn't recognize walk in.

"Are we late?" Charles asked in a concerned voice.

"No," she grinned, "you're the first ones here. The class area is in the back, Jane's there. There's a coat rack too. Make yourself comfortable. I'll be right there." "Can I help you with that?" Will asked kindly, as Charles lead the other men away.

'Oh man, does he have a great voice!' she thought as she felt it move through her body. "If you wouldn't mind, could you carry these to the big table back there?" She handed him the pile of fabric bolts.

Instead of going to the table, he remained near her, not saying a word but watching her. Mentally shrugging, Elizabeth finished with her list and took two rolls from the rack on the wall.

"What are those," he asked, indicating the rolls, as he followed her to the class area.

"It's silk. We keep it like this so it won't get creased." She reached the class area. Charles was doing introductions. "Elizabeth, these are our friends, Michael and Gabe." He said, indicating the two strangers. They were pleasant looking young men, around 20, Elizabeth guessed. They looked like they would be more comfortable in armor than in a fabric store, but were polite and friendly to her.

"It's nice to meet you," she said as she offered her hand to them.

"Thank you for letting us come," said Gabe, who was the taller of the two.

"You're very welcome. I'm surprised you would come so far. What time did you leave Boston this morning?"

"It was ten, I think, maybe a little later," he shrugged.

"Ten? How did you do get here so soon?"

"We flew," said Will curtly. "How many people do you expect today, Lady Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth let the conversation be changed and answered pleasantly. After 15 minutes she began the class and was only interrupted by one late comer, Lydia, who had to announce her presence loudly, but was quickly quieted. Elizabeth taught about the evolution of clothing in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the changes in sewing techniques, and the fabrics used. The lesson plan she had worried would not last the full hour of the lecture actually ran over and it was 1:20 before she stopped to take questions.

She was pleased with the reaction of her students. They were attentive and seemed to enjoy it. William and his friends asked intelligent questions about colors, trade and sumptuary laws. Elizabeth cut swatches of the sample fabrics and stapled them to her handouts while she fielded questions from the floor.

By two o'clock it over and the group broke up, some to go home and some to shop. Elizabeth moved her sample bolts to the cutting table, knowing from previous experience that most of them would be bought. William stood slightly apart from the group, watching Elizabeth intently.

Charles and Jane (who had sat together) approached her. "Liz, you're coming out to lunch with us, right?" Charles asked.

"Yup," she answered pleasantly. "Where are we going?"

"Teacher's choice! You pick, Liz." said Charles smiling.

See looked at Jane. "Umm, I don't know." She had noticed that Michael and Gabe looked like college students and didn't want to pick anything too expensive.

Jane piped up. "How about wings?"

"Yeah, that's be great!" Elizabeth turned to the men. "Do you like wings? We have a great place here in town."

By mutual assent, they found themselves ten minutes later at the entrance of Planet Wings. The small restaurant featured 30 different flavors of chicken wings, as well as burgers, subs and every type of fried snack food known to man.

As the group reviewed the paper menus and waited their turn at the counter, William noticed a pair of young men ahead of them. One was smaller, but his companion was as tall as William with a heavier build. The smaller man was looking intently at Elizabeth and William felt himself drawing up to his full height. The squires followed him into silently assuming an aggressive posture.

Elizabeth was oblivious to all this. When she looked up, she noticed the smaller man and asked "Henry?" The man smiled and his companion turned to her. "Jacques!" she exclaimed happily, and went to embrace him.

Jacques smiled and hugged Liz, and Jane, who had presented herself behind Elizabeth. "Hey, what are you two doing here?" he asked.

"Lunch," Jane answered happily. "Where's Kitty?"

"Working. She had to work today so she could get yesterday off."

William drew back. He had no idea who these men were, but they were clearly no threat. He pulled into himself with embarrassment, not sure why he had acted so aggressively.

"Charles, this is my sister Kitty's boyfriend, Jacques, and his friend Henry." Jane proceeded to introduce the young men to her party. Charles was, of course, pleased to meet the men and Darcy was pleased to let Charles handle it.

Elizabeth noticed that there was something going on with William, but being that she had missed the macho display, she was at a loss to know what.

"Do you want to join us?" Jane asked Jacques and Henry.

"No thanks, we've got take out and we're gonna watch a movie at home." Jacques shook Charles' hand and left.

The party ordered and moved to sit. Elizabeth was disturbed to see William pulling out a credit card and paying for the whole order, which came to more than a drop over sixty dollars. "Will," she asked quietly, "Do you want me help with that?"

Will looked at her curiously, then shook his head. "I've got it." He said simply and turned away.

Jane and Charles were pushing the tables together and while Gabe and Michael were looking on and laughing. "One thing you learn, when you are the oldest of five kids," Jane explained, "is how to rearrange restaurant furnishings."

Soon they were all sitting and munching happily at their lunch. "What time is your flight?" Elizabeth asked.

Michael and Gabe exchanged a look, and laughed. "I want to be at the airport by 4:30," William answered.

"What's so funny?" Liz asked, not getting it.

"You don't know?" Gabe asked. "Know what?" She was starting to become annoyed.

"We came on Darcy's private jet. We can leave anytime we want."

Elizabeth's eyes got very large. "What?"

"It's not a jet, it's only a plane," William said. It sounded lame even to him.

"You have a plane?" Elizabeth asked disbelievingly. "Do you fly?"

"No, my company owns the plane, and I don't fly." He said quietly.

"She really doesn't know?" Michael asked astonished.

Darcy flashed him a hard look, while Elizabeth asked again. "What don't I know?"

Gabe explained excitedly. "Have you ever heard of D-Tech?"

"Yes, they're a big computer chip manufacturer. Intel's leading competitor, right?"

"Right" he smiled. "Well, D-Tech is short for Darcy Technologies." He looked pointedly at William. "His company."

Elizabeth looked at Darcy in surprise. "So, you are some sort of new technologies millionaire?"

Charles joined in, "He's loaded, Liz, but it's not in new technologies."

Elizabeth was confused. She looked back at William, who was studying his chicken intently. He suddenly seemed like a stranger before her. "William?"

He sighed. "My family has been in the Boston area for a very long time. I'm the," he paused, "eighth generation to live there. Over time, my ancestors had the good sense to invest in real estate."

"He owns half of Boston!" Charles crowed.

Darcy glared at him. "Charles is exaggerating, but it is true that my family has some extensive and valuable land holding in the city."

Elizabeth took a moment to consider this. "I don't get it. I mean, why are you here, eating wings in a dumpy little restaurant?" she indicated their surroundings. "Why aren't you eating caviar somewhere posh?"

William looked at her. "I don't like caviar," he said simply.

"I mean," she continued, exasperated. "Why are you in the SCA at all? Aren't you supposed to be playing polo or jet-setting somewhere, or something?"

"Let me ask you something; why are you in the SCA?" he asked gravely, leaning forward to to capture her eyes in his.

She thought a moment, then answered, "Because I love history. I love researching something and then making it with my own hands, and I enjoy the company of the people in the society."

He shrugged. "Me too," and leaned back to study her.

Before Elizabeth could respond Charles' cell phone rang. "Hello?"

"Caroline, Will and the guys are here," he protested. "All right," he sighed and hung up. "We gotta go. Caroline needs me to pick up some medicine for her. You're gonna be late to the airport. Sorry."

Elizabeth and Darcy were both suspicious of Caroline's sudden medical emergency. "Elizabeth could take them to the airport." Jane offered.

"Really?" asked Charles, not wanting to abuse her hospitality.

"Um, sure." Elizabeth agreed.

"You don't have to do this, Elizabeth," William assured her.

"I know," she answered. "Charles, could you take Jane home?"

Charles looked delighted by the sudden change in his fortunes and happily volunteered. They soon moved to the parking lot.

Elizabeth noticed that Gabe and Michael yielded the front seat to Will without thought. "Volvo, huh?" Michael asked, "Do you like your car?"

"I love it," She answered. "It used to be my mom's, and when she got a new one, I snatched it up. It's perfect." she said, happily patting the car's dashboard.

"How is it in the snow?" Will asked.

Elizabeth smile slipped. "Okay, it sucks in the snow," she laughed. "But I'm a teacher, I don't have to go to work when it snows." Elizabeth was then obligated to explain her school's liberal snow day policy to the young men.

"You mean they close the schools every time it snows?" said Michael.

"Well, not every time, but if it's much more than an inch they close."

"I can't believe that," Gabe protested.

"I can't believe places that don't have many snow days," she countered. "One of my favorite memories as a girl, was waking up and turning on the radio, with the feeling of anticipation waiting for them to announce the school closings. Then, if we were lucky, we would either throw some clothes on and go out to play or go back to sleep."

William found himself warmed by her voice. He could feel her emotions as she relived them in her memory. "Will?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you operate the radio?" She asked as they entered the Thruway. The New York State Thruway is a masterpiece of modern civil engineering. Running north from New York City to Albany, it then turns west to Buffalo. It was well made, graded for 80 mph speeds and is well maintained. It was Elizabeth's favorite road to drive on because she could safely put the petal down and enjoy the rush of traveling at high speeds.

William was amused to note that she shared his favorite vice as the car sped to eighty. He addressed himself to his assigned task and turned the radio on. A driving bass and drum beat came out of the speakers and Elizabeth commanded, "Turn it up!"

When the words began Will recognized the song, Southside by Moby. Elizabeth sang along unashamedly while skillfully weaving past the slower cars. She moved her shoulders slightly, in rhythm with the beat. William was delighted by her boldness and her obvious pleasure.

When the song ended Elizabeth said, "your turn."

"My turn?"

"To pick a song." She showed him the scan button.

"Is this some kind of game?"

"I guess so," she frowned. "I'm just trying to not hog the radio. You know, 'sharing'?" 'Besides, it let's me learn something about you, Mr. D-Tech.'

There was an air of amused challenge between them as Darcy began scanning through the radio stations. When he stopped at what sounded like tortured screeching he flashed her a look. "Is this okay?"

"It's your call," she answered smugly. "But yes, I like this song. Linkin Park, right?"

He nodded.

"Do you have the CD?"

"Yes."

"Any good?"

"Yes, actually. It's very good." The song ended, "Your turn," he said challengingly.

She scanned again, stopping at a Brittany Spears song. Gagging noises came from the back seat and she laughed, proclaiming "just joking!" She scanned to her favorite local station and was pleased to hear Sugar Ray's Fly.

"All the girls like this group." Michael said patronizingly.

"What does that mean?" Elizabeth objected.

"You know, you're all crazy for the singer, what's his name?" Michael asked.

"Mark McGrath," she answered. "Mark's cute, but that's not why I like the band."

"Oh, right!" one of the young men snorted.

"No, really!" She insisted, thinking she had recently had this very same conversation with Lydia. "The problem is he knows he's cute. That's a turn off," she said, making an 'ugh' face.

"I thought a girl likes a man to be confident." Gabe said

"Confident yes, arrogant no." She explained, "Look, there is world of difference between 'I know I can please you' and 'I know you want me, baby'."

The boys in the back seat laughed at her honesty, while Will regarded her with that deep stare of his.

Together they played the radio game for the rest of the hour long drive to Albany. He learned she liked rock with a strong beat and she learned he liked alternative metal. She chose No Doubt, and Smashmouth, he chose incubus and Blink 182. They found they had a great deal of overlap in their preferences, often commenting favorably on the other's choice.

Feeling more comfortable with him, she asked him the question that had been bothering her since the restaurant. "Will? Why didn't you want me to know about your business?" She almost said 'money', but wimped out at the last moment.

He knew what she meant anyway. "Because, most people treat me differently when they find out."

"You mean like Caroline Bingley?" she asked carefully.

"Sometimes," he looked honestly at her. "Sometimes they decide not to like you, because they think that just because you are wealthy, you are arrogant or something."

'Aren't you?' she thought. Maybe he wasn't, she considered, maybe he was just shy. 'If I had that much money, I wouldn't want to talk about it either,' she reasoned. 'After all, I wouldn't like it if people went around talking about how much I had in the bank.' She became aware she hadn't spoken in a while and offered to him, "I would hope that people wouldn't judge you based on your possessions."

"So would I," he said quietly. His eyes flicked to the road and he noticed it had started snowing. "Are you going to be okay in the snow?"

She broke away from her thoughts. "Yes, it's not sticking to the road and we're almost there. There's a snow line between Albany and Meryton. It won't be snowing there, so I'll be fine," her eyes glanced at him then quickly away.

Five minutes later, they pulled up in front of Albany County Airport. A regional airport, it had a large facility for private planes and was a favored stop with them because of it. Elizabeth hopped out of the car to open the hatch so Will could retrieve his bag.

She said goodbye to the young men and accepted their thanks for the ride, then she turned to Will.

He was standing still beside her, like a dark statue. Large fluffy snowflakes were flying around them, caught in an orangish glow from the mercury lamps. The sounds of the airport were muffled by the snow in the air. His eyes were pouring into hers and she was transfixed. "Thank you, Elizabeth," she heard his rich voice say.

"You're welcome," she breathed softly, feeling the fat, wet flakes on her cheeks. Slowly he leaned down, closing the short distance between them and kissed her. His lips were soft, full and warm against hers. The kiss was neither rushed, nor extended, neither chaste nor suggestive. Yet Elizabeth felt a strong electricity spark through them.

He pulled back and looked at her, watching for her reaction. Elizabeth stood there stunned, looking at his chest, then looked up and made eye contact. "Bye," he said softly.

"Bye," she responded. In a haze she got back in her car, which suddenly seemed too warm and drove away. William watched until her taillights disappeared, then turned and walked into the building.

Elizabeth spent the whole ride home in a daze, trying to understand what had happened. He had kissed her. She touched her lips remembering the feel of his against her. He liked her? Maybe? Yes. You generally didn't kiss people you don't like, she reasoned. But still, she had never known he liked her, he never really talked to her much. Maybe he was just the quiet type? He kissed her. Somehow she made it back home and parked the car without ever turning the radio back on.

The daze was broken when she walked into her apartment to find Jane and Charles making out on the couch. "JANE!" She said louder than she would have if she wasn't so flustered from Will's kiss.

Embarrassed and happy, the couple untangled themselves. "Sorry, Liz," Charles grinned. Jane showed him to the door, and after some more smooching, he left.

"Well?" Liz asked.

Jane shrugged, not really having anything to say. "How was the drive?"

"Kinda weird." She told Jane about the ride, the radio game and the kiss.

"Wow," Jane replied. "How was he?"

"Jane!" she was shocked. "I didn't ask you about Charles."

"Charles is great! Excellent kisser, nice tongue," she volunteered. "Now spill."

Elizabeth looked at her sister, then seeing Jane wasn't going to let this go, she said, "It's no big deal, I mean, it was just a kiss, but," she paused, remembering, "it was wonderful." She lacked words to describe it. "The snow was falling on us, and it was twilighty and he was . . . wonderful," she said, slipping back into the daze.

Jane made some private observations and left her sister to fix some dinner, while Elizabeth relived the kiss once more.