Chapter Text
Lisa was out of patience but still attempted to maintain an act of possessing it. She was tapping her left foot as if her life depended on it, scaring the receptionist into giving up drinking her tea and watching Lisa enter into an ‘obsessive-compulsive freak’ mode. She checked her watch every five minutes, mentally went over her proposition around five times in the last half hour to the Founding Partner of Darcy and Spectre legal firm, one of the best in London. She was a little sore from driving for an hour and a half from Bath to London, but this proposition supersedes everything else.
When Lisa was about to enter into a panic attack stage, a woman entered the room. She said, “Right this way, Miss Bennet, Mr Spectre will see you now.” The receptionist gave out a relieved sigh and returned to her lukewarm cup of tea while Lisa was led into a spectacular looking office through the hallway. This led to a balding middle-aged man looking very comfortable in his three-piece suit sitting at the desk.
“Good morning, Mr Spectre. Thank you so much for your time, I endeavour to make the best use of it.”
“Very well, Miss Bennet, please do have a seat.” Lisa not wanting to waste any more time, launched into her very rehearsed proposition.
“Of course, Mr Spectre, I recently, around three weeks ago came into contact with this brave woman, Aadila Barozai at a pro bono legal clinic in Bath, where I am temporarily working at. She is a human rights activist and a freedom fighter in her country, Afghanistan. She had to be flown out because the militant government was growing impatient with her and ordered for her execution, she continued her work here in London but her government has ordered for her to be extradited from England back to Afghanistan where she will be surely executed. The case has been going on for seven years now and the final hearing is in three months, and with my limited resources, I will not be able to do her case much justice all by myself and thus, here I am to ask you to join forces with me to stop from the commission of such grave injustice. And….”
“Forgive me for interrupting Miss Bennet. That was an impassioned and no doubt, a very good appeal. But forgive me, Darcy and Spectre is not in a position to take on any more cases pro bono, we have met the required amount already. But I have great faith that you will on your own, do a good job being a law graduate at the University of Law as well as a masters in law at the same college.”
“But Sir, with all due respect, I have come to your firm because I have little faith that I will be able to take this monumental task all on my own without the resources that I know your very esteemed firm has, from what I hear from my sources is doing very financially well, besides, I have not even shared most facts regarding the case to you…”
“That’s enough Miss Bennet, I will tolerate your insolence no longer, and unless you want to find yourself with very few future career opportunities, I suggest you show yourself out.”
Lisa knew that the battle was lost and left the building through the beautiful yet incredibly shallow hallways.
“Bloody profiteering… soul-sucking… capitalists!” she shouted loudly in the fortunate privacy of her car while driving to her best friend Charlotte Lucas’ home.
She found Charlotte eagerly waiting for her outside the house, for a multitude of reasons that made her feel even more dejected. She said “Hi…” in a Ross Geller fashion.
“I take it that the meeting did not go well?”
“That right there is an understatement, he was the worst! The absolute worst, why did your fiancé recommend that firm to me, I mean he rejected me before I could put up my proposition, he refused to entertain my insolence, whatever that means, I can’t, I just can’t even....”
“Oh honey, that’s awful, I know there isn’t anything that I can say to make the situation better, but I am going to try, there are many other accomplished firms in London and they will be very happy to assist you…”
“…To think that I came to London from Bath just for this pathetic excuse of a meeting!”
“Excuse me! You are also here because your best friend of twenty years is getting married NEXT WEEK! And you are the maid of honour. I know you are upset, that is the only reason I am going to let this slide, but don’t ever repeat this,” Charlotte said in a mock stern voice. To this, Lisa stuck her tongue out at Charlotte.
“Are you kidding me!? You know that I care more about your wedding way more than you, I hired your wedding planning team, I hired the catering, I handwrote your invitations, I…”
“Oh, come on! You know that I was kidding. Anyways, you know that gorgeous best man that my Colin went to college for undergrad with, he...”
“Yeah, the one that you have very vivid fantasies about, I remember.”
Lisa and Charlotte enter the house, got a six-pack of beer and set camp on the couch.
“First of all, I was just window shopping, for you, that is, your welcome.”
“For me!?”
“Yeah, I mean he is perfect for you, he too is a lawyer, a legacy actually, a fourth-generation lawyer. He too is very snarky from a couple of times I have met him, and a tad bit arrogant which fits him even better, also, did I mention that he is absolutely gorgeous...”
“Yes, woman, you did! A hundred times actually, but right now, I cannot indulge myself in another person’s life and their baggage right now, I have too much of my own and a lot of other things going on right now, but I promise you, that in the far future, but if I need setting up, you are my wing-woman of choice.”
“That doesn’t really stop me from setting you up right now over this week and getting you laid so that you can be relaxed for my wedding day…”
“Please don’t do that!”
“I mean look at us, no one can tell that I am the bride and you are the maid of honour, I am so much more relaxed than you, like the knots on your shoulders and back could be capable of even crushing a freaking diamond, it is insane.”
“I am sure that there is a point to this extremely insulting conversation that we have not got to yet.”
“All I am saying is that it is okay for you to let go and have fun, you can start by joining me at the ‘Meet and Greet of the Bridal Party’ party.”
“I knew that even the very point of this conversation is one that I will not like. I have no interest in hanging out with your vapid friends from management school who keep commenting on my single status at twenty-seven as if their very lives depend on it. Besides I need to work on my proposition to make it more solid for other legal firMiss to be interested.”
“Your proposition is already amazing! You know that I want those women way lesser in my bridal party than you do, it was just that stupid drunken pact that we all made early in the third semester that we are going to be each other’s bridesmaids. I regret it so much. The only thing that is going to make this party bearable is having you there.”
“If the party is that unbearable, why are you having it?”
“Colin insisted! This is one of the only requests he had. I also had to prove to myself that I can plan one party without you. Hence, we are having this party and brunch on Sunday. It is also a welcome party for that lawyer person, he and his acquaintance are returning from the States after a pretty rough merger and acquisition.”
“So that is why I have been doing all the wedding planning work myself because this guy has been making more money for himself, awesome, I hate him already!”
“You can’t hate someone just on principle Lisa. Come on, I did not even ask you to plan a bachelorette party for me!”
“I would have if you had asked! But you had that agreement with Colin about how outdated these traditions are.”
“Fine! This was supposed to be a surprise but I need you to be there so here goes, Jane is coming and she is in the bridal party.”
“Wait really, why could you not have led with that, I have not seen her in months, she is always so busy because of her dumb job…”
“She is doing her surgical residency; I am going to take a wager and say that it is not a ‘dumb job.’"
“I am her bratty younger sister, I am allowed to hate her job, how much ever noble it is, because I miss her, okay? Speaking of bratty younger sisters, is Lydia coming too?”
“No, I did not invite her to be a part of the bridal party, but she will be at the rehearsal dinner and the wedding, so will your mom.”
“Yeah, I know that information, I handwrote the invitations, remember? I thought that you liked Lydia, why is she not your bridesmaid?”
“I really like her; I love her, in fact. It is just that every time the two of you have the tendency to get into a huge fight when you are in each other’s company for a prolonged time, so I am shortening the time of exposure, besides, it is her final year in business management school, she needs the least number of distractions as possible, I would know…”
“It is complicated with us, you know that. Also, why did you not tell me that Jane can actually make it? Will the bridesmaid dress fit her? Did we even order one for her and am I the worst sister ever?”
“Relax, it is all done, I spoke to the vendor and gave her Jane’s measurements earlier this week, Jane wanted it to be a surprise because you deserve one, I guess, we both thought so, with you running around for my wedding, working on this pro bono case as well as closing that lawsuit undertaken by your mother’s NPO, giving her a good settlement, you are pretty awesome.”
“So, you only told that Jane was coming because that was the only leverage you had to get me to your party, and now you are buttering me up to close the deal! Damn, you are good at your job!”
Charlotte was the VP of the Distressed Debt at Goldman Sachs, London division.
“And you are great at your job, and you can even boss over everyone else and get them to do all the last-minute errands, so are you coming?”
“Okay, yes! This is only because you have worn me down.”
“Yay!!” squealed Charlotte.
That was how Lisa Bennet found herself wearing a nice red dress that Charlotte made her wear inside of a private dining room in Chiantry, a high-end restaurant in uptown London. She arrived around half an hour after Charlotte, because the latter wanted to do one thing on her own. She could not even fault this insane spending done by Charlotte and her fiancé Colin Evans because she has seen and continues to see how hard, they work. Charlotte, a financial analyst and Colin, a dermatology resident of all professions were in Lisa’s opinion a true power couple. They supported one another, communicated in a near-perfect manner and were just always there for one another. They even donated to whatever cause Lisa demanded them to, and that in her opinion, exempted them from the guilt of having a beautiful but incredibly expensive wedding.
The room was a big, spacious hall. It was adorned with blue hyacinths that meant charm and its immense value to the person it is displayed to, a running feature in the Lucas-Evans wedding. A huge table was set up in the middle and around fifteen people talking around the table. The minute she entered the room, Lisa began to search for her sister, Jane and there she was already talking to Colin. The two worked in the same hospital, except that they were practising in different fields of medicine.
“Excuse me; I believe I have my greetings to give to my sister.”
“Lisa! Hi! You knew I was coming?! I so badly wanted to surprise you!”
“That would be Charlotte’s fault, she hardly has the stomach to store a surprise of any kind,” said Colin.
“Hello to you, Colin, I missed you yesterday, you were not at your and Charlotte’s home, were you at your shift?”
“You’ll again have to blame my fiancée for that, she apparently wants to follow some tradition and not live together a week before the wedding, so I am crashing at a motel nearby.”
“And they say that chivalry is dead. Honey, congratulations, I am so happy for you, this is so great.” Lisa took Colin in for an enormous hug.
“Thank you, but I need you to know that the best part of getting married truly is finally having a younger sister of my own, officially. Now, I would love to let you two catch up, but I think you have the whole week to do so, and I need to introduce the two of you to a couple of people, so follow me, if you will.”
Lisa groaned while Jane just glanced at her and chuckled and said, “Hey, just a couple of minutes and we will be able to eat so much of food that Colin is going to have to spend so much money on, you focus your frustration on that, just like I am, okay? And then after this party, we are going to eat a big tub of chocolate ice cream and you will tell me everything that is going on in your life in excruciating detail.” Colin unable to hear them continued to lead them across the room.
“I adore you, you know that, right?”
To this, Jane laughed and that made Lisa finally smile. It is no secret that Lisa had a huge girl crush on her big sister. Jane’s happiness meant the absolute world to Lisa and the reciprocal was also true.
Colin led them to two well-dressed men, one with a big lovable grin who genuinely looked like he was having the time of his life, while the other man was on the complete opposite end of this spectrum, looked like he was in physical pain. It was definitely a pity because this man had beautiful features, aristocratic ones, which were marred by his frown. It was unfortunate really.
“May I introduce you to my rugby mates from undergrad school, John Bingley; he is a stockbroker at London Stock Exchange. This is Will Darcy, my best man; he is a lawyer…”
“That is Darcy as in Darcy and Spectre?”
“That would be correct, Miss…”
“Lisa Bennet”
“Right, Miss Bennet,” he replied in a clipped tone.
“Anyways, let me continue with the introductions, this is Lisa Bennet, she too is a lawyer, and she works in a pro bono legal clinic in Bath, she will be our maid of honour. She has done most of the ‘behind the scenes’ work for the wedding. This is her elder sister, Jane Bennet; she is doing her surgical residency in Cambridge Hospital, same as me but a lot less free time. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to play host.”
With this Colin dashed to join his fiancée greeting other members of the bridal party, leaving the sisters to the company of the two men. Sensing the imminent arrival of awkward silence, Mr Bingley excitedly said “Well, it is an absolute pleasure to meet the two of you, Miss Bennet, if you don’t mind; I would love to know more about your work. I know so little about the medical community.”
“Of course, Mr Bingley, I’d love to talk about my work with you…” they trailed away into their conversation. This, in Lisa’s opinion, was a very obvious ploy to get Jane’s attention, but Mr Bingley looked like a nice man genuinely interested in whatever they were talking about. So, Lisa tried to converse with Mr Darcy. She couldn’t get over the fact that his firm rejected her proposition without even completely hearing it.
“…So, Mr Darcy what aspects of your firm do you operate on, does it include pro bono work at all?”
“I hardly think inside matters of my firm falls into the area of small talk, Miss Bennet.”
“Of course, I wasn’t at all trying to intrude…”
“Please excuse me, Miss Bennet.” With that Mr Darcy left the private dining room and rushed into the restaurant.
Lisa felt humiliated, she wanted to confide in her sister, but Jane looked quite at peace chatting with Mr Bingley, and she did not want to interrupt them. Instead, she tried to find Colin and Charlotte to let her feelings out. On the way she bumped into Charlotte’s well despised postgrad classmates: Patricia, Gwen and Kirsten.
“Hello, how is it going, find a chap yet?”
Lisa mentally groaned and said, “No not yet, considering the fact that I am not even trying to.”
“Well, that’s alright, we can set you up with some good fellas.”
“That’s quite unnecessary, but you know what is absolutely is necessary? Visiting a couple of vendors for order confirmations, checking with…”
“Well, we are sure you have got it all figured out, see you later.” And then, they left.
For the third time this evening, Lisa groaned. But at least she found Colin and Charlotte.
“Hey, how did it go, I told you right, he is so gorgeous, right?”
“Hi Charlotte, this is your fiancé here, standing right next to you while you crush over my best man.”
“Shut up Colin, you know I love you, Lisa, give me the details.”
“It was horrendous, this guy owns the firm that rejected my proposition without fully hearing it and when I was trying to ask him about it, he just dashed right out, leaving me completely humiliated.”
“Wait, so you already visited his firm, but he wasn’t even there yesterday, he was in the States with Bingley on some business, who did you talk to?”
“His founding partner, some old bore called Mr Spectre, I guess.”
“Lisa, I recommended you talk to him and not ‘some old bore at the firm’. Trust me. He is a good, kind person. There is no way I would pick the person you are describing as my best man. He is probably incredibly jet-lagged considering his flight landed only a couple of hours and that is why he was impolite with you. So why don’t you go outside, he is probably at the bar, so you go and get a drink, explain whatever happened calmly and figure everything out? Here, you take my card; just don’t go crazy with it.”
“Yeah, you do that, no one rebuffs my best friend in that manner, go sort things out and by all means, do go crazy on Colin’s card.”
“Hey, come on, Charlotte…” began Colin.
“I love you guys.”
“We love you more, now go!” said Charlotte.
Lisa laughed and turned to go to the bar outside the dining room and was met by Jane on the way.
“Oh, Lisa, I am so sorry for abandoning you, I just kind of lost my head for a minute there, but I got to say that man, Mr Bingley is a proficient conversationalist.”
“Proficient conversationalist, huh? In your language that would mean smoking hot, right?"
Jane laughs at this and changes the topic by asking “What is up with you, why the long face?”
“It is just a misunderstanding, I will explain the whole thing to you during the ice cream conversation you have scheduled, but right now, I have some business to attend to.”
“Well alright then, see you later!”
With that, Lisa found her way to the bar and found Mr Darcy talking to Mr Bingley. She sat at a little distance from them and ordered a Bellini. She sort of could overhear their conversation, completely accidentally though, mind you.
“I think I am in love. She is the most beautiful person I have ever met, Jane Bennet, she is exceptional!”
This made Lisa smile.
“Pace yourself, Bingley, you just met her.”
“I try not to care about facts when it comes to love, you should do the same. What about you though, you know the tradition…”
“What tradition?”
“You know…the one with the best man and the maid of honour… Jane’s sister, Lisa and you…”
“You got to be joking, that woman is a nightmare, she probably has her law degree from a rather undignified, unknown university that could not even get her a job at a legal aid clinic in London that she has to work in a place like Bath. The moment she met me, she had to harass me with her incessant questioning. If I had stayed there a minute longer, she would have asked me for a job. She is pretty I guess, if you are into the obsessive-compulsive type, but not enough to tempt me… trust me, you got the better one and I suggest you join her rather than drink with me.”
Bingley said something in an offended tone, but Lisa could not hear anything, for she was only feeling red, that was the moment she knew that red was also a feeling and not just a colour.
Another discovery Lisa made was that after this moment, she not only in principle but in practicality hated Will Darcy.