Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Perry!' said he to Emma, and trying, as he spoke, to catch Miss Fairfax's eye


The joy, the gratitude, the exquisite delight of her sensations may be imagined. The sole grievance and alloy thus removed in the prospect of Harriet's welfare, she was really in danger of becoming too happy for security. - What had she to wish for? Nothing, but to grow more worthy of him, whose intentions and judgment had been ever so superior to her own. Nothing, but that the lessons of her past folly might teach her humility and circumspection in future.
Serious she was, very serious in her thankfulness, and in her resolutions; and yet there was no preventing a laugh, sometimes in the very midst of them. She must laugh at such a close! Such an end of the doleful disappointment of five weeks back! Such a heart - such a Harriet!
Now there would be pleasure in her returning - Every thing would be a pleasure. It would be a great pleasure to know Robert Martin.
High in the rank of her most serious and heartfelt felicities, was the reflection that all necessity of concealment from Mr. Knightley would soon be over. The disguise, equivocation, mystery, so hateful to her to practise, might soon be over. She could now look forward to giving him that full and perfect confidence which her disposition was most ready to welcome as a duty.

`I do suspect that in the midst of your perplexities at that time, you had very great amusement in tricking us all. - I am sure you had. - I am sure it was a consolation to you.'
`Oh! no, no, no - how can you suspect me of such a thing? I was the most miserable wretch!'
`Not quite so miserable as to be insensible to mirth. I am sure it was a source of high entertainment to you, to feel that you were taking us all in. - Perhaps I am the readier to suspect, because, to tell you the truth, I think it might have been some amusement to myself in the same situation. I think there is a little likeness between us.'
He bowed.
`If not in our dispositions,' she presently added, with a look of true sensibility, `there is a likeness in our destiny; the destiny which bids fair to connect us with two characters so much superior to our own.'
`True, true,' he answered, warmly. `No, not true on your side. You can have no superior, but most true on mine. - She is a complete angel. Look at her. Is not she an angel in every gesture? Observe the turn of her throat. Observe her eyes, as she is looking up at my father. - You will be glad to hear (inclining his head, and whispering seriously) that my uncle means to give her all my aunt's jewels. They are to be new set. I am resolved to have some in an ornament for the head. Will not it be beautiful in her dark hair?'
`Very beautiful, indeed,' replied Emma; and she spoke so kindly, that he gratefully burst out,
`How delighted I am to see you again! and to see you in such excellent looks! - I would not have missed this meeting for the world. I should certainly have called at Hartfield, had you failed to come.'
The others had been talking of the child, Mrs. Weston giving an account of a little alarm she had been under, the evening before, from the infant's appearing not quite well. She believed she had been foolish, but it had alarmed her, and she had been within half a minute of sending for Mr. Perry. Perhaps she ought to be ashamed, but Mr. Weston had been almost as uneasy as herself. - In ten minutes, however, the child had been perfectly well again. This was her history; and particularly interesting it was to Mr. Woodhouse, who commended her very much for thinking of sending for Perry, and only regretted that she had not done it. `She should always send for Perry, if the child appeared in the slightest degree disordered, were it only for a moment. She could not be too soon alarmed, nor send for Perry too often. It was a pity, perhaps, that he had not come last night; for, though the child seemed well now, very well considering, it would probably have been better if Perry had seen it.'
Frank Churchill caught the name.
`Perry!' said he to Emma, and trying, as he spoke, to catch Miss Fairfax's eye. `My friend Mr. Perry! What are they saying about Mr. Perry? - Has he been here this morning? - And how does he travel now? - Has he set up his carriage?'
Emma soon recollected, and understood him; and while she joined in the laugh, it was evident from Jane's countenance that she too was really hearing him, though trying to seem deaf.

No comments:

Post a Comment