Pride and Prejudice at the Bennet Bakery: A sweet contemporary gender swapped retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice by V N Murray

Author:V N Murray [Murray, V N]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: pride and prejudice retelling, modern pride and prejudice, modern jane austen, gender swap pride and prejudice, jane austen retelling, clean romance, clean contemporary romance
Publisher: V N Murray
Published: 2022-08-23T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 14

It wasn’t that Fi was a coward. No, not really. Well, perhaps a bit. But in the light of the next morning, after a not particularly restful sleep, she wasn’t quite so sure of everything as she had been.

For example, while she was still sure that Andy Bennet was a grasping chancer out for what he could scrounge, she wasn’t quite so sure that Johnnie was an immoral and heartless bastard using her best friend for connections. When she imagined sitting Kathryn down and telling her everything she thought she knew, Fi realised that, while there was a lot she had in evidence against the family as a whole, everything with Johnnie was just... well, vibes. And not even vibes from Johnnie.

So rather than have an explosive chat which would end up with tears and texts and fierce denials, arguments and confrontations, Fi decided to instead hasten their departure and hope for the best.

Two days had passed since the event, and the new season’s line had been received very well. Instagram had “blown up”, (Kathryn’s words, not Fi’s), and orders had been coming in thick and fast. All in all, a success, and a credit to the hard work of Kathryn and her inspired ideas.

No, Fi couldn’t break her heart by telling her the suspicions she had of Johnnie. But she had to do something. As she sat on her hotel bed, surrounded by paperwork and not quite looking at her laptop screen, Fi considered her options.

She was startled suddenly by a knock at the door. It was Kathryn, holding a dry-cleaning bag.

‘Morning, love.’

‘You sound chipper. And northern,’ Fi said, stepping aside to let her friend enter the room. ‘What’s in the bag?’

‘Your tux, freshly cleaned, courtesy of Elliot Bennet.’

‘Oh, right.’

Fi felt strangely disappointed.

‘I guess he didn’t feel comfortable keeping it,’ Kathryn said.

‘Yeah, it was a stupid thing for me to say he could have it. I wasn’t thinking. How could we have written that off on the accounts?’

‘Oh, advertising. It’s a shame, it fitted him beautifully. But I suppose he can borrow another one next time if necessary.’

Fi hid her frown by taking the garment bag and hanging it in the wardrobe.

‘I was thinking we should pack up and head to Bath.’

‘Oh?’ Kathryn sounded unconcerned, but Fi wasn’t fooled. ‘I thought maybe we’d see out the week here.’

‘For business, or pleasure?’

She turned and saw Kathryn was blushing.

‘Bit of both, really.’

Fi took a deep breath. It was now or never.

‘What’s happening with you two?’

‘Me and Johnnie? I... I don’t know. I guess I hoped I’d get a clearer idea before we went back to Bath.’

‘Ah.’

Kathryn sank down on the bed, looking a little sad.

‘I’ll make you a coffee, and we can talk about it. If you like?’

At Kathryn’s nod, Fi busied herself at the fancy coffee machine, selecting a hazelnut latte pod – Kathryn’s favourite.

‘What’s the hold up? It looks to me like he likes you. His... his family think he does, I think. So why don’t you?’

Kathryn sighed.

‘It’s just the same as before, really.

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