By: Jennifer Vintzileos
Realizing the truth, Cass (Keeley Hawes) goes back to the Fowle household and asks Isabella to say it. There was a time that Mr. Lidderdale (Alfred Enoch) had proposed to Isabella (Rose Leslie)…and unfortunately due to Fulwar’s (Felix Scott) refusal to accept the match, she declined. Instead, Isabella asks that Cass help her secure proper lodging with her sister, Mary Jane Dexter (Florence Bell). While visiting Mary Jane, Cass realizes that Isabella would not be happy in the current accommodations and insists that the elder sister work on finding a different home where both women would be happy – a place with a garden and space for Isabella to teach, and where Mary Jane could be left to her solitude. With that settled, Cass returns home and this time finds a letter she had written to Eliza.
Having to move from their home, Jane (Patsy Ferran) is depressed and unable to properly write. Their father’s death had hit the family hard, even though their brothers stepped up to provide some funding for Mrs. Austen (Phyllis Logan), Jane and Cassy (Synnove Karlsen) to secure different lodging. Seeing how her brothers are able to provide, this upsets Jane that her writing cannot sustain the family. With flashbacks intertwined with the present, the Austens find new accommodations while Isabella and Mary Jane clash on securing a shared space. Cassy continues to push Jane to write, even though she finds it difficult. Fortunately, Jane eventually finds the inspiration for Sense and Sensibility.
While in South Hampshire, Mr. Hobday (Max Irons) comes to visit and Cassy is delighted to see him. However, Hobday is now arranged to be married soon, but he offers Cassy the opportunity to marry him to help provide for her family. Cassy still declines his proposal as it would be more out of convenience and Hobday leaves for the final time. But when Edward (Hubert Burton) suddenly loses his wife Elizabeth (Eve Ponsonby), he sends for Cassy to come and help him with the children. While there Edward offers for Cassy to come and live with him and the kids. Instead of accepting her brother’s offer, Cassy secures a better one – asking Edward for the cottage that resides on his summer property for her, Jane and their mother to live. This way, Edward would be able to see his family more when he came to visit. Finding this a great compromise, Edward agrees and the women move into the cottage. Most delighted by this change is Jane, who absolutely loves their new surroundings and finds the inspiration to write again.
While on the road, Cass and Isabella see Mr. Lidderdale walking. As Isabella shares that she will be living with her sister, Lidderdale confides that he has just accepted a surgeon positioon elsewhere. This news does not sit well with Isabella, who becomes upset when Cass continues to read Persuasion and it strikes a nerve. Overhearing the reading, Dinah (Mirren Mack) sees that she must do something to help bring the once-lovers together again. When Dinah purposefully throws herself down the stairs, Cass and Isabella run to her aid…Isabella is sent out to find Lidderdale and bring him for help. When the doctor arrives, he and Isabella have a conversation about what might have been…yet this isn’t enough. With Dinah resting inside and Lidderdale leaving, he and Isabella say goodbye. However, Mr. Lidderdale stops and turns around…the couple finally embracing and kiss one another. Cass later understands that Dinah purposefully pulled off a large move to bring two people back together again, the two women finally finding a mutual respect for one another. But before going up, Dinah tells Cass that she did it for the greater good.
Taking those words she goes back upstairs, Cass reads some of Jane’s letters that begin to show her depression. Sense and Sensibility is published, as are all her novels. However, the criticism from Jane’s work takes a toll on the writer and she begins to fall ill. Even when visiting the Fowle household, Cass and Eliza can tell that Jane is not quite herself, but refuse to let anyone else know how they feel. Jane is in the middle of writing Persuasion at this time. Even when Jane is in her last days, a young Mary comes to visit her. While the visit is pleasant, Jane knows that Mary is only nice when she can take pity on the misfortune of others. Cassy continues to stay by Jane’s side and keep her company, even as Jane passes away right before her.
Presently, Cass’s work is done at the Fowle household. She decides to separate the letters, placing some of them in her bag while putting a stack back in Eliza’s room for Mary to find. Isabella has accepted Mr. Lidderdale’s proposal and the household is leaving on a good note. When Cass decides to celebrate the proposal, Mary enters and Cass tells her to look at the one spot in Eliza’s room she has not quite “checked” yet. She sets off up the stairs and Cass decides to take her leave, opening a letter that Dinah had found that was part of those letters. On the carriage ride home, Cass reads Jane’s final letter to Eliza. In it she tells Eliza how grateful she was to have Cassy there for her in every way. In one final scene, Cass has taken the letters that had shown Jane’s depression and decides to burn them – honoring Jane’s wishes to only be known for the joy that she had written into her novels.