Midsummer Madness: A variation of Emma volume 3 by Nina Clare

Author:Nina Clare [Clare, Nina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction / Fantasy, Z-Library, fairy tales, Emma - Jane Austen
ISBN: 9798666997475
Goodreads: 54623943
Published: 2020-07-21T04:00:00+00:00

20

The Agony of a Mind That Would Bear No More

‘I believe I owe you an apology, Harriet,’ said Emma, ‘in trying to shame you into taking off that sword. The day’s events have proved quite meet for swords and sticks and all manner of weaponry. Who would imagine a simple picnic could prove so perilous? Even my powers of fancy and foretelling could not have anticipated such a day.’ Emma leaned her head back against the carriage seat. The motion of the vehicle was not pleasant to her jangled nerves. ‘Frank Charmall and Jane Fairfayce secretly engaged,’ she marvelled. ‘And all the while he has been courting me and behaving as though there were no other woman in the world.’

‘You did foretell a romantic and tragic affair for her,’ Harriet reminded her.

‘So I did. But I never imagined it would be with the nephew of a wicked witch.’

‘Are you dreadfully heartbroken?’ Harriet asked. ‘I’m very sorry if you are. It is the most horrible thing in the world to know that the man you love best can never be with you, even if he has proposed.’

‘Of course I am not heartbroken. I never really cared for Frank Charmall. I liked him very well as a friend, and as a dance partner. I considered caring for him, and I fell under his charms as much as I was meant to. But I am not truly injured. I am more fearful for what has become of him. What can be done?’

‘How I wish Mother Goodword were here,’ said Harriet. ‘She would know what to do. I never seem to know what is to be done.’

‘I owe you a second apology, Harriet.’

‘You do?’

‘I confess I thought Frank Charmall would make a perfect match for yourself.’

‘For me?’

‘The idea came to me when I saw him carrying you into Hartfield, that day he rescued you from the imps and the witch, or gypsy, whatever she was. I did not speak of it, for I had made such a wretched blunder over Master Elftyn.’

‘Me! And Frank Charmall?’ Harriet laughed. ‘Who would want to go into Faerie to live with him and a witch for an aunt?’

‘Obviously I did not know about his aunt when the idea came to me.’

‘He was very brave that day he saved me,’ Harriet admitted. ‘If those imps were to come upon me now, I should see them off myself.’ She patted her sword. ‘Fancy Mistress Elftyn getting attacked by imps. Her hat and gown were quite ruined.’

‘That is the risk one takes when one dresses in fairy green on Midsummer Day,’ said Emma. ‘I am amazed her brownie let her out of the house wearing it. I wonder her husband did not say anything to dissuade her. I suppose she thought herself fit to be a Green Lady herself.’

‘I should never be so foolish as to wear green on such a day,’ agreed Harriet. ‘But it was a pity to see her hat so spoilt. Those silk orchids are prodigiously expensive. She ought to have gone searching for real orchids like Master Knightley did.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.