Sir Thomas's return made a striking change in the ways of the family,
independent of Lovers' Vows. Under his government, Mansfield was an
altered place. Some members of their society sent away, and the
spirits of many others saddened--it was all sameness and gloom
compared with the past--a sombre family party rarely enlivened. There
was little intercourse with the Parsonage. Sir Thomas, drawing back
from intimacies in general, was particularly disinclined, at this time,
for any engagements but in one quarter. The Rushworths were the only
addition to his own domestic circle which he could solicit.

Edmund did not wonder that such should be his father's feelings, nor
could he regret anything but the exclusion of the Grants. "But they,"
he observed to Fanny, "have a claim. They seem to belong to us; they
seem to be part of ourselves. I could wish my father were more
sensible of their very great attention to my mother and sisters while
he was away. I am afraid they may feel themselves neglected. But the
truth is, that my father hardly knows them. They had not been here a
twelvemonth when he left England. If he knew them better, he would
value their society as it deserves; for they are in fact exactly the
sort of people he would like. We are sometimes a little in want of
animation among ourselves: my sisters seem out of spirits, and Tom is
certainly not at his ease. Dr. and Mrs. Grant would enliven us, and
make our evenings pass away with more enjoyment even to my father."