First, let me start by saying that English is not my first language; thus, I am really struggling to understand the language used in such classic novels as those of Jane Austen's.
I've just finished reading Sense and Sensibility. I find it hard to understand the income of Edward and Elinor after they married. As I understand (I might be wrong) Elinor brought 3 thousand pounds into her marriage, but I am not quite clear how much Edward was bringing. I think he was left with just 2 thousand, but, in the last chapter, there is this line,
What she would engage to do towards augmenting their income was next to be considered; and here it plainly appeared, that though Edward was not her only son, he was by no means her eldest; for while Robert was inevitably endowed with a thousand pounds a year, not the smallest objection was made against Edward's taking orders for the sake of two hundred and fifty at the utmost; nor was anything promised either for the present or in future, beyond the ten thousand pounds, which had been given with Fanny.
So did Edward have 2 or 10 thousand pounds? What would be the interest of his money combined with Elinor's? And plus with the maximum of 250 pounds per year from his work, how much income did they both enjoy? And was it enough to live on?