Elizabeth Bennet sat at her favourite coffee shop watching as people went about their lives, this had always been a favourite pass time of hers in the few moments she had to spare in her chaotic schedule. Elizabeth was one of the top lawyers at the firm she worked for, Meryton & Partners, a firm that specialized in human rights. It was no coincidence either, from a young age Elizabeth knew she wanted to help those who never had a voice for themselves, she had vowed she would be their voice. She worked her butt off throughout high school and was offered numerous scholarships to the best universities. In college she could only have been described as a zombie as she worked her way through law school, graduating with honours. She had her pick from the most prestigious law firms around the country to choose from, but she chose Meryton & Partners as they were the only firm that dealt with the type of cases close to her heart. All this was accomplished before her 25th birthday. She was proud of the direction in which her career was heading but, even she had to admit to herself in those rare quiet moments that she missed having fun, she felt tired and restless and knew she needed some time off. She needed to get proper wasted and meet someone new, gosh when was the last time she had even been on a date, never mind having uhmm... before her mind ran away with her conscious her cell phone rang.

"Hello?" she sighed into her phone.

"Hey Lizzy. How are you?" her sister Jane's voice came from the other end.

"I'm good, Janey. What's up?" asked Lizzy.

"I was just leaving the office, and I'm not really up for a date with my couch tonight. Do you mind coming out with me for dinner? You know how I hate eating alone." Jane asked in a sickly-sweet voice, which would've annoyed Lizzy if it came from anyone besides her dearest sister and best friend.

"How sweet of you to think I didn't already have a hot date lined up for tonight." Lizzy teased her older sister.

"Oh, Lizzy, if your busy we can do it another time." Jane said in a remorseful voice fearing that she might have offended her sister.

Lizzy laughed, only Jane could feel bad about assuming her hermit sister was free on a Friday night. "Relax Jane, I was just teasing. I'm free by the way, where would you like to go?" she assumed Jane was contemplating as her end of the line remained silent.

"Mm, I heard about this new restaurant that opened on 4th street, I'll text you the location and we can meet there around 7pm. Sound good?" asked Jane.

"Sounds great. I should head home now and change into something less comfortable." Lizzy said, signalling to her waiter that she was ready for her bill, "See you at 7 Janey."

"Bye Lizzy." Jane said, before the call ended. Elizabeth paid for her coffee and strolled to her apartment to get ready for her dinner with Jane.

Elizabeth checked her phone for the third time, she had searched the restaurant when she received Jane's text and noted it was a very high-class place. "Great." she mumbled, jeans were out, she went over to her vanity and decided to match her outfit to her make-up, usually she only wore very light make-up, but tonight she favoured a darker more mysterious look with a dark red shade of lipstick. Just as she finished setting her make-up and hair, which she decided to tie in a loose messy bun with a few curls framing her face. She recalled her deep red velvet dress which clung to her body in all the right places, it was an off the shoulder dress with a dipping neckline, that she had only worn once to a friend's book launch and had totally forgotten about it until now. She slipped the dress on, a little surprised that it was a bit tighter than she remembered, she must have gained some weight in the last few months, that didn't bother her though, as she was comfortable in her body, although she had a curvier build than Jane who was willowier. She did a final mirror check to see if all was in place, grabbed her purse then stepped out to the waiting cab. The look of appreciation on the cabbie's face was completely missed as she got in and gave him the directions to the restaurant. It wasn't that Elizabeth was oblivious to her attractiveness, she knew she was a beautiful woman though not as beautiful as Jane, as her mother would so often remind her, but beautiful in her own right. However, she was unaware of the sensual energy she gave off and the effect it had on most men, this was something she exuded without even realizing it, which added so much more to her appeal.

As she stepped out of the cab she handed the cabbie $20 and moved to enter the restaurant, it was tastefully decorated in a 1920s kind of style, as she walked in she admired the attention to detail the owner had in setting up the décor. She searched for Jane amongst the patrons of the restaurant. She spotted her sister looking simply angelic underneath the glow emanating from the chandeliers, she wore a beautiful pale blue dress that complimented her skin tone perfectly. Lizzy smiled slightly before noticing that her sister was not alone but before she could do a quick study of the intruders with her, the dark-haired gentleman looked up and caught her eye, she sucked in a deep breath as suddenly the world stood still.

A/N: I'd like to thank everyone who read, reviewed, followed and favourited this chapter/story. This is my first attempt at writing a story so please be patient with me as I work my way through this process. My first upload had so many errors I had to edit it, I apologise for that and I hope this one easier to understand, though there may still be a few more mistakes again please bear with me. Thank you again for reading and please review, I love criticism as it's the only I'll learn and improve. The second chapter is almost done so expect it in a day or two…