35 Northanger Abbey - Read By Stephanie Poppins

Welcome to sleep stories with Steph Your go-to podcast That offers you a calm and relaxing transition Into a great night's sleep It is time to relax and fully let go There is nothing you need to be doing now and nowhere you need to go Close your eyes And feel yourself sink into the support beneath you And let all the worries of the day Drift away This is your time and your space Take a deep breath in through your nose And let it out with a long sigh There is nothing you need to be doing now and nowhere you need to go Happy listening Chapter 28 Soon after this the General found himself obliged to go to London for a week and he left Northanger earnestly regretting that any necessity should rob him even of an hour of Miss Morland's company And anxiously recommending the study of her comfort and amusement to his children as their chief object in his absence His departure gave Catherine the first experimental conviction that a loss may sometimes be a gain The happiness with which their time now passed Every employment voluntary,

Every laugh indulged,

Every meal the scene of ease and good humor Walking where they liked and when they liked Their hours pleasures and fatigues at their own command Made her thoroughly sensible of the restraint which the General's presence had imposed And most thankfully feel their present release from it Such ease and such delights made her love the place and the people more and more every day And had it not been for a dread of it soon becoming expedient to leave the one And an apprehension of not being equally beloved by the other She would at least at every moment of the day have been perfectly happy But she was now in the fourth week of her visit Before the General came home the fourth week would be turned and perhaps it might seem an intrusion if she stayed much longer This was a painful consideration whenever it occurred And eager to get rid of such a weight on her mind She very soon resolved to speak to Eleanor about it at once Aware that if she gave herself much time Catherine felt it was difficult to bring forward so unpleasant a subject She took the first opportunity of being suddenly alone with Eleanor And of Eleanor's being in the middle of a speech about something very different To start forth her obligation of going away very soon Eleanor looked and declared herself much concerned She had hoped for the pleasure of her company for a much longer time Had been misled Perhaps by her wishes to suppose that a much longer visit had been promised And could not but think if Mr.

And Mrs.

Morland were aware of the pleasure.

It was to her to have her there They would be too generous to hasten her return Catherine explained.

Oh as to that papa mama were in no hurry at all And as long as she was happy,

They would always be satisfied Then why might she ask in such a hurry herself to leave them Oh because she'd been there so long Nay,

If you can use such a word I can urge you no farther if you think it long Oh,

I do not indeed for my own pleasure.

I could stay with you as long again And it was directly settled that till she had Catherine's leaving them was not even to be thought of In having this cause of uneasiness so pleasantly removed the force of the other was likewise weakened the kindness the earnestness of Eleanor's manner Impressing her to stay and Henry's gratified look on being told her stay was determined With such sweet proofs of her importance with them Has left her only just so much solicitude as the human mind can ever do comfortably without Catherine did almost always Believe that Henry loved her And quite always that his father and sister loved and even wished her to belong to them And believing so far her doubts and anxieties were merely sportive irritations Henry was not able to obey his father's injunction of remaining wholly at Northanger in attendance on the ladies The engagements of his curate at Woodston obliged him to leave on the Sunday for a couple of nights His loss was not now what it had been while the general was at home It lessened their gaiety But it did not ruin their comfort and the two girls agreeing in occupation and improving in intimacy Found themselves so well sufficient for the time That it was 11 o'clock rather a late hour at the abbey before they quitted the supper room on the day of Henry's departure They had just reached the head of the stairs When it seemed as far as the thickness of the walls would allow them to charge That a carriage was driving up to the door And the next moment confirmed the idea by a loud noise of the doorbell After the first perturbation of surprise had passed away in a good heaven what can be the matter It was quickly decided by Eleanor to be her eldest brother whose arrival was often a sudden If not quite so unseasonable And accordingly she hurried down to welcome him Catherine walked onto her chamber making up her mind as well as she could to a further acquaintance with Captain Tilney And comforting herself under the unpleasant impression his conduct had given her And the persuasion of his being far too fine a gentleman to approve of her That the least they should not meet under such circumstances as would make their meeting materially painful She trusted he would never speak of misthought And indeed as he must by this time be ashamed of the part he'd acted There could be no danger of it And as long as all mention of bath scenes were avoided Catherine thought she could behave to him very civilly In such considerations time passed And it was certainly in his favor that Eleanor should be so glad to see him and have so much to say For half an hour was almost gone Since his arrival and Eleanor did not come up At that moment Catherine thought she heard her step in the gallery and listened for its continuance But all was silent Scarcely,

However,

Had she convicted her fancy of terror When the noise of something moving close to her door made her start It seemed as if someone was touching the very door In another moment a slight motion of the lock proved some hand must be on it She trembled a little at the idea of anyone's approaching so cautiously But resolving not to be again overcome by trivial appearances of alarm or misled by a raised imagination She stepped quietly forward And opened the door Eleanor and only Eleanor stood there Catherine's spirits,

However,

Were tranquilized but for an instant For Eleanor's cheeks were pale and her manner greatly agitated Though evidently Intending to come in It seemed an effort to enter the room And still a greater one to speak when there Catherine Supposing some uneasiness on Captain Tilney's account Could only express her concern by silent attention Obliged her to be seated Robbed her temples with lavender water and hung over her with affectionate solicitude My dear Catherine you must not you must not indeed were Eleanor's first connected words I'm quite well.

This kindness distracts me.

I cannot bear it I come to you on such an errand Errand to me How shall I tell you how can I tell you A new idea now darted into Catherine's mind and turning as pale as her friend she exclaimed It is a messenger from Woodston You are mistaken indeed returned Eleanor looking at her most compassionately It is no one from Woodston It is my father himself Her voice faltered and her eyes were turned to the ground as she mentioned his name His unlooked-for return was enough in itself to make Catherine's heart sink And for a few moments she hardly supposed there were anything worse to be told She said nothing and Eleanor Endeavoring to collect herself and speak with firmness But with eyes still cast down soon went on You're too good i'm sure to think the worst of me for the part i'm obliged to perform I am indeed a most unwilling messenger After what has so lately passed so lately have settled between us How joyfully how thankfully on my side?

As to your continuing here as I hope for many many weeks longer.

How can I tell you?

Your kindness is not to be accepted And that the happiness of your company has hitherto given us is to be repaid by But I must not trust myself with words my dear Catherine We are to part my father has recollected an engagement that takes our whole family away on monday We are going to law longton's near hereford for a fortnight Explanation and apology are equally impossible.

I cannot attempt either My dear Eleanor cried Catherine suppressing her feelings as well as she could Do not be so distressed A second engagement must give way to a first I am very very sorry.

We depart so soon and so suddenly too But i'm not offended indeed.

I'm not I can finish my visit here,

You know at any time or I hope you will come to me Can you when you return from this lord's come to fullerton?

It will not be my power Catherine Come when you can then Eleanor made no answer And Catherine's thought recurring to something more directly interesting she said thinking aloud Monday so soon as monday and you all go well,

I'm certain of I shall be able to take leave.

However I need not go till just before you do,

You know,

Do not be distressed Eleanor.

I can go on monday very well My father and mother's having no notice of it is very little consequence The general will send a servant with me I dare say half the way Then I shall soon be at Salisbury and then i'm only nine miles from home Catherine were it settled so It would be somewhat less intolerable Though in such common attention,

She would have received but half of what you ought But how can I tell you?

Tomorrow morning is fixed for your leaving us and not even the hour is left for your choice The very carriage is ordered and we'll be here at seven o'clock and no servant will be offered you Catherine sat down breathless and speechless I could hardly believe my senses when I heard it Eleanor continued and no displeasure no resentment then you can feel at this moment However,

Justly great can be more than I felt myself But I must not talk of what I felt All that I could suggest anything in extenuation Good god,

What will your father and mother say?

After courting you from the protection of real friends to this Almost double distance to your home to have you driven out of the house without the considerations even of decensibility Dear dear Catherine being the bearer of such a message.

I'm guilty myself of all its insult Yet I trust you will equip me for you Must have been long enough in this house to see I am but a nominal mistress of it that my real power is nothing Have I offended the general said Catherine in a faltering voice Alas For my feelings as a daughter all that I know all that I answer for is That you can have given him no just cause of offense He certainly is greatly very greatly discomposed I have seldom seen him more so his temper's not happy and Something's now occurred to ruffle it in an uncommon degree some disappointment some fixation Which just as this moment seems important But which Catherine I can hardly suppose you to have any concern in for how How?

Is it possible?

You