I really don't expect Edmund to have made plans for Fanny in his father's absence and I realize that Sir Thomas and his fortune are all tied up in Antigua. (However, I do think that Mrs. N tends to overstate that problem, just because of her obsession with her own economy.) There's also the fact that Sir Thomas' own daughters are not yet married and nobody is likely to have Fanny officially come out until at least one of them is settled. (Not that there would be any danger of her outshining them in the eyes of society!) :-)

I just wish that Edmund, of all people, would show some sign of wonder that he doesn't have a clue about what's to happen with Fanny. It's like someone said below, throw us a bone, Edmund! ;-) For him to say that he just doesn't know seems wrong to me somehow. Even if he would have said, "Oh, my cousin is not out," IMO, that would have been better than the response he gave. It just makes it seem as if Fanny is inconsequential.