hat nobody in their senses
could expect Mr. Ferrars to give up a woman like Miss Morton, with
thirty thousand pounds to her fortune, for Lucy Steele that had
nothing at all; and I had it from Miss Sparks myself. And besides
that, my cousin Richard said himself, that when it came to the point
he was afraid Mr. Ferrars would be off; and when Edward did not come
near us for three days, I could not tell what to think myself; and I
believe in my heart Lucy gave it up all for lost; for we came away
from your brother's Wednesday, and we saw nothing of him not all
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and did not know what was become of
him. Once Lucy thought to write to him, but then her spirits rose
against that. However this morning he came just as we came home from
church; and then it all came out, how he had been sent for Wednesday
to Harley Street, and been talked to by his mother and all of them,
and how he had declared before them all that he loved nobody but Lucy,
and nobody but Lucy would he have. And how he had been so worried by
what passed, that as soon as he had went away from his mother's house,
he had got upon his horse, and rid into the country, some where or
other; and how he had stayed about at an inn all Thursday and Friday,
on purpose to get the better of it. And after thinking it all over and
over again, he said, it seemed to him as if, now he had no fortune,
and no nothing at all, it would be quite unkind to keep her on to the
engagement, because it must be for her loss, for he had nothing but
two thousand pounds, and no hope of any thing else; and if he was to
go into orders, as he had some thoughts, he could get nothing but a
curacy, and how was they to live upon that?--He could not bear to
think of her doing no better, and so he begged, if she had the least
mind for it, to put an end to the matter directly, and leave him shift
for himself. I heard him say all this as plain as could possibly be.
And it was entirely for _her_ sake, and upon _her_ account, that he
said a word about being off, and not upon his own. I will take my oath
he never dropt a syllable of being tired of her, or of wishing to
marry Miss Morton, or any thing like it. But, to be sure, Lucy would
not give ear to such kind of talking; so she told him directly (with a
great deal about sweet and love, you know, and all that--Oh, la! one
can't repeat such kind of things you know)--she told him directly, she
had not the least mind in the world to