Ok, so there was a question of guest about the occupations and ages of the characters. Well, you already know Mrs Bennet's and Jane's occupation. I hinted very strongly at Mr Bennet's and Lizzie's occupations and for more details you will just have to wait, it was after all, only the first chapter.
All my thanks go to my Beta LMFG, once again, who has taken on the difficult task of correcting all my mistakes. Commas … pesky little things! ^^ All mistakes that remain are mine and mine alone, and you can't have them!
As always, please R&R.
"I am so sorry you weren't able to work on your paper, Lizzie!" Jane apologized for the umpteenth time. The two sisters sat side by side at the fountain at the marketplace of Meryton, waiting. From afar, the two couldn't look more different. Where Jane was all blond and delicate femininity with her baby blue summer dress, and the intricate hairdo Lizzie was dark haired athleticism in old jeans and a washed-out shirt.
"Jane!" Lizzie called half amused, half exasperated. "Did you force Mom, Lyddie and Cathy to raid your closet?"
"No, but ..."
"Or did you force our mother to be obsessed with every rich man that comes to the neighborhood? At least, this time she is trying to set you up with a guy your own age!"
"Lizzie, she only wants what's best for us," her sister gently reprimanded her.
"No, she wants what she thinks is best for us! Big difference! We don't need men!"
Jane hesitated for a moment "But, honestly, I would like to have a boyfriend," she finally almost whispered.
Lizzie had to bite back a smile. "And you will! One day, you will find the perfect man, and you will be perfectly happy and have perfect little children." She patted Jane's hand. "I'm not saying it wouldn't be nice to date a good looking, intelligent, responsible and mature guy," she continued, "but what you need, is a job that pays enough so you can actually do more than just exist, and I need to finish my studies and hopefully find a job so I can finally move out! Men are a nice bonus, not a necessity!"
A snort interrupted them. "Nicely put!"
"Char!" Lizzie called and hugged her best friend excitedly.
"Hello, Charlotte, so good to see you." Jane smiled at the other woman.
"Hey, Jane. So, what brought this on?" she asked and joined the sisters at the fountain.
"Don't tell me you haven't heard?!" Lizzie called in an overly excited voice. "I never thought the day would come when I, the unimportant daughter of a lowly writer, would have news before the daughter of the mayor!" dramatically, she reached against heaven. "I will forever remember this day!"
"Lizzie." Jane said with an indulgent smile. "The people are already looking." And indeed, several people at the nearby cafe had stopped their conversations and watched the small group curiously.
Lizzie stopped her antics and laughed. "Well, dear Charlotte, let me inform you. Apparently Jane's future husband is going to move to the neighborhood very soon."
"Ah, Charles Bingley," her friend nodded in understanding.
"Oh, come on, you already knew?!" Lizzie complained playfully.
"Jup, he had dinner at our place last night."
"Oh, Mom made it sound like he's moving here next week," Jane said.
"He is. Until then, he's staying in New York. Apparently, his sisters want to do some shopping," Charlotte informed them.
Lizzie snorted. "Of course, they do. Can't expect the high society to spend their precious money in our lowly, little town."
Jane's phone signaled a new message and effectively ended the conversation. "Ginny says she is running late, and we should meet her at the bridal shop," the elder Bennet sister reported.
Jane led the way with Charlotte and Lizzie following close behind, arm in arm. "Now, tell me again, why I'm brides maid at your cousin's wedding?" Lizzie complained.
"Because your mom is scary!" her best friend called.
Lizzie contemplated for a moment. True. Alison Bennet was a force of nature, and if she had set her mind to something, it was impossible to deny her. Shuddering, she remembered two weeks ago when her mother had informed her of her new duty as a bridesmaid to a girl, who had deeply despised her during high school, because one of the original bridesmaids couldn't make it. But just one of those really special looks her mother would give her once in a while, and she had crumbled.
"Yes, but why me? She hates me!" Lizzie hissed, carefully, so Jane wouldn't hear her.
"True. But you're pretty, and the dress is going to fit." Charlotte grinned.
"Urgh. Tight, uncomfortable dresses. Shoes I can't walk in. This will be hell!"
"Don't forget ugly!" Charlotte added. "A bride's prerogative is to make her bridesmaids look ridiculous. Wait till you see what fabric Ginny chose!"
Lizzie winced, fearing the worst.
"Look at it like this. At least, we will suffer together!" Charlotte laughed and dragged the whining Lizzie into the shop.
The rest of the bridal party was already gathered. Twelve bridesmaids and one bride waiting for their dresses. All overdressed and with annoyingly high pitched voices. Lizzie and Charlotte stood out like a sore thumb with their old washed out clothes and unkempt hair. Discreetly, they made their way to the side of the room.
"Now, tell me about our Mr. Bingley! No, wait, don't tell me! He is a rich snob, who looks down on everyone poorer than him, despite the fact that he doesn't work himself and only lives of his family's wealth."
Charlotte just looked at her speechless.
"He pushed around your mom's cooking on his plate but didn't eat anything, because he only eats organic food prepared by three star cooks. He's probably a hipster!" Lizzie suggested excitedly, she was definitely beginning to have fun.
Her best friend snorted again.
"No? Which part?" Lizzie asked.
"Basically all of it. He was very polite and friendly. He got along great with John and they talked half the night about computer games. He ate everything and even asked for seconds. And he's definitely not a hipster. I would say his style is more sporty elegant." Charlotte corrected.
"But he is a lazy rich boy?" Lizzie asked almost hopeful.
Charlotte shock her head. "Pediatrician."
"Seriously! At least, tell me he is ugly!" No! The man couldn't possibly be perfect. There had to be some flaw!
"Sorry. Objectively speaking, he is good looking," the other woman shrugged.
"What you're telling me is, Mr. Bingley is good looking, rich, charming, and good with kids?!" Lizzie was definitely disappointed.
"Pretty much, yes," her friend agreed. "Why are you so determined to find fault with him before even meeting him, anyway?"
"Because Mom will try to push one of us, probably Jane, onto him. I hate it when she plays matchmaker! And it's far easier to ignore her when the guy is actually an asshole and completely unacceptable. But this Bingley guy might actually be a pretty good fit for Jane … God, Mom will be insufferable!" Lizzie groaned.
Charlotte smirked. "Look, they're bringing the dresses!"
Lizzie turned around and groaned again. Her worst nightmares coming true! A mountain of frill and ruffles greeted them. "Why does the world hate me, Charlotte? We will look utterly ridiculous, like sick orange muffins."
"Don't tell me you don't like orange," Charlotte asked ironically.
"Oh, orange is fine as long as it doesn't come in combination with tons of frill and ruffles and … oh my God, are those blue belts?!"
"And shoes." Charlotte added, highly amused by her friend's misery. "Look at Jane," she advised.
Kind and sweet Jane stood with the bride and tried desperately not to cringe at the dresses in front of her while the other women around her all gushed excitedly.
"Poor Jane. I dread wearing the dress, and I have absolutely no style. Imagine how hard it has to be for someone with such natural elegance as her." Lizzie contemplated.
"Lizzie! Charlotte! Come, it's your turn!" Ginny called.
Sighing, the two women joined the rest of the group. Two shop employees ushered them away and into the changing rooms.
"Oh, my God. Ladies! Have you heard?!" Ginny's shrill voice filled the shop. "Apparently, Charles Bingley from that famous hotel group is going to spend the summer in Meryton!"
Lizzie grimaced. The joys of the small town: gossip, gossip and, wait for it ... more gossip. She doubted there would be any other topic than Charles Bingley for the foreseeable future.
"Jane! Maybe you should try to snatch him. After all, you're not getting any younger and good man don't fall from the sky! Especially after you broke up with that Michael guy."
Lizzie hissed in anger. What the hell?! Michael had been a disgusting snake, and it had taken Lizzie and Charlotte almost a month to convince Jane that a guy who constantly called her, controlled her every move, and shouted at her every time she as much as looked at another man wasn't worth her time. Just because he had been decently looking and had had a good job, everybody had expected Jane to just live with that. To this day, her mother blamed Lizzie for the break-up. A blame Lizzie took willingly. And besides: This was the 21st century! A woman wasn't on the shelf just because she had passed the big two! Hell! The freaking shelf didn't exist anymore! Damn! She needed to get out of this city! And fast!
She was so lost in her inner rant, she didn't hear the shop employee speaking to her at first.
"Excuse me, what was that?"
"Just the shoes and you are finished," the lady repeated.
Reluctantly, Lizzie slipped inside of the marine blue high heels and studied herself in the mirror. Dear Heaven! She looked ridiculous! She was almost drowning in orange ruffles, and the blue shoes and belt didn't make it better, at all. The colors bit each other so hard Lizzie was worried she might get sick from looking at herself!
"Are you ready?" the shop lady asked.
Sighing, Lizzie agreed and stepped out of the changing room. She exchanged an unhappy look with Charlotte, who looked equally ridiculous.
"OH!" Ginny squealed. "Perfect! Just the way I wanted it to be!"
The other women fell right in line. With varying degrees of honesty, they declared their admiration. Jane was the last to approach them. Her face showed a mixture of dread and pity.
"You look …" she hesitated.
"You can admit it, Jane. We look hideous!" Lizzie said.
"No, Lizzie! You know, you're beautiful … it's just … these colors might not be the best choice for the two of you." Jane finally admitted.
"It's actually quite fascinating!" Charlotte studied herself in the mirror. "People always say there is always someone who looks good in clothes, but, honestly, I think Ginny might have found the one color combination and cut that will suit none of us."
"Fascinating?" Lizzie asked incredulously.
"Yes, you know, from an artist's point of view anyway." her friend said a bit defensively. "It's like a horrible car crash. You don't want to see it, but you can't really look away either!"
The Bennet sisters stared at her speechless.
Eventually Jane started to giggle.
"That will be great comfort! I'll just remind myself I'm an accident!" Lizzie replied dryly.
Charlotte's prediction should prove to be correct. None of the twelve women, despite their different sizes and shapes, looked remotely good in the dresses. Not even Jane was able to pull it off. And so the day ended with Lizzie dreading the wedding on the next weekend and without having written a single sentence for her paper. Before she went to bed, she send a heartfelt prayer to heaven that the bridal shop might burn down before the wedding and with it all the dresses.
Just for clarification, I love marine blue and bright orange as colors! Just not together! If you don't know what I'm talking about I suggest you google complementary colors. ^^