"Why do I always have to deal with the peak hour traffic? And of all times!" Elizabeth punched the horn again and a cacophony of impatience echoed after. Elizabeth had just delivered her last package of the day and decided to drive straight to the restaurant so she would not be late but see what happens? She was meeting a guy at a restaurant as apparently, she needed to get out and find a boyfriend as constantly chastised by her mother.

"Lizzy, you wouldn't believe what surprise I have gotten for you!" Mrs Bennet squealed over the phone that morning despite the fact that Elizabeth had only picked it up after three missed calls. Rolling her eyes, Elizabeth braced herself for the worst. One for one spa massage? A "new" pair of jeans from the thrift store? Twenty discounted bottles of cranberry jam? Mrs Bennet was very cheapskate, hence her desperation to marry her daughters off.

"Well...?" Elizabeth certainly did not want to fuel her mother's excitement by playing along with her guessing games.

"Alright, I'll tell you. do you remember Sir William? Because of his friend's brother's boss's nephew, I managed to clinch a blind date for you with the renowned Mr Darcy!"

"Sorry, who again?" Mrs Bennet had way too many connections for Elizabeth to remember.

"Silly girl! He's a commanding officer in the navy force! I still remember he looked so dashing in that maroon suit..." Mrs Bennet gushed as Elizabeth started formulating an acceptable excuse to reject her mother.

"Sorry mum, it appears that I'm busy with deliveries today. Maybe another time?" Another time means never but I'm not going to say that out loud.

"Lizzy! How many times do I have to tell you?! Women need not work so hard! Your duty is to find a good and rich husband, bear children and take care of the house! Why jeopardise your chances of marriages with that meagre salary you getー"

"Mum! Stop turning this into another lecture about my job! I enjoy what I do with Charlotte and that's all that matters to me." Ugh, Mum always condemns my job. What's wrong with working for myself? Elizabeth knew it wasn't a very glamorous job to be proud of, but she had already been rejected by too many companies, leaving her no choice but to set up an online delivery service with her best friend, Charlotte. Sighing, Elizabeth decided the easier way to end this tiresome conversation was to simply yield to her mother's requests. Not that she was planning to take the date seriously, but desperate women called for desperate measures to deal with them.

"Alright, Mum, I'll go for the blind date with Mr whoever. Please send me the address and time afterwards." A yell of happiness erupted before Elizabeth hung up quickly.

Elizabeth's phone chimed immediately and five messages from "Mum" popped up on her notification screen. Elizabeth's eyes glazed over the details. 6pm reservation for 2 at the Greenwood Fish Market. 34/38 Greenwood Ave. DO NOT BE LATE. Not on my watch.

Famous late words indeed. She cursed herself repeatedly as the cars crawled forward at a pace slower than her mother's running. That was saying a lot as the only exercise her mother did was running up to single men and jumping to conclusions. Elizabeth checked the map displayed on her phone and it indicated that there was one more junction left to cross before she could turn into an alley and leave the congested street. The red 6.30pm flashing at the top of her dashboard seemed to be gloating at her. This was going to take a while.

"Good evening, I have a 6pm reservation for 2. My name is Elizabeth but I think my friend is already inside though." Elizabeth pulled on her coat as she haphazardly dashed over towards the neon blue fish sign. The waiter standing outside the door bowed and checked his clipboard before shaking his head.

"I'm very sorry, Miss but there is no Elizabeth on our reservation list. I'm afraid you got the wrong time and date." The waiter gave her an eerie smile and the long queue of customers glared at her as if she wanted to cut their queue under the pretence of a reservation. Damn, what was that guy's name again? Elizabeth racked her brains and tried to rewind the conversation with her mother but it was to no avail. With a heavy heart, Elizabeth was about to call her mother and announce the tragic news when an impeccably-dressed man came out of the restaurant.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Miss Bennet. Let me show you to our table." He extended a hand out to Elizabeth who stared at it in shock. The creepy waiter and the surrounding customers glanced at the man, then to Elizabeth and back to the man.

"Please, Miss Bennet, follow me in before we freeze out here." Am I in an alternate universe? She was led by the hand into the warmer interior of the restaurant and whispers rose around her as both of them made their way towards the back. A huge chandelier hung from above and the furniture was antique yet possessed a certain level of grandiose. A talented pianist sat before a grand piano, producing soft mellow tunes. Waiters and waitresses around were serving out bowls of appetisers from silver trays they expertly balanced on their arms. Approaching a lone round table for two, the man pulled out her chair before sitting back down on his own.

"I ordered a basket of truffle fries just now and they are pretty good. Try one." the man popped a fry into his mouth before pushing the basket towards her. At this moment, a waiter came over and the man passed her a menu which Elizabeth gingerly accepted. Elizabeth's eyes were scanning the menu but she could not comprehend the words at all. What was happening? Could this man truly be the one she was supposed to meet? Was any of this real at all?

Sensing that Elizabeth was still stuck in her stupor, the man suggested one of his favourite dishes, the seafood linguine. Finally returning to her senses, Elizabeth shook her head gently and asked for a mixed green salad instead. She had already lost her appetite amid the frenzy of horns and the sudden kindness from a stranger. I already embarrassed myself enough for arriving an hour late, I don't want to risk throwing up this expensive food onto him. Besides, the food here was way too extravagant for me. even my salad costs more than 10 bucks. After the waiter left, an awkward silence ensued for a while before the man broke it, of course.

"Are you alright, Miss Bennet? You look rather pale. if you are not feeling well, I can send you home this instant." Elizabeth raised her eyes to meet his and was startled at the concern radiating from him.

"No, I am fine sir. Thank you for your concern. But may I ask who are you and how do you know my name?" A timid voice escaped Elizabeth as she did not want to sound ungrateful.

"Hmm... let's just say I heard you explaining yourself to the waiter outside so I decided to spare you from his interrogation." the man clasped his hands together and leaned forward, speaking in a low tone. Elizabeth blinked.

"So... you are not my blind date?"

"What blind date?" It was now the man's turn to look confused.

"Actually... I was supposed to be having a blind date tonight. but I accidentally forgot what the guy's name was so the waiter did not allow me to enter." Elizabeth smiled sheepishly. She thought she saw something flash across the man's face but it disappeared as soon as it came.

"... I see. It's no big deal, I'm sure the guy would have probably continued on with his dinner by now. At least I'm lucky enough to have a new companion for my dinner tonight." The man gave Elizabeth a charming smile and she almost melted into her chair, swooning internally. Blushing, Elizabeth began introducing herself properly and engaged in a lively conversation with the man. She told the man about her job, her insistent mother, her amazing older sister, Jane while he just listened on and made a few inquiries.

"...so my mother really wants me to get married. Tonight's blind date was even set up by her! I hate meeting random men who I have completely no idea about, like the one I was supposed to meet tonight." At this, the man coughed and Elizabeth continued.

"if my mother asks about it, I'm just going to take you as my blind date."

After Elizabeth finished her salad (and a forkful of seafood linguine), she stood up and excused herself to visit the bathroom. When she entered the bathroom, the gossiping and giggling died off instantly and she was met with two women putting on makeup while another stood awkwardly by their side. The women eyed her and Elizabeth quickly entered one of the cubicles. Not before long though, the women resumed their chatting.

"Did you hear that..."

"Oh my! Is he actually in this restaurant right now..."

"But I thought I saw him walk to the door..."

"He came back in! But with another woman..."

"Do you think he is still here..."

"Hurry, let's go before it's too late..."

There was a slam of the toilet door after which Elizabeth came out cautiously. What were those women doing? She picked up a fallen bottle of face cleanser from the ground and headed out to return it to the women. Thankfully, they did not go far. Elizabeth spotted them near the entrance and approached them with the bottle in her hand.

"Are you kidding me? We just missed him!"

"It's all your fault, Mary! If you ran after us faster, we would have been able to meet him already!"

"Show's over. Kitty, Lydia, time to go home."

These women are really scary. Elizabeth inched closely to them and handed the bottle to them before rushing back to her table. To her utter dismay, the man was gone. Damn, I forgot to ask for his name and his number! To think that I would actually consider a random guy who saved me...

Elizabeth cursed herself for being so talkative during dinner but stopped as she saw a small note pressed under the miniature candle on the table.

"Thank you for the wonderful dinner, Miss Elizabeth. You were such an amiable companion and I hope you enjoyed my company as well. Perhaps you would be able to find a boyfriend if you were less tardy for your blind date?

~Mr Darcy."

"Excuse me, a lady has just fainted here! Someone, please call the ambulance!"