Pride's Prejudice (3 page)

"We
were just trying to organize a little get together tonight.  What do you
say, Beth?  You up for the movies?"

Beth
tried not to snort.  "I'm sure you've heard this, but I believe
three's
a crowd
."

Les
threw his head back and chuckled.  "I meant, like, a double
date."

Beth
raised her eyebrows.

"I
know a guy," Les said casually.

Beth
usually hated blind dates.  But Jenna would be there, physically if not
mentally, Beth qualified, seeing the dazed look on her best friend's
face.  And Les's recommendation would speak for itself.

"Sure,
why not?"

"Sweet! 
We'll pick you guys up at six, then.  We'll go grab a bite first."

"I
have a study group at six," Jenna said sadly.  "We'll have to
meet you guys at the theater, after."

Beth
suppressed a smile at the slightly sulky tone of Jenna's voice.  It was
only something you could pick up after years of friendship with someone.

"We'll
be waiting out front," Les promised, his blue eyes locking on Jenna like
radar.  He gallantly kissed Jenna's hand, winked at Beth, and let himself
out.

Beth's
eyes darted to Jenna, who seemed to be in shock for a moment.  Then she
grabbed the nearest pillow on the couch, stuffed it over her face, and screamed
as her feet did a manic little jig on the awful dorm carpet.  Beth
laughed, feeling better than she had since the stupid benefit last night, and
decided to do something cute with her hair for the date.

DEAF,
DUMB & BLIND DATE

"I
could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine."

~Elizabeth
Bennet, Pride & Prejudice

Beth sat idling by the curb of the library, waiting for
Jenna's study group to finish up.  Flipping down the visor, she checked
her makeup.  She had taken more time on her appearance for tonight,
needing to make up for last night.  Her bright hazel eyes were lined in an
olive green and shadowed with a softly sparkling gold.  Her dark lashes
looked full and her lips were glossed into a rosy pout.  She had scrunched
mousse into her long hair and blow-dried it until it crawled down her back like
dark ivy.  A dark plum top accentuated her small waist, and boot cut jeans
fit her hips to precision and opened out over black high-heeled boots.

The clicking of Jenna's open-toed heels on the sidewalk
apprised Beth that the study group was out.  Ironically, Jenna had donned
the same outfit she'd suggested for Beth the previous night.  Jenna
climbed in Beth's truck, her eyes widening as she took in Beth's appearance. 
"Whoa, Beth.  You look
HOT
."

Beth chuckled.  "Don't sound so shocked."

She returned the compliment, quieting Jenna's frantic
backpedaling as they drove to the theater.  The
Drama Screen
was
packed, unsurprising for a Saturday night.  There were arcade games lining
the walls and blinking lights everywhere.  The irresistible aroma of
artery-clogging movie popcorn filled the air.  Behind the counters,
employees filled fountain drinks and picked candy from behind the glass case
for customers.  Beth had always been amused by their uniforms.  They
were dressed in Shakespearean garb, and they all wore foil crowns that spelled
out
The Drama Screen
.  Beth had gotten the humor immediately, but
she'd had to explain to Jenna that the theater's name was a play on the phrase
drama
queen. 
Hence the crowns.

"Let's just get in line," Jenna said. 
"It looks like we beat them here."

Beth agreed as the line was long, and it would probably
take at least fifteen minutes to get up to the front.  She studied the
life-sized cardboard characters and giant movie posters for upcoming flicks,
her attention returning to Jenna when she squeezed Beth's arm.

"There he is!" she whispered breathlessly. 
Beth looked up to see a beaming Les making his way toward them, and trailing
slightly behind was……..it couldn't be.  Not possible.  Fate could not
be this unkind two nights in a row.  But as Beth mentally checked off the
physical attributes, the undeniable truth bit down on her hard.  Tall,
dark, handsome: check.  Messy-on-purpose hair: check. Cold black eyes
filled with arrogance: check.  But then his eyes connected with Beth's,
and his expression evolved into something else.  Awe? 
Surprise?  Chagrin?  None of them were dead-on.

Beth inhaled deeply and mentally squared her shoulders.

"Don't you ladies look scrumptious?" Les said,
nodding to both Jenna and Beth.

Beth tried to smile, but it felt more like a tolerant
grimace.  Les's friend wore a dumbstruck expression.  Beth rolled her
eyes and looked away.  Les busied himself with taking in every ounce of
Jenna's appearance, and paying her a secret compliment that required leaning in
and whispering in her ear.  His friend frowned in their direction.

"Oh, sorry guys!" Les said, finally recalling his
responsibility.  "Beth, this is my good friend, William Darcy."

Beth nodded.  "The philanthropist," she
commented sweetly, forging a smile and throwing Jenna a
look
.

Jenna groaned beside Les as she realized who William
was.  Les didn't seem to have a clue, and William scowled profusely.

"Have we met?" His cold voice was tinged with
annoyance.

Jenna's pale marine eyes pleaded with Beth, but in no way
would she let him off so easily.

"Beth Pride," she answered in a sugary
tone.  "Your pity purchase from the benefit?  And, aren't you
the founder of Make-A-Wish?"

Before William could react, Jenna grabbed Beth's arm and
steered her in the direction of the restroom like an unruly child throwing a
tantrum at the grocery store.  "Why don't you save seats?" she
called politely over her shoulder to Les.  "Be right back."

~:~

William slouched in his seat, unable to compress himself
small enough to match the way he felt inside.

Les cleared his throat.  "Start talking
dude."

"I think I may have inadvertently offended
Beth
last night."

"By…….?"

"I didn't feel like dancing.  I sort
of……..offered her money instead."

"
You think?
"  Les chuckled in that '
you
poor idiot'
way of his.  "Dude, come on. 
Inadvertently?"

"Yeah, well, if you remember, I was having……issues
yesterday.  I wasn't really in a social 'save the children' mood."

"I hope you're good at overcompensating then. 
Seriously, dude.  I don't envy you right now."

"Thanks for the reassurance.  You know, you're
sort of a crappy friend.  It's your fault I went to that stupid benefit in
the first place."

"Where's the love?  I set you up with a hot
girl.  And did I mention, I
really
like her roommate, so be a pal
and play nice."

"You've mentioned it," William said
moodily. 
About five thousand times. 
Les was right,
though.  William didn't like to categorize girls as 'hot', but he couldn't
deny that Beth was attractive.  Words of a song he'd heard on the radio
came to him: 
'big black boots……long brown hair……she's so sweet with
that GET BACK stare.'
  Those lyrics had to be written about Beth
Pride.  She had sexy hair and a figure that ninety-nine percent of the
female populous would kill for - slim but curvy.  And something else he
couldn't pinpoint.  The look in her eyes, maybe.  William chided
himself for failing to notice any of these things about Beth last night.  Then
again, he hadn't really looked at her.  He had just seen an unclaimed girl
standing in a spotlight and acted on impulse.  He'd figured the sooner the
auction part of the benefit ended, the sooner he could leave.

How
exactly
did one overcompensate in situations
like these?

~:~

"I swear I didn't know, Beth."

"There's no way my luck is this bad,
Jenna."  Beth sighed.  "Maybe I'm on some horrible new
reality show."

"I'm
so
sorry."  Jenna said, for the
umpteenth time.

"If you apologize one more time, I'm not leaving this
bathroom," Beth warned.  Jenna fell silent in record time. "I
know you wouldn't do this to me twice in one weekend
on purpose
. 
But it's a good thing you have an almost boyfriend, because I am SO not going
anywhere with you again!"

Jenna blinked her big eyes at Beth but stayed quiet. 
Beth sighed dramatically.  "Okay.  Let's get this over
with.  But we're going straight home after the movie."

Jenna nodded, her show of humility ineffectually masking
her glee.

"And don't be all smoochy with him, it'll make it
awkward for us."

"No smooching.  Got it.  Anything
else?"

"Yes.  Hurry up before I change my mind."

~:~

William tensed as Beth took the seat next to him. 
Jenna sat next to Beth, and Les was on the other side of Jenna. 
Unfortunately, the movie previews hadn't started yet, and local freeze-frame
commercials were taking turns on the screen.  William scuffed his palms
against his jeans and cleared his throat.

"Do you want anything, Beth?  Popcorn, or a
drink?"

Beth eyed him sideways.  "Why don't you just give
me the cash instead?"

He'd known she wouldn't make it easy, but
still
. 
Whoever had coined the phrase 'a woman scorned' knew their stuff. 
Overcompensate
,
he told himself.

"I guess I deserve that," he said, smiling.

Beth just quirked an eyebrow over an indignant hazel
eye.  "Tell me something," she said dryly.  "Are you
really apathetic about suffering children?"

William knew his candor might backfire.  But he was
nothing if not honest.  "Last night, yes.  Generally, no."

Beth scowled for a moment, then shook her head, her eyes
closing like she was in pain.  Then she breathed deeply and turned back to
the screen, which had started rolling previews.  The first one opened with
a plane crashing and burning. 
How appropriate,
William thought miserably.

~:~

Beth was out of her seat before the end credits started
scrolling up the screen.  Her torture sentence had been served. 
Aside from the snide comment about cash, she hadn't spoken to William.  He
had seemed on the edge of saying something for the first twenty minutes of the
film, but then he leaned his elbow against the chair on his right, and kept his
eyes on the screen.  Beth considered visiting the concession stand for a
drink, but chances were Jenna would think she was leaving and chase her. 
And then Les would follow, and most likely William - and find her standing at
the drink counter.  So, she had just suffered through the date
decaffeinated.  Outside the theater, Les and Jenna lingered over pointless
conversation while William and Beth stood stiffly.  When Les suggested
they go for ice cream in a last-ditch effort to stay near Jenna, William and
Beth simultaneously feigned hearing loss.  A look passed between them, but
Beth turned away before she saw William's smile.

OBSERVATIONS

"He
is quite distracted by jealousy…..I know no better support of love."

~Jane
Austen, Lady Susan

Beth placed her acoustic guitar in its case and flipped the
buckles down.  She gathered the music she'd brought along, her guitar
course book, and the notebook she kept homework assignments in. 
Straightening, she gave the room a once-over to make sure she hadn't forgotten
anything.  Her eyes caught on a sandy-haired figure leaning against the
door frame.

"Hey, Brandon.  Looking for Dallan?  He had
to cut our lesson short to take a test."

"Actually I was just passing by and couldn't help
listening in.  You're sounding really good.  How come you haven't
tried out for Heralds yet?"

The Heralds was Hartford College's show choir. 
Brandon was the president and asked her at least monthly to consider joining.

Beth laughed.  "Dancing in sequined costumes with
jazz hands isn't really my thing."

"More of a campfire performer?"

"Something like that," Beth smiled.

"Well, if you ever change your mind, just say the
word.  You have an amazing voice."

"How would you know that?  Wait.  Have you
been spying on me in the shower?"

Brandon laughed, and Beth discovered that she liked his
smile.  He wasn't her idea of a heart throb, but he wasn't bad looking
either.  And he always made it a point to say hello to her.

 "Let's just say I may have lurked in the doorway
during your lesson a time or two."

Beth felt her stomach drop with nerves.  This was only
her second year of guitar lessons.  She'd only just become comfortable
enough with her instrument to attempt singing along.  "My
condolences."

"Hey, now.  I'm serious.  You're really
talented."

Beth flushed.  "Well, tell Dallan that. 
Maybe he'll let up a bit."

"I'll mention it," Brandon smiled.  An
awkward silence passed and then he said, "So……I was wondering if you're
free tonight.  They're showing a movie in the quad later."

"Oh," Beth said, surprised.  Usually, she
considered herself to be fairly astute in situations like these.  But she
really hadn't seen this coming.  Maybe his admiration didn't have quite so
much to do with her astonishing musical abilities after all. 
"Sure.  It sounds like fun!  It's Friday Eve, after all."

Brandon smiled uncertainly.  "Friday Eve?"

"Sorry, that's what we call Thursday at our
place."

He grinned at Beth.  "Has anyone ever told you
that you're adorable?"

Beth blushed, slinging her music bag over her shoulder and
bending to pick up her guitar.  She wasn't used to such direct admiration
from the opposite sex; it stumped her.

She cleared her throat.  "So, should I meet you
there?"

"No, I'll come pick you up.  Are you in the
dorms?"

"Longbourn 204."

"Eight-thirty okay?"

"Yup.  I'll be there."

Brandon smiled again, this time wider.  "See you
later then."

He repeated this farewell again after walking Beth out of
the music building.  He was halfway down the sidewalk when he remembered
he was going the wrong way. 
This is not a good sign,
Beth thought
ominously.  Once back at Longbourn, Beth decided to get started on her
English essay.  The assignment was to choose an author from the
seventeenth, eighteenth, or nineteenth century that had changed the way gender
roles were viewed at the time.  Beth hadn't had a speck of trouble
choosing her author.

How Jane Austen influenced gender views through her writing
, Beth
wrote at the top of the page.  Then she pulled out the articles she'd
printed from the library and began a bullet list:  
defied social norms
through living by her pen rather than marrying for financial security, rose
above the stigma that the single daughter of a vicar would be sentenced to
poverty, proved that a woman's value could lay outside that of wife and mother
. 
Beth wondered if Miss Austen had had any clue at the time what sort of frenzy
her scribblings would create.

After getting a rough draft of her essay together, Beth ate
a sandwich, tossed back a glass of milk, and changed into skinny jeans and a
cowl neck sweater.  At eight twenty, there was a knock at the door. 
Brandon's smile was a bit too overeager for Beth, but she told herself that she
would just have fun and not worry about the details for now.

The brisk night air proved to be a bit too chilly for
Beth's sweater as they walked across the street to the quad.  Brandon
trotted along next to her, chatting about the Heralds' latest musical numbers
and drama among the members.  Every once in a while he would throw in a
comment like 'see what you're missing?' or 'you'd be great at that solo.' 
It was getting old.  He must have gotten the nonverbal memo, because he
changed the subject to Beth's classes.

The quad was a large, grassy hexagon outlined by
sidewalks.  Sloping gradually upward from the quad was a hill peppered
with trees.  Brandon led the way to a spot about two-thirds the way up the
hill, then spread a blanket on the ground.  Directly across the quad, a
large white screen had been hung from the east side of the administration
building.  He gestured for Beth to sit, then pulled a bag of popcorn and
two sodas out of a backpack.  Beth chaffed her palms up and down her arms
unconsciously, and Brandon, no doubt taking in her every move, chivalrously
offered his jacket.  She refused, but he ignored her - pulling it off with
a flourish and assisting her into it.  As Beth threaded her arms through
the sleeves, Brandon took on the persona of a wizened English butler, complete
with accent.  Beth laughed.  It might not be true love, but at least
he was entertaining.

~:~

William
threw a disgruntled glance up the slope toward Beth.  He had seen her
scaling the hill with a lerpy blond guy, which had caused his heart to beat
erratically at the sight of her.  At first, he'd been wary - hoping she
didn't look up and see him.  But slowly his trepidation turned to
disappointment.

Beth's
musical laughter floated down to William - a reaction to her date's stupid
butler impersonation.  William, recalling Beth's icy looks and venomous
wit, wondered what he would have to do to make Beth laugh like that.  She
had a smile line in her right cheek that almost qualified as a dimple.  He
watched her for a moment, lingering on details like her ponytail swaying when
she shook her head, and the minor wince as she took a sip of her canned
soda.  Her skin was the color of a porcelain doll's, contrasted nicely by
her dark hair.  And her eyes……..were looking right at him.

William
blinked, wondering how long she'd been staring back at him.  He nodded
curtly in her direction and her big, dark eyes locked onto his for a
moment.  Then she rolled them and turned back to the lerp.

"William!? 
Did you hear what I just said?"

William
focused on the person sitting next to him, probably for the first time all
night.  Her voice had muted somewhere around the time that Beth had shown
up.  Before that, he'd only been able to hear something like
'wahn,
wahn, wahn.'

"Sorry,
I missed it," he answered, really not caring if he caught it the second
time either.

~:~

Beth
smirked inwardly at the show that was playing.  Not the one on the big
screen.  The one just down the slope and to the left.  William Darcy
sat next to an unnaturally tan redhead who had been trying unsuccessfully to
capture his attention for the last few minutes.  Now he was looking at
Red, but his expression was vacant in that 'lights are on but nobody's home'
way.  Probably the same look Beth wore herself with Brandon. 
Munching popcorn, she surreptitiously watched the progress of William's date,
only occasionally responding to something Brandon said, or flicking her eyes up
to the screen.

Red
was really laying it on thick.  She kept arranging her hair consciously
around her shoulders and then checking to ascertain if William had
noticed.  Her makeup was sufficiently overdone, as was her self-pleased
expression.  She dripped off his arm like a wet dog after a bath. 
Admiration slid off of her in sheets like torrential rain, but for all the
attention William paid her, it could have been insignificant patter.

Beth
smiled to herself as she decided that they probably deserved each other.

"Hey,
Brandon?" Beth whispered, jerking her head in William's direction,
"Would you say she's a natural redhead?"

Brandon
considered.  "Definitely not."

Beth
grinned.  Of course she wasn't.