( when he awakens at half-past seven, the storm that had ravaged his mind the previous night has faded. the water is calm, and the sun shines brightly in the clear sky. as he rises and begins the day, two interpretations of the previous night form in his mind, both dreadful in their possibility. the first is that removed from her natural habitat miss bennet returned to the wilted flower. convictions are hills from which one looks, and miss bennet stood proudly on hers to not concern herself with the judgement of others. but, in the presence of her aunt and uncle, she hid in a cave and the conviction was a shadow on the wall. the second and most distressing prospect is that miss bennet saw him as nothing more than a bauble to amuse and distract herself from the idleness that comes from country living. now in the city, vibrant with sophistication and entertainment, she has no use for him and so snubbed him. the thought of this arouses such heat within him that he almost drops the pitcher while pouring water into the basin. but the splash of cool water across his face douses the flame enough that reason ultimately prevails.
as he pulls on a pair of tan trousers, conclusions emerge like a fleet of ships through the fog. miss bennet is still a young woman, hardly twenty, with little understanding of the world. therefore, some allowances must be made. regardless of the accuracy of either case, he should not feel wholly insulted at actions caused by inexperience or immaturity. at her age, atticus cannot say he behaved any more wisely. indeed at his current age, barely nine years older, he has again conducted himself unwisely.
if the sins of inexperience and ignorance can explain her behaviour, then atticus will act with the prudence which needs to be learned only once after placing one's hand too close to a sharp blade or a dog's mouth. distance, both physically and emotionally, will need to be maintained. he will no longer burden miss bennet with his presence or conversation. in situations where he cannot help but see her, he will be polite and cordial; but he will maintain his distance. soon, no grievance will pass through him, and they will be indifferent acquaintances until he leaves in several months. and then, none of this will matter.
his morning is spent hunched over the small desk in his room, cutting and folding coloured paper into flowers. these flowers, which were crude but are becoming progressively neat and sophisticated as he improves, will be tied together around a circular piece of wood to make a permanent wreath for mr frahm. it is a small gratitude from atticus to his book agent for his diligence and discretion in the past two years. at a quarter to noon, atticus puts down the penknife and finishes dressing. when he leaves a half hour later, he appears every bit the fashionable gentleman: a black top hat, a single-breasted wine-coloured tailcoat, a houndstooth waistcoat, and an intricately tied cravat. he blends into the london afternoon crowd and walks nearly two miles from drury lane to cheapside.
atticus is courteous to mrs gardiner and her nieces when he is shown to the parlour by the housekeeper. a smile and a compliment about the parlour's decoration are enough to divert her from questioning his parlour's decoration and situation. the arrival of mr gardiner and his clerk for tea is a relief. mr hickinbottom's presence will distract the others and miss bennet, removing pressure on atticus's behalf to engage in conversation. the feeling, however, is fleeting, similar to the steam wafting from atticus's tea as he blows on it. his green eyes, which were lackadaisical when he arrived, narrow at mr hickinbottom across the round table, idly stirring cream and sugar into his tea.
miss bennet's question draws his attention away from the clerk. when they began sitting for tea, atticus endeavoured to sit next to miss kitty so that neither he nor miss bennet felt obligated to converse with each other. alas, mr hickinbottom, cunning in mind and movement, sat in the chair before he could, determined to be next to the bennet sister he found most attractive. atticus believes it's not only the clerk who had an ideal seating in mind. when he sat next to miss bennet, the gardiners' smiles at each other from across the table were too relevant to be considered an act of chance.
the high collar of his shirt is like a cage, hindering him from fully turning his gaze to miss bennet. it is better that he cannot do so; he will not have to see the circles beneath her eyes, dark like shadows in the night, and trouble himself with concern as to the reason for their appearance. ) Quite productive, thank you.
( atticus sips his tea, scrutinizing mr hickinbottom under the guise of admiring a landscape painting behind his head. mr gardiner's clerk is an assemblage of browns: brown hair, brown jacket, brown waistcoat, brown nose, and a brown biscuit at his mouth, the cogs turning in his mind as to what to say to pull miss bennet's attention to him. atticus has known many hickinbottoms. at trinity college, at the attorney general's office, and even in his life of vagrancy. they hasten to be rich and powerful, and the only consideration weighing on their minds is how to achieve it as quickly and easily as possible. some steal it, some buy it, and some marry into it. with mr hickinbottom's discreet questions and stare at miss bennet, it is not difficult to determine which route he will be taking.
just as mr hickinbottom finishes chewing and is about to speak, atticus thwarts the attempt by asking miss kitty, ) Will Mr Hamilton's family be down for the wedding?
mrs gardiner asks about their lodging while in dundee, and miss kitty replies that they will stay at his family's home on the city's outskirts. a pause in the conversation then surfaces, settling on the table like water approaching the shore. mr hickinbottom takes it as an opportunity to ask if miss kitty's wedding meant that all the bennet sisters were now wed. as if he doesn't already know. )
no subject
as he pulls on a pair of tan trousers, conclusions emerge like a fleet of ships through the fog. miss bennet is still a young woman, hardly twenty, with little understanding of the world. therefore, some allowances must be made. regardless of the accuracy of either case, he should not feel wholly insulted at actions caused by inexperience or immaturity. at her age, atticus cannot say he behaved any more wisely. indeed at his current age, barely nine years older, he has again conducted himself unwisely.
if the sins of inexperience and ignorance can explain her behaviour, then atticus will act with the prudence which needs to be learned only once after placing one's hand too close to a sharp blade or a dog's mouth. distance, both physically and emotionally, will need to be maintained. he will no longer burden miss bennet with his presence or conversation. in situations where he cannot help but see her, he will be polite and cordial; but he will maintain his distance. soon, no grievance will pass through him, and they will be indifferent acquaintances until he leaves in several months. and then, none of this will matter.
his morning is spent hunched over the small desk in his room, cutting and folding coloured paper into flowers. these flowers, which were crude but are becoming progressively neat and sophisticated as he improves, will be tied together around a circular piece of wood to make a permanent wreath for mr frahm. it is a small gratitude from atticus to his book agent for his diligence and discretion in the past two years. at a quarter to noon, atticus puts down the penknife and finishes dressing. when he leaves a half hour later, he appears every bit the fashionable gentleman: a black top hat, a single-breasted wine-coloured tailcoat, a houndstooth waistcoat, and an intricately tied cravat. he blends into the london afternoon crowd and walks nearly two miles from drury lane to cheapside.
atticus is courteous to mrs gardiner and her nieces when he is shown to the parlour by the housekeeper. a smile and a compliment about the parlour's decoration are enough to divert her from questioning his parlour's decoration and situation. the arrival of mr gardiner and his clerk for tea is a relief. mr hickinbottom's presence will distract the others and miss bennet, removing pressure on atticus's behalf to engage in conversation. the feeling, however, is fleeting, similar to the steam wafting from atticus's tea as he blows on it. his green eyes, which were lackadaisical when he arrived, narrow at mr hickinbottom across the round table, idly stirring cream and sugar into his tea.
miss bennet's question draws his attention away from the clerk. when they began sitting for tea, atticus endeavoured to sit next to miss kitty so that neither he nor miss bennet felt obligated to converse with each other. alas, mr hickinbottom, cunning in mind and movement, sat in the chair before he could, determined to be next to the bennet sister he found most attractive. atticus believes it's not only the clerk who had an ideal seating in mind. when he sat next to miss bennet, the gardiners' smiles at each other from across the table were too relevant to be considered an act of chance.
the high collar of his shirt is like a cage, hindering him from fully turning his gaze to miss bennet. it is better that he cannot do so; he will not have to see the circles beneath her eyes, dark like shadows in the night, and trouble himself with concern as to the reason for their appearance. ) Quite productive, thank you.
( atticus sips his tea, scrutinizing mr hickinbottom under the guise of admiring a landscape painting behind his head. mr gardiner's clerk is an assemblage of browns: brown hair, brown jacket, brown waistcoat, brown nose, and a brown biscuit at his mouth, the cogs turning in his mind as to what to say to pull miss bennet's attention to him. atticus has known many hickinbottoms. at trinity college, at the attorney general's office, and even in his life of vagrancy. they hasten to be rich and powerful, and the only consideration weighing on their minds is how to achieve it as quickly and easily as possible. some steal it, some buy it, and some marry into it. with mr hickinbottom's discreet questions and stare at miss bennet, it is not difficult to determine which route he will be taking.
just as mr hickinbottom finishes chewing and is about to speak, atticus thwarts the attempt by asking miss kitty, ) Will Mr Hamilton's family be down for the wedding?
( as her fiancΓ© originally hails from the north of edinburgh, atticus does not know if his entire family will attend the wedding or just his immediate members. miss kitty confirms the latter, explaining that because of the size of his family and their obligations, it would be impossible for all to attend but that the plan for the young couple was to travel to dundee a month after the wedding. although atticus finds the business of weddings tedious, the glow radiating from miss kitty as she effuses about her upcoming nuptials and trip is endearing.
mrs gardiner asks about their lodging while in dundee, and miss kitty replies that they will stay at his family's home on the city's outskirts. a pause in the conversation then surfaces, settling on the table like water approaching the shore. mr hickinbottom takes it as an opportunity to ask if miss kitty's wedding meant that all the bennet sisters were now wed. as if he doesn't already know. )