Persuasion
Crofts who rent Kellynch? What have they brought you?”
“A letter from Uppercross Cottage, Sir.”
“Oh! those letters are convenient passports. They secure an
introduction. I should have visited Admiral Croft, however, at any
rate. I know what is due to my tenant.”
Anne could listen no longer; she could not even have told how the poor
Admiral’s complexion escaped; her letter engrossed her. It had been
begun several days back.
“February 1st.
“MY DEAR ANNE,
I make no apology for my silence, because I know how little people
think of letters in such a place as Bath. You must be a great deal too
happy to care for Uppercross, which, as you well know, affords little
to write about. We have had a very dull Christmas; Mr and Mrs Musgrove
have not had one dinner party all the holidays. I do not reckon the
Hayters as anybody. The holidays, however, are over at last: I believe
no children ever had such long ones. I am sure I had not. The house was
cleared yesterday, except of the little Harvilles; but you will be
surprised to hear they have never gone home. Mrs Harville must be an
odd mother to part with them so long. I do not understand it. They are
not at all nice children, in my opinion; but Mrs Musgrove seems to like
them quite as well, if not better, than her grandchildren. What
dreadful weather we have had! It may not be felt in Bath, with your
nice pavements; but in the country it is of some consequence. I have
not had a creature call on me since the second week in January, except
Charles Hayter, who had been calling much oftener than was welcome.
Between ourselves, I think it a great pity Henrietta did not remain at
Lyme as long as Louisa; it would have kept her a little out of his way.
The carriage is gone to-day, to bring Louisa and the Harvilles
to-morrow. We are not asked to dine with them, however, till the day
after, Mrs Musgrove is so afraid of her being fatigued by the journey,
which is not very likely, considering the care that will be taken of
her; and it would be much more convenient to me to dine there
to-morrow. I am glad you find Mr Elliot so agreeable, and wish I could
be acquainted with him too; but I have my usual luck: I am always out
of the way when any thing desirable is going on; always the last of my
family to be noticed. What an immense time Mrs Clay has been staying
with Elizabeth! Does she never mean to go away? But perhaps if she were
to leave the room vacant, we might not be invited. Let me know what you
think of this. I do not expect my children to be asked, you know. I can
leave them at the Great House very well, for a month or six weeks. I
have this moment heard that the Crofts are going to Bath almost
immediately; they think the Admiral gouty. Charles heard it quite by
chance; they have not had the civility to give me any notice, or of
offering to take anything. I do not think they improve at all as
neighbours. We see nothing of them, and this is really an instance of
gross inattention. Charles joins me in love, and everything proper.
Yours affectionately,
“MARY M——.
“I am sorry to say that I am very far from well; and Jemima has just
told me that the butcher says there is a bad sore-throat very much
about. I dare say I shall catch it; and my sore-throats, you know, are
always worse than anybody’s.”
So ended the first part, which had been afterwards put into an
envelope, containing nearly as much more.
“I kept my letter open, that I might send you word how Louisa bore her
journey, and now I am extremely glad I did, having a great deal to add.
In the first place, I had a note from Mrs Croft yesterday, offering to
convey anything to you; a very kind, friendly note indeed, addressed to
me, just as it ought; I shall therefore be able to make my letter as
long as I like. The Admiral does not seem very ill, and I sincerely
hope Bath will do him all the good he wants. I shall be truly glad to
have them back again. Our neighbourhood cannot spare such a pleasant
family. But now for Louisa. I have something to communicate that will
astonish you not a little. She and the Harvilles came on Tuesday very
safely, and in the evening we went to ask her how she did, when we were
rather surprised not to find Captain Benwick of the party, for he had
been invited as well as the Harvilles; and what do you think was the
reason? Neither more nor less than his being in love with Louisa, and
not choosing to venture to Uppercross till he had had an answer from Mr
Musgrove; for it was all settled between him and her before she came
away, and he had written to her father by Captain Harville. True, upon
my honour! Are not you astonished? I shall be surprised at least if you
ever received a hint of it, for I never did. Mrs Musgrove protests
solemnly that she knew nothing of the matter. We are all very well
pleased, however, for though it is not equal to her marrying Captain
Wentworth, it is infinitely better than Charles Hayter; and Mr Musgrove
has written his consent, and Captain Benwick is expected to-day. Mrs
Harville says her husband feels a good deal on his poor sister’s
account; but, however, Louisa is a great favourite with both. Indeed,
Mrs Harville and I quite agree that we love her the better for having
nursed her. Charles wonders what Captain Wentworth will say; but if you
remember, I never thought him attached to Louisa; I never could see
anything of it. And this is the end, you see, of Captain Benwick’s
being supposed to be an admirer of yours. How Charles could take such a
thing into his head was always incomprehensible to me. I hope he will
be more agreeable now. Certainly not a great match for Louisa Musgrove,
but a million times better than marrying among the Hayters.”
Mary need not have feared her sister’s being in any degree prepared for
the news. She had never in her life been more astonished. Captain
Benwick and Louisa Musgrove! It was almost too wonderful for belief,
and it was with the greatest effort that she could remain in the room,
preserve an air of calmness, and answer the common questions of the
moment. Happily for her, they were not many. Sir Walter wanted to know
whether the Crofts travelled with four horses, and whether they were
likely to be situated in such a part of Bath as it might suit Miss
Elliot and himself to visit in; but had little curiosity beyond.
“How is Mary?” said Elizabeth; and without waiting for an answer, “And
pray what brings the Crofts to Bath?”
“They come on the Admiral’s account. He is thought to be gouty.”
“Gout and decrepitude!” said Sir Walter. “Poor old gentleman.”
“Have they any acquaintance here?” asked Elizabeth.
“I do not know; but I can hardly suppose that, at Admiral Croft’s time
of life, and in his profession, he should not have many acquaintance in
such a place as this.”
“I suspect,” said Sir Walter coolly, “that Admiral Croft will be best
known in Bath as the renter of Kellynch Hall. Elizabeth, may we venture
to present him and his wife in Laura Place?”
“Oh, no! I think not. Situated as we are with Lady Dalrymple, cousins,
we ought to be very careful not to embarrass her with acquaintance she
might not approve. If we were not related, it would not signify; but as
cousins, she would feel scrupulous as to any proposal of ours. We had
better leave the Crofts to find their own level. There are several
odd-looking men walking about here, who, I am told, are sailors. The
Crofts will associate with them.”
This was Sir Walter and Elizabeth’s share of interest in the letter;
when Mrs Clay had paid her tribute of more decent attention, in an
enquiry after Mrs Charles Musgrove, and her fine little boys, Anne was
at liberty.
In her own room, she tried to comprehend it. Well might Charles wonder
how Captain Wentworth would feel! Perhaps he had quitted the field, had
given Louisa up, had ceased to love, had found he did not love her. She
could not endure the idea of treachery or levity, or anything akin to
ill usage between him and his friend. She could not endure that such a
friendship as theirs should be severed unfairly.
Captain Benwick and Louisa Musgrove! The high-spirited, joyous-talking
Louisa Musgrove, and the dejected, thinking, feeling, reading, Captain
Benwick, seemed each of them everything that would not suit the other.
Their minds most dissimilar! Where could have been the attraction? The
answer soon presented itself. It had been in situation. They had been
thrown together several weeks; they had been living in the same small
family party: since Henrietta’s coming away, they must have been
depending almost entirely on each other, and Louisa, just recovering
from illness, had been in an interesting state, and Captain Benwick was
not inconsolable. That was a point which Anne had not been able to
avoid suspecting before; and instead of drawing the same conclusion as
Mary, from the present course of events, they served only to confirm
the idea of his having felt some dawning of tenderness toward herself.
She did not mean, however, to derive much more from it to gratify her
vanity, than Mary might have allowed. She was persuaded that any
tolerably pleasing young woman who had listened and seemed to feel for
him would have received the same compliment. He had an affectionate
heart. He must love somebody.
She saw no reason against their being happy. Louisa had fine naval
fervour to begin with, and they would soon grow more alike. He would
gain cheerfulness, and she would learn to be an enthusiast for Scott
and Lord Byron; nay, that was probably learnt already; of course they
had fallen in love over poetry. The idea of Louisa Musgrove turned into
a person of literary taste, and sentimental reflection was amusing, but
she had no doubt of its being so. The day at Lyme, the fall from the
Cobb, might influence her health, her nerves, her courage, her
character to the end of her life, as thoroughly as it appeared to have
influenced her fate.
The conclusion of the whole was, that if the woman who had been
sensible of Captain Wentworth’s merits could be allowed to prefer
another man, there was nothing in the engagement to excite lasting
wonder; and if Captain Wentworth lost no friend by it, certainly
nothing to be regretted. No, it was not regret which made Anne’s heart
beat in spite of herself, and brought the colour into her cheeks when
she thought of Captain Wentworth unshackled and free. She had some
feelings which she was ashamed to investigate. They were too much like
joy, senseless joy!
She longed to see the Crofts; but when the meeting took place, it was
evident that no rumour of the news had yet reached them. The visit of
ceremony was paid and returned; and Louisa Musgrove was mentioned, and
Captain Benwick, too, without even half a smile.
The Crofts had placed themselves in lodgings in Gay Street, perfectly
to Sir Walter’s satisfaction. He was not at all ashamed of the
acquaintance, and did, in fact, think and talk a great deal more about
the Admiral, than the Admiral ever thought or talked about him.
The Crofts knew quite as many people in Bath as they wished for, and
considered their intercourse with the Elliots as a mere matter of form,
and not in the least likely to afford them any pleasure. They brought
with them their country habit of being almost always together. He was
ordered to walk to keep off the gout, and Mrs Croft seemed to go shares
with him in everything, and to walk for her life to do him good. Anne
saw them wherever she went. Lady Russell took her out in her carriage
almost every morning, and she never failed to think of them, and never
failed to see them. Knowing their feelings as she did, it was a most
attractive picture of happiness to her. She always watched them as long
as she could, delighted to fancy she understood what they might be