Worst Impressions

Bonus Chapter - Dinner with the Darcys

'Is it okay that I want to take a picture of this moment?' Charlie asked from my bedroom door.

I turned to glance at him over my shoulder and frowned. 'Seriously? You want to make fun of me right now?'

'Did you or did you not mock me when I was panicking about seeing Jenny at my birthday?'

'Fair point,' I admitted. I tugged off the tie I'd been fumbling with and dropped it onto the floor. 'I don't know why I'm even trying. She'll wear jeans. You heard Mandy. She said to wear them. It's Beth Bennett, for God's sake. It's not like she'll be taking any time to think about what to wear.'

Charlie sat on my bed cross-legged and asked, 'If you know that, then why not just wear jeans yourself?'

'Her father is coming.'

'So?' The wicked smile returned. Charlie was a puppy around Jenny and her friends, but they didn't know how he was when we were alone. He was as bad as Mandy for teasing me when he wanted to be. 'You want to make a good impression on her father, don't you?'

'Chaz, I'm not above chucking you in a boat and letting you float adrift in the sea while we're here. Remember that, please?'

'Fine, fine,' he conceded. 'Just throw on some shirt and some trousers. Forget the tie and keep it slightly casual. The more formal you make it, the more stressed you'll make her feel.'

It was disarming to hear some logic coming out of his mouth. Still, he had a point. If Beth did wear jeans, then it didn't necessarily follow that she'd be scruffy. Her father also seemed to have good manners and I couldn't see him arriving in overalls and covered in grease. I should meet them halfway, casual but still with some effort.

'Stay there,' I told Charlie before I disappeared into my dressing room.

It didn't take long to find the outfit I was looking for. I even went so far as to roll my sleeves up to the elbow neatly and left the top couple of buttons undone. When I emerged, I felt far more comfortable and hopeful that Beth wouldn't think less of me for not trying harder.

'Well?' I asked.

'Congratulations,' Charlie said, 'you look human.'

'Have I told you today that I hate you?'

He laughed. 'I love seeing you flustered. I hope Beth stops by for more dinners before we head back to Switzerland.'

My chest constricted at the very thought of leaving the country now that things were looking hopeful again. I didn't want to just up and move away and let any chance I might have slip through my fingers. Likewise, I didn't know that I could, in good conscience, allow Charlie to leave without trying to patch things up with Jenny. It was his heart, his feelings, but I felt that I had a duty to come clean with him about my manipulation. I'd downplayed Jenny's feelings in a bid to prove that she lacked them entirely, and took advantage of the fears of unrequited love to convince him that he shouldn't risk his heart at all.

It had been wrong of me, and he had a right to know.

'Boys!' my mother yelled up the stairs.

I rolled my eyes at her interruption. She could have just sent a servant instead of bellowing at the top of her lungs, but my mother had always liked to do things her own way. 'Are you coming down? They'll be here soon!'

I was still a bundle of nerves when Beth and her father arrived at the house. Henry announced them formally and I could see that this only served to heighten whatever Beth was feeling. She looked like a deer in headlights when faced with a group of upper-class people lounging around their mansion as though this level of decadence was perfectly normal. I could have slapped my sister for inviting them without considering how intimidating this might be.