Chapter 95 Mary's cruelty towards the Ferras family...
Mary's harsh assessment of the Ferras family clearly did not affect her friend's love for Edward; on the contrary, it made Eleanor feel even more sympathetic towards Edward.
However, Eleanor remained remarkably composed, and even Mary, who knew the plot, couldn't discern her true feelings, nor could Mary tease her about it. Besides, once Eleanor married Edward, she wouldn't have to deal with Mrs. Ferras most of the time.
The day after attending the concert, the Steele sisters boasted to the Dashwood sisters about how highly Mrs. Dashwood regarded them and how they had been invited to stay at Harry Street for a few days.
“I really can’t stand Lucy Steele. Even if Fanny (Mrs. Dashwood) invited us, I wouldn’t want to go, but seeing Lucy showing off like that still disgusts me. Eleanor, you have such good manners.” Marianne simply couldn’t understand why her sister was so tolerant of Lucy.
Just then, they also received an invitation from Mrs. Price, who sincerely asked them to stay on Harry Street for a few days. Eleanor was a little embarrassed to go, but Marianne was determined to vent her anger.
“Mrs. Dashwood is going too far. Even if it was because I mentioned Miss Dashwood’s affair with Mr. Ferras, she shouldn’t be praising the strangers, the Steeles, over her husband’s sister,” Anne said to Mary at home.
“So Anne, you invited them.” Mary thought to herself, “Isn’t there going to be a big show on Harry Street? I’ve decided to move in for a while.”
Aside from that, living on Harley Street would make it easier for Mary to keep track of Anne's health. The only inconvenience was having to put up with Mrs. Price's nagging.
The old lady was increasingly disapproving of her second daughter's refusal to marry, and could only console herself by saying that her daughter had high standards. As Mary approached twenty-two, Mrs. Price became more and more anxious.
Thanks to Anne's idea, little William stayed with his grandmother, diverting Mrs. Price's attention. This little guy was now the old lady's darling; his father William and uncle Charles were quickly falling out of favor.
After Eleanor and Marianne moved to Harley Street, they learned more about the family and met almost all of Price.
The sisters felt unusually at ease, as no one asked them about Willoughby (Mrs. Price knew nothing about it), and no one said anything strange about their love of reading, since Mary and Anne shared the same passion for books.
“I think it’s better for children to be quiet. I’ve only realized how adorable Mrs. Price’s children are since I moved here. It’s really not easy to get Mrs. Middleton’s children to be quiet on Condit Street,” Marianne said to her sister privately.
To everyone's surprise, John Dashwood and his wife were able to visit Price's house without any qualms. They even believed that without their invitation to the two Miss Steeles, their two sisters would not have gained Mrs. Price's favor.
During this visit, Mrs. Dashwood had to invite her two sisters to her home. Eleanor and Marianne sensed her reluctance and simply declined, which made Mrs. Dashwood feel even more at ease.
“I don’t think Edward has any reason not to come and visit, Eleanor. You live so close by, how come he doesn’t come?” Marian found it extremely strange.
She soon understood why, because John Dashwood came to the Steele sisters in a fit of rage to accuse Lucy Steele and Edward Ferras of being engaged long ago!
Eleanor was prepared, and her face showed no sign of suspicion. Mary, on the other hand, was fully aware of everything but remained completely discreet.
After Mr. Dashwood left, Eleanor went to the study alone to tell Marianne the news. She was glad that Marianne was unwilling to come down to see John, otherwise things would have been even more awkward.
Anne, who remained in the living room, said in surprise, “Mary, could it be that the sisters we saw at the shop last time were the Steeles? Mr. Ferras has kept it from the family for so long. It’s amazing. I thought he was fond of Miss Dashwood!”
“Annie, if everyone thinks that way, then perhaps Mr. Ferras’s feelings are no longer the same as before. Perhaps only the parties involved know the truth.”
"I'm curious, given that Mr. Ferras's family is entirely against this marriage, do the two of them have enough money to get married?"
"Unfortunately, Edward Ferras does not have much personal wealth."
“So it seems that the first condition for a bachelor to marry a wife he likes is that he doesn’t have an elder who has the right to stop him. Mary, you don’t need to worry about that,” Anne joked. “The Duke of Devonshire doesn’t need to ask for anyone’s opinion, and he hasn’t changed his mind over time.”
Mary then realized that the biggest downside of living together was that she could no longer hide her relationship with the Duke.
The first issue of "Fashion Magazine" is now on sale, and the magazine is divided into four sections: fashion, beauty, lifestyle, and health.
The fashion section features a variety of exquisite gowns for the upper class, as well as ready-to-wear garments from the Price Garment Factory; the beauty section discusses the potential harm that popular skincare methods can cause to women's bodies and recommends correct skincare practices; the lifestyle section mainly introduces the lifestyle trends of high society; and the health section explains how to achieve good health, with this issue primarily promoting the benefits of exercise for women.
The magazine is currently selling well. Although some people think that the mass-produced ready-to-wear clothing is not high-end enough, no one has raised any objections to Mary's new women's clothing designs, which gives her confidence in introducing more convenient clothing designs.
Of course, there were criticisms. Some people argued for popular skincare methods, believing that as long as mercury was used in moderation, it wouldn't be too harmful to the skin. Others ridiculed that women's bodies were not suited for exercise, arguing that exercise would make women's sweat glands more developed, ultimately causing them to lose their feminine gentleness. Mary noted down these criticisms and planned to refute them in the next issue of the magazine.
With the magazine already on the market, Mary and the Duke of Devonshire had no reason to continue corresponding, yet neither of them mentioned it, tacitly maintaining their correspondence. After moving to Harley Street, no matter how careful Mary was, it was impossible for Anne to discover their correspondence.
“You’re not planning to keep going like this, are you?” Anne felt that the Duke should take some concrete action.
"Is it not okay? I think it's fine as it is." Mary was quite satisfied with the current tacit understanding.
“Of course not!” Anne recalled her relationship with William and didn’t believe the Duke of Devonshire would be willing to maintain only correspondence with Mary.
Just then, a servant announced the arrival of a distinguished gentleman, who was the very one they had just been discussing. The Duke of Devonshire greeted Mrs. Price warmly upon entering, and upon learning that Major Price had been at the Admiralty that day, he looked regretful.
The three of them sat down and chatted for a while, then Annie made an excuse to leave the living room.
William Cavendish first inquired about the magazine with Mary: "Miss Price, I saw the new clothes and coats in the magazine. They are indeed as easy to put on and take off and have simple lines as you said. I just didn't expect you to introduce menswear at the same time. No wonder you wrote to me before asking about the fashion of upper-class men."
“Your Highness, you’ve seen this magazine too! I specifically set aside a section for menswear, hoping to win over housewives. You, as an expert, have been a great help to me,” Mary replied with delight.
“This is our shared business. I not only saw it myself, but I also recommended it to my friends and family.” William Cavendish spoke with a tender tone when he said the word “shared.”
“That’s wonderful! With your powerful recommendation, the content featured in the magazine will spread much more easily. These days, the middle class wants to imitate the aristocracy in everything they do.” Mary laughed, her eyes as bright as two crescent moons.
William Cavendish gazed intently at his beloved, whose face was as pure and flawless as a lily, whose lips were more beautiful than the most vibrant rose petals, and whose unpretentious laughter was more melodious than the song of a nightingale.
“Miss Price, I now understand your concerns. If I promise you that I will never ask you to have a child against your will, would your opinion still be the same if I brought up the topic I raised with you in this room three years ago?”
Seeing that Mary did not refute him and kept her head down, William Cavendish felt greatly encouraged and simply blurted out his true feelings: "If your thoughts have changed, then I will continue! I'm sure you can see that my feelings for you have not changed at all. From the first time I heard you talk about the unfair treatment of women in Hyde Park, I have never been able to forget you."
“Hyde Park?” Mary asked in surprise.
“Yes, that time you were in the park with your brother and sister-in-law, and I happened to be resting out of your sight. I overheard you talking about a woman and a man who made the same mistake but got different results,” William explained.
"Oh, it was that time? So you already knew me back then. I thought it was the time at the British Museum."
"This is my second time visiting the British Museum. Looking back now, I always felt like I was the one on top, unwilling to admit that it was your ideas that guided and helped me from the very beginning. I always thought I had sacrificed and given up a lot, refusing to acknowledge that you also had your own career and had to make sacrifices. I was so incredibly ignorant back then!"
Seeing William continue to express his deep affection, Mary blushed and finally shyly admitted that her thoughts were indeed different from before, which made the man ecstatic.
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