Chapter 94 "She was trying to find out about me..."
"Why is she asking about me? Could it be that she's still trying to introduce me to her brother? Dear Annie, my good sister-in-law, you must have turned her down, right?"
"Of course, after returning from Devonshire, I already knew that Mr. Ferras and Miss Dashwood seemed to be mutually attracted, so how could I possibly agree to it? Even if that weren't the case, the thought of being related to the Dashwoods would make me hesitate for a while."
Anne pondered the appearances of the two young ladies she had just met: "But who is this Mr. Ferras they mentioned? If it's Edward Ferras, doesn't that mean Miss Dashwood has also encountered a heartless man?"
"Who can say for sure? Men always have a lot of excuses to justify themselves."
“I even hinted to Mrs. Dashwood that her brother’s wedding was coming soon when I was chatting with her. If that’s true, wouldn’t I be causing Miss Dashwood unexpected trouble?” Anne felt a little apologetic.
“Even if you don’t say that, I don’t think Mrs. Dashwood would speak well of her husband’s sister, and Mrs. Ferras wouldn’t like Eleanor. If you really can’t get over it, you can invite the two young ladies to visit Harley Street. I think Eleanor would prefer to be with us rather than Mrs. Dashwood.”
While Mary and Anne were discussing these things, Lucy Steele was scolding her sister for speaking carelessly: "You shouldn't have mentioned that person when that young lady and miss were in the store. It's still a secret."
“I only mentioned Ferras, what does it matter? Those two don’t even know us. Okay, okay, I’ll definitely be more careful next time,” Anne Steele assured her, glancing at her sister’s expression.
Lucy Steele reluctantly accepted her sister's apology. She didn't genuinely think her sister's actions were wrong; she just felt embarrassed in front of the wealthy lady and the beautiful young woman.
Especially that young lady, she was so beautiful and dressed so elegantly, she was simply a stunning beauty. In front of such a person, Lucy felt that she and her sister needed to present their best selves.
When the sisters visited Mrs. Jennings on Berkeley Street, they mentioned this chance encounter, and everyone wondered which young lady in London had such beauty.
"I'm not sure if you've met my friends, because the description you gave me only reminds me of them: a young and beautiful pregnant woman and an even more beautiful young lady. It must be Mrs. Price and Miss Price," Mrs. Jennings said with absolute certainty.
Everyone sat together and chatted casually, not caring whether Mrs. Jennings had guessed correctly this time.
When they were alone in a room, Lucy Steele kept probing Eleanor with words, hoping to glean from her expressions whether Edward was in contact with her. Eleanor calmly exchanged words with her, revealing nothing.
She felt Lucy had chosen the wrong enemy. She had learned from John Dashwood that Mrs. Ferras and Mrs. Dashwood wanted Edward to pursue either the wealthy Miss Price or Miss Morton, the only daughter of the late Lord Morton.
Although her friend Miss Price had always been indifferent to Edward Ferras, Eleanor thought with bittersweet relief that Mrs. Ferras's ideal daughter-in-law could never be her or Lucy Steele.
Before long, Mrs. Dashwood visited Mrs. Jennings and her daughter, Mrs. Middleton. The two equally cold-hearted ladies quickly became friends, giving Eleanor and Lucy Steele the opportunity to meet their potential future mother-in-law, Mrs. Ferras.
Mrs. Ferras came prepared; she had received word from her daughter that it was no longer possible with Miss Price! Mrs. Price had clearly rejected her, and Miss Dashwood had actually delayed her son Edward's marriage.
She insisted on seeing the young lady in person to warn her to stop interfering with her son's marriage to Miss Morton. Who would have thought Mrs. Ferras was such an unreasonable woman!
Mary was unaware of the humiliation Eleanor had suffered in front of Mrs. Ferras because her sister-in-law Anne had rejected Mrs. Dashwood; she was busy dealing with something that surprised her.
The origin of this story dates back to the time when Mary and Richard had discussed John Dickens, who was sent to the Marshallshire Debtors' Prison by a moneylender.
Since the Dickens family had already sold everything that could be sold, John Dickens had no money left. The other creditors did not have Richard's patience to wait for him to repay the debts, and they directly sued him in court when the debts were due.
Less than a month after John Dickens went to prison, Mrs. Dickens and their young children were also transferred to Marshallsey Debtors' Prison.
Tom accompanied the employee handling the matter to inform John Dickens of the new repayment deadline, originally intending to gain a better understanding of the company's affairs. However, the sight of a group of young children in the prison took a shock to the seventeen-year-old, who had always lived under the protection of his older brothers and sisters.
When he returned, he told Mary and Richard, "I feel like a villain, going to jail to inform the Dickens family for a little interest, especially when I heard that their debts weren't that much. Only the eldest boy in the family didn't go in; Mrs. Dickens had already sent him to Warren's black shoe polish shop as a child laborer."
“Working as a child laborer in Warren’s black shoe polish workshop is worse than him living in prison with his parents! Those heartless workshop owners never stop exploiting their workers,” Richard sighed. “How old is this boy? What’s his name?”
"I heard he just turned twelve and his name is Charles," Tom replied.
“Poor little fellow, Charles’s fate is much worse than our little brother’s. How about this, let’s just waive the remaining interest for this family.”
Richard was still marveling, unaware that Mary was already stunned. The story of Charles Dickens working at Warren's Black Shoe Polish Shop and his parents being imprisoned for debtors sounded more and more like the childhood of the famous British realist writer.
"Can we get this child out of that shady workshop?" Mary couldn't help but ask a silly question.
“How could that be? We’re not the child’s guardians, and his parents are still alive. Mr. Dickens doesn’t owe that much money. I think as long as he can find relatives and friends to help him, he won’t be out of Marshallshire Prison for long,” Richard analyzed.
Mary thought for a moment and realized that she had no reason to help the Dickens family, but Mr. Smith had dealt with John Dickens before. So after leaving Richard, she went to the clothing factory to find Charlotte, intending to ask Thomas Smith to mediate so that John Dickens could be released from the debtors' prison as soon as possible.
Thomas Smith was very experienced in handling these matters; going to jail was terrifying for Miss Price. But for the average Londoner, how many people go through life without ever being in debtors' prison? It wasn't anything unusual.
Mr. Smith was rather puzzled. Why was Miss Price so interested in the Dickens family? He could only attribute it to the sentimentality common to most young ladies, that Miss Price was sympathizing with Mr. Dickens' children. It couldn't be that just because she had met Dickens once, she felt obligated to continue treating him favorably.
Mr. Smith would need some time to get this sorted out, and the literary giant's childhood trauma would linger for a while. Mary was also willing to wait patiently for news. After dealing with this matter and other miscellaneous affairs, she finally had time to check on Eleanor.
She saw her friend again at a concert hosted by her sister-in-law Anne, where Eleanor and Marianne were together, and the Dashwoods, as William and Anne's neighbors, were also invited.
When John Dashwood saw Mrs. Price's particular affection for his younger sister, his mind began to wander again. He had recently linked Eleanor with Colonel Brandon, and now he was fantasizing about the possibility that Eleanor had also won over Mr. Richard Price.
“Eleanor, I advise you to grab one of these two men quickly, and don’t act like a spoiled little woman. The best choice is Mr. Price, of course. I heard he earns at least ten thousand pounds a year. Just now, his sister-in-law, Mrs. Price, was so kind to you!” Mr. Dashwood advised his eldest sister, and then he glanced at his second sister, “I really didn’t expect Marianne to change so quickly. She’s not nearly as pretty as she used to be.”
Eleanor was both amused and exasperated by her brother's inexplicable concern. No matter how she explained that she had nothing to do with the two gentlemen, John Dashwood insisted on his own opinion.
The more the man thought about it, the more he felt it was necessary to invite his two younger sisters to stay at his home for a while. When he told his wife about this idea, she obviously did not agree.
The thought of another man appearing in the house made Mrs. Dashwood decide against inviting Eleanor, no matter who she invited. To avoid inviting her husband's two sisters, she preferred to invite the two Miss Steeles instead.
Meanwhile, Mary was also entangled with Robert Ferras, whose brother was merely indecisive and inarticulate. This gentleman, like Baron Brooke, was utterly oblivious to his own abilities, both boasting of his non-existent talents and genuinely believing himself to be far superior to his brother.
When Mary finally managed to shake him off and reunite with Eleanor, she couldn't help but complain: "The Ferras family is a real collection of oddballs. Mrs. Dashwood has already opened my eyes, but Robert Ferras is even more of a talent. Whoever marries him is very lucky. His wife must always be prepared to flatter a king."
She glanced at her friend: "Eleanor, he's not like the other Mr. Ferras. If the younger brother could learn from his older brother how to keep quiet, he might not seem so foolish."
Eleanor had spoken with Robert Ferras and deeply agreed with him, but only said aloud, "It is said that Mrs. Ferras prefers her second son."
“Then I can imagine what kind of person Mrs. Ferras is.”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
