Northanger Abbey (rewritten)

Chapter 9

Catherine's unhappiness grew steadily worse after the events of the evening. It began with a general sense of dissatisfaction with everyone around her as she stayed in the rooms, which quickly turned into weariness and a strong desire to return home. Upon reaching Pulteney Street, her yearning evolved into an intense hunger, and after satisfying that, it transformed into a deep longing to get to bed. Her distress reached its peak there. She immediately fell into a deep sleep, and upon waking, she felt completely refreshed, in high spirits, with new hopes and plans.

Her first desire was to improve her acquaintance with Miss Tilney, and her resolution was to find her in the pump-room at noon. In Catherine's experience, the pump-room was an excellent place for discovering female friendships and engaging in secret conversations. She was confident that she could find another friend there.

With her morning plan in place, she sat down with a book after breakfast. She intended to stay in the same spot, reading, until one o'clock. This routine was somewhat disrupted by Mrs. Allen, whose scattered thoughts and constant need to voice her observations made it challenging for Catherine to concentrate on her book.

Around half-past twelve, a loud knock on the door drew Mrs. Allen to the window in haste. Catherine had hardly a moment to inform her of two open carriages at the door: the first with only a servant, and her brother driving Isabella in the second. John Thorpe, Catherine's brother, came running up the stairs, exclaiming, "Well, Miss Morland, here I am. Have you been waiting long? We could not come before. The old coachmaker took forever to prepare the carriage, and there's a good chance it'll break down before we leave the street. How are you, Mrs. Allen? We had a fantastic ball last night, didn't we? Come on, Miss Morland, hurry up, the others are in a hurry to leave. They want to get this over with."

"What do you mean?" Catherine asked. "Where are all of you going?"

"Going to? Why, haven't you remembered our plan? Didn't we agree to take a drive this morning? You've got quite the memory! We're headed up Claverton Down."

"I vaguely recall something about it," Catherine said, glancing at Mrs. Allen for her opinion, "but I honestly didn't expect you."

"You didn't expect me? That's a good one! And you'd have been in a mess if I hadn't shown up."

Catherine's silent appeal to her friend was futile because Mrs. Allen wasn't used to conveying her thoughts through her expression. She didn't realize that Catherine had intended to communicate something unspoken. Catherine, eager to see Miss Tilney again and willing to join Mr. Thorpe as her brother James would be accompanying Isabella, decided to speak up. "Well, ma'am, what do you say? Can you spare me for an hour or two? Should I go?"

"Do as you like, dear," Mrs. Allen replied with a calm indifference.

Taking her friend's advice, Catherine quickly got ready and reappeared within a few minutes. She barely gave the other two a chance to offer a few short praises of her before Thorpe had secured Mrs. Allen's admiration for his carriage. Afterward, Catherine and Isabella bid their goodbyes to Mrs. Allen and hurried downstairs. Isabella exclaimed, "My dearest creature, you took at least three hours to get ready. I was worried something happened to you. We had such a delightful ball last night. I have a thousand things to tell you, but get in quickly; I can't wait to leave."

Catherine followed Isabella's instructions and turned away, but not before hearing her friend declare loudly to James, "She's such a sweet girl! I adore her."

John, while assisting Catherine into the carriage, warned her, "Don't be frightened, Miss Morland, if my horse gets a bit spirited at the start. He'll probably make a few leaps and maybe even stop for a moment, but he'll get the hang of it soon. He's full of energy, playful as can be, and there's not a mean bone in his body."