Persuasion 200: William Elliot meets his cousin Elizabeth

P 200 feature imageWilliam Walter Elliot esq. is the heir presumptive of Sir Walter Elliot’s baronetcy and of Sir Walter’s property, Kellynch Hall, as Sir Walter has only daughters. His eldest daughter, Elizabeth, has, since her girlhood, considered William to be the most suitable possible husband for her—he is of the proper rank and will be a baronet, just like her father. Who could be more proper, and what could be more delightful than for Elizabeth to take over her late mother’s place as mistress of Kellynch?



 

 April 20, 1802

 

William Walter Elliot, esq.

William Walter Elliot, esq.

William Elliot hovered near the refreshment table at Almack’s, bored nearly to tears by the simpering young misses preening and posturing at The Marriage Mart. He would prefer to be drinking with his friends or trying out that new gambling hell he heard of this week, but his empty pockets made a wealthy wife a must before he could indulge in such entertainments. He was not too particular about her looks or breeding, as long as she had a large fortune that was fully her own and not shared among a quiver full of sisters, or encumbered with trusts that limited his access to the money.

He had already danced with several of the wallflowers, hunched next to their avid chaperones and even at the beginning of the season knowing that their plain faces would condemn them to a Season consisting of a long string of chairs with a view of the dance floor…at least until the beauties were all engaged and out of the way. William had enjoyed the grateful blushes of these pathetic girls…he was so kind to give these ugly ducklings his gracious condescension! Unfortunately, he had quickly determined that none of these depressing debutantes were the only chick in their family nest and, although most had dowries adequate to buy them a husband (eventually), they did not come with a dowry sufficient to make them worth his time.

He bowed gracefully to the last of the wallflowers as he returned her to the harpy who was being paid to bring her out and strolled around the edge of the dance floor again. A gentle tug on his exquisitely tailored sleeve caused him to turn, to find his friend Smith giving him a warning look.

“Elliot! Your cousin Sir Walter is here with his eldest daughter!”

“Truly? I was hoping to avoid them this Season. I thought my vast indifference to his letters would give him a hint. My cousin’s self-consequence is unbelievable!”

queen-hortense 1808

Miss Elizabeth Elliot

“Yes, I know…do you think I have forgotten all of your comments about Sir Walter after he wrote to you after his wife died?”

“I suppose not.” William smiled sardonically. “His letters were exquisite sources of entertainment, were they not?”

“Truthfully, I don’t recall them that well. What is it you object to in your cousin? Would it not be useful to be familiar with the property you will inherit and be in the good graces of your cousin? There is some property that is not entailed, is there not?”

” Very true, but my cousin, judging by past experience, is a pompous ass who talks about nothing but how important he is. He is a fool and I don’t need him. I will inherit Kellynch with or without his approval!”

“I don’t know about him, but his daughter is quite attractive.” William turned in the direction Smith was indicating with a tip of his head and saw a tall, slender, stylish woman of about seventeen or eighteen years. She was dressed very much a là mode and it suited her…yes, it suited her very well.

Before he could turn back to Smith he was stopped by Lady Sefton, one of the chaperones. “Mr. Elliot! Sir Walter Elliot would like to be introduced to you! Mr. William Elliot, Sir Walter Elliot, and, of course, Miss Elliot.” Unable to avoid the meeting, William gave them each his most elegant bow.

“Delighted Sir Walter. Miss Elliot.” Sir Walter immediately launched into expressions of delight upon meeting his heir. His glance covered every inch of William, from his perfectly curled coiffure to the mirror-like shine of his dancing pumps, and he clearly preened himself upon having such a well-looking heir. Within 5 minutes William was heartily bored with his cousin and felt his eyes turning glassy. He opened his mouth to excuse himself for a fabricated dance promised to another lady, but before he could open his lips Sir Walter turned to his daughter.

“I am sure, Mr. Elliot, you would prefer to dance with Miss Elliot than stand around while others enjoy the dance.”

Sir Walter gave his daughter a none too subtle nudge in the back and when she eagerly took another step towards him he could not avoid the encounter. And, he was not sure he wanted to.  Miss Elliot was certainly a lovely young woman.  Why was she not yet married? He bowed to the inevitable and offered his cousin his arm. Miss Elliot was a graceful dancer, without a doubt. She was confident and able to carry on a conversation without being too shy or overly bold. Unfortunately, it took William only a few minutes to realize that his cousin had a rapacious eye and seemed to view him as her rightful prey. 

When the dance ended William bowed and excused himself as quickly as he could without rudeness and dragged Smith out of Almack’s.

“Lord! What a bore Sir Walter is! And he seems to think I should be falling all over to make his acquaintance! He is even worse than I thought from his letters!” Smith looked at him thoughtfully.

“Do you know what her dowry is? Perhaps she might be worth cultivating.”

” Lord no, Smith! I checked Sir Walter out when he first started hinting about meeting…he hasn’t a sou to his name! He can barely keep up on his servants’ pay, let alone dower his daughters. He made it clear back then (although I’m not sure he realized how much he gave away) that he considers a marriage between Miss Elliot and myself to be the perfect way to ensure that his daughters are not left in the street when he dies!” William shook his head in disgust. “The only things of worth that he possesses are Kellynch Hall and his title…and I would sell the title for £ 50 if I could get it!  As far as Kellynch…it is out in the wilds of Somerset, miles from any refined society of any kind. The minute it is mine I will sell off every bit that is not entailed and do whatever I can to make a few pounds out of it.”

The next morning William received an invitation from Sir Walter to a dinner party at their house in town. He sent his regrets, claiming a previous engagement, but two or three times over the next week Sir Walter sent other invitations, which William Elliot also declined. “Lord,” he thought. “I’m going to run out of excuses if he doesn’t leave London soon!”

As he dodged around London, attempting to avoid the Elliots and enjoy himself cheaply while trying to find a suitably wealthy young lady to marry, he found himself with Smith one night at a public masquerade. William always enjoyed hobnobbing with the cruder elements of society and a masquerade was always a good place to meet ladies of less than the highest virtue. He had his eye on one with hair like dead grass and a dress that was far too tight to hold all of her charms, and was just about to go make her acquaintance when Smith came back from the refreshment room, dragging a couple of drunken Cits and a blushing young woman.

Miss Chandler

Miss Chandler

“Elliot! Come meet my new friends!” He rattled off their names, then paused. “And this, Elliot, is Miss Agnes Chandler. Miss Chandler, Mr. Elliot.” Mr. Elliot bowed and cocked an eyebrow at his friend. He knew that Smith would not bother him with an introduction unless these Cits had something he wanted. The woman had some pock marks and the type of face that looked old at 20 and did not change much over the years. Her plain features were not what he first took note of, however. Her gown was layers of fine silk embroidered with silver and pearls. Her pearls looked genuine…at least in the dim light of the masquerade, and there were multiple twists of them at her neck.

“It is my pleasure Miss Chandler.” She blushed again and took his offered hand. “May I have this dance Miss Chandler?” She accepted and he offered his arm.

Before they left for the dance floor Smith grabbed his ear and shouted into it, to be heard over the noise of the music and the roisterers, “Her father owns most of the cotton mills in Manchester…and she’s an only child.” Mr. Elliot’s eyes widened and a genuine smile spread over his face. “Well done, Smith!” By the end of the evening Miss Chandler was hanging on his arm, her face wreathed in smiles that revealed her large, rather yellow teeth. She had revealed that her two escorts were employed by her father and outside of office hours they were required to guard their employer’s daughter and protect her from fortune hunters. Miss Chandler herself was eager to know him better and told him all the engagements she had in the coming week.

In addition to the prospects revealed by Miss Chandler, Mr. Elliot was relieved to hear from a friend that Sir Walter and Miss Elliot had returned to Somerset. “That is one worry out of the way, Smith!  Now I can concentrate on Miss Chandler!” Elliot was able to arrange an invitation to a dinner party Miss Chandler and her doting father were to be at. An introduction was performed and he worked his charm on her father, a stout man in elegant clothes, but with callouses on his hands. Elliot suppressed a sneer at his crude appearance and made himself treat Mr. Chandler with the utmost respect. Things were looking up…

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    • Deborah on April 22, 2014 at 7:21 am
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    I enjoy this prequel chapter. The younger Mr Elliot seems to be a cross between Wickham and Mr Collins. You really help us to see what a opportunist he is. unfortunately Elizabeth and her father do not see him in this light at any point. Your writing has made me dislike him immensely whereas before when reading persuasion I did not think quite as poorly of him. Thank you so much for taking your time to present this to us.

    near the beginning of the story you talked about gambling hell, and although I feel that way about gambling I believe you meant it to be a gambling hall. little later it saysattempting to find avoid the Elliotts believe you meant to say attempting to avoid the Elliotts and later in the paragraph it says CITS I believe you meant chits. my typing is far from perfect so I know when you’re working fast errors are made. I make more than my share and always have my report cards read over before I send them out to the parents, otherwise there a few times I would have been real embarrassed. have a wonderful day.

  1. Actually, the term “gambling hell” and “Cit” were common terms from the Regency. A gambling hell was the term used for the gambling clubs in the Regency, whether they had elegant accoutrements or were in the back room of a ramshackle house (depending on whether the patrons liked to go slumming). A gambling hell would have Faro, roulette, etc. while the more refined gentlemen’s social clubs, like White’s, would have only had a room where members could get together to play cards or toss the dice in an informal way.
    Cits is the derogatory term used in the Regency for people who lived and worked in the “City”, the business district of London City. Merchants and business men were looked down upon by those of the upper class, who did not have to work for a living, and their children would have been looked down upon as a match for a child of either the gentry or aristocracy, no matter how wealthy the merchants might be. The woman William Elliot eventually married was the granddaughter of a butcher and the daughter of a grazier (someone who raises cattle for meat) and even though her family was very wealthy and she had had a good education and the training to be refined and have the manners of someone from the gentry class, her family’s source of wealth would have kept any gentleman who valued his family name from having anything to do with her. Her background would have cut him off from polite society when he married her. The daughters of those who were wealthy merchants, bankers, etc. were sometimes married by the gentry if they were in desperate financial straits and if the young lady wanted to enter a higher level of society than she could manage married to someone of her own class, but it would have been considered a misalliance.

      • Deborah on April 22, 2014 at 8:56 am
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      Thank you. I apologize for the errors, but, in turn, had a wonderful history lesson. 🙂

      • Deborah on April 22, 2014 at 11:59 am
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      History and vocabulary (I should say). 🙂
      Is there anyplace I can find a source for this so I do not again open mouth (type) and insert foot? 🙁

        • C. Allyn Pierson on April 22, 2014 at 1:20 pm
        • Reply

        Georgette Heyer’s Regency novels are very historically accurate and she used a lot of slang terms when she has men hanging out together (some things never change! 🙂 Jennifer Kloester has written a book called “Georgette Heyer’s Regency World” that covers many aspects of Regency society, including glossaries of commonly used words and expressions that are used. It uses a lot of specific characters from Heyer’s books to illustrate particular society norms, but you don’t have to have read the books to understand the explanations. It covers pretty much every aspect of daily life in the upper classes and is a great one-book resource.

        Daniel Poole’s book “What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew” is a good reference for English 19th Century societal customs, how the military worked, how do you address people of different ranks, who has a higher rank, etc. It does not, however, separate Regency from Victorian customs- for many things this doesn’t matter because how you address a Duke or who sits where at a dinner party did not change, but some things I wonder if there were changes over the entire century. Poole also does not include things like slang terms, as Kloester does.

        Happy reading!!

          • Deborah on April 22, 2014 at 2:28 pm
          • Reply

          I have purchsed both for my NOOK and they are now at the top of my TBR list so I don’t put my foot in it again. Thank you so much. Happy writing to you. 🙂

    • Amy B. on April 22, 2014 at 9:52 am
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    This was a wonderful chapter! This Persuasion project has gotten off to a great start. The prequel scenes were a great idea and are being executed beautifully. Thank you for your time and efforts!

    P.S. I hope it’s OK to go off topic here for a second and say I really enjoyed your book Mr. Darcy’s Little Sister, which I recently read. It was also really well written and I absolutely loved the cameos, especially Sir Andrew Ffoulkes and the Tournays! (I am a big Scarlet Pimpernel fan.) I only wish they had been supporting roles rather than just cameos and that Sir Percy himself had made an appearance. 🙂 Very fun. I really hope you will write another book very soon. I’m always so glad to find creative yet clean reads!

      • C. Allyn Pierson on April 22, 2014 at 11:11 am
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      Thank you so much Amy B! I’m glad you picked up the Scarlet Pimpernel references…not many have! The Comte de Tournay will be back in my next book…”Miss Bingley’s Pas de Deux”. There is also a visitor in MDLS from Jane Eyre…can you spot him? 🙂

        • Amy B on April 22, 2014 at 12:12 pm
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        It’s sad to me that TSP is not more popular. The books and movie with Anthony Andrews are fantastic stuff. It’s funny- I only just finished the old BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre and before that knew only the barest bones of the story so I sadly missed that reference. But since your book is definitely worth re-reading, I’ll be sure to look for that next time! Can’t wait for your next book!

          • C. Allyn Pierson on April 22, 2014 at 1:26 pm
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          I haven’t seen the Anthony Andrews version, but I like the Leslie Howard/Merle Oberon version. Unfortunately, it is a very early film and in black and white, and poor quality black and white! It’s still worth a peek. Your comment has made me want to see the Anthony Andrews very, tho. Perhaps a quick trip fo Amazon is in order! 🙂

            • Deborah on April 22, 2014 at 2:32 pm
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            I see I need to reread TSP. It’s been close to 25 years since I have. I also have the Anthony Andrews version, which I thoroughly enjoy, but it’s been many years since I’ve watched it. Time to torture my hubby again. I just put him throught the 1995 and 1971 versions of Persuasion….

    • Sheila L. M. on April 22, 2014 at 10:22 am
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    William Elliot is just as I imagined him…a real actor, only out for his own good! And I learned something also. I always thought “cits” was short for citizens. Thank you for this flashback into William…and Smith’s role in his life. Sir Walter and daughter, Elizabeth, haven’t changed from JA’s tale. Pompous A****s!

    • C. Allyn Pierson on April 22, 2014 at 11:13 am
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    Yes, Sheila LM, I think WE is an expert at presenting himself as he wants to be seen. He reminds of serial killer Ted Bundy- no one who ever met him, or worked with him had any idea he was a monster…

    • Anji on April 22, 2014 at 11:24 am
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    I really enjoyed this chapter, too. I’m so glad you’re not making William Elliot out to be anything other than the thoroughly bad boy that I’ve always imagined him to be. This project has got off to a fantastic start with the prequel chapters. I’ve just finished re-reading the original and, as it had been a couple of years since I last read it, it had slipped my mind about the “Smith” connection. I’m also glad you’ve managed to bring that into the story.

    I knew about the term “gambling hell” but was going to ask about “Cits”. Deborah’s beaten me to it and I’ve had a history lesson, too.

      • C. Allyn Pierson on April 22, 2014 at 1:07 pm
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      Thanks Anji! I’m glad you enjoyed it. If you read Georgette Heyer you will see both gambling hell and Cit used in some. Although our views on the social status of business people has changed, those who work in the City of London (who are mostly financial people now- bankers, investment analyst, etc) still just call it “The City” and it is a rather small area of the over all London Metropolitan area. To the English in the southern half of England London is always “The City”- no other description needed! 🙂

      I’m excited about Persuasion 200 as well because there is a lot of back story before the book starts and I think we can do a lot of fun things with those!

    • Carol Settlage on April 22, 2014 at 1:43 pm
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    Thank you for this insight into William Elliott’s life before we meet him in Persuasion, and exposing his selfish and unfeeling approach to people! I always appreciate your writing and look forward to more….
    (Your “And This Our Life” was one of the first P&P sequels I read, and it still is a favorite. I anxiously awaited for more from you, and enjoyed “Mr Darcy’s Little Sister” when it came out! )

      • C. Allyn Pierson on April 22, 2014 at 1:59 pm
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      Thanks Carol…glad you like them!

    • Carol hoyt on April 22, 2014 at 3:22 pm
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    Wonderful chapter! Each personality , to me, is true to the essence that Jane wrote.

    I always thought William Elliot was a worm. AppArently, I wasn’t the only one!

    And, I firmly agree about georgette Heyer ! The best of the best!

    • Carole in Canada on April 22, 2014 at 4:55 pm
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    Great insight into William Elliot and his ‘friend’ Smith. You captured his character well and exactly as I imagined him. ..cruel, selfish and self-centered! But agree with Deborah that he is somewhat a cross between Wickham and Collins. The stage is being well set for us into each of the characters. Jane, I think, would be proud!

    I too enjoyed ‘Mr. Darcy’s Little Sister’. I do have ‘And This Our Life’ on my TBR list! Looking forward to your new book with Miss Bingley!

    • Eileen on April 22, 2014 at 6:10 pm
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    Thank you for the story. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved how well you have developed his character…you can see and hear him. 🙂

    • Stephanie Carrico on April 22, 2014 at 7:05 pm
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    I am really enjoying the prequel chapters,
    cannot wait until someone gets inside of Fredericks head.
    William Eliot has always been one of my hated characters
    his villainy is covered by his smarmy charm.
    Will like to see how he is further portrayed in coming chapters.

  2. Ugh, William always seems so creepy to me!

    1. I agree completely, Monica P. I think he is a sociopath…but then, so is Wickham!

    • Leslie on April 23, 2014 at 7:30 am
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    Great job! You’ve captured WE as a young man just as I have always thought he’d be like. At that age, he could be overly cruel, it’s only after he got older that he would develop the ability to mask that trait with charm.

    • junewilliams7 on April 23, 2014 at 5:44 pm
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    Allyn, do you think he might have ‘assisted’ his first wife into her early grave? I wish his father-in-law had thought to require the return of his daughter’s dowry in the absence of any grandchildren.

    I’ve always wondered why William Elliot would have wanted to marry Anne. Any ideas?

    Thank you for the look at WE’s first meeting with Elizabeth and Sir Walter! It was very enlightening, and truly looked like a missing scene that Jane Austen might have imagined.

    • Sheila L. M. on April 23, 2014 at 6:14 pm
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    From Persuasion: “The news of his cousins Anne’s engagement burst on Mr. Elliot most unexpectedly. It deranged his best plan of domestic happiness, his best hope of keeping Sir Walter single by the watchfulness which a son-in-law’s rights would have given.” He wanted to make sure Sir Walter did not marry Mrs. Clay and have a son by her – thus disinheriting him. By marrying Anne he would be able to be on the spot, to see and talk to Sir Walter daily to point out how beneath him Mrs. Clay was, so that he would not be inclined to marry her.

    • junewilliams7 on April 23, 2014 at 10:03 pm
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    But wouldn’t Elizabeth Elliot have suited that purpose just as well? Plus Elizabeth is Sir Walter’s favorite…

      • Sheila L. M. on April 23, 2014 at 10:43 pm
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      He didn’t like Elizabeth. If he had to marry a daughter, Anne was much easier to live with. Elizabeth and her father were snobs with no real tastes. William found Anne much more personable. He had been “courting” Elizabeth until Anne showed up in Bath. He quickly moved his attentions to Anne.

        • junewilliams7 on April 24, 2014 at 1:30 am
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        Oh, I had forgotten that…. do you think he would have married Elizabeth after Anne married Wentworth?

  3. I loved all the references to the actual text you included – what he told his friend, Smith, about the Elliots etc and how you set up the background to William Elliot’s character – what he desired from a marriage and why he was not tempted by Elizabeth.

    Great excerpt!!!

    • Jane Odiwe on April 24, 2014 at 7:11 am
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    I loved how you conveyed William Elliot’s character, Carey, and gave us just enough to wonder about the ‘attractive’ Miss Elizabeth Elliot…

    • J Dawn King on April 24, 2014 at 8:30 am
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    The three characters you introduced us to in your prequel are despicable, avaricious, self-absorbed, and evil. Such a sharp contrast to sweet Anne and gentlemanly Wentworth. Well done!

    • Kathy on April 26, 2014 at 2:00 pm
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    Thanks for this great prequel chapter. William Elliot is not only unredeemable, he’s also picky … to want to find a sensible heiress, and to prefer Anne over Elizabeth (which any rational man would) when he’s really primarily motivated by protecting his inheritance and keeping himself comfortable. Elizabeth is unpleasant and difficult, but you would have thought someone would have found her appealing in some way because of her father’s title. (Kinda like Caroline Bingley!)

    I’ve found Georgette Heyer’s novels instructive but they sometimes have SO much slang of the times that I’m a bit lost. And certainly her various characters spend enough time in gambling hells and meandering around society that there’s a lot of expressions to wade through! I’ll have to look up those books you recommended for reference!

  4. Your depiction of William Elliot is spot on, Carey. I love reading this backstory and how William gave Sir Walter and Elizabeth Elliot the snub. I presume that Smith is not married to Anne’s school friend yet so correct me if I’m wrong.

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