CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

A few evenings after this visit, Mr and Mrs Dashwood announced that they would be having a dinner party. The guests were to include John Dashwood's sisters, Mrs Jennings, the Steele sisters, Colonel Brandon, and the Middletons. Elinor soon discovered that Mrs Ferrars would attend the party, as well. She worried about how to manage seeing Edward in the same room with Lucy Steele! She was not looking forward to the event, but did not speak to anyone about her worries. Lucy came to speak to her in private about her own anxieties of meeting Mrs Ferrars.

"Pity me, dear Miss Dashwood!" she said, as they walked up the stairs to the party. "There is nobody here but you who can understand my feelings right now. In a moment, I shall see the person that all my happiness depends on—that is to be my mother!"

Elinor could have eased her worries in suggesting that they were soon to see Miss Morton's future mother-in-law, but she instead pitied her. Lucy was quite surprised at such tenderness, as she had hoped to be greatly envied by Elinor.

During the party, Mrs Ferrars and her daughter were nothing but impolite to poor Elinor, although she no longer felt the pain on receiving such rude looks. She instead was quite amused, as she understood that if they knew of Lucy's secret, she would no longer be hated. As Mrs Ferrars and her daughter did not know of Lucy's secret, they treated her quite well. Lucy felt quite honored, and her sister wanted only to be teased about Dr Davies to be perfectly happy.

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