He’d planned a few surprises for her too. After she finished breakfast, he led her to the foyer, where she found a box full of UM half-zip black sweatshirts, orange and black striped scarves, and for him, orange socks.
She was thoughtful enough to refrain from posting pictures of him in his new sweatshirt but not kind enough to stop taking them. “Ha,” she said, “if only Charlotte could see this.”
Ninety minutes later, Lydia and her camera did as she’d promised Darcy and snapped a shot of Elizabeth’s expression when she walked into the skybox and happily discovered her surprise birthday party. Besides the photo-snapping Lydia and an unusually excited Mary, there was Charlotte—laughing hysterically at the sight of Darcy in a black half-zip sweatshirt and orange socks—with a slimmer, buffer and far more hirsute Bill, and Rich with his latest interest, Katie, a second-year resident at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. All were dressed alike, in UM’s black and orange colors. Charlotte appraised Darcy’s attire and pronounced that black with orange accents was a much better look for Mr. Noir than that “bloody pumpkin style” that was last year’s hot look. He looked sheepish until Elizabeth hugged him and said he hadn’t been too far off the mark with his now infamous comment about orange being “a bloody fashion crime.” After all, she said in a warm, intimate voice meant only for his ears, it had caused him to notice her.
Taped to two empty seats were photos of the very tanned, very relaxed, and endlessly honeymooning Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bingley. The captions, suggested by Charles and transcribed by Charlotte, included: “Look! No tan lines!” and “No one warned me I could get sand in there!”
Mary and Lydia hadn’t been to a UM football game in years and had certainly never sat in a skybox. Lydia confided that she was applying to the college. Her mother had paid the application fee and helped with her essay. As good as she was with hair and makeup, she thought maybe it would be nice to see why her sisters all loved campus life, and the school had a pretty good visual communications program. Mary actually looked rather proud of her little sister.
Rich’s date mentioned how much she’d loved Midwestern campus life in her undergrad years. “Once you’re in medical school, you never see blue sky or football games,” Katie said. “It’s almost worse during residency. I have no life. Good thing our schedules jibe pretty well.” She looked at Rich, who was beaming at her.
After UM’s victory, the group dispersed to the cars Darcy had secured for them. Rudy took Rich and Katie, and Darcy led a confused Elizabeth to his Rover, parked in a remote lot, a green balloon tied to its antenna so they could find it. She gave him a curious look, prompting him to explain, “Rich drove it out.” As their car sped away, an exhausted, slightly tipsy Elizabeth sighed with contentment. “That was amazing. Thank you.” She leaned over to kiss his cheek and murmured, “You look quite fetching in orange, you know. I’m looking forward to peeling you.”
She laughed at her own bad joke and moved closer until he cleared his throat and reminded her that he was driving and her hand needed to stay on its side of the seat. A pouting, properly chastised Elizabeth glanced out the car window and, puzzled, turned to Darcy. “We’re going away from the city. Where are you taking me?”
“It’s a surprise.”
Elizabeth nodded, wondering when this man who liked things scheduled to the nanosecond had evolved into one who liked planning surprises. He had been drawn to her lively intelligence and subversive wit, though, so perhaps she’d had some influence here as well.
It was past five when they pulled through the gates of Netherfield.
“Oh.”
“That vowel is getting quite a workout today, darling.”
“Well A, E, I, U, and sometimes Y should not feel neglected,” she said offhandedly as she climbed out of the car. “You brought me here? Does Charles know?”
He smiled. “I have a key. And it’s practically our anniversary, give or take, so I thought it might be a nice birthday getaway.”
His eyes settled on her, a hesitant expression on his face. “It’s not as elegant as the dinner you gave me, and we’ll have to shift for ourselves, but is it all right for your birthday?”
Elizabeth threw her arms around him. “Such a know-it-all Birthday Fairy. You thought right; it’s wonderful!” She took a deep breath of the cool October air. “Crunchy leaves smell so good. And the trees are so pretty.”
She stood on her toes and kissed him. “I love it, Will. I do.” She held his face between her hands and gave him a serious look. “This is my best birthday ever.”
He smiled. “Well, then, mission accomplished. Mine was too.”
He gave her a quick kiss and turned to open the trunk. She watched him pull out two overnight bags.
“That’s a lot of clothes for one night. What did you pack for me?”
“Well, nothing for the nights; you won’t need to wear anything then.” He gave her a sly look. “That allowed room for hiking boots and lots of flannel.” He leaned closer. “You’re quite sexy in plaid flannel, you know.”
Nights? Plural?Her eyes widened when she saw the two large picnic hampers and a cooler. “Mrs. Reynolds was in on it too?”
“Well, yes. She wanted to make sure you had all your favorites for your birthday.”
“Oh, she is so sweet.Youare so sweet.” Elizabeth smiled and quirked an eyebrow. “Still, that’s a lot of groceries.”
He set the cooler on the ground and looked at her, his brow furrowed. “There’s enough to stay through Monday. Mr. Philips was keen on giving you a birthday holiday.”
“You called my boss and got me the day off?”
“Um, yes?” He rubbed the back of his neck. “If you’d like. We can go back tomorrow if you’d rather.”
“No, Monday is perfect. There’s that charmingly strategic mind at work again, getting me a day off.” She picked up her bag and the smaller hamper. “You like earning those gold stars, don’t you?”
Elizabeth stopped at the front door and turned to look at Darcy.
