was Elizabeth’s mug shot with the headline:
“Fuck,” Darcy swore and his band mates echoed him.
“The media knows you and Lizzy are an item, too,” Rebecca continued. She walked into the loft and deposited the pile of newspapers on the bar.
Darcy picked up one and was grieved to read about
Darcy might have been feeling released from his obligations to his parents, but he gladly took responsibility for Elizabeth. “Where’s Tommy?” he asked, his voice soft yet commanding.
“In the lobby,” Rebecca answered quickly. “I felt it would be a good idea for the doorman to have some back up.”
“Good. Here’s what we are going to do. Our first priority is to get Elizabeth back. Rebecca, get some extra people ready. I want you to pick her up when Linda calls. Rachel?”
“Yes, Will?”
“I want you managing the phone. We are not giving out interviews or making comments.” He turned to the others. “What about tonight?”
Caroline looked around. “If we are going to cancel, we better do it soon.”
“Will,” Charles said, “this affects you the most. You have to make the call for Slurry.” Charles’s hands rested protectively on Jane’s arms.
Darcy took a deep breath and thought. “At this point, I say we go, but I won’t confirm anything until Lizzy’s free.” He looked at Jane and Charlotte sympathetically. “What do you want to do?”
Jane looked miserably at Charlotte. “I don’t know,” she whispered, clearly hurt by what she had read. “I can’t believe they said this about Lizzy. None of it is true.”
“We know, angel, we know,” Charles comforted her.
“Jane, why don’t we plan on LBS not performing tonight?” Darcy said. “We don’t know how tired Lizzy is going to be and we can always change our minds if things go better than expected.”
Jane nodded from Charles’s embrace. Darcy looked to Charlotte, who was glaring at the newspapers and smoking with trembling hands. “Char?”
Charlotte nodded and turned away, pressing her forehead against Richard’s chest.
“Okay, let’s do it then.” The group moved into action, Caroline, Rebecca, and Rachel handling the phones, Faust moving the offensive newspapers away while Charles and Richard comforted their lovers and Darcy made coffee and tea for everyone.
It was almost 8:00 a.m. when Linda returned to Elizabeth. She entered the tiny room grinning and carrying a Starbucks bag. “How is the hero today?”
Elizabeth did not share Linda’s cheerfulness. She simply wanted to be out of there. “Badly in need of a shower, thanks.”
“Here, coffee will make a new woman out of you.” Elizabeth gladly accepted the cup. “I had some interesting phone calls,” Linda continued.
“From whom?”
“Deputy DA Rodgers and I had a nice little chat.”
“Oh?” The coffee was helping and Elizabeth looked at her with new alertness.
“Yes, he’s not a happy camper to let you go. He thought he had a nice, high-profile drug bust all nailed up tight.”
Elizabeth shrugged. “So sorry to disappoint him.”
“He’ll get over it.” She paused a moment. Her voice had lost all its light tone when she spoke again. “Lizzy, you need to know; this has become very high profile. It’s a slow news day, so you and Will are on the front page.”
Elizabeth received this news without visible reaction. “Have you spoken to Will?” Her voice was soft, yet firm.
“Oh yeah.” She laughed. “I asked him what we were going to do once you were released and he said, quote: ‘This is her home. My limo and my security will pick her up and bring her here,’ unquote.”
Elizabeth smiled brightly, covering her face with one hand, and then a second, as she fought to keep control over her emotions. She was exhausted and overwrought and just needed to hold it together a little while longer.
Linda pretended not to notice. When Elizabeth dropped her hands and surreptitiously wiped her eyes with a napkin, she asked, “I take it you have heard that before?”
“Oh yeah,” she smiled and nodded, remembering. “So, what is the plan for this morning? Do I have to go to the courthouse?”
“Yep. We get to drive over, lots of flashing lights and whatnot, and then you get to leave, no doubt in a big media blitz.”
“I wish I could call Will and get his advice on how to handle this. He’s much better at playing the bad boy than I am.”
“Well, what did he tell you before?”
“He said to hang tough.”
“Then do it. You have been falsely accused. Let it show.”
Elizabeth nodded thoughtfully. “Yep, I guess I better get used to this. It’s not like we’ll ever have a life without the media.”
“Ah, the price of fame,” Linda sighed.
Elizabeth smiled. “When will I know that they have Wickham?”
“Paul is going to call me and I’ll call you.”
“Paul?”
Linda giggled. “Agent Holmes.”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes and sipped her coffee. She was grateful for the chance to think about something other than what she would tell Darcy and how he would take it.
In the end, it was easier than Elizabeth ever expected. Transported to the courthouse in a police car, she was spared a media gauntlet by entering the courthouse through an underground garage. Linda was waiting when she arrived. They were escorted into a small room and waited there for twenty minutes before being informed that they could leave. The Feds wanted a certain amount of media attention, so they asked Elizabeth to go out through the front when she left.
There was a knock on the door and Rebecca entered. Elizabeth was flooded with relief at the sight of her face. “Oh my God. It’s so good to see you.”
Rebecca dropped her professional scowl for a moment and smiled. “Are you ready to go?” she asked warmly.
“Oh yeah. More than ready.”
“Good. There is a gang of photographers out there, so I’ve got two of my people to help with security. Linda, you’ll walk with us to the limo, right?”
Linda nodded.
“I don’t know why they wouldn’t let us use the underground lot. It would be so much easier,” Rebecca complained.
Elizabeth feigned ignorance, and the three women exited the room. Waiting outside were two large burly- looking men, reeking of bodyguard. Rebecca took point and whipped out her cell. “Tommy, we’re coming out.”
Elizabeth walked with Linda, a bodyguard on either side. She felt like she was playacting. Surely there had to be a mistake. Famous people got this kind of treatment, not her. She was just… somebody?
Rebecca parted the crowd like Moses at the Red Sea. Elizabeth wore the dark sunglasses Linda gave her
