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

Chapter 6

The weeks after starting her internship went by quickly. She was doing well in school. She had no friends there yet, she didn't really mind it. To her school was to get an education and not increase your social life. The only person to make a big impression on Elizabeth was Caroline Bingley, who she recently found out was the younger sister of Charles. This led her to 2 surprising discoveries.

The first and most shocking was the difference in personalities. While Charles is kind and amiable, Caroline is the opposite. She is snobby and has a very obvious dislike for people that are in her words, 'below her social level' and she does not try to hide it.

About one week after starting, Caroline and her group of 'friends' (though they're mainly with her cause she's popular, but those are technicalities) came up to her and let her know in not so nice terms that she was not wanted or accepted here. She then explained that she was not of high 'social standing, therefore of little importance.

After this encounter, Caroline constantly taunted and ridiculed her when all she was trying to do was mind her own business. She even managed to turn most of the school against Lizzie using false rumors.

To sum it up, Caroline was trying in every way she could to turn Elizabeth's school life into a nightmare, but Lizzie tried not to let it get to her. Why should she give Caroline the satisfaction? So she tried to laugh it off. Although sometimes it was hard. Those days, she would usually show up at the Darcy home feeling miserable. Luckily, that was normally ended by Anne or Georgiana who have become like a second family. They made her feel welcome and wanted. Always giving her warm smiles and including her in family activities. Sometimes, they felt more like family than her real one with the only thing sent to her from her mom was the question whether she has found a guy yet. When she answered in the negative, her mom would then send a list of tips which all involved basically changing her entire character.

Anne Darcy has become like an honorary mom to her and Georgiana her honorary sister. She would not be able to live through Caroline's constant ridicule without them.

Even though Caroline was terrible, she did not hold it against Charles in any way. He had become a friend and was all smiles. She would never judge him for a bratty sister since she knows all too well how it feels to be judged by a family member.

The second discovery she made was that the Bingleys were quite rich. Their father owns a firm in London which started their wealth, but soon increased when he made some deals with the Darcy's. Although not as wealthy as the Darcy's, they were still quite rich. The part that confused Elizabeth was that if the Bingley family was rich, why would Charles work as a private driver. Surely he could have been a significant figure in the family business. Elizabeth eventually determined that there was a reason and decided to drop the subject.

Her internship was also going well. The employees were warm and welcoming. They would talk with her and answer any questions she had.

Charlotte in particular had fast become a friend. They would talk on breaks and would occasionally meet up on the weekends. She was even invited once to dinner by Anne but declined since she already had a family for that night.

The only person that Elizabeth could not establish a full character for was William Darcy. Most times he would be his proud and stern self that she has grown to dislike even more, but there were times when she would see a different part of him. It mainly came out when he was with Georgiana or Anne, but sometimes showed with employees and occasionally, even herself. This was what confused her. He could be so proud but then would do or say something kind. She would then think that she misjudged him, then he would do something which furthered her idea of his pride.

Charlotte had been right however, that he did not require a lot from his assistant. He just asked for a coffee in the morning when she would go get hers, which he would insist that she let the company pay for (that added to her confusion) and then occasionally copy documents.

Due to the small amount of work given by him, Elizabeth would have more time to help around the office. In general, it was great.

~~~

After about a month of her internship, she got a phone call.

It was from an unknown number, but she decided to answer it anyway. The man on the other side of the line introduced himself as George Wickham. He explained that he used to work for Darcy and wanted to warn her.

"How did you know that I worked there?"she asked.

"Do you know Caroline Bingley?" he asked.

"Yes, but how is that relevant?" she questioned.

"She was the one who told me. I was out one day with my friend Louisa who happens to be Caroline's older sister. I know that Caroline is quite awful, but her sister is the complete opposite. Anyway, Caroline insisted on coming with us and she mentioned you worked there since that used to be my old job and I thought that I should warn you." He then paused and gave a deep sigh. " What I am about to tell you is still hard to talk about so I want you to know that I am telling you this for your benefit."

"...Okay" she said hesitantly.

"I came to England to study at university. I'm from Canada and rented the room that the Darcy family offers to students. That is how I met the Darcy family. This was before Mr. Darcy senior sadly passed away. Everything was going well. I was getting high marks in school and was offered an internship at Pemberley inc. Then, one day Mr. Darcy mentioned that he felt as though I was his son. He continued to treat me as such and I started to notice William becoming jealous. He never had a good relationship with his father and I was getting along great. Once Mr. Darcy died, William took over the company. It was one of Mr. Darcy's wishes that I be given a good position in the company. William however, had different ideas. He gave me a position that could go nowhere. I was less than an assistant. More like his servant. Then, one summer, William had to go away on business and Mrs. Darcy had already left to visit family, leaving Georgiana and me alone which was perfectly fine since we were like siblings. She was having a hard time with bullies so we would spend time together and became even closer. When William came home, he realised that Georgiana was close to me and became even more jealous. He fired me, kicked me out of the house, and managed to convince the university to expel me and put it on my file so I can never be accepted anywhere else. So I now have a useless job and stay with a friend." he finished.

Elizabeth was seething. She knew William Darcy was proud, but she didn't know he was so cruel. She knew not how to reply. This was beyond anything she could have imagined.

"How awful!" she exclaimed.

"Yes it was quite terrible, but I do nothing about it in memory of his father."

"That is very noble of you" she complimented. " I thank you for informing me of these terrible acts."

"My pleasure" he replied.

"Well I have to go now. Thank you. Bye."

"Good bye" he hung up.

Elizabeth stared at her phone for a while. Not knowing what to do. Does she confront him? No, she won't do that. If George can be okay with this, so can she. Now she officially has William's character mapped out.

William Darcy is the worst person she has ever met.