Page 9 of Without Pride and Prejudice
“Monroe,” he huffed, “do you want me to come or not? Of course, I would be happy to pay for my half, or all of it.”
“You don’t have to do that. You do too much for me as it is. Besides, Tony’s already paid for it,” my voice cracked. I still couldn’t believe he’d so easily let me go. He hadn’t even wanted to discuss it. He’d said it wasn’t worth his time since he wouldn’t be changing his mind, which I translated into,You aren’t worth it. Honestly, he seemed to care more about making sure he got the ring back. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to have the time of my life on my honeymoon with my best friend, just to spite Tony. It might even be our last big hurrah, considering Fitz would probably settle down soon with the likes of Lady Winnifred.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked.
“I wouldn’t volunteer if I didn’t.”
“You realize you’re going to have to dress like Mr. Darcy and memorize a script, which means you will be ‘talking Darcy’ to me and dancing with me at the balls, right?” I would so giggle if Fitz said things to me like,“In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”
“I’m well aware, considering how often you’ve mentioned the place in the last several months.”
“And you still want to go with me?” I had to make doubly sure.
“Yes, Monroe,” he said with such sincerity, it caught me off guard.
Huh. Well ... “Okay, Mr. Darcy. I’ll see you in three months.”
Three Months Later
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
FITZ
I DRIFTED AMONG THE HORDE of people in Terminal 3 at Heathrow Airport, waiting for Monroe to arrive early Monday morning. She was, of course, a day late because another one of her attempts to help someone went awry. She just had to guide a single mother flying by herself with young children to their gate at JFK Airport. In typical Monroe fashion, not only had she taken the woman to the wrong gate, making her miss her flight, but she’d missed her own flight as well while trying to correct the mistake.
Originally, I was supposed to pick her up at Manchester Airport and we were to spend the day together at my estate before heading to this forsaken Pride and Prejudice Park, but perhaps it was for the best she was late. Mother still lived on the estate and didn’t care for the woman from whom I’ve carefully guarded my true feelings for the past thirteen years. And I wanted nothing to come between Monroe and me for the next week—or ever, for that matter. I was past pretending I didn’t love her, even though nothing about us made sense. Monroeis maddening, chaotic, kind to a fault, and lovely. So lovely. I, on the other hand, am broody, meticulous, and frequently coldhearted—unless it comes to Monroe. She has a way of bringing out my human side.
For her, and only her, would I wait among the sea of gawking eyes. Ever since that blasted magazine named me one of Britain’s hottest, most eligible bachelors, I’ve felt as if I lived in a fishbowl. People, mostly women, seem to always be snapping pictures of me now with their phones while giggling and whispering to their companions. It irritated me to no end. If only I could sue the magazine for libel and make them remove that ridiculous article. I wasn’t available for anyone except Monroe—that was, if she would have me. We’d never ventured outside the lines of friendship. My mother would be categorically against the union—which was regrettable—but ever since Monroe had gotten engaged to that idiot Tony, I realized I couldn’t stand by and let her slip away. For all these years, I’d deceived myself that I’d be able to wish her well and love her secretly from a distance, understanding that a romantic relationship between us would be complicated, perhaps even unwise, but I was utterly mistaken. When she became engaged, it gutted me. On the flip side, a relief like none other consumed when me when the wedding was called off. I’d been hoping our time together this week would prove to us both that while we were probably a study in contradictions, we could overcome the obstacles standing in our way.
There was just something about Monroe. From the first time I met her—when she’d tripped over her book bag, jumped up, and said, “Ta-da!”, smiling nervously at the catty girls ready to eat her alive—she’d sparked something in me. A protectiveness I’d never felt before washed over me as I went to her aid, knowing that despite my standoffish nature, I had influence because of my name and title. And let’s not forget the money.I knew if those girls thought Monroe was a friend of mine, it would at least give her a fighting chance, especially given that Monroe was not the typical student. Despite the uniforms we all had to wear, it wasn’t hard to tell which students were there on scholarship or receiving some type of financial assistance. And being a foreigner made Monroe an even easier target.
That one act forged us together in ways I hadn’t foreseen, and now I couldn’t imagine my life without her. Even if I was standing near a group of tittering women pointing at me.
“Your Grace, can we get a picture with you?” one of the silly women had the audacity to ask me.
I turned, my face already pinched into what Monroe referred to as my resting Darcy face, ready to tell the woman to bugger off, until a commotion stirred among the crowd. No doubt it meant Monroe had arrived—chaos was her constant companion.
I turned to see what the woman, who vexed me in ways she was completely unaware of, had done this time.
The crowd was pointing, some standing on their toes, making it hard for me to see, so I stepped around the throng to find Monroe with several articles of clothing draped around her shoulders and at least three bonnets on top of her head, lugging a large pink suitcase behind her.
I shook my head and walked over to help her, bracing myself for the story behind her odd appearance. I was sure it involved her helping someone.
Despite her unconventional deportment, there was no denying the beauty beneath the layers of clothing and bonnets. Her dark wavy hair spilled out of the bonnets and cascaded past her shoulders. I’d had the pleasure a few times of running my fingers through her thick, silky mane while trying to comfort her. I longed for more opportunities to gaze into her deep-brown eyes that shone with kindness, curiosity, and at times, mischief.Even more, I wanted to cup her creamy cheeks in my hands and capture the supple pink lips that had taunted me over the years.
When Monroe noticed me, she smiled and waved her arms, making one bonnet fall off her head, even while two remained. “Fitz!”
A collective gasp sounded from those nearby who recognized me and were aghast that anyone would address me so informally in public. Admittedly, her annoying nickname for me had taken some getting used to on my part, but now I couldn’t imagine her calling me anything but Fitz. I certainly didn’t wish her to call meYour Grace. It was a title I, myself, wasn’t yet used to. Not quite a year ago, it had belonged to my father, God rest his callous soul.
Whispers followed me as I made my way to Monroe: “Does His Grace actually know that woman?” “Please tell me he’s not dating her.” “Could you imagine her as the Duchess of Blackthorne?”
If I were being honest, the answer was no, I couldn’t imagine Monroe as a duchess. But as irreverent and maddening as she was, she was the only woman to whom I wished to give the title. No doubt we would both face ridicule for such a choice, and it certainly gave me pause. I had to wonder if we could survive the scrutiny. The biggest question was: Would she want the title and all that came with it, including me? Not knowing the answer to that question was disconcerting—it was the most unsure I’d ever been in my life.
I brushed past several people to make my way to Monroe, who was losing still more articles of clothing as she rushed toward me.
When I finally reached her, she laughed her melodious laugh while announcing, “I have a story to tell you.”
“No doubt you do.” I took the remaining bonnets off her head.
