Elizabeth Eulberg: Prom and Prejudice

"Now you've put me in a tough spot. If you're going to be there, how could I not show up?" Wick smiled at me, but then his smile faded. "Sadly, I have a feeling someone else will be there, and there's no way I'd be welcome." Wick hesitated. "There's something I want you to know, and I want you to hear it from me."

"Okay ..." I leaned in.

"It's about why I got kicked out of Pemberley."

"Wick, you don't need to --"

"Yes, I do. I'm surprised people haven't started trying to turn you against me yet."

I hadn't really told anybody about Wick. Jane knew I'd met someone from town, but I hadn't told her he was a former Pemberley student. I didn't know why, but I wanted to keep Wick to myself.

"I don't care what anybody thinks of you," I told him now. "You should realize that I would know better than to believe anything anybody at Longbourn or Pemberley would say to me."

Wick nodded. "I'm so thankful my caffeine habit brought you into my life."

What a clear, powerful emotion -- thankfulness. It hadn't occurred to me in a long time that I could be someone that another person would be thankful for. Not for anything I'd done or said, but simply for who I was, and who I had the potential to be. After spending the school year in a world of torture (at worst) and indifference (at best), to have such open thankfulness expressed to me gave me something I hadn't felt in a long time: hope. Maybe this semester was going to be good after all.

"Okay." Wick took a deep breath. "Here's the story. I started last year as a sophomore. Met a lot of cool people, and the fact that I was a scholarship student wasn't an issue. I knew a lot about the students at Pemberley from being a townie, and Darcy and his family's reputation preceded him. I was looking forward to meeting the infamous William Darcy and we hit it off really well. We were friends from the moment we met.

"Darcy took me under his wing. It was only a few weeks into the semester, and he brought me into the city to meet his family. I fell in love with them. His dad is this incredible man, which is why I don't like saying anything bad about Darcy, because his father is a kind, generous person. He even arranged for me to have a summer job last year at his law firm. That would have set me up -- not only with a way to earn money, but to get experience that would have been amazing on my college transcript. Things were going well for me. And Darcy couldn't take it. He loved having me under his wing, having some sort of control over me. But he didn't like seeing me fly by myself, making things happen without his influence. He became increasingly competitive with me. And when he thought he might lose, he stabbed me in the back. Before I knew what was happening, I was being escorted off campus."

I gasped. "Darcy got you kicked out of Pemberley?"

Wick nodded, the color draining from his face.

"I don't believe it. How could anybody be so awful?" A knot formed in my stomach. "Why would he do that?"

"Maybe it was jealousy over my growing relationship with his father. That's all I could think of. I spent most of spring break with his family, and while he was his usual cold and distant self, I didn't understand the treachery he was capable of. I went home for a couple days before returning to campus, and in that time, he set his plan in motion. When I got to my dorm room, campus security was waiting for me."

"But that's ridiculous. They can't just kick you out for no reason."

"Oh, they had some trumped-up charges, some accusations he'd made. But what would I fight them with? My family didn't have money for an attorney. And the Darcy men had been going to Pemberley for generations. I'd been going for months."

My mind was swirling with what Wick told me. "We can't let him get away with this."

Wick leaned back in his seat. "Someday, Darcy will get what's coming to him, but it isn't going to be from me. I couldn't do that to Mr. Darcy. It's not his fault that his son is a liar and a scoundrel."

"You're a far better person than I," I said.

"Hardly. After all, I'm going to crash a party this weekend."

That was really all I wanted to hear Wick say. But my mind kept reeling over what Darcy had done. Jane had nearly convinced me that I'd been too harsh on the guy, but apparently I hadn't been harsh enough.

As Wick drove me back to campus, I didn't want the evening to end. I didn't want to have to go back to the taunts and bullying. I liked spending time with someone who was like me.

He parked the car and turned off the engine. "Do you need a moment to prepare for battle?" he asked, only half joking.

"I guess." I looked at the beautiful building that had been my home for the past five months.

"I had a really great time tonight." "Me too."

Wick leaned over ... and gave me a hug. "I'll see you on Saturday," he murmured. "Promise?"

He smiled at me. "Promise."

I CAME CLEAN TO JANE THE NEXT EVENING AT DINNER. IT should've been suspected that when I relayed Wick's story to her, she didn't share in my disgust at Darcy's actions.

"George Wickham, Lizzie? I haven't heard good things about him." Jane looked worried.

"There's a surprise."

"I'm sure there has to be an explanation for all of this. First, Darcy wouldn't do something like that. Second, Charles would never have a friend who was so despicable. It's probably just a simple misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?" I was astonished. "Why is it that I'm always misunderstanding something? How could someone misunderstand being expelled from school without just cause? Didn't you hear anything about it last year?"

Jane looked thoughtful. "I do remember he got kicked out, and that Charles knew him, but it wasn't something Charles talked to me about."

I couldn't believe that someone getting kicked out of Pemberley wouldn't be gossip du jour at Longbourn.

Jane continued. "I'll ask Charles and see what he has to say. But, Lizzie, just be careful. And please give Darcy a chance to explain his side. You have him painted as this maniacal villain, and it couldn't be further from the truth."

"You're just saying that because Darcy being a vengeful loon would reflect poorly on Charles."

Jane ignored me and cut up her salmon.

Our silence lasted only a moment, until Lydia stormed over to our table and dropped down her overflowing tray. "Jane, I just spoke with Mommy and she said she talked to Vera about your prom dress."

Jane looked around the dining hall. "Shh, Lydia. I haven't been asked to prom yet. Keep it down."

Lydia grunted. "Please, Jane. Anyway, Mommy said that you have an appointment with Vera when we go home over Presidents' Day weekend, and then you'll have your fitting over spring break. Vera -- aren't you just dying?"

I believed Jane was dying, but from embarrassment of her brash sister. Lydia shoved several French fries in her mouth and asked, "Where are you going to get your dress, Lizzie?"

"Well, I highly doubt I'll be going to prom. I guess if I go, I'll probably just get it at Macy's or something."

Lydia's jaw dropped open. "You can't do that! It's prom !"

I took a deep, calming breath. "I know, but it's just one night and I really think it's silly to spend thousands of dollars on a dress you only wear once." I turned to Jane. "No offense."

"None taken," she replied. "Lydia, you really need to learn to be more modest. Not everybody is lucky enough to have connections with designers."

Lydia snorted. "Please! This school is all about connections. But I haven't told you everything yet. Mommy said that we can't go anywhere over spring break this year. Can you believe that? She said that since Daddy hasn't gotten a job yet, we shouldn't go galloping through Europe."