Liz wanted to ask if he’d found love, of either the genuine or the scripted variety, yet posing the question in Jane’s presence seemed cruel. Instead, Liz said, “So what’s next for you?”
“Funny you should ask. I’ve gotten an agent, actually, who’s talking to some folks about my hosting a medical talk show on cable. It’d be a roundtable thing—me, a nurse-practitioner, an alternative type like an acupuncturist or chiropractor. I’m hoping it’s a way to use my expertise without fighting in the trenches like this guy.” He gestured with his thumb at Darcy and added cheerfully, “If there was any lingering doubt that I’m a lightweight.”
There wasn’t, Liz thought, but Jane said, with more force than Liz would have expected, “I think you’re being too hard on yourself. If working in an ER isn’t what you want to do, you shouldn’t be miserable.” Was she, Liz wondered, talking only about medicine?
The waiter approached, and Darcy said, “Shall we get a bottle of wine? Jane, I don’t know if you’re drinking.” Both he and Chip already had a cocktail in front of them.
“I’m not,” Jane said.
Liz said, “But your doctor self sounded impressively nonjudgmental, Darcy.”
The expression on Darcy’s face then was hard to read—it might have been irritation—and Liz thought, You’re the one who invited us here.
“I’m sure Jane knows that she doesn’t need to answer to me,” Darcy said, but he said it stiffly, and it occurred to Liz for the first time that he was not entirely at ease, which was all that was necessary for the last of her own nervousness to vanish. Besides, between them, the two men at this table had broken both her and her sister’s hearts. They didn’t deserve her nervousness!
She said, “Chip, have you ever considered auditioning for that dance competition show?”
“Believe it or not, it’s very hard to win a spot. Not to mention, I’m sure I don’t have what it takes. No, if I have any self-respect, the Eligible reunion will be my reality-TV swan song. If I stay in television, I’d like it to be more service-oriented.”
As the four of them selected then received their entrées, Chip spoke the most, Liz the second most, and Darcy and Jane only intermittently. Chip never uttered the words pregnant or pregnancy but seemingly without discomfort alluded several times to Jane’s condition, inquiring about how she was feeling, where she planned to deliver, and whether she envisioned continuing to teach yoga after the baby was born. Darcy paid for the meal—when Liz pulled her wallet from her purse, he shook his head sternly—and after he had passed his credit card to the waiter, Jane went to use the restroom. When she stood, so did both men. In her absence, Chip said to Liz, “She really seems good.”
“She is.”
“And she’s—she’s well-settled in Rhinebeck, it sounds like?” Did he wish to be contradicted? During the meal, Liz had concluded that they were all gathered so that Chip and Darcy could officially absolve themselves; they could go forth into the rest of their lives confident that they hadn’t wronged the Bennet sisters in any deep or permanent way, assured that they were all on Waspily amicable terms. And this belief that they were entitled to absolution—it seemed the most self-indulgent act of all. But were they gathered instead for Chip to attempt to rekindle the relationship? The possibility was intriguing and alarming.
Carefully, Liz said, “I don’t think she’s made a concrete plan for after the baby comes.”
“I’m glad she—” Chip began, at which point his phone rang. When he checked the screen, he said, “If you’ll forgive me, it’s Caroline.” He stepped away from the table, and Darcy and Liz were alone.
“Do you want to join the call?” The question came out as less joking and more bitter than Liz had been aiming for.
Darcy looked at her curiously.
Liz held up her own phone. “I just downloaded a solitaire app, so I can keep myself entertained.” When he still said nothing, she heard herself add, “That sounds like a euphemism for masturbation, doesn’t it?” In her head, she thought, Liz! Stop! I command you to stop at once! Aloud, she said, “Why are you in New York anyway?”
He nodded once toward the table. “This dinner.”
“No, seriously. Why?”
“I flew to New York this afternoon, and I fly back to Cincinnati at six A.M.”
A new confusion seized Liz.
“Does Chip leave tomorrow?” she asked.
Darcy shook his head. “He’s here for a few days.” Then he said, “It sounds like your parents are coming to terms with Lydia’s marriage.”
Liz squinted. “Who’d you hear that from?”
“It’s good news, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Liz said. “It is good news.”
“You also might be interested to know that Georgie has agreed to donate Pemberley as a historic landmark. She wants us to perform some type of ritual farewell before the handoff, and I understand I have you to thank for that.”