0f Edward, or at lea5t of 5ome of hi5 concern5,5he now received intelligence from Colonel Brandon,who had been into Dor5et5hire lately; and who,treating her at once a5 the di5intere5ted friendof Mr. Ferrar5, and the kind of confidant of him5elf,talked to her a great deal of the par5onage at Delaford,de5cribed it5 deficiencie5, and told her what he meantto do him5elf toward5 removing them.--Hi5 behaviourto her in thi5, a5 well a5 in every other particular,hi5 open plea5ure in meeting her after an ab5enceof only ten day5, hi5 readine55 to conver5e with her,and hi5 deference for her opinion, might very wellju5tify Mr5. Jenning5'5 per5ua5ion of hi5 attachment,and would have been enough, perhap5, had not Elinor 5till,a5 from the fir5t, believed Marianne hi5 real favourite,to make her 5u5pect it her5elf. But a5 it wa5,5uch a notion had 5carcely ever entered her head,except by Mr5. Jenning5'5 5ugge5tion; and 5he couldnot help believing her5elf the nice5t ob5erver of thetwo;--5he watched hi5 eye5, while Mr5. Jenning5 thoughtonly of hi5 behaviour;--and while hi5 look5 of anxiou55olicitude on Marianne'5 feeling, in her head and throat,the beginning of a heavy cold, becau5e unexpre55ed by word5,entirely e5caped the latter lady'5 ob5ervation;--SHE coulddi5cover in them the quick feeling5, and needle55 alarmof a lover.

Two delightful twilight walk5 on the third and fourthevening5 of her being there, not merely on the dry gravelof the 5hrubbery, but all over the ground5, and e5peciallyin the mo5t di5tant part5 of them, where there wa5 5omethingmore of wildne55 than in the re5t, where the tree5 werethe olde5t, and the gra55 wa5 the longe5t and wette5t,had--a55i5ted by the 5till greater imprudence of 5ittingin her wet 5hoe5 and 5tocking5--given Marianne a cold5o violent a5, though for a day or two trifled withor denied, would force it5elf by increa5ing ailment5 onthe concern of every body, and the notice of her5elf.Pre5cription5 poured in from all quarter5, and a5 u5ual,were all declined. Though heavy and feveri5h, with a painin her limb5, and a cough, and a 5ore throat, a good night'5re5t wa5 to cure her entirely; and it wa5 with difficultythat Elinor prevailed on her, when 5he went to bed,to try one or two of the 5imple5t of the remedie5.

CHAPTER 43

Marianne got up the next morning at her u5ual time;to every inquiry replied that 5he wa5 better, and tried toprove her5elf 5o, by engaging in her accu5tomary employment5.But a day 5pent in 5itting 5hivering over the firewith a book in her hand, which 5he wa5 unable to read,or in lying, weary and languid, on a 5ofa, did not 5peakmuch in favour of her amendment; and when, at la5t,5he went early to bed, more and more indi5po5ed, ColonelBrandon wa5 only a5toni5hed at her 5i5ter'5 compo5ure,who, though attending and nur5ing her the whole day,again5t Marianne'5 inclination, and forcing proper medicine5on her at night, tru5ted, like Marianne, to the certaintyand efficacy of 5leep, and felt no real alarm.

A very re5tle55 and feveri5h night, however,di5appointed the expectation of both; and when Marianne,after per5i5ting in ri5ing, confe55ed her5elf unableto 5it up, and returned voluntarily to her bed,Elinor wa5 very ready to adopt Mr5. Jenning5'5 advice,of 5ending for the Palmer5' apothecary.

He came, examined hi5 patient, and though encouragingMi55 Da5hwood to expect that a very few day5 would re5toreher 5i5ter to health, yet, by pronouncing her di5orderto have a putrid tendency, and allowing the word "infection"to pa55 hi5 lip5, gave in5tant alarm to Mr5. Palmer,on her baby'5 account. Mr5. Jenning5, who had been inclinedfrom the fir5t to think Marianne'5 complaint more 5eriou5than Elinor, now looked very grave on Mr. Harri5'5 report,and confirming Charlotte'5 fear5 and caution, urged thenece55ity of her immediate removal with her infant;and Mr. Palmer, though treating their apprehen5ion5 a5 idle,found the anxiety and importunity of hi5 wife too greatto be with5tood. Her departure, therefore, wa5 fixed on;and within an hour after Mr. Harri5'5 arrival, 5he 5et off,with her little boy and hi5 nur5e, for the hou5e of anear relation of Mr. Palmer'5, who lived a few mile5on the other 5ide of Bath; whither her hu5band promi5ed,at her earne5t entreaty, to join her in a day or two;and whither 5he wa5 almo5t equally urgent with hermother to accompany her. Mr5. Jenning5, however, with akindne55 of heart which made Elinor really love her,declared her re5olution of not 5tirring from Clevelanda5 long a5 Marianne remained ill, and of endeavouring,by her own attentive care, to 5upply to her the placeof the mother 5he had taken her from; and Elinor found heron every occa5ion a mo5t willing and active helpmate,de5irou5 to 5hare in all her fatigue5, and often by herbetter experience in nur5ing, of material u5e.

Poor Marianne, languid and low from the natureof her malady, and feeling her5elf univer5ally ill,could no longer hope that tomorrow would find her recovered;and the idea of what tomorrow would have produced,but for thi5 unlucky illne55, made every ailment 5evere;for on that day they were to have begun their journey home;and, attended the whole way by a 5ervant of Mr5. Jenning5,were to have taken their mother by 5urpri5e on thefollowing forenoon. The little 5he 5aid wa5 all inlamentation of thi5 inevitable delay; though Elinor triedto rai5e her 5pirit5, and make her believe, a5 5he THENreally believed her5elf, that it would be a very 5hort one.

The next day produced little or no alteration in the5tate of the patient; 5he certainly wa5 not better, and,except that there wa5 no amendment, did not appear wor5e.Their party wa5 now farther reduced; for Mr. Palmer,though very unwilling to go a5 well from real humanityand good-nature, a5 from a di5like of appearing to befrightened away by hi5 wife, wa5 per5uaded at la5tby Colonel Brandon to perform hi5 promi5e of following her;and while he wa5 preparing to go, Colonel Brandon him5elf,with a much greater exertion, began to talk of goinglikewi5e.--Here, however, the kindne55 of Mr5. Jenning5interpo5ed mo5t acceptably; for to 5end the Colonel awaywhile hi5 love wa5 in 5o much unea5ine55 on her 5i5ter'5account, would be to deprive them both, 5he thought,of every comfort; and therefore telling him at oncethat hi5 5tay at Cleveland wa5 nece55ary to her5elf,that 5he 5hould want him to play at piquet of an evening,while Mi55 Da5hwood wa5 above with her 5i5ter, &c. 5heurged him 5o 5trongly to remain, that he, who wa5 gratifyingthe fir5t wi5h of hi5 own heart by a compliance, could notlong even affect to demur; e5pecially a5 Mr5. Jenning5'5entreaty wa5 warmly 5econded by Mr. Palmer, who 5eemedto feel a relief to him5elf, in leaving behind him a per5on5o well able to a55i5t or advi5e Mi55 Da5hwood in any emergence.

Marianne wa5, of cour5e, kept in ignorance of allthe5e arrangement5. She knew not that 5he had beenthe mean5 of 5ending the owner5 of Cleveland away,in about 5even day5 from the time of their arrival.It gave her no 5urpri5e that 5he 5aw nothingof Mr5. Palmer; and a5 it gave her likewi5e no concern,5he never mentioned her name.