Chapter 27 Volume Two, Chapter Five

Next morning, when they gathered for breakfast, Mrs. Jennings said: "Sir John won't leave Barton until next week if the weather stays this warm. It's terrible. Poor fellows! I pity them when they're sick.—They seem to be taking it too seriously, too." "Indeed it is," said Marianne in a cheerful tone, going to the window to check the weather. "I haven't thought of that. In weather like this, a lot of gamers stay in the country." Thanks to this recollection, she became cheerful again. "The weather is indeed charming to them," she went on, seated at the table with an air of gaiety. "How happy they are! But" (her apprehension returned somewhat) "it cannot last. At this time of year, it has rained several times in succession, and of course it will not continue. The frost will come soon. To start, nine times out of ten it will be very strong, maybe just for a day or two. I'm afraid this extremely mild weather can't last-well, maybe it will freeze tonight!"

Elinor knew what Marianne was thinking, and she did not want Mrs. Jennings to see into her sister's thoughts, so she said: "At any rate, by the end of next week we will be sure to welcome Sir John and Lady Middleton. to town." "Oh, dear, I'm sure it'll be all right. Marianne always wants people to listen to her." "See," thought Elinor, "she's writing to Combe, and sending it today. "However, even if Marian did this, it was written in secret and sent away in secret. No matter how carefully Elinor observed it, she still did not discover the truth. No matter what the truth is, although Elinor is far from it Not quite, but she couldn't be too self-conscious about seeing Marianne in high spirits, which she was, happy for the mild weather, and even more glad for the approaching frost.

This morning, it was mainly used to send business cards to the homes of Mrs. Jennings' acquaintances, telling them that his wife had returned to the city.Marianne has been observing the direction of the wind, watching the various changes in the sky, imagining that the sky is about to change. "Elinor, don't you think it's colder than this morning? I seem to feel it quite differently. I can't even warm my hands with a muff on. I don't think it was yesterday. The clouds are parting too, and the sun It will be out in a while, and it will be sunny in the afternoon."

Elinor had moments of joy and sorrow, but Marianne never ceased to see the fire lit every night, and the heavens every morning, which she took to be sure signs of the approaching frost. Mrs. Jennings was always so kind to the Miss Dashwoods that they had no reason for dissatisfaction.Likewise, they had no reason to be dissatisfied with their wives' style of life and their circle of friends.She was always extremely magnanimous in the arrangements of her household affairs, and never called on anyone but a few old friends in town, lest she disturb her young companion.To Mrs. Middleton's regret, her mother refused to part with those old friends.Elinor was pleased to find that she was better off in this respect than she had imagined, and she preferred not to bother about sordid parties.Whether these parties were held in her own home or in other people's homes, at best they were just playing cards, which she didn't have much interest in.

Colonel Brandon was a frequent visitor to the Jennings family, and stayed with them almost every day.He came here first to see Marianne, and secondly to talk to Elinor.Elinor often derived greater satisfaction from talking to him than from other everyday occurrences.But at the same time she noted with great concern that the colonel remained affectionate for her sister.She fears that this feeling is growing day by day.She was sad to find that the Colonel often looked at Marianne with sincere eyes, and his mood was obviously lower than that at Barton. It was not until a week or so after they had entered the town that it became certain that Willoughby had also arrived.When they came back from a trip in the car that morning, they saw his business card on the table.God! exclaimed Marianne. "He was here when we were out." Elinor was overjoyed when she learned that Willoughby was in London, and said boldly, "Don't worry, he will come tomorrow." Marianne seemed not to have heard her, and waited for Jennings to return. As soon as the wife entered the room, she took the precious business card and slipped away.

This event, on the one hand, heightened Elinor's spirits, on the other hand, revived the spirits of her sister, and left Marianne more agitated than before.From now on, her mood has never been calm at all. She is looking forward to seeing him all the time, so that she can't do anything.The next morning, when everyone went out, she insisted on staying home. After Elinor came out, she was preoccupied with thinking about what might happen on Berkeley Street.When they came back, she only glanced at her sister to know that Willoughby had not come a second time.Just at this time, the servant sent a short letter and put it on the table.

"For me!" cried Marianne, rushing forward. "No, miss, it's for the wife." But Marianne refused to believe it, and immediately took up the letter. "It's for Mrs. Jennings, it's annoying!" "You are expecting a letter, then?" asked Elinor, unable to restrain herself any longer. "Yes! A little bit—but not quite." After a brief pause, "Marian, you don't trust me." "Come on, Elinor, you have the nerve to reproach me: you trust no one!" "Me!" Elinor responded with some embarrassment. "Marian, I really have nothing to say."

"Neither have I," replied Marianne forcefully. "Then our situation is the same. Neither of us has anything to say: you say nothing, I hide nothing." Elinor was troubled by herself being accused of indecency, which she could not remove.In this case, she did not know how to induce Marianne to be frank. Mrs. Jennings was soon back, and read the letter aloud as soon as she received it.The letter was from Lady Middleton, reporting that they had been in Condit Street the night before, and that her mother and two cousins ​​were invited to be guests on the morrow evening.Sir John's business, and her own bad cold, prevented her from visiting Berkeley Street.The invitation was accepted, and when the hour of keeping the appointment drew near, though it was supposed to be necessary for the sisters to accompany her, from the usual courtesy to Mrs. Jennings, Elinor had some trouble persuading the sister to go with her, because She hadn't even seen Willoughby, and she certainly didn't want to run the risk of making him go away again for her own amusement.

At night, Elinor found that human nature is not much changed by circumstances, for Sir John, when he first came to town, managed to gather nearly twenty young men together, and give a merry ball.Lady Middleton, however, disagrees with him.In the country it is all right to give a dance without prior arrangement, but in London it is more important and rarer to earn a good reputation for elegance and decency.Now, in order to please the ladies, they act rashly, and let it be known that Mrs. Middleton gave a little ball, with eight or nine couples, two violins, and only a few snacks from the sideboard.

The Palmers also came to the ball.The ladies had not seen Mr. Palmer since he came to town, for he always avoided the attention of his mother-in-law as much as possible, and never approached her.He gave no sign of acquaintance when the ladies came in.He glanced at them briefly, and gave Mrs. Jennings a nod across the room.Marianne looked round the room after entering; this glance was enough, he was not there--she sat down, not wanting to please herself or to please anyone else.After an hour or so of being together, Mr. Palmer approached the two Miss Dashwoods, saying that he did not expect to see them in town.As a matter of fact, Colonel Brandon had first heard of their coming to town at his house, and he himself made some inexplicable remarks when he heard of their coming.

"I thought you were all in Devonshire!" he said. "Really?" replied Elinor. "When are you going back?" "I don't know." Just like that, their conversation ended. Never in her life had Marianne been so reluctant to dance, or so exhausted, as she had been that night.Once back on Berkeley Street, she complained. "Why," said Mrs. Jennings, "we know all about that. You wouldn't be tired at all if that man, whom we won't name by name, came. In fact, we invited him, He didn't even come to see you, it's a bit outrageous." "Invitation!" cried Marianne. "My daughter Lady Middleton told me so. Sir John seems to have met him in the street this morning." Marianne said nothing more, but looked extremely angry.Seeing this scene, Elinor was very anxious, and tried to relieve her sister's pain.She resolved to write to her mother the next morning, hoping to make a long-delayed questioning of Marianne by awakening her apprehensions for her health.On the next morning, after breakfast, she found Marianne again writing to Willoughby (she did not think she could write to anyone else), and she became more eager to write to her mother.About noon, Mrs. Jennings was away alone on business, and Elinor immediately set to work.At this moment, Marianne was too annoyed to do anything, and too anxious to talk, sometimes went from window to window, and sometimes sat in front of the fire with her head bowed in thought.Elinor begged her mother hard, told all the things that happened here, explained that she suspected Willoughby's lack of affection, begged her to do her duty and affection as a mother, and asked Marianne to explain that she had a relationship with Willoughby. real relationship. She had just finished writing the letter when there was a knock on the door, and she knew there was a guest.Immediately it was reported that the visitor was Colonel Brandon.Marianne had seen him from the window, and, not wishing to see any company, left the room before he entered.The colonel looked more preoccupied than ever, and though he said he was glad to see Elinor alone, as if he had something important to tell her, he sat for a while in silence.Elinor, convinced that he had something to say, which clearly concerned her sister, waited eagerly for him to speak.It wasn't the first time she felt this way.Prior to this, the colonel had said more than once, "Your sister seems unwell today," "Your sister doesn't seem very happy," and the like, as if he wanted to disclose or ask about her special situation.After several minutes, he finally broke the silence and asked her in an anxious tone: When can he congratulate her on getting a brother-in-law?Unprepared for such a question, and unable to find a ready answer, Elinor resorted to the simple and common expedient of asking him what he meant?He replied with a forced smile: "Your sister is engaged to Willoughby, which is well known." "It cannot be known," replied Elinor, "for her own family does not know it." The Colonel seemed taken aback, and then said: "I'm afraid my question was a bit offensive, if you'll excuse me, but since they corresponded openly, I didn't expect there to be any secrecy. People were talking about their marriage." up," "How is that possible? Who did you hear about it?" "Many people--some you don't know at all, some with whom you are extremely close--Mrs. When I saw in her hand a letter to Willoughby, in your sister's handwriting, I might not believe it—for there is always a little reason for doubting what I would not believe. I was To ask to understand, but to be sure before asking. Is everything finalized? Is it not possible—one? But I have no right, nor possibility of success. Forgive me, Miss Dashwood. I Know I shouldn't say so much, but I just don't know what to do. I can trust you to be careful. Tell me, it's 100 per cent settled, no matter how much you fight for it - kill the rest if you can. The problem is to hide it for a little while longer." This speech, to Elinor's ears, was a public declaration of his attachment to her sister, and it moved her greatly.She couldn't speak for a while, even after she calmed down, she still murmured for a while, how to answer.The real relationship between Willoughby and her sister, of which she herself knew nothing, could be explained with difficulty, either to the point or to exaggeration.Yet she was convinced that, whatever the outcome of Marianne's love for Willoughby, Colonel Brandon might have no hope of success.At the same time, she still wanted to protect her sister's actions from criticism. After careful consideration, she felt that the most sensible and lenient approach was to say as much as possible regardless of whether she really understood it or believed it.She confessed, therefore, that, though she had never heard them themselves say what their relation was, she had no doubts of their mutual affection, nor any surprise at their mutual correspondence. The colonel listened to her in silence and attentively.As soon as she finished speaking, he immediately rose from his chair, and said in an excited tone: "I wish your sister all the best, and that Willoughby will strive hard to be worthy of her." Then he took his leave. Elinor took no relief from this conversation, and soothed her uneasiness on other subjects.Colonel Brandon's misfortune, on the contrary, left her with a melancholy which she could not even hope to get rid of, as she waited for the facts to confirm it.