23 Persuasion - Read By Stephanie Poppins

Hello.

Welcome to Sleep Stories with Steph,

Your go-to romantic podcast that guarantees you a calm and entertaining transition into a great night's sleep.

Come with me as we immerse ourselves in a romantic journey to a time long since forgotten.

But before we begin,

Let's take a moment to focus on where we are now.

Take a deep breath in through your nose and let it out with a long sigh.

Now close your eyes and feel yourself sink deeper into the support beneath you.

It is time to relax and fully let go.

There is nothing you need to be doing now and nowhere you need to go.

Happy listening.

Persuasion by Jane Austen Volume 2,

Chapter 10,

Continued Do come,

Anne,

Cried Mary.

Come and look yourself.

It is Mr.

Elliot,

And you will be too late if you do not make haste.

They are parting now and shaking hands.

He's turning away.

Not now,

Mr.

Elliot,

Indeed.

You seem to have forgotten all about lying.

To pacify Mary,

And perhaps screen her own embarrassment,

Anne did move quietly to the window,

And she was just in time to ascertain it really was Mr.

Elliot,

Which she had never believed before he disappeared on one side,

As Mrs.

Clay walked quickly off on the other,

And checking the surprise which she could not but feel at such an appearance of friendly conference between two strangers.

Two persons of totally opposite interest,

She calmly said,

Yes,

It is Mr.

Elliot,

Certainly.

He's changed his hour of going,

I suppose.

That is all.

Or I may be mistaken.

I might not attend.

Then she walked back to her chair,

Recomposed,

And with the comfortable hope of having acquitted herself well.

The visitors took their leave,

And Charles,

Having civilly seen them off,

Then made a face at them and abused them for coming,

Said,

Well,

Mother,

I've done something for you you will like.

I've been to the theatre and secured a box for tomorrow night.

Ain't I a good boy?

I know you love a play,

And there's room for us all.

It holds nine.

I have engaged Captain Wentworth.

Anne will not be sorry to join us,

I am sure.

We all like a play.

Have I not done well,

Mother?

Mrs.

Musgrove was good-humouredly beginning to express her perfect readiness for the play,

If Henrietta and all the others liked it,

When Mary eagerly interrupted her by exclaiming,

Good heavens,

Charles,

How can you think of such a thing?

Take a box for tomorrow night.

Have you forgot we're engaged to Camden Place?

And that we were most particularly asked to meet Lady Dalrymple and her daughter,

And Mr.

Elliot,

And all the principal family connections,

On purpose to be introduced to them.

How can you be so forgetful?

Pooh,

Replied Charles.

What's an evening party?

Never worth remembering.

Your father might have asked us to dinner,

I think,

If he'd wanted to see us.

You may do as you like,

But I shall go to the play.

Oh,

Charles,

I declare it will be too abominable if you do when you promise to go.

No,

I did not promise.

I only smirked and bowed and said the word happy.

There was no promise.

But you must go,

Charles.

It will be unpardonable to fail.

We were asked on purpose to be introduced.

There was always such a great connection between the Dalrymples and ourselves.

Nothing ever happened on either side that was not announced immediately.

We're quite near relations,

You know,

And Mr.

Elliot,

Too,

Whom you ought to so particularly be acquainted with.

Every attention is due to Mr.

Elliot.

Consider my father's heir the future representative of the family.

Don't talk to me about heirs and representatives,

Cried Charles.

I'm not one of those who neglect the reigning power of how to bow to the rising sun.

I would not go for the sake of your father.

I should think it's scandalous to go for the sake of his heir.

What is Mr.

Elliot to me?

The careless expression was life to Anne,

Who saw that Captain Wentworth was all attention,

Looking and listening with his whole soul,

And that the last words brought his inquiring eyes from Charles to herself.

Charles and Mary still talked on in the same style.

He,

Half serious and half jesting,

Maintained the scheme for the play,

And she,

Invariably serious,

Most warmly opposing it and not omitting to make it known that,

However determined to go to Camden Place herself,

She should not think herself very well used if they went to the play without her.

Mrs.

Musgrove interposed.

We had better put it off,

Charles.

You had much better go back and change the box for Tuesday.

It would be a pity to be divided.

We should be losing Miss Anne,

Too,

If there is a party at her father's,

And I'm sure neither Henrietta nor I should care at all for the play if Miss Anne could not be with us.

Anne felt truly obliged to her for such kindness,

And quite as much so for the opportunity it gave of her for decidedly saying,

If it depended only on my inclination,

Ma'am,

The party at home would not be the smallest impediment.

I've no pleasure in this sort of meeting,

And I should be too happy to change it for a play with you.

Besides,

It had better not be attempted,

Perhaps.

She had spoken it,

But she trembled when it was done,

Conscious that her words were listened to,

And daring not even to try to observe their effect.

It was soon generally agreed that Tuesday should be the day,

Charles only reserving the advantage of still teasing his wife by persisting he would go to the play tomorrow if nobody else would.

Captain Wentworth left his seat and walked to the fireplace,

Probably for the sake of walking away from it as soon afterwards and taking a station with less barefaced design by Anne.

You have not been long enough in Bath,

Said he,

To enjoy the evening parties of the place.

Oh no,

The usual character of them has nothing for me,

Anne replied,

And no card player.

You were not formerly,

I know,

You did not used to like cards,

But time makes many changes.

I am not yet so much changed,

Cried Anne,

And stopped,

Fearing she hardly knew what misconstruction.

After waiting a few moments,

He said,

And as if it were the result of immediate feeling,

It is a period indeed,

Eight years and a half is a period.

Whether he would have proceeded further was left to Anne's imagination to ponder over in a calmer hour,

For while still hearing the sounds he'd uttered,

She was startled to other subjects by Henrietta,

Eager to make use of the present leisure for getting out and calling on her companions to lose no time lest somebody else should come in.

They were obliged to move.

Anne talked of being perfectly ready and tried to look it,

But she felt that could Henrietta have known the regret and reluctance of her heart in quitting that chair,

In preparing to quit the room,

She would have found in all her own sensations for her cousin,

In the very security of his affection,

Wherewith to pity her.

Their preparations,

However,

Were stopped short.

Alarming sounds were heard,

Other visitors approached,

And the door was thrown open for Sir Walter and Miss Elliot,

Whose entrance seemed to give a general chill.

Anne felt an instant depression,

And wherever she looked saw symptoms of the same.

The comfort,

The freedom,

The gaiety of the room was over,

Hushed into cold composure,

Determined silence or insipid talk to meet the heartless elegance of her father and sister.

How mortifying to feel that it was so.

Her jealous eye was satisfied in one particular.

Captain Wentworth was acknowledged again by each,

By Elizabeth more graciously than before.

She even addressed him once and looked at him more than once.

Elizabeth was in fact resolving a great measure.

The sequel explained it,

After the waste of a few minutes in saying the proper nothings,

She began to give the invitation which was to comprise all the remaining Jews of the Musgroves.

Tomorrow evening,

To meet a few friends,

No formal party.

It was all said very gracefully,

And the cards with which she provided herself,

The Miss Elliot at home,

Were laid on the table with a courteous,

Comprehensive smile to all,

And one smile and one card more decidedly for Captain Wentworth.

The truth was,

Elizabeth had been long enough in Bath to understand the importance of a man of such an air and appearance as his.

The past was nothing,

The present was that Captain Wentworth would move about well in her drawing room.

The card was pointedly given,

And Sir Walter and Elizabeth arose and disappeared.

The interruption had been short though severe,

And ease and animation returned to most of those they left as the door shut them out,

But not to Anne.

She could think only of the invitation she had,

With such astonishment witnessed,

And of the manner in which it had been received,

A manner of doubtful meaning,

Of surprise rather than gratification,

Of polite acknowledgement rather than acceptance.

She knew Captain Wentworth,

She saw disdain in his eye,

And could not venture to believe he determined to accept such an offering as an atonement for all the insolence of the past.

Her spirit sank,

He held the card in his hand after they were gone,

As if deeply considering it.

Only think of Elizabeth's including everybody,

Whispered Mary,

Very audibly.

I do not wonder Captain Wentworth is delighted,

You see he cannot put the card out of his hand.

Anne caught his eye,

Saw his cheeks glow and his mouth form itself into a momentary expression of contempt,

And turned away that she might neither see nor hear more to vex her.

The party separated,

The gentlemen had their own pursuits,

The lady proceeded on their own business,

And they met no more while Anne belonged to them.

She was earnestly begged to return and dine,

And give them the rest of the day,

But her spirits had been so long exerted,

That at present she felt unequal to more and fit only for home,

Where she might be sure of being as silent as she chose.

Promising to be with them the whole of the following morning,

Therefore,

She closed the fatigues of the present by a toilsome walk to Camden Place,

There to spend the evening chiefly in listening to the busy arrangements of Elizabeth and Mrs Clay for the morrow's party,

The frequent enumeration of the persons invited,

And the continually improving detail of all the embellishments which were to make it the most completely elegant of its kind in Bath,

All the while harassing herself with a never-ending question of whether Captain Wentworth would come or not.