[Emma] Becoming Jane Fairfax

In winter, the people of Highbury are not idle when the weather is cold and freezing.The luxurious ostentation of the Churchills became the talk of their gossip.

Emma and Mr. Knightley are busy preparing to organize friends to go to Margaret Town, at least not to let them catch a cold.

As the weather turned cold, Mrs. Goddard's school received a quilt donated by a wealthy businessman, and she called Harriet back to school to help.

Wei Lai found most of the bibliography in the book list given by the "Daily Morning Post" in Tangwell's study room. She used the energy to sprint for the college entrance examination in her third year of high school, and buried herself in the pile of books all day long, writing and drawing. No time to think about it.However, Patty has a good relationship with a cook in Randall, and from time to time, she hears news about the Churchills from the cook.

Mrs. Churchill was already seriously ill, and after a day of bumps on the way to Highbury, her physical condition was even worse. After arriving in Randall, she could hardly get out of bed. Frank and Mr. Churchill took care of her side by side.

Although Mr. Weston hated the Churchills and his wife, Mrs. Churchill's pitiful appearance of being sick and out of breath still aroused his sympathy. Landauer did not raise pigs or cattle, so he bought pigs and cattle from other houses at a high price, just to let Mrs. Churchill eat fresh meat. Dr. Perry said that Mrs. Churchill wanted to eat light and less greasy food. Did not touch meaty.

After tossing and tossing, Mrs. Churchill finally survived.

The Weston couple breathed a sigh of relief. They were afraid that Mrs. Churchill would end her life in Landauer if she could not catch her breath.

After lying in bed for another two days, Mrs. Churchill's complexion looked better than the day she first came, and Mr. Weston thought it was time to talk to her.

Mrs. Weston asked the servants to tidy up the small living room early on, from a small decoration to the fireplace, everything was clean and tidy.

In the past few days, she has suffered from Mrs. Churchill.Although she was so ill that it was difficult to speak, she was always picky. When the bed was hard, the food was hot, and the room was cold, she would get angry at anything that didn't meet her wishes. She couldn't speak, so she patted on the On the bed, with her flushed face, it was more anxious than talking.

The fireplace in the small living room was lit, tea was brewed, and snacks were served. Everything was ready. Frank and Mr. Churchill supported Mrs. Churchill and came down from the stairs, and Mr. Weston followed behind them.As soon as they sat down, Mrs. Churchill sent Frank out.

Of course Frank was unwilling. He wanted to know the purpose of his uncle and aunt more than anyone else. He smiled and told Mrs. Churchill that he would stay and take care of her. Get up, cough and tell him to go out, now Frank dare not stay any longer.

Mrs. Churchill coughed for a while, took two big breaths, calmed down slowly, and cut straight to the point: "I'm here for Frank's marriage."

The Westons were astonished.

Mr. Weston also thought that the Churchills came because of Frank. If it wasn't for Frank, they would definitely not set foot in Highbury, but he didn't expect it to be such an important thing as marriage.

"Who is Frank going to marry? I never heard him mention it," said Mr. Weston.

Mrs. Churchill said: "It's not about marrying me. Frank is almost 24 years old. Many of his friends of the same age are already married and have a serious job. Frank is not in a hurry, and I should be in a hurry for him. One day I asked his uncle to help him find a government job. Drake has already asked his friends to help him, and now he has a job, and if he marries a wife from a prominent family, who can help him in life and career, he will be on the right track , It’s better than doing nothing like this every day. I won’t talk about him because I raised him and I love him, but I have to think about his future. "

Mrs. Churchill had a rare moment of energy. After speaking for a long time, she gasped for breath.She knows her body well, and her family doesn't tell her, but she knows that she won't live long, and maybe she won't survive this year.

She has no regrets in her life, but she can't let go of Frank who has been brought up as her own son. She has to help him take care of each piece, one by one, like Frank did when he was a child, otherwise she will not feel at ease when she dies. The first one is Find him a wife of good birth.

Mrs. Churchill thought she was thoughtful, but she didn't expect that her "wife from a noble family" just hit Mr. Weston's pain point.

"Born? Where? From Yorkshire?" Mr. Weston read and reread that the man sitting before him was a sick man, before he made a faux pas. "Frank never mentioned to me which parent A lady of the Yorkshire family, but we get along well with Miss Woodhouse, of Hatfield, Highbury."

On the day of the banquet held to welcome the Churchills and his wife, all the families invited brought their sons or daughters, and a large family rushed up together. Mrs. Churchill's eyes hurt when she saw it, and she didn't remember any of them, but the Woodhouse family only had one She remembered her father and a daughter, and when she thought about it carefully, she also remembered Emma's appearance.

"Miss Woodhouse, I seem to remember, she is pretty and has a good manner, but I want to ask you, are you willing to let Frank marry her?"

I heard that the Woodhouse family has two daughters. The eldest daughter has been married for several years, and the fifth child is about to be born. The younger daughter is one year younger than Frank, but there is no sign of getting married. Thinking about it, I know it must be Mr. Woodhouse would not.

Mr. Weston hadn't thought about this question yet, so Mrs. Churchill stopped her from asking. Mrs. Churchill rolled her eyes: "If Mr. Woodhouse disagrees, how much time are you going to spend persuading him? If Mr. Woodhouse agrees, but If you want Frank to stay in Highbury all his life, have you considered Frank's future? What can he do in Highbury! Even if you settle everything, Frank can marry Miss Woodhouse without staying in Highbury Bury, how long will it take, one year, two years, ten years? Will I still..."

Mrs. Churchill has always had a tough image in front of Mr. Weston, and now she is unwilling to show weakness in front of him, and finally said: "I don't agree."

Mr. Weston suddenly thought of the first time he visited the couple when he was young, and asked them to agree to his marriage with Miss Churchill. Mrs. Churchill also spoke to him in a lecturing tone. The wounds of the past have not yet healed. She was about to bleed, and now she sprinkled a handful of salt, Mr. Weston looked at her coldly with hatred: "Frank is my son."

Mrs. Churchill glanced at him: "His surname is Churchill, he is Frank Churchill, you gave him to us, he is the son of our Churchill family."

One sentence made Mr. Weston collapse, and his face turned pale in an instant. Mrs. Weston held her husband's hand worriedly, and heard Mrs. Churchill say: "When Frank first came to our house, he was so thin A layer of skin is left, and the worst beef is treasured. You are his father, so you raise him like this? You gave Frank to us, and we gave you a sum of money. If you didn't have this money, you would have earned this A family business? Our husband and wife carefully raised him day by day, gave him the best education, gave him the best living environment, what did you give him? Poverty and sickness! You still have the face to say that Frank is your son. Drake and I didn't come to Highbury to quarrel with you. I didn't have the energy to quarrel with you. I just want to tell you that I have my eyes on the daughters of three families in Yorkshire. Don't worry, they are all famous and famous. She is well-bred and well-bred, and she is also very beautiful."

Mr. Weston drooped his head and said nothing.

Mrs. Churchill said again: "There is one more thing, I need to find out. Frank seems to like a girl, I don't know who, that day in Richmond, he got drunk and said something about her Doesn't like me or anything like that. I think about it, it's not Enscombe's girl, it's not London, I know all the friends he made in both places, only he made friends in Highbury I don’t know your friend, but think about it, who could it be?”

"Who else? It must be Miss Woodhouse." Mr. Weston became more energetic now. Look, his vision is correct. Frank really likes Miss Woodhouse deeply, "Frank, this silly boy, What did he think, how could Miss Woodhouse not like him? As long as they meet, the two of them will definitely get together. Miss Woodhouse's liking for Frank cannot be hidden from my eyes, and Anne, she also agrees My opinion. Frank and Miss Woodhouse make a good pair together, as well as a girl of some noble family."

Mrs. Weston nodded hurriedly: "Yes, I watched Emma grow up and know her best."

Mrs. Churchill was not familiar with the situation in Highbury, and she couldn't tell if it was Miss Woodhouse, and she couldn't ask Frank directly. She didn't say anything about Frank's drunken talk, but she just wanted to investigate quietly.

Among the three families who saw Frank, one of the daughters had already taken a fancy to him. Mrs. Churchill was naturally satisfied. She originally wanted to go back to Enscombe with Frank and make a marriage agreement as soon as possible, but she didn’t expect another incident. For one thing, she was afraid that Frank really wanted to belong to him, or he might do something more dangerous. If he didn't handle it well, he would get engaged to someone's daughter rashly, and she was afraid that he would end up with hatred instead of getting married.

"Don't worry, investigate carefully, we will stay here for a few days."

After talking about the business, Mrs. Churchill was free to drink tea and eat snacks. The Westons were worried that she would stay for a few more days!

The people in the small living room were talking enthusiastically. Frank, who was hiding outside the door and eavesdropping, was in a cold sweat. He immediately decided to go to Bates' house to meet Jane. He stopped at the door and returned to his room to write a letter The servant sent the letter to Bates' house, saying that he was going to visit Miss and Mrs. Bates tomorrow.