Read Online Murder at Mansfield Park by Lynn Shepherd - Free Book Online Page B

black, and plain. Further impartial consideration by Miss Bertram proved him not so very plain; he had so much countenance, and his nose was so good, and he was so well made,
that one soon forgot he was plain; and after a quarter of an hour, she no longer allowed him to be called so by any body, whatever Miss Price’s views were on the matter. Mr Rushworth was, in
fact, the most agreeable young man Miss Bertram had ever met; Miss Price’s engagement made him in equity the property of her cousin, of which she was fully aware, even without the nods and
winks of Mrs Norris, and by the time the gentlemen appeared, she was already wrapt in her own private and delicious meditations on the relative merits of white satin and lace veils.
    When the gentlemen joined them a few minutes later, it became apparent that they had been talking of a ball; and no ordinary ball, but a private ball in all the shining new splendour of
Sotherton, with its solid mahogany, rich damask, and bright new gilding. How it came that such a capital piece of news should have fallen to the share of the gentlemen and the port, the ladies
could not at first comprehend, but the fact of the ball was soon fixed to the last point of certainty, to the great delight of the whole party. In spite of being somewhat out of spirits, the
prospect of a ball was indeed delightful to Mary, and she was able to listen to Mr Rushworth’s interminable descriptions of supper-rooms, card-tables, and musicians, with due complacency.
Miss Bertram had never looked so beautiful, and Mary was almost sure that in the general bustle and joy that succeeded Mr Rushworth’s announcement, he had taken the opportunity to speak to
her privately, and secure her for the two first dances. As for Miss Price, there could be no doubt whom she would open the ball with, but when Mary looked around for her, she found that she
was, once again, engaged in an animated conversation with Henry, while Edmund was standing alone by the fire, lost in thought.
    The following morning Mary called early at the Park, only to find that Julia Bertram was indisposed and in bed. Having sent her best compliments to the invalid, she was on the
point of departure when she found herself being ushered with some ceremony into the morning-room, where the other ladies of the house were assembled. After paying her respects to Lady Bertram, who
was sitting on the sopha on the other side of the room, absorbed in her needlework, she saw Miss Price gesturing to her, and as soon as Mary drew near she said in a low voice, ‘May I speak to
you for a few minutes? I wish to ask your advice.’
    The look of surprise on Mary’s face shewed how far she was from expecting such an opening, but Miss Price rose immediately and led the way upstairs to her own room. As soon as the door
closed behind them, Miss Price began to explain the nature of her request.
    ‘It is the ball at Sotherton that I seek your advice upon, Miss Crawford. I am quite unable to satisfy myself as to what I ought to wear, and so I have determined to seek the counsel of
the more enlightened, and apply to you .’
    Miss Price then proceeded to lay before her such a number of elegant gowns, anyone of which might bear comparison with the latest London fashions, as left Mary in no doubt that Miss Price had no
real value for her opinion, and wanted only to display her own superior wardrobe. For the next two hours Mary was obliged to listen to a minute enumeration of the price of every head-dress, and the
pattern of every gown. Her own dress being finally settled in all its principal parts, Miss Price turned her attention to Mary.
    ‘And what will you wear, Miss Crawford? The gown you wore at dinner last night? Or do you have another? And what about ornaments? Do you possess any thing that would be considered
rich enough for company such as we shall have at Sotherton?’
    ‘I have attended assemblies in London many times,’ said Mary firmly, ‘and I have