Disclaimer: I do not own any own any rights to Pride and Prejudice, they belong to Jane Austen.
Ch. 2
Even though he had arrived late last night, he found himself waking up early. He had always been an early riser, often waking up at dawn. He made his way downstairs, luckily everyone was still asleep. After eating a bowl of cereal, he decided to go for a walk and explore the surrounding lands.
Eventually he came to a small hill and saw a lake in the distance, and made his way to it. When he got there he noticed a horse but no rider and decided to get a closer look. When he approached the horse he stepped on a twig causing it to snap. He heard a noise coming from the lake and saw a girl. She did not say anything; she just kept staring at him. He glanced towards the horse again and saw a pile of clothes folded near him and became embarrassed.
After realizing that she was not going to say anything, he apologized and told her that he did not mean to frighten her. She swam towards the shore and asked him to throw her clothes; she stayed in the lake while he put her clothes on the floor in front of her and turned away. Once she was dressed he got a better look at her. She was at least a head shorter than he was, a little bigger than all of the girls he knew and he could see her curves as her clothes clung to her. She had auburn hair and green eyes, but he thought her to be very plain looking. She apologized as did he again and she thanked him. She mounted her horse and took off. He stayed for a while longer to enjoy the view of the lake and take in the fresh air. As he headed home he did not think too much of the girl other than he realized he had behaved incorrectly. He should have at least gotten her name.
Charlie's parents were awake by the time he got home. Charlie and Louisiana came downstairs as he made himself a cup of coffee. He sat at the table while the others ate breakfast. He was still adjusting to the idea of living with the Bingley's, sure he had stayed over plenty of times but now he would be living with them for a whole year. It was strange for him to be in a family, his mother having passed away 10 years ago, and his father was never home; always too busy with work. He was extremely close to his sister Georgiana who was two years younger than him, but she attended a boarding school in order to help her pursue her talent on the piano.
When the Bingley's told the Darcy's that they were going to move to the country, Mr. Darcy suggested that Will join them so that the boys could finish their senior year together. He knew that his sister-in-law Catherine lived in the city a few miles from the town they were moving to and that she taught at Meryton High. If things did not work out for Will with the Bingley's he could always move in with her. When he informed her that Will would be moving to Meryton it took the promise of several visits from Will and the assurance that he would be placed in one of her classes to convince her that Will should live with his friend. He also knew that his brother-in-law and his wife were going to be traveling later in the year and would most likely leave their son Richard with the De Boughs.
Caroline made her way downstairs and the family broke into conversation while Will stayed his quiet usual self. The doorbell rang, it was the movers and they started to unload the rest of the furniture and boxes. While the family was getting settled, the next door neighbors John Lucas and James Bennet came over to welcome them into the neighborhood and introduce themselves. Mr. Lucas informed the Bingley's that he was hosting a party to welcome them and introduce them to the rest of the block. Mr. Bingley informed them he would not be able to attend but that the rest of the family would be happy to meet the neighborhood. Once Caroline and her mother heard about the party, they made their way to the city to go dress shopping. 'Just because they lived in the country did not mean that they had to dress like it.'
It was the day of the party and Will did not want to go at all. He hated being around people he did not know. People who would pass judgment on them, and he knew that Charlie would make friends with the other kids as soon as he got there, and Will being reserved would be left out. He also dreaded having to deal with Caroline. Every party they had ever attended together she would be there by his side, holding onto his arm as if he belonged to her. Not to mention he always had to dance at least one dance with her otherwise she would complain about it all night. Luckily he would also ask Louisiana in hopes to discourage Caroline, but nothing seemed to work. He remembered trying to hide at a party once but she found him. Now that he lived with her it was much worse. He knew that she did not like him for him; it was his family's money that she wanted. She was just like all the other girls he knew. They just wanted him because he was rich, and his good looks also helped him.
She was bad enough before, but now he could not get away from the constant flirting unless he was with her father. By the time they arrived at the parry, he was in a worse mood. Caroline was hinting that she would not leave his company, and saying that these country people would not live up to their standards. Worse, he received an email from Georgie. Though the email appeared to be on a happy note, he could read between the lines. She was still depressed about Wickham. How he hated that man. He knew that he too was responsible for her misery, had he just told her and his father about Wickham, maybe just a warning, all of their problems with him could have been avoided. He could never forgive himself for what happened to Georgie, remembering that day always made him depressed and angry.
They entered the Lucas house just as a song ended and everyone looked at them and started to whisper. Mr. Lucas was the first to come up and welcome them; he then began to make the introductions with the entire neighborhood. Will could hear whispers of how rich the Bingley's were and he could also hear people whispering about him. Most were asking each other who he was, and he was surprised that some actually knew. They also seemed to know that he came from a wealthy family. He looked around and noticed that the mothers were fixing their daughters hair and checking to see if their makeup was fine. He even noticed some of the girls lowering their dresses.
"Have to look your best; those boys are rich and cute, try to get them to dance with you." Could be heard throughout the mothers but he seemed to be the only one to notice.
Will wished he could just ignore them, but he could not. He felt his temper rising and in comparison to the Bingley's he looked unfriendly and snobbish. By the time Mr. Lucas lead them to his daughter Charlotte, his wife and another woman with two girls Will was past caring who he was being introduced to. He heard everyone's name but did not bother to look at them. Charlotte and Louisiana began to talk and Caroline joined them all walking to the refreshment table. The mothers started talking amongst themselves and Charlie immediately asked the prettier of the sisters to dance, leaving him alone with Elizabeth. She asked him if liked to dance and he answered that he did not. She then asked if he liked the town and he replied that it was fine for a town in the country. After several more attempts, she eventually left and he was happy to finally be alone. He made his way to the wall and just observed everyone.
Half an hour had passed and he was still standing alone. He wished he had brought his own car, but then again he was living with them now. Charlie finally spotted him and came over to try and get him to dance. He tried to tell Charlie that he was not in the mood, but was interrupted. Trying to convince him to dance with Jane's sister Elizabeth, he glanced at her. He had seen her throughout the night by herself mostly. Just to get Charlie off his back he said the first thing that popped into his head. Charlie got the hint and left, and he watched as Lizzie pass him and make her way to Charlotte. He could see her laughing, both of them looking at him. It was then he looked at her for the first time. He regretted what he said. In fact he hadn't really looked at her at all. But there was something familiar about her, he couldn't figure it out. He realized though that she was quite beautiful when she laughed. Her eyes sparkled.
He spent the rest of the night to himself, wondering what time the party would end. For him it couldn't come soon enough, especially when Caroline made her way to him. She wrapped her arm around his and held on tightly. Why couldn't she just leave him alone? It was a miracle that he had avoided her this long. The whole time she was hinting for a dance with him. Realizing he wasn't going to budge, she started to criticize everyone.
He caught himself looking at Elizabeth several times. At the end of the song, he made his way to where Charlie, Jane, Elizabeth and Mrs. Bennet were standing. As he got closer he heard Mrs. Bennet calling Charlotte 'rather plain.' Elizabeth was trying to make her be quiet. When he got there, Mrs. Bennet was boasting to Charlie how beautiful Jane was. 'She was the most beautiful girl in her class. Both Jane and Lizzie blushed with embarrassment. The next dance started and everyone disassembled.
Darcy just kept to himself the rest of the night. When they finally did arrive home everyone went straight to bed. As Darcy settled in, he could not stop thinking about Elizabeth's sparkling brown eyes.