A grin spread across my face, and I heard Jane take one more picture and exclaim, “Perfect!”
Lydia burst into the kitchen. “All right, time is up! Time to put on our play.”
“I wasn’t aware we were on a schedule,” Lizzy said.
“Of course we are. Do you reckon Dad is going to sit at that table forever? You’ll just have to wing it.” Lydia motioned to the script in her hands.
“I’ll get more answers out of you two another time,” Riley said. “I’m excited to watch this play.”
It didn’t seem important that we had zero prep time. I gripped my script and hoped to get through this quickly—but maybe not too quickly. Lizzy certainly reacted to being around me. But I couldn’t always tell if it was positive or negative. I merely wished we finished the play tonight without revisiting too many regretful memories.
Chapter 7
Mr.andMrs.Bennet,Kitty, Riley, and Wickham all watched with attentive interest. Mary and her boyfriend Frank also showed up at the last minute.
The play was actually a bit of fun, reviewing how Lizzy and I met with surprising accuracy, minus the actual dialogue, that is. I wasn’t much of an actor, but the others more than made up for my grimaces and stoic lines. Then again, the script seemed to be written for it, so I wasn’t sure how to feel when Lydia winked at me from the side and whispered, “You’re doing great.”
Then we came to the part in the gnome’s tent when he’d assumed Lizzy and I were a couple coming to get our love fortunes told. Mine and Lizzy’s first kiss. I frowned. That was in here?
Lizzy blushed fiercely as she also realized where this was headed.
Back then, Charles had teased me about how, after all those women throwing themselves at me because of my position, I’dfinally found one who couldn’t stand the thought of kissing me. The idea that she might still feel that way made my heart sink.
I looked at Lizzy. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Hey, that’s not in the script,” Lydia whispered.
Lizzy bit her lip but stepped toward me, much like she had in that moment in the gnome’s tent all those months ago. At the time, she’d had to so we could try breaking the spell that linked us together, but now there was nothing forcing her hand.
“It’s just a play,” she said.
I swallowed as I moved a step closer. The draw of her gaze reeled me in as it had in that moment. “It’s not real.”
She stopped in front of me, so close that her body heat prickled against my torso. I had to lock my arms at my side to resist the urge to pull her to me right then. Lizzy looked up into my face, something like anticipation burning in her blue eyes. Or maybe it wasn’t anticipation. It was too difficult to separate my feelings from hers.
“We have to give our audience what they want,” she whispered.
“After all, thisiswhat happened.” I placed my hand under her chin, and she tipped her chin upward.
She rose on her toes, and I leaned in. Our kiss was soft and gentle at first. I pressed harder, letting this be the only time, the last time. Heat seared through me, and I wanted to move closer, to convince her to stay wrapped up together for the rest of our lives. The ache in my heart exploded, but I didn’t let that stop me as she moved a little closer, her hands on my chest. If I could have this last moment with her, this last kiss, then I’d take it and treasure it inside me for years to come.
We pulled back and her hands fell away, but for a moment it was only her and me.
Until the applause and cheering started. Lydia motioned at us from the side. “Don’t forget your lines!”
The play went on from there, hitting lightly on each interaction—when Jane was hurt at Netherfield and Lizzy stayed with her. We went over when we ran into each other at the Netherfield Halloween party and I’d missed my opportunity to invite her to dance. Even when I tried to ask her out at the Collins’ house but failed. Jane and Charles helped fill out the play, taking on multiple roles at once, surprisingly good at acting.
And then we got to my proposal. I saw dread on Lizzy’s face at the same instant that I realized we were going to be forced to relive this—one of the worst days of my life.
Her words replayed in my memory.“Only if you want me to ask why you thought it was a good idea to tell me that you liked me against your will, against your reason, and even against your better judgement. How else was I supposed to take that except as an insult?”
As the surprisingly accurate lines rolled out, my stomach churned, and I dropped the pages. “You had every right to turn me down. What I said was unforgivable.”
“I think we need to skip this part of the play.” Lizzy shifted her stance, her shoulders tense.
“But there can’t be a happy ending unless we show the hard times you went through.” Lydia stuck out her bottom lip in a pout.
“Lydia.” Lizzy ran a hand down her face.
