Author's note: This is my first attempt at a modern fanfic (the regency one I tried to do still remains on hiatus unfortunately) Please be forgiving! I'm sorry for the long delay so I made a longer chapter than usual.
Disclaimer: Lalala, all characters and plot references belong to Jane Austen. If I owned them...I not sure what I would do.
Plot Summary: oh my goodness, Lizzy meets Georgiana!
Enjoy!
--
"What is it, my dear," asked James to his wife, who had been moving for the past half hour, staring intently at a piece of paper.
"I can't believe it," Juli stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Can't believe what?" He reached out his hand across the table and grabbed hers. His eyes travelled up the grim lines on her face and looked deep into hers. They stared back – cold and bitter.
"She didn't die recently. I can't believe that worthless piece of sh—"
"Mama," interjected the two children in unison, "don't swear."
"Mary, Chris, could you leave your mother and I alone for now," shooed James, knowing that the conversation following that remark would probably be unsuitable for their children. The boy and girl nodded and rushed out of the room, thumping up the stairs and yelling for first dibs on the computer games.
"What happened, Juli? I thought they were sending you her personal belongings."
"They did, they're in the other room – but they're more than a few years late."
"Late? I don't understand." His wife sighed in exasperation and in response shoved the letter into his hand, gesturing wildly for him to read it.
Bennington and Associates, Barristers & Solicitors
--- Crt. London, England
To Ms. Juliana Simmons
--- Blvd. New York
Ms. Simmons,
Once again, we regretfully send you our condolences on the matter of the passing of Lady Anne Darcy (nee Fitzwilliam) and have included along with the letter the previously mentioned personal belongings now under your ownership as stated in the legacy of the deceased will.
The will was changed several times during Lady Anne's lifetime and the additions remained that you were not to be contacted until the death of Lord Henry Darcy. Again we offer our apologies on the matter of the delay. Lady Anne passed on ---- and Lord Henry on ---- leaving a period of two years before we were legally allowed to acknowledge your part in the will. It has also taken a large amount of time to organize these possessions and locate you as there was no record whatsoever on the exact location, relation or attachment you had with Lady Anne. As a result, for the last five years, we have been unable to pass on what has been you right of ownership.
Once again, we offer our sympathy,
Bennington and Associates
James could now understand the pain his wife was going through, the realization that her dear friend had not only been banned from communication, but had passed away without her knowledge, with this information being withheld for over half a decade.
"Do you need some time alone, my love?" he asked gently, knowing that solace sometimes gave more healing than company. His wife nodded assent and he left quietly to keep the children occupied and the house quiet for the day.
Juli stood slowly, leaning on the table for support and walked into the study where the box sat on her desk waiting to be opened. With sudden violence, she ripped apart the waterproof packing paper and shredded the tape that held the top of the box shut.
Unraveling the first ball of newspaper, she found a fan, a lovely delicate fan that brought back an overwhelming rush of memories.
--
"Oh, I love the regency period," cried Juli dancing around the conference hall decorated in the style, "maybe we'll actually use the practically useless knowledge your mother crammed in our brains."
"What knowledge? Oh, you mean like the fans?"
Juli grinned, pulling from her 'satchel' two matching fans. "For you, my dear," she said as presented it dramatically to her friend, falling on her knees and offering it like a knight with a token for his beloved.
"Oh, get up Juli before you ruin your dress…this is beautiful!"
With instruments in hand, they circled the room when it filled with people, experts and enthusiasts and put them to use. They caught the eyes of a pair of handsome young men tapped their fans. They, nodding in understanding, pulled out plain, masculine counterparts.
Anne held it in front of her face with her left hand and snapped it open. I desire your acquaintance, come and talk to me. Juli giggled when the young men headed over and made their acquaintance.
--
Next, Juli found several diaries in a stack. Clutching them to her chest, she held them dearly as they contained the memories of those missing years of their lives. When she tried to open them however, she found that they were locked. Locked?
''Only with the key to our hearts" was the inscription.
"Happy birthday, Juli," exclaimed Anne, rushing over to her friend, giving her a big hug and a big box brightly wrapped and decorated.
"Oh my Anne, you needn't have," protested Juli. Anne merely shushed her and gestured for her to unwrap the package.
Juli followed the instructions and unwrapped and opened the box onto to find another box.
"Keep going!"
And she did only to find another box and yet another box. "Anne, I'm beginning to wonder if there is actually anything in there."
"Of course there is, how could you doubt it?" Anne replied with a pout.
Juli rolled her eyes and kept unwrapping, finding after the eighth box, a small velvet box. She opened it and gasped. Inside lay a silver necklace with a beautiful lock pendant. She read the inscription on the box:
The key to friendship…
Is not in two people relating,
But in two hearts communicating.
Than you for being that very special friend,
Who understands the key to friendship,
And how to unlock everything within.
Anne then drew out from under her collar a similar necklace with a key pendant. "Tada!" she cried, "the key to our hearts."
Juli groaned and muttered. "That's just too cliché, Anne."
Anne scrunched her nose in reply, "but who doesn't love friendship necklaces?"
True enough.
Could it be? The key to our hearts…the key, thought Juli as she fingered the lock.
--
A tinkling sound caught her attention and she dug to the bottom of the box. There, nestled in bits of packaging Styrofoam laid a familiar music box.
"For you Anne," said Juli, placing a small rectangular cardboard box on the top of the piano, interrupting Anne's playing.
"What is it?" she asked.
"A goodbye gift." Anne saddened, Juli was to leave for the states soon and they were awaiting the bittersweet parting that was destined to happen.
Anne opened it to reveal a miniature grand piano that resembled the one she was currently sitting behind.
"See," said Juli as she took the music box and set it on top of the piano, "big piano, little piano," and they burst out laughing at the stupidity of the comment.
"What's this," asked Anne as she opened the music box and found a mass of tiny plastic flowers.
"Forget-me-nots."
Forget-me-not Anne, forget-me-not.
I shall never forget you.
James came back into the room to see how his wife was doing. They sat together for the rest of the day, comforting each other.
"Hush, my love, it's going to be all right."
--
"Ah Richard, how nice it is to see you again," exclaimed James Bennet as a young man rushed over and caught his attention.
"Same here, sir."
"Sir! How many times have I demanded that you call me James? I will not let my alumni get away with such formality," he broke off his scolding and scanned over his former student assessing him. "So lad, what have you been doing with yourself?"
The 'lad' grinned and shrugged. "You know, all the usual: hanging around trying to find my goal in life," and with a sly look remarked on his professor's married status.
"The bachelor hasn't been one for a good long while now," James scoffed and reached over, rumpling the man's hair in a playful manner. "How about you Richard – with these looks I bet you have all the girls falling at you feet."
"Of course they have!" he cried indignantly, striking a dramatic pose, flicking his mid-length tawny hair back and continued his self-exaltations. "Just who wouldn't? Indeed, I, Richard Fitzwilliam, am the paragon of youth in looks, intelligence and …charm."
James laughed and hit him playfully on the arm, "you haven't changed at all."
"Not a bit," Richard agreed looking thoughtful. "So my dear old professor, how about lunch?"
"If you let me pay then it's a sure thing."
"I would insist, but for old time's sake…and to cater to the old man's whim."
"Watch who you're calling old, mister."
The two men headed off in companionable laughter, departing the campus amidst hordes of student rushing to and from classes and out to lunch. When they arrived at the familiar coffee shop and café just a block down from the campus, the headed over to the back of the store: the tables designated under the unwritten law for the Profs.
"Woah, I can't sit here," protested Richard at the thought of himself, a non-Prof sitting at the designated table.
"Yes you can. Now sit, I'm hungry," insisted James, practically shoving his companion in his seat. "You're no longer in college, these things don't apply."
"I am in college…again."
"Oh? Graduate studies, didn't think that you were the type." Indeed, James did look a bit surprised at that thought. "How is the family taking it?"
The atmosphere in James' classes was unlike the usual. There was a familial quality that cast James as the father figure and the students as his 'flock'. They went to him for guidance in all aspects of life and confided to him their problems. James truly cared for his students, often feeding them dinner and offering any extra help he could provide.
In this way, he knew about Richard Fitzwilliam's family…problems. He had the gist and overall picture of his unluckiness to be cast with a soap opera type family. He kept his background hidden because here in America, to have nobility in your family is a source of awe and reverence, and often an annoyance. He was also cast an almost tyrannical aunt who tried to control him and his brother – his brother already been given up as a lost cause.
"Mom and Dad are fine about it, but I can tell that they truly want me to settle down, find a wife, and live a more stable life. My brother is all the same: he never cares about what I do and I show him that disregard the same way. The only fervent opposition is always, and has always been, Aunt Catherine."
"Still nagging you at every possibility to 'get a life', marry an heiress and live to the honour of the Fitzwilliam name?"
"That's about it," Richard muttered, sighing in frustration.
"How about your ward?" James inquired, deciding to switch off the touchy subject of the aunt. Richard had been granted partial guardianship with the brother of his young cousin after the tragic passing of both the parents.
Richard brightened, the only happier elements of his life was with the people he spent the most time with, Georgiana and her brother Fitzwilliam.
"Georgie's probably being stifled under Fitzie's overprotective gaze, him being the typical overprotective brother he is. But she's growing up into a fine young lady and I suppose that's more than most guardians can ask for."
James never pried into his students' lives, taking only what they could offer. He only knew of Richard's ward as 'Georgie' and her brother 'Fitzie' as his favourite cousins back in England at the family home.
This time, Richard took the initiative and asked after James' family. "And your family – how are your wife and daughters…and son. I've heard of the new family developments. Still getting it on, old man, even in your advanced years?" he commented with a snort.
"Still up and running, pal," James retorted with a leer and the two men collapsed into amused chuckles. "I'll be bringing the family down for a viewing soon enough, gives the chance to view the twins and feed them adoration that they can't seem to get enough of."
"Make sure to give me a call, I'll probably drop by…everyday. I've got nothing to do, waiting for Georgie to show up, and loitering the town loses interest soon enough."
"Sure thing," the older man nodded in reply, "I'm quite positive that you haven't been gone long enough for Jane or Lizzy to forget about their older brother figure."
"Just what I need, two…ragtag girls tagging around me when I'm trying to build a sex idol status around here!"
"Do you think anyone of my handsome qualities could sire supposedly ragtag offspring?" James gasped in dramatic shock, mocking Richard's earlier self-exaltations. "Besides, both of them are flitting around the country these days, not around here much. The next time you'll catch a hold of them will be at the next major Lit function."
"Last I remember, Jane was this angelic little creature and Lizzy a demonic whirlwind character—"
"That's about right, only now our house has a line-up of suitors for Jane and Lizzy has a spitfire of a mind."
"Life must be interesting."
"That it is my dear boy; that it is."
--
"So Char, when do I get to meet this Bill Collins character? It's been almost a year, girl, and I still haven't seen a shadow" asked Lizzy over breakfast one day at the Lucas' house.
"I'll bring you to the next Lit function," answered Charlotte still buried in the morning papers.
"That should be fun."
The two had made up after their little quarrel about the importance of romance in relationships. Lizzy still firmly believed that Charlotte should marry a person she loves, not for the convenience of a stable life, but she kept her opinions to herself and the two were back on friendly terms. "And of course during that time, we're going to start planning for a wedding and going shopping – of course you're coming with me."
"Ugh, let's not."
"Please Lizzy? I want you to be my maid of honour," Charlotte asked, turning to face her friend.
"You want me to be your maid of honour? That's really nice of you, Char, but oh my goodness, I think of all the dress fittings and the preparations and I feel nauseous. I was planning to be an acceptably dressed nobody in a corner, left to do what I pleased."
"Well this time you'll be up there right beside me open to public inspection."
"I can't wait."
True to her word, Charlotte and her mother launched into a flurry of activity and Lizzy found herself booked for shopping expeditions, dress fittings, and salon appointments until her head spun from all the activity.
They sure aren't holding back with the expense, Lizzy remarked to herself during one of the shopping trips. Indeed it seemed as though whenever something caught Charlotte or her mother's eye, a flash of gold appeared and the item was acquired with no consideration over price or need.
She found herself in a dress shop a few weeks later with Maria, Char's younger sister, and a couple of Char's college friends to choose and be fitted for a bridesmaid's dress. As they entered the high-end formal boutique, Lizzy stared at the rows of dress racks and sighed, knowing that it was going to be a long afternoon.
Soon enough, she was thrown into a dressing room with different dresses in an assortment of styles. Charlotte had decided on a colour earlier, which had switched from blue to green to purple before deciding on pink. It was chosen by a squeal of delight emitted by Mrs. Lucas when she set her eyes on a particular shade of apricot.
This apricot colour suited Lizzy's darker colouring and complimented her brown eyes and hair. Maria, however, wasn't so lucky. The pinkish colour clashed rather horribly with her auburn, nearly red, hair and green eyes, but since Charlotte and Mrs. Lucas most definitely approved their choice, apricot it was to be.
Now Lizzy didn't want anything fancy, frilly or attention catching. Since Char pronounced that each bridesmaid dress was to be slightly different, suited to the wearer, she was determined to get a hold of the simplest dress she could find. And this one was perfect – a floor length apricot silk with a bateau neckline. It was simple, unrevealing and modest; something that wouldn't overpower the bride.
"Lizzy, dear, you mustn't worry yourself over the cost of something fancier," assured Mrs. Lucas when she caught her standing there with the selected dress in hand, "Bill has been more than generous and will cover the costs – after all, he can afford to." She looked smug and proud at her daughter's good fortune at snaring such a "good" husband, good referring to the money that he had in his bank account.
Lizzy was lost for a reply but was saved when Charlotte hurried over to inspect her choice. "Don't you think this is just a bit too matronly and modest, Lizzy?" she remarked as she looked over higher than fashionable neckline and sleeves. Coming back with something she thought more appropriate, she showed Lizzy a similar dress but with spaghetti straps and a lower neckline. Mrs. Lucas still looked dubious as this choice was still rather plain and in ways unfashionable.
"Please Lizzy," asked Char, "it's simple, not too revealing and quite pretty. I think this style will suit you much better than the other."
Her mother was about to interject but had her attention called away by Maria who was sporting a monstrosity of beads and sequins.
"Just hold on to this," Char hurriedly shoved the dress into Lizzy's hands, taking her silence as agreement, and dashed off to amend her sister's poor choice. She sighed and tried to remember exactly when the wedding was supposed to be and what the weather would be like then.
It was nearly four in the afternoon by the time Lizzy was measured, fitted, and able to make her excuses to leave the rest of the chattering ladies to their dresses. She wandered the street often stopping to view items from windows that caught her interest. Smelling coffee, she shaded her eyes from the still glaring sun and gazed over to a coffee shop where she headed to purchase one of her beloved lattes.
Her next stop was the park where she wandered around people watching until settling on peaceful bench under a large oak tree. Peaceful, that is, until a small white bundle of fur hurdled down the path and to her, nearly making her spill her drink from the attack. When it calmed down enough for Lizzy to make out what it was, she gasped. "Oh what a little darling you are," she exclaimed. The small dog yipped in agreement.
At the sound of crunching gravel, Lizzy looked up to see a figure dashing down the lane from the distance. She made out the appearance of a young girl, a teenager, who was looking around frantically until heading off in their direction decidedly.
"Oh, I'm sorry," the girl exclaimed in a British accent when she caught sight of Lizzy and the dog, "I've been looking for him everywhere," she explained gesturing at the animal. Between continuous apologies and exhausted pants, Lizzy had invited the girl to share her bench, recover her breath, and struck up a conversation. With her way with people, it was less than half an hour that the two were chatting away like old friends.
"Name's Lizzy," she said with a smile.
"Georgie," was the reply from between two gasps for air.
"Easy there," advised Lizzy, patting the girl's arm in a friendly manner and received a nod in reply.
Soon enough, they moved from the topic of dogs, to school and were comfortably chatting about their lives.
"So do you live around here?" Lizzy inquired, her companion recovered in breath and engaged in the conversation with the same vigour.
"When I'm here it's in this neighbourhood, usually I live across the pond at the family home as you can tell by my accent," Georgie replied.
"This neighbourhood, that's pretty high-end," remarked Lizzy who was looking around at the luxury condominiums and fancy townhouses that lined the streets of this fashionable part of the city. Her companion could only shrug ruefully.
Their flow of speech was later interrupted by the ringing of a cell-phone. Georgie looked apologetic as she whipped out her cell phone and answered it. When she clicked it shut after a minute, she explained that her cousin had called to ask where she was and that she had to go home. Already feeling like old friends, they parted with Georgie remarking that she hoped that they would bump in again into each other before she had to leave for England. : friendship poems
So what do you think?
I actually had this 6000 word chapter (a really big word count for me) all typed up and ready to go, but then I actually sent it to a friend (awin-chan) who oh so kindly proofread the entire thing. She decided that this chapter should be only the first half, so here it is!
I'm terribly sorry for the long…long…long delays. I have this rather unfortunate habit of getting periods of inspiration then most of the time plot bunnies are non-existent. I also tend to get lazy as well…
I love you reviewers! As always, just bring on the suggestions.
trek-elly
Thanks especially to Life-could-be-this and the comments about Collins. I'm working on it!
