scanning the crowd, looking for Thomas. Now he is talking with another lady. He knows so many people here at Bath.
I can see Newton’s sister deep in conversation with Elinor – they are laughing and talking as though the best of friends. And now the music begins.
Then Thomas comes to claim me and everything is wonderful again. I decide not to think about relations. My brother and sister-in-law don’t like Thomas, and his uncle and sister don’t
seem to like me. I’ll worry about it tomorrow, I tell myself.
Evening has come and the windows at the top of the walls have turned dark – they are like black mirrors, and the reflections of the five chandeliers sparkle in their panes. The fires burn
with a red glow, but the crowd is so thick that I have a feeling that we are in our own little bubble of light.
‘I have written to your brother,’ says Thomas softly in my ear. ‘I am going to see him tomorrow. I shall set off first thing in the morning and be back in Bath by
evening.’
And then he is gone, crossing hands with Phylly while Harry twirls me around and I skip neatly under our clasped hands.
‘You’re a good dancer, Harry,’ I say, and he smiles.
‘Thanks to Mrs Austen! She wouldn’t let any boy get away with doing it clumsily. We boys, the four of us, had such fun at the parsonage in the winter evenings. My father and mother
aren’t too sociable, and the old manor house is a terrible tumbledown old ruin – old as the great King Henry VIII, they say – but there was always a welcome for us at the
Austens’.’
And then Thomas was back and he and I went down the line. Jane, I notice, is chattering happily with Newton Wallop and both of them are laughing again. I look to see if Lavinia is dancing, but
she isn’t – just standing beside her mama, fanning herself so vigorously that no one can see her face. Phylly comes up to her and starts chatting. They both look across at Jane. I turn
back to Thomas and blush when I see the look in his eyes.
‘What are you going to say to Edward-John?’ I ask when we reach the end of the room.
‘I will make him see reason,’ he says airily, and then he frowns. ‘Why on earth does my uncle allow Elinor to dance with Sir Walter Montmorency?’ He spits the words out
through clenched teeth. His expression is dark and stormy. ‘I don’t care for that fellow; I’ve heard some stories about him, some scandal...’ He looks down at me and seems
to decide to say no more.
‘He looks very charming,’ I say. I must confess that I don’t want to talk about Elinor. ‘Anyway, your uncle seems to like him.’
Thomas shakes his head. ‘I don’t trust my uncle,’ he says. ‘He’d like to make a splendid match for Elinor – she’s barely sixteen, too young to be
thinking of getting married. She’s young for her age,’ he adds hastily as he sees me smile. ‘She’s scared of the admiral though, and she’ll do anything to please him.
The trouble is that he can’t resist telling everyone that she will have a dowry of twenty thousand pounds from him when she marries with his approval.’
‘What about you?’ I ask anxiously. ‘Do you have to get his approval before you marry?’
Thomas shrugs. ‘He can keep his money, as far as I am concerned. I want to choose my own bride.’
He hasn’t said no, I notice. I want to ask him whether he will forgo any fortune from his uncle if he marries me, but he is looking across at his sister again. His face softens as he
watches her. ‘It’s different for poor little Elinor. She’s a child that craves approval. She can’t stand up for herself.’ He looks down at me and says, ‘Will you
try to keep an eye on her for me, Jenny? Perhaps you and your cousin could befriend her. She is very shy and timid. It would do her good to have some girls of her own age to have fun with.
She’s a funny girl; I can’t make her out. She’s always trying to please, and it makes her seem scared stiff half the
I can see Newton’s sister deep in conversation with Elinor – they are laughing and talking as though the best of friends. And now the music begins.
Then Thomas comes to claim me and everything is wonderful again. I decide not to think about relations. My brother and sister-in-law don’t like Thomas, and his uncle and sister don’t
seem to like me. I’ll worry about it tomorrow, I tell myself.
Evening has come and the windows at the top of the walls have turned dark – they are like black mirrors, and the reflections of the five chandeliers sparkle in their panes. The fires burn
with a red glow, but the crowd is so thick that I have a feeling that we are in our own little bubble of light.
‘I have written to your brother,’ says Thomas softly in my ear. ‘I am going to see him tomorrow. I shall set off first thing in the morning and be back in Bath by
evening.’
And then he is gone, crossing hands with Phylly while Harry twirls me around and I skip neatly under our clasped hands.
‘You’re a good dancer, Harry,’ I say, and he smiles.
‘Thanks to Mrs Austen! She wouldn’t let any boy get away with doing it clumsily. We boys, the four of us, had such fun at the parsonage in the winter evenings. My father and mother
aren’t too sociable, and the old manor house is a terrible tumbledown old ruin – old as the great King Henry VIII, they say – but there was always a welcome for us at the
Austens’.’
And then Thomas was back and he and I went down the line. Jane, I notice, is chattering happily with Newton Wallop and both of them are laughing again. I look to see if Lavinia is dancing, but
she isn’t – just standing beside her mama, fanning herself so vigorously that no one can see her face. Phylly comes up to her and starts chatting. They both look across at Jane. I turn
back to Thomas and blush when I see the look in his eyes.
‘What are you going to say to Edward-John?’ I ask when we reach the end of the room.
‘I will make him see reason,’ he says airily, and then he frowns. ‘Why on earth does my uncle allow Elinor to dance with Sir Walter Montmorency?’ He spits the words out
through clenched teeth. His expression is dark and stormy. ‘I don’t care for that fellow; I’ve heard some stories about him, some scandal...’ He looks down at me and seems
to decide to say no more.
‘He looks very charming,’ I say. I must confess that I don’t want to talk about Elinor. ‘Anyway, your uncle seems to like him.’
Thomas shakes his head. ‘I don’t trust my uncle,’ he says. ‘He’d like to make a splendid match for Elinor – she’s barely sixteen, too young to be
thinking of getting married. She’s young for her age,’ he adds hastily as he sees me smile. ‘She’s scared of the admiral though, and she’ll do anything to please him.
The trouble is that he can’t resist telling everyone that she will have a dowry of twenty thousand pounds from him when she marries with his approval.’
‘What about you?’ I ask anxiously. ‘Do you have to get his approval before you marry?’
Thomas shrugs. ‘He can keep his money, as far as I am concerned. I want to choose my own bride.’
He hasn’t said no, I notice. I want to ask him whether he will forgo any fortune from his uncle if he marries me, but he is looking across at his sister again. His face softens as he
watches her. ‘It’s different for poor little Elinor. She’s a child that craves approval. She can’t stand up for herself.’ He looks down at me and says, ‘Will you
try to keep an eye on her for me, Jenny? Perhaps you and your cousin could befriend her. She is very shy and timid. It would do her good to have some girls of her own age to have fun with.
She’s a funny girl; I can’t make her out. She’s always trying to please, and it makes her seem scared stiff half the
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