[Emma] Becoming Jane Fairfax

On the day the Churchills came, it snowed in Highbury, which made the uneven ground even more muddy.Mr. Weston said that God did not welcome the Churchills. Of course, he could only whisper this to Mrs. Weston, not daring Frank to hear.

For the Churchill couple's arrival, it was not Frank who was restless, but Mr. Weston.

The Churchill family is a prominent family in Yorkshire. Back then, Mr. Weston met Frank's biological mother, Miss Churchill, and the two quickly fell in love with each other.

Mr. Weston made a marriage proposal to Miss Churchill's brother and sister-in-law, which was scorned and ridiculed by the Churchills. They thought it was degrading for a Miss Churchill to marry a poor boy from a country place like Highbury.

However, the two finally got married. Mr. Weston still can't forget the wedding. Except for Miss Churchill's three friends, none of the relatives of the woman attended. This undoubtedly made Mr. Weston feel humiliated and angry, but it made this Angry at the newlyweds, the Churchills announced that Miss Churchill would be kicked out of the house, and she would never be allowed to set foot in the house again.

Mrs. Churchill's family is not distinguished, and she had no status before marrying Mr. Churchill. After marriage, her manners are more publicized than those of the Churchill family, and she suddenly becomes arrogant. Compared with Mr. Churchill, Weston is more Hate the insolent Mrs Churchill.

Mrs. Weston had heard her husband speak so many times these days of the humiliation of his first marriage that her head ached when he spoke.She was pregnant and emotionally unstable because her husband kept talking about his first wife and lost his temper with him many times, even kicking him out of the bedroom one night.

Mrs. Weston did not understand why her husband was so afraid of the Churchills. It seemed that his humor and optimism disappeared overnight. However, when she saw the Churchills with her own eyes, she understood her husband in an instant.

The Churchills and their party came with two carriages. Frank was waiting at the entrance of Highbury early in the morning. The servants sat in the last pony cart.A party passed Highbury ostentatiously.

The two servants got out of the car first, and they opened the door for the owner. Mr. Churchill stepped down first. He was lean and lean, tall, like a fire stick, and his gray coat was loosely hung on him. , a face as long as a horse's face, with protruding cheekbones, spectacles seem to be on the cheekbones, and a crutch in his left hand. When he saw the Westons and his wife, he smiled reluctantly.

Later, Frank and a servant helped Mrs. Churchill out.

She was so thin, Mrs. Weston exclaimed "Ah" in surprise, Mrs. Churchill's eyes that were about to fall out flew a sharp knife, Mrs. Weston quickly covered her mouth, and covered her belly to her husband. Hidden behind.

Years of illness have tortured Mrs. Churchill until only one bone remained. She seemed to have crawled out of hell and starved to death. No matter how much jewelry she wore, she could not conceal her gauntness and oldness. Her body was extremely weak. Leaning almost all her weight on Frank.

Except for the fact that the Churchills came to Highbury once 16 years ago to pick up Frank, the couple never set foot in Highbury again. Their purpose of coming this time has troubled Mr. Weston for a long time.

Mrs. Churchill was the weakest of all present, so Frank helped her in first, followed by the Westons.

Mrs. Churchill walked and looked at the furnishings in the house, humming from time to time.Mr. Weston squeezed his fists and told himself to be calm. After knowing that the Churchills were coming to Highbury, he made up his mind not to let the current Mrs. Weston suffer the humiliation that Mrs. Weston experienced in the past. It was decided that one person should resist the attacking power of the Churchills and his wife.

However, Mrs. Churchill seemed to know what he was thinking. As soon as she sat in the living room, she looked at Mrs. Weston's belly: "How many months?"

Unexpectedly, her voice was soft and soft, not like the sound coming from her mouth.

"Nearly six months," said Mrs. Weston.

Mrs. Churchill smiled, as if she had used a lot of strength to laugh, and then took a few breaths. Mr. Weston's heart was raised, and he didn't know what she was going to say. Fortunately, she didn't say anything. .

Mr. Weston and the Churchill couple have not seen each other for more than ten years. He still has feelings of fear and disgust for the couple, which prevents him from displaying his usual humor.

The servants served tea and snacks, and no one spoke except for the tea and Mrs. Churchill's heavy breathing.

Frank hasn't figured out the purpose of his uncle and aunt yet. He carefully recalled his performance in front of them these few days, and confirmed that there was nothing unusual about him, let alone revealing his private engagement with Jane.

What are they going to do?

After tea and pastry, Mr. Weston felt that it was time to say something, even if it was nonsense, to break the terrible and awkward silence.

"Mr. Churchill, Mrs. Churchill, you haven't been to Highbury for more than ten years, right? Highbury has changed a lot. It is different from the dilapidated small town more than ten years ago. After lunch, I Let's take you for a walk."

Mr. Churchill came to listen to his wife, and he watched her, waiting for her to speak.

Mr. Weston pursed his lips in disdain.

Mrs. Churchill coughed twice, and said: "It's just a small town, no matter how much it changes, what's so interesting about it, cough cough, sorry, I'm not in good health, cough cough, I don't have the energy to walk around."

Hearing this, Mr. Weston flushed.

Frank hurriedly smoothed things over: "Auntie's health is really bad. I drove from Richmond to Highbury for a day, and it's still snowing outside. Let Auntie rest first, and take her out for a stroll after Auntie has a rest. Come on, Highbury is really pretty, no worse than Enscombe."

Mrs. Churchill has been tough since she was a child, and she has a one-sided personality. If it were someone else who knelt on the ground and begged her, she would not and would not nod, but Frank was raised by her as her own son. Naturally, it was different. Soon I agreed.Besides, if it hadn't been for Frank this time, she would never have come to Highbury.

Mrs. Churchill was not in good spirits, and her breathing became heavier every time. Frank called the servants and took her to the guest room to rest. The first day of meeting ended like this.

Of course, Mr. Weston was very dissatisfied. He tried his best to arrange it just to show off in front of Churchill and his wife.They used to look down on him on the grounds of poverty, but now that he has money and bought a big house, they have no reason to be arrogant in front of him.

Compared to the past, the Churchills did restrain themselves a lot, but they changed their approach - ignoring him, his big house, his wealth, and everything he had carefully prepared. Mr. Weston was not angry, There is only a sense of powerlessness.

He never seemed to command their respect.

Mr. Weston did not sleep a wink all night, and next day invited all the respectable people in Highbury, including the Woodhouses, to be their guests.

Mr. Weston thought that Emma was the most educated and well-behaved girl in Highbury, and he wanted to show the Churchills how good the girls Frank liked, his son, were no better than their Enscombers. poor girl.

Wei Lai, Miss Bates, and Mrs. Bates are naturally not eligible to be invited, and Wei Lai is not happy to go.The arrival of the Churchills, apart from Mr. Weston and Frank, was the most worrying thing for her.

Frank probably didn't tell Mrs. Churchill about their relationship, otherwise Mrs. Churchill would not have gone to Randall when she arrived in Highbury, and would have killed the Bates family directly.

But Mrs. Churchill and Frank are like a bomb that will explode at any time, and the peaceful life of Wei Lai and Bates' family will be blown to pieces.

She thought for a long time whether to have a thorough investigation with Miss Bates and Mrs. Bates first. When Mrs. Churchill really wanted to kill her, Miss Bates and Mrs. Bates would not faint because of this incident.

However, she hesitated for several days and didn't know how to speak. She simply gritted her teeth and decided to take a step. Maybe Mrs. Churchill's coming to Highbury had nothing to do with her.

Wei Lai did not attend Landauer's party, but Emma told her everything about the party that day.

"Mrs. Churchill seems to be really sick. She takes three breaths to say a word, and her whole face is bloodless. Mr. Churchill is also very thin, but he looks much healthier than Mrs. Churchill. I hope he is not sick. Otherwise, their family would be too pitiful. At first we thought that Mrs. Churchill was pretending to be sick so as to hold Frank back and not let him come back. We blamed her for this. Now that I think about it, it’s really wrong. Who would take their own health Just kidding."

Miss Bates nodded again and again: "Yes, everyone wants to be healthy, and I am like this, especially after my foot was injured."

Wei Lai asked: "Why did Mr. and Mrs. Churchill come to Highbury? To play?"

"Playing? Maybe. I don't know, they didn't say it, but Highbury is so beautiful, even in winter, there are many unforgettable scenery." Emma said, "Mrs Churchill is not in good health, come to Highbury It may be good for her health to have such a beautiful place here. However, I don't think they are here as tourists, as if they have something important to discuss with Mr. Weston. Mrs. Weston said that the Churchills went to Highbury Mr. Weston asked them that night, but they didn't say anything, which is strange, wondering what it could be?"

Yes, I don't know what it will be, and Wei Lai also wants to know.