Netherfield Prep: A Modern Reimagining of Jane Austen's 'Pride & Prejudice'

by Elizabeth Stevens

  "I'd call it being realistic, Austin," she said, staring me down. "Women are as much people as men are, and I certainly wouldn't find a man like that outside a romance novel! In fact, if anyone tried to tell me there was a man like that in real life, I'd suggest he were overcompensating for something."

  "And here I was going to suggest Austin was such a man!" Jax grinned at me and I glared at him. Jax winked.

  "Well, I'd certainly ask you if he's overcompensating for something, but I feel that would only serve to make him grumpier than he already is," Lily chuckled.

  I saw the challenge in her eyes, but couldn't bring myself to meet it. With Cassandra and my aunt the only two women who had ever said anything remotely unflattering to me, I still wasn’t sure how to proceed with Lily. She insulted me with as quick a wit as my aunt, though without real intended belittlement. And, she teased me with Cassandra’s readiness, with her face alight with endearing humour.

  "I don't think you could, Lily," Cass laughed. "He's already in as foul a mood as any I've seen."

  "Then, I won’t dare suggest you’d ever need to overcompensate for anything, Austin," she said and bit her lip as she tried to hide her smile.

  I hid a groan at the sight, telling myself it didn’t matter how sexy she was; she was not the sort of girl with which I could associate. She was one of those girls you thought about, but never touched.

  Cass, Jax and I kept playing while she read her book. Part of me wanted to keep talking to her, but I had no idea what to say. All I wanted was to hear her voice, her laugh, see her smile and her eyes flashing. I focussed on the game, even thought about Fleur, anything to take my mind off the girl barely a seat from me, yet so far out of reach.

  Chapter Nine

  I woke up stretching, then remembered not to disturb the figure at my side.

  I looked at Anne, who was finally sleeping comfortably, as little as I knew about these things. She was still pale and she hadn’t eaten for about twenty-four hours, but I didn’t want to disturb her; she looked in the most comfort I’d seen since I arrived.

  I sat up and looked down at myself, seeing the jumper and tracksuit pants that weren’t mine. I couldn’t tell if there were Jax’s or Austin’s. But, the way they slid over my skin, I sure knew which twin I imagined them belonging to, though they didn’t last long on me in that image.

  “Don’t be a ridiculous idiot,” I whispered to myself as I got up.

  I hadn’t intended to stay over, but, when I’d seen Anne, I knew I couldn’t leave her here on her own. Cass seemed nice enough, but there was a gleam in her eye and a falseness in her I didn’t like. And, I won’t even start on Austin’s less than stellar personality.

  It was warm in the room, which was good for Anne, but I was starting to feel cramped. I went to the bathroom to change into my singlet, which was the only thing of mine dry. I swished toothpaste round my mouth and tried to tame my hair before sitting on a chair next to the bed by Anne.

  I was surprised how quickly she’d wormed her way into my heart. Apart from my mum, I’d never felt so close to anyone before, even though we’d only known each other about a month. We shared similar interests and she was clever and funny, if a bit shy.

  My phone buzzed and I saw Dad was calling. I sighed and moved into the hall to take it.

  “Hi Dad.”

  “Hey sweetheart, how are you?” he asked, sounding unusually jovial.

  “I’m okay… How are you?”

  “Great.” There was an awkward silence for a moment. “So, I hear you’re at the Coopers’ in London?”

  “Seriously?”

  “The Coopers are a great family, you could do worse.”

  “I’m sorry?” I spat.

  “I’m just saying, Lil. You could have chosen a lot worse.”

  “Oh my God, Dad. You’re actually going there. You know, when Gem and Katie told me you were going to give me a talk about finding a rich Rosings boy, I had serious hopes you wouldn’t let me down. I am not dating anyone, let alone a Rosings boy. If you must know, I’m here for my friend. Jax seems interested in her and Austin is a proud, condescending snob. So, there is no way I shall find myself in the arms of a Cooper. Give up any thoughts of that right now, thank you!” I felt like hanging up on him, but decided to see what he’d say for himself.

  “That is a shame. I have heard Austin is a most disagreeable young man, but Claire says it’s not his fault-”

  “No, I’m sure there’s someone else to blame for his superiority complex,” I said, my voice heavy with sarcasm.

  “Are you sure there’s no hope with you and Jackson?”

  “No! He is very certainly crushing on my friend, Anne.”

  “Anne Macklin?”

  “You know her?”

  “I know her mother. We’re great friends. I’m so glad you two found each other. I was going to suggest you look her up. Anne’s a great beauty; I’m always surprised when Linda tells me she’s not been dating.”

  “Trust me, she’s as oblivious to her beauty as Austin Cooper is to what constitutes decent human personality,” I muttered.

  “Is he really as bad as all that?”

  “Yes, Dad. He looks down his nose at everyone, which is somewhat hypocritical given his tattoos. I doubt their precious family think much of those.”

  “He has tattoos?”

  I nodded, then remembered he couldn’t see me. “He has quite a few.”

  “I’ve never seen them in the pictures.”

  “Oh no, he’s sensible enough to have them where he can cover them up.”

  “And you’ve been in a position to see them? Are you sure there’s no chance of the two of you?” I could practically hear Dad drooling and I rolled my eyes.

  “Oh, God. Goodbye, Dad. When you have something decent to talk about, I’ll be here. But, until then, I don’t want to hear any of your ridiculous nonsense. Give my love to Claire.” I hung up on him and saw a message on my phone.

  Liam: Had a great time yesterday. Sorry to hear about Anne. Maybe we can hang out again when you get back?

  I smiled; now this was a nice-looking boy who didn’t seem out to push all my buttons until I wanted to smack him in his stupid face.

  Me: Me too, I’d like that. I’ll let you know when I’m back

  Liam: Looking forward to it. Can’t wait to see you ;)

  With something to smile about, I decided to head downstairs and see if there was anything in the way of coffee.

  I found Austin in the kitchen, facing away from me. He was topless with low-slung jeans and white sneakers, his elbows leaning on the island bench. I leant against the doorframe and watched him for a few minutes, though I couldn’t see what he was doing.

  Muscles shifted in his back and he crossed his leg, making the lines of ink running across him ripple. There seemed no real design or pattern to the tattoos I could see, but they held my interest as though I could fathom the lessons of the universe in those simple lines.

  I don’t know how long I stood there. But, eventually, he stood straighter and stretched, lacing his arms behind his head. Panicked, I moved and bumped the cabinet next to me, making it rattle.

  Austin turned around slowly, a small smile on his lips as his eyes ranged over me. I felt heat creep up over my cheeks as I saw the look in his smouldering grey eyes. I was more afraid that mine showed a similar look, than I was of seeing it on his face.

  “Good morning,” he said, leaning back against the island bench, his long legs crossed in front of him.

  I cleared my throat and tried to ignore the intensity of his gaze. “Hi. I don’t suppose there’s coffee?”

  “In this house, there is always coffee,” he replied, moving around the bench and finding a mug.

  Soon, he was pushing a steaming mug of coffee into my hands. His fingers brushed mine and I looked up at him quickly. A smirk twitched at the corner of his mouth.

  “If you have something to say, say it,” I said, breathing a sigh of relief when my
voice came out almost normally.

  “What makes you think I have anything to say?” he asked, not moving away from me. This close, his scent was a mix of spice and something I couldn’t pinpoint. I blinked, trying to keep my mind out of the gutter.

  “You have a look about you when you have something you want to say. Though, I can’t say you usually hesitate.”

  “I didn’t realise I have a look.” His eyes darkened and I felt inclined to take a step back, but I held my ground.

  “You have a lot of looks, Austin Cooper.”

  “Is that so?”

  Oh my God, was he flirting with me?

  I steeled my face so I gave away no indication as to how fast my heart was beating. “Yes, they are remarkably similar and tend to involve some level of ‘jerk’.”

  His smile didn’t falter. “Really?”

  I nodded. “Really.”

  He chuckled. “Have you been watching me? To know about these looks?”

  I blinked, but regained my composure relatively quickly. “Unlike some people in this room, I tend to look at person when I’m speaking to them.” God, why was he so tall? Why was he so hot? Focus, Lily!

  “I’m looking at you now,” he said, his voice low.

  “I can see that.” His toned, muscular chest was right there… I could just reach out and run my fingers along it-

  No! None of that!

  “I look at you often. In fact, I quite enjoy looking-” he blinked and stepped away. He cleared his throat and stretched his neck. “How’s the coffee?”

  I laughed at the uncomfortable look on his face. “Now, that is one of your less famous looks; this one tells me you’ve just realised you might have shown a touch too much humanity and the encounter left you feeling burnt.”

  His eyes narrowed and I wondered if my boldness had caused me to cross the line, but I couldn’t keep the smile from my face. I bit my lip to try to stop the laughter that was bubbling up at the incredulous look on his face. His eyes darted to my lips then back to my eyes.

  “I assure you, Lily, I am more than capable of showing humanity and the mere act of being…polite to someone does not leave me burnt,” he huffed.

  I took a sip of my coffee, raising my eyebrows at him. “Great coffee, by the way.”

  He studied my face for a moment – though, in truth, I think his eyes roamed a little further than that – breathed out heavily and turned back to whatever he’d been doing when I walked in.

  I sipped my coffee, my eyes on him as much to annoy him as to enjoy the sight.

  “Bloody hell,” he grumbled, shaking his head.

  “Everything all right?” I asked nonchalantly. For all I knew, his dry cleaning wasn’t going to be ready in time.

  “Your father is Daniel Brewer, is he not?”

  I frowned. “Unfortunately. Why?”

  He spun around, looking confused. “Unfortunately?”

  I sighed. “We had an…argument of sorts this morning. He’s gone absolutely insane.”

  He cocked his head to the side. “Right…”

  “Don’t get me wrong, he can be a decent dad when he wants to, it just seems he’s got a one-track mind at the moment.”

  At my words, Austin’s expression clouded. “I see,” he said coldly, “I think I’ve got a fair idea of the sort of man he is.”

  “Austin, I’m not sure what you’re thinking about my dad, but I’m pretty sure even he doesn’t deserve that from you.” I felt my heart rate increase, and it had nothing to do with how attractive he was. “God, you are such a snob! Look at you, little Mister Rich Boy. Well, I have news for you, mate, you’re not all that. Now, you take a guy like Jax? He’s so nice that it doesn’t matter he’s rich. You like the guy before you even know that’s apparently a draw point!

  “You might be identical, but Jax will always be the sexier of you two because his face isn’t marred in a perpetual scowl while he looks down his nose at everyone and everything around him.” I was lying my arse off on that point, but he didn’t need to know that. “You’re so worried girls will throw themselves at you for your money? Sure, because you’re so damned dreamy with your shining personality and easy smile. Oh, no wait, that’s Jax again.”

  Austin crossed his arms and scowled harder. “As I am well aware. Why do you think he’s not with anyone?”

  “Undoubtedly, because you entice them to stay with your winning charms,” I snapped.

  Jesus, one minute I thought he was flirting with me, and now we’re fighting… God, but he was so frustrating!

  “Because my brother has a tendency to fall for the wrong-”

  “Oz, did you get that… Oh, hi…” Cass walked in and looked up from her phone.

  Austin’s face looked like thunder as he rounded on her. Not for the first time, I wondered what the relationship between them was.

  “What do you want, Cassandra?” he asked.

  “Oh, uh, just wondering if you got the message from… Did I interrupt something?” She smiled but her eyes held a glint of disapproval.

  I looked between them and could tell I was in the way. “Thanks for the coffee, Austin.”

  I turned and went back up to sit with Anne.

  Chapter Ten

  When Lily was out of earshot, I rounded on my cousin. “What message, Cass?”

  “I don’t know what I walked in on Austin Cooper, but there’s no need to spaz at me,” she said, folding her arms as she stared at me.

  I raked a hand through my hair and sighed. “What message?”

  “From Petal.”

  “Oh good, and what does my future bride want?” I asked, venom in my veins as I thought about my aunt’s stupid plans.

  “She was wondering when we’re heading back to school. She was thinking she might come over before we go?”

  I looked in the direction Lily had gone, frustration eating at me. I’d received an email from Aunt Celia just before everything had turned to shit. Or, rather, the email from Aunt Celia was the reason it all turned to shit.

  That, and my ability to forget myself around her.

  “Oz, are you even listening?”

  “What?” I didn’t look at her.

  “What the hell did I walk in on anyway?”

  I sighed and leant back against the counter top. “Aunt Celia’s friend apparently overheard some conversation between Daniel Brewer and Linda Macklin.”

  Cass wrinkled her nose, knowing just from my words that no good was going to come of that. “That good, huh?”

  “According to Aunt Celia, they were tittering – she even used the word tittering – about how their children were well on the way to landing themselves some nice Rosings boys. They didn’t name names, but Lily confirmed she talked with him about his one-track mind this morning.”

  Cass sighed. “That sucks, man, it does. But, we knew they were like that.”

  “Lily and Anne seemed different.”

  “Yeah…” she said slowly. “But you’ll do best with one of your own. Someone who sees past your money since they have plenty of their own.”

  I scoffed. “Like who?”

  “Well, there’s always Petal.” She laughed, but there was something in her eye I didn’t like. “Speaking of, what shall I tell her?”

  “Oh, I don’t know!”

  “Is your aunt coming home while you’re here? I’m going to assume not since you never got that hair cut?”

  I mumbled to myself.

  She laughed. “What?”

  “Aunt Celia tolerates my hair because Fleur likes it. If I keep it long, Fleur wins, if I cut it, Aunt Celia wins. I have no options where I win.”

  Cass shrugged. “Dye it something outrageous and get dreadlocks. Oh, God, no Oz…” She’d obviously seen the gears working in my mind. “Oz, I wasn’t being serious. School will have a fit if you do that and then you’ll have to see Celia all the time. Just get another tattoo.”

  I looked at her in exasperation. “That was Jax’s suggestion. Do I only have on
e avenue for self-expression?”

  “‘Do I only have one avenue…’” she mocked me. “Do whatever the hell you want, dude. See if I care. Now, what to tell Petal?”

  “Tell her we’re leaving tomorrow.”

  “I take it you don’t want to see her?”

  “You take it right.”

  “Oz, you can’t just avoid her-”

  “I thought I could do whatever the hell I want…dude?”

  She sighed and rolled her eyes. “I’ll tell her now’s not a good time. You should see her, actually have a conversation with her.”

  “Why do you care all of a sudden? You’ve always hated Fleur’s obsession with marrying me.”

  Cass shrugged. “I dunno, just figure you’ve never really given it a chance. And, now you’re moping all over Lily when you clearly dislike it. Just thought I’d give you options, distractions?”

  “If I wanted distractions, I’d visit the Longbourn dorm. That’s all they’re good for, after all,” I said, glaring at her.

  “You can stop with that, thank you. It’s not my fault you’ve got a crush on a girl you don’t want to have a crush on.”

  “I do not have a crush on anyone!” I said, my tone rising.

  “Whatever, Austin, I’ve got things to do. You can tell Petal yourself.” She flounced out and I growled.

  Why the hell did I have to fight with every person in my life right now?

  I thought about calling Amanda, but she was on some humanitarian mission or something overseas and I had no idea where she was or what time zone she was in; she did so many things, I could never keep up with who she was helping when.

  I sat on the barstool in the kitchen, flicking through my tablet again and trying to rid myself of the foul cloud that seemed to be following me lately. Even Jax was avoiding me since I’d snapped at him so many times already that morning.

  ****

  After dinner, Lily came back downstairs, saying that Anne was feeling much better and they were going to head back to school the day after tomorrow.

  I, however, barely registered her words, as I was fixated on her body. Cass had given her a dress to wear and, even though it wasn’t anything special, she looked amazing to me.