âlove-childâ had not been invented then, and any issue would have carried the stigma of âbastardâ and been denied some entitlements in law.
Certainly this would account for Charlotteâs curiosity about the change in Emilyâs manner. In a letter dated 29 October 1848, she told Ellen Nussey that her sisterâs âreserved nature occasions me great uneasiness of mind. It is useless to question her, you get no answers.â Unfortunately, she does not say what form her questions took, and we do not know, therefore, whether they were just general enquiries about what was the matter with her, or something more specific.
Of course, whatever the reason for her questions, she should have known that she was the last person in whom Emily was likely to confide. However, Emily obviously needed to unburden herself to
somebody
and it comes as no surprise to learn that that person was Anne.
We have seen how close Emily and Anne had been for all of their lives, sharing pleasures and troubles alike. It was therefore perfectly natural for Emily to turn to Anne when she was more distressed than she had ever been, and, as we shall see, Martha had good evidence that, having sworn her to secrecy, Emily poured out her soul.
Chapter Seven
âWe have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement.â
Isaiah 28:15
M r Nicholls has told me, and I believe him, that he did not come lightly to his decision to murder Miss Emily. He was not really an evil man. He was simply a weak, idle and vain person who felt driven to do the things which he did by anything which seemed to be a threat to him and his quiet way of life.
He began to give Miss Emily small doses of poison whenever that was possible, whilst all the time carrying on as lovingly as he had at the start of their friendship. As Miss Emily told Miss Anne, that made her hope against hope that she was mistaken in thinking that Mr Nicholls no longer loved her, and slowly part of her really came to believe that he would marry her after all â she just prayed that he would not leave it too late. She felt that she had to see him every day, and I can vouch for the fact that to do that she never once took to her bed during the whole of her illness.
Each day she arose at 7, and stayed up until 10 in the evening although, as she became weaker, she was not able to keep on with her walks on the moors. Therefore it was arranged that, as an excuse for their regular meetings, Mr Nicholls would call at the Parsonage every day to collect the dogs for exercise.
As he says, that suited him very well as the agreement not only did away with the long, and sometimes tearful, talks that Miss Emily always wanted to have, but also gave him more chances for giving her the poison.
He has told me that he called at the Parsonage only at times when there was little chance of anyone being in the kitchen. Then it was an easy matter to dose whatever Miss Emily was going to drink or eat. There was little danger of anybody else being affected because, as everyone knew, Miss Emily planned her own meals and they were almost always different from what the rest of us ate.
As for Mr Nicholls sneaking into the kitchen, as soon as he told me that I recalled one or two times when I had come upon him without warning in the quiet of the afternoon, and he had seemed somewhat startled and had had to make excuses for being there. I smiled to myself as I remembered that and he, sensing what was in my mind, smiled back.
Of course, I knew naught of any of that at the time. All I knew was that Miss Emily seemed unwell, but I thought that there could not be much up with her because there was no talk of doctors, and she went about her business in the house much the same as usual at the start. Little did I realize how much worse she was becoming, but Miss Anne did, and she also knew why Miss Emily dared not permit a doctor to be called in, even had she been so minded. Nevertheless, she
Certainly this would account for Charlotteâs curiosity about the change in Emilyâs manner. In a letter dated 29 October 1848, she told Ellen Nussey that her sisterâs âreserved nature occasions me great uneasiness of mind. It is useless to question her, you get no answers.â Unfortunately, she does not say what form her questions took, and we do not know, therefore, whether they were just general enquiries about what was the matter with her, or something more specific.
Of course, whatever the reason for her questions, she should have known that she was the last person in whom Emily was likely to confide. However, Emily obviously needed to unburden herself to
somebody
and it comes as no surprise to learn that that person was Anne.
We have seen how close Emily and Anne had been for all of their lives, sharing pleasures and troubles alike. It was therefore perfectly natural for Emily to turn to Anne when she was more distressed than she had ever been, and, as we shall see, Martha had good evidence that, having sworn her to secrecy, Emily poured out her soul.
Chapter Seven
âWe have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement.â
Isaiah 28:15
M r Nicholls has told me, and I believe him, that he did not come lightly to his decision to murder Miss Emily. He was not really an evil man. He was simply a weak, idle and vain person who felt driven to do the things which he did by anything which seemed to be a threat to him and his quiet way of life.
He began to give Miss Emily small doses of poison whenever that was possible, whilst all the time carrying on as lovingly as he had at the start of their friendship. As Miss Emily told Miss Anne, that made her hope against hope that she was mistaken in thinking that Mr Nicholls no longer loved her, and slowly part of her really came to believe that he would marry her after all â she just prayed that he would not leave it too late. She felt that she had to see him every day, and I can vouch for the fact that to do that she never once took to her bed during the whole of her illness.
Each day she arose at 7, and stayed up until 10 in the evening although, as she became weaker, she was not able to keep on with her walks on the moors. Therefore it was arranged that, as an excuse for their regular meetings, Mr Nicholls would call at the Parsonage every day to collect the dogs for exercise.
As he says, that suited him very well as the agreement not only did away with the long, and sometimes tearful, talks that Miss Emily always wanted to have, but also gave him more chances for giving her the poison.
He has told me that he called at the Parsonage only at times when there was little chance of anyone being in the kitchen. Then it was an easy matter to dose whatever Miss Emily was going to drink or eat. There was little danger of anybody else being affected because, as everyone knew, Miss Emily planned her own meals and they were almost always different from what the rest of us ate.
As for Mr Nicholls sneaking into the kitchen, as soon as he told me that I recalled one or two times when I had come upon him without warning in the quiet of the afternoon, and he had seemed somewhat startled and had had to make excuses for being there. I smiled to myself as I remembered that and he, sensing what was in my mind, smiled back.
Of course, I knew naught of any of that at the time. All I knew was that Miss Emily seemed unwell, but I thought that there could not be much up with her because there was no talk of doctors, and she went about her business in the house much the same as usual at the start. Little did I realize how much worse she was becoming, but Miss Anne did, and she also knew why Miss Emily dared not permit a doctor to be called in, even had she been so minded. Nevertheless, she
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