Hello everyone! I'm AngelFire and blah blah blah (I think you know where this is going).
Before anyone has a fit, this is not a crossover. The only thing this has in common with Pride and Prejudice is some of the themes. No characters, no setting, no plot.
Anyhow, I think I did a decent job in the description, so hopefully you know what you're getting. This is going to have both Wessa and Jessa but not both at once, so be patient with me please!
I think that's all I have for now, so let me know what you think!
Thanks guys!
Chapter 1
After eight long hours on the plane, the pilot finally announced they were preparing to land. Tessa, thankful to have a window seat, leaned forward to get a glimpse of the England she had heard so much about. Her brother Nate had talked of it often. In fact, it was his idea that she stay in London for the summer.
She had just completed her junior year of high school, and she was expected to be applying to university in the fall. The problem was, Tessa had no idea what she wanted to do or where she wanted to go. At her school, that was a big problem. Teachers and counselors had been pressuring her all spring to figure things out, but she simply could not decide. Though she would never admit it to anyone, Tessa was good at many things. She loved books and reading, which made her her an excellent writer. She enjoyed art and was decently good it too, especially photography. She even made math and science look easy.
Her biggest problem, however, was her aunt. Her aunt insisted that she go to medical school to become a nurse, and Tessa had absolutely no intention of doing so. Things at home were very unpleasant, so Nate had suggested that Tessa travel to London for the summer.
At first, all Tessa could see was a blanket of clouds beneath the plane. It looked almost like a frozen ocean with soft, fluffy, white snow covering the ice. As they descended toward it Tessa nearly forgot they were merely clouds and gave a sharp intake of breath as they passed through them, expecting to collide with something solid. The plane, of course, passed straight through them and was enveloped in grey fluff. Tessa wished she could reach out and touch them, curious as to what a cloud might feel like. She only had time for the thought before the plane broke free and the vivid green landscape bloomed beneath them. Tessa couldn't believe how green everything was! The grey stone of the scattered buildings stood out against the grass and trees like a few lone clouds on an otherwise cloudless day. Tessa couldn't wait to take pictures of all of the beautiful buildings in the city.
The plane touched down with a jolt, and Tessa began to get excited. In less than an hour she would be on her way to London where she would spend the next three months. Nate had arranged for her to stay with some friends of his, the Saunders. They had a daughter a year older than Tessa and lived right in the middle of London near Hyde Park.
As quickly as she could, Tessa navigated through the airport, found her bag and made her way out to the parking are where she was supposed to meet the Saunders family. It was immediately obvious who the Saunders were because they were holding up a massive sign that said: "Welcome to England, Tessa!" She couldn't help smiling as she walked over to them.
"Hello, Tessa!" Mrs. Saunderssaid, beaming at her. "We would have met you at the baggage claim, but the security wouldn't let us in with the sign."
"It's fine," Tessa assured her, returning the smile. Mrs. Saunders was a tall woman with blonde hair pulled up into a loose bun on the back of her head. Tessa could tell she was quite energetic, for she could hardly keep still and she seemed to glow, especially when she smiled.
Mr. Saunders stepped forward then, introducing himself and welcoming her also. He was less animated than his wife, but excited nonetheless. Lastly, he brought forward his daughter.
"I'm Rosamund," she introduced herself smiling warmly. "We've heard quite a bit about you. I hope you have a wonderful summer with us."
"Thank you," Tessa nodded. "I'm sure I will." Rosamund looked very much like her mother, and was almost as tall. Her pale blonde hair fell around her shoulders in soft curls, and Tessa felt she could come to know and understand Rosamund simply by studying her deep brown eyes.
"Is that all you've brought then?" Mr. Saunders asked as he lifted her single suitcase into the back of a cab.
"Yes," Tessa nodded. She had only brought what she could fit in the suitcase, and most of her things had fit. She had never been as focused on fashion as most girls back home, and if her clothes were not fashionable in America, they would be horribly out of fashion in London. She also carried a small backpack as a carry-on. In the backpack she had packed her camera, the journal Nate had given her, and of course her books. She had only brought a few, as too many would have been heavy, but among those few were A Tale of Two Cities and her current favorite, Pride and Prejudice.
The cab took them quickly through the busy city streets. Tessa felt odd driving on the opposite side of the road than she was used to. She tried not to press her nose to the window as they passed the London Eye and Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. The cabs in London were much less terrifying than any cab she took in New York. Sure they still drove fast, but she didn't feel as if the cab were going to flip or that they were going to get in an accident at any moment.
Finally they reached the Saunders home. From the outside, it looked like an apartment building. It was built of light grey, almost white, stone with windows covering nearly the entire front of the building. There looked to be four or five stories, the roof rising to a point in three places with sections of flat areas in between.
When Tessa was ushered from a spacious entry room into a an even bigger parlour, she was a bit confused. Usually apartment buildings had one long hall with several flights of stairs and an elevator as well as doors lining the hall. Mrs. Saunders laughed quietly, presumably because of Tessa's confused look.
"We knocked out most of the walls. The whole building belongs to us, you see. We wanted to live in the city but have more than an apartment," she explained. They proceeded to give Tessa a tour of the house; there was also the dining room, the drawing room and a great deal many other rooms that Tessa would never use nor remember. Lastly they went to the bedrooms. Tessa was to stay in the one across the hall from Rosamund on the third floor of the house. Nate had neglected to mention that the Saunders were as wealthy as they were. Perhaps he had intended it, but Tessa wished he would have said something. When Mr. Saunders informed Tessa that the cook and the housekeepers, as he called them, were up on the fourth floor, it was all Tessa could do to keep from staring at him in shock.
Eventually, Mr. and Mrs. Saunders left Rosamund and Tessa alone in Tessa's new room. Her suitcase had already been brought up, but Tessa was too busy wondering at the room to notice. The room was at least four times larger than her room in New York had been. One wall was lined with windows looking out over the street where they had come in from. White lace curtains hung down around them, matching the white duvet on the bed. The room itself was painted a pale blue that matched the neatly folded blanket at the end of the bed as well as the embroidered flowers on the large white pillows and the smaller accent pillow in front. Tessa felt as if she were in some sort of fairy tale castle rather than the middle of bustling London.
"Do you like it?" Rosamund asked with a smile as she watched Tessa walk over and look out the windows.
"What kind of a question is that?" Tessa teased, turning to face Rosamund. "Of course I like it!"
"Good," Rosamund nodded with a grin. "Would you like help unpacking?"
"Sure, if you want to," Tessa nodded and walked over to her suitcase which had been set on an ottoman at the foot of the bed. "It shouldn't take very long."
As Tessa had predicted, unpacking and storing her clothes took only half an hour. Afterward, Tessa asked Rosamund some questions about school and, of course, what they did in the summer.
"Well it is different for everyone, but there is a sort of start-of-summer party tomorrow in Hyde park. I thought it would be a good place for you to meet some more people," Rosamund explained.
The thought of a party made Tessa a little nervous. She was not the partying type of girl, and she had no idea what to expect. Even with her worries, however, Tessa agreed to go.
"Oh yay!" Rosamund beamed, giving Tessa the warm feeling that she had made someone truly happy. She couldn't help returning the smile. If everyone in London were as welcoming and kind as the Saunders, Tessa would have nothing to worry about.
