Bab Bab 9 · Captain Wentworth was come to Kellynch as to a home, to stay as long as

. Captain Wentworth was come to Kellynch as to a home, to stay as long as

he liked, being as thoroughly the object of the Admiral’s fraternal

kindness as of his wife’s. He had intended, on first arriving, to

proceed very soon into Shropshire, and visit the brother settled in

that country, but the attractions of Uppercross induced him to put this

off. There was so much of friendliness, and of flattery, and of

everything most bewitching in his reception there; the old were so

hospitable, the young so agreeable, that he could not but resolve to

remain where he was, and take all the charms and perfections of

Edward’s wife upon credit a little longer.

It was soon Uppercross with him almost every day. The Musgroves could

hardly be more ready to invite than he to come, particularly in the

morning, when he had no companion at home, for the Admiral and Mrs

Croft were generally out of doors together, interesting themselves in

their new possessions, their grass, and their sheep, and dawdling about

in a way not endurable to a third person, or driving out in a gig,

lately added to their establishment.

Hitherto there had been but one opinion of Captain Wentworth among the

Musgroves and their dependencies. It was unvarying, warm admiration

everywhere; but this intimate footing was not more than established,

when a certain Charles Hayter returned among them, to be a good deal

disturbed by it, and to think Captain Wentworth very much in the way.

Charles Hayter was the eldest of all the cousins, and a very amiable,

pleasing young man, between whom and Henrietta there had been a

considerable appearance of attachment previous to Captain Wentworth’s

introduction. He was in orders; and having a curacy in the

neighbourhood, where residence was not required, lived at his father’s

house, only two miles from Uppercross. A short absence from home had

left his fair one unguarded by his attentions at this critical period,

and when he came back he had the pain of finding very altered manners,

and of seeing Captain Wentworth.

Mrs Musgrove and Mrs Hayter were sisters. They had each had money, but

their marriages had made a material difference in their degree of

consequence. Mr Hayter had some property of his own, but it was

insignificant compared with Mr Musgrove’s; and while the Musgroves were

in the first class of society in the country, the young Hayters would,

from their parents’ inferior, retired, and unpolished way of living,

and their own defective education, have been hardly in any class at

all, but for their connexion with Uppercross, this eldest son of course

excepted, who had chosen to be a scholar and a gentleman, and who was

very superior in cultivation and manners to all the rest.

The two families had always been on excellent terms, there being no

pride on one side, and no envy on the other, and only such a

consciousness of superiority in the Miss Musgroves, as made them

pleased to improve their cousins. Charles’s attentions to Henrietta had

been observed by her father and mother without any disapprobation. “It

would not be a great match for her; but if Henrietta liked him,”—and

Henrietta _did_ seem to like him.

Henrietta fully thought so herself, before Captain Wentworth came; but

from that time Cousin Charles had been very much forgotten.

Which of the two sisters was preferred by Captain Wentworth was as yet

quite doubtful, as far as Anne’s observation reached. Henrietta was

perhaps the prettiest, Louisa had the higher spirits; and she knew not

_now_, whether the more gentle or the more lively character were most

likely to attract him.

Mr and Mrs Musgrove, either from seeing little, or from an entire

confidence in the discretion of both their daughters, and of all the

young men who came near them, seemed to leave everything to take its

chance. There was not the smallest appearance of solicitude or remark

about them in the Mansion-house; but it was different at the Cottage:

the young couple there were more disposed to speculate and wonder; and

Captain Wentworth had not been above four or five times in the Miss

Musgroves’ company, and Charles Hayter had but just reappeared, when

Anne had to listen to the opinions of her brother and sister, as to

_which_ was the one liked best. Charles gave it for Louisa, Mary for

Henrietta, but quite agreeing that to have him marry either could be

extremely delightful.

Charles “had never seen a pleasanter man in his life; and from what he

had once heard Captain Wentworth himself say, was very sure that he had

not made less than twenty thousand pounds by the war. Here was a

fortune at once; besides which, there would be the chance of what might

be done in any future war; and he was sure Captain Wentworth was as

likely a man to distinguish himself as any officer in the navy. Oh! it

would be a capital match for either of his sisters.”

“Upon my word it would,” replied Mary. “Dear me! If he should rise to

any very great honours! If he should ever be made a baronet! ‘Lady

Wentworth’ sounds very well. That would be a noble thing, indeed, for

Henrietta! She would take place of me then, and Henrietta would not

dislike that. Sir Frederick and Lady Wentworth! It would be but a new

creation, however, and I never think much of your new creations.”

It suited Mary best to think Henrietta the one preferred on the very

account of Charles Hayter, whose pretensions she wished to see put an

end to. She looked down very decidedly upon the Hayters, and thought it

would be quite a misfortune to have the existing connection between the

families renewed—very sad for herself and her children.

“You know,” said she, “I cannot think him at all a fit match for

Henrietta; and considering the alliances which the Musgroves have made,

she has no right to throw herself away. I do not think any young woman

has a right to make a choice that may be disagreeable and inconvenient

to the _principal_ part of her family, and be giving bad connections to

those who have not been used to them. And, pray, who is Charles Hayter?

Nothing but a country curate. A most improper match for Miss Musgrove

of Uppercross.”

Her husband, however, would not agree with her here; for besides having

a regard for his cousin, Charles Hayter was an eldest son, and he saw

things as an eldest son himself.

“Now you are talking nonsense, Mary,” was therefore his answer. “It

would not be a _great_ match for Henrietta, but Charles has a very fair

chance, through the Spicers, of getting something from the Bishop in

the course of a year or two; and you will please to remember, that he

is the eldest son; whenever my uncle dies, he steps into very pretty

property. The estate at Winthrop is not less than two hundred and fifty

acres, besides the farm near Taunton, which is some of the best land in

the country. I grant you, that any of them but Charles would be a very

shocking match for Henrietta, and indeed it could not be; he is the

only one that could be possible; but he is a very good-natured, good

sort of a fellow; and whenever Winthrop comes into his hands, he will

make a different sort of place of it, and live in a very different sort

of way; and with that property, he will never be a contemptible

man—good, freehold property. No, no; Henrietta might do worse than

marry Charles Hayter; and if she has him, and Louisa can get Captain

Wentworth, I shall be very well satisfied.”

“Charles may say what he pleases,” cried Mary to Anne, as soon as he

was out of the room, “but it would be shocking to have Henrietta marry

Charles Hayter; a very bad thing for _her_, and still worse for _me;_

and therefore it is very much to be wished that Captain Wentworth may

soon put him quite out of her head, and I have very little doubt that

he has. She took hardly any notice of Charles Hayter yesterday. I wish

you had been there to see her behaviour. And as to Captain Wentworth’s

liking Louisa as well as Henrietta, it is nonsense to say so; for he

certainly _does_ like Henrietta a great deal the best. But Charles is

so positive! I wish you had been with us yesterday, for then you might

have decided between us; and I am sure you would have thought as I did,

unless you had been determined to give it against me.”

A dinner at Mr Musgrove’s had been the occasion when all these things

should have been seen by Anne; but she had staid at home, under the

mixed plea of a headache of her own, and some return of indisposition

in little Charles. She had thought only of avoiding Captain Wentworth;

but an escape from being appealed to as umpire was now added to the

advantages of a quiet evening.

As to Captain Wentworth’s views, she deemed it of more consequence that

he should know his own mind early enough not to be endangering the

happiness of either sister, or impeaching his own honour, than that he

should prefer Henrietta to Louisa, or Louisa to Henrietta. Either of

them would, in all probability, make him an affectionate, good-humoured

wife. With regard to Charles Hayter, she had delicacy which must be

pained by any lightness of conduct in a well-meaning young woman, and a

heart to sympathize in any of the sufferings it occasioned; but if

Henrietta found herself mistaken in the nature of her feelings, the

alteration could not be understood too soon.

Charles Hayter had met with much to disquiet and mortify him in his

cousin’s behaviour. She had too old a regard for him to be so wholly

estranged as might in two meetings extinguish every past hope, and

leave him nothing to do but to keep away from Uppercross: but there was

such a change as became very alarming, when such a man as Captain

Wentworth was to be regarded as the probable cause. He had been absent

only two Sundays, and when they parted, had left her interested, even

to the height of his wishes, in his prospect of soon quitting his

present curacy, and obtaining that of Uppercross instead. It had then

seemed the object nearest her heart, that Dr Shirley, the rector, who

for more than forty years had been zealously discharging all the duties

of his office, but was now growing too infirm for many of them, should

be quite fixed on engaging a curate; should make his curacy quite as

good as he could afford, and should give Charles Hayter the promise of

it. The advantage of his having to come only to Uppercross, instead of

going six miles another way; of his having, in every respect, a better

curacy; of his belonging to their dear Dr Shirley, and of dear, good Dr

Shirley’s being relieved from the duty which he could no longer get

through without most injurious fatigue, had been a great deal, even to

Louisa, but had been almost everything to Henrietta. When he came back,

alas! the zeal of the business was gone by. Louisa could not listen at

all to his account of a conversation which he had just held with Dr

Shirley: she was at a window, looking out for Captain Wentworth; and

even Henrietta had at best only a divided attention to give, and seemed

to have forgotten all the former doubt and solicitude of the

negotiation.

“Well, I am very glad indeed: but I always thought you would have it; I

always thought you sure. It did not appear to me that—in short, you

know, Dr Shirley _must_ have a curate, and you had secured his promise.

Is he coming, Louisa?”

One morning, very soon after the dinner at the Musgroves, at which Anne

had not been present, Captain Wentworth walked into the drawing-room at

the Cottage, where were only herself and the little invalid Charles,

who was lying on the sofa.

The surprise of finding himself almost alone with Anne Elliot, deprived

his manners of their usual composure: he started, and could only say,

“I thought the Miss Musgroves had been here: Mrs Musgrove told me I

should find them here,” before he walked to the window to recollect

himself, and feel how he ought to behave.

“They are up stairs with my sister: they will be down in a few moments,

I dare say,” had been Anne’s reply, in all the confusion that was

natural; and if the child had not called her to come and do something

for him, she would have been out of the room the next moment, and

released Captain Wentworth as well as herself.

He continued at the window; and after calmly and politely saying, “I

hope the little boy is better,” was silent.

She was obliged to kneel down by the sofa, and remain there to satisfy

her patient; and thus they continued a few minutes, when, to her very

great satisfaction, she heard some other person crossing the little

vestibule. She hoped, on turning her head, to see the master of the

house; but it proved to be one much less calculated for making matters

easy—Charles Hayter, probably not at all better pleased by the sight of

Captain Wentworth than Captain Wentworth had been by the sight of Anne.

She only attempted to say, “How do you do? Will you not sit down? The

others will be here presently.”

Captain Wentworth, however, came from his window, apparently not

ill-disposed for conversation; but Charles Hayter soon put an end to

his attempts by seating himself near the table, and taking up the

newspaper; and Captain Wentworth returned to his window.

Another minute brought another addition. The younger boy, a remarkable

stout, forward child, of two years old, having got the door opened for

him by some one without, made his determined appearance among them, and

went straight to the sofa to see what was going on, and put in his

claim to anything good that might be giving away.

There being nothing to eat, he could only have some play; and as his

aunt would not let him tease his sick brother, he began to fasten

himself upon her, as she knelt, in such a way that, busy as she was

about Charles, she could not shake him off. She spoke to him, ordered,

entreated, and insisted in vain. Once she did contrive to push him

away, but the boy had the greater pleasure in getting upon her back

again directly.

“Walter,” said she, “get down this moment. You are extremely

troublesome. I am very angry with you.”

“Walter,” cried Charles Hayter, “why do you not do as you are bid? Do

not you hear your aunt speak? Come to me, Walter, come to cousin

Charles.”

But not a bit did Walter stir.

In another moment, however, she found herself in the state of being

released from him; some one was taking him from her, though he had bent

down her head so much, that his little sturdy hands were unfastened

from around her neck, and he was resolutely borne away, before she knew

that Captain Wentworth had done it.

Her sensations on the discovery made her perfectly speechless. She

could not even thank him. She could only hang over little Charles, with

most disordered feelings. His kindness in stepping forward to her

relief, the manner, the silence in which it had passed, the little

particulars of the circumstance, with the conviction soon forced on her

by the noise he was studiously making with the child, that he meant to

avoid hearing her thanks, and rather sought to testify that her

conversation was the last of his wants, produced such a confusion of

varying, but very painful agitation, as she could not recover from,

till enabled by the entrance of Mary and the Miss Musgroves to make

over her little patient to their cares, and leave the room. She could

not stay. It might have been an opportunity of watching the loves and

jealousies of the four—they were now altogether; but she could stay for

none of it. It was evident that Charles Hayter was not well inclined

towards Captain Wentworth. She had a strong impression of his having

said, in a vext tone of voice, after Captain Wentworth’s interference,

“You ought to have minded _me_, Walter; I told you not to teaze your

aunt;” and could comprehend his regretting that Captain Wentworth

should do what he ought to have done himself. But neither Charles

Hayter’s feelings, nor anybody’s feelings, could interest her, till she

had a little better arranged her own. She was ashamed of herself, quite

ashamed of being so nervous, so overcome by such a trifle; but so it

was, and it required a long application of solitude and reflection to

recover her.