Section I, Section II

Part 1

Present time

atherine Morland had never been a remarkable child. She was not noted for any prettiness, one could say she was a rather plain and thin girl. She wasn't exceptionally clever, or very attentive and zealous at school. She was neither musical nor artistic. The only thing she did well was running and playing outside. And there was plenty of room for those activities where the Morlands lived. Her father was the very respectable vicar of Fullerton. He and his wife had produced ten children, like a good vicar should.

As Catherine grew older, she became a little more girlish. She developed an interest in things like clothes, moviestars, and soapseries. Her figure was no longer so thin, and sometimes she was even goodlooking. Occasionally she even remembered useful information she learned at school, though she was still very ignorant. At twenty, she had been living a quiet and peaceful life far from anything bad or evil, and because of her own character not even suspecting anything bad or evil existed.

One day, her mother's cousin Mrs. Allen invited Catherine to go to Bath with them. Mrs. Allen was solely concerned with appearances. Her clothing was the most important thing in her life, followed by her looks, other people's clothing and other people's looks, in that order. Mr. Allen was advised to get some healthy sea air for health reasons, and since Catherine was a sweet, good-natured girl, and a particular favourite of Mrs. Allen's because of her being the prettiest Morland child, Mr. Allen suggested she invite Catherine to come along. Mr. Allen knew very well that the Morland children never went on real holidays. Extravagances like that were impossible for a family with such a large number of children.

Naturally, Catherine was all excitement. They stayed at a nice hotel in Bath. This was a double pleasure for Catherine, who had never had a room to herself, let alone stayed at a hotel before. And now she had a room with a double bed and a private bathroom. She told herself she was a very lucky girl as she explored all the closets and drawers in her hotel room.

Part 2

he hotel provided entertainment every night. There was even an Entertainment Room for that purpose. Mrs. Allen and Catherine went there on their second night. That night turned out to be a Games Night. Teams of four people could sign up to play boardgames against other teams. Catherine and Mrs. Allen did not know anyone, so they could only watch, which was rather boring. They tried the bar, but it was so crowded that they quickly left again.

"Oh I'm glad we're out of there, what if someone had spilled beer over my dress!" Mrs. Allen shuddered.

"I wish we knew someone here."

"Yes, my dear, if there had been anyone we knew, I am very sure we would have formed a team with them."

"But alone it's so boring."

"Indeed, Catherine. We would certainly talk to anyone we knew."

They sat down on two chairs tucked away in the corner of the room, ignored by everyone else. This was not quite what Catherine had expected and she was very disappointed with the evening.

Fortunately the next day brought a new entertainment. There was live music and lots of people were dancing. Catherine hoped that they would finally meet some of Mrs. Allen's acquaintances, but she was beginning to suspect that Mrs. Allen did not have any acquaintances in Bath at all. The hotel's entertainer saw she wasn't dancing, and proceeded to find her a partner. He presented her to a tall young man several years older than she was, and introduced him as Henry Tilney. Catherine was very excited that she was finally getting to know someone. He was a pleasant looking young man who was nice too, and Catherine liked him immediately.

They danced a while until Henry suggested they go for a drink because the dancefloor was getting a little too crowded. Catherine found them an empty table and they sat down to chat and observe the people around them.

In the middle of a conversation about music Henry suddenly said, "That man almost pushed us onto the dancefloor and I completely forgot to ask you if you wanted to dance with me. That was very impolite of me."

"That's all right."

"No, I insist." He imitated the facial expression of the boy who had just asked the girl next to Catherine for a dance. "Will you do me the honour of saying you would have done me the honour of dancing with me?"

"I will," Catherine laughed.

"Tell me, was it the look on my face or my gracious way of addressing you that did the trick?"

Catherine stared at him, not sure if he was being earnest. She would swear he was joking, but he looked and sounded so serious. She didn't know what to say and waited for him to continue.

"Ah. I can see what you are going to tell your friends about me when you call them tomorrow."

"My friends?" Catherine said uncomprehendingly.

"You will tell your friends you got stuck with an idiot, and that you had to dance three dances with him. And that he almost stepped on your new shoes."

"I won't say anything of the sort!" Catherine cried, hoping that he would not really think she'd say anything like that.

"Do you know what you should tell them?"

"No, please tell me."

"You should say you were introduced to a very nice young man, whom you were lucky enough to be able to dance three dances with because he danced so well, and you hope to encounter him again."

"But I may not call my friends!"

"That's impossible. All girls call their friends. That's a fact. Who else can they share their adventures with, the people they have seen, the clothes they have bought? They all spend hours and hours on the telephone. That's why public phones are always occupied by women."

"I don't think..." Catherine hesitated, "I see a lot of men using the phone as well."

"But they do not do it as well as women do."

"They don't?"

"No, women can talk for ages, without discussing anything in particular."

Just when Catherine realised Henry was pulling her leg, Mrs. Allen interrupted their conversation.

"Catherine dear, I noticed I sat on a chair with a stain and now I fear there's a stain on my back, could you please take a look?"

Catherine obeyed and Mrs. Allen continued, "it would be such a waste of a beautiful dress."

"My thoughts exactly, madam," Henry said with a serious look, "it's almost impossible to remove stains from that particular fabric."

Mrs. Allen was pleasantly surprised by his apparent expertise in the matter. "Oh, you are familiar with this fabric?"

"Yes, madam. My sister had a dress made out of it, and she was unfortunate enough to spill orange juice over it. It was impossible to get the stains out so whenever she has to buy clothing, I advise her against this particular fabric."

"How wonderful. You must be a very good brother."

Mrs. Allen continued to speak to Henry about clothes, and he answered very politely whenever an answer was needed. Catherine suspected him of making a little fun of Mrs. Allen.

At the end of the evening they parted as good friends, and Catherine hoped she would see more of him during her stay in Bath.

Part 3

he next morning Catherine went down for breakfast hoping to catch a glimpse of Henry. she lingered over her meal, thinking that she might miss him if she ate too fast, and she was continually looking towards the door. So was Mrs. Allen, who had not yet given up hope that she might encounter an acquaintance. Though every other person staying at the hotel came down, Henry did not.

Mrs. Allen wanted to go shopping again but it was raining. To keep her good coat dry, she and Catherine were in the lobby waiting for the rain to end. Suddenly a woman addressed Mrs. Allen, asking her if her name was Allen, and when this was confirmed, introduced herself as Mrs. Thorpe. The ladies happened to be old acquaintances who hadn't seen each other in years. Both of them had so much to tell that they talked at the same time, and nothing one of them said was listened to by the other. Mrs. Thorpe talked chiefly about her wonderful children, and was delighted when they made their appearance so she could show them off to Mrs. Allen.

"Mrs. Allen, these are my three lovely girls. Don't you agree that Isabella is very pretty?"

"Yes, very."

"But the others are quite pretty too, don't you think?"

"Indeed they are, Mrs. Thorpe. May I introduce you to my companion Catherine Morland?"

After greeting her, Isabella exclaimed, "You resemble your brother a lot!" and this was heartily agreed to by her mother and sisters. Catherine then remembered that her brother had a schoolfriend named Thorpe. He had even spent a vacation with him.

Because of their brothers being friends, Catherine was treated as an old friend by Isabella, but she did not mind at all, being glad to have a friend at last.

The next few days she still did not meet Henry anywhere and Catherine resigned herself to the fact that he had probably left Bath. She was now in Isabella's company everyday, and they were becoming great friends. They were almost inseparable. If they could not go out, they would go to the TV room to watch a video together. They talked about anything, from Henry to books.

"Catherine, you're late!" Isabella told her friend as she arrived at a few minutes past eleven, "I have been waiting here for ages."

"I'm so sorry, I'm not that late, am I? Have you been waiting very long? I hope not," Catherine apologized.

"At least since breakfast!" Isabella exclaimed. "But enough of that. Did you get very far in that book I gave you?"

"Oh yes! It is so terribly exciting! I couldn't lay it down at all last night, and I was in such a hurry to wake up this morning so I could read on. You know, if I wasn't supposed to meet you here, I would have gone on reading it."

"I'm so glad! And I have a few more you'll like when you finish this one."

"Wow! Are they very mysterious and about skeletons as well?"

"Yes, I assure you that they are all horrid! Andrea, she's such a dear friend of mine, she has told me all about them. Oh, she is such a sweet girl, I call all men who don't admire her big fools."

"You do?" Catherine said.

"Why, yes! I always stand up for my friends, I value friendship immensely. If someone would not admire you, I would do exactly the same! But I suppose that will not happen, because I know they will all like you very much."

Catherine was a little embarrassed, "How do you know?"

"I know you very well. And," Isabella lowered her voice, "I saw a guy looking at you yesterday. He was very interested in you."

"I'm sure he wasn't."

"He was, I am always honest, but of course you are only thinking of Henry. I understand very well." Isabella looked round the room and lowered her voice again. "Do you see those two creeps in the corner? I'm absolutely certain they are going to ask us out in an instant," she shuddered. "They have been staring at me all this time. We must leave immediately. Let's go up to our rooms to get our coats. We'll go to the shops."

Catherine agreed to that plan, and while leaving she took a look at the two creeps but could not find anything creepy about them, nor were they paying any attention to the two girls.

"Isabella..." Catherine said as they were climbing the stairs, "are you sure about those two men? They did not even look at us."

Isabella sighed as if the answer was quite obvious. "Dear Catherine, of course they would not look at us! We have overthrown their schemes."

Catherine didn't understand, but she abandoned the subject.

Coming down, they saw the two men just leaving the hotel before they did. Catherine halted upon seeing them, remembering Isabella's disgust.

"Catherine, sweetie, why are you stopping suddenly? Come on, we're going shopping," Isabella called back.

"All right, but I thought you wanted to get away from those two men and we will pass them when we go out."

"Oh them! If we walk really quickly, they won't be able to keep up with us."

"Yes, but if we wait here until their taxi arrives, we will not pass them at all."

"No! That would mean we were afraid of them, which we aren't. They would be flattered."

Catherine shrugged, and followed Isabella out.

Part 4

sabella," Catherine said, "I thought you wanted to go shopping?"

Isabella had stopped right outside of the hotel to bend over her shoes. "I have to tie my shoelaces."

Catherine noticed she didn't have any shoelaces and was thoroughly confused but she was sure Isabella must have a reason. She did not notice that Isabella's straightening up coincided with the departure of the two creeps in a taxi.

"I'm ready to go," said Isabella, as if Catherine had kept her waiting.

They hadn't gotten very far when a car suddenly pulled up beside them.

"Look! Our brothers," Isabella cried out and they all greeted each other very joyfully. Catherine was introduced to John Thorpe, Isabella's brother. He was a bit tiresome, and kept boring Catherine with details of his car. When they all walked into town together, Catherine was stuck with John.

He started talking about his car again. "Don't you think it looks great? How do you think it drives?"

Catherine answered politely that she had never driven a car like that before, in fact driven no car before.

"But have you ever traveled in one?" John persisted.

"No, I don't think I have."

"Splendid! You must experience it. And I know for sure that you will agree with me." He rambled on about technicalities Catherine was completely unfamiliar with, and concluded with, "I will take you for a drive tomorrow."

"But..." Catherine began.

"No, I will not hear of it. It is very kind of you, not wanting to impose, but I assure you that it will be an absolute pleasure to drive you around." And with that remark, he closed the argument.

There was to be a tennis tournament that afternoon, and Catherine had secretly wished someone would ask her to be his partner. She was not too happy when John Thorpe imposed himself on her as a partner. But what could she do? There was no arguing with him, and James was already teamed up with Isabella.

When they were supposed to enter themselves for the tournament, John was nowhere to be seen. Catherine felt very stupid; it looked like she was the only one who was not in line to sign up. She was looking around for John, when she suddenly noticed Henry walking in her direction. He had not noticed her yet because he was talking to a girl Catherine assumed to be his sister. Catherine wished he would see her, and was very happy when he saw her and smiled.

"Hello Catherine and Mrs. Allen."

"I'm very happy to see you again, Henry," Mrs. Allen said.

"Indeed," Catherine cut in, "I was afraid you had left Bath!"

"But I had. The morning after we met."

"You must be very glad to be back," Mrs. Allen told Henry, "I always tell Mr. Allen when he complains that Bath is a wonderful place."

"It is indeed," Henry agreed.

"I also tell him that he must stay here quite a while if he wants to get healthy again, Dr. Skinner stayed here for almost three months and you wouldn't know he was sixty-five if I hadn't just told you!"

Henry, who had no idea who Dr. Skinner was, nodded gravely. "I wouldn't have given him more than fifty-five myself."

Mrs. Allen was all excitement. "You are acquainted with Dr. Skinner?"

Henry was saved from answering this difficult question by an interruption from Mrs. Thorpe. He sighed as Mrs. Allen's attention switched to Mrs. Thorpe.

"Do you want to team up with me, Catherine?" Henry asked.

Catherine would have loved to, but she remembered her engagement to John. She was deeply embarrassed and agonized. "I...am already partnering John Thorpe. But I would have certainly partnered you if I didn't have a partner yet. I am really sorry, but I can't. Will you forgive me?" Catherine looked very distressed.

She hoped Henry would not think she would rather not play with him. However, she looked distressed enough to convince him of the opposite.

Catherine did not enjoy the rest of the day much, except that she got to know Henry's sister Eleanor who was very nice. John Thorpe left her alone after every match, Henry played with another girl, and Isabella gave all her attention to James.

Part 5

atherine was surprised by the Thorpe's and her brother who came to pick her up in the morning to go for a ride. James and Isabella sat in the back, and she was forced to sit in the front with John and listen to his conversation.

John Thorpe was very proud of his car and he kept bragging about it to Catherine. The figures and gadgets he mentioned meant nothing to her.

"How much would you guess this car was worth, Catherine?"

"I wouldn't know," Catherine replied politely.

"About five thousand pounds, wouldn't you agree?"

"If you say so."

"And how much do you guess I paid for it?"

"I haven't got a clue," said Catherine, looking out of the window.

"I paid two thousand pounds!" John said triumphantly.

"Really?" Catherine asked, again trying to be polite.

"Really! Now wasn't that a bargain?"

Catherine agreed. Isabella suddenly decided that she wanted some music and she had Catherine search for good radio stations all the way back, never approving of one station for more than a minute. Catherine didn't mind; after all Isabella was her friend, and it gave her an excuse not to listen to John.

When she got back to the hotel again, she found out that Mrs. Allen had met with Henry and Eleanor Tilney again. She hadn't enjoyed herself during the ride, but this news made it even worse.

Both parties went to the theatre that evening. Catherine sat next to Isabella, who greeted her warmly.

"You look so lovely tonight, dear Catherine. Do you wish to attract someone in particular? My brother is quite crazy about you already, and Henry too, I dare say, because after all he came back to Bath. And I'm very certain it was because of you. Well, how do you like my new dress? Isn't it elegant? And it accentuates just the right parts. I bought these shoes to go with it, what do you say? Did you know I have the exact same tastes as your brother? I'm glad you didn't overhear us, or you would have laughed at us for that!"

"I wouldn't have."

"But you would have!" Isabella protested, "I know you very well. I know you would have tried a little matchmaking, don't deny it dear Catherine, and that would have made me blush. And blushing does not make me look pretty."

"I wouldn't have," Catherine said again.

Isabella would not believe her and smiled incredulously. She gave up talking to Catherine and talked only to James from then on and left Catherine to enjoy the play. Catherine did not mind at all, because it was a good play, and she was stunned at Isabella's answer when she wanted to discuss the play with her.

"Oh, I did not pay very much attention. What was it about? I was engaged in conversation with your dear brother. It was so interesting. I forgot all about the play, but do tell me all about it. I'm very much interested."

This puzzled Catherine extremely, not believing her brother's conversation could be more interesting than a good play.

Part 6

atherine had looked forward to watching tv with Isabella, like they always did in the mornings. But Isabella had only come in to the television room briefly to say the Thorpe's were going away for the day. So Catherine had spent her day reading.

In the evening there was another dance. Catherine was doubly anxious. She wanted to hide away so John would not see her and ask her to dance, but on the other hand she wanted to be in view should Henry happen to pass by.

All the Thorpe's had returned from their day trip to a friend of their mother's, and Isabella had briefly spoken to Catherine before she ran off to dance with James.

She saw John out of the corner of her eye, and busied herself studying her fingernails. If she would look at him, he would take that as an encouragement to ask her to dance. She was sure of that.

"Hi Catherine, would you like to dance?" a familiar voice asked.

She looked up and saw Henry. She was very happy to see him and she smiled broadly. "Yes, I would love to." It was such good fortune, both of her wishes had been granted.

When they were on the dancefloor, ready to start, someone tapped her on the shoulder. It was John.

"Hey Catherine! I thought you were going to dance with me!"

"Why do you think that? I don't know anything about it."

"I asked you just after I got here. You can't do this to me! I only came here to dance with you, you know. You told me two days ago you'd dance with me again. I'm going to look like a fool if I don't dance with you. I've told everyone I'd dance with the prettiest girl in the hotel and when they see you dance with someone else, they'll think I'm a fool."

"Oh no, they will never think it's me you were talking about!"

"Who's that?" he gestured at Henry.

"Henry Tilney."

"He looks decent, though I don't know him. What sort of car does he have? I bet his doesn't look as good as mine. I have a very good nose for such things you know."

Luckily John was at that moment distracted by a girl in a very short skirt. Henry who had been waiting patiently took the opportunity of getting Catherine back.

"I think I would have lost my patience if he had detained you a minute longer. He should not interfere when two people are dancing. Dancing is like a marriage; those who do not dance should not bother partners or wives of somebody who does dance."

"But they are such different things!" Catherine objected.

"So different that you don't think I can compare them?"

"No, of course not. A marriage lasts forever, and a dance is only for a while."

"But don't you agree that in both instances the partners should try to keep themselves from wishing that they were with somebody else, and to try to prevent their partner from thinking so as well?"

"Yes, but I still think they are different."

"I give up. But I do wish to know if you would talk to this person for as long as you liked? Or to any other person that spoke to you?"

"Oh no! John is a very good friend of my brother's so I must talk to him. As for others, I don't know any."

"That's not much of a comfort."

"Yes it is. Because if I don't know anybody, I can't talk to them. And I don't even want to talk to anybody."

"Now that's a good answer!" Henry smiled.

He and Catherine continued talking as they danced. When the music stopped, she noticed a middle aged man looking at her. He was still quite handsome, and he looked very authoritative. He spoke briefly to Henry and she wondered who he could be.

Henry interpreted her look correctly, "that's my father."

"Oh," Catherine said, looking after the retreating figure with deep interest. "Is he in the army?"

"Why?" Henry asked an amused smile.

"He has a mustache," Catherine answered earnestly.

Henry burst out laughing. "Yes, he is. He's a general."

Catherine even had a chance to speak with Eleanor before the dance was over. Eleanor and Henry agreed upon going for a walk with Catherine someday. Someday however was too far away for Catherine.

"I would love to," she said enthusiastically, "let's go tomorrow!"

"All right," was Eleanor's answer, "But only if it does not rain."

Catherine was very happy when she went to bed. She had danced with Henry, talked with Eleanor, and she was going for a walk with the both of them tomorrow morning. If only it wouldn't rain. But she was sure it would not. She fell asleep very happily. If only it won't rain.

Part 7

ext morning, Catherine was very eager to check on the weather as soon as she woke up. It was not bright, but she saw that as a good sign. Bright skies could only get worse, and clouded skies could only get better.

"Do you think it will brighten up today?" she asked Mr. Allen over breakfast.

"I can't tell you that. I haven't seen the weather forecast yet," Mr. Allen answered.

"I am sure it will be a very fine day, my dear. If the clouds disappear, and the sun comes out, it will be a very fine day, I'm sure," was Mrs. Allen's conviction.

At eleven o'clock Catherine was very down-hearted when she noticed that it had started to drizzle. The raindrops grew bigger, but Catherine had not given up yet.

"I suppose that means no walking today," Catherine said, "unless it stops before twelve."

Mrs. Allen got visions of muddy clothes and shoes and tried to warn Catherine off the idea. "Even if it's dry, it will be so dirty!"

Catherine sighed impatiently, "Oh, I don't mind dirt!" She looked out again. "Look! It's really pouring now."

At twelve o'clock it was still pouring. "They will never go out in this weather, dear," Mrs. Allen said.

Catherine was looking at the sky, trying to believe the dark clouds were drifting away. "I'll wait another fifteen minutes, you never know."

Just after she had given up on the whole idea of walking, the sky started to clear and now and then the sun shone through. This gave her fresh hope, though she could not know if the Tilney's would still be coming to pick her up. When she observed her brother, Isabella and John driving down the street, she was determined to stay at home.

"I'm not going with them. What if Eleanor should come?" Catherine declared to Mrs. Allen, who agreed.

James and the Thorpes had indeed come for Catherine. They tried to talk her into visiting a castle with them.

"Blaize Castle? Is that really a castle?" Catherine's eyes widened. She loved to read historical novels set in castles, but she was torn between her promise to Eleanor and her love for mysterious old castles.

"I would love to, but I can't."

This answer got incredulous cries from the others. "Why not?"

"Aw...because I'm waiting for Eleanor and Henry. I promised to go for a walk with them at twelve."

"It's almost one o'clock Catherine!" John Thorpe cried.

Isabella looked unhappy. "How important can a walk be? It's only a walk."

"Yes, but it's with Eleanor and Henry!" Catherine protested.

"So?" Isabella said with indifference, "They are late. They can't expect you to wait forever. Besides, have you seen all the puddles? I don't think you'd want to get your feet wet and dirty."

"They aren't coming. I saw them drive off."

"John! Did you really?"

"Yes, in a white Mazda 121, I just knew he was a softy. Boy, and he was only driving at snail speed. Hmmmph, not that such a thing has any decent maximum speed. I bet that when he jams his foot all the way down I could still overtake him at leisure. Hey, why do you want to go walking with a softy anyway?" John said as he grabbed her coat from it's hanger and handed it to her.

Catherine felt herself slowly being convinced that Henry and Eleanor would not be coming to pick her up anymore. And when even Mrs. Allen was prevailed upon to encourage her, she capitulated.

She was not happy when she got in the car though. Sure, she looked forward to visiting a real castle, but somehow not seeing Henry and Eleanor had taken the shine out of that prospect. As she looked out, she couldn't help thinking that the streets weren't that bad, and that they still might have gone walking. One moment she was thinking she had made the right decision, but a few seconds later she regretted it. She continued to doubt, and felt very uneasy.

When they drove past a traffic light, John said, "who was that girl standing at the traffic light? She looked at you as if she knew you."

Catherine turned in her seat and saw Eleanor and Henry waiting at the traffic light. Immediately she cried out. "Stop! Stop! John, stop the car! It's them! I must get out, stop!"

But he did not listen, and drove on. Isabella only said, "Catherine, please don't shout, I can hardly hear James."

Catherine continued to plead with John for a while, but with no results. "How could you tell me they had driven off? Oh, they must be really angry with me for being so rude to go away without apologizing. I swear I will not enjoy the castle. If you gave me a million pounds I would still not enjoy the castle. What will they think of me? They must think I'm terribly rude and impolite."

"Oh well, it must have been someone who looked like your friend then. No harm done, is there?"

Catherine did not enjoy the rest of the trip. They could not find Blaize Castle and were forced to return home. That brought her down even more. Now she had no consolation, nothing at all. Poor Catherine cried for a long time before falling asleep.

Part 8

atherine was desperate to explain her behaviour to Eleanor. She did not know Eleanor's exact room number, but only that she was staying on the second floor. After inquiring at the reception desk, she went upstairs with her heart beating, hoping Eleanor would understand and forgive her. When she knocked on the door, no one answered. Catherine tried again, but still there was no reaction. She could not believe Eleanor was out, her key was not at the reception desk.

Back in her room, she looked out of the window and saw Eleanor and her father walk away from the hotel. So she had been there after all! But no, I mustn't think that. After all, I was not very civil myself yesterday. Who knows what they thought of that. I deserve it.

They spent the evening in the bar, sitting at a table. The Thorpe's had joined them so they were quite a big party. After an hour or so, Henry and his father sat down at another table with some people they knew. Catherine kept looking at him, wanting so very badly to apologize, but he didn't look at her at all. When he did, he just waved once, no smiles, and he returned to his conversation immediately. She felt very miserable, and though she had not paid much attention to her companions' talk, she now did not pay any attention at all anymore.

When she looked up again, Henry was gone. His father was still there and she supposed Henry was to return shortly. She was right, and as he passed their table on his way back, Mrs. Allen called out to him.

"Henry! How nice to see you. Are you all right?"

Henry answered very calmly and politely, but Catherine was not so calm. She got up very quickly and almost knocked her glass off the table.

"Oh Henry, I'm so glad to see you, you don't know half how bad I want to apologize to you. I daren't imagine what you thought of me, but I swear it was not really my fault. They told me you and Eleanor had driven off, didn't they, Mrs. Allen? I didn't know what to do! But I had ten thousand times rather have been with you; isn't that true, Mrs. Allen?"

Mrs. Allen caught Catherine's glass and put it back on the table. "Catherine my dear, you almost spilled your drink over my new skirt."

Her earnest apology had some effect; Henry now smiled a little. "I must not forget to thank you for wishing us a good walk. It was very kind of you to wave from the car."

"But I never thought of that! I begged John to stop but he wouldn't, although I did so the moment I saw you. He wouldn't stop! I swear I would have run after you if he had stopped, I really would," Catherine said agitatedly.

Henry smiled some more and said, "Don't worry. My sister was not angry with you. She was just concerned. She knows you wouldn't do such a thing."

"But she did not open her door this morning when I knocked and called!"

"I heard from Eleanor why she did not. My father forbade her. They were just going out, and he didn't want to be delayed. But I assure you that she was feeling very bad about it."

He sat down next to her and they talked until Mrs. Allen urged her to go to bed. They had agreed that the walk was still going to take place some other day.

She had been surprised to see John Thorpe speak to General Tilney and asked John how he came to know him. John boasted of knowing almost everybody in Bath, and told her the General thought her a very pretty girl. He started another of his obnoxious stories, so Catherine was not sorry for being called away by Mrs. Allen. She was happy that everything had turned out so well.

Part 9

n Sunday, Isabella had pleaded with James to try to visit the castle once more on Monday morning. Of course James had done his absolute best to please Isabella, and he had digged up a map from somewhere, anything was better than relying on John's topographic skills again. Catherine knew nothing of the plan because she was at that moment talking to Eleanor Tilney. When she came back, she was expected to be very enthusiastic. But she could not be. She had just agreed to walk out with Eleanor the following morning.

"I'm sorry, I can't go with you. I have another engagement," Catherine said, determined to keep her engagement to Eleanor, but unhappy to disappoint her friends.

"What?" cried John, not believing she could have any.

"I'm going for a walk with Eleanor."

"A walk!" Isabella and John said with contempt. Isabella tried to win Catherine over. "Oh come on, Catherine, we will not go without you! What's a walk anyway, it can be put off till Tuesday! You must come, I insist."

"It's no use trying. I promised Eleanor. I can't go." Catherine wanted to go with Eleanor although she hated to spoil her friends' day.

"Oh Catherine! You just tell her you have another engagement you forgot all about," Isabella suggested with a smile.

Catherine looked shocked, how could she ever deceive Eleanor like that? "No, I will not. I do not have another engagement."

Isabella then began to work on Catherine's feelings, by calling her her dearest friend and flattering her immensely. It pained her, but she did not budge. Isabella changed tactics and pretended to be jealous of the attention that Eleanor was getting from Catherine. Catherine only thought that Isabella was being very selfish.

James, who couldn't stand the sight of an unhappy Isabella, spoke for the first time. "Catherine, I won't think it very nice of you if you refuse to come with us."

Because this was her brother, and she would like to please him, she suggested they go on Tuesday. Tuesday was not possible however, John couldn't come on that day, he said, and he ran off.

Catherine would not let herself be persuaded. She stuck to her engagement with Eleanor, no matter how hard the others begged her to come, and how much it pained her to disappoint them. "I can't go. I believe I'm doing the right thing."

"I believe you prefer Eleanor over us," Isabella said. This remark hurt Catherine deeply, and tears sprang to her eyes. How unfair!

John Thorpe returned with a smug grin on his face. "We can all go," he declared. "I have just told Eleanor you can't make it tomorrow."

"What? You didn't!" Catherine cried in horror.

"Yes, I did. I told her that you wanted to apologize, but that you had already promised to go with us. She said that Tuesday would be fine by her too. Now," he looked round expectantly, "wasn't that a great idea?"

James and Isabella smiled and looked happy, but Catherine did not. How could he do that? How could he lie to Eleanor, and make her believe that it was my idea?

She shook her head. "No, I won't have any of this. I am going to run after her and tell her the truth."

But two of them grabbed her hands and prevented her from going. She almost cried from helplessness. "Let me go! Please, let me go! You had no right to invent a story like that. If I had really thought it right to cancel our walk I would have told her so myself. Let me go after her."

"You can't. She must be up in her room now," John said.

"Never mind. I will go to her room then," Catherine was determined. She ran up the stairs, and reached Eleanor's floor to see all of the Tilney's standing there.

"It was all a mistake. I never promised to go with them. I told them I couldn't go but they wouldn't listen," Catherine said, out of breath.

As soon as they understood what exactly she was talking about, they were very friendly. The General even invited Catherine to have dinner with them. She had to decline, going to an Italian restaurant with Mr. and Mrs. Allen that night. She was then invited to dine with them another time, and she gladly accepted.

Part 10

n the morning when the walk was to take place, Catherine was expecting the others to come and try to persuade her one more time. None of them showed up, which was a relief. The Tilneys came to get her and they walked out.

Catherine looked at the scenery and remarked, "it always reminds me of the south of France."

Henry looked surprised. "Have you ever been there?"

"Oh no I haven't. I have read about it in a book. But I don't suppose you would know that book, because it isn't the sort of book that young men read."

"Why not?"

"They just don't like it. It's not very literary and it's a bit romantic."

"How silly if one only reads books that are literary. I enjoy reading romantic books as well sometimes," Henry said.

Eleanor laughed, "yes, I know you do! I was reading a book once and you took it away from me to read it yourself. I thought I had lost it, and all the time you had it! Of course I never could have guessed that you had it, because it was a very romantic book."

"Thank you, Eleanor, for testifying to the fact that I read romantic books. Catherine, you must have a very favourable opinion of me now."

"I'm happy to hear that. I will never be ashamed to like those books if you read them too. Which do you think the nicest book?"

"I suppose you mean the book that has the best appearance. That depends on the cover," Henry said gravely.

Eleanor kicked Henry, "Henry! Catherine, don't mind him. He's always doing that to me too. He thinks you used 'nice' in a wrong way. If you don't want to be bother with a monologue on the correct use of the word 'nice' you had better say something else."

Catherine was distressed that Henry did not approve of her choice of words. "I didn't mean to say anything wrong! Why can't I ask you about your nicest book?"

"Everything is nice. It's a nice day, we have a nice view, you two are nice. All good things are nice nowadays."

"Oh!" Eleanor was exasperated, "Catherine, let's talk about other things."

"Have you heard about the new film that is coming out?"

"No," Eleanor said with interest.

"There is to be murder and all."

"Murder?" Eleanor cried out.

"Yes, a friend of a friend is going, and she said it will be the most horrific thing we have ever seen."

"How can you be so calm!" Eleanor exclaimed, "how does this person know, but if she knows, certainly the police must know too and take steps too prevent it all?"

Henry tried not to smile. "The police will not interfere, the more dreadful action, the better. The public loves it."

Both girls stared at him and he laughed. "I will do a noble deed and clear up the miscommunication between the two of you," and continued with a speech on the abilities of men and women that wasn't really listened to or understood by Eleanor and Catherine.

"Don't listen to him," Eleanor said impatiently, "tell me more about the drama at the premiere."

"At the premiere?" Catherine didn't know what Eleanor was talking about.

"Eleanor, there won't be any drama at the premiere. The only drama is in your brain. A dramatic confusion. Catherine was talking about a film , do you understand? Anyone who thinks rationally would know that, but you have to imagine acts of terror at a premiere, with masked terrorists jumping out of black limos to shoot the stars and all the public. It must be because you are a woman, though normally you're not that stupid."

"Henry," Eleanor told him severely, "you have cleared up this miscommunication up very nicely. I suggest you clear up another miscommunication. Explain yourself to Catherine, because you'll have her think that not only you don't think much of me, but that you have a very low opinion of women in general. She's not used to your odd ways."

"I would be happy to acquaint her with my odd ways."

"I don't doubt that," Eleanor said dryly, "but you still haven't explained yourself yet."

"How?" Henry said innocently.

"You know how! Tell her you do have a lot of respect for a woman's mind."

"Catherine, I have a lot of respect of the female mind, especially of the minds of the two females in my company."

"Be serious!" Eleanor admonished him.

"All right. Nature has given women such great minds that they never have to use more than half of it."

Eleanor sighed. "I'm sorry for his behaviour, Catherine. I'm afraid I can't get him to be serious. Never mind. I have to tell you though that he doesn't mean a thing of what he says if he ever says denigrating things about women, or when he's being rude to me."

Catherine already believed that Henry could never be wrong, so she believed this readily.

Part 11

atherine met the Thorpe girls for breakfast. Maria, who had gone away with the others, was all enthusiasm about their trip the day before. Catherine found out that they had not visited the castle at all. They had only had lunch at some obscure hotel, and got stuck in a traffic jam on their way back. She could not help feeling a little satisfied. She did not regret her decision.

Maria and Anne didn't eat much and left to play tennis. Isabella had had an air of suppressed excitement over her all the time, and now she leaned across the table and whispered to Catherine, "Yes, it's true! I knew you would notice, you are so perceptive!"

Catherine had no clue what she was talking about.

"Oh you are so smart, dear Catherine, to guess immediately what it is that makes me so excited. Your brother is such a darling, but I'm so nervous about what your parents are going to say."

An idea suddenly occurred to Catherine. "Isabella! Are you in love with James?" she cried out.

"Oh Catherine, don't pretend to be surprised! I know you saw the way I looked at him. I couldn't hide that from someone like you. And yesterday I found out that he loves me too!" Isabella sighed happily.

Catherine was all wonder, but she was happy nevertheless. To have Isabella for a sister-in-law would indeed be very agreeable!

"James is so good-looking. I fell in love with him the first moment I saw him," Isabella said with a dreamy look.

Now Catherine was really surprised, and she thought that Isabella must indeed be very much in love, because she had never considered James handsome at all.

Catherine saw John Thorpe in the lobby some time later. "I'm leaving today," he said.

"Have a nice trip."

He was looking out of the window and didn't reply. Catherine wondered if he had heard her at all. "Won't you miss your train?"

Still he didn't answer, but after a while he said, "what do you think of Isabella and James? It's great, isn't it?"

"Yes, I think so," Catherine said politely.

"Good, good, you do not disapprove of love."

"Of course I do not," said Catherine, not understanding what he was getting at, and a little impatient to leave.

"Then you and I may sometime..." he didn't finish his sentence.

Catherine looked puzzled. "What?"

"You know," John said, smiling conspiratorially.

"I do not. And if you will excuse me, I have to go to Eleanor. Good-bye."

"Don't go yet! I want to tell you something," John called her back.

Catherine sighed, but turned back.

"I'm going away for a long time, I don't know when I'll see you next."

"Oh, how long?" Catherine felt that an answer was expected.

"It's nice of you to ask that. But I already knew you were one of the nicest persons on earth."

Catherine didn't agree, "there are much nicer people, I'm sure. Bye, I have to go now."

"I will come to visit you all in Fullerton some day."

"Oh, that would be nice," Catherine said without much enthusiasm.

"I hope that you won't mind if I drop by?" John asked.

"Not at all. Having visitors is always exciting."

"That's exactly what I think!" John cried eagerly, "we do share the same opinion on a lot of things!"

"Perhaps we do, but I don't even have an opinion on most things."

"But neither do I," John assured her. "I don't bother to think about things that don't interest me. All I want is a nice car, a nice girl, a nice house and a nice job."

"I would like a nice house and a nice job too. I really have to go now." And with these words she walked away.

Part 12

atherine had dinner with the Tilneys. She had looked forward to it, but it was rather disappointing. Henry and Eleanor were very polite, but very quiet. They hardly said anything at all. General Tilney was very charming, but Catherine was glad to be out of his company after dinner.

She discussed it with Isabella. Isabella had her opinion ready. "It's arrogance. I have always known them to be an arrogant family."

"It was not! She was very nice," Catherine protested.

"Don't defend her. It was just plain rudeness. Her brother too, he who likes you! And he did not even look at you once all evening you say?"

"I did not say that!" Catherine protested again.

"Forget about him! He's not good enough for you if he doesn't even look at you," Isabella advised.

"Oh but I don't suppose he ever even thinks of me," Catherine said modestly.

"That's exactly what I said! They don't care for you one bit and they're just amusing themselves. Not John, he would never do that."

"General Tilney was as nice as he could be. He was very eager to please me," Catherine objected.

"I wasn't speaking of him, John has told me so many good things about him, and you know how I value his opinion."

Catherine shrugged. "Tonight we'll see how they behave to me."

"We? Well, since you're obviously counting on me..." Isabella sounded as if she were doing Catherine a great favour, "and I could never disappoint you, my dear friend, I will come. But I warn you that I will not dance. Think of all the men that want to dance with me -- I could not do that to James."

There were dances every two or three evenings, because that was the only entertainment that attracted lots of young people. Catherine sat in a corner, observing the people coming into the Entertainment Room. She saw the Tilneys come in, among them a handsome young man she had not seen before. She guessed immediately that it had to be Henry's brother, who was a Captain in the army. The Tilneys had told her he was due today.

Catherine danced with Henry, enjoying herself so much that her cheeks glowed and her eyes sparkled. Captain Tilney interrupted one of their dances and pulled Henry away. They stayed away for a fairly long time and Catherine wondered what they were talking about.

"Do you know if Isabella would like to dance?" Henry asked when he returned. "My brother would like to be introduced to her."

Catherine thought of Isabella's remark earlier in the day and shook her head. Isabella had said she didn't want to dance. "No, I am absolutely certain that she does not want to dance."

Henry told his brother, who turned and walked away.

She thought it was very kind of him to ask Isabella to dance because she was sitting alone, and said so to Henry. Henry just smiled, and told her it was very easy for her to imagine other people's motives. Catherine didn't understand what he meant.

"You don't think 'how will someone else act', but 'how will I act'."

Catherine still looked puzzled. "I don't understand you."

"Then I have an advantage, because I understand you perfectly."

"You understand me? I cannot speak well enough to be unintelligible. What do you mean?"

Henry laughed. "Do you really want to know, even if it will embarrass you and you may disagree with me?"

"I will not be embarrassed, and I could never disagree with you," Catherine said solemnly.

"All right, because you thought that my brother wanted to dance with Isabella out of the goodness of his heart, I am convinced you have the most goodness of the whole world."

This statement made Catherine blush, but somehow his words gave her a good feeling that occupied her mind for quite a while. She was absentminded until Isabella's voice woke her from her reverie. She looked up and saw Isabella with Captain Tilney, and she was obviously going to dance with him.

This surprised Catherine very much. "I don't understand. Isabella told me she was not going to dance."

"And it's impossible that Isabella ever changes her mind?"

Catherine was confused, "no, but...how about your brother then? You told him Isabella would not dance."

"I'm not surprised at my brother's behaviour, only at Isabella's because you told me to."

Catherine asked Isabella about her change of heart as soon as they were together. To her, it did not sound as if Isabella approved of Captain Tilney very much.

Isabella rolled her eyes. "I refused as long as I could, but he would not accept that. He talked a lot of nonsense too, about wanting to be with me and all that. Besides, I thought it would be rather unfair to Mrs. Hughes if we did not dance because she introduced us. Many people looked at him because he is rather handsome. Of course he's not really my taste, and he's terribly conceited."

Part 13

r. and Mrs. Allen had been discussing the length of their stay, and Catherine had been eagerly listening to every word. She did not want to leave Bath, because that would mean she would never see Henry again. She was overjoyed when Mr. Allen decided that they would stay a little bit longer.

Her happiness was to be short-lived. As she was relating the wonderful news to Eleanor, she was told that General Tilney had just decided that the Tilney's would leave Bath by the end of the week. This came as a great blow to Catherine. It seemed that the General had wanted to meet some friends here, but now that they hadn't showed up, he was determined to go home as soon as possible.

"If I had known," Catherine began sadly.

"Maybe, if you want, I would like it very much if --" Eleanor was interrupted by the General's entrance.

"Eleanor, did you ask Catherine?" the General asked after he had greeted Catherine very politely.

"I was just going to."

"Well get on with it then," he said, but he didn't give her the chance to finish. "Unfortunately I have to leave, I am needed at home and I can't stay in Bath any longer. You are very welcome to keep Eleanor company. We would be very honoured to have you at Northanger Abbey."

This was all very flattering to Catherine. To be invited, to be asked specially, and to a place called Northanger Abbey at that!

"I would love to -- if they will allow me to go, but I'm sure they will."

The General waved her concerns aside. "I have already asked. It's all right."

Catherine was very excited about staying an abbey. She loved old buildings and looked forward to exploring every corner of it. She learned from Eleanor that one of her ancestors had bought the place and turned it into a house, but that they did not use all of it. Catherine could hardly wait until they were going there.

Because of Catherine's excitement, she had not missed Isabella very much. When the excitement began to wear off a little, she thought of Isabella again. Soon after, Isabella showed up and begged her to come to a quite part of the lobby. They were seated in a corner from where they could oversee all doors. Catherine noticed that Isabella was continually looking from one door to another, and thought it obvious that she was expecting James. She said so.

"Oh Catherine, dear! I don't always want him by my side. I can do very well without him. Tell me about Northanger. I heard you're going. It's such a wonderful place! You must write me all about it, I simply insist."

"I will try. But who are you looking for, your sisters?"

"But I am not looking at anything! I am merely being absentminded. You know how absentminded I can be. It's not surprising, Tilney told me so the other day."

"How can you be absent? I thought you wanted to tell me something," Catherine asked, not knowing what Isabella meant by referring to Tilney.

"Yes, I did. I wonder how I could ever forget that! You see now that I am forever absentminded. what was it again? Oh yes, I got a letter from John. You know."

"No I don't actually," said Catherine.

Isabella looked incredulous. "Oh Catherine! How can you not know what he writes about? He writes about you. He is crazy about you."

Now it was Catherine's turn to look incredulous. "About me?"

"Now Catherine!" Isabella cried, "don't pretend to be so modest. It was so obvious to me that he likes you very much, you must have noticed. He writes that you even encouraged him just before he left."

Catherine's mouth fell open. "I did not know!" she said earnestly, "really I did not. And I did not encourage him; how could I if I wasn't aware of his feelings? Isabella, you have got to believe me. I wasn't even with him just before he left."

"John says you were with him."

"That can't have been more than a few minutes because I don't recall it all."

"So, you don't like John?" Isabella asked.

"I do not love him and I certainly did not want him to think so."

"All right, I will bother you no further. He asked me to talk to you about it, and I did."

"But are you convinced that I never meant to deceive anyone," Catherine didn't want Isabella to think ill of her.

Isabella laughed, "Really! How should I know what you were thinking? Little flirtations happen, and sometimes you pretend to feel a little more than you actually do. It's just a game. I will not criticize you, dear Catherine. You may mean one thing one day, and not mean it the day after. It's all very natural."

Catherine was offended, if she could be offended by Isabella at all. "But that never happened!" she said in vain, because Isabella was already talking about other things.

"Look, there he is, but he won't see us," Isabella said, trying to catch Captain Tilney's eye.

She succeeded of course, and he came over to join them. He started whispering to Isabella. Catherine was amazed at the obvious familiarity between them. She thought of her brother, and could stand it no longer. She got up.

"Isabella," Catherine said, but Isabella did not hear her. "Isabella, shall we go out?"

Isabella looked confused, "What? Did you say anything? Oh...no, I am so terribly tired, I couldn't walk. I have to stay here. My sisters are coming down shortly and I don't want to miss them."

Catherine was determined not to give in to Isabella and walked away. She wondered about Isabella unconsciously encouraging Captain Tilney, and she found her behaviour very odd indeed. Surely Isabella must know that he was in love with her! How could she not know and encourage him without knowing that she did so?

Part 14

atherine watched Isabella the next few days and she did not like what she saw. Isabella was giving as much attention to Captain Tilney as to James. She did not understand Isabella. Could she not see that it was hurting James? As for Captain Tilney, she was concerned too. He was going to be disappointed, she was sure of it. She was also sure that he did not know about Isabella and James. Whenever she tried to hint to Isabella what she was doing, Isabella would not understand, or they would be interrupted. It was all making Catherine very upset. She could not help talking to Henry about it.

"Your brother -- does he not know James is Isabella's boyfriend?"

"He knows."

"But why doesn't he leave her alone then?"

Henry did not say anything at first, and when he did, it was about someone passing them. Catherine did not give up. "Can't you tell him that it will be better for him if he stays away from her?"

Henry smiled and said his brother would never do that.

"But will you tell him?"

"I have told him about Isabella myself, he knows what he is doing," Henry answered.

"He does not!" Catherine cried, "he is hurting James, I know he is."

"Is it my brother's fault?"

"Yes," Catherine cried.

"Think about it," said Henry, "is it Frederick going after Isabella or Isabella allowing him to go after her that hurts James?"

Catherine didn't want to think. "It's the same, isn't it?"

"No, it isn't. James would not be offended by another man admiring Isabella, but he would be by Isabella's reactions to that admiration."

Catherine felt a little embarrassed because Isabella was her friend. "Isabella is wrong, but I am sure she means no harm. She loves James very much, from the first day she saw him."

Henry nodded, "She loves James and she flirts with Frederick."

Catherine shook her head, it was impossible for her to imagine that someone in love could be flirting with another person.

"I think they both must give up a little. She can't possibly flirt with and love two people at the same time as well as she could flirt with and love one person," was Henry's opinion.

Catherine needed some time to think about what Henry implied. "Then you don't think Isabella loves James very much?" she said, a little shocked.

Henry wanted to spare Catherine any further revelations, so he said, "I can't know what Isabella's thinking."

"But what does your brother want?" She still did not understand Captain Tilney's behaviour.

He sighed. "You ask a lot of questions."

"I do? I only ask about things I want to know," Catherine said earnestly.

"But do you only ask me questions you know I can give you answers to?"

"Yes, you know your brother, so you should know why he is doing this."

"No, I can only guess."

"And what do you guess?" Catherine was very persistent.

"I won't tell you, you can never depend on someone else's guesses. You must always guess for yourself. I will give you the facts though. My brother, who is lively but sometimes a little thoughtless, has known your friend for about a week now, and he has known about her boyfriend too."

Catherine thought this over, but she could not come up with a good explanation. "I can't guess why your brother is doing this at all."

"Catherine, I think you are too worried. Is it true that Isabella can only love him when Frederick is not around? I'm not so sure that James would like you to think that. You say they really love each other, they will not go so far as to hurt each other. Why should you be worried?"

Catherine gave up her resistance. Why should she be worried indeed, if Henry wasn't? She should trust Henry, he would know better than she.

Continued in Section II