Page 107 of Threads that Remain

Marianne put her arm around her daughter’s shoulders and pulled her in close. Elinor walked over and sat close to Marianne, and Margaret sat next to Anne and did the same. They stayed together like this, heads together, arms wrapped around each other, each with overflowing hearts, each knowing that not every family could claim this kind of love and closeness. Theirs was a special bond that neither time nor distance could ever alter.

Anne was the first to break the silence.

“This is the first time since the park that I have felt able to breathe freely.”

“Then we are not close enough,” joked Margaret. “Shift over closer, ladies.”

Everyone started laughing as they moved even closer together.

“Can you breathe now?” Margaret asked.

“No!” Anne managed to say through her laugh.

“Good,” replied Margaret. “Now you have had the full Dashwood experience!”

Chapter XLVIII.

Meanwhile ….

There were few things Sarah considered more delightful than an afternoon promenade in Hyde Park with Henry. There were, however, several things she considered more dreadful, and the presence of Ned joining them ranked among them.

“Why is Ned coming?” she had asked her father in the hallway before they departed.

Edward had glanced up from putting on his gloves. “Ah, your mother expressed her desire for him to take in the air.”

Hyde Park was alive with its customary afternoon bustle. Carriages rolled along Rotten Row, gentlemen on horseback displayed their finest mounts, and elegantly dressed ladies proceeded along the promenade in the hope of seeing and being seen.

Henry offered Sarah his arm, and Edward and Ned fell in behind them.

Five minutes had not passed when Ned, hurrying forward, said, “Henry, may I ask you a question?”

“You may.”

“Do you intend to marry my sister?”

Sarah nearly stumbled. “Ned!”

“What? I am here to observe a courtship. Surely marriage is the chief object of it.”

“Ned,” Edward said in a warning tone.

“I am only establishing the purpose of the expedition.”

“Your purpose,” Sarah said, “is to walk quietly and admire the trees.”

“I can admire the trees and talk at the same time,” he answered calmly.

Henry recovered sufficiently to answer. “I believe marriage is a subject that ought to be discussed between your sister and me, when the proper time comes.”

“Ah.” Ned nodded gravely. “So, you have not decided.”

“I did not say that.”

“But you did not say you had.”

“Ned,” Sarah said through her teeth, “if you persist in this conversation, I shall tell Mamma that you spent all the sovereigns you found in Henry’s desk on candy!”

“Your father,” Ned announced smugly, “has agreed with me that a young gentleman must be properly scrutinised before he is permitted to make himself indispensable to a young lady.”