-1A/N Hope everyone is enjoying the story. Hopefully I'll get in a another chapter tomorrow but you'll have to wait a few days after that, I'm going away for the weekend and then starting Yr 12, so be patient please.

Chapter Three- O man of pride, do come down from your heights

"Oh what a waste of time that was!" Caroline flung herself onto the couch Darcy had just sat on, not so subtly laying her head in his lap. With a quenched groan, he got up and stood next to Charles who was smiling delightedly towards the nature reserve that border the edge of Netherfeild.

"Waste of time?" Charles looked down at his sister, only three years his junior she would be repeating yr 12 for the third time, "You're shitting me? I haven't had so much fun in my life."

"Charlie's wight." Richard slurred leaning against the wall for support, "Twas night a good." Louisa giggled and added, "I swear to drunk we're not goodness." She and her husband burst into laughter at her wit. Charles smiled at his favourite sister, while Caroline arched her neck asking Darcy if that boy had given her a hicky.

"It would be your own fault if he had Caroline. You practically mauled him, he had to bite back in defence." Darcy told her as he moved away from her yet again, this time sitting in an armchair.

Charles sighed bringing the attention back to him. "Jane is beautiful isn't she? She looked like an angel tonight."

"I agree, she is a sweet girl." Caroline rolled her eyes at Louisa's words but smiled fakely and nodded when Charles looked at her inquiringly.

"She is quite pretty you are right. However she smiles too much, you don't know if it's sincere or not." Darcy threw in his two cents worth.

"Smiles too much? Impossible, would you have an angel who frowned? I will never understand you Will, Jane smiles too much and Lizzy is a savage? She looked quite enchanting herself tonight."

"I wouldn't say so," Darcy began, "There's a little too much wildness about her for her to be considered a pretty girl, though-" He was cut off by Caroline who threw herself on his lap and her arms around his neck.

"Your right, her hair can't be natural! I've seen more natural browns on, well me!" she giggled twirling her coarse fake blonde hair about her finger in a very un-sexy way. Darcy pushed her away from him and sitting like a favourite dog at his feet, she added, "To think she is an infamous beauty around here. I guess I would be considered a goddess if I had lived here all my life." She smirked, pouting at Darcy.

With a grimace, he left the room, thinking, "that's hardly likely, wicked witch of the west or perhaps a forgotten creature of the depths is more like it."

Jane and Lizzy were sitting together on Jane's bed, toes' wriggling to dry the newly applied nail polish, Janes a soft pink and Lizzy's alternating black and white, gossiping about the party from the night before. "He is so nice! Sweet, caring, funny you want in a guy, even if he is six years older than me." Jane gushed never embarrassed of sharing anything with her beloved twin.

With a laugh, and a finishing touch on her left thumb, Lizzy added, "And he's a complete hottie. Which is a total bonus."

Jane blushed, nodding her agreement. She dipped the nailbrush into the soft pink that matched her toes and finished her fingers, spreading them out to check them, looking at Lizzy she giggled, Lizzy had also matched her toes with black and white patterned fingers, and each one had a dot of the opposite colour in the middle. It figured that Lizzy would choose something different, she was so bright, outgoing, a brilliant orchid to her elegant lily. They were polar opposites but fit together as well as yin and yang. "I can't believe he danced with me almost all the night, apart from when he danced those two songs with you and one with Charli!"

"Why wouldn't he? I knew he would, what red-blooded man could keep away from you? You are easily the prettiest, not to mention sweetest and kindest, girl in all Hertfordshire, why wouldn't he want to spend the whole night dancing with you?" Jane just smiled lightly thinking fondly on last night.

"Will Darcy is quite handsome don't you think?" Jane asked hesitantly, wanting to know how her sister felt about them man.

"Hmmm, handsome indeed," came Lizzy's reply as she looked at Jane one eyebrow arched, "but not handsome enough to tempt me!" She finished with a wicked giggle.

"Oh it was wrong of him to say that," Jane said amidst giggles at her twins' outrageous dramatics, "but I'm sure he didn't mean it like that."

"Jane you are determined to like everyone you meet. Why I bet you could even like Caroline Bingley."

"Oh but she is so nice Lizzy, I'm certain when school starts you will all see what a charming person she is. So funny, she has a very sarcastic sense of humour, like you Lizzy." Jane said earnestly.

Lizzy hid a snort, "Oh yes, I'm sure we'll be the best of friends, and we'll both over straighten and poison our hair and make sure our natural colour shows through at the roots." Biting her lip Lizzy faked a look of rapture that sent Jane into another fit of giggles. "I did like the Hursts though. They were a bit too easy to drink but they turned out to be a lot of fun, did you see Richard jump into the pool and try to do a handstand after they played truth or dare?"

With more giggles the girls continued talking about the party as they prepared for school which was to start the following Wednesday.

Later that day Charlotte and her mother came around to talk over the party with the Bennets. Another long-lived tradition.

"Well Charlotte, you looked nice last night." Mrs Bennet acceded grudgingly, she was always much nicer to the Lucas' faces than she was out of their hearing. "What did you think of Mr Bingley, he danced with you didn't he?"

"Yessum," Charli nodded, knowing full well what Mrs Bennet wanted to hear, "but only one dance, he was so eager to get back to Jane."

"Oh Jane! Yes wasn't she beautiful last night?" Mrs Bennet was heating up, "He did seem to take a bit of a fancy to our Jane. I did hear something of the sort, but I can't recall, nor would I say, you know me, I'm not one to gossip." Lizzy hid a snort behind a cough that made her mother scowl at her suspiciously.

"I know what you mean Franciscka," Mrs Lucas began, "I think very little of gossip, but between you and me," Lizzy rolled her eyes, "Robert asked him what he thought of the town, he loved it, of Netherfeild, beautiful he said, and which of our girls he thought was prettiest, the Bennet twins definitely said he, Jane especially." With that, Mrs Lucas gave a very self-satisfied nod, like a scout reporting to his war leader.

"I guess you can't say he chooses his friends too well though can you Lizzy?" Charli asked, her eyes full of cheek. "I can't imagine only being 'pretty enough' would do much for you ego."

"Don't torment her Charlotte!" Franciscka Bennet said fluttering a hand over her heart, "It pains me to think someone could be so cruel to our Lizzy, she is so self conscious of not being as pretty as Jane you know."

"What a rude young man." Mrs Lucas shook her head, "Betty Long reckons he sat next to her for a full half an hour without saying a thing." This of course was a great misdemeanour in the minds of Mrs Lucas and Mrs Bennet, however the younger girls just felt he was an unsocial sod. Except Jane who said, "Caroline said he's just shy and when he knows the people he is a lot of fun."

"I doubt it. Did you know he is more than ten times richer than Charles, owns some company in England," Mrs Lucas said, "and is just full of pride. Probably felt too good to talk to Betty, or even attend such a primitive function!" her eyes hardened at the thought of someone belittling a party of hers.

"Who cares if he didn't talk to Betty Long, she's boring anyway. He should have danced with Lizzy though." Charli did not like the thought of someone mistreating her friend.

"If I were you Lizzy, I would not dance with him at another party." Her mother ranted on for a moment about what she would have done had a man slighted her like that.

"I swear Mama that unless a miracle doth occur," she closed her eyes and raised her head to the heavens, "I shall never dance with Mr Darcy."

"I guess he has reason to be proud though." Charli mused, "He's rich, handsome, English (a smirk at Lizzy) what other guy wouldn't be proud in his place. At least he's not some snivelling twit who thinks he's too good for his boots." Lizzy and Jane giggled at the thought.

Mary sat up from her spot on the floor, pushing her black converse glasses up her nose and letting her jet-black hair cover her face as she recited:

"O man of pride, do come down from your heights!
'Tis lonely sitting in a chair like that;
The dizziness could cause you sleepless nights;
Please condescend, come down to us to chat.

Pride kills a man before he truly dies;
Pride poisons minds in stealthily a style;
Pride generates in men just 'pseudo-highs',
And makes a man unfit to walk life's mile.

Remember, all are human beings first;
Well treat others in humane ways, you can;
The heart of pride would like a dam-old, burst
The man with pride cannot be content, man!

Pride steals the energy to guide others,
And only serves to torment all brothers."

Jane and Lizzy looked at each other and burst into laughter, Charli laughing right alone with them. Mary looked affronted but shrugged, used to being 'misunderstood' and the older women shook their head and talked about 'teenagers these days', the previous subject forgotten for a time.