Lydia and Mary - An adaptation of Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 1

I sat by my bedroom window staring out at the vast fields beyond. Horses, sheep and other farm animals dotted the fields, adding specks of colour to the otherwise solely green fields of grass. Rain was starting to come down gently in light drizzles, though I knew that it would get much heavier within a couple of minutes. I could now see farmers hurrying their livestock into nearby barns made out of sturdy planks of wood.

It had been raining concurrently for the past few weeks and temperatures were dropping sharply as winter approached. Typical English weather, I thought, remembering how the soft and oozing mud, which had been the result of the continuous rain, had caused me to lose balance whilst riding my bike, resulting in the fracture that I now had on my leg. Feeling exhausted due to the effort that it took me to remain seated, I hobbled to my bed and dropped right onto it, wincing as I felt a sharp pain rush through my left leg. In the background, I could hear my parents quarreling. My father was yelling at my mother in his low and hoarse voice. I was unable to make out what he was saying, but he definitely sounded drunk.

Lying on my bed, I stared up at the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling above me. I closed my eyes, trying to block out my parents' shouts. Feeling weary due to the effort it took me just to get around my room, and longing for a different life and a family that was more harmonious than mine, I wondered what life had been like for the first occupants of my now centuries old house. The number 1842 was carved above the entrance of my family's Victorian styled cottage, indicating that it was built during Queen Victoria's rule. What secrets might this old cottage hold? Did its first inhabitants enjoy that peace and tranquility that I've so desperately longed for under its roof? Pondering over my thoughts, I rolled around and pulled my covers over my face, allowing myself to drift into a peaceful slumber.