"Sister! Sister! Have you heard the news?"
"Aye, sister - I did!"
"I shall have my invitation framed!"
"Framed, sister? I shall not have time for such frivolous things! Ths of all the other things I shall have on my mind!"
"It is a busy time for us all, sister, but pray, what other things must you be occupied with?"
"O, don't be so ignorant dear sister!"exclaimed Mrs Bennet to her sister Mrs Phillips, "don't you know that I shall have to have a new Ball gown? And I think I shall ask Mr Bennet if he could arrange for a new Coach to be bought, afterall; I have decided the seats in our barouche are not so comfortable as I would have them." she paused, and wore a thoughtfull expression on her face, "And i suppose Kitty shall be in want of a new ball gown; Mary too, you know!"
"Yes, my dear sister, said mrs Phillips awkwardly, "I was forgetting for a moment that you are soo much better off now..."
"Forgetting?!" cried Mrs Bennet "how could you forget such a thing? Are you not yet accustomed to the fact that My eledest Jane is married Binglry? with FIVE THOUSAND POUNDS A YEAR!! Although his wealth is nothing compared to dearest Darcy's rather handsome fortune..."
"Yes dear,"said Mrs Phillips drearily,"ten thousanand a year, but let us nto talk of that! Let us talk of the Ball, THE BALL!"
"Aye sister, to fancy we shall be introduced to dear Sir John Middleton and Mrs Jennings - I hear from Mr Colins that they are most sensible and aimiable aquaintances to be met; although in not such a respectable staus as Lady Catherine, he informs me they are well off and agreeable.
"O, come-in dearest, you are soaked! What ever possessed you to walk in this rain?" said Eleanor, as she opened the door of the Parsonage to let her sister in.
"I told the Colonel I should walk today, It did not look like it would rain, and I told him it would be quite alright, I was sure it would not rain, and then it did"
"Some things shall never change, My dearest Marianne, pray, what news have you, and what is that wet envelope in your hand? Come by the fire and warm yourself!"
"Thank you Eleanor, this envelope and the news that I have are all one! This was sent to Delaford, its addressed to you and Edwards, we received one too!"
"I wonder why it was not sent here," said Eleanor quietly, as she proceeded to open and read the letter.
It read:
To The Reverend & Mrs Edward Ferrars,
Sir and Lady Fitzgerald Featherston would be delighted if you would attend a Ball, which is to be held at their house in London; Featherston Manor, on the eleventh of April.
As you have not yet made an acquaintance With Sir Featherston and Mrs Featherston, please allow me to relate to you, how you have come to be invited to this very special Ball...
And so the letter went on to tell how Sir Featherston was a very wealthy young man who had just come out of mourning for his late father who had left a handsome fortune for his son and two daughters. Lady Featherston had been most fond of her father-in-law and had suffered greatly because of his loss, and her grief had quite fatigued her and she had become unwell. She had now regained her health and had persuaded her husband to throw a ball in honour of her dear friend who had taken great care of her and lifted her spirits when she was ill.
The letter continued:
We all know that news travels quickly these, and nowhere more so than Bath. Lady Featherston and her friend had gone to Bath together while Sir Featherston was away on business, there they heard of some most interesting people from many parts of the country whom Miss Austen, the friend of Lady Featherston is most anxious to become acquainted with.
Sir Featherston is anxious that some of the guests whom are invited to such a ball might be offended at such an invitation, from such a person they have never met, which is why I, Henry Thorpen of Somerset, have written this invitation, on behalf of Sir Featherston, so as to assure you that it is a respectable and admirable invitation and not at all improper.
Yours etc. Henry Thorpen
"Well?!" exclaimed Marianne impatiently, "What do you think of it all"
"It all seems to be quite strange, a little un-orthodox I suppose, but if Henry Thorpen had recommended it to us, I'm sure it cannot be a dishonourable occasion"
"Indeed, it may turn out to be quite the opposite from dishonourable. This Miss Austen must be a very amiable lady; If Sir Featherston should go to all this trouble just to give her something she desires. I dearly wish to meet her, do not you Eleanor?"
"Yes dearest, I think, that we could not avoid meeting her, if we are to go to this ball!"
The following are some of the replies that were sent to Mr Henry Thorpen of Somerset, one of the most highly respected Men in England, at the time of the Featherston Ball:
To Mr Henry Thorpen of Somerset,
My dear husband, my daughters Mary, Catherine (I have three married you know!) and I are most delighted with the invitation to the Featherston Ball in April.
Be assured, Mr Thorpen, that we will all be there, you can tell Lady Fetaherston and her friend Miss Austen, that she may look out for us at the window, as we shall be easily detected as we will be arriving in our Barouche Box.
Yours truly, Mrs Bennet
Dear Mr Thorpen,
I understand that you are a respectable man, though you may not be as respectable as my noble patroness Lady Catherine de Bourg nor so wealthy (The fire place in the second drawing room alone cost eight-hundred pounds). And although I am accustomed to finer company than that of Sir Featherston (although your letter assured me he is quite wealthy) My dear wife Charlotte and I (I call her dear because we have such happiness in our marriage) accept the invitation, which you have been so kind as to send us. So we shall travel in one of my noble patroness's carriages on the day of the ball from our humble home (although I am to soon inherit Longbourne, my cousins home - I say soon as I do not think he shall live for much longer).
Yours etc. Mr Collins
Dear Mr Thorpen,
I would like to express our thanks for the invitation, which you were so good as to send but unfortunately we shall be unable to attend the Featherston Ball.
Please be aware that we were not offended by the invitation. My wife, Elizabeth is with-child and I feel that it is better that she must stay home during her confinement; the journey to Bath is out of the question, however, If you should like to forward Miss Austen's address to me, I'm, sure Mrs Darcy would most happily write to her.
Yours etc. Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy
To Mr Thorpen,
I write to inform you that Mrs Ferrars and I shall be present at the Featherston Ball to which we were most kindly invited to by you, please send our kind regards to Sir and lady Featherston, and Miss Austen.
Yours etc. Edward Ferrars.
Dear Mr Thorpen,
My wife, my eldest son and I have accepted the invitation, which you so kindly sent to you. Please assure The Featherston family we shall be present at their Ball, next month, in April.
Yours etc. Admiral Frederick Wentworth.
Dear Mr Thorpen,
Two weeks ago I received the invitation, which you were so good as to send to me. I was, at first, slightly shocked at the nature of you letter, but I believe you to be a sensible and respectable man, so I inform you most happily that my wife and I will attend the Featherston Ball.
Yours Truly Mr Knightly
Dear Henry,
I had thought I might have seen you last week at the assemblies, which would prevent me from having to write this letter - I would infinitely have preferred to paint a picture or read a book. I have not yet met Miss Austen - has she been in bath long? Catherine should be glad to make her acquaintance! I'm glad that Lady Featherston has recovered, I saw he in a chaise only the other day. Are you sure she is quite fit for such a Ball? She did look rather pale.
O yes, I almost forgot, Catherine and I will be at the Ball!
Yours etc.
Henry Tilney
Henry Thorpen was quite surprised that all the replies were sent to him, he had intended them to be sent to Sir Featherston!
Apart from Mr and Mr Darcy, the only other people to decline their invitation were Mr and Mrs Robert Ferrars, as they apparently we otherwise engaged, this, we may suppose, was Lucy's way of saying that Robert was in a state no fit to be seen, as it was well known in London that Robert Ferraris had terrible drinking problems, and was living on borrowed money as he has gambled away his own fortune!