Mr. Knightley’s Diary

My first impression of Miss Fairfax was very favourable. She was even more beautiful than I remembered her, and I moved forward to greet her.

"I am very glad to see you in Highbury again, Miss Fairfax," I said to her.

"Thank you," she replied.

As I saw her in a better light, I noticed she was thin and pale.

"Your aunt tells me you have been ill?" I remarked, as I took a seat beside her.

"It is nothing. A cold, that is all," she said.

She seemed listless and out of spirits.

"But you have had it for several months?" I asked.

"It is hard, over the winter, to rid oneself of a cold," she said quietly.

"Now we have her back at Highbury, she will be well again in no time," said Miss Bates. "Our good Highbury air will restore her, depend upon it, Mr. Knightley. Mr. Perry is convinced of it. I spoke to him only this morning. He called to see Jane - so good! So obliging! We are so grateful to him - and he says that now she is back home, she will no doubt recover. Our friends have all been so kind, sending anything they think Jane might enjoy. Only this morning Mr. Longridge sent some calves"-foot jelly! Mr. Woodhouse has sent us a beautiful piece of pork, and Mr. Graham sent some bottled pears. I told him we could not think of taking them, but he said he had had such a glut of pears this year that we would be doing him a kindness in taking them. I am sure we will have her better in no time."

I could tell from her expression, though, that she was worried.

Various remedies were discussed; and then, seeing that Miss Fairfax looked upset at all this talk of her health, I talked about the Abbey, about John, Isabella and the children; in short, anything that I thought would lift her spirits.

She smiled a little when I spoke of Henry and John skating on the stream, for she met them as very small children, when she visited us two years ago.

"Oh, yes, Jane was so pleased to hear about the children. We had a visit from Miss Woodhouse, and she was so obliging as to tell us all about them," said Miss Bates.

Her remark pleased me. I had been going to call at Hartfield and suggest that Emma visit Miss

Fairfax, but I was glad that her own good sense had already prompted her to call.

I spent a little while longer with the Bateses, then I went on to Hartfield, pleased with my visit. I was eager for Emma’s opinion of Miss Fairfax, and I was both surprised and happy to discover that, for once, Emma seemed to be fully aware of Miss Fairfax’s merits.

It made me glad of Emma’s friendship with Harriet which has, I believe, served as a useful counterpoint in showing Emma how to value Jane Fairfax.

"She is certainly handsome; she is better than handsome!" were Emma’s first words to me. I was very gratified to hear them.

"I had forgotten how elegant Miss Fairfax is," she went on. "A very pretty height, and a graceful figure, though I thought she looked a little thin."

"So did I!" I joined in, pleased to know that, for once, we thought alike. "But then, she has been ill."

"Yes, so her aunt told me. A cold, I believe. It is strange for a cold to last so long," she added thoughtfully.

There was something in her eye as she said it, and I feared mischief, but I found it was nothing worse than a desire to be useful, after all, for Emma continued: "I do not like to think of her going as a governess, for so much elegance and beauty will be wasted in the schoolroom. It is a pity there is no young man in Highbury who could rescue her from that fate."

"Matchmaking again?" I asked her, but I was not displeased. A husband would be the very answer to Miss Fairfax’s situation, and relieve her from the unappetizing life before her - a life which, I believe, is troubling Miss Fairfax, and ruining her health.

Friday 22 January

Today was busy. I rode over to Kingston this morning and visited the bank, and then visited my tenants. The recent heavy rain had caused damage to the roofs in several of the farm labourers" cottages, and repairs were needed. I have arranged for them to be done as soon as there is a dry spell.

So busy was I that I was almost late arriving at Graham’s. After exchanging civilities, I sat next to Mr. and Mrs. Cole, and the conversation turned to Jane Fairfax. We all expressed our sympathy for her fate, our concern for her health and our pleasure in having her amongst us once again.

After dinner, as soon as the ladies had left us, the conversation moved on to business. We spoke of the war, and of Napoleon, and hoped the hostilities would soon be at an end.

When we rejoined the ladies, Mrs. Lovage played and I joined her at the pianoforte. We sang together, and then she relinquished her place to Miss Cox, who played a sonata.

I returned to the Abbey, and I found an invitation to dinner at Hartfield waiting for me. I was pleased. I wanted to see Emma and Miss Fairfax, and to see how they got on together.

I cannot marry Miss Fairfax if she does not get on with Emma.

Saturday 23 January