circle consisting of her father, the Knightley brothers, and Mr Weston, therefore she misses the signs that would tell her that Mr Elton is not interested in Harriet. And naturally she ignores what Mr Knightley and his brother at various times tell her about the nature of Mr Elton: that he is not likely to marry a "nobody" without a fortune and that he is interested in Emma, not Harriet. That she assumes that Mr Elton will not attend the Weston's dinner because Harriet is ill is typical of Emma -- it must be because unmarried men like to dine out, not because she has misread the tea leaves and Harriet is not the object of Elton's affection. But she is starting to see something....