This will be a five-chapter ficlet about Caroline Bingley as she grows up. I have an avid fascination with how she's portrayed, both in the original Jane Austen book and other fics, so I decided to show my own perspective on her.

Disclaimer: This book was written in the 1800s. I'm not dead yet. I think that's sufficient information to assume that I'm not Jane Austen.

Update: Changed a grammatical mistake a reviewer pointed out.

Update 2: Changed some plot points at the suggestion of a reviewer.

"Caroline, the Darcys are coming over today, put on that dress I bought you last Sunday and go out to greet them," her mother said, kneeling down a little to speak to the little girl.

"But Mum, that dress is so itchy and uncomfortable!" the girl whined, stomping her foot a few times to emphasize the point. She was sure she had developed some rashes because of those detestable frills.

"Now now, Caroline, it makes you look lovely," her mother said sincerely. Caroline shuffled her feet, embarrassed but smiling. She liked being pretty. It made her feel special. If she couldn't be smart like her parents said Charles was, she could at least be the prettiest girl in the room.

Bearing the itches and forcing a smile onto her face, she went out to greet the "Darcys".

She'd heard quite a lot about them. Apparently, they were rich and successful like Daddy and Mummy were, which must mean they were nice as well. Then again, Aunt Isabella was rich and successful too, but she was anything if pleasant.

"Do they have a girl?" she asked excitedly, tugging at the corner of her mother's dress. She'd recently received a new tea set for her dolls on her sixth birthday, and she was dying to get to use it. Playing by herself wasn't fun, Louisa was nice but a tad condescending, and Charles definitely didn't entertain the thought of playing with her.

Charles was an idiot, really. She brought her nose up higher and sniffed in disdain. Boys.

"Yes, dear, her name's Georgiana," her mother said hurriedly, ushering her out of the house.

Georgiana! That was a pretty name. She was going to be the best of friends with this Georgiana - maybe she could even give her a pet name, something like Georgie. And they could play dolls together and have tea parties and -

She stopped short in horror, having swung open the door in her excitement, only to be greeted with the sight of Charles and a boy talking to each other like fast friends. A boy! Of all things!

"Ah, there you are, Caroline!" her father exclaimed, hastily leading her over to speak with the man in the stiff grey suit. "Come and greet Mr Darcy. Darcy, this is my youngest daughter, Caroline."

"Hello there, Miss Bingley," the man said, leaning over to shake her hand. He didn't seem like the sort to smile much, but at least he didn't treat her like a toddler.

"Good morning, sir," she said, curtsying like she had been taught to. "Who is that, may I ask?" she asked, gesturing to the boy next to Charles. He seemed older, well-groomed, but Caroline was very much unwilling to relinquish her bad opinion of the male sex.

"Aha, I see you've noticed my son," Mr Darcy said, finally breaking out in a smile. "He is a great source of comfort to me, the good lad. Fourteen this year! They seem to just grow and grow and grow, yes, Mr Bingley?"

"Couldn't have said it better myself," her father said, patting her on the shoulder. "One day I will look down and my children will all be grown up, it seems! My dear, why don't you go and greet the young Mr Darcy?"

"Mother said that they had a daughter," Caroline said, rooted to the spot persistently. Over her dead body would she say hello to the Darcy boy. He might have looked well-groomed, but he sure stood forlornly. Fourteen! Caroline would have to grow so very much to catch up with someone that age.

"Oh, yes, you're speaking of Georgiana, I presume," Mr Darcy said. "She's only just two. Wonderful girl, but I'm afraid she's fallen ill recently. Down with the flu."

Two! Way too young. Caroline frowned. No tea parties, then.

"Flu?" her mother asked, coming out of the house and joining the conversation, having ensured that her appearance was neat and stately as always. "Oh, simply everyone seems to falling ill right now, I suspect it might be the rainy season, you know. Aunt Isabella had a servant come by just yesterday to tell us that she is feeling rather sickly as well. How dreadful!"

How wonderful! Caroline thought vindictively, relishing in the idea of horrid old Aunt Isabella sick and bedridden.

"Dear, why don't you run along and talk with your brother and his new friend?" her mother asked, looking down with a kind smile.

It was inevitable, apparently. Caroline nodded obediently but morosely and headed off towards the direction of Charles and his new friend. She hoped this Darcy boy was not as dreadfully impolite and weird like Charles was. It would simply disgust her to the ends of the earth.

The boy was staring at her out of his peripheral vision, as she walked over hesitantly. He looked rather intimidating.

"Hello," she said, proffering a hand. She felt as though she was an alien coming to sign a treaty. Show that you come in peace, her mind said. She forced a smile.

On second thought, she felt like one of the help from the farm trying to approach wild cattle.

"Morning," he said, turning over to look at her. He didn't smile, but she was immediately struck by his dark, handsome looks.

"I'm - I'm Caroline," she said, stuttering a little, completely taken aback by the fact that this was a boy that she was not utterly indifferent to or repulsed by. He hadn't done anything disgusting. Yet. "Caroline Bingley," she said, forcing her voice to be steady and sending him a smile as well.

"Right!" Charles said cheerfully, from beside the boy. "This is my younger sister, the one I told you about. She's rather nice, but she can be rather girly sometimes, you know. And then there's Louisa, but you know how older girls are like."

Darcy nodded solemnly, and Caroline reeled in horror. Why did her brother feel the need to taint her name at all opportunities?

"Charles!" she said, frowning. The aforementioned redheaded boy looked over with a bright smile as thought nothing were amiss.

"Your brother speaks highly of you," Darcy said. Caroline blushed and looked down at her feet. She could not help but notice that he had a rather nice chin. To think that she had been repulsed by the thought of him not three minutes ago!

"You remind me of my sister," he said, finally cracking an encouraging smile. Caroline held her breath - that smile could cure cancers. "She's quite shy."

"My name is Fitzwilliam, by the way. Fitzwilliam Darcy."

By the way Darcy is actually smiling and a perfectly normal (if a little aloof) boy because Wickham hasn't ruined his life yet. And many might protest that Caroline is in no way shy like Georgiana Darcy, but first impressions can be quite misleading, after all.

I can't help but feel rather nervous that their language is unlike that of the Regency period. Do let me know of any spelling/grammatical/logical/historical errors or plotholes. I made an effort to research their ages before I wrote this. Darcy was about 28 when the book opened, Charles was 23, Caroline and Elizabeth were both about 20, and Georgiana was 16. I'm not sure about Louisa, but she's older than Charles.