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That offers you a calm and relaxing transition into sleep.
Into a great night's sleep.
It is time to relax and fully let go.
There is nothing you need to be doing now.
And know where you need to go.
Close your eyes.
And feel yourself sink into the support beneath you.
And let all the worries of the day go.
Drift away.
This is your time.
And your space.
Take a deep breath in through your nose.
And let it out with a long sigh.
That's it!
There is nothing you need to be doing now.
And know where you need to go.
Happy listening.
Chapter 15 Mr Woodhouse was soon ready for his tea and when he had drank his tea he was quite ready to go home.
And it was as much as his three companions could do to entertain away his notice of the lateness of the hour before the other gentlemen appeared.
Mr Weston was chatty and convivial and no friend to early separations of any sort.
But at last the drawing room party did receive an augmentation.
Mr Elton in very good spirits was one of the first to walk in.
Mrs.
Weston and Emma were sitting together on a sofa.
He joined them immediately and with scarcely an invitation seated himself between them.
Emma,
In good spirits too from the amusement afforded her mind by the expectation of Mr Frank Churchill,
Was willing to forget his late improprieties and be as well satisfied with him as before,
And on his making Harriet his very first subject,
Was ready to listen with most friendly smiles.
He professed himself extremely anxious about her fair friend,
Her fair,
Lovely,
Amiable friend.
Did she know?
Had she heard anything about her since their being at Randalls?
He felt much anxiety.
He must confess the nature of her complaint alarmed him considerably.
And in this style he talked on for some time very properly,
Not much attending to any answer,
But altogether sufficiently awake to the terror of a bad sore throat.
And Emma was quite in charity with him.
But at last this seemed a perverse turn.
It seemed all at once as if he were more afraid of its being a bad sore throat on her account than on Harriet's.
More anxious she should escape the infection,
Then there should be no infection in the complaint.
He began with great earnestness to entreat her to refrain from visiting the sick chamber again for the present.
To entreat her to promise him not to venture into such hazard till he'd seen Mr.
Perry and learnt his opinion.
She did try to laugh it off and bring the subject back to its proper course,
But there was no putting an end to his extreme solicitude about her.
She was vexed.
It did appear there was no concealing it,
Exactly like the pretense of being in love with her instead of Harriet.
An inconstancy,
If real,
The most contemptible and abominable.
She had difficulty in behaving with temper.
He turned to Mrs.
Weston to implore her assistance.
Would she not give him her support?
Would she not add her persuasions to his?
So scrupulous for others,
He continued,
And yet so careless for herself.
She wanted me to nurse my cold by staying at home today and yet will not promise to avoid the danger of catching an ulcerated sore throat herself.
Is this fair,
Miss Weston?
Judge between us.
Have I not some right to complain?
I am sure of your kind support and aid.
Emma saw Mrs Weston's surprise and felt it must be great at an address which,
In words and manners,
Was assuming to himself the right of first interest in her.
And as for herself,
She was far too much provoked and offended to have the power of directly saying anything to the purpose.
She could only give him a look.
But it was such a look!
As she thought must restore him to his senses.
Then she left the sofa,
Removing to a seat by her sister and giving her all the attention.
She had not time to know how Mr Elton took the reproof,
So rapidly did another subject succeed.
For Mr John Knightley now came into the room from examining the weather,
And opened on them all,
With the information of the ground being covered with snow,
And of it snowing still fast,
With a strong drifting wind.
Concluding with these words to Mr.
Woodhouse This will prove a spirited beginning of your winter engagement,
Sir.
Something new for your coachmen and horses to be making their way through a storm of snow.
Poor Mr.
Woodhouse was silent from consternation.
But everybody else had something to say.
Everybody was either surprised or not surprised and had some question to ask or some comfort to offer.
Mrs Weston and Emma tried earnestly to cheer him and turn his attention from his son-in-law who was pursuing his triumph rather unfeelingly.
I admired your resolution very much,
Sir,
" said he,
In venturing out in such weather.
For of course you saw there would be snow very soon.
Everybody must have seen the snow coming on.
I admire your spirit and I dare say we shall get home very well.
Another hour or two's snow can hardly make the road impassable,
And we are two carriages If one is blown over in the bleak part of the common field,
There will be the other at hand.
I dare say we shall be all safe at Hartfield before midnight.
Mr.
Weston,
With triumph of a different sort,
Was confessing he'd known it to be snowing some time,
But not said a word,
Lest it should make Mr.
Woodhouse uncomfortable.
And be an excuse for his hurrying away.
As to there being any quantity of snow fallen or likely to fall to impede their return,
That was a mere joke.
He called upon his wife to agree with him that with a little contrivance everybody might be lodged,
Which she hardly knew how to do from the consciousness of there being but two spare rooms in the house.
What is to be done,
My dear Emma?
What is to be done?
Was Mr Woodhouse's first exclamation and all he could say for some time.
To her he looked for comfort and her assurances of safety,
Her representation of the excellence of the horses and of Jane's,
And of their having so many friends about them.
Revived him a little.
His eldest daughter's alarm was equal to his own.
The horror of being blocked up at Randalls while her children were at Hartfield was full in her imagination.
And fancying the road to be now just passable for adventurous people,
But in a state that admitted no delay,
She was eager to have it settled that her father and Emma should remain at Randalls,
While she and her husband set forth instantly through all the possible accumulations of drifted snow that might impede them.
You'd better order the carriage directly,
My love,
" said she.
I dare say we shall be able to get along if we set out directly.
And if we do come to anything very bad,
I can get out and walk.
I'm not at all afraid.
I could change my shoes,
You know,
The moment I got home.
It's not the sort of thing that gives me cold.
Indeed,
Replied he.
Then my dear Isabella,
It is the most extraordinary sort of thing in the world,
For in general,
Everything does give you cold.
Walk home?
You're prettily shot for walking home,
I dare say.
It will be bad enough for the horses.
Isabella turned to Mrs Weston for her approbation of the plan.
Mrs Weston could only approve.
Isabella then went to Emma,
But Emma could not so entirely give up the hope of their being all able to get away,
And they were still discussing the point when Mr Knightley,
Who had left the room immediately after his brother's first report,
Came back and told them he'd been out of doors to examine,
And could answer for there not being the smallest difficulty in their getting home whenever they liked it.
He had gone beyond the sweep somewhere along the Highbury Road.
The snow was nowhere above half an inch deep,
He said.
He had seen the coachman,
And they both agreed with him in there being nothing to apprehend.
To Isabella,
The relief of such tidings was very great.
And they were scarcely less acceptable to Emma on her father's account,
Who was immediately set as much at ease on the subject as his nervous constitution allowed.
But the alarm that had been raised could not be appeased,
So as to admit of any comfort for him while he continued at Randalls.
Your father will not be easy,
" said Mr Knightley.
Why do you not go?
I'm ready if the others are,
" said Emma.
Shall I ring the bell?
Yes,
Do.
And the bell was rung and the carriages spoken for.
The carriage came and Mr.
Woodhouse,
Always the first object on such occasions,
Was carefully attended to by his own Mr.
Knightley and Mr.
Weston.
Isabella stepped in after her father.
John Knightley,
Forgetting he did not belong to their party,
Stepped in after his wife very naturally.
So Emma found on being escorted and followed into the second carriage by Mr Elton.
That the door was to be lawfully shut on them and they were to have a tete-a-tete drive.
It would not have been the awkwardness of a moment,
It would have been rather a pleasure,
Previous to the suspicions of this day.
She could have talked to him of Harriet,
And the three quarters of a mile would have seen but one.
But now she would rather it had not happened.
She believed he'd been drinking too much of Mr Weston's good wine and felt sure he would want to be talking nonsense.
To restrain him as much might be by her own manners,
She was immediately preparing to speak with calmness and gravity of the weather and the night.
But scarcely had she begun.
Scarcely had they passed the sweet gate and joined the other carriage.
That she found her subject cut up.
Her hand seized,
Her attention demanded,
And Mr Elton actually making violent love to her.
Availing himself of the precious opportunity,
Declaring sentiments which must be already well known,
Hoping,
Fearing,
Adoring,
Ready to die if she refused him.
Without scruple,
Without apology,
Without much apparent diffidence,
Mr Elton,
The lover of Harriet,
Was professing himself her lover.
She tried to stop him,
But vainly he would go on and say it all.
Angry as she was,
The thought of the moment made Emma resolve to restrain herself when she did speak.
She felt if half this folly must be drunkenness,
Therefore she could hope it might belong only to the passing hour.
Accordingly,
With a mixture of the serious and the playful,
Which he hoped would best suit his half and half state,
She replied,
I am very much astonished,
Mr Elton.
This,
To me?
You forget yourself.
You take me for my friend.
Any message to Miss Smith I shall be happy to deliver.
Put no more of this to me,
If you please.
Miss Smith.
Message to Miss Smith.
What could she possibly mean?
He repeated her words with such assurance of accent,
Such boastful pretense of amazement,
That Emma could not help replying with quickness.
Mr Elton,
This is most extraordinary conduct.
I can account for it only in one way.
You are not yourself.
Or you could not speak either to me or of Harriet in such a manner.
Command yourself to say no more.
And I will endeavour to forget it.
But Mr Elton had only drunk wine enough to elevate his spirits,
Not at all to confuse his intellects.
He perfectly knew his own meaning.
And having warmly protested against her suspicion as most injurious,
And slightly touched upon his respect for Miss Smith as her friend,
But acknowledging his wonder that Miss Smith should be mentioned at all.
He resumed the subject of his own passion and was very urgent for a favourable answer.
Has Emma thought less of his inebriety?
She thought more of his inconstancy and presumption.
And with fewer struggles for politeness replied.
It is impossible for me to doubt any longer.
You have made yourself too clear,
Mr Elton.
My astonishment is much beyond anything I can express,
After such behaviour as I have witnessed during the last month to Miss Smith.
Such attentions as I've been in the daily habit of observing,
To be addressing me in this manner is an unsteadiness of character which I had not supposed possible.
Believe me,
Sir,
I'm far.
Very far from gratified in being the object of such professions.
Good heaven!
Cried Miss Drowden.
What can be the meaning of this?
Miss Smith.
I never thought of Miss Smith in the whole course of my existence.
Miss Smith indeed.
Oh Miss Woodhouse,
Who can think of Miss Smith when Miss Woodhouse is near?
Upon my honour there is no unsteadiness of character.
I have thought only of you.
Everything I have said or done for many weeks past has been with a sole view of making my adoration of yourself.
You cannot really seriously doubt it.
It would be impossible to say what Emma felt on hearing this.
Which of all her unpleasant sensations was uppermost.
She was too completely overpowered to be immediately able to reply,
And two minutes of silence being ample encouragement for Mr Elton's sanguine state of mind,
He tried to take her hand again.
No sir,
Cried Emma,
Nothing could be further from my wishes.
Your attachment to my friend Harriet,
Your pursuit of her gave me great pleasure and I've been very earnestly wishing you success.
But had I supposed she were not your attraction to Hartfield,
I should certainly have thought you judged ill in making your visits so frequent.
Am I to believe you have never sought to recommend yourself to Miss Smith?
That you never thought seriously of her?
CRI-T Affronted He was too angry to say another word.
Hermanna too decided to invite supplication,
And in this state of swelling resentment and mutually deep mortification,
They had to continue together a few minutes longer,
For the fears of Mr.
Woodhouse had confined them to a foot pace.
If there had not been so much anger,
There would have been desperate awkwardness.
But their straightforward emotions left no room for the little zigzags of embarrassment.
Without knowing when the carriage turned into Vicarage Lane,
Or when it stopped,
They found themselves at once at the door of his house,
And he was out before another syllable passed.
It seemed as if her return only were wanted to make everything go well.
For Mr.
John Knightley,
Ashamed of his ill-humour,
Was now all kindness and attention,
And so particularly solicitous for the comfort of her father.
As to seem,
If not quite ready to join him in a basin of gruel,
Perfectly sensible of its being exceedingly wholesome,
And the day was concluded in peace and comfort to all the little party.
Except Emma.
Her mind had never been in such perturbation.
And it needed a very strong effort to appear attentive and cheerful till the usual hour of separating allowed her the relief of quiet reflection.
