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Part 6 – In Town

Posted on 2009-02-02

It was now the month of February, and many of the families were due to arrive in town. Mrs Jennings had a house of her own in one of the streets near Portman Square, but as she had been spending an increasing portion of her time with her friends and children, particularly the Middletons at Barton, the house in Berkeley Street had been rented out, and she would be staying in London with the Middletons in Conduit Street. John Dashwood had taken a very good house in Harley Street for three months, and the whole Dashwood family would, before the middle of February, be traveling from Norland to London – Mr and Mrs John Dashwood and little Harry, Mrs Dashwood senior, and the three Miss Dashwoods.

On the first day after their arrival in town, his parents and aunts were obliged to take Harry to see the wild beasts at Exeter Exchange, as his parents had spoken to him about it, and the little boy would give them no peace until they had taken him there. The little boy was vastly pleased with what he saw, and the Dashwoods spent the rest of the day with the Middletons and Mrs Jennings.

Sir John's disposition was not materially altered by a change of abode, for although scarcely settled in town, he had contrived to collect around him, nearly twenty young people, and to amuse them with a little ball. This was an affair, however, of which Lady Middleton did not approve. In the country, an unpremeditated dance, was very allowable; but in London, where the reputation of elegance was more important and less easily obtained, it was risking too much for the gratification of a few girls, to have it known that Lady Middleton had given a small dance of eight or nine couples, with two violins, and a mere side-board collation.

Colonel Brandon, Eliza and Willoughby were also present at the Middletons that evening, and Sir John slyly informed the Dashwoods, with a meaningful look at Elinor, that he wished that the Palmers and Mr Ferrars were present as well. Lady Middleton had heard from her friend that the Palmers would be settling themselves at Hanover Square, but it was not certain whether Mr Ferrars would be staying with his sister. Marianne and Eliza were very happy to see each other again; and soon made plans to spend as much time as they could together, in the days before Eliza's wedding, which was to take place early in March. Willoughby and Eliza were to leave town as soon as they were married, for he was taking her to Combe Magna, his seat in Somersetshire.

About a couple of days later, Elinor accompanied her mother to Gray's in Sackville Street, where Mrs Dashwood was carrying on a negotiation for the exchange of a few of her old fashioned jewels.

On ascending the stairs, Mrs and Miss Dashwood found so many people before them in the room, that there was not a person at liberty to attend to their orders, and they were obliged to wait. All that could be done was, to sit down at that end of the counter which seemed to promise the quickest succession; one young gentleman only was standing there, and it is probable that they were not without hope of exciting his politeness to a quicker dispatch. But the correctness of his eye, and the delicacy of his taste, proved to be beyond his politeness. He was giving orders for a tooth-pick case for himself, and till its size, shape and ornaments were determined, all of which, after examining and debating for nearly a quarter of an hour over every tooth-pick case in the shop, was finally arranged by his own inventive fancy, he had no leisure to bestow any other attention on the two ladies, than what was comprised in two or three rather broad stares at Elinor; a kind of notice which served to imprint on Elinor the remembrance of a person and face, of strong, natural, sterling insignificance, .though adorned in the first style of fashion. Mrs Dashwood, with her fine sense of delicacy, could not help feeling strong contempt and resentment at the impertinent looks bestowed by that young man upon her daughter.

At last the affair was decided. The ivory, the gold, and the pearls, all received their appointment, and the gentleman having named the last day on which his existence could be continued without the possession of the tooth-pick case, drew on his gloves, and bestowing another glance on Miss Dashwood, was about to walk off, when another gentleman entered the room, and joined them at the counter. Elinor turned her eyes towards his face, and found him with some surprise to be Mr Edward Ferrars.

Their surprise and pleasure in meeting was enough to make a very creditable appearance before Mrs Dashwood, after her annoyance over the other impertinent gentleman in Mr Gray's shop. Elinor introduced Edward Ferrars to her mother, and after most politely and respectfully greeting Mrs Dashwood, Edward turned to the gentleman who had been giving a lecture on tooth-pick cases, and introduced him to them as his brother Robert. Upon being introduced to Mrs and Miss Dashwood, Mr Robert Ferrars addressed them with easy civility, and twisted his head into a bow which assured them, as much as his views on tooth-pick cases had done, that he was rather a coxcomb and quite unlike his elder brother. Mr Robert declared that he had heard a great deal about Miss Dashwood and her sister from his brother and sister; he wished that he too had been at Barton and had made their acquaintance earlier; he was soon talking with easy volubility, and would probably have gone on in that way for some time, had not Edward thoughtfully reminded his brother that they must not keep the ladies from their business.

Mrs Dashwood did not take long to conclude her business; the two Mr Ferrars had not left the shop, and attended the Dashwood mother and daughter down stairs to their carriage. Edward told them that he and Robert were staying with their mother, and that the Palmers had also arrived in town. No doubt his sister would be happy to call at Harley Street, for she would like to renew her acquaintance with Mrs Charlotte Dashwood, whom she had previously with Lady Middleton, and also to make the acquaintance of Mrs Dashwood senior.

Edward's quiet good manners had made a good impression on Mrs Dashwood, especially when contrasted with his brother's coxcombry and impertinence. She had certainly been predisposed to like Edward, for Marianne had told her about the apparent attachment between Mr Edward Ferrars and Elinor when they were both visiting at Barton, and that what Marianne and her mother conjectured one moment, they believed the next, for with them, to wish was to hope, and to hope was to expect.

As for Elinor, she could not help feeling some curiosity as to what Mr Robert Ferrars was like, ever since Lucy Steele had confided in her the secret of their three year old private engagement. Her curiosity was now satisfied, she saw that Robert Ferrars did not resemble either his sister or his brother – he was not cold or stiff like Mrs Fanny Palmer, but neither was he gentle or sensible like his brother Edward. He appeared to be a foppish fool, perhaps he was just the type of foolish and imprudent young man who would have got himself entangled with a pretty and artful young woman.

In the next few days, calls were made and exchanged between the Dashwoods and the Palmers. Although Charlotte had never really liked her sister's particular friend very much, her naturally friendly good humour assured Fanny of a hearty welcome and many expressions of pleasure at the renewal of their acquaintance. As well as evening parties, a dinner party was soon held by the Middletons, and another dinner party by the Dashwoods, which were also attended by Colonel Brandon, Eliza, Willoughby and the Palmers, and although the Palmers were not much in the habit of giving anything, they decided that they should also give a dinner party at which the Middletons and the Dashwoods and their regular guests were to be invited.

About this time, the two Miss Steeles, lately arrived at their uncle's house in Bartlett Buildings, Holborn, presented themselves before their more grand relations in Conduit and Harley Street, and was generally welcomed by most of them, especially Mrs Jennings, Sir John and Lady Middleton, and Mrs Charlotte Dashwood, with great cordiality. So well had they recommended themselves to Lady Middleton, so agreeable had their assiduities made themselves to her, that although Lucy was not elegant, and her sister not even genteel, she was as ready as Sir John to ask them to spend almost the whole of their days at Conduit Street. This happened to be particularly convenient to the Miss Steeles, as they were with Lady Middleton when Mrs Palmer called at Conduit Street to invite the Middletons to her dinner party, and she was obliged to include the Miss Steeles in the invitation. Their claims to the notice of Mrs Palmer, as the nieces of the gentleman who for many years had had the care of both her brothers, might not have done much towards procuring their seats at her table, but as Lady Middleton's guests they must be welcome; and Lucy, who had long wanted to be personally known to Robert's family, to have a nearer view of the characters of his mother and sister and her own difficulties, had seldom been happier in her life than she was on receiving Mrs Fanny Palmer's invitation.

Elinor would rather avoid further confidential conversations with Lucy, as she did not feel comfortable to be the repository of the secret intrigues between Lucy and Robert Ferrars, but Lucy managed to inform her that both Robert and Edward would certainly be at their sister's dinner party, and that Robert had told her that they must be careful to appear as indifferent to each other as possible, so that his mother and sister would not suspect that there was anything between them.

The day of the Palmers' dinner party arrived. The Dashwoods arrived so directly after the Middletons, that they all followed the servant at the same time, and Lucy fell back a little in order to walk up the stairs beside Elinor, saying:
"Dear Miss Dashwood, there is nobody here but you that can really feel for me – I declare I can hardly stand. Good gracious! – In a moment I shall see the person that all my happiness depend on – that is to be my mother – our mother, perhaps!"

Elinor was spared the necessity of making any reply, as Marianne was now close behind them, and further private conversation between her and Lucy was thankfully impossible.

Besides their host and hostess, the dinner party comprised of Mrs Ferrars and her two sons, Sir John and Lady Middleton, Mrs Jennings, the two Miss Steeles, Mr and Mrs Dashwood, Mrs Dashwood senior and the two elder Miss Dashwoods, Colonel Brandon, Miss Williams and Mr Willoughby. Mrs Ferrars was a little, thin woman, upright, even to formality, in her figure, and serious, even to sourness in her aspect. There was a fairly strong resemblance between her and her daughter, both in manners and appearance; Fanny Palmer would probably look like her mother in her old age.

The dinner was a grand one, the servants were numerous, and everything bespoke the Mistress's inclination for show, and the Master's ability to support it. No poverty of any kind, except of conversation, appeared – but there, the deficiency was considerable. Mr Palmer never had much to say for himself, and neither had his wife. But perhaps there was no peculiar disgrace in this, for many of their visitors did not have much to say for themselves that was worth hearing – several of them laboured under one or other of these disqualifications for being agreeable – want of sense, either natural or improved – want of elegance – want of spirits – or want of temper.

When the ladies withdrew to the drawing room after dinner, this poverty was particularly evident, for the gentlemen had supplied the discourse with some variety – the variety of politics, inclosing land, and breaking horses – but then it was all over, and one subject only engaged the ladies till coffee came in, which was the comparative heights of Tom Palmer, Lady Middleton's second son William, and his cousin Harry Dashwood, all three boys being nearly of the same age.

Had all three boys been there, the affair might have been determined too easily by measuring them at once, but as Tom only was present, it was conjectural assertions on all sides, and everybody had a right to be equally positive in their opinion, and to repeat it over and over again as often as they liked.

The parties stood thus.

The three mothers, though each really convinced that her own son was the tallest, politely decided in favour of the others. The three grandmothers, with not less partiality, and more sincerity, were equally earnest in the support of their own grandsons.

Lucy, who was hardly less anxious to please any one mother more than the other two, thought that all three boys – Tom, Will and Harry -- were remarkably tall for their age, and could not conceive that there could be the smallest difference in the world between any of them; and Miss Steele, with yet greater address, gave it, as fast as she could, in favour of each.

Elinor, having once delivered her candid opinion as to Will Middleton being really the tallest of the three boys, did not see the necessity of enforcing it by any further assertion; and Marianne, when called upon for hers, declared that she had no opinion to give, and observed that the obvious manner of determining which of the three boys was the tallest was to bring them together and measure them against each other. Eliza agreed with Marianne, she rather thought that Will was probably the tallest, but could not be sure, so the only certain way to find out would be to measure them when they were together.

When the gentlemen joined the ladies in the drawing room, Robert was so eager to avoid any appearance of partiality for Lucy, that he deliberately ignored her almost to the point of rudeness, speaking with his easy volubility to every other lady in the room except Miss Lucy Steele, and then, with the admirable purpose of concealing his secret engagement even more effectively, he took a seat besides Miss Marianne Dashwood and begun paying pointed attentions and addressing broad compliments to her. It did not take Marianne long to realize that Mr Robert Ferrars was very different from his elder brother, she disliked his foppish and impertinent manners, she disliked his attentions to herself, and nothing but concern for her sister and his brother restrained her from giving him a pointed set down. It was with some difficulty that Marianne managed to be barely civil to him, and she took the first opportunity she could of changing her seat. Marianne was much relieved when she found Colonel Brandon beside her instead; he was such an intelligent, sensible and pleasant gentleman especially when contrasted with foolish, foppish and impertinent young men. And the Colonel was not really old either; after all he was not yet forty years old and was younger than his friend Sir John Middleton. And even Sir John at forty did not appear to be old, for he often appeared to be quite a youthful father of three lively young children.

The wedding between the Colonel's ward, Miss Eliza Williams and Mr John Willoughby duly took place in early March, and the newly married couple left town immediately after the ceremony, to go to Combe Magna for a couple of weeks, and then to pay their first visit as a married couple to Willoughby's aunt at Allenham.

Marianne had been spending a great deal of her time with Eliza prior to the latter's wedding day, and she could not help missing her friend when the bridal couple left for Somersetshire. Eliza had married very young; she had only just turned seventeen. Marianne had turned eighteen, and Elinor would soon be twenty. Marianne supposed that it would not be very long before Elinor and Mr Edward Ferrars would be announcing their wedding day next.

The John Dashwoods had a fair number of acquaintances in town, and the two elder Miss Dashwoods were expected to accompany their brother and sister-in-law to their evening parties. On one such evening, Elinor and Marianne accompanied John and Charlotte to a party held by Mrs Rushworth, at one of the best houses in Wimpole Street. The Mr Ferrars had also been invited to the Rushworths, though Edward had not been eager to attend, until he heard that the Miss Dashwoods were expected to be present.

The Dashwoods arrived in due time at the place of destination, and as soon as the string of carriages before them would allow, alighted, ascended the stairs, heard their names announced from one landing place to another, in an audible voice, and entered a room splendidly lit up, quite full of company, and insufferably hot. When they had paid their tribute of politeness to the lady of the house, Mrs James Rushworth, nee Maria Bertram, whose name had not been very long enrolled in the lists of Hymen, and was promising to become a brilliant leader in the fashionable world, they were permitted to mingle with the crowd, and take their share of the heat and inconvenience, to which their arrival must necessarily add. The Dashwood sisters were soon joined by the Ferrars brothers, though the Miss Dashwoods could well have dispensed with the attendance of the younger Mr Ferrars. The Miss Steeles were not present, so perhaps there was nobody else whom Robert would rather be with, though to judge by his behaviour at his sister's dinner party, it was possible that even if Lucy had been present, he would have studiously ignored her in order to protect the secret of their private engagement.

As they were mingling with the crowd, Marianne noticed a lady, with a lively dark eye, clear brown complexion and general prettiness, who was speaking familiarly with their hostess. It struck Marianne that the dark-haired, dark-eyed lady bore a certain resemblance to her friend, the recently married young Mrs Eliza Willoughby, and she wondered aloud who that dark-haired lady who was standing beside their hostess was. Edward and Robert knew who that lady was – they had been acquainted with her during the previous season; she was the very same young lady with twenty thousand pounds whom Mrs Palmer had attempted to match-make with her younger brother Robert, while Mrs Ferrars had been attempting to match-make her eldest son Edward with the daughter of the late Lord Morton, with thirty thousand pounds. Their failures on both schemes had certainly humbled both Mrs Ferrars and her daughter a little, to the extent of thinking that Miss Dashwood, who had no great fortune of her own, might be a tolerable match for Edward, as long as they could get her rich and generous brother to increase her marriage portion to a respectable amount, so that Edward would not appear to have thrown himself away.

Marianne was saying: "I wonder -- who is that dark-haired lady who is talking to our hostess."

Robert said laughingly: "Oh, I know who she is quite well. My sister was once very fond of her, until she gave her a shock by marrying a clergyman. My mother and sister do not consider the Church to be a very fashionable profession, so you can imagine their surprise when a fashionable young lady with twenty thousand pounds of her own chose to marry a clergyman! Of course, he is not a poor clergyman, but the younger son of a baronet with a very good living all ready for him to step into as soon as he had taken orders."

Edward answered Marianne's question more directly: "She is Mrs Edmund Bertram, the wife of our hostess' brother."

Robert went on; "And I see that he is here too, I wonder if they had taken a house in town and had left his curate in charge of the parish during the whole of the London season."

Marianne felt a strange curiosity about Mrs Bertram; it might be said that there was only a general resemblance between her and Eliza in their neat figures and dark colouring, but there was also something in her gestures and mannerisms which strongly reminded Marianne of her newly married friend. The thought darted across her mind that those two ladies might be sisters, or cousins.

She asked Elinor and Edward: "Doesn't Mrs Bertram remind you of a friend of ours?"

Elinor and Edward turned to look more carefully at Mrs Bertram, and Edward then realized who it was that the then Miss Eliza Williams had vaguely reminded him of when he had met her at Barton.

Elinor also begun to notice the resemblance; she said: "You mean Eliza I suppose – you have noticed the resemblance between them?"

Marianne exclaimed: "Exactly so! I wonder – you are acquainted with her, Mr Ferrars, could you please introduce us to her?"

They made their way to where Mrs Bertram was now standing next to a quiet looking young lady with soft light eyes. Mrs Bertram remembered the two Mr Ferrars, and received them with civility. Edward introduced the two Miss Dashwoods to her, and she introduced the gentle lady besides her as Mrs Henry Crawford, her brother's bride who was also her husband's cousin.

Mr and Mrs Edmund Bertram had not taken a house in town, but were staying as the guests of their brother and sister Mr and Mrs Henry Crawford for a few weeks. Before his marriage, Henry Crawford had always been staying with his uncle Admiral Crawford whenever he was in town, but now that he was married he had taken a house of his own. His sister was very pleased at the advantage of getting him away from the Admiral before he was materially hurt by his uncle's bad example, for as she said to her husband, to have seen her brother grow like the Admiral in word or deed would have broken her heart.

As has been narrated earlier, the Miss Steeles were not present at the Rushworths' party; Lucy and her sister were not of a position in society to be noticed by people like the Rushworths. Mrs Palmer would not have noticed them either had they not been her friend Lady Middleton's poor relations, and she had liked them for their assiduous attentions, she had seen that Lucy was very good with Lady Middleton's children at Conduit Street, and also with her son Tom when the Miss Steeles had dined at Hanover Square. Mrs Palmer was thinking that Tom was outgrowing his nurse and it would be better to employ a nursery governess for him soon, and Miss Lucy Steele, the niece of the gentleman who had been her brothers' tutor, might be a very fit person to be her son's nursery governess. Mrs Palmer made up her mind to invite the Miss Steeles to stay with her for a few days, in order to observe Lucy more closely, and to decide whether or not to offer the post to her.

Part 7 – A Revolution of Feeling

Posted on 2009-02-06

Mrs Henry Crawford, nee Fanny Price – a very different Fanny from that other Fanny – had been very recently married. Prior to her marriage, she had been a poor relation who had led a very quiet life with her well-to-do relatives at Mansfield Park, where her main role had been as stationary niece and companion to her aunt, Lady Bertram, the wife of Sir Thomas Bertram, Bart. Of her four cousins – Tom, Edmund, Maria and Julia – the only one who had taken any real notice of her and given her warm cousinly affection ever since she had first come to reside with them at Mansfield Park as a little girl of ten years old, was her cousin Edmund. Kept back as she was by everybody else, his single support could not bring her forward, but his attentions were otherwise of the highest importance in assisting the improvement of her mind, and extending its pleasures. He knew her to be clever, to have a quick apprehension as well as good sense, and a fondness for reading, which, properly directed, must be an education in itself. The girls' governess taught her French, and heard her read the daily portion of History; but he recommended the books that charmed her leisure hours, he encouraged her taste, and corrected her judgment, he made reading useful by talking to her of what she read, and heightened its attraction by judicious praise. It was hardly surprising that, in return for such services, she had then loved him better than anybody in the world except her own favourite eldest brother William, and her heart had been divided between those two.

When Henry Crawford had first fallen in love with Miss Price and resolved to make her his wife, he had observed to his sister Mary that her Bertram cousins had treated her with "abominable neglect and unkindness', and that she was "dependent, helpless, friendless, neglected, forgotten."

Mary was not pleased that Edmund might be included in Henry's generalization of the Bertram cousins, and had quickly corrected her brother, saying: "Nay, Henry, not by all, not forgotten by all, not friendless or forgotten. Her cousin Edmund never forgets her."

Henry then acknowledged that "Edmund is generally speaking, kind to her, and so is Sir Thomas in his way, but it is the way of a rich, superior, longworded, arbitrary uncle."

Edmund Bertram and Mary Crawford had been strongly attracted to each other within a few weeks' of their acquaintance. Miss Crawford played the harp, and the harp was Mr Edmund Bertram's favourite instrument. During those first few weeks, he had either walked or ridden across the park to the parsonage every day to be indulged with his favourite instrument, for she played with the greatest obligingness, with an expression and taste which were peculiarly becoming, and there was something clever to be said at the close of every air. One morning secured an invitation for the next, for the lady was not unwilling to have a listener, especially one with real taste and appreciation.

It was not surprising that Edmund was beginning, at the end of a week of such intercourse, to be a good deal in love, for a young woman, pretty, lively, with a harp as elegant as herself; and both placed near a window, cut down to the ground, and opening on a little lawn, surrounded by shrubs in the rich foliage of summer, was enough to catch any man's heart. But it was rather more surprising that the lady should reciprocate such affections, for Edmund was not a man of the world or an elder brother, and he was without any of the arts of flatteries or the gaieties of small talk.

Before she became acquainted with Edmund, her views on matrimony had been similar to the views of her worldly friends on that matter – matrimony should be a young lady's object, provided that she could marry well. Her sister, Mrs Grant, the wife of the Rev Dr Grant, who had never been able to glory in beauty of her own, thoroughly enjoyed the power of being proud of Mary's remarkable prettiness. She had not waited her arrival at Mansfield Parsonage to look out for a suitable match for her; she had fixed on Tom Bertram; the eldest son of a baronet was not too good for a girl of twenty thousand pounds, with all the elegance and accomplishments which Mrs Grant foresaw in her, and being a warm-hearted, unreserved woman, Mary had not been many hours in her house before she told her what she had planned..

Tom Bertram must have been thought pleasant, both he and his younger brother Edmund were good-looking young men; and indeed, at any rate, Tom was the sort of young man to be generally liked, his agreeableness was of the kind to be oftener found agreeable than some endowments of a higher stamp, for he had easy manners, excellent spirits, a large acquaintance, and a great deal to say; and the reversion of Mansfield Park, and a baronetcy, did no harm to all this. When Miss Crawford had first met him, she had felt that she could go along with her sister's match-making scheme and that he and his situation might do. But after he had been absent for a few weeks at the races, where he had a horse running, and she became more closely acquainted with his younger brother, her views began to change.

To her credit, Miss Crawford began to find Mr Edmund to be very agreeable to her. She felt it to be so, though she had not foreseen and could hardly understand it; for he was not pleasant by any common rule, he talked no nonsense, he paid no compliments, his opinions were unbending, his attentions tranquil and simple. There was a charm perhaps, in his sincerity, his steadiness, his integrity, which Miss Crawford might be equal to feel, though not yet equal to discuss with herself.

By the time Tom Bertram had returned to Mansfield Park – when he arrived to be gay, agreeable, and gallant again as occasion served, to tell of races and Weymouth and parties and friends – it altogether gave her the fullest conviction, by the power of actual comparison, of her preferring his younger brother. So far from now meaning to marry the elder, she did not even want to attract him, and were he now to step forth the owner of Mansfield Park, the Sir Thomas complete, which he was to be in time, she did not believe she could accept him.

In the meantime, her brother Henry had been light-heartedly flirting with the two Miss Bertrams. Without the intention of settling down to matrimony for a while yet, he enjoyed the company of pretty, clever and encouraging young women. As Maria, the eldest Miss Bertram was already engaged to Mr Rushwoth of Sotherton Court, Mrs Grant had hoped to match-make her brother with Julia, the youngest Miss Bertram. But as Henry had then no intention of being tied down in marriage for a while yet, he had thought that there might be danger of raising expectations in more than Mrs Grant if he were to be too particular in his attentions to Miss Julia alone, and he decided to pay at least equal attentions to Miss Bertram.

As Henry said to himself: "An engaged woman is always more agreeable than a disengaged. She is satisfied with herself. Her cares are over, and she feels that she may exert all her powers of pleasing without suspicion. All is safe with a lady engaged; no harm can be done."

Henry had not intended to do harm, he had thought that he could pay flirtatious attentions to Miss Bertram without any idea beyond immediate amusement, and that, being an engaged woman, she would accept his attentions as a woman of the world would, in the same spirit of lighthearted amusement for the moment and understand that such frivolous attentions were not meant to be taken seriously. However, Miss Price had observed and strongly disapproved of Mr Crawford's flirtation with her cousin, especially since she believed that Mr Rushworth was often jealous and uneasy, as her cousin Maria's indifference and coldness to him had become increasingly apparent.

Maria Bertram had been engaged for many months to Mr Rushworth, and the engagement having been formed during her father's absence, the marriage was due to take place upon Sir Thomas' return from his estates in the West Indies. Edmund had been the only one of the family who could see a fault in the business; he could allow his sister to be the best judge of her own happiness, but he was not pleased that her happiness should centre in a large income; nor could he refrain from often saying to himself, in Mr Rushworth's company, "If this man had not twelve thousand a year, he would be a very stupid fellow."

When Sir Thomas had returned from Antigua, not all his good will for Mr Rushworth, not all Mr Rushworth's deference for him, could prevent him from soon discerning part of the truth – that Mr Rushworth was an inferior young man, as ignorant in business as in books, with opinions in general unfixed, and without seeming much aware of it himself. He had also observed that Maria's behaviour to Mr Rushworth was careless and cold, and believed that Mr Rushworth had been accepted on too short an acquaintance, and on knowing him better she was repenting. Sir Thomas had spoken to his daughter, and assured her that every inconvenience should be braved, and the connection entirely given up, if she felt herself unhappy in the prospect of it. He would act for her and release her. However, Maria had said that he was quite mistaken in supposing she had the smallest desire of breaking her engagement; she had the highest esteem for Mr Rushworth's character and disposition, and could not have a doubt of her happiness with him.

When Henry Crawford had returned to Mansfield Parsonage several weeks after the Rushworths' marriage, where except for his own sister, Miss Price was the only young lady at Mansfield – since Miss Bertram had accompanied Mr and Mrs Rushworth to Brighton – Fanny had become conscious of a difference in Mr Crawford's manner towards herself. In spite of there being some previous ill opinion of him to be overcome, his continued attentions – continued, but not obtrusive, and adapting themselves more and more to the gentleness and delicacy of her character – obliged her very soon to dislike him less than formerly. But as she had seen that Mr Crawford allowed himself in gallantries which meant nothing, he took her wholly by surprise when he offered her his hand, fortune, everything to her acceptance. She could not believe that he was serious, or that even if he was momentarily so, she thought that he would very soon repent of his impulsiveness in proposing marriage to a young woman who was merely a poor relation to a baronet's family, and had no fortune of her own. In her situation, it would have been the extreme of vanity to be forming expectations of Mr Crawford. His sister too, she thought, would have regretted that he had not rather fixed on some woman of distinction, or fortune. She had firmly refused him, but he had refused to take her refusal as final. Eventually realizing that she thought him unsteady – easily swayed by the whim of the moment – easily tempted – he was determined to convince her by his conduct that his affections were steady – that absence, distance, time, shall speak for him – and that he would endeavour to work himself into her esteem and tenderness.

In fact, Miss Crawford also greatly desired the connection, for she would rejoice in a connection with the Bertrams, and she would no longer be displeased at her brother's marrying a little beneath him; the effects of the worldly notions which she had been previously too used to hearing no longer had such influence over her, for she herself was very fully purposed to make what her worldly friends would probably regard as a crazy love match with the younger son of baronet who had chosen the church as his profession. Of course Edmund would never be a poor clergyman, he did not have to serve as a curate but would immediately step into a very good living worth not less than seven hundred a year, almost like a small estate of his own. The parsonage at Thornton Lacey had very much the air of a gentleman's residence, -- it was not a scrambling collection of low single rooms – it was not cramped into the vulgar compactness of a square farm house – it was a solid, roomy, mansion-like looking house, such as one might suppose a respectable old country family had lived in from generation to generation, and were now spending at least two thousand a year in. Well, once they were married, their joint income would not be very far short of two thousand a year, for the interest of her twenty thousand pounds would bring in a thousand a year. Perhaps Sir Thomas would also do something more for his younger son, for he was rather disappointed with his idle and selfish eldest son; of course the main property was entailed and must be inherited by the eldest son, but it was possible that Sir Thomas would leave as much of the unentailed property as he could to his steady younger son. The living at Mansfield was also secured for Edmund after the present incumbent, who was Mary's own brother-in-law, and Mary was not without an idea that if Dr Grant could obtain another preferment, he might be prevailed upon to resign the Mansfield living to Edmund in his own lifetime.

Mary had spent her last London season as a single woman with her friend Mrs Fraser. She had always enjoyed the London seasons, and in a way she still did, but she came to realize that there was nothing among her worldly friends and their amusements that could really compare with what she had found at Mansfield – that could satisfy the better taste she had acquired at Mansfield, or the domestic happiness that she had there learnt to estimate. She was also filled with amused contempt at the blatant efforts of Mrs Fraser's friend, Mrs Palmer, to attempt to match-make her with Robert Ferrars, Mrs Palmer's younger brother. Miss Crawford had once made a remark in Mrs Palmer's presence that the system of primogeniture in inheritance was rather unfair to deserving younger sons, and Mrs Palmer had seized the opportunity to explain that it was not so in the Ferrars family, that her late father had left almost his entire property at the disposal of her mother, and that Mrs Ferrars was equally fond of both her sons and intended to provide for them both equally well, especially if they made good marriages with young ladies of fortune. The Mr Ferrars had been introduced to her, and if anything had been needed to confirm Mary Crawford's regard and esteem for Edmund Bertram, and convince her that there was nobody who could equal Edmund in character and manners, Robert's foppish and impertinent manners certainly did. His elder brother Edward was more quiet and sensible, he was very unlike Robert, perhaps he was rather more like Edmund in some ways, but there was a want of spirits about him that could be rather depressing. The Mr Ferrars had no profession, because their mother did not believe that a profession was necessary for fashionable young men, and it suddenly occurred to Mary that Edmund without a profession that interested him might have been as low-spirited and depressing as Edward Ferrars.

When Edmund had arrived in town a few weeks later, he immediately called at Mrs Fraser's, and was received with most gratifying warmth by Miss Crawford. He was soon invited to dine with the Frasers, and during the course of that evening, he proposed to Mary, and she accepted him. Mrs Fraser was very much struck by Mr Edmund Bertram's good looks and gentleman-like appearance; so in a way she believed that she could understand why her friend Mary had fallen in love with him, but what a pity it was that he was the baronet's younger son instead of the eldest.

The engaged couple spent two or three happy weeks together, and then Edmund received the news that his elder brother Tom was ill in Newmarket – Tom had gone from London with a party of friends to Newmarket, where a neglected fall, and a good deal of drinking, had brought on a fever. Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram were very worried about Tom's condition, and as Sir Thomas would not leave Lady Bertram on this distressing occasion, he asked Edmund to attend his brother, and hoped that he would be able to bring him to Mansfield shortly. Miss Crawford thought little of Mr Bertram's illness at first, as she looked upon him as the sort of person to be made a fuss with, and to make a fuss himself in any trifling disorder, and was more concerned for what she thought was the family's imposition on Edmund's good nature, and also annoyed that Edmund's stay in town was to be cut short by the fuss over his brother. However, Edmund did not consider it an imposition at all, and when he took his leave of her, she realized that he was genuinely concerned about his brother, and Mary remembered that it was the charm in his sincerity, his steadiness, and his integrity, that had drawn her to him since the early days of their acquaintance.

Edmund soon wrote to her, and it was evident that his brother's condition was certainly more serious than she had thought. Moreover, Tom's extreme impatience to be removed to Mansfield, and experience those comforts of home and family which had been little thought of in uninterrupted heath, had induced him being conveyed thither too early, and for a week he was in a more alarming state than ever. At about the week's end, his fever was subdued, but Edmund and his father understood from the physician that they were apprehensive for his lungs.

Edmund wrote to his fiancιe about his apprehensions over his brother's condition; his letter, short though it was, showed clearly the situation in the sick chamber. Lady Bertram could do nothing but glide in quietly and look at him; but when able to talk or be talked to, Edmund was the companion he preferred. His aunt Mrs Norris worried him by her cares, and Sir Thomas knew not how to bring down his conversation or his voice to the level of irritation and feebleness. Edmund was all in all – the attendant, supporter, cheerer of a suffering brother. But he did not forget her; he wrote that when Tom was better, he would be in town again to be with her.

Mary was affected by Edmund's letters, and sought to share those sentiments with her friends. Mrs Fraser's reaction, however, was that if poor, suffering Mr Bertram were to die, there would be two poor young men less in the world, and how fortunate it would be then that Mary had already accepted Mr Edmund Bertram, for Mr Edmund would be such an eligible catch if he were to become his father's heir.

It did occur to Mary that wealth and consequence could fall into no hands more deserving of them, and that "Sir Edmund" would do more good with all the Bertram property than any other possible "Sir". She did briefly wonder what it would be like to have both the man she loved and the wealth and consequence of her earlier ambition. However, on re-reading Edmund's letters, she realized that such thoughts and expectations would be farthest away from his own mind. Edmund would have no wish of attaining wealth and consequence at the cost of his brother's life, his main hopes and concerns were for his brother's ultimate recovery. It was at that moment that Mary experienced a complete revolution of feeling from her earlier notions and ambitions, leading her to adopt the opinions of the man she loved and respected as her own. Some younger brothers might be wishful of stepping into their eldest brothers' shoes – she thought that the honourable John Yates, for instance, the younger son of a lord, who was courting Edmund's younger sister Julia, would not be quite grief-stricken if anything were to happen to his elder brother that would make him the heir to his father's barony. But Edmund was definitely not one of those envious younger brothers. And if he had been one of them, she would never have loved him as she did.

As a consequence of her revolution of feeling, Mary suddenly felt uncomfortable to remain as a guest in the house of the worldly Mrs Fraser. She felt that she wanted to return immediately to Mansfield, and then thought of Edmund's cousin Fanny who was paying a visit to her parents at Portsmouth. Lady Bertram would surely be needing her niece at this trying time, and it would also be difficult to spare anybody from Mansfield to fetch her from Portsmouth. With these new amiable sensations, Mary felt that she and her brother could be of real service to her fiancι's family, if she and Henry were to travel to Portsmouth to bring Fanny Price back to Mansfield. She knew that Henry would like to be with his Fanny again, and she decided to propose the plan at once, by writing to both Edmund and Fanny about it.

Part 8 - Perseverance and Reward

Posted on 2009-02-11

"… impartiality would not have denied to Miss Crawford's nature, that participation of the general nature of women, which would lead her to adopt the opinions of the man she loved and respected, as her own." (chapter 37, Mansfield Park)

As for Henry Crawford "Could he have been satisfied with the conquest of one amiable woman's affections … there would have been every probability of success … His affection had already done something … Would he have persevered and uprightly, Fanny must have been his reward, and a reward very voluntarily bestowed – within a reasonable period from Edmund's marrying Mary." (concluding chapter, Mansfield Park)

Henry and Mary Crawford were the children of Mrs Grant's mother by her second husband, Mr Crawford of Everingham in Norfolk. After the death of their parents, they had been left to the care of their father's brother. In their uncle's house in Hill Street, London, they had found a kind home. Admiral and Mrs Crawford, though agreeing in nothing else, were united in affection for these children, or at least, were no farther adverse in their feelings than that each had their favourite, to whom they showed the greatest fondness of the two. The Admiral delighted in the boy, Mrs Crawford doted on the girl; and it was the lady's death which obliged her protιgιe, after some months' further trial at her uncle's house, to find another home. The Admiral, instead of seeking to retain his niece, chose to bring his latest mistress under his own roof, and to this Mrs Grant was indebted to her sister's coming to her at Mansfield in Northamptonshire.

The brother and sister had been in a bad school for matrimony in Hill Street, but it was not impossible to hope that certain influences at Mansfield might eventually be beneficial for them both. The late Mrs Crawford had little cause to love the married state, for the Admiral had all along been an unfaithful husband, and had, nearly eighteen years ago, been involved in a scandal with an unhappily married woman, Mrs Eliza Brandon of Delaford, which had led to Mr Brandon divorcing his wife. The then Captain Crawford had left the country in command of his ship soon after his paramour's divorce, and had quickly forgotten her, nor had he taken any interest in the child that was born to her less than nine months after the end of their affair, though he might have shown some interest if it had been a boy instead of a girl.

Henry and Mary were an affectionate brother and sister, and were really very fond of each other, but they certainly did not think alike regarding their uncle. Henry admitted that the Admiral had his faults, "but he is a very good man, and has been more than a father to me."

While outsiders might claim not to know which was most to blame in the disagreements between Admiral and Mrs Crawford, it was natural that Mary should have taken her aunt's side entirely. When Henry had asked Fanny Price to marry him, he had said to his sister that she must not prejudice Fanny against the Admiral, for he wanted them to love one another, and Mary had refrained from telling her brother what she really felt, that there could not be two persons in existence, whose characters and manners were less accordant, than Admiral Crawford and Fanny Price.

Henry had introduced Fanny's eldest brother William, to the Admiral, and it was partly through the Admiral's interest and commendation, that William Price had been promoted and given a commission as second Lieutenant of H.M. Sloop 'Thrush'. Soon after his promotion, William had obtained a ten days leave of absence to be given to Northamptonshire, and it had been arranged that Fanny should accompany her brother back to Portsmouth, and spend a couple of months with her own family.

After Fanny had been about four weeks at her parents' house, Henry had taken a trip to Portsmouth and had stayed at the Crown Inn there for a couple of days. He had made the acquaintance of Mr and Mrs Price and their other children. Fanny had felt a sense of shame for the home in which he found her, for it was, she could not conceal it from herself – in almost every respect, the very reverse of what she could have wished. It was the abode of noise, disorder and impropriety. Her father read only the newspaper and the navy list, he talked only of the dock-yard, the harbour, Spithead and the Motherbank, he swore and he drank, he was dirty and gross. Her mother neither taught nor restrained her children; her days were spent in a kind of slow bustle; wishing to be an economist, without contrivance or regularity, dissatisfied with her servants, without skill to make them better, and whether helping, reprimanding or indulging them, without any power of engaging their respect. She had felt very much obliged to Mr Crawford, for he attended to her mother with the utmost politeness, and while he could not regard his future father-in-law with any idea of taking him for a model in dress, Fanny had to her great relief instantly discerned that her father was a very different man in his behaviour to this highly respected gentleman, from what he was to his own family, and that his manners, though not polished, were more than passable. She found Mr Crawford to be altogether improved since she had seen him; he was much more gentle, obliging and attentive to other people's feelings than he had ever been at Mansfield; she had never seen him so agreeable, and there was something particularly kind and proper in the notice he took of her next sister, Susan, a girl of fourteen. Poor Susan was very little better fitted for her home at Portsmouth than her elder sister, and Fanny thought that if it were possible for her to return Mr Crawford's regard, the probability of his being very far from objecting to her inviting Susan to make her home with them, would be the greatest increase of all her own comforts. She thought that he was really good-natured, and could imagine his meeting into a plan of that sort, most pleasantly.

Henry had observed that, while her face was as bewitching to him as ever, it was less blooming than it ought to be, he was convinced that her residence at Portsmouth could not be comfortable, and was anxious for her being again at Mansfield. He had offered his sister and himself as her escort to Mansfield, if there should be any difficulties about conveying her back to Mansfield. The offer to convey her back to Mansfield was most tempting to herself individually, but her happiness in returning to Mansfield would have a material drawback in leaving Susan behind, and her dread of taking a liberty, made it plain to her then, that she must decline the proposal.

However, after her eldest cousin Tom had fallen ill, and his amendment alarmingly slow, Fanny had received another letter from Miss Crawford, pointing out that "you must feel yourself to be so wanted there, that you cannot in conscience (conscientious as you are), keep away, when you have the means of returning." This was soon followed by a letter from her cousin Edmund, telling her that Mary had written to them, offering to travel to Portsmouth with Henry to bring Fanny back to Mansfield. Sir Thomas completely approved of the scheme, he was quite anxious to get her back for her aunt's sake, but had been unable to spare any reliable person from Mansfield to go to Portsmouth to fetch her back. Therefore the Crawfords' offer had been particularly timely and gratifying. There could be nothing improper in accepting such an offer, now that Mary Crawford was engaged to be married to Edmund. Susan was also invited to Mansfield, for Fanny had often written about her sister in her letters to her aunt, and Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram thought that she seemed to be a very nice, active, useful kind of girl.

The invitation to Susan was most joyfully received – her father and mother were only too happy to give their consent to Susan going. Susan herself, being thus unexpectedly gratified in the first wish of her heart, and knowing nothing personally of her cousin Tom then to have her joy marred by any anxiety on his account, could not help being in a state of ecstasy and rejoicing from beginning to end.

The Crawfords arrived at Portsmouth in the evening of the following day, and they were to leave for Mansfield early the next morning. By nine in the morning, Henry and Mary were in the house, just in time to spend a few minutes with the family, and to witness the tranquil manner in which the daughters were parted with.

Henry was driving his own curricle, while the ladies were to travel in the post chaise. As they halted at the end of the first stage however, Mary suggested that as there were three of them, it would be more comfortable if one of them were to accompany Henry in his curricle, and before Fanny had time for more than a momentary confusion at what might be a suggestion for her to drive with Henry, Mary had smilingly suggested that Susan might like to have the seat in the curricle, where the view of the countryside would be quite unprecedented for the young girl.

Fanny had felt that if she could believe Miss Crawford to be worthy of her cousin Edmund, it would be much easier for her to accept their marriage, and to overcome all that was excessive and all that bordered on selfishness in her own affection for Edmund. She had not previously believed the worldly Miss Crawford to be deserving of Edmund, but their conversation during that journey from Portsmouth showed her that Miss Crawford must have been re-thinking many of her previous ideas and notions. Mary told her that she had been eager to return to Mansfield as she was no longer quite comfortable with Mrs Fraser. She told Fanny of Mrs Fraser's reaction in relation to Tom's illness and how uncomfortable it had made her -- while of course Edmund would be far more worthy to be his father's heir than Tom, she knew that Edmund himself would have no wish of attaining wealth and consequence at the cost of his brother's life. Of course, the system of inheritance through primogeniture was unfair to deserving younger sons like Edmund. It also seemed unfair, on the other hand, that some families with foolish younger sons could freely dispose of their property as they wished and provide equally for elder and younger sons. Mary then lightened the conversation by relating that ridiculous Mrs Palmer's – whose Christian name also happened to be Fanny – "but she's a very different Fanny from you, my dear, and I certainly would not want her for a sister" – attempts to match-make her with her foppish younger brother Robert Ferrars. "And you should have seen her face when I told her of my engagement to Edmund!"

The first day of their journey occupied many hours, and brought them, almost knocked up, to Oxford; but the second was over at a much earlier hour. They were in the environs of Mansfield long before the usual dinner time. Comfortable tidings awaited them, Tom's condition was continuing to improve, the family was not consumptive and the physician had assured Sir Thomas that provided there was no relapse, he might be considered to be out of danger.

Tom's sisters had not thought it necessary to leave London to return to Mansfield during the most anxious time of his illness, but Lady Bertram now received a letter from Julia announcing that she would be returning to Mansfield in a few days' time. Mrs Rushworth, though, apparently imagined that she had other obligations and would not be returning to Northamptonshire for some time yet.

When Julia arrived at Mansfield, it was soon evident that she had her own reason for returning home to speak to her father. After displaying some proper interest and solicitude for her eldest brother's health, she handed a letter to Sir Thomas from Mr Yates.

The honourable John Yates was the younger son of a lord, with a tolerable independence, and was one of the many particular friends of Julia's eldest brother. When they were in London together, he had been most attentive to Julia; he had asked her to marry him, and she had now accepted him, and nothing was wanting except Sir Thomas' consent to the match.

Mr Yates's family and connections were sufficiently known to Sir Thomas, as to render the tidings of the attachment between him and Julia as not particularly welcome to her father. However, Yates had expressed himself quite properly and respectfully in his letter applying for consent, he had expressed himself almost like a sensible man, stating that his estate was sufficient to enable him to support a wife in reasonable comfort, and had also declared that he was desirous to be really received into the family, and hoped to be guided by Sir Thomas. In the circumstances, although Sir Thomas would have preferred a different kind of son-in-law, he did not feel that he would be justified in withholding his consent, especially as he had permitted his eldest daughter to marry Mr Rushworth, despite his own misgivings about that match. So far, Edmund was making the best match among his children, for Sir Thomas could heartily approve of Miss Crawford. Sir Thomas also noticed that since her return from Portsmouth, his niece Fanny now appeared to be easier and friendlier with Mr Crawford, and hoped that it would not be long before she could bring herself to return his regard and accept his very desirable marriage proposal.

To Sir Thomas' great relief, Tom gradually regained his health, without regaining the thoughtlessness and selfishness of his previous habits. He was the better for ever for his illness. He had suffered, and he had learnt to think, two advantages that he had never known before. He had had time for quiet reflection during his convalescence, when he realized how little useful, how little self-denying, his life had previously been, which at the age of six and twenty, with no want of sense, or good companions, was durable in its happy effects. He became what he ought to be, useful to his father, steady and quiet, and not living merely for himself.

Soon after Mr Bertram's recovery, a double wedding ceremony took place at Mansfield -- to celebrate the marriage of the Rev Mr Edmund Bertram and Miss Mary Crawford, and of Miss Julia Bertram and the Hon Mr John Yates. Mr and Mrs Rushworth also returned to Northamptonshire to attend the double wedding. Mrs Rushworth treated her new sister-in-law's brother with marked coldness, while Mr Crawford treated his sister's eldest sister-in-law with calm and cool civility. While there was no obvious appearance of unhappiness in Mrs Rushworth, if truth be told, she had become even more dissatisfied and contemptuous of her husband since her sojourn in town. She had met several agreeable young men with gallant manners who evidently admired her, and she bitterly resented the fact that, due to her father's absence in the West Indies and her mother's indolence and invalidish habits, she had not had a London season prior to her marriage.

After the two bridal couples had left on their wedding trips, Mr Crawford also left for his estate in Norfolk, where he had to take care of some business there. He had told Fanny about the nature of his business there – it was relative to the renewal of a lease in which the welfare of a large and, he believed, industrious family was at stake. He had suspected his agent of some underhand dealing – of meaning to bias him against the deserving – and he was determined to go himself, and to thoroughly investigate the case. He planned to visit Mansfield again when his sister and brother-in-law returned from their wedding trip.

Although Henry was not aware of it, Edmund's marriage to Mary had given him the assistance of Fanny's conscience in subduing her first inclination, as well as to bring them very often together. Fanny fervently prayed for Edmund's happiness, and was rather more hopeful for his happiness with Mary than she had previously been. Since she had traveled from Portsmouth with Mary, she thought that Mary was no longer quite the same worldly Miss Crawford of the earlier days of their acquaintance, and that Edmund's influence had already done much towards clearing her judgment, and regulating her notions. Fanny also began to realize that her own warm affection for her cousin Edmund was not, after all, very different from her warm affection for her brother William. She had been very unhappy when she had thought that Edmund had fallen in love with someone who did not deserve him and was unworthy of him, but now that she was more hopeful of Mary, she was no longer so unhappy over their marriage. She would also be quite unhappy if William were to fall in love with an undeserving girl unworthy of him.

After Edmund and Mary had returned from their wedding trip, Henry was invited to pay a visit to his sister and brother-in-law at Thornton Lacey. In those weeks, there was much frequent intercourse between the inhabitants of Mansfield Park, Mansfield parsonage, and Thornton Lacey.

Henry often spoke about his time at Everingham, he had done even more good than he had foreseen, had been useful to more than his first plan had comprehended, and was now able to congratulate himself upon it, and to feel, that in performing a duty, he had secured agreeable recollections for his own mind. He had introduced himself to some tenants, whom he had never seen before; he had begun making acquaintance with cottages whose very existence, though on his own estate, had hitherto been unknown to him. To be the friend of the poor and oppressed! That was to be the way to Fanny's heart. She was not to be won by all that gallantry and wit, and good nature together, could do; or at least, she would not be won by them nearly so soon, without the assistance of sentiment and feeling, and seriousness on serious subjects. His good work on his estate was to set him on the way to his happy destiny, for when he renewed his addresses to Fanny that winter, she was happy to accept him, and to be his assistant and friend in every plan of utility or charity for Everingham.

Selfishly dear as Fanny had long been to Lady Bertram, it was possible for her aunt to part with her, because Susan remained to supply her place -- Susan became the stationary niece -- delighted to be so, and equally well adapted by it by a readiness of mind, and an inclination for usefulness, as Fanny had been by sweetness of temper, and strong feelings of gratitude. Susan's more fearless disposition made everything easy for her there. With quickness in understanding the tempers of those she had to deal with, and no natural timidity to restrain any consequent wishes, she was soon welcome, and useful to all.

The wedding of Mr Henry Crawford and Miss Frances Price took place early in the New Year; the plan of the newlyweds was to spend a couple of months at Everingham, and then Henry planned to take a house in town in the spring. The shy Fanny was naturally nervous about making her debut in town as Mrs Henry Crawford, and she was happy that Henry also planned to invite Edmund and Mary to spend a few weeks with them in London. Mary was very happy to accept the invitation, having married for love on a rather narrower income than she had been used to look forward to, she had prudently fancied a strict line of economy to be necessary, and thus she was very glad at this opportunity for herself and Edmund to spend a few weeks in town without the expense of having to hire lodgings. She was sure that she would be very useful in introducing Fanny to their acquaintances, and in easing her sister-in-law's debut.

Mr and Mrs Rushworth were back at Wimpole Street, and the Edmund Bertrams and the Henry Crawfords were naturally invited to the Rushworths' parties. It was at a large evening party at the Rushworrths, that the Bertrams and the Crawfords had met the Dashwoods, and Miss Marianne Dashwood had been particularly struck by Mrs Bertram's resemblance to her friend Mrs Willoughby.

Part 9 – Exposure

Posted on 2009-02-24

Mr John Dashwood and Mr Henry Crawford had been slightly acquainted with each other; they had previously met in town during those days when Henry had resided with his uncle Admiral Crawford in Hill Street, and John had also spent a great deal of time in London before he had inherited Norland. Henry and his sister Mary had also met John's wife Charlotte once or twice, but they had not previously met John's sisters, and as Henry's own marriage was of very recent date, the introductions that took place at the Rushworths' party had been among Mrs Fanny Crawford's first introductions into society. John had not previously met Mary's husband Edmund Bertram either, but he had been slightly acquainted with Edmund's elder brother Tom Bertram, for Mr Bertram had a very large acquaintance. However, when he inquired if Mr Bertram was also present, he was told that Mr Bertram was not in town; since Mr Bertram's recovery from his serious illness the year before, he had been immersing himself in learning from his father and the steward all about the details of the estate business at Mansfield in Northamptonshire.

Mrs Charlotte Dashwood was so friendly and amiable that she would heartily welcome any acquaintance with her ready warmth, she was of course very pleased to see the former Miss Crawford, now Mrs Edmund Bertram, happily married to a handsome young man; that he was a baronet's younger son and had a very good living as a clergyman meant that he was a sufficiently good match in her eyes. Charlotte was also delighted to make the acquaintance of Henry Crawford's wife, the fact that the shy young Mrs Crawford had never been in town before and knew hardly anybody at all made her even more determined to befriend her.

Mrs Bertram and Mrs Crawford were also pleased with the Dashwoods. Mrs Dashwood's manners were certainly not very elegant, but the openness and heartiness of her manner more than atoned for that want of elegance, her friendliness, recommended by so pretty a face, was engaging, her folly, which sometimes sprang from excessive good nature which made her ignore the more formal forms of common politeness, though often evident, was not disgusting, because it was not conceited; and one could not help liking almost everything about her, except, perhaps her laugh. Mrs Crawford was particularly drawn to Mrs Dashwood's warmth and friendliness, as she had been secretly terrified of meeting with haughty ladies of fashion among her husband's acquaintances who would have made her quite uncomfortable. The two Miss Dashwoods' manners were more elegant than their sister-in-law's, they also appeared to be modest, amiable young ladies, and thus they recommended themselves to both Mrs Bertram and her sister-in-law.

Calls were soon made and exchanged between the Dashwoods with the Crawfords and the Bertrams. Marianne, who had been initially fascinated by Mrs Bertram's remarkable resemblance to her friend Eliza Willoughby, also soon discovered that she and Mary Bertram shared musical interests in common. At the same time, Miss Dashwood and Mrs Crawford were drawn to each other, and discovered that they had artistic tastes in common. Although Fanny Crawford had not been taught to draw herself, she had a great deal of natural taste, and had great pleasure in seeing and admiring Elinor's drawings. Fanny was an excellent needlewoman, and she had the idea that the designs on some of Elinor's prints could be copied as embroidery patterns. Mrs Dashwood senior was also a kindly middle-aged lady; all in all, the new Mrs Crawford, who had been so unused to company and had led a very secluded life until her marriage, felt herself quite fortunate to have the Mrs Dashwoods and the Miss Dashwoods among her early acquaintances in town. The Mrs Dashwoods also liked both Mrs Bertram and Mrs Crawford who were both attractive young ladies in her own way; Mrs Edmund Bertram was lively and friendly, and Mrs Henry Crawford was gentle and modest. It did strike the Dashwoods, during a morning call to Mrs Crawford and Mrs Bertram, that although the Bertrams were the guests of the Crawfords, Mrs Bertram appeared to be more in charge of her brother's household, perhaps since Mrs Crawford was so new to her role, and being naturally shy and modest, that it was not unreasonable for her to depend on her sister-in-law in these early days of marriage. Moreover, there was a double connection between them, as Mr Edmund Bertram and Mrs Crawford were first cousins.

Some days after making the acquaintance of the Bertrams and the Crawfords, Marianne, on finding herself in a private conversation with Colonel Brandon, informed him about the acquaintance, and the remarkable resemblance that she had noticed between Mrs Bertram, nee Crawford, to Eliza. The Colonel gave a little start when he heard the name Crawford. He looked very serious, and after a moment's hesitation, he said:

"Miss Marianne, I understand that Eliza has taken you into her confidence, and has told you about her history – the history of her birth, and that you know all about it, except for the identity of the man responsible."

"That is so."

"Since you happen to have come so close to it – I might as well tell you – I believe I can fully rely on your discretion -- the identity of the man who is responsible for Eliza's birth – he was then a naval captain, the younger brother of the late Mr Crawford of Everingham in Norfolk, and is now an Admiral – although his conduct in his private life is far from admirable. The present Mr Crawford of Everingham is his nephew, and so – Mr Crawford and his sister Mrs Bertram – in a way, they are Eliza's first cousins."

"When I first saw Mrs Bertram, the thought came to my mind – that she and Eliza could be sisters, or cousins."

"Eliza's husband and his aunt are aware of this -- I informed them about it when Willoughby proposed to her, and Mrs Smith asked for information, being so closely connected, she is entitled to know – but I would rather that this is not generally known – from what I have heard, Admiral Crawford has not amended his way of life, and Eliza does not need such a father in her life."

"No indeed, when she already has had the best of guardians in you, Colonel, and is now happily married to a fine young gentleman."

"My main hope for her now is that she will be happy in her marriage."

"Mrs Bertram does not seem to think much of her uncle the Admiral either, but Mrs Crawford says that whatever his faults may be, her husband has told her that his uncle is so very fond of him, and has treated him quite like a son, that he is entitled to their gratitude."

'Then the Admiral may have a claim on his nephew's gratitude, but he certainly has no claim whatsoever on Eliza. Miss Marianne, I don't mind you knowing, and I won't mind Miss Dashwood knowing either if you like – but I hope it won't go any further. I have a great regard for your sister-in-law, she is so very good-natured, but – she is not the most discreet of ladies, and if she knows, she might unintentionally let it slip in her conversations."

"I understand perfectly. Dear Charlotte is so amiable, open and friendly to almost everybody that she can be rather indiscreet in her talk. However, she does not seem to have noticed Mrs Bertram's resemblance to Eliza, for she has not mentioned it. Elinor has noticed it, but perhaps it was because I first pointed it out to her."

In the meantime, Mrs Palmer was becoming more and more convinced that her brother Edward was falling in love with Miss Dashwood. She had spoken about it to her mother, Mrs Ferrars, and Edward's mother and sister were agreed that although it was not a great or brilliant match as they had once hoped for, it would be a tolerable match, especially if they could get her brother to increase her dowry to a respectable amount. Mrs Ferrars and her daughter had learned that apparently a lady of rank and fortune such as the former Hon Miss Morton, now Mrs Grey, with thirty thousand pounds, would want a gentleman with a fortune that was even larger than her own, for Mr Grey had not less than fifty thousand pounds. Mrs Ferrars could not have settled fifty thousand pounds on her eldest son without reducing the shares intended for her daughter and youngest son, and Mrs Palmer had no wish to encourage her mother in such an idea of following the custom of primogeniture or male privilege in inheritance. Mrs Palmer would like her brothers to be rich without reducing her own share of the inheritance. Mrs Ferrars had settled ten thousand pounds on her daughter upon her marriage, and had promised her a further share in her will.

When Mrs Ferrars and her daughter had been scheming to match make Edward with the then Miss Morton, and Robert with the then Miss Crawford the year before, Mrs Ferrars had planned to settle between twenty to twenty five thousand pounds on Edward, and between fifteen to twenty thousand pounds on Robert. The late Mr Ferrars had left his widow with a fortune of about ninety thousand pounds, and had she been obliged to settle a total of forty five thousand pounds on her two sons, as well as the dowry that she had settled on her daughter, the remainder would have been divided equally between her three children in her will. Her daughter was actually Mrs Ferrars' real favourite, and she was the eldest child, but it would have been much too odd, and going against custom and convention, as far as money matters went, to favour a daughter over the sons (unless the sons had done something really shocking that would justify their disinheritance). Mrs Ferrars believed that it would even have been quite odd to provide a daughter with a dowry that was completely equal to the sons' prospective fortunes. Moreover, although Mrs Ferrars had been sufficiently pleased with her daughter's marriage to the master of the charming estate of Cleveland, Mr Palmer, with his rather strange, abrupt manners, had not personally endeared himself to his mother-in-law.

Between her two sons, Mrs Ferrars was slightly more fond of the livelier Robert than the quieter Edward, so Robert would be better provided for than many younger sons in his circumstances, but as there was nothing wrong with Edward, Mrs Ferrars thought that while she would not actually follow the usual custom of primogeniture, she would not mind giving Edward a slightly larger provision than his younger brother's, if such provision should be made to secure a good match for him. Mrs Ferrars could not blame Edward for failing to win the Hon Miss Morton once Mr Grey had entered into the picture. The fact that Miss Morton and Mr Grey actually liked each other had completely escaped Mrs Ferrars' notice; she assumed that Miss Morton was simply guided by Mr Grey's fifty thousand pounds. Mrs Ferrars had been more taken aback by Miss Crawford's preference for a serious clergyman over her own lively boy Robert, and had finally accounted for it to herself by thinking that that Miss Crawford had simply preferred to be a baronet's daughter-in-law, even if it meant marrying a younger son with no great fortune of his own. And perhaps, with the baronet's influence, that young lady was thinking that his son might be a bishop one day.

Having ascertained Edward's attachment to Elinor, Mrs Palmer now proceeded to tackle the Mrs Dashwoods regarding the question of Miss Dashwood's dowry. Mrs Palmer had earlier heard from the talkative Mrs Jennings that John Dashwood had made a solemn promise to his late father to take care of his sisters, and to provide for them, and she resolved to stress on that fact and play it up for all it was worth in order to squeeze as much dowry as she could out of the Dashwoods, so that she and her mother could hold up their heads by telling their acquaintances that Edward had not thrown himself away, but had married a young lady with a respectable dowry. On a morning call to the Mrs Dashwoods, Mrs Palmer began talking about the apparent attachment between her brother and Miss Dashwood. Mrs John Dashwood immediately and warmly took up the topic and wondered aloud as to when they could make the official announcement of the engagement. Neither of the Mrs Dashwoods doubted the existence of such an engagement, even though Elinor had not said anything about being engaged to Edward Ferrars. The romantic delicacy of Mrs Dashwood senior, had prevented her from questioning her daughter directly on the subject, while the warm eagerness of the younger Mrs Dashwood to find good matches for her sisters-in-law left her no room to doubt that Elinor would soon be married to Edward.

Mrs Palmer said quickly: "There is, of course, the question of the dowry and the provisions in the marriage settlement before any announcement could be made."

"Oh well, Elinor now has two thousand pounds of her own, and John and Mother Dashwood intend to add another two thousand pounds each, to each of the girls' dowries if they approve of their suitors, and I'm sure that they both heartily approve of Mr Edward Ferrars", said Charlotte, turning with a wide smile to her mother-in-law.

Fanny Palmer hurried on: "I've heard from Mrs Jennings, when we were visiting at Barton Park, that Miss Dashwood will have at least six thousand pounds for her dowry, as long as her mother and brother have no actual objection to her suitor. I thought that she may possibly have more than that, if Mrs Dashwood and Mr John Dashwood heartily approve of the match. And I understand that Mr Dashwood means to be very generous to his sisters, as he had made a most solemn promise to his father on his deathbed that he will take his father's place and look after his sisters and provide well for them, so I thought that he would add a few more thousand pounds to Miss Dashwood's dowry. I know that Norland is a very fine estate and Mr Dashwood can well afford to provide ample marriage portions for his sisters."

Mrs Dashwood senior was beginning to get annoyed with Mrs Palmer. She perceived that Fanny Palmer was an avaricious and cold-hearted woman who was intent on haggling for as high a dowry as she could get for her brother. She remembered that Elinor had remarked that the amiable Mr Edward Ferrars was very different from both his brother and his sister. His brother appeared to be a good-natured but foppish coxcomb, while his sister was a proud, coldly insipid woman who had made her quite uncomfortable when they were staying at Barton. Mrs Palmer had asked Elinor searching questions about her means, the size of the estate of Norland, and her brother's fortune. Elinor had tried to tell her as little as she could without being uncivil. Edward, in fact, had rather awkwardly apologized for his sister's impertinent questioning. However, Mrs Palmer had managed to get all the information she wanted from the good-natured and talkative Mrs Jennings. Now it seemed obvious that Mrs Palmer intended on exploiting what she had heard from good-natured Mrs Jennings about John's deathbed promise to his late father to take care of his sisters by asking for more than what John had already pledged himself to give them. Mrs Dashwood felt that her son-in-law had already fulfilled his promise and was behaving very generously to them; she would not have asked for more even if he had been her own son and full brother to her daughters instead of her son-in-law and half-brother to her daughters. The widowed Mrs Dashwood would give away almost the entire sum left to her by her late husband to contribute towards her daughters' dowries, and a dowry of six thousand pounds each was surely a respectable portion. After all, she herself had nothing at all when the late Mr Henry Dashwood had married her, and he only had seven thousand pounds at his own disposal, besides his expectations of the Norland inheritance.

Mrs Dashwood senior responded rather contemptuously: "Dear me! Is it so necessary for Mr Ferrars to find a bride who has an ample marriage portion of her own?"

Mrs Palmer coloured slightly and said: "My brother also has only two thousand pounds that is definitely his own, as my father had left almost his entire fortune at my mother's disposal. My mother will make some provision for my brother upon his marriage, if she approves of the match, and she is more likely to be generous in making the provision if the girl's family is also generous in providing a respectable dowry. My mother provided me with a dowry of ten thousand pounds upon my own marriage, and she would like her future daughters-in-law also to have dowries of at least as many thousand pounds as may be called ten."

The amiable Charlotte said cheerfully: "Well, Mother Dashwood cannot afford to give more than two thousand pounds for each of the girls' dowries – there are three of them after all – and John has arranged to give a further two thousand pounds to each of them as well. That would make up the six thousand pounds each, which we thought was quite a respectable portion. I don't know if John would want to give more than that to Elinor – perhaps we can speak to him about it – but the thing is, as there are three sisters, it would be very awkward to favour one sister more than the other two – although of course, Margaret is not likely to get married for some years yet. But it is not at all unlikely that Marianne will be getting married quite soon herself."

Mrs Palmer could not have cared less as to whether John Dashwood would provide any dowries for his two younger sisters or not, and she murmured artfully: "But Miss Dashwood is the eldest sister, I personally feel that should entitle her to be favoured above her younger sisters."

However, Mrs Dashwood senior was well aware that there was no general custom of preferring the eldest daughter over younger sisters, unlike the prevailing custom of preferring the eldest son over all other children through the system of male primogeniture. Mrs Palmer had clearly exposed herself as a coldly calculating and artful woman. Not that Mrs Dashwood would make any demands on Mrs Ferrars to follow the custom by providing the largest share of his father's fortune on Edward; it was enough for Mrs Dashwood if Edward sincerely loved her daughter, and if he was fairly sufficiently provided for in order to live in reasonable comfort.

Mr Palmer was also considerably disgusted with his wife's and her mother's unnecessary and mercenary calculations on the Dashwoods. He himself considered Miss Dashwood to be a most excellent and admirable young lady, she was pretty, elegant, intelligent, accomplished, and amiable. He thought that his brother-in-law would be a fool if he allowed this lovely young lady to slip through his fingers, and he did not think that Edward was a fool. Indeed, he had long realized that Edward Ferrars was the only member of the Ferrars family who was sensible as well as amiable.

Mr Palmer was not sorry when some estate business at Cleveland obliged him to leave town for two or three weeks, as he was quite glad to get away from his wife and her mother. He might have invited Edward to accompany him, had he not considered that Edward would not wish to be away from Miss Dashwood. His wife said something about wanting to employ a genteel young woman as a nursery governess for their son, and of inviting the Miss Steeles to stay with her while he was away, to see if one of them might be suitable for the post – after all they were the nieces of the gentleman who had been her brothers' tutor. Mr Palmer had no objection to make to this; he was quite willing to leave such matters to his wife.

Part 10 – Unamiable Hysterics

Posted on 2009-03-01

Before Mr Palmer left town, he and his brother-in-law Edward Ferrars had a talk together. Edward could not help telling Thomas Palmer that he was feeling very uncomfortable and embarrassed by his sister's attempted exploitation of the Dashwoods. Edward confided to his brother-in-law that he really loved Miss Dashwood, and were he a man of independent means, he would undoubtedly have proposed to her by now, perhaps even as early as when they had first met at Barton. His sister had evidently noticed his attachment, but all that she could think of and talk about was how much dowry they might eventually manage to get out of the Dashwoods. His mother and sister were making him feel as though he must go about dowry-hunting, and that the more dowry his bride had, the more generous his mother would be in settling part of the family fortune on him .What a perverse attitude they had – if his future wife had money of her own and did not really need any more money, his mother would be generous to him, but if his future wife had little money of her own, then his mother would not be generous. What a ridiculous situation! His mother and sister had also never advised Edward on the desirable personal qualities of a future wife – all they had ever been interested in was fortune and connections. The question of suitability of character and disposition had never had any interest to them.

During the previous year, when they had been attempting to match make him with the Hon Miss Morton, it had not taken him long to realize that their attempts were futile and absurd. Mrs Ferrars had got along very well with the dowager Lady Morton -- chiefly by fawning on and flattering her ladyship at every turn – so that Lady Morton was disposed to regard Edward as a tolerable match for her daughter, if her daughter should really like him. Edward and Miss Morton had a mild liking for each other as friends, but there had been no deeper interest on either side. Edward had soon realized that Miss Morton was attracted to the dashing Mr Grey, and that Mr Grey was equally attracted to Miss Morton. Since he was not in love with Miss Morton, he had no wish to set himself up as a rival of Mr Grey even if he could. His mother had been very much disappointed when the attachment between Miss Morton and Mr Grey had become evident even to her; however, she had assumed that Miss Morton had chosen Mr Grey simply because of his fifty thousand pounds. Mrs Ferrars had explained to Edward that while she was more than willing to settle an income of 1,000 or even up to 1,250 a year on him in her own lifetime if he made a good match, it was not possible for her to settle as large a sum as 2,500 a year or fifty thousand pounds on him, as she also had to make some provision for Robert – she did not believe in the custom of strict primogeniture where the eldest son got almost everything and the younger son almost nothing -- and had promised to make some further provision for Fanny in addition to her ten thousand pound dowry. Indeed, there would be further provisions for all three of them in her will.

The attempts of his mother and sister to match make Robert with the then Miss Crawford had been even more ridiculous. A chance remark by Miss Crawford against the system of primogeniture as being unfair to deserving younger sons had let Mrs Palmer to explain with delight that there was no such entailment in the Ferrars family; and that Mrs Ferrars intended to provide quite generously for her younger son, Robert, as well as for her eldest son, Edward. Mrs Palmer had then practically pushed Robert to Miss Crawford's notice, when everybody else had realized that Miss Crawford had not been thinking of younger sons in general, but of a particular younger son of a certain baronet to whom she was evidently attached. Robert had privately joked about it to Edward; he had said something about it being perfectly safe for him to pay court to Miss Crawford as that lady's heart was already engaged.

While the failure to catch both the Hon Miss Morton and Miss Crawford had certainly slightly humbled Mrs Ferrars and Mrs Palmer, it had not really cured them of their attachment to fortunes and connections in possible future in-laws. Now they were considering Miss Dashwood as a tolerable match for Edward because she was the sister of a well-to-do gentleman with a landed estate, and was quite assured of having a dowry of six thousand pounds. They would try to get the Dashwoods to increase it by a few thousand pounds. And although her mother, the widowed Mrs Dashwood, had had no dowry of her own, she was quite well-connected, being the cousin of Sir John Middleton, who was the husband of Mrs Palmer's particular friend – although Mrs Palmer might not have cared much for the former Mary Jennings if she had not become Lady Middleton.

Edward himself had a sincere admiration for Miss Dashwood's admirable qualities, besides her pretty looks, she was intelligent, accomplished, and their conversations showed that she had an affectionate heart – she was deeply attached to her family, and indeed, unlike his family, her family members were most delightful, amiable people – her mother was kindly, her sisters were lively, her sister-in-law was very friendly, and her brother was a rather quiet but apparently well-disposed gentleman.

Edward would have loved Miss Dashwood, and would have wanted to marry her even if she had been without a penny. It was his sister's talk about Miss Dashwood's possible dowry that had deeply embarrassed him and was holding him back from making his proposal. He wished he could say what he really felt – that her dowry meant nothing to him, as he loved her for herself. But he had only two thousand pounds of his own, and did not know how much his mother would be willing to settle on him if he became engaged to Miss Dashwood. And such a jewel as Miss Dashwood would deserve the very best that he or any man could give her. How could he propose to her when he only had two thousand pounds as a certainly, and such inferior relations to hers! Actually, he felt his inferiority there very keenly – he knew that his mother would settle some income on him if he married Miss Dashwood, even though it would not have been as much as she would have done for the Hon Miss Morton – but to have no relations to bestow on her which a young lady of sense could value. To have no family to receive and estimate her properly, nothing of respectability, of harmony, of goodwill to offer in return for all the worth of her own amiable family! The best relation he could offer was his brother-in-law Mr Palmer, but he hoped that, once they had got to know each other well, the Dashwoods and Mr Palmer would be disposed to like each other. Mr Palmer's manners tended to improve very greatly with people whom he really liked.

Mr Palmer then had a few words with his wife about the situation between Edward and Miss Dashwood before leaving for Somersetshire. Regarding Miss Dashwood's dowry, he remarked that Fanny had not always thought that brothers should be generous to their sisters and reminded her of her own unsuccessful attempt to persuade him not to increase the dowry of his younger sister when his sister was getting married about three years ago. Mrs Palmer quickly said that was the point, he himself had insisted on increasing his sister's dowry to seven thousand pounds, so it was only right that Mr Dashwood should also increase his sister's dowry to more than that, as she believed that Mr Dashwood had a larger income and that the Norland estate was more profitable than the Cleveland estate. Mr Palmer pointed out that he had increased his younger sister's dowry to seven thousand pounds so that her marriage portion would be equal to that of his elder sister, who had married in his father's lifetime, and been provided with a dowry of seven thousand pounds. He also reminded her that Mr Dashwood had three sisters instead of two, and that there were actually his half-sisters, although they were all living together with Norland as their home. Mr Dashwood was already being generous to his sisters by planning to increase their dowries to six thousand pounds each. It would be ridiculous to attempt to haggle for a few extra thousand pounds, as though Mrs Ferrars could not afford to provide for her son's marriage. Miss Dashwood was a pretty, elegant and accomplished young lady, she did not lack admirers, and he would not be at all surprised if some gentleman with better prospects than Edward's would be happy to pay his addresses to her. He had heard that Colonel Brandon of Delaford greatly admired Miss Dashwood. Mrs Palmer said at once that the Colonel was an admirer of the second Miss Dashwood. Mr Palmer countered by saying that he had heard that the Colonel regarded the second Miss Dashwood as his niece's best friend. Mr Palmer did not argue further with his wife, but left her to think about that rather humiliating possibility of having to face another Miss Morton/Mr Grey and Miss Crawford/Mr Edmund Bertram situation of the previous year.

While Mr Palmer was away at Cleveland, Mrs Palmer invited the Miss Steeles to pay her a visit at Hanover Square. Lucy was of course delighted with the invitation, but she was determined to behave very cautiously and not to make any premature disclosures regarding her engagement to Robert Ferrars. The Miss Steeles had soon attached themselves to little Tom, and Mrs Palmer had never been so much pleased by any young women as she was with them; she had given each of them a needle book, made by some emigrant, called Lucy by her Christian name, and did not know whether she should ever be able to part with them.

About ten days later, Mrs Jennings paid a visit to her daughter and in-laws at Harley Street, with an unusual air of such hurrying importance as prepared them to hear something wonderful; and giving them time only to form that idea as Charlotte, her sisters-in-law and their mother greeted her, began directly to justify it by saying:

"Lord! My dear Charlotte! Dear Mrs Dashwood! I have heard such news!"

"What is it, Mama?"

"Something so strange! But you shall hear it all – Mary has been in such a fuss about Will, for the child had fallen a few steps down the stairs when running after his brother, and she feared that he might have broken his ankle. So I looked at it directly, and "Lord, my dear," says I, "it is nothing but a slight sprain.", and nurse said just the same. But Mary would not be satisfied, so Mr Donovan was immediately sent for; and he had just been to a call from Hanover Square. When he examined Will's ankle, he said just as we did, that it was only a slight sprain, and then Mary was easy. Of course, Will should not be running about for several days, and it might not be so easy to keep him quiet and amuse him – but never mind that now. Just as Mr Donovan was going away, it came into my head, I am sure I do not know how I happened to think of it, but it came to my head to follow him out into the hall and ask him if there were any news. So upon that, he smirked, and simpered, and looked grave, and seemed to know something or other, and at last he said in a whisper "I understand that Lady Middleton is a particular friend of Mrs Palmer, and for fear any unpleasant report should reach her ladyship as to her friend's indisposition, I think it is advisable to say, that I believe there to be no great reason for alarm; I hope Mrs Palmer will do very well."

"What! Is Mrs Palmer ill?"

"That is exactly what I said: 'Lord!' says I, "is Mrs Palmer ill? So then it all came out; and the long and short of the matter, by all I can learn, seems to be this. Her younger brother, Mr Robert Ferrars, it seems, has been engaged for more than two years to Lucy! And not a creature knowing a syllable of the matter except Nancy! Could you have believed such a thing possible? There is no great wonder at their liking one another, when they had known each other at her Uncle Pratt's, but that matters should be brought so forward between them, and nobody suspect it! That is strange! And they didn't give a sign of it when we all dined together the other day at the Palmers. I believe they hardly spoke to each other then – but then they were keeping it a great secret, for fear of Mrs Ferrars, and his sister had no suspicion of it either – till this very morning, poor Nancy, who, you know, is a well-meaning creature, but no conjuror, pops it all out. 'Lord', thinks she to herself, 'Mrs Palmer is so very fond of Lucy – and Mrs Ferrars too, for she has been kind to her whenever they met – to be sure they will make no difficulty about it;' and so, away she went to Mrs Palmer, who was sitting all alone at her carpet-work – for Mr Palmer is still away at Cleveland -- little suspecting what was to come – for she had been telling the housekeeper, only five minutes before, that if Tom's nurse is going to leave them, then she is not going to get another nurse, for Tom is getting a little too old for a nurse, and she will find a nursery governess for him instead; and Miss Lucy Steele is so good with helping to look after Tom, that she's thinking of asking her whether she would like to be Tom's governess, and it would be very fitting too, since Lucy's uncle used to be tutor to Tom's uncles. So, having been thinking that Lucy would be a proper person to be Tom's governess, you may imagine what a blow it was to her pride, to find that Lucy might be going to be Tom's aunt instead! She fell into violent hysterics immediately, with such screams as reached the servants' ears. So the housekeeper went in alarm to her mistress, and saw such a terrible scene, for Lucy was come to them by that time, little dreaming what was going on. Poor soul! I pity her. And I must say, I think she was used very hardly, for that proud Mrs Palmer scolded like any fury, and soon drove her into a fainting fit. Nancy, she fell upon her knees, and cried bitterly; and the housekeeper was so flustered and did not know what to do. Mrs Palmer declared that they should not stay a minute longer in the house, and Nancy begged her to allow them to pack up their clothes. Then she fell into hysterics again, and the housekeeper was so frightened that she sent a message to the apothecary, as well as a message to Mr Edward Ferrars, to beg him to come at once to his sister and to try to calm her down. Unfortunately Mr Edward was not at home, and Mr Donovan found the house in all this uproar. The carriage was at the door to take my poor cousins away, and they were just stepping in as he came off; poor Lucy in such a condition, he says, she could hardly walk; and Nancy, she was almost as bad. I declare, I have no patience with that Mrs Palmer, and I hope, with all my heart, it will be a match in spite of her. Lord! What a taking poor Mr Robert will be in when he hears of it! To have his love used so scornfully! for they say he is monstrous fond of her, as well he may. I should not wonder, if he was to be in the greatest of a passion! – and Mr Donovan thinks just the same. He and I had a great deal of talk about it, and the best of all is, that he is gone back again to Hanover Square, that he may be within call when Mrs Ferrars is told of it, for Mrs Palmer sent for her mother as soon as ever my cousins had left the house, and she was sure that her mother would be in hysterics too; and so she may, for all I care. I have no pity for either of them. I have no notion of people's making such a to do about money and greatness. There is no reason on earth why Mr Robert and Lucy should not marry; for Mrs Ferrars had been telling everybody that she intends to provide for both her sons, and that Mr Robert won't be like most younger sons, and though Lucy has next to nothing herself, she knows better than anybody how to make the most of everything, and I dare say, if Mrs Ferrars would only allow her younger son 500 a year, Lucy would make as good an appearance with it as anybody else would with 800. Lord! How snug they might live in a comfortable cottage – there is such a charming four bedroom cottage at Barton – which they could easily improve and extend a little and add in an extra room -- with two maids and two men and I believe I could help them to a housemaid, for my maid Betty has a sister out of place, that would fit them exactly."

Here Mrs Jennings ceased, and Charlotte and Mrs Dashwood were full of such exclamations and observations as the subject naturally produced. Elinor did not say much; she could hardly determine what her own expectation of the event really was. She wondered what Mrs Ferrars would say and do, though there could be not a doubt of its nature, how Robert would conduct himself, and she was especially anxious to hear how Edward would react to the news, and whether he would support his brother. Marianne added in her exclamations and observations – she did not much like Lucy, whom she considered to be rather vulgar and insincere, but then she did not much like Robert either, whom she considered to be rather foolish and foppish, so perhaps those two were well-suited to each other. Margaret was surprisingly most put out and upset about the news, she exclaimed with horror over the secret engagement, and was almost inclined to sympathize with Mrs Palmer. She exclaimed that Robert had seemed such a fine, fashionable young gentleman, how could he have done such a thing as to get engaged in secret? The fourteen year old Margaret, who had already imbibed a good deal of Marianne's romance, without having much of her sense, actually had a secret schoolgirl crush on Robert, and had been dreaming dreams that when Elinor was married to Edward, she would have many opportunities to be with Robert, who was such a lively, cheerful young gentleman, even more attractive than his quieter and rather serious elder brother, though no doubt Edward was quite attractive also, and Elinor and Edward would do very well together. She had thought that perhaps in a couple of years time, when she would be coming out, Robert might hopefully find her quite attractive too, and by the time she would be seventeen – after all Marianne's friend Eliza had married at the age of seventeen. So the person who was most personally upset and affected by the news was the youngest Miss Dashwood.

That evening, Mr and Mrs John Dashwood and the two elder Miss Dashwoods were engaged to go to a theatre party and supper with the Crawfords and the Bertrams. There were fourteen members of the party altogether – besides Mr and Mrs Henry Crawford and Mr and Mrs Edmund Bertram, the eldest Mr Bertram was also in town on a brief visit -- he had some business to transact with the lawyers in relation to the Mansfield estate -- and he and his friend Mr Maddox, a quiet looking young gentleman, were engaged to escort the two Miss Dashwoods. The Hon Mr and Mrs John Yates were also present, as well as Mrs Rushworth and her escort, Mr Alymer, a handsome and gallant young gentleman. Mr Rushworth was away in Bath where he was spending a few days with his mother before returning with her to London.

Charlotte continued to be full of curiosity regarding the news of the uproar in the Ferrars family, wondering what would be the outcome of the disclosure of Robert Ferrars' secret engagement, and the next day brought the means of satisfying that curiosity, when Mr Edward Ferrars was announced as a visitor at Harley Street.