The Jane Effect

By Angel of Death

Part 1: Ribbons

Elizabeth sauntered across the lush green fields and twirled in the sun's warm breath. Dawn was coming soon, ready to melt away the frost that lingered on the green elves that lived in her backyard. The sky was painted with blue, playing host to white and gray clouds. It would soon rain, and the beautiful cadences of morning would be lost forever. Elizabeth picked up the hem of her skirt and ran back towards home, hoping she'd make it. Her long, dark hair floated in the wind, blanketing the sky with black. As she ran, her blue ribbon released itself from the knot of her hair. Fear washed over Elizabeth's face; her mother wouldn't approve of her losing her ribbons.

The Greenly family was almost poor, and the only thing that would bring them into high society would be if either Elizabeth or her blue-eyed sister, Maxine, were to marry. Alison Greenly, the most stubborn yet impatient woman whose ever graced Pennington, was always inviting ideal suitors to the house to meet her two "lovely" daughters.

Elizabeth scoffed at the word lovely; she knew she was nothing of that sort. Now her sister, Maxine, was the definition of the word. She was the fair-haired, blue-eyed beauty of the family and all the men in Pennington adored her. Even though Elizabeth was smarter and stronger, no one paid much attention to her when Maxine was around.

As the blue ribbon danced with the wind, Elizabeth ran hopelessly after it. She did not indeed care what anyone else thought of her but making Mrs. Greenly angry was a mistake that would follow her the rest of her days. Elizabeth would always be thought ill of her if she disappointed her. Losing new ribbons would be something she as a well accomplished seventeen year old girl could never atone for.

The ribbon disappeared into the tall grasses, making Elizabeth's hopes fall deep into the depths of her heart. If her ribbons were dirty, her mother would be just as upset as if she'd lost them. Elizabeth fell to her knees and searched through the grass for her ribbons. Minutes passed, and the rain soon began to fall down hard.

It was dark, the clouds now a sullen gray. The rain acted like a veil, separating her from life as it was. Making it home would be nearly impossible now.

Just when Elizabeth decided to give up, a strong hand slipped into hers and pulled her up. Through the rain, she could make out little about the person who pulled her out of the mud.

It was a man; she could tell this by the strong, firm grip that he had. His hair was a rusty bronze, almost the same color as copper. Like the hands of the large trees, his eyes were a deep green. Elizabeth found solace in his angel's lips, and strong brow. He looked to be someone that she could trust, by the way his expression mirrored sincerity. She had never seen many amiable appearing men in Pennington, though they were rumored to all have lived in London. His posture displayed proper breeding, and his countenance was strong.

"May I ask what you're doing out here in such weather?" the man asked, frowning.

"Looking for something," Elizabeth replied, embarrassed by the thought of what she was really doing.

"Well if you could take some time to help me, I'd be much obliged to you, miss," the man said, gripping the reigns of his horse.

"Yes, I'd be happy to assist you, kind sir." Elizabeth said, nodding her head.

"Please, call me William. William Harvey. Now listen, I'm...," the man started, pointing somewhere behind Elizabeth.

A sense of familiarity washed over Elizabeth. This was the man who was coming to see the Greenly family about marrying the said "beautiful" Elizabeth.

"I'm sorry sir, but I've been reminded of a previous engagement. Good day," Eyes widened in horror, Elizabeth curtsied and then took off running back towards her house, hoping to get there before Mr. Harvey took a hint and started following her. He was too good looking for her, Elizabeth decided, as she ran through the grass. He'd take one look at her and say that he'd rather court someone like Maxine. For once, Elizabeth was grateful for the sky's tears.

When Elizabeth reached the wooden gate to her house, she swung it open and ran sloppily up to the porch. With sudden eagerness, Elizabeth wiped her feet on the piece of cloth and thrust open the front door. There, sitting crossed-legged on the couch, was her mother. She was fanning herself with a worn book, staring out the tear stained tear-stained window. Her golden blond hair fell gracefully around her heart-shaped face, matted down by the sweat that trickled down her rosy cheeks. Elizabeth couldn't stop her heart from beating erratically, but she remained calm as her mother's dark blue eyes locked on her face.

"What on earth happened to you, Lizzie darling?" she exclaimed, her eyes bulging out of her head in fright.

"Nothing much, I...," Elizabeth started, flushing a deep red.

"Your hair, its absolutely atrocious. Where is your ribbons? I spent more than enough on them and you turn around and lose them. Wait till Mr. Greenly hears of this. My, if you were Maxine you'd never do such a horrible thing," Mrs. Greenly interrupted, frowning.

"There's no time to fret mother, Mr. Harvey is on his way!" Elizabeth panicked.

"Oh dear God!!" Mrs. Greenly shouted, rising up from her slouch.

Even though they were on their uppers, Alison Greenly managed to hold a household. She picked up her bell and rung it six times, signaling for the maids to come forth.

Lydia and Bertha emerged from the pantry, covered in flour. As Mrs. Greenly laid down the orders, Elizabeth scurried up the steps to the room that she shared with Maxine.

Once in her room, Lizzie found her sister in front of the vanity, brushing her long yellow curls. With hidden envy, Elizabeth stared at Maxine, wishing she could look half as pretty.

"Eliza, you look a mess," Maxine noted, turning to look at her.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, knowing that Maxine would not be the last to comment on her looks if she didn't freshen herself up. With unimaginable haste, Elizabeth ignored her sisters grooming and moved towards the wardrobe their father made them last Christmas.

In one quick swing, she had it open, the dresses exposed to the gray light that peered into their window.

A pink frilly dress happened to be poking out, so Elizabeth pulled it off the rack and laid it across her bed. Then she slipped out of her old dress and threw it in the corner next to countless other dresses that belonged to Maxine.

"What is this about?" Maxine asked, angrily.

"Mr. Harvey, I seen him in the fields. He is coming soon," Elizabeth explained, slipping on the pink dress.

Suddenly, excitement filled Maxine's gait. She soon started helping Elizabeth with her dress and sat her down in the vanity chair.

"Now, we are going to tame these unruly curls, Eliza," Maxine explained, brushing through Elizabeth's long brown hair.

"Nonsense, Max, you know that my hair has always been out of sorts," Elizabeth muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Eliza" was sick of Maxine thinking that she had the answer to everything. She walked around as if she could create beauty on those less fortunate than her. As Maxine tied a new bow in Elizabeth's hair, her eyes filled with fire. For once, she'd like to show her little sister, that she could do things herself.

"You look darling, my dear Eliza. When Mr. Harvey sees...," Maxine started, bracing Elizabeth's shoulders.

Before she could finish, there was a knock at the door. Both Max and Eliza looked up to find Emily, their maid, standing in the doorway.

"Come, Miss Elizabeth, Mr. Harvey is waiting for you. Lady Maxine, you should pray that the angels be on your dear sister's side today," she said, frowning.

"Now, now, Emily, we must not be pessimistic. Our Eliza has had many suitors in the past, she's just never taking a liking to them. I only pray that the angels be with Mr. Harvey. If he can not see that Eliza is an accomplished woman then he may as well be blind. Now run along you two," Maxine replied, kissing Elizabeth on her cheek.

Emily led Elizabeth down the hall, all the while, her gray eyes bore right through Elizabeth's head. After seeing Mr. Harvey, Emily knew that Maxine would make a fine match for him. But Elizabeth, the girl who couldn't seem to hold her tongue around a gentlemen, would not. As Emily followed Elizabeth down the steps, she smiled wryly to herself, knowing that a girl as plain as Elizabeth, would never marry someone like Mr. William James Harvey.