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minutes. A few minutes were sufficient for making her acquainted with her own heart. A mind like hers,
once opening to suspicion, made rapid progress. She touched-- she admitted--she acknowledged the
whole truth. Why was it so much worse that Harriet should be in love with Mr. Knightley, than with
Frank Churchill? Why was the evil so dreadfully increased by Harriet's having some hope of a return? It
darted through her, with the speed of an arrow, that Mr. Knightley must marry no one but herself!
Her own conduct, as well as her own heart, was before her in the same few minutes. She saw it all
with a clearness which had never blessed her before. How improperly had she been acting by Harriet!
How inconsiderate, how indelicate, how irrational, how unfeeling had been her conduct! What blindness,
what madness, had led her on! It struck her with dreadful force, and she was ready to give it every bad
name in the world. Some portion of respect for herself, however, in spite of all these demerits-- some
concern for her own appearance, and a strong sense of justice by Harriet--(there would be no need of
compassion to the girl who believed herself loved by Mr. Knightley--but justice required that she should
not be made unhappy by any coldness now,) gave Emma the resolution to sit and endure farther with
calmness, with even apparent kindness.--For her own advantage indeed, it was fit that the utmost extent
of Harriet's hopes should be enquired into; and Harriet had done nothing to forfeit the regard and interest
which had been so voluntarily formed and maintained--or to deserve to be slighted by the person, whose
counsels had never led her right.-- Rousing from reflection, therefore, and subduing her emotion, she
turned to Harriet again, and, in a more inviting accent, renewed the conversation; for as to the subject
which had first introduced it, the wonderful story of Jane Fairfax, that was quite sunk and lost.-- Neither
of them thought but of Mr. Knightley and themselves.
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Harriet, who had been standing in no unhappy reverie, was yet very glad to be called from it, by the
now encouraging manner of such a judge, and such a friend as Miss Woodhouse, and only wanted
invitation, to give the history of her hopes with great, though trembling delight.--Emma's tremblings as she
asked, and as she listened, were better concealed than Harriet's, but they were not less. Her voice was
not unsteady; but her mind was in all the perturbation that such a development of self, such a burst of
threatening evil, such a confusion of sudden and perplexing emotions, must create.-- She listened with
much inward suffering, but with great outward patience, to Harriet's detail.--Methodical, or well
arranged, or very well delivered, it could not be expected to be; but it contained, when separated from all
the feebleness and tautology of the narration, a substance to sink her spirit-- especially with the
corroborating circumstances, which her own memory brought in favour of Mr. Knightley's most
improved opinion of Harriet.
Harriet had been conscious of a difference in his behaviour ever since those two decisive
dances.--Emma knew that he had, on that occasion, found her much superior to his expectation. From
that evening, or at least from the time of Miss Woodhouse's encouraging her to think of him, Harriet had
begun to be sensible of his talking to her much more than he had been used to do, and of his having
indeed quite a different manner towards her; a manner of kindness and sweetness!--Latterly she had
been more and more aware of it. When they had been all walking together, he had so often come and
walked by her, and talked so very delightfully!--He seemed to want to be acquainted with her. Emma
knew it to have been very much the case. She had often observed the change, to almost the same
extent.-- Harriet repeated expressions of approbation and praise from him-- and Emma felt them to be in
the closest agreement with what she had known of his opinion of Harriet. He praised her for being
without art or affectation, for having simple, honest, generous, feelings.-- She knew that he saw such
recommendations in Harriet; he had dwelt on them to her more than once.--Much that lived in Harriet's
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