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

by Elizabeth Stevens

  “Oz, you have so little faith in me! How shall I show him my wrath, Lily?” she asked as she kicked the ball to me gently. I barely stopped it.

  I smiled at him. “Do what I do, tease him, insult him. Do anything but be…soft with him,” I replied, watching his reaction. I saw him swallow hard, a smirk playing at his lips, his grey eyes flashing.

  “I find myself, for once, without any notion of what to tease him about,” Cass said, waiting for me to kick it back, which I did.

  “Nor I. Pity, I could have done with a laugh.”

  “I suspect you can find something, Lily, you seem quick to tease,” Austin said, watching me.

  “Ah, but only as a joke, Austin. I would never tease anything good in someone, only quirks. Although, you don’t seem to have any.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “I try to avoid flaws which could see me teased.”

  “Vanity and pride for example?” I asked and caught a glint in his eyes. Cass and I continued to kick the ball between us, laughing at our complete lack of skill.

  “Vanity is an abominable flaw; it leads to ridiculously inflated notions of oneself. Pride, though…” he cocked his head at me. “Pride in someone with good cause, will never be a flaw.”

  “So, what do you think we can tease him about, Lily?” Cass asked.

  “I can’t think of a single thing. He is…flawless…”

  Austin laughed aloud. “I didn’t say that at all! I am well aware I’m not the easiest guy to get along with; I’m quick to anger. I’m a harsh judge of character and any slight against me or mine. I am not above resenting people’s behaviour. Woe to the person who loses my faith; they’re not getting it back.”

  “Hm… That is unfortunate, but not something I can tease.”

  “Not even Netherfield can straighten out some defects.”

  “And your defect is to hate everybody.”

  He smiled openly at me and I ignored the fluttering in my chest. “Whereas yours is to be determined to misunderstand them.”

  Cass put her foot on the ball. “Tell me how the party prep is going, Jax,” she said.

  I, meanwhile, looked at Austin. The smile on his face was overshadowed by something in his eyes, but it felt as though we shared some sort of secret.

  Chapter Twelve

  The next day, Lily and Anne were in a taxi cab back to school and I was sitting with Cass and Jax in the kitchen before we, too, headed off. School was back the next day and, as much as I liked the semblance of freedom of London, I’d run into Fleur or Aunt Celia if I stayed past that afternoon.

  I wished I could say I was glad they were gone. But, I was only going to see Lily at school when we returned and have no valid excuse in Jax’s mind to avoid the girl who plagued mine despite her unsuitability. God, Aunt Celia would have a stroke if I told her I was dating Lily Brewer. Forget dying my hair a radical colour, or even getting another tattoo. Lily Brewer would get me disowned, I was sure. And, I couldn’t, in good conscience, leave the burden that was Aunt Celia to Jax.

  I had no idea what had got into me the day before with all that talk of flaws and smiling. If I wasn’t careful, everyone would know I was starting to fancy Lily, and that would just make things even more awkward. No, it was better I just stop talking to her altogether and move on with my life. Let Jax have the grand love affair, and I could leave everything to his children when I died a childless bachelor.

  “If you’re so worried about it. Stop being so nice to her,” Cass snapped as I lugged her suitcase down the stairs.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “You’re forgiven.”

  “You complain all week that I’m a grump. What the hell’s up you today?”

  She glowered and said nothing as we locked up the house and piled into the car.

  We arrived back to Netherfield a couple of hours after Lily and Anne would have got back. We dropped our bags off at our rooms and headed to the coffee shop, such as it was, for a late lunch.

  “What are you doing about this party, Jax?” Cass asked.

  “Having it, of course.”

  “Of course. And, you’re actually going to invite the Military College boys?”

  I looked around; there were a lot of them about. We didn’t exchange with the Military College every year. Though, a group of us had gone to them the year before. They walked around, all pompous and ridiculous in their uniforms, looking for all the world like animated, horny, toy soldiers.

  “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Why wouldn’t you? Are you an idiot?”

  I looked at them and Jax looked affronted.

  “Leave him be, Cass. His heart’s too big for his brain,” I said.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “He’ll probably be here.”

  “He won’t be here. He graduated last year,” I said.

  “Oh…” Jax said slowly. “Well, we’ll just not invite him them?”

  Him was a source of much contention in our family and I ground my jaw just thinking about him. I’d managed not to deck the loser the year before, but there was no telling what I’d do if I saw him again. I felt my fists clench and I relaxed them slowly.

  “Oz, breathe, it’s fine. She’s fine. Take a deep breath,” Cass said, stroking my arm.

  Jax looked at me, concern written all over his face. I’d spared him the worst of the details, but he knew something bad had gone down and he knew how it affected me.

  “It’s all good, brother. Like you said, he won’t even be here.” Jax smiled.

  I felt myself relaxing slightly, knowing they were right. I thought of anything else to take my mind off him.

  “Have you heard from Aunt Celia?” I asked, as Cass threaded her arm through mine.

  “Just the usual updates,” Jax replied. “Seems the whole Daniel Brewer and Linda Macklin thing blew over relatively swiftly, although she was not pleased Lily and Anne stayed.”

  “What were we supposed to do? Send her back to school vomiting?” I shook my head.

  Honestly, the empathy and kindness in our aunt dazzled me at times.

  Jax shrugged. “What does it matter? We dealt with it. If she actually cared that much, she would have come home and yelled at us in person.”

  I snorted. “Since when does Aunt Celia yell at us in person when a perfectly civil yet scathing email will suffice?”

  “Civil yet scathing is her speciality,” Jax chuckled.

  Jax had been saved the brunt of her civil yet scathing abuse; I’d made sure of that. But, he knew plenty well our aunt was not exactly mother-of-the-year material.

  We finally walked into the coffee shop and I took a deep breath of the delicious smells.

  “You have got to be shitting me,” Cass spat and I looked around in concern.

  My concern turned to rage as I saw what had caused her outburst.

  “Oz, don’t do anything rash.” Cass grabbed my arm and I felt Jax put his hand on my other one.

  I breathed heavily, seeing red. It wasn’t just seeing him. It was seeing who he sat with, who he laughed with. All the memories from the year before came crashing back in and I was ready to knock him out then and there. But, the memories changed as I watched him. Her brown hair became Lily’s red hair, her blue eyes Lily’s green ones and surrounded in bruises.

  My fists clenched again and Jax’s grip on me tightened.

  “Brother,” Jax said quietly, purposefully.

  Cass stood in front of me, her eyes wide with fear. “Austin. You listen to me. Nothing good will come of any rash behaviour. Hold it together. Remember who you are, who you want people to think you are. There’s nothing you can do. She wouldn’t want you to do this.”

  At her last words, I sagged, knowing Cass was right.

  At that moment, he looked up at me. His eyes glittered and his smile hardened. Lily paused as she said something to him and turned to face me. Her laughter became confusion and she smiled at us hesitantly, obviously reading the tension in me. Her eyes skimmed J
ax and Cass, both noticeably holding me back, and I saw her frown.

  She turned back to him and I saw him answer something she said. But, I didn’t stay to witness any more. Much to Cass’ and Jax’s relief, I pushed back out of there and made a beeline for the gym.

  When we got there, I pulled off my shirt and bounced on my toes, trying to get rid of my pent up energy. I threw a few punches, envisioning his face being squashed under my knuckles.

  Jax appeared in front of me, his top off now as well.

  “Come on then, brother. Let it all out.”

  “Jax, I don’t want to hurt you,” I said through gritted teeth.

  He laughed, but his eyes were hard as he watched me and I knew he was expecting me to explode at any moment. “You couldn’t hurt me if you tried, brother.”

  I stretched my neck. “You’ve been warned.”

  He nodded once and I flung myself at him.

  It was a credit to our years of training together; he knew my every move and I knew his. We sparred, Jax’s eyes stern as he watched me. He knew I was prone to irrationality when it came to him. Jax got me in a headlock and I growled, jabbing him in the ribs and throwing him backwards.

  I paused as a look of pain crossed his face, but managed to get my arm up to block his next blow.

  “You’re slow today, brother.” Jax grinned. I knew he was goading me, forcing me to push myself so I released my pent up anger. I wasn’t going to deny him.

  “Blame the jeans, brother.” I grinned back as we circled each other.

  “We could have changed.”

  “And waste all that time. Who knew what I’d do between then and now?”

  He laughed. “I can overpower you if I need to.”

  I felt my eyes darken and I knew he’d seen it by the look on his face.

  “No more talk.”

  We clashed again.

  At some point, his focus was pulled behind me and a shot I aimed at his chest connected when it shouldn’t have. He went flying backwards, landing on his arse.

  “Shit, Jax! What did I tell you?” I asked, kneeling by him, realising all my anger was now gone.

  A small blur pushed passed me and I saw Anne.

  Well, that answers that question.

  “What are you two doing?” she asked, turning to me, no sign she was ever sick.

  “It’s called sparring, we’ve only been doing it our whole lives,” I replied, wiping sweaty hair out of my eyes.

  I looked up and saw Lily’s reflection behind mine in the mirror. I briefly caught the open look of desire on her face before it shut down as our eyes met.

  “I thought I’d see if you were okay. But, obviously, it wasn’t anything a little beating up your brother wouldn’t fix,” Lily said, crossing her arms.

  I turned to face her.

  “Shit, it’s fine, Lil,” Jax wheezed, sitting up. “Trust me; usually it’s him on his arse.”

  She raised her eyebrow as though she seriously doubted that, but I couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or not.

  “Well, if you’re all right, Anne and I should really get back…” She flinched a little and I tried to soften the glare I’d trained on her.

  “I’m sorry to pull you away from your date. Send him my apologies.”

  “Oh… Ah, actually, I was thinking we had to get our laundry on before dinner… I don’t actually have a clean uniform for tomorrow.” She smiled shyly and I resisted the urge to throw my arms around her.

  What can I say? I was glad she wasn’t going back to him. She must have seen something on my face as she chuckled.

  “I’m lazy, I know.”

  “No… No, that’s not…” I stammered.

  “Quit yapping and help me up,” Jax said and I pulled him to his feet. “Can we walk you back to your dorm?” he asked Anne.

  She smiled and nodded. I looked around but didn’t see Cass anywhere.

  I picked up my shirt, deciding not to put it back on over the sweat dripping from my body, and fell into step with Lily. Jax and Anne walked together ahead of us, talking animatedly.

  Lily and I didn’t speak; I couldn’t think of anything to say and I didn’t think it wise to open my mouth and see what came out. I’d promised myself I’d distance myself from her, and Cass had suggested I be less nice to her. My chest twinged uncomfortably at the thought, but I knew it was for the best.

  Chapter Thirteen

  I tried really hard to get the image of a sweat-drenched Austin out of my mind, I promise to God I did. It was second in my head only to the look on his face when he’d seen Liam.

  I had no idea what was up with him and Liam, but Liam had a similar look of distaste on his face when he’d seen Austin; there was obviously something going on between the two. God knew I did not want to get caught up in all the drama, but I was intrigued.

  “Lil, are you listening?” Anne asked; I had the feeling it wasn’t the first time.

  “I wasn’t, sorry.”

  She chuckled. “I’m having a hard time getting that look out of my mind too. Damn, Jax is gorgeous.”

  My mind, thankfull,y diverted to her happiness. I smiled. “He is. He is gorgeous and he is very keen on you, I think. Now, what were you saying?”

  There was a knock on the door and I huffed as Anne answered it. I went back to my computer, feeling the need to kill things; I’d been doing that a lot in the last few days since the Great Incident, as Anne had taken to calling it.

  “Oh, um, hi,” I heard Anne say. “Yeah, she’s in here.”

  “Lil, you decent?”

  I groaned as I heard Kate’s voice. I spun my chair around and found her and Gemma escorting a very boring looking guy into our room.

  “Uh, not really decent, but don’t suppose it matters now,” I said, looking down at my daggiest tracksuit skirt, jumper and knee-length ugg boots.

  “Oh well. Lil, this is Sebastian Chambers…” Kate, who stood in front of him, gave me a very obvious look.

  I blinked for a few seconds, and then remembered, and stood up. “Oh, right. Hi, lovely to meet you.”

  Sebastian wore a black shirt tucked into black pants, with black shoes. I could vaguely see the family resemblance to Gemma. His dark hair looked kinda greasy and his dark eyes were trained on Anne.

  “Hi,” he said with a weird grimace I assumed was meant to be a smile.

  “Uh, Seb, meet Anne, Lily’s roommate,” Gemma said, circling her hand next to her head, implying he was crazy.

  “Pleasure.” Seb swept into a low bow, took Anne’s hand and kissed it.

  “Oh, wow, okay,” I blurted out, then clapped my hand over my mouth with a smile at the look on Anne’s face.

  “Allow me to bestow upon you a great compliment on the alignment of your features, Miss Anne,” Seb said, standing straight again.

  I swallowed a snigger. “What brings you to Netherfield, Seb?” I asked.

  He barely glanced at me. “Your parents invited me to dinner so I could meet you.”

  “Oh good, well, as you clearly haven’t seen, I’m lovely,” I said, exchanging a smile with Gemma and Kate. “When’s dinner?”

  “Not ‘til tomorrow, but Seb thought he’d pop in and say hi,” Kate replied.

  “Please say you will join us for dinner?” Seb asked Anne.

  She looked at me in panic, but I held my tongue. I knew if I opened my mouth, I was going to burst into laughter.

  “Of course she will,” Kate said, hiding her laughter better than I ever could.

  “Right, that’ll do Seb,” Gemma said, grabbing his arm.

  I finally composed myself enough that I thought I could speak without making an arse of myself. “Yes, Seb. Anne and I need to go and wash our negligée.”

  Seb seemed to choke on his own spit and bowed before hurrying out quickly, Kate and Gemma following after.

  “What was that?” Anne asked, as she dropped onto her bed, and my laughter burst out of me uncontrollably. I actually fell on the floor, missing the bed I ha
d been aiming for entirely, I was laughing so hard. “Yes, thank you, are you quite all right?” Anne asked.

  I shook my head, unable to speak. I could feel tears running down my face and I heard Anne laugh quietly.

  “You girls all right?” I looked up and saw Jax in the doorway. He smiled at my laughter, but I couldn’t stop. “Jesus, you’d think she’d just seen Austin fall down a flight of stairs.”

  I pictured it and the indignant look on Austin’s face, and laughed harder.

  “Thank you for that imagery, Jackson,” I heard Austin’s voice and my laughter choked off. “Was that Sebastian Chambers I saw with Gemma and Kate?”

  I nodded, smoothing my skirt. I didn’t trust myself to try to stand up in that skirt.

  “You know him?” Anne asked.

  “By reputation only,” Austin replied.

  “What was he doing here?” Jax asked.

  “Meeting me apparently.”

  Jax nodded. “That explains the laughter.”

  “Are you quite right on the floor?” Austin asked.

  I smiled. “I am, thank you, yes.” He gave me a crooked look. “Okay, fine, I just don’t trust I can get up without flashing you.”

  I saw his mouth quirk and his eyes shone as he walked towards me. He put his hands out and I reached up to take them. As soon as our hands touched, I had a moment; I won’t deny it, as embarrassing as it was. His warm hands wrapped around mine and I felt tingles shoot down my arms. He had me halfway to standing and I thought I was going to fall back down again.

  Instead, he pulled a touch harder and I found myself pressed against his chest, since I apparently lacked the ability to stop my momentum. I let myself rest there for a few seconds, then remembered who I was leaning on, where I was leaning on him, and who was watching us. I jumped back, pulling my jumper down.

  “Ah, thanks,” I said, not at all having the ability to look at his stormy eyes.

  He inclined his head and spun on his heel.