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1"Not so, indeed; for, seriously speaking, I am very sure that conscience only kept Edward from Harley Street. And I
2really believe he has the most delicate conscience in the world; the most scrupulous in performing every engagement,
3however minute, and however it may make against his interest or pleasure. He is the most fearful of giving pain, of
4wounding expectation, and the most incapable of being selfish, of any body I ever saw. Edward, it is so, and I will say
5it. What! are you never to hear yourself praised!--Then you must be no friend of mine; for those who will accept of my
6love and esteem, must submit to my open commendation." The nature of her commendation, in the present case, however,
7happened to be particularly ill-suited to the feelings of two thirds of her auditors, and was so very unexhilarating to
8Edward, that he very soon got up to go away. "Going so soon!" said Marianne; "my dear Edward, this must not be." And
9drawing him a little aside, she whispered her persuasion that Lucy could not stay much longer. But even this
10encouragement failed, for he would go; and Lucy, who would have outstaid him, had his visit lasted two hours, soon
11afterwards went away. "What can bring her here so often?" said Marianne, on her leaving them. "Could not she see that we
12wanted her gone!--how teazing to Edward!" "Why so?--we were all his friends, and Lucy has been the longest known to him
13of any. It is but natural that he should like to see her as well as ourselves." Marianne looked at her steadily, and
14said, "You know, Elinor, that this is a kind of talking which I cannot bear. If you only hope to have your assertion
15contradicted, as I must suppose to be the case, you ought to recollect that I am the last person in the world to do it.
16I cannot descend to be tricked out of assurances, that are not really wanted." She then left the room; and Elinor dared
17not follow her to say more, for bound as she was by her promise of secrecy to Lucy, she could give no information that
18would convince Marianne; and painful as the consequences of her still continuing in an error might be, she was obliged
19to submit to it. All that she could hope, was that Edward would not often expose her or himself to the distress of
20hearing Marianne's mistaken warmth, nor to the repetition of any other part of the pain that had attended their recent
21meeting--and this she had every reason to expect. CHAPTER XXXVI. Within a few days after this meeting, the newspapers
22announced to the world, that the lady of Thomas Palmer, Esq. was safely delivered of a son and heir; a very interesting
23and satisfactory paragraph, at least to all those intimate connections who knew it before. This event, highly important
24to Mrs. Jennings's happiness, produced a temporary alteration in the disposal of her time, and influenced, in a like
25degree, the engagements of her young friends; for as she wished to be as much as possible with Charlotte, she went
26thither every morning as soon as she was dressed, and did not return till late in the evening; and the Miss Dashwoods,
27at the particular request of the Middletons, spent the whole of every day in Conduit Street. For their own comfort they
28would much rather have remained, at least all the morning, in Mrs. Jennings's house; but it was not a thing to be urged
29against the wishes of everybody. Their hours were therefore made over to Lady Middleton and the two Miss Steeles, by
30whom their company, in fact was as little valued, as it was professedly sought. They had too much sense to be desirable
31companions to the former; and by the latter they were considered with a jealous eye, as intruding on their ground, and
32sharing the kindness which they wanted to monopolize. Though nothing could be more polite than Lady Middleton's
33behaviour to Elinor and Marianne, she did not really like them at all. Because they neither flattered herself nor her
34children, she could not believe them good-natured; and because they were fond of reading, she fancied them satirical:
35perhaps without exactly knowing what it was to be satirical; but that did not signify. It was censure in common use, and
36easily given. Their presence was a restraint both on her and on Lucy. It checked the idleness of one, and the business
37of the other. Lady Middleton was ashamed of doing nothing before them, and the flattery which Lucy was proud to think of
38and administer at other times, she feared they would despise her for offering. Miss Steele was the least discomposed of
39the three, by their presence; and it was in their power to reconcile her to it entirely. Would either of them only have
40given her a full and minute account of the whole affair between Marianne and Mr. Willoughby, she would have thought
41herself amply rewarded for the sacrifice of the best place by the fire after dinner, which their arrival occasioned. But
42this conciliation was not granted; for though she often threw out expressions of pity for her sister to Elinor, and more
43than once dropt a reflection on the inconstancy of beaux before Marianne, no effect was produced, but a look of
44indifference from the former, or of disgust in the latter. An effort even yet lighter might have made her their friend.
45Would they only have laughed at her about the Doctor! But so little were they, any more than the others, inclined to
46oblige her, that if Sir John dined from home, she might spend a whole day without hearing any other raillery on the
47subject, than what she was kind enough to bestow on herself. All these jealousies and discontents, however, were so
48totally unsuspected by Mrs. Jennings, that she thought it a delightful thing for the girls to be together; and generally
49congratulated her young friends every night, on having escaped the company of a stupid old woman so long. She joined
50them sometimes at Sir John's, sometimes at her own house; but wherever it was, she always came in excellent spirits,
51full of delight and importance, attributing Charlotte's well doing to her own care, and ready to give so exact, so
52minute a detail of her situation, as only Miss Steele had curiosity enough to desire. One thing did disturb her; and of
53that she made her daily complaint. Mr. Palmer maintained the common, but unfatherly opinion among his sex, of all
54infants being alike; and though she could plainly perceive, at different times, the most striking resemblance between
55this baby and every one of his relations on both sides, there was no convincing his father of it; no persuading him to
56believe that it was not exactly like every other baby of the same age; nor could he even be brought to acknowledge the
57simple proposition of its being the finest child in the world. I come now to the relation of a misfortune, which about
58this time befell Mrs. John Dashwood. It so happened that while her two sisters with Mrs. Jennings were first calling on
59her in Harley Street, another of her acquaintance had dropt in--a circumstance in itself not apparently likely to
60produce evil to her. But while the imaginations of other people will carry them away to form wrong judgments of our
61conduct, and to decide on it by slight appearances, one's happiness must in some measure be always at the mercy of
62chance. In the present instance, this last-arrived lady allowed her fancy to so far outrun truth and probability, that
63on merely hearing the name of the Miss Dashwoods, and understanding them to be Mr. Dashwood's sisters, she immediately
64concluded them to be staying in Harley Street; and this misconstruction produced within a day or two afterwards, cards
65of invitation for them as well as for their brother and sister, to a small musical party at her house. The consequence
66of which was, that Mrs. John Dashwood was obliged to submit not only to the exceedingly great inconvenience of sending
67her carriage for the Miss Dashwoods, but, what was still worse, must be subject to all the unpleasantness of appearing
68to treat them with attention: and who could tell that they might not expect to go out with her a second time? The power
69of disappointing them, it was true, must always be hers. But that was not enough; for when people are determined on a
70mode of conduct which they know to be wrong, they feel injured by the expectation of any thing better from them.
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