But Miss Frances married, in the common phrase, to disoblige her family, and by fixing on a lieutenant of marines, without education, fortune, or connexions, did it very thoroughly. She could hardly have made a more untoward choice. …It was the natural result of the conduct of each party, and such as a very imprudent marriage almost always produces. To save herself from useless remonstrance, Mrs. Price never wrote to her family on the subject till actually married. (1)

I don’t know if the family had any inkling of Lt. Price before he became part of the family. I envision it as being a quite secret endeavor. Miss Frances disobliged her family with her marriage, then Sister Price replying to gossip girl, Sister Norris, “bestowed such very disrespectful reflections on the pride of Sir Thomas” in her letter it established an absolute breach between the sisters, then:

By the end of eleven years, however, Mrs. Price could no longer afford to cherish pride or resentment, or to lose one connexion that might possibly assist her. A large and still increasing family, an husband disabled for active service, but not the less equal to company and good liquor, and a very small income to supply their wants, made her eager to regain the friends she had so carelessly sacrificed; and she addressed Lady Bertram in a letter which spoke so much contrition and despondence, such a superfluity of children, and such a want of almost everything else, as could not but dispose them all to a reconciliation.

Once Mrs. Price apologized and poured out her troubles all was well. Mrs. Norris likes the importance and activity of charity but I think Lady Bertram and especially Sir Thomas were disposed to help Mrs. Price for the right reasons: