Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star by Heather Lynn Rigaud Page A

with concern.
    Alex smiled, came around the control desk, and quickly kissed the three women. Charles then led them through the dark maze of cables, curtains, and consoles until they reached the edge of the stage.
    “Ready?” Charles grinned. “You will be great, don’t worry, okay?” He kissed each girl, lingering over Jane slightly, when Alex’s voice in their heads commanded them to take their positions on the stage.
    The words “Long Borne Suffering” filled the hall, lights flooded the stage, and Elizabeth started her opening riff. Four bars later Charlotte and Jane joined in on their instruments and she started her song. She lost herself in the words and dance she had drilled for two weeks solid. It was only when her song was over and Jane was singing “Wanted” that Elizabeth allowed herself to look at the huge arena. It was full of thousands of faces, many of which were ignoring the band, but still more were smiling and nodding slightly with the beat. A sense of euphoria filled her as they ended the song and paused for applause.
    Their set was over in a shorter time than they could have imagined, and they left the stage to warm applause. A roadie led them back to the green room, where Alex was waiting.
    “Wonderful!” he exploded, kissing the girls and hugging them tight. “You were perfect!”
    They laughed, each a little giddy and speechless from the experience. “Oh Alex!” Jane said, remembering something. “Where can we watch Slurry from? We want to see their show.”
    “Where are they anyway?” Charlotte asked.
    “Right here,” Charles answered. Elizabeth turned to see all three men standing together. “We just wanted to tell you how great you were.”
    “You girls rocked,” Richard grinned.
    “Did you want to watch the show?” Darcy asked.
    “If you don’t mind,” Jane answered. “We’ve never seen you perform,” she smiled happily.
    The men shared a look, and Richard said slowly, “We prepared for this.” He grinned and pulled out what looked like a credit card. “Private skybox, number twelve,” he said, passing over the card.
    “Or you could watch from the side of the stage,” Charles offered, teasing. “But we thought a box would be more comfortable.”
    “And then the speakers are facing the right way,” Richard added, joking.
    “Thank you,” Jane said, astonished, speaking for them all. “This is so thoughtful.”
    “You’re welcome,” Darcy said softly, his eyes again masked by his shades.
    “Thanks for coming on tour with us,” Charles added. “You might want to go up now. See you after the show.” The men moved off with Caroline for their final check.
    Rebecca hurried up with a man beside her. The man was of average height, but with a powerful build. He wore a black T-shirt that had “Security” printed across the chest in red block letters. “Girls, this is Tommy. When you are ready, he will take you up to your box.”
    Elizabeth nodded and with the help of a couple of sound techs, their microphones, receivers, and the accompanying wires were removed from their bodies. As soon as she was free, Elizabeth hurried to where the instruments were being kept and found her beloveds waiting to be cleaned.
    Darcy was there, with Ronnie, the guitar tech, doing a final check on his Paul Reid Smith. He looked at her, surprised. “We’re about to start, you’re going to miss the show.”
    Elizabeth shook her head. “Guitars first, show later,” she replied lightly. Carefully she put the Guild in its case and moved on to the Taylor.
    “You know, Ronnie can do that,” Darcy sounded amused.
    “I know,” Elizabeth said coolly, taking offense at his tone. “But these are my babies. I missed not having them last night and I need to take care of them.”
    Understanding crossed his features and he crouched down beside her. “You can keep your guitars with you, if it would make you feel better.”
    Elizabeth looked up into his face, feeling quite small and