- After dinner, Mr. Woodhouse is itching to get home – it’s all Emma can do to keep him in his seat.
- The gentlemen leave to smoke on their own while the women wait in the parlor (no one ever said the nineteenth century was fair).
- Mr. Elton bursts back into the parlor and cozies up to Emma and Mrs. Weston in a very, very strange manner.
- He sits on a loveseat with them and starts to tease Emma. It’s all very improper.
- He even wants Emma to promise him to take care of herself. (Insert sappy '80s love song here.)
- Emma, of course, decides to ignore him.
- It’s snowing! Mr. Woodhouse panics and demands to go home immediately.
- In the bustle to leave, Emma somehow manages to get stuck in a carriage alone.
- With Mr. Elton.
- In case we forgot to mention it, a single girl alone with a single guy is a HUGE no-no.
- Here’s why: Mr. Elton promptly starts to proposition Emma, using every bad cliché in the book.
- Astonished and angry, Emma accuses him of falsely leading Harriet on.
- Mr. Elton, astonished and angry in turn, declares that he would never think of slumming so low. He never liked Harriet – only Emma (and, of course, Emma’s cash. But let’s ignore that for now).
- Awkward silence. Awkward silence.
- The carriage drops Mr. Elton off, leaving Emma alone with her thoughts.