CHAPTER III

hough Mrs. Jennings was in the habit of spending a large

portion of the year at the houses of her children and

friends, she was not without a settled habitation of her

own. Since the death of her husband, who had traded with success

in a less elegant part of the town, she had resided every winter in a

house in one of the streets near Portman-square. Towards this

home, she began on the approach of January to turn her thoughts,

and thither she one day abruptly, and very unexpectedly by them,

asked the elder Miss Dashwoods to accompany her. Elinor,

without observing the varying complexion of her sister, and the

animated look which spoke no indifference to the plan,

immediately gave a grateful but absolute denial for both, in which

she believed herself to be speaking their united inclinations. The

reason alleged was their determined resolution of not leaving their

mother at that time of the year. Mrs. Jennings received the refusal

with some surprise, and repeated her invitation immediately.

"Oh! Lord, I am sure your mother can spare you very well, and

I do beg you will favour me with your company, for I've quite set

my heart upon it. Don't fancy that you will be any inconvenience

to me, for I shan't put myself at all out of my way for you. It will

only be sending Betty by the coach, and I hope I can afford that.

We three shall be able to go very well in my chaise; and when we

are in town, if you do not like to go wherever I do, well and good,

you may always go with one of my daughters. I am sure your

mother will not object to it; for I have had such good luck in

getting my own children off my hands that she will think me a very

fit person to have the charge of you; and if I don't get one of you at

least well married before I have done with you, it shall not be my

fault. I shall speak a good word for you to all the young men, you

may depend upon it."

"I have a notion," said Sir John, "that Miss Marianne would not

object to such a scheme, if her elder sister would come into it. It is

very hard indeed that she should not have a little pleasure,

because Miss Dashwood does not wish it. So I would advise you

two, to set off for town, when you are tired of Barton, without

saying a word to Miss Dashwood about it."

"Nay," cried Mrs. Jennings, "I am sure I shall be monstrous

glad of Miss Marianne's company, whether Miss Dashwood will go

or not, only the more the merrier say I, and I thought it would be

more comfortable for them to be together; because, if they got

tired of me, they might talk to one another, and laugh at my old

ways behind my back. But one or the other, if not both of them, I

must have. Lord bless me! how do you think I can live poking by

myself, I who have been always used till this winter to have

Charlotte with me. Come, Miss Marianne, let us strike hands upon

the bargain, and if Miss Dashwood will change her mind by and

bye, why so much the better."

"I thank you, ma'am, sincerely thank you," said Marianne, with

warmth; "your invitation has insured my gratitude for ever, and it

would give me such happiness, yes, almost the greatest happiness

I am capable of, to be able to accept it. But my mother, my dearest,

kindest mother,―I feel the justice of what Elinor has urged, and if

she were to be made less happy, less comfortable by our absence―

Oh! no, nothing should tempt me to leave her. It should not, must

not be a struggle."

Mrs. Jennings repeated her assurance that Mrs. Dashwood

could spare them perfectly well; and Elinor, who now understood

her sister, and saw to what indifference to almost every thing else

she was carried by her eagerness to be with Willoughby again,

made no farther direct opposition to the plan, and merely referred

it to her mother's decision, from whom however she scarcely

expected to receive any support in her endeavour to prevent a

visit, which she could not approve of for Marianne, and which on

her own account she had particular reasons to avoid. Whatever

Marianne was desirous of, her mother would be eager to

promote―she could not expect to influence the latter to

cautiousness of conduct in an affair respecting which she had

never been able to inspire her with distrust; and she dared not

explain the motive of her own disinclination for going to London.

That Marianne, fastidious as she was, thoroughly acquainted with

Mrs. Jennings' manners, and invariably disgusted by them, should

overlook every inconvenience of that kind, should disregard

whatever must be most wounding to her irritable feelings, in her

pursuit of one object, was such a proof, so strong, so full, of the

importance of that object to her, as Elinor, in spite of all that had

passed, was not prepared to witness.

On being informed of the invitation, Mrs. Dashwood, persuaded

that such an excursion would be productive of much amusement

to both her daughters, and perceiving through all her affectionate

attention to herself, how much the heart of Marianne was in it,

would not hear of their declining the offer upon her account;

insisted on their both accepting it directly; and then began to

foresee, with her usual cheerfulness, a variety of advantages that

would accrue to them all, from this separation.

"I am delighted with the plan," she cried, "it is exactly what I

could wish. Margaret and I shall be as much benefited by it as

yourselves. When you and the Middletons are gone, we shall go on

so quietly and happily together with our books and our music! You

will find Margaret so improved when you come back again! I have

a little plan of alteration for your bedrooms too, which may now be

performed without any inconvenience to any one. It is very right

that you should go to town; I would have every young woman of

your condition in life acquainted with the manners and

amusements of London. You will be under the care of a motherly

good sort of woman, of whose kindness to you I can have no doubt.

And in all probability you will see your brother, and whatever may

be his faults, or the faults of his wife, when I consider whose son

he is, I cannot bear to have you so wholly estranged from each

other."

"Though with your usual anxiety for our happiness," said

Elinor, "you have been obviating every impediment to the present

scheme which occurred to you, there is still one objection which,

in my opinion, cannot be so easily removed."

Marianne's countenance sunk.

"And what," said Mrs. Dashwood, "is my dear prudent Elinor

going to suggest? What formidableobstacle is she now to bring

forward? Do let me hear a word about the expense of it."

"My objection is this; though I think very well of Mrs.

Jennings's heart, she is not a woman whose society can afford us

pleasure, or whose protection will give us consequence."

"That is very true," replied her mother, "but of her society,

separately from that of other people, you will scarcely have any

thing at all, and you will almost always appear in public with Lady

Middleton."

"If Elinor is frightened away by her dislike of Mrs. Jennings,"

said Marianne, "at least it need not prevent my accepting her

invitation. I have no such scruples, and I am sure I could put up

with every unpleasantness of that kind with very little effort."

Elinor could not help smiling at this display of indifference

towards the manners of a person, to whom she had often had

difficulty in persuading Marianne to behave with tolerable

politeness; and resolved within herself, that if her sister persisted

in going, she would go likewise, as she did not think it proper that

Marianne should be left to the sole guidance of her own judgment,

or that Mrs. Jennings should be abandoned to the mercy of

Marianne for all the comfort of her domestic hours. To this

determination she was the more easily reconciled, by recollecting

that Edward Ferrars, by Lucy's account, was not to be in town

before February; and that their visit, without any unreasonable

abridg ement, might be previously finished.

"I will have you both go," said Mrs. Dashwood; "these objections

are nonsensical. You will have much pleasure in being in London,

and especially in being together; and if Elinor would ever

condescend to anticipateenjoyment, she would foresee it there

from a variety of sources; she would, perhaps, expect some from

improving her acquaintance with her sister-in-law's family."

Elinor had often wished for an opportunity of attempting to

weaken her mother's dependence on the attachment of Edward

and herself, that the shock might be less when the whole truth

were revealed, and now on this attack, though almost hopeless of

success, she forced herself to begin her design by saying, as calmly

as she could, "I like Edward Ferrars very much, and shall always

be glad to see him; but as to the rest of the family, it is a matter of

perfect indifference to me, whether I am ever known to them or

not."

Mrs. Dashwood smiled and said nothing. Marianne lifted up her

eyes in astonishment, and Elinor conjectured that she might as

well have held her tongue.

After very little farther discourse, it was finally settled that the

invitation should be fully accepted. Mrs. Jennings received the

information with a great deal of joy, and many assurances of

kindness and care; nor was it a matter of pleasure merely to her.

Sir John was delighted; for to a man, whose prevailing anxiety was

the dread of being alone, the acquisition of two, to the number of

inhabitants in London, was something. Even Lady Middleton took

the trouble of being delighted, which was putting herself rather

out of her way; and as for the Miss Steeles, especially Lucy, they

had never been so happy in their lives as this intelligence made

them.

Elinor submitted to the arrangement which counteracted her

wishes with less reluctance than she had expected to feel. With

regard to herself, it was now a matter of unconcern whether she

went to town or not, and when she saw her mother so thoroughly

pleased with the plan, and her sister exhilarated by it in look,

voice, and manner, restored to all her usual animation, and

elevated to more than her usual gaiety, she could not be

dissatisfied with the cause, and would hardly allow herself to

distrust the consequence.

Marianne's joy was almost a degree beyond happiness, so great

was the perturbation of her spirits and her impatience to be gone.

Her unwillingness to quit her mother was her only restorative to

calmness; and at the moment of parting her grief on that score was

excessive. Her mother's affliction was hardly less, and Elinor was

the only one of the three, who seemed to consider the separation

as any thing short of eternal.

Their departure took place in the first week in January. The

Middletons were to follow in about a week. The Miss Steeles kept

their station at the park, and were to quit it only with the rest of

the family.
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