Lizzy's POV

Charles and Darcy gave a stilted and completely inadequate explanation of why we couldn't leave today. I was about to question it because of the flaws, but before I could finish formulating my thoughts, Jane suggested we play Never Have I Ever.

This could go poorly.

Charles grinned at her, ready to accommodate, as he paused the movie that was still going and sat back down, "How do you play?"

"Everybody holds up five fingers to start, and then somebody says 'never have I ever...'" She continued the explanation and added at the end, "Never have I ever can be played with alcohol, but I don't think we need to get into that right now. Also, no targeting, and I don't want to hear anything dirty."

Well, that takes the fun out of it. But this is Jane, and she manages to make almost anything fun while still keeping it PG 13. It is part of her charm.

I expected Darcy and Caroline to walk out, but surprisingly they stuck around. Darcy sat down stiffly, his back ramrod straight. I plopped down on the couch with the photo still glaring up at me from Darcy's iPad at my side. I would revisit that subject later.

Jane started the game, "Never have I ever owned a blue vehicle."

Darcy and Charles both put a finger down.

Of course. Darcy probably has a car in every color.

Charles went next, "Never have I ever gone three or more days without a shower."

Darcy and I put a finger down.

I raised an eyebrow at Darcy, "From military time?" He met my questioning gaze for a moment and nodded rigidly.

Who would have known? Darcy can survive without a shower for a couple of days. He seems like the type that would take multiple showers a day.

Caroline thought for a moment, then said, "Never have I ever been skydiving."

Jane and I both put a finger down.

Charles looked at Jane, impressed, "Really?"

She nodded, "I'll show you the video sometime. Lizzy and I were both scared out of our minds, but it was fun."

Darcy was next, "Never have I ever eaten a ghost pepper."

Nobody put a finger down.

I held my three fingers up and looked around the room, "Never have I ever missed a flight."

Charles and Caroline both put a finger down.

Jane went again, "Never have I ever watched a horror movie."

Only Caroline put a finger down.

Charles smiled as he went next, "Never have I ever dressed up in a dinosaur suit."

Jane and I laughed, but nobody put a finger down.

Caroline said, "Never have I ever been a wedding officiant."

Nobody put a finger down.

Darcy went next, "Never have I ever been to a wedding where someone was left at the altar."

Jane and I looked at each other and grimaced as we both put a finger down. "Let's just say it was not a good day for that bride."

I settled against the couch, starting to enjoy the game. "Never have I ever been on a cruise."

Charles and Caroline put a finger down.

I checked out how many everyone had left. Jane and Darcy had three left, while Charles, Caroline, and I only had two fingers left.

It was back to Jane's turn, "Never have I ever ridden a motorcycle."

Charles put a finger down, as did Caroline, who did not look happy to be down to one finger.

Charles waved his final finger in front of him, "Never have I ever punched someone as an adult."

Darcy's face tightened, and he put a finger down.

Oooo, juicy gossip. Do I dare ask? Eh, what have I to lose?

"Who was it?"

Darcy didn't look at me, "Not part of the game."

I rolled my eyes.

Caroline went rapidly, "Never have I ever had a medical surgery."

I held a hand in front of my face to hold things up, "I'm sorry, Caroline, you realize that plastic surgery is also considered medical surgery, right?"

The woman glared at me and huffed, "Fine. Never have I ever taught a history class."

"Targeting," Jane called out.

Caroline was irritated, "Never have I ever eaten a polar bear."

That's an option? I have never been to a restaurant with that on the menu.

Charles and Darcy looked about as stunned as I felt.

Darcy was next, "Never have I ever chipped a tooth."

Caroline put her final finger down, got up, and left the room.

"Never have I ever surfed." My goal was to get Charles. I thought it fit his vibe. Sure enough, he put his last finger down and leaned back against the couch shaking his head at me.

"Come on, Lizzy. Did you see that on my Instagram?"

I smirked at him, "Nope."

Now it was down to Jane with three and Darcy and I with two. Jane and I exchanged a glance. We weren't going to target Darcy per see, but we wouldn't get each other out unless it came down to it.

Jane went next, "Never have I ever ridden on an elephant or a camel."

No way would that get him.

I was wrong. Darcy went down to one.

"Wait, really? Where?"

"Egypt."

Oh, of course, I forgot, he has money and can have all kinds of exotic experiences.

Darcy leaned forwards a little, "Never have I ever held a koala."

Jane put a finger down.

I grinned at her, "I didn't realize that me taking a picture of you holding a koala at the zoo and not holding it myself would be brought up someday."

I tried to figure out what I could say for Darcy that wouldn't be targeting, but that might get him out, "Never have I ever been whale watching."

"Lizzy!" Jane practically shrieked as she put a finger down, "Did you forget that I ended up going whale watching when I was in Alaska?"

I stared at her in horror, "Oh my gosh, you're right! I am so, so, sorry. That was when I was in Afghanistan, and I totally forgot."

Charles cracked up watching us, and I thought I even saw a flicker of amusement on Darcy's face.

Jane sighed while shaking her head and holding up her final finger mournfully, "Never have I ever watched more than a twenty-minute video on etiquette."

I stared at Jane with a flat face as I reduced my two fingers to one, and Darcy remained at one finger, "Jane, Jane, Jane, my dear sister," I sighed in disappointment, "Mr. Darcy probably had someone paid to come to teach him etiquette when he was in the cradle."

His eyes flicked to me, "Not quite, just when I was four years old."

I rolled my eyes and said in a lofty British accent, "Oh, pardon me for my inferior understanding of your upbringing. You have been ever so forthcoming about your childhood throughout our acquaintance."

Charles chuckled, and Jane looked nervously at Darcy to see his reaction to my sarcasm, but he only stared at me with an impassive facial expression.

Darcy shook his head, seemingly to rid himself of the thought of my comment, and said, "Never have I ever watched Top Gun or Top Gun Maverick."

I put down my final finger without comment, but Jane gasped as she lowered hers, "How could you not have seen it?"

"I have done other things with my time, and it wasn't as big of a deal in England as it was in the States," he responded.

"Congratulations, Darcy," I commented dryly, "you won."

He inclined his head in acknowledgment.

Jane rubbed her hands together and turned more towards Charles, "Well, that is done. So, let's talk about the party here at Netherfield! What are your thoughts? Lydia and my mom asked about it earlier, and I told them we hadn't planned it yet. If we don't plan it today, they might try to do it themselves."

I grimaced, "Which would not be good. But pause for a second, Jane, I need to write this down. Darcy, can I use your iPad for notes?"

He hesitated, and his eyes looked slightly panicked.

Odd.

"Never mind, I can go grab my laptop," I offered and started to rise.

Darcy cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably, "You can use it..."

"Are you sure?"

He looked anything but sure, nonetheless, he nodded in affirmation.

I picked up the iPad and turned it back on.

"Let me," Darcy held out his hand for the item.

I gave it to him, and he typed in the password. After a few more seconds of tapping, he handed it back, already on a new note.

"Thanks, now we can commence."

"Alright!" Jane grinned broadly, "Prepare yourself this isn't the normal way we go about party planning. Do you want an intimate dinner with 20 people inside? What do you think of having the food outside on a long table that people sit at, and we have lights strung above them? Is it a fundraiser for an organization that we sell tickets to attend? Do you want it to be Farm to Table type food? Would you like the food catered by a restaurant or prepared here? Do you want music, if so what type? Live or a DJ, or just a playlist? Would you want a dance floor?"

Charles rubbed his forehead, "Now I remember why we have our event planner in our company. Geez, this is so many details."

I glanced at Darcy's disapproving face, "Don't worry Mr. Darcy, we are usually much more organized in our approach when coordinating parties."

Charles shrugged his shoulders, "Jane, you know what? I will leave it to you and Lizzy to plan the party."

"Oh, no."

I scowled at Darcy, "Thank you for your input sir, but I don't recall this being your party. If you want, the stairs are right over there," I indicated with my hand, "otherwise, you can stay and only give helpful responses."

Jane shook her head at me, and I raised a brow at her. At this point, I didn't care what the man thought of me.

Turning to Charles, I smiled at him, "Yes, Jane and I are capable of planning a party, and have done so on numerous occasions." I shot a look at Darcy, who was watching me, "We would like to know what you want so we can fulfill any ideas you have for your preference and wishes."

Charles nodded slowly, "Okay, I'll give you the overarching thought, and the two of you get all the small details figured out."

I gave him a thumbs up, ready to type it out.

"I like the outside idea, um, maybe one hundred people max, farm to table sounds delightful, yes to a DJ, and yes to a dancefloor."

"Alright! We can work with that. Budget?"

"However much is needed. Would $75,000 work for you?"

Jane nodded quickly in affirmation, "Oh yes, that will... definitely... work."

"Also, it doesn't need to be a fundraiser, Jane, you just tell me somewhere you want me to donate money to and I will. I want it to be an enjoyable evening for whomever you want to invite. The goal is for them to come and have good food and wine at a party hosted by a lovely lady.. ladies. For the wine, perhaps something local to Texas, from the Hill Country? "

Seeing Jane's cheeks rosier than normal, I answered for her, smiling at Charles, "Fantastic, I will email you our contract with the pricing details. As for the date and time, what are your thoughts?"

"Evening for sure since it is so hot. Umm, do we do it on a weekend or weeknight? I do not have any evening calls I have to be on, so I am open any evening; it is just up to your schedule."

"Sounds good. We will share more ideas and plans with you as we approach the party. We can work with the information we have so far."

I clicked the button to email the notes to my email. I typed my email in and clicked send, then deleted the note I had worked on. Immediately, all the past notes popped up, and I could see Darcy start to rise. I quickly exited the app, but not before my eyes caught some interesting titles.

Thailand mission

South Africa task

Amsterdam articles

Dallas supplies

What were the notes for?

I handed back the iPad, hoping my face was blank, "Thanks again for letting me use it."

He nodded, then Mrs. Minera entered the room, wiping her hands on her apron as she announced, "Lunch is ready!"

We went to the dining room sideboard to fill our plates with the appetizing spread of food. Caroline appeared after Charles texted her, and we all sat down to eat.

Caroline quickly brought up the topic of how Jane and I would leave Netherfield, "Can we have the chopper land in the backyard to take them out?"

"Take them out?" wow, nice phrasing.

"The helicopter is in New York and would take a while to get it here."

"One could be chartered from San Antonio or Houston," I offered, "I don't know where helicopters are allowed to land, but there is an abandoned job site with a concrete slab three minutes from where we live. Jane and I could walk home. The pictures haven't clearly identified my face."

Darcy nodded, "That could work."

Charles apparently wanted us to stay longer, "Why not wait until the paparazzi leave, and then it won't be a big deal? If we have a car come in to pick them up, the paparazzi will follow it, and if it's a helicopter they will rush to the nearest airport."

Darcy finished chewing, "It would be easier to get the police involved and call it an invasion of privacy. I could threaten legal action against the paparazzi. That normally gets them out of the way."

"William, don't do that," Caroline whined, "You are notorious for that, and it would be more fuel to this fire."

I munched on my food and then said, "We could have a cop car come in to get us."

"No." Came the authoritative answer from Darcy, "Think about how that would look, Elizabeth. You and Jane leaving in a cop car?"

He called me Elizabeth again.

I bit my lip. "Good point. I didn't think of it from that aspect. We know quite a few officers willing to help us out."

Darcy muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "I bet," but I couldn't be sure.

Caroline asked, "Could they ride out with the cook when she goes to get groceries?"

"Her name is Mrs. Minera, and she is a lovely woman who is so much more than just a cook," I responded.

Caroline ignored me.

Just for the fun of it, I suggested an option they would all consider ludicrous, "If you want a complicated plan, we could get some friends of ours to all meet at a certain time at a certain place tomorrow night and have one of them come to get us. They could put mud on the license plate then as the paparazzi tail us, our friends would pull out in front of the paparazzi, and since it would be dark, they wouldn't be able to tell which vehicle we were in. Then when it comes time for us to turn, we can have other people start turning on different streets to confuse them even more. Or, we could have eagles swoop down to pick us up."

Everyone stared at me with varying degrees of disbelief, shock, horror, and disgust. Caroline looked at me like I was a peculiar kind of distasteful insect. I gave them a wide smile and then took a bite of my food.

Eventually, a decent idea came to mind. "Wait..." I tilted my head as the idea fully formed, "What if," I grinned, satisfied with the idea. "What if we all go to a restaurant tomorrow night when it is dark? However, only Charles, Caroline, and Darcy go inside. While the paparazzi are occupied with getting shots of Darcy and Caroline together through big glass windows, Jane and I would escape. We would sneak out of the car and ride off with Charlotte, who would be waiting around the corner. The garage is connected to the house, so the paparazzi wouldn't see how many people get in the vehicle. I don't know if the windows are tinted, but if they aren't, Jane and I could lay on the floorboard."

Charles shrugged his shoulders, "Why not?"

"I could think of a bunch of reasons why not, Charles," muttered Caroline, "but I think it could work."

Darcy nodded, seemingly against his will, "So far, that is our best idea, not that I approve of it."

Jane, who had stayed quiet, nodded in agreement.

"Mrs. Mirena," Charles called. 

The woman bustled into the room from the kitchen, "Yes, sir?"

Charles smiled apologetically at her, "I know you showed me the wonderful menu you had planned for the week. Unfortunately, we will be going out late tomorrow evening for dinner. I apologize for the inconvenience of not letting you know sooner."

"Not a problem, sir. I will make something for myself in my little cottage out back. Will you need anything else, sir?"

"No, thank you."

When we finished lunch, Jane and I went upstairs to my room to continue planning the dinner party. I checked my phone and ignored the seven messages from Gee asking how the day was going with the mansion's other inhabitants. Instead of answering her queries, mostly about Darcy, I asked if she had told her teachers the news.

I started my laptop and went to my email account, opening the email from Darcy's address. I copied the contents to our party planning format. For about two hours, Jane and I were highly productive. We developed a solid idea and called some of our contacts and vendors we use for events. We picked a date, rented the dancefloor, chairs, and proper long tables, collaborated on the menu, booked port-a-cools, and looked at Pinterest pictures and pictures from past events we had coordinated at Netherfield. I reached out to a friend that is in the wine business in the Hill Country for their wine recommendations. We already had the lights we wanted to string across the backyard.

"So, now for the guest list."

I looked up at Jane and nodded, "The requirements for that are the three people here, our family of seven, and the whole Richards family. Other than that, I think we can pick whomever."

Jane bit her lip, "I know, they need to be people who reflect well on us."

"I can only imagine why," I smirked at her.

She rolled her eyes at me, a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Oh, Jane."

We figured out a portion of the guest list, then Jane went to her room to work on finding the sources for the meal, and I would figure out the place setting decorations.

I picked up my phone to read Gee's latest text that I had ignored while working with Jane.

I told them and it went okay. They all reacted differently. The main thing is that it is done.

Reading behind the short sentences I could tell it hadn't gone well. I called her and she immediately picked up, "Oh, Bess, it was awful. They looked at me with so much pity, and then one of them muttered that I probably deserved it, and one of them thought I was lying about the circumstances. Just because I'm rich doesn't mean bad situations won't happen to me."

She went into more detail on what it was like to tell each teacher and their responses. In the middle of my encouraging her, she interrupted and asked about my day. Gee was particularly interested in Darcy for reasons beyond my comprehension. She had seen the picture of Darcy and I "kissing" and wanted to know if it was true. After a ten minutes call, we hung up. It was a relief knowing that she would not have to hide it anymore.

I stayed in my room working on event planning and house interior designs until supper, then went down and endured another painful meal with Darcy, and Caroline, while Jane and Charles happily chatted away. 

In theory, it was nice that everyone sat down and ate together, we don't do that enough anymore in American culture, but having to do it with Caroline and Darcy was painful. My mind spun in circles with the things I wanted to talk to Darcy about regarding the day, but I wasn't about to say anything in front of Caroline.

When we finished, I escaped as quickly as I could to my room where I prepped more for upcoming History classes.

Jane lured me back downstairs so we could finish watching the movie we had started earlier in the day before I saw the bombshell kissing picture. Bowls of popcorn were on the table with multiple toppings, and I was glad it was only her and Charles.

I looked at them, seated on the same couch, not touching, but not exactly on opposite sides.

"You two, no huggee, no kissee until I see a wedding ring."

Jane looked mortified at me saying the song lyrics and Charles looked chagrined, "Lizzy, we weren't..."

"Charles, chill, it was from a song. Just so you know, I'm the best third wheel around. Also, if y'all ate all this popcorn, you would not feel good. I've eaten copious amounts of popcorn in one setting, so I speak from experience. It is very wise of y'all to spread it between the three of us."

"Four," announced a deep voice coming around the corner.

Lovely. Just lovely.