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P lease, do come in.” Caroline Bingley oozed insincere hospitality, instantly setting Elizabeth on her guard.

“Nan?” She beckoned her housekeeper from the doorway. “Could you please bring some refreshments for Dr. Gardiner and his nieces?Sir, may I offer you something to drink?”

“Oh, no thank you.I need to get back to my office. Just wanted to bring the girls out in the car.It’s quite a walk from Longbourn.”

Miss Caroline nodded, her artificial smile firmly in place. “Yes, quite.” She looked Elizabeth up and down. “Is this your sister?”

“Yes,” Jane replied. “Elizabeth is my next younger sister.Elizabeth, this is Miss Caroline Bingley.”

“Good to meet you, Miss Bingley.”

“Likewise, I’m sure.”

Jane looked around. “Is Miss Louisa here?”

Miss Caroline waved her hand.“Oh, she’s around somewhere. Probably off puttering in that rose garden of hers. I’m sure we’ll see her at supper.”

“And will Mr. Bingley be at supper as well?”

Miss Caroline’s eyes narrowed at Jane.“Perhaps. He is working at the store, so we may not see him till later this evening. He really isn’t home all that much. He’s ever so busy.”

“Of course.”

“I assume you’ll want a few minutes to put your things away, and then I’ll show you the material we bought in Nashville. The fabric is just marvelous, and we found the most darling bias-cut dress patterns.”

Dr. Gardiner grinned. “I suppose that’s my cue to ask where I should put these bags.”

“Oh, we have Henry to take care of that. You can leave them right there.”

“Very well, then.” He laid a fatherly hand on Jane’s shoulder.“Just send word when you’re ready, and I’ll come and fetch you home.”

“I think we will be able to finish in a few days. Thank you, Uncle Ed.”

“Well, don’t work too hard, girls. Good afternoon, Miss Bingley.”He held up his hand in farewell as he made his way out the front door.

Elizabeth rubbed a blister on her forefinger. “I’m not used to cutting fabric anymore.”

Jane held up a pattern piece, eyeing it carefully.

“It’s because you cut with your left hand.

The scissors are made for right-handed people.

You know, I think I’ll need to fit this piece carefully.

Miss Louisa has more bosom than this bodice style accommodates.

” She pursed her lips and tilted her head, considering.

Both girls turned abruptly as the door opened.

“Mr. Bingley!” Jane’s pattern piece fluttered to the floor. She bent quickly to pick it up, flustered.

“Hello, Mr. Bingley,” Elizabeth said.

“Aunt Caro said y’all were back here, so I thought I’d come say hello. So…erm…hello.”

Jane’s cheeks were pink, but her eyes shone. “Hello. Oh, you remember Elizabeth, don’t you?”

“Yes, of course.” He turned to her with a charming smile.“How are you today?”

“I’m doing well, thank you.”Elizabeth returned to her work, giving Jane and her handsome employer a modicum of privacy.

“How’s the dressmaking going?” he asked.

“Very well, I think. Your aunts were very kind to think of me for this job.”

“Yes, of course. I just hope you save some time to make yourselves something nice to wear for the party too.”

Elizabeth froze.Jane turned slightly pale.

Taking in Jane’s change of expression, he continued in earnest. “You are planning on coming to the party, aren’t you?”

Jane paused. “Um…unless you’ve spoken to my father recently or something, we haven’t received an invitation.” She glanced nervously at Elizabeth.

Mr. Bingley looked shocked, then embarrassed, and finally, annoyed. “But of course, you are invited.”

Elizabeth spoke up. “Please don’t feel obligated to—”

“Nonsense!” Mr. Bingley was adamant.“You’re new to the community, so you didn’t know that everyone is invited.

My aunts should have made that clear, but they must have been so focused on their apparel that they forgot their manners.

I would be very disappointed if you didn’t attend—if you’re able, of course. I’ll send your father a note tomorrow.”

Jane nodded graciously. “We would love to come. Thank you for your kind invitation.”

Mr. Bingley nodded, and a silence settled over the room. Elizabeth returned to marking the pattern pieces, leaving Jane and Mr. Bingley to continue their tête-à-tête.

“It’s been very busy at the store the past couple of days.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, I’ve missed you.”

Elizabeth smiled to herself.

Mr. Bingley blushed slightly. “I mean, I missed you being there—at the store. I’ve gotten used to how smoothly things run when you’re working.”

Jane blushed, too, and looked down at the fabric in her hand.

“Anyway.” Mr. Bingley crossed his arms, uncrossed them, and crossed them again. “The main reason I came to find you was to make sure you were coming downstairs for supper tonight. We eat at six o’clock.”

Jane kept her head lowered.

Goodness, Jane! At least, look up at him. Elizabeth could almost hear their mother in those thoughts, but Jane actually liked this man, and he seemed to like her too. So, why not let him know it?

“I invited my friend William Darcy to dine with us. Of course, Caroline went all out and ordered an expensive roast from the butcher when she realized he was coming. She’s downstairs fussing at the staff as we speak. Poor Nan!”

“Mr. Darcy is coming here?For dinner?” Elizabeth asked, surprised.

Mr. Bingley looked almost gleeful at her expression. “Should make for an interesting evening, don’t you think?” He turned back to Jane. “Darcy is a good friend, you see, and quite the conversationalist when he makes up his mind to be.”

“Really?” Elizabeth couldn’t help her shocked expression.

Mr. Bingley glanced back at her, biting his lip in a futile effort to keep his own expression blank. “I mentioned that you all were staying here and working on a project for Caroline. He seemed interested in the company, so I invited him over.”

“Oh.” Elizabeth didn’t believe a word of this. Obviously, Mr. Bingley was just trying to entertain his aunts’ overnight help.

“So, see you at six?”

“Yes. Thank you,” Jane said.

He held her gaze for a moment, and then, as if remembering he was about to leave, he took a step toward the door.

“Bye.”

“Bye.” Jane looked down at her pattern—yet another blush creeped up her cheeks.

“William, dear,” Miss Bingley said in an unctuous voice, “would you like a glass of our whiskey?” Her flirtatious smile was almost comical.

“No, thank you, ma’am.”Darcy glanced over at the Bennet sisters, who were resting on the brocade covered sofa and engaged in low conversation.Elizabeth held up a book and pointed out a certain passage as her speech became more and more animated, her eyes sparkling and hands gesturing.

“I’ll just have some coffee—cream, no sugar, if you don’t mind,” Darcy answered, not taking his eyes off the young woman on the couch.

The housekeeper moved to serve him, but Caroline was too quick for her. “No!” she said a little too loudly, before bringing her voice back under control. “I’ll pour for Mr. Darcy, Nan. You can just help clear the dining room.” Caroline took the tray from her housekeeper and set it on the sideboard.

“May I use the telephone for a minute, Charles?” Darcy asked.

“But of course. Help yourself.”

“Who would you telephone so secretly, sir?”

“It’s no secret. I told my niece Maggie I would call and tell her goodnight. I typically read to her before she goes to bed, but I won’t be home tonight until after she falls asleep.”

“Dear, precious, little Margaret.How old is she now?”

“She is four years old.”

“How devoted you are! How gracefully you bear the burden of father to your little nieces.”

“It is no burden, I assure you.”

“I still say your generosity to them is laudable.I know they will have many opportunities they would not have had otherwise—all because of you.”

“I would hope so.”

Caroline went on, oblivious to her guest’s discomfort with her excessive praise. “They will have the best home, the best medical care, the best education.Will you send the little dears to the prestigious boarding school Georgiana attended?”

“That has not been decided. It’s several years away.

Maggie is still very young, and her mother is uncomfortable with the idea of parting from her so that she can attend boarding school.

Although I would, of course, miss her very much, I think a private education would be good for her.

Children need structure in order to learn effectively. ”

“There are some well-respected educators who would not agree,”Elizabeth piped up from across the room. She and Jane had finished their conversation, and she was casually perusing her book.

“What?”Darcy’s eyes snapped to her spot on the couch. He had no idea she was even listening to him. Jane looked at Elizabeth, eyes round. Caroline smirked. Charles looked nervously from Darcy to Elizabeth and back again.

“Have you read Dr. Montessori’s work?” she asked.

“Who?”

“Maria Montessori.She is an Italian doctor who has developed some different methods of teaching children.She believes that children will seek out learning on their own, if they are allowed the freedom to experiment and learn hands-on.”

“Rubbish.” He took some steps toward the couch.

“Children have too much information to learn to let them play at it.A lackadaisical attitude toward education is the reason there are so few truly accomplished women these days.That is why we are currently saddled with a generation of females more interested in short skirts and speakeasies than in art and the classics. More concerned with learning the Charleston, rather than acquiring virtues that would benefit society.”

“My goodness, you certainly have strong opinions on the matter—rather outdated ones, too.”

“I do indeed have strong opinions on the matter. I have specific ideas on the education I want for my nieces, if they are to grow into thoughtful, interesting girls. And wise, accomplished women are always up-to-date.”