This is my first attempt at writing fan fiction. It will take several chapters to get into the meat of the story, so please bear with me.
This is a modern take on the story and characters of Pride & Prejudice. Many real places and institutions will be mentioned. Comments made by some of these characters will reveal their feelings about said places or institutions. Any negative comments about these things and places reflect the attitudes of the characters, not those of the author.
Because the characters are in and of New York City, they will speak to each other as New Yorkers do. They presume the person being spoken to has certain knowledge and will take verbal shortcuts based on that presumption. Because of this, there will be a lot of Author's Notes at the end of the chapters.
There will be some violence and discussion of sexual violence in this story. A warning will be posted at the beginning of the relevant chapters.
If you recognize the characters, they originally came from the fertile imagination of Jane Austen. If you don't recognize them, they originated in my fevered brain.
Many thanks to the AHA Chatroom chits for their encouragement and thoughts. There is nothing like being in Chatroom at 2 AM to get the ideas going! You ladies are the best!
Pride and Prejudice in Kings County
Chapter 1 – Back in Brooklyn
Moments after the train stopped at the station the doors slid open and a half dozen passengers stepped onto the platform. With quick, decided steps they headed for the staircase that would allow them access to the next level of the station. Once they reached the top of the stairs, they crossed that level and went through the turnstiles that signaled that they had exited the station. After navigating the stairs that would take them to the sidewalk they would be out in the sunshine and fresh air of this lovely Spring day. They all attacked those stairs with the same determination that marked their progress since exiting the subway cars. They were New Yorkers; walking slowly was not in their DNA.
All but one of the ascending passengers was dressed casually. It was a Saturday, after all, and the mission of most of these people was to go shopping at Fulton Mall. The odd woman out had different plans.
The tall young woman was dressed in a black pantsuit with a pale blue silk shell underneath the unbuttoned jacket. She also wore mid-heeled black pumps and had a large messenger bag slung over her shoulder. When she reached the sidewalk she stepped out of the way of pedestrian traffic and put her left hand into her jacket pocket. She withdrew her phone and texted her contact.
At DeKalb and Flatbush Extension. Now what?
As she waited for her answer, she took in the sights around her. Looking straight ahead she saw the comforting sight of two of the four clock faces near the top of the old Williamsburg Bank Building. The bank and the various offices that once filled the building were long gone, replaced by expensive condominium apartments. Still, the building was a comforting reminder that she was no longer in Manhattan, but in her native Brooklyn.
A quick turn had her looking across Flatbush Avenue Extension at the campus of Long Island University. Had things worked out differently, that might have been her alma mater. She had no regrets about her life decisions. She certainly did not have second thoughts about her choice of university. Still, going to LIU would not have been a bad thing.
Another quick turn had her looking at the terminus of Flatbush Avenue Extension, the Manhattan Bridge. As usual for this time of day, traffic was backed up for a few blocks in the attempt to cross the bridge. All was as it should be.
With her last turn she faced the business she was standing in front of – Junior's Restaurant. Even if the rest of the day fell apart she was determined to have lunch there. That would be reward enough for the trip. She'd just have to make sure she left room at the end of lunch for a piece of their famous cheesecake.
Just as the young woman mentally finalized her lunch plans, she heard the signal that a text had come in. She looked at the message on her phone:
Go to Myrtle Avenue and turn left. Text me again.
She turned to her right and strode along the sidewalk to the corner of Myrtle Avenue. Turning left she saw what she knew would be there, the pedestrian plaza and buildings that made up MetroTech. Again she wondered about the mystery tour she was undertaking.
She texted that she was facing MetroTech and the quick response was the address and suite number that was her destination. No company name or contact person was given. Resolutely she headed into the plaza.
As she approached the building that was her destination, she read the name of the company on the façade of the building – Pemberley Holdings.
She tried the middle door to the building, but it was locked. Would anyone she needed to see be there on a Saturday or was this a wild goose chase? A guard stood up from where he had been seated at the lobby desk and motioned her to the door on the extreme left. She pushed on the door and it opened. Approaching the lobby desk, she addressed the guard, "Hello, I have an appointment at 10:00 in Suite 1200. My name is Elizabeth Benedetto."
"Yes, Ms. Benedetto, they told me you were coming. You need to sign the after-hours log."
After she signed in, she asked for the location of the ladies' room. The guard told her to cross the lobby and turn left. The rest rooms were on that corridor.
Entering the ladies' lounge, she examined her reflection in the large mirror. Her long brown hair was in place, thanks to the prodigious amount of hair spray she used that morning. Today was not the day for her hair to escape her perfectly constructed bun due to a wayward breeze or a passing subway train while she was in transit. She refreshed her lipstick, washed and dried her hands and buttoned her jacket. After one last inspection in the mirror, she confirmed it was 9:55 and time to go upstairs.
She returned to the lobby desk and the guard pointed her to the bank of elevators. When the elevator doors opened on the twelfth floor, she was faced with an office area that seemed to take up the whole floor, but she saw no one there.
"Hello! Is anybody here?" she called out.
"Just a second!" answered a man's voice.
Moments later a tall, thin man with wavy red hair and a large smile on his face came out of an office and closed the door behind him.
"Ms. Benedetto, how do you do? I'm Charles Bingley", said the pleasant looking man.
A/N:
Kings County: The City of New York is made up of five boroughs which coincide with five of the sixty-two counties of New York State. The Borough of Brooklyn is also Kings County, New York
Fulton Mall: A pedestrian mall in Downtown Brooklyn containing national chain stores and locally owned businesses.
DeKalb and Flatbush Extension: Flatbush Avenue is a major thoroughfare in Brooklyn, New York. It starts at Jamaica Bay and curves through the borough. When it reaches DeKalb Avenue the name of the street changes to Flatbush Avenue Extension and continues to the ramps leading to the Manhattan Bridge. To a Brooklynite, this part of the street is just called Flatbush Extension. Elizabeth has taken the R train from Manhattan. She could have gotten off the subway at the Jay Street/MetroTech stop, but I wanted her to savor some of the landmarks of Downtown Brooklyn.
Williamsburg Bank Building (formally, Williamsburg Savings Bank Tower): From its completion in 1929 until MetroTech was built in the 1990's, the Williamsburg Building (as it was usually called) was the tallest building in Brooklyn at 512 feet. As such it is an icon for Brooklynites. The condominiums now housed in the building are referred to by the building's address – 1 Hanson Place. The building is not at a right angle from her vantage point, so two of the clock faces would be visible.
Long Island University: A private coeducational non-sectarian university with several campuses. The campus she is facing is referred to as LIU Brooklyn. It was founded in 1926.
Junior's Restaurant: A Brooklyn institution, located at the corner of DeKalb Avenue and Flatbush Avenue Extension. It claims to have the best New York style cheesecake. I agree.
Myrtle Avenue: A major thoroughfare through Queens and Brooklyn. It terminates at the pedestrian mall in MetroTech.
MetroTech: To quote Wikipedia, "the nation's largest urban academic-industrial research park." Many major corporations have offices in this area. It is the perfect place for Pemberley Holdings to be located.