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This is simply a friendly gesture.
Lucy
Hmm… it is a tempting offer…
My curiosity gets the best of me, but I don’t let him know immediately. I grab my coat and head out the door. As I approach the coffee shop, I pull my phone out and send him a text.
Lucy
Alright, but just in case, I’m going to let my boyfriend, Fitzwilliam Darcy know where I am… Just in case your intentions are not of a gentlemanly manner. ;-)
I spot him before he notices me. He is seated at a bench table where the chair on the opposite side had been claimed by another table. I suppose he expects me to sit next to him, so odd how he always does that.
He looks down at this phone, presumably to read the text, and I notice his lips twitching slightly to one side while he reads. What a sight, but I can’t linger like a creep watching him. While he is distracted typing a response, Ipull on the heavy door, and the bell above me ruins my discreet entrance. I can feel my phone buzz from his response but I decide not to check it.
Just as I suspected, he moves down on the bench, allowing me to slide in next to him. I hate to admit it, but I quite enjoy sitting next to him.
I thank him for the coffee with an inquisitive look.
“I must share—I do have a specific reason for asking you here this afternoon.” He looks down at his coffee as he talks. His knee is jumping beneath the table next to mine.
“Is everything all right?” Could something be wrong? He is acting out of sorts.
“Oh, sorry. Nothing urgent. Everyone is fine, in good health…it’s more of something I need your…advice with…” Puzzled, I silently wait for him to continue. “As you know, I’ve made a career of directing movies, romance movies, to be specific.”
“Yes, that was an…interesting discovery for me, but go on.” I notice his face fall.
“I’ve recently been informed that the production company, my production company, the only one I’ve worked with for years, has decided to make a new adaptation ofPride and Prejudice.”
I can’t control myself. I cheer loudly. “That’s so great!”
“Yes, I assumed you would be pleased to hear that. I was too. It’s the one adaptation I’ve been trying to make since my career began.”
“You’ll be directing it?” I feel my skin blush, realizing instantly that my tone was not very kind.
“No, it doesn’t look like I will be,” he says with a sigh and sadness.
“I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re not.” It’s not anger in his voice but defeat. “Can I ask why?” He leans closer to me and almost whispers, “This was the very reason the studio turned me down. They do not believe the viewers and fans of Jane Austen’s work, individuals like yourself, would want to see it if you knew I was the director.” Ouch, that was harsh of them.
“Can you explain your disappointment at the thought of me directing that?” As he asks, he leans closer and talks quietly to avoid being overheard.
“Henry, I adore your movies.”
“Then what is the hesitation?” His posture goes rigid as he sits up to put distance between us. Almost as if he knows what my answer will be.
“After meeting you?—”
“Yes, I know I was unpleasant when we met, but I’ve not met the majority of the viewers of my movies.” His lips push into a thin line and I notice his jaw clench.
With a slight laugh, I continue, “True, you weren’t very friendly upon our first meeting, but that wasn’t it. I did some Internet research on you. You’ve been very public about your ideas of love, which is your right to feel as you do. Yet, you seem to have a different view on romance than what the fans of romance movies, especially Jane Austen fans, would want.”
His shoulders slump, and he turns his body to face forward once again. “That’s what the production studio said. They are planning a social media campaign, andthey worry it will bring the things you’re referencing to light.” With a huff, he continues, “Why can’t people look at romance movies the way they experience other things, like a roller coaster? It’s all manufactured to make you feel a particular emotion.”
“Well, that’s a very objective way of looking at it. I suppose you are quite good at it, butPride and Prejudicemeans so much to people. I think we want to know it’s in the hands of someone else who cares for it as much as we do.”
“I do care. That’s why I want to direct it,” he says as his hand bunches into a fist on the table.
