Chapter 35 - Part 7 - Sense and Sensibility

Every engagement, however minute, and however it may make against his interest or pleasure. He is the most fearful of giving pain, of wounding expectation, and the most incapable of being selfish of anybody I ever saw. Edward, it is so, and I will say it. What? Are you never to hear yourself praised? Then you must be no friend of mine, for those who will accept my love and esteem must submit The nature of her commendation in the present case, however, happened to be particularly ill-suited to the feelings of two-thirds of her auditors, and was so very unexhilarating to Edward that he very soon got up to go away. Going so soon, said Marianne, my dear Edward, this must not be. And drawing him a little aside, she whispered her persuasion that Lucy could not stay much longer. But even this encouragement failed, for he would go, and Lucy, who would have outstayed him, had his visits lasted two hours, soon afterwards went away. What can bring her here so often, said Marianne, on her leaving them? Could not she see that we wanted her gone? How teasing to Edward! Why so? We were all his friends, and Lucy has been the longest known to him of any. It is but natural that he should like to see her as well as ourselves. Marianne looked at her steadily and said, You know, Eleanor, that this is a kind of talking which I cannot bear. If you only hope to have your assertion contradicted, as I must suppose to be the case, you ought to recollect that I am the last person in the world to do it. I cannot descend to be tricked out of assurances that are not really wanted. She then left the room, and Eleanor dared not follow her to say more, for bound as she was by her promise of secrecy to Lucy, she could give no information that would convince Marianne, and painful as the consequences of her still continuing in an error might be, she was obliged to submit to it. All that she could hope was that Edward would not often expose her, or himself, to the distress of hearing Marianne's mistaken warmth, nor to the repetition of any other part of the pain that had attended their recent meeting, and this she had every reason to expect.