Jessica was laughing heartily at the story Joy had just finished telling. "Really?" she asked. "Jisoo was so bad at riding sidesaddle that her schoolmistress changed the academy's rules to allow her to ride astride?"

"It's true," Jisoo said. "I really am quite hopeless riding sidesaddle, and in the end I suppose she decided that having a student riding astride would create less of a scandal than having one seriously injured in a fall."

"It helped that the ladies from my academy were there on a county visit," Joy said. "Our schoolmistress was much more of a new woman, and so we were all taught to ride astride."

"Well," Jessia said, as she put down her teacup, "I suppose I've kept you in suspense for long enough and we should now turn to the real reason I invited you here." She picked up a slim stack of papers and tapped them thoughtfully as she said "First of all, I hope you don't mind, but since I was unfamiliar with your academy, I made some discrete inquiries, as well as inquiries about your family. Everyone I spoke to gave only glowing reports, but I'm sure you understand one can't be too careful."

"Of course," Joy said. Jisoo knew that there would be no problems. Joy came from one of Jeju Island's leading families, and both Madame Park's and Madame Young's academies had sterling reputations, which were, of course, very carefully managed."

"This is the officer I have chosen for you, No Min Woo," Jessica said, handing the papers to Jisoo. Joy and Jisoo looked over the papers as Jessica detailed his accomplishments and background. "His education and naval career are both impeccable, as is his family background. He's definitely a young man with a bright future in front of him, provided I can find him an acceptable bride."

Seeing the confused look on Joy's face, Jisoo said "There are limits to how high an unmarried man can advance in the navy."

"Exactly," Jessica said. "Marriage grounds a man, gives him a reason to come back to port and tempers the more violent passions." She paused for a moment before continuing. "I don't mean to discourage you, but I must warn you that despite all of the good qualities listed in his dossier, he is still somewhat of a work in progress."

"How so?" Joy asked cautiously.

"Well, he's one of my husband's brightest officers. He has a knack for understanding situations that puzzle the other officers," Jessica said, "but I'm afraid he's rather the bookish type. He needs a woman with a mind to match his, but with a more outgoing temperament, to encourage him to be more social, to get away from his books and maps and charts and tables from time to time. Do you think that's something that you could handle."

Jisoo looked over at Joy, who was doing an admirable job of containing her excitement.

"I believe I could," Joy said. "I've always said I wanted a husband who reads, as I do like to read myself, but I also know that's not good to cultivate the mind at the expense of the body or the spirit. I believe I could bring him out of his shell."

"You know," Jessica said as she picked up a cucumber sandwich from the tray, "I do believe you could. Just having you here this afternoon has been like a ray of sunshine." She took a delicate bite of the sandwich before asking "How long do you think it would take to get approval from your parents? I know it's not always easy to go to Jeju, especially not at this time of year.

"And being aware of that," Joy said, "my parents have given Madame Young their permission to approve any potential matches in order that things might not be delayed unnecessarily. They would still want to be present at the ceremony, of course, but travel time to and from Jeju need not delay the betrothal."

"Your parents sound very enlightened and forward-looking," Jessica said. "With such parents, it's little surprise that you have turned out so well."

"You're very kind to say so," Joy said, blushing.

Jisoo envied Joy her ability to blush on command - it truly was very handy at times such as this.

"Not at all," Jessica said, gesturing dismissively. "There's a world of difference between praise honestly given and empty flattery, and you may be quite sure I only give the former." Just then her clock struck the hour. "Oh my! Six o'clock already? I had no idea I had kept you here so long. Please allow me to have my coachman convey you home."

Jisoo assured Jessica that this was not necessary, but then accepted gracefully when Jessica insisted. The pleased smile on Jessica's face told Jisoo that she had correctly done her steps in that social dance.

"Now that we've met, I expect to see you more often," Jessica said to Jisoo as she escorted them out of her parlor. She then turned to Joy, clasped her hand warmly, and said "And as for you, if your schoolmistress finds this match as advantageous as I believe she must, I'm sure I shall be seeing you quite often. My husband runs a very close-knit department, and we never have the officers and their wives over for dinner less than twice a month."

"I shall be looking forward to it," Joy said, smiling warmly and bidding Jessica farewell.

By the time Joy and Jisoo arrived back at Jisoo's house, they were both practically overcome with the frustration of not being able to talk about serious matters on the ride because they didn't know how much of their conversation Jessica's driver would hear, nor how much of that he would report to Jessica. After they thanked the driver and bid him good night, then gone into the house and divested themselves of their bonnets, reticules, and parasols, Jennie and Irene ambushed them in the parlor with Suyeon waiting in the kitchen doorway, wanting to hear the results of their mission before going in to cook dinner. Seeing the indecision on Suyeon's face, Jisoo called out to her "Come have a seat, Suyeon, and be a part of the conversation. It will be a valuable part of your training, and dinner can wait a few minutes longer."

Suyeon rushed into the pa