AN: This chapter has been written by Darcy, who is far less comfortable with her style and has far more trouble writing dialogue, so she's essentially avoided using any. Be warned.
Darcy here! Eli needs a break from typing this up, so I've taken over for a little while. I'm really uncertain about how I should continue this, but in the tradition of Eli, I'm going to skip to our next meeting, with a short explanation of what happened beforehand.
I'd come home to find, despite my slight concerns, everything in order at home. Don't get me wrong, I trust Reynolds with everything, but I was leaving an awful lot with him and I know that it had driven me to despair. I was so happy to see my sweet sister Georgiana and my goofball cousin Richard. Reynolds was happy to see me and Georgiana and I settled back into our old routines at home, with the significant change that I was actually spending time with her, which I think we both needed. Gigantic age gap aside, (I was about 28, while she was 16), Georgiana and I have always been very close. Our relationship isn't exactly normal; I've had a tendency to slip into 'mother mode' ever since our father died, but it is a strong one. Things were looking up, barring one thing. I kept on thinking about Elijah.
I know, what was I expecting? Of course, Georgiana picked that something up pretty quickly and I eventually had to confess to her and of course she told Richard. Apparently coming back from Australia pining over a young man was just the most exciting thing ever. A very young man, according to Georgiana. She was actually rather scandalised. I guess an age gap of roughly seven years is a little unusual, but I think Eli was forced to mature fast in such a large household.
There were a lot of questions, most of which I tried to avoid out of embarrassment. Nevertheless they still got a lot of information about Eli; mostly about him standing up to Caroline, or him being willing to watch old science fiction with me, or his humour and love of books. I think Georgie was a little in awe of him after that first one, since she used to find Caroline rather intimidating.
Richard somehow got the idea that Eli was some sort of well muscled surfer, which I still think is hilarious. I really don't know how he got that one wrong. I think I might have told Georgiana more details than I ever told him, probably because she didn't tease me mercilessly for it.
Eventually however, interest in Eli faded away. I was busy running Pemberley. There was plenty going on too; garden tours, wedding bookings and corporate programs all need somewhere to happen and an old country estate has a certain glamour. Georgiana was enjoying her new school, which was close enough to home she could come home in the evenings.
The year went on as it always had. I visited my aunt Catherine and was amazed when I found that Charlotte was sitting at the table. I'm sure you remember how Eli mentioned she'd moved to England with her husband. I'd always valued her for her intelligent conversation, even if Colin was somewhat lacking in that department.
It was roughly a year before I saw Eli again and he was as shocked as one might expect. Aunt Catherine had asked me to assist her sort out Rosings' future. Rosings was once one of the largest estates in England, but after World War 2 the government instituted. The De Bourghs, Catherine's side of the family, had practically all of their funds wiped out.
The wealth estates like Pemberley and Rosings have traditionally relied upon, that of tenant farming and trade, back in the days of the British Empire, have long dried up. Essentially, all you're left with is a large, expensive house, which is typically needing maintenance and a tonne of other upkeep costs.
Rosings wasn't doing as well as Pemberley, mostly since Aunt Catherine was always unwilling to adapt. Father had seen a new way forward and accepting it, albeit begrudgingly, but Sir Lewis, Catherine's husband, was appalled by the idea of turning his family home into something else. Catherine held on for a long time, too long sadly. After she died last year Anne decided to sell the house, finding it too much to handle and I really don't blame her. I don't think anyone could have saved Rosings, even if they'd started ten years earlier with ten times the money. I'm sorry for Anne. I know she's still sad about losing her home.
Okay, Eli's always been good at writing down our conversations, even though I'm certain he mustn't remember every detail. Even so, he has a talent for keeping it true to events. Truth be told, I don't feel so confident, but I promised Eli I'd try. If this comes out as mush, I'll ask him to rewrite this next bit.
Catherine had a tendency to not require two people in a conversation, not to speak ill of the dead. I remember being frustrated with her. We'd been talking about the estate earlier and she'd shut down all of my ideas while bringing none of her own to the table, so I hadn't really been listening to much of the conversation over dinner. I only dropped back into the conversation when I heard Eli's name mentioned.
"Elijah Bennet?" I asked.
I remember Aunt Catherine glaring at me for obviously not listening. "Yes, he is staying with Colin and his wife. Do you know the boy?"
Catherine always had a talent for using words like 'boy' as insults, ladening them with all sorts of meaning.
"Yes, we met while I was on holiday. He always seemed an intelligent young man." I didn't like how my aunt was talking about him.
"He cannot be considered a proper young man," said Catherine. "What kind of person grows their hair out and dyes it blue? I believe such things are the sign of a person who does not care enough for what people think of them."
I remember saying something defensive about Eli's hair. I know I mentioned what excellent condition it was in, but aside from that, I was too embarrassed and angry to remember much else. What I do remember is the expression on her face. I think she developed suspicions about my feelings for Eli fairly soon after that. I know she did like him to an extent. He is very diverting and is one of the few people I haven't seen bend under my Aunt's pressure.
However, she didn't like the attention Anne and I paid him. He wasn't the 'right sort'. She used to call him 'common' and 'unkempt'. I spent a lot of my time quietly seething and was very relieved when Richard arrived later that week.
At this point I still hadn't seen Eli again and had resolved to avoid doing so, in the hopes that my feelings wouldn't come back in full force, but of course that was never going to last. Charlotte learnt of my presence at Rosings and invited me and my cousin for dinner. I remember finding it bizarre at the time, but I now know Charlotte's reasons.
So, I ended up having dinner with Eli. I feel uncomfortable trying to write our conversation down, as I barely remember any of it due to how flustered I was. What I do remember and still find funny is Richard's first reaction to Eli.
He'd been teasing me about my hunky boy toy all the way there in the car, but when he stopped when he stepped into the house and was introduced to Eli. I remember him taking it all in; 5'4'', waist length (electric) blue hair, numerous piercings and the hint of a tattoo poking out from under one sleeve. I think he stood their staring for a good thirty seconds.
"I do tricks too," said Eli as he introduced himself, which got a laugh at Richard's expense from Charlotte and a glare from Colin. He needn't have bothered however, Richard took it in good stride and they got along famously after. Also, Richard became far less mocking of me liking Eli after that. I find it odd that my military minded cousin was more accepting of a small metal head than a 'hunky' surfer, but he was and I was glad of it.
I'm sorry this is all just a wall of text but I find writing this difficult. I'm afraid I've gone off on a few tangents as well. I promise that Eli should be back for the next post. He should be able to give you more detail and less of whatever this is.