For nearly nine minutes, I was alone. It was just me, the Steinway, and my playing. I rocked back and forth on the bench as my fingers tried to keep up with the challenge that Bartok had laid down. In my head I could hear the accompanying strings and percussion section. At the end of the first movement, my fingers flew up the keys one last time before finishing with a flourish.
I was slightly out of breath at the end, my cheeks flushed from the adrenaline of performing, and my mind blessedly clear.
"Bravo!" Jane cheered.
"That was brilliant!" Charles's eyes were wide. He kept looking from me to the piano.
"That was loud," Caroline replied from the couch. She looked bored.
Charles came over and placed his hand on my shoulder. "Lizzie, I don't think our piano could stand to be played by anyone else after that."
Caroline got up from the couch. "Is it time for dinner, or are we going to have to listen to more pounding? I already have a headache from the drive."
Darcy laughed. "I guess Bartok's not for everybody."
"You knew that was Bartok?" I was surprised.
He shrugged. "I pay attention in music class."
"Please," Charles began to say, "it's more like --"
Darcy shot Charles a look, which made it clear that he didn't want him to continue.
Caroline sat down at the table. "Well, I guess we know that all it takes for somebody to get a scholarship at Longbourn is the ability to make a lot of noise."
Jane came up to me and whispered, "Don't listen to Caroline. She 's just jealous. I don't think she likes the way Darcy is looking at you."
"What? She wants to be looked at with absolute contempt?" I whispered back.
"Lizzie!"
"I'm just saying ..."
We sat down at the dining room table and began to dive into Henry's wonderful meal.
"Are you sure we can't convince you to go skiing with us tomorrow?" Charles asked me. "I'm sure Darcy wouldn't mind giving you some pointers."
"Of course," Darcy said, unenthused.
"Oh, thanks. But I have this thing against bodily harm."
Charles laughed. "I'm sure you'd be fine."
"I appreciate your confidence in me. Unfortunately, I'm more comfortable at a piano than in the snow."
"Well, if you are even one percent as good a skier as you are a pianist, you'd no doubt ski circles around us. But I understand. Henry will take good care of you tomorrow. I really want you to make yourself at home here. Consider yourself family."
I ignored Caroline's snort. Charles was so genuine and had such a positive attitude, I wished more people were like him. The world, I imagined, would be a better place with more Charles Bingleys than Caroline Bingleys ... or even Will Darcys.
Seven
I WENT DOWNSTAIRS THE FOLLOWING MORNING TO FIND everybody at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and eating an amazing spread that Henry had prepared.
"Good morning," Charles greeted me. "How did you sleep?"
"Great, thanks!" I helped myself to a bagel. "Charles, is there a bookstore in town? I forgot to pick up a copy of The Canterbury Tales before I left and I need to work on my assignment for English. I thought I could walk into town while you guys went skiing." I walked over to the closet to grab my coat.
Darcy got up. "Don't be silly -- I'll drive you."
"No, it's okay."
He ignored me and grabbed his coat.
"Don't you have skiing to do?" I asked.
"The slopes aren't going anywhere," he replied as he opened up the front door.
It was bright out from the sun glistening off the snow. We walked over to the car in silence, the only noise coming from the fresh snow crunching under our feet. Darcy went over to the passenger side and opened the door. I stopped in my tracks.
"I thought you said you were driving."
He looked perplexed. "I'm just opening the door for you." "Oh."
I felt stupid that such a simple, chivalrous gesture could set off my defenses. I got into the car without saying another word.
We began to listen to the ski report on the radio on the short drive into town.
Darcy turned down the volume. "Today is a great day for skiing, are you sure we can't persuade you to join us? It really is fun."
"No, thanks," I said as I looked out at the snow-covered mountains. "I don't think anybody would consider a visit to the emergency room fun."
Darcy let out a small laugh. "Okay, that seems fair enough. But I can't help but wonder why you would come all this way to a ski weekend if you have no intention of skiing."
"Oh, well, that's easy. For Jane. It's the least I owe her."
Darcy quickly glanced at me. "The dress?"
"No, it's more than that. Jane is everything to me. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for her, so coming along for a weekend is the very least I could do."
Darcy was silent for a few moments. "But haven't you only known her for a semester?"
"Yes, but we've been through so much ..." I paused. "I don't think I could have survived my first semester without her." My voice was quiet, barely a whisper. "I never realized what a luxury kindness could be."
I didn't know why I felt the need to confess that to Darcy. Maybe it was my way to talk Jane up to Charles's good friend. Or maybe I was tired of people only seeing me one way.
I turned fully toward the window as we arrived downtown, hoping Darcy wouldn't press further.
The two blocks of town were filled with chic boutiques, organic food stores, coffee shops, restaurants, and, fortunately, a small bookstore.
Darcy pulled over and we went inside.
"Over here," Darcy said, leading me to the classic literature shelf. "I needed a copy of Twelfth Night last year." He scanned the shelf and found The Canterbury Tales. "Here it is." He looked satisfied and headed to the register, where he pulled a black card out from his wallet.
"What are you doing?" I asked him.
He didn't get it. "Did you want to get something else?"
I shook my head. "No. I don't understand why you have your credit card out. You're not paying for my book."
As I began to move to the cashier line, Darcy stood frozen. I glanced back at him.
"What's your problem?" he asked.
"Excuse me?" I replied coldly.
"You seem to have a problem not only with me, but everybody else at Longbourn and Pemberley, for that matter."
My mouth dropped open. "I'm the one who has a problem? If I thought you were capable of having a sense of humor, I'd think you were joking."
"I'm offering to buy your book and instead of saying thank you, you insult me. Why don't you let me pay for it? It really isn't a big deal to me."
I grabbed the book out of his hand. "Oh, and it's a big deal to me?"
He crossed his arms. "There is really no reason to be difficult about this."
"I'm not making anything difficult. I'm buying something for class. I don't need to take a loan out to buy a paperback."