I went to see Weston straight away and told him what had happened. He had not heard of it, as his son had been on his way to Richmond when the attack and rescue occurred, and had therefore continued with his journey, but he was as concerned as I was. We decided we would speak to the other gentlemen of the parish at our whist club tonight. We must be vigilant if this is not to happen again.
I went from Randalls to Hartfield to satisfy myself that Harriet was all right. I found my nephews full of the story, and relishing it as little boys should. The story of Harriet and the gypsies will, I feel, inspire their games for weeks to come.
Harriet had been shaken by the incident, but she was much recovered. She had had Churchill to rescue her, and Emma and Mr. Woodhouse to make much of her, and this had quickly restored her spirits.
Mr. Woodhouse, however, was in a quake, and would hardly be satisfied until Emma promised him she would never leave the grounds again.
However, he will accustom himself to it by and by, and I have no doubt she will be walking to Randalls as usual tomorrow.
Tuesday 11 May
The boys were still talking of Harriet and the gypsies when I went to Hartfield today. They were in a boisterous mood, and Emma and I took them outside to fly a kite. The wind was high, and we had no difficulty in getting the kites to soar aloft. I handed the strings to Henry and helped him manage them, whilst Emma helped John.
The children were delighted with the game, though Mr. Woodhouse, when we returned to the house, was unhappy.
"I do not think you should have played with a kite in such a wind," he said to Henry. "It is particularly strong today, and it might have carried you away."
"But we were holding the strings, too, Papa," said Emma. "Did you not see? Mr. Knightley held on to Henry’s kite, and I held on to John’s. The wind looked strong, perhaps, but once outside it was not so very bad. It tugged now and again at the kites, but we were never in any danger, and if it had tugged too hard, we could always have let the strings go, you know."
"You mean well, my dear, I know, but I cannot like it. You should not play with kites when the wind is so high."
"We have to play with them in the wind, Grandpapa," said Henry, "otherwise they will not fly."
Mr. Woodhouse told the boys that kites were for grownups, not little boys, and this so upset the children, who thought they would have to wait another twenty years before being allowed to fly a kite again, that Emma had three sets of nerves to soothe before tea.
I cannot believe we will be sending the boys on their way again in a few days. It hardly seems like any time since they arrived.
I almost spoke to Emma this evening; almost gave her an intimation of my feelings; but I felt the time had not yet come - that she did not yet see me as more than a friend - and so I held my peace.
Saturday 15 May
John arrived to collect the boys and we all took luncheon together.
"Will you not stay?" asked Emma.
"No, I must get home," he said.
Emma was resigned, knowing that nothing can keep John away from his hearth and home, unless it is unavoidable.
Emma had made a new cap for the baby, a shirt for little George, a handkerchief for Isabella, and a doll for Bella. John thanked her for the presents and promised to deliver them. Then it was time for him to go.
Mr. Woodhouse mourned their absence, though I think the boys were here long enough. He had been getting more and more worried about them as they had grown more and more confident. It is as well they were going home, where they could play to their heart’s content without worrying Grandpapa.
June
Tuesday 1 June
I was dining at the vicarage this evening when I saw something disturbing. Frank Churchill kept catching Jane Fairfax’s eye, and I am sure some secret intelligence passed between them. I thought at first that Churchill had switched his affections, but this was not the case, as he went on making love to Emma. I was at a loss as to what it could mean.
Had he said something compromising to Jane Fairfax? Paid her some extravagant compliment? Given her to understand he liked her? That would explain the look of intelligence, but if that was the case, why did he continue to pay attention to Emma? It did not make sense. Nor did it make sense that Jane Fairfax, a young woman of good sense and good principles would be interested in the attentions of a man like Frank Churchill.
Unless women are all fools when it comes to handsome young men?
Nay, I will not believe it. I know it cannot be so. Yet Emma and Jane Fairfax both seem attracted to Mr. Weston’s son - and he to them.
Saturday 5 June
The weather being warm, I decided to walk up to Hartfield this evening and as I found Emma and Harriet setting out for a walk, I decided to accompany them. We fell in with Mr. and Mrs. Weston, Mr. Churchill, Miss Bates and Miss Fairfax, and as we returned to Hartfield, Emma pressed the whole party to go in to see her father, and to take tea.
We were just turning into the grounds when Perry passed on horseback, and we spoke of his horse.
"By the by," said Frank Churchill to Mrs. Weston, "what became of Mr. Perry’s plan of setting up his carriage?"
Mrs. Weston disclaimed any knowledge of such a plan, but he insisted she had told him of it.
"Never!" exclaimed Churchill. "Bless me! how could it be? Then I must have dreamt it."
Again, I surprised a look between him and Jane Fairfax, and the thought came to me that she had told him of it. But why not say so? Why make a mystery of it?
My conviction that Frank Churchill was guilty of double-dealing became more certain as the evening progressed. He called for some alphabet bricks the boys had left behind, and he and Emma amused themselves by making up words.
"Ah! the poor little boys, how sad they were to leave us," said Mr. Woodhouse in a melancholy voice, seeing the bricks. "I do wish Isabella would come and live here with us. Poor Isabella!" he sighed.
Under cover of his lamentations, Churchill pushed a collection of letters towards Miss Fairfax. I was watching her at the time, and it seemed to me that she had worked out the conundrum, but that it troubled her, because she blushed slightly and then mixed the bricks in with the others. But she did not mix them well enough. Harriet pounced on them, and reading the word Miss Fairfax had made, cried out: "Blunder!"
Miss Fairfax flushed a deeper red.
So! Churchill had made a blunder with his comment about Perry’s carriage, and the source of the information was indeed Miss Fairfax. Then why not be open about it? The whole thing smacked of duplicity, and worse, it was clear that Miss Fairfax was not an innocent party, but was involved in something she was ashamed of.
Churchill continued unabashed. He made a word for Emma. She smiled, but looked alarmed when he pushed it towards Miss Fairfax, who flushed again. I looked over the letters and was able to make out Dixon.
Dixon! The name of her friend’s husband?
What did it mean?
One thing was certain. Churchill was not only behaving in an ungentlemanlike fashion, but he was involving others in his misdeeds, and dragging both Emma and Miss Fairfax down to his own level, involving the former in giving pain and the latter in receiving it.
Miss Fairfax could stand no more. She pushed the letters away angrily, and looked at her aunt, who read her expression and said they must be going.
The Westons and Weston’s son, Miss Bates and her niece all departed. When the candles were lit to dispel the gathering gloom, I felt I must say something to Emma, for I feared that Churchill was playing a double game, and transferring his affections to Miss Fairfax. Moreover, that he was using Emma as an unwitting pawn in his game.