She spoke then, on being so entreated. – What did she say? – Just what she ought, of course. A lady always does. – She said enough to shew there need not be despair – and to invite him to say more himself.
– Jane Austen
Emma, Chapter 49. We are not told directly what Emma says in response to Mr. Knightley’s declaration of love and proposal. Yet we don’t need to hear her words, since the narrator lets us know indirectly that she returns his feelings of affection. Mr. Knightley in his proposal pointed out that the absence of speech can convey the truest feelings. Similarly in Emma’s case, her love is expressed here in simple words and using no ornate language.