22 Cont. Persuasion - Read By Stephanie Poppins

The story concerns Anne Elliot, an Englishwoman of 27 years, whose family moves to lower their expenses and reduce their debt by renting their home to an admiral and his wife.

In this episode: The Musgroves come to Bath and with them, someone altogether unexpected.

Transcript

Hello.

Welcome to Sleep Stories with Steph,

Your go-to romantic podcast that guarantees you a calm and entertaining transition into a great night's sleep.

Come with me as we immerse ourselves in a romantic journey to a time long since forgotten.

But before we begin,

Let's take a moment to focus on where we are now.

Take a deep breath in through your nose and let it out with a long sigh.

Now close your eyes and feel yourself sink deeper into the support beneath you.

It is time to relax and fully let go.

There is nothing you need to be doing now and nowhere you need to go.

Happy listening.

Persuasion by Jane Austen Volume 2,

Chapter 10,

Continued Surprise was the strongest emotion raised by Mr.

And Mrs.

Musgrove's appearance.

But Anne was really glad to see them and the others were not so sorry but that they could not put on a decent air of welcome.

And as soon as it became clear that these,

Their nearest relations,

Were not arrived with any views of accommodation in that house,

Sir Walter and Elizabeth were able to rise in cordiality and do the honours of it very well.

They were come to Bath for a few days with Mrs.

Musgrove and were at the White Hart.

So much was pretty soon understood.

But till Sir Walter and Elizabeth were walking Mary into the other drawing room and regaling themselves with her admiration,

Anne could not draw upon Charles's brain for a regular history of their coming or an explanation of some smiling hints of particular business which had been ostentatiously dropped by Mary,

As well as of some apparent confusion as to whom their party consisted of.

She then found that it consisted of Mrs.

Musgrove,

Henrietta and Captain Harville besides their two selves.

He gave her a very plain,

Intelligible account of the whole,

A narration in which she saw a great deal of most characteristic proceeding.

The scheme had received its first impulse by Captain Harville's wanting to come to Bath on business.

He had begun to talk of it a week ago,

And by way of doing something,

As shooting was over,

Charles had proposed coming with him,

And Mrs.

Harville had seemed to like the idea of it very much,

As an advantage to her husband.

But Mary could not bear to be left and had made herself so unhappy about it that for a day or two everything seemed to be in suspense or at an end.

But then it had been taken up by his father and mother.

His mother had some old friends in Bath whom she wanted to see.

It was thought a good opportunity for Henrietta to come and buy wedding clothes for herself and her sister,

And in short it ended in being his mother's party that everything might be comfortable and easy to Captain Harville.

He and Mary were included in it by way of general convenience.

They had arrived late the night before.

Mrs.

Harville,

Her children and Captain Benwick remained with Mr.

Musgrove and Louisa at Uppercross.

Anne's only surprise was that a fair should be in forwardness,

Enough for Henrietta's wedding clothes to be talked of.

She had imagined such difficulties of fortune to exist,

There as must prevent the marriage from being near at hand.

But she learned from Charles that very recently,

Charles Hayter had been applied to by a friend to hold a living for a youth who could not possibly claim it under many years,

And that on the strength of this present income,

With almost a certainty of something more permanent long before the term in question,

The two families had consented to the young people's wishes and their marriage was likely to take place in a few months,

Quite as soon as Louisa's.

And a very good living it was,

Charles added,

Only five and twenty miles from Uppercross and in a very fine country,

Fine part of Dorsetshire,

In the centre of some of the best preserves in the kingdom,

Surrounded by three great proprietors,

Each more careful and jealous than the other,

And to two of the three at least,

Charles Hayter might get a special recommendation.

Not that he will value it as he ought,

He observed.

Charles is too cool about sporting.

That's the worst of him.

I'm extremely glad indeed,

Cried Anne,

Particularly glad this should happen and that of two sisters who both deserve equally well and who have always been such good friends.

The pleasant prospect of one should not be dimming those of the other,

That they should be so equal in their prosperity and comfort.

I hope your father and mother are quite happy with regard to both?

Oh yes,

My father would be well pleased if the gentleman will reach her,

But he has no other faults to find.

Money,

You know,

Coming down with money.

Two daughters at once.

It cannot be a very agreeable operation and it straightens him as to many things.

However,

I do not mean to say they have not a right to it.

It is very fit they should have daughter shares and I am sure he's always been a very kind,

Liberal father to me.

Mary does not above half like Henry at his match.

She never did,

You know,

But she cannot do him justice nor think about Winthrop.

I cannot make her attend the value of the property.

It's a very fair match as times go and I have liked Charles Hayter all my life.

I shall not leave off now.

Such excellent parents as Mr.

And Mrs.

Musgrove,

Exclaimed Anne,

Should be happy in their children's marriages.

They do everything to confer happiness,

I'm sure.

What a blessing to young people to be in such hands.

Your father and mother seem so totally free from all those ambitious feelings which have led to so much misconduct and misery,

Both in young and old.

I hope you think Louise are perfectly recovered now.

Charles answered rather hesitatingly.

Yes,

I do believe so.

Very much recovered.

But she is altered.

There's no running or jumping about,

No laughing or dancing.

It's quite different.

If one happens only to shut the door a little hard,

She starts and wriggles like a young dab chick in the water and Bennick sits at her elbow reading verses or whispering to her all day long.

Anne could not help laughing.

That cannot be much to your taste,

I know,

She said,

But I do believe him to be an excellent young man.

To be sure he is.

Nobody doubts it.

And I hope you do not think I'm so illiberal as to want every man to have the same objects and pleasures as myself.

I have a great value for Bennick and when one can but get him to talk,

He has plenty to say.

His reading has done him no harm for he's perfort as well as read.

He's a brave fellow.

I got more acquainted with him last Monday than I ever did before.

He had a famous set to at rat hunting all the morning in my father's great barns and he played his part so well.

I've liked him the better ever since.

Here they were interrupted by the absolute necessity of Charles's following the others to admire mirrors and China.

But Anne had heard enough to understand the present state of Uppercross and rejoice in its happiness.

And though she sighed as she rejoiced her sigh had none of the ill will of envy in it.

She would certainly have risen to their blessings if she could but she did not want to lessen theirs.

The visit passed off altogether in high humour.

Mary was in excellent spirits enjoying the gaiety and the change and so well satisfied with the journey in her mother's in-laws carriage with four horses and with her own complete independence of camp and place that she was exactly in a temper to admire everything as she ought and enter most readily into all the superiorities of the house as they were detailed to her.

She had no demands on her father and sister and her consequence was just enough increased by their handsome drawing rooms.

Elizabeth for a short time was suffering a good deal.

She felt that Mrs Musgrove and all her party ought to be asked to dine with them but she could not bear to have the difference of style a reduction of servants which a dinner must betray witnessed by those who'd always been so inferior to the Elliotts of Kellynch.

It was a struggle between propriety and vanity but vanity got the better and then Elizabeth was happy again.

These were her internal persuasions old-fashioned notions country hospitality we do not profess to give dinners few people in Bath do Lady Alicia never does did not even ask her own sister's family though they were here a month and I dare say it would be very inconvenient to Mrs Musgrove put her quite out of the way I'm sure she would rather not come she cannot feel easy with us I will ask them all for an evening that will be much better that will be a novelty and a treat they have not seen two such drawing rooms before they will be delighted to come tomorrow evening it shall be a regular party small but most elegant this satisfied Elizabeth and when the invitation was given to the two present and promised for the absent Mary was as completely satisfied she was particularly asked to meet Mr Elliott and be introduced to Lady Dalrymple and Miss Cataract who were fortunately already engaged to come and she could not have received a more gratifying attention Miss Elliott was to have the honour of calling on Mrs Musgrove in the course of the morning and Anne walked off with Charles and Mary to go and see her and Henrietta directly her plan of sitting with Lady Russell gave way for the present they all three were called in River Street for a couple of minutes but Anne convinced herself that a day's delay of the intended communication would be of no consequence and hastened forward to the White Hart to see again the friends and companions of the last autumn with an eagerness of goodwill which many associations contributed to for they found Mrs Musgrove and her daughter within and by themselves and Anne had the kindest welcome from each Henrietta was exactly in that state of recently improved views of fresh-formed happiness which made her full of regard and interest for everybody she had ever liked before at all and Mrs Musgrove's real affection had been won by her usefulness when they were in distress it was a heartiness and a warmth and a sincerity which Anne delighted in the more from the sad want of such blessings at home she was entreated to give them as much of her time as possible invited for every day and all day long or rather claimed as part of that family and in return Anne naturally fell into all her wanted ways of attention and assistance and on Charles's leaving them together was listening to Mrs Musgrove's history of Louisa and Henrietta's history of herself giving opinions on business and recommendations to shops with intervals of every help which Mary required from finding her keys altering her ribbon assorting her trinkets to trying to convince her that she was not ill used by anybody which Mary,

Well amused as she generally was in her station at a window overlooking the entrance to the pump room could not but have her moments of imagining a morning of thorough confusion was to be expected a large party in a hotel ensured a quick changing unsettled scene one five minutes brought a note the next a parcel and Anne had not been there half an hour when their dining room,

Spacious as it was seemed more than half filled a party of steady old friends were seated around Mrs Musgrove and Charles came back with Captains Harville and Wentworth the appearance of the latter could not be more than the surprise of a moment it was impossible for Anne to have forgotten to feel that this arrival of their common friends must be soon bringing them together again their last meeting had been most important in opening his feelings she had derived from it a delightful conviction but she feared from his looks that the same unfortunate persuasion which had hastened him away from the concert room still governed he did not seem to want to be near enough for conversation Anne tried to be calm and leave things to take their course and she tried to dwell much on this argument of rational dependence surely if there be constant attachment on each side our hearts must understand each other year long we are not boy and girl to be captiously irritable misled by every moment's inadvertence and wantonly playing with our own happiness and yet a few minutes afterwards she felt as if they're being in company with each other under their present circumstances could only be exposing them to inadvertencies and misconstructions of the most mischievous kind Anne cried Mary still at her window there is Mrs Clay I'm sure standing under the colonnade and a gentleman with her I saw them turn the corner from Bath Street just now they seem deep in talk who is it?

Come and tell me good heavens I recollect it it is Mr Elliot himself no cried Anne quickly it cannot be Mr Elliot I assure you he was to leave Bath at nine this morning and does not come back till tomorrow as she spoke she felt that Captain Wentworth was looking at her the consciousness of which vexed and embarrassed her and made her regret that she had said so much simple as it was Mary resenting that she should be supposed not to know her own cousin began talking very warmly about the family features and protesting still more positively that it was Mr Elliot calling upon Anne to come and look for herself but Anne did not mean to stir and try to be cool and unconcerned her distress returned however on perceiving smiles and intelligent glances passed between two or three of the lady visitors as if they believed themselves quite in the secret it was evident the report concerning her had spread and a short pause succeeded which seemed to ensure that it would now spread further

Reviews

Wonderful reading as always. I'm chilled today bundled up in bed with tissues and listening. Making the storyline hard to follow, after the interesting chapters with Mrs. Smith and Anne. 🤗🌺 A good sleep needed, see you Friday!