Chapter 54 "That's right, but..."
“That’s right, but what’s the problem? Mary, not all girls are as clever as you. Aunt Bertram is perfectly content with her life now. After all, who can expect her to offer any constructive advice to Uncle Sir Thomas?”
Richard understood what his sister meant, but he believed that women as intelligent as his sisters were extremely rare. Most girls, though pretty and charming, couldn't offer any rational advice.
As the older brother, Richard was naturally proud of his sister's intelligence, but Mary's personality might not be pleasing in order to secure a suitable marriage.
If she weren't so beautiful, Mr. McDonald would probably have been scared away by her personality long ago. In this day and age, it's not a good thing for a girl to be too smart, and Richard didn't want his sister to be described as a "knowledgeable lioness."
Richard's concerns were merely a microcosm of societal prejudice against women at the time, and Mary had no intention of being timid because of her brother's words. After being reminded by Richard, she became even more uninhibited, ready to target Mr. McDonald.
But recently, this gentleman has also started avoiding Anne and Mary. He has been visiting General Maxwell's house less and less often. The general's wife mentioned it twice, but she immediately forgot about her friend.
“Anne, I regret that I cannot leave this title to you, my dear daughter,” General Maxwell suddenly said one day in the living room.
"What title, Edward?" The general's wife had sharp ears and overheard her husband talking to his stepdaughter.
“I have to thank Richard for this, because it was through him that I met the Duke of Devonshire.” The general glanced at the beautiful goddaughter, who also looked up, and said, “I have received definite news from the Duke that I will be made a baronet by the end of this month.”
“It should have been done long ago, my dear. If our dear friend Lord Nelson were still alive, you would have been knighted long ago for your merits. Thank you, Your Highness the Duke.” The general’s wife said excitedly. “Oh, dear Mary, my darling goddaughter, come sit down next to me.”
"Sir Edward," "Mrs. Maxwell"—what touching titles! Although not true nobles, she would henceforth be called "Mrs." The general's wife was immersed in the joy of her husband's impending knighthood and had almost no regrets. In fact, General Maxwell felt the same way.
Anne didn't care about her father's title, but the fact that her lover's younger brother could do her father a great favor made her feel more secure about her relationship. In fact, she was even happier when she learned that William had also been promoted to captain, and vowed to treat Richard as her best brother.
Once the news spread, Mr. McDonald resumed his frequent visits to General Maxwell's mansion. Unfortunately, his kinship with the general was too distant; even if the title were to be inherited someday, there would be several people ahead of him in line. Seeing that he wouldn't receive any benefit from the general's bestowal of a title this time, how could this gentleman be content?
However, no matter how hard Mr. McDonald tried, he could only regretfully find that Miss Maxwell's attitude towards him had become even colder and more indifferent. Anne longed for William's return, yet despised his character, and hardly spoke to him.
And so, last November, William Price was still anxious about whether he would become a lieutenant on the HMS Thrushcross Grange. Just over a year later, without having earned any merit, he was promoted to captain, and when he returned home at the end of December and was informed that he had become the commander of the HMS Diana, he was both happy and bewildered.
When William learned from Captain Walsh that it was Admiral Crawford who had promoted him, he was even more puzzled. If Mr. Crawford were still his friend, he wouldn't be so suspicious, but that wasn't the case.
Now that he was back in Portsmouth, William naturally went to visit his mother, Mrs. Price, who was still wearing black mourning clothes. He learned that she had been doing well for the past six months, and that they had a new kitchen maid. Mrs. Price hardly had to worry about any of the chores; Mrs. Jones (Lily's post-marriage title) had taken care of everything perfectly, so the son was relieved and eagerly went to London to find out more.
Once in town, he quickly learned the whole story from Richard.
"So, thanks to that information, you've now climbed up to a duke!" William quickly seized on the key point. "However, you think the Duke of Devonshire is being so generous because of Mary."
“Yes, otherwise His Highness would have no reason to do this. You know, William, when I left General Crawford’s mansion, I had completely given up on these important figures. I even worried that the General wouldn’t readily fulfill his promise regarding your promotion.” Richard smiled wryly. “It’s impossible that His Highness truly considers me a friend, is it?”
Has His Highness the Duke mentioned Mary to you?
Richard shook his head: "Apart from greeting Mary twice at the beginning, he didn't do that at other times. It's normal for a big shot like him to have unpredictable moods, so of course I shouldn't bring it up."
“What are you thinking? It’s good that he doesn’t bring it up. Richard, even if His Highness likes Mary, the chances of them being together are too slim. For Mary’s sake, you must not bring it up.”
Although Mary was born beautiful, fortunately, her father, Lieutenant Price, no matter how much of a scoundrel he was, never had any thoughts of hoarding her.
None of the Price family had ever considered Mary to be someone like Lady Fitzherbert (the Regent's mistress), so William quickly realized Richard's wishful thinking—that he actually hoped a duke would marry their sister.
William's cold water on Richard's head snapped him out of his reverie: "You're right, I was overthinking it. What if the Duke hints at something to me in the future?"
“Just pretend you didn’t notice anything. Like you said, the moods of important people are always unpredictable. Why should our sister have to cater to them? Let nature take its course. Maybe you misunderstood that prince’s thoughts. He was genuinely trying to thank you, and mentioning Mary was just a spur-of-the-moment thing.” William looked at Richard and said something that even he himself was a little doubtful.
When William and Richard arrived at Grosvenor Square to congratulate the newly crowned Sir Edward, Mary had no idea that her two brothers were deeply worried about her.
She currently has two things on her mind: one is to continue developing a foot-operated sewing machine based on the existing hand-cranked sewing machine, and the other is to observe the movements of William and Anne, especially the latter, who is almost the greatest pleasure in her boring life.
Mrs. Maxwell decided to host a ball in late January to celebrate her recent happy occasion. Before the ball, William frequently visited the house, ostensibly to take Mary for a walk in Hyde Park, to admire artifacts at the British Museum, or to see the latest play at the theater... but he never forgot to bring his sister's friend Anne along on each trip.
“Anne, what’s really going on between you and William? You can’t keep it from your sister forever.” One day, after a walk in Hyde Park, Mary pulled Anne aside into the yard and began to interrogate her friend, “What do you think of William?”
“Your brother is certainly an excellent soldier, just like my father.” Seeing her friend roll her eyes, Anne continued, “In my heart, he is also a respectable and lovable older brother. You know I don’t have any brothers, so I first learned about him through your letters.”
"And then? I don't believe you still see him as an older brother. What's with that pearl necklace you've been wearing lately?"
"Later I met him at my father's place, and he spoke highly of him." Anne thought of those idle, womanizing playboys, those heirs who only knew how to dance, ride horses, and hunt. She couldn't accept that she would have to marry a husband who was inferior to her in every way. She vowed to find a hero like her father, and William appeared at just the right time.
Perhaps her initial attraction to William stemmed from his status as a war hero, rather than one of those cowards hiding in the rear. Later, when she saw William again and witnessed his tender care for her friend Mary, she began to hope for the same affection from him.
Her initial attraction gradually deepened and slowly turned into love. Now she is certain that she can't live without him, and she doesn't find any other gentlemen attractive.
These thoughts churned in Anne's mind. She took her friend's hand and confided, "Dear Mary, my best friend, my future sister, William is now a captain. Do you think Father would bless us if he proposed to me now?"
"So soon? Has William already proposed? Aren't you going to reconsider? Although Mr. MacDonald isn't much, it doesn't mean there aren't other excellent gentlemen. I think Colonel Brandon, whom the Godfather introduced, is quite good too." Mary blurted out from Anne's perspective.
Anne shook her head shyly. Remembering that she was William's sister, Mary continued, "However, if you've made up your mind, I certainly hope you'll marry William and become my dearest sister. As for my dear godfather, he's in a good mood right now, so he might agree. I'll go tell William right now!"
"Mary, Mary, don't rush!" Anne stamped her feet anxiously in the garden as her friend walked away quickly.
In the living room, William, who was chatting with the general's wife, was overjoyed when he received his sister's hint. He almost immediately wanted to stride into the yard to find his beloved lover.
However, the general's wife was still anxious about tomorrow's ball, worried that the butler hadn't explained things clearly and that the servants hadn't prepared carefully for this extraordinary ball. Mary, still concerned for her brother, took over from her godmother, allowing William to escape.
Anne, who was left in the yard, was both happy and nervous when she saw William walking briskly towards her. After hearing the young man's sweet words, her cheeks flushed, and her mood was very different from when she had heard someone else say the same thing before.
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