Page 7 of Without Pride and Prejudice
“I’d like to think I’m laughingwithyou. The man is a prat, and you are bloody well better off without him.”
“Why didn’t you say something sooner?”
If Fitz had disliked him, it would have given me pause. I couldn’t have my best friend and husband hate each other. Granted, it hadn’t exactly thrilled Tony either that Fitz is my BFF. Just like every other guy in my life. Why can’t a girl have a dishy best friend? Sure, it’s probably off-putting to a boyfriend or fiancé to come face-to-face with Fitz’s gorgeous asymmetrical face, prominent cheekbones, and strong jawline. And then there are his haughty gray eyes that seem to view everyone with disdain.But to those fortunate enough to get close to him, his eyes reflect not only specks of the night sky, but a thoughtfulness like you’d never known or expect. So maybe I understood Tony’s misgivings.
But I’d made sure that Tony unequivocally understood that I didn’t have any romantic notions about Fitz. Or at least I hadn’t in a long time. So, maybe I didn’t mention that. But to be honest, I’m not even sure Fitz realizes I’m a girl, so it didn’t seem necessary to mention long-ago hopes and desires.
Besides, Fitz was meant to be with the Lady Winnifred Roberts’ of the world. And oh, did Lady Whiny want to be Fitz’s one and only. I imagined she someday would be, seeing as the dowager duchess, a.k.a. Fitz’s mum, was dead set on their union. It would be a sad day, to be sure, but Fitz needed an accomplished woman who didn’t make a mess of everything. And then there was Fitz’s declaration that he could never be with an American because we don’t appreciate culture and history enough as a people. And I think he was still salty that the Brits lost the American Revolutionary War. He couldn’t imagine people not wanting to be subjected to a royal monarchy.
All this meant was that Fitz and I were still just friends with the biggest capitalFof all time. We’d set an unspoken boundary and adhered to it with precision. And our picture was still inthe dictionary underplatonic. Or at least it should have been. I should probably give Merriam-Webster a call.
“I couldn’t say anything,” Fitz responded uneasily after an abnormally long pause.
“Why? You’ve always been vocal before about the men I’ve dated.” Come to think of it, he hadn’t liked any of them.
“This was different, Monroe.”
“How?” I wondered aloud.
“That’s neither here nor there.”
I didn’t agree, but my gray short-haired cat jumped up on my bed and curled up next to me, interrupting us. “Hello, Mr. Darcy.” I scratched his head, picturing Fitz curling his lip. He still thought my obsession withPride and Prejudicewas ridiculous. He believed most people failed to grasp the subtle nuances of the beloved novel and therefore had no business fawning over it. I could picture him preaching this tidbit to his students at Oxford. I’m surprised he hadn’t written a book about it yet. Although he had written a history book about Victorian morality, and he’d won some prestigious award—the Wolfson History Prize. Regardless, I didn’t need to understand all the complexities ofPride and Prejudiceto know that Mr. Darcy was yummy. But if I said that out loud, Fitz would throw up in his mouth—again.
“You andPride and Prejudice,” Fitz grumbled.
“Don’t mock me,” I cried, thinking of my planned honeymoon at Pride and Prejudice Park that would never happen now. It was my dream to visit the beautiful place in Grantham, where all myPride and Prejudicefantasies would come true. The park was basically Disneyland for Jane Austen superfans who wanted to pretend for a week to live in her world. As soon as I’d learned of its existence, I knew I had to go there.
“Monroe,” his tone softened. “I apologize.”
“You do? That’s so unlike you.”
“I’m making an exception, given your fragile state.”
I giggled. “Thank you for your concession on my behalf. But what am I going to do?” I lamented, thinking of everything I needed to cancel and all the extended family and friends I had to notify that the wedding was off ... and my beautiful dress that I’d already picked out and paid for ... and that honeymoon. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
“What do you want to do?” he asked cautiously. He was behaving oddly. Normally, he was someone to give his opinion freely. I guess just not his opinion about Tony. That would have been a nice heads-up.
I gathered Mr. Darcy closer to me, considering Fitz’s question. “Don’t make fun of me, but just today I received my letter from Pride and Prejudice Park informing me they’d chosen me, based on my application and questionnaire answers, to play the coveted role of Elizabeth Bennet.” For one week I would have the chance to live as my favorite heroine, the woman I longed to be like, learning everything from needlework to dancing the cotillion and the English country dance. It was cosplay at its finest. Even though, admittedly, I was probably more of a Jane or maybe even a Kitty. There are some who found me to be silly, forever making a mess of my good intentions to help others. Fitz probably counted himself among those who thought I was ridiculous.
“I suppose that means they were giving the part of Darcy to that imbecile ex-fiancé of yours,” he scoffed.
“Well, yes. But begrudgingly, and only because it was supposed to be our honeymoon and we’d bought a couple’s package,” I stuttered, hardly able to say the word out loud. “In full disclosure, there was a note with the letter that said he was more of a Mr. Wickham, but a member of their staff always plays that part.” I winced.
“Hmm.” Fitz sounded pleased. “Maybe this place has some credibility after all.” He’d made fun of it when I told him a few months ago that I’d begged Tony for it to be our honeymoon destination.
“You thought Tony was a Mr. Wickham, and you said nothing?”
“What did you want me to say? That you were marrying a self-centered arse?”
“Yes,” I raised my voice. “Wait, that’s what you really thought of him?”
“Monroe,” he breathed out. “The man gave little thought to your interests, and worse, he believes Corn Nuts are a food group.”
That last part made the corners of my lips twitch into an almost smile. Granted, the Corn Nuts thing was disgusting, but it wasn’t a deal breaker. “We just had different likes is all,” I protested half-heartedly. But upon further reflection, maybe my love and Tony’s all-American-boy good looks had blinded me to the fact that we weren’t all that compatible. He loved every kind of sport and watched them incessantly, while I loved the theater and music. Which was fine. Once in a while, it was fun to catch a game with him. But only once had he attended a musical with me, and chick flicks were totally off the table. Although, he had agreed to the honeymoon of my dreams—sure, he’d complained about it, but he said he wanted to make me happy.
“As far as I could tell, he didn’t even try to learn to enjoy what you treasure.”
Oh. Wow. That pricked me. “Can you learn how to enjoy something you don’t care about?” I’d never wanted to force my interests on anyone.
