Chapter X

William did not seem to m ind it him self, he was so pleased to think his m aster had sold so m any ; for William , y ou know, thinks m ore of his m aster’s profit than any thing; but Mrs. Hodges, he said, was quite displeased at their being all sent away.

She could not bear that her m aster should not be able to have another apple-tart this spring. He told Patty this, but bid her not m ind it, and be sure not to say any thing to us about it, for Mrs. Hodges would be cross som etim es, and as long as so m any sacks were sold, it did not signify who ate the rem ainder. And so Patty told m e, and I was excessively shocked indeed! I would not have Mr. Knightley know any thing about it for the world! He would be so very.... I wanted to keep it from Jane’s knowledge; but, unluckily, I had m entioned it before I was aware.”

Miss Bates had j ust done as Patty opened the door; and her visitors walked upstairs without having any regular narration to attend to, pursued only by the sounds of her desultory good-will.

“Pray take care, Mrs. Weston, there is a step at the turning. Pray take care, Miss Woodhouse, ours is rather a dark staircase – rather darker and narrower than one could wish. Miss Sm ith, pray take care. Miss Woodhouse, I am quite concerned, I am sure y ou hit y our foot. Miss Sm ith, the step at the turning.”

CHAPTER X

The appearance of the little sitting-room as they entered, was tranquillity itself; Mrs. Bates, deprived of her usual em ploy m ent, slum bering on one side of the fire, Frank Churchill, at a table near her, m ost deedily occupied about her spectacles, and Jane Fairfax, standing with her back to them , intent on her pianoforte.

Busy as he was, however, the y oung m an was y et able to shew a m ost happy countenance on seeing Em m a again.

“This is a pleasure,” said he, in rather a low voice, “com ing at least ten m inutes earlier than I had calculated. You find m e try ing to be useful; tell m e if y ou think I shall succeed.”

“What!” said Mrs. Weston, “have not y ou finished it y et? y ou would not earn a very good livelihood as a working silversm ith at this rate.”

“I have not been working uninterruptedly,” he replied, “I have been assisting Miss Fairfax in try ing to m ake her instrum ent stand steadily, it was not quite firm ; an unevenness in the floor, I believe. You see we have been wedging one leg with paper. This was very kind of y ou to be persuaded to com e. I was alm ost afraid y ou would be hurry ing hom e.”

He contrived that she should be seated by him ; and was sufficiently em ploy ed in looking out the best baked apple for her, and try ing to m ake her help or advise him in his work, till Jane Fairfax was quite ready to sit down to the pianoforte again. That she was not im m ediately ready, Em m a did suspect to arise from the state of her nerves; she had not y et possessed the instrum ent long enough to touch it without em otion; she m ust reason herself into the power of perform ance; and Em m a could not but pity such feelings, whatever their origin, and could not but resolve never to expose them to her neighbour again.

At last Jane began, and though the first bars were feebly given, the powers of the instrum ent were gradually done full j ustice to. Mrs. Weston had been delighted before, and was delighted again; Em m a j oined her in all her praise; and the pianoforte, with every proper discrim ination, was pronounced to be altogether of the highest prom ise.

“Whoever Colonel Cam pbell m ight em ploy,” said Frank Churchill, with a sm ile at Em m a, “the person has not chosen ill. I heard a good deal of Colonel Cam pbell’s taste at Wey m outh; and the softness of the upper notes I am sure is exactly what he and all that party would particularly prize. I dare say, Miss Fairfax, that he either gave his friend very m inute directions, or wrote to

Broadwood him self. Do not y ou think so?”

Jane did not look round. She was not obliged to hear. Mrs. Weston had been speaking to her at the sam e m om ent.

“It is not fair,” said Em m a, in a whisper; “m ine was a random guess.

Do not distress her.”

He shook his head with a sm ile, and looked as if he had very little doubt and very little m ercy. Soon afterwards he began again,

“How m uch y our friends in Ireland m ust be enj oy ing y our pleasure on this occasion, Miss Fairfax. I dare say they often think of y ou, and wonder which will be the day, the precise day of the instrum ent’s com ing to hand. Do y ou im agine Colonel Cam pbell knows the business to be going forward j ust at this tim e? – Do y ou im agine it to be the consequence of an im m ediate com m ission from him , or that he m ay have sent only a general direction, an order indefinite as to tim e, to depend upon contingencies and conveniences?”

He paused. She could not but hear; she could not avoid answering,

“Till I have a letter from Colonel Cam pbell,” said she, in a voice of forced calm ness, “I can im agine nothing with any confidence. It m ust be all conj ecture.”

“Conj ecture – ay e, som etim es one conj ectures right, and som etim es one conj ectures wrong. I wish I could conj ecture how soon I shall m ake this rivet quite firm . What nonsense one talks, Miss Woodhouse, when hard at work, if one talks at all; – y our real workm en, I suppose, hold their tongues; but we gentlem en labourers if we get hold of a word – Miss Fairfax said som ething about conj ecturing. There, it is done. I have the pleasure, m adam , (to Mrs. Bates,) of restoring y our spectacles, healed for the present.”

He was very warm ly thanked both by m other and daughter; to escape a little from the latter, he went to the pianoforte, and begged Miss Fairfax, who was still sitting at it, to play som ething m ore.

“If y ou are very kind,” said he, “it will be one of the waltzes we danced last night; – let m e live them over again. You did not enj oy them as I did; y ou appeared tired the whole tim e. I believe y ou were glad we danced no longer; but I would have given worlds – all the worlds one ever has to give – for another half-hour.”

She play ed.

“What felicity it is to hear a tune again which has m ade one happy ! – If

I m istake not that was danced at Wey m outh.”

She looked up at him for a m om ent, coloured deeply, and play ed som ething else. He took som e m usic from a chair near the pianoforte, and turning to Em m a, said,

“Here is som ething quite new to m e. Do y ou know it? – Cram er. – And here are a new set of Irish m elodies. That, from such a quarter, one m ight expect. This was all sent with the instrum ent. Very thoughtful of Colonel Cam pbell, was not it? – He knew Miss Fairfax could have no m usic here. I honour that part of the attention particularly ; it shews it to have been so thoroughly from the heart. Nothing hastily done; nothing incom plete. True affection only could have prom pted it.”

Em m a wished he would be less pointed, y et could not help being am used; and when on glancing her ey e towards Jane Fairfax she caught the rem ains of a sm ile, when she saw that with all the deep blush of consciousness, there had been a sm ile of secret delight, she had less scruple in the am usem ent, and m uch less com punction with respect to her. – This am iable, upright, perfect Jane Fairfax was apparently cherishing very reprehensible feelings.

He brought all the m usic to her, and they looked it over together. –

Em m a took the opportunity of whispering,

“You speak too plain. She m ust understand y ou.”

“I hope she does. I would have her understand m e. I am not in the least asham ed of m y m eaning.”

“But really, I am half asham ed, and wish I had never taken up the idea.”

“I am very glad y ou did, and that y ou com m unicated it to m e. I have now a key to all her odd looks and way s. Leave sham e to her. If she does wrong, she ought to feel it.”

“She is not entirely without it, I think.”

“I do not see m uch sign of it. She is play ing Robin Adair at this m om ent

– his favourite.”

Shortly afterwards Miss Bates, passing near the window, descried Mr.

Knightley on horse-back not far off.

“Mr. Knightley I declare! – I m ust speak to him if possible, j ust to thank him . I will not open the window here; it would give y ou all cold; but I can go into m y m other’s room y ou know. I dare say he will com e in when he knows who is

here. Quite delightful to have y ou all m eet so! – Our little room so honoured!”

She was in the adj oining cham ber while she still spoke, and opening the casem ent there, im m ediately called Mr. Knightley ’s attention, and every sy llable of their conversation was as distinctly heard by the others, as if it had passed within the sam e apartm ent.

“How d’ y e do? – how d’y e do? – Very well, I thank y ou. So obliged to y ou for the carriage last night. We were j ust in tim e; m y m other j ust ready for us. Pray com e in; do com e in. You will find som e friends here.”

So began Miss Bates; and Mr. Knightley seem ed determ ined to be heard in his turn, for m ost resolutely and com m andingly did he say,

“How is y our niece, Miss Bates? – I want to inquire after y ou all, but particularly y our niece. How is Miss Fairfax? – I hope she caught no cold last night. How is she to-day ? Tell m e how Miss Fairfax is.”

And Miss Bates was obliged to give a direct answer before he would hear her in any thing else. The listeners were am used; and Mrs. Weston gave Em m a a look of particular m eaning. But Em m a still shook her head in steady scepticism .

“So obliged to y ou! – so very m uch obliged to y ou for the carriage,”

resum ed Miss Bates.

He cut her short with,

“I am going to Kingston. Can I do any thing for y ou?”

“Oh! dear, Kingston – are y ou? – Mrs. Cole was say ing the other day she wanted som ething from Kingston.”

“Mrs. Cole has servants to send. Can I do any thing for y ou?”

“No, I thank y ou. But do com e in. Who do y ou think is here? – Miss Woodhouse and Miss Sm ith; so kind as to call to hear the new pianoforte. Do put up y our horse at the Crown, and com e in.”

“Well,” said he, in a deliberating m anner, “for five m inutes, perhaps.”

“And here is Mrs. Weston and Mr. Frank Churchill too! – Quite delightful; so m any friends!”

“No, not now, I thank y ou. I could not stay two m inutes. I m ust get on to Kingston as fast as I can.”

“Oh! do com e in. They will be so very happy to see y ou.”

“No, no; y our room is full enough. I will call another day, and hear the pianoforte.”

“Well, I am so sorry ! – Oh! Mr. Knightley, what a delightful party last night; how extrem ely pleasant. – Did y ou ever see such dancing? – Was not it delightful? – Miss Woodhouse and Mr. Frank Churchill; I never saw any thing equal to it.”

“Oh! very delightful indeed; I can say nothing less, for I suppose Miss Woodhouse and Mr. Frank Churchill are hearing every thing that passes. And (raising his voice still m ore) I do not see why Miss Fairfax should not be m entioned too. I think Miss Fairfax dances very well; and Mrs. Weston is the very best country -dance play er, without exception, in England. Now, if y our friends have any gratitude, they will say som ething pretty loud about y ou and m e in return; but I cannot stay to hear it.”

“Oh! Mr. Knightley, one m om ent m ore; som ething of consequence – so shocked! – Jane and I are both so shocked about the apples!”

“What is the m atter now?”