On this rencontre they all returned to the house... On this rencontre they all returned to the house together, there to
lounge away the time as they could with sofas, and chit-chat, and
Quarterly Reviews, till the return of the others, and the arrival of
dinnerIt was late before the Miss Bertrams and the two gentlemen
came in, and their ramble did not appear to have been more than
partially agreeable, or at all productive of anything useful with regard
to the object of the dayBy their own accounts they had been
all walking after each other, and the junction which had taken place
at last seemed, to Fanny’s observation, to have been as much too
late for re-establishing harmony, as it confessedly had been for determining
on any alterationShe felt, as she looked at Julia and Mr
Rushworth, that hers was not the only dissatisfied bosom amongst
them: there was gloom on the face of eachCrawford and Miss
Bertram were much more gay, and she thought that he was taking
particular pains, during dinner, to do away any little resentment of
the other two, and restore general good-humour
Dinner was soon followed by tea and coffee, a ten miles’ drive
home allowed no waste of hours; and from the time of their sitting
down to table, it was a quick succession of busy nothings till the
carriage came to the door, and MrsNorris, having fidgeted about,
and obtained a few pheasants’
necklace pearl chanel eggs and a cream cheese from the
housekeeper, and made abundance of civil speeches to Mrs
Rushworth, was ready to lead the wayAt the same moment Mr
Crawford, approaching Julia, said, “I hope I am not to lose my com92
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panion, unless she is afraid of the evening air in so exposed a seat
The request had not been foreseen, but was very graciously received,
and Julia’s day was likely to end almost as well as it beganMiss
Bertram had made up her mind to something different, and was a
little disappointed; but her conviction of being really the one preferred
comforted her under it, and enabled her to receive Mr
Rushworth’s parting attentions as she oughtHe was certainly better
pleased to hand her into the barouche than to assist her in ascending
the box, and his complacency seemed confirmed by the
arrangement
“Well, Fanny, this has been a fine day for you, upon my word,”
said MrsNorris, as they drove through the park“Nothing but
pleasure from beginning to end! I am sure you ought to be very
much obliged to your aunt Bertram and me for contriving to let
you goA pretty good day’s amusement you have had!”
Maria was just discontented enough to say directly, “I think you
have done pretty well yourself, ma’amYour lap seems full of good
things, and here is a basket of something between us which has
been
chanel reporter bag knocking my elbow unmercifully
“My dear, it is only a beautiful little heath, which that nice old
gardener would make me take; but if it is in your way, I will have it
in my lap directlyThere, Fanny, you shall carry that parcel for me;
take great care of it: do not let it fall; it is a cream cheese, just like the
excellent one we had at dinnerNothing would satisfy that good old
MrsWhitaker, but my taking one of the cheesesI stood out as
long as I could, till the tears almost came into her eyes, and I knew
it was just the sort that my sister would be delighted withWhitaker is a treasure! She was quite shocked when I asked
her whether wine was allowed at the second table, and she has turned
away two housemaids for wearing white gownsTake care of the
cheese, FannyNow I can manage the other parcel and the basket
very well
“What else have you been spunging?” said Maria, half-pleased
that Sotherton should be so complimented
“Spunging, my dear! It is nothing but four of those beautiful pheasants’
eggs, which MrsWhitaker would quite force upon me: she
would not take a denialShe said it must be such an amusement to
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me, as she understood I lived quite alone, to have a few living creatures
of that sort; and so to be sure it willI shall get the dairymaid
to set them under the first spare hen, and if they
cartier must 21 come to good I can
have them moved to my own house and borrow a coop; and it will
be a great delight to me in my lonely hours to attend to themAnd
if I have good luck, your mother shall have some
It was a beautiful evening, mild and still, and the drive was as
pleasant as the serenity of Nature could make it; but when Mrs
Norris ceased speaking, it was altogether a silent drive to those within
Their spirits were in general exhausted; and to determine whether
the day had afforded most pleasure or pain, might occupy the meditations
of almost all
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CHAPTER XI
THE DAY AT SOTHERTON, with all its imperfections, afforded the Miss
Bertrams much more agreeable feelings than were derived from the
letters from Antigua, which soon afterwards reached MansfieldIt
was much pleasanter to think of Henry Crawford than of their father;
and to think of their father in England again within a certain
period, which these letters obliged them to do, was a most unwelcome
exercise
November was the black month fixed for his returnSir Thomas
wrote of it with as much decision as experience and anxiety could
authoriseHis business was so nearly concluded as to justify him in
proposing to take his passage in the September packet, and he consequently
looked forward with the hope of being with his beloved
family again
prada borse early in November
Maria was more to be pitied than Julia; for to her the father brought
a husband, and the return of the friend most solicitous for her happiness
would unite her to the lover, on whom she had chosen that
happiness should dependIt was a gloomy prospect, and all she
could do was to throw a mist over it, and hope when the mist cleared
away she should see something elseIt would hardly be early in November,
there were generally delays, a bad passage or something; that
favouring something which everybody who shuts their eyes while they
look, or their understandings while they reason, feels the comfort of
It would probably be the middle of November at least; the middle of
November was three months offThree months comprised thirteen
weeksMuch might happen in thirteen weeks
Sir Thomas would have been deeply mortified by a suspicion of
half that his daughters felt on the subject of his return, and would
hardly have found consolation in a knowledge of the interest it excited
in the breast of another young ladyMiss Crawford, on walk95
Jane Austen
ing up with her brother to spend the evening at Mansfield Park,
heard the good news; and though seeming to have no concern in
the affair beyond politeness, and to have vented all her feelings in a
quiet congratulation, heard it with an attention not so easily
rolex chain satisf