First Sight

EMMA

She doesn't remember the first time she saw him. To her, he was always there. Her Mr. Knightley; as opposed to John, who was Isabella's Mr. Knightley. And although some people might think it more proper if the order was reversed none of them lived in Highbury so it didn't matter.

GEORGE

He remembers the first time he saw her perfectly. His Mother were still alive and was good friends with the Woodhouses. Their families went way back. George was about to leave for school that coming fall and knew he'd miss the daily visits. Emma Woodhouse was born on a clear summers afternoon as was very appropriate. It was a week before Mrs. Knightley (who was not a healthy woman) went to see Mrs. Woodhouse. The boys (John was home on holiday from school) came with her to entertain little Isabella but George got tired of the running about games that his brother and Isabella liked to play so he had gone up to the nursery to see this new child. He wasn't sure why he did it. He guessed it was partly boredom and partly curiosity, for although he knew where babies came from, he had not seen a lot of them in his time. When he looked into the bassinet George found that what he expected and what he saw were two different things. There lay a little bundle of white and pink and yellow with bright blue eyes that seemed determined to take in the world as it was. He had only watched the small girl for a few moments when suddenly she burst into tears. Not knowing what else to do George picked the little thing up. She immediately stopped crying and just looked at him. He was shocked yet again. This was all so unexpected but not unpleasant. He wasn't sure what to do so he introduced himself.

"Hullo, I am George Knightley." He paused unsure how to continue. "I am your neighbor. It might seem that I am much older than you but that doesn't mean we can't be friends. That's if you want to be friends, of course."

Here he drifted off as Emma seemed to scrutinize him with her wide blue eyes. The nurse soon came in and was surprised to see a young man standing there, gently rocking baby Emma and introducing himself. That's when George came to the conclusion that with Emma nothing would be as he expected it to be and often it would be full of surprises. He decided then and there, as he rode back to Donwell with his mother and brother, that he liked that idea very much.