Chapter 39

by Jane Austen

　　The Miss Dashwoods had now been rather more thantwo months in town, and Marianne's impatience to be goneincreased every day. She sighed for the air, the liberty,the quiet of the country; and fancied that if any placecould give her ease, Barton must do it. Elinor was hardlyless anxious than herself for their removal, and only so muchless bent on its being effected immediately, as that shewas conscious of the difficulties of so long a journey,which Marianne could not be brought to acknowledge.She began, however, seriously to turn her thoughts towardsits accomplishment, and had already mentioned their wishesto their kind hostess, who resisted them with all theeloquence of her good-will, when a plan was suggested,which, though detaining them from home yet a few weekslonger, appeared to Elinor altogether much more eligiblethan any other. The Palmers were to remove to Clevelandabout the end of March, for the Easter holidays;and Mrs. Jennings, with both her friends, received a verywarm invitation from Charlotte to go with them. This wouldnot, in itself, have been sufficient for the delicacy ofMiss Dashwood;--but it was inforced with so much realpoliteness by Mr. Palmer himself, as, joined to the verygreat amendment of his manners towards them since hersister had been known to be unhappy, induced her to acceptit with pleasure.When she told Marianne what she had done, however,her first reply was not very auspicious."Cleveland!"--she cried, with great agitation."No, I cannot go to Cleveland."--"You forget," said Elinor gently, "that its situationis not...that it is not in the neighbourhood of...""But it is in Somersetshire.--I cannot gointo Somersetshire.--There, where I looked forwardto going...No, Elinor, you cannot expect me to go there."Elinor would not argue upon the propriety of overcomingsuch feelings;--she only endeavoured to counteract them byworking on others;--represented it, therefore, as a measurewhich would fix the time of her returning to that dear mother,whom she so much wished to see, in a more eligible,more comfortable manner, than any other plan could do,and perhaps without any greater delay. From Cleveland,which was within a few miles of Bristol, the distance toBarton was not beyond one day, though a long day's journey;and their mother's servant might easily come there to attendthem down; and as there could be no occasion of theirstaying above a week at Cleveland, they might now be athome in little more than three weeks' time. As Marianne'saffection for her mother was sincere, it must triumphwith little difficulty, over the imaginary evils she had started.Mrs. Jennings was so far from being weary of her guest,that she pressed them very earnestly to return with her againfrom Cleveland. Elinor was grateful for the attention,but it could not alter her design; and their mother'sconcurrence being readily gained, every thing relativeto their return was arranged as far as it could be;--and Marianne found some relief in drawing up a statementof the hours that were yet to divide her from Barton."Ah! Colonel, I do not know what you and I shalldo without the Miss Dashwoods;"--was Mrs. Jennings'saddress to him when he first called on her, after theirleaving her was settled--"for they are quite resolvedupon going home from the Palmers;--and how forlorn weshall be, when I come back!--Lord! we shall sit and gapeat one another as dull as two cats."Perhaps Mrs. Jennings was in hopes, by this vigoroussketch of their future ennui, to provoke him to makethat offer, which might give himself an escape from it;--and if so, she had soon afterwards good reason to thinkher object gained; for, on Elinor's moving to the windowto take more expeditiously the dimensions of a print,which she was going to copy for her friend, he followedher to it with a look of particular meaning, and conversedwith her there for several minutes. The effect of hisdiscourse on the lady too, could not escape her observation,for though she was too honorable to listen, and had evenchanged her seat, on purpose that she might not hear,to one close by the piano forte on which Mariannewas playing, she could not keep herself from seeingthat Elinor changed colour, attended with agitation,and was too intent on what he said to pursue her employment.--Still farther in confirmation of her hopes, in the intervalof Marianne's turning from one lesson to another,some words of the Colonel's inevitably reached her ear,in which he seemed to be apologising for the badnessof his house. This set the matter beyond a doubt.She wondered, indeed, at his thinking it necessaryto do so; but supposed it to be the proper etiquette.What Elinor said in reply she could not distinguish,but judged from the motion of her lips, that she didnot think that any material objection;--and Mrs. Jenningscommended her in her heart for being so honest.They then talked on for a few minutes longer without hercatching a syllable, when another lucky stop in Marianne'sperformance brought her these words in the Colonel's calm voice,--"I am afraid it cannot take place very soon."Astonished and shocked at so unlover-like a speech,she was almost ready to cry out, "Lord! what shouldhinder it?"--but checking her desire, confined herselfto this silent ejaculation."This is very strange!--sure he need not wait to be older."This delay on the Colonel's side, however, did notseem to offend or mortify his fair companion in the least,for on their breaking up the conference soon afterwards,and moving different ways, Mrs. Jennings very plainly heardElinor say, and with a voice which shewed her to feel what she said,"I shall always think myself very much obliged to you."Mrs. Jennings was delighted with her gratitude,and only wondered that after hearing such a sentence,the Colonel should be able to take leave of them, as heimmediately did, with the utmost sang-froid, and go awaywithout making her any reply!--She had not thought her oldfriend could have made so indifferent a suitor.What had really passed between them was to this effect."I have heard," said he, with great compassion,"of the injustice your friend Mr. Ferrars has sufferedfrom his family; for if I understand the matter right,he has been entirely cast off by them for perseveringin his engagement with a very deserving young woman.--Have I been rightly informed?--Is it so?--"Elinor told him that it was."The cruelty, the impolitic cruelty,"--he replied,with great feeling,--"of dividing, or attempting to divide,two young people long attached to each other, is terrible.--Mrs. Ferrars does not know what she may be doing--whatshe may drive her son to. I have seen Mr. Ferrars twoor three times in Harley Street, and am much pleasedwith him. He is not a young man with whom one canbe intimately acquainted in a short time, but I haveseen enough of him to wish him well for his own sake,and as a friend of yours, I wish it still more.I understand that he intends to take orders. Will yoube so good as to tell him that the living of Delaford,now just vacant, as I am informed by this day's post,is his, if he think it worth his acceptance--but that,perhaps, so unfortunately circumstanced as he is now,it may be nonsense to appear to doubt; I only wish itwere more valuable.-- It is a rectory, but a small one;the late incumbent, I believe, did not make more than200 L per annum, and though it is certainly capableof improvement, I fear, not to such an amount asto afford him a very comfortable income. Such as it is,however, my pleasure in presenting him to it,will be very great. Pray assure him of it."Elinor's astonishment at this commission couldhardly have been greater, had the Colonel been reallymaking her an offer of his hand. The preferment,which only two days before she had considered as hopelessfor Edward, was already provided to enable him to marry;--and she, of all people in the world, was fixed on tobestow it!--Her emotion was such as Mrs. Jennings hadattributed to a very different cause;--but whatever minorfeelings less pure, less pleasing, might have a sharein that emotion, her esteem for the general benevolence,and her gratitude for the particular friendship,which together prompted Colonel Brandon to this act,were strongly felt, and warmly expressed. She thanked himfor it with all her heart, spoke of Edward's principles anddisposition with that praise which she knew them to deserve;and promised to undertake the commission with pleasure,if it were really his wish to put off so agreeable an officeto another. But at the same time, she could not helpthinking that no one could so well perform it as himself.It was an office in short, from which, unwilling to giveEdward the pain of receiving an obligation from her,she would have been very glad to be spared herself;--but Colonel Brandon, on motives of equal delicacy,declining it likewise, still seemed so desirous of its beinggiven through her means, that she would not on any accountmake farther opposition. Edward, she believed, was still intown, and fortunately she had heard his address from Miss Steele.She could undertake therefore to inform him of it,in the course of the day. After this had been settled,Colonel Brandon began to talk of his own advantagein securing so respectable and agreeable a neighbour,and then it was that he mentioned with regret, that thehouse was small and indifferent;--an evil which Elinor,as Mrs. Jennings had supposed her to do, made very light of,at least as far as regarded its size."The smallness of the house," said she,"I cannot imagine any inconvenience to them,for it will be in proportion to their family and income."By which the Colonel was surprised to find that shewas considering Mr. Ferrars's marriage as the certainconsequence of the presentation; for he did not suppose itpossible that Delaford living could supply such an income,as anybody in his style of life would venture to settle on--and he said so."This little rectory can do no more than make Mr. Ferrarscomfortable as a bachelor; it cannot enable him to marry.I am sorry to say that my patronage ends with this;and my interest is hardly more extensive. If, however,by an unforeseen chance it should be in my power to servehim farther, I must think very differently of himfrom what I now do, if I am not as ready to be usefulto him then as I sincerely wish I could be at present.What I am now doing indeed, seems nothing at all,since it can advance him so little towards what mustbe his principal, his only object of happiness.His marriage must still be a distant good;--at least,I am afraid it cannot take place very soon.--"Such was the sentence which, when misunderstood,so justly offended the delicate feelings of Mrs. Jennings;but after this narration of what really passed betweenColonel Brandon and Elinor, while they stood at the window,the gratitude expressed by the latter on their parting, mayperhaps appear in general, not less reasonably excited,nor less properly worded than if it had arisen froman offer of marriage.