Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star (9 page)

“Who? Which bitch?”

“The one who owns the plane,” he growled, “and her stooge.” As he watched, Anne de Bourgh exited the limo and walked toward Darcy and Rebecca. He snapped the phone shut and put it away.

“Darcy,” Anne said coldly as she passed by him and climbed up the ramp. Darcy nodded once in acknowledgement.

“Mr. Darcy,” ogled Bill Collins, his hand extended. “It is such a pleasure to really meet you at last.”

Darcy ignored the bubbling fat man and addressed Rebecca. “Is everyone else here?”

She nodded. “As soon as the Bingleys arrive, we can go.”

***

Elizabeth watched the interaction as she gathered her bags. She wasn’t really eavesdropping, because Darcy had made no attempt to hide what he was doing. She stumbled slightly as she climbed the steps of the ramp, unbalanced by her bag. She was relieved to feel a strong hand on her shoulder steadying her.

“Easy there. You okay?” Richard Fitzwilliam asked.

“Yeah, thanks,” she smiled embarrassedly and made her way into the plane.

It was a large jet with a custom interior. Instead of the normally cramped seating, larger seats were installed. Halfway into the cabin were four tables with chairs around them, clearly designed for workspaces. The front of the plane contained more seats and another smaller work area just behind the cockpit.

Elizabeth was surprised at how crowded the plane was. The seats in the rear were filled almost entirely with people Elizabeth had never seen before, despite her time at the studio. She stopped to look for a seat when Richard again came to her aid.

“This is where the crew sits. Our seats are up in the front,” he said kindly from behind her.

“Oh, thank you,” Elizabeth said softly and moved forward.

There were empty seats in the front of the plane, just as Richard had said. Elizabeth sat down with Charlotte, Jane taking a seat in the row in front of them, and Alex across the aisle. As she settled in, Elizabeth watched Anne de Bourgh stride to the front of the plane and sit down. Darcy followed her a minute later, taking the other front seat across the aisle from her, stretching out his long legs. Collins ignored Long Borne Suffering and instead followed Ms. de Bourgh and took the seat directly behind her. Rachel took her seat behind Darcy. Elizabeth could see that clearly the battle lines were drawn.

Five minutes later, running feet were heard and Charles, Caroline, and Rebecca entered the plane. Darcy, his sunglasses removed, gave Caroline a black look as Rebecca moved to the cockpit and spoke to the pilots before sitting down beside Caro.

Charles, for his part, took the seat next to Jane, and attempted to begin a conversation as the plane taxied forward. “Good morning,” he grinned. “I hope you weren’t waiting too long. We can never seem to get out on time, you know?”

He waited a moment for a response, then receiving none, tried again. “How was your trip down?”

Silence was his only answer. He leaned forward to see Jane’s face very pale and her eyes looking large and nervous. Her hands were tightly clenched together in her lap as she bit down hard on her lips.

“Jane?” Charles asked, concerned. “Jane? What’s wrong?” He touched her arm lightly and felt her trembling. “Jane? Are you okay?”

When she felt his touch on her arm, Jane looked at him. Her beautiful blue eyes were anxious and desperate. “Jane,” Charles asked worriedly, “are you afraid?”

Jane could only shut her eyes and nod nervously.

Charles’s heart immediately went out to her. She was plainly terrified. He ran his hand along her arm and spoke softly to her. “It’s okay, Jane. It’s okay.” She opened her eyes to look at him weakly. “Can I help?” he asked, his eyes full of concern.

His kindness broke through the thin barrier she had created to hold in her feelings and she started crying softly.

In a flash he lifted the armrest between them. He moved closer to her, taking her ice-cold hand and holding it firmly. “Jane, can you look at me?” he said in a low, calm voice. When she turned slightly, he continued. “That’s good. Now listen to me carefully,
we are going to be okay
. I won’t let anything happen to you, Jane. I promise. The plane is perfectly safe.”

He could see the panic rising in her eyes as she thought of a hundred things that could go wrong. “No, no, shhhh, Jane,” he said soothingly as he rested his forehead against hers. “Jane, trust me.”

“What if something happens?” she said in a tiny voice.

“Nothing is going to happen. Rebecca has been here for hours. She oversaw the inspection of the plane herself and triple-checked the pilots.”

“Are you certain?” she asked in an even softer voice.

He pulled her close and pillowed her head on his shoulder, his arm slipping around her shoulders and his other hand holding her hand tightly in his. “I’m certain. It’s going to be all right.”

“Thank you,” she murmured brokenly. “I know I’m not being sensible. I just suddenly got so afraid. I know it’s foolish; it’s just, I have no control over the plane, and it terrifies me for some reason.”

“It’s not foolish. I totally understand.”

“You aren’t afraid,” she challenged him weakly.

“I used to be,” he spoke softly in her ear. “I was so afraid of flying I couldn’t travel.” He grinned for a moment. “And for a California boy, that’s no good. I knew I had to beat it, so I took flying lessons. Even got my pilot’s license.” He shrugged against her. “It helped me feel not so out of control.”

“Really?” she asked as she pulled back enough to look at his face.

He grinned. “Really, that’s why I told you to trust me. I won’t let anything happen to you, Jane.” He stared into her eyes for a long time, until the plane started moving again and Jane’s face turned white with fear.

Charles pulled her close and held her tightly, his head beside hers. “We are just getting into position and waiting for the signal to take off. Once we are up and cruising, you won’t be so scared.” His voice was calm and reasonable. “Now I want you to talk to me. Tell me anything you want to about yourself, and I will listen, completely fascinated. I promise.”

Jane closed her eyes and even chuckled once, which produced a relieved grin on Charles’s face. “Have you always sung, Jane?” he asked, his voice soft and warm in her ear.

“Yes,” she whispered into his ear, “always. Even when I was a little girl, my father would play piano and I would sing duets with him.”

Charles nodded, rubbing her back and encouraging her to go on. “When did you start writing songs?”

“When I was in middle school.” She told him in a low voice about how she would write songs to deal with her frustrations with her mother and her schoolmates. “What was that?” she asked suddenly as the plane started moving abruptly.

“We are going to take off now,” Charles explained calmly. “Hold on tight, and, remember, I won’t let anything happen.”

Shutting her eyes, Jane wrapped her arms tightly around Charles as he held her close and he rubbed her back, making soft, reassuring noises in her ear. It was crazy, but somehow he did make her feel better. She believed him. Somehow he would keep her safe. Holding on to him with a death grip, she let herself focus on the sound of his voice and the scent of his skin as the ground dropped away and the plane climbed.

“Oh, Jane, you’re doing fine,” he whispered to her, his voice warm with admiration.

“Don’t let go,” she gasped raggedly.

Charles smiled to himself. “Never,” he promised to both of them. When the plane leveled out, Charles could feel her relax slightly. Only then did he loosen his grip. “Are you okay?” he asked softly.

Jane nodded, her head still close to his. “I’m sorry. I’ve never had a panic attack like that before. It was just like, all of a sudden, I was so afraid and I didn’t know what to do.” She looked at him gratefully, uncertain if she should say anything more.

“I’ll stay with you and be you for the landing too, if you need it,” he said, his emotions flaring into a need to protect her.

“Thank you, Charles. You are very kind.”

He smiled, tilting his head and touching her soft cheek. Without thinking about it, he leaned close and kissed her lightly on the forehead. As soon as his lips touched her, a circuit was made. He was suddenly fully aware that he was holding a beautiful woman in his arms. Slowly he pulled back, his eyes fixed on hers.

Jane flushed, her breathing shallow and her heart racing from something other than fear. She closed the short distance between them and kissed him.

Words left him as he kissed her gently. Jane filled his senses. She was all he had dreamed: sweet and giving, yet more; there was a spiciness and heat to her that he never had expected that stole his breath away. He pulled back with a look of wonder on his face and pulled her close to him again. She snuggled against his shoulder: safe, relaxed, and amazed.

***

“Why is Charles kissing Jane?” Darcy asked as his eyes glared at the pair of blond heads that were joined at the lips.

Rachel looked at Caroline, who said, “I know it’s been awhile, Darcy, but even you must remember something about boys and girls.”

Darcy fixed her with a look that told her she was still in trouble for being late and said crisply, “Let’s begin.”

***

Elizabeth watched as Darcy snapped at the two women before him. Rachel got up and sat with him at the small table and began going over notes and papers with him. “What do you think he is doing?” she asked Charlotte.

Charlotte had been drumming her fingers on the tray in front of her and looked up, distracted, when Elizabeth spoke. “Who? Darcy?” she shrugged, unimpressed. “Looks like paperwork to me.”

“It’s the morning routine,” Richard volunteered from behind them. “See, every morning, Will has a meeting first thing with Rachel. She goes over everything happening with his business and any other personal stuff he has to deal with.”

“The family business? Darcy Technologies?”

Richard nodded distractedly. Elizabeth suspected he was still half-asleep. “I thought he left that. Turned away from it all to be an artist and all that.”

“Oh, he did.” Richard frowned. “As much as Will is able to. He isn’t the president of DT, but he still owns the company. Rachel has a counterpart who stays at DT, and they work together so that Will is always up to date on what the company is doing. But he doesn’t interfere with how it’s run, usually.” He rolled his eyes.

“Hm,” Elizabeth snorted. “Sounds like he’s got some control issues.”

“Issues?” Richard said sarcastically. “Liz, he’s got a whole subscription.”

Elizabeth laughed softly. “I noticed he doesn’t seem to like Ms. de Bourgh too much.”

“Will doesn’t like anyone who tries to tell him what to do,” he said as he looked over at the tiny woman in the severe black suit. “Anne doesn’t make it any easier by challenging him every chance she gets.”

“So she provokes him?”

“Oh yeah. That’s our Annie,” he nodded. “See, poor Anne is stuck under her mother. She is always trying to prove she is good enough, and the only job Anne has is Slurry. So consequently, she is always trying to prove she can manage Will.” He shook his head. “It’s what you might call
a bad situation
.”

As Elizabeth watched, Rachel went back to her seat and Caroline moved forward to the table. “What’s this?” she asked Richard, who was lying back across his seat and drumming on his chest.

He sat up to look over at what Elizabeth had indicated, then laid back down. “That is just Caro’s morning meeting. She always goes after Rachel. Caro handles all the tour business with Will.”

“Do you do any of the business work?” Elizabeth asked him archly.

“Nope, I leave all that to Will.”

“How come?”

“Well one: because he actually cares, I don’t, and two: because he’s better at it than me.”

Elizabeth looked at him skeptically.

“Believe it, Lizzy, I’m just along for the ride.”

With a mental shrug, Elizabeth leaned back in her seat and opened her laptop. The trials and tribulations of Slurry were interesting in a morbid kind of way, but she had work to do.

***

The afternoon passed in a blur. Starting with their arrival at the airport, then meeting the press for pictures of Long Borne Suffering, it ended with the trip to the arena, where they spent the afternoon doing sound checks, rehearsing, and waiting.

Elizabeth was amazed at the amount of work done around them. Technicians were everywhere, doing final checks on lights and sound and preparing their instruments. Caroline Bingley was moving at a constant pace, always speaking into her headset, making sure everything was perfect. LBS experienced their most exhaustive sound check ever, then were dressed, groomed, and wired for sound.

At seven, the girls participated in their first meet-and-greet with Slurry. About fifty people from the area, winners of tickets from the local radio stations, were brought backstage to meet the bands. Although Elizabeth was a little nervous about the experience, her natural charm got her through it. The fact of the matter was that while everyone was polite to LBS, they were really there to see Slurry.