[Emma] Becoming Jane Fairfax

Although Emma casually brought up the matter of changing the venue of the ball, anyone with a discerning eye knew that it must have taken a lot of effort to find the Crown Hotel.

Everyone rushed to the Crown Hotel, expressing their satisfaction, and praised Emma without hesitation.

Wei Lai walked last and took a rough look.

The room used to hold the ball was as large as the living room of the Cole family. It could hold about twenty people. Ten couples would be enough for dancing. It led to a long and narrow corridor, and at the end of the corridor were two other rooms, one large and one small, which Emma said were the places where the guests dined.

"You have to go through this dark and difficult corridor to eat? This room is too unreasonably constructed." Mr. Weston frowned. "There are two windows in the corridor. If some reckless young man opens the window When it was opened, the guests danced and were sweating, and if the wind blows, wouldn't it make people sick?"

Mrs. Weston shared the same concern and suggested: "What if we don't have a formal dinner and just have some small sandwiches so we don't have to go through the corridors, don't you think?"

Emma and Frank looked at each other, clearly disapproving, but before they could speak, Mr. Weston rudely rejected his wife's suggestion: "It's too shabby to put small sandwiches and the like, how can you get them?" You'll be laughed at. I've been to a lot of dances, but I've never seen anyone serve a sandwich."

Mrs. Weston gave her husband a white look, and said no more.

Emma and Frank each made several suggestions, but none of them worked.

Mr. Knightley really didn't care about the dance at all, as Emma said, and he didn't say a word since he entered the door, while Harriet, like Wei Lai, was very soft-spoken and didn't speak at all.

Discussions came and went, but there was no result.

Wei Lai yawned slightly, thinking, the window is not as big as a dog hole, so what kind of wind can it blow.However, after thinking about it, didn't Jane leave this world because of a cold?In the era of underdeveloped medicine, it is not surprising that everyone is afraid of catching a cold. Perhaps, cancer, which is terrible in the eyes of modern people, will become the same as catching a cold in the future, so there is no need to worry about it.

She opened her mouth, said nothing, and closed it again.

"Miss Fairfax, do you have any good ideas?" Frank asked suddenly.

Wei Lai shivered, woke up from the air, turned around in confusion, and found that everyone was looking at her.

"What, what's a good idea?"

Frank pointed in the direction of the corridor: "Here, do you have any attention? I heard Miss Woodhouse say that Miss Fairfax has a lot of experience in furniture arrangement. Can you tell us so that we can refer to it?"

"Thank you for the compliment. I'm not talking about any experience, just playing with it casually." Wei Lai wiped his hands on the hem of the skirt, "Actually, I don't think everyone should pay too much attention to this corridor. There is a fireplace in the room, so it will definitely be very warm. There are a lot of candles around, which will also generate heat. I believe no one will get sick. As for the two windows in the corridor, they can be covered with bamboo curtains, so that even if some stupid people open the windows stupidly, the cold wind will not blow Come in."

Frank asked, "Can just the bamboo curtain keep out the cold wind?"

Wei Lai: "If you don't need to nail the windows with wooden boards, you can remove the wooden boards after the dance."

Frank: "The air won't circulate."

Wei Lai: "..."

Find fault, right?

"I approve of bamboo curtains," said Mr. Knightley suddenly.

Perhaps because Knightley had spoken, Frank didn't say anything more, and Wei Lai's casual approach became the final solution.However, there are still problems that have not been resolved. The wallpaper in the room is old and some places are still dirty.

Before Emma and the Westons could start discussing, Frank threw the question to Wei Lai.

"Miss Fairfax really has a way of furnishing and wallpaper. Do you have any good ideas?"

Wei Lai laughed secretly.

Frank, like a quarrelsome kid who can't get sugar, tries to get her into trouble.

"I think some decorations can be used to block the dirty place, such as a beautiful candlestick, or a bouquet of flowers, as long as it is not seen."

Frank raised his eyebrows and objected: "It's dirty and yellow. If you don't deal with it, you have to cover it up. Can it be more shabby?"

How about you come?

Wei Lai endured it so that he would not speak harshly: "Excuse me, will this hotel hold many dances? If so, Mr. Churchill can change all the decorations in this room to make a magnificent ballroom , definitely not shabby. I think everyone in Highbury will appreciate your ability and thank you for your dedication to Highbury. But it's just for one night, there is no need to change the wallpaper on purpose, and besides, the prom The point is not the wallpaper, even if you put gold on it, it's just wallpaper."

Everyone present felt that the atmosphere was not right, but they didn't know why Frank, who had always been a gentleman and polite, suddenly took offense at Jane.Mrs. Weston followed her husband's wishes and praised Wei Lai again and again. The problem that was a headache just now seemed to have become insignificant all of a sudden.

The atmosphere became lively again.

Frank smiled inexplicably: "Yeah, it's just a dance."

----

The dance party finally started in the much-anticipated way.

Ever since Frank said that there was going to be a ball, Miss Bates has been actively preparing for it, cutting materials, making new clothes, hats, gloves, shoes, and even fans. The dance party is all used up, and this posture can catch up with the New Year.

Wei Lai finally realized the unique importance of the dance party in this era.

Emma offered to take Wei Lai and Miss Bates to the Crown Hotel in her family's carriage, but none of them expected that someone would arrive first——

The Eltons.

Wei Lai thought that after the last time, Mrs. Elton would stop trying to win her over and put her in Emma's circle of friends.In fact, she pursues the principle of neutrality and is unwilling to get involved in the competition between Emma and Mrs. Elton.

She didn't intend to get into the car of the Eltons, so she was willing to be regarded as their friend, and she was suspected of killing a donkey, but she really didn't want to add another trouble to herself.When they arrived at the Crown Hotel, she pretended to have lost something, and took Miss Bates to accompany her to find it. They only went in when they saw the Eltons entering.

The room where the ball was held had been rearranged and given a new look.Countless candles were lit in the room, the lights were brilliant, bouquets and ribbons covered the torn area of ​​the wallpaper, and the corridor also hit the bamboo curtains for shelter from the wind. There are two rooms at the end of the corridor, the large one is used as a dining room, and the small one is used as a dining room. It is used as a chess and card room.

The guests arrived one after another, walking around, watching and admiring.Outsiders know that it was Emma who found this good place, so they naturally credited her with all the credit, and lined up one by one to praise her.

As soon as Wei Lai entered the door, he sat with Harriet. He didn't hear what others said, but Miss Bates who was next to Mrs. Weston heard it clearly. She knew that her niece and daughter helped to organize the ball. , and she always likes to spread the name of her niece in Highbury. If it were anyone else, she would open her mouth to say it, but this time it was Miss Woodhouse, and she couldn't get it out of her mouth.

Mrs. Weston saw her thoughts, and calmly credited Wei Lai for organizing the ball, and the guests praised her again.

Miss Bates was so grateful that she sat back beside her niece and was talking excitedly about Mrs. Weston's kindness.

Wei Lai was in a daze. Miss Bates always liked to talk about it. Before she had time to ask clearly, the dance began.

"Miss Fairfax, aren't you going to dance?" For tonight's dance, Harriet put on a new dress that she was reluctant to wear at ordinary times. The workmanship was exquisite and gorgeous, and even her hairstyle was redesigned.

There were seven couples on the field, with the Eltons leading the way, Emma with Frank Churchill, surrounded by people waiting to enter or watching.

Mr. Knightley came out after two rounds of cards, followed by Lance Amedeo, and as soon as they came out, several prominent men in Highbury came over.

Wei Lai scanned around, and when Harriet asked her, he smiled and said, "I have enough time tonight, are you afraid that I won't have a chance to dance? Harriet, who do you want to be a dance partner with? Mr. Frank Churchill?"

Harriet blushed, and pretended to be angry and nudged Wei Lai: "Jane! How can you ask such a question! All the respectable gentlemen here tonight, I would be happy to dance with anyone, but Well, Mr. Frank Churchill may not be able to get away for a while, he and Miss Woodhouse are having a good time, and I think they will have a second dance."

Wei Lai smiled, didn't speak, turned his head to look at the center, the first dance ended, Emma and Frank took the lead of the Elton couple, they were dancing the second dance, they were a sweet couple.

Mr. Knightley stood watching, and Willie couldn't see what he meant.Lance, who was following behind him, disappeared. I don't know if he turned back to the chess and card room.

The young people could bear the two dances together, but Mr. Weston, an elderly person, couldn't bear it. After the second dance, he hastily proposed to rest for a while.

After getting off the dance floor, Emma went straight to Mr. Knightley. As soon as she opened her mouth, Knightley, who was sullen before, immediately smiled.

Wei Lai pursed her lips and smiled, and turned around to find Frank standing beside her.

"Miss Fairfax, I know the ball is not your favorite, but please, for the sake of the excitement tonight and the joy of everyone, please—" He held out his hand, "would you like to have a dance with me?" ?"

His gaze was fixed on Wei Lai. Although he looked calm on the surface, he was really afraid of being rejected.

"It's an honor to dance with Mr. Churchill." She reached out and placed her hand lightly in his palm.

"The third dance, "The Cook in the Boat"!"

Frank squeezed her hand tightly and dragged her onto the dance floor.

Fortunately, "The Cook in the Boat" is a classic dance song, Miss Bates's favorite when she was young, this is the first dance Wei Lai learned from Miss Bates, and it has a deep memory.

Of course, learning to dance from Miss Bates was done with a little innocence.

"I didn't tell my aunt."

At the beginning of the third dance, the male partner wanted to hold the female partner's hand in a circle. Frank suddenly said such a sentence. Wei Lai didn't realize it for a while, and was stunned for a few seconds before he understood.

There are people around, the voice is louder, afraid that others will hear it, and the voice is quieter, fearing that the other party will not hear, Wei Lai does not answer, but just nods to show that he understands.

Frank wasn't afraid that others might hear him, and he would think about it when he heard it. When the female dance partner was circling alone, he said again: "I won't agree, no."

The author has something to say: the prom is a very important social place. If women at that time want to meet good men, the prom is a very good place. At the prom, the constraints between strange men and women are gone, and everyone can let go Play.