Pride and Prejudice; Sense and Sensibility

Chapter 94 Shocking Encounter

Nothing happened during the next three or four days, which made Elinor regret her entreaties to her mother; for Willoughby had no one, nor any letter.Towards the end of those days, they were invited to accompany Mrs. Middleton to an evening party, which Mrs. Jennings could not attend because the youngest daughter was not well.Marianne, being too depressed and not in the mood to dress up, seemed indifferent to going or not, but she was going anyway, though she showed neither intention nor excitement.After tea, and until Lady Middleton came, she sat motionless before the fire in the drawing-room, so absorbed in her own thoughts that she was unaware that her sister was in the room.When she heard that Mrs. Middleton was waiting for them at the door, she rose suddenly, as if forgetting that she was waiting.

They arrived at their destination on time.No sooner had a carriage ahead cleared the way than they alighted and ascended the stairs, only to hear their names being announced from the landings by servants.They entered a brightly lit drawing room, full of guests, and oppressively hot.After courteously curtseying to their hostess, they were ushered into the crowd.When they come here, the room will inevitably become more stuffy and crowded, and they will have to suffer together.Everyone had nothing to say and nothing to do. After staying like this for a while, Mrs. Middleton sat down and played casino.Marianne didn't want to move around, but luckily there were vacant chairs, so she and Eleanor sat down not far from the card table.

Not long after she sat down, Elinor caught Willoughby's eye, standing within a few yards of them, talking earnestly with a very fashionable young woman.Presently Willoughby saw her too, and bowed slightly to her, but made no attempt to address her; nor did he approach Marianne, though it was impossible that he should not have seen her.He then continued talking to the woman.Eleanor turned involuntarily to Marianne to see if she had noticed all this.At this very moment, Marianne also saw Willoughby, and could not help being overjoyed and beaming with joy.If her sister hadn't held her back, she would have rushed towards him impatiently.

"My God!" exclaimed Marianne, "there he is--there! Oh! Why doesn't he look at me? Why can't I talk to him?"

"I ask you to be quiet," cried Elinor, "and don't reveal your thoughts to everyone present. Perhaps he hasn't noticed you yet."

But even she didn't believe it herself.Marianne was not only unable to keep her composure at this moment, but she did not want to.She sat there anxiously.

At last Willoughby turned again and looked at them both.Marian stood up suddenly, called his name affectionately, and stretched out her hand to him.Willoughby came to speak to Elinor rather than to Marianne, as if he were avoiding her eyes and ignoring her.He asked hurriedly how Mrs. Dashwood was doing, and how long they had been in town.Elinor saw him speak in this way, and was so bewildered and bewildered for a moment that she could not utter a word; but her sister poured out all her thoughts.She blushed, and exclaimed in a tone of great excitement: "My God! What do you mean, Willoughby? Don't you get my letter? Don't you want to shake my hand in the days of Austen's life?" , the handshake has not replaced the bow and the curtsy, or is it a gesture of intimacy?"

It was impossible not to shake hands, but he just took her hand and touched it, as if it pained him to touch Marianne.All this time, he was clearly trying to keep his composure.Eleanor looked at his face and found that his expression had become calmer. She paused for a while, only to hear him say calmly:
"I had the honor of calling on Beckley Street last Tuesday. Unfortunately, neither you nor Mrs. Jennings were at home. I think you have seen my card."

"Didn't you get some of my texts?" cried Marianne anxiously. "There must be something wrong here—something terribly wrong. What's the matter? Tell me, Willoughby— —for God's sake, tell me, what's the matter?"

Willoughby made no answer, but his countenance changed, and his embarrassment returned.However, as soon as he caught the eye of the young lady with whom he had just been talking, he felt that he must restrain himself immediately, so he regained his composure, and then said: "Yes, you sent me kindly to let me know I am honored to receive the letter that has already entered the city." After that, he nodded his head hastily, and hurried back to his partner.

Marianne looked terribly pale, and she couldn't stand on her legs, and sat down on a chair.Eleanor was afraid that she would faint at any time, so while blocking her from being seen by others, she smelled lavender perfume to soothe her mind.

"Go to him, Elinor," said Marianne, as soon as she could talk, "and get him to me. Tell him I must see him—something to say to him at once. I am not Take it easy—I can't for a moment if he doesn't explain it clearly. There must be some terrible misunderstanding. Oh, you go to him at once."

"Then how? No, my dear good Marianne, you must wait. This is not the place for an explanation. Only to-morrow."

She managed to stop her younger sister from going to Willoughby in person. She advised her younger sister to at least wait until her mind calmed down, when she could talk with less interference and have some results. This way the effect will be better. Some.This was impossible for Marianne.All the while Marianne was sighing and pouring out her grief in a low voice.Presently Elinor, seeing Willoughby leaving the drawing-room towards the landing, tried to calm her down by telling Marianne that he had gone and that nothing could be said to him to-night.Marianne immediately sent her sister to beg Lady Middleton to take them home, for she was too distressed to stay a minute longer.

Mrs. Middleton, though only half a game in hand, politely assented immediately, without showing the least bit of displeasure, when she heard that Marianne wanted to go back because of her discomfort.She gave the cards to a friend, and took them home as soon as the carriage was ready.Almost nothing was said on the way back to Beckley Street.Marianne was too sad to cry, but to suffer in silence.Fortunately Mrs. Jennings was not home yet, and they went straight to their rooms.Marianne took a sniff of the smelling salts and calmed down a little.She quickly undressed and got into bed, as if wanting to be alone, so her sister went out.Elinor had time, while awaiting Mrs. Jennings' return, to reflect upon the whole history.

There was no doubt that there had been some sort of engagement between Willoughby and Marianne; and it was equally clear that Willoughby was tired of it, for whatever Marianne's delusions were, she, Elinor, could not Willoughby's slow behavior can be understood as a result of misunderstanding or misunderstanding.The only explanation is that he has had a complete change of heart.If she hadn't seen his embarrassment with her own eyes, Eleanor would have been even more outraged than this.The embarrassment that seemed to indicate that he knew he had done something wrong made her reluctant to believe that he could have been so misbehaving that he had been playing with her sister's feelings with ulterior motives from the beginning.Perhaps the separation had weakened his love, perhaps it was materiality that had caused his betrayal, but he had loved Marianne before, and that was beyond doubt.

As to the thought of Marianne, Elinor thought that this very unpleasant interview must have caused her extreme pain, and that she could not but feel deeply anxious for her sister at the thought of the possible outcome of the matter which would hit her even more severely.In comparison, her own situation is not bad, because no matter how separated Edward is from herself in the future, she can still respect Edward as always, and she always has a spiritual support in her heart.But the confluence of phenomena which might have led to misfortune seemed to be converging to intensify Marianne's grief--sorrow at the final and irreconcilable break with Willoughby, swift and complete.

(End of this chapter)