Jean hesitantly smiled as the makeup artists began to work on her.

"Absolutely stunning skin!" One of them couldn't help but compliment.

"You could have this skin too Lissa,"

"Blah," Lissa responded immediately. "You know I'm too lazy to moisturize more than once in a blue moon." She joked with the women who were Elisa's personal makeup artists. At first Jean had frozen, the last time she'd had makeup artists paint her face had been her wedding day. But unlike her no longer soon to be sister in law Carolynn's makeup artists, these women were matronly and anything but haughty. Jean had warmed up quickly as they bantered with her sister. She'd already had one break down earlier that Lissa had coaxed her out with promises of 80s music and gelato. Their eye brow tech was now singing to "Take Me Home Tonight " as Lissa punctuated every other lyric with an owe from the plucking.

A good hour and a half later, the girls were finally buffed, hair shining, faces contoured, and looking more Italian than they ever had in their lives, especially Lissa. The gold filigree strapless bustier dress with the high slit and burgundy train paid homage to the ancient romans all the while complimenting Lissa's dark feature. While Lissa's dark features were highlighted, Jean's were lightened. The hairdressers had lightened Jean's brutally black locks to a more natural dark sheen with the slightest hint of dark brown mixed in. The hairdressers had tried to get Jean's hair back to the natural blonde that it was, but were stopped by Jean's head shakes. Still they highlighted Jean's eyes with a silver eyeliner and a rose red lip. As they helped her into her lace blue, the stylists could not help but sigh as they imagined Jean with her natural blonde hair in the gorgeous dress.

Lissa could not stop staring at her dress as she fingered the burgundy silk. Elisa went way overboard... Lissa did not want to know the price tag of the beautiful dress that fit her like a glove.

"You look so beautiful," Jean smiled softly as she watched her sister.

Lissa whirled around, her feet almost getting caught on the train of her gown. The action would've worried her if she wasn't so caught up in the beauty of her eldest sister. How could any man leave behind a woman like Jean? Wherever Chase was, not that Lissa cared but, she knew that he was a miserable sot probably making his river a dam of alcohol.

!-!-!

Meanwhile in Switzerland...

Carolynn Brigham was leafing through another page of the latest Cosmopolitan when her hotel door was unceremoniously flung open and a tall statuesque blonde woman that uncannily looked like Carolynn's former to be sister in law, strode in. The woman's white casual but still business like column dress was wrinkled in all the right places to Carolynn's amusement. And Will thought she didn't understand men...

"I don't even want your money. I barely understand what just happened but that man in the other room is not okay," The woman said in a heavily put on American accent while handing Carolynn back her stack of pounds before Carolynn could ask any questions. "I can usually deal with just about every man that I've ever had as a client but even for me that was a first. Sickos, submissives, dominants, lonely, old, young, you can name it."

Carolynn could feel a headache coming. "And just what happened in my brother's room?" She asked, although her brain was telling her that she really did not need to know.

"Everything was going great at first upon entering. He couldn't take his eyes off me but then when I got closer to kiss him, he went in to hug me and kept saying I'm so sorry before he fell to his knees still hugging me all the while crying. He kept repeating he didn't deserve an angel like me in between apologies. For an hour. I finally just put him on the bed and had to sneak out..."

Carolynn closed her eyes as she muttered expletives under her breath.

!-!-!

Elisanna Del Veccio smiled politely as her father's friends and business associates all complimented her beauty, dress, and whatever else they could think of to smooze.

"Such a cute idea, if only," One of the wives of the Italian politician said wistfully at the ornate lock hanging down below the dip of Elisa's gold strapless gown.

"To be young and single, my men," Elisa's father said laughing amused by his daughter's party theme. Lock and key. Each single woman at the party received a light silver but individually and uniquely crafted lock in their invitation that hung down on a silver chain. Meanwhile each man received a silver also uniquely designed skeleton key in their invitations. No lock or key was a like and each had its pair and no other would fit. The first five couples who could find their matches would win as a prize, an all-expenses paid date in Venice. And to make sure that there was no cheating, the servants had a list to make sure that there was no cheating or swapping, each all had a list of the name of the person and the number off the lock or key that they'd been given on random. It wouldn't be nearly as much fun if people could pick or choose their partner...

"I'm so sorry but I'm going to check on the guests still arriving, please pardon me." Elisa finally said to get away from her father's friends. She felt bad for her step mom, to leave Genevieve alone but she knew what she was getting into when she married Elisa's father.

Elisa stopped by one of her stewards with an ipad of the names of those that had arrived and checked in with their locks and keys. Elisa narrowed her eyes as she noticed that Lissa and Jean had not yet arrived. Whipping out her cell phone, Elisa was about to call Lissa when an attractive pair walked past her and caught her eye. The attractive man had been an old puppy love of hers and honestly a part of her was still in love with him and the girl was once her private school classmate. Elisa had met and fallen in love at first sight with Fitzwilliam Darcy when she was in her 6th year of school, as had many of her classmates. The coveted father daughter dance at St. Theresa's Private school for young women that all the wealthy families used as a time to gather and try to make even more wealthy connections. Will Darcy had stood out, not that it wasn't unexpected, after all he was young and utterly handsome, not to mention that he was stepping into the role of father for his young sister. Even the sisters and teachers had all confessed to feeling things for the young man that was young enough to be their son in some cases. But what had made Elisa fall in love was that Will Darcy had no intention of making that night, the father daughter dance, as a night for business opportunities or for climbing any kind of social ladder. He had come to be his sister's date for the father daughter dance and had no time for anything else but to do anything and everything that Georgianna Darcy wished.

Same time that they caught Elisa's eye, she caught Georgie's.

"Elisanna!" Georgie Darcy almost sang as she went forward to embrace her old classmate.

"Elisa please! Georgie, you look stunning!"

"Me? Oh my goodness, standing next to you, I look like I'm about to attend a state funeral." She said, gaping at Elisa's dress. The gown was a molten gold that shimmered against Elisa's tan Italian skin. The bustier style strapless top was sophisticated and with the slit right where the gown gathered gave the gown a very sexy edge.

Elisa giggled at Georgie's flattering words. "I don't think your dress is funeral like at all, but if it were, it'd be for a great artist or fashion designer."

Georgie clasped Elisa's hands as the two girls giggled like the seventeen year olds that they were. Will almost wanted to sigh... seventeen year old girls these days. Why did they dress like they were going to a Hollywood premiere of an R rated movie? Did they not realize how creepy men were these days?

"Oh but Elisa this party is so much fun and your house is more beautiful than ever! And I so do adore this lock and key theme. I've so heard about it from our servants at home but never knew it could be this fun."

Will made a coughing sound that Georgie ignored. It wasn't her fault that women were not giving her brother any space at all by trying to seize his key and jamming it into their locks. Oh my did that sound vulgar...

Georgie focused back on the birthday girl. "You must come to visit us in England this year Elisa,"

Will couldn't help but think that if that happened, he needed to get into looking for gay male body guards...

"I will, I promise!"

"Perfect! Well I'm perfectly famished and nothing hits the spot like your family's Italian cuisine chef!"

"Yes, please go, eat food and enjoy the rest of the party. Also don't forget the prize if you find your partner!"

"Yes, yes, a trip to Venice, how utterly romantic... what if one of the couples that you pair up end up becoming a real couple... and maybe even marrying?"

Elisa sighed. "Oh my, that would be amazing. A dream come true. Can you just imagine?" The two girls grinned at each other before squealing once more at the romance of it all.

"Maybe my brother will fall in love with his lock match." Georgie teased Will.

Elisa grinned as Will grimaced. "You know, I think I would like to see..."

!-!-!

As the Darcys walked away, Elisa wasn't sure if she was happy or sad that Will Darcy's key did not fit her lock. At least her inner school girl was satisfied that she hadn't let the opportunity walk away and understood that destiny was saying they weren't meant to be.

"Miss Elisanna," One of her stewards came and voiced. Elisa turned around and to her pleasure, he'd led Lissa and Jean Bennet straight to her! She hadn't even have to ask!

Lissa couldn't help but stare at the couple that Elisa had been watching walk away... she couldn't help but feel like she'd seen them before. How odd.

"You two made it!" Elisa cried before throwing her arms around the two for a hug.

Lissa laughed as she said of course, forgetting all about the couple. Like they'd miss her birthday after all the effort Elisa went through to give them a Cinderella night. "You're like our little fairy god mother."

Jean nodded in agreement as she told Elisa how beautiful she looked.

Elisa beamed. "And now it's time to start the festivities!"

!-!-!

I'm so sorry I had break up the chapter in two parts and the two still haven't been reunited... but it just flowed better and honestly I really needed to update so I can get back in the habit of doing so! No matter, I do hope that you guys enjoyed this last update and see how all of our main characters are doing...

Love you guys so much!

PS

the picture is all the dresses Elisa, Jean, and Lissa are wearing in my story! I tried to find dresses that fit the characters and that you could see them wearing at an event like this!