The ramifications of that chance encounter between my brother and his benefactor have been surprisingly far reaching, impacting the lives of several others for good or for ill. For example, I would be willing to wager that Mr. Summeride had no notion that day in September that events had already been set into motion against him, that the fickle hand of fate would reach all the way from Padua to interrupt his comfortable life at Millwalk. Yet that is precisely the case. Henceforth Mr. Summeride will have to practice his profession elsewhere; he has spent his last night at the parsonage.
That fine house, which I have always admired exceedingly, will be my home now – mine and Arthur’s – the generous living of Millwalk parish having been made over to Arthur as a result of Tom no longer wanting or needing it. Accordingly, as soon as Arthur completed the one-year fellowship he renegotiated at Oxford, he took orders for his new post. By then, he had other offers, but nothing that suited us both so well as Millwalk parish. Tom threw his considerable influence on that side as well when he proposed the idea to Arthur in my hearing:
“…You would be doing me a great favor, old man. For if you will not take the living, you will force me into the position of acting as one of those absentee clergymen we all disparage so freely. This way, my conscience and reputation are preserved, and we both get what we want. You must admit there is a beautiful logic to the arrangement. As for compensation, I will not hear of it. When you consider all you will save me by taking this dependent sister of mine off my hands, I should more likely end by owing you something.”
So, thanks to Tom, Arthur will begin his clerical career as rector of Millwalk parish. His ambitions for higher office, although still with him, have mellowed somewhat. Should it be God’s will, no doubt he will advance despite the efforts of our detractors. Yet I cannot say that I would much regret being destined to remain always at Millwalk. I never aspired to be the mistress of a grand house or the wife of an illustrious man. A kind, honest husband and the more modest proportions of a parsonage will suit me very well. To live in a place that is so dear to me, and to be married to the man I love and admire most in the world – this answers all my ideas of happiness.
I marvel when I think that such an auspicious outcome hinged on the unlikeliest string of circumstances, beginning with Papa’s indisposition. Were it not for his gout, we would not have gone to Bath, and I would never have become engaged to Mr. Pierce, which led to the breach-of-promise suit, which in turn motivated me to give my inheritance money to Tom, allowing him to travel to Italy where he met Mr. Meacham. Indeed, had events not unfolded exactly as they have, my lot might have been quite different. As it is, all things have truly worked together for my good, and I do not regret any of what has transpired along the way.
How wondrous strange are the ways of God, for it is surely His guiding hand that has brought me through my troubles to this remarkable conclusion. Not that long ago, Arthur and I were each obligated to marry other people. Yet, according to the direction of providence, we are now both honorably free of our former encumbrances to be forever attached to one another. Of all the varied fates that might have been mine, this is the finest.
The End
About the Author
Author Shannon Winslow specializes in creating fiction (novels and short stories) for fans of Jane Austen. The Darcys of Pemberley, a sequel to Pride and Prejudice, was her debut novel in 2011. For Myself Alone – a standalone, Austen-inspired story – now follows. For her third, she wrote something entirely different – a contemporary “what if” novel entitled First of Second Chances (publishing date yet to be announced). She is currently working on the next installment of her Pride and Prejudice series, which is entitled Return to Longbourn.
Her two sons grown, Ms. Winslow lives with her husband in the log home they built in the countryside south of Seattle, where she writes and paints in her studio facing Mt. Rainier.
For more information, visit www.shannonwinslow.com.
Follow Shannon on Twitter (as JaneAustenSays) and on Facebook.
Appendix
Author’s Note: Below you will find all the direct Jane Austen quotes used in this novel. In some cases, slight changes were made from the original text to allow the excerpted passages to fit more seamlessly into the manuscript. The reader may recognize other familiar phrases, too short and numerous to cite here, which also point to Miss Austen’s work.
Prologue: “By heaven! A woman should never be trusted with money.” (Robert Watson; The Watsons).
“A lady cannot be too much guarded in her behavior towards the undeserving of the other sex.” (Mary Bennet; Pride and Prejudice, chapter 47).
Chapter 1: A woman especially, if she have the misfortune to know anything, should conceal it as well as she can. (narrative; Northanger Abbey, chapter 14).
Chapter 2: “Will you not shake hands with me?” (Marianne Dashwood; Sense and Sensibility, chapter 28).
Chapter 3: “Is there nothing you can take to give you present relief? A glass of wine; shall I get you one?” (Mr. Darcy; Pride and Prejudice, chapter 46).
Chapter 4: Husbands and wives generally understand when opposition will be in vain. (narrative; Persuasion, chapter 7).
Chapter 5: “A single woman of good fortune is always respectable.” (Emma Woodhouse; Emma, chapter 10). “I have traveled so little that every fresh place would be interesting to me.” (Anne Elliot; Persuasion, chapter 20).
Chapter 6: “I will get the Bath paper, and look over the arrivals.” (Henry Tilney; Northanger Abbey, chapter 25).
Chapter 7: “Were I to fall in love, indeed, it would be a different thing! … And without love, I am sure I should be a fool to change such a situation as mine.” (Emma Woodhouse; Emma, chapter 10).
Chapter 8: “Well, Miss [Morland],” said he, directly, “I hope you have had an agreeable ball.” “Very agreeable indeed,” [she] replied, vainly endeavoring to hide a great yawn. (Mr. Allen & Miss Morland; Nothanger Abbey, chapter 2).
Chapter 9: “Surry is the garden of England.” (Mrs. Elton; Emma, chapter 32).
Chapter 10: “Of all horrid things, leave-taking is the worst.” (Frank Churchill; Emma, chapter 30).
Chapter 11: “I am afraid that the pleasantness of an employment does not always evince its propriety.” (Elinor Dashwood; Sense and Sensibility, chapter 13).
Chapter 12: “He is just what a young man ought to be.” (Jane Bennet; Pride and Prejudice, chapter 4).
Chapter 13: “You can hardly doubt the purport of my discourse… My attentions have been too marked to be mistaken.” (Mr. Collins; Pride and Prejudice, chapter 19). “Yes, I call it a very easy distance.” (Mr. Darcy; Pride and Prejudice, chapter 32).
Chapter 15: “If it were admissible to contradict a lady…” (Mr. Elton; Emma, chapter 6)
Chapter 16: “[He] can have nothing to say to me that anybody need not hear.” (Elizabeth Bennet; Pride and Prejudice, chapter 19).
Chapter 17: “[It] had been my doing – solely mine.” (Cpt. Wentworth; Persuasion, chapter 20).
Chapter 18: “I could rather believe every creature of my acquaintance leagued together to ruin [me in his opinion] than believe his nature capable of such cruelty.” (Marianne Dashwood; Sense and Sensibility, chapter 29).
Chapter 20: “Resignation is never so perfect as when the blessing denied begins to lose somewhat of its value in our estimation.” (Mr. Collins; Pride and Prejudice, chapter 20).
Chapter 21: “I do not know when I have been more shocked.” (Jane Bennet; Pride and Prejudice, chapter 40).
Chapter 22: “I have said no such thing. I am only resolved to act in that manner, which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness…” (Elizabeth Bennet; Pride and Prejudice, chapter 56).
Chapter 23: [And she] long[ed] to be able to say something more to the purpose. After and interval of silence… (narrative; Mansfield Park, chapter 10).
Chapter 24: “How long has she been such a favorite? And pray, when am I to wish you joy?” (Miss Bingley; Pri
de and Prejudice, chapter 6). “I have not the pleasure of understanding you… Of what are you talking?” (Mr. Bennet; Pride and Prejudice, chapter 20).
Chapter 25: While he [stood], as if meaning to go, but not going…” (narrative; Emma, chapter 45).
Chapter 27: The little which [she] could understand, however, appear[ed] to contradict the very few notions [she] had entertained on the matter before. (narrative; Northanger Abbey, chapter 14).
Chapter28: “If there were but such another man for you!” (Jane Bennet; Pride and Prejudice, chapter 55).
Chapter 29: “I often think… that there is nothing so bad as parting with one’s [friends]. One seems so forlorn without them.” (Mrs. Bennet; Pride and Prejudice, chapter 53).
Chapter 30: It [was] a sweet view – sweet to the eye and the mind. (narrative; Emma, chapter 42).
Chapter 31: “It is not fair to urge her in this manner… Let her choose for herself as well as the rest of us.” (Edmund Bertram; Mansfield Park, chapter 15).
Chapter 32: Every room on the west front look[ed] across a lawn to the beginning of the avenue immediately beyond tall iron palisades and gates. (narrative; Mansfield Park, chapter 9).
Chapter 33: “Ah! You clever creature, that’s very true. What a thinking brain you have!” (Mrs. Elton; Emma, chapter 52).
Chapter 34: “I never had the slightest suspicion… You may be very sure that if I had, I should have cautioned you accordingly.” (Emma Woodhouse; Emma, chapter 47).
Chapter 35: It did come, and exactly when it might be reasonably looked for. (narrative; Northanger Abbey, chapter 26).
Chapter 36: “It is over! It is over!” [she] repeat[ed] to herself again, and again, in nervous gratitude. “The worst is over!” (Anne Elliot; Persuasion, chapter 7).
Chapter 37: “Very well; I will not plague you anymore.” (Mr. Knightley; Emma, chapter 5).
Chapter 38: “You know how I dreaded the thought[s] of seeing her, but the very moment I was introduced, there was such an affability in her behavior as really should seem to say, she had quite [took] a fancy to me.” (Lucy Steel; Sense and Sensibility, chapter 35). “I have seen [you] only as the admirer of my friend. In no other light could…” (Emma Woodhouse; Emma, chapter 15).
Chapter 39: “But you know married women have never much time for writing.” (Lydia Bennet Wickham; Pride and Prejudice, chapter 53).
Chapter 40: “I am not sorry to see you alone,” he replie[d], “for I have a good deal to say to you.” (Mr. John Dashwood; Sense and Sensibility, chapter 41). “I must beg to return to the house.” (Elizabeth Bennet; Pride and Prejudice, chapter 56).
Chapter 41: He [was] exactly the man, who, in disposition and talents, would most suit [her]. (narrative; Pride and Prejudice, chapter 50).
Chapter 42: …at the perverseness of those feelings which would now have promoted its continuance, and would formerly have rejoiced in its termination. (narrative; Pride and Prejudice, chapter 46).
Chapter 43: “If it will be any satisfaction to you, however, to be told, that I believe his character to be in other respects irreproachable, I am ready to confess it.” (Mr. Willoughby; Sense and Sensibility, chapter 10).
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