‘Poor soul!’cried Mrs Jennings,as soon as she was gone,‘how it grieves me to see her!And I declare if she is not gone away without finishing her wine!And the dried cherries too!Lord!nothing seems to do her any good.I am sure,if I knew of anything she would like,I would send all over the town for it.Well,it is the oddest thing to me,that a man should use such a pretty girl so ill!But when there is plenty of money on one side,and next to none on the other,Lord bless you!they care no more about such things!’
‘The lady then-Miss Grey I think you called her-is very rich?’
‘Fifty thousand pounds,my dear.Did you ever see her?a smart,stylish girl,they say,but not handsome.I remember her aunt very well,Biddy Henshawe;she married a very wealthy man.But the family are all rich together.Fifty thousand pounds!and by all accounts it won't come before it's wanted;for they say he is all to pieces.No wonder!dashing about with his curricle and hunters!Well,it don't signify talking,but when a young man,be he who he will,comes and makes love to a pretty girl,and promises marriage,he has no business to fly off from his word only because he grows poor,and a richer girl is ready to have him.Why don't he,in such a case,sell his horses,let his house,turn off his servants,and make a thorough reform at once?I warrant you,Miss Marianne would have been ready to wait till matters came round.But that won't do now-a-days;nothing in the way of pleasure can ever be given up by the young men of this age.’
‘Do you know what kind of a girl Miss Grey is?Is she said to be amiable?’
‘I never heard any harm of her;indeed,I hardly ever heard her mentioned;except that Mrs Taylor did say this morning,that one day Miss Walker hinted to her that she believed Mr and Mrs Ellison would not be sorry to have Miss Grey married,for she and Mrs Ellison could never agree.’
‘And who are the Ellisons?’
‘Her guardians,my dear.But now she is of age and may choose for herself;and a pretty choice she has made!-What now,’after pausing a moment-‘your poor sister has gone to her own room,I suppose,to moan by herself.Is there nothing one can get to comfort her?Poor dear,it seems quite cruel to let her be alone.Well,by-and-by we shall have a few friends,and that will amuse her a little.What shall we play at?She hates whist,I know;but is there no round game she cares for?’
‘Dear ma'am,this kindness is quite unnecessary.Marianne,I dare say,will not leave her room again this evening.I shall persuade her,if I can,to go early to bed,for I am sure she wants rest.’
‘Aye,I believe that will be best for her.Let her name her own supper,and go to bed.Lord!no wonder she has been looking so bad and so cast-down this last week or two,for this matter I suppose has been hanging over her head as long as that.And so the letter that came today finished it!Poor soul!I am sure if I had had a notion of it,I would not have joked her about it for all my money.But then,you know,how should I guess such a thing?I made sure of its being nothing but a common love-letter,and you know young people like to be laughed at about them.Lord!how concerned Sir John and my daughters will be when they hear it!If I had had my senses about me,I might have called in Conduit Street in my way home,and told them of it.But I shall see them tomorrow.’
‘It would be unnecessary,I am sure,for you to caution Mrs Palmer and Sir John against ever naming Mr Willoughby,or making the slightest allusion to what has passed,before my sister.Their own good-nature must point out to them the real cruelty of appearing to know anything about it when she is present;and the less that may ever be said to myself on the subject,the more my feelings will be spared,as you,my dear madam,will easily believe.’
‘O Lord!yes,that I do indeed.It must be terrible for you to hear it talked of;and as for your sister,I am sure I would not mention a word about it to her for the world.You saw I did not all dinner-time.No more would Sir John nor my daughters,for they are all very thoughtful and considerate-especially if I give them a hint,as I certainly will.For my part,I think the less that is said about such things,the better,the sooner 'tis blown over and forgot.And what good does talking ever do,you know?’
‘In this affair it can only do harm-more so perhaps than in many cases of a similar kind,for it has been attended by circumstances which,for the sake of everyone concerned in it,make it unfit to become the public conversation.I must do this justice to Mr Willoughby-he has broken no positive engagement with my sister.’
‘Law,my dear!Don't pretend to defend him.No positive engagement indeed!after taking her all over Allenham House,and fixing on the very rooms they were to live in,hereafter!’
Elinor,for her sister's sake,could not press the subject farther,and she hoped it was not required of her for Willoughby's;since,though Marianne might lose much,he could gain very little by the enforcement of the real truth.After a short silence on both sides,Mrs Jennings,with all her natural hilarity,burst forth again-