I turned away from Darcy and Caroline, hastily making my way out of the room, and followed the meandering house plan to the stairs. I lightly grabbed hold of the polished wooden banister, holding it with just enough pressure to not further irritate my hand, but enough to keep me steady, then rushed upstairs, thankful for the carpet runner on the gleaming wood so I didn't slip. 

At the top, I headed right and peeked my head in every door that opened, trying to find Jane. On the fourth door, I finally found her blonde head laying in a canopied bed.

"Hey, Jane." I knocked on the door as I moved in, my stomach knotted from not knowing what was going on.

She rolled over at my knock and I immediately took in how exhausted she looked. Her low, "Hey," only confirmed my impression of her being drained.

I shut the door behind me and sat at the foot of the bed. "What happened to you?"

Jane explained everything from her view. She had gotten food poisoning and her phone had died. For most of the night she was throwing up and the other parts of it she had laid on the bathroom floor trying to regain her strength. "Caroline got sick too, but not as bad as I did since she didn't eat as much. I guess it just slipped her mind to ask for your phone number while she had her head stuck in a toilet bowl too." 

I wasn't convinced.

"Why did she have your phone this morning?"

"I was able to stumble out of the bathroom and find it in the living room where I had left it when I had to first rush out of the room last night. Then I gave it to her to charge."

"So she didn't come to check on you or have someone check on you? Have you gotten any medicine? Please tell me Charles at least gave you some of that?"

Jane looked down and fidgeted with the plush covers, "I haven't seen him yet."

"What?" Now I was confused. "You are staying in his house and he hasn't come to check on you at all? I mean jeez, I was starting to like the guy. Now he's rude and doesn't check in on his sick guest? That's upsetting." I slapped the covers to emphasize my point.

Jane's face dropped in the way I had come to understand as her being upset but trying not to show it. To almost anyone else, they would say that nothing about her had changed, but as her twin and having lived with her almost my whole life, I knew her every slight facial expression change and what emotion it conveyed. I felt bad for my thoughtless comment to my very feeling sister.

"Jane I am so sorry. You have got to be feeling terrible, and that was insensitive of me."

She sighed, "Pretty much, I'm slightly feverish, dehydrated, and haven't had anything to eat to even see if I could keep it down."

"I'll go grab you something." I pushed off of the bed and stood up, then held onto one of the posters supporting the canopy at the foot of the bed and rested my face against it, trying to hide the side of my face that was injured. I was quite surprised Jane hadn't commented on it yet. "Any requests? I have no idea what is in the pantry for me to raid, or if I can make you something."

Jane tilted her head and looked more intently at me, "What happened to you? You are all scraped up."

Just then a knock came on the door to her room. I raised a brow at Jane for permission and she nodded that I should open it.

I opened up the white door. "Charles!"

"Elizabeth, I just heard what happened. Can I see Jane? I am so sorry it took so long for me to find out. I had no idea, when we got home last night I was exhausted and didn't think anything of Caroline already being in her room. I didn't even know Jane was here! William drove us home last night and I was on my phone when we pulled in so I didn't see her car." His words ran together he was talking so fast. "I just got dressed and went downstairs when they told me what happened. Can I please see her? Is she okay? Do I need to call a doctor? Does she need medicine? What does she need? Would bread help? Has she eaten anything this morning?" He bit his lip and looked at me anxiously.

I smiled and looked over at Jane on the bed, who now didn't look quite as worn out as she had before she heard the voice at the door, "Come in."

"Thank you!" he let out a breath he had apparently been holding and rushed in as I stepped out of the way.

Okay, Jane, he's back on my good side.

I shut the door, then leaned against it, watching as he sat on the covers I had recently vacated. He said something in a low voice to Jane, then glanced back at me.

"Elizabeth have you had breakfast? If not, go downstairs and get something to eat. The cook has a large spread made. I can tend to her."

I looked at Jane for confirmation that she was comfortable with that, and she nodded, reading my mind.

"Will do, thanks, Charles. Just remember, I'm leaving the door open, and it better be open when I come back up. Jane and I keep to strict boundaries."

He nodded solemnly and I left the room, then detoured to a hall bathroom to see if there was any medicine in there that I could put on my cuts but there wasn't. When I looked closer in the mirror I realized my face was starting to bruise. I yanked the ponytail out and let the knotted hair fall around my face, then I poofed it up and made it look like a cute, messy hairstyle. Sort of. Defeated I closed the door and locked it then sat down on the lid of the toilet.

Who was I fooling? I didn't fit in with these rich people. Not like this, not ever.

God, please give me the strength to be okay with being different. I don't know what the point of all this drama between Mr. Darcy and I is. How do you want me to grow from it? Right now I just see it as a really big annoyance, but I know there is a reason I am going through this situation. 

After finishing my prayer, I walked downstairs and saw Caroline and William Darcy sitting down at the formal dining table eating. Mr. Darcy glanced up at me then back down to his food. Caroline just scrolled on her phone without acknowledging my presence.

All kinds of breakfast food were laid out on a side table, and looking at it I realized how hungry I was, but I didn't have an invitation to eat. Do I just grab a plate?

"Blimey," Caroline started, "Get a plate Elizabeth. You are going to be here for a couple of days."

My head snapped towards Caroline and I stared at her in disbelief. "What did you say?"

She rolled her eyes, "You are so oblivious. Did you really think you would be leaving today?"

"Well yeah, I have a couple of jobs that I have to tend to so I can get paid, so I can buy food, so I can make my house payments, and now so I can also pay for my car that is getting fixed, cause I hit a deer last night. So yes." I snapped.

Caroline shook her head, "You have to stay. I'd suggest you have someone bring you some clothes, makeup, toiletries, and perhaps some feminine products as I think you might be needing them based on your attitude. Or are you always this bi-"

"Caroline, that is enough." Mr. Darcy cut in, glancing at me.

My face flamed and I bit my lip to keep from spouting something out at her. The nerve! I turned away from them to get a plate which I filled up with some pretty good-looking food then set it down while I went to fill a glass with water.

As I sat down and started eating Caroline made another scathing comment, "My goodness Elizabeth, it is no wonder you weigh thirty pounds more than I do with all that you eat."

Weighing my options I decided to ignore her and started eating my own food. I didn't have to pay for it and I didn't have to make it so I was going to enjoy it. Thankfully Mr. Darcy and Caroline didn't talk, so I didn't have to listen to any unwanted conversations. They both just tapped away on their phones. I thought about pulling mine out too but decided against it as I didn't want to be like them.

Once I finished, I excused myself even though it was probably unnecessary, and went upstairs back to the room that Jane and Charles were in. If I didn't know about how strong Jane's convictions were, I would have been worried, but I knew her well enough to know she wouldn't do anything out of the ordinary.

I walked through the open door and saw Jane laying in the bed with the covers still pulled up on her, the only difference was now she had a damp cloth on her forehead. Charles had apparently moved a chair from across the room and was now sitting in it by the bed. They had been talking before I came in, then paused when I entered.

I smiled, "Thank you for watching her while I ate!"

"Of course! It was a pleasure! I mean, sorry, it's not a pleasure that she is sick, of course not. It is a pleasure that she is here... being sick... Ummm." He ran his fingers through his hair in an agitated motion. "You get what I mean."

He exhaled when I nodded my agreement.

"Charles you should go eat," I said, motioning to the door.

"No, I couldn't."

Jane looked at him and said firmly, "Yes you can. Now go. If you want, you can bring me up something."

Bravo Jane.

His eyes lit up at the idea of being useful, "Oh okay. What do you want? There is a lot spread out down there."

"Just bring her some toast."

"Alright!" He quickly got up and went out of the room.

Jane frowned at me, "Why didn't you bring me something to eat?"

"How else was I going to get the guy to go get himself some food? I knew he would be in here all day with you if he could."

"Come on, he wouldn't do that. I'm sure he has things to do."

"I'm sure he does." After a pause, I continued, "It is all a matter of where your priorities are though."

"Lizzy."

I flopped down on the bed beside her. It felt so soft after my run and the newfound stress of being under the eye of the Paparazzi. Rolling over I proceeded to tell Jane about my night and the morning I had experienced.

"Who could have sent the pictures in?" she asked when I was done.

I threw my hands up in the air, "I have no idea and that is what is so frustrating. Mr. Darcy and Caroline don't believe me but I wish they would."

"I'm really surprised Caroline doesn't believe you."

A male voice from the door interrupted my going-to-be response, "A toast delivery for the sick maiden. May I be permitted to bestow it into her worthy hands?"

Jane and I both smiled at his old-fashioned antics, and she responded in an exaggerated accent, "Of course kind sir."

He handed her the plated toast and put a glass of water down on the nightstand next to her.

"Thank you, you are such a gentleman." Jane giggled.

Charles bowed, then straightened with a hilarious expression on his face that made Jane and I look at each other, then proceed to burst out laughing.

"I have just been given an extraordinary compliment by the fair maiden! The title I have longed to be called for ages has been bequeathed upon me! Finally, a gentleman!"

If Jane and I had laughed a few moments ago we were rolling now. 

Once we had our laughs under control, she choked out a "Bravo." and began to eat her breakfast slowly. I stayed in the room with Jane and Charles as I much preferred to be with them than downstairs. They talked so easily together and Jane didn't seem at all flustered which normally happens when she is talking to a date. Charles wasn't a "date", but yet... The way he gave her his full attention and seemed completely absorbed by her partially suggested otherwise.

Such a cute couple.

I tried to make myself as inconspicuous as possible on my phone in the corner while they chatted. Looking up the "news" about me and Mr. Darcy was crazy. Each website had its own spin on me. "Cheating on Caroline?", "What happened to Anne?", "Is this just a one-night hookup or something more?" "Darcy dumps girlfriend and moves on to this hot chick", "The hermit has come out of his shell." I read through the articles one by one, growing more disgusted with each headline.