Foundation of Love: The Gypsy Blessing 2 (2 page)

The best advice I can give you now is that you remember to believe in the impossible, dear girl.

Do not fear. In the end, the drawings will lead you to complete happiness—that which you never dreamed could be possible!

Yours, etc.,

Elizabeth

Elizabeth stared at the pages for a few moments before laughter began bubbling out of her. Of all the things for her father to use as a prank, why did he choose this? She wondered how long it had taken him to find the ancient pages of stationery and how much he had paid a calligrapher to write in such beautiful script. Why had he thought she would not notice that there was a delicately engraved “D” in the center of the family crest embossed on the paper? If the woman had the same name, it should have been a “B.”

It was a shame she could not hide the fact that she had read the note. Elizabeth rejected the thought of removing the string and brown paper from the packages that the writer of the letter had directed her to open, though somehow, she knew which they were. That frightened her a bit, because there were several. How
could
she know? She shook her head to clear the thought from her mind.

She finished replacing all the items into the trunk and closed the lid with a thump. Gathering her bat and lantern, she left the attic, determined not to think of this episode again.

However, over the next few days, thoughts of the trunk, the letter, and the drawing robbed her of sleep. The part of her that, as a little girl, had believed in fairy tales and magic,
and later had dreamt of having a fairy godmother who would one day transform her into a beautiful maiden worthy of a boy’s attention—
that
part of her now longed for the gypsy’s blessing to be authentic.

While occupied with tasks that required little thought, such as signing a stack of time cards at the store or folding laundry at home, she would try to figure out how her family could have pulled off the prank—especially the drawing. How had her father guessed exactly what she would be wearing? How had he known that when she heard the trunk fall, she would have rushed up the stairs without her slipper? Even if there had been someone in the house with her, nobody could draw in such detail that quickly. The wax that sealed the letter was not new, either.

Again and again, she was left without answers, which hinted toward the letter being genuine. What if it really wasn’t a joke? Her father was known for his pranks, but she couldn’t remember him ever putting
this
much thought or effort into a practical joke.

The night before her brother arrived, Elizabeth lay awake thinking. The lady who wrote the letter had most likely married and changed her surname. When the old family Bible occurred to her, hope bloomed in her breast. If Elizabeth Rose Bennet was truly an ancestor, she should be listed there. Elizabeth sprang out of bed, hurried to her father’s library, and pulled the Bible from the shelf. Her trembling hands turned to the page where births and deaths had been recorded faithfully for generations.

A great sense of disappointment came over her when she realized the citations began in 1851, when Emily Lashbrook received the Bible upon her marriage to Henry Bennett. It proved nothing since the letter was dated 1811, forty years prior.

She walked to the window and looked up at the twinkling stars of the clear night sky. Her thoughts returned time and time again to the misspelling of her last name, but part of her struggled to dismiss it. She
wanted
to believe, but really, how could she? It was all just too fantastic.

~%~

~A few days later

Elizabeth sat silently shuffling through the photos her mother had printed as a chronicle of their second honeymoon. She blinked rapidly at the sight of her father wearing a gaudily-colored sombrero and realized she hadn’t really been paying attention to any of them up until now. The sound of laughter caused her to look up. She blushed as she noticed her father and her sister Jane were looking at her. Had her father just mentioned the prank he’d played on her last week and she’d missed it?

Her father laid his hand on her arm. “Did you take photos of
your
adventures, Lizzy?”

Elizabeth was surprised when she felt a bit of fear as she met his gaze. Would he tell her how he managed his stunt? “My...
adventures?
”

Her father chuckled. “Judging by the stack of bills on my desk, it seems you had an exciting few days while we were away.” He looked around, assuring that nobody else was paying attention to them before speaking again in a tone quiet enough that only she could hear. “I would have rather been here with you and the contractors than floating around the ocean on a cruise ship.”

“Oh, I thought you meant...” She hesitated. “Dad, your prank nearly scared me half to death.”

“You didn’t tell me about a prank when you returned to the dorm, Lizzy.” Jane looked at her father. “What did you do this time, Dad?”

“Prank?” Her father’s confused frown was convincing, making Elizabeth wonder how long he had practiced the expression. “How could I have played a practical joke while I was away?”

“I haven’t been able to figure it out. It must have taken a lot of scheming—I’ll give you that.”

His expression remained serious. “Truly, Lizzy, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Her breath caught as she stared at him. Whenever he had instigated a prank in the past, he had claimed responsibility immediately. Why wasn’t he taking credit for
this
stunt. Could it all be true? “You didn’t set up the trunk so it would fall over?”

Mr. Bennet’s eyes opened wider, and he cleared his throat. “It has your name on it?”

Elizabeth shifted her gaze several times from her father to her sister and then nodded.

Her father began to chuckle nervously. “I moved some things around when I went upstairs to get the luggage. Perhaps I left it in a precarious position, and after a while, it fell.” He patted her hand. “I’m sorry to have frightened you, Lizzy. It was not intentional.” He winked at her.

Elizabeth understood his final gesture as an admittance of guilt. Her father
had
set up the hoax, after all. The letter was false... there was no gypsy blessing. She was surprised as a feeling of great disappointment welled up within her.

After dinner, Elizabeth and Jane drove the sixty miles to their dorm rooms at Longbourn University. Once she was again distracted by her normal, hectic routine of attending classes and working as an architectural intern at her aunt and uncle’s firm, Elizabeth almost forgot about the trunk, the letter, and the drawing.

Almost
.

Chapter
1

~One month later – Longbourn University

The sounds of feminine giggling bounced off the buildings surrounding William Darcy on three sides. He looked around and then rolled his eyes. The courtyard had practically filled up with college-aged girls, half of whom were staring at him. A group of female co-eds strutted toward him, smiling flirtatiously. He nodded slightly in greeting. One of the girls winked at him and licked her lips. He quickly averted his gaze and had to stop himself from rolling his eyes again.

Internally, he cursed the magazine that had plastered his face on their cover last month after voting him Bachelor of the Year.
I should’ve asked Anne to meet me at my car.

“William!”

William blinked and refocused, surprised to find the voice of his old friend Anne coming from the lovely, vibrant creature walking toward him, waving at him from across the courtyard outside her dorm building.

“Anne?”

Even though Anne de Bourgh could afford the best of the best designer clothes, to her mother’s frustration, she always had worn bulky sweaters and long, baggy skirts. It seemed to him that she did her best to cover every inch of skin possible. He had assumed she had been hiding what she thought of as a lack of figure since she was surrounded by socialites of their class who had paid tens of thousands of dollars or more to attain what
they
viewed as the perfect body. In his opinion, their judgment was deficient.

William raised his eyebrows. Obviously,
that
had not been the reason Anne had kept herself hidden. She was lovely.

Over the past few months, he had noticed a slow change in her emails, texts, and the way she spoke on the phone, but
seeing
Anne behave this way in public was astonishing. Ever since they were children, Anne de Bourgh had been painfully shy, always trying to blend into the background. It was something they had in common, though he had learned to put on a mask to be sociable when he had to, which got him through many business meetings, parties, and charity events. Few people knew the real Fitzwilliam Darcy.

Shocking him further, Anne greeted him with a hug. “Will, it’s so good to see you! I’m so glad you had business in the area and could spare a weekend to visit.”

“Anne?” he repeated.

Anne laughed as she pulled away. “Yes, it’s me! Oh, I know, I know… but it
is
me. I told you I had made some new friends, and they’re doing me a lot of good.”

They decided where they would go for dinner and began to walk toward the parking lot. After a few minutes of silence, William looked over at Anne again. “You look wonderful.”

“Don’t act so shocked!” Anne’s tone was one of feigned insult. She giggled when he reddened. “I was only teasing, Will. Believe me, I
do
understand. My suitemates—Charlotte, Jane, and Lizzy—gave me a ‘make-over’ shortly after they arrived at Longbourn University in August. Charlotte cut my hair, and they gave me tips on how to apply a little make-up the
right
way.” Anne turned her head away, he assumed to hide a blush. “When they finally let me look in the mirror, my reflection surprised even me. As for the clothes—Jane aspires to be a fashion designer, and she is
very
talented. Since Charlotte, Lizzy, and I are so dissimilar in body type, we are the guinea pigs for some of her designs. As compensation, we get to keep the clothes she makes for us as long as we model them for her classes. It’s too bad your visit wasn’t scheduled for next week; we’re going to put on a small fashion show.”

“But…” He searched for a way to express his thoughts without offending her. “
You
are going to get up in front of a group of people you don’t know?”

“Yes! I dare anyone to live with Lizzy for six months and
not
have some of her self-confidence rub off on them! She has a certain way about her...” Anne shook her head. “You’ve got to meet her to understand. But I told you about most of this already. Don’t you ever pay attention to my emails or phone calls?”

“You’ll have to forgive me, Anne. I have never even met Lizzy or Jane, and I’ve had just a
couple
of things on my mind lately other than your roommates.” Frowning, he motioned toward a very plain-looking car and opened the passenger door for her.

“You’re kidding! You rented
this
?”

“It was the safest one they had.”

Once he settled into the driver’s seat, Anne said, “I can just picture you standing at the rental counter with your laptop open, searching the Internet for the latest safety ratings on the list of available cars.” She tried not to smile at his grimace. “Did you check the VIN number histories for accidents, too?”

William stiffened, uncomfortable that she had taken the joke too far. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her bite her lip.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

William nodded. “It’s my fault. Nobody should have to be so careful with their words around me. You’d think I’d have gotten used to it by now.”

Anne directed him out of the maze of campus streets and parking lots. Once they reached the open road, she asked, “How’s Georgiana doing?”

William’s expression darkened. “It has been two years since the accident.” He shook his head. “My sister has healed physically, but she’s still so withdrawn. I thought by now she would have stopped blaming herself for living when our parents didn’t…” his voice trailed off. He didn’t want to talk about this subject any further just now.

“I’m sorry. Would it be okay if I came to visit her during spring break?”

“Georgie would love that, and so would I. Thanks.”

She nodded. “How’s everything at Darcy Construction going?”

“At least I have good news in
that
part of my life. Exactly as my father predicted, the local Native American tribe is expected to win the support necessary from New York State and local officials to build a casino. The area will be growing quickly, and new residents will need a place to live. Monday, I’m meeting with the architectural firm that I’m almost positive will be working on Lambton Village. Though it may take a while before we begin construction, my father’s dream community
will
be realized—and you’ll have to put up with seeing me more often.”

“It’s been your dream, too.” Anne smiled. “That’s wonderful, William! But if you take too long to start, I might not be here. Don’t faint, but I’ve finally made a decision about a major.”

“Again?”

“This time, I’m absolutely sure.
I always treated my fascination with a microscope and biology as a hobby, but
I’m taking it up to the next level. I am going to be a microbiology technologist, helping doctors find the correct medications to prescribe for their patients.”

“That sounds...” He hesitated. “Well, it sounds... good.”

“Just good?”

“To be honest, Anne, I think you should do something with your photography.”

“But, that’s only a
hobby
.”

“Last year, you said microscopes were a hobby.”

Anne huffed out a breath and crossed her arms over her waist.

William seemed to become lost in thought for a couple of minutes. After practically growing up together, he knew Anne would not interrupt his train of thought. “Jane and Lizzy are sisters who won scholarships, correct?”

“Ah, so you
were
paying attention to at least some of what I’ve told you.” Anne chuckled. “Yes. Lizzy is three years younger than Jane. Lizzy graduated high school early like you did. I keep forgetting she’s seventeen because she seems at least as old as her sister.”

“If Jane is three years older, why did she enter college at the same time as Elizabeth?”

“Well, Jane had some difficulties in school because of a hearing problem. Unfortunately, it wasn’t diagnosed until she had been left back. It took her a little while to get used to her hearing aids, but once she did, she did great at school.”

William raised his eyebrows. “Sounds a lot like what happened to my friend Charles Bingley.”

She cocked her head to the side. “You know, now that you mentioned Charles, I think they would make a great couple.”

He knitted his brow. “You think they’d go well together because they both have a hearing loss?”

“Of course not, Will. That wouldn’t give them enough in common to be a good couple. It’s their personalities. They’d be perfect together.”

Glancing at Anne, he could see the matchmaking wheels turning in her mind. William cleared his throat to remind Anne that he was there.

“Oh, sorry. Mama was in Paris for the holidays, so I went to Jane and Lizzy’s house before my visit with the Fitzwilliams. It was very different living in the midst of a large family after being an only child. I really like their father and brother, but their sister and mother are a little...” Anne wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know...
strange
.”

Anne pointed to a side street and directed William to park the car. Once they were seated in the restaurant, William continued their conversation. “I’m sorry your visit didn’t go well.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to give you that impression. I had a lot of fun. Their younger sister, Lydia, is kind of an airhead and the biggest flirt I’ve ever met—I don’t remember ever hearing so much about boys in my life. Their mother spent her time either telling me every intimate detail of the lives of people I don’t know or had just met, or trying to set me up on dates with men from the area. She reminded me a little of my mother in a way, listing each man’s earning potential, and pushing them at me.” Anne laughed. “I guess it comes with the territory—being in my mid-twenties with no boyfriend in sight, with ‘student’ my only career path up until now. Lizzy joked that if her mother found out that I have money, she would push her brother Tom at me, even though he
is
so much younger than I am. He is Lizzy’s twin.”

William’s eyebrows rose high up on his forehead. “I would feel much more comfortable if you had your own apartment instead of sharing a dorm room with strangers.”

“Living with strangers has done me nothing but good. You know that my mother would leave me with a nanny whenever she went away on one of her monthly trips, always too worried that I’d become ill to take me with her. Even after the doctor told her my immune system was stronger than it was when I was little, it continued the same way—I think it had become a habit for her. The only places I was allowed to go were to visit the Fitzwilliams and your family. Then, once she allowed me to be around people, she only let me near people
she
thought worthy of notice.”

William nodded. “She’s like that in business, too. It’s not easy having her on the board when she only wants us to take on clients who have her idea of the
right
kind
of reputation.”

“I’ve never told anyone this before.” Anne spoke hesitantly. “I was so shy that when I was with the super-self-confident socialites my mother insisted I hang out with, all I’d do was just sit there and listen. The few times I did find the courage to speak, they ridiculed me. I tried reading the gossip columns, but even then, I still couldn’t exchange years’ worth of gossip like they did. It was all about people I’d never even met. I read up on cities all over the world that they had mentioned visiting and watched movies and TV programs about them, but it didn’t help. Instead of trying to find a topic that I was interested in or help me to find a way to belong to their little clique, when they thought I couldn’t hear them, they’d laugh at what I’d said. Those girls
tolerated
my company because of the size of my bank account and my family name, and that’s it. Much of what they said was nasty and cruel. Even thinking of them now, I still can’t figure out why my mother considers those people
superior
.” She shook her head and glanced around the restaurant. “That’s why I wanted to meet
all
kinds of people, not just the ones my mother decided were the ‘right kind,’ and I asked your parents and the Fitzwilliams to back me up when I decided to go away to college. With all the money my family has donated to my father’s alma mater, by selecting Longbourn University, I had my pick of dorms and chose one that provides a private bedroom for each student, with a shared common room.

“It took years—and yes, I’ve been exposed to a few girls who were not very nice or ‘good role model’ material—but look at me, Will. When I first left home, I never thought I’d be able to speak above a whisper, let alone model my friend’s designs. I feel like I’m a different person. People listen to what I have to say and take me seriously now, and
not
just because I’m a de Bourgh.”

“When will I meet your new suitemates?” William wanted to assess the girls she was living with, hoping they wouldn’t take advantage of Anne the way so many people had tried to use him through the years. The
Darcy protectiveness
had just kicked in.

“It will have to be on your next visit. Jane and Lizzy went home this weekend. If you don’t trust
my
opinion of them, ask Richard. I’ll send some photos of the three of us and Charlotte by email. You do remember what Charlotte Lucas looks like, don’t you?”