Chapter Two

October 15, 1811

"Lizzy? Are you well enough to join us today? What did Doctor Wilkes say?" Jane Bennet of Year 1811 asked. It was still a bit weird for Elizabeth to think of this Jane as her sister, however much her real sister, and this Jane resembled each other. Instead, she simply referred to her as Jane of 1811. It was easier that way.

She also pondered the fact that there was a striking resemblance between this Lizzy and well, her own features—even though the two Elizabeths were born two centuries apart. This applied to 1811-Jane and millennial-Jane too. There were some fundamental differences between the two, but there was no denying that there was a resemblance between the two Lizzies and the two Janes. (It was a little freaky, thinking about herself inhabiting two different, yet somewhat similar bodies and to think about how, in some convoluted way, had two sisters named Jane, who were very alike. Lizzy tried not to dwell on that aspect too much.)

The only explanation that she could give for this bizarre and seemingly impossible similarities was that the Bennets from the 1800s were her ancestors. By a sleight of hand, the two millennial Bennets resembled their predecessors. However, she still had no explanation for their names. Maybe her father knew of his ancestors and had decided to name his daughters appropriately? She couldn't fathom the reason.

Thinking of her father and mother sent a ripple of pain through her. How were they? Who was taking care of them? Was 1811-Lizzy inhabiting her body? She thought that the chances of a complete switch happening were much more likely. Perhaps… perhaps this world's Lizzy had made a wish too.

However it was, Lizzy hoped that her parents were happy and well. She vowed that she would find some way to reverse this switch and get back to her father and mother. They did not deserve a daughter who abandoned them for such selfish reasons as her own resentment.

"Lizzy, pay attention, will you?" Jane's slightly exasperated voice pierced the air. "Did you hear what I said just now?"

Snapping out of her reverie, Lizzy smiled at her. "Yes, Jane, I did listen to you, but I was too lost in my thoughts to respond. I apologise. Doctor Wilkes said that it was merely a case of dehydration and fatigue caused due to exerting myself. He advised me to rest for a few days, but he also mentioned that I might carry on with basic activities, and perhaps even visit Meryton." Lizzy's 19th-century English was still a bit rusty, but she was managing remarkably well for a person who'd just been transported through time if she did say so herself. In any case, Jane did not seem to be too perturbed by her speech, so Lizzy assumed that she was doing a good job.

"That is excellent! Well, then, do you want any help with your dress? Betty is busy with Lydia and Kitty, so you must make do with me." Lizzie eagerly nodded to show that yes, she did need help with her dress because she didn't want to end up looking like a complete idiot. After getting over her initial shock at the drastic differences between modern outfits and the one she was supposed to wear now, Lizzy managed to wear her dress with good grace. She didn't even complain much when Jane tightened the corset (better known as the torture device for ladies), almost squeezing all the breath out of her lungs. It was a miracle that she was still able to move without looking like some type of bird—that's how tightly the corset was tied around her body.

Finally, after being squeezed, pinched, ribboned and laced far too many times, Lizzy was ready to face the day. She descended the stairs that led to the dining room carefully, praying that she wouldn't tumble down the whole way. For the first time (and probably the last), Lizzy fervently wished that she was in one of the hideous cocktail dresses of her Mom's choice. Anything would be better than this 'day dress'.

Breakfast, thankfully, did not consist of fish eggs or snails, but like yesterday's supper (which she took in bed) had familiar dishes, which rather surprised Lizzy. She didn't know what she had expected—perhaps ostentatious alien food that she'd never eat.

As she quietly sipped her tea, Lizzy scanned the table, looking at the new faces around her. She'd only seen Jane and Lydia Bennet of 1811. What about the rest?

At the head of the table, which was two places up her spot, sat Mr Bennet. He looked like an indolent man, with a bored expression and generous frame. His eyes, however, were sharp and somewhat cold. Lizzy couldn't find anything particularly similar to her own father's features. The only trait they shared seemed to be a love of books, as was evident by the book, The Iliad, which he held in his hand—which served the dual purpose of entertaining him and keeping Mrs Bennet's effusions.

Mrs Bennet sat opposite to him, at the other end of the table, and was a bundle of frills and fripperies. Everything, from her cap, right down to her handkerchief was adorned with… what was that? Lace? Unlike Mr Bennet, there was something very familiar about Mrs Bennet. It wasn't that her mother and Mrs Bennet shared any physical traits—Mom was dark as Mrs Bennet was fair, but it was her general aura of exuberance and the strong impression that Mrs Bennet lived to get her daughters married off to rich young men. This was exactly what had driven Lizzy up the wall when it came to her mother, but she found it oddly comforting here.

But as she listened to Mrs Bennet go on and on about some rubbish called 'being thrown into the hedgerows' and the gentlemen-who-would-court-Jane, Lizzy had to concede that it was still an extremely annoying part of the lady, even if it was a bit comforting.

The third Bennet sister, Mary (if she guessed correctly) sat opposite her, eyeing her mother and the youngest sisters with disapproval written all over her face. Her gown was much more close-necked than the other sisters' and was made from a plain grey fabric. She had spent the entire breakfast in near silence, and when she did speak, it was either to chastise her family or to discuss the piano. (No—pianoforte, Lizzy really must remember all these differences and fluctuations in speech if she were to convince everyone that she didn't belong in the asylum.) Lizzy figured that Mary was obnoxiously pious and preachy. She could bear Mary, as long as her preaching did not turn on her.

Lydia and Kitty, the last two of her newly acquired sisters were exactly what her friends would call 'bimbos'. Perhaps that was too harsh a word to describe their behaviour, but Lizzy couldn't find anything else in her dictionary to describe them. 'Silly' was too mild a word to describe Lydia and Kitty. They were quite pretty, were complete airheads and Lizzy could bet ten bucks that they were vulgar and flirty. All they talked about was of their apparel, Maria Lucas' bonnet and such other frivolous things. She was pretty sure that the girls had never got a word of proper education and had grown into vulgar, air-headed people who could just be described as bimbos.

She wondered whether they were in school—they did look like they could use a good dose of sensibility and cold hard logic. She doubted it. It was two centuries before her time—wasn't it only in the twentieth century that women began to fight for their rights? That was a hundred years away. This was probably the time when women received little to no education, remained confined in their homes and dedicated themselves to naff household stuff that Lizzy certainly didn't have any interest in.

Lizzy shuddered at the thought that she was actually supposed to act stupid here. She was a qualified journalist, for God's sake! She should have been working hard on her next article, not sitting still and looking pretty in some misogynistic society!

Calm down, Lizzy. We've already seen that wishing hard and staring at the ceiling won't do anything to transport you back, last night. Lizzy sighed as she remembered her futile attempt to return to her time, which had elicited concerned stares from Jane. All we can do is gather as much information about the situation as possible and work with that information. It's like working on a featured article! You require patience. Don't rush.

Slowly, the family dispersed from the table to their various tasks. Lizzy was surprised to see that, throughout breakfast, she handled the various cutlery with relative ease, although she herself was quite clueless. Did she retain the skills that old-Lizzy must have learnt over the years? Was it because handling forks and knives and spoons was mostly a motor function, and therefore was solely an aspect of the body, and not of her 'new' mind? It was confusing to Lizzie, but she felt relieved that she could at least do something right in this world.

After breakfast, Lizzy felt stranded. What was she supposed to do? She sincerely hoped that the Sit still, look pretty joke she'd made derisively within her own mind was just that—a joke. She couldn't bear to do nothing every day.

She wandered the house, hoping to see one of the Bennets… she supposed that she must refer to them as her family, now. Eventually, she caught all of the sisters leaning against a door made of dark wood, listening eagerly to something.

"Lizzy!" The second-youngest sister, Kitty, exclaimed. "Come, Mama is telling Papa about our new neighbours!" Kitty looked far too excited about it, as she dragged Lizzy to the small opening left by the door.

Inside, she could hear Mrs Bennet's voice, loud and excited. She informed Mr Bennet that 'Netherfield Park was let at last!', and then proceeded to relay the whole profile of the man—Bingley was his name, with an estimated income of five thousand pounds per annum (which, to Lizzy's mind, was quite less—she earned four times as much as this Mr Bingley in her world!) and he was single—what a fine thing for our girls! At this, Kitty and Lydia giggled, pushing Jane's arm teasingly, who blushed and shushed them. Mr Bennet seemed indifferent, using a sarcastic tongue to temper Mrs Bennet's excitement.

"I see no occasion for that," Mr Bennet said when Mrs Bennet asked him whether he would visit this Bingley-man. "You and the girls may go, or you may send them by themselves, which perhaps is still better." At this, his voice took on a more teasing tone, "For as you are as handsome as any of them, Mr Bingley might like you best out of the party." Lizzy almost snorted at this but bit her tongue to reign it in.

The rest of the conversation involved Mrs Bennet pleading, persuading, begging and ordering Mr Bennet, who remained steadfastly indifferent.

"Why does Mr Be—Papa need to visit Mr Bingley before Mama and we do?" Lizzy asked Jane in a confused whisper, as they stood by listening to Mrs Bennet's poor nerves. "It is evident that he does not desire to do so. If Mrs Be—Mama is so insistent on us visiting Mr Bingley, we can as well go ourselves!" She hoped that Jane didn't notice her little slips over Papa and Mama. She tried to call them so, but she just couldn't. Going by themselves seemed like a simple solution to Lizzy's mind but Jane looked horrified by the mere suggestion.

"Lizzy, I do hope you are teasing! It would be extremely improper to visit Mr Bingley before Papa does. Are you certain that you are well?" Jane eyed her suspiciously and Lizzy bit her tongue, realising that she'd made a blunder.

"Yes, yes it was merely me teasing. You know me. I, er, just felt that it would be much easier if we resolved the issue that way!" And Lizzy gave Jane her most mischievous smile.

Apparently, old-Lizzy and she shared some characteristics, because Jane shook her head gracefully and said, "Oh, Lizzy!"

They chuckled for a bit (Lizzy, very nervously), and made their way upstairs since Jane had suggested that they visit town (Meryton, she had to keep that in mind) to buy some ribbons and such for her new dress. Lizzy steeled herself with a deep breath as she tied the ribbon of her bonnet. This blunder had been relatively easy to avoid, but she knew that every step would be filled with potential blunders here. Still, Lizzy was confident that as she learned more about 1811-Lizzy and her world, she would be able to face it with much more ease. She only hoped that it happened soon.

Hello! Gosh, I was so overwhelmed by the response to this story! I woke up today morning to find out that it had almost a thousand views! Thank you. :)

Fair warning, this is a long A/N!

I'll reply to the reviews given by registered users through PM. I'll answer a few guest reviews-those which contain questions and such. Thank you to all those people who have reviewed, favourited and followed my little tale. It really keeps me motivated to go ahead with writing it!

This chapter might seem a bit slow, but it's necessary since Lizzy is digesting a bucket load of information about the 19th-century world. Tell me your thoughts about it! Did you find it too boring? Don't worry, I have something very different in store for chapter three. ;)

About the whole 'handling cutlery' part. It is only Lizzy's soul that has travelled to the 19th century. Since stuff like posture, etiquette and naff things like that were very important in this age, it's my belief that Lizzy's body will be doing it as something of an acquired reflex. Bewildered Lizzy in a body which knows how to do everything makes it more interesting, don't you think? This doesn't quite apply to dances though since you require a fair bit of concentration for all those complicated steps. So, Lizzy will face the Assembly dance as a clueless person! That will be so much fun. ;)

Review Responses:

mpal - Lizzy knows quite a lot about her world because she has lived in it for 25 years. Her knowledge of the 19th century, though is like that of an average human being - somewhat vague with many misconceptions. She does believe the society to be misogynistic (which is somewhat true, but in some aspects, her prejudiced views will blind her to reality, which is the exact opposite. Seem familiar?). We'll see how she adjusts to the Regency era. One thing's for sure, it's not going to be easy! And oh my, I've never seen a falling star in my life before! That's so wonderful. I live in England too, so I can tell you that was a great wish! Your story makes me believe in the myth. :D

ale - I had to use Google Translate for your review. My knowledge of the Spanish language is only to the extent of saying Hola and such words of greeting, so would you mind terribly if I used English for my response? First off, thank you! I'm glad you find the story interesting! Secondly, no, while my story does contain a fair bit of drama (and a lot of deviations from the original P&P), I shall not be blowing up the drama to the size of a soap opera. And Lizzy/Darcy, according to me, is going to be quite interesting, what with Lizzy being highly educated (maybe even more than Darcy himself!) and her views of the 19th century. Romance is definitely not null in this story, don't worry!

To the four other Guests who left kind and eager comments for the chapters, thank you so very much! I appreciate that you took the time to let me know you enjoyed this story because it motivated me to write chapters 22 and 23!