Hello again! I’m back with the final section of my work-in-progress, an epistolary novella with characters from Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, and Northanger Abbey! If you missed the first five parts (or need to refresh your memory about what’s going on), you can read the previous sections here.
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Miss Margaret Dashwood to Mrs. Marianne Brandon:
Dear Marianne,
I know you said in your last letter that you were all anticipation to hear how the dance at Mrs. Lordson’s would be, and that you hoped Mr. Thorpe would pay me much attention. He did, and I am afraid I did not find it as agreeable as I thought it would be. I must tell you that Mrs. Jennings was not well, and she asked Captain Jennings to take me in her stead. In the carriage on the way there, he was so silent and looked so unhappy that I accidentally apologized to him. Although I cannot remember exactly how our conversation came about, the end of it was that we acknowledged that Mrs. Jennings’ pushing us toward each other had made us both rebellious. We finished with a good understanding that we might be as friendly as we liked without the other person thinking they were being pursued as a matrimonial prize. We danced together twice and I enjoyed it very much.
I danced with Mr. Thorpe and he took me in to supper. After spending much time in his company, I must say he is not as interesting as I thought he would be. He talked a great deal about himself, his horse, and his skill on the hunting-field. I confess I found the conversation with Captain Jennings much more interesting. He asked me all about you and Elinor and Mama and if I like music or drawing and if I like to ride. It was only afterward I thought that I might have asked him a few questions about his experiences as a sea captain! But perhaps he does not care to mention such things. It is rather a pity I gave him to understand all my interest was in Mr. Thorpe. If I now turn off Mr. Thorpe, Capt. Jennings will think I am after him instead. And to tell the truth, if I had met Captain Jennings without Mrs. Jennings’ interference, I very well might have been interested in him. Ah, well. I have him as a friend, at least. And I suppose I must keep up the appearance of some interest in Mr. Thorpe so that he does not suspect me of going back on my word.
Captain Wentworth to Captain Jennings:
Dear Jennings,
I know nothing of the Thorpes, but for the sake of your peace of mind, I did a little gentle probing into his antecedents—although I am a little surprised that you are taking the responsibility for Miss Dashwood’s welfare upon your own shoulders. Unfortunately, I gather Thorpe is not a great catch. No fortune (he seems to be instead on the hunt for a fortune!), a braggart, and prone to gambling. Still, he is young and may learn to be more sensible in time, and there may be virtues in him that I did not discover in my inquiries.
Captain Jennings to Captain Wentworth.
Dear Wentworth,
Thank you for doing a little investigating into Mr. Thorpe, however unhappy the result. I remind you that I am not taking Miss Dashwood’s welfare upon my shoulders, but only looking to give my aunt the assurance that she need not rely on me to provide a good match for Miss Dashwood and thus put an end to her matchmaking ideas.
I saw Miss Dashwood and Mr. Thorpe yesterday as they were driving together in his open carriage. It was the horses I noticed first—stiff-gaited, and from all appearances, not well broken. Then I looked at the occupants of the curricle and was surprised to see Miss Dashwood. At first, I thought she looked a little bored and unhappy, but after a moment she saw me, and nodded and smiled. She then turned back to Thorpe and showed great interest in whatever he was saying. I suppose when I first saw her she was merely lost in thought. I should be relieved, I know, that I am not being pursued by a rapacious female, but I do wish that her attentions were fixed on a more worthy object. I have considered the idea of speaking to her about the unwisdom of encouraging Thorpe in his attentions, but the thought that she might interpret that as jealousy gives me pause. And if my aunt heard about it she must conclude that I am beginning to care for Miss Dashwood, and would give me no peace. I think I am right to keep silent on the matter.
Mrs. Jennings to Mrs. Dashwood:
My Dear Mrs. Dashwood,
At last I have something to report regarding Margaret’s matrimonial prospects. A Mr. Thorpe seems to be pursuing Margaret. He is the son of my old friend, and I have known of him forever, although I have not spent much time in his company. I want to like him, but I must say that all I can think when I am in his presence is that there is no comparison between him and my nephew. Mr. Thorpe’s manners are well enough (although I do think his mother has spoiled him a good deal), but he has no property and has three sisters at his charge! He is not even handsome.
I cannot detect any signs of affection for him in Margaret. He asked her to go driving with him today and she seemed almost to have to force herself to go, even though I told her it was a chill wind and perhaps she ought to stay home. She went, however, and I cannot think why.
I think I will talk to my nephew again. You remember how Col. Brandon resisted the idea of our dear Marianne at first, but after I prompted him many times, he did marry her. And just see how happy they are together! I vow I will do the same for Margaret.
Miss Margaret Dashwood to Mrs. Marianne Brandon:
Dear Marianne,
I was forced to go driving with John Thorpe yesterday. I nearly determined not to go, but if Mrs. Jennings thinks I am rejecting him she will only push her nephew at me again. It would be too humiliating to have Captain Jennings think I might be asking her to put in a word for me after he made it very clear to me that he was not interested in me in that way! Therefore, I said I would go with Mr. Thorpe. I was fairly miserable during the drive. I have not met many young men, as you know, but it is hard for me to imagine a more tedious companion. I happened to catch sight of Captain Jennings while we were driving in the park, and I suddenly realized that my face might be giving away what I really felt about being nattered at by Mr. Thorpe. After nodding at Captain Jennings, I immediately assumed an expression of rapt interest in the excellencies of his horses which he was expounding at that moment.
After I came home, I decided that it would be better to be in his company but not have to listen to him talk. I have decided not to go driving with him again, but I will continue to attend the concerts with Mrs. Jennings. There is one tonight, in fact. Mr. Thorpe may join our party, but I will not allow him to talk to me during the music.
Oh dear, I have no idea what to do! To allow Mr. Thorpe to think I look on him with complacency is dishonest, and I do not mean to give myself the reputation of a flirt. But to reject him would mean that Mrs. Jennings would try to match me again, and worse, importune Captain Jennings on the subject. Oh! I have just remembered. He said he would tell his aunt that he was attached to a girl in Somerset. Perhaps that will be enough to avoid unpleasantness.
Oh Marianne, I have just returned from the concert. Both Mr. Thorpe and Captain Jennings were there, and I was so worried that I paid little attention to the excellent music. I did my best to keep Mr. Thorpe from speaking during the performance but had little success. And with both the Captain and Mrs. Jennings sitting near me (for the Captain rather attached himself to our party), I could not rebuff Mr. Thorpe as I would have liked. After the music was finished and we were all talking together, Mrs. Jennings invited Captain Jennings to dine with us and the Palmers before the ball on Thursday. I was very happy that she waited until Mr. Thorpe had left before issuing the invitation!
Captain Jennings to Captain Wentworth:
Dear Wentworth,
I am sorry you missed the concert last evening. Not merely because the music was so enchanting, but because I would have valued your assessment of Miss Dashwood’s behavior to Mr. Thorpe. She sat beside him again, and it galled me to see how he constantly whispered to her during the music. What can she see in him? She did not whisper back, and it seemed to me that she was more interested in the music than in him. I felt a sudden urge to drag him out of the room bodily to relieve her of his presence. I realized then what you must have long suspected: I feel more for her than mere concern for her well-being. And now I must figure out how to detach her from Thorpe without violating my word about pursuing her.
Aunt Jennings invited me to dine with them and some other people on the way to some ball or other on Thursday, and I readily agreed. We will see what comes of it. How does one win over a girl one has promised not to pursue? And one, moreover, who seems to be attached to someone else? I have my aunt’s good word, of course, but so far her efforts have driven Miss Dashwood away from me. Do, please, advise me!
Captain Wentworth to Captain Jennings:
My Dear Fellow,
I am afraid I have no advice to give. I once was in the position of thinking that the woman I loved was attached to another, and I nearly shipwrecked our happiness through hasty words and actions (come to think of it, the scene of one of those incidents was at a concert!). My only counsel is not to assume what she thinks or feels. I anticipate hearing all about your evening Thursday!
Captain Jennings to Captain Wentworth:
Dear Wentworth,
Just back from the dinner and ball. The dinner was a sedate affair as far as Miss Dashwood and I were concerned. I was afraid to pay much attention to her, for fear that I would make my interest known to her or to my aunt. I have not felt so much like a schoolboy around a girl in more than a decade! She is beautiful, is she not? My aunt caught me looking at her (I fear, with admiration), and I hastened to mention the name of Miss Greville of Somerset, a woman I was anxious to meet again. I took care that Miss Dashwood could hear me, and so she would know I was not going back on my word.
Afterward, we went to the ball. For once, John Thorpe was not there. As I was of the party, it was expected that I should dance first with Miss Dashwood; therefore I did not need to wait until Aunt Jennings went to play whist in another room before asking her to dance. I was in agony wondering how friendly I ought to be: we are friends, after all, and my inclination was to be as engaging as it was in my power to be, but I did not want to overwhelm her.
As I was smiling at her like an idiot and pondering what on earth I ought to converse with her about, it was borne in on me that the musicians engaged for the evening were the worst I had ever heard. A violin sounded a screeching note; Miss Dashwood and I caught each other’s eye and laughed immoderately.
We danced with other people, of course, after the first two dances, but I brought her cups of punch and sat with her when she was tired of dancing. Aunt Jennings came once to see how her charge did, and we sobered immediately so as not to give her the impression that we were charmed by each other. We caught sight of each other’s unnaturally solemn faces, though, and that made us both laugh, much to Aunt Jennings’ mystification. After that, there seemed little point in keeping our demeanor grave, so hilarity reigned. Have I told you she has a delightful sense of humor? I did judge it best that someone else take her in to supper, but it was a wrench.
What does she think of me? When we were laughing together it seemed that there could not be two people with a better understanding of each other than we had. I flatter myself that she could like me, if her heart was not given to another. Is it? Can she really like that fool Thorpe instead of me? (Forgive my immoderate language.) I suppose you will tell me I ought to speak to her, but I hesitate. If she should look at me with those beautiful brown eyes and say, “But Captain Jennings, you assured me you would not try to fix your interest with me!” then my heart would fail within me. As for myself, I have no doubts. If she rebuffs Thorpe, I will speak, come what may. It is only while I am unsure of her attachment to Thorpe that it seems dishonorable to try and win her.
I shall keep you apprised.
Mrs. Jennings to Mrs. Dashwood:
I begin to think that Margaret and my nephew have some sort of understanding. They spent much time in each other’s company at the ball last evening. However, he informed me yesterday at dinner that there is a Miss Greville somewhere in Somersetshire that he is anxious to meet again. I half suspect him of invention—surely it cannot be a serious attachment, as he has never mentioned her before and to my knowledge he has only been to Somerset once! However, I cannot be sure. It may be that he feels nothing more than friendship for Margaret: the way they were laughing together was very different than the languishing looks I expect from courting couples!
Miss Margaret Dashwood to Mrs. Marianne Brandon:
Dear Marianne,
What an idiot I am! I was so annoyed at Mrs. Jennings arranging a marriage for me that I rejected Captain Jennings as a possible suitor before I had even met him. Had I known what sort of person he was, I would have been much more friendly. And then, perhaps, he would have liked me for myself and we would have been happy together. I had such a delightful time at the ball laughing and talking with him! I found myself annoyed whenever another man asked me to dance, or when the Captain was required to be a good ball guest and dance with other girls, for then I was deprived of his conversation. I dare to think he enjoyed talking to me, as well, for there was really no reason for him to spend as much time with me as he did. Of course, he likely thinks of me only as a friend, for I implied I didn’t want to marry him that day in the carriage. Ah well, I suppose that I have sealed my own fate. May it teach me not to pre-judge people again!
Captain Jennings to Captain Wentworth:
Dear Wentworth,
I have much to tell you, and I fear even the lateness of the hour will not prevent this from being a very long letter.
I went to the Philharmonic concert tonight. My sister was not feeling well enough to go, but I could not stay away as long as there was a possibility of seeing Miss Dashwood. It was very well attended, and the anteroom was full of people standing elbow to elbow while we waited for the doors to the concert room to be opened. I arrived alone and found myself standing behind Mrs. Thorpe, who I recognized by the purple ostrich feather she wore at the dinner where I first encountered her. She was talking rather loudly to a woman I had never seen before, and the first words I caught were these: “—my son John! He could not come tonight—fearful headache.” The other lady made a remark and Mrs. Thorpe answered, “Yes, Miss Dashwood. She must be desolated to be here without him—they always sit together!” Another pause for a murmured question, and then the reply, “No, not yet, but I have no doubt there will be an announcement of their engagement very soon. I expect it any day!” And then followed a few phrases about “brother’s estate in Sussex” and “sister married into an estate in Devonshire” and then the doors opened and crowd began to move into the assembly room and I could hear her no more.
You can imagine my emotion! I have always considered myself an honorable man—too honorable to cut out a fellow suitor if he was before me in the pursuit of love. Yet at that moment, my only thought was that he must not be allowed to speak to her of his intentions before I did. Miss Dashwood must not throw herself away on such a worthless man! She might be too innocent to judge him aright, but she ought not to have the lifetime of regret which would result from a union with him.
And wonder of wonders, he was not there that evening! I must not waste the opportunity Providence had arranged for me. I had to find her. I must have appeared like a madman, craning my neck this way and that, peering over large men’s shoulders, and sidling past groups of chattering women to see if I could find my aunt and her charge amid the throng. At last, I was rewarded with the sight of my aunt and Miss Dashwood and I fought my way to their side. I was nearly panting from my exertions as I greeted them and asked if I might sit with them. Miss Dashwood looked very happy when my aunt said that I might, and in a glow of triumph I escorted them to our seats.
I confess I heard almost nothing of the music; my whole attention was fixed on how I might speak to Miss Dashwood alone at some point during the evening. She was sitting next to me—so very near! And yet what could I say to her beyond banalities like “the musicians are very good, are they not?” or “the room is very warm.” How could I introduce more tender subjects? I cudgeled my brain to invent something, but the minutes ticked by without any ideas forming.
There was a slight intermission after the first hour, and my aunt said she desired some air. I was anxious lest she would require Miss Dashwood or myself to accompany her, but she waved us away and said she was perfectly all right by herself.
Now we were alone—or as alone as we could be in such a sea of people. Miss Dashwood turned to me and smiled. Have I mentioned to you that she has an enchanting smile? It drove all rational thought from my brain.
“What do you think?” she asked me.
“I think you must not marry John Thorpe,” I said.
There was a moment of silence between us as she was no doubt astonished at my forwardness and I reeled from the shock that I had spoken that thought aloud.
“I beg your pardon,” I said when I had slightly recovered. “I have no right to issue you commands. I care only for your welfare, and do not wish to see you married to one unworthy of you.”
To my great relief, she did not look offended. She blushed adorably and said faintly, “I assure you, I have no intention of marrying Mr. Thorpe.”
The gush of relief I felt prompted another unconsidered remark. “Then will you marry me?”
That did provoke a gasp from her.
“Forgive me,” I said. “I am too precipitate. Perhaps I may call on you tomorrow so that we can discuss the idea in a more leisurely fashion.”
“You may,” she said. “And yes.”
Her voice was so faint that I was not certain she had actually said it. But her eyes were averted and her hand trembled on the fan resting on her lap. Without actually deciding to do, so I took her hand in mine. This rapturous moment was interrupted by the return of my aunt.
It was agony to have no more words with her through the rest of the evening, but I feel my happiness is secure. I give you permission to wish me happy. I still have no idea what any of the music was!
Miss Margaret Dashwood to Mrs. Marianne Brandon:
Oh, Marianne, I am the happiest creature alive! I went to the concert last evening believing that Captain Jennings would ever only be a friend, and before I returned home I was his betrothed! It was all so very sudden—Mrs. Jennings had stepped out of the room for some air during the intermission, and I asked the captain what he thought (of the music, I meant) and he implored me not to marry Mr. Thorpe and marry him instead! I could hardly believe my ears and was a little afraid to answer him, lest I had misunderstood what he meant. My hesitation prompted him to ask me if he could call on me the next day to talk about it, and I told him that he could, and then I quietly said “yes.” I daresay it was very brazen, but I thought of him waiting anxiously all night wondering what my answer would be and desired to give him relief. We were very decorous for the rest of the evening. He held my hand for a mere moment before his aunt appeared, and there was no time for any private talk. The look in his eyes when he said goodbye to us, however, is one that will appear in my dreams for the rest of my life. He came today and took me driving so that we could say to each other all that was in our hearts. On our return, we announced our news to Mrs. Jennings (whose estimation of her own powers must be as high as the heavens now), and received her euphoric congratulations. Captain Jennings is writing to Mama as I am writing to you, and no doubt you will meet him within a few days as he is travelling to Devonshire immediately. I must write to Mama (no doubt I ought to have written to her first), and I will end this now, but we will have a long, long talk as soon as I return home!
Mrs. Jennings to Mrs. Dashwood:
My Dear Mrs. Dashwood,
Did I not tell you that I would find a match for Margaret? No doubt you have already heard from your dear Marianne and will soon be visited by Captain Jennings himself, but I cannot contain my glee at the way my matchmaking has brought such happiness to another couple! You will see the pair for yourself very soon, but there is nothing like the way the Captain dotes upon Margaret and the way they laugh together. I vow there is nothing so rewarding as the matching up of two deserving young people. What a pity it is that you and I have no more offspring! This is only a note, as I have arranged to meet with Mrs. Thorpe to discuss which young men might be good matches for her two daughters. I have a Calling in life, and I must not neglect it.
Ever yours,
Maria Jennings.
The End
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