“Wickham, you’re hilarious,” I announced, reaching out to touch his arm.
“Elizabeth.”
I looked up to see Mr. Darcy standing directly in front of me. He was dressed in a smart dark suit and acting for all the world like he owned the entire sidewalk. His blue eyes were only on me. My hand fell from Wickham, and my lungs forgot how to breathe for a moment as I had a vivid recall of our dance.
“Oh, hello,” I stammered. My brain no longer seemed to know how to find words. “What are you doing here?”
“I had a meeting,” he replied, his accent thick this morning. He motioned to one of the skyscrapers behind him. “And you?”
“I went for a run and ran into my sister and her new agent,” I explained. I motioned toward Wickham. “Mr. Darcy, I’d like you to meet George Wickham.”
Mr. Darcy’s jaw tightened, and he barely made a nod of acknowledgment. The air temperature dropped ten degrees as the two men made eye contact.
I looked over at Wickham to see if the dislike was mutual, and found him looking sour. His full mouth was pinched and tight. There was some serious dislike and some sort of silent battle going on between the two of them that I didn’t understand.
“If you’ll excuse me, I have business to attend to,” Mr. Darcy announced. He turned smartly on his heel and walked straight back into the skyscraper behind him. I stared after him, wondering what the heck had just happened.
“Oh, he’s always like that,” Lydia assured Wickham. “Lizzie actually hit him the first time she met him.”
“I knew I liked you for a reason,” Wickham said to me, a smile returning to his face as Mr. Darcy disappeared into the building. “There are many times I wish I would have hit him.”
“I see the coffee truck,” Lydia announced. “I’ll order and get us a discount.”
“Thank you, Lydia,” Wickham said, beaming a handsome smile on her. “I’ll take a number three, please.”
Lydia preened in his attention. “No problem. I’ll get you your usual, Liz.” With one last grin for Wickham, she bounced off to order from the coffee truck.
“So, how do you and Mr. Darcy know one another?” I asked, watching my sister walk up and order.
“Unfortunately,” Wickham replied. He offered me a sad smile. “We were step-siblings.”
“Really?” I was shocked that these two men who clearly hated one another could be as close as siblings.
“My mother married his father when we were boys,” he explained. “We grew up together.”
“How come you don’t have an accent?” I asked, trying not to sound too suspicious.
“My mother was American, and I spent most of my teenage years in America,” he replied, luckily not sounding insulted at all. “I never really picked it up, but I do an amazing accent when drunk.”
“I see,” I said, nodding my head. “I’m guessing that you two aren’t close then?”
“Oh, you noticed that?” He gave a self-deprecating chuckle. “When William’s father died, I was left a portion of the business in his will. But, William didn’t like that, so he got his lawyers involved to call the changes invalid, and I never got any of it.”
“Oh my gosh.” I was shocked. “He did that?”
Wickham nodded slowly. “He did indeed.”
I stood there, trying to take in this new information. Wickham should have been a billionaire board member of Oceanic Airlines
, not a struggling talent agent. I had a hard time believing that Mr. Darcy could be so cruel, and yet... he was kind of a jerk.
“It was a long time ago,” Wickham continued. “And I’ve made my peace with it. Luckily, even without the money, I still had friends in famous places. That’s how I was able to become an agent.”
“You’ve made lemonade out of lemons for sure,” I told him. “I’m surprised you didn’t walk right over and slug him.”
Wickham shrugged. “The temptation was there, but it wouldn’t accomplish anything.” He put a hand on my shoulder and smiled at me with sweet eyes. “But, I don’t want you to worry about me.”
“If you say so,” I told him. “Still, I’m sorry.”