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“Miss Bennet, I would be happy to introduce you to my seamstress if you wish. She has outfitted me for more than a decade and does an excellent job of balancing modesty and style with the practicalities that life in Africa requires.”

Mary responded with rather more eagerness than before. “But surely you do not wear trousers like a man?”

Rose smiled, beginning to recognize that the younger girl’s abrupt manner was an effort to cover her insecurities.

“Oh no, they are quite like full skirts—nothing immodest. Mrs. Cutter has some excellent twill that wears well and doesn’t show dust or wrinkles much…

and shirtwaists are easy to come by in whatever styles and fabrics you prefer.

Muslin is cool for hot days but it tends to get caught on thorns and whatnot.

Oh, and boots—be sure to get at least two pairs of good boots before you go.

Africa is no place for dainty slippers—I can recommend an excellent cobbler, if you wish. ”

Mrs. Darcy was pleased (and relieved) when her sister stopped spouting proverbs and began asking sensible questions. By the time the gentlemen rejoined their ladies, Miss Bennet was working on a list and had an appointment to go shopping with her new mentor the very next day.

Later, after their guests had departed, Elizabeth expressed her satisfaction to her husband. “Once we got her away from Mr. Tucker, the conversation went quite well,” she smirked.

Fitzwilliam rolled his eyes but remained silent until they had reached the top of the stairs. “Mr. Tucker is intelligent and well-educated but I wonder if his idealism will survive long when he is faced with the realities of their work.”

Lizzy squeezed his arm in understanding, for it was not the first time that they had discussed the subject. “But she is determined to have him, so all we can do is to help them prepare as best we can… and then pray, I suppose.”

Her husband wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her close enough that he might kiss her forehead.

“I spoke with Mr. Gardiner; we shall need to speak with a solicitor, but it should be possible to provide the Tuckers with a letter of guarantee so that they can board a ship bound for England at any time, even if they do not have the funds at hand to purchase the tickets. We will arrange it all next week before the wedding.”

Ignoring the fact that they were standing in the middle of the hall where any of the servants might see, Elizabeth stopped and pulled his head down for a kiss. “Thank you, Will… I will sleep better knowing that, even if they lose everything, Mary can still come home.”

Darcy insisted that such conscientiousness was no more than his duty as a brother, but such modesty only provoked his wife to whisper something so suggestive in his ear that he actually blushed before adeptly navigating the remaining distance to their bedchamber.

Meanwhile, the Bingleys were enduring a much less pleasant evening.

Despite the occasional tension at dinner, their time at the Darcys’ had provided a welcome respite from the familial maelstrom occurring at the house on Waverley Street.

Having believed that her brother would never actually carry through on his threat to remove her from his house, Miss Bingley was reveling in the knowledge that she had access to her inheritance (though she still had every intention of charging as much as she could to her brother).

Her first hint that something was amiss came when she visited her milliner the next afternoon, intending to pick up the turban she planned to wear to a ball that evening.

Although Caroline would usually have sent a servant, she had received a rather odd note from the shopkeeper and was desirous of an excuse to leave the house, knowing that Charles and Louisa had arranged to interview prospective companions.

Her excursion was somewhat disconcerting for, although her new turban was just as she had desired, the milliner politely but firmly insisted that the account be settled (instead of sending the bill to her brother as had been her usual practice).

Luckily for the clerk, Caroline had become quite enamored with her new ability to enter the bank and receive any amount of money from the clerk in exchange for nothing more than her signature.

As a result, she had accumulated a rather a large sum in her reticule and enjoyed being able to count out the correct amount and drop it on the counter as if were nothing.

The milliner took the money with a nod while silently thanking her lucky stars that she would not need to present the note that Mr. Bingley had sent around just that morning, informing all of his sister’s favorite shops that he would no longer be footing her bills.

Indeed, Caroline was so pleased with herself that she did not notice the smirks that followed her out the door and down the street.

Mr. Darcy might not have expressed his disapproval explicitly, but his opinion had been circulated just as widely as if he had taken out an advertisement in the Times ; now that he was married, invitations to him and his wife might also include Mr. and Mrs. Bingley, but Miss Bingley was not to be considered a required part of his family party.

Although some changes in a gentleman’s circle of acquaintances were expected upon his entering the married state, dropping the unwed sister of his brother-in-law would have been commented on even if her attempts to blacken Elizabeth’s reputation had not been so widely circulated.

Unfortunately for Miss Bingley, enough of the ton had met and approved of Mrs. Darcy that Caroline’s campaign had only succeeded in strengthening her own reputation as a bitter, sharp-tongued spinster who was best avoided.

Meanwhile, others were taking a more subtle approach to put the young woman in her place.

Lady Matlock and Lady Trowbridge had come to look upon Elizabeth as a surrogate daughter, and Miss Bingley’s activities over the winter had infuriated them to no small degree.

Now that those ladies’ anger had had time to cool, both were looking forward to punishing the tradesman’s daughter precisely where it would hurt her most.

A raised eyebrow or pursed lips here, a skeptical look there…

all gave pause to those who might have considered Miss Bingley’s improved connections as a reason to reconsider her potential as a match.

Certainly there were always single gentlemen whose own excellent connections and empty bankbooks made them less picky when considering the bloodlines of a well-dowered bride.

In the end, very little had to be said at all.

“Mr. Bingley is an excellent man, of course—he and Darcy have been great friends since school, you know. And his dear wife—Mrs. Darcy’s sister—is just what a young lady ought to be.

Certainly their children shall do well. Of course, there is only so much that education can accomplish if a child is exposed to bad influences early on.

I’m sure that Charles and Jane are sad to see his sister move out, but it was probably best to accomplish the separation before they start their family… ”

While Caroline browsed the shops with her newly accessible capital, happily unaware of her plummeting cachet in Society, her brother and sister had sighed over her absence but went ahead with their appointment to interview an older Scottish gentlewoman for the position as Miss Bingley’s companion.

Mrs. Bullock had raised four children but her husband had recently died and, she explained frankly, she was not quite ready to give up her independence to live under her daughter-in-law’s roof.

Mrs. Bullock had grown up in Edinburgh but spent a great deal of her time in London because of her husband’s shipping business.

After some discussion, it was discovered that she had known the Bingleys’ parents slightly.

Charles and Louisa described their sister’s situation honestly, but Mrs. Bullock seemed more amused than disturbed by Caroline’s attitudes.

The Bingley siblings were so well-pleased with the lady’s forthright manner that it took little more than a shared look before they offered her the position on the spot.

It was agreed that Mrs. Bullock would try the situation for six months, during which Caroline could not dismiss her without the consent of her elder siblings.

After six months, they would meet again to renegotiate terms, if necessary.

On the very next day, Mrs. Bullock was installed in the new apartment on Beech Street and provided with temporary servants from the Bingley and Hurst homes until she could arrange for such permanent staff necessary for such an establishment.

Jane and Lizzy were quite impressed when they visited with Mrs. Hurst later in the week to find how much progress had been made.

The furniture in the public rooms had been arranged in a pleasing way and Caroline’s new suite had been cleared to receive her belongings from Waverley Street on the very next day.

The normally mild Jane confided to Elizabeth that she and Charles had already planned a celebratory dinner. “Lizzy? Sometimes I think that Caroline is… not quite right in the head.”

Elizabeth merely replied with a “Hmmm…”, believing that her own assessment of Miss Bingley would upset her sister’s delicate ears.