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Chapter 13
Their
intended excursion to Whitwell turned out very different from
what Elinor had
expected. She
was prepared to be wet through, fatigued,
and frightened; but the event was still more
unfortunate, for they did not go at all.
By
ten o'clock the whole party was assembled at the park, where
they were to
breakfast. The
morning was rather favourable, though it had
rained all night, as the clouds were then dispersing
across the sky, and the sun frequently appeared. They were all in
high spirits and good humour, eager to be
happy, and determined to submit to the greatest inconveniences
and hardships rather than be otherwise.
While they were at breakfast the
letters
were brought in. Among the rest there was one for Colonel
Brandon;--he took it, looked at the direction,
changed colour, and immediately left the room.
"What
is the matter with Brandon?"
said Sir John.
Nobody
could tell.
"I
hope he has had no bad news," said Lady Middleton. "It must be
something extraordinary
that could make Colonel Brandon leave my
breakfast table so suddenly."
In
about five minutes he returned.
"No
bad news, Colonel, I hope;" said Mrs. Jennings, as soon as he
entered the room.
"None
at all, ma'am, I thank you."
"Was
it from Avignon? I hope it is not to
say that your sister is worse."
"No,
ma'am. It came from town, and is merely a
letter of business."
"But
how came the hand to discompose you so much, if it was only a
letter of
business? Come,
come, this won't do, Colonel; so let us hear
the truth of it."
"My
dear madam," said Lady Middleton, "recollect what you are
saying."
"Perhaps
it is to tell you that your cousin Fanny is married?" said
Mrs. Jennings,
without attending to her daughter's reproof.
"No,
indeed, it is not."
"Well,
then, I know who it is from, Colonel.
And I hope she is well."
"Whom
do you mean, ma'am?" said he, colouring a little.
"Oh!
you know who I mean."
"I
am particularly sorry, ma'am," said he, addressing Lady
Middleton, "that I
should receive this letter today, for it is on business which
requires my immediate attendance in town."
"In
town!" cried Mrs. Jennings. "What
can you have to do in town at this time of
year?"
"My
own loss is great," be continued, "in being obliged to leave
so agreeable a party; but I am
the more concerned, as I fear my presence is necessary to
gain your admittance at Whitwell."
What
a blow upon them all was this!
"But
if you write a note to the housekeeper, Mr. Brandon," said
Marianne, eagerly, "will it
not be sufficient?"
He
shook his head.
"We
must go," said Sir John.--"It shall not be put off when we are
so near it. You
cannot go to town till tomorrow, Brandon, that
is all."
"I
wish it could be so easily settled.
But it is not in my power to delay my
journey
for one day!"
"If
you would but let us know what your business is," said Mrs.
Jennings, "we might see
whether it could be put off or not."
"You
would not be six hours later," said Willoughby, "if
you were to defer your journey
till our return."
"I
cannot afford to lose one hour."--
Elinor
then heard Willoughby
say, in a low voice to Marianne, "There are some people who
cannot
bear a party of pleasure. Brandon is one of
them. He was afraid
of catching cold I dare say, and invented this trick for
getting out of it. I would lay fifty guineas the letter was
of his own writing."
"I
have no doubt of it," replied Marianne.
"There
is no persuading you to change your mind, Brandon, I know of
old," said Sir John, "when once you are determined on anything. But, however, I hope
you will think better of it.
Consider, here are the two Miss Careys come
over from Newton,
the three Miss Dashwoods walked up from the cottage,
and Mr. Willoughby
got up two hours before his usual time, on
purpose to go to Whitwell."
Colonel
Brandon again repeated his sorrow at being the cause of
disappointing the party;
but at the same time declared it to be unavoidable.
"Well,
then, when will you come back again?"
"I
hope we shall see you at Barton," added her ladyship, "as soon
as you can conveniently
leave town; and we must put off the party to Whitwell till you
return."
"You
are very obliging. But
it is so uncertain, when I may have it in my power to
return, that I dare not engage for it at all."
"Oh!
he must and shall come back," cried Sir John. "If he is not
here by the end of
the week, I shall go after him."
"Ay,
so do, Sir John," cried Mrs. Jennings, "and then perhaps you
may find out what his
business is."
"I
do not want to pry into other men's concerns. I suppose it is
something he is ashamed
of."
Colonel
Brandon's horses were announced.
"You
do not go to town on horseback, do you?" added Sir John.
"No.
Only to Honiton.
I
shall then go post."
"Well,
as you are resolved to go, I wish you a good journey. But you had better change
your mind."
"I
assure you it is not in my power."
He
then took leave of the whole party.
"Is
there no chance of my seeing you and your sisters in town this
winter, Miss
Dashwood?"
"I
am afraid, none at all."
"Then
I must bid you farewell for a longer time than I should wish
to do."
To
Marianne, he merely bowed and said nothing.
"Come
Colonel," said Mrs. Jennings, "before you go, do let us know
what you are going
about."
He
wished her a good morning, and, attended by Sir John, left the
room.
The
complaints and lamentations which politeness had hitherto
restrained, now burst forth
universally; and they all agreed again and again how
provoking it was to be so disappointed.
"I
can guess what his business is, however," said Mrs. Jennings
exultingly.
"Can
you, ma'am?" said almost every body.
"Yes;
it is about Miss Williams, I am sure."
"And
who is Miss Williams?" asked Marianne.
"What!
do not you know who Miss Williams is? I am
sure you must have heard of her
before. She is a
relation of the Colonel's, my dear; a very near
relation. We
will not say how near, for fear of shocking
the young ladies." Then, lowering her voice a little, she
said to Elinor, "She is his natural daughter."
"Indeed!"
"Oh,
yes; and as like him as she can stare. I dare say the Colonel
will leave her
all his fortune."
When
Sir John returned, he joined most heartily in the general
regret on so unfortunate
an event; concluding however by observing, that as
they were all got together, they must do something
by way of being happy; and after some consultation
it was agreed, that although happiness could only be
enjoyed at Whitwell, they might procure a tolerable composure
of mind by driving about the country.
The carriages were then ordered; Willoughby's was
first, and Marianne never looked happier than when she got
into it. He drove
through the park very fast, and
they were soon
out of sight; and nothing more of them was seen till
their return, which did not happen till after the
return of all the rest. They both seemed delighted with their
drive; but said only in general terms that they had kept
in the lanes, while the others went on the downs.
It
was settled that there should be a dance in the evening, and
that every body should be extremely
merry all day long. Some more of the Careys came to dinner,
and they had the pleasure of sitting down nearly twenty
to table, which Sir John observed with great
contentment. Willoughby
took his usual place between the two elder
Miss Dashwoods. Mrs. Jennings sat on Elinor's right
hand; and they had not been long seated, before she leant
behind her and Willoughby, and
said to Marianne, loud enough for
them both to hear, "I have found you out in spite of
all your tricks. I know where you spent the
morning."
Marianne
coloured, and replied very hastily, "Where, pray?"--
"Did
not you know," said Willoughby,
"that we had been out in my curricle?"
"Yes,
yes, Mr. Impudence, I know that very well, and I was
determined to find out where
you had been to.-- I hope you like your house, Miss
Marianne. It is a
very large one, I know; and when I come to
see you, I hope you will have new-furnished it, for it
wanted it very much when I was there six years ago."
Marianne
turned away in great confusion. Mrs. Jennings laughed
heartily; and
Elinor found that in her resolution to know where they had
been,
she had actually made her own woman enquire of Mr.
Willoughby's groom; and that she had
by that method been
informed that they had gone to Allenham, and spent a
considerable time there in walking about the garden and going
all over the house.
Elinor
could hardly believe this to be true, as it seemed very
unlikely that Willoughby
should
propose, or Marianne consent, to enter the house
while Mrs. Smith was in it, with whom Marianne had not the
smallest acquaintance. As
soon as they left the dining-room, Elinor enquired of her
about it; and great was her
surprise when she found that every circumstance related by
Mrs. Jennings was perfectly true.
Marianne was quite angry with her for
doubting it.
"Why
should you imagine, Elinor, that we did not go there, or that
we did not see the
house? Is not
it what you have often wished to do
yourself?"
"Yes,
Marianne, but I would not go while Mrs. Smith was there, and
with no other companion
than Mr. Willoughby."
"Mr.
Willoughby however is the only person who can have a right to
shew that house; and as
he went in an open carriage, it was impossible to have any
other companion. I never spent a pleasanter morning in my
life."
"I
am afraid," replied Elinor, "that the pleasantness of an
employment does not always evince
its propriety."
"On
the contrary, nothing can be a stronger proof of it, Elinor;
for if there had been any
real impropriety in what I did, I should have been
sensible of it at the time, for we always know when we are
acting wrong, and with such a conviction I could have
had no pleasure."
"But,
my dear Marianne, as it has already exposed you to some very
impertinent remarks, do you
not now begin to doubt the discretion of your own
conduct?"
"If
the impertinent remarks of Mrs. Jennings are to be the proof
of impropriety in
conduct, we are all offending every moment of our
lives. I value not
her censure any more than I should do her
commendation. I am not sensible of having done
anything wrong in walking over Mrs. Smith's grounds, or in
seeing
her house. They will one day be Mr. Willoughby's,
and--"
"If
they were one day to be your own, Marianne, you would not be
justified in what you
have done."
She
blushed at this hint; but it was even visibly gratifying to
her; and after a ten
minutes' interval of earnest thought, she came to her sister
again, and said with great good humour, "Perhaps,
Elinor, it was rather ill-judged in me to go to Allenham; but
Mr. Willoughby
wanted particularly to shew me the place; and
it is a charming house, I assure you.--There is one remarkably
pretty sitting room up stairs; of a nice comfortable size
for constant use, and with modern furniture it would be
delightful. It is a corner room, and has windows on
two sides. On one side you look across the bowling-green, behind the
house, to a beautiful hanging wood,
and on the other you have a view of the church and village,
and, beyond them, of those fine bold hills that we have so
often admired. I did not see it to advantage, for
nothing could be more forlorn than the furniture,--but if
it were newly fitted up--a couple of hundred pounds, Willoughby
says, would make it one of the pleasantest
summer-rooms in England."
Could
Elinor have listened to her without interruption from the
others, she would have
described every room in the house with equal delight.
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