(Untitled)

[patriotqueen]

The confusion too much present still, the people too odd, the drinks too few, the music too non-existent and his cigarettes too sparse and therefore too sacred to be smoked in the usual one-after-an-other manner. This party was not one of the sort that Guy Burgess was used to. And to add to the unusualness, he had now chosen a quiet spot to simply

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[mslizbennet]

Elizabeth was currently overwhelmed, much like everyone else. She was preoccupied with thoughts of her newly arrived sister, the hurricane, and the well-being of the ones that she cared for on the island. She just hoped that everyone was safe. Jane was sleeping, so Elizabeth decided to search the Compound, and possibly find Mr. Ford or any other familiar faces. One familiar face she had not expected to find was Mr. Collins. Needless to say, Elizabeth was shocked. She would have certainly noticed him upon his arrival here, so he must have been relatively new.

"Mr. Collins?" Elizabeth said, approaching him. "Have you just newly arrived?" Even though she had a strong disliking for the man, she still felt terrible that he had arrived amidst the chaos.

[patriotqueen]

Guy turned from his stare to nowhere in particular to meet eyes with the female voice who had just spoken to him. She had a Victorian air to her, both in appearance and in speech. And she was clearly mistaking him for someone else. “Guy Burgess, actually. But yes, I have just arrived. And you are?”

[mslizbennet]

"Elizabeth Bennet," she said. "My apologies. It is just that you bear a rather striking resemblance to an acquaintance of mine from back home." A rather ridiculous one, at that. She was not sad at all to find that he was not Mr. Collins, but she did feel it would add to the strangeness of the island, to have a Mr. Collins look-alike roaming about. She would make sure to tell Jane of him later on.

[patriotqueen]

Guy laughed. Clearly this was a joke. Maybe Kim Philby was around. He always did have an odd sense of humour. It would be very much like him to ask some girl to pretend to be Elizabeth Bennet telling him he looked like Mr.Collins. Strange sense of humour, but amusing. “I daresay I am not Mr. Collins, Lizzy dear.” He said, playing along with the obvious joke.

[mslizbennet]

"Yes, you've already told me as such, and I believe you," she replied, being patient with him since he was new. "Actually, on this island, you'll find a lot of people wandering about who appear to be almost identical. Luckily for you, Mr. Collins is not here. I do not think you would appreciate being mistaken for him."

[patriotqueen]

“I am fairly certain of it. I doubt anyone would appreciate being mistaken for that pompous and senseless clergyman.” Guy answered smiling. “Is Kim here? Did he send you?” He asked. He had to know. Who else would play a trick on him like that? Not Anthony Blunt, that much was certain. She was a good actress, he’d have to compliment on that at some point.

[mslizbennet]

"No, I am not acquainted with anyone who goes by that name," Elizabeth said. "The reason I talked to you is your striking resemblance to Mr. Collins. Surely you must know him.” How else could Mr. Burgess be aware that Mr. Collins was a clergyman? “Do you not see the resemblance?”

[patriotqueen]

“Yes, of course I know him and of course I do not see the resemblance. I am neither a clergyman nor have I ‘singled you out as the companion of my future life’.” Guy answered bluntly, it had been fun, but now it was starting to get a bit tedious. “Now, what is your real name?” He asked. Joke was over.

[mslizbennet]

"He told you about the proposal?" Elizabeth asked, startled. She hadn't expected him to share that rather embarrassing story with others. "And what purpose would I have in lying about my name?" She had no idea why he was accusing her of such a thing. She kept her frustration hidden for now.

[patriotqueen]

“Darling,” Guy started, determined to end the prank. “I read about the proposal.” He said with clarifying resoluteness. “I practically know the chapter by heart. And I am not accusing you of lying; but if this is a joke, I wonder who’s laughing at the moment.”

[mslizbennet]

"You read about it?" she repeated. "Does Mr. Collins keep a memoir of sorts?" She wouldn’t put it past him; it probably contained various chapters on Rosings, with a detailed account of how much everything cost.

“And what sort of joke could this possibly be?” she asked, honestly puzzled. "Obviously, you are aware of something that I am not."

[patriotqueen]

Guy looked at the girl incredulously. “No, Jane Austen does.” Then he took a moment to regard her again. Why did she still not look as though she was acting? Why was she keeping up appearances? This place was clearly very odd, but could it be odd enough to contain fictional characters? “Are you really Lizzy Bennet?”

[mslizbennet]

"Who is Jane Austen, and how does she know of Mr. Collins' proposal to me?" Elizabeth asked. The idea that a woman would take it upon herself to write about Mr. Collins, of all people, was rather strange. "Has Mr. Collins hired someone to write down his life story?"

"And, yes, I am Elizabeth Bennet," she stated, rather emphatically. "Just as I told you."

[patriotqueen]

“This is going to sound rather odd, but quite frankly I myself haven’t heard a sane thing since I got here.” He paused, took a breath and continued. He was either going to fall for a bad joke completely, or be even more confused. “Where I come from, Jane Austen is a well-known Victorian writer who wrote a novel called ‘Pride and Prejudice’. It’s the story about Elizabeth Bennet,” Both hands palm-upwards indicated to the woman in front of him “- you - her sisters, Mr. Collins, Mr. Darcy and everyone else.”

[mslizbennet]

"Wait, what?" Elizabeth said, clearly starting to get very upset. "No, you are surely joking. Mr. Collins, if this is your idea of a joke, it is not funny!" She was foolish to believe that it wasn't Mr. Collins. She had merely thought him a ridiculous gentleman, not a cruel one. Clearly he was trying to get even with her now, because of the refusal of his proposal.

[patriotqueen]

Guy cringed - well, one would if one was compared to Mr. Collins. “I am not Mr. bloody Collins! I have no idea how this can be, but I assure you it is. Where I come from Mr. Collins is a horrid yet rather amusing character in a novel - a great novel.” He added the last part in an attempt to soften the blow. Being part of a great novel would be better than being a character in a mediocre novel. Surely.