A/N: Hey Gang, glad you're liking Lizzy's conversation with Lady Catherine. Never sure if that sort of thing is over the top or not. You can see my Medical Software background there. There is a real assessment called Quality of Life, used for chronic diseases like Cancer, etc. We also have things like Performance Status and ECOG, which are scales that basically go from dead to normal. Of course, it was an anachronism as nobody was thinking that way 200 years ago, but she could have, and if you haven't thrown any OTT or OOC circuit breakers yet, you're good to go. I will warn you though that I plan to use a couple of modern words in the next chapter.

To be honest, the whole Anne and Lizzy thing came out of the blue. My original plan was almost all E&D, but now that I threw down the gauntlet, I guess I'll have to have Anne do something. Hmmmm…. what could it be?

FUN FACT: About 2 weeks ago this story became my most reviewed story in history, beating out The Fee Entail and The Cliffs of Hertfordshire. Don't ask me to explain it, because I can't. It's a fun story, but I honestly expected hardly any readers, so go figure.

Sorry for the longer than usual delays on new chapters. [Insert list of whiny excuses.] We're about 5-10 chapters from the end, I think.

Wade

"Lizzy, what are the odds that I would fall completely in love on my very first visit away from Rosings."

"Well, as you know, Anne, things like calculating odds are fraught with difficulty."

"How so?"

Elizabeth and Anne had been ensconced in Gracechurch Street for a fortnight when the formidable conversation took place. Elizabeth had been quite interested to see how Jane and Anne got along. It turned out that they got along all right, but not quite as well as Elizabeth would have expected. There was nothing wrong with their relationship per se, but Elizabeth could see that if things continued as they were, the two ladies might never be good friends. She wondered if both ladies just rubbed each other the wrong way, or if Jane was worried about her upcoming wedding, or Anne was still too guarded, or all the ladies were just maturing to different personalities. She was quite incapable of entertaining the idea that both Jane and Anne might be a little bit jealous of their counterpart's relationship with Elizabeth. It was just not an idea that she was capable of thinking, let alone articulating.

They were sitting comfortably in mid‑afternoon, with all the time in the world to discuss their heart's content. Anne had learned to recognize the signs of an incipient thought storm in her companion, and subtly nudged her friend back to the discussion through the simple expedient of kicking her. What the trick lacked in subtlety it made up for with effectiveness.

Elizabeth snapped back to the discussion, thought over the question, and replied, "Because calculating probability always requires a lot of interpretation, guesses and assumptions. For example, calling a coin toss with a perfectly balanced coin is easy. Over time, it will return heads exactly 50% of the time, so any particular toss will be 50:50 heads, no?"

"Yes, that much is obvious."

"All right, now we can make it more complicated. Suppose you get five heads in a row. What are the odds that the next toss is heads yet again?"

Anne concentrated, and said, "Well, I suppose you would be due some tails, or you would never get back to 50:50, so I would assume tails to be more likely."

Elizabeth smiled, and said, "You would be incorrect. The odds for the next toss would still be exactly 50:50. Over time, it would even out, but it might be five minutes or a thousand years, though the timeframe is more likely to be the former than the latter. Now suppose the coin is balanced incorrectly somehow. Suppose it could be subtly weighted? Cheaters do that routinely with dice. They are called 'loaded dice' and they are heavier on one side than the other, so they tend to defy the odds."

"Well, I can see how that would work."

Elizabeth leaned forward, getting interested in the entirely pointless discussion, and said, "So, now let us say you are trying to calculate the odds of a human interaction. For a simple matter of making a decision where you must choose between one alternative and another, both of equal value, you might toss a coin and let fate decide. It has been done many times. But suppose instead of using the coin to select an action, you wanted it to predict an action. That, after all is the reason for calculating odds. You would have to assert that 'heads' means one thing and 'tails' means something else, no?"

"Yes, I suppose so."

"Well, after that it gets complicated. Using odds or probability for anything at all requires a subtle mapping of assumptions and constraints into the problem. The mathematics is precise, but the mapping is almost entirely guesswork, with varying levels of robustness."

Anne giggled, and said, "Perhaps, I should rephrase the question. May I?"

"Of course?"

"Lizzy, what are the odds that I could ask you a simple question and you could answer it quickly enough and with few enough tangents that I could remember the question by the time you finally got around to answering it?"

Elizabeth laughed, and said, "I should think that the odds would be at least 1000:1, but I cannot say, since I am not at all certain that the event you are speculating about has ever happened… though I will admit it as a theoretical possibility."

Anne laughed along with her, and said, "Well, I've never fallen in love before, so that is a similar situation. So, are you asserting that my chances of falling in love on my first foray outside my family is 1000:1?"

Elizabeth smiled, and said, "Perhaps, and perhaps not. You could also assert that you were far overdue for falling in love, but your situation prevented its completion. In that scenario, falling in love when you left Rosings was nearly inevitable."

The ladies giggled a bit, and Anne said, "Well, that was… I have no idea. Did it make any sense to you?"

"It is hard to say. I cannot even remember the original question. Shall we move onto the discussion of the object of your affections."

Anne, smiled and said, "He is just what a young man ought to be, sensible, good-humoured, lively; and I never saw such happy manners!–so much ease, with such perfect good breeding!"

"He is also handsome," replied Elizabeth, "which a young man ought likewise to be, if he possibly can. His character is thereby complete."

"I was very much flattered by his asking me to dance a second time. I did not expect such a compliment."

"Did not you? I did for you. But that is one great difference between us, Anne. Compliments always take you by surprise, and me never. What could be more natural than his asking you again? He could not help seeing that you were about five times as pretty as every other woman in the room. No thanks to his gallantry for that. Well, he certainly is very agreeable, and I give you leave to like him. You have liked many a stupider person."

Anne laughed gaily, and said, "Well, with the approval of Elizabeth Bennet, I may very well consider the matter settled."

"Ought we to discuss the particulars and potential objections to a match, for you know there are several."

"I suppose so,", replied Anne.

"Well, he is the son of the daughter of a gentleman, but his father is a tradesman, so I imagine that might not be well received at Rosings."

Anne laughed, and said, "Well, that might ordinarily be true, but that is without the approval of Elizabeth Bennet! I am certain you can sort it all out."

"Who says I will approve. I am not at all certain on this matter."

"What possible objection could you have?"

"Well, I will assert that a young man should not be married before the age of twenty. Are you entirely certain you are willing to wait 17 years for your beau?"

Both ladies burst into laughter, this time loud enough to wake the object of their affection, thus triggering the inevitable. He asked for a biscuit, and both ladies kissed him on the forehead and complied with his requests. Neither had the fortitude to deny young Malcolm Gardiner anything his little heart desired. Elizabeth reflected that technically, his fourth birthday was not for at least six months, so her guess of 17 years was at best an approximation. Perhaps Anne needed to find a beau closer to her own age.

The hubbub also awoke young Malcolm's sister, so the ladies decided to take the entire lot down for milk and biscuits, and then go visit the park, which had turned out to be Anne's favorite bit of London.

"What do you mean, you've never been to the theatre?", Elizabeth asked in horror.

"Exactly what I said, as usual, Lizzy", Anne replied without raising an eye, but added, "the statement was in plain English."

Elizabeth just shook her head in consternation, and said, "Well, I will not blame your mother for that Anne. Going to the theatre requires you to walk a few hundred yards and sit for a couple hours in a comfortable chair. You never had an excuse aside from laziness."

Anne looked chagrinned, and Elizabeth started to soften her stance, but Anne started speaking first.

"You are right, Lizzy. Old habits die hard. It took all my courage to ask you for help. You are correct that I could have done better had I been braver or more aggressive. I intend to remedy that with your help."

Elizabeth felt embarrassed for her outburst, and started to apologize, but Anne overruled her again, saying, "Do not apologize, Lizzy. I need to toughen up a bit. I imagine your younger sisters will whip me into shape soon enough."

Elizabeth laughed, and said, "Well, I hope you do toughen up. You do know I will not be there for your entire stay. I am traveling with my aunt and uncle in the summer."

"Yes, you mentioned that. Do you know where?"

"Not yet. They have mentioned Brighton, Ramsgate and Cornwall, but nothing is decided."

"They all sound lovely, and do not worry about me."

Elizabeth smiled, completely forgetting the earlier discussion, and said, "Let us see what the summer brings. Perhaps Aunt and Uncle will offer to bring you along."

Anne considered, and finally said, "No, I would ask you not to encourage such a scheme. I… I… well…"

Elizabeth waited patiently, and Anne finally continued.

"I am treating you like a mother bird, Lizzy. You are feeding and sheltering me; but sooner or later, you will have to push me out of the nest and hope I do not splat on the ground. Summer seems about the right time for that. If I cannot handle the Bennet sisters by then, what hope have I against the ton."

Elizabeth nodded, and said, "So you do plan to have a season?"

Anne laughed, and said, "There is no you in that sentence, Lizzy. We will have a season. Mother will insist on sponsoring you next season… unless of course you have other arrangements at the time."

Elizabeth laughed, and said, "Let us crawl before we splat… or is that how the old saying goes."

Anne squeezed her hand, and then they got up to go change for the theater. Anne had with a great deal of stealth obtained tickets to the theatre in her uncle's box, and was treating the Gardiners, Bennets and Jane's Mr. Jameson to the theater.