Chapter 1 - "Netherfield Park is let at last!"
"'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife…' Well girls, if only that was still the truth."
Beth giggled loudly as her Auntie Andrea read the first lines of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice out loud to them. She and her older sister Maggie were sitting on Maggie's bed with their aunt, procrastinating from doing their chores. This was a daily ritual – often the farm work got to be too overwhelming, and the day grew too sweltering, so Maggie, Beth, and their Auntie Andrea would retreat into one of many bedrooms and read classic literature aloud to each other while giggling and telling jokes in between. Their other sisters still hadn't discovered their secret, and Beth was glad. As much as she loved her other siblings, she liked having this moment alone every day with her two favorite people.
Beth lived on a farm, out in the Georgian countryside with her four other siblings, her wonderful father, and her Auntie Andrea. Beth's mother had passed away many years ago, and Hershel Greene's younger sister Andrea had quickly decided to move in and help with the heavy lifting. Raising five children was a hard enough task – and Hershel not only had five children, but an entire estate to attend to.
Maggie and Beth were the eldest of the five – and although both had left to get college degrees, they had found themselves eventually coming back to the farm. They both loved their daddy, and knew he needed their help – one day it would most likely be their own farm to run. Money was tight, and their other siblings were all but useless. Their third sibling (and only brother) Shawn was no help. He spent his days by the piano, writing songs and practicing his music. When he wasn't playing the piano (badly), he had his nose stuck in a book. Then came Tara, and finally, Rosita. Of their two younger sisters, Tara was the more levelheaded, but just barely. Both girls had wicked senses of humor and didn't know how to sit still, especially when together (and they were almost always together). They always caused chaos on the farm – Rosita was impulsive, and often came up with bad ideas that got both girls in trouble. Hershel often remarked under his breath that girls their age were graduating from college and living responsible, adult lives by now. But this didn't faze them. As hectic as life was on the Greene farm, the family was a tightly knit group. They loved each other, and recognized how much they needed each other. Everyone wanted to live together on the farm for as long as they could.
"Oh, speaking of rich men, have you girls heard the news?"
Beth looked questioningly at her aunt and her sister. No, she hadn't.
"That fancy vacant lodge a few miles down the road has finally been sold," Andrea said, a mischievous glint in her eye, "to one man! A Mr. Glenn Rhee. Apparently he bought it as a new vacation home – wanted somewhere to go to get out of the Atlanta heat. Rumor has it, he and a few friends are the only people living in that whole, huge building."
"They don't plan on just keepin' it as their house, do they?" Maggie asked, her eyes wide at the thought. "That's a huge property, they could turn it into somethin' good for the community!"
Beth silently agreed with her sister. Many years ago, the lodge had been a resort hotel, complete with horseback riding lessons, a golf course, and a spa. But in the 2008 stock-market crash, the owner had gone broke and the lodge remained pretty much abandoned.
"Actually, they're remodeling it and trying to restore it to what it was."
Hershel Greene had just appeared in the doorway, smiling at his girls. "I actually met with the young man yesterday. He's been looking for locals to invest in his project, wants to eventually start a new business. Apparently he's some sort of hotel royalty – got resorts up all over the country. Asked me for some help meeting the natives and finding investors. Seems like a nice guy."
"Oh, we don't care if he's nice, we want to know if he's cute," Andrea said with a little grin in Maggie's direction. Maggie turned bright red, and Beth couldn't help but laugh.
Auntie Andrea had been trying for years to set Maggie up with different young men, but nothing seemed to stick. God didn't make you this gorgeous for nothing, she would say to Maggie. Beth knew that deep down, Maggie really was starting to feel lonely out here at the farm – she had given up a lot when she moved back home, and she hadn't been in a solid relationship in years. And although Auntie Andrea's teasing was only lighthearted fun, Beth could tell that Maggie often took it to heart. Maggie often voiced her fears to Beth, wondering if she would ever really be free to have her own life, since she was the eldest, and therefore would most likely inherit the farm from their father. She didn't want to leave him in his debt, but she was also itching for something more. Beth didn't blame her. They had grown up in this small town – they knew almost everyone in it. The most exciting thing that ever happened here was when new recruits arrived at the Naval Base that was situated on the outskirts of their city-limit. It meant fresh blood – Navy boys to talk to and invite over for dinner.
"He's a good lookin' kid," Hershel said with a nod, "He's got two sisters with him and a friend who came up from Atlanta with him. I think his name was Dixon."
"You don't mean Daryl Dixon, do you?" Beth asked, suddenly curious. Beth was something of a local history buff, and the Dixon family was one of the oldest, most established families in Georgia. Their lineage traced back to the colonial period of America. They had been a founding family, and then, later, had taken part in the Underground Railroad, much to the surprise of the many plantation owner in Georgia at the time. The Dixons were a big deal.
Beth remembered reading about Daryl Dixon in the local paper – the eldest son of the recently deceased Will Dixon who had inherited the family's entire fortune when the father passed away. She remembered feeling sad for the man, although she never thought she would ever meet him. There had been a picture of him at his father's funeral, all in black, stepping into a dark car. Something about the picture had caused her to tear up, although for the life of her, she couldn't figure out why. It was something about the way he was standing – as if he had been defeated. He was probably one of the richest men in the South, yet there he was, no happier than the rest of them. Probably worse off, actually, with all of that money to be responsible for.
"Daryl Dixon," Hershel had said, looking at her in surprise, "that's the one!"
"Oh," had been Beth's only response. She was really curious now.
"Anyway, Mr. Rhee has invited us over to a party he's throwing for all of the investors and their families," Hershel continued, keeping his eye on Beth. "I think the whole town will probably show up eventually. This coming Saturday. But enough dilly-dallying and gossip! The horses aren't going to feed themselves!"
Beth groaned to herself as she sat up. It wasn't that she didn't love her horses – she just didn't want to face the heat.
But she managed to stay distracted for the rest of the day. She was going to a party this Saturday, a fancy, rich person party. Did she have something to wear? Would she have to buy something? Would Sasha, (Beth's best friend from childhood), be going too? Oh, if Sasha was going she would feel a lot better. Would Tara and Rosita manage to behave for once in their lives? And would she get to meet Daryl Dixon? The history nerd in her got really excited. She had so many questions for him, but maybe they wouldn't be appropriate to ask at a party? Beth's mind raced all day.
There was only one thing Beth knew for sure – finally something interesting was happening in this town.
Hi guys! So as I'm sure you've figured out via my title and this chapter, I'm basically rewriting Pride and Prejudice, but I'm making it modern (so that I'm not plagiarizing the genius Jane Austen word for word). I'ts going to be a looong journey - I'm actually reading P&P while writing this so that I can make this story as accurate and as close to the actual book as I can. The real book itself is actually like 60 chapters, so this will definitely be a condensed version, but I'm expecting it to get pretty long, and all of the main events will be in here but slightly different, modern, and Bethyl-y! I kinda wanted to set it in Austen's time but then I realized that I didn't know enough about the era and that it might get boring for some of you. This is a SLOOOOOOOOW burn story (like actually the slowest, read P&P if you haven't already and you'll know what I mean). I'm sticking really close to the original, so please don't expect Beth and Daryl to just suddenly hook up. This isn't that type of fic! They are acting as my Lizzie Bennet and Mr. Darcy so I'm keeping it as accurate as possible! Also, I have plans to incorporate basically everyone from Team Family into this story as different key characters - some roles are bigger than others, but everyone is in here eventually! I've made Tara and Rosita honorary Greene's. Not everyone is going too have the same personality that they have in TWD, but that's the fun of an AU! Also I plan on writing Lizzie, Mika, and Carl into this story but they're going to be a bit older than they are on TWD. I hope you guys enjoy! I'll update again soon, and I'm also currently writing my update for my other fic, so stick around for that! This author's note got long, oops. Anyway please like and review if you feel like doing so!
