"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife," Aunt Beatrice read out loud, gazing at us scornfully with her piercing blue eyes. She put the newspaper down. "This is as true as it gets, girls. So I don't know why my eldest niece is reaching twenty-four and doesn't even have her first child, yet."
Yes, you read that right.
Nellie, the eldest in question, suddenly found the cushion's creamy fabric quite interesting.
"This afternoon you have a mission... a mission that goes by the codename of Kabra,"she continued. And yes, she was serious.
Reagan, my thirteen-year-old sister, and the youngest, somehow thought it was a joke. So she giggled.
Aunt Beatrice seemed horrified by the gesture. Her eyes were as wide as they could be, and her nostrils were flared up in shock. "Young lady! Those giggles send a boy the wrong message."
I crossed my arms, frowning in amusement.
"There are two types of giggles," she proceeded to explain, her voice rapid and high-pitched, which always happened whenever she was frustrated. "The flirty giggle, and the classy giggle."
Yes, she was still being serious.
"Giggles like the one you just dared to let escape your mouth are considered flirty!" she finished off. She glared at my sixteen-year-old sister, Natalie. "You only hear those when you're around flirts."
Natalie, being the airhead she was, didn't catch the snub. Besides, she was too busy inspecting her cuticles. When she felt our aunt's eyes on her, she looked up and smiled charmingly. A charming smile that would make all the boys swoon.
"Hopeless," Aunt Beatrice muttered, shaking her head. Her head snapped toward us, her hair, which that month was a reddish hue, bobbing along with the movement. "Which is why I'm counting on you two to make this mission go right."
Nellie was a very obedient and respectful kid, so she was listening with a serene look in her face. I, however, was not Nellie. I was Amy Cahill, and I was looking at Aunt Beatrice as if she had just grown a third eye —the usual look I gave her.
"There are two very rich new neighbors, and as you know, the Starlings are holding a welcome barbecue party for them. We all know why... that family has no class, and has come up with such a disgraceful plan to have their Sinead end up with one of them. Girls, we have class, so we don't go around hunting for rich bachelors," Aunt Beatrice huffed.
Even Natalie had to look at Aunt Beatrice in an amused way.
"Well, our mission goes by two names: Ian Kabra and Theo Kabra. They're handsome, rich, and completely single," Aunt Beatrice explained. "Nellie, you're already turning twenty-four this year. And you, Amy, already turned twenty-three. You girls are in dire need of getting married before you become single for the rest of your lives. Which is why you need to take this as seriously as possible. Even more."
As she blabbered on about how we had to act that night, something I would certainly not do (I was being taken involuntarily, after all), I looked out the window, where we could see the Kabra's brand new house. Don't get me wrong, the suburbs we lived in had very beautiful houses. But the Kabra mansion looked out of place.
Just imagine this: you're driving around, seeing nothing but homy, two-storied homes, with their pretty gardens and the children's toys scattered on top of it. Maybe a dog barking to nothing in particular, the bycicles perched on the fence, and the sprinklers watering the green grass. When suddenly, you see this palace in the middle of everything with a professional-looking garden that takes up half of the street across. Yeah, that's how it looks.
That area should've been five houses, but the Kabras bought them and built their home instead.
It was easy to see how people like Aunt Beatrice could be so interested.
You're probably wondering why I was living with my aunt. Well, long story short, eight years ago, my parents passed away. I really don't like to remember the details, so let's just skip to the part where I'm in the car with my sisters, listening to Aunt Beatrice blabber on about how she'll make us 'fine ladies'. And then there's her husband, Uncle Charlie, trying to distract us from her crazy antics. But we still know we're in for a crazy ride with Loony Beatrice.
"I know I can at least count on you Nellie," Aunt Beatrice informed my older sister. She sent a sharp glance my way. "I know you won't mess up, dear."
Aunt Beatrice had always held a grudge against me for not marrying my senior year (first and so far only) boyfriend, Jake. When we graduated high school, he wanted to go to England and study History. But I wanted to stay in Boston, and become a pre-school teacher that owned a library or bakery of her own.
Nobody believed me whenever I told them that's what I wanted to do. Amy Cahill, that straight A's student who played every sport possible and participated in every club didn't want to study something nerdy? What? No way!
For a while, my Aunt Beatrice was proud of me. Until Jake and I parted ways. Jake was rich and handsome, so Aunt Beatrice was sure I'd become a rich housewife (which was what she wanted me to be). So her dreams? Shattered into tiny glass pieces.
"Now, girls," Aunt Beatrice breathed out, sitting up straighter. "Go and get ready for that barbecue!"
All four of us stood up. That's when I noticed Uncle Charlie leaning by the doorway, shaking his head at Aunt Beatrice's crazy antics. And I swear Saladin's, our Egyptian Mau, eyes were wider than usual. Dan, our eleven-year-old brother was laughing.
"Now girls, go and behave friendly with everybody there and don't stalk the Kabras," Aunt Beatrice giggled.
That was a joke.
So this is me trying to fulfill one of my New Year's resolution: write an FF. And that story took the shape of a Pride and Prejudice AU. I'm not sure if anyone in the archive has done anything like this. And if someone has, then I'm sorry, but I didn't know :P Well, let's see when I can update. Bye bye!