Emma and the Werewolves (71 page)

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.

“
Such an extraordinary
dream of mine!” he cried. “I can never think of it without
laughing. She hears us, she hears us, Miss Woodhouse. I see it in
her cheek, her smile, her vain attempt to frown. Look at her. Do
not you see that, at this instant, the very passage of her own
letter, which sent me the report, is passing under her eye—that the
whole blunder is spread before her—that she can attend to nothing
else, though pretending to listen to the others?”

Jane was forced to smile completely, for a
moment; and the smile partly remained as she turned towards him,
and said in a conscious, low, yet steady voice,

“
How you can bear such
recollections, is astonishing to me! They will sometimes
obtrude—but how you can court them!”

He had a great deal to say in return, and
very entertainingly; but Emma’s feelings were chiefly with Jane, in
the argument; and on leaving Randalls, and falling naturally into a
comparison of the two men, she felt, that pleased as she had been
to see Frank Churchill, and really regarding him as she did with
friendship, she had never been more sensible of Mr. Knightley’s
high superiority of character. The happiness of this most happy
day, received its completion, in the animated contemplation of his
worth which this comparison produced.

* * * *

Chapter XIX

I
f
Emma had still
, at intervals, an anxious
feeling for Harriet, a momentary doubt of its being possible for
her to be really cured of her attachment to Mr. Knightley, and
really able to accept another man from unbiased inclination, it was
not long that she had to suffer from the recurrence of any such
uncertainty. A very few days brought the party from London, and she
had no sooner an opportunity of being one hour alone with Harriet,
than she became perfectly satisfied—unaccountable as it was! that
Robert Martin had thoroughly supplanted Mr. Knightley, and was now
forming all her views of happiness.

Harriet was a little
distressed—did look a little foolish at first: but having once
owned that she had been presumptuous and silly, and self-deceived,
before, her pain and confusion seemed to die away with the words,
and leave her without a care for the past, and with the fullest
exultation in the present and future; for, as to her friend’s
approbation, Emma had instantly removed every fear of that nature,
by meeting her with the most unqualified congratulations. Harriet
was most happy to give every particular of the evening at Astley’s,
and the dinner the next day; she could dwell on it all with the
utmost delight. But what did such particulars explain? The fact
was, as Emma could now acknowledge, that Harriet had always liked
Robert Martin; and that his continuing to love her had been
irresistible. Beyond this, it must ever be unintelligible to
Emma.

The event, however, was
most joyful; and every day was giving her fresh reason for thinking
so. Harriet’s parentage became known. She proved to be the daughter
of a tradesman, rich enough to afford her the comfortable
maintenance which had ever been hers, and decent enough to have
always wished for concealment. Such was the blood of gentility
which Emma had formerly been so ready to vouch for! It was likely
to be as untainted, perhaps, as the blood of many a gentleman: but
what a connexion had she been preparing for Mr. Knightley—or for
the Churchills—or even for Mr. Elton! The stain of illegitimacy,
unbleached by nobility or wealth, would have been a stain
indeed.

No objection was raised on the father’s
side; the young man was treated liberally; it was all as it should
be: and as Emma became acquainted with Robert Martin, who was now
introduced at Hartfield, she fully acknowledged in him all the
appearance of sense and worth which could bid fairest for her
little friend. She had no doubt of Harriet’s happiness with any
good-tempered man; but with him, and in the home he offered, there
would be the hope of more, of security, stability, and improvement.
She would be placed in the midst of those who loved her, and who
had better sense than herself; retired enough for safety, and
occupied enough for cheerfulness. She would be never led into
temptation, nor left for it to find her out. She would be
respectable and happy; and Emma admitted her to be the luckiest
creature in the world, to have created so steady and persevering an
affection in such a man; or, if not quite the luckiest, to yield
only to herself.

Harriet, necessarily drawn
away by her engagements with the Martins, was less and less at
Hartfield; which was not to be regretted. The intimacy between her
and Emma must sink; their friendship must change into a calmer sort
of goodwill; and, fortunately, what ought to be, and must be,
seemed already beginning, and in the most gradual, natural
manner.

Before the end of September, Emma attended
Harriet to church, and saw her hand bestowed on Robert Martin with
so complete a satisfaction, as no remembrances, even connected with
Mr. Elton as he stood before them, could impair. Perhaps, indeed,
at that time she scarcely saw Mr. Elton, but as the clergyman whose
blessing at the altar might next fall on herself. Robert Martin and
Harriet Smith, the latest couple engaged of the three, were the
first to be married.

Jane Fairfax had already quitted Highbury,
and was restored to the comforts of her beloved home with the
Campbells. The Mr. Churchills were also in town; and they were only
waiting for November.

The intermediate month was
the one fixed on, as far as they dared, by Emma and Mr. Knightley.
They had determined that their marriage ought to be concluded while
John and Isabella were still at Hartfield, to allow them the
fortnight’s absence in a tour to the seaside, which was the plan.
John and Isabella, and every other friend, were agreed in approving
it. But Mr. Woodhouse—how was Mr. Woodhouse to be induced to
consent? he, who had never yet alluded to their marriage but as a
distant event.

When first sounded on the
subject, he was so miserable, that they were almost hopeless. A
second allusion, indeed, gave less pain. He began to think it was
to be, and that he could not prevent it—a very promising step of
the mind on its way to resignation. Still, however, he was not
happy. Nay, he appeared so much otherwise, that his daughter’s
courage failed. She could not bear to see him suffering, to know
him fancying himself neglected; and though her understanding almost
acquiesced in the assurance of both the Mr. Knightleys, that when
once the event were over, his distress would be soon over too, she
hesitated—she could not proceed.

In this state of suspense
they were befriended, not by any sudden illumination of Mr.
Woodhouse’s mind, or any wonderful change of his nervous system,
but by the operation of the same system in another way. Mrs.
Weston’s poultry-house was robbed one night of all her
turkeys—evidently by the ingenuity of man. Other poultry-yards in
the neighbourhood also suffered. Pilfering was housebreaking to Mr.
Woodhouse’s fears. He was very uneasy; and but for the sense of his
son-in-law’s protection, would have been under wretched alarm every
night of his life. The strength, resolution, and presence of mind
of the Mr. Knightleys, commanded his fullest dependence. While
either of them protected him and his, Hartfield was safe. But Mr.
John Knightley must be in London again by the end of the first week
in November.

The result of this distress
was, that, with a much more voluntary, cheerful consent than his
daughter had ever presumed to hope for at the moment, she was able
to fix her wedding-day—and Mr. Elton was called on, within a month
from the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Martin, to join the hands
of Mr. Knightley and Miss Woodhouse.

The wedding was very much like other
weddings, where the parties have no taste for finery or parade; and
Mrs. Elton, from the particulars detailed by her husband, thought
it all extremely shabby, and very inferior to her own. “Very little
white satin, very few lace veils; a most pitiful business! Selina
would stare when she heard of it.” But, in spite of these
deficiencies, the wishes, the hopes, the confidence, the
predictions of the small band of true friends who witnessed the
ceremony, were fully answered in the perfect happiness of the
union.

# # #

About the
Authors

Jane Austen
was born in 1775 and wrote many novels throughout
her lifetime, all of which are still read today. Among them
are
Sense and
Sensibility
,
Pride
and Prejudice
,
Mansfield Park
,
Emma
,
Persuasion
and
Northanger Abbey
. She died in
1817.

Adam Rann
lives somewhere between the fringes of outer space
and the depths of his own mind. He loves to read, write, and spend
time with his family. This is his first publication.

* * * *

The Coscom Entertainment Zombie, Monster,
Mash Up and Superhero Books

Please go to
www.coscomentertainment.com
for a plot synopsis and more information on the books. All are
available in eBook and paperback at your favorite online retailer.
Thanks.

Zombie Books:

Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn and Zombie Jim
by Mark Twain and W.
Bill Czolgosz

Alice in Zombieland
by Lewis Carroll and Nickolas Cook

Axiom-man: The Dead
Land
by A.P. Fuchs

Bits of the Dead
edited by Keith Gouveia and illustrated by Sean
Simmans

Blood of the Dead
by A.P. Fuchs

Dead Science
edited by A.P. Fuchs

Don of the Dead
by Nick Cato

Revolt of the Dead
by Keith Gouveia

R.I.P.
by Harrison Howe

Robin Hood and Friar Tuck:
Zombie Killers
by Paul A.
Freeman

The Lifeless
by Lorne Dixon

The Undead World of
Oz
by L. Frank Baum and Ryan C.
Thomas

The War of the Worlds Plus
Blood, Guts and Zombies
by H.G. Wells and
Eric S. Brown

World War of the
Dead
by Eric S. Brown

Vicious Verses and
Reanimated Rhymes: Zany Zombie Poetry for the Undead Head
edited by A.P. Fuchs

Zombie Fight Night:
Battles of the Dead
by A.P.
Fuchs

Zombifrieze
by W. Bill Czolgosz and Sean Simmans

Other Monster and Horror Books:

Animal Behavior and Other
Tales of Lycanthropy
by Keith
Gouveia

Anna Karnivora: A Vampire
Novel
by W. Bill Czolgosz

Bigfoot War
by Eric S. Brown

Dracula
by Bram Stoker, Illustrated by Sean Simmans with
an Introduction by Nancy Kilpatrick

Emma and the
Werewolves
by Jane Austen and Adam
Rann

Hound: The Curse of the
Baskervilles
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and
Lorne Dixon

Snarl
by Lorne Dixon

The Summer I Died
by Ryan C. Thomas

Superhero Books:

Axiom-man
(
The Axiom-man
Saga
, Book 1) by A.P. Fuchs

First Night Out
(
The Axiom-man
Saga
, Episode No. 0) by A.P.
Fuchs

Doorway of Darkness
(
The Axiom-man
Saga
, Book 2) by A.P. Fuchs

The Dead Land
(
The Axiom-man
Saga
, Episode No. 1) by A.P.
Fuchs

The Wraith
by Frank Dirscherl

Valley of Evil
(
The Wraith
Series
, Book 2) by Frank
Dirscherl

Cult of the Damned
(
The Wraith
Series
, Book 3) by Frank
Dirscherl

Bookazines:

Dry Ice Dreams
(
Bumper Sticker
Shine
No. 1) by A.P. Fuchs

The Macro Mechanic’s
Manifesto
(
Bumper
Sticker Shine
No. 2) by A.P.
Fuchs