Netherfield was abuzz with house guests for Bing Lee's neighborhood dinner. Being the ever accommodating and attentive host, Bing himself made rounds through the dining room, entertainment lounge and foyer to greet and chat with the different couples and individuals who had so graciously decided to stop by his home for the casual banquet. He did this all the while checking in with Darcy who made little conversation in these 'contrived situations' as he would describe it and hid out near the dining room bar. As Bing ping ponged from room to room he was constantly looking over his shoulder toward the main door, awaiting the remainder of his guests and particularly eager for the arrival of a young lady who had received his special floral invitation.

Caroline, who wore the façade of benevolent host as well as her low-back Prada cocktail dress keep her smile as she addressed her brother in the wide door frame between the entry way and the living room. Her voice had a sing-songy quality to it as she spoke through the side of her teeth, face remaining perfectly pleasant.

"Bing, you're going to need a chiropractor if you keep jerking your head around like that!"

"What? Oh, sorry." He turned to her, adjusting his suit jacket nervously. "I'm waiting for Jane to get here."

"Oh really, I couldn't tell." Caroline slipped in an eye roll, taking a small sip from her wine glass. "Could you at least try to hide that forlorn puppy dog expression? Your guests—" She smiled and gave a partial wave toward two woman who passed by on their way to the dining room "-might start getting the idea you staged this whole soirée for one particular visitor. Oh wait."

Bing shook his head dismissively at her words. "You know that's not true. Am I excited to see Jane again? Of course. But I am just as excited to get to know the rest of my guests equally well. Like Miss Lu!" He announced her name as Charlotte emerged from the left side of the foyer—the dinning room—a fresh drink in hand.

"Hello!" She responded pleasantly, her brow bouncing up in surprise. Bing approached her, Caroline following suit across the shiny hardwood floor. Charlotte subconsciously smoothed a hand over her indigo dress as they came forth.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Bing queried with genuine interest and Charlotte smiled and nodded in reply.

"Yes, I am! You have a lovely home."

"Thank you! Half the reason I bought it was so I could host get togethers like this. I'm so glad I am able to make use of all this space!"

"It is a lot of space!" Charlotte chimed agreeably, glancing around at the spiraling staircase, the sparkling chandelier, the regal mirror and the elegant table beneath it adorned with candles and a crystal bowl of potpourri. "I like what you've done with the entry way décor!"

"That would be thanks to Caroline's expertise," Bing patted his sister's shoulder and she bowed her head at the praise.

"Well, Bing here had final say on the lounge which is why we have a projector sized plasma and a leather sofa." Caroline said with a laugh. "Very bachelor pad-esque. I figured the foyer should have some sort of elegance to it since it is the first thing our house guests will see upon entry."

"Speaking of house guests, Charlotte, do you know when your friend Lizzie and her sister will be stopping by?" Bing's voice lifted slightly when he said the word sister and Caroline's eyes found the ceiling.

"I'm not positive, but I'm sure they will be here any minute." Charlotte's voice was reassuring and Bing smiled at her.

"Great!"

Caroline interrupted the exchange, already bored with the direction of conversation. "Well, if you two will excuse me I need to refresh my drink." She bowed her head in parting, only letting her smile slip once her head was turned away. She found Darcy adding ice to a matured scotch at the bar, his red pinstripe bowtie the same shade of scarlet as the regal dining room wallpaper.

"Can you believe the company we're forced to intermingle with in this town? I heard a man in the other room ask why the dip was black as he shoveled three spoonfuls of caviar onto his cracker."

"You're a long way from home, Dorothy." Darcy replied shifting his eyes to her as he took a sip of his scotch. She poured herself another glass of wine before muttering a response.

"Yeah, if only three clicks of my Dior stilettos would transport me back, you'd have received my postcard by now." She turned to survey the room while taking a sip of her drink. The two women who had passed beforehand were chatting animatedly on the other side of the dining table with an effeminate man. As they all shrieked with laughter little droplets of their drinks sprayed from their mouth and both Caroline and Darcy grimaced from their spot leaned against the mahogany alcohol cabinet.

"And this is the dining room!" Bing's voice rang as he entered, one hand placed on the small of Jane Bennet's back as he led her into the room, the other holding a plate wrapped in aluminum. Jane smiled shyly as she glanced around at the finery of the set and doily clothed table while Bing walked her toward the bar. "You remember my sister Caroline and friend Darcy from the wedding?"

"Of course! It's so good to see you both again." Jane lifted her hand in a small wave and Caroline put on a friendly expression in greeting, eyes quickly casting over the pale pink lacy shift dress Jane was wearing.

"Jane brought homemade snickerdoodles" Bing was grinning wider than he had all night. "Isn't that so thoughtful?" Jane's cheeks glowed pleasantly from beside him

"Very!" Caroline agreed with a few nods of the head whilst Darcy simply took another sip of his drink. He was very wary of Jane's sweet nature after observing her at the wedding, and especially after encountering her overwhelming mother who seemed to think her daughter and Bing were already an item.

"I'm going to put these out in the living room for guests to sample; I can't wait to try one!" Bing beamed at Jane before departing and Caroline made a ch sound with her teeth then called after him.

"Don't spoil the supper, Bing! Honestly," She sighed, turning toward Darcy "I don't know why I put so much trouble into creating a five course menu with our chef if he's just going to act like this."

"Oh gosh! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…!" Caroline and Darcy's gaze shifted to Jane who was frowning in distress, brow furrowed apologetically and hand covering her mouth. Caroline felt her own brow jump into her hairline and she smiled kindly at her guest.

"Oh no, Jane, don't apologize! My brother just gets carried away with these things, and I, being his sister like to give him a hard time. Isn't that right, Darcy?" She nudged him and he relented.

"Caroline likes to give everyone a hard time. It's one of her many accomplishments."

"Ignore him." Caroline didn't skip a beat. "So, Jane! That dress is so chic. Let me guess, Topshop?"

"Oh!" Jane glanced down at her attire, smoothing out the hem. "No, actually it's vintage. I thrifted it at a local consignment shop."

"How...resourceful! Vintage is always a classic choice."

"Thank you! And your dress is so fabulous as well," Jane admired the slinky black number Caroline wore. "I could never pull off something so glamorous."

"Aren't you sweet!" Caroline gleamed at the compliment and Darcy, from between them, knocked back the rest of his drink, disinterested of their trivial small talk. He turned around to pour another, doing the task at hand mechanically. His ears perked slightly as he heard Jane call out from behind him.

"Lizzie! Come over here, say hi to our other hosts!" Darcy turned around, lips to his glass as the middle Miss Bennet made her way toward them. Darcy swept his eyes over her light blue strapless dress, its metallic dot pattern shimmering in the chandelier light. She had a genial smile on her face as she greeted Caroline but as her gray-blue eyes met with Darcy's observant gaze it vanished. She quickly regained composure, lips upturned pleasantly as Jane ushered her into conversation.

"I was just telling Caroline how excited we are to have her, Bing and Darcy over for supper next week."

"Yes, did you catch that Darcy?" Caroline smirked at him from the side of her mouth. "We are to have the true Bennet treatment next Monday evening."

"No, I did not." Darcy replied flatly while the wheels in his mind were turning as he thought of his tight schedule. Was that the day he had a video conference with his investors from Beijing? He would have to check his schedule. Before he could mention this, suddenly Bing was beside them, a hand lightly touching each Bennet sister's shoulder.

"Are you all ready to eat? I just made a round and the guests in the other room are all generally hungry."

"Oh, yes!" Jane answered happily.

"Starved," Lizzie added good-naturedly.

"Well great! I'll announce it then." He smiled at the sisters then turned to the other hosts. "If that's alright with you two?"

"Of course." Was Caroline's reply and Darcy gave an assuring nod which satisfied Bing.

"Okay then, I'll be right back!"

"Here ladies, let me pour you both a glass of wine." Caroline readied them each a drink which they willfully accepted.

"Thank you Caroline!" Jane was gracious and Lizzie chuckled beside her.

"The great thing about neighborhood parties is no need for a designated driver, am I right?"

"Huh, I wouldn't know." Caroline replied with pursed lips. "We always have our driver Rudolfo on call when we're going out, you know, just in case."

"Oh, riiight you have a driver, of course…" Lizzie nodded awkwardly, and then took an elongated sip from her wine glass so as to ignore silence that followed. Darcy felt a laugh tickle his throat but he tried to cover it with a cough, making a scoffing sound. Unbeknownst to him, Lizzie narrowed her eyes slightly, thinking his gesture to be a show of contempt.

"You have a beautiful home here at Netherfield," Jane glanced around, wide-eyed at the splendor that surrounded them.

"You know, I always wondered what this place looked like from the inside. Not too shabby!" Lizzie agreed, her eyes drinking in the scenery as well.

"Why, thank you! We imported the rug from Peru," Caroline conceded, gesturing to the extravagant floor décor beneath them.

"You don't say!" Lizzie enthused, but her voice sounded somewhat strained. "Speaking of Peru, have you all been following that terrible kidnapping of gas workers by the Shining Path Rebels?" Her voice gained momentum as she spoke of the current event. "All the hostages were released, but I can imagine how terrifying it must been to be at the mercy of those guys. I mean, the rebels are known for their relentless brutality and violence after all!" As Lizzie finished her monologue Caroline blinked at her, smile faltering slightly while Darcy found himself raising his brow, intrigued.

"Lizzie's at grad school studying mass communications," Jane explained, beaming at her sister while reaching out and giving Lizzie's arm a supportive squeeze. "She's always so up to date on world affairs; she keeps the whole family informed!"

"As I should!" Lizzie countered and for the first time all evening Darcy found himself completely engaged with what someone was conversing about. He felt himself admiring the intensity of Lizzie Bennet's eyes, how revealing and dramatic her expressions became as she began a rampage, making wild gestures with her hands as she spoke. "You know, it's crazy how oblivious the average American is to world news and current events. Maybe if we all spent half as much time watching CNN than we did wasting on Dance Moms and The Real House Wives of Wherever, this country wouldn't be the butt of so many international jokes!"

"Oh my god, I love the Real House Wives of Beverly hills!" Caroline replied with enthusiasm, having had blurred over Lizzie's rant only to catch the mention of reality TV titles. This caused the latter's jaw to slacken at a loss. "Do you watch it, Lizzie?" Darcy gave her a scornful look but found his gaze drawn back to Lizzie, jolted at the sight of her eyes locking with his. He had not thought to reassemble his facial composure so it remained contemptuous as he stood frozen in Lizzie's fixed stare, unable to notice the hardening look on her features. The moment broke at the sound of Bing Lee's pleasant voice from the dining room door frame.

"Alright everyone, dinner is ready to be served!"

A/N: I missed Caroline in the last chapter; she's always so fun to write about. Thank you everyone for your continued support on this fic! If you haven't already, be sure to follow the story to get alerted for Monday's update, Chapter 8: Dinner at Netherfield. As always, comments and reviews appreciated! Please share this with other LBD fans!