A Non-Unfortunate Event

It was quite an event throughout Bath as everyone heard about the engagement of Miss Anne Elliot and Captain Frederick Wentworth for this was such an unlikely pair; after all they had already been together once but broken up. For in Bath, proper people did not leave each other and get back together, it was simply unheard of. Mrs. Smith found out about the engagement and was ecstatic, especially due to the fact that Anne was not marrying Mr. Elliot who in her opinion, was not to be trusted and Anne deserved a much better person than him. To make things even brighter for Mrs. Smith, Mr. Elliot did not only get rejected but he withdrew from Bath entirely. Nurse Rooke mentioned him being with someone by the name of Clay, but she was not of importance to Mrs. Smith for the attention should be on Anne.
Anne and Frederick Wentworth were in love; there was no doubt. Sir Walter Elliot was still in shock, especially since his daughter would be of higher status once she was married. In his humble opinion, Anne did not deserve this, for she had never cared about that sort of stuff to begin with. If anyone deserved it, it would be Elizabeth, the proper lady of the family. It was rumored that Sir Walter Elliot became so frustrated with the situation that he read his favorite book, the Baronetage, at least twenty times during the week the news broke of the engagement; this book, in his opinion was the only proof of his importance to society since the attention was unfortunately placed on Anne at the moment. Eventually he got over this disquietude for it was giving him wrinkles. However, this could not be said for Anne’s sister Elizabeth.
After hearing the news of her sister’s engagement, Elizabeth was immediately outraged. She swiftly got up to go find Mrs. Clay in order to sort out her feelings like a lady. After searching the house, Elizabeth realized Mrs. Clay was gone. As she walked into town, she heard rumors about Mrs. Clay having run off with Mr. Elliot. The information sent Elizabeth into quite a mad frenzy. Not only had Anne become engaged before her but Mrs. Clay, hideous, poor Mrs. Clay had been chosen by Mr. Elliot over her. This was not supposed to be the case because Elizabeth had imagined herself with Mr. Elliot; especially after he returned after being gone for such a long time. After all, what did Mrs. Clay have to offer? She was of poorer class than Elizabeth, certainly didn’t have the looks or the fine manners that Elizabeth had.
As Elizabeth was crossing the street and analyzing the situation very carefully, a sudden jolt hit her body. Her head flew back and her body followed soon after as she collapsed in the middle of the road. As she lay there unconscious, Lady Russell got out of the carriage and a small smile crept upon her face for she had never liked Elizabeth very much. She climbed back into her carriage and drove away as the people in the street started to crowd around her for it would not be good if anyone knew that she herself had run over Elizabeth. A doctor was called and hours later, Elizabeth lay in her home in Bath; she was finally conscious but she would never speak or walk again. Dozens of visitors came to share their apologies for the family, they brought all sorts of gifts and money but the attention was short lasted. The cousins of the family, the Dalrymples wanted nothing to do with the family anymore for Elizabeth was no longer beautiful and that was not something that they wanted their family to be associated with. This poor girl laid silently in her bed as her brain  still worked but she could no longer express any feeling or emotion.
Sir Walter Elliot had made the abrupt decision to hire a nurse to take care of poor Elizabeth for he could not bear to see her in this state. Everyday he would glance in the room that she lay very tranquil in but he would immediately slam the door not realizing that she could react in her mind to this action just not express that feeling. It was as if each day brought a new opportunity for Elizabeth to not be paralyzed, it seemed as if Sir Walter Elliot thought that one day he would open the door to see her brushing her long blonde hair and gazing into the mirror instead of laying motionless in the bed just as she was the day before. The nurse tried to explain to Anne Wentworth when she visited her sister this was a common example of denial. She also asked if her sister and father were close before the accident. Anne explained that they were and that she thought it must be quite hard for him to see her that way. Sir Walter Elliot lived only a few years past the horrific accident and he never once walked into the room that Elizabeth remained in. There were many rumors and speculations of the reasons that he died; most people thought he died because of the sadness caused by the accident while others thought he had a heart attack and the main cause is not known exactly. His funeral was not crowded for he lost most of his status once one of his daughters lost her beauty and elegance. Elizabeth remained paralyzed for the rest of her life and died almost 20 after the accident had taken place. It is fair to say that although some people live their lives not having to worry about bad luck, at some point or another, an unfortunate accident will occur and sometimes it won’t be so unfortunate.