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FROM CHAPTER ONE: It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single, space-faring man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
Whatever the intentions of such a man may actually be upon entering the atmosphere, this truth is so fixed in the minds of the land-bound families that he is considered a guaranteed match for one of their daughters. The Bennets, being one such family, were returning from holiday on Nagalea, the sixth moon of Londinium, when news of this very kind reached them. “Have you heard?” exclaimed Mrs. Bennet as they boarded the Flyleaf Starship. “Netherfield Landing is finally claimed.” Mr. Bennet replied that he hadn’t. “Well, it is,” she continued. “I’ve had a waive from Mrs. Long, and she told me all about it.” Mr. Bennet beckoned his daughters to keep up rather than answer. “Are you not interested in who leased it?” Mrs. Bennet’s impatient voice echoed off the metal walls of the Flyleaf’s vestibule. “You are interested, therefore, I am, too,” said her husband. This was invitation enough. “Well, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield Landing has been claimed by a young man of large fortune—from Kaels, if you can believe it. Such a distance, I must say. He descended on Monday in a Chase-N4 to inspect the land, and was so pleased with it that he ordered his brand new star cruiser be named The Netherfield in its honor. The ship will be docked on the grounds by the end of next week.” Mr. and Mrs. Bennet reached the compartment first and the door slid open. This was just enough distraction for Mrs. Bennet to stop talking. Seizing the moment, her daughters chimed in. “How large a fortune?” Kitty started, as Jane asked, “What’s his name?” — FROM CHAPTER FIVE: Jane pulled her arm into the sleeve of her dress as her mother’s excited, impatient voice traveled up the stairwell. “Hurry, girls! The shuttle departs in less than an hour!” As squeals of delight emanated from the younger girls’ bedrooms, Jane turned her attention to the closet door, a grin already on her lips in anticipation of Lizzie’s inevitable retort. “It’s a private shuttle,” her sister said from within its depths. She emerged wearing a floor-length, pale-yellow gown, one hand busy behind her back, the other holding her shoes. “It won’t leave without us.” Jane chuckled softly. “Still, we need not be late. The Lucases will be waiting, after all.” She beckoned Lizzie over. “Let me help.” “You mean Mr. Bingley will be kept waiting,” Lizzie said as Jane looped the buttons into place. “Given a choice between more time hovering over the pilots’ shoulders or being early to a ball, I know you’d choose the former, but we really ought not to be late.” Her sister had always been fascinated with the inner workings of ships, and determined to know them all should she ever have the chance to fly one of them. It’d be a special man indeed who could excite her mind the same way space flight did. Lizzie laughed. “On any other occasion, I’d argue against you. But I’m as eager to satisfy my curiosity about Mr. Bingley as anyone.” “If only we’d have gotten a better look at him when he came to visit the other day.” Jane secured the last button and adjusted the flares on the back of Elizabeth’s dress so the line of buttons followed the length of her spine. “It’s a shame he couldn’t accept momma’s invitation to dinner.” Jane turned to the mirror on the opposite wall, looking herself over one last time. She had dressed in a light blue gown to match the color of her eyes. Though fairer than most of her sisters, Jane’s hair was just a shade lighter than Kitty’s. Lydia, who had a talent for fashion, had completed the look with a complicated hair-piece that wove through her upswept curls and draped like a metallic lace curtain down the side of her face. It dripped with delicate chains of blue gemstones along her collar bone and down her back. Lydia had said, “No point in my attempting to snag him, so I’ll do my best to make sure one of you will,” as she’d pinned it in place. Lydia really was a sweet girl, in her own way.
