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H ala Osbourn was a young woman, some seven and twenty years of age, who originally came from a long line of nabobs in India. Her mother, Sakina Begum, had fallen in love and eloped with the son of a British Naval officer, Mr. David Osbourn, against the wishes of her family. When Sardar Muhammad Khan Babi, the Nabob Babi of Balasinor found out about this insubordination, he banished his daughter and her new husband and prohibited either of them from darkening his doorstep again.

And so, the newly minted Sakina Osburn followed her husband back to England where he got himself employment working as a coachman for the Earl of Wrexham. To support her husband, Sakina, although never before having worked a day in her life, also got a position at Wrexham as a Lady's maid.

She worked for two years under the Countess of Wrexham's personal abigail and when the mistress's only daughter outgrew her governess, Sakina was assigned to Lady Vivienne Braxton and in time, became her lady's closest confidant and friend.

When Lady Vivienne was nineteen years old, she fell in love with and married a handsome and honourable country gentleman by the name of Mr. Christopher Bennet who was a friend of her brother's from university, and moved south to Hertfordshire to live with him at his modest estate, Longbourn. The match was considered imprudent by many, if not downright preposterous, including the Earl himself, for there was no doubt that if Vivienne wanted to, she could've married further up in the ranks of the peerage. Vivienne, however, was a stubborn woman, and once she had decided to marry her beloved Christopher, no one short of God himself could stop her from her path.

David Osbourn, seeing how attached his wife was to her mistress, asked the Earl to appoint him to the Bennets after Lady Vivienne's marriage so that Sakina could continue working under her lady. Two years into this new arrangement, Sakina was blessed with a beautiful daughter she named 'Hala' after her own beloved grandmother. That same year, Mr. Bennet's younger brother, Master Thomas Bennet graduated from university and took up residence in Longbourn's dower house where he spent his time publishing literary papers and gaining recognition in Town as an academic with an exceptional insight for classic texts.

Thomas Bennet was a handsome young man with a reclusive personality. Where his older brother was an outgoing and active sort of fellow, Thomas liked to spend his time with his nose in a book and a glass of port in his hand. As a second son who lived primarily on an allowance provided to him by his brother, Thomas had no inclinations to marry and was quite happy spending his extra funds on growing his personal library.

He did not have much choice in the matter, however, when Fanny Gardiner, the local solicitor’s daughter, turned sixteen and came out into society. The older Mr. Bennet and Lady Vivienne had been married for five years by then and were still childless. They were one of the principal families of the community and were often the subject of discussion in the parlour rooms of Meryton. Amongst all those discussions, the chief was the lack of an heir. It was almost a universal fact amongst their society that Thomas Bennet would be the next master of the estate and it was therefore, a surprise to no one except maybe Thomas himself, that the beautiful and silly Fanny set her cap on him.

Fanny Gardiner was born to the fourth son of an impoverished merchant, and a shopkeeper’s daughter and was therefore not in any way familiar with the ways of a gentlewoman. She was, however, an ambitious young lady and was determined to raise her consequence by marrying into the gentry. Her mother, Petunia Gardiner, had at some point, thought the elder Mr. Bennet would do well for her child, but Fanny was almost fifteen years his junior and by the time she had been ready to come out into society, Christopher Bennet had already brought home a beautiful, wealthy lady as his bride.

And so, changes were made in the Gardiner women's plans. At the next local assembly, Fanny worked relentlessly to try and gain the attention of the younger Bennet. Thomas, though he preferred books over people, was not immune to the charms and allurements of a pretty woman. Especially if that pretty woman was so very free with her favours. The two of them had a whirlwind courtship that lasted a little over two months after which Thomas Bennet proposed. Fanny, not yet seventeen, gave birth to her first child, a daughter, eight months into their marriage. Jane Francine Bennet was a beautiful and serene baby with a gentle personality and an ever-placid expression on her face. She did not cry much, but neither was she overly joyful. Indeed, she gave her mother very little trouble at all and was therefore deemed, by everyone who saw her, the perfect child.

Fanny would have liked a son, but no one could repine a baby as beautiful as Jane. With her wispy soft blonde hair and cornflower-blue eyes, Jane, at least in appearance if not disposition, very heavily favoured her mother, and to a woman as vain as Fanny, who thought of herself as the most beautiful being to ever grace the world, by having produced a daughter similar in appearance, she had done a very good job indeed.

Besides, she had only been seventeen. No doubt, the next one would be a son. She had no reason to fret.

But then Lady Vivienne got pregnant. And suddenly, there was all the reason to fret.

To Mr. Bennet and Lady Vivienne, the unexpected pregnancy was a miracle. They had started to lose all hope and had even begun contemplating the Foundling Hospital for adoption when one day Lady Vivienne fell ill and was informed by her physician of her delicate condition.

The two of them prayed fervently for a healthy child, and with equal fervency, Fanny Bennet prayed for their child to be born a girl. Both prayers came true on one cold morning in December while Mr. Bennet was in Town on business, and Elizabeth Vivienne Bennet was born- very healthy and very female.

Fanny Bennet was relieved; Lady Vivienne was ecstatic and Mr. Bennet was stuck in London due to a bout of unusually heavy snowfall having blocked most of the roads leading to Meryton.

Elizabeth Bennet was the very opposite of Jane Bennet in every sense. Where Jane was fair of hair and eyes, Elizabeth was born with a head of thick dark curls and honey-brown eyes; where Jane was quiet, Elizabeth liked to babble; where Jane was serene, Elizabeth was a limitless vessel of emotions and expressions. From the very beginning, her curious nature and active personality were evident to anyone who met her, for Elizabeth's intelligent gaze took in the world around her almost hungrily, her tiny little hands reaching for anything and everything she could touch.

Out of everyone she met, however, if there was one person she gravitated towards more than anyone else, it was Hala.

Hala, at the time only a girl of seven, took to caring for little Lizzy like a fish took to water. At any time Lady Vivienne could bring herself to part with her daughter, Lizzy could be found in the arms of Hala, either babbling sweetly at the older girl, or sleeping angelically with her head resting on her shoulder.

It took a little over a week for the roads to clear. Elizabeth's father got into his carriage with all the impatience of a dying man who knew his salvation resided twenty miles north in the little town of Meryton. His grin was broad as he entered the coach and he patted his coachman on the way, exclaiming jovially,

"Onto the breach, my good man!" He said, making David Osbourn laugh, "Little Lizzy is already a week old and I do not want to miss another second of watching her grow."

Bennet's carriage was only ten or so miles away from his estate when another carriage, being led by four very spooked-looking horses, very abruptly barrelled right into it, toppling the coach off its path and downhill a steep mound where it crashed with such speed and strength that in the aftermath, there was no question of survivors.

Fanny Bennet's wish of becoming mistress of her own estate came true the same day Lizzy lost her father and Lady Vivienne, her beloved husband. Propriety dictated that the new Master and Mistress of Longbourn allow its former mistress to reside in the house at least until the end of her full mourning before asking her to make way and move over to the dower house.

No such requests needed to be made, however. In under a month after her husband's funeral, Lady Vivienne had settled all her affairs, packed all her belongings, farewelled all her friends and was on her way to Wrexham with her daughter, her lady's maid and her lady’s maid’s daughter in tow. Both women, already being as close as they were, grew even closer by virtue of having lost both their husbands in the same accident, and Elizabeth, though she did not quite understand her loss, gained a protector as well as a caretaker in Hala, who vowed to do her best to see the little child always happy.

As Elizabeth grew older, Hala was first her guardian, then her friend, and then her trusted abigail. Through every joy and every pain that Lizzy suffered in her young life, Hala was by her side, often as a silent but steady supporter.

And so, though it was a little uncomfortable coming to stay at Longbourn with her own personal lady's maid when she knew the rest of her cousins could only afford one between the four of them, never once did Elizabeth contemplate leaving Hala behind.

Hala was the best at styling Lizzy's untameable hair. Hala was the best companion on Lizzy's morning walks; Hala was the best at dressing Lizzy for the day and Hala was the best at caring for her when she was ill.

Truly, Elizabeth did not think she could live without Hala by her side.

She woke up on the day after the Meryton Assembly to the smell of strong tea and warm scones. Elizabeth moaned at the aroma and slowly opened her eyes as Hala entered Longbourn's guest chamber with her breakfast. She must have slept too long and missed breaking the fast with the rest of the family then. That was not much of a surprise. She had had trouble sleeping last night, her thoughts much too centred around the arrogant but somehow alluring Mr. Darcy.

"Good morning, Miss Lizzy." Hala whispered and Elizabeth greeted her back, stifling a yawn as she sat up. Hala walked over and placed the breakfast tray across her mistress's lap and then moved across the room to open the curtains and throw open the windows to let in the fresh afternoon air.

"What time is it, Hala?" Elizabeth asked as she took a sip of the English Breakfast.

"A little after one, miss." Hala replied, "You must have tired yourself out dancing last night."

"Yes. But I had a lot of fun." She chirped, "Is the rest of the family awake?"

"Everybody except Miss Lydia." Hala answered, "Miss Lucas and Miss Maria are visiting and the ladies are probably discussing the assembly in the drawing room. Mr. Bennet is in his library as always. Would you like to dress for the day and join the girls downstairs?"

Excited, Lizzy set aside her tea and stood to wash her face, "Yes please, Hala." If there was one benefit to living at Longbourn over Wrexham, it was the abundance of female companionship she could find in the residence. Ever since Elizabeth graduated from finishing school when she was sixteen, she had keenly missed spending time with girls of her own age. She was not really all that fond of Kitty or Lydia (the former being too timid for her liking and the latter being a right terror) but in Mary, she had found a kindred spirit and in Jane, a kind and gentle friend. Back in Wrexham, her family was much smaller, consisting only of her grandfather, the Earl, her grandmother, the countess and her uncle, the Viscount of Corwen.

Hala helped her mistress dress in a forest green day dress that had been trimmed with rich, velvet brown ribbons and did her hair in a simple and artless crown braid. When Elizabeth went downstairs, Mrs. Bennet, her cousins, and the Lucas ladies were, just as Hala had predicted, happily discussing last night's events,

"And what did you think of Mr. Bingley, Jane?" Charlotte was asking the eldest Miss Bennet, "He paid you the most particular attention last night."

Mr. Bingley had danced with Jane twice last night and she was the only woman who had earned that distinction. Jane, always so serene and sanguine, now sported a becoming pink flush over her cheeks, "Oh, he is certainly everything a young man ought to be! So kind! So lively! And so amiable!"

"He is also very handsome." Elizabeth added, giving her cousin a teasing smile as she announced her presence in the room with her special brand of sweet impertinence, "Which a gentleman likewise ought to be if he can."

Charlotte laughed, "Mr. Bingley might have been handsome indeed, but I do not think, my friend, that you were attending to him at all. Your interest lay, I reckon, with his darker, taller counterpart."

Elizabeth shot her a half-reproachful glare, for it was much more fun to tease than to be teased, "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Oh come, Lizzy!" It was Mary now who gave her a knowing look, "You might not have danced two dances with your Mr. Darcy, but every set you did dance, you were looking over at him, and him at you. It was so very obvious! Neither of you was discrete."

Elizabeth blanched, "Was it so very obvious?" She had no intention of becoming part of the local gossip.

Jane frowned, "It was not to me."

"It was not to anyone who was not looking for it, perhaps." Charlotte conceded, "But to your friends who saw you interacting with the gentleman, it could not have escaped notice."

Maria scoffed, "I do not know why you would like him, Lizzy. He was so very disagreeable and proud. All night, he walked here and he walked there, Mrs. Long told Mama last night that he sat next to her for half an hour without once opening his lips!"

Jane, always so very ready to think the best about people, frowned, "Are you sure there wasn't some mistake, Maria? I certainly saw him speaking to her."

"Aye, but only because she asked him how he liked staying at Netherfield. He could not help answering her, but she said he looked very disgruntled at being spoken to."

"Perhaps, he is just shy." Mary mused, for as someone who found it incredibly trying to talk to new people, she could relate to the man if it was indeed just awkwardness that made him look so unapproachable.

"Or perhaps he somehow found out that Mrs. Long does not keep a carriage and came to the ball in a hack chaise and decided she was completely beneath him." Maria argued, scoffing again.

"Maria!" Charlotte chided her little sister, "That is very harsh. Maybe he is proud. But his pride does not offend me so much as pride often does because there is an excuse for it. One cannot wonder that so very fine a young man, with family, fortune and everything in his favour, should think highly of himself. If I may say it myself, he has a right to be proud."

"I cannot agree with that." Maria shook her head, "If only family, fortune and a handsome face gives you the right to be proud, why then Lizzy should constantly have her nose in the air!"

The Lucases were, apart from the Bennets themselves, the only family who knew the whole of Lizzy's mother's side of the family and who they were. And while in most cases, information such as this would have been bandied on to every Jack and Jill, concern for their own daughters' lack of marital prospects had kept both Lady Lucas and Mrs. Bennet extremely tight-lipped about Elizabeth's connections and dowry.

"I do not think you can compare the two." Elizabeth piped in, "We might be equal in social standing, but I can only suppose we have been raised very differently. Gentlemen and ladies generally are. I might be granddaughter to an earl, but except for a few families in Wrexham and the people here in Meryton, I have dealt with little society. On the other hand, Mr. Darcy has been part of the haut ton for almost a decade and, if rumours are to be believed, has been master of his own estate for just as long. If my uncle Arnold's experience is anything to go by, men like him and Mr. Darcy are welcomed with condescension and adulation wherever they go. How can you not be proud when everyone you meet is determined to kiss the floor you walk on?"

"That does not make pride any less of a deficiency." Mary pointed out. Elizabeth nodded,

"I agree, but perhaps it is a deficiency that is a little more understandable."

Maria rolled her eyes, "Well, you can have him if you want, Lizzy. I find him completely insufferable."

"Yes, he is very insufferable indeed." Lizzy concurred, but she was smiling and could not help but think that the man only really needed a little slice of the humble pie to make him her ideal.