...when Emma was born (I could say how old he was had we reached Ch. 12) it is likely that Mr. and Mrs. Woodhouse and Mr. K's parents were well known to each other socially as the leading families in the Highbury area even then. Mr. K inherited his parents' relationship with the Woodhouses, and because he was the person he was, Mr. K kept up the intimate acquaintance as he succeeded his parents. The marriage of John and Isabella only made the intimacy of the two families closer and more logical.