what happened to her later. Of course, JA doesn't tell us everything...does Mary finally fall in love, only to have her heart broken, or dashed to pieces? I guess that's for the speculation of other writers. :o)

I don't think Mary is intentionally cruel...but cruel she is. At least Edmund escaped relatively unscathed...what if they had been married when this happened? But then...would she ultimately have gone through with the marriage? Maybe that's a question for another topic post.