Edmund Bertram's Diary by Amanda Grange Page B

managing their daughters. I do not know where the error lies. I do not pretend to set people right, but I do see that they are often wrong.’
    ‘Those who are showing the world what female manners should be, are doing a great deal to set them right,’ said Tom gal antly.
    ‘The error is plain enough, such girls are il brought up. They are given wrong notions from the beginning. They are always acting upon motives of vanity, and there is no more real modesty in their behavior before they appear in public than afterwards,’ I said, for the business seemed clear to me.
    ‘I do not know, I cannot agree with you there,’ said Miss Crawford. Turning back to Tom, she said, ‘It is much worse to have girls not out give themselves the same airs and take the same liberties as if they were, which I have seen done. That is worse than anything — quite disgusting!’
    ‘Yes, that is very inconvenient indeed,’ agreed Tom. ‘It leads one astray; one does not know what to do. The close bonnet and demure air you describe so wel (and nothing was ever juster) tel one what is expected; but I got into a dreadful scrape last year from the want of them. I went down to Rams-gate for a week with a friend . . .’
    And he embarked on another anecdote, which entertained Miss Crawford no less than the first. I searched my memory for something light and amusing with which to entertain her, but my years spent looking after the estate had given me no such diverting moments, and I was pleased when at last the conversation returned to Fanny.
    ‘But now I must be satisfied about Miss Price,’ said Miss Crawford. ‘Does she go to bal s? Does she dine out everywhere, as wel as at my sister’s?’
    ‘I do not think she has ever been to a bal ,’ I said.
    ‘Oh, then the point is clear. Miss Price is not out.’
    I could not help thinking about the matter further, though, when Miss Crawford left us. Fanny is eighteen, and my sisters were both attending bal s by that age, schooled in what was expected of them by Mama and my aunt. But for some reason Fanny had been overlooked. I raised the point with my aunt, who said only that she was sure Fanny had no notion of being brought out, and Mama, who said that Fanny was too young, for she was not strong and so it was unsuitable for her to be brought out as early as my sisters.
    ‘Besides,’ she said, ‘I need Fanny to stay with me when you al go to a bal . I could not do without Fanny.’
    I think, for the time being, I wil say no more, but I wil not have her neglected, and once my father returns I mean to broach the subject with him. Fanny must have her share of the pleasures as wel as everyone else, and as Mama wil no longer be lonely when Papa returns it wil then be the time for Fanny to start going into society.
    Monday 18 July
    Tom left for Brighton this morning. He went early, saying to me, ‘Never fear, I have promised Papa not to gamble, and I mean to keep my word. I am a reformed character!’
    I gave him a look, but he only laughed, and then he was on his way. He showed no regret at leaving Miss Crawford, and as he had never once talked of abandoning his trip so that he might spend more time with her, I believe he is not serious in his feelings for her.
    To my relief, Miss Crawford does not seem to be serious in her feelings for him, either. I thought she would be in low spirits at his departure, but when she and her brother cal ed on us this afternoon she was ‘bright as the day, and like the morning, fair’.
    ‘And are you missing your brother?’ Miss Crawford asked Julia, as we walked out in the grounds.
    ‘Not in the least,’ said Julia.
    ‘And you, Mr. Bertram?’ she asked me. ‘How wel that sounds,’ she mused, ‘for now that your brother is away, you are no longer Mr. Edmund Bertram, but Mr. Bertram. Wil you miss your brother?’
    ‘I wil not have time, for he wil be home again in a few weeks,’ I said.
    ‘Very true. I should not miss my brother if he were to go away,