It seems to me that Lucy’s tendency to “cry” her conservation is an indication of her tone of voice but I confess that her voice is shrill did not cross my mind until it had been so kindly pointed out—I do agree that her voice could very well be shrill. :D I took her “crying” to mean that Lucy is raising her voice in an excited manner to punctuate her statements with emotion. It is hard for me to say that Lucy’s statements are emotional and she “cries” naturally because I think Lucy is playing a part, that of a sweet kind girl, when actually she is quite calculating. Lucy pretends to a lot of feelings I do not think can be real such as casting herself as a victim of circumstance—encouraging sympathy, thinking well of Elinor, making real overtures of friendship, and wanting her advice. Lucy’s speech is duplicitous, one example, she pretends to seek Elinor’s advice but she really only wants to know Elinor’s feelings. Lucy slyly looks to see what affect her revelations have on Elinor, which makes it clear to me that Elinor’s reactions are what she is most interested in—to determine how much of a threat Elinor is. Lucy’s body language often betrays the sentiments of her remarks, for example when Elinor tells Lucy she will not be in town during the winter. :D