] Clearly he lied to her and told her that he would see her as soon as possible.

] Since Willoughby told Elinor and Mrs. Dashwood that he would not be back for a year, then why is Elinor pleased to hear that Marianne expects to see him so much sooner? She now knows that Willoughby lied either to her and her mother or to Marianne.

They can be certain that Willoughby is lying to them, for when he says "My visits to Mrs. Smith are never repeated within the twelvemonth."--JA has alread laid the groundwork to let us know it's a lie. Willoughby came in September, but he has been there as recently as the previous Christmas season, attending a dance at Barton Park and joining a hunting party nine months before he came back to Devonshire.