On Monday morning, the Bennet family was gathered for breakfast when a servant from Netherfield brought a short note to Elizabeth. Impatiently, Mrs. Bennet asked, "Who wrote you that note? What does it say?"

Elizabeth smiled slightly, and replied, "The note is from Miss Darcy. She invited me to Netherfield this afternoon at 4:00."

Mrs. Bennet's eyes lit up, and she excitedly looked at Jane. "Have you heard, Jane? Such good news! You will see Mr. Darcy today!"

Alarmed, Elizabeth said, "Aunt, Miss Darcy didn't say anything about Jane."

Mrs. Bennet waved her hand, dismissing Elizabeth's comment, and looking at Jane, she added, "I am sure Mr. Darcy asked his sister to invite you to Netherfield!"

"I don't think so, Aunt. Miss Darcy said her brother and Mr. Bingley won't be at Netherfield this afternoon!"

Annoyed at Elizabeth's insistence on contradicting her, Mrs. Bennet replied, "Well, you will have to stay until the gentlemen arrive!"

Elizabeth nodded slightly. She didn't want to contradict her aunt anymore. Besides, there was a strong possibility that Georgiana's omission to include Jane in the invitation was because she assumed she would go with her. Looking at her uncle, who was reading the newspaper, Elizabeth asked, "Uncle, can we use the carriage?"

Before Mrs. Bennet could protest, Mr. Bennet nodded.

PPP

Around 4:00, the cousins arrived at Netherfield in the carriage. Caroline glared at Jane and commented to Georgiana in a low voice but loud enough for Jane to hear, "I thought you would only invite Miss Elizabeth. Now we are five, instead of four to play cards!"

Jane and Georgiana blushed; however, Lady Maria quickly replied, "Miss Bingley, Georgiana followed my request and invited Miss Bennet since I don't want to play cards today."

With a forced smile, Caroline replied, "I apologize, I misunderstood."

Lady Maria sat in an armchair to read a book while the four ladies played cards. Caroline conversed almost exclusively with Georgiana and completely ignored Jane.

After tea, Elizabeth and Georgiana decided to play a duet. They were so absorbed in playing The Magic Flute Overture that they did not notice the arrival of the gentlemen who remained at the door of the music room, listening to the performance.

When they finished playing, Bingley and Darcy applauded enthusiastically.

"Bravo! I liked the piece you performed very much. As usual, you played very well together. Is it a Mozart opera?" Darcy asked.

Elizabeth smiled and nodded. "Yes, it's the Magic Flute Overture."

"I thought so. A couple of years ago, I was fortunate enough to attend a performance of The Magic Flute at the Royal Theater. The opera is very entertaining and has some memorable arias."

Caroline exclaimed, "I like opera, especially those composed by foreign composers. Italian operas are my favorites!" Then, looking pointedly at Jane, Caroline added, "The language is so romantic. Don't you think so?"

Annoyed at Miss Bingley's subtle and constant attacks on Jane, Elizabeth ignored her comment and said, "I agree with you, Mr. Darcy. The Magic Flute is a very entertaining opera. However, I prefer English operas over foreign ones, including the Italians."

With a slight smile, Caroline triumphantly replied, "I suppose a person who is not proficient with the language would rather prefer operas in English."

Elizabeth met Caroline's eyes and defiantly replied, "Parlo molto bene l'italiano, signorina Bingley, ma vorrei comunque che le opere fossero nella mia lingua madre."

Seeing that Jane was flushed and quite uncomfortable with the conversation, Lady Maria stated, "I enjoy the English performances much more since I speak only a bit of Italian and not a single word of German..."

At that moment, they heard a strong thunder, followed by a loud noise. They looked out the window and noted that a tree had fallen at the house's main entrance. The wind was blowing strongly, and a copious amount of rain began to fall.

They realized it was dangerous for Elizabeth and Jane to return to Longbourn in such weather conditions. Reluctantly, Caroline invited them to spend the night at Netherfield.

PPP

As was Elizabeth's custom, she woke up at sunrise the following day. She looked out the window, and to her utter frustration, she noted the strong storm still persisted. There was nothing she could do about it; they would have to stay several more hours at Netherfield.

She dressed in the same gown as the day before, and decided to read a book while she waited an hour or two for Jane to wake up. She went to the library and was surprised to find Mr. Darcy sitting comfortably in an armchair, reading a book.

For a moment, Elizabeth hesitated whether or not to remain in the library. Mr. Darcy saw her, and with a small smile politely greeted her, "Good morning, Miss Bennet. Did you sleep well?"

"Good morning, Mr. Darcy. Yes, very well. But I am used to waking up before sunrise." Curiously, Elizabeth pointed to the book he was reading and asked, "What are you reading?"

Darcy showed her the title and replied, "The Republic."

"Plato." Elizabeth smiled and said, "In my opinion, The Republic is his best work."

Darcy was a little surprised by her statement since he knew very few women who had read Plato, so he asked, "Have you read Plato?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, I read some of his works. In fact, I like them very much." She smiled and said, "One of the things that I find fascinating is that two thousand years ago, Plato had such advanced ideas about education, justice, property, and social organization."

Darcy thought for a few moments about her comment, and replied, "Some of his ideas were quite advanced for his era and quite interesting. Some of them had even been implemented in England. But some of them are utopian."

Elizabeth nodded slightly and sadly added, "Unfortunately, Plato's belief that women should receive the same education as men has not yet been implemented in England."

Darcy smiled and said, "However, I remind you that Socrates and other ancient philosophers disagreed with Plato's views on that particular aspect. They considered women to be intellectually inferior to men."

Elizabeth grinned. "That, Mr. Darcy, is the reason why I admire Plato and not Socrates."

Darcy chuckled. "Excellent point, Miss Bennet."

They continued their lively discussion about the great philosophers of antiquity, and Greek and Roman mythology until, half an hour later, Georgiana and Jane joined them in the library.

In contrast to Georgiana and Elizabeth, who were very well-versed in Greek mythology and philosophy, Jane's knowledge of the subject was limited. But she listened intently to what they were discussing especially when Mr. Darcy expressed his opinion, and even intervened in the conversation when they asked for her opinion.

PPP

The intense storm did not abate for the rest of the morning. It was not until late afternoon that Darcy, Bingley, and two footmen ventured outside to cut the tree blocking Netherfield's main entrance and clean the road.

Darcy and Bingley took a brief tour around the property, but a few minutes later, they had to return to the house since it started raining heavily again. Both gentlemen concluded it was dangerous for Jane and Elizabeth to return to Longbourn that day.

Due to the inclement weather, Jane and Elizabeth could only return to Longbourn three days later. Jane was rather sad to leave Netherfield, as she had thoroughly enjoyed her stay. On the other hand, Elizabeth was eager to leave, as she was tired of Caroline's constant sarcastic comments and veiled insults.

During those three days, Elizabeth and Georgiana's friendship grew stronger; they had similar tastes and interests and enjoyed each other's company very much. Both ladies continued to teach Jane how to play the piano and some techniques to improve her singing abilities. Jane enjoyed the experience immensely and often wished she had learned sooner.

Unfortunately, with each passing hour, Caroline felt less sympathy for the Misses Bennets, and she treated them with barely courtesy and was looking forward to them leaving.

Darcy and Bingley spent several hours a day in Bingley's study. They met with Netherfield's steward twice to discuss the damage from the storm and draft a plan of action. Some tenants' houses were damaged, and some crops were lost. Besides, the house had six broken windows. In the afternoon, they joined the ladies for tea, and they had dinner together in the evening.

To Jane's delight, she had a few opportunities to converse with Mr. Darcy without interruptions. On those occasions, they talked about Pemberley, Lambton, and Derbyshire. In particular, Jane told him that her Aunt Gardiner had lived in Lambton for many years and had fond memories of the place.

As the days passed, Jane was falling in love with Mr. Darcy; he embodied all the qualities she desired in a husband: he was intelligent, handsome, polite, educated, and wealthy.

Lady Maria was a very observant woman and noticed that, as time passed, her nephew's initial interest in Miss Bennet was fading while his interest in Miss Elizabeth was growing. On the other hand, it was clear to her that Jane seemed to be falling in love with him and was trying to get his attention. She noticed Jane was making a great effort to impress him, even reading the books he commented on with Elizabeth and Georgiana. Unfortunately for Jane, it was impossible to make up for her deficiencies in education and lack of accomplishments in just a few days.

Lady Maria was aware that Jane was oblivious to the fact that her endeavor was already without hope. She also concluded that Caroline, who was an astute woman, realized that her potential rival was no longer Jane but Jane's cousin. Caroline was highly annoyed since there was very little she could do to diminish Elizabeth's accomplishments. Compared to Caroline, Elizabeth Bennett played the piano better, spoke more languages, and had been educated by very good masters.

On the occasions Lady Maria observed Elizabeth, she concluded the young lady was trying to help her cousin, often defending Jane from Caroline's attacks - which were becoming less frequent - and frequently emphasizing Jane's good qualities to her nephew. It was ironic that Elizabeth Bennet had not noticed Darcy's growing interest in her and was still trying to help Jane win her nephew's heart.

When Elizabeth and Jane arrived at Longbourn, Mrs. Bennet asked them several questions about their stay at Netherfield. She was happy that her most beautiful daughter had had the opportunity to spend so many days with Mr. Darcy.

Jane patiently replied to all of her mother's questions. Although Elizabeth disagreed with some of Jane's answers about their stay at Netherfield, especially Mrs. Bennet's assumptions and outbursts, she chose not to say anything.

Elizabeth knew her aunt very well, and there was no point in contradicting her dreams. Her aunt was convinced Mr. Darcy was in love with Jane and he would propose to her in the next few days. Nothing Elizabeth could say would change her aunt's opinion.