Not tolerable enough to tempt me(Modern Pride and Prejudice)

Chapter 3

When it was almost time for Elizabeth to head down for the family diner, she got changed, let her hair down(since it has been in a messy bun all day from traveling), and made her way toward the family.

Once she reached the door to the family room, she started to hear voices. One she recognized as Anne Darcy, and the other she knew not. "What do you mean you invited her for diner?" the unknown voice said with a hint of resentment which is not lost on Elizabeth.

"Yes. Of course I invited her. She's going to practically be part of the family. Why not make her feel that way too? Seriously Will, I want you to be welcoming towards her, she's going to be working at Pemberley and I don't want her feeling unwelcome. She is a long way from Canada and probably needs some friends" replied Anne.

"Canada?! So she's not even English? I would never hire a Canadian. She's probably tolerable since she is going to university here, but she would never tempt me to hire her" he sneered sending a rush of anger through Elizabeth.

'What does he mean, tolerable? Why is it such a big deal that I'm Canadian? What right does he have to judge me before even getting to know me? If he thinks that I'm going to be merely tolerable at Pemberley he has another thing coming.'

"I'll show him" she whispered with a huff. 

At that moment, she put on a brave face and politely knocked on the door. After hearing her knock, the three people in the room. Between the 3 people present, there were 2 women. One being Anne Darcy, while the other, she supposed to be Anne's daughter. There was also a man with a sour expression on his face. Although Elizabeth knew he was the disgruntled man who holds himself above her because of her nationality, she had to admit that he was quite handsome. In fact, he was probably one of the most handsome men she has ever seen. His dark hair laid perfectly and his figure tall but not exaggerated. All of these attributes, however, were over shined by the look of resentment in his eyes as he gazed at her. Lizzie assumed that was the son of Mrs. Darcy.

"Ah, Lizzie! It's so good of you to come down to eat with us" exclaimed Mrs. Darcy joyfully. "Now that everyone is here, I can finally introduce you to my family. Lizzie, I would like you to meet my son William Darcy. Will, this is Elizabeth Bennet" Lizzie smiled and held out her hand while greeting him.

"Hello, Mr. Darcy. It's a pleasure to meet you" her smile never ceasing or showing her true feelings. Mr.Darcy merely nodded without saying one word. Although, Elizabeth did notice that he had an odd look in his eyes. Elizabeth could not pinpoint exactly what the look was, but she assumed it was a condescending look that was looking for anything to judge next. Her attention was returned to Anne Darcy when she started speaking again.

"And this Lizzie" she then pointed to the young woman "is my daughter Georgiana."

After Anne Darcy finished the introduction, Georgiana Darcy jumped up and immediately made her way over to Elizabeth beaming.

"Miss Elizabeth! How lovely it is to meet you. I'm so excited to get to know you. You can call me Georgie, everybody does. I hope we become the best of friends" the over-excited girl finished practically radiating joy. Elizabeth held out her hand but it was quickly overlooked when Georgiana gave her a tight hug. Mrs. Darcy watched the exchange with a small smile.

"Well, now that everyone has been introduced, why don't we have diner now?" she suggested while heading towards the hallway. Georgie eagerly grabbed Lizzie's hand, pulling her towards the dining room. Will following behind. 

Once the group entered the dining room, Elizabeth was pulled into a seat that was beside Georgiana, who was bombarding her with questions where she's from, what she's studying and how long she'll be staying. Elizabeth answered her questions with as much enthusiasm as she could manage.

"Well, first of all. I'm from a small town in Saskatchewan called Longbourn. It definitely isn't a city that holds much importance to the rest of Canada but it's my home. To answer your other questions, I'm studying communications and will be studying here for the year until I finish my degree" Once Elizabeth finished, Anne and Georgiana started talking to each other quietly. That left Lizzie and Will to themselves. She then took a look at Mr. Darcy who was quietly staring at her. That look that puzzled her was still on his face and Elizabeth felt her temper rising. She made sure to push her anger down at the next thing she said.

"Mr. Darcy, I hope this is not too personal but I was wondering if you have ever been to Canada."

"Indeed I have, Ms. Bennet. Pemberley does a fair amount of business with Canadian companies" he replied. 

"I hope you enjoy your visits to Canada. I wouldn't want you to think Canada as just tolerable if you have business there" she said with an indignant tone. Elizabeth wanted to say something that would insinuate that she heard him when he called her tolerable but didn't want to come out and say it directly. William just looked at her confused, not knowing how to respond. Luckily, he didn't have to since Mrs. Darcy announced it was time to eat.

Diner passed in relative silence. Once finished, Mr.Darcy got up and left, while Anne and Georgiana asked whether she wants to go for a walk. She agreed.

~~~

Elizabeth, Anne, and Georgiana have been walking for 15 minutes and making companionable conversation. Although Georgiana participated in the conversation. Although Georgiana participated in the conversation, Elizabeth could see that sometimes she looked like she was uncomfortable and Lizzie assumed that she is shy but she is trying to make an effort to be more open.

"So Lizzie, what is your family like? I know that is quite personal and you don't have to answer, but I just wanted to know more about you" asked Georgie. Elizabeth just laughed. 

"Well, my family definitely is not the ideal one. While my sister is an angel and I love her and my father dearly, my mother and 3 younger sisters are not exactly easy to live with but I don't think details are really that interesting."

Anne seemed to pick up on Elizabeth's hesitancy on speaking about her family and decided to let the subject drop. She offered for them to go home which was agreed upon by all parties.

~~~

Now Elizabeth was back in her room tucked in the bed where she thought about the days events. She met the Darcy family which she had mixed feelings about. Anne and Georgiana Darcy were kind and people who she thought would become good friends. Then, there was William Darcy. Elizabeth didn't know much about his personality, but she knew she didn't like him. This occupied her thoughts for another couple of minutes. 

Finally, she shook those thoughts from her head and thought about school. Her first day was in one week and she was anxious to see how the school ran.

Through everything, Elizabeth knew that it was only just beginning.