It is a truth universally acknowledged that a Bennet in possession of electricity will go absolutely mental with delight and horror. Though when the discovery of this truth first came upon me all I saw was a a young, deranged women going insane over my desk lamp. At first this didn't bother me all that much, I work at a living history museum in Sturbridge, Massachusetts and some of the actors get a little to attached to their roles. Auditions were next week, perhaps she had snuck in to the employee's building to take a look at the costumes or practice or make a horrible, but in her mind excellent, first impression.
"Miss, guests aren't allowed in here." Maybe she was lost, maybe this would scare her into sanity.
"This is quite amazing, what do you call it?" She spoke with a extremely English accent and continued staring at my lamp and tugging at the pull chain.
"A lamp, I'm sorry but auditions are not until Saturday, you'll have to come back then." I tried to keep calm, after a year working here I have learned that actor and lunatic are synonyms.
"A lamp." She grinned "And where am I? I seem to have traveled and your name, I must have your name."
"You are in Sturbridge, Massachusetts in America and my name is Amelia Towne." I gave her my characters name, it's best not to have lunatics knowing your name.
"Well it is a pleasure to meet you Miss Towne," She executed a perfect curtsey, most girls took a day to learn how to curtsey properly. Lunatic or no we might need her. "My name is Elizabeth Bennet, but you may call me Lizzie."
"Oh," It all made sense now I have this continuing argument with my friend Jennifer that the only reason Lost in Austen lasted over an hour was that Amanda Price made Caroline Bingley look like an intellectual. This was a prank. Lizzie, in the future, amused by lights, it was just Jennifer mocking me and the movie. "Jennifer put you up to this, didn't she?"
"What on Earth is a Jennifer?" The actress asked 'shocked' by the 'modern name'
"Okay, awesome, this has been great, but I don't want you to get in trouble so you should probably go home."
"Of course." She curtseyed and turned to leave, into the cupboard that we stored the winter cloaks in.
"Wrong book, Miss Bennet or are you Miss Pevensie now?" At this point I was pretty much done with anything and everything this woman had to say, "The door is over here."
"That may be, but this is the door I entered from."
"Okay, I really don't know what your playing at anymore," She opened the closet, "There is a solid wall behind that and office behind the wall." She stepped in a shoved the cloaks aside. "Look, please just..." She opened the back of the closet. She opened the back of the closet and there was no wall, there were stacks of hay and fading sunlight and English mist.
"What the fuck!" Not the most ingenious thing to say in 1813, Lizzie stared at me with a look like I had stolen her cat and shot Charlotte Lucas. I apologized for my 'foul tongue' and Lizzie dragged me out of what was apparently a barn towards Longbourne, Longbourne, and the only thought in my mind was that she looked much more like Keira Knightley than Jennifer Ehle. Upon entering Longbourne you could here Lydia and Kitty Bennet, two completely fictional characters, screaming over a bonnet, Mrs. Bennet whining to her husband, Mary playing piano extremely poorly. Lizzie pushed me up the stairs and into her room and locked the door surprising the hell out of a young blonde sitting by the window who could have only been Jane Bennet.
"Jane!" Lizzie let out a hushed shriek, "I need to use the room, please go down stairs, please, go, go, go." After literally shoving her sister down the stairs Lizzie turned to me, "Are you insane?"
"Me! Insane! You go gallivanting around Sturbridge pretending it's regency England and I am insane!"
"Well to me it appears that you go gallivanting around Hertfordshire pretending it's America and swear like sailor in my father's barn." There are tears in her eyes, she's just as scared as me, "And what do you mean regency England?"
"It's what this time period is called, somewhere between 1810 and 1820."
"And what time period are you from if not this one?"
"I don't know they're not named until after they're over, I'm from 2013." She reached out and took my hand.
"I don't think either of us are insane, Amelia."