Pride and Prejudice

I was reading Pride and Prejudice for the umpteenth time last month and I got suddenly hit by this new idea for a story. So... major AU! Let me know if I should write more or not. :) A big thank you to Audrey for beta-ing this. *hugs*

Mr. Darcy had at first scarcely allowed her to be pretty; he had looked at her without admiration at the ball; and when they next met, he looked at her only to criticise. But no sooner had he made it clear to himself and his friends that she hardly had a good feature in her face, than he began to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes. To this discovery succeeded some others equally mortifying.
[Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen]

Chapter 1

Like every single family in Princeton, New Jersey, the Cuddy's were looking for two suitable and rich men, who would gladly accept their two daughters as wives.

Mrs Arlene Cuddy was the mother of two wonderful girls: Julia was the eldest, her major feature was her beauty. Her dark blond hair adorned her face before cascading down her shoulders and reaching her waist; her deep brown eyes were always alive with passion and kindness; but she wasn't as keen on the arts like her sister. Lisa was not considered to be as beautiful as her sister, but in many men's opinion she had her own kind of beauty that distinguished her from all the other girls in the small town. Unlike her sister, Lisa had her mother's eyes, deep blue changing into a light emerald green as the weather changed; those profound orbs were always looking for something new, something that needed to be learned and studied, something to keep her mind busy with as her sister and mother spend their time talking about pointless stuff. Her dark brown hair turned almost black during the cold winter days, while they acquired a reddish nuance as the sunlight hit them during the warm summer days; they reached her waist in fluid and gentle locks, waving as her every step. Her full red lips contrasted on her pale skin, the pallor giving her an almost glowing look.

In conclusion they were two beautiful girls, now ready to accept a marriage proposal from a rich and possibly noble man, much to their mother's pressure and pleasure.

Thanks to the family's fortune, they were able to have private lessons from a competent woman, who taught them about arts such as music, poetry, painting and dancing; their mother had insisted upon having someone teaching them everything they needed to know if they wanted to be good wives to their future husbands and great mothers to their children. Contrary to her wife's believes, Mr Cuddy was only interested in his daughter's well-being even if that meant for them to not have a family on their own.

That Monday Arthur Cuddy was quietly reading the paper when his wife joined him in the living room.

"Arthur dear, have you heard about the new gentleman who rented Netherfield estate and park?" Arlene asked, receiving a simple nod from her husband.

"Mr James Wilson, I think his name is. I only hope he is not married yet but still looking for a suitable wife." she stopped testing the man's attention.

"I think he would like to meet Julia. Both she and Lisa are old enough to find someone and have their own families, aren't they?" Receiving another nod from her husband, Arlene dared to ask him something else.

"You should visit him tomorrow and perhaps find out if he is planning on staying here or not. Invite him for lunch, I'll make sure to have everything ready for him. And if..."

"I am sure he will be interested in meeting Julia; this is not the first time you make me do this." he concluded, speaking for the first time. Arlene smiled.

"So, will you?" she insisted.

"Yes, I will but please let me read the paper now," he told his wife as she silently disappeared into the kitchen, smiling gratefully at her husband.

"I hope Mr Wilson will like this," said Julia as she examined her own reflection in the mirror. She was trying on a new hat to match her new dress. Lisa was sitting on a luxurious sofa next to the mirror, a book open in her hands as she helped her sister in such a "hard" task. Lisa sighed, closing the book and placing it on the sofa after standing up. She walked toward one of the shelves where a great variety of hats was positioned to be bought and paraded around the city to catch young men's attention and make other women envious. She took a deep purple one and balanced it on her sister's head, mindful of her hair.

"This one looks better on you," she commented with a small smile.

"Do you think he'll like it?" Julia asked concerned. Lisa shrugged but kept smiling at her sister.

"He will," she told her, a bit annoyed at her sister's antics but happy that maybe this time was Julia's lucky one.

"Are you sure?" the eldest asked again.

"Positive," Lisa assured, embracing her in a gentle hug from behind. "I'm sure he will ask you for a dance at Mrs Long's ball tomorrow." Julia seemed to be happy and satisfied by her sister's words; she smiled and adjusted the hat on her head before turning around to greet her mother, who had just entered the shop with Lady Lucas following her. She sadly informed them that Mr Wilson, who had previously accepted their lunch invitation after Mr Cuddy had visited him the previous day, had to leave Princeton that morning to check his business in New York. Upon seeing Julia frowning, Lady Lucas immediately assumed that Mr Wilson would probably come back with some friends from the City to join him at the ball. Both girls seemed to believe the woman's words and decided to buy new dresses for the following day.

Lady Lucas' assumptions turned out to be right. The night of the ball, Mr Wilson attended the party with his two sisters, the eldest of them with her husband and another man.

Mr Wilson was a tall and distinguished man, with a very nice appearance and exceptionally kind and noble manners. His sisters were both young, beautiful and with a natural elegance. His brother in law on the other hand, surely had noble manners because that was required in his social class, but his appearance showed otherwise. The fourth visitor was tall and slim, his short dark hair framed his face, accentuating his beautiful and yet rough facial features, capturing everyone's attention. Soon the group was invited into the enormous ball room where people started gossiping about them, especially about the mysterious man who responded by the name of Mr Gregory House. Less than ten minutes later, people were already talking about his properties all over the country and women were trying their best to find out more and more about him to finally talk to him with the aim to have the chance to dance with him. Women were talking about how handsome he was, men about how virile he looked, until his bad manners prevailed over everything else: he was a proud man, he acted as he was superior to the people he talked to.

He had danced only once with Mrs Hurts and Mrs Wilson, avoiding other women's requests by standing in a far corner with a drink. Lisa was staring at him from a chair a few meters from him, because of the many women and the fewer men at the ball, she only danced once before being forced to sit and wait for a man.

Mr Wilson was talking to his friend, and Lisa could hear their conversation clearly.

"Come on, House, you should lay down on the wine and enjoy a dance with one of these wonderful women."

"You know how much I hate balls, I only come to them for the wine and the women and in this room, there's no woman I could want to dance with and both your sisters are already dancing with someone," he snapped, taking a sip from his glass.

"I wouldn't be so difficult if I were you. It's just a dance, not a marriage proposal," Mr Wilson said with a smile.

"My friend, you're dancing with the only beautiful girl in the room. There's no one else who could be compared to her in beauty," he lied, sounding way too corny for his own taste.

"She's most beautiful creature I have ever seen, so elegant and gracious but I'm sure her sister-" he said pointing at Lisa "- is very beautiful and I'm positive she's also nice and will gladly dance with you," he told him. Mr House looked past his shoulder, looking for the woman his friend was talking about. His eyes immediately widened as he realized how beautiful that girl looked. He took a glimpse of her perfect lips, which were pouting at the moment as she sat on a chair waiting for someone to dance with her; her dress fit her in all the right places, accentuating her perfect ample breast and her thin hips, hiding what he imagined to be magnificent legs. He shook his head and turned to face his friend.

"I can't deny she's… uhm… interesting but I don't feel like doing some charity and dance with the poor women who aren't beautiful or smart enough to be invited by other men. You better go with Miss Cuddy and enjoy her attentions and… everything else while you still can. I will take a walk outside in the meanwhile," he said, glancing one more time at Lisa before walking out of the ball room.

"Do you think he likes me?" Julia asked as she walked closer to Lisa with a shy smile.

"I surely think so. He asked you to dance two times and I could tell that all the other girls were envying you," Lisa said with a smile while her mind was completely elsewhere, wondering about Mr House's words.

She hated him. She hated him with all her heart and mind. She couldn't stand the sight of him. After he had shared with Mr Wilson what he thought about her, Lisa had decided that she hated Mr House.

Weeks have passed after the ball at the Long's estate and the Cuddy's girls had been invited several times to Mr Wilson's house by his sisters. Julia was always the most welcomed of the two, being the new possible fiancé of the man; Lisa was treated with less kindness and the feeling was mutual.

What shocked her was Mr House's attitude toward her. After the ball she had found him more inclined to talk to her, to spend time playing cards with her. He looked like he might indeed enjoy her company and Lisa was incredulous that the man who had told his best friend that she was a pitiful woman, was now trying to establish a friendship with her.

One day, both Julia and Lisa were invited to the Longbourn house, where they were soon joined by Mr Wilson, his sisters and much to Lisa's and everyone else's annoyance, Mr House.

"I think we should move to the other side of the room, I want Lisa to play something for all of us." Miss Lucas suggested.

"Oh no! I am not going to play in front of people who are surely used to listen to better musicians. I am not..." Lisa started but was immediately cut off by both her sister and Mrs Taub.

"Please, Lisa... Play something for us!" they asked. Lisa sighed and nodded before moving towards the piano.

She closed her eyes, trying to free her mind from every thought before her hands slowly started to move on the keys, pressing on them gently. A couple minutes later, Lisa reopened her eyes and was greeted by applause from all the Longbour guests, Mr House included.

An hour later, most of the people in the room were dancing as Mary, one of Sir William's daughters, played the piano.

"Mr House, I saw you dancing at Mrs Long's ball. You're a good dancer and now I'm wondering why you are not dancing at the moment," Sir Williams started the conversation. House shrugged.

"I dance only when I am forced by the situation," he replied with an annoyed smirk, glancing at Lisa.

"So, you only dance at balls," Sir William commented, receiving a nod. "In my honest opinion, I think you should dance more. Dancing it's such a wonderful art and if you're good at it, like I saw myself, you really should invite Miss Lisa Cuddy," he said loud enough for Lisa to hear.

Mr House stared at the girl as she walked closer to the couple.

"I'm sorry but I don't really feel like dancing," she excused herself. Sir William tried to make her change her mind, but when House asked her directly, she refused one more time and walked back to where she was seated, leaving Mr House alone as Sir William joined her wife.

"I know what you're thinking about," Mrs Wilson said as she leaned onto him, gripping tightly his arm.

"I don't think so…" Mr House said, trying to move away from her.

"You're thinking about how lame all of this is… the people, their manners and even the music they're playing."

"You're wrong. My thoughts are completely different from what you're talking about. I was wondering how it is possible for a woman to have such profound eyes," he said as he scanned the room, looking through the dancing crown, looking for Lisa. Miss Wilson giggled, thinking that he was talking about her, but when she looked up, she saw that his eyes were not on her.

"Miss Lisa Cuddy," he admitted.

"Miss Lisa Cuddy! I can't believe it! You're really interested in that girl!" she almost cried in disbelief. House let her talk, not listening to any of the words that were leaving the woman's mouth.

There was something in that Miss Cuddy that he wanted, no, that he needed to know.

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