I don't own Pride and Prejudice.

"Aunt Catherine, what do you think of this paper?" Georgiana held up a swatch of wallpaper for her aunt to inspect. Elizabeth had informed her aunt of her desire to teach the younger girls to decorate on a budget, and the older woman had gladly offered her home to be the project, as it required quite a bit of redecorating.

Allowing the girls to start their project had just barely lured them from the safety of the house, and it was only the promise of William, Aunt Catherine, and Mr Bennet joining them that brought them completely around.

"That is very lovely if I do say so myself." Aunt Catherine spoke with an encouraging smile.

"And since I decided to just have to old furniture refinished, I can afford this nicer paper." Georgiana spoke, showing how proud she was of her find.

"Papa, do you think this would work well for my guest room idea?" Kitty shyly asked her father. Kitty had decided to do a room that a single gentleman would be comfortable in. She had said than many times guest rooms had a more feminine quality to them, and she wanted to try and do something different. The fact that she had chosen items very similar to what would have been found in their father's study, had Elizabeth thinking Kitty was using this project to try and get closer to their father. She couldn't help but smile at the notion.

"I happen to like that one very much. Perhaps I can use it to repaper the walls of my study at home." Kitty beamed at his words, "Though, I'll need your help picking out furniture to match it." Kitty couldn't contain her excitement as she wrapped her arms around him in a warm hug.

"Kitty, would you mind helping me decorate Vincent's study both here in town and at Rosings?" Anne asked shyly, her cheeks coloring at the mention of her fiancé. Vincent had asked her to marry him shortly after dealing with the doctor, and she had happily accepted. The two planned to wed at the end of the season.

As Kitty happily agreed to the request, Elizabeth noticed something catch Aunt Catherine's eye, and the woman excused herself. She wanted to follow, as did her father for some reason, but the two knew it wasn't possible with Georgiana and Kitty clinging to their arms.

"Honestly Catherine, you and Fitzwilliam can't be seriously considering this." In his hands he waved the letter they had sent him, explaining that he was to sign over guardianship of his daughter to Fitzwilliam, or they would take proof of his attempted inheritance theft to the authorities.

"You're right, we aren't considering in." Catherine almost grinned manically at his sigh of relief. "We've been done considering it for a while, we are now moving forward with our plan." She kinda wished Mr Bennet was there to see this, as she felt he would have enjoyed watching her toy with her brother.

"You would destroy our family reputation..."

"What reputation does our family have left that is worth preserving?" She glared at the man, "You have taken any ounce of goodness left in it, and torn it to shreds. The whole ton knows you and your wastrels you call sons have bankrupted the Earldom. I wouldn't have been surprised if you had secretly been planning a compromise between Sofia and Fitzwilliam when she was finally presented to society." By his expression she knew that is exactly what he had planned

"Now you want to sell that poor child off to a man the whole ton knows would be cruel to her." She glared at him, she may not have gotten to spend much time with her niece, but she knew her to be a shy and timid girl, much like Georgiana and Mary.

"I never thought I would say this to any one of my family, but I am absolutely ashamed of you." She then looked to where her group was shopping.

"That woman there, the one you told our nephew was a disgrace to the Darcy name." She gestured towards Elizabeth, who was currently encouraging the younger girls to decide what they liked, not what they thought others did. "She has done more to boost our family's reputation than you ever did. She is teaching the girls to be true to who they want to be, but in so gentle a way, it is coming naturally to them. You have actually stumbled upon her teaching them to economize, something you and your family should learn to do. Those girls will be more than ready for the ton when they are presented, and it will all be due to her. In fact, I would not be surprised if they had offers by the end of their first season." Though wether or not those offers were accepted would depend on the gentlemen.

"She has been a sounding board for Fitzwilliam, I've never seen a woman more well read that she is, and she offers him sound advice when he seeks it...and sometimes when he doesn't. Why, she has encouraged the woman your own son is courting to read up on different aspects of county life, and I've witnessed Richard and the young lady discussing them from time to time. Your son will truly be blessed when he weds."

"He is no son of mine!" Her brother almost snarled.

"And whose fault is that?" She glared right back at him, "Of your sons, Richard is the most deserving of everything good, but he was the one you turned away from most, and all because he wanted to join the army. Thank God, Darcy was there for him, and raised him as if he were his own, provided for him as such as well. Because of Darcy, and your son's hard work, he was able to retire when he finally met a woman worthy of him, and is able to support a family comfortably. You're right, Richard is too good to be a son of yours."

"Now, back to that letter, I was almost giddy when I gave the doctor the money he needed to pay off his debts to you, and my only condition was that he give me any correspondence he had from you. Let me tell you, that was some enlightening reading right there." She almost couldn't contain herself when she saw all the color drain from his face.

"So now you have a choice Brother, you can either send Sofia to live with Fitzwilliam, legal documents drawn and ready to sign upon her arrival, or you can swing from the gallows for your crimes against my daughter." With that she turned and walked away

"We are happy to have you here." Elizabeth spoke to the young girl, as she showed her to her room. "My sister Mary is right next door, and Jane is just across the hall. Georgiana and Kitty are right next door to Mary.

"They share a room?" The girl asked shyly.

"We had some unexpected guests over the holidays, so they decided to share. Turns out they enjoyed it so much they decided to continue to do so here." She smiled kindly at the frightened girl.

"I didn't get the chance to share with anyone over the holidays, I would like to share with you if you wish to. It can be frightening in a new place with so many people you don't know." Mary's timid voice came from the doorway.

"I would like that, if you are sure you wouldn't mind." Sofia spoke, and Mary moved to link arms with her, escorting her out of the room and into the next one.

Seeing she was no longer needed, she went off in search of her other guest, "I hope you don't mind this room, we will gladly move you to the family wing if you would rather stay there."

"No, this is a lovely room, and I appreciate you and your husband allowing me to stay with my daughter." The Countess spoke kindly to her. "Is she settling in ok?"

"She is, my sister Mary offered to share her room with her and she accepted." She wasn't surprised to see the hesitant look on the lady's face. "Mary was walking by, and picked up on Sofia's hesitancy being here, and offered to share a room if it would make her more comfortable. Sofia accepted."

"That was very kind of your sister." The Countess seemed relieved.

"If Richard has his way, they will both be sisters." She gave the woman a slight smile.

"Does your sister feel the same?" Again the woman was nervous.

"She does, very much so. However, I do not think she is ready to leave our home yet. We anticipate it'll be next season or the following before they marry."

"Then I shall enjoy having that time to get to know her." The woman smiled, though it was a small and somewhat uncomfortable looking one.