Anne and her mother were thoughtful for a few minutes, and finally Anne began.

"So, having read of most of my adult life, Lizzy, I am quite certain you have an idea of how to proceed. You can see that I have had periods of as much as 60, but by your own estimates, on my good months I am at least 10-20 points below your normal level."

Elizabeth looked and said, "Yes, I believe that to be true. Are you asking me for my analysis or my recommendation?"

Anne immediately said, "Recommendation", while Lady Catherine thought about it for quite some time before agreeing.

Elizabeth said, "Well, in the end, I believe you are suffering from 'Boiling Frog' problem."

Both ladies looked confused, and Elizabeth continued.

"You see, you both suffer from an over-reliance on the status quo, and a lack of… how shall I say it… well, decisiveness. There is an old fable that sounds good, although it is as likely to be wrong as right."

Looking quite confused, Lady Catherine said, "Go on."

"Well, according to this line of thinking, if you throw a frog into a pot of boiling water, or even very hot water, it will jump right out. However, if you put one in a pot of cool water, and heat it gradually, the frog will eventually be boiled alive. It does not react to the change in circumstances, because it is too gradual."

Elizabeth sat as patiently as she could, waiting for a reaction.

Finally, Lady Catherine said, "So, this is what you mean by lack of decisiveness?"

Feeling bold, Elizabeth dared, "Yes, Anne never achieves true happiness because she has become accustomed to feeling mediocre."

Anne shook her head vigorously for a few moments, but Elizabeth could tell she was at least thinking.

Lady Catherine looked at her carefully, and said, "So, you are basically saying that Anne and I are in the pot together?"

"Yes, ma'am."

The lady nodded her head a few times, and said, "I presume you came here with a suggestion, Miss Bennet?"

"I did."

"Pray, what is it?"

Elizabeth looked at her two companions, and decided it was time for the moment of truth.

"I presume to kick the pot off the fire."

Lady Catherine raised her eyebrows, and said, "How do you plan to do that?"

Elizabeth said, "Well, change is opportunity. Kick the pot over and the frogs may find their original pond nearby, or they might strike out on their own and find a better pond. That is what I recommend."

Lady Catherine said, "Explain how you plan to kick this mythical pot over, Miss Bennet."

Elizabeth leaned into the table, and said, "Before I do, I will ask you to trust me and agree to my terms in advance."

Lady Catherine looked affronted while Anne looked confused, but Elizabeth just sat there waiting.

"That seems a bit presumptuous."

"More than a bit, I would presume."

Lady Catherine chuckled at the minor wordplay, and said, "Well, Miss Bennet. Do you plan to kick us out of the pot and into the fire?"

Elizabeth laughed, and said, "No, my lady. I plan to kick the pot over into a nearby stream that runs to all the best lakes in the world."

Lady Catherine laughed, and said, "Well, Miss Bennet, I can say one thing. You can certainly beat a metaphor to death. How long will this stream run?"

"Six months to a year."

Lady Catherine nodded, and said, "And if I demure?"

Elizabeth retrieved her watch, and said, "My uncle's coachman is a man you can set your watch by. If you see him walking to his cottage around midday, you can look at your watch. If it does not say 11:58, you should change it, because the very tides are more likely to be wrong than him. He will be here in 23 minutes, and I will be on his coach, regardless."

Lady Catherine laughed, and said, "Ah, I see you use forced schedules to prevent dithering."

Elizabeth startled a bit, but Lady Catherine said, "Peace, Miss Bennet. I did not say it was a bad thing. I quite like it. All right, I shall call your bluff. Anne, do you agree?"

Anne looked both confused and excited, but finally nodded, wondering what could possibly be resolved in 23 minutes.

Elizabeth smiled, and picked up the second valise, and said, "Stand up, Anne. It is fortunate that you do not have a footman here."

Anne very confusedly followed instructions, since she nearly instinctively followed just about any instruction that was spoken forcefully enough.

Elizabeth said, "The problem is that the two of you are comfortable in your little boiling pot. You are both afraid to acknowledge the fact that there is nothing wrong with Anne save laziness. She does not know an instrument, supposedly due to 'her health'. I play quite well, a skill I developed over about three years while my QOL was less than 50, and yet in a decade, Anne has not learned to play a note. She had never been presented or had a season, also supposedly because she is 'unhealthy' and you are afraid, and yet she is quite robust enough. You are just afraid to step out. Over here please!"

While Elizabeth was talking, she had carried the valise over and set it on a small table, and she beckoned Anne to join her.

Elizabeth said, "Now, here is what we are going to do to kick the pot."

She extracted one of her dresses from the valise, and said, "Turn around please."

Confusedly, Anne turned around and Elizabeth started unbuttoning her dress while speaking.

"You are going to come to Hertfordshire and become a Bennet Ward for six months. My father has gone from six females in the house to five, so you will redress the balance for a while. You will learn a few accomplishments, attend local assemblies, walk with me until you build up some strength and… well, to be honest, you need to learn to live. You need now horizons, Anne de Bourgh, and I intend to point you in the general direction and kick you from the nest."

By then, Elizabeth had managed to unbutton the dress, and said, "Do not be embarrassed by undressing in front of your mother, Anne. Sisters do that regularly, and you are going to experience as close to sisterhood as you can. Put on my dress, as yours is entirely too fine for Longbourn. You will exchange jewelry as well. Hurry up. We are down to 17 minutes."

Anne stared at her in confusion, and so Elizabeth clapped her hands quite loudly, and said, "16 minutes, Anne. MOVE!"

Somewhat to Elizabeth's surprise, Anne did in fact pull off her dress and step into the new one quite sharply, and Elizabeth started buttoning it up. As she was doing that, she said, "Now the jewelry. I will give you something more appropriate. This may seem like madness, but there is method behind it. I am going to introduce you in Meryton society as a good friend of a distant relative. That is not precisely a lie, since the word 'distant' could mean nearly anything, and Mary is distant enough. You should have a chance to learn to live without every fortune-hunting rake in the county dropping by to court or compromise you."

Quite distressed, she said, "That is mad, Lizzy."

Elizabeth just laughed, and said, "Yes, it is! That is the plan's best feature. Come along, it will be fun."

When the buttons were finished, Anne took to removing her jewelry, and Elizabeth turned her attention to Lady Catherine, who was looking at her with a bit of befuddled amusement.

"Do not think you will escape, Little Frog."

Lady Catherine laughed, and Elizabeth said, "You, my dear, have missed out on many of the pleasures of having a daughter, so I am going to lend you one to practice on until your own returns to you."

Lady Catherine's eyes raised in surprise, but she did not reply.

Elizabeth continued, "Lady Catherine, the best woman I know is my good friend Charlotte Lucas. She is kind, intelligent, stubborn and everything wonderful; and yet she remains unmarried at 27. You will fix that."

Lady Catherine tilted her head curiously, and said, "And why will I do this, Miss Bennet."

Elizabeth boldly stepped over, leaned down to see her eye to eye, and said, "Because you want to. To be honest, I feel I owe both you and Charlotte debts. You sent William to Longbourn, and he has made my sister so happy. I was quite a harridan as a child, and Charlotte lead me to the light. She turned me into a lady. She is just what you need. It will give you an occupation, something new, something diverting. I trust you to do the right thing."

Lady Catherine leaned back in her chair, clasped her hands together under her chin and thought a moment. Elizabeth could see the moment she made up her mind and smiled.

"Well, you win, Miss Bennet. Send your friend, and if she remains unmarried a year from now, it will not be from lack of introductions."

Elizabeth gave her a big smile, and quite boldly reached down to kiss the dowager on the cheek, saying, "I thank you, Lady Catherine."

The lady nodded, and said, "The thanks is all mine, Miss Bennet. I do believe you will get Anne in all sorts of trouble."

Elizabeth laughed, "Of course."

Lady Catherine looked at the mantle clock on the wall, and said, "Well, if your punctual coachman meets his reputation, I wager you have around 4 minutes to get to the front drive."

Elizabeth and Anne both laughed with abandon, both kissed the lady one last time on either cheek, and ran like the two least decorous ladies in Kent right through the grand foyer of Rosings, out the front, and into the coach… which had arrived within 30 seconds of the designated time, and was sitting with the coachman holding the door looking impatient… as he always did.

With a last wave, mother and daughter sat back to contemplate what their futures held.