Jane wrung her hair out. Darcy and Richard bickered about who had hit the maximum targets, and Charlotte whistled into the air.

Elizabeth almost tackled Charles to the ground with a spare tomato she had hidden but lost to her own creativity when Charles swung her about.

"You are way too dangerous for humanity to be walking about free, Lizzy. And so, I must..", Bingley hauled her off the ground and onto his back like a sack of potatoes.

"Put me down, Charlie", she cried out and struggled without real effort, laughing in a stupor.

"No can do."

"William!", she shouted for help.

Darcy looked up and experienced an existential crisis. One minute he felt amused, the next minute, he felt jealousy bubbling in his stomach, in the end— a juxtaposition of confusion and annoyance.

"Bingley. You heard her. Put Elizabeth down", he frowned, the use of Charlie's surname conveyed his earnestness.

"You should be thanking me, Will. God knows how many unsuspecting people she would attack if left to her own devices."

Elizabeth gasped in affront. "How dare you? Here, I was thinking you that were a perfect gentleman, with no strength in his arms." She teased in a manner that belied any offence.

Charles laughed with her. "I thought the same but looks like the cricket classes paid off."

"You play cricket?", Jane's eyes lit up. She always had a thing for cricketers.

"Not very well", Richard barked.

"And you can?", Charlotte asked sceptically.

"My mates say I have magic in my fingers", he said, waving them about.

"I never said that", Fitzwilliam muttered petulantly. His statement went vastly ignored though. A few seconds later, he sported a gobsmacked expression- looking wide-eyed between Charlotte and his cousin; catching onto their flirtatious exchange.

"I'd like to test them", Charlotte smirked with a salacious gleam in her eye.

"Looks like I'm rooming with you, Jane. Charlotte has found another bed warmer.", Elizabeth grinned at her sister who was walking behind Charlie. Jane winked back at her and went back to her perusal of Bingley's backside.

"Will you let me down if I say sorry?" Elizabeth asked Bingley, digging her elbow into his shoulder.

"Ouch. Not if you don't stop that."

And so, the merry group of six entered the inn- laughing and splashing about, pushing each other all over the place.

-until Charlie stopped and shoved Lizzy off abruptly.

"Melissa!", he cried, looking at the perfectly dolled up socialite, sitting in the reception area.

"Charles", was the clipped response. She was too busy glaring daggers at Elizabeth and the imprint that was now on her fiancé's shirt.

He went forward to hug her, his arms open wide. "What are you doing here?"

She stopped him with her palm. Charles' smile faltered. "Please Charlie. You are all wet and dirty. Surely, you don't expect me to sully my clothes."

"And that's Melissa for you", Richard muttered into Elizabeth's ear.

"Lovely woman", she replied back, sarcastically.

Melissa's eyes roved over the gathering and her frosty glower was reserved for Elizabeth and Richard.

Jane tried to smile when she met her eyes but was afraid she had fumbled.

"Uhh, we should probably head back to our rooms and change. The staff won't appreciate the puddle we'll otherwise create", Darcy clapped Bingley on the back, feeling for his friend. The arrival of Melissa had definitely complicated things.

The seven of them were seated around a round table in the fanciest part of the town. Elizabeth could swear she had seen a waiter bow at one of the tables.

Yet Melissa had sneered, "What a ..quaint little place", she touched the menu gingerly -waiting for spiders crawl all over fingers.

"No one is forcing you to stay", Charlotte muttered loudly enough to be elbowed in the ribs by Jane.

Darcy cleared his throat. "I think it is pleasant enough. The music is good, and the orchestra clearly knows the chords. The staff is eloquent enough without sounding obnoxious. We could have been stuck in a worse place."

Elizabeth looked at him in wonder. Was he serious or did he say all that 'obnoxious' stuff to shut Melissa up?

Charles dived right in. "I don't know about you folk, but I am starving and before I die, can we please place our order?"

"How about Italian Hoagies?" Richard interjected, inspecting the menu.

"Nothing with tomato, please. I cannot stomach even the sight of a slice of tomato now", William groaned.

"Hoagies, really, Richard? How about you go stand over the sink and eat cookies?" Melissa was baffled. Why would someone order hoagies for dinner even at a so-called fancy restaurant?

Elizabeth slid closer to Richard. "What are hoagies?" she whispered.

"I have no idea. That was one of the two things on this menu, I could pronounce without stumbling."

Lizzy laughed. "I thought I was the only one who did not know what all these dishes constitute. I'm afraid I'll order the first thing my eyes land on and get weird French-y food with tiny portions that would hardly provide enough sugar to my pinkie. Why can't they serve hamburgers like normal food chains?"

"Don't let Melissa or worse Caroline hear you. They would be scandalized.", he grinned in delight.

"I don't know if I should dread or anticipate meeting Caroline. She sounds quite… a character"

"A character indeed."

"Wait, but how would you meet Caroline?" Richard asked incredulously. His eyes widened. "Don't tell me she will be following Melissa to Spain."

A harsh clearing of throat stalled Lizzy's reply. Darcy was looking at the pair of them with a clenched jaw and expressionless eyes. "If you two are done gossiping, perhaps we can proceed with the order." He turned back to the perusal of the menu without waiting for any response.

Signalling the waiter, he placed an order for a dish that Lizzy would have to practice to pronounce. Melissa asked for a custom delicacy which was not even on the menu. Elizabeth was bewildered at this demand. Were the 100 odd options before her not sufficient?

When everyone but Elizabeth had placed the order, Richard spoke loudly to get the waiter's attention. "Lizzy, didn't you say you like Soupe à l'oignon?"

"I'll do with that." She acquiesced with a grateful smile at Richard.

"Elizabeth can order her own meals, Richard", Darcy admonished him. That tick in his jaw was back and as much as Lizzy found it endearing to watch, she could do without it at the moment.

"I asked him to help me choose. There were too many options", she shrugged.

Melissa cut in. "Eliza, Charles told me how you had met him in Costa Brava. I wonder then," she stretched out the silence, "what you did to land up in his arms here at Buñol?" She sipped her wine calmly as if she hadn't just called her fiancé's integrity into question. Charles sat with his mouth open, too shocked to respond.

"Melissa", William nearly shouted at the audacity of this woman. "I would not stand for such baseless accusations against Elizabeth. I hope you .." He was cut off in the middle by the very woman he was addressing.

"Calm down, William. I am not making any accusations. I am just curious. After all, it was not me who spent a night with three unknown men on their bachelor party", she swirled the liquor in one hand, one side of her mouth tilted up in dark humor.

"It was just dinner, Melissa." Charles whispered furiously. Jane's eyes shimmered, and Richard was grabbing onto Charlotte's arms to prevent her from beating Melissa to a pulp.

Elizabeth stood up. She was warmed by William's staunch defense when she herself was too appalled to speak. But no more. Her father had taught her to fight her own battles and no woman in glitter could make her cower. She adopted the Jane-voice she used with the shrieking toddlers she had babysat years ago. "Miss Brayton, I don't know what caused you to level such offences on me, but I assure you that I had not spent the night with any of the men on this table. Yes, I had dinner with them but it was at their invitation. No matter what, I would NEVER look at an engaged man in the manner you are suggesting. I have made some good friends on this trip and I can tell you that if I had a brother, I hope he would have been like Charlie." She bit her lip to prevent any explosion from bursting forth. "I hope you have a happy married life", she said and drained the glass of wine in one go.

The awkward silence was broken by the arrival of dishes, and though everything was unquestionably fine, her taste buds tasted only ash. No matter how much wine she drained, her throat was dry. It was one thing to be called a seducer but to be labelled as a homewrecker in front of her sister and best friend and William .. 'No. No. Lizzy don't go there', she reprimanded herself. 'William Darcy is no one to you. You won't see him again after this trip', she reminded herself.

It's not like Charlie would expect her to show up for the special occasion now. During their frolics in the town, Charles had invited Lizzie to show up for his wedding reception. She was touched by the offer- after all their acquaintance was not of a long duration and he had no reason to invite her; though it should be impossible for her to accept after today.

Melissa looked placated for now and yet, there was a glint of suspicion and malice lingering in her eyes.

Subsequently, the entire affair was uneventful until it was the time to pay the bill.

She browsed through her purse, searching for change but looked up at Richard's chuckle.

"Relax. Wills has already paid". It was true. The waiter was not in sight. Did William Darcy sign off the bill without even re-checking?

William cleared his throat (he did that a lot), deciphering her confusion. "Consider it my treat", he gave a tight smile.

She thanked him, albeit reluctantly. She was not in the habit of allowing men to pay for her meal—not even on a date.

On their walk back to the hotel, Richard tagged alongside her figure.

"Relax, Lizzy. Wills has too much money to know what to do with it. Paying dinner bills for a hundred people won't dent his bank account, we're just seven."

"Then, why doesn't he do that?"

"What?"

"Provide dinner to hundreds. There are so many living below the poverty line."

Richard smiled. "The figure is closer to a thousand." Unable to understand, Lizzy demanded an explanation. The artist shrugged. "He is supporting at least a thousand people through his charities. Nobody can fault Wills on that account", he declared with pride.

Back in their room, Elizabeth and Jane discussed the day's events.

"Let's see. Charles is an adorable guy but that fiancée of his, she is just another Armani wife. Woman clearly needs to work on her attitude."

"She was just having a bad day, Lizzy. Granted she shouldn't have said what she did, but you must hear her side of the story before passing the verdict."

The brunette's lips pursed like she'd been forced to chew a lemon rind.

"Although, I agree with you", Jane closed her eyes with a sigh, letting her head fall against the headboard, "Charles is indeed sweet. Very sweet."

Her eyes flew open when the mattress dipped. Lizzy was hovering on the other side. "Jane, tell me very honestly- you like him, don't you?", she whispered in a hurry.

"I could", Jane swallowed, "but I'll guard my heart like a dragon." She amended, "In another life, maybe if I had met him first I could have grown to love him".

"No, Jane", Lizzy cried, "Anybody with eyes can see that you and Charles suit each other way more than that witch. I'd say you should probably save him", she finished with a bitter laugh.

Jane's eyes crinkled. "You don't expect me to propose to an engaged man, do you?" She knew her sister was prone to her version of dramatics, but the diver would never respect a man who would ditch his fiancée at the altar. They delved into silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

Braiding her hair, the serene woman patted her sister's hand.

"Go to sleep, Lizzy. Que sera. Que sera". Elizabeth smiled, remembering the familiar words their grandmother hummed to.

Elizabeth fidgeted. Drawing the duvet around her, she curled up. Two minutes later, she kicked it off and was ready to smother her face in the pillow. Jane made a soft sound of distress. Knowing that her wriggling would accomplish nothing but disturb her sister's rest, she leapt up and tiptoed to the window.

Even in the darkness, the streets of Bunol were alive. She looked at the clock. Twelve twenty. Glancing between Jane and the street below, she made her decision. Hauling the shawl off the hook, she crept to the door; grateful for the ninja-tactics she had devoured as a child.

Her escape to the outside world was stopped by the receptionist.

"Are you sure you want to venture outside, Miss? It could rain." Elizabeth was bewildered. Peering at the sky, she concluded there was no way it would rain that night and Bunol was no London. She turned towards the receptionist and was arrested by the handsome visage.

The man turned on his charm and smiled that smile that had charmed the pants off several personages before he was chased away from his country.

He gave a wide yawn and examined the figure before him with a supercilious gaze through deliberately hooded eyes. He definitely liked what he saw. Faking his embarrassment, he scratched his nose, and in the flirtiest voice he could muster, purred, "It has been a terribly long night. Had to face a terribly rude customer", he licked his lips, "How I wish I had the chance to slither into a warm bed."

Elizabeth minced her way up to the man. Cocking her head, she studied his tweezed eyebrows and caught the gleam of deviltry in his eyes. She smiled. What a way to pass the time in a genuinely ridiculous albeit amusing manner!

With wide eyes, she goaded him, "Rude? Who dared to be rude to such a charming gentleman?"

"Ah! You would think the English would show some respect to their fellow countrymen, but people like Mr Darcy rarely treat the lower classes with bare courtesy." He had seen their entire group in the town square. He had also seen the glances his old benefactor's son had shot at the brunette. No ordinary man who would have caught the desire in his childhood friend's eyes, but he was no ordinary man. Knowing the proclivities of the staid businessman, he continued, "The man asked for a room with a view and since it is the busiest time of the season, when we couldn't accommodate him- proceeded to create a ruckus right here. He even berated me because the birds were too loud and then almost made the housekeeping cry with his demands. I am telling you the room service is dreading his calls. Not only that, he demanded an unconventional meal as if at Starbucks and then spat at the waiter for a minor inconvenience. Pity he is no more the person I used to know as a child." He shook his head in regret.

Well, well, Elizabeth was definitely interested now. She knew the chap before her was lying. Darcy may show contrary faces at times, but he was definitely not unfeeling. Plus, she couldn't get over the fact that an employee would practically abuse his guest to a stranger. No matter how impolite Darcy had been to her, she would never go up to a stranger and disparage his swimming skills. And ordering dinner? Clearly, this man did not know that Will had been one of her dinner companions. Not only had he paid for all of them but had also left a VERY generous tip for the staff without any fanfare. She decided to play along.

Resting her chin on her palm, she questioned, "You knew him when he was a child? Was he just as disagreeable?"

"Oh, yes. Well, he was not as bad as he is now, but I guess that is what happens when you are not living off daddy's money anymore and have heaps of gold. Oh, but old Mr Darcy was such a great man—the best godfather I could have ever had. He loved me so."

This new piece of information astonished Elizabeth.

The man was almost salivating and bouncing on the balls of his feet. He could smell his triumph, but his smirk faltered when instead of asking him about his godfather-as he had visibly anticipated, she cocked her head, "I know quite a bit of your life history but not your name. Obviously, being the ultimate English gentleman, you must remedy this slight."

With a cocky wink and a confident smile, he proclaimed, "George Wickham, at your service."