"Rise and shine, little sis!"

I groan. It's only seven in the morning and my annoyingly perky sister has just walked into my room without knocking. She starts pulling my blinds up, letting in a stream of golden sunshine that hits me directly in the eyes.

"Jenna, the sun's in my eyes!" I wail plaintively, rolling over and burying my face in my doona.

Jenna is unsympathetic.

"Well, that means it's time for you to get out of bed, silly!" she says gaily. "Hurry up and get ready! Charlie's going to be picking us up in half an hour and I don't want to keep him waiting."

I stare at her suspiciously. "You're looking surprisingly cheerful for someone who thought she would be facing impending doom this weekend."

Jenna giggles. "Oh, I guess I have a good reason to be happy," she replies serenely.

Seeing the quizzical expression on my face, she smiles coyly. "Can you keep a secret?"

I snort. "Please. Need I remind you of a certain misdemeanour that has remained undisclosed for fourteen years?"

Jenna blushes at the memory. "OK, I'll tell you, because I'm dying to tell someone! Just don't breathe a word of it to Mum... not yet, anyway."

"I promise," I say curiously, wondering what the big secret is.

Jenna grins and pulls out her phone. She scrolls through her photos until she finds the one she's looking for and then shows me, still with that disarming cheesy grin on her face.

The picture's somewhat grainy, so it takes me a moment to recognise what's in it. And when I do, I can't hold my surprise.

"Oh, my God! Is that what I think it is?" I squeal.

"Shush, don't wake Charlotte," Jenna admonishes, but she's glowing far too much to look stern. "But yes, it's an engagement ring."

"I can't believe it!" I say in awe. "That's some rock – it's almost the same size as my fingernail!"

I glance at Jenna's left hand, hoping to get a look at the real thing, but her ring finger is still bare.

She follows my glance. "It was a little big on my finger. Charlie's taking it to a jeweller next week, so it can get resized."

"Your whole finger will need to be resized, in order to wear that piece of bling!" I tease.

Part of me is still reeling with shock. I can't believe that my beautiful older sister is now engaged.

I reach out impulsively and wrap my arms around her, pulling her into a huge hug.

"Congratulations, Jen. I'm so happy for you."

"I'm glad," she says with a smile. She hugs me back, before pulling away and gazing at me curiously. "You're not... uncomfortable with us being engaged, are you? Since Peter and you broke up..."

Dear, sweet Jenna. She's engaged to the man of her dreams and she's still worried about how I might feel about it.

"I'm more than fine, honestly," I tell her. "I've never regretted the decision that I made."

"Good," Jenna says, looking relieved. "I know that you were in a really serious relationship and I don't think I could've told you this then... but I never really liked the guy."

I feel slightly betrayed. "You never liked him? But you were always so enthusiastic when I was going out with him – helping me pick out what to wear for dates, giving me advice..."

Jenna purses her lips. "I did those things because that's what sisters do, Ellie. They support one another and help each other out. But I never thought that he was the right guy for you. He's too much of a..."

She hesitates and I pounce. "Too much of a what, Jenna?"

"Too much of a trophy boy," she says reluctantly. And I surprise her when I burst out laughing. I've never thought about Peter in that way before, but it's actually the perfect description.

Peter is always well-groomed and immaculately dressed, welcomed at the most prestigious events and to tell the truth... a bit of a snob. In hindsight, I actually have no idea how we ended up dating for as long as we did.

No, I do know, actually. Ironic as this may sound, it was actually Jenna that kept Peter interested in me.

It was clothes from her wardrobe that I wore on our dates, it was her instruction on etiquette that helped me pass the unspoken tests at society functions and it was her advice that had secured his attention in the first place.

I had told Jenna the truth. I've never regretted turning down Peter's proposal. Well, to be honest, I thought I was just postponing it at the time. But looking back at our relationship now, I almost feel like I've had a narrow escape.

We were always at high-brow events like philosophy lectures and fancy dinner parties. I couldn't remember the last time we'd just had fun hanging out somewhere casual. Now that I think about it, the one time we'd been to the pub together had been for my 20th and that was only because Jenna had organised my birthday drinks!

A narrow escape, indeed.

"Are you alright, Ellie?" Jenna asks a little anxiously and I realise I've gotten lost in my thoughts.

"Great, just great," I say, forcing myself to concentrate on my sister and her exciting news.

"And are you really happy, Jen? Are you sure Charlie's the right guy for you? You haven't been dating for all that long."

Jenna smiles knowingly. "They say when it's right, you know," she says thoughtfully. "And I know it sounds weird and I know we've only been going out for a short while... but yes, I am really happy, Ellie. And I really do think he's the right one. I've never felt like this with any of my exes in the past, even though I went out with some of them for much longer."

"Then I am genuinely doubly happy for you," I say firmly. "And nobody deserves it more."

Jenna looks touched by my words and she leans over and gives me another tight hug.

"So when's the big day? Have you set a date yet?"

Jenna twirls a blonde curl absentmindedly. "No, not yet. It's a bit hard to set a date when neither of us have broken the news to our families yet."

Ping! A little lightbulb goes off in my head.

"Is that why you're suddenly happy about going home this weekend? Are you going to be breaking the news, then?"

" No!" Jenna insists. "Mum's already excited enough about Charlie's visit, without breaking the news of the engagement this weekend too. But it will be a good opportunity for him to meet the family, I guess."

She looks apprehensive and I don't blame her. Introducing your fiancé to his future in-laws is pressure enough and when you consider that those in-laws are our family members...

"I'll try to restrain Lisa," I vow. "And prevent Dad from asking any embarrassing questions. Oh, and maybe I'll ask Mary to play piano during the party – that'll keep her distracted."

Jenna laughs. "You've got it all figured out, haven't you? But what about Mum?"

I hold up my arms in surrender. "Hey, I'm not a miracle worker. These are hands, not wands."

We giggle together.

"So , speaking of intimidating in-laws, I can't believe you're going to be related to Everett Bingley!" I exclaim. "When are you going to meet Charlie's family?"

"Oh, actually his two sisters are coming down for the weekend too," Jenna says eagerly. "Mum's put Lisa in Mary's room and Charlie's sisters will share Lisa's room."

As if I hadn't had enough surprises lately...

"What are they like? Has Charlie told you anything about them?"

Jenna pauses to think. "A little bit. His older sister's called Louisa. She's actually married, but her husband isn't able to come to the party. And his younger sister is Caroline. She's not married but..."

She smiles conspiratorially at me. "You'll get a kick out of this, Ellie. Apparently she's got the hots for Will. Too bad he's already engaged, huh?"

Jenna thinks she's just passing on some light-hearted gossip, but the news hits me like a punch to the stomach.

"He's taken?" I whisper. "But I saw him in that article... Sydney's 50 Most Eligible Bachelors..."

Even as I speak, I realise the folly of my words. If they can stretch the truth by using a British citizen in an article about Sydney men, why wouldn't they pretend that an engaged man was a bachelor?

Jenna shrugs carelessly. "Oh, I don't know... maybe they ran out of eligible bachelors and had to pick on the taken men!"

She looks down at her unadorned ring finger with a smile. "I'm just glad they didn't use my man for an article like that."

Just then there's a beep outside and Jenna looks up in consternation.

"Oh, my God! I totally lost track of time!" she says in panic. "Ellie, you'd better hurry up and get dressed. I'll tell Charlie we're running a little late."

"Okay," I reply and make a show of turning to my wardrobe and sorting through my clothes.

As Jenna exits, I lose all appearance of efficiency and sink back onto my bed.

Will Darcy is engaged?

I guess it shouldn't be that much of a surprise.

Sure, he might be arrogant, cocky and downright irritating sometimes... but he's also unbelievably intelligent, charming, cheeky, thoughtful and sweet. Not to mention good-looking...

Suddenly I start feeling a little dizzy. Thinking I must be dehydrated, I reach for the glass on my bedside table and take a quick swig, catching a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror at the same time.

I'm surprised to see that my face is flushed all over, in the way that it only does when I'm really embarrassed... or when I'm...

Oh, no. There must be some mistake. It's not possible!

But being a history student, it's just not in me to run away from truth. As much as I don't want to admit it, all the facts and evidence are there. I can't deny the obvious conclusion any longer.

I have a HUGE crush on Will Darcy.

Author's Note: Many thanks to Avanell, CourtneyCS, lynniern, Alethea R. Gray, Sissinghurst, Korrigan37, beatrixbelden, Amandald98, Harriate Slate, mgtiff, Suoh Christina Mori, tcdavis, LaLa De Dum, head in the clouds14, Valmoni and angela87 for your reviews of the last chapter.

To all those who are reading this, I hope you enjoyed this one! Keep the feedback coming. =) Everyone will be at Casa Bennett in the next chapter and there's sure to be some drama!

Oh, and indulging in a bit of shameless self-promotion here – if anyone's an Emma fan here, you may be interested in reading my modern story Symmetry in the Emma fandom. ;)