The little fairy could hardly trump her skill, but it was so adorable that she aspired to similar goals.
Emma waved her hand at a break in the hedges where Sylvia could see the Box Hill picnickers at play. “Make a match for me,” she requested. “Who in this crowd just there—” She pointed. “Who would make a good couple?”
The fairy easily flew to a branch on a nearby tree to garner a better view. She stared with her tiny bluish eyes most intently at the gathering before blinking three times and smiling at Emma. “I will give you more than you wish. Not one pair, but three. As I have now imagined them perfectly in my mind, the matches are bound to happen.”
Emma grinned. This ought to be delightful! “And your first pairing?”
“Your friend, Miss Harriet Smith. I see her with a tall, rugged gentleman who attends to her every word.” Sylvia glanced around. “I do not see him here at present, but I know him from my prior observations back at Highbury.”
Emma very nearly rolled her eyes. The fairy had to be talking about Mr. Churchill, of course. Although he was not precisely a “rugged” man, nor was he wandering about on the lawn as he had been when last she had seen him, Emma knew that she would meet with success once she set her mind toward bringing him together with her sweet friend.
“Well, that is hardly news,” she told Sylvia. “It is obvious Harriet belongs with a tall gentleman. I know just the one you mean, and I have thought so myself.” She nodded knowingly at the fairy. “Were my former governess here today, I would have told her the same thing.” Emma paused. “I made a rather successful match for her just last year, you know.”
“Yes. Miss Taylor and Mr. Weston,” Sylvia replied. “I remember that one. Quite impressive.”
“Why, thank you.” Emma beamed at the fairy girl. “So, then, am I to understand you have been watching us at home in Highbury for some time?”
“Politics are dreadfully boring, Miss Woodhouse. I seek amusement everywhere I can.”
“Oh, right. So, who is your second match?”
to be continued
~*~
A Tale of Two Matchmakers
part 1
part 2
part 3
part 4
part 5
part 6
part 7 - end
* guest post from Marilyn Brant, author of According to Jane
* image source the Westons
* image source victorian frame
* part of Mr Knightley's Picnic
