Notes: Sorry for the delay, I had problems with my old computer and just got the story back today.

PPP

A couple of days later, Elizabeth, along with Jane, went to visit Georgiana at Netherfield Park. Georgiana and Elizabeth immediately began to practice a duet while Lady Maria, Caroline, and Jane talked about Hertfordshire and London.

Within the first half hour of practicing, Elizabeth and Georgiana discovered they complemented each other very well. After an hour of practice, they were satisfied with the result achieved.

At tea time, Bingley and Darcy joined the ladies. Georgiana excitedly persuaded Elizabeth to play one of the duets they had been practicing together for her fiancé and brother.

As they played, Darcy looked closely at Elizabeth for the first time. He noticed she was a handsome young woman with the most beautiful and expressive eyes he had ever seen. She was physically very different from her cousin, Miss Bennet. Nobody would guess they were related. And in the few times he had spoken with them, they seemed also quite different in temperament.

After the young ladies finished their performance, Darcy clapped his hands heartily and exclaimed, "Bravo, the execution was exceptional! Anyone would think you had been practicing together for years instead of just one day."

"I fully agree. You played beautifully." Bingley seconded enthusiastically, looking tenderly at Georgiana.

Lady Maria, Jane, and, to a lesser extent, Caroline also congratulated them. Smiling, Elizabeth and Georgiana thanked them.

To discredit her alleged rival, Caroline looked Jane in the eye and said, "Miss Bennet, as you can see, my brother and Mr. Darcy are very fond of music. Since we have not yet had the pleasure of hearing you play, I wonder if you would be so kind as to perform for us."

Jane blushed, shook her head, and softly replied, "I am sorry, Miss Bingley, but I won't be able to please you. I never learned to play the piano."

Darcy just nodded while Caroline feigned shock. Elizabeth, trying to save the awkward situation, commented, "Jane has a beautiful voice, and it is a great pleasure to hear her sing. She can sing while one of us plays the piano."

"It is an excellent idea! Maybe next Saturday we can practice an aria from an opera!" Georgiana exclaimed delightedly. Then she asked, "What is your type of voice, Miss Bennet?"

Seeing that Jane was getting nervous and did not know what to reply to, Elizabeth decided to intervene in the conversation. "Maybe we can start practicing a popular song instead of an aria next Saturday. For example, we can practice the song I sang at Sir William's. That way, Jane won't get so tired."

Georgiana smiled and nodded, saying, "You are right. That song was beautiful."

While they were talking about that song and one of Georgiana's favorites arias, Miss Bingley stood and procured a sheet of music for a romantic Italian melody, knowing that Jane didn't speak any foreign language. With a fake smile, she handed it to Jane. "Perhaps you might sing this song for us, Miss Bennet? It is very popular in London and is one of my favorites. The story is so beautiful and emotional, perfectly capturing the heart break and confusion of a broken heart."

Jane looked at the sheets and shook her head. Quietly she replied, "I am sorry, Miss Bingley. I won't be able to please you. Unfortunately, I don't know the song, and I don't speak French."

Caroline looked at Darcy and then Jane, and with a fake smile, she replied, "The song is in Italian and not in French, Miss Bennet. I wasn't aware that you were not familiar with the language."

Jane blushed and didn't answer. Seeing that Jane was becoming uncomfortable and withdrawn by the situation, Elizabeth decided to change the topic. She asked, "Miss Darcy, have you decided on a wedding date yet?"

Georgiana beamed and replied, "Yes; we are getting married in a little over a month. The first week of December in London, to be precise."

They talked for a few minutes about Georgiana's wedding plans, and in a lull in the conversation, Jane looked at her watch and saw that the visit had gone on for almost three hours. Surely it was time for them to go home, and she told Elizabeth so. "Lizzy, it's getting late now, and we should get back home before dark."

Elizabeth nodded. "You are right, Jane. We should go..."

Minutes later, Elizabeth and Jane were on their way to Longbourn. Despite Elizabeth's efforts to cheer Jane up, Jane was deep in thought and spoke very little during the ride. Jane felt frustrated for the first time in her life because she had never learned to play the piano or speak foreign languages. She couldn't blame anyone; she knew it was her fault for not taking the trouble to learn.

PPP

After the Bennet cousins had left, and Lady Maria had briefly gone out to refresh herself, Caroline began to criticize Jane openly. "Indeed, I never saw a duller young lady. She has no conversation; she can't play the piano; she doesn't speak foreign languages; she can't even distinguish French from Italian, and all she does is smile. In fact, she smiles too much!"

Everyone listened with varying degrees of surprise to Caroline's description of Jane Bennet. Georgiana had honestly paid little attention to Jane, but she felt it was her duty to defend her guest. "I thought she was a very sweet and pleasant young woman, incapable of speaking or thinking ill of someone. In addition, she gave me the impression that, although she is a beautiful woman, she is not vain." She paused and added, "But I agree with you that she doesn't have the same level of accomplishments as most women of the Ton. I prefer the company of her cousin Elizabeth, since we have more things in common."

"You are very generous with her, Georgiana. She is one of the most insipid and dull women I have ever met! She has nothing to recommend her!"

Darcy listened to Caroline's cruel criticism of Jane Bennet without saying a word. The sad truth was that after being in the company of Jane Bennet three times, he partially agreed with Caroline's opinion in some aspects.

PPP

As soon as Jane and Elizabeth arrived at Longbourn, Mrs. Bennet incessantly pestered them with several questions about the Netherfield party, and especially Mr. Darcy. Jane was still pensive and distracted, so Elizabeth took it upon herself to answer most of Mrs. Bennet's questions.

Mrs. Bennet was quite happy; she had seen how Mr. Darcy looked at Jane at the assembly and Lucas Lodge, and she was convinced he was in love with her. She exclaimed excitedly after learning that Jane had been invited to Netherfield Park on Saturday. "Oh, Jane, you will see Mr. Darcy again in just two days! Tomorrow we should go to Meryton to buy some lace to add to the sky-blue gown the Gardiners gifted you for your birthday. It is such a beautiful gown, and it highlights the color of your eyes. It is important that you look your best and smile at Mr. Darcy, as you have such a beautiful smile. Mark my words; he will propose to you before his sister's wedding!"

Before Jane could answer, Mrs. Bennet looked at Elizabeth and added, "Lizzy, you have to promise me that you will help Jane. Jane must have many opportunities to speak with Mr. Darcy."

Elizabeth nodded, "Yes, Aunt. I promise you."

"Jane, you have to ask Mr. Darcy what his favorite dishes are since I would like to invite him and the rest of his party to dinner... It is a shame we don't have a French Cook!"

Mrs. Bennet continued happily rambling and dreaming about Jane's wedding to Mr. Darcy and his £10,000 a year until the rest of the family joined them for dinner.

Before retiring for the night, while Elizabeth was brushing Jane's long and golden tresses, she noticed that Jane was still downcast. She cautiously inquired, "Is something troubling you, Jane?"

Jane reluctantly replied, "No, Lizzy. I am quite well." Seeing Elizabeth's incredulous face, Jane sighed and added, "It is only that I wish I had learned to play the piano and speak foreign languages." Elizabeth nodded, encouraging Jane to continue talking, and Jane added, "I am sure Miss Bingley's questions were not malicious. In fact, she was kind to invite me to play the piano and sing. But I felt uncomfortable, and later I was so embarrassed for confusing the language of the song."

Unlike Jane, Elizabeth was sure Miss Bingley's comments and questions were malicious. After gathering her thoughts, Elizabeth looked Jane in the eye and said with determination, "I understand your frustration, Jane. But if you really wish, you can learn to play the piano and speak foreign languages. You can do it! If you wish, I can help you."

For the first time in several hours, Jane genuinely smiled. "You are right, Lizzy. Thank you very much for your offer. I will start tomorrow after breakfast."

Unfortunately, the best plans sometimes fail for several reasons out of our control. As soon as Elizabeth began teaching Jane to read music, Mrs. Bennet decided it was the right time to go to Meryton to buy lace and ribbons. Sadly, Jane could not continue practicing that day or the following day because Mrs. Phillips visited them in the morning.

PPP

On Saturday afternoon, Elizabeth and Georgiana practiced the same song Elizabeth had sung at Lucas Lodge, and Jane sang along. Jane had a beautiful mezzo-soprano voice, but she often fell out of tune due to her lack of musical knowledge and training. It was difficult for her to know the exact moment when she had to start singing.

Half an hour before tea, Miss Bingley, Lady Maria, and the gentlemen joined them in the music room to listen to their performance. Elizabeth and Georgiana played the piano with ease and precision again, and Jane made a few mistakes while singing.

When they finished playing, to Jane's satisfaction and happiness, Mr. Darcy congratulated her for her beautiful voice and performance. But she couldn't continue conversing with him because Miss Bingley started to play the piano and sing her favorite Italian love song.

Miss Bingley's execution was technical without faults, but to Elizabeth's taste—and Mr. Darcy's too—she played without feelings. Nonetheless, Elizabeth politely congratulated her, saying, "You play masterfully and sing very well in Italian, Miss Bingley."

"Thank you, Miss Elizabeth. My parents were strict with my education because they were aware of the necessary accomplishments, I needed to learn to be considered an accomplished woman. So, they were adamant that I should learn how to play the piano, sing, speak two or three modern languages, draw and paint, and read about current affairs." Caroline looked at Darcy and added, "I am sure you agree with my parents, Mr. Darcy. I have rarely seen a lady as accomplished as Georgiana."

Darcy nodded slightly, but before he could reply, Lady Maria, seeing Jane's obvious discomfort, remarked, "My eldest sister, Lady Catherine De Bourgh, never learned to play the piano and speaks only a little bit of French. On the other hand, she is an excellent administrator, and her estate, Rosings, is much more prosperous now than when her husband was alive." She smiled slightly and added, "According to Miss Bingley's list, being an excellent administrator is not a requirement of an accomplished woman. But in my opinion, it is much more important than other accomplishments on her list."

"I agree with you, Lady Maria. In my opinion, it is also important to be kind and considerate of the feelings of others, regardless of their social situation." Elizabeth added.

Lady Maria nodded and said, "You are right, Miss Elizabeth. Unfortunately, those important qualities are sometimes greatly underestimated. A gentleman should be quite unhappy if he married a harpy."

"I am the luckiest man in the world because Georgiana has all those good qualities and much more." Bingley smiled broadly and looked with open admiration and love at his fiancée.

Georgiana blushed and beamed at her fiancé's statement. Lady Maria changed the topic of the conversation, and they continued talking about trivial matters for another quarter of an hour. Sadly, Jane hardly participated in the rest of the conversation because she feared she would say something wrong and Miss Bingley would expose her mistakes. But she listened attentively to the conversation, especially Mr. Darcy's comments and opinions.