Pride and Prejudice; Sense and Sensibility

Chapter 97

Mrs. Jennings went to their room as soon as she got home, knocked at the door, opened it without waiting for an answer, and walked in with a look of great concern on her face.

"How are you, dear?" she said to Marianne with the most sympathetic tone, but Marianne turned away from her.

"How is she, Miss Dashwood? Poor child! She looks very bad. Oh, it's true. Willoughby is going to be married soon—the rascal! I can't bear it." Mrs. Taylor told me half an hour ago, and she heard it from a good friend of Miss Gray, Willoughby's fiancée, or I wouldn't have believed it. I was almost dizzy with anger Poor. Well, I say, that's all I can say: if there's such a thing, he's basely cheated a lady I've known, and I'd love his wife to upset him. My dear. Yes, don't worry, I'll always say that. I didn't know men could go on like that. When I see him again, I'm going to give him a slap in the face. It's been an easy day for him. But, Mary Miss An, one thing is reassuring: he is not the only person worthy of love in the world. You are so beautiful, and there will always be people who admire you. Well, poor child! I will not bother her anymore, it is best Tell her to cry like hell right away, and then it's over. You know, the Parrys and the Sandersons are lucky to be here to-night, to cheer Marianne up."

She turned away, and tiptoed out of the room, as if her young friend's pain would be aggravated by the noise.

Contrary to her sister's expectation, Marianne insisted on eating with them all.Elinor persuaded her not to do so, but she would not, and went downstairs.She said that she can bear it completely, and if she goes down, it will reduce other people's fuss.Eleanor couldn't help being happy when she saw that she could restrain herself intentionally for a while.Although Elinor felt that it was impossible for Marianne to sit until the meal was finished, she still remained silent.While Marianne was still lying on the bed, Eleanor tried her best to tidy her clothes, and helped her into the dining room when the next call came.

When she arrived at the restaurant, although she looked very depressed and extremely weak, she ate more than her sister expected and was much calmer.Had she opened her mouth to talk, or been a little more sensitive to Mrs. Jennings's well-meaning but inappropriate hospitality, she could not have kept her composure.But she didn't say a word, and she was absent-minded, oblivious to everything in front of her.

Mrs. Jennings' kindness, though often distressing, and sometimes downright ridiculous, was more just, and Elinor thanked her many times, with a courtesy which the younger sister could never have done.The good friend of the two of them found Marianne sad, and felt it was his duty to help Marianne relieve her pain.So she pampered her the way a mother treats the last day of her family vacation for the jewel in her eye.She wanted to place Marianne in the best place in front of the fire, to entice her to eat and drink with all the delicious food and drink in the house, and to make her smile with all the news of the day.Mrs. Jennings devises ways to heal Marianne's wounds of disappointment with all kinds of sweets, olives, and a warm fire.If Elinor hadn't dared to laugh because of her sister's bad look, she would have been amused by Mrs. Jennings.Unexpectedly, Mrs. Jennings did this repeatedly, and finally Marianne noticed her intention, so she couldn't stay any longer.Feeling restless, she cried out in pain, gestured to her sister not to follow her, then got up and hurried out of the room.

"Poor child!" exclaimed Mrs. Jennings, as soon as Marianne had gone out, "it pains me to see her, and I never thought she'd go away without finishing her drink! And the cherries I haven't finished eating dried meat! My God! Nothing seems to mean anything to her. I daresay if I knew what she likes to eat, I would send people all over town to buy it for her. Oh, someone actually It is inconceivable to treat such a pretty girl so badly! But if one has plenty of money and the other has almost nothing, God bless, he doesn't care about such things!"

"So the lady—I think you call her Miss Gray—is very rich?"

"Fifty thousand pounds, my dear. Have you ever seen her? A chic lady, I'm told, but not pretty. I remember her aunt Biddy Henshaw very well, who married a A rich man. They made a fortune with it. Fifty thousand pounds, which, they say, came in time, for Willoughby was said to be bankrupt. No wonder! Driving around in a carriage and dogs. Well, what's the use of talking about it! But a young man, whoever he is, comes to court a pretty lady and promises to marry him, and he has no right to talk. Find a rich lady to marry and ask for riches. Even in poverty, why didn't he sell the horses, rent the house, dismiss the servants, and make a complete reform at once? I assure you, Miss Marianne would have been willing Wait until the situation improves. But it’s useless, young people today will never give up the pursuit of pleasure.”

"Do you know what kind of a lady Miss Gray is? You mean she's pretty docile?"

"I've never heard anything wrong with her. Indeed, I've hardly ever heard her mentioned, except this morning when Mrs. Taylor said that Miss Walker had hinted to her one day that she thought the Ellisons Marry Miss, because she and Mrs. Ellison never get along."

"Who are the Ellisons?"

"Her guardian, my dear. But now that she is of age to choose her own partner, she has made a wonderful choice. Yes," said Mrs. Jennings, after a pause, "your poor sister." to her own room, and must have been sad alone. Is there nothing we can do to comfort her? Poor dear, it seems cruel to leave her alone. By the way, wait a minute. A friend is coming to cheer her up a little. What shall we play? I know she hates whist. But isn't there a game of cards she likes?"

"You needn't trouble yourself, my dear lady. I dare say Marianne will not leave her room to-night. I should try to persuade her to go to bed early, if I could, for I think she really needs rest. "

"Oh, yes, I reckon that would be best for her. Let her make her own supper and then put her to bed. Good God! No wonder she's been looking so bad and downcast for a week or two." , I think it must have caused her to worry about this matter all the time. Who would have thought that a letter would blow everything up today! Poor child! If I had known earlier, I would never have joked with her about that letter. But you know, how could I guess such a thing? I thought it was just an ordinary love letter. And you know, young people like to be teased about them. Good God! Sir John and How concerned my daughters will be when they hear of it! If I had any sense, I should have run down to Condit Street on my way home just now, and sent them a message. But I'll see you tomorrow. Their."

"I am sure that Mrs. Palmer and Sir John would not need your reminder to take care not to mention Mr. Willoughby to my sister, or to gossip about the matter. They are good people, and must understand that in her It would have been very painful for her to show her knowledge at all. And, as you must know, my dear wife, the less people say to me about it, the better off I will be."

"Oh, dear! Of course I understand that. You must be very sorry to hear anyone else talk about it. As for your sister, I'm sure I never mentioned it to her. You see, I I didn't say a word during the whole meal. Of course I understand this, and I won't mention it rashly--especially if I hint to them, it will be no problem, and I will do it. I think this kind of thing is right. The less the better, and the sooner you forget, the better. You see, what good does it do?"

"It can only be harmful to talk about it--perhaps more harmful than many similar events, because there are so many circumstances involved in this matter that it should not, for the sake of everyone concerned, make it become a public subject. I must do justice to Mr. Willoughby--he has no formal engagement to my sister, and therefore has nothing to do with breaking it off."

"Oh, dear! Don't you pretend to defend him. There's no engagement, really! He's shown her all over Sister Allenham, and he's decided which rooms they'll live in! You said you weren't engaged!"

Eleanor did not go any further for her sister's sake.Besides, for Willoughby's sake, she thought it unnecessary to persist.For if she insisted on a dispute, Marianne would be greatly hurt, and Willoughby would be by no means.There was a silence between them for a while, but Mrs. Jennings, being a hot-tempered person after all, broke out again:
"Well, my dear, the saying 'every wind is not all bad, and all bad things are not all bad' really applies here, because Colonel Bland is about to reap the benefits of it. He's going to get Marianne in the end. Well. Yes, he'll have her. You see, it's no wonder they don't get married by John the Baptist. My God! How happy the Colonel will be to hear that! I wish he'd come to-night .He's a better match for your sister. Two thousand pounds a year, no debts, no trouble--just a little illegitimate daughter. Yes, I forgot her. But it's not much money, What does it matter if you can send her off as an apprentice? I can tell you that Delaford is a good place, as I said, a good nostalgic place with a beautiful view, where life is comfortable and convenient It's got everything you need. Walled all around, and a big garden with the best fruit trees in the country. There's a wonderful mulberry tree growing in one corner! My God! I've been there just once, Charlotte and I, and we're full Broken! Besides, there's a dovecote, some lovely fish-ponds, and a very pretty river. In short, there's everything one could think of. Besides, the estate is near the church, and only a quarter of a mile from the road, so It's not monotonous at all, because just sit in the old cedar gazebo at the back of the house and you can see all the passing traffic. Oh, what a place! Just a little way up the village lives a butcher, It's only a mile away from the Vicarage. It's a thousand times better than Barton Park, in my opinion. At Barton Park, they have to walk three miles to buy meat, and the nearest neighbor is your mother, and no one else. Well. Well, I'll cheer the Colonel on as fast as I can. You see, it's like a good shoulder of mutton, one piece forgets the other. We just have to get her to forget about Willoughby. !"

"Oh, ma'am, if we can do it," said Eleanor, "we can do it with or without Colonel Bland." Then she got up and went to Marianne.Marianne was in the room, as she had expected, and bent over the fire, mourning silently, until Elinor came in, and there was only so little light in the room.

"You'd better leave me." That was all the older sister got from her.

"If you go to bed," said Elinor, "I will leave you." But Marianne was so overwhelmed by her grief that she refused to go to bed in a whim.Her sister's earnest and gentle counsel, however, soon relented her, and she was soon obedient.Seeing her rest her aching head on the pillow, as she wished, Elinor went out of the room.

She then came into the drawing-room, and presently Mrs. Jennings appeared, carrying a wine glass, filled to the brim.

"My dear," she said, coming in, "I just remembered that I have some of the finest old Constance snow wines in the house, and you have never tasted such fine wines—so I brought your sister a glass." .My poor old man! He liked this wine at the time! When his old gouty attack took a sip, he said there was nothing in the world that was more effective for him than this old wine. Bring it to you Sister."

"Dear madam," said Elinor, who could not help smiling when she heard that this wine could cure so different diseases, "you are very kind! But when I came, Marianne was already in bed, and almost Asleep. I think rest will do her better, and I reckon I'll drink it myself, if you like."

Mrs. Jennings, though regretting that she had not come five minutes earlier, was satisfied with the compromise.Eleanor gulped down half of the glass, thinking to herself: Although it doesn't matter to her whether this wine can cure gout or not, but since it can heal the trauma of broken love, what's the difference between letting her drink it and letting her sister drink it? Does not have the same meaning!

While everyone was having tea, Colonel Bland entered.From the way he looked about the room in search of Marianne, Elinor concluded at once that he neither expected nor wished to see her, and that, in short, he already knew the reason for her absence.Mrs. Jennings thought quite differently, for as soon as he came in she went up to the tea-table where Elinor sat, and whispered: "You see, the Colonel looks as heavy as ever. You know, go and tell him, dear."

Shortly afterward the Colonel pulled out a chair and sat down beside Eleanor, and asked how Marianne was doing, in such a way as to assure her that he knew all about it.

"Marian is not well," said Eleanor. "She has been unwell all day, and we put her to bed."

"Perhaps, then," stammered the Colonel, "perhaps what I heard this morning is true—I couldn't believe it at first, but it seemed possible."

"What did you hear?"

"Heard of a man I had reason to think--simply, a man whom I already knew was engaged--how can I tell you? If you already know, and I think you must know Yes, then I don't need to say any more."

"You mean," replied Elinor, with affected composure, "the marriage of Mr. Willoughby and Miss Gray. Yes, it is indeed all known. Today seems to be a day when the truth comes out, because until today We only found out about it this morning. Mr. Willoughby is an inscrutable man! Where did you hear that?"

"In a stationer's shop in Pall Mall Street. I was there on business. Two ladies were waiting for their carriage, and one was describing to the other an impending marriage. Judging by the tone of their conversation, They were not afraid of being heard, so I could hear every word. What first caught my attention was her repeated mention of Willoughby's name, John Willoughby, which began to attract my attention, and then She said with absolute certainty that his marriage to Miss Gray had been finalized--no more secrecy--and the wedding was even to take place in a few weeks, and gave many details of the preparations and other things. One thing in particular I remember Clear, as it would help further to determine whether it was that person. As soon as the wedding was over, they planned to go to Combe House, Willoughby's Somerset house. I was so surprised! My mood It's indescribable. I stayed in the stationer's shop until they left, and when I asked about it, I found out that the one who couldn't hide was Mrs. Ellison, and it was later told that it was the name of Miss Gray's guardian."

"Exactly. Did you hear, too, that Miss Gray has fifty thousand pounds, and that might be one, if we were to have reasons."

"Probably so, but what Willoughby might have done—at least I think—" the colonel paused for a moment, and then said hesitantly, in a tone that seemed to lack confidence, "and your sister—how she— —”

"She was in great distress. I only wish she would not go on in such distress. She has been in great distress until now. I do not think she had ever doubted Willoughby's affection until yesterday. Even now, perhaps—but, I Believe he probably never really loved her. He's been very dishonest! He seems ruthless in some things."

"Well!" said Colonel Bland, "it is. But your sister, no—I remember you saying—she doesn't think so?"

"You know her temper, and you will probably believe that she is eager to defend Willowby, if she can."

The colonel made no reply.After a while, the tea set was removed and the card table was set up, so this topic had to be ended.Mrs. Jennings had been watching their conversation with great interest, waiting to see the effect of Miss Dashwood's message, thinking that if Miss Dashwood made a word of it, Colonel Bland would smile at once. Like a person full of youthful vitality, full of hope and happiness.In the end, she was surprised to find that the colonel was more serious and preoccupied than usual all night.

(End of this chapter)