Jane was sifting through the tissue on the floor to see if she could find anything.
"Jane?"
She looked up. "It wasn't from me. Maybe Charles ... but why wouldn't he have sent a card? Or said something to me about it?"
Then my stomach turned. I knew whom it was from and it made me feel so awful.
"It's from Colin."
"How do you know?" Charlotte asked.
"Because he just asked me to prom."
"What?" they said in unison.
"And I said no." I filled them in on the details of Colin's proposal. Even how honest and somewhat rude I was to him.
"I can't believe you aren't going to go," Charlotte said. "Besides, it was thoughtful of him to offer to buy your dress ... and now the coat."
"I know. I can't keep this. It's too much. And it isn't like I have anything against Colin. He's so nice." I looked down at the coat. "And generous. It's about prom at Longbourn. I'm not going to sit here and fool myself that I'd be welcome at prom. Look at what happens when I go to a regular party. Plus, I want to go to something like that with somebody special."
Charlotte shrugged. "I would be disappointed if I didn't go. But Colin's right, you and I are tainted goods."
"Charlotte!" Jane was horrified. "I can't believe you would say such a thing. At least you two don't have a sister who humiliated you in front of the entire world!"
"Oh, I didn't realize the entire world fit into the restaurant last night," I teased. "And to think, I missed an opportunity to meet the president of the United States."
"I'm just glad I didn't run into my ex-boyfriend," Charlotte continued.
"Apparently, you guys haven't seen the latest Internet sensation?" Jane pulled up a video of Lydia's dance that someone had uploaded. "The family is so proud."
"Oh, Jane ..." I started scrolling through the hate-filled comments. "I'm so sorry."
She shook her head. "I'm going to try to get over it. Someday."
"It's nice to have goals."
My cell phone went off. My heart jumped when I saw it was Wick. "Hey," I said, moving into the hallway for some privacy.
"So, you're talking to me even after I left you alone with the trust-fund babies last night?" His voice was warm and friendly.
"I guess I could see my way to forgive you."
"You're so generous. That's very un-Longbourn of you. Be careful, you might get kicked out next."
"At least then I'd be in better company."
A tingle went up my spine as he laughed. "Listen, I'm sorry for bailing, especially at the last minute. I really wanted to go and had every intention of being there. But last night as I got ready, I knew that if I showed up it wouldn't be good for you. There's no way that I could be in the same room as you-know-who, and I didn't want to bring any negative attention to you."
"I understand. I don't like being in the same room with him, either."
Charlotte suddenly exited our room. "Lizzie ... Jane needs you."
"Listen, can I call you back?"
"You better."
I ran back into our room and found Jane curled up on her bed.
"Jane, what's wrong? You know nobody will be talking about that stupid video in a week."
"No, it's not that." She handed me her phone. There was a text from Charles.
Can't make it tonight. Things are hectic. I'll be in touch.
"Oh." I didn't know what to say. It seemed very unlike Charles to break off a date, and to be so terse in doing it. He was completely smitten with Jane. He'd spent most of his party at her side and doted on her. "I'm sure it's nothing. Let's go grab dinner."
As Jane and Charlotte got ready, I quickly called Wick back and explained the situation. I was not at all surprised when he said he completely understood. When they were set, I hung up and together we headed down the long staircase toward the dining hall.
Caroline was heading out the main entrance door with Cat. When Caroline saw us, she turned to Cat and said loudly, "I'm so glad you're coming out tonight with us. I really think you and Charles will hit it off." Jane stopped dead in her tracks. Caroline continued, "You know how important it is to protect your family name. When you're a Bingley, like a de Bourgh, you have to be careful about the people you associate with. I would think that most Longbourn girls would know that well." She glanced toward us. "Or at least the ones who have a reputation worth preserving."
Cat nodded absently as Caroline walked out. Cat followed obediently behind her.
"Jane ..."
The color rushed out of Jane's face. "So that's it. I've been replaced."
"That's ridiculous. I'm sure there's an explanation for --"
Jane turned around and headed back upstairs. "I'm not hungry."
"Jane!" I rushed after her. "Anybody who has ever seen you two together knows that Charles is crazy about you. Please, if Darcy looked at Caroline with even half the affection that Charles looks at you, she'd be walking around campus with her prom dress on."
Jane smiled. "Really?"
"Are you kidding me? There's no way that he's going to be able to stay away from you."
Fifteen
I'D BEEN WRONG ABOUT A LOT OF THINGS IN MY LIFE. BUT one thing that I would have bet my life savings on (as paltry as the sum may have been) was that Charles would be back to pursuing Jane in a matter of days.
But I was wrong. Dead wrong.
Two weeks passed, and nothing. It was heartbreaking to watch Jane stare at her cell phone, wishing it to ring. She wasn't the only one confused by Charles dropping off the face of the earth. It didn't make sense.
And to add to the list of boys with confusing behaviors, Colin refused to admit that he'd bought me the coat, and had dropped off the face of the earth as well. Or at least he'd stopped visiting me at the Junction.
And then there was Wick. Wick would visit me occasionally at work and flirt (at least I thought he was flirting), but he hadn't asked me out on another date.
What made it even worse was that Valentine's Day was approaching. And if there was anything more annoying than a Longbourn girl obsessing over prom, it was a Longbourn girl freaking out over Valentine's Day. Especially since I'd found out that Valentine's Day was the most popular day for Pemberley boys to ask Longbourn girls to prom.
It was bad enough to see the red balloons and heart signs sprouting up in town and infiltrating campus. I was trying to shield Jane from all the puppy love as much as possible. That night, I even volunteered to run to the dining hall to grab us dinner, for fear they'd be serving a red meal on heart-shaped plates. I ran into Charlotte on the way there.
"Oh, hi." She seemed unnerved to see me. "Heading to dinner?"
As we walked down the staircase, I saw Colin waiting in the entrance hall. "Oh, no. What does he want? Can he not take a hint?"
"Lizzie." Charlotte slowed down. "He's here for me."
"Oh." I tried to not sound so shocked.