A/N: Thank you for your comments. I love getting them. I really do. Hope you like this chapter.

Chapter 5: The Ugly Devil and Rouge

Dear Father,

I have acquired a simply job, that will take me to London. I am to coach Mr. Bingley of Netherfield and his family there. I know it is far from a respectable career, but hopefully once in the great metropolis of London, opportunities will arise.

But now on to my more pressing situation and real reason for writing so soon after departing. Whilst seeking employment at the Crow's Crown I stumbled upon a young woman by the name of Daisy Everhart. At first I was quite surprised at the coincidence of such a name, but after further inquiry I discovered that she was an orphan. Not to mention, her physical attributes which are much like my own. I am inclined to believe that this girl of about 19 is in some way related to us. If this is so, I need to know immediately, for I am considering taking her to London with me.

I hope you will send your answer by tomorrow, for I am to leave out the following day. Do not hesitate to tell me because you feel that my good opinion will be affected, I simply wish to know who is family and who isn't. Also, it would be nice to have a companion on my travels, if anything. Please send your reply, post haste.

Your inquiring son,

David.

P.S. Tell Christiana and Mark that I love them and miss them ardently.

David looked his letter over, and once satisfied with it, he sealed it. Laying down his sleepy head to rest, his last conscious thought, was what an odd string of coincidences had occurred in the last 48 hours.

Mrs. Everhart's POV

Mrs. Everhart was a portly English lady with dark chocolate brown hair and crisp blue eyes, she was kind and giving and very affectionate. She had first met her husband Mr. Everhart when he was a young sailor. He was foreign and handsome, so it was easy for her, a butchers daughter, to fall for him. Unfortunately, Mr. Everhart spent a lot of time at the local pub, the Crow's Crown, so the then Ruth Jones had not been able to see much of him. She tried to pass the pub as much as possible, if only to get a glimpse of his white blonde hair and deep eyes. Mr. Jones hated his daughter's fascination with the sailor. For it was said around town that Mr. Everhart was a rouge and dangerous.

It was infamous after only a few weeks, that he started all the bar fights, and stole the flower of all the barmaids. Whether this was true or not, Ruth Jones didn't care. All she knew was that he was the living symbol of masculinity, and very becoming. She used to dream for hours each night that he would someday glance her way, and they would fall deeply in love. But to her growing dismay, his eyes never looked her way.

But then Ruth Jones, was a simple girl, with mousy hair, and no fortune. There was nothing about her that would invoke Mr. Everhart's attention. So Ruth, being desperate, decided to disguise herself as a barmaid and seek out his attention. She kept up this scheme for several weeks, and it worked fairly well, for she did indeed get to flirt with Everhart and kiss Everhart, and…everything else eventually too.

However, she soon began to notice that his main attention, was towards a certain blonde headed gypsy girl who worked in the tavern. She had a strong eastern accent, and was very headstrong and stubborn. She was a little spitfire too, which caused the wild Irishman Everhart to become obsessed with chasing her. He pinned after Daria like no other woman. And to Ruth's mortification, the gypsy soon ended up with child.

Once it was out around town, that one of the barmaids at the Crow's Crown was impregnated, everyone knew who to turn to. After the scandal, Mr. Jones discovered his own daughters part in it, and the deeds she had done. Enraged he sought out Mr. Everhart and insisted that he marry his daughter. Mr. Everhart who was still very much in love with the gypsy Daria at first refused. But after being threatened continuously and then shown that he would be entitled to the store and to a little money from marrying her, he gave in. Ruth was ecstatic, and Daria was rather indifferent.

It wasn't long after their marriage, that Mrs. Everhart began to notice her husbands frequent trips to the pub. And not a year after Daria had her first child, a girl, she was pregnant again with a second. Ruth was in great despair, in fact so much so, that on several occasions she herself made her way to the river outside Hertfordshire to end her life. But always she convinced herself that her husband loved her too, and would stop his unfaithfulness. When it became completely obvious that it would not, Ruth lost all rational thought.

On the very night that the second child, a boy, was born, Ruth made her way to the pub, to give Daria a talking to. She had never intended to take her cutting knife with her, but she had. And on that cold November night, she made her way to Daria's room, in front of at least half a dozen men. Brandishing her knife, she threw open the door, to find her husband, his lover, and their son all lying on the bed sleeping soundly. Disgusted, and wounded beyond repair, she raised her weapon high above her head, and stabbed Daria threw the heart.

No one claimed to have seen Mrs. Everhart enter the pub that night, and it was determined that Daria died of natural causes. The one and a half year old girl was forgotten at the pub in the ruckus, and the father (who was really only interested in a son anyway) and the baby boy David came home.

Caroline's POV

Caroline Bingley was in a complete frenzy all day. Netherfield had never been so remote, and so bothersome. She had at first paced all the ground floor furiously, and then subjected herself to sitting (rather uncomfortably) in the drawing room with Louisa.

"My word, sister, have you eaten another jar of sugar, like you did when we were children. Your actions remind me of it." Louisa said without looking up from her embroidering. Caroline scowled, she remembered no such time.

"No, of course I have not Louisa, how ridicules you can be sometimes." Caroline said haughtily.

"I remember the time quite distinctly, you were 4 and I was 9. You were running about like a wild savage, you and Charles both if I remember correctly." Caroline only scoffed, but she did remember her and Charles eating an entire jar of cookies at about that age. Still deciding not to comment she merely looked out the window.

"Why don't you read, Caroline if you are so bored?" Louisa said slyly, still refusing to look up.

"You know I am not fond of the employment, Louisa."

"Oh, what a pity, Elizabeth couldn't have rubbed off on you more." Caroline flashed her eyes dangerously at her sister, who had the trace of a smile on her thin lips.

"I don't remember ever seeing you with a book, Louisa, or am I mistaken, are you a secret diligent reader?" Caroline asked snidely. Only then did Louisa look up.

"There is something going on with you Caroline, and I am going to find out what it is." The two women stared at one another for a long pregnant moment. Their blue eyes boring into each others, Louisa with a wicked smile, and Caroline with a sneer. Finally Louisa looked back down at her embroidery.

"I don't know what your talking about, Louisa, but you do not intimidate me." Caroline said as if the idea was preposterous.

"Well you see I wouldn't think so either, Caroline, if I didn't know you better. You may pretend to be the unfeeling snake, but I know better, and I daresay the way your acting one would think you had- But its ridicules." Louisa said laughing, as if they were just talking of idle gossip casually.

"What were you thinking, sister." Caroline said as harsh as she could.

"Well its just-its absurd- but I would almost suspect that you had gone and fallen in love with some one." Caroline tried to keep her face as emotionless as possible, but it was extremely difficult, and judging from the smile that crept over her elder sisters features she was not at all sure she had succeeded. "But of course, I know that it isn't true. Because you are still terribly upset over losing Mr. Darcy, and then most obviously, we are in Hertfordshire so of course there isn't anyone here to do the job justice….like I said it was just a ridicules thought." Caroline fumed, and clenched her fists against her will. If she could murder someone, she decided, it would be Louisa, and then possibly Elizabeth. Louisa had said Hertfordshire like it was a weapon, and Caroline couldn't help but have a tiny drop of fear in her gut. To her horror her sister pressed on.

"It would be a delicious story, though wouldn't it. Ice princess, Caroline Bingley falls for Hertfordshire local. Ha, what would are dear friends in London say about that? Indeed, and what would become of the Bingley line. After Charles had polluted it, not that I don't love Jane, but still, and Hurst and I shall never have children, and you…hahaha…of all people you! Its just so delicious…if only it were true." The gleam in Louisa's eye was like that of the devils and so Caroline thought she would say so.

"You are the devil, Louisa, you really are." Louisa smiled brighter than ever as if she had just been given the highest complement.

"Only with much better fashion sense." And with that the conversation was no more.