Sense and Sensibility Learn English through story level 5

chapter one

the dashwood family

for very many years

there had been dashwoods living in

sussex

in the south of england

the family owned a large area of land

around their country house norland park

recently the head of the family

an unmarried man of great age

had invited into his home his nephew

who was expected to inherit the house

and land

with his wife and children

the nephew mr henry dashwood

and his wife behaved kindly and

thoughtfully towards the old gentleman

not from interest in his fortune

but from goodness of heart

so that he was able to spend his last

years comfortably

with these pleasant and cheerful

companions

by his first wife

mr henry dashwood had one son

john

by his present wife

three daughters

john

a respectable serious young man

had received a large inheritance from

his mother

and had also added to his wealth by his

own marriage

to him therefore

the norland fortune was not as important

as to his sisters

who had very little money of their own

when the old gentleman died

it was discovered that he had not left

his fortune to henry dashwood to do what

he liked with

but only to use during his lifetime

on henry dashwood’s death

the inheritance would pass to his son

john

and to john’s son

a child of four years old

the old man had become fond of the small

boy on his occasional visits to noland

and so a spoiled child

was preferred to henry dashwood’s gentle

wife and daughters

in spite of their years of loving care

no unkindness had been intended however

and as a sign of his affection for the

girls the old gentleman left them one

thousand pounds each

at first mr henry dashwood was bitterly

disappointed

as he had wanted the fortune more for

his wife and daughters than for himself

but he soon realized that if he was

careful with money in the next few years

he could save enough to provide

generously for his family

unfortunately

he did not live to carry out this plan

as he survived his uncle by only one

year

and ten thousand pounds was all that

remained for his widow and daughters

just before his death he sent for his

son

and begged him to take care of his

stepmother and sisters

mr john dashwood had not the strong

feelings of the rest of the family

but such a request at such a time

naturally had an effect on him

so he promised to do everything he could

to make his father’s family comfortable

he was not a bad young man

but rather cold-hearted

and rather selfish

although he was in general well

respected

if he had married a pleasanter woman he

would probably have been even more

respected

and perhaps have become pleasant to

himself

but his wife was colder and more selfish

than he was

as soon as his father was dead and

buried

mrs john dashwood arrived unexpectedly

at norland with her child and her

servants

she wished to make it clear that

as the house belonged to her husband

from the moment of his father’s death

she did not need any invitation from her

mother-in-law

to a widow in mrs dashwood’s situation

this appeared

unforgivable in fact mrs dashwood a

sensitive and generous woman

felt so strongly about her

daughter-in-law’s unpleasant behavior

that she would have left the house

immediately

if her eldest daughter had not begged

her to reconsider

eleanor

this eldest daughter whose advice was so

useful

had a great deal of intelligence and

common sense

and although only 19

frequently acted as her mother’s advisor

to the advantage of the whole family

she was often able to persuade mrs

dashwood to hold back the violent

enthusiasms which were likely to lead

them all into difficulties

eleanor had an excellent heart

full of affection

and although her feelings were strong

she knew how to control them

this was something which her mother had

not yet learned to do

and which marianne one of her sisters

had decided never to learn

marianne was like eleanor generous

clever and sensitive

but unlike eleanor she was eager in

everything

her feelings were always strongly felt

and expressed

in this

she was very similar to her mother

eleanor saw with concern how little her

sister could control her feelings

but her mother loved marianne for her

sensibility

now after mr henry dashwood’s death

mrs dashwood and marianne encouraged

each other in the violence of their

unhappiness

becoming more and more miserable as they

remember the past and thought bitterly

of the future

elena too suffered deeply

but she could still make an effort to

discuss business with her brother

be polite to her sister-in-law

and try to persuade her mother to be

calmer

the youngest sister margaret was a

pleasant girl of 13

but as she already had some of

marianne’s sensibility

and not much of her intelligence

she seemed likely to grow up without her

sister’s advantages

mrs john dashwood now made sure that

everyone knew she was mistress of

norland

and that her mother-in-law and

sisters-in-law were there as visitors

her husband however reminded her of the

promise he had given to his dying father

that he would take care of his

stepmother and sisters

i had thought my dear he added

of giving the girls one thousand pounds

each

it would certainly be a generous present

for them

mrs john dashwood did not at all approve

of this

it would mean taking three thousand

pounds from the fortune of their dear

little boy

she begged her husband to think again

how could he rob his child and his only

child too of so much money

and how could the miss dashwoods who

were related to him only by half-blood

which she considered no relation at all

possibly expect him to be so generous

it was my father’s last request to me

replied her husband

i must keep my promise to him

i must do something for them when they

leave norland for a new home

well then do something for them

but you need not give them three

thousand pounds

consider that when you have given the

money

it will never come back your sisters

will marry and it will be gone from the

family forever

you are right my dear

said her husband seriously

perhaps i should give them half that

pounds would be a valuable present for

them

oh beyond anything

what brother on earth would do half as

much for his sisters

even if

really his sisters

and as it is only half blood

but you have such a generous nature

i would not wish to do anything mean

it is better on such occasions to do too

much rather than too little

even they themselves cannot expect more

there is no knowing what they may expect

said the lady

but the question is what you can afford

to do

certainly

and i think i can afford to give them

500 pounds each

as it is without my money they will each

have more than 3 000 pounds on their

mother’s death

a very comfortable fortune for any young

woman

indeed it is

and in fact i begin to think they need

no extra money at all

they will be able to live very

comfortably together on the interest of

their ten thousand pounds

that is very true

and therefore i wonder

whether on the whole

it would be more advisable to pay some

money regularly to my stepmother during

her lifetime

instead of giving money to the girls

a hundred a year would make her and the

girls while they live with her perfectly

comfortable

his wife hesitated a little over this

plan

that is certainly better than giving

1500 pounds all at once

but if mrs dashwood should live for

longer than 15 years

it would cost us more

she is very fit and healthy and only

just forty

and it is an unpleasant thing to have to

pay the money out every year

one feels one’s fortune is not one’s own

i believe you are right my love

whatever i can give them occasionally

will be a far greater assistance than a

yearly allowance

because they would only live more

expensively if they felt sure of

receiving a larger income

if i give them a present of 50 pounds

now and then i will i think

be keeping my promise to my father in

the fullest manner

to be sure you will

indeed to tell the truth

i am certain your father had no idea of

you’re giving them any money at all

the assistance he was thinking of was i

dare say looking for a comfortable

small house for them

helping them to move their furniture

and sending them occasional presence of

fish and meat in season

do consider mr dashwood how very cheaply

they will live

no carriage no horses and only one or

two servants

i cannot imagine how they will spend

half their money and it is foolish to

think of giving them more

they will much more be able to give you

something

i believe you are perfectly right said

mr dashwood

now i understand clearly what my father

meant

and he decided to offer no more to his

father’s widow and daughters than such

neighborly assistants as his wife

suggested

meanwhile his stepmother impatient to

leave norland which held so many

memories for her

had been looking for a suitable house to

move into not too far away

several houses

which she would have approved had

already been turned down by eleanor as

too large for their income and the

search continued

six months passed with the two families

living at norland

mrs dashwood came to dislike her

daughter-in-law more and more

and would have found it impossible to

live in the same house with her for so

long

if something had not happened to make

mrs dashwood want to keep her daughters

at norland for a while

she had noticed a growing attachment

between her eldest girl

and mrs john dashwood’s brother

a gentlemanly and pleasing young man

who had come to noland soon after his

sister’s arrival

and who had spent the greater part of

his time there since then

edward ferris was the elder son of a man

who had died very rich

but his future wealth was uncertain

because the whole of his fortune

depended on his mother’s wishes

neither of these facts influenced mrs

dashwood

it was enough for her that he loved her

daughter and that eleanor returned his

affection

edward ferris was not handsome

nor were his manners especially pleasing

at first sight

but when he lost his shyness

his behavior showed what an open

affectionate heart he had

his mother and sister wanted him to make

a fine figure in the world in some way

but edward was not ambitious

all his wishes were for home comforts

and the quietness of private life

fortunately he had a younger brother

robert who was more promising

mrs dashwood completely approved of

edward in spite of his quiet manner

which was so unlike the way she felt a

young man should behave

as soon as she saw the smallest sign of

love in his behavior to eleanor

she considered their serious attachment

as certain

and looked forward to their marriage in

the near future

in a few months my dear marianne she

said

eleanor will be married

we shall miss her but she will be happy

oh mama

how shall we manage without her

my love we shall live within a few miles

of her and see her every day

you will have a brother

a real affectionate brother but you look

serious marianne

do you disapprove of your sister’s

choice

perhaps i am a little surprised mama

he is very pleasant but there is

something missing

there is no fire in his eyes and i am

afraid mama he has no real taste

he does not seem very interested in

music

and i think he knows little of drawing

or painting

and he is so calm when we discuss or

read beautiful writing

it breaks my heart to hear him talk so

quietly and with so little sensibility

about things that matter so much to me

i could not be happy with a man who does

not share all my feelings eleanor may be

happy with him as she has not my

feelings but mama the more i know of the

world

the more i am certain i shall never see

a man i can really love

remember my love you are not 17 yet

it is too early in life to lose hope of

happiness

why should you be less fortunate than

your mother

eleanor herself felt that edward stood

very high in her opinion

she believed that he also felt warmly

towards her

but she was not sure enough of this to

be comfortable with her sisters and

mother’s dreams of marriage for her

edward sometimes appeared strangely

depressed when he was with her

which worried her a little

she knew that his mother was making life

difficult for him and would perhaps

disapprove of his marrying a woman with

no great fortune

but sometimes

she feared that he thought of her as no

more than a friend

marianne and her mother had no such

doubts

believing strongly that any intelligent

young man must love eleanor

and that love itself would solve all

problems

marianne indeed was quite horrified when

her sister cautiously described her

feelings for edward as liking and

respect rather than love

like him

respect him she cried

oh cold-hearted eleanor

why should you be ashamed of expressing

love

mrs john dashwood had also noticed the

attachment between her brother and

eleanor it made her uneasy

and she took the first opportunity of

upsetting her mother-in-law

by explaining her family’s high

ambitions for edward and the importance

of his marrying well

and the danger for any young woman

attempting to trap him into marriage

mrs dashwood could not prevent herself

from giving a sharp answer and left the

room at once determined in spite of the

inconvenience to remove herself and her

daughters from norland as soon as

possible

on the same day

she received a letter from sir john

middleton

a gentleman who was a distant relation

of hers

he wrote to offer her a small house near

his home in devonshire where she and her

girls could make their new home

although it was only a cottage

he promised to do anything necessary to

make it more comfortable

his letter was written in such a

friendly way

and she was so anxious to leave norland

and her unfeeling daughter-in-law

that after first asking elena’s opinion

mrs dashwood wrote to accept sir john

middleton’s kind offer

chapter 2

a new home

mrs dashwood took great pleasure in

informing her stepson and his wife that

she had found a house

and that she and her daughters

would soon trouble them no longer

mrs john dashwood said nothing

but her husband showed some surprise

i do hope he said politely

that you will not be far from norland

mrs dashwood replied with a smile

that they were going to devonshire

edward ferris who was in the room at the

time

turned quickly towards her when he heard

this

devonshire

he repeated

are you really going there

so far from here

and to what part may i ask

a place called barton

four miles north of the city of exeter

replied mrs dashwood

it is only a cottage

but i hope that many of my friends will

come to visit me there

she gave a very kind invitation to mr

and mrs john dashwood to visit her at

barton

and to edward she gave one with even

greater affection

although her recent conversation with

her daughter-in-law had made her

determined to leave norland as soon as

possible

she did not in the least intend that

edward and eleanor should be separated

by giving such a clear invitation to

edward she wished to show that her

daughter-in-law’s disapproval of the

attachment between edward and eleanor

had not had the smallest effect

mr john dashwood told his stepmother

again and again how extremely sorry he

was that she had taken a house so

distant from norland that he could not

give her assistance in moving her

furniture

he really did feel sorry

because he had decided to limit his

promise to his father to this one offer

of help

which would not now be of any use

the furniture was sent to devonshire by

ship

it mainly consisted of sheets dinner

plates books and a handsome piano of

marianne’s

mrs john dashwood was sorry to see the

boxes leave

she felt it unnecessary for mrs dashwood

who had such a small income to have any

good furniture at all

mrs dashwood took the house

barton cottage for 12 months

it was furnished and ready for them to

move into at once

all the necessary arrangements were

quickly made

eleanor advised her mother to sell her

carriage which with the horses would

cost too much to keep

and to limit the number of their

servants to three

two of the servants were sent to

devonshire immediately

to prepare the house for their

mistress’s arrival

on his deathbed

henry dashwood had told his wife of the

promise his son had made and mrs

dashwood had never doubted that jon

would keep that promise

now

as she and her daughters were about to

leave norland was a most suitable time

for him to offer them help

but mrs dashwood soon began to lose hope

he so frequently talked of the rising

costs of managing his house and land

that he seemed in need of more money

himself

rather than having any intention of

giving money away

soon they were ready to depart

and many were the tears that fell during

their goodbyes to the home they loved so

much

dear

dear norland

said marianne walking alone in the park

on their last evening

i shall miss you all my life

during the first part of their journey

to devonshire

they were too miserable to notice

anything

but when they entered barton valley

they became more cheerful and began to

show interest in the countryside that

would soon be part of their everyday

life

it was a pleasant green valley

with thick woods and open fields

after driving for more than a mile

they reached their house

barton cottage was well built

and in good condition

there were two sitting rooms downstairs

and four bedrooms

and two servants rooms upstairs

compared with norland it was certainly

poor and small

and the girls tears flowed as they

remembered their family home

but they soon dried their eyes and made

every effort to be happy

mrs dashwood was on the whole

very pleased with the house

but she looked forward to making some

changes

we can make ourselves quite comfortable

here for the moment she said

as it is too late in the year to start

any building work

to be sure the house is rather too small

for us

but perhaps next year if i have plenty

of money as i expect i shall

we may think about enlarging the sitting

rooms

and adding a new dining room and another

bedroom

that may be easily done

it is a pity the stairs are not more

handsome

but i suppose it would not be difficult

to widen them

i shall see how much i have saved in the

spring

it was not quite clear how all this work

could be done from the savings of an

income of 500 a year

by a woman who had never saved in her

life

so meanwhile

they were wise enough to accept the

house as it was

they spent their first day arranging

their things around them

to make themselves a home

soon after breakfast the next day

they received a visit from their

landlord the gentleman who owned barton

cottage

sir john middleton was a good looking

cheerful man of about 40

who seemed really delighted by their

arrival

he welcomed them to barton

offering them anything from his own

house and garden barton park that was

lacking at the cottage

he showed a warm interest in their

comfort and hoped that they would meet

his own family socially as often as

possible

his kindness was not limited to words

because soon after he had left them

a large basket full of fruit and

vegetables arrived from the park

followed by another of meat and fish

his wife lady middleton

came to visit them the next day

the dashwoods were of course very

anxious to see a person on whom so much

of their comfort at barton must depend

although at first they admired the

elegance of her appearance and her

manners they soon realized that she did

not have her husband’s warmth

or anything of interest to say

however there was no lack of

conversation

as lady middleton had wisely brought her

eldest child with her a fine little boy

of about six

as a result there was always something

to talk about

the ladies had to ask his name and age

admire his beauty

and ask him questions

which his mother answered for him

a child should be taken on every social

call in order to assist conversation

in the present situation it took at

least 10 minutes to determine whether

the boy was most like his father

or mother

and why

everybody thought differently

and everybody was astonished at the

opinions of the others

the dashwoods would soon be given the

chance to discuss the rest of the

children

as sir john had made them promise to

have dinner at the park the next day

barton park was about half a mile from

the cottage

it was a large handsome house where the

middletons lived in great comfort

neither of them had taste or any

interest in books or music

so john was a sportsman

lady middleton a mother

he could only go shooting for half the

year while his wife was able to spoil

her children all year round

he was so hospitable that they almost

always had relations or friends staying

in the house

but lady middleton’s main interest lay

in the elegance of her table

and her domestic arrangements

of which she was extremely proud

sir john’s enjoyment of society was much

more real than his wife’s

he took delight in collecting about him

more young people than his house would

hold

and the noisier they were

the better he liked it

barton park was famous for its summer

parties and excursions

and its winter dances

sir john was delighted with mrs dashwood

and her young pretty daughters

when they arrived at the park that

evening

he was at the door to welcome them

and repeated several times his concern

that he had been unable to get any

fashionable young men to meet them

there was he said

only one gentleman there

a particular friend who was staying at

the house

but who was neither very young

nor very sociable

he apologized for the smallness of the

party

and promised that it would never happen

again

luckily lady middleton’s mother had just

arrived

and as she was a cheerful pleasant woman

he hoped the young ladies would not find

the evening too dull

mrs jennings his mother-in-law

was a cheerful fat

rather vulgar old lady

who laughed and talked a great deal

during dinner she said many amusing

things about lovers and husbands

and hope the miss dashwoods had not left

their hearts behind them in sussex

colonel brandon sir john’s particular

friend

seemed as different from his friend as

mrs jennings was from her daughter

he was silent

and serious

his appearance however was not

unpleasing

in spite of his being in marianne’s and

margaret’s opinion an absolute old

bachelor

because he was on the wrong side of 35.

after dinner marianne was invited to

sing and play the piano

sir john was loud in his admiration at

the end of every song

and as loud in his conversation with

others while every song lasted

lady middleton frowned at him for

talking but then requested a song which

marianne had just finished

only colonel brandon listened

attentively without any false show of

delight

marianne felt a respect for him that the

others with their lack of taste did not

deserve

he clearly took pleasure in music

although perhaps not with her own depth

of feeling

however

she was reasonable enough to accept that

a man as old as 35 like the colonel

may well have outlived real feeling and

true enjoyment

mrs jennings was a widow with a

comfortable fortune

she had lived to see both her daughters

respectively married and now had nothing

to do

but to marry off the rest of the world

she spent most of her time planning

weddings for all the young people she

knew

and was remarkably quick at discovering

attachments

soon after her arrival at barton

this quickness enabled her to inform the

middletons and the dashwoods

that colonel brandon was very much in

love with marianne

she was perfectly sure of it

it would be an excellent marriage

as he was rich

and she was handsome

for a long time mrs jennings had been

eager to get colonel brandon well

married

and she was always anxious to get a good

husband for every pretty girl

the immediate advantage to herself

was that she could make endless jokes

against them both

at the cottage she laughed at marianne

and at the park she laughed at the

colonel

marianne herself did not know whether to

be amused or annoyed

it is such a silly accusation mama

and i think it very unfeeling of mrs

jennings to laugh so cruelly at old

colonel brandon he’s old enough to be my

father

my dear

said mrs dashwood smiling

i cannot think a man five years younger

than myself so extremely ancient as he

appears to you

but mama really

he must have long outlived any feelings

of love by now

if he ever had any when he was younger

when is a man to be safe from such cruel

jokes if age and bodily weakness cannot

protect him

bodily weakness

said eleanor

i know that he is older than we are

but surely you must accept that he still

has the full use of his arms and legs

did you not hear him complain of having

a bad back

my dearest child said her mother

laughing

it must seem to you quite astonishing

that my life has lasted to the great age

of 40.

mama be serious

i know very well that colonel brandon is

not old enough for his friends to worry

yet about losing him

he may live for another 20 years

but 35 should have nothing to do with

marriage

perhaps said eleanor 35 and 17 had

better not have anything to do with

marriage together but a single woman of

27 for example

could easily consider colonel brandon’s

35 years no disadvantage

a woman of 27 said marianne after a

moment’s thought can never hope to feel

true love again

and if her home is uncomfortable or her

fortune small

i suppose that she could accept the

duties of a nurse in order to become a

wife

it would be a marriage of convenience if

colonel brandon married such a woman

the world would be happy with it

but in my eyes it would be no marriage

at all

it seems a little hard said elena

reasonably

that you consider colonel brandon so ill

that he is in need of nursing

only because he happened to complain

yesterday of a pain in his shoulder

after all it was a cold wet day

marianne’s views remained the same

soon after this however when eleanor had

left the room

marianne spoke to her mother with some

urgency in her voice

mama

i am anxious about edward ferris

i am sure he is ill

we have now been here almost two weeks

and he still has not come to see eleanor

my dear be patient answered mrs dashwood

i did not expect him so soon and i feel

sure eleanor does not expect him either

when we were talking yesterday of a new

fireplace for the spare bedroom

she said there was no hurry

as the room would not be needed for some

time

how strange

what can be the meaning of it

how cold how calm their last goodbyes

were

and eleanor is so self-controlled

she is never sad or restless or

miserable

i cannot understand her

chapter 3

a handsome stranger

the miss dashwoods now began to feel

really at home at barton

they went walking

and practiced their drawing and music

with far greater enjoyment than at any

time since the death of their

father they did not have many visitors

except for those from barton park

as there were few other houses within

walking distance

there was in fact a large comfortable

looking house about a mile from the

cottage in the village of alanam

but they heard that its owner an old

lady of good character called mrs smith

was unfortunately not well enough to mix

in society

they were beautiful walks all around

them

in the green wooded valleys and on the

hills behind the cottage

one morning marianne and margaret

taking no notice of their mothers and

eleanor’s warnings of rain

decided to walk on one of these hills

they climbed to the top

delighted to see blue sky between the

clouds

and laughing at the wind that caught at

their hair and clothes

nothing in the world could be better

than this called marianne

what a pity mamar and elena did not come

with us

but in a few minutes the blue sky

disappeared

the dark clouds gathered

and driving rain began to beat down on

their faces

surprised and disappointed they were

forced to turn back

fortunately they were not far from home

it was just a matter of running with all

possible speed down the steep side of

the hill which led to their garden gate

at first marianne was ahead

but a full step brought her suddenly to

the ground

and margaret unable to stop herself

carried on down the hill and through the

garden gate

a gentleman who was out shooting was

walking up the hill when marianne’s

accident happened

he put down his gun and ran to help her

she had hurt her ankle and could not

stand

the gentleman offered his assistance

and in spite of marianne’s protests

took her up in his arms and carried her

down the hill

he took her straight into the house and

placed her carefully on a sofa in the

sitting room

eleanor and her mother rose in

astonishment as the stranger entered

carrying

marianne

while they both looked at him

secretly admiring his unusually handsome

appearance

he apologized most politely for his rude

entrance

even if he had been old ugly and vulgar

mrs dashwood would have been extremely

grateful to him for taking care of her

child

but the influence of his looks and

elegance touched her deepest feelings

she thanked him again and again

and asked the name of the person to whom

she owed so much

he replied that his name was willoughby

his present home was at alanam

and he sincerely hoped that she would

allow him to call tomorrow to enquire

after miss dashwood

permission was immediately given and he

then departed

to make himself still more interesting

in the middle of a heavy shower of rain

there was general admiration of his

manly beauty

marianne had seen less of his person

than the others because of her natural

confusion when he lifted her in his arms

but his appearance and behavior

seemed all that was perfect to her

her imagination was busy her thoughts

were pleasant

and the pain of a turned ankle went

unnoticed

when sir john next visited them he heard

all about marianne’s accident

and was eagerly asked whether he knew of

any gentleman of the name of willoughby

at alanam

willoughby

cried sir john

of course i do

he comes here every year

i shall invite him to dinner on thursday

what sort of young man is he

a good man to know i can tell you

he shoots well and there isn’t a better

rider in england

and is that all you can say for him

cried marianne

but what does he think

what are the interests close to his

heart

so john looked puzzled

well i don’t know as much as that about

him

but he’s pleasant and sociable and has

got the nicest little gun dog i ever saw

did you see his dog

but who is he asked eleanor

where does he come from where does he

live

has he a house at allenham

this time sir john had more exact

answers to give

he told them mr willoughby had no house

of his own in devonshire but stayed

there only while visiting the old lady

mrs smith at alanam

it appeared that he was related to her

and would inherit her fortune

yes sir john added to eleanor he is well

worth catching

he has a house and land in somerset as

well

and if i were you

i wouldn’t allow my younger sister to

have him in spite of all this falling

down hills

miss marianne must not expect to have

all the men to herself

brandon will be jealous if she does not

take care

i do not believe said mrs dashwood

smiling that either of my daughters will

make any attempts at what you call

catching him

it is not an employment to which they

have been brought up

men are very safe with us however rich

they are

i am glad to hear however that he is a

respectable young man whom we can meet

socially

i remember last christmas

said sir john at a little dance at the

park

he danced from eight till four without

once sitting down

and he was up again at eight to go

shooting

was he

cried marianne with shining eyes

that is what i like a young man who is

enthusiastic and eager in all he does

who never gets tired

i see how it will be

said sir john

you will be interested in him now

and never think of poor brandon

marianne’s rescuer as margaret called

him

arrived at the cottage early next

morning

and was received by mrs dashwood with

more than politeness

during his visit

willoughby rapidly became aware of the

sense elegance affection and domestic

comfort of the family to whom an

accident had introduced him

both eleanor and marianne had pretty

faces and lovely figures

but in marianne’s beautiful dark eyes

burned an eager fire which drew

willoughby to her

she could not be silent when he spoke of

music and dancing and showed no shyness

in their discussion

they soon discovered how many interests

and opinions they shared

and long before his visit came to an end

they were talking and laughing together

like old friends

willoughby visited barton cottage every

day after that

at first his intention was supposedly to

inquire politely after marianne’s health

but soon he pretended no longer and came

to spend the whole day at her side in

complete enjoyment of her company

they read they talked they sang together

and marianne found in willoughby all the

taste and sensibility which edward

ferrers unfortunately lacked

mrs dashwood considered him as faultless

as marianne did

even eleanor saw nothing wrong in him

except for the habit which marianne

shared

of being too ready to express an opinion

about other people

and of putting his personal pleasure

above social correctness

marianne now began to realize she had

been wrong to believe there was no such

creature as the perfect man

willoughby met her idea of perfection

exactly

and his behavior showed that he shared

her wishes for their future

her mother too had thoughts of their

marriage

and secretly congratulated herself on

having two such sons-in-law as edward

and willoughby

eleanor however was concerned to see

that mrs jennings had been right

and colonel brandon appeared to be

deeply in love with marianne

what hope could there be for a silent

man of 35

against a sociable one of 25

perhaps she pitted him even more

because willoughby and marianne seemed

determined to laugh at him for being old

and dull

brandon is just the kind of man said

willoughby one day whom everybody speaks

well of

and nobody cares for

he is respected by all the family at the

park however said eleanor sharply

and his conversation is always pleasant

but he has nothing of interest to say

cried marianne

he has common sense that is what i like

about him he is perfectly respectable

well informed and i believe sincere

well miss dashwood said willoughby

laughing i have three unanswerable

reasons for disliking colonel brandon

he told me it would rain when i wanted

it to be fine

he does not approve of my new carriage

and i cannot persuade him to buy my

horse

so in spite of your very sensible

opinion i shall go on disliking him

forever

when they moved to barton

the dashwoods never imagined that their

days would be so completely filled with

parties

visits and excursions

so john could not rest if there were

young people to amuse

and every day there was a boat trip or a

supper party or a drive in the

countryside or a dance at the park

in every meeting of the kind willoughby

was included which gave him the

opportunity to develop his connection

with the dashwood family to show his

deep admiration for marianne and to

receive in her behavior to himself

the clearest possible proof of her

affection

eleanor could not be surprised at their

attachment

she only wished it could be less openly

shown

and once or twice tried to suggest to

marianne that she should have more

self-control

but marianne and willoughby too

believed that real feelings should never

be hidden

and that it would be false to do so

when willoughby was present

marianne had eyes for no one else

elena’s happiness was not as great as

her sisters

in devonshire she had found no companion

who could make her forget the delights

of her former home and sussex friends

only colonel brandon came closest to

being the kind of friend she needed

he often fell into conversation with her

as he seemed to find some relief in

talking to her about marianne

your sister i understand does not

approve of second attachments

he said one evening his eyes fixed on

marianne who was dancing with willoughby

no replied eleanor her opinions are all

romantic

she believes that we fall in love once

only in our lives

but i hope that in a few years she will

become more sensible

that may happen

but when a romantic young mind is forced

to change

what serious results there can be

i speak from experience

i knew a young lady once who

here he stopped suddenly

and appeared to think he had said too

much

eleanor felt almost sure that his was a

story of disappointed love

and her pity for him grew

the next morning

eleanor heard a piece of news that

astonished her

marianne told her with the greatest

delight

that willoughby had promised to give her

a horse

so that he and she could go riding

together

she had not given a moment’s thought to

the cost of keeping the animal

or to what society might think of her

receiving such an expensive present from

a young man who was not a relation

it took helena some time to make her

understand that she could not possibly

accept the gift

but finally marianne agreed although

unwillingly

the next day elena gained a still

clearer picture of marianne’s attachment

to willoughby

margaret came excitedly to tell her that

she was sure marianne would marry

willoughby very soon

oh elena she cried i have such a secret

to tell you

i saw them last night after tea

mr willoughby was begging marianne for

something

and then he cut off a long lock of her

hair kissed it

and put it in his pocket

elena now felt sure they were engaged

and was only surprised that they had not

told their relations and friends

so john’s latest plan for their

amusement was to visit a very fine house

and garden called whitwell the following

day

a large group of them would go in

carriages taking food and drink with

them in baskets and a most enjoyable day

was expected

as whitwell belonged to colonel

brandon’s brother-in-law the colonel

would go with them

it appeared that he alone could arrange

for them to visit the house

unfortunately however

while they were at breakfast at the park

where the whole party had gathered

a letter was delivered to the colonel

he looked quickly at it

and hurried out of the room without a

word

in a few moments he returned looking

more serious than usual

and explained that urgent business

called him to london

and he would not therefore be able to

join the party visiting whitwell

he would not explain further in spite of

mrs jennings insistent questioning

everybody except eleanor tried hard to

persuade him to put off his business so

that the excursion could take place

but he could not be influenced

and left the house after wishing them a

good day

as the excursion was no longer possible

it was decided that the party would

drive around the countryside instead and

the carriages were ordered

willowbiz was first

and marianne never looked happier than

when she got into it

he drove away very fast

and they were soon out of sight

nothing more was seen of them

until their return in the afternoon

that evening as they all sat down to

dinner

mrs jennings spoke quietly to marianne

but loud enough for eleanor to hear

i have found you out miss in spite of

your cleverness

i know where you spent the morning

marianne blushed and said quickly where

mrs jennings smiled knowingly

i hope you like your house miss marianne

it is certainly very large

and when i come to see you in it i hope

you will have refurnished it

it badly needed new furniture when i was

last there

marianne turned away in confusion

mrs jennings laughed loudly and

explained that she had discovered from

the servants that marianne and

willoughby had gone to allen

and spent a considerable time going all

over mrs smith’s house

elena found this difficult to believe

marianne had never been introduced to

mrs smith

and it would have been very bad manners

for her to enter the house while mrs

smith was in it

however when she asked her sister

she found that the story was true

and marianne was quite angry with her

for doubting it

why should i not visit the house cried

marianne i never spent a pleasant a

morning in my life

i am afraid replied eleanor quietly but

firmly

that whatever is pleasant

is not always correct

after some minutes of serious thought

marianne said

perhaps eleanor you may be right i

should not have gone

but the rooms are lovely there is a

beautiful little sitting room which

would be delightful with modern

furniture

she would have described every room in

the house if eleanor had let her

eleanor had no time to wonder why

colonel brandon had been so suddenly

called away all her thoughts now

centered on marianne and willoughby’s

extraordinary silence about their

engagement

there seemed no reason why they should

not openly tell her mother and herself

even if they did not plan to marry very

soon

willoughby was not rich

indeed he often complained he was poor

so he might have to wait for his

inheritance before marrying

but this secrecy was so opposed to their

general ideas of openness and honesty

that eleanor began to doubt whether they

were really engaged

nothing could express more affection for

them all than williby’s behavior

he seemed to consider the cottage his

home and when mrs dashwood mentioned the

future building work she was planning

he appeared almost horrified and begged

her not to change even one stone

no mrs dashwood he cried

do not spoil this house

it is perfect as it is

remember what happiness i have known

here promise me you will change nothing

nothing at all

to please him mrs dashwood dutifully

promised

i am glad of your promise

now i would ask you one more thing

tell me that not only your home will

remain the same

but that i shall always find you and

your family unchanged

and that you will always consider me

with the kindness which has made you all

so dear to me

the promise was given

and willibis behavior that evening

was a proof of his happiness in their

society

chapter 4 departures and arrivals

the next morning mrs dashwood with two

of her daughters went to visit lady

middleton

marianne wished to remain at home

and her mother thinking that no doubt

willoughby had promised to call on her

while she was alone

was quite happy to agree

when they returned from the park they

found as expected

willowby’s carriage waiting outside the

cottage

but what they did not expect as they

entered the house

was to see marianne rush out of the

sitting room sobbing uncontrollably and

run upstairs

surprised and worried they went into the

room

where they found only willoughby

his face showed signs of the same strong

feelings that had moved marianne

his marianne ill

cried mrs dashwood

i hope not

he replied trying to look cheerful

indeed it is i who may expect to be ill

as i am now suffering under a very heavy

disappointment

i am unable to visit you any longer

my cousin mrs smith has this morning

decided to send me to london on business

as a poor dependent relation i must do

what she asks

i have already left elena

and now i have come to say goodbye to

you

this is very unfortunate

but mrs smith’s business will not keep

you from us for very long i hope

he reddened as he replied

you are very kind

but i have no hope of returning to

devonshire immediately

my visits to mrs smith are never

repeated within the year

and is mrs smith your only friend

is allenum the only house where you are

welcome

my dear willoughby

surely you do not need to wait for an

invitation to barton cottage

his color deepened

and with his eyes fixed on the ground he

only replied

you are too good

mrs dashwood looked at eleanor with

surprise and eleanor felt just as

astonished

after a moment’s silence willoughby

added confusedly

at present my

my time is not my own i cannot hope

he stopped

then smiling weakly he said

it is foolish to go on in this manner

i will not punish myself any longer by

remaining among friends whose society it

is impossible for me now to enjoy

hurriedly he said goodbye

and left the house

his carriage was soon out of sight

mrs dashwood’s concern and alarm at his

sudden departure were too great for her

to express

eleanor also felt extremely disturbed by

willoughby’s change behavior

one moment she feared that he had never

had any serious intention of marrying

marianne and the next that some

unfortunate argument had taken place

between him and her sister

but her strongest feeling was one of

pity for marianne

who must now be in the depths of the

most violent sorrow and her romantic

nature would consider it a duty to feed

and encourage her misery

soon mrs dashwood felt able to discuss

the situation with her eldest daughter

she was now more cheerful

and had persuaded herself that

willoughby was only leaving devonshire

on the orders of his rich relation

because mrs smith suspected and

disapproved of his engagement to

marianne

his dearest wish she went on will be to

return to barton as soon as he can

eleanor listening patiently agreed that

this was quite possible

but if they are engaged she said

although it may be necessary to hide the

truth from mrs smith

there is no reason to hide it from us

my dear child cried her mother

it is strange for you to accuse

willoughby and marianne of hiding their

feelings when you have accused them of

showing their feelings too openly

i want no proof of their affection said

eleanor

but of their engagement i do

i am perfectly happy with both

has not his behavior to marianne for at

least the last fortnight shown that he

loved her and considered her his future

wife

is it possible eleanor to doubt their

engagement

willoughby must be aware of your

sister’s love for him

how could he leave her perhaps for

months without telling her of his

affection

i confess said eleanor that everything

points towards their engagement

except for one thing there’s silence on

the subject

and for me that is the greatest

difficulty of all

oh eleanor i do not understand you

you prefer to believe in bad rather than

good

do you suspect willoughby

but is he not a man of honor and feeling

you cannot really think he is deceiving

marianne

i hope not

i believe not

cried eleanor i sincerely love

willoughby

and i find it painful to suspect his

intentions

perhaps indeed you are right

and there is a simple explanation for

his strange behavior this morning

they saw nothing of marianne until

dinner

when she took her place at the table

without saying a word

her eyes were red and her face pale

she avoided looking at anyone and could

neither eat nor speak

she continued in the depths of misery

all evening

any mention of anything to do with

willoughby made her burst into tears

instantly

and although her family were most

anxious for her comfort it was

impossible for them to keep clear of

every subject which her feelings

connected with him

marianne would have thought herself very

insensitive if she’d been able to sleep

at all the first night after parting

from willoughby she would have been

ashamed to look her family in the face

if she had not risen from her bed more

in need of rest than when she laid down

on it

but there was no danger of this

happening

she spent most of the night sobbing

bitterly

and got up with a headache

she passed the rest of the day and

several more days after that in feeding

her sorrow by playing all willowby’s

favorite songs

by reading the books they used to read

together

and by walking alone on the hills where

they used to walk

until her heart was so heavy

that no further sadness could be added

no letter from willoughby came

and none seemed expected by marianne

her mother was surprised

and eleanor again

began to worry

one morning about a week later

elena persuaded marianne to join her

sisters in a walk

as they went along the road away from

the cottage

they saw a gentleman riding towards them

and at once marianne cried out in

delight

it is he i know it is she ran eagerly to

meet him

but eleanor called out

marianne i think you’re wrong

it is not willoughby

but marianne would not listen

and continued running until she was

quite near the rider

when she stopped suddenly

she had realized it was not willoughby

and her disappointment was almost too

great to bear

just then the gentleman called to her

and she recognized edward ferrers

he was the only person in the world who

could at that moment be forgiven for not

being willoughby

and she smiled at him holding back her

tears

after the greetings however

she watched with growing surprise his

polite and distant behavior to eleanor

which was very unlike a lover’s

and when she heard that he had already

been in devonshire for a fortnight

without coming to see eleanor

she almost began to feel dislike for him

have you been to sussex recently

asked elena

i was at noland about a month ago

replied edward

how does dear dear norland look cried

marianne

dear dear norland said eleanor

probably looks much the same as it

usually does at this time of year

the woods and walks thickly covered with

dead leaves

oh cried marianne

those falling leaves gave me such

delight

how i used to love seeing them driven

around me by the wind

now there is no one to watch them no one

to care

it is not everyone said eleanor who has

your passion for dead leaves

they all returned to the cottage

together where edward received the

kindest possible welcome from mrs

dashwood

under her warm influence he began to

lose his shyness or coldness

and to become more like himself

but he still did not seem cheerful

this was noticed by the whole family

well edward

said mrs dashwood after dinner

what are your mother’s plans for you at

present

does mrs ferris still want you to be a

politician

no

i hope my mother realizes i can never do

that

i am afraid she and i will never agree

in our choice of a profession for me

as you know

i did not enjoy studying law

i have always preferred the church but

that is too ordinary for my family

so how are you to become famous

because that is what all your family

wants i understand

i shall not attempt it

i have no wish to be grand

or important

and i have every reason to hope i never

shall be

i know you are not ambitious edward

no

i wish like everybody else

to be perfectly happy but in my own way

greatness will not make me happy

how right you are cried marianne

what has wealth or greatness to do with

happiness

has very little said eleanor

but wealth has much to do with it

eleanor cried marianne shocked

money can only give happiness where

there is nothing else to give it

beyond answering our basic needs money

is of no use to us at all

perhaps said eleanor smiling we may

agree in the end

your basic needs and my wealth are very

much alike i expect

come

what is your basic figure

two thousand a year not more than that

eleanor laughed

two thousand a year

one is my wealth

i guessed what you would say

and yet two thousand a year is not a

large income a family cannot live on

less

the right number of servants a carriage

and horses for riding cannot be paid for

with less than that

elena smiled again

to hear her sister describing so

accurately her future life with

willoughby

during edward’s visit eleanor was

careful to behave to him with her usual

politeness and interest

but in her heart she was alarmed by his

coldness towards her

it was clear that he was unhappy

and she doubted very much whether he

still loved her

she could see however that his feelings

were confused

sometimes for a moment

he looked at her as he used to

and this gave her hope again

the next day

as marianne was passing some tea to

edward

she noticed a ring on his finger and

mentioned it

i never saw you wear a ring before

edward she cried

is that your sister’s hair in the ring

but surely hers is darker

edward blushed deeply

and looking quickly at eleanor said yes

it is fanny’s hair

it looks lighter than it really is

eleanor had met his eye and knew the

truth

she felt sure that the hair was her own

but it must have been taken from her

without her knowing

she was not in the mood however to

disapprove of this action

and changed the subject quickly

the dashwoods were sorry to hear that

edward had to leave them after only a

week

although he expressed his great pleasure

at seeing such old friends

and could give no good reason for his

departure

there seemed to be something forcing him

to leave

eleanor blamed his mother for his rather

odd behavior

his lack of cheerfulness could easily be

explained by his lack of independence

she wondered when if ever

his mother would finally drop all her

ambitions for him and allow him to make

his own choices in life

a more comforting thought was the memory

of his pleasant looks and words to her

during his visit

and above all

the proof of his affection that he wore

round his finger

in spite of the painfulness of edward’s

departure elena was determined to hide

her feelings and show a brave face to

the world

doing this did not lessen her sadness

but at least prevented her family from

worrying about her

marianne could not admire such behavior

so unlike her own

she believed that self-control was easy

for calm natures like eleanor’s

and simply impossible for passionate

ones like hers

one morning soon after edward had left

sir john and lady middleton and mrs

jennings came to visit the dashwoods

bringing with them mr and mrs palmer

charlotte palmer was mrs jennings

younger daughter

but was completely unlike her sister

lady middleton in every way

she was short and rather fat and had a

very pretty face and smiled or laughed

all the

time her husband was a serious looking

young man

who made no effort to please or be

pleased

he read the newspaper for most of the

visit

only lifting his head from time to time

to give a cross unsmiling answer to his

wife’s foolish questions

she however took an immediate liking to

eleanor and marianne and spent much time

in conversation with eleanor in

particular

when eleanor realized that their home

was in somerset near willoughby’s

she hoped to hear more about his

character

so she asked mrs palmer if they knew him

oh yes i know him extremely well replied

mrs palmer

not that i ever spoke to him indeed but

i have often seen him in town

everybody likes and admires him

i know very well why you ask

i am delighted that your sister is to

marry him

you know much more of the matter than i

do said ellen are surprised

if you have any reason to expect that

don’t pretend it’s not true because you

know it’s what everybody in london is

talking of

my dear mrs palmer

on my honor they all talk of it

i met colonel brandon on bond street and

he told me of it immediately

you surprised me very much

i would not expect colonel brandon to

give such information even if it were

true well when i met him i said colonel

i hear there is a new family at barton

cottage and mama says the girls are very

pretty and that one of them is engaged

to mr willoughby is it true

and he said nothing

but from his expression i knew it was

certain

of course i have known colonel brandon a

long time

i believe she added in a low voice

he would have been very glad to marry me

if he could

but mama did not think him a good enough

husband for me

in any case i am much happier as i am

mr palmer is just the kind of man i like

chapter five

lucy steele secret

the palmers returned to somerset the

next day

but it was not long before sir john had

more visitors at barton park

on a morning’s excursion to exeter

he and his mother-in-law had met two

young ladies the miss steeles

whom mrs jennings discovered to be

distant cousins

sir john always eager for society

immediately invited them to stay at the

park as soon as they were available

and most fortunately

they were able to accept the invitation

almost at

once the young ladies arrived

their appearance was by no means

unfashionable

their dress was elegant

and their manners were very polite

they were delighted with the house and

furniture and they happened to be so

madly fond of children that lady

middleton had an excellent opinion of

them by the time they had been at the

park for an hour

sir john hurried off to barton cottage

to tell the miss dashwoods

they are the sweetest girls in the world

he said

elena smiled at this

she knew that for sir john

the sweetest girls in the world were in

every part of england with every

possible kind of face figure and

character

so john wanted the whole family to walk

to the park immediately and look at his

guests

kind thoughtful man

it was painful to him even to keep a

third cousin to himself

but in spite of his efforts

he could only gain the dashwood’s

promise to visit the park in a day or

two

when the promised visit took place

they found nothing to admire in the

appearance of the elder miss steele who

was nearly 30 with a very plain face

however the younger miss lucy steele who

was not more than 23

had a considerable beauty

her face was pretty

she had a sharp quick eye

and she held herself with a certain air

elena soon noticed the pleasing manners

and constant attentions with which they

were winning lady middleton’s approval

they were full of praise for the beauty

and intelligence of her children

and full of admiration for lady

middleton herself

fortunately for those who use these

clever tricks

a fond mother can never hear enough

praise of her children and therefore

will swallow anything

lady middleton watched proudly as her

spoiled children pulled the miss steals

his hair stole their sewing scissors and

tore their books

she felt no doubt that the miss steels

were enjoying this quite as much as her

children

she was only surprised that eleanor and

marianne should sit so calmly without

taking any part in the enjoyment

how playful dear little william is she

said lovingly as her second boy

violently pulled ms steele’s finger

and here is my sweet anna maria such a

quiet little thing

she bent to kiss her daughter but

unfortunately a pin in her dress

scratched the child’s neck

violent screams rang out and the

missteels rushed to help the suffering

child

the little girl realized that the louder

she screamed the more attention she

would receive

and nothing could be done to calm her

finally her mother was forced to carry

her upstairs in search of her nurse

and the four young ladies were left in a

quietness which the room had not known

for many hours

poor little creature

said the elder miss steel

i do not think there was any real cause

for alarm said marianne firmly

what a sweet woman lady middleton is

said lucy steele

marianne was silent as it was impossible

for her to say what she did not feel

it was eleanor who was forced to reply

she is a very fond mother she said

truthfully

and the children cried lucy i love to

see children full of life and fun

i cannot bear them quiet

i confess replied eleanor that while i

am at barton park

i never think of quiet children with any

displeasure

a short silence was broken by the elder

miss steele who suddenly changed the

subject by saying

how do you like devonshire mustache wood

i suppose you were very sorry to leave

sussex

norland is a beautiful place is it not

we have heard said john admire it said

lucy quickly

eleanor was surprised that the miss

steele seemed to know so much about her

family

indeed it is a lovely place

and had you a great many handsome young

bachelors there

are our standstill

i’m afraid you may find it dull here

i do like a place with a lot of

good-looking young men

but they must dress well and behave

politely

i suppose your brother was quite an

elegant young man before he married

well replied elena

if he was before he married

he still is

because he has not changed at all

oh dear

i never think of married men being

handsome young men they have other

things to do

good heavens anne cried her sister

you can talk of nothing but young men

you will make miss dashwood believe you

think of nothing else

and she turned to another subject

this one meeting with the miss deals

would have been quite enough for elena

who disliked the vulgar freedom and

foolishness of the elder and the clever

pretenses of the younger

she left the park without wishing to

know them better

the miss steeles however thought

differently

and so did the sociable sir john

soon the young ladies of both houses

were sitting or walking together for an

hour or two almost every day

anxious that they should get to know

each other well

so john had helpfully informed the ms

steeles of all the details of the

dashwood’s lives

and soon ann steele congratulated elena

on her sister’s fortunate engagement to

a very fine young man

what a good thing to be married so young

she added

i hear he is extremely handsome

i hope you may have such good luck

yourself

but perhaps you have someone already

the miss stills also heard from sir john

with many smiles and jokes

about eleanor’s suspected attachment to

a young man who had recently visited

devonshire

his name is pharas whispered sir john so

that everyone could hear but it’s a

great secret

ferrous

repeated the elderly steel

mr ferros

your sister-in-law’s brother miss

dashwood

a very pleasant young man we know him

very well

how can you say that anne cried lucy who

nearly always corrected everything her

sister said

we have only seen him once or twice at

my uncle’s

eleanor was astonished

who was this uncle

where did he live

and how did they come to know edward

she wished very much to have the subject

continued but nothing more was said

about it and she preferred not to ask

questions herself

in the next few days

lucy missed no opportunity of engaging

eleanor in conversation

she was naturally clever and often

amusing and as a companion for half an

hour elena found her quite pleasant

however she knew nothing of books music

or painting in spite of her constant

efforts to appear well informed

elena pitted her for her lack of

education

but disliked her insincerity her

dishonesty and the narrow self-interest

that lay behind all her words and

actions

one day as they were walking alone

together lucy said

you will think my question strange no

doubt

but do you personally know your

sister-in-law’s mother mrs ferris

ellen i did think the question’s strange

i’ve never seen her

she answered a little distantly

then you cannot tell me what sort of

woman she is

no replied eleanor

cautious of giving her real opinion of

edward’s mother

i know nothing of her

lucy looked fixedly at eleanor

i wish i could tell you

i hope you’ll believe i’m not just being

curious or impolite

she hesitated

i do want your good opinion

and i’m sure

i would not have the smallest fear of

trusting you

indeed i would be very glad of your

advice

i am in such an uncomfortable situation

i am sorry you do not happen to know mrs

ferris

i am also sorry

said eleanor in great astonishment

if it could be of any use to you to know

my opinion of her

but i never understood you were at all

connected with that family

i do not wonder at your surprise

mrs ferris is nothing to me at present

but the time may come when we may be

very closely connected

she looked shyly down as she said this

with only a quick look sideways at

eleanor

good heavens cried elena

what do you mean

connected with mr robert ferris

and she did not feel much delighted with

the idea of such a sister-in-law

no

replied lucy not with mr robert ferris i

never saw him in my life but

fixing her eyes on eleanor with his

elder brother edward

elena looked at lucy in silent

astonishment

you must be surprised continued lucy

because of course he never mentioned it

to any of your family

it is a great secret

and none of my relations know of it

except anne

i would never have told you if i had not

trusted you completely

and i really thought i ought to explain

my behavior in asking about mrs farah’s

i know mr ferris will not be displeased

when he hears i have told you

because he has the highest opinion in

the world of all your family

and looks on you and the other miss

dashwoods quite as his own sisters

elena forced herself to speak calmly

may i ask how long you’ve been engaged

we’ve been engaged for four years now

four years elena still felt unable to

believe it

my sister and i often stayed at my

uncle’s house near plymouth here in

devonshire

edward came to study law there for four

years

and so we met and became engaged

i was very unwilling to enter into it as

you may imagine without his mother’s

approval

but i was too young and loved him too

well to be as cautious as i ought to

have been

dear edward

look

i carry his picture everywhere with me

she took from her pocket a small

painting and showed it to eleanor

eleanor’s last doubts of the truth of

lucy’s story disappeared as she

recognized edward’s face

you can’t think how i’m suffering

continued lucy

everything is so uncertain

and we see each other so infrequently

i wonder my heart is not broken

here she put a hand to her eyes

but eleanor did not feel sympathetic

sometimes lucy added i think it would be

better for both of us if i broke off the

engagement completely

she looked sharply at her companion

but then i cannot bear the thought of

making him miserable

and to me too

he is so very dear

what would you advise me to do miss

tashwood

i am afraid i cannot advise you in such

a situation

you must decide for yourself poor edward

his mother must provide for him one day

but he’s so depressed about his future

did you not think him unhappy when he

arrived at barton recently

yes

said eleanor aware of yet another fact

in support of lucy’s story

he had been staying with us at my

uncle’s

it made him so miserable not being able

to stay more than a fortnight and seeing

me so upset

he still feels just the same

i heard from him before i left exeter

taking a letter from her pocket

she waved the envelope in eleanor’s

direction

eleanor recognized edward’s writing

and finally had to accept that they must

be engaged

her heart sank within her

poor edward does not even have a picture

of me lucy went on although i have his

but i gave him a lock of my hair in a

ring recently and that was some comfort

to him he said

perhaps you noticed the ring on his

finger

i did

said elena

her voice was calm

but her calmness hid an unhappiness

greater than she had ever felt before

she was shocked

confused

and miserable

here their conversation ended and

eleanor was left alone to think

she felt sure that edward’s affection

was still hers

he certainly loved her

and had never intentionally deceived her

unfortunately he was now tied by an

early and foolish engagement to a pretty

but insincere vulgar and selfish girl

whose main interest lay in his future

income

elena’s tears flowed more for edward

than herself

she had lost her chance of happiness

with him

but would only be miserable for a time

while he had nothing at all to look

forward to in life

over the next few days eleanor took

great care to hide her unhappiness

she was glad to spare her family the

shocking news of edward’s secret

engagement

as she knew that their affection and

sorrow would only add to her misery

at convenient moments she returned to

the subject in quiet conversation with

lucy

she learned that lucy was determined to

hold edward to the engagement

and that lucy was jealous of her because

edward apparently always spoke of her

with great admiration

indeed

what other reason could lucy have for

telling eleanor her secret

if not to warn her to keep away from

edward

elena realized with great sadness

that edward was not only without

affection for his future wife

but that he had not even the chance of

being reasonably happy in marriage

chapter six

elena and marianne in london

mrs jennings now began to make plans to

return to her house in london

and quite unexpectedly invited the elder

miss dashwoods to stay with her there

i’ve set my heart on it she said in her

comfortable way

we shall have a very pleasant time

together i know

and if you do not like to go visiting

with me you can always go with one of my

daughters

i have had such good luck finding

husbands for my girls that i am sure

your mother will think me a suitable

person to look after you

if i don’t get at least one of you

married it won’t be my fault

eleanor was unwilling to accept

as she knew that her mother would miss

her and marianne very much

she was also aware that edward and the

miss steeles would be in london at that

time and wish to avoid meeting them

but marianne’s eagerness to see

willoughby who would most likely be in

town by then gave mrs dashwood an

excellent reason for insisting that they

should accept mrs jennings generous

invitation

and so it was agreed

during the three-day journey eleanor had

plenty of opportunity to compare

marianne’s delightful expectations with

her own acceptance of a cheerless future

it was clear from marianne’s bright eyes

and happy smiles that she depended on

finding willoughby in london

and eleanor determined to find out more

about his character and intentions

on their arrival at mrs jennings

handsome house the young ladies were

given charlotte’s old room a large and

comfortable apartment

eleanor immediately sat down to write to

her mother and marianne also sat down

with pen and paper

i am writing home marianne said eleanor

perhaps you should put off writing for a

day or two

i am not writing to mama replied

marianne quickly

eleanor realized marianne must be

writing to willoughby

and thought with pleasure that the fact

of their corresponding must mean they

were engaged

the letters were finished and sent to

the post

during the rest of the evening marianne

appeared very agitated

she ate almost nothing and seemed to be

anxiously listening to the sound of

every carriage

suddenly after dinner there was a knock

on the front door

and marianne jumped up moving eagerly

towards the sitting room door

she could not help crying oh elena it is

willoughby

and seemed almost ready to throw herself

into his arms when colonel brandon

entered

it was too great a shock to bear with

calmness and she immediately left the

room

elena greeted the colonel

she was particularly sorry that a man so

in love with her sister

should see that marianne felt nothing

but bitter disappointment in meeting him

he was clearly astonished and concerned

to see marianne leave the room in such a

way

is your sister ill

he asked anxiously

eleanor answered unwillingly that she

was

and talked of headaches and

overtiredness and anything that could

reasonably explain her sister’s behavior

their conversation continued on more

impersonal subjects

until mrs jennings entered the room with

all her usual noisy cheerfulness

oh colonel said she

i am so glad to see you

and you see

i have brought two young ladies with me

your friend miss marianne is here too

you will not be sorry to hear that

i don’t know what you and mr willoughby

will do about her between you

but colonel

where have you been since we saw you at

barton park

come

let’s have no secrets among friends

he replied politely but gave no real

answer and did not stay long

the ladies all agreed to go to bed early

the next morning marianne looked happy

again

yesterday’s disappointment seemed

forgotten in the cheerful expectation of

what was to happen that day

they spent the morning shopping in a

fashionable part of london with mrs

palmer

during this time marianne was restless

and inattentive always looking out at

the street and wildly impatient to be at

home again

as soon as they returned she ran in

eagerly

has no letter been left for me she asked

the servant

no miss he replied

are you quite sure no card or letter or

note

how very strange

she said in a low disappointed voice

strange indeed

elena thought worriedly

if willoughby is in town

why does he not come alright

oh my dear mother you must be wrong to

permit an engagement between a daughter

so young and a man so little known to

continue in such a doubtful and

mysterious manner

the rest of the day marianne seemed

agitated unable to concentrate on

anything

when they met at breakfast the next

morning mrs jennings said

if this sunny weather goes on much

longer sir john will not want to leave

barton to come to london

it’s a sad thing for a sportsman to lose

a day’s shooting

that is true

cried marianne suddenly cheerful

i had not thought of that

this fine weather will keep many

sportsmen in the country

but now it is january it cannot last

i expect we shall have frost soon and

then they will all come to town

why it may even freeze tonight

during the next few days eleanor was

both amused and saddened to see

marianne’s newfound interest in the

weather

the wind has changed has it not eleanor

i feel sure it is colder than this

morning

i think we shall have a frost tonight

mrs jennings was always very kind to her

two young guests

her domestic arrangements were generous

and her friends were pleasant if a

little dull

colonel brandon visited them almost

every day

he came to look at marianne and talk to

eleanor

who saw with concern his continued

affection for her sister

about a week after their arrival they

discovered willowby’s card on the table

when they return from their mornings

drive

good heavens cried marianne he has been

here while we were out

from this moment her mind was never

quiet

the expectation of seeing him every hour

of the day made her unfit for anything

she insisted on being left at home the

next morning when the others went out

when a note was delivered the next day

she stepped quickly forward to take it

for me she cried

but it was for mrs jennings and she was

again disappointed

you are expecting a letter then said

eleanor unable to keep silent any longer

yes

a little

not much

there was a short pause

you have no confidence in me marianne

elena how can you say that you have

confidence in no one

me

replied eleanor in some confusion

indeed marianne i have nothing to tell

nor i answered marianne firmly so our

situations are alike

neither of us has anything to tell you

because you communicate nothing and i

because i hide nothing

and eleanor aware that she had promised

not to tell lucy steele’s secret

felt she could not demand greater

openness from marianne than she was

herself ready to offer

the next evening was spent at a dance at

lady middleton’s london home

once marianne realized willoughby was

not present

she took no interest in any of the

guests and complained that she found

dancing too tiring

but worse was yet to come

on their return mrs jennings told them

that willoughby had been invited

and expressed her surprise that he had

not appeared

marianne looked extremely hurt

and eleanor decided to write to their

mother asking her to find out the truth

from marianne

elena had only just finished her letter

the next morning when colonel brandon

arrived

marianne who hated visitors of any kind

except one left the room before he

entered it and eleanor found herself

alone with him

he sat for a time without saying a word

and then asked her in an agitated manner

whether he should congratulate her on

gaining a brother-in-law

elena was not prepared for such a

question and asked him what he meant

he tried to smile as he continued

your sister’s engagement to mr

willoughby is very generally known

her own family do not know it elena

answered

surprised he said

i am so sorry

i fear you may think me impolite

i had not supposed any secrecy was

intended as they openly correspond

just now when the servant let me in i

saw an envelope in his hand with mr

willoughby’s address on it in your

sister’s writing

i came to inquire but i am afraid i know

the answer

is it impossible for me to

but i would have no chance of succeeding

tell me i beg you that it is all

arranged then i shall have no choice but

to hide my feelings

i

i am not astonished to hear of their

correspondence

replied eleanor choosing her words

carefully

and i am well aware of the affection

they have for each other

although they have not yet informed us

of the details of their engagement

he listened silently

i wish your sister all imaginable

happiness

and i hope that willoughby will try to

deserve her

he said in a voice full of feeling and

then rose to leave

in the next few days willoughby neither

came nor wrote

marianne was losing hope becoming

depressed and careless of her appearance

she took no pleasure in dressing for a

party she and eleanor were to attend

with lady middleton

when they arrived in the hot crowded

room

she sank into a chair not even looking

at the other guests

eleanor however saw willoughby standing

nearby in conversation with a very

elegant young lady

she turned to marianne who noticed him

at that moment

her whole face shone with sudden delight

and she would have run to him at once if

her sister had not caught hold of her

good heavens

marianne cried he is there oh why does

he not look at me why cannot i speak to

him

i beg you be calm said eleanor try to

hide your feelings

but this was impossible for marianne

she sat there her anxiety and impatience

written clearly on her face

at last willoughby turned round and

looked at them both

marianne jumped up and held out her hand

affectionately to him

he came closer

and spoke to eleanor rather than her

sister

asking in a hurried manner after mrs

dashwood

marianne blushed deeply and cried

what is the meaning of this willoughby

will you not shake hands with me

he could not avoid it then but he held

her hand only for a moment

i did myself the honor of calling on you

last week when you were unfortunately

not at home

but have you not received my letters

cried marianne in the wildest anxiety

there must be some terrible mistake tell

me willoughby i beg you what is the

matter

he looked ashamed

but on catching the eye of the young

lady with whom he had been talking his

expressions seemed to harden

yes he said

i had the pleasure of receiving

information of your arrival in town

which you were so good as to send me

and turned away to join his friend

marianne looking horribly white

was unable to stand and eleanor helped

her to a chair

soon willoughby was seen to leave the

party and as marianne was clearly unwell

elena asked lady middleton to take them

home

nothing was said between the sisters as

marianne was suffering too much to speak

elena now realized that for willoughby

the attachment was over

and she felt extreme distaste for his

manner of ending it

neither sister slept much that night

and it was still dark when eleanor was

woken by the sound of agitated sobbing

she saw marianne only half dressed

writing as fast as a constant flow of

tears would permit her

marianne

may i ask

said elena gently

no eleanor

ask nothing

you will soon know all

this was said with a sort of desperate

calmness which lasted only as long as

she spoke

it seemed probable that she was writing

for the last time to willoughby

the letter was given to a servant to be

delivered by hand and the sisters went

down to breakfast

soon afterwards a letter arrived from

marianne

who went deathly pale and instantly ran

out of the room

mrs jennings laughed comfortably

is that a love letter from willoughby

well well i never saw a young woman so

passionately in love in my life

i hope he won’t keep her waiting much

longer

eager to know what willoughby had

written

eleanor hurried to their room

marianne was lying on her bed sobbing

violently

eleanor took her sister’s hand

kissed her affectionately several times

and burst into tears herself marianne

although unable to speak

seemed to feel her sister’s loving

sympathy

and silently gave her willoughby’s

letter to read

my dear madam

i have just had the honor of receiving

your letter for which i thank you

i am concerned to find there was

anything in my behavior last night that

you did not approve of

and i beg your forgiveness

i shall always remember my former visits

to your family with the most grateful

pleasure

but i hope i have never given anyone

reason to think that i felt more for you

than i ever expressed

you will accept that i could never have

meant more

when you understand that my affections

have long been engaged

and it will not be many weeks before the

lady and i are married

i obey your orders to return your

letters

and the lock of hair which you so kindly

offered me

your obedient servant john willoughby

elena was horrified

she had expected a confession

explanations and reasons

but not expressed in a manner so far

from every honorable and gentlemanly

feeling

how could willoughby have written a

letter so cruel

so hurtful

it was a relief to her that marianne had

escaped any connection with such a man

she turned to her sister who now felt

able to speak

poor eleanor

how unhappy i make you

i only wish there were anything i could

do which might be of comfort to you

oh eleanor

i am so miserable

said marianne

before her voice was completely lost in

passionate and bitter sobbing

calm yourself dear marianne

think of how much more you would have

suffered if the discovery of his real

character had come at the end of your

engagement

engagement

cried marianne there has been no

engagement

he has not made or broken any promise to

me

but he told you that he loved you

yes

no

never absolutely

he never said it in so many words

but every day i read it in his eyes

i felt myself as firmly engaged as if

lawyers had written the agreement for us

unfortunately he did not feel the same

he did eleanor for weeks and weeks he

did

this lock of hair which he says i

offered him he begged and begged me for

it on his knees

and now oh

oh

eleanor was quite alarmed for her

sister’s health as the violence of her

sobbing grew

but she managed to persuade her to take

some medicine to calm her restless pain

of mind and body

kind mrs jennings showed real concern

when she visited the patient

she had heard that marianne’s rival was

a miss grey

a young woman with fifty thousand pounds

a year and that willoughby had seriously

overspent on his carriages and horses

and needed money urgently

mrs jennings had no words hard enough to

describe his behavior

she was sincerely sorry she had joked so

often about marianne’s attachment

but with the return of her natural

cheerfulness hoped that it would all be

for the best because now marianne could

marry colonel brandon after all

chapter 7

the truth about willoughby

the next day marianne felt just as

miserable and could talk about nothing

but willoughby

with affectionate words elena encouraged

her to talk about her feelings

marianne was determined to avoid mrs

jennings presence however

she cannot feel eleanor she cried

her kindness is not sympathy

she is only interested in me because she

will enjoy telling her friends all the

details of my sad situation

it is unfortunate that many people of

excellent intelligence and character

like marianne are neither reasonable nor

fair

then something happened after breakfast

which sank mrs jennings still lower in

marianne’s opinion

the sisters were in their room when mrs

jennings hurried in holding out a letter

in her hand and with a cheerful smile on

her face

now my dear she cried i bring you

something that i am sure will do you

good

at once marianne imagined a letter from

willoughby full of affection and

believable explanations

instantly followed by willoughby himself

who would throw himself passionately at

her feet

the work of one moment was destroyed by

the next

in front of her eyes was her mother’s

writing

never unwelcome till then and in the

bitterness of her disappointment she

felt she had reached the depths of her

suffering

she could not speak

and the tears poured down her face

mrs jennings was not at all aware of

what she had done

and with many kind words of sympathy

soon left the miss dashwoods to read the

letter together

it brought them no comfort

as it expressed mrs dashwood’s complete

confidence in and affection for

willoughby

marianne’s tears flowed even faster when

she thought how shocked and saddened her

dear mother would be to hear the news

she was now very eager to return home to

devonshire

eleanor sat down with a heavy heart to

write to her mother again

telling her how willoughby had behaved

and asking what they should do

just then

there was a knock on the front door

and marianne looking out the window saw

colonel brandon outside

she hurried away to her room and eleanor

remained to greet him

he seemed disturbed and unhappy and

asked anxiously after marianne

i have come hoping to find you alone

he said in some confusion

because

my only wish is to give comfort no not

comfort

to support your sister in this difficult

time

my feeling for her for yourself

for your mother

will you allow me to prove it by telling

you some details of

of

if i did not consider it useful i would

not bother you

he stopped

i understand you said eleanor

you have something to say about mr

willoughby that will open his character

to us

telling me would be the greatest proof

of friendly feeling for marianne

i beg you

let me hear it immediately

i must tell you a little about myself

first

perhaps you remember at barton park when

i mentioned a young lady i once knew

she was very like your sister with an

eager mind a warm heart and great

sensibility

she was a distant cousin of mine

and from our earliest days we played

together and loved each other

but at 17 she was married

against her wishes

to my brother

just before the wedding

she and i planned to run away and get

married secretly

but my father discovered the plan and

sent me away to join the army

it was an extremely unhappy marriage

my brother did not love or respect her

and spent his time on pleasure’s most

unsuitable for a husband

she was very young

had no friends or family to advise her

i had been sent abroad by then

and my brother’s bad example was always

with her

i cannot describe the shock i received

when i heard two years later

of her divorce

he could not speak for a moment

and when he saw elena’s concern and

sympathy

took her hand and kissed it gratefully

when i returned to england three years

later

i began to search for her

but she was no longer with her first

seducer

the man for whom she had left her

marriage

there was every reason to fear she had

left him

only to sink deeper into a life of

dishonor

after six months however i did find her

in a debtor’s prison

she was so changed

so thin

so ill

she had only a short while to live

so i made sure she was properly looked

after

and i was with her in her last moments

he stopped for a moment to control

himself then went on

with a firmer mind and a happier

marriage

she could have been everything you will

live to see in your sister

she left to my care her little girl

eliza

the child of her first seducer

i sent elisa to school

and then put her in the care of a very

respectable woman living in the country

she is now 17.

imagine my horror when she suddenly

disappeared a year ago

for eight long months i searched and

found nothing

you can imagine what i thought and

feared

and how i suffered

good heavens

cried eleanor

could

willoughby the first news of eliza came

in the letter i received at barton park

on the morning of our planned excursion

to whitwell

that was why i left so suddenly

willoughby did not know that i was

called away to help someone he had made

poor and miserable

but if he had known would he have cared

no

he had done what no man of feeling would

do

he had left the girl whose innocence he

had seduced

left her with no home no friends

and no money

this is beyond everything

cried elena

now you understand what he is like

imagine what i have felt all these weeks

knowing his character and seeing your

sister as fond of him as ever

who can tell what his intentions were

towards your sister

one day she will doubtless feel grateful

when she compares her situation with

that of my poor eliza

at least there is no dishonor in your

sister’s suffering and every friend of

hers must feel concerned for her

unhappiness and respect for her bravery

and bearing it

elena thanked the colonel warmly for his

kind

words have you she continued

seen willoughby since you left barton

yes

once

he replied seriously

as eliza had confessed to me the name of

her seducer

i accused him of dishonorable behavior

and challenged him to a duel

we met by appointment

but both of us returned unwounded

and my poor eliza has had the child she

was expecting

and now remains in the country

after this the colonel left

and eleanor very soon passed on the

details of the conversation to her

sister

the effect was not quite what she had

hoped

marianne listened attentively and

appeared to accept willowby’s guilt

she no longer avoided the colonel when

he came to the house

and talked to him in a gentle pitying

voice

but she seemed even more depressed

now that willoughby’s good character had

been lost as well as his heart

mrs dashwood’s letter of reply arrived

next day

her disappointment was almost more

painful than marianne’s and her anger

even greater than eleanor’s

but she advised them not to shorten

their stay with mrs jennings which had

been expected to last five or six weeks

as a speedy return to barton would only

remind marianne of former happy times

with willoughby

she also hoped that eleanor would see

more of the ferris family who would soon

be arriving in london

sir john mrs jennings and mrs palmer all

spoke forcefully about willoughby and

determined to have nothing to do with

him ever again

they talked so much about him however

that it was a happy relief to eleanor

when lady middleton showed only calm and

polite on concern

whenever the subject was discussed she

would say gently

it is very shocking indeed

but privately she was already planning

to visit mrs willoughby who would be a

woman of elegance and fortune

mrs jennings was disappointed to see

that the colonel did not look more

cheerful now that he no longer had a

rival for marianne

there seemed to be a better

understanding between the elder miss

dashwood and the colonel

and mrs jennings who had quite forgotten

edward ferrers began to think that

eleanor would become mrs brandon

a fortnight after willib’s letter had

arrived eleanor had the painful duty of

informing marianne that he was married

marianne received the news bravely at

first and said nothing

but the tears came later as wildly and

as passionately as before

about this time eleanor was sorry to see

the miss stills arrive in london as

their presence always gave her pain

lucy pretended to feel great delight in

finding them in town and eleanor had to

use all her self-control to answer

politely

a pleasanter meeting took place a little

later when their brother john dashwood

came to visit them at mrs jennings

he inquired after their health and their

mothers

and was introduced to colonel brandon

who happened to be there

as it was a fine day he asked eleanor to

take a short walk with him

as soon as they were out of the house

his questions began

who is colonel brandon is he a man of

fortune

yes

he has a large house with some land

and i believe about two thousand pounds

a year

i think eleanor i will soon be

congratulating you on making a very

respectable marriage

he seems most gentlemanly and he likes

you i’m sure of it

he has not the smallest wish to marry me

you are wrong eleanor

a very little effort on your side will

catch him

some of those little encouragements

which ladies can so easily give will fix

him in spite of the smallness of your

fortune

you should try for him

how amusing if fanny had a brother and i

had a sister marrying at the same time

is mr edward ferris

ellen said calmly going to marry

it is not actually arranged yet but the

lady is miss morton

lord morton’s only daughter with thirty

thousand pounds of her own

edward’s mother will most generously

allow him a thousand a year if he

marries miss morton

i wish we could live so comfortably

i’m afraid our income is not large

enough for us to live as we would like

and he shook his head sadly at the

thought of his own difficulties

the following week mr and mrs john

dashwood gave a grand dinner party

the middletons mrs jennings colonel

brandon the miss dashwoods and the miss

steeles were all invited

eleanor and lucy both knew that mrs

ferriss would be present as

well pity me dear miss stashwood

whispered lucy as they walked up the

stairs

in a moment i shall see the person on

whom all my happiness depends

my future mother-in-law

mrs ferris was a little thin woman with

a disagreeable expression

she was not a woman of many words but

she made it very clear that she strongly

disliked eleanor and has strongly

approved of lucy

if she knew lucy’s secret thought

eleanor amused how she would hate her

she felt almost relieved that she could

not now hope to become edward’s wife

with such a mother-in-law

the next morning eleanor received a

visit from lucy who had been so

delighted by mrs farah’s welcoming

behaviour to her that she felt she

simply had to tell her dear friend about

it

she was so kind to me did you not notice

it and your sister-in-law too what

elegant delightful women they are

before eleanor could bring herself to

reply

the door opened and edward walked in

it was a very difficult moment for the

three of them

but eleanor took control of the

situation

anxious to show that nothing was wrong

she welcomed him in her usual way

lucy kept silent

watching eleanor narrowly out of the

corner of her eye while edward did not

know what to say in his confusion and

could not keep the conversation going

soon eleanor decided bravely to leave

the engaged couple alone for a while and

went to fetch marianne

rushing delightedly into the room

marianne cried dear edward

this is a moment of great happiness

and looked lovingly at him and her

sister

there was a short silence

my dear edward marianne continued

why did you not come last night to your

sister’s dinner party we were all there

i had

an appointment

somewhere else

an appointment

but was that so important when such

friends wanted to see you

perhaps miss marianne said lucy smoothly

you think young men never keep their

appointments or their promises

eleanor was very angry

but marianne just answered

no i trust edward he is the most

thoughtful unselfish person i have ever

met

he would never knowingly hurt anyone i

know

this praise was so unacceptable to

edward that he very soon got up to leave

and eleanor had every reason to expect

that this painful meeting would not be

repeated

john and fanny dashwood continued to see

eleanor and marianne at london parties

and dances

and john began to wonder about inviting

his sisters to stay for a few days

fanny however was astonished at this

suggestion

my love

i would ask them with all my heart if it

was possible

but i had just decided to ask the ms

steeles to stay with us

we can ask your sister some other year

you know mr dashwood agreed at once and

fanny delighting in her escape and proud

of her quick thinking

wrote to invite lucy and her sister

this made lucy really happy

such an opportunity of being near edward

and his family was the most useful thing

in the world for her

and when the invitation was shown to

eleanor

she began for the first time to share

lucy’s expectations

and prepared herself to hear officially

of the engagement

chapter 8

edwards engagement

mrs jennings was very busy at this time

as her daughter charlotte had just had a

baby and was clearly in need of a fond

mother’s advice

she visited charlotte at least twice a

day

and it was at the palmer’s house that

she heard a most interesting piece of

news

she hurried excitedly back to tell

eleanor

my dear miss dashwood have you heard

your sister-in-law is ill

charlotte’s doctor told me and do you

know why

it appears that edward ferrers the young

man i used to joke with you about has

been engaged for over a year to lucy

steele

and no one knew a word of the matter

except her sister anne

could you have believed such a thing

possible

what happened was this

the miss steeles are staying with your

brother and his wife as you know

anne who is a kind creature but of no

great intelligence thought that there

would be no difficulty as fanny dash

would seem to like lucy so much so she

told her all about the engagement

well

your sister-in-law fell onto the floor

and started sobbing and screaming so

violently that your brother had to send

for the doctor

lucy and anne were told to pack their

bags and leave at once

of course the ferris family wanted

edward to marry that rich miss morton

but i have no pity for them

i cannot bear people who think money or

greatness is important

there is no reason why edward should not

marry lucy

she knows better than anyone how to make

the most of everything

and if edward’s mother allowed him 500

pounds a year they could live

comfortably

mrs jennings to elena’s relief no longer

suspected her of having any interest in

edward

but she could talk of nothing else

eleanor knowing that marianne would be

fierce in her anger against edward was

now anxious to tell her sister the truth

and to prepare her to hear the subject

disgust

marianne listened to eleanor’s story

with horror and cried without stopping

for some time edward seemed a second

willoughby to her

she could not understand his behavior or

accept that he could feel affection for

such a person as lucy

how long have you known this eleanor she

asked

four months

lucy told me of her engagement at barton

and i promised to keep it secret

what

all the time you were looking after me

in my misery this has been on your heart

how could you bear

it by feeling that i was doing my duty

i had to keep lucy’s secret

and i did not want to worry my family

and friends

four months

and yet you loved him

yes but i loved my family too

and i was glad to spare them the sorrow

of knowing how i felt

now i no longer feel unhappy

i do not consider edward has behaved

badly in any way

and i wish him every happiness

he will always do his duty and lucy does

not lack sense

they will marry

and time will teach him to forget that

he ever thought another woman better

than her

if such is your way of thinking your

self-control is perhaps a little less to

be wondered at

i understand it better

i know you do not suppose i have ever

felt much but marianne

for four months i have had all this on

my mind and been unable to speak of it

to a single creature

i was told about it by the person whose

early engagement destroyed my hopes of

happiness

she saw me as a rival and was delighted

to see me defeated

i have had to listen to her talking

about edward again and again

i have had to pretend to show no

interest in him

i have had to bear the unkindness of his

sister and the rudeness of his mother

without enjoying any of the advantages

of an attachment to him

i know now that i shall be divided from

edward forever

if you can ever think me capable of

feeling marianne

surely you may suppose that i have

suffered now

these words went straight to marianne’s

heart

oh eleanor she cried

you have made me hate myself forever

how unkind i have been to you

you

who have been my only comfort

and the two sisters fell sobbing into

each other’s arms

marianne was so sorry she had misjudged

her sister that she promised to do

anything elena wanted

to discuss the engagement in public

without bitterness

to meet lucy without showing any dislike

and even to talk to edward himself if

chance brought them together with her

usual

friendliness the next morning brought a

test of her self-control

when john dashwood came to visit mrs

jennings and his sisters

you have heard i suppose said he were

the most serious expression

of our very shocking discovery yesterday

silently they all showed that they had

it seemed too awful a moment to speak

your sister-in-law he continued has

suffered terribly

so too has mrs ferrous but i would not

alarm you too greatly

the doctor says fanny is strong and will

get better in time

she says she will never think well of

anybody again

and i cannot wander at it as she was so

deceived

how ungrateful those young women were

after she had shown them so much

kindness

i wish with all my heart

says poor fanny in her affectionate way

that we had invited your sisters instead

of them

here he stopped to be thanked

then continued

what poor mrs ferris suffered cannot be

described

she could not believe edward was

secretly engaged when all the time she

had been planning a most excellent

marriage for him

she sent for him and he came to see her

i am sorry to tell you what happened

next

all our attempts to persuade edward to

end the attachment were useless

even when his mother explained that if

he married miss morton

she would generously allow him a

thousand pounds a year

and even when she offered to make it

twelve hundred pounds he still insisted

that he would not break the engagement

mrs faraz then told him he would receive

no money at all from her and if he

entered any profession

she would do her best to prevent him

succeeding in it

good heavens

cried marianne can this be possible

your surprise is very natural marianne

said her brother

it is astonishing that edward could not

be persuaded

marianne about to disagree fiercely

remembered her promises to eleanor

and said nothing

well

cried mrs jennings i think he has

behaved like an honest man

he must keep his promise to marry lucy

steele

if he broke it the world would think him

a worthless scoundrel

i respect your views madam said john

dashwood politely

but i am afraid that a good

thoughtful mother like mrs ferris with

such a very large fortune

cannot approve of her son’s secret

engagement to this most unsuitable young

woman

i am sorry to say

that it has all ended in a most unhappy

separation

mrs ferriss told edward to leave her

house and he obeyed at once

she does not wish to see him ever again

and has now decided very understandably

that robert not edward should inherit

her fortune when she dies

poor edward

his younger brother will be wealthy

while he remains poor

i feel for him sincerely

john dashwood left soon afterwards

and the three ladies immediately joined

together in their firm disapproval of

mrs ferrara’s behavior and their warm

praise of edwards

the next morning eleanor received a

letter from lucy

i hope my dear miss dashwood you will

not mind my writing to you

i know that as a true friend you will be

pleased to hear my news

edward and i although we have suffered

terribly in all our recent troubles are

quite well now thank god and happy in

each other’s love we are very grateful

to our friends

yourself not the least among them

for helping us through our many

difficulties

i shall always remember your great

kindness and so will edward i am sure

you will be glad to hear that i spent

two happy hours with him yesterday

i offered him his freedom and was ready

to consider our engagement at an end if

that was what he wanted

but he would not hear of it

and said he did not care about his

mother’s anger as long as he had my

affections

life will not be easy for us it is true

but we must wait and hope for the best

he will enter the church soon

and if you ever have the opportunity to

recommend him to anybody who can give

him a living i am sure you will not

forget us

and dear mrs jennings too

i hope she will say a good word for us

to any friend who may be able to help us

i beg you to remember me to her most

gratefully and respectfully

and to sir john and lady middleton

and the dear children

and give my love to miss marianne

yours truly

lucy steele

elena felt sure that lucy wanted the

letter to be seen by mrs jennings and

showed it to her immediately

mrs jennings was full of praise for

lucy’s warm heart

how prettily she writes she said

she calls me dear mrs jennings you see

i wish i could get him a living with all

my heart

the missed ashwoods had now been in

london for more than two months

and marianne was becoming more and more

impatient to go home

she missed the air the freedom the quiet

of the country

eleanor although almost as anxious to

leave as her sister

was aware of the difficulties of a long

journey

this problem appeared to be solved when

the palmers invited mrs jennings and the

miss dashwoods to their home in somerset

only a day’s journey away from barton

they planned to travel there at the end

of march

the invitation was gladly accepted

eleanor and marianne would stay a week

with the palmers and then continue their

journey to barton

soon after this arrangement had been

made

colonel brandon called at mrs jennings

house and was told the news

my dear colonel

i do not know what you and i would do

without the miss dashwoods said mrs

jennings how lonely and dull we shall be

she hoped these words and the sad

picture they painted would persuade him

to make the offer of marriage which

might prevent any loneliness or dullness

in the future

and with delight

she saw that her plan had succeeded

when eleanor moved to a quiet corner of

the room

colonel brandon joined her there and

talked very seriously to her for several

minutes

although mrs jennings was too honorable

to listen

she could not help seeing that eleanor

was blushing and looking agitated

some of the colonel’s words reached mrs

jennings ears and astonished her greatly

i do apologize for the smallness of the

house

what could he mean

she knew very well that there were 15

bedrooms and five sitting rooms in his

house at delaford

i am afraid it cannot happen soon

what an unlover-like thing to say

there could be no reason at all to delay

their marriage

in fact the colonel was talking on a

quite different subject

he had heard of edward’s difficulties

and knowing him to be a friend of

eleanor’s wish to help the young man

a living at delaford had just become

vacant

and the colonel was asking eleanor to

offer it to edward

at least it would be a start for mr

ferros

the vicar’s duties there are light and

there is a cottage that goes with the

post

although i do apologize for the

smallness of the house

the income is only 200 pounds a year

so i’m afraid his marriage cannot happen

very soon

eleanor expressed her grateful thanks

for the colonel’s generous offer and

promised to tell edward the good news

when colonel brandon had left mrs

jennings spoke to eleanor with a knowing

smile

well miss dashwood i couldn’t help

overhearing the colonel’s words and i

can tell you i was never better pleased

in my life

yes said eleanor

it is a matter of great happiness to me

but i was so surprised when he spoke to

me about it my dear i am not in the

least astonished by it i wish you every

happiness and if i want to see a happy

couple i know where to look for them in

the future

at delaford i suppose

said eleanor with a smile that’s right

my dear

and i can tell you you won’t find the

house small

now i must go out but we’ll continue our

conversation later

i’m sure you want to tell your sister

about it

certainly madam but i shall not mention

it to anyone else at present

oh

said mrs jennings disappointed

then you would prefer me not to tell

charlotte or sir john

or lucy

yes madam if you don’t mind

i must speak to mr ferris first to

arrange matters with him

this was at first extremely puzzling for

mrs jennings

but after a moment’s thought she had a

happy idea

edward must be the vicar they had chosen

to carry out the wedding ceremony

she hurried excitedly off on her morning

visits aware of the important secret

that she was not allowed to tell

by chance as she left the house she met

edward at the door

he had called only to leave a note but

mrs jennings insisted on his going in to

see miss dashwood who had particular

news to give him

eleanor had begun to write a letter to

edward when she looked up to find him

standing in front of her

her astonishment and confusion were very

great

edward too was confused

and for a few moments

neither knew what to say to the other

at last however the colonel’s offer was

made and edward although astonished at

this kindness from a stranger

was deeply grateful for the opportunity

he soon realized that he owed more than

he could express to eleanor and also

began to suspect that the colonel might

have a particular reason for wishing to

help any friend of hers

there was sadness in his eyes as he rose

to say goodbye

when i see him again

said eleanor to herself as the door shut

behind him

i shall see him the husband of lucy

when mrs jennings returned she was eager

to find out more well my dear

and how soon will the young man be ready

in two or three months i imagine replied

elena

two or three months

my dear how calmly you talk

can the colonel wait so long

i know you wish to do a kindness to mr

ferris but could you not find someone

who is already a vicar

my dear madam

what can you be thinking of

the colonel’s only intention is to be of

use to mr ferris

good heavens my dear

surely you do not mean that the colonel

only marries you in order to give ten

pounds to mr ferris is his vicar’s fee

for the ceremony

the confusion could not continue after

this

and there was much amusement as eleanor

explained

mrs jennings was just as delighted with

the true situation

and looked forward to visiting lucy and

edward in the vicar’s house at delaford

in a few months time

elena now knew that edward’s marriage to

lucy was certain

she herself had helped to smooth the

path towards it

chapter nine

marianne’s illness

before leaving london

elena paid one last visit to her brother

and his wife

fanny did not wish to see her and stayed

in her room

but john was very interested in the news

of edward’s good luck

he could not understand why the colonel

should give away a living when he could

have sold it

but he had something more particular to

say to his sister

taking her hand

he spoke in a very serious whisper

there is one thing i must say because i

know it will please you

i know in fact

fanny heard her mother say that although

perhaps she did not approve of

of a certain attachment of edwards

you understand me

it would have been far preferable to her

than this engagement to ms steele

of course all that is quite in the past

now and out of the question

but i thought i would just tell you my

dear eleanor

not that you have any reason to be sad

there is no doubt of your doing

extremely well

has colonel brandon been with you lately

eleanor was glad to be spared the need

to reply by the entrance of mr robert

ferris

she had only met him once before and had

found him a thoughtless and insensitive

young man full of his own

self-importance

this short meeting only served to

support her low opinion of his head and

heart

he talked happily of edward’s

inheritance which he would now enjoy and

laughed loudly at the idea of edward as

a poor vicar living in a cottage his

engagement certainly was very shocking

news he added i said to my mother my

dear madam i do not know what you intend

to do but for myself i must say that if

edward marries this young woman i shall

never see him again

i saw the girl once you know just a

plain country girl with no elegance or

beauty i cannot help thinking that if i

had heard of the connection earlier i

could have persuaded edward to break it

off but now it is all too late he must

be punished that is certain

eleanor was relieved that she could not

stay long and sincerely hoped she would

not see robert ferris again

the journey to cleveland the palmer’s

home in somerset took two days

their house was comfortable and modern

with large well-kept gardens and woods

on her arrival marianne went straight

into the garden

she was feeling more agitated than usual

aware of being only 80 miles from barton

and only 30 from willowby’s country

house

but she loved being back in the romantic

countryside

she determined to spend as much time as

possible taking lonely walks through the

gardens and woods

alone she would be free to delight in

her misery thinking

dreaming

remembering

the hours passed quietly at cleveland

mrs palmer had her child and mrs

jennings her sewing

eleanor was surprised to find mr palmer

very capable of being a pleasant

companion and only occasionally rude to

his wife and mother-in-law

colonel brandon who was also a guest of

the palmers spent a great deal of time

with eleanor talking to her about the

vicar’s house at delaford and the

repairs he was planning to have done to

it

his pleasure in her conversation and his

respect for her opinion would have been

enough to justify mrs jennings view of

his attachment and even perhaps to make

eleanor suspected herself

she still felt certain however that

while he spoke to her

it was marianne at whom he looked

and of whom he thought

when marianne mentioned that she had a

sore throat and felt unwell

the colonel appeared extremely worried

in his concern elena saw the quick

feelings and needless alarm of a lover

two delightful evening walks in thick

wet grass had given marianne a violent

cold

she felt heavy and feverish with pains

all over her body

but at first refused all medicines

saying that a good night’s rest was all

that she needed

the next day however she was worse

unable to do anything except lie

miserably on a sofa

and after another restless feverish

night eleanor was ready to send for the

palmer’s doctor

after examining his patient he said that

she was suffering from an infection and

would recover in a few days

but the word infection greatly alarmed

mrs palmer who feared that her baby

might catch it and she persuaded her

husband to take her and the child to

stay with a near relation until there

was no further danger of illness at

cleveland

mrs jennings kindly insisted on staying

with the miss dashwoods as she felt

responsible for the young ladies in

their mother’s absence

and colonel brandon also offered to stay

in case a gentleman’s help was needed

poor marianne now felt really ill

and extremely miserable

as their return to barton would have to

be considerably delayed

several days passed and marianne’s

condition remained the same

the doctor came every day talking each

time of a speedy recovery and eleanor

was just as hopeful

in her letter’s home she had not told

her mother of the seriousness of

marianne’s illness

and now congratulated herself on not

alarming mrs dashwood unnecessarily

but that evening

marianne became restless again

and eleanor stayed beside her bed

watching her turning feverishly from

side to side

suddenly marianne sat up and cried

wildly his mama coming

not yet

replied elena hiding her terror and

helping her sister to lie down again

it is a long way from barton

but she must come soon

cried marianne desperately i shall never

see her again if she does not come soon

elena was so alarmed that she sent for

the doctor at once

and decided to send a messenger to

barton to fetch her mother

she spoke immediately to colonel brandon

who although greatly depressed and

fearing the worst was ready to help in

any way and offered to drive to barton

himself

how grateful eleanor was for the comfort

of such a friend as the colonel at that

moment not a second was lost in delay of

any kind and the colonel drove off into

the night

leaving eleanor to watch over her sister

both sisters suffered greatly during

that night

marianne in her sleepless pain and fever

and eleanor in cruel anxiety that her

mother would arrive too late to see her

dear child alive

when the doctor came

he had to confess that his medicines had

failed and that the infection was

stronger than ever

eleanor was calm

except when she thought of her mother

but she was almost without hope

she stayed by her sister’s bed all

morning

her thoughts confused and sorrowful

but at midday she began to see signs of

the fever going down

cautiously she told herself not to hope

but soon it seemed almost certain

and on the doctor’s next visit

he was able to congratulate her on

marianne’s slow but sure recovery

mrs jennings showed her delight by

talking and laughing without stopping

but eleanor’s feelings were of a

different kind her relief and happiness

was strong

but silent

that evening

marianne fell into a quiet comfortable

sleep

and elena knew that at last

she was out of danger

her thoughts now began to turn to her

mother’s arrival which was expected at

any moment

mrs jennings persuaded her to leave

marianne’s bedside for a few minutes to

drink some tea

but elena soon returned to sit by her

sleeping sister and wait for the

travellers from barton

the night was cold and stormy

but as long as marianne slept peacefully

eleanor did not mind the beating of the

rain on the windows or the noise of the

wind blowing round the house

at eight o’clock she heard a carriage

drive up to the front door

knowing what her poor mother must be

feeling elena found it impossible to be

calm and hurried

downstairs she rushed into the sitting

room and saw

willoughby

with a look of horror she stepped

backwards and was about to leave the

room

when he said rapidly

miss dashwood i beg you to stay i have

something i must tell you

elena was astonished

to tell me

well sir if you must

but be quick i have no time to spare

tell me first is your sister really out

of danger

we hope she is replied elena coldly

thank god

i heard she was ill and i have driven

all day to get here

i have come to offer some kind of

explanation to show you that i have not

always been a scoundrel and to receive

something like forgiveness from

your sister

marianne has already forgiven you

has she

he cried eagerly

but listen i must explain

when i first met your family

i had no other intention than to pass

the time pleasantly while in devonshire

my income was never large and my debts

are always very great

so i was planning to attach myself to a

woman a fortune

but i soon found myself sincerely fond

of your sister

and the happiest hours of my life was

spent with her

i allowed myself most wrongly

to put off asking her to marry me at

last i determined to speak of marriage

but unfortunately my relation mrs smith

had just discovered a connection

he reddened and looked away

but you have probably heard the whole

story from colonel brandon

i have

replied eleanor also blushing

and i cannot see how you will explain

away your part in that terrible business

no i know i was at fault cried

willoughby but i must ask you to believe

that i had no idea eliza was in such

need

i suffered too because mrs smith was

extremely angry at my behavior and

refused to allow me any more money or

see me again

i knew that if i married marianne i

would be poor

and i couldn’t bear the thought of that

so i came to barton cottage to say

goodbye to her

how happy i had been the day before

ready to become engaged to her

and how miserable i was when i saw her

sorrow and deep disappointment

oh god what a hard-hearted scoundrel i

was

there was a short silence while

willoughby recovered his self-control

and elena’s heart softened a little

towards him

and then in london marianne’s notes to

me

every word was a knife in my heart

she was far dearer to me than any other

woman in the world

but by then i was engaged to miss grey

do not speak like that of my sister mr

willoughby said eleanor remember that

you are a married man now

he began to laugh wildly married yes

did you like the letter i wrote to

marianne

miss gray happened to see marianne’s

last note to me and read it

her jealous anger made her think of a

cruel punishment for me

she told me what to write and watched

over me as i wrote the letter

they were all her own gentle words

her own sweet thoughts

i could not risk losing her

i needed her money to pay my debts

you ought not to speak of mrs willoughby

in this way

you have made your choice

and should respect your wife

she does not deserve your pity

i have no chance of domestic happiness

with her

but do you think me less guilty than

before

will you tell your sister when she has

recovered what i have told you

if ever

one day by some happy chance i were free

again elena stopped him with a frown

well

i shall leave now

i shall live in terror of one event

your sister’s marriage

she can never be more lost to you than

she is now

but someone else will have her and if

that’s someone where he whom of all men

i could least bear

but i must go

goodbye

and he almost ran out of the room

eleanor’s heart was full as she returned

to her sleeping sister

the past

the present

the future

willowby’s visit and the pity she felt

for him

marianne’s health and her mother’s

expected arrival

made her so agitated that she did not

notice her hunger or tiredness

only half an hour later a second

carriage arrived at the house

eleanor hurried to the door

just in time to receive and support her

mother as she entered half dead with

fear

in a moment eleanor was able to give the

good news

and mrs dashwood’s tears silently

expressed her relief

colonel brandon shared her feelings in

an even greater silence

in two minutes mrs dashwood was with her

suffering child

made dearer than ever by absence

unhappiness and danger

marianne’s recovery continued every day

and mrs dashwood soon found an

opportunity to tell eleanor another

piece of news

on the long drive from barton to

cleveland

colonel brandon had been unable to hide

his feelings

and had told mrs dashwood that he had

long wanted to marry marianne

mrs dashwood was now as certain of the

colonel’s excellent character as she had

once been of willoughby’s

and hoped that marianne would in time

come to accept colonel brandon’s offer

of marriage

chapter 10

return to barton

marianne recovered so well that within a

week she was able to travel home with

her mother and eleanor in colonel

brandon’s carriage

eleanor was pleased to see that marianne

showed a new firmness of mind and

calmness of expression

although she was clearly still upset

when she thought of the past

she was now able to control her feelings

and show a cheerful face to her family

she started planning a new life for

herself

when i am stronger eleanor we will take

long walks together every day i shall

never get up later than six

and i shall spend every morning

practicing my music or reading

elena smiled doubting whether this plan

would last very long

but happy to see marianne enthusiastic

again

a couple of days later the weather was

so fine that mrs dashwood encouraged

eleanor to take marianne out for a

gentle walk and the sisters set out

along the quiet country road

there

exactly there

said marianne pointing to the hill

behind the house

is where i fell

and first saw willoughby

i am thankful to find that i can see the

place with so little pain

can we talk on that subject now do you

think helena

she was affectionately encouraged to

speak openly

i know how badly i have behaved

my illness has given me time to think

i should never have been so in cautious

in my behavior with willoughby and so

impolite to other people

i know now that my own uncontrolled

feelings caused my suffering

and even my illness was all my own fault

i have been unkind

and unfair to almost everybody i know

but especially to you dearest eleanor

did i follow your example

no did i help or comfort you when you

were suffering

no

i only thought of my own sorrow and my

own broken heart

eleanor impatient to calm her praised

her honesty

i can never forget willoughby continued

marianne but my memories no longer make

me miserable

if i only knew that he did not always

intend to deceive me that he had some

good in him

i would have much greater peace of mind

eleanor took a deep breath

and passed on to her sister what

willoughby had told her

marianne said nothing

but tears ran down her face

they were now on their way back to the

cottage

and as they reached the door

she kissed elena gratefully whispered

tell mama

and went slowly upstairs

when mrs dashwood heard the story she

expressed some pity for willoughby

but for her nothing could remove the

guilt of his behavior towards eliza and

then marianne

in the evening when they were all

together

marianne spoke again of willoughby

i wish to tell you both

she told her mother and eleanor in a

trembling voice

that what elena told me this morning was

a great relief to me

i could never have been happy with him

after knowing all this

i know

i know cried her mother

my marianne happy with a scoundrel like

that no

marianne you consider the matter said

eleanor exactly as a sensible person

should

and i expect you realize that marriage

to him would have involved you in many

troubles and disappointments

you would always have been poor

and perhaps your influence on his heart

would have lessened as he realized his

selfish demands could not be met

selfish

do you think him selfish

said marianne

yes

you are right it is true

how foolish i was

i am more to blame than you my child

said mrs dashwood

i should have discovered his intentions

earlier

during the next few days

marianne continued to get stronger and

life at barton fell back into the old

routines

eleanor grew impatient for some news of

edward

but the news arrived in a rather

unexpected way

mrs dashwood’s manservant thomas had

been sent to exeter one morning on

business

and on his return finished his report

with these words

i suppose you know madam that mr ferris

is married

marianne looked quickly at eleanor’s

white face and burst into uncontrolled

sobbing

mrs dashwood did not know which daughter

to take care of first

she and margaret led marianne to another

room and then mrs dashwood hurried back

to eleanor who although clearly upset

had been able to start questioning

thomas

at once mrs dashwood took that trouble

upon herself

who told you that mr ferris was married

thomas

i saw him herself madam with his lady

miss steele as her name was then

miss steele called me from a carriage

and asked after the young lady’s health

then she smiled and said she had changed

her name since she was last in devon

was mr ferris in the carriage with her

yes madam

he was sitting next to her but i didn’t

see his face

and mr ferris isn’t a gentleman for

talking much

did mrs ferris look well

yes madam very well and extremely happy

thomas was then sent away

and eleanor and her mother sat in

thoughtful silence

mrs dashwood now realized that eleanor

had hidden her feelings for edward in

order to spare her mother any

unhappiness

she felt guilty that marianne’s

suffering had taken up so much of her

time

when her eldest daughter was probably

just as much in need of her care and

attention

eleanor herself was extremely miserable

she had always had a secret hope that

something might happen to prevent his

marrying lucy

but now he really was married

and she could not bear the thought of it

a few days later a gentleman was seen

riding up to their front door

at first eleanor thought it must be

colonel brandon

but it was not him

in fact it looked just like edward

she looked again

it was edward

she moved away from the window and sat

down

i will be calm

i will

must

be calm

her mother and sisters had recognized

edward too but not a word was spoken

and they all waited in silence for their

visitor to appear

he entered

looking pale

agitated

and afraid

mrs dashwood greeted him kindly and

wished him every happiness

he blushed and said something no one

could hear

eleanor desperately began to talk about

the weather

when she had finished expressing her

extreme delight in the dryness of the

season

a very awful pause took place

it was ended by mrs dashwood who felt it

necessary to hope that mrs ferris was

well

edward replied hurriedly that she was

another pause

is mrs ferris in plymouth

asked elena bravely

plymouth

he said surprised

no

my mother is in london

i meant

said eleanor taking up her sewing from

the table to ask about

mrs edward ferris

he blushed

looked puzzled

hesitated then said

perhaps you mean

my brother

you mean mrs

robert ferris

mrs robert ferrers

repeated marianne and mrs dashwood in

the greatest astonishment

eleanor could not speak

yes

said edward hurriedly

you may not have heard that my brother

is now married to

to

to miss lucy steele

elena could sit there no longer

she ran out of the room and as soon as

the door was closed burst into tears of

happiness

until then edward had avoided looking at

her

now he watched her hurry away

and seemed to fall into a dream

at last

without saying a word

he got up

left the room

and walked out of the house

great was the astonishment he left

behind him

one thing however was certain

edward was now free

and it was not hard to guess how he

would use this freedom

walking about in the fresh air made him

feel brave enough to return

and when they all sat down to tea at

four o’clock

edward had won his lady

gained her mother’s permission and was

the happiest man alive

his heart was now open to eleanor with

his weaknesses and mistakes confessed

and his boyish attachment to lucy

disgust with all the wise experience of

a man of 24

my engagement to lucy certainly was

foolish said he

but it would not have happened if my

mother had allowed me to choose a

profession

i had nothing to do and no friends to

advise me

so i imagined myself in love

when i met you my dear eleanor

i realized at once how weak i had been

eleanor’s mother and sisters were

delighted

they could not love edward enough nor

praise eleanor enough

and eleanor

how can her feelings be described

from the moment of learning that edward

was free to the moment of his asking her

to marry him

her mind was in a storm

but when all doubt was passed and she

heard his voice expressing his deep love

and affection for her

she knew her happiness was complete

edward stayed at the cottage for a week

and one of the first subjects of

discussion was of course lucy’s marriage

it appeared that robert had visited her

several times trying to persuade her to

set edward free

lucy had realized that it was now robert

not edward who would inherit his

mother’s fortune

being of similarly selfish character

they were attracted to each other

and decided to get married with speed

and secrecy

edward’s mother was naturally horrified

by robert’s marriage

she did not greatly approve of edward’s

engagement to eleanor either

but in the end was persuaded to accept

it and even rather unwillingly gave

edward ten thousand pounds

she had given the same defanny on her

marriage

this was much more than was expected by

edward and eleanor

who could now afford to marry very soon

and move into the vickers house at

delaford

there they were visited by all their

friends in relations who found them one

of the happiest couples in the world

even mrs ferris came to visit them

although they were never favorites with

her

that honor was reserved for robert and

lucy who by endless attentions and

respectful messages

finally regained their place in her

heart

the whole of lucy’s behavior in the

matter may be seen as a most encouraging

example of what self-interest can do to

gain wealth and position

with mrs farah’s generous help robert

and lucy lived in great comfort often

visiting john and fanny dashwood

only their frequent domestic

disagreement spoiled their happiness

elena’s move to delaford did not

separate her from her family as her

mother and sisters spent half their time

with her mrs dashwood was anxious to

bring marianne and colonel brandon

together which was also eleanor’s and

edward’s wish

knowing how good how kind the colonel

was

and how fondly he was attached to her

what could marianne do

at the age of 17 she had believed that

passionate feeling was the most

important thing in life

she had had her heart broken

and learnt to recover from it

then at 19

with feelings of only warm friendship

and respect

she agreed to marry a man she had once

considered dull and far too old for

marriage

but so it was

colonel brandon was now as happy as all

those who loved him believed he deserved

to be

and marianne who could never love by

halves

came in time to love her husband as much

as she had loved willoughby

willoughby himself was saddened to hear

of her marriage

but he did not die of a broken heart

he even managed to get some enjoyment

out of life as his wife was not always

unpleasant

and his home not always uncomfortable

but marianne remained his idea of the

perfect woman

and he often refused to admire a new

young beauty as nothing to compare with

mrs brandon

mrs dashwood stayed on at barton cottage

and as margaret soon grew old enough for

dancing and falling in love

sir john and mrs jennings did not miss

eleanor and marianne as much as they had

feared

barton and delaford were connected by

strong family affection and there was

constant communication between the two

places

eleanor and marianne lived in great

happiness

loved and respected by their husbands

and almost within sight of each other

the passing of the years

only serve to bring them all closer

together

you