Chapter 46 Chapter 46 The next day, after breakfast, Ma...
The next day, after breakfast, Mary and Susan walked to the vicar's house to visit Fanny. The gentle breeze of the countryside carried the fresh fragrance of youth, the green trees along the way swayed their beautiful branches, and the birds brought a joyful concerto.
Inside the pastor's house, Fanny was sitting in a chair reading Cobb's poetry. She was much fuller than before, and one hand unconsciously stroked her round belly, her face revealing maternal tenderness.
"Fanny, how are you feeling now?" Mary walked into the living room. She had never seen what the house used to look like, but she knew that the current furnishings were elegant and tasteful. The elegant furniture revealed the owner's refined taste, and the exquisite arrangement showed the owner's exquisite ingenuity.
“Dear Mary, Susan,” Fanny tried to stand up to greet her sister.
Mary and Susan helped her up and made sure she sat down properly. The burden of childbirth had recently made Fanny feel heavy-hearted, but the joy of nurturing a child made her willingly endure the hardship.
The three sisters sat together, chatting about what was happening around them. Susan and Fanny were sometimes nervous about the difficulties they encountered in running the company, and sometimes happy about the solutions they found.
Such close sisterhood is rare in this era. Everyone is focused on money. When a person has no money, he loses his relatives. When he has money, his relatives begin to envy everything he has.
For Fanny, the money brought by the success of the sewing machine company did not necessarily bring her much joy, but the improvement in the living conditions of her relatives did bring her comfort. She was happy to see Richard so successful and believed that this success would also benefit the Bertram family.
As for Sir Thomas's slight dissatisfaction, as Edmund put it, "Father should realize that self-reliance is more commendable than reaping the benefits of others' labor."
When Edmund returned from his sermon, he greeted his two sisters even more warmly. Susan guessed that her aunt had woken up, so she went back to keep Aunt Bertram company, while Mary stayed behind to keep Fanny company.
This tranquil and peaceful country life lasted for more than two weeks. On April 29th, with Mary supervising the doctor to perform a simple disinfection of the delivery room and prepare the forceps, Fanny successfully gave birth to a girl, and the next generation of the Bertram family was born.
The news of mother and daughter's safety filled Mansfield Park with joy, and everyone was overjoyed. The newborn girl inherited her mother's and grandmother's names and was named "Frances" (Fanny is Frances's nickname).
Little Frances was a beautiful and lovely baby. Sir Thomas would ask Edmund about the child every day. Mary and Susan especially loved her and would visit their newborn niece almost every day.
Despite Anne writing to her from Brighton, Mary still planned to stay in Mansfield until little Frances was 100 days old, to make sure Fanny had recovered before leaving.
Julia and Mr. Yates also returned during this time. Julia only glanced at her newborn niece before staying in her pre-marital room at the manor and rarely going out. She was a truly beautiful girl, somewhat resembling Edmund, but her face always wore a sorrowful expression, and she rarely spoke to anyone.
Mr. Yates was better off not speaking, because once he opened his mouth, he revealed his ignorant and boring nature. He loved to talk to his two cousins about the aristocratic anecdotes he knew well, but he was also very unrestrained in his speech. If he had not been born into nobility, he would have been a well-known fool.
Mary felt the only thing to be thankful for was that he was still somewhat afraid of Sir Thomas and willing to accept his legal father's guidance. As for the properties that belonged to him, she couldn't expect him to make a fortune from them. It was already a great deed for the Sir to get his son-in-law out of his previous bad environment and stop him from squandering the family fortune.
In mid-July, Mary received a letter from Richard asking when she would need the carriage. The General's wife and Miss Maxwell were still traveling and had not yet returned. Was she planning to go straight back to London or meet up with her godmother and friends first?
Tom has arrived in London and is currently working as a shop assistant selling sewing machines. He is quite hardworking, and Richard has promised to sponsor his tuition and living expenses once he passes the exams at Wenshi Middle School.
The Price family is thriving. Even Mrs. Price wrote to her daughter that they recently got a new maid, who is much more diligent than the previous one. However, the maid, Lily, seems to be planning to get married, and Mrs. Price is worried about whether she will resign after the wedding.
Mary had just sent her reply to Richard when she received an urgent letter from her mother, Mrs. Price. The writer was clearly flustered; the handwriting was messy and the incoherent words conveyed a terrible message to her daughter.
“My dear Mary, something terrible has happened. Mr. Price has fallen and hit his head, and he's bleeding a lot. The maid hasn't even wiped the blood off the carpet yet. William hasn't returned since he went to sea in March, and I don't know what to do without him. I desperately want him back. Mr. Price is still in bed, and Lily has gone to call the doctor. He keeps complaining of pain, and the doctor told me he has to take painkillers every day. It's just Charles and me at home now, and we don't know how to handle this terrible situation. Please come back quickly with John and Richard; I'm so worried!”
This was completely unexpected. Having grown up watching her father get drunk, Mary had always thought that Mr. Price's strong body would not be destroyed by anything.
She quickly told Sir Thomas and Susan the news. It was obviously too late to wait for Richard to send a carriage to pick her up. She asked her uncle to arrange a carriage to take her back. Susan also wanted to go back with her. Sir Thomas asked Edmund to take them back. Fanny, who had just given birth a few months ago, was not suitable for traveling and could stay to accompany Mrs. Bertram.
Just as they were preparing to set off, Richard's letter arrived. He had also received a letter from his mother and had already left ahead of them.
After her son and two nieces left, Lady Bertram suddenly said to Sir Thomas, "I think it wouldn't matter if Mr. Price passed away now. My poor sister has so many children; she won't be mistreated."
Just as the Price family had remained indifferent when Mrs. Bertram's eldest son, Tom, fell seriously ill, Mr. Price's injuries were of no concern to Mrs. Bertram. She saw no reason why her brother-in-law needed to live.
Although her words were somewhat cold, even the usually considerate Sir Thomas couldn't find any redeeming qualities in his brother-in-law. He simply felt, based on moral principles, that he was truly unfortunate to die just when he was about to enjoy his life. After so many years of being drunk, he probably couldn't bring himself to repent on his deathbed.
When Mary and her party arrived home, they only had time to see Mr. Price one last time. The once strong and healthy man was now lying in bed, listless and weak. In just a few days, the loud-voiced lieutenant had become frail and powerless. When he saw his two daughters, he did not say anything tender. He just kept groaning and asked the maid to give him the painkillers prescribed by the doctor.
Mary's return was of no use; Mr. Price's injury had dragged on for far too long, and the inflammation in his wound had not subsided. His mother's letter only mentioned that he was crying out in pain, not that he had been running a fever. Now, Mr. Price could only fall asleep with the help of painkillers or, in other words, tincture of opium.
The morning after she returned, Mr. Price died. John and Richard had almost finished taking care of everything before they came back. Edmund, as the pastor, had just given his father-in-law a final prayer. Mr. Price had no remorse for his life. Mary seemed to hear him murmur, "Give me my uniform," and then she heard nothing more.
After the man who used to give orders at home collapsed, Mrs. Price initially felt utterly helpless, unable to sleep at night listening to her husband's painful groans. However, since John and Richard came home, her emotions had stabilized considerably, and she had become calmer.
Mr. Price's will has been written. The house they live in was bought by William. Apart from Mrs. Price's dowry of seven thousand pounds that she brought with her after their marriage, there is no other property in the house. It was agreed when he and Mrs. Price got married that he could not directly access this dowry, but could only withdraw a portion for their children when they came of age.
He appointed two of his old friends as executors of his will, and the two of them jointly announced the will. After consulting Mrs. Price, Mr. Price divided the seven thousand pounds into two parts.
William, the eldest son who was already an adult, received three thousand five hundred pounds at once, while Mrs. Price kept the remaining three thousand five hundred pounds, using the annual interest for her own living expenses and to support her underage children. When the other five sons reached adulthood, they could divide the three thousand five hundred pounds equally with their mother's consent; otherwise, they would have to wait until Mrs. Price passed away. If any son was still a minor when Mrs. Price died, his share would be held by William until he reached adulthood, at which point it would be handed over to him.
The will was almost comprehensive, much to Mary's surprise. Mr. Price left no money for her and Susan, something she had anticipated, but he still had some affection for his wife, Mrs. Price, and had also considered his younger sons.
Anyway, Richard and Mary had already made a fortune, John, Fanny, and Susan also had shares in the sewing machine company, while Tom and Charles were clueless and no one cared about their father's will.
A few days later, Mr. Price was buried and fell into eternal rest. His epitaph was unremarkable, but Mary had it inscribed with the words "an ordinary British Royal Marine officer," so that this man who had only cared about naval affairs in his life could go to another world to sail the seas.
Seeing that the matter was settled, Edmund originally planned to take Susan back to Mansfield first, but Mary, John, and Richard asked him to wait a little longer. They had already seen the newspaper that the HMS Thrush was about to return to port, and everyone unanimously decided to wait for William to return in Portsmouth, to explain things clearly, and then leave.
When William and Sam arrived home, Mr. Price's loud, gruff voice was no longer heard; the house was unusually quiet.
“Dear William, you’re finally back.” Mrs. Price was so excited to see her eldest son that she hugged him and cried uncontrollably.
William inquired carefully about how his father's funeral arrangements were handled, expressed his gratitude to his brother-in-law Edmund who came to help, and even prepared a gift for his niece Frances.
He had no objection to the handling of other matters, but regarding his father's will, William, who received the largest share of the inheritance, said: "No, this is definitely not acceptable."
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