For the Christmas holidays Mr. and Mrs. John Knightley, respectively the brother of George Knightley and the sister of Emma, come from London with their five children to visit the Woodhouses. On December 24, which proves to be a bad day of snow, all of them, including George Knightley and Mr. Elton, go for a dinner with the Westons. There discussion turns to Frank Churchill, Weston's handsome, polished son by a former marriage (Frank had taken his uncle's name upon going to live with him) but a son who has never been seen in Highbury. John Knightley in particular thinks it oddly improper that Frank has not yet called on his newly remarried father, even though Frank lives some distance away in Yorkshire with the Churchills. There have been letters from him, of course, and a pleasant surprise of the dinner party is an announcement that a recent letter says that Frank will be coming for a visit within a fortnight, an announcement that reminds Emma that, if she were ever to marry, Frank would suit her in age, character, and condition.
The snow increases to the point that the visitors feel that they must go if they are to reach home safely. To her consternation Emma finds herself alone with Mr. Elton in the second carriage. But she is disconcerted even more when he begins insistently to declare his love for her and when he is amazed to learn that she thought him in love with Harriet. Emma's refusal of Mr. Elton's offer is firm, but she is indeed worried that he has never thought seriously of Harriet. Her worry and self-criticism continue through the night, mixed with resentment at the impertinence of Mr. Elton's aspirations toward herself. Fortunately for her, during the next few days everyone is confined to home by the weather. On the first good day, the John Knightleys return to London while Mr. Elton informs Mr. Woodhouse in a note that he is leaving for a visit to Bath: It is Emma's unhappy duty to inform Harriet about Mr. Elton and to console her, inwardly blaming herself for being in error. In addition to this disappointment in her plans, she learns that Frank Churchill has once again had to defer his visit because Mrs. Churchill is ill, a condition that many of Highbury doubt. George Knightley in particular questions Frank's real sense of duty toward Mr. Weston and, in a conversation with Emma, indicates that he does not share Highbury's (and Emma's) general tendency to think highly of the young man whom the town has never yet seen.
