There is a German Philosopher who postulates that Human Beings have evolved from frogs and lizards, fish and a plethora of other creatures. Ridiculous as that may seem, there is no doubt that on a frosty spring morning, young girls do manifest the same gravitation towards sunny basking places as many of their alleged cousins.
Eleanor Tilney was no exception. Her bedroom faced south and was equipped with a large window seat whereupon she was engaged in penning an epistle to her dear friend Cassandra Newson.
She was a slim dainty child, teetering on the brink of womanhood. Her golden brown tresses curled attractively around her shoulders and were held back from her eyes with a periwinkle ribbon which matched the trim on her white muslin gown. Her complexion was fair, her eye bright and intelligent with a hint of humour, her movements graceful, and her brow creased in concentration as she attempted to master a new style of handwriting, with far more ornamentation than her usual hand.
So engrossed was she in her calligraphic exertions that she did not hear the rap of her brothers knuckles on the solid oak door. Henry, a youth of sixteen years, grinned at the sight of his sisters startled face on perceiving him at the door. Eleanor's countenance was soon overcome with smiles as he strode across the room. She made room for him on the seat beside her.
"Oh Henry, why did you not knock? I thought you were Father", she exclaimed, wisely removing the ink pot from the window ledge back to the open secretaire beside her.
Arrested in the process of making himself comfortable amongst his sister's cushions, Henry slowly and with dignity returned to his feet. Raising one eyebrow and fixing her with a challenging glare, reminiscent of his intimidating parent, he deepened his voice to its adolescent depths.
"And why, pray tell, would the entrance of your Father fill you with such alarm, hmm? What are you attempting to conceal? "
Giggling, Eleanor clutched her letter to her chest and scrambled away from his reach. Henry abandoned all semblance of dignity and lunged after her, scattering papers all over the floor, and Eleanor dived for her bed, rolling dexterously across it to the other side, where she attempted to hide behind its draperies.
Henry was not far behind her and began prodding her through the cloth with a brass candlestick, conveniently snatched from her bedside table.
"Oh, Leave me alone," Eleanor's voice was muffled equally by velvet and laughter.
"'Tis only a letter to Cassandra. I was worried Father would require me to practice the pianoforte instead of allowing me to write in peace. "
"I do not deign to believe you!" The stern growly voice was an effort to maintain while attempting to wrest the draperies from his sister.
"That was not your handwriting. You have convinced me by your guilty manner that you are sending and receiving secret conspiracies against his majesties Naval forces!"
"How could you suspect such a thing, Henry!" Eleanor emerged wide eyed and incredulous.
"Read it yourself. I was simply attempting to beautify my style, like Cassandra does in her letters… don't you think it is an improvement? She smiled shyly, all memories of her treasonous charges forgotten in her anxiety to please.
Henry accepted the suspected document and returned to the sunshine, with an amused smile as he perused the lines of elaborate swirls and flourishes before him.
"Very pretty indeed for a grape arbour, but not so useful on a page of script… unless your aim is to conceal rather than communicate." was his wry comment.
He read on, turning the page and then returned to the former one with a frown on his face. "Nora, this sentence goes on for almost an entire side and communicates no less than what we had for breakfast this morning; a detailed description of Frederick's new uniform; and the style in which you and mother arranged hyacinths in mothers new vase! Do you not collect the use of a period and paragraphing?"
Eleanor's expectant look descended into a pout. "If you're set to tease about it, I shan't allow you to read it", she snatched the letter from him and locked it in her secretaire, placing the key in the pocket of her gown.
"Nay, Nay Eleanor my dear, This will not do!" Henry had reverted to his Father's tones and mannerisms again.
"If you refuse to become educated in such matters I shall take the office of your scribe, to protect the family reputation from the charge of ignorance. Now relinquish the key to me or I shall be forced to torture you for it!"
Eleanor shrieked and ducked under his arm, clutching her pocket tightly. At that moment however, Henry spied the bookcase above the seretaire and allowed his prey to escape unscathed while he reached for a brown notebook.
"Ah, This should suit my purpose: Your journal. Perhaps you were confused before and thought to draw rather than write to Miss Newson. Herein contains a far superior sample of your skill without the distraction of unruly creepers."
Eleanor gave a cry of dismay and attempted to snatch the book out of his grasp, but to no avail. Henry had the advantage of almost a foot, to which he added the height of the window seat and his long arms.
"Let me see… Oh here is a prime example: 'Mother and I went shopping for a green bonnet this morning to match my striped rosebud morning dress and of course we also needed shoes and a sash which I thought would go well in pink on account of the roses and Mother wanted some dark grey drill for Henry's shirtwaist to match his eyes and while we were at the drapers who do you suppose we saw?'
"… All without so much as a comma my dear sister, and you ought to have recorded how exceedingly fine and intelligent Henry's eyes are - an unforgivable oversight!
He continued reading aloud while Eleanor, thwarted by his height advantage, proceeded to set about him with a large cushion in expectation of toppling him from the window seat.
"'It was the eldest Miss Fraser out strolling with her latest beau Captain Sniggling wearing a pelisse made entirely of white duck feathers!'
"Upon my Word! What a sight that must have been! Captain Sniggling is like to be court-martialled for making such a goose of himself in public. Or perhaps they will only need to add some tar, since he so obligingly provided the feathers."
Eleanor, with a well-aimed shot managed to knock her journal out of Henry's hand. He immediately armed himself with a pair of pillows and proceeded to punish her for her impertinence by chasing her across the room, bestowing his blows on whatever part of her fleeing anatomy he could reach.
What Eleanor lacked in strength she made up for in agility, turning and dashing past him as soon as she felt herself cornered. Henry spun after her, but she had grabbed the poker from the fireplace and was ready for him.
"Aha! Swords, is it?"
Henry tossed aside one of his cushions and, using the other as a shield, extended the abandoned candlestick which he deftly collected from the bed as he circled around her, seeking a weakness in her guard. Eleanor lunged and there was an ominous tearing sound as the poker rent an enormous gash in her brother's shield. She had no time to exclaim over it however, for all her attention was required to protect herself from the retaliatory candlestick which was swooping through the cloud of feathers toward her head like a falcon raiding a starling's nest.
Neither of them heard the door open behind them, and when Eleanor heard her Father's voice demanding an explanation, she initially assumed it was Henry again. However, the look on her brother's face and his instant cessation enlightened her as to her mistake.
"What is the meaning of this behaviour?" General Tilney demanded, scowling at each of his offspring in turn. Eleanor was afraid to lift her eyes from the incriminating feathers which carpeted her floor, but the flush on her cheek indicated her agitation at his unanswerable enquiry.
"Eleanor, your room is in a shocking state. You are to clean it entirely, then report to me in the library."
"Father, you mustn't ring a peal over Eleanor. It was my fault entirely." A pale faced Henry quickly stepped in front of his frightened sister and boldly looked his Father in the eye. "I discovered that she desired to construct a goose feather pelisse, so I took it upon myself to provide her with the feathers." He glanced around affecting an astonishment he did not feel.
"I never expected them to spread so, upon you entering the room."
Gen. Tilney scrutinised the two of them for a moment before answering."In that case you may go to your pianoforte after you have re-ordered this room Eleanor. I have not heard you practicing today."
Turning to his son he frowned angrily "What did you mean by such behaviour Henry? I intend to enquire further into this matter " Gen. Tilney placed a firm hand on the back of Henry's shoulders and propelled him out of the room, but not before the latter had time to wink at his sister who looked more alarmed at the prospect of Henry's approaching chastisement, than she had at her own.
Somewhat reassured however by his optimistic countenance, she set to gathering feathers, with the hint of a smile about the corners of her eyes.