Beginning, Previous Section, Section IV

Part 15--Settling Down

Posted on 2009-04-03

Edward had seen the way Mr Bertram, the heir to a baronetcy, had looked at Miss Dashwood, when they had happened to meet during a call at Harley Street. Edward had been acquainted with the Bertrams during the previous year; when his mother and sister had been attempting to march make him and Robert with the Hon Miss Morton and Miss Crawford respectively. Miss Crawford had married the younger Mr Bertram, which had come as no surprise to anybody except Mrs Ferrars and Mrs Palmer, because everybody else had seen the undoubted attachment between the Rev Mr Edmund Bertram and Miss Crawford. The Bertram brothers were handsome young men. Mrs Fraser, who had been the hostess and chaperone to the then Miss Crawford, however much she might have preferred her friend to marry a richer man or an eldest son with rich prospects, acknowledged that Mr Edmund Bertram was very handsome, and that she knew "but three men in town who have so good a person, height and air," and that at her dinner parties, "there were none to compare with him". Mrs Fraser could thus forgive her friend for attaching herself to a younger son with comparatively modest means. Perhaps Mrs Fraser had not quite understood that Mary had not been drawn to Edmund on account of his appearance alone, for if that had been the case, she might as well have attached herself to his elder brother, who was almost as handsome.

The modest and diffident Edward had felt that Elinor deserved the very best, and he wondered if he could pursue his own courtship of her, if he found that Tom Bertram had become a serious rival. He also could not help wondering at the possible reaction of his mother and sister – they had been taken aback when a young lady of twenty thousand pounds had married the younger Bertram brother, who was only a clergyman – what would they say if the elder Bertram brother and heir to the baronetcy were to marry the young lady with the prospect of six thousand pounds, over whose dowry they had intended to haggle in the hope of having it increased to as many thousand pounds as might be called ten! They had been just slightly humbled by their failures of the previous year, but such another failure, especially coming soon after the shock of the revelation of Robert's youthful entanglement with Lucy Steele, might have a really effective humbling effect on them. But to lose Miss Dashwood to another man would have quietly broken Edward's heart.

Fortunately for Edward's peace of mind, Mr Bertram had not remained long in town, but had soon returned to Northamptonshire. The Rushworth scandal had broken out not many days afterwards, and the Bertrams were no longer in an enviable position.

There was nothing now to prevent Edward from proposing to Elinor, especially since his mother had finally granted his independence, and he was in possession of an income of a thousand a year. Elinor joyfully accepted him, for she loved him as much as he loved her, although she had earlier attempted to discourage her mother and sisters from their too confident expectations of a marriage between her and Edward. She had been unsure of the strength of his regard for her, not of hers for him, and his former dependent position on his mother had also meant that he might not have been free to follow his heart. Whatever her family might think of his family though, none of the Dashwoods would have been so unfair as to judge Edward by his mother, his sister, or his brother. If Elinor's regard for Edward had depended less on his own merit, and more on the merit of his nearest relations, it would have been hard on Edward; happily however, the contrast between him and his relatives was regarded only as being much in his favour by her and her relatives.

Edward received the kindest welcome and congratulations from the Dashwoods. The manners of Mrs Dashwood, senior, were most captivating; indeed a man could not very well be in love with either of her daughters, without extending the passion to her. Marianne treated him with great sisterly cordiality, while Margaret was quite ecstatic over her eldest sister's engagement to Edward Ferrars. Mrs Charlotte Dashwood's congratulations were as warm and eager as might be expected from that amiable lady, and therefore most delightful, however lacking in elegance or delicacy as she might be. Edward had an interview with John Dashwood, and John was very glad that Mrs Ferrars had settled sufficient funds on Edward to bring his income up to a thousand a year. He himself would of course keep his promise regarding the marriage portion to be provided, as would Elinor's mother, and the combined amount of his sister's dowry would come up to six thousand pounds.

Edward also explained why he had not openly declared himself much earlier – his former lack of financial independence, his mother's capricious and demanding nature, his uncertainly as to when and on what terms she would secure to him that independence, had deterred him from the open declaration that he had been so anxious to make. He had not liked to propose marriage to Elinor without being certain as to what he had to offer to her. If he had been engaged in a profession, he would not have been quite so dependent, and might have been happier and more confident. Ever since he had known Elinor, he had heartily wished that he had a profession to afford him some independence.

He now spoke about it to her and her family. "I have long thought that it has been a heavy misfortune to me, that I have had no necessary business to engage me, no profession to give me employment, or afford me my own independence. But unfortunately, my own nicety, and the nicety of my family, had made me idle. We never could agree in our choice of a profession. I had some inclination towards the church, but that was not smart enough for my family. They recommended the army. That was a great deal too smart for me. The law was allowed to be genteel enough; many young men, who had chambers in the Temple, made a very good appearance in the first circles, and drove about in very knowing gigs. But I had no inclination for the law, even in this less abstruse study of it, which my family approved. As for the navy, it had fashion on its side, but I was too old when the subject was first started to enter it – and, at length, as there was no necessity for my having any profession at all, as I might be as dashing and expensive without a red coat on my back as with one, idleness was pronounced on the whole to be the most advantageous and honourable, and a young man of eighteen is not in general so earnestly bent on being busy as to resist the solicitations of his friends to do nothing. I was therefore entered at oxford, and have been properly idle ever since."

"I suppose," said Mrs Dashwood, smiling, "since you so regret your own leisure or idleness, as you call it, your sons will be brought up to as many pursuits, employments, and professions as possible."

"Have you ever thought of running a country estate? Such agricultural pursuits of a country gentleman are also an employment by itself – and you now have quite sufficient funds to lease or purchase a small estate of your own," asked John Dashwood suddenly.

"I admit that I would prefer a quiet life in the country most of the time, to a permanent residence in town, and actually I have recently been thinking – since I now have quite sufficient funds for it -- of finding a small estate to lease or purchase."

"Then, I might know of the very place for you and Elinor", suggested John Dashwood," there is a piece of property not far from Norland which is up for sale, it is known as East Kingham Farm, but it actually consists of two farm holdings, and it has quite a large farmhouse which can be improved and elevated into a moderate sized, respectable country house and given the air of a gentleman's residence – you can then change the name to East Kngham House instead of Farm. I would have liked to purchase it myself, if I have the necessary sum in my banker's hands, but since I have other expenses – well, never mind that, but I would not like it to fall into the hands of a stranger, and it would be delightful to have the two of you settled so near Norland."

John Dashwood was thinking that if he had not pledged himself to increase his sisters' portions, he might have the necessary sum to purchase East Kingham Farm himself, but of course he was not complaining about that, after all he had to fulfill his promise to take care of his sisters, and the Norland estate was already quite extensive as it was. Moreover, judging by Mrs Ferrars' reaction to her younger son's former entanglement with Miss Lucy Steele, it was unlikely that she would have consented to her elder son's engagement to Elinor either, if Elinor did not possess a sufficiently respectable dowry. But he would very much dislike to have a possibly disagreeable stranger as a neighbor, so it would be very convenient to have his sister and brother-in-law settled there.

"Oh, that would be delightful indeed!" cried Charlotte. "I'm sure that Mother Dashwood, John and I could not be happier than to have Elinor settled so near to us even after her marriage."

Edward was very much taken with the idea of a small estate in the country, as unlike his brother, he had no real taste for a fashionable life in town. All his wishes centered in domestic comfort and the quiet of private life. Elinor shared such similar wishes, and they knew that they would be well suited to each other.

The Dashwoods had now been almost three months in town, and it was time for them to be thinking of returning to Norland. It was arranged that Edward should accompany them, then he could also see East Kingham for himself and decide on its purchase, and it was planned that the wedding of Edward and Elinor should take place sometime in the autumn.

Charlotte was very much pleased to have affairs settled so satisfactorily between Elinor and Edward; she only wished that matters could also be settled between Marianne and Colonel Brandon before they left town. At one time, she had been very hopeful that the Colonel would soon ask Marianne to marry him; she and her mother had thought that the Colonel admired Marianne exceedingly, and as Marianne obviously liked the Colonel and always spoke of him with respect and esteem, she could have no doubt of Marianne's acceptance. John also liked the Colonel and esteemed him highly, and a friendship had sprung up between them. Indeed, Colonel Brandon's friendship with the Dashwoods had progressed very well, but his love affair with Marianne, if there was such a love affair, did not seem to progress, they both liked each other very well, and were very good friends, but neither seemed to be able to progress with each other beyond the point of strong esteem and lively friendship.

When the Colonel called on the Dashwoods, and offered his congratulations on Miss Dashwood's engagement to Mr Ferrars, Charlotte did her best to get the Colonel to propose, by means of various hints about how wonderful it would be if Marianne were to soon follow her sister's footsteps into matrimony, and that the two sisters might even have a double wedding if Marianne were to become engaged soon. However, the Colonel did not appear to take the hint, or rather, Charlotte's hints only succeeded in embarrassing both the Colonel and Marianne exceedingly, and they both became confused and rather constrained with each other.

In Sussex, Edward and Elinor were well pleased with the purchase of the East Kingham property, and the prospects for its improvements, and with an income more than sufficient to their wants already secured to them, they had nothing to wait for other than the readiness of the house on their new property, to which they were making considerable improvements as a respectable, moderate sized country house. The original old farmhouse was two stories high, but the rooms were rather low; and the roof steep and covered with tiles. A slightly newer portion had been added later, also with a tiled roof, but there were three stories, and the building therefore was considerably higher. Edward and Elinor decided to add a good dining room, with a drawing room over it, and a bedroom over that. They also projected shrubberies, invented a carriage sweep, and the whole house was also to be either repainted or repapered. After waiting some time for their completion, and experiencing, as usual, a thousand disappointments and delays, from the unaccountable dilatoriness of the workmen, Elinor, as usual, broke through the first positive resolution of not marrying till everything was ready, and the ceremony took place in Norland church not too late in the autumn. The first month of their marriage was spent with her family at Norland, from which fairly convenient distance they could superintend the progress of East Kingham House.

They were visited on their first settling by almost all their relations and friends. Mrs Ferrars, Robert and the Palmers all came to visit them. As they got to know Mr Palmer better, Elinor and the Dashwoods came to like him very well, he had quite sound ideas about the running of a small country estate, he was quite capable of being a pleasant companion to them, and his rather strange, abrupt and somewhat sarcastic manners were only most apparent in the presence of his wife and her mother.

In the meantime, what were the consequences of the Rushworth scandal? Mr Rushworth had no difficulty in procuring a divorce, and so ended a marriage contracted under such circumstances as to make any better end, the effect of good luck, not to be guaranteed upon. It was fortunate for Maria Bertram Rushworth that George Alymer was truly infatuated with her, and had not yet wearied of his infatuation by the time of her divorce, so that he immediately married her once she was free to marry him. The worldly Alymers were resigned to the marriage, and General and Mrs Alymer received their son and daughter-in-law as soon as they were married.

Mrs Norris wanted Sir Thomas to also receive his eldest daughter and her second husband at Mansfield, and give his public approval to Maria's new marriage. Sir Thomas wanted to forgive his daughter, and wished that she and her new husband were properly penitent and had a proper sense as to the sin that they had committed, but no such sense or penitence appeared from their correspondence. Therefore Sir Thomas could not bring himself to receive them at Mansfield or to offer so great an insult to the neighbourhood as to expect it to notice Mr and Mrs George Alymer, especially considering the nearness of Sotherton to Mansfield. Sir Thomas felt very keenly the wrong that had been committed against the unfortunate Rushworth. Perhaps in time, Sir Thomas might receive his daughter, if the Alymers could be brought to a sense of the wrong that they had committed, and if Rushworth himself would sufficiently recover from the blow, by venturing into a second, and it was to be hoped, a more prosperous trial of the state of matrimony -- if duped, to be duped at least with good humour and good luck, by some kindly, sensible, amiable woman who would make him a good and faithful wife.

Mrs Norris was angry that dear Maria and her second husband were not to be received at Mansfield immediately upon their marriage, and consequently quarreled with Sir Thomas and everybody else at Mansfield. It ended in Mrs Norris resolving to quit Mansfield, and make her home with the Alymers, and she accordingly left Mansfield to take up residence with Maria and her new husband. Maria and George could not very well turn her away, as she had been their staunch friend and advocate, and were obliged to put up with her in their new home.

Mr Rushworth's mother was determined that her son should indeed venture into a second and more prosperous trial of the state of matrimony, and should not be left to retire in gloom and mortification at Sotherton. She thus persuaded him to accompany her to Bath and hoped to find an amiable woman for him there. She no longer wanted him to marry a beautiful young woman, it was better that he should marry a plain woman who would always be faithful to him.

Mr and Mrs Darcy of Pemberley were also visiting Bath at that time, for the main purpose of introducing their shy young sister into society. Miss Darcy was exceedingly nervous over the prospect of her presentation in London, and her brother and sister-in-law decided that they should first introduce her into the milder social life in Bath, with the hope that it would help Georgina to learn to overcome some of her shyness before being presented to London society on the following season. Also accompanying the Darcys was Miss Lucas, a sensible and amiable, if rather plain, young woman in her late twenties, who was a particular friend of Mrs Darcy, from Hertfordshire.

Part 16 -- Matching Couples

Posted on 2009-04-10

Mr James Rushworth and Miss Charlotte Lucas met and were introduced to each other at the Assembly Rooms in Bath. Miss Lucas was a tactful, sensible and intelligent young woman of about twenty eight and Mr Rushworth's mother liked her almost from the first. True, Miss Lucas was certainly not a beauty, and she was somewhat past her first youth, but Mrs Rushworth had become heartily sick and suspicious of beautiful young girls with angelic faces whose characters would probably turn out to be unsteady and far from angelic. Mr Rushworth was much under his mother's influence; he had previously fancied himself in love with the then Miss Bertram because he had been struck by her beauty, and after the way his former wife had treated him; he felt that he no longer had any desire for beautiful women. A plain, faithful and loyal wife who would be helpful in managing the estate of Sotherton, and who would have no ambition of becoming a leader in fashionable society in town would, he agreed with his mother, be a much better choice for him.

As Mrs Rushworth said to her son: "My dear James, you must marry again. A young man in your position – with an estate like Sotherton – must marry and have an heir. Choose carefully this time; do not again be misled by any beautiful young woman whose angelic looks might conceal the faithless, devilish heart of a betrayer. Choose a gentlewoman for my sake, and for your own, let her be an amiable, sensible, dutiful sort of person, not a spoilt beauty who had been brought up to hanker after the fashionable life in town and its temptations, but someone who would be content to live quietly at home in the country and be useful in helping to manage the Sotherton estate and its farms."

It must be admitted, however, that when the Rushworths first met the Darcys and their friend, it was Miss Darcy who had first attracted Mr Rushworth's attention. Miss Darcy was tall, with a well formed and graceful figure, and although not a striking beauty like Maria, she was quite good-looking, and her manners were perfectly unassuming and gentle. But she was very young, being little more than seventeen, and it turned out that she was also very shy, and Rushworth found it difficult to obtain even a word from her beyond a monosyllable. To the relief of the Darcys, Miss Lucas good-naturedly came to the rescue of her young friend, and kindly engaged Mr Rushworth's conversation to herself. Miss Lucas turned out to be such a sympathetic listener that Mr Rushworth found himself talking quite animatedly to her about the improvements that he had intended to make on his estate.

During the course of their next meeting, once again was Miss Lucas so kind as to listen to Mr Rushworth. Mr Rushworth now found that he really enjoyed talking to Miss Lucas, and had dismissed Miss Darcy as being too young to be considered as a possible, prospective wife for him -- which was just as well, as Mr Darcy was not likely to have consented to such a suitor for his sister. Miss Lucas was also most politely and respectfully attentive to Mr Rushworth's mother, but without being in any way servile or ostentatious in her deference to Mrs Rushworth as an older woman.

Mr Rushworth soon made a point of seeking out Miss Lucas in the Assembly Rooms and the Pump room, and whenever they happened to attend the same evening parties. They often partnered each other at card parties, and Mr Rushworth found her to be a very soothing and pleasant partner as she never appeared to blame him if they should happen to lose a game.

It was perhaps not surprising that, within a few weeks of making Miss Lucas' acquaintance, Mr Rushworth, with the approval of his mother, asked Miss Lucas to marry him, and she accepted him.

Miss Lucas informed her friend Mrs Darcy of her engagement to Mr Rushworth at the earliest possible moment, and received the Darcys' sincere congratulations. Mr and Mrs Darcy had come to notice Mr Rushworth's attentions to their friend, and the possibility of Mr Rushworth's fancying himself in love with Miss Lucas had actually occurred to them. They had in fact privately discussed such a possibility with each other. A match with Mr Rushworth, a divorced man with no more than common sense, was certainly not what Mr Darcy would have approved of for his own sister. However, he knew that they must make allowances for differences of age, character and circumstances. Georgina was little more than seventeen, and had a fortune of thirty thousand pounds, while Charlotte had reached the age of eight and twenty, and her parents could give her little fortune. In a prudential light, Mr Rushworth of Sotherton Court was in fact a most advantageous, brilliant match for Miss Lucas of Lucas Lodge – his income of twelve thousand a year was even greater than Mr Darcy's income of ten thousand a year. Elizabeth Darcy felt that although she herself – even if she had not been so fortunate as to be loved and to have fallen in love with Mr Darcy -- could never have married someone like Mr Rushworth, anymore than she could have married her cousin Mr Collins – for, as her father had observed, with her lively disposition, she could be neither happy nor respectable unless she could really esteem her husband -- Charlotte's prudent, steady character would ensure the success of Mr Rushworth's second marriage. After all, her sister Mary, with her staid disposition, was quite contented in her marriage with Mr Collins, and Mr Rushworth's understanding and manners were really no worse than Mr Collins'. Charlotte was not romantic and would have been contented with a comfortable home, and she would certainly have much more than a comfortable home at Sotherton. Being a practical and intelligent woman, she would also be quite capable of managing the business of the Sotherton estate.

Not long after the marriage of Mr James Rushworth and Miss Charlotte Lucas, another supposedly broken heart was also being mended – that of Miss Lucy Steele at Barton.

The Miss Steeles had been quite comfortable at Barton Cottage as the permanent guests of Mrs Jennings and the Middletons. Needless to say, they had been spending much more than half their time at Sir John's residence of Barton Park, and were dining at the Park practically every day. Mrs Jennings and the Miss Steeles almost never dined by themselves at the Cottage. Sir John and Mrs Jennings, with their love for match-making, were certainly eager to look for possible matches for the Miss Steeles. But Miss Steele was rather plain and she was almost thirty, and most young men were looking for younger and prettier women as prospective wives. Sir John and Mrs Jennings were more hopeful over Lucy's prospects – once poor, dear Lucy could recover from her broken heart over Robert Ferrars.

The Rev Mr John Thorpe had recently been installed as the vicar in the living at Barton Parsonage. Sir John had, in his younger days, been acquainted with the late Mr Thorpe, and when the living at Barton had fallen vacant, an accidental mention of young John Thorpe, who had recently taken orders, had reminded Sir John of his late friend's family. Further inquiries had disclosed that the widowed Mrs Thorpe and her children were living at Putney in not very affluent circumstances. Sir John was happy to offer the living at Barton, worth about three hundred a year, to John Thorpe, and Mrs Thorpe was most grateful at this mark of such kindness and attention from a friend of her late husband, who was quite unknown to her son, since Sir John had only met the Thorpe children during their father's lifetime, many years ago, when they were still very young, certainly too young to remember him.

John Thorpe was a rather stout young man of middling height, who, with a plain face and ungraceful form, seemed fearful of being too handsome unless he wore the dress of a groom, and too much like a gentleman unless he were easy when he ought to be civil, and impudent where he might be allowed to be easy. The friendly Sir John, however, with his own hearty, easy going manners, could find little fault with John Thorpe's manners, and regarded him as "a good natured fellow, a little of a rattle perhaps, but that will recommend him to the fair sex".

It did seem to recommend him to Miss Lucy Steele, and the fact that Mr John Thorpe drove quite a smart little gig did not hurt him either in her eyes. The fact was that Lucy had become rather uneasy regarding her matrimonial prospects, ever since she had lost Robert Ferrars. What a pity Robert had been so weak as to have immediately given in to his mother's threats, for if he had not, Lucy believed that it might not have been very long before she could have contrived to obtain Mrs Ferrars' forgiveness and win over the Ferrars family. They could have got Robert's brother to assist and support them, from what she had seen of Mr Edward Ferrars, she realized that he was very different from his sister, and she believed him to be a sympathetic young man who could be fairly easily imposed upon and persuaded to assist his brother. Indeed, she had been beginning to put that plan of gaining Edward's support into motion, by her seeking the friendship of his future wife, and giving her confidences to the then Miss Dashwood. But Anne had rashly disclosed the secret of her private engagement with Robert to his tiresome sister, and at a time when there was nobody else to support them too – how very foolish of Anne! No wonder Anne herself had failed to capture any beau, she had such poor judgment on matrimonial schemes, and at nearly thirty, was likely to become an old maid. Lucy had no desire to follow her elder sister's footsteps into spinsterhood. The only thing she had gained from her three year engagement to Robert Ferrars was the one thousand pounds that his mother had paid to prevent him from being sued for breach of promise, and Lucy supposed that for her to get a thousand pounds for returning Robert's love letters was at least better than to have got nothing at all from that affair.

John Thorpe would not have been Lucy's first choice of a husband, but she now felt that he would be a very tolerable match for her. He told her that he thought she was the most charming girl in the world, and Lucy could not help being flattered and pleased by such compliments. He was certainly attracted to her, for she was pretty and smart-looking and amusing, and being inclined to marry, he soon fancied himself in love. Lucy calculated that, with Thorpe's living of three hundred a year, the thousand pounds that had been extracted from Robert's mother, and some little private means of Thorpe's, the two of them could begin their career of conjugal felicity on an income of about four hundred a year. It was a rather smaller income that she would have liked, but she was sure that she could contrive very well as the mistress of Barton parsonage. As the vicar's wife, she would also be most truly anxious that the generous Sir John should be treated well in all worldly concerns, anxious that his tithes should be raised to the utmost, and firmly resolved to avail herself, as far as she possibly could, of his servants, his carriage, his cows and his poultry. That should not be difficult, for she was already more or less established at Barton as Lady Middleton's cousin, and the Middletons' servants, carriage, cows and poultry had been quite at the service of Mrs Jennings and the Miss Steeles at Barton Cottage.

Mrs Jennings and the Middletons were very happy that dear Lucy had found consolation for her previous disappointment with the hearty, good-natured vicar of Barton parsonage. Sir John congratulated himself for having given the Barton living to that jovial young man. In the parsonage house, Lucy was an active, contriving manager, uniting at once a desire of smart appearance with the utmost frugality, and ashamed to be suspected of her economical practices, pursuing her own interest in every thought, and continuing to court the favour of the wealthy Middletons and Mrs Jennings.

In Sussex, Edward and Elinor were very contented with their new home, where in addition to every other source of happiness, they were within such a convenient distance of a few miles from her family at Norland. Without entirely deserting Norland, Elinor's mother and sisters certainly spent more than half their time with her. Her brother and sister-in-law were also fairly frequent visitors, and would as frequently invite Edward and Elinor over to Norland. Elinor became even more fond and appreciative of her amiable, warm-hearted sister-in-law, especially when she could not help comparing and contrasting Charlotte with her other sister-in-law – Edward's sister, Fanny. Marianne, too has learnt to appreciate her sister-in-law and to realize how fortunate they were that their brother had married such a good-natured, generous hearted woman, even though Charlotte's frank manners may be rather embarrassing sometimes. Between Norland and East Kingham, there was that constant communication which warm family affection and easy distance would naturally dictate.

Now that Elinor was so happily settled, Charlotte's next project was to have Marianne equally well married, and she of course spoke about it to her husband and mother-in-law. Charlotte was becoming rather disappointed with Colonel Brandon; she had thought that things were so promising between him and Marianne when they were in town together, so why had the Colonel not proposed? John and Mrs Dashwood would also have been quite happy with a match between Marianne and Colonel Brandon, but they were not quite as impatient about it as Charlotte. John knew that Colonel Brandon of Delaford would be a good match for his sister, while Mrs Dashwood senior, was above all anxious for her daughters to be happy and to marry only men who truly loved them and whom they truly loved.

What was happening between the Colonel and Marianne? Each of them was resigning himself and herself to single life. Colonel Brandon thought that, with the disparity in their ages, he would never succeed in winning the heart of the romantic Marianne, and that she would never think of him in any other light but that of a good family friend and the former guardian of her particular friend. Marianne thought that since the Colonel had long ago already given his heart to Eliza's mother, there was no possibility that he could form a second attachment to another woman, and would never regard her in any other light except as the particular friend of his former ward. So how were the Colonel and Marianne to be brought to an understanding of each other, and be prevented from leading two separate lives in single blessedness?

Part 17 -- To Reach An Understanding

Posted on 2009-04-17

The Willoughbys were staying with his aunt Mrs Smith at Allenham Court near Barton Park when, nine months after their marriage, Eliza gave birth to their first child, a baby boy whom they named John Christopher after his father and his mother's guardian, and whom they called "J.C". By a most remarkable coincidence, at about the same time, Eliza's unknown cousin Mary Bertram also gave birth at Thornton Lacey, to a daughter whom they named Mary Frances after her mother and aunt, and known in the family as "Molly". At the time of Molly's birth, the Crawfords were in Northamptonshire, on a long visit to their relatives at Mansfield Park, Mansfield Parsonage and Thornton Lacey, and especially in order to be nearby at the time of the birth. Fanny Crawford was also pregnant at that time, and the Crawfords remained at Mansfield where she gave birth to a son several weeks after his cousin was born. In order to return the Bertrams' compliment, the Crawfords named their son Henry Edmund after his father and uncle.

Colonel Brandon was staying with his old friend Sir John at Barton at the time when J.C was born, and visited Allenham every day during that time. A relative of Mrs Smith, a young widowed Mrs Charles Smith, and her eight year old son, were also staying at Allenham. The younger Mrs Smith was about two and thirty, and had been widowed for less than two years. It had since been discovered that her late husband had left his affairs in not very good shape, that there had been certain debts and that his estate was rather encumbered. He had left his estate to his wife for her lifetime, in trust for their son, but the debts and encumbrances that had come to light had made her fearful that she might not be able to preserve the inheritance of her son. The fairly young widow was quite inexperienced in conducting the business of her late husband's estate and needed assistance and advice. Mrs Smith senior had asked Willoughby to assist his cousin, and while Willoughby did assist her through the first formalities by being present during her meetings with the lawyer, and helping to explain the state of her late husband's affairs, he was quite incapable of giving her any useful or practical advice for her future management of the estate finances or of drawing up effective plans of economy for the release of the estate from its encumbrances. Colonel Brandon stepped in to help; perhaps nobody else was better fitted than the Colonel to offer the widow advice and assistance. Colonel Brandon had himself inherited an encumbered estate as his late brother had also left his financial affairs sadly involved, and he had succeeded, through prudent and proper management, in paying off the debts and releasing Delaford from its encumbrances within a few years after becoming its master.

Colonel Brandon's friendship with the thirty two year old widow was quickly remarked upon and was soon the cause of speculation between that insatiable pair of matchmakers, Mrs Jennings and Sir John Middleton. They had previously thought that there might be a possible match between the Colonel and Marianne Dashwood, but since nothing had come of it – perhaps Marianne was a little too young for the Colonel, or the Colonel was a little too old for Marianne. Perhaps thirty seven and nineteen had better not have anything to do with matrimony together. But a widowed woman of two and thirty would certainly have no objection to the Colonel's age, and he need not object to her age either – there would be no disparity of age, nothing unsuitable in such a marriage. And the Colonel would surely be a good father to her little boy, after all he already had some experience in the upbringing of children and had been a good guardian to his former ward.

Mrs Jennings' speculations regarding the possible matrimonial prospects between Colonel Brandon and Mrs Charles Smith were soon known in Norland through one of her letters to her younger daughter. The talkative Charlotte of course did not keep the contents of her mother's letter to herself, but immediately informed her husband, mother-in-law and sisters-in-law about the speculations at Barton regarding Colonel Brandon's matrimonial prospects.

Marianne had already heard about Mrs Charles Smith through her own correspondence with Eliza, but Eliza had not hinted at any possibility of a romantic attachment between the Colonel and Willoughby's relative. Eliza had only mentioned that her dear Uncle Christopher was being very kind and helpful in advising and assisting Mrs Charles Smith in the management of that lady's late husband's financial affairs, that Willoughby had at first attempted to assist his cousin but had found matters to be too involved and complicated so that he had been unsure on how to advise and assist her. But Uncle Christopher was so wise and practical, and Mrs Charles was very grateful for his sound, practical advice, which would hopefully help in clearing her son's inheritance from its encumbrances at least a few years before he would reach the age of majority. Marianne had felt that such kindness and capability was just what she would have expected of Colonel Brandon, and had not been disturbed by the thoughts of any possibility of a romantic development in the friendship between the Colonel and the widow, until she had heard about Mrs Jennings' speculations on that subject.

Marianne was thus very upset when Charlotte informed them of Mrs Jennings' and Sir John's speculations as to Colonel Brandon's possible attachment to Mrs Charles. Her feelings became violently irritated; she alternated between dismissing those speculations as being nothing more than the over fertile matchmaking imagination of Charlotte's mother and brother-in-law, and wondering if there could be any truth in it. On the one hand, of course it was impossible for the Colonel to form any romantic attachment with any living woman, for had he not long ago buried his heart with Eliza's mother? And Mrs Charles Smith also, who had been widowed for less than two years, surely she could not be so heartless, improper and indecorous as to contemplate a second marriage, and so soon too, after her widowhood? She should be devoting herself to her late husband's memory, and to taking good care of their son. That was what any widow who had truly loved her husband would do, she would certainly not forget him so soon!

But, on the other hand, other thoughts also came into Marianne's mind and imagination. It was unfortunately true that not all widows had truly loved their late husbands; there were also some sly young widows who could hardly wait to end their mourning period, and cast their arts and allurements in order to catch a second husband. Marianne felt that she certainly could not bear it if Colonel Brandon were to be entrapped by such an unworthy woman. She had been resigned to the belief that the Colonel would always be attached to the memory of his lost love, and that he would never get married. Marianne also believed that the Colonel liked her and held her in warm friendly regard and interest, and told herself that it was enough for her.

Marianne had decided that she would never get married either, she remembered that she had told her mother at about the time of Elinor's marriage that while she sincerely rejoiced in her sister's happiness, she was convinced that she herself would never find a man whom she could really love and esteem, and who would want to marry her. What she had really meant, but had not said, was that she might have found such a man, but was convinced that he would never want to get married, because of his tragic first attachment.

Her mother had then smiled, and said to her:
"Remember, my love, that you are not yet nineteen. It is still too early in life to despair of such marital happiness. Why should you be less fortunate than your mother had been, or less fortunate than your sister now!"

Marianne had not wanted to talk more about herself, and had quickly brought their conversation back to Elinor and Edward, saying:
"Edward is very amiable, and I love him tenderly as a brother, but he is not quite the kind of man that I myself would – there is a something wanting … His eyes lack a certain spirit, or fire, which at once announce virtue and intelligence. Of course, he is very different from the rest of his family, he has a most disagreeable mother and sister, and he is undoubtedly far superior to his frivolous brother, too Although his mother has now been quite generous to him, the circumstances that had led her to grant him his independence hardly did her credit – it was mainly because she got into such a fright over her younger son's previous entanglement to a girl of no fortune, that she suddenly gave her whole-hearted approval to Edward marrying Elinor. Anyway, Elinor would never have fallen in love with him if he had been anything like either his brother or his sister! But, don't you agree Mama, that he seems to be rather lacking in self-confidence, well, perhaps that is hardly his fault, since he had until recently been completely dependent on his mother. If he had earlier entered into some profession, he would not have been quite so dependent, from what he said to us the other day, he had certainly realized that himself."

"Yes, he has certainly realized that, and he does have an occupation now. I am sure that with Elinor's help, Edward will do very well with the East Kingham property, and will make an excellent landlord."

"I have no doubt of it either, Mama, and I believe that Edward will depend a great deal on Elinor. It is quite right and proper for a man to depend on a capable wife to help him, but I would prefer a man who is himself perfectly capable to … who had already been engaged in an honourable profession, and is more accustomed to taking care of things for himself."

Marianne thought that being an officer in the army – to serve King and country – was a very honourable profession for a gentleman – but Edward had thought that the army was "too smart" for him. Colonel Brandon had joined the army as a very young man, and resigned his commission upon inheriting his estate, which was also a perfectly proper thing for him to do, since he had needed to devote his time and attention to the careful management of the then encumbered estate in order to release it from its encumbrances.

Ironically, it had been the romantic history of the Colonel's tragic first attachment that had first aroused Marianne's interest in him, but that very same tragic romance of his youth had also convinced her that she could never hope for anything more than warm friendship from him. She had formed no interest in any other man, most of the young men she had met when they were in town and who had attempted to pay attentions to her had seemed to her, especially in comparison to the Colonel, to be rather silly or foppish or immature like Robert Ferrars.

Till now that she was threatened with the possibility of the Colonel marrying another woman, Marianne had thought that she was quite satisfied with her situation, she had been secure in the belief of his never marrying at all, of his remaining single all his life, as she would remain single all her life, of their common affection for Eliza and Eliza's growing family, and their precious intercourse of strong friendship. But now, what did she feel?

It was impossible for Marianne, with her demonstrative nature, to conceal from her family the distress and agitation that she felt over the news in Mrs Jennings' letter. Mrs Dashwood and Charlotte were very concerned, but Marianne could not bear to be questioned by Charlotte, and announced that she would like to spend a few days with Elinor. Mrs Dashwood immediately encouraged Marianne to pay Elinor a visit; she perfectly understood that Marianne would prefer to be with Elinor rather than with Charlotte if she was in that kind of distress that Mrs Dashwood now suspected her to be, perhaps she might even confide everything to Elinor, and Elinor would probably be the best person to comfort and counsel her.

In her reply to her mother's letter, Charlotte wrote to Mrs Jennings about Marianne and her reaction to the speculations relating to the friendship between Colonel Brandon and the young widow. Mrs Jennings, with her open-hearted, eager nature, had no scruples about speaking directly to the Colonel about his possible intentions regarding the two women, Mrs Charles Smith and Marianne Dashwood.

The Colonel was at first surprised and taken aback by Mrs Jennings' questioning, but he good-humouredly assured her, without the slightest hesitation, that there was nothing more, nor could there ever be anything more, than friendship, between him and Mrs Charles. He almost found such an absurd idea to be laughable. He had merely been sympathetic to the young widow's difficulties, and since he was able to offer her his practical assistance and advice relating to the involved affairs of her late husband's estate, that was all that he had done. Mrs Charles Smith had become Eliza's relative, and was therefore almost a relative of his. Neither he nor the widow had the slightest romantic thought for each other; he believed that Mrs Charles was still devoted to her late husband's memory and would not dream of a second marriage.

Colonel Brandon was more embarrassed when Mrs Jennings mentioned Marianne's name, and the sudden shock of hope he received when she told him that the Dashwoods believed Marianne to have tender feelings for him, led him to exclaim involuntarily: "Oh, is it possible that I may have a chance!"

That exclamation was enough for Mrs Jennings, and the Colonel, realizing that Mrs Jennings had naturally guessed his secret, admitted that he loved Marianne, but thought that with the disparity in their ages, he could not hope to win her, and that she regarded him only as her friend Eliza's guardian. Mrs Jennings at once told him that he was mistaken, that his age was only so much beyond hers as to be an advantage, as to make his character and principles fixed, and Marianne herself clearly must have felt that his disposition was exactly the very one to make her happy. Mrs Jennings urged the Colonel to write to make Marianne an offer at once, Colonel Brandon however, wished to see and speak to Marianne in person first, although he earnestly requested Mrs Jennings to write at once to her daughter at Norland and assure the Dashwoods that she had been completely mistaken regarding her earlier speculations as to the nature of the friendship between the Colonel and the widow. The Dashwoods were due to be in town in the following spring, and Colonel Brandon believed that he could then quite naturally meet Marianne again. He still could not quite believe that he might already have won her affections, and feared that the eager Mrs Charlotte Dashwood might have been quite mistaken regarding her surmises as to her sister-in-law's reactions and feelings.

Part 18 – Conclusion

Posted on 2009-04-24

Colonel Brandon had been unexpectedly attracted to Miss Marianne Dashwood since he had first seen her at Barton Park, because she had strongly reminded him of his first love. His ward Eliza did not much resemble her mother, as it turned out she bore a rather strong resemblance to her unknown father's relatives instead. But Colonel Brandon believed that, if he was not deceived by the uncertainty, the partiality of tender recollection, there was a very strong resemblance between Marianne and the first Eliza, as well in mind as in person – being tall and striking and beautiful, her features were all good, her smile was sweet and attractive, and in her eyes, there was a life, a spirit, an eagerness which could hardly be seen without delight. There was also the same warmth of heart, the same eagerness of fancy and spirit. He hoped that she would not have been offended if she knew of the resemblance that he had fancied between her and his unfortunate cousin.

Marianne had been initially intrigued and interested in Colonel Brandon because of his romantic history, which had given him the aura of a tragic hero of romance in her eyes, while the Colonel had been wholly unsuspicious of his own effect on her. At that time, Marianne's romantic opinions had not approved of second attachments, or rather, had not considered them to be possible to exist, although how she had contrived to maintain such a belief without reflecting on the character of her own father, who had himself been married twice, might be a puzzle. However, the prejudices of a young mind would probably give way to the reception of more general opinions, and a little maturity would likely settle her opinions on the reasonable basis of common sense and observation and then they would be more easy to define and to justify. She would then learn to make distinctions in her objections against a second attachment, and not to regard it as equally criminal in everybody – after all, were those who had been disappointed in their first choice, whether from the inconstancy of its object, or the perverseness of circumstances, to be equally indifferent for the rest of their lives! However, Colonel Brandon also felt that there was something so amiable in the romantic refinements of such a mind that a total change of sentiments could not be desired. In the case of the first Eliza, such sentiments had unfortunately been succeeded, through her unhappy circumstances, by a dangerous and reckless cynicism that had led to her ruin – how very unfortunate that her naturally sweet disposition had not been guarded by a firmer mind, or a happier marriage!

After Colonel Brandon and Marianne met again, they soon came to an understanding. Marianne was not at all offended by the resemblance that the Colonel had fancied between her and Eliza's mother – in fact, it made perfect romantic sense to her. She still found it rather difficult to approve of or believe in second attachments, so the fact that her lover had fallen in love with her because she resembled and reminded him of his first love was a happy circumstance for her. Their union would be to the advantage of both -- by her youth and liveliness, his gravity would be much lightened, and his manners enlivened, and from his judgment, information and knowledge of the world, she would receive benefit of greater importance.

The marriage of Colonel Brandon of Delaford and Miss Marianne Dashwood of Norland was joyfully welcomed by all their relatives and connections – the Dashwoods, the Ferrars, the Willoughbys, the Mrs Smiths, Mrs Jennings, the Middletons and their friends. Mrs Charles Smith sincerely rejoiced in the marital happiness of the kind and helpful Colonel Brandon who had been of such assistance to her in dealing with the complicated affairs of her late husband's estate, and Colonel and Mrs Brandon had reason to be grateful for the gossip that had once existed regarding the friendship between the Colonel and Mrs Charles, for it was in clearing up those false rumours that had brought them to an understanding of each other.

Meanwhile, Willoughby was finding out that the expenses of a man with a wife and child were greater than those of a bachelor, and even during his bachelor days – with his curricle and horses -- he had barely managed to live within the income from his little estate of Combe Magna. It was true that Eliza had not come to him empty handed, for Colonel Brandon had settled a dowry of five thousand pounds on his ward, but the combined income of the Willoughbys was still slightly less than a thousand pounds, and Willoughby was finding such an income to be most inconveniently small for a married man with a family, especially as he and his wife were likely to have more children in the future. The Willoughbys needed to economize, but his expensive tastes and Eliza's inexperience together was certainly making it difficult. Eliza had a sufficient sense of honour and honesty, that had been bred in her by her guardian, to attempt the economical practices that appeared to her to be possible, but she could achieve little on her single management. Willoughby was not accustomed to self-denial, and did not wish to curb his enjoyments – he especially had no wish to give up either his curricle or his hunters. The only economical practice that he could think of, was to pay long visits to his aunt at Allenham, so that he and his wife could save on their daily living expenses. Therefore, he was quite willing for them to make their home with his aunt in Devonshire. Then, another idea had occurred to him, that might supplement their future income – what if he could get his wife to be acknowledged and provided for by her natural father? Eliza's natural father had been a naval captain who had yet to make his fortune at the time of the liaison with her mother, but he was now a successful Admiral who had accumulated quite a handsome fortune.

When he was next in town, Willoughby made careful arrangements to be introduced to Admiral Crawford, and later, to disclose the nature of their relationship. As it happened, the Admiral had liked Willoughby from the first, the young man had somehow reminded him of himself when he was young, and was quite like the son he would have liked to have. Admiral Crawford was therefore not displeased to acknowledge Willoughby as his son-in-law, and to acknowledge Eliza as his daughter. The Admiral then changed his will – in his previous will, he had left everything to his nephew, Henry Crawford of Everingham, while in his new will, he left his fortune to be divided equally between his nephew and his natural daughter, Eliza Willoughby, the wife of John Willoughby of Combe Magna. The Admiral informed his nephew of his intention to provide for his daughter, while assuring Henry that he would not be completely cut out of his will. Henry was a generous young man – and had become even more so ever since his marriage to a highly principled, amiable young woman – and thought that it was only right that his previously unknown cousin should be provided for by her natural father. Indeed, the main thing that had troubled him about his uncle's will was the total exclusion of his sister, but as his sister and their uncle had never really got along together, he did not say anything to his uncle about it. Anyway, he could always make such amends to his sister later and offer to share his own portion of his uncle's fortune with her.

The Crawfords naturally paid frequent visits to Northamptonshire, where so many of their dearest relatives were. Mrs Norris' removal from Mansfield, to make her home with the Alymers whom she had championed, had been a great supplementary comfort to everybody else connected with Mansfield. Lady Bertram, with her placid, indolent temperament, had been quite unaffected by Mrs Norris' absence. Ever since Mrs Norris had left Mansfield to take up residence with Maria and her second husband, Susan, young though she was – at that time she had not yet reached the age of sixteen – had been practically taking care of some of the responsibilities which would normally have been under the charge of the mistress of Mansfield. The Bertrams also fortunately had a good housekeeper, who could manage the maidservants rather better without Mrs Norris' interference, and good-natured Mrs Grant at Mansfield Parsonage, who had become almost a member of the family through her sister's marriage to Edmund, was generally ready with her help and advice, and was often of great service and assistance to Susan and the housekeeper.

When Susan reached the age of eighteen, Sir Thomas felt that it was part of his duty to his niece to arrange for her coming out, and to allow her to occasionally attend a few of the assembly balls at Northampton, when it would not be inconvenient for them. On such evenings, the Grants would dine at the Park, so that Mrs Grant could keep Lady Bertram company, and Tom would escort his cousin to the gatherings. Edmund and Mary would also join them there, as Mary could act as Susan's chaperon. Susan had grown into quite a pretty young woman, with a fresh, clear complexion and bright, lively eyes, she was modest and obliging, she was Sir Thomas' niece; it was enough to give her general favour. At these assemblies, Tom did not quite approve of his cousin dancing twice with the same gentleman, except with himself or Edmund, on any one evening, and his protective and rather possessive attitude towards Susan soon gave rise to the view among their acquaintances that Sir Thomas had been bringing up a wife for his eldest son.

Tom himself once overheard the speculations regarding his relationship with his cousin Susan, it momentarily startled him at first – but not for long. He suddenly realized that he certainly did not want Susan to be attracted to any other young man, he did not want her ever to leave Mansfield, but wanted her to be at his side always. He thought that he himself had not yet found any young lady who would fit with his own views as to what the future mistress of Mansfield should be like – he wanted an active, useful, and benevolent young lady who would also be content to live most of the time in the country and not hanker after the fashionable world in town. His mother was certainly perfectly contented to live in the country all the time, and had disliked the life in town – which she had conveniently given up more than ten years ago, due to a little ill health, and a great deal of indolence – but he certainly did not want another indolent woman as the future Lady Bertram either.

It burst in on Tom that Susan would be the perfect choice to be his wife – she was already practically running most of the household affairs at Mansfield, she was such a comfort to his parents, she was active and useful, she was often involved in charitable acts in the village on Lady Bertram's behalf, at the same time, she was also unworldly and unspoiled, and she certainly had no ambitions for the fashionable world which she had never known. Edmund and Mary were fairly contented in their marriage, but Tom sometimes suspected that Mary might occasionally be missing the fashionable life that she had once been a part of. Mary had managed to arrange a regular invitation for her and Edmund to spend a few weeks in town with Henry and Fanny every year during the season. In the old days – before his reformation – Tom Bertram might have been attracted to more fashionable young ladies – but since then, and especially after his sister Maria's scandalous elopement, he had reacted strongly against the temptations of fashionable world that had almost ruined him and had disgraced his sister.

Having once made up his mind, and felt that he had had done so, that this was his road to marital happiness, there was nothing on the side of prudence to make his progress slow. As for her, she had long had a warm affection for her eldest cousin, although she had not then regarded him in the light of a possible suitor. Her reaction, when he first indicated to her that his affection for her was rather more than cousinly, was very much like his own reaction when he had first happened to overhear the speculations concerning his relationship with her – she was momentarily astonished at first, but it did not take him long to persuade her that her warm cousinly affection and regard for him would be foundation enough for wedded love.

Their own inclinations ascertained, there were no difficulties behind; no lack of fortune or parental consent. In former days, before the scandalous events of Maria's elopement, divorce and remarriage, Sir Thomas would not have been too pleased with the notion of his eldest son forming an attachment with a young girl who was his own poor relation, but since the unhappy dissolution of his eldest daughter's first marriage to a rich but inferior young man, he had become sick of ambitious and mercenary connections, and valued more and more the sterling good of principle, and compatibility of temper.

Susan was indeed the daughter that he wanted. A strange daughter-in-law would hardly have attended to Lady Bertram as well as she did. What other young woman could know and bear with Lady Bertram – who was becoming rather more demanding as she grew older -- so as to make such an arrangement desirable! It was a match which Sir Thomas' wishes had even forestalled. He would not have liked it if Susan had married someone else and left Mansfield. He had already noticed the warm affection between Tom and Susan, and had pondered with genuine satisfaction on the possibility of those two cousins settling down together and continuing to live at Mansfield Park as their home. Even when Sir Thomas had arranged for Susan's coming out, he had privately been hoping to further a match between Tom and Susan, by encouraging Tom to escort his cousin to all the little gatherings and assemblies, and urging him to take good care of her.

Perhaps some people might say that there was a slight disparity of age, since Tom was twelve years older than Susan – but it was not such a great difference after all, why, there were some men who were happily married to young women nearly twenty years younger than themselves. Tom's wedding gift to his bride included a set of aquamarines – necklace, bracelet, ear-rings and ring – which she wore at the celebratory dinner in their honour together with the little aquamarine brooch that had been his first gift to her – a cousinly gift at that time more than three years ago. Of course, from a worldly point of view, it was a most brilliant match for Miss Susan Price to be married to Mr Thomas Bertram, the eldest son and heir of Sir Thomas Bertram, Bart., of Mansfield Park. In society, as the wife of the eldest son, she would take precedence over the wife of his younger brother, and also own her own elder sister, the wife of an untitled landed gentleman. Her sister-in-law Julia though, as the Hon Mrs Yates, the wife of a nobleman's younger son, would continue to take precedence over the wife of a baronet's eldest son. Not that questions of precedence would be of much concern to the Bertrams, as Tom and Susan were planning to lead a quiet life in the country for most of the time.

Edmund and Mary were certainly fairly contented in their marriage. When they were first married, Edmund had felt some slight uneasiness that their joint income, although quite a comfortable one, might still not be sufficient for Mary's rather expensive tastes. However, since she had married for love on a rather narrower income than she had been encouraged to look forward to, Mary had prudently fancied that a strict line of economy was necessary. When Edmund had first observed his wife's economical practices, he had been delighted and had thought that he was indeed blessed to have married a loving woman who was willing to make such changes and learn to be so prudent for his sake. However, after some months, a new, unexpected and different uneasiness had come to Edmund – some undesirable results were beginning to appear from some of his wife's economical practices. He had earlier feared that he might be obliged to restrain Mary's extravagances, but instead, he found himself obliged to remind her that although their income was not large, it was quite a comfortable one, and that prudence and economy need not be exaggerated into parsimony. While they must not spend their money on unnecessary luxuries, they could well afford the necessary comforts and even some of the elegancies of life. Many other clergymen had much smaller incomes than what they had. A clergyman and his wife who were in fairly comfortable circumstances should also be involved in active acts of charity among the poorer parishioners. Mary had smiled, and thanked her husband, and declared that she understood perfectly what he meant. Having by nature a rather energetic temperament, she soon involved herself in charitable projects in the parish, but her idea of practicing charity was to report what was needed to her father-in-law and brother-in-law, and obtain the required funds from them.

Edmund had resigned himself to his wife's attitude with regard to money, and told himself that it would be too much to expect perfection – at least, he must be thankful that his earlier fears as to her possible extravagance had not been realized.

Perhaps very few women could achieve that perfection – to be able to practice personal economy without sacrificing the comforts of the family, and to combine proper prudence with generous charity. Mary's sister-in-law Fanny Crawford was one of those few. Fanny was certainly most prudent and economical with regard to her own personal expenses, and thus was able to apply much of the personal allowance that Henry had generously granted to her on various acts of charity among the poorer families at and near Everingham. The gentle and generous Mrs Crawford had certainly endeared herself to the servants and tenants of her husband's estate. But then, Mary could say that the Crawfords' income of four thousand a year from the Everingham estate was more than twice the amount of the combined income of Edmund and herself. Of course, Mary could not be expected to know that there was another woman who possessed the talent of combining economical prudence with charitable generosity, Mrs Elinor Ferrars of East Kingham, in spite of the fact that the combined income of Edward and Elinor Ferrars was slightly less than the combined income of Edmund and Mary Bertram.

Mr and Mrs Edward Ferrars were certainly happy in managing and improving their small estate near her family home of Norland. The Dashwoods and the Ferrars naturally missed Marianne when she moved to Delaford in Dorsetshire upon her marriage to Colonel Brandon, and Marianne greatly missed her family in Sussex, but of course they corresponded frequently, and also met quite regularly during certain visits to town and to each others' homes.

There were also occasional visits with Edward's family – whatever Elinor might think about the characters of her husband's mother, sister and brother, she had too strong a sense of familial duty and propriety, and took care to behave with proper attention to them. Other than Edward himself, the most sensible member of his family was his sister's husband, Mr Palmer of Cleveland. A genuine friendship developed between Mr Palmer and his connections at East Kingham and Norland. Mr Palmer certainly deserved a better wife than the calculating, cold-hearted, narrow minded Fanny Ferrars. Mr Palmer privately wished that his wife was more like Edward's wife, or even like John Dashwood's wife. An amiable and intelligent woman like Elinor would have made him a very happy man with perfectly amiable manners. Perhaps even a rather silly but warm-hearted, amiable woman like Mrs Charlotte Dashwood would have been preferable to a selfish, cold-hearted woman. However, at least he had the sense to stand upon his own principles, and not to allow himself to be influenced by his selfish wife to do wrong, or to be so ungenerous as to neglect any of his responsibilities towards his own family members.

Edward's brother Robert visited Sussex fairly frequently. Nearly four years after Edward's marriage to Elinor, Robert proposed to marry her youngest sister Margaret, who was delighted to accept him, for Margaret Dashwood, whose sense did not quite equal that of her elder sisters, has had a crush on Robert Ferrars ever since she was fourteen years old, and had not got over her schoolgirlish crush, or first attachment as she called it. Mrs Dashwood, senior, was not quite as happy with her youngest daughter's proposed match as she had been over her two elder daughters' marriages, but it was not in her nature to stand in the way of any of her daughters' choices, and she optimistically hoped that Robert might become more like his elder brother Edward as he grew older and more mature. Perhaps, with Edward's and Elinor's influences, Robert and Margaret would eventually learn to become more serious and sensible. John did not see anything wrong with a match between Margaret and Robert; he and Charlotte had forgiven Robert for the folly of his former youthful entanglement with the then Miss Lucy Steele. After all, Robert's former fiancι had married someone else rather quickly after the breaking up of that engagement, so it had probably not been a very serious affair. Mrs Ferrars did not refuse her consent either – since she had consented to Edward's marriage to the eldest Miss Dashwood, she decided that she could not very well refuse her consent to Robert's marriage to the youngest Miss Dashwood. Mrs Ferrars made an almost similar settlement for Robert as she had for Edward – except that she deducted the sum of one thousand pounds from Robert's settlement – being the amount of money that she had paid to release him from his youthful entanglement four years ago. After the marriage of Robert and Margaret, Mrs Ferrars found that she liked the slightly frivolous Margaret rather more than the too serious Elinor.

As I do not care to write of guilt or misery, let me assure everyone that although not all the marriages that had taken place within these pages were blissfully happy, at least none of them was wretchedly miserable.

Eliza Willoughby might wish that her husband had less expensive tastes, but at least he continued to be generally charming in his manner towards her. Mrs Smith had become aware of her nephew's extravagant habits, and consequently modified her will, so that he would not be able to squander away his inheritance. Instead of leaving Allenham to Willoughby outright, Mrs Smith left it in trust for Willoughby's lifetime, and tied up the property so that it could not be sold or mortgaged, but must be passed intact to his son.

Mr Rushworth of Sotherton felt that he was perfectly happy in his second marriage – that he and the former Charlotte Lucas seemed to have been made for each other. The Darcys, during their visits with the Rushworths, had observed their friend's degree of contentment, to understand her address in guiding, and composure in bearing with her husband, and to acknowledge that it was done very well. Visits were made between Sotherton and Pemberley; the Rushworths were ever sensible of warm feelings of gratitude towards the Darcys who, by bringing Charlotte on that visit to Bath, had been the means of uniting them.