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like an ashtray. You promised me that you were going to try to quit.”
    Professor Baines rolled his eyes. “And I will, but not right after a transatlantic flight. A man’s got to know his limitations.”
    Alex produced a small pout. “I thought we were going to have tea, darling,” she said with a pointed look at Byron. “Or are we once again to be graced with Byron’s presence? Honestly, you two spend so much time together of late I wonder if I should be jealous.”
    Byron took the hint and immediately stood up. I noticed that his face was slightly flushed, but whether from embarrassment or anger, I couldn’t tell. “I was just leaving, Mrs. Baines,” he said with cool formality. “Please excuse me.” Turning back to Professor Baines, he added, “Richard, I’ll make the changes we discussed and get you the final draft tomorrow.” With a polite nod in our direction, he left the restaurant.
    Next to me, Izzy whispered, “As you can see, Mrs. Baines and Byron are not the best of friends.”
    As Alex settled into the chair just vacated by Byron, I whispered back, “Why don’t they like each other?”
    Izzy shrugged. “I’m not sure, really, but I get the impression that Byron doesn’t think Alex is terribly bright. I once heard him say that she gives flibbertigibbets a bad name. I think Alex senses that and it chafes because in lots of ways she’s been living in Gail’s shadow ever since the divorce. Gail is really well liked and respected among the Janeites.”
    “Gotcha,” I said.
    Alex turned to Cora now. “I see that you’ve heard about Richard’s findings regarding Jane Austen’s death,” she said, her tone almost playful.
    “You mean his fabrications, ” Cora shot back. “I’ve never heard of anything so ridiculous! I will not let him spread this vile story, not while I have breath in my body.”
    Alex’s delicate brows pulled down in a frown. “Oh, for goodness’ sake, Cora. Can’t you for once just leave him alone? If you don’t agree with him, fine. But he is entitled to his opinion just as you are entitled to yours.” Unfolding a crisp linen napkin and laying it gently on her lap, she continued, “Honestly, I don’t see what the big fuss is about, anyway. Who really cares how the poor woman died? She wrote a few very nice books—some nicer than others, of course.” Picking up a cucumber sandwich from the plate on the table, she took a delicate bite before continuing. “I, for one, was never a fan of Mansfield Park. Fanny was such a dreary little mouse. But in any case, the fact remains that Jane Austen has been dead for about one hundred years. Let it go, already!”
    Alex’s little speech did have the intended effect of defusing the tension. However, that effect was twofold: while Cora and Richard seemed to have momentarily forgotten their war with each other, both now seemed equally annoyed with Alex.
    Jane Austen ironically penned in Northanger Abbey that “a woman especially, if she have the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can.” Somehow, I doubted that this was what Alex was doing. Instead, I rather suspected that Byron was right: she was merely a fledgling flibbertigibbet and, as such, apt to annoy her more serious sisters.

 
    CHAPTER 4
    I have always maintained the importance of Aunts as much as possible.
    —LETTERS OF JANE AUSTEN
    W HEN OUR TEA WAS FINISHED , Cora and Izzy seemed loath to part from us. Izzy, in particular, seemed almost distressed that we wouldn’t see each other again until the next day. “Promise that we will meet at eight thirty for breakfast. Then we can all go to the train station together,” she implored of me. I agreed, of course, because it would be rude not to, but I was still surprised when she hugged me and said, “Oh, this will be such a fun week, especially since you’ll be with me!”
    I wasn’t positive, as Izzy seemed a reserved sort of girl, but I think I’d just made a new best friend