Miss Woodhouse - if you are at leisure, I have something that I should like to tell you, a sort of confession to make!

You look quite serious, Harriet - I beg you to speak!

I am an altered creature, in one respect, and it is fit that you should have the satisfaction of knowing it. I am too much ashamed of having given way as I have done. I dare say you understand me?

Yes I hope I do.

It seems like a madness! I can see nothing at all extraordinary in Mr Elton now. I do not care whether I meet him or not, indeed I would go any distance round to avoid him. I am now going to destroy what I should have destroyed long ago. Cannot you guess what this box holds?

Not the least in the world. Did Mr Elton ever give you anything?

I cannot call them gifts, but they are things I have valued very much. (She places her box on the table, opens it and holds up what she removes)

A small piece of - court plaster?

Now, you must recollect!

No, indeed. I do not.

Dear me! I should not have thought it possible you could forget what passed in this very room about court plaster. Do you remember Mr Elton cutting his finger with your new penknife, and you recommending court plaster? And as you had none about you, and knew I had, you told me to take mine out and cut him a piece? And it was too large, and he cut it smaller? And he kept playing some time with what was left before he gave it back to me? In my nonsense I put it by; I could not help making a treasure of it.

My dearest Harriet, you make me more ashamed of myself than I can bear! Yes, I remember it all now. Oh, my sins, my sins! And I had plenty of plaster all the while in my pocket. One of my senseless tricks - to recommend you to each other. I deserve to be under a continual blush all the rest of my life.

I am sure I never suspected you had some at hand yourself, you did it so naturally.

And you actually treasured this piece of plaster for his sake?

But here, here is something still more valuable - I mean that has been more valuable. Because this is what really did once belong to him, which the court plaster never did!

The end of an old pencil?

This was really his! One morning, perhaps you do not remember, he wanted to make a memorandum in his pocket book, and this was left upon the table as good for nothing. But I kept my eye on it, and as soon as I dared I caught it up!

I do remember it; I perfectly remember it. But go on.

Oh, that's all. I have nothing more to show you - except that I am now going to throw them both on the fire, and I wish you to see me do it.

My poor dear Harriet! And have you actually found happiness in treasuring up these things?

Yes, simpleton as I was. I am quite ashamed of it now.

But, Harriet, is it necessary to burn the court plaster? It might yet be useful.

It has a disagreeable look to me. There it goes, and there is an end, thank heaven, of Mr Elton!

Well, Harriet, whenever you marry...

I shall never marry.

Never marry! This is a new resolution. I hope it is not in compliment to Mr Elton.

No - to one so superior to Mr Elton!

Ah, yes! There was a not very distant time when you gave me to understand so much. So you do care for Mr Frank Churchill?

Him! Never! How could you so mistake me?

But, surely, when the service he rendered you in protecting you from the gipsies was spoken of...? You even mentioned what your sensations had been when you saw him come forward to your rescue.

But I was speaking of something very different! It was not the gipsies - not Mr Churchill. I was thinking of - of Mr Knightley, of his coming and asking me to dance, when Mr Elton so suddenly refused to stand up with me.

Mr Knightley?

That was the service which made me begin to feel … how superior he was to every other being upon earth!

Mr Knightley! Good God! This has been a most unfortunate - most deplorable mistake!