His Pride & Her Prejudice (in the 21st Century)-unedited.

Chapter Six

Ella

The doorbell rang.

Ella was the unfortunate one to open the door and see David Collins in flesh and blood.

"Good day. John is expecting me," he greeted with the air of someone bloated with self-importance.

Her eyebrows shot up at the sight of him. He was dressed in a brown suit one size bigger than him, and his orange loafers needed desperate mending. His hair was slicked to the side as if he had spent hours styling it. But what caught Ella's attention the most was the atrocious orange tie which could have been best recycled into something useful.

"Um, good day," he repeated, hefting the bouquet of flowers in his arms.

Ella, who stood rooted to the spot, ogling at the mirage before her eyes, jolted. Good day! Who the heck greets people like this? "You must be the guest of honour we have been eagerly waiting for," she said, moving aside to usher him in.

Upon hearing this, David preened even further if that were possible.

It didn't take her more than a minute to have the measure of this absurd man in his early thirties. He thirsts for attention by hook or crook.

"Ah, here you are!" John materialized. "My family has been anxiously waiting for you."

Margaret pushed her way past her husband and said, "David, how good to finally meet you?"

Lydia and Kitty came racing from behind their mother. They giggled at the sight of their guest in his ridiculous clothes.

"Lydia, do you mind taking the flowers from David and putting them in a vase, please," Ella said. She turned around to stifle her smile and shot her sisters a warning look.

"Of course. Nice outfit. Um, very retro," her sister complimented as she took the bouquet from him.

"Thanks. They are branded. I had them flown from Italy for this occasion," David elaborated in reply, puffing his chest out. "They are bespoke, which basically means one of a kind."

"Trust me, none of us would have guessed this was just made for you." Ella rounded to face the man and assured him. "The made-to-measure stuff is a joy to wear, especially when it fits as yours do."

Kitty choked on her giggle, which she tried to pass off as a cough. "Sorry, must be the pollen from the flowers."

Lydia thumped her sister hard on the back. The latter nearly toppled over.

"David, please come in. The dinner is almost ready." Margaret gestured him to move  over from the threshold.

As they made their way down the hall, Ella caught her father's mystified expression. Soon, David was introduced to Jane and Mary who both received verbose greetings  and pompous lamentations about  intruding on their hospitality as he would be staying in the city for a  few weeks. This was news to all of them.

"Three weeks is awfully a long time to stay in Jersey City," Margaret said. She clearly worried he had come over to take over her husband's business and leave them in destitute poverty. "Won't you be missed by your family and... erm, your employees?"

"It was about time I went on a vacation and took up John on his offer to visit this place. My family has gone to the Hamptons. It's where the who's who of this country hangs out. And I am not talking about the social media influencers and the pop starlets, who are the epitome of social decay these days," he lectured them as he dug into his food. "Did I tell you my family has a vacation house in the Hamptons? Margaret, if you ever visit, I will introduce you to the right sort of crowd there. They are very selective in who they meet. You will fit in seamlessly with your impeccable tastes."