Chapter 86 was discussed by Mary and Anne...
A few days after Mary and Anne discussed the matter, and before Mary had even figured out how to tactfully tell Eleanor and Maryanne Willoughby, Mr. Hawthorne arrived quickly. At that time, Richard and William had not yet finalized the purchase of the estate.
The first thing he did upon arriving was, of course, to visit Allenham House. Mrs. Hawthorne was overjoyed to see her son. After her son's marriage, to avoid troubling her daughter-in-law, she moved to Allenham to live with Mrs. Smith.
Although Mrs. Smith didn't particularly enjoy socializing with her neighbors, she wasn't immune to loneliness. The fact that Mrs. Hawthorne had been living with her for the past two years, and that Susan and Mr. Hawthorne often visited them, gradually made this childless old lady feel the warmth of family.
After getting rid of Willoughby, Mrs. Smith thought of Mr. Hawthorne without Mrs. Hawthorne even needing to remind him. He and Willoughby were her closest blood relatives; one had lost the old lady's trust due to his misconduct, while the other had regained her affection because of his happy family life.
It was only two or three days after Mr. Hawthorne's arrival that the neighbors heard that Mrs. Smith had summoned her lawyer and revised her will. This surprised the entire neighborhood, and people began to speculate about what Willoughby had done to offend Mrs. Smith.
The Dashwood family of Barton Country House was the most shocked. Although Marian had not fallen in love with Willoughby for the money, and that losing the inheritance of Allenham House did not diminish his charm, she could not believe that Willoughby had been treated so badly and was furious.
“Eleanor, it seems I was right all along. Mr. Hawthorne is a terrible scoundrel, and Miss Price is only thinking of her sister and brother-in-law. Together they caused Willoughby to lose Mrs. Smith’s favor.”
Eleanor, being the older sister, was much more rational than her younger sister. She calmly analyzed, "In this matter, Willoughby has undoubtedly suffered a loss. But you must understand that this property belongs to Mrs. Smith, and she has the right to decide who inherits her property. The question now is, what exactly did Willoughby do to offend her?"
"What else could it be? Last time Willoughby said that Mrs. Smith was upset that he hadn't spent enough time with her in Allenham. Old Mrs. Hawthorne was fanning the flames. Mrs. Smith has always been so eccentric, she must have been persuaded by her."
Eleanor found this explanation somewhat unconvincing. Willoughby only came to Allenham once a year, and almost every time he spent his time partying, dancing, hunting, and other entertainment. Mrs. Smith had never been angry about it before, so why was she complaining this time?
Mrs. Jennings of Barton Park expressed her regret for Miss Marianne Dashwood: "I had thought Marianne was about to become the mistress of Allenham House, but now it seems we should wish Mrs. Hawthorne good luck."
Sir John also felt sorry for his cousin, Willoughby. Although she had lost her inheritance of Allenham House, Willoughby still had the Coom House, which brought her an income of more than five hundred pounds a year. But that was not enough for Willoughby to start a family.
At Rose Estate, the atmosphere was much more cheerful. William and Richard had just returned when they heard the good news, and they were happy for their sister Susan.
Anne looked at Mr. Hawthorne and said with a smile, "Dear Charlie, I still feel sorry for that poor girl, but at least this unfortunate event has brought a happy ending: Allenham House will fall into the hands of a worthy owner. We can congratulate you both."
In front of his relatives and friends, Mr. Hawthorne did not hide the reason for his quick arrival: "Willowy did such a thing, so he can't blame others for having something on him. Mrs. Smith has more than just the two of us in her family. My mother may have some influence, but who can truly control the owner of this property?"
Mary had met Mrs. Smith once and was quite impressed by the old woman's stubbornness: "If you hadn't insisted on visiting her all along, and hadn't come to Devon several times a year after you married Susan, perhaps Willoughby would have eventually been forgiven by Mrs. Smith."
Sir John had always believed that Mr. Hawthorne's happy marriage owed something to him, so he naturally invited him to visit Barton Estate.
In Mrs. Jennings’ words, “He’ll never get a welcome from Miss Marian Dashwood,” though the rest of the Barton Country House were quite understanding.
After meeting Mr. Hawthorne, Eleanor and Mrs. Dashwood had to admit that Mr. Hawthorne seemed to be a very charming gentleman and that there might be a misunderstanding between him and Willoughby.
Seeing Marianne's face filled with rejection, Mary sat down next to Eleanor and whispered, "My dear Eleanor, it's not that I want to defend my brother-in-law, but if he used despicable means to fight for the inheritance, even I would condemn him. However, if the heir himself has made a mistake, he cannot blame others for fighting for it. Mrs. Smith has received reliable information that Willoughby has done something she does not want to forgive."
"A mistake? What could Mrs. Smith not forgive?"
"This matter involves a young lady's reputation, which I cannot go into detail about. In short, Mr. Willoughby's crimes are obvious, and even if he were willing to make amends, I could not cover up his mistakes. Moreover, he has shown no remorse and continues to maintain his usual philandering ways."
Mary glanced at Marianne, who was still lost in love, and continued, "Your sister has a completely different personality from ours. This personality makes her very charming, but it also makes her easily deceived by people with bad intentions, such as that young man who left not long ago."
Elinor shuddered at the implications in Mary's words. "Crime," "womanizing," "malicious intent"—such terrifying words. It was clear without needing to elaborate what Willoughby had done.
Unlike her sister, who had fallen for Willoughby, Ellie, after calming down, quickly recalled the strange look on Willoughby's face when he hurriedly left. That made sense; he had seemed determined not to return that day. It turned out he hadn't been sent to London on business by Mrs. Smith, but had been kicked out by that old lady.
She had no interest in chatting at the party that day, and as soon as she got home, she told her mother, Mrs. Dashwood, and Marianne what she had learned.
Marian was completely unconvinced: "I think these words are all made up by Miss Price to slander Willoughby. She is eager for her brother-in-law, Mr. Hawthorne, to inherit Allenham Estate."
“Why would Miss Price need to do this? I’ve heard Sir John say that the Price family is very wealthy. I’ve heard that she has a dowry of £60,000 and Mrs. Hawthorne’s dowry is over £10,000. She and Mr. Hawthorne are not short of money.”
“John and Fanny aren’t short of money either, but look how they treat us. Some people can never have enough money,” Marian muttered.
"Your love for Willoughby has blinded you. Before he came, weren't you and Miss Price friends? Do you think she's the kind of person who talks nonsense?"
Even with Eleanor's persuasion, Marianne insisted that Willoughby was not there to defend himself. If he were, Mr. Hawthorne and Miss Price's lies would never have succeeded.
Listening to her two daughters' argument, Mrs. Dashwood was confused. She wanted to hear her elder daughter's opinion, but she also felt that her younger daughter's idea was understandable.
After Mary told Eleanor about it, she let go of Marianne and stopped thinking about it.
There are many kinds of friends, and some friendships only last for a period of time. She initially befriended the Dashwood sisters with good intentions and was quite fond of the spirited Marianne. However, once Mr. Willoughby arrived, this young lady devoted all her energy to love.
Since their brief friendship had long since ended, she was only informing them of this in advance out of friendship for Eleanor and out of feminine sympathy. It was better to be prepared than for Miss Marian Dashwood to rush into town with great enthusiasm only to be so devastated that she nearly died.
In fact, with the two major matters of purchasing the estate and changing the heirs at stake, both Richard and Charlie Hawthorne were eager to return to London. Richard was concerned about the business, while the latter was worried about Susan and the children left in London.
They decided to return to London, and Mary did not intend to stay. William, Anne, and Sam also felt that there was no need to continue staying at Ross Estate.
Before leaving, Mary met Mr. Edward Ferras, whom she had met on her way to Barton Country House to say goodbye to Eleanor.
This gentleman was quite different from Willoughby; he wasn't as lively or fun-loving, much like the contrasting tastes of Eleanor and Marianne. Judging from his speech, he wasn't a fool, which put him ahead of many men.
When Eleanor talked to him, Mr. Ferras always had a complicated expression, a mixture of distress and dazedness, which left Mary speechless.
She couldn't help at all in this matter. Who would have thought that Mr. Ferras, in his youth, had made a secret engagement on a whim! Eleanor deserved a better gentleman, but love is irrational, and she just happened to fall in love with Edward, who had kept his engagement a secret.
As they parted, Mary gave Eleanor her address, reminding her to keep in touch and to visit if she ever went to town. Although Miss Dashwood felt she had no chance of going to London, she still thanked her friend for her kindness.
Even after Mary left Barton Country House, Marianne still didn't speak to her. She couldn't be hypocritical, and once she stopped considering Miss Price a friend, she showed it directly, like a child.
Did she truly have no doubts about Willoughby? With this thought in mind, Mary left Devonshire.
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