A/N: Once again, I apologize for the slightly confusing timeline. This is the day before Darcy asked Charlotte for help in Kent, and all the stories will be in sync in another chapter. Wade

"Brother, I will not be coming out into society!"

Fitzwilliam Darcy looked at his sister with alarm. Georgiana was not prone to grand pronouncements, or any pronouncements at all for that matter, so this was quite a singular statement.

"I beg your pardon!"

"You heard me. I will not be coming out into society."

Darcy had understood her words, but was just taken aback by the abruptness of them. If Georgiana was going to say something, he thought she might work her way up to it, rather than just blurting it out. Of course, it was possible she had been working her way up to it for weeks and that was the best she could do. Darcy reflected that he had paid so little attention to his sister lately, that it could be the case and he wouldn't know.

"Of course, you will not be coming out this year. We've already discussed this. You're only sixteen, and there is no need for you to come out before you're seventeen or even eighteen."

Georgiana stared at her brother with a surprisingly intense gaze unlike any he had seen before. She kept it on him until he was squirming in his seat, and she was certain she had his full and undivided attention. Once she was sure of her audience, she continues.

"Fitzwilliam, I do not mean I won't come out until some particular age. I mean under the present circumstances, I won't come out at all… at any age."

Now Darcy just looked at her in confusion. That was to her liking. She wanted to be sure she was getting through to him, and nothing short of a shock would do the trick. She waited patiently for the obvious question. There was no point in making things too easy on him.

"What do you mean, under the present circumstances? To which circumstances are you referring?"

Now Georgiana felt like she was getting somewhere.

"I mean the present circumstances of a brother who is ten years my senior who is unmarried. I will come out into society when your wife is here to guide me, and not before then. I will not take the responsibility of producing an heir to Pemberley on my shoulders, nor will I come out into society guided by a maiden aunt or Caroline Bingley."

Darcy looked on for a moment more, completely unnerved by his younger sister.

"To what wife are you referring?"

"Oh, that's your choice. I would never interfere in such a thing", she said nonchalatntly.

Darcy just looked at her in confusion.

She did add one more thought, "If I were to make a suggestion though?"

Darcy, completely at odds now, and more or less at her mercy, let out a sort of strangled, "suggestion?"

Georgiana said, "Yes! I may be wrong, but my present thinking is you should probably marry whoever has had you mooning around like a moonstruck calf these last five months. For a time I thought it was Ramsgate that was affecting you, but I can see that I was wrong. You must be in love."

"What makes you say so?"

"Nothing else could possibly make you act so irrationally."

"What do you mean?"

Georgiana sighed. Apparently, this might be more difficult than she anticipated.

"A few things really. There is the obvious fact that you've been wandering around for months with a dark cloud over your head, snapping at all and sundry you encounter. Then there is the extremely peculiar timing of your departure from Hertfordshire. And of course, we must not forget your extremely peculiar behavior after your return from Kent."

Darcy really couldn't make any sense out of that last part and asked, "Peculiar after Kent. In what way?"

"Brother, do you know what you've said about your visit with my aunt?"

"Not offhand"

"Exactly nothing! Nothing at all! Not a complaint. Not a single anecdote about her atrocious behavior. Not a word about your cousin. Nothing. It's as if the visit never happened. How else is it possible for you to be completely impervious to Lady Catherine de Bourgh? How else could you not have at least one anecdote about his ridiculous parson? What else could explain such singular behavior?"

Darcy at that point knew the game was up, he was caught, by the most unexpected person of all. A moments reflection though showed that he must be incredibly stupid if he thought his sister wouldn't catch on.

Georgiana softened her tone and asked, "Fitzwilliam, won't you tell me about it… please. Share the burden. I've shared enough of mine with you."

And so it was, that Fitzwilliam Darcy shared the entire story, from beginning to end, good and bad, for the first time. For once in his life, he shared the burden of his tumble down the cliff with one person who of all people should be able to understand. Nobody else had the entire story. Not Bingley. Not any of the Bennets, including Elizabeth. Certainly not the Colonel… he could only imagine his reaction. Of his older relatives, no clue had ever been given, nor would there ever be. He would either present Elizabeth Bennet as a fait accompli, or they would never hear of her.

With a start, Darcy stopped mid-sentence. In that very moment he knew what he had in mind for Elizabeth Bennet, and he also knew he would accept no substitute. Should he never find her, or never convince her to give him another chance, he would almost certainly never love again. Georgiana might eventually be prevailed upon to give an heir to Pemberley through an entail, or he would eventually make a marriage of convenience to accomplish the office; but he knew for certain that his heart had been lost forever. There was some comfort in finally acknowledging that, at least to himself.

After a moment, he decided Georgiana also deserved the same consideration.

"Georgiana, I now realize that I am completely and utterly in love with Elizabeth Bennet, but have no idea what to do about it."

Georgiana looked at his look of defeat. His story of his happenstance meeting in Kent weighted heavily on her mind.

"Fitzwilliam, give me a moment to think please."

Fitzwilliam was willing to give her all the time she wanted. With his life as empty as it was, he had nothing but time to fill. He had tried to fill his hours with improving the prosperity of his estate, and had been quite successful over the last five months, to the point where he did not really know what else to do short of allowing it to collapse just so he could start over.

After a few moments, Georgiana looked over him and asked the crucial question.

"Fitzwilliam, what have you done to earn Miss Bennet's regard?"

"I've been searching for her for months. I finally found her, and she won't even talk to me."

Georgiana looked at him as a nanny might look at a particularly thick student, and expanded.

"But what have you done. You are the Master of Pemberley, yet you run away at the slightest setback. You and Bingley both ran away from Hertfordshire, for no reason other than a setdown you entirely deserved. Bingley left a woman whos attentions he had engaged without a single word, and without even taking his leave. A woman refuses to talk to you so you leave the county with your tail between your legs. You say her sisters have disgraced the family and her father is letting his estate slide into ruin. You say two of the sisters have been ruined by some blackguard, but whoever he is; he's still at liberty to ruin another girl, and another, and another. What have you done about it Fitzwilliam?"

The last was said at a near shout, as Georgiana warmed up to her subject.

Darcy looked at her in silence, and finally admitted, "Nothing"

Georgiana looked at him, and finished with the obvious answer, "Well, hadn't you better get started?"

Now Darcy saw the wisdom in his words, and wished he had sought her council sooner rather than wallowing in his own pit of despair.

"Georgiana, you have become quite a clever and accomplished woman."

Georgiana saw his gambit, and just to be clear said, "I'm still not coming out into society."

Darcy laughed and said, "Oh yes you are. You laid down the gauntlet, and I intend to take it up."

Georgiana laughed, and said, "Now you sound more like the Master of Pemberley than an errant schoolboy."

Fitzwilliam then said, "What do you suggest."

Georgiana said, "Now you need to do what needs to be done. Go to Kent and try to talk to Miss Bennet. Whether she talks to you or not, go do something to earn her regard. Imagine how you'll feel if you find her a year or two hence, only to find she despises you for your sloth. Go do something for her family. Find the blackguard and do something about him."

Darcy didn't have the heart to tell his sister who he suspected the blackguard was, nor to admit even to himself that he could have prevented at least part of this debacle. That news would wait for its completion, but he was finally going to deal with George Wickham once and for all. He reflected with shame that it only took a vowel of 20 pounds to send the man to debtor's prison, and he had carried that much and more for years. It was time for George Wickham to pay for his sins, and Fitzwilliam Darcy was finally going to collect.

Darcy jumped up, and uncharacteristically gave his sister a kiss on the forehead. Then he said, "Good night Georgiana, I'm off to Kent at dawn", all the while shouting for his valet to have everything prepared.

"Georgiana"

"Yes, brother"

"Thank you"