"…In her mother she lost the only person able to cope with her. She inherits her mother's talents, and must have been under subjection to her."

Mr. Knightley

'Emma', Chapter 5


A Lady and a 'Gentleman'

Chapter Twelve: A Different Kind of Letter


It was a beautiful spring morning in Highbury - the sun was warm and inviting, the birds humming on the trees under the clear blue sky, and the butterflies fluttering amongst the brilliantly colored flower bushes in the Hartfield garden. Mr. Woodhouse was feeling particularly fine after an extremely restful evening. As usual, he took his morning exercise walking around the garden after breakfast; but to Emma's surprise, he told her that he would take four rounds instead of his usual three around the garden, for he had an unusual desire to enjoy the warm sun and fresh air this morning!

After the sorrow Emma had witnessed from her father the night before, she was tremendously thankful to see her father's jovial spirit. Rather than the extremely restful evening, she silently attributed her father's unusual liveliness to the lifting of the burden of her mother's letters hidden in his heart for eighteen years.

As Mr. Woodhouse was walking in the garden, the footman came inside the drawing-room, where Emma was arranging the fresh flowers that she had cut from the garden, to announce that Mr. Perry was calling – It was Mr. Perry's weekly morning call to Mr. Woodhouse, to see if the old gentleman needed attention of any sort; more often than not, nothing other than the mere presence of the apothecary was all that Mr. Woodhouse needed to calm his nerves and sooth his spirit. However, as Emma looked at her watch, she thought that Mr. Perry was unusually early.

"Good morning, Mr. Perry! How are you this morning?" Emma said warmly and invited Mr. Perry to sit on the sofa in the drawing-room.

"Thank you Mrs. Knightley, I am very well this morning and how are you?" Mr. Perry took a bow before he sat down on the sofa; and Emma asked the servant to bring in tea for the guest before she sat down across from him.

"I'm very well, thank you Mr. Perry! It's such a beautiful morning, especially out in the garden, father had a very restful sleep last night and he felt so well this morning that he decided to take four rounds in the garden instead of three! I apologize for you might need to wait a little while before he comes back inside the house."

"Mrs. Knightley, there is no need for an apology. In fact, I must be the one to apologize for calling earlier than usual this morning – I was just at Mrs. Bates before I rode over to Hartfield. I thought that if I rode back to my place first, I would be late for Mr. Woodhouse, so I decided to come directly from Mrs. Bates in the hopes that you would not mind me being too early." Mr. Perry explained.

"Not at all, Mr. Perry! You said that you just came from Mrs. Bates - is everything all right at the Bates?" Emma asked with concerns.

"Miss Bates sent for me early this morning to see Mrs. Bates – apparently Mrs. Bates did not sleep well last night and was coughing this morning. Miss Bates wanted me to see if there was anything that could sooth her mother."

"And is Mrs. Bates all right? Is there anything we could do for her?" Emma asked with sincerity.

"From what I could tell Mrs. Bates has come down with a cold, but that is all – nothing very serious. The good woman may look fragile, but she really is still very strong for her age. I think with the emulsion that I gave her this morning will aid her feeling better in a few days."

"I'm very glad to hear that, Mr. Perry, but is there anything we could do for Mrs. Bates?" Emma asked earnestly.

"It is very kind of you to ask Mrs. Knightley, but I don't think there is anything you need to do for the time being - all colds must run their courses, it will take at least a few days for it to past."

Emma smiled politely to acknowledge the apothecary's wisdoms in medicine. Then she remembered that she had something in mind to speak to Mr. Perry.

"Mr. Perry, since we are still waiting for my father, would you mind if I speak with you in private for a few minutes?"

"Certainly, Mrs. Knightley."

Emma led Mr. Perry to the library and as they returned to the drawing-room after quarter of an hour, Mr. Woodhouse had just come inside the house from the garden and was excited to see his visitor. Emma then excused herself to leave the two gentlemen along.

While her father was engrossed in his conversation with Mr. Perry, Emma decided to call on the Bates to see for herself how Mrs. Bates was doing.


Emma was shown by the maid to the Bates' small living-room. She curtsied as Miss Bates entered in.

"Oh! Mrs. Knightley! It is so kind of you to call this morning, so early too… what a lovely morning, you must have a nice walk from Hartfield… did you enjoy the fresh air, it is always the nicest in the morning – although it's nice in the afternoon, too. Oh, I'm so sorry – I forgot to ask how you are this morning!" Miss Bates invited Emma to sit on the sofa.

"I'm very well, thank you Miss Bates. And how are you and Mrs. Bates this morning? Mr. Perry told me that Mrs. Bates has a cold…" Emma asked.

"Thank you, Mrs. Knightley! It's so kind of you to inquire after my mother! And I'm well, too, of course. Yes, mother has a cold, but Mr. Perry says that mother is strong – wouldn't you know it, my mother is the most excellent woman, she is seventy years old and is still very strong – oh! I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful mother. Mr. Perry gave her some emulsion and she is to take it every four hours for three days. He says that this will help her cold and she will be able to rest better. She is sleeping right now, oh, I don't know if she is really sleeping, but she is in bed, I'm sure she must be sleeping by now!"

Emma was relieved to see that Miss Bates was merry as usual – which was always an indication that Mrs. Bates was well. As she listened to Miss Bates counted the blessing of having Mrs. Bates as her mother, Emma remembered what her own mother had written in her letter about never had she met a woman with more cheerful nature and contented and grateful spirit - How true indeed! What Emma had always taken as 'ridiculous' was really Miss Bates cheerfulness – what others saw as an half-empty glass would be considered as overabundance in this good woman's eyes. Emma marveled to herself that what a wonderful disposition Miss Bates had - to be happy regardless of circumstances and situations!

"Miss Bates, I have brought some arrow-root from Hartfield, and hope that it would help Mrs. Bates in some ways… perhaps it might ease her discomfort from the cold…" Emma took the small packet out of her string-purse and handed it to Miss Bates with both hands respectfully and sincerely hoped that the gift could be of use.

"Oh! Mrs. Knightley, how can I thank you! You are so kind… you are always so kind, arrow-root is very expensive, I have heard that they came all the way from the tropical area… mother and I are grateful for your kindness, Mrs. Knightley, I'm sure it will help mother very much!"

"There is no need to thank me, Miss Bates – you know how father, Mr. Knightley and I are all concerned about Mrs. Bates and yourself, we'd do anything we could to ensure your well-being!" Emma said it with a sincere smile.

When Emma first walked into the living-room, she had noticed that there was a new rocking-chair by the fireplace. She had been meaning to ask Miss Bates about the chair but wanted to inquire after Mrs. Bates first.

"Miss Bates - that is a lovely rocking-chair!"

"Oh! Isn't it the most beautiful rocking-chair! Jane and Frank sent it for mother, we received it yesterday. They are so thoughtful – when they visited us during Easter last month, Frank noticed that a screw on mother's old rocking-chair had come loose; he and Jane were concerned that the chair would fall apart when mother was sitting on it, so they insisted to order a new rocking-chair for mother in London on their way home to Enscombe. They said that most of the rocking-chairs they saw were way too large for mother and our living-room, so they had this chair custom made and that was why it took a little longer to get here! Isn't it a marvelous chair! Mother enjoys it very much; she was just sitting on it before she went to bed this morning."

"That is wonderful, Miss Bates!" Emma smiled warmly, "Jane and Frank are truly very thoughtful – I'm sure they'll be happy to know that Mrs. Bates loves the new chair very much."

"Oh yes! I wrote to them yesterday as soon as mother tried the chair… and I think after the rocking-chair, Jane and Frank are planning to replace all the furniture in our living-room! Can you imagine, ridding all of the fine furniture that we've had for over twenty years! What a waste! I told them that it's not necessary, but they insisted – they wanted to first send us the rocking-chair, because that was the most important piece, you know, Mrs. Knightley – my mother should always come first… and I think they said the sofa will be next…"

For an entire hour, Emma had listened to Miss Bates recounted her conversation with Jane and Frank on their plan to replace the living-room furniture, their visit to the Dixons and Campbell's that they had written her about, Mrs. Cole's new drapes made with fabric specially ordered from London, how fast baby Anna Weston was able to crawl, and Mrs. Elton's plan on visiting her sister in Bath this summer. It always amazed Emma how much Miss Bates knew of everything that went on in Highbury – but what amazed her even more was that, for the first time in a very long time, or ever in fact, she found Miss Bates' chatters this morning very interesting and enjoyable!

After Emma left Miss Bates' house and as she was walking back to Hartfield in a delightful spirit, she was amused by the fact that the Miss Bates this morning was the same Miss Bates that she had known since she was an infant – the only difference that had made her visit pleasant this morning was her willingness to listen to Miss Bates with a genuine heart. She wondered why all these years she had not discovered this secret - but then again, she thought to herself, with all the blunders she had made in the past, she was not surprised by not discovering it until now; and if not for her mother's guidance that had opened her heart to open her eyes, she would still be doomed to blindness!


Emma returned to Hartfield after her visit with Miss Bates, as she walked inside the house, she went to the writing desk in the drawing-room to review the delivered posts while she was out at the Bates. She went through the stack of posts one after another – first there were some bank letters and statements for her father, an agricultural report and journal for George, and then there was a letter from Isabella for her!

Emma was always excited to see letters from her dear sister. Isabella knew how much she loved to learn everything about the children and her, and she always gave a detail account of everything that had happened, and Emma was never tired of reading all the tiny details from Isabella - this letter was no exception. Isabella wrote about how much the children were enjoying the nice warm spring weather in the parks and gardens, their joy and excitement caused by their uncle's visit, she thought George never looked more spirited now that he was married, but she could tell that he was missing Emma dreadfully, and her regrets of lengthening their time apart because of the meeting with John and Mr. Edinburg; and at last her astonishment of Emma's discoveries of her mother's portraits and scheme, and how very, very excited she was about their mother's letters – and how she could not wait for the next visit at Hartfield to read them! Emma was relieved that the letter she wrote to Isabella on Tuesday reached her safely – the letter that explained why she did not write to her on Monday.

After she finished reading Isabella's letter with pleasure, Emma continued sorting through the rest of the posts. There were more agricultural bulletins for George and more bank letters for her father. Then to her pleasantest surprise, there was a post from Brentwood for her - written by her very own George! She was ecstatic to see the letter and immediately put down the rest of the posts and took the letter with her to upstairs – for she preferred to read George's letter in the privacy of her chamber.

She closed her chamber door and sat down on the sofa, where she and George had their nightly chats, and started reading…


May 16th, 1816

Brentwood

My most beloved Emma,

I left Brunswick Square this morning, and arrived at Brentwood an hour ago. After settling down in my chamber at the inn, I thought you would like to know how my meeting with John and Mr. Edinburg went yesterday afternoon – I am glad to tell you, and trust that you would be relieved to know, that the meeting went well and the investment opportunity that John spoke of was indeed agreeable - Mr. Edinburg has drawn up a detail plan which after reviewing with him put many of my concerns a bay. John is determined to take the opportunity and was excited to have acquired my support in his decision. (Knowing that George approved of John's decision indeed gave Emma a huge relief, for anything that might affect Isabella and the children was always her foremost concern.)

I am quite certain that by now you have already heard from Isabella regarding my visit with our family at Brunswick Square, but do allow me to recount it for you from my view. (Emma nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, I would love to hear about your visit with our family, George!") We had a jovial evening visiting and talking over the latest happenings with everyone. John and Isabella were both well. They were happy to see me, but overwhelmingly wished that you could be there as well, and of course the children would have loved to see their beloved aunt as much as their parents did. But I am sure, my dearest Emma, I was the one who longed for you presence the most! ("Oh! George!" Lovingly Emma exclaimed.)

It had been two months since I last seen the children, amazingly, they all seem to have grown an inch taller. You will be delighted to know that Henry's quiet manner has become more open over the last two months, he is now more interested in conversing with adults and we had a serious discussion over how his brother John has changed recently – he really enjoyed the diminished teasing from John, who, as you know, used to tease his older brother excessively. I don't know what brought about the change in John, but he seems looking up to his older brother now and prefers reading and studying with him over teasing. It is remarkable to see the changes in the two brothers – if only my own little brother would stop his teasing toward me, I would be forever grateful. (Emma smiled in delight and nodded with sympathy as she thought of how torturous John's teasing could be to George at times!)

My namesake, little George is not so little anymore and has found a sudden interest in wrestling – you would think a grown man like me could easily handle a little fellow like him – you are mistaken, my love! The little boy could throw a punch – I would have loved to see your reaction when he punched me straight in my stomach, it still hurts even now that I'm thinking of it. (Emma burst into laughers picturing the wrestling scene where little George taking down big George!)

You will be happy to know that Bella's beautiful voice is almost approaching perfection now, and do not worry – I did not tell her that, I know how you fear it would go over her little head with too much flattery. (Emma shook her head in sweet disagreement and said saucily as if George could hear her, "No, George, you silly goose, please only speak for yourself - you are the one who dislikes flattery! I, on the other hand, shower Bella with all the praises she deserves. I think little girls are sent to this earth to be spoilt!") However, her throat is still delicate and requires watchful attention, she is only allowed to sing two songs at a time and she used up her limits on me last night, and I thoroughly enjoyed every note of it!

And now, let me tell you about your namesake – little Emma is growing every bit like her aunt - the two year old is even cleverer, livelier and of course more beautiful (Did I not say that she is every bit like you, my love?) than I last saw her. (Emma quietly laughed in amusement and thought that the Mr. Knightley she knew before they married would never have praised her for her looks, but since they had married his vanity had overtaken his senses and allowed himself to indulge in the pride of having a beautiful wife!) And she also inherited from her aunt the love of attention – while Isabella, John and I were engrossed in our conversation last night, little Emma was determined to have her voice heard, she started speaking louder and louder until we all stopped to look at her – you should see the serious look on her face as she continued her gibberish with our full attention. I can't wait to see her getting into all sorts of mischief just like you did when you were little - I know what you are thinking, my love - yes, the secret is out, for all the scolding and lecturing that I gave you, though I never admitted it before, your mischief was more of a source of amusement than vexation to me! (With a self-satisfying grin, Emma said "I knew it, George! I always knew you enjoyed my mischief…I'm glad you've finally admitted it!")

As you know, Emma, I have always enjoyed my time with John, Isabella and the children, and last night was no exception. But I must tell you this – it is not the same anymore! I used to feel content with being the uncle of the children and the brother of John and Isabella, but now that I have you - I could not feel complete without your presence! As much as I treasured the time with them last night, how I wished you were there to enjoy our family together with me, and how content I would have felt if only you were by my side! (Emma pressed George's letter to her heart, thinking how she wished she was by his side as well!) I was thinking Emma, as you were able to convince your father to allow you to travel with me to the fair, do you think you could convince him to allow you to visit Brunswick Square with me sometime before their next visit to Hartfield? Would you like that idea? I would love it very much if it could happen. (Emma thought what a wonderful idea it would be, to visit their relatives in London, to be able to see them instead of waiting for another two months, and deliver her mother's letters to Isabella! She would never dare to contemplate such an idea in the past, but now that her father seemed to be a little different, she thought she might try to convince him when the right opportunity came.)

And there is one more thing I must say to you, my most beloved Emma – before I got on the carriage for my journey to London on Monday, you spoke with me about your mother's 'unusual' and 'confusing' portraits – I have been thinking about what you said and I regret that I did not take the time to ask you about them. Why are they so unusual that they are confusing to you? The thought of what you said have been worrying me, especially knowing that you had missed writing to Isabella on Monday, and you never missed writing to her before. I sincerely hope that everything is well with you, my love, or I will never forgive myself for neglecting you!

Your true love, eternally!

George


Emma recalled what she had told George on the morning just before he took off on his journey, and she understood how those words could have troubled him. She regretted that she lacked the time and the courage to tell him more that morning; and now she pondered what she could do to ease his worries.

In a few short moments, a broad grin came onto her face as she said to herself…

"I think I have all the reasons I need now!"