Chapter 30 Chapter Twenty Eight

Shortly thereafter the General was obliged to go to London for a week on business.Before leaving, he expressed his sincere regret that he would be deeply sorry if he had to leave Miss Moran for an hour.He also earnestly entrusted his children with making Miss Morland's comfort and entertainment their chief business while he was gone.His parting gave Catherine her first experience of the conviction that there are gains and losses in things. Now, they spend their time very happily. No matter what they do, they do it voluntarily. They laugh whenever they want to laugh. Every meal is very relaxed and happy. They can go for a walk whenever they want. , happy, and tired, so that she fully realized that the General had bound them at home, and felt immensely relieved to be free now.These comforts and pleasures made her like this place and its people more and more every day.If it had not been for the dread of leaving Elinor soon, and the fear that Henry should not love her as much as she loved him, she would have been perfectly happy every moment of every day.But now it was the fourth week of her visit.Before the general came back, the fourth week would be over. If he continued to stay, wouldn't it be like he was hanging on.It pained her every time she thought about it.Because I was eager to get rid of this mental burden, I made up my mind to talk to Elinor about this matter immediately, and asked to leave first, to test her tone and then play it by ear.

She knew that the longer this unpleasant matter dragged on, the harder it would be for her to speak, so she seized the first opportunity of being alone with Elinor suddenly, and opened her mouth while Elinor was in the middle of talking about other things. Said she was going back soon.Elinor's face and mouth showed great concern.She had hoped that Catherine would stay with her longer, and perhaps because of such a wish she had mistakenly thought that Catherine had promised to stay longer.Elinor believed that the Morlands would have been generous enough to hurry their daughter back if they had known what joy it had given her to live here.Catherine explained: Oh, well, Mom and Dad are not in a hurry.As long as I can be happy, they will always be at ease.

Then I have to ask, why are you leaving in such a hurry? oh!Because I've lived here too long. Come on, if you say something like that, I can't force you to stay any longer.if you think you've been here too long Oh no!I never meant that.I could live with you another four weeks, if only I could enjoy myself.It was agreed at once that Catherine would not even think of leaving unless she lived for four weeks.Happily rooting out the source of her uneasiness, the other thing worried her less.Elinor's kindness and sincerity in retaining her, and Henry's beam of joy when he heard that she had decided not to go, showed that they valued her very much, and left her with nothing but apprehension. Without this little bit of worry, people still feel uncomfortable in their hearts.She almost always believed that Henry loved her, and always that his father and sister loved her very much, and even wanted her to be part of their family.Now that there is such a belief, doubt and anxiety can only be nothing but worries.

Unable to obey his father's orders, Henry remained at Northanger Abbey during his visit to London, in order to look after the two ladies.It turned out that his curate at Woodston was on business with him and had to be absent for two days, so that he could leave on Saturday.It was not the same without him now as he had been without him when the General was at home, and the ladies felt quite at ease, though less fun.The two have the same hobbies, and they are getting closer and closer. They feel that it is good to only have the two of them for the time being.On the day Henry left, they did not leave the Supper Room until eleven o'clock, which is quite late in Northanger Abbey.They had just reached the top of the stairs when they seemed to hear the sound of a carriage approaching the door through the thick wall, and the loud ringing of the doorbell in an instant confirmed that they had heard correctly.Elinor yelled in panic, "Oh my God!"What happened?After that, she immediately concluded that the person who came was her elder brother.Although he never came back so late, it was often very sudden.Therefore, Elinor hastened downstairs to meet him.

Catherine walked towards her bedroom, and she finally made up her mind to get acquainted with Captain Tilney further.She was not impressed by Captain Tilney's behavior, and felt that a gentleman of his fashion looked down on her; no longer exists.She was sure he would never mention Miss Thorpe, and besides, Captain Tilney would now be so ashamed of his past part that there was no danger of it.She felt that she could be polite to him by avoiding the mention of Bass.Time passed while thinking like this.Elinor must have liked him so much to see her elder brother with such pleasure, and had so much to say to him, for he had been here almost half an hour, and Elinor had not yet come upstairs.

At this moment, Catherine felt that she heard Eleanor's footsteps in the corridor. She listened carefully, but she didn't want to be silent again.She was just about to conclude that it was her own illusion, when she suddenly heard something approaching her door, which startled her.It seemed that someone was touching her door, and in an instant, the door lock moved slightly, proving that someone wanted to open it.She shuddered a little at the thought of someone sneaking up.But she was determined not to be intimidated by those trivial things, nor driven by other people's wrongs, she walked forward quietly, and opened the door.Elinor, and only Elinor, stood there.But Catherine was only at peace for an instant, for Elinor's face was pale and ill at ease.She clearly came in, but it seemed to be very difficult. After entering the door, it seemed to be even more difficult to speak.Catherine thought she was feeling a little uneasy because of Captain Tierney, so she could only silently pay attention to her.

She forced her to sit down, rubbed her temples with lavender perfume, and bent over her with loving concern.Dear Catherine, you don't need, you really don't need Elinor's utterance now.I am fine.Your consideration for me really disturbs my heart.I can't stand it.I have nothing good to do with you. something!Find me! How can I tell you?well!How can I tell you? A new idea suddenly came into Catherine's mind, and with a swish, turning as pale as her friend's, she exclaimed: It's Woodston with a delivery! You are mistaken, replied Elinor, looking at her with infinite sympathy.It wasn't Woodston who came, it was my father who came back.Her voice trembled as she mentioned her father's name, her eyes downcast to the ground.His sudden return from fever was itself enough to depress Catherine, and for a long moment it was almost thought impossible that there could be worse news.She said nothing.Elinor made an effort to compose herself, in order to speak firmly.Presently she went on, her eyes still downcast.I know you're a kind man and don't look down on me for having to do something like this.I really don't want to be such a megaphone.What a pleasure, what a joy, we have only recently discussed, and have agreed that you will stay here for as long as I wish!How can I tell you that someone can't accept your kindness?You brought us so much joy being with us, but I can't tell you what you didn't get in return.Dear Catherine, we are parting.My dad remembered an appointment, and on Monday our whole family was leaving.We are going to spend a fortnight at Lord Longton's, near Hereford.I cannot explain and apologize to you for this incident.I can't do that either.

My dear Elinor, cried Catherine, trying to suppress her feelings, don't be so sad.Are you dating? Those who book later should obey those who book earlier.Of course, it made me very sad that we were going to part so quickly and so suddenly.But I'm not angry, really not.You know I can get out of here anytime.I want you to come to my house.Will you come to Fullerton when you return from this lord's house? It's not up to me, Catherine. Then you can come whenever you can. Eleanor made no answer.Remembering her more immediate interest, Catherine said to herself: Monday, so soon.You all go!Well, I believe that, however, I can still catch up with the farewell.You know, I could just be one step ahead of you.Don't be sad, Eleanor.I can totally leave on Monday.It doesn't matter that my parents didn't know in advance that I was going back.The general will definitely send a servant to take me halfway.I shall soon be in Salisbury, which is only nine miles from home.

O Catherine!If that's really the case, it's more or less reasonable, although I didn't take good care of you and caused you to be treated badly.But how can I tell you?It has been decided that you will leave us tomorrow morning, not even the hour of your choice.The carriage is booked, and will be here at seven o'clock.And don't send a servant to see you off. Stunned, Catherine sat down in silence. I just couldn't believe my ears when I heard about this decision.No matter how upset and pissed you are rightfully right now, you can't be any better than me but I shouldn't talk about my feelings.Oh, if I could offer you some extenuating excuse!God!What would your father say?It's us who let you leave the care of your true friends, and ended up in this situation, almost twice as far away from home as before, and even more unkind, throwing you out with no regard for politeness!Dear, dear Catherine, I convey this order as if I were insulting you myself.However, I believe you will forgive me, because you have lived in our house for a long time, you can see that I am only a housewife in name, and have no real power at all.

Am I making the general angry?Catherine said in a trembling voice. Why!I know with my daughter's feelings, and I can guarantee that he has no legitimate reason to be angry with you.He was of course extremely distraught, and I've rarely seen him more distraught than he is now.He had a bad temper, and now something had happened that pissed him off to such a rare degree.He was a little disappointed, a little annoyed, and he seemed to take it very seriously at the moment.But I can't imagine how this has anything to do with you, because how can it be? Catherine was in so much pain that it was difficult to speak, but for Elinor's sake, she managed to say a few words.Really, she said, I would be very sorry if I had offended him.I would never do that on purpose.But don't be sorry, Eleanor.You know, since you have an appointment, you should go.The only regret is that I didn't think of it sooner, otherwise I could write a letter to my family.But it doesn't matter much.

I hope, I sincerely hope this does not affect your personal safety.But in other aspects, such as comfort, face and manners, your family and the world, it has a lot to do with it.If your friends the Allens are still in Bath, it will be easier for you to find them, and you will be there in a few hours.But you have to go seventy miles in a stagecoach, at such a young age.Still alone and unaccompanied! oh!This road is nothing.Don't bother with this.Besides, we are going to break up anyway, isn't it the same a few hours earlier and a few hours later?I can be ready by seven o'clock.Call me on time.Elinor saw that she wanted to be alone for a while.She believed that it would not be good for them to continue talking, so she said that she would see you in the morning and walked out of the room. Catherine's stomach full of grievances needs to be vented.When Eleanor was around.Friendship and pride held back her tears, but as soon as Elinor was gone, they welled up like a fountain.Get people kicked out, and in this way!With such haste and such roughness.Even treating her in such an outrageous manner, without any justification, and without any apology.Henry was so far away that it wasn't even possible to say goodbye to him.All hopes for him, all expectations, at least temporarily, for who knows how long?Who knows when they will meet again? General Tilney had been so polite, so well-bred, and always been so doting on her, who would have thought he would do such a thing!It is both sad and incomprehensible.The question of how it happened and how it ended up is confusing and frightening.This matter was done too impolitely, without considering her convenience, and without giving her face to let her choose the time and method of travel, she was rushed away.There were originally two days, but the first day was scheduled for her, and it was scheduled early in the morning, as if she was determined to let her leave before the general got up, so as not to meet her again.What does that mean, isn't it intended to insult her?I don't know why, she must have offended him unfortunately.Elinor did not want her to have such painful thoughts, but Catherine thought that no matter what troubles and misfortunes the general encountered, if it had nothing to do with her, or at least people thought it had nothing to do with her, the general would not be so angry with him. her. It was a rough night.Sleep, or the rest that might be called sleep, was out of the question.When she first came here, she was tortured in this room because of her wild thoughts, and now she is tossing and turning in this room anxiously.However, the reason for the uneasiness this time is very different from the original one. Both in reality and in essence, this time is more sad than last time!Her uneasiness is based on facts, and her worries are based on possibility.Being so preoccupied with these real and natural evils, she was quite indifferent to her solitude, to the dark house, and the old buildings.Although the wind was very strong, there were often strange and unexpected noises in the building, but she was not curious or frightened when she heard these noises. She just lay there awake and endured hour after hour. Elinor came to her room just after six o'clock, eager to show her interest, and to help if necessary.Too bad there isn't much left to do.Catherine did not sneak away; she was almost dressed and packed.When Elinor entered the room, it occurred to her that the general might have sent her to reconcile.As soon as one's anger is over, one then regrets it. What could be more natural than this?She just wanted to know how she could accept the other party's apology without losing her dignity after these accidents happened.But even if she had this knowledge, it was useless here, and she didn't need it.She was neither magnanimous nor dignified. It turned out that Eleanor didn't come to deliver a message.After the two met, they didn't say anything.Both parties felt that it was safe not to speak up, so they only said a few insignificant words upstairs.Catherine dressed in a hurry, and Eleanor, though inexperienced, was, out of kindness, absorbed in packing the box. After everything was sorted out, the two walked out of the house. Catherine only came out half a minute later than her friend, took a last look at the things she was familiar with and liked, and then went downstairs to the breakfast hall, where breakfast was ready up.She reluctantly ate, on the one hand, to avoid the pain of listening to others' advice, and on the other hand, to comfort her friend.But she couldn't eat anymore, so she didn't swallow a few mouthfuls.Comparing today with the two breakfasts she ate in this room yesterday, it unknowingly brought her new pain and made her loathe everything in front of her even more.It had not been twenty-four hours since I last breakfasted here, and how different it was!How happy she was, how calm, how happy, how safe (though it was false insurance)!Looking around, she really saw and liked everything, and she had no worries about the future except that Henry was going to Woodston for a day!What a delightful breakfast!Because Henry was there at the time, sat next to her, and even served her food. She dwelt long upon these remembrances, and was never disturbed by her companions, for Elinor, like herself, sat silent and brooding.It was only when the carriage arrived that they woke up and brought them back to reality.Catherine blushed when she saw the carriage.The insult she had received really pierced her heart at the moment, and for a moment she felt nothing but anger.It seems that Elinor is really forced to speak now and is determined to speak. You must write to me, Catherine, she cried, you must write to me as soon as possible.If I don't receive the news that you arrived home safely, I can't let go of my heart for a moment.I beg you to send me a letter anyway.Let me know with pleasure that you have returned to Fullerton safely and found your family well.I shall ask for your correspondence, and before I shall be granted all I expect is a letter from you, to be sent to Lord Longton's, and addressed to Alice, please. No, Elinor, if you are not allowed to receive my letters, I think I had better not write.I will definitely get home safely. Eleanor simply replied: I am not surprised by your mood.I can't force you either.When I am away from you, I believe you will show kindness.I didn't want to think about these few words and the sad look of the speaker, which made Catherine's self-esteem suddenly soften, and she immediately said: "Ah!Eleanor, I must write to you. Miss Tilney had one more thing to settle, though she was a little ashamed to ask.She thought that Catherine had been away from home for so long, and she might not have enough money for the journey, so she reminded her and kindly asked to lend her the money, but it turned out that things were exactly as she expected.Until now, Catherine had never thought about this problem. Now she checked her wallet and found that if her friend hadn't kindly taken care of her, she would have no money to go home after being kicked out.Before parting, they barely said a word, they were only thinking about what trouble they might encounter if they had no money on the way.However, this period of time is fortunately short.The servant immediately reported that the carriage was ready.Catherine stood up immediately, and the two replaced the words of farewell with a long and warm embrace. As they entered the hall, Catherine felt that neither of them had said any one's name, and that she could not go away without a word, so she stopped, with an audible trembling in her mouth. She said understandingly: Ask her to say hello to friends who are not at home.Don't want to mention his name yet, she can't suppress her feelings anymore.Covering her face as hard as she could with her handkerchief, she crossed the hall and jumped into the carriage, which drove out of the gate in a second.