Jump to new as of January 30, 2002
Jump to new as of February 12, 2002
"Lizzy!" a voice shouted to the girl running across the field. The girl in question turned around and grinned.
"Emma!" she shouted back. "When did you return? How was London? And our dear Aunt and Uncle?" she said as she loped back towards the house.
"Oh London was as usual, and our Aunt and Uncle sends their love to everybody." Said the other girl. Finally, Elizabeth Bennet stood before her, breathless, her face pink and glowing, her grin identical to that of the girl opposite her.
"Emily Bennet, I'm so glad that you are back!" Lizzy said as the sisters fell into a tight embrace.
"So am I, Lizabeth. How has everything been here at home? Mother is resting so I haven't gone to her yet, and father is not at home, so you are the first person to know that I am back!" Emma said, beaming at her twin. The girls laughed and walked back into the house, hand in hand.
"Father, I heard that a group of young men have moved into the neighborhood?" Emma asked her father over dinner that night.
"Oh yes, Mrs. Long told me that there were four young gentlemen, rich gentlemen, may I add, who moved into Netherfield just recently, and your beastly father here refuses to pay them a visit! If your children end up spinsters and we are all turned out of this home, I blame you!" Mrs. Bennet interjected, her last comment fired in the direction of her husband who was placidly chewing on a piece of rather overly cooked cabbage.
"I think, Mrs. Bennet, that you should give the cook a talking to about the appalling state in find my cabbages in." he commented, dryly as his wife practically erupted next to him.
"Mr. Bennet! I think that you are most unkind to think only of your cabbages and nothing of your children!" she said. "Oh how you aggravate my nerves!" She exclaimed.
At the other end of the table, Emma hid a smile behind her hand as she whispered to her twin next to her, "I do believe that I almost missed mother's nerves while I was away! It is good to be home" she sighed as their mother sulked and their father chewed.
"Oh yes," Lizzy said. "Yet another Bennet family dinner, and I'm glad that you are back too!" She said. "The thought of your coming back has been what sustained me since the young gentlemen came and raised mother's hopes of marrying us all off at one go." She commented archly.
"Lizzy and Emma! Stop whispering over there, no concern for my nerves!" Their irritable mother snapped at the twins.
"Yes, my children, you must never aggravate your mother's nerves, for you know they are my best friends." Mr. Bennet said slyly around a mouthful of cabbage. That exacted another eruption of indignation from the woman next to him. "Come now my dear Emma, and you too Lizzy, for I must hear all the news from London." Mr. Bennet said as he finally swallowed the offending cabbage pushed himself from the table and walked towards the dining room door. His favorite daughters followed, smiling with amusement.
"Your ball, Charles," Fitzwilliam Darcy said to his friend who was staring distractedly out of a window.
"Huh? Oh, okay." Charles said, aroused from his reverie. He picked up his que and aimed at a red ball. He missed, to the dismay of Darcy, who had the misfortune of being his partner.
"Haha, methinks that you are going to lose this round" a jolly voice said from the other end of the table. Col. Richard Fitzwilliam grinned as he hit the ball into the hole with ease.
"I'm sorry Darcy, I was just thinking about the girl that we saw today. You know, the blonde, tall one walking in the town with her father, I believe. She's the most beautiful woman I have ever seen." He sighed, a small smile on his handsome face. The three other men rolled their eyes at their sentimental friend. They were not unused to his rapturous declarations, for they were used to Charles' falling in love at least once a month. It was Darcy's turn so he stood up, aimed and hit a ball in with the same ease as his cousin.
"Five points." He said before bending down to aim again. And so the game wore on. In the end, Darcy and Charles' lost, fulfilling Richard's prediction.
"Haha" Richard laughed as the men kept the balls and ques. "Don't look so dejected, Darce. One can't win all the time you know." He said good-humoredly. Darcy screwed up his rather adorable nose and threw his cousin a punch. The quietest man out of the four stood up and shook his head at the sight of two grown men fighting like boys. However, he had an amused smile on his face.
"The two of you are indeed most amusing. No wonder Georgina is such a happy girl, with guardians like the two of you to entertain her." He said.
Charles laughed and agreed heartily, adding, "And don't forget that tomorrow night we have an assembly to attend." Darcy groaned, for he did not really like parties of any sort very much.
"The only good thing that I can think of about this assembly as you call it, is that your sister would not be around." He said. His cousin nodded and laughed at the sight of his face.
"Come now, Darce, it can't be that bad, can it? After all, it's a chance to get to meet new people, and possibly a couple of pretty girls too!" he exclaimed, his eyes sparkling at the thought. Charles seconded his opinion, but with a particular blonde haired 'angel' in mind. The fourth man just silently cocked an eyebrow at the two men then turned a sympathetic face towards Darcy.
"I understand how you feel. Gatherings of such sort are not my forte either." He sighed.
"Well, I suppose that we'll have to bear it, and pray that it won't be too boring." Darcy said in a voice that said he had no choice.
"That's the spirit!" Richard said, pummeling his cousin in an attempt to cheer him up.
"Yeah yeah, I just hope that it would end early, and that's all I have to say about it. And I'm hungry. Is it lunchtime yet?" Darcy retorted, standing up. The men left the Billiards Room in search of food.
The next day, Longbourn.
"Emma!" Elizabeth pounded at her sister's door, her hair tied up and dressed in pale yellow waking dress. The door creaked open, and Emma blearily looked out.
"It's only 8, Lizzy." She croaked plaintively, blinking against the light.
"Yes, I know, your highness, but here in the country, we wake up at this time, unlike you city people." Lizzy said jokingly "Unless you've forgotten? I mean you've only been gone for six months, Emma." She added, pouting playfully.
"It's something that I've been trying to forget." Emma said, yawning.
"And did you also forget that we were supposed to take a walk together this morning?" Lizzy asked, her right eyebrow raised.
Emma slapped her forehead comically. "I plain forgot! Wait a while, I'll get ready. She disappeared into the deep recesses of her room and Lizzy walked down the stairs, shaking her head to wait for her sister.
Two hours later, the twins were walking back to Longbourn, had in hand, heads together. "Lizzy! Emma!" they heard someone call. In unison, two dark heads lifted, to see Jane walking down the lane, ethereally beautiful as ever. "Come on in! Breakfast is almost over." She said, gently chiding them. They ducked their heads guiltily, then the three girls burst out laughing and waked back to the house together.
"Oh Jane, it is good to see you and to hear your voice again!" Emma said, her head tilted toward their older sister.
"And its good to see you too, Emma. We didn't get to talk much last night, so you must tell me all the news." Jane said, smiling serenely at Emily.
That afternoon was a busy one at Longbourn, what with all the girls rushing around getting ready for the Assembly that night. Jane and Emma were in Lizzy's room, helping each other to dress. "I heard that the four gentlemen from Netherfield will be there tonight" Jane said.
"I wonder what they look like" Lizzy mused around a mouthful of pins.
"Oh, I don't know about the rest, but I know that the owner of Netherfield is a Mr. Charles Bingley, and that he has blonde hair and is rather handsome" Jane said primly, her face looking down at her shoes.
Lizzy grinned. "Rather handsome? Jane I do declare that you are blushing!" She exclaimed. Emma burst out in peals of laughter, and affirming her twin's statement.
"Stop it you two. I'm NOT blushing." Jane said. Of course, by now her face was scarlet with embarrassment. "Don't be so childish." She said, trying to regain some of her dignity, but her sisters continued laughing at her expense, their laughter so infectious that Jane started giggling too. At that moment, the imposing Presence of Mrs. Bennet was felt.
"Girls!!!! What are you doing? Lizzy, why are you crying on the floor? And Emma! Such a mess! Jane I would have thought better of you!" Their mother stormed, picking up pins along the way. The three girls sobered and tried looking contrite but to no avail. "How old are you already?" Mrs. Bennet continued her tirade. "Can't even leave you to dress by yourselves! Pins every where! And tonight the first assembly of the Netherfield Gentlemen too! Oh my nerves!" She ranted on, then she went on to bustle around each girl, wailing and sighing. Finally, she left, and the three girls started dressing in earnest, suppressing giggles at Elizabeth's imitation of their mother.
Meanwhile, at Netherfield, the four gentlemen had just returned from a hunt in the grounds of Netherfield. "Great woods you have here, Charles." Richard said, swinging his gun into its rack, four birds hanging from his other hand.
"Of course you would say that, Richard, after all, you caught the most of all of us," Charles grumbled, holding one skinny bird that was half dead anyway before Charles had out it out of its misery.
Richard laughed good-naturedly. "Don't be a wet blanket, Charles. How do you think I got into the army, if I can't shoot a few birds?" he asked.
"Humph. I suppose you have point there." Charles admitted. "Well anyway, we should be starting to get ready for tonight's assembly." He said brightly. Charles liked parties very much.
Darcy sighed and said, "The assembly starts six, Charles, and it's only four."
"My point exactly! We only have two hours! Chop chop, gentlemen" Charles said, grinning at Darcy, who rolled his eyes.
"Oh, I forgot! Charles takes as long to get ready as his sisters." Darcy said snidely. Charles laughed, and so did the other men as they walked through the hall to their respective rooms.
"I have more incentive to dress well tonight, after all, there is a very high possibility that She'll be there, you know." Charles smiled, remembering the angel that he had seen in Meryton.
"Escape, gentlemen! For Charles is going to start again!" Richard yelled, running to his room. The other gentlemen followed suit, leaving Charles standing alone in the hallway.
"Hey! You people are going to get it tonight!" He yelled, then disappeared into his room to prepare himself for the assembly.
That night, the Bennet family was among the first to arrive for the assembly. Lydia and Kitty immediately gravitated to their equally feather-brained counterparts, while Jane, Lizzy and Emma sat in a circle with Charlotte Lucas, the twins' especially good friend, and Jane's as well. As the room filled up slowly and the night wore on, a palatable sense of anticipation was felt among the people in the hall; especially in the big group of mothers, aunts, grandmothers and all round busybodies who were crowded in a corner, whispering furtively to one another, shooting longing glances at the big wooden door.
Finally, as the clock struck nine, the doors opened. All heads, (mostly female) turned as one, and a collective intake of breath was heard as a figure emerged from the darkness outside the hall. As the man moved out of the shadows, Mary Bennet swooned.
The ladies around her bent down and flapped at her face, their eyes still reverted to the man that stood before the hushed hall. "Is he Mr. Bingley?" was heard whispered throughout the hall. The man smiled brightly at the effect he was having on the members of the assembly.
"May I present myself, Mr. William Collins, curator of Rosings Park, the home of the Hon. Lady Catherine DeBourgh " He announced, pronouncing his name loudly and clearly, the knowledge that the whole room was listening to his every word making his already inflated ego grow even more.
By then, Mary had awoken from her swoon. "Oh but isn't he the most wonderful looking man you have ever beheld?" She whispered dreamily to Emma, who was at her side. Emma looked at the stout, pudgy man, his red face flushed with pleasure, and a self-satisfied smile on his face as he droned on, unaware, that the attention of the room had long left him.
"Erm... he... certainly has a most healthy look on his face" Emma murmured, not wanting to contradict her sister with her real opinion of Mr. Collins looks.
"Oh yes, and that smile! So sincere!" Mary gushed on. Emma grimaced as Mr. Collins graced them with his smarmy grin. He walked towards them and bowed so deeply he almost fell over. He righted himself and smiled again, asking if Mary was quite all right. Mary nodded speechlessly and Emma left the two of them discussing Fordyce's sermons most agreeably.
She walked to Lizzy's side, and gave her a whispered account of what had happened. Mirth shone out of their eyes, giving them rather mischievous looks. Charlotte and Jane saw their faces, and knew something had happened. They went over, and soon the four young ladies were giggling a la Lydia.
Another half-hour passed, and still the eagerly awaited party of young men did not arrive. The mothers were getting restless, and more than once was the sounds of "when will they ever come" heard. But to the young ladies, the non-arrival of their 'prospective' partners was more of a relief than a burden.
Meanwhile on the road from Netherfield to the town hall, a small group of cloaked gentlemen were standing around a carriage, talking and shaking their heads.
"Oh dear, just when are already late!" Charles moaned as he looked down at the broken wheel of his carriage.
"We would not have been late had not somebody taken such a long time to get ready in the first place" Richard said grumpily.
"Have I not told you to inspect the goods before you buy them, Charles?" Darcy said unforgiving of the dejected Charles. "Why this carriage is only a month old! Surely top-quality goods never break so quickly!"
"Okay, Okay! Its my fault alright?" Charles said in a sudden burst of anger unlike his normal self.
"Now it will not help if we quarrel like little children. The only thing we can do now is walk to the hall. Harvey will replace the wheel and bring it to the assembly when it is fixed." The man in the shadows said authoritatively. The three other men nodded unwillingly and the four of them set off toward the town hall in silence.