Chapter Two: A Party

Disclaimer: Still don't own Pride and Prejudice - own this though



He rolled his eyes as his Dad gave a speech about his childhood, but he still hugged him when he came off the stage and raised his glass to his parents who stood in a corner smiling their secret smiles to each other. "Alex!" he whirled around and looked at his twin sisters coming up to him smiling broadly. "Alex! Happy Birthday!"

They hugged as close as siblings could be and he hurriedly opened the package. Inside was a small charm, not a necklace, but a pendant and inside was a photograph Alex thought had been caught in a fire years ago. The three of them as young children with their surrogate brother sitting on a chair with their mother and father sitting next to them laughing. Alex looked at them, "Suze, Amelia, where'd you get this?"

His sister Susana smiled, "it's a copy. We found it in the attic."

"You looked for my birthday present in the attic?" Alex laughed as his 'brother' Peter walked up and looked at the pendant.

The younger blonder twin smiled, "no! well, not really. We haven't been up there in ages! And so we thought we'd have a look. There's some awesome stuff there."

Peter took the pendant out of his friend's hands and ran his finger over the photograph. "It's brilliant."

Susana smiled and dug her hand in her pocket until her fingers clasped around another pendant. "I know it's not your birthday Pete, but well, we saw these two photos in the attic and thought you might like them."

She handed over an antique locket, being a Historian-in-training (her words) she had access to the best antique shops, inside were two photographs. The first was Peter, Alex and their friend Jack a few weeks after Peter had started living with them. They were standing on top of a snow fort with Will, Chris and Ritchie lying on the floor in defeatist poses as the boys looked down as thought they had just won the Hundred Years War, the second was from when Peter was about three years old in his mother's arms. He stared at the photo for a few minutes before slipping the locket over his neck, tucking it down his shirt and silently hugging the two girls. They smiled to Alex who looked at little worried that they'd hurt their friend, but then he smiled a little smile and sighed.

He was attacked from behind by his eldest cousin. "Nat! Gerrof me!" he struggled to say as his cousin tried to have a piggy back ride like they did when they were little kids.

She jumped off nimbly and laughed as Alex tried to set his shirt to rights, Natalia then rolled her eyes and then she was suddenly serious again as her two sisters and her brother went up and hugged him. Behind her young brother David, the youngest of them all but people tended to think he was the eldest, stood four friends. Mark and Cat Collins and Jack and Mary Fitzwilliam greeted the others taking off their coats and sighing. It had been the twelve of them their entire lives, they'd grown up in each others houses and when their parents, usually Dads had to work they'd stay at Pemberly and reck the place. Since graduating they had all spent less time in each others company and more on the email and telephone setting dates for the monthly movie night or something else to while away the time.

After a while talking to each other and laughing at the photographs, they all decided, with the help of one of their aunts, that it was time to 'mingle' and to talk to the others. Alex brought his three friends from the set where he was assistant director up to meet his sister and cousin. Katya Pierce was a young actor that Alex had had an immediate click with while Daniel Mansfield and Jessica Andrews were correspondents for the movie. Amelia and Daniel walked off in search of food while Jessica and his young cousin David got along like a house on fire leaving Katya and Alex to the dance floor.

Susana Darcy, Mark Collins and Natalia and Sophie Bingley walked around the dance floor watching their friends and family dance. They talked about their lives, jobs, anything they felt like really until they saw Natalia and Sophie's aunt Carols talking to Susana's dad about some director she'd had a 'problem' with.

"Carols, be reasonable." Will was imploring. "You have been arguing with Mick Brooks for at least twelve Years now! You're being sort of pathetic."

"Am I?" Carols looked hysterical. Susana and Natalia exchanged laughing glances. "Am I being unreasonable because some Jerk won't work with me because he thinks I'm something I'm not?"

"But you can seem a little…stuck up…to some people." Will gave his daughter a wink and rolled his eyes.

Carols looked at Will and literally turned up her nose before stalking off. But then the door opened to admit a very bedraggled person and she stopped short.

Alex ran up to the person and laughingly welcomed them in. The guest seemed a little hesitant about coming in, but then Sophie walked up to him and invited him to talk. His blue eyes matched her grey ones and they stood like that for a few moments before he shook himself free and introduced himself. "James Brooks," he said. The room was silent.

"Sophie Darcy."

"Will!" Carols hissed, "It's his son!"

"I know," Will replied calmly and as he was walking off with Susana he called back, "Alex and I invited him."

Mark and Natalia walked swiftly away staying out of range but it wasn't them Carols aimed for.

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