Col. Fitzwilliam took a moment to enjoy the flabbergasted looks that adorned his father's and cousin's face. He wasn't at all surprised that they didn't truly understand his fiancé - after all very few people did; she really was quite a convincing actress. He really did wish he could bask in their surprise and shock just a bit longer but there was the pressing business of his sister and cousin, Jane.

"Now then, I believe we must discuss the situation at hand." Col Fitzwilliam addressed his father and cousin. "We must handle this delicately, or we may just lose our girls for good."

The Earl sputtered indignantly, feeling like his son had just accused him of something. "How dare you!"

Before he could say anything else Col. Fitzwilliam rolled his eyes, and said, "It was just a statement of fact Father."

Darcy stepped in being the peacemaker and bringing the topic back to hand. "First I believe we should go to see Mr. Bennet. He can tell us more about the situation."

Col. Fitzwilliam nodded, "Yes, and we can't just take the girls away from the Bennets. The Bennets are their family as well, and we just can't snatch them away."

The Earl frowned, "I guess you are right."

Col Fitzwilliam looked at his father sternly, "It's far better to be there to support them in their mourning for their adopted father than to try and have them pretend they were never Bennets."

Darcy frowned, "I wish we could, the Bennets are unsuitable."

"For God's sake Will, don't let them hear you say that!" Col. Fitzwilliam exclaimed.

"Too late," Darcy mumbled.

"What did you do?" Col. Fitzwilliam groaned.

"I insulted your sister in every possible way when I asked her to marry me."

"When you did what!?" Col. Fitzwilliam gasped out in shock. He glared at his cousin.

Fitzwilliam Darcy nodded resolutely as he felt the full weight of the Col's glare. "You heard me right. I insulted her when I proposed."

"So you're engaged to my daughter?" The Earl asked, not sure how he felt about such a possibility.

Darcy shook his head, "No, she turned me down." He walked over to the window and stared out onto the park.

The Earl sputtered incredulously, "She turned you down!? How singular. What was she thinking!? I've never heard of such a thing."

Richard raised an eye, "She turned you down after you insulted her and her family. Rightly so I should say."

Darcy and his father turned to glare at him. Richard rolled his eyes, "You woo a woman when you want to marry them, Will. You don't insult them 'in every possible way.' That's no basis of a happy marriage, especially with the woman you love."

Darcy growled, "I have no practice in these things."

Richard laughed, "That much is obvious. What are you going to do to fix this?"

Darcy sighed, "We had a conversationthis morningwhere I tried to set some misconceptions straight."

Richard sobered, "A good start, but you must try and act differently around her. Starting now."

Darcy nodded his agreement while the Earl shook his head in disagreement. "A smart girl would have accepted him, no one in their right mind would deny someone of his consequence." The Earl grumbled.

Richard laughed, "It tells us a lot about her character Father."

The Earl flared at his youngest son, "How so?"

Richard grinned, "Well it tells us that she isn't after Darcy's money. A family of 5 unmarried women with the estate entwined away can'tafford not to marry someone of consequence."

Darcy and the Earl stared at Richard, both grudgingly admitting that he was correct. At that moment there was a knock on the door and a servant informed them that the doctor was there.

Richard immediately sent the doctor up to Anne and then turned to his father and cousin. "Now then, let's begin to plan. I think we should take the girls to London to meet up with the Bennet's relatives there."

"That would be insupportable!" Darcy exclaimed. "They are in trade!"

Richard rolled his eyes as his father sputtered at that revelation, "You're doing it again cousin. You'll never win my sister's heart if you keep acting this way."

Darcy grimaced, "You're correct. I'm sorry. Habits are hard to break, unfortunately."

The Earl started sputtering more but Richard and Darcy ignored the Earl as they began to make plans. It was decided to take the three ladies to London and leave them with Elizabeth's aunt and uncle if that was possible. If not they would be put up at the Earl's house. Then the men would travel to visit Mr. Bennet.