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Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Detective by Kelly Gardiner & Sharmini Kumar
94 Plays9 days ago
What if Caroline Bingley was the main character and we learn what happens to her after Pride & Prejudice? What if she ends up embroiled in a murder case alongside Georgiana Darcy in London? What if she discovers she is pretty good at solving crimes?
Melinda and Stefanie discuss murder mysteries, characters changing for sequels and flying wombs in Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Detective by Kelly Gardiner and Sharmini Kumar.
Links & Mentions
You can read more about the East India Company at Britannica.com. This Guardian article from 2015 also explains the company's unpleasant history.
And if you want to learn more about the White Saviour trope as it appears in literature and film, you can do so here.
You can also read more about Devoney Looser's book Wild for Austen and where to buy it here.
If you need subtitles or a transcript, these are available through Apple Podcasts. Please note, they are auto generated so we apologise in advance for it not correctly understanding our accents on certain words.
As always you can find us (and our memes) on Instagram @janeaustenremixed and you can contact us via janeaustenremixed@gmail.com.
Join us every second Monday to hear all about a new adaptation of our favourite classic novel. Next episode we will be reading The Bennet Women by Eden Appiah-Kubi. If you're reading along, we encourage you to buy secondhand or support your local independent bookshop, where possible.
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Transcript
Content Warning and Introduction
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey all, before we start this episode of Jane Austen Remixed, a content warning for this week's book, Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Detective by Kate Gardner and Shamini Kumar. This book contains discussions on racism, slavery, colonialism, and class discrimination. We won't go into these topics in depth, but they will be referenced as they relate to the book's plot and themes.
00:00:21
Speaker
If any of these topics might be uncomfortable for you, please feel free to give this episode a skip. Otherwise, let's begin. Hey, Stephanie. Hey, Melinda. What if I told you that after the events of Pride and Prejudice, Caroline Bingley teamed up with Georgiana Darcy and some of their servants to solve a murder?
00:00:39
Speaker
I have to admit, when you first told me the name of this, my brain went, oh, Caroline Bingley, Pet Detective. So I am actually very excited to find out what this book is actually about.
00:00:49
Speaker
Yeah.
Adapting 'Pride and Prejudice'
00:01:03
Speaker
Welcome to Jane Austen Remixed, the podcast where we examine the murderous and conniving world of Pride and Prejudice adaptations. I'm Melinda. And I'm Stephanie. And today we are looking at Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Detective by Kelly Gardner and Shamini Kumar, which was published in 2025. This book was one of many published in 2025, marking the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth date. It's written by two Australian authors, and I discovered it while visiting a bookstore and immediately added it to our list. Here is the blurb in case you would like to read the book before listening to the episode.
00:01:37
Speaker
Two years after the events of Pride and Prejudice, Miss Caroline Bingley is staying at her brother's country estate close to Pemberley, wondering if there's more to life than cribbage and paying calls.
00:01:49
Speaker
So when Georgiana Darcy's made Jayani... vanishes and Georgiana disappears in search of her, Caroline races after them to London, only to discover a shocking, cold-blooded murder.
00:02:01
Speaker
Soon, Caroline is careering through the grimy underbelly of the city, demanding answers of malevolent footmen, reluctant magistrates, Indian dockhands, and mysterious East India Company men.
00:02:15
Speaker
As Caroline exercises her superior powers of investigation, she finds out exactly what an accomplished, independent woman with a sharp mind and a large fortune can achieve, even when pitted against secrets, scandal, and a murderer with no mercy.
Themes of Class and Society
00:02:35
Speaker
Ooh, very dramatic. First flag, East India Company. Ooh, bad news. Listeners, we're going to get into that a little bit later, but there are some links in the show notes if you'd like to read more before we start.
00:02:49
Speaker
So i also need you to read the tagline for this book because I think you're going to have some thoughts. I can see what's written here and I definitely have some thoughts.
00:03:01
Speaker
Listeners, the tagline for the novel is, when murder threatens to rock the ton, only her fine eyes can uncover the truth. Okay, okay.
00:03:12
Speaker
Fine eyes, hey o I'm going to bring this back up. But this is thematically important, which is why I wanted urge you to read it out. Okay.
00:03:23
Speaker
So if this sounds like your thing, jump off now, go read a copy and come back and listen to us once you've finished. And now it's time for some spoiler chat. As the blurb says, this book is set two years after the events of Pride and Prejudice.
00:03:37
Speaker
Because the novel has already happened, we're going to be looking more at the adaptation of the characters rather than the plot. I will be skimming over a lot of detail and references in the plot because we do have to actually talk about that a little bit.
00:03:49
Speaker
And I will absolutely be spoiling things like the murder and the murderer. So if this is something you're interested in, please go and support the authors and read this book. So, as the book starts, there are some decisions made that you have to accept for this book to begin.
Character Development and Dynamics
00:04:05
Speaker
Because this is a sequel to Pride and Prejudice, Mr and Mrs Darcy are settled at Pemberley, and Mr and Mrs Bingley are settled in their estate nearby, which means that Caroline spends a lot of time with both families, and her and Georgiana have become close friends.
00:04:18
Speaker
Okay, with Jane and Lizzie married to husband besties, that makes sense. But Caroline and Georgiana are now so close that when Georgiana decides to run away unchaperoned from Pemberley to search for her missing lady's maid, she writes to Caroline to tell her the truth and ask her to pretend she's visiting the Bingleys. When Caroline is the one that rushes to London to ensure Georgiana is chaperoned, and help her search for the missing woman.
00:04:45
Speaker
Now, everyone knows how I feel about redemption arcs for awful characters. If this is done well, I'm not against it. See Lydia Bennet, which?
00:04:58
Speaker
But I find it very hard to believe that Georgiana would be that interested in becoming friends with Caroline after Caroline said so many awful things about her beloved sister-in-law. And I also find it very hard to believe that Darcy would allow that to happen.
00:05:14
Speaker
Yeah. So I struggled with this setup when I first read it. At the end of Pride and Prejudice, Austen says that Elizabeth and Georgiana came very close, like sisters.
00:05:25
Speaker
And Georgiana's relationship with her brother is also improved. I find it really tricky that the man, his housekeeper, Mrs. Reynolds, praised as the best landlord and the best master, wouldn't care about the flight of Georgiana or her lady's maid.
00:05:39
Speaker
I also find it really hard to believe that the man who chased down Lydia and Wickham for Elizabeth would not help his sister search for her loyal lady's maid if she told him what had happened. Yeah, it just doesn't make any sense.
00:05:52
Speaker
No, even with the class divide, If Georgiana was worried, I feel like that would have been enough for the Darcys to do something. Absolutely. She wrote to Caroline? I'm sorry. She was sworn to secrecy and she still told her brother. She basically told him that she was going to elope.
00:06:08
Speaker
The fact that she wouldn't go to him for help, wouldn't go to Elizabeth for help. I don't know. but It seems like a very, very long bow to draw. i agree. But having said all of that, I'm not criticising the authors for their choices here.
00:06:21
Speaker
Basically, if you don't accept this set up, there is literally no story. It would be the Darcy trio solving crimes and not Caroline Bingley with Georgiana. So while I don't think it gels particularly well with the ending of Pride and Prejudice...
00:06:34
Speaker
I am going to say a lot can happen in two years. Maybe this is Georgiana asserting her independence a little bit. Maybe Caroline has mellowed and they actually are besties. Basically, the story needs to happen, so you just have to go with it.
00:06:47
Speaker
And that's fine. I completely understand that this is the direction they've gone with. I'm actually really interested to see where this goes. But yeah, it's it's an odd footing to start on. And I'm not totally not opposed to Miss Bingley getting a life and becoming independent and, you know, becoming a detective. I did really enjoy the line in the blurb where they're like, turns out you can do anything if you're filthy rich. I'm like, yeah, yeah, that tracks. That makes a lot of sense. Anyway, I accept the conceit despite my reservations. Let's go.
00:07:19
Speaker
all right. So we do get some textbook Caroline Snark here before she goes to find Georgiana that I am absolutely going to have to get you to read, Stephanie. The girl had never acted so precipitously before Darcy married Eliza Bennett. Clearly, the new mistress of Pemberley was already failing dismally in her role as Georgiana's protector and confidant.
00:07:41
Speaker
Whatever had propelled Georgiana to take such a risk, neither Darcy nor his new wife had been able to resolve it. A more rational approach, a superior mind, was required. Sure, babe.
00:07:53
Speaker
It's very in character. So once Caroline and Georgiana are safe at Caroline's London home, Georgiana explains her lady's maid Jade has gone missing. Georgiana is distraught because they were very close.
00:08:05
Speaker
Jade had said that her brother worked as a footman in London and he was in trouble. So her disappearances worried Georgiana. Jade came to work with the family on Colonel Fitzwilliam's recommendation, but despite claiming to be close with her, Georgiana knows frustratingly little about her. So they talk, but it sounds like Georgiana does most of the talking.
00:08:25
Speaker
That honestly makes a lot of sense to me. The lady's maid is not there to share details about her own life. She's there to support and like be a comfort to the woman that she is paid to be a companion to. So that seems really normal to me. yes It's just interesting that Georgiana thinks they're really close and it kind of brings up, and we're going to discuss it a little bit later, but it kind of brings up that class divide element. It really does. little bit in the early stages, which yeah yeah we'll get into it. Yeah, it is definitely fascinating that she thinks they're really close. And I'm like, ah this woman is still your employee.
00:09:03
Speaker
Eventually, she shares that Jade is Indian. Georgiana can't remember Jade's original name.
Historical Context and Impact
00:09:08
Speaker
even though she came to the family only two years ago. Just to note from my brief research, the practice of giving servants different names seems to be historically accurate.
00:09:17
Speaker
Yeah, that tracks. The ladies venture out into the city, accompanied by Caroline's butler, Gordon, and her carriage driver named Mr Whipple. They learn at the Calcutta Coffeehouse, a local establishment that the Indian community frequent, that the siblings' real names are Jayani and Samir. After some searching, they find Jayani at a lodging house, crying next to the dead body of her brother.
00:09:40
Speaker
Caroline is very observant in this stressful moment, noting the unique livery, so that's the staff uniform, Samira was wearing, and the bejeweled handle on the murder weapon, which was a very fancy knife. Jayani is arrested by the local magistrate.
00:09:54
Speaker
Jeez, that's ah incredibly distressing. Your brother's being murdered and they're like, well, there's another brown person in the vicinity, must be them. Ah yes, we will discuss that later.
00:10:05
Speaker
Georgiana is distraught by the news of Jayani's arrest and is actually worried about her being in jail. We get this quote, Tell me honestly, do you really believe that our famous justice system will deal with Jade as it would you or me? End quote.
00:10:20
Speaker
Yep. So true. But also, i mean, even for them, even as high class women, it would have been a nightmare because they probably would have been subjected to all sorts of terrible things and then locked up because, I don't know, their womb was wandering around their body with no evidence for the fact or anything at all just because the police had decided they were a woman so they must have done it. So, yeah, it was bad enough for white women. For lower class women of colour, that would have been horrific.
00:10:47
Speaker
I was trying to figure out where you were going with that because the whole womb wandering around her body, I'm like, what are you talking about? I should probably explain that. So it was an ancient Greek belief that persisted for a really long time that a woman's womb or uterus was not attached anywhere and it would wander around her body, which would cause hysteria.
00:11:10
Speaker
Same root word as hysterectomy. It would cause hysteria by moving around her body freely. And if women did something crazy, they could be accused in a court of law by a man in their life of being hysterical or having wandering womb syndrome. And they could be locked up in a mental institution for the rest of their lives with absolutely no recourse.
00:11:31
Speaker
What? Yeah. And that was actually a favorite way for upper class men to get rid of their wives that they wanted to trade in for a younger model. Because once they were locked up in an institution, they could divorce them.
00:11:43
Speaker
I was today years old when I learned that awful fact. can i make Can I introduce a little bit of fun facts? ah When trains were first introduced, they were also not keen on women being on trains because our uteruses were loose in our bodies. If we moved that fast at that higher speed with the train, they would simply fly out of our body. Are you there?
00:12:02
Speaker
I think I've broken Melinda. I can hear vague gasping. Hello? Did you laugh so hard your womb flew out of your body? Oh boy. Okay. Right. Okay. I was right next to the microphone. i did lean away at one point because I'm like, that is going to be way too loud because my brain was not processing what you just said.
00:12:22
Speaker
You're welcome. So back to the story. After that reflection from Georgiana, Caroline goes to see the magistrate and gets Jayani released to her custody.
00:12:32
Speaker
Once back at Caroline's house, Caroline and Jiani talk about her brother. Samir had said to some friends that he was coming in to some money soon and that he'd left his old employer. Jiani didn't realise she had a brother until quite recently because her mother had died during childbirth, so her brother was sent off to another family.
00:12:49
Speaker
Caroline and Georgiana visit Colonel Fitzwilliam after this the next day, and Caroline asks if the colonel has any families he can introduce Georgiana to for some diversion while they're in town. He recommends the Dunstan family.
00:13:00
Speaker
The colonel knows the patriarch from his time in India with the army and with the East India Company. Is Fitz being a wingman here? Fitz is slightly being a wingman, yes. He is back to his old habits.
00:13:15
Speaker
We will get into that in a moment. a quick pause here to address the can of worms that is the East India Company. This is a real English company that was set up in December 1600. It was basically an arm of British colonial power. And while it was trading, I'm using air quotes here, with countries in East and Southeast Asia, like India, Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, and and China.
00:13:39
Speaker
It was basically looting. It was also involved in the slave trade until the 1770s. The men who worked for the company, so including the Dunstan family, came back from tours having made their fortune by exploiting local communities.
00:13:51
Speaker
I don't want to get into the minutia of this company in this podcast because we're not the right venue for it. But it is important history to know. I've included some links in the show notes about the company and encourage you to read
Mystery and Relationship Dynamics
00:14:02
Speaker
more. Also, Steph tells me that the company is the villain in the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie, which I haven't seen. So maybe that tells you all you need to know.
00:14:11
Speaker
They are. Yes, it's a guy from the East India Trading Company who is the evil bad guy. He is also played by the same actor who plays Mr. Collins in the 2005. So he's appropriately oily and creepy. o Great actor.
00:14:24
Speaker
Tom Hollander. Yes. Very similar name to our favorite Spider-Man. Yeah, I always refer to them as the Dutch East India Company because that was one of their previous names. Very, very bad news.
00:14:37
Speaker
So Georgiana and Caroline call on the Dunstan family. Sir Thomas and Lady Sophie Dunstan have two sons, Robert, who is around Caroline's age, and Clive, who is around Georgiana's age.
00:14:49
Speaker
Oh, what a surprise. I know, right? Shock horror. Yeah. They also have two daughters named Maria and Julia, who are of similar age to the women as well. During the visit, Caroline realises Samir was wearing the Dunstan's livery.
00:15:06
Speaker
Maria shares that her father spent a lot of time in India. We are then introduced to Uncle Edward, so that's Sir Thomas' grumpy brother, who is insulted about Caroline's questions about the livery.
00:15:17
Speaker
The Miss Dunstans invite Caroline and Georgiana to a ball they're planning. Robert confidently asks both women to dance, but Clive is too smitten with Georgiana and too shy to say anything.
00:15:28
Speaker
And Georgiana admits later that she's smitten with Clive too. Ooh, please don't make them the bad guys. That will make me sad. My lips are sealed until the denouement.
00:15:40
Speaker
Such a good word. I'm so excited you got it in. All right, keep going. Caroline's first suspicion is that the murderer is Edward Dunstan. When she shares this with Georgiana, she thinks it's preposterous.
00:15:52
Speaker
Georgiana also says that Caroline should stop investigating and leave it to the authorities. Georgiana believes it will reflect poorly on her and that they have Jayani back now, so that's all that matters. But Caroline wants to learn more.
00:16:04
Speaker
More on this later. They chat to Clive after church that week where he apologises for his uncle's behaviour and confesses that Samir was indeed one of their footmen.
00:16:14
Speaker
He says that Colonel Fitzwilliam had told them their former footman was murdered and Clive didn't realise that Samir had a sister. At the Dunstans' ball, Caroline goes snooping and finds that the Dunstans own a knife very similar to the murder weapon.
00:16:28
Speaker
Dun, dun, dun! Indeed. Lady Dunstan catches her. She does dance, but she's far more interested in solving the murder. Caroline goes to visit Sir Dunstan while his family are out with Georgiana and Colonel Fitzwilliam.
00:16:42
Speaker
He discusses his time in India and how he made his fortune with the East India Company. He is in favour of abolition and is trying to steer the family business on a righteous path and right some of his wrongs.
00:16:53
Speaker
He says his family business was never involved in the slave trade, but recognises that in making his fortune, he exploited people and became wealthy from their suffering. Thomas is currently unwell, so it's like he's trying to redeem his legacy a little bit.
00:17:05
Speaker
Interesting. After this, Caroline interviews one of Samir's friends named David. He gives her a document that Samir had asked him to keep safe. It is the bill of sale for an entire ship's cargo.
00:17:17
Speaker
Do we know at this point what the cargo was? No, we do not. Interesting. Okay. The next day, in a complete change of pace, Clive Dunstan arrives and proposes to Georgiana.
00:17:29
Speaker
oh What? How many conversations have Clive and Georgiana had at this point? Oh, they've had several. Okay. I'm having to blitz through this plot because the plot doesn't really have anything to do with the adaptation. So totally fair. I was just curious because I'm assuming this is still meant to feel incredibly fast within this plot.
00:17:50
Speaker
It's It's quick-ish, but they have like danced together. They've had a few conversations. They've been out on a few different times and things. So it's probably still under 10. That's probably normal for some people back then.
00:18:03
Speaker
Okay. Yes, quite possibly. Well, Clive, my boy, brave of you. Haven't asked a brother for permission. woof Oh, yeah. who That does, in fact, come up. Of it does. All right. Let's keep going.
00:18:16
Speaker
In saying that, it does come up. I don't think I actually discuss it. So sorry, listeners. If you want to find out, you guys have to read the book. You have to read the book. Georgiana doesn't say yes. She says she'll think about it.
00:18:29
Speaker
I think she was in a bit of a shock. Yes, girl. Think about it. Don't jump into these things. Also, your brother will kill you. So Caroline and Georgiana have a heart to heart after this. Georgiana asks Caroline why she isn't married.
00:18:42
Speaker
And Caroline says she was always taught that suitable rather than wonderful was the criteria for marriage. But look what happened to her sister Louisa. Georgiana says she likes Clive, but she isn't sure.
00:18:55
Speaker
And she's also not sure about how she feels about marriage in general. Georgiana then tells Caroline Bingley about her dalliance with Wickham. Ooh.
00:19:13
Speaker
Yeah. okay Now you can understand why I included this plot point in here because we had to get to the Wickham chat. yeah Okay, what does Caroline say? Does she remember all the times she was awful to Lizzie about Wickham with Georgiana within earshot?
00:19:30
Speaker
It doesn't go that deep, unfortunately. Okay. Georgiana says that her experience with Wickham was the main reason for her flight after Jayani. She didn't want a young girl left on her own in the city and why she's unsure about marriage in general and then Clive specifically.
00:19:48
Speaker
What if she's wrong again? Caroline doesn't really react during the whole story. She just kind of, I think she realises this is a very big disclosure and to her credit, does not really say anything.
Unraveling Family Secrets and Mysteries
00:20:03
Speaker
At the end, Caroline does assure Georgiana that Clive is no Wickham. ah does she know? I mean, like, no offense, but someone in that family could be a murderer and they don't really know these people from a bar of soap. But anyway, sorry. Don't mind little Miss Conspiracy brained me because now immediately my brain is like, obviously Clive's the murderer.
00:20:22
Speaker
but I'm not telling you anything until later. So the magistrate investigating Samir's death arrives at Caroline's to tell them that David, his friend, has also been killed.
00:20:34
Speaker
When the magistrate leaves, Georgiana declares that that's enough and that they're leaving and going back to Pemberley. Oh no. Things are far too dangerous and Caroline needs to let this go.
00:20:45
Speaker
no girl, it's just getting in. No, no, no. Georgiana is done with the drama. Snooping around London is not safe. They will go home and she should have stopped this earlier.
00:20:56
Speaker
More on this in a moment. Ooh. Jayani then gives Caroline some old letters that Samir told her to keep safe. And when paired with the letter that David gave Caroline, things start making more sense.
00:21:12
Speaker
Yes, I'm excited because obviously David was killed because someone found out that he had the deed to the cargo in the ship and then they killed him because they went to him and they couldn't find it because Caroline had taken it.
00:21:22
Speaker
So tell me, what's in the letters? In a moment. no Before they leave town, Caroline, Georgiana and Jayani go to visit the Dunstan family to say goodbye and to start our denouement.
00:21:36
Speaker
Unfortunately, Caroline is not Sherlock Holmes in the parlour where he lays out the whole truth. She's got the dramatic flair, but she gets a few things wrong. All right, let's go.
00:21:49
Speaker
as Caroline starts, she manages to insult the whole family and Lady Sophie wants her thrown out. Colonel Fitzwilliam even offers to escort her home. or poor Fitz. He's trying real hard to save his friendship.
00:22:02
Speaker
But Sir Thomas asks her to share the papers with him. Sir Thomas reads what's in the papers and is immediately upset and blames Edward. So that's his brother. Uh-huh.
00:22:14
Speaker
Caroline calls for Jayani and has her stand under the family portrait in the living room. She believes that Uncle Edward is both Jayani's father and Samir's murderer.
00:22:27
Speaker
Oh. My. God. What? Tell me more. The whole room is in uproar, but unfortunately Edward has rock-solid alibi.
00:22:38
Speaker
Of course, there are two men in the family portrait, and Sir Thomas finally admits to being Samir and Jayani's father. Ooh, scandalous.
00:22:50
Speaker
Jayani's mother, Josephina, was a servant in Thomas' household in Calcutta before he was married. They lived there as husband and wife. Thomas returned home to marry Sophie, the woman his father had chosen for him, and Josephina came with him.
00:23:05
Speaker
Samir was born in England, and as a servant in the Dunstan household, Thomas could provide for them, or sort of. Except Josephina became pregnant again, and Lady Sophie threw her out.
00:23:19
Speaker
When his health turned, Thomas began to feel guilty for not providing for his children, so he brought Samir to work with them and found Jayani a job through Colonel Fitzwilliam at Pemberley.
00:23:29
Speaker
But he claims he did not murder Samir. Jayani calls him out. You thought we were beneath you because we were Indian. My mother and brother died in poverty because you were a coward.
00:23:44
Speaker
Yes, tell it like it is, girl. You can't just live with a woman as your wife and then throw her into the dust. So on their carriage ride home, Jayani says that she thought one of the Dunstans might be her father, but she couldn't have walked in and demanded answers like Caroline did. So she's grateful for that.
00:24:03
Speaker
Now she has a family because her brothers and sisters actually want to get to know her. That's really sweet. It is very sweet. And Caroline, of course, is still thinking about the murderer and realises she only got it a little bit wrong and demands that the carriage be turned around and they go back to the Dunstans despite Georgiana's protests.
00:24:22
Speaker
Is it Sophie? It's not Sophie, no. she is but She is dropped in as a red herring. As they arrive, Colonel Fitzwilliam bursts out of the house and insists that they drive to the docks immediately.
00:24:33
Speaker
that the paperwork had shown that Edward had been smuggling goods. But as the eldest son in the family, Robert was mostly in charge of the business.
00:24:45
Speaker
He had been stealing from the family business, the East India Company, and had used the family's ships to participate in the slave trade. oh i was going to say it's either that or he's got insane gambling debts.
00:25:00
Speaker
I knew it was going to be one of the brothers. So the whole thing was Robert. Samir had found out about the slave trade thanks to the cargo manifest and Robert killed him. Robert couldn't risk being found out because his father was abolitionist because he'd be disowned. And Samir is technically the Dunstan's eldest son.
00:25:20
Speaker
Yes, who could potentially dethrone him anyway, which is why Samir thought he was about to come into some money. oh Oh, yes and no, right? He's still illegitimate and a lot of inheritance laws don't allow for inherited official inheritances to go to children born out of wedlock.
00:25:39
Speaker
It's a similar thing to N-Tales. There is a very dramatic boat slash foot chase where Robert Dunstan heads for the docks to leave the country and despite all their best efforts, he manages to escape on a boat.
00:25:52
Speaker
As Caroline and Georgiana prepare to go home, Clive arrives to see Georgiana. Sir Thomas has disinherited Robert and now Clive is the heir, but he recognises that the family are disgraced because of Robert's actions.
00:26:06
Speaker
Clive has decided to join the East India Company and go abroad in the hope of making some money, repaying their debts and trying to restore the family's honour. I really don't think the East India Company is the way to do that.
00:26:20
Speaker
Yeah, look, this did not sit super great with me, yeah particularly when we know all of that history and particularly how we know how they made their fortune in the first place. I think the problem is because Robert was stealing from the East India Company,
00:26:34
Speaker
as well as other things, I feel like there wasn't really much, not much choice. No. And from what we know about the East India Company, not very nice to people who owed them money.
00:26:46
Speaker
Five begs Georgiana to release him from his proposal. Georgiana explains that her brother married for love despite extraordinary circumstances and says he'll understand the situation.
00:26:57
Speaker
Caroline is far more sceptical. I think Darcy's allowances for himself stretch a little bit further than his sister marrying a disgraced family involved in slavery.
00:27:10
Speaker
And murder. And murder. Yeah. But Caroline, while also being sceptical, is really impressed that Clive is trying to be honourable. Yeah, that's really sweet.
Character Evolution and Critiques
00:27:22
Speaker
Georgiana's response kind of implies that she's going to wait for him, even though he's going to abroad for a few years. So, me there you go She's only, what, 18 at this point?
00:27:33
Speaker
She's got time. And that's what she says. Yeah. The book ends with Jayani and Caroline chatting on their way home to Derbyshire. Caroline decides that she isn't suited anymore to paying calls and practicing her accomplishments, that there were thousands of mysteries in London that she could investigate, and perhaps there's a word for that.
00:27:53
Speaker
So the book ends with Caroline Bingley, private detective, not actually being a private detective yet. It's like her origin story. I love it. I'm getting really strong like Phryne Fisher vibes from this book and that's really fun. Who's that?
00:28:07
Speaker
It's a series of books and then also a television series. It's Australian. It's about a woman who all of her relatives... are killed during World War I and she's the only living descendant left so she inherits a title, a fortune, all sorts of things. It starts with her coming back to Melbourne and she gets a lady's maid and there's all this mystery and I think the book's called Cocaine Blues, involves Turkish bathhouses, In the TV show, he's a hot policeman. In the book, he's not a hot policeman. Ladies, maids, all sorts of things. And it's super fun. At the end of the like first episode, she makes herself business cards and she's like, Franny Fisher, lady detective.
00:28:45
Speaker
It's great. Highly recommend. It's fantastic. The costumes, it's set in the 20s. The costumes are, oh, chef kiss. Okay, so that's the plot of the story. Not much to do with Pride and Prejudice other than the appearance of some characters. But I'd now like to pivot to a closer study of the Pride and Prejudice characters as they appear in this story. Caroline Bingley, Georgiana Darcy, and Colonel Fitzwilliam.
00:29:09
Speaker
We'll start with our titular detective, Miss Caroline Bingley. What do we know about Caroline from Pride and Prejudice? We see Caroline socially, where she judges Elizabeth and the Bennets and desperately tries to engage Darcy's affections.
00:29:24
Speaker
She's skilled in social settings. You only have to think about her, Eliza, let us take a turn about the room. It's so refreshing when Jane is sick at Netherfield to see she knows exactly how to get a man's attention, albeit by using his crush.
00:29:38
Speaker
But she knows how to operate. And that letter she writes to Jane when they leave for London, she perfectly manipulates Jane into believing her suit with Mr Bingley is lost. Caroline's also elitist, ignoring that her father made their fortune in trade and highlights her own accomplishments. And she's the stereotypical mean girl in Pride and Prejudice.
00:29:57
Speaker
She insults Elizabeth from jealousy and the Bennets from their background and poor behaviour. On the final pages of Pride and Prejudice, Caroline writes nothing to Elizabeth about the engagement, though we imagine she probably made a temporary truce to not lose access to Pemberley and the status that that gives her.
00:30:13
Speaker
However, her letter congratulating Jane on her engagement to her brother is described as, quote, affectionate and insincere, end quote. It's a great note to end Caroline's character on.
00:30:26
Speaker
I mean, that just describes her throughout the entire book. Insincere would be the single word I would choose. So two years on, where do we find Caroline?
00:30:37
Speaker
Well, she's on an intimate footing with the Darcy's and the Bingley's. She's bought her own house in London and she's been traveling. I didn't discuss that. She's been traveling. It's not important, but i would argue that there is not a lot of the original Caroline Bingley present in this story.
00:30:55
Speaker
The only character trait that I think that has been translated is her judgment of Elizabeth Darcy. She still calls her Eliza Bennett, even to Georgiana, and does use the Bennett name as an insult at times. And Stephanie is going to read some of that snark right now.
00:31:16
Speaker
It's such a loser move. It's so bitter. It's like you lost. It is quite petty. It's so petty. All right. This misadventure seemed to reveal exactly the kind of conceited independence that several of the Bennet sisters exhibited. Dear Jane accepted.
00:31:34
Speaker
Ugh, that's very in character. One scene that I found strange in light of what we know of from Pride and Prejudice was when Caroline turns up to the magistrate to demand for Jayani's release. Stephanie is going to read the next quote here. For context, this is Caroline's internal monologue when she's at the magistrate.
00:31:54
Speaker
Okay, what, she wondered, might Darcy do in such a situation? No doubt he'd get all huffy and demanding. She always found it quite annoying, but had to concede it was effective, so she decided to test out a similar approach.
00:32:09
Speaker
I mean, you can't fault it. People with money getting huffy. You can't fault it. But you're telling me that proud elitist Caroline Binley would not have been able to pull out a Karen, I need to speak with your manager move without relating it to how Darcy would act? I get this is a different setting to what she's used to, but it feels so out of character. Right.
00:32:35
Speaker
It does. This woman has spent her entire life being, what did she say? Huffy and demanding. Her entire life has been spent being huffy and demanding. She doesn't need to channel Darcy for this. Darcy's too polite.
00:32:48
Speaker
For the listeners, I apologize. My husband is in a different room with the door closed and has the loudest sneeze on earth. Rarlite also openly talks with Sir Thomas Dunstan about her family getting their wealth from trade at one point, which seems to be unthinkable. Yeah, like it's quite clearly referenced by Austen that the Bingley sisters very conveniently, in all their snootiness, forgot that their own fortune came from trade.
00:33:16
Speaker
And they absolutely would never bring that up. They are 100% pretending to be gentlewomen. Yes. So for the character's sake, it seems like she's matured a bit in those two years since Pride and Prejudice. She was not a nice person in the novel, but in this story, Caroline Bingley has grown into someone that reminds me a lot of another character, Elizabeth Bennet.
00:33:39
Speaker
Fine eyes. Caroline knows a lot about the law, books, and philosophy that she talks about in her conversations with the magistrate. Like, so much. I don't want to say that Caroline was unintelligent in Pride and Prejudice. That's not fair. But Darcy says that a woman needs to improve their mind with extensive reading in response to Caroline's list of necessary accomplishments.
00:34:03
Speaker
She must have taken that really to heart in the last two years because she has applied herself a lot. Also, she's clearly not interested in books or learning Pride and Prejudice. There's that whole thing where he's reading a book and she's like pretending to read hers because she only chose because it was a second volume of the one that he was reading. Completely nonsensical choice there, girlfriend. And that's where we get the turn about the room stuff because she's just like, my God, I'm so bored. I don't want to read. don't want to be pretending to be reading anymore. She's just not interested. No, she's not.
00:34:35
Speaker
So it's it's now very funny that she's fully into philosophy. Who's also very observant throughout the whole case and uses her social skills to get information from people. As a woman in her social class, to be successful, you would have to be observant to pursue suitors and the like. So that I'm fine with, completely on board with.
00:34:56
Speaker
But she shows a significant amount of compassion and becomes very invested in solving the murder of men she's never met from a much lower social class. It starts as a favor to Georgiana, but to her it becomes an intellectual exercise.
00:35:10
Speaker
But why does she even care to begin with? Even Georgiana doesn't go as far as Caroline does. Yeah, this doesn't track for me at all. For me, this goes in like one of two directions. It's either completely out of character or like you say, it's become a game or a form of entertainment which reduces the people within it to like objects, which again, super icky. Hold that thought.
00:35:33
Speaker
Oh, good. Caroline is so focused on finding the truth that Georgiana tells her to stop. And thankfully, Jayani steps in and actually asks to be involved in the process more, especially when there are decisions being made about her family.
00:35:47
Speaker
More on this in a moment. Caroline also now has a much more modern opinion of marriage, more like the former Miss Eliza Bennett.
00:35:57
Speaker
Having survived the initial rounds of her debut and being unsuccessful in pursuing the man she, quote, considered her intellectual equal, end quote. Oh, babe, talking yourself up there, my friend.
00:36:12
Speaker
Yeah. She now doesn't see suitability as a main criterion for marriage. In fact, she resolves to not being worried about getting married at all. She's not against getting married, but she's decided that she's content going on adventures and being self-sufficient.
00:36:26
Speaker
So in summary, this Caroline is smart, not judgmental, compassionate, and no longer interested in pursuing marriage, which feels far more like Elizabeth Darcy than the Caroline Bingley we know.
00:36:39
Speaker
Spot on. Look, characters can grow and change, and it's been two years since Pride and Prejudice took place. But it's hard to see this character as Caroline Bingley when the only thing carried across from the original novel is her making jokes at Elizabeth and the Bennets' expense. And it's been two years now. The jokes just feel sad.
00:36:58
Speaker
Yeah. All the snark and all the anti-Elizabeth is, it's pathetic. Now, on to our other part of this detective duo, Georgiana Darcy.
00:37:09
Speaker
I did a rundown of what we know about Georgiana's character from the original novel in our Accomplished A Georgie Darcy Story episode a few weeks back. Most of it is to do with her relationship with Wickham, so she's more of a blank slate.
00:37:23
Speaker
The Georgiana in this story has a duality in her character that I find a bit tricky She's much younger than Caroline. I'm guessing she's still around 18 to 20, depending on how long ago the Wickham almost elopement took place in the original novel, because that's what we know her age to be.
00:37:40
Speaker
Georgiana is incredibly compassionate, and her leaving Pemberley to go assist Jayani, even though it's very unwise, is coming from a place that is consistent with her characterization in the original novel.
00:37:51
Speaker
But she doesn't have a plan to find her once she's in London, which seems odd to me. So you're telling me that the young woman who rightly tells Caroline that Jayani will not be treated well in prison and can explain the intricate details of abolition versus the slave trade, that's a whole section, didn't have a plan on how to find a woman in London?
00:38:14
Speaker
is she smart or is she really naive or is she both? And I don't understand what's going on. I guess that kind of does track that she's like book smart, but then she gets to the city and she's like, oh, this place is a lot bigger. There's whole sections I have never been to because they're completely below my class level. And I don't actually have any idea how to do this. That shows that she still is quite immature, i guess. But also this does remind me of Confessions of Lydia Bennet, which where she's like invisible in the background and her father and her uncle are just like uselessly wandering around London being like, hello, have you seen this woman?
00:38:53
Speaker
Because they have no idea how to look for her either. I don't know. Interesting. Interesting. So, the discussion on slavery at one point there's this whole section does lead to this banger quote from Caroline, who is thinking to herself and sounding very much like a certain Lady Catherine.
00:39:12
Speaker
Georgiana gave her opinion very decidedly for so young a person, thought Caroline. She did, however, admire the broadening of Georgiana's education beyond music lessons and the modern languages.
00:39:23
Speaker
This sudden interest in world affairs was a recent development. Perhaps it was Mrs Darcy's influence. She couldn't decide if this was to Eliza's credit or another source of annoyance.
00:39:35
Speaker
I do like that in this one single quote where she's being slightly respectful of Elizabeth, she refers to her as Mrs Darcy. Yes, she does. Also, quick side note here, Devoney Luce's 2025 book called Wild for Austen contains a chapter about the Austen family's involvement in anti-slavery activism and their actions. Three of her brothers, Henry, Charles and Frank, were involved in different ways. It's definitely worth looking up.
00:40:02
Speaker
Yeah, that was such a fascinating thing from that talk that we went to and where we listened to her speak about it. And it's like you won't get this information from anywhere else because this is something that Devaney discovered as part of her research. So highly recommend the book.
00:40:15
Speaker
And on Steph's point from earlier, when confronted with the world outside of ballrooms and estate homes, in some ways the quote unquote real London, Georgiana immediately gets tired and very overwhelmed by all the people.
00:40:28
Speaker
Georgiana has led a very sheltered life, but she almost seems shocked or fearful once she realises she has to try and find Jayani among the masses. That seems super realistic to me.
00:40:41
Speaker
These people were completely out of touch. They lived in a bubble. Yes. Wait for it. As well as that, she is also super easily distracted away from the investigation.
00:40:53
Speaker
When Georgiana feels overwhelmed and tired, Caroline goes to Colonel Fitzwilliam and asks if there are any families that he can introduce her to. Georgiana also goes out shopping with Colonel Fitzwilliam to buy dresses and lace.
00:41:07
Speaker
And while she's initially shy to visit the Dunstans, She spends most of the novel going on outings with them and being excited by the ball. Now, i'm not saying she can't be excited by those things. We all need something to distract ourselves from the horrors sometimes. But this feels incredibly insensitive given what drove her to London in the first place.
00:41:27
Speaker
That seems very strange. It's very almost deus ex machina. Her running away and being so concerned about her maid is just a handy dandy mechanism to get Caroline into the investigation.
Exploration of Class and Racism
00:41:42
Speaker
And then Georgiana completely loses interest in anything to do with it. So there's just then it's just the Caroline show.
00:41:48
Speaker
So the shopping and the distractions do lead to this interesting conversation. I'm basically getting Stephanie to read out all of the Caroline snark, which is fine. When they're getting ready for the ball, Caroline starts this conversation with Georgiana, which is another example of her snark.
00:42:05
Speaker
Do stop fussing with your hair, Caroline said. It's lovely as it is. It is not. It looks awful. You are at risk of sounding like one of the younger Miss Bennetts in their prime.
00:42:16
Speaker
Perish the thought. Okay, ladies. Hey Georgiana, they're kind of your relatives now. Maybe you call it. That is some bad influence Miss Bingley is exerting there.
00:42:27
Speaker
So this is the same young woman talking who, when Caroline brings Jayani home, also wants Jayani to return to her lady's maid duties within a couple of days. Her, while initially keen to help solve the murder, gets really thingy about Caroline continuing to investigate, especially when it starts threatening to impact her budding relationship with the Dunstans and Clive. She is genuinely concerned for Caroline's safety, I think, but the impact on Clive feels like a really big motivator too, and why wouldn't she want to continue to help the lady's maid she is supposedly really close to?
00:43:03
Speaker
Yeah, this is making Georgiana into a much more stereotypical society lady than I think she was portrayed as being in the original. I know, as you said, it's been two years and a lot can change, but...
00:43:19
Speaker
The book does say that Elizabeth has been a very good influence on her. I find it out of character that her only concern was finding the maid and then when the maid's brother was murdered, she's like, cool, very sad. Anyway, when are you coming back to be my bestie again? Because I need everything to just go back to normal because I've met a cute boy. And this is what I meant about the duality of her character. I found it really tricky that some things seemed to track and then some things just really didn't.
00:43:44
Speaker
All I'm saying is I found it really difficult to get a read on this version of Georgiana. Women contain multitudes. We can be serious and follow world events and get excited about fashion and balls and boys. I'm not saying we can't, but when you combine that with Georgiana trying to stop Caroline's investigation, her changing opinion with helping Jayani, it was really strange to me.
00:44:06
Speaker
And lastly, Colonel Fitzwilliam also appears in this story and is mostly his usual affable wingman self. At first, he says he can't remember why he recommended Jayani to the Darcy household. Caroline figures it must have been a solid recommendation given he's Georgiana's co-guardian.
00:44:24
Speaker
We finally learn it's because Jayani is Sir Thomas Dunstan's daughter. He's also manipulated by Caroline into giving out information about the East India Company and the Dunstan family, so he's really our lovable open book.
00:44:35
Speaker
Once he realises there's been a murder, though, he goes into protection mode on Georgiana and tries to get her home to Pemberley. But he's also close friends with the Dunstans and doesn't want them exposed either.
00:44:46
Speaker
In the end, Colonel Fitzwilliam does urge Sir Thomas to tell the truth, and he does lead the chase to arrest Robert when he flees. Colonel Fitzwilliam doesn't do much else. He's mostly here as a reference.
00:44:56
Speaker
Interesting. He's our lovable oaf, yet again, our favourite himbo. But I also find it very strange that Darcy doesn't end up in this story because you can't tell me that Fitz wouldn't run to him immediately.
00:45:08
Speaker
Okay, very brief sidebar into Darcy is basically used as a threat throughout the story. So Colonel Fitzwilliam and Georgiana are writing to Darcy a lot and Fitz kind of introduces the Dunstans and Caroline does say, are you sure Darcy's going to approve of this family? And Colonel Fitzwilliam is like, yes, yes, of course he will. This is pre-murder, of course, and slave trade stuff.
00:45:32
Speaker
But Fitz does kind of say, sorry. Maybe we need to get her home to Pemberley. I think if Darcy knew what you ladies were doing, he'd be worried. He's used as a threat basically throughout. But they're not in the story. Elizabeth is used as a punching bag and Darcy is used as a threat. And that's it. Wow. I just don't see a world in which Colonel Fitzwilliam would know that Georgiana is getting up to hijinks with Caroline Bingley, a woman that none of them had a high opinion of, and not tell Darcy or not just like physically throw Georgiana in a carriage and take her home.
00:46:10
Speaker
Basically, Colonel Fitzwilliam does not realize Caroline is investigating the murder for a long time. Like he just doesn't realize. Himbo's going to himbo. He's got no idea. He just knows that Georgiana is hanging out with the Dunstan family. he eventually realizes there is a connection and that's when the protection mode kicks in. And he's like, Georgiana needs to get home.
00:46:28
Speaker
Now, before we finish up, I think there are two main themes discussed in this book that we need to chat about. And the first is class discrimination. When Georgiana describes how close her and Jayani are, Caroline remarks, she never got to know any of her ladies' mates, because why would she? And despite Georgiana saying they're close, Georgiana knows very little personally about Jayani. It sounds like it's very much a friendship on Georgiana's terms.
00:46:51
Speaker
Once they're in London and are travelling around trying to find Jayani at the start, Georgiana is horrified that the areas of London they are driving through are still London. What's with all this noise and mess and people?
00:47:03
Speaker
She's lived a very sheltered life. Caroline also doesn't realise until much later in the book that her staff actually know who Jayani is. How do you know her? She asks Gordon, her butler, shocked.
00:47:15
Speaker
Because we've taken tea with her many times when you've visited Pemberley. Caroline just hasn't thought about it ah Out of sight, out of mind, right? Caroline starts from a very privileged and blinkered perspective.
00:47:28
Speaker
Her own staff do so much for her and she treats them well. But through her interactions with Gordon, Jayani and the other footmen, she learns to see others' perspectives. Also, side note, I always find it amusing when people say they wished they lived back in the Regency era because it would be romantic and beautiful. First of all, no, i like being able to vote in and the existence of paracetamol way too much to travel back in time. But it does often make me think that only that top 1% get the ballrooms and the estates.
00:47:57
Speaker
The other 99% of us would be living this very messy version of Regency England. The dirt, the crowded housing, sooty air and scrounging to make ends meet. Let's not forget people throwing their sewage out into the street.
00:48:10
Speaker
The second theme worth discussing briefly here is the racism. Because Jayani and Samira are Indian, there are a lot of instances of racism in this book. The owner of the lodging house where Samir's body is found immediately thinks Jayani is guilty because of her race.
00:48:24
Speaker
When starting the investigation, Caroline realises there must be a local spot where people from the Indian community go, and she asks her butler to just get her an Indian person to talk to. Sorry.
00:48:36
Speaker
Fetch me an Indian. Pretty much. Then there is this great exchange where Caroline is put in her place by a man from India. And Stephanie, I'm going to get you to read this out. Caroline has been asking the young man some questions and they end it with this exchange.
00:48:54
Speaker
I hope you find your friend, he said. Oh, she's not a... Tell me, your English is really very good. Where are you from? Shortage, miss.
00:49:04
Speaker
But I mean really. Off the high street. I... see. Just like your friend, miss. Been here all my life. He seemed very careful to keep any note of criticism from his casual words.
00:49:18
Speaker
Caroline smiled to cover her confusion and embarrassment. Of course. Well, thank you again. Yeah. And this still plays out to this day. Absolutely.
00:49:28
Speaker
This is an exchange that I think probably every person of colour has had at some point in their lives. And it just makes me think we as humans really need to get better at being kind and thoughtful of other people.
00:49:40
Speaker
Yes, definitely. So, as well as that, there is then Jayani and Samir being given English names by their employers. And yeah, I know that's what happened back then. What I do find interesting is that both Caroline and Georgiana struggle to call Jayani by her real name, even once they learn it.
00:49:58
Speaker
The beginning of the book is filled with a lot of missteps, which I'm thankful to say that both Caroline and Georgiana learn from as the book continues. And it ends with the white titled Dunstan family accepting and restoring their half-sister. So we end on a happy note.
00:50:12
Speaker
Another thing to mention, as I was reading, I got quite concerned that Caroline especially was turning into a white saviour. So that's a story trope where a white character saves a person of colour, usually a supporting character, from a suffering or a bad situation, and it turns the white person into a hero instead of the person of colour solving the problem for themselves.
00:50:36
Speaker
Caroline even thinks at one point, quote, but the problem of proving Jayani's innocence had somehow become Caroline's to solve, end quote. I should have trusted the authors though, because while the story certainly starts out that way, Jayani calls Caroline out about it and says this that Stephanie is going to read. Starting with Jayani, you have been ordering me about and making all my decisions for me ever since we first met. And that's got to stop.
00:51:04
Speaker
Jayani went on. He was my brother. This is my business. It's not a game or a puzzle to amuse a rich young lady with no better occupation. I never treated you as, did you ever ask me what I wanted?
00:51:18
Speaker
Said Jayani. Did you ever so much as think about what I wanted, about what I might need, about what would be good for me? Yeah, that's great.
00:51:29
Speaker
So this is Jayani's story, and it's her life on the line, and she doesn't need a rich white lady running her life. Caroline, to her credit, takes this on board. It's good.
00:51:39
Speaker
She does spend a chunk of the next chapter reflecting on what could have caused this outburst, but eventually she comes around to see how she was wrong. And of course, there is Jayani's impassioned and very correct speech at the end, where she confronts Sir Thomas about how her family were treated. Because they were Indian, her family were not looked after and died in poverty.
00:51:58
Speaker
I do think the book handles these issues well. I'm white though, so I can't be the final judge. But there is character growth and I think that can only be positive. And with that, it's time for our rating.
00:52:08
Speaker
Miss Caroline Bingley, private detective, is not actually Austin. An adaptation we enjoyed, but doesn't resemble Pride and Prejudice. This was a fun book to read. The mystery was engaging.
00:52:20
Speaker
Sure, I picked fairly early on the murderer was going to be someone in the Dunstan family, but the only other option was Colonel Fitzwilliam, and that would not have been okay. my God, imagine if it was him.
00:52:33
Speaker
That would have been an all-time twist. would have been a turn. I think the biggest criticism I have here is for how the characterisation of Caroline and Georgiana are translated unevenly in the story.
00:52:44
Speaker
Some elements are 100% correct. Caroline in her judgement of the Bennets. Georgiana's love and loyalty to her lady's maid. Colonel Fitzwilliam's concern for any blemish on Georgiana's reputation.
00:52:55
Speaker
But Georgiana's character is really inconsistent for me. She is young and doesn't have everything figured out. I love that she's abolitionist and against slavery, that she has compassion for Jayani, but her turn to being more concerned with balls and falling in love feels very quick and out of character.
00:53:10
Speaker
And while there are elements of Caroline that are perfect, the two years between the end of Pride and Prejudice and this novel have turned her into Elizabeth Bennet. For the character's sake, I do hope she's actually grown up and matured.
00:53:22
Speaker
That's not a bad thing. This character just didn't feel like Caroline to me. I also think the authors did a fantastic job with the racism and classism in Regency England. Of course, upper-class families would have given Jayani and Samir anglicised names. And I love that both Caroline and Georgiana are called out on their behavior towards the Indian community.
00:53:40
Speaker
Yes, you should absolutely be calling people by their real names. You should absolutely be including them in decision making. And in the end, they both stand up to a family that were profiting from the slave trade. All those things are positive. And as I said, I enjoyed the book.
00:53:54
Speaker
It just didn't really feel like it was connected enough to Pride and Prejudice to me to warrant an Ofsten approved writing.
Conclusion and Next Episode Preview
00:54:00
Speaker
Yeah, that's fair. I'm still so really interested in reading it because it sounds fun We hope you enjoyed this episode of Jane Austen Remixed. We love exploring this wonderful corner of the literary world with you.
00:54:12
Speaker
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00:54:24
Speaker
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00:54:38
Speaker
Join us in two weeks when we examine The Bennett Women by Eden Appiah-Kubi. And now, Melinda, the most important question we ask on this podcast.
00:54:49
Speaker
I think I already know the answer for this one. Does this Darcy dive into a lake? no Mr. Darcy isn't even in this story. And despite a few scenes near rivers, no one gets dunked in a way that could be considered sexy.
00:55:05
Speaker
See you next episode.
00:55:09
Speaker
Thank you.
00:55:43
Speaker
you