Chapter 18
It was the beginning of February; and Anne, having been a month in Bath,
was growing very eager for news from Uppercross and Lyme.
She wanted to hear much more than Mary had communicated.
It was three weeks since she had heard at all.牋She only knew
that Henrietta was at home again; and that Louisa, though considered to be
recovering fast, was still in Lyme; and she was thinking of them all
very intently one evening, when a thicker letter than usual from Mary
was delivered to her; and, to quicken the pleasure and surprise,
with Admiral and Mrs Croft's compliments.
The Crofts must be in Bath!牋A circumstance to interest her.
They were people whom her heart turned to very naturally.
"What is this?" cried Sir Walter.牋"The Crofts have arrived in Bath?
The Crofts who rent Kellynch?牋What have they brought you?"
"A letter from Uppercross Cottage, Sir."
"Oh! those letters are convenient passports.牋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.
牋"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.牋We have had
a very dull Christmas; Mr and Mrs Musgrove have not had one dinner party
all the holidays.牋I do not reckon the Hayters as anybody.
The holidays, however, are over at last:牋I believe no children ever had
such long ones.牋I am sure I had not.牋The house was cleared yesterday,
except of the little Harvilles; but you will be surprised to hear
they have never gone home.牋Mrs Harville must be an odd mother
to part with them so long.牋I do not understand it.牋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!牋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:牋I am always out of the way
when any thing desirable is going on; always the last of my family
to be noticed.牋What an immense time Mrs Clay has been staying
with Elizabeth!牋Does she never mean to go away?牋But perhaps
if she were to leave the room vacant, we might not be invited.
Let me know what you think of this.牋I do not expect my children
to be asked, you know.牋I can leave them at the Great House very well,
for a month or six weeks.牋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.牋We see nothing of them,
and this is really an instance of gross inattention.牋Charles joins me
in love, and everything proper.牋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.牋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.牋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.牋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.牋Our neighbourhood
cannot spare such a pleasant family.牋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!牋Are not you astonished?牋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.牋Mrs Harville says her husband feels a good deal
on his poor sister's account; but, however, Louisa is a great favourite
with both.牋Indeed, Mrs Harville and I quite agree that we love her
the better for having nursed her.牋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.牋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.牋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.牋She had never in her life been more astonished.
Captain Benwick and Louisa Musgrove!牋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.牋Happily for her, they were not many.牋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.牋He is thought to be gouty."
"Gout and decrepitude!" said Sir Walter.牋"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.牋Situated as we are with Lady Dalrymple, cousins,
we ought to be very careful not to embarrass her with acquaintance
she might not approve.牋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.牋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.牋Well might Charles wonder
how Captain Wentworth would feel!牋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.牋She could not endure
that such a friendship as theirs should be severed unfairly.
Captain Benwick and Louisa Musgrove!牋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.牋Their minds most dissimilar!
Where could have been the attraction?牋The answer soon presented itself.
It had been in situation.牋They had been thrown together several weeks;
they had been living in the same small family party:牋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.牋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.牋She did not mean, however,
to derive much more from it to gratify her vanity, than Mary
might have allowed.牋She was persuaded that any tolerably pleasing
young woman who had listened and seemed to feel for him would have
received the same compliment.牋He had an affectionate heart.
He must love somebody.
She saw no reason against their being happy.牋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.牋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.牋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.牋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.牋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.牋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.牋She always watched them as long as she could,
delighted to fancy she understood what they might be talking of,
as they walked along in happy independence, or equally delighted
to see the Admiral's hearty shake of the hand when he encountered
an old friend, and observe their eagerness of conversation
when occasionally forming into a little knot of the navy, Mrs Croft
looking as intelligent and keen as any of the officers around her.
Anne was too much engaged with Lady Russell to be often walking herself;
but it so happened that one morning, about a week or ten days
after the Croft's arrival, it suited her best to leave her friend,
or her friend's carriage, in the lower part of the town,
and return alone to Camden Place, and in walking up Milsom Street
she had the good fortune to meet with the Admiral.牋He was standing
by himself at a printshop window, with his hands behind him,
in earnest contemplation of some print, and she not only might have
passed him unseen, but was obliged to touch as well as address him
before she could catch his notice.牋When he did perceive and
acknowledge her, however, it was done with all his usual frankness
and good humour.牋"Ha! is it you?牋Thank you, thank you.
This is treating me like a friend.牋Here I am, you see,
staring at a picture.牋I can never get by this shop without stopping.
But what a thing here is, by way of a boat!牋Do look at it.
Did you ever see the like?牋What queer fellows your fine painters must be,
to think that anybody would venture their lives in such a shapeless
old cockleshell as that?牋And yet here are two gentlemen
stuck up in it mightily at their ease, and looking about them at the rocks
and mountains, as if they were not to be upset the next moment,
which they certainly must be.牋I wonder where that boat was built!"
(laughing heartily); "I would not venture over a horsepond in it.
Well," (turning away), "now, where are you bound?牋Can I go anywhere
for you, or with you?牋Can I be of any use?"
"None, I thank you, unless you will give me the pleasure of your company
the little way our road lies together.牋I am going home."
"That I will, with all my heart, and farther, too.牋Yes, yes
we will have a snug walk together, and I have something to tell you
as we go along.牋There, take my arm; that's right; I do not
feel comfortable if I have not a woman there.牋Lord! what a boat it is!"
taking a last look at the picture, as they began to be in motion.
"Did you say that you had something to tell me, sir?"
"Yes, I have, presently.牋But here comes a friend, Captain Brigden;
I shall only say, `How d'ye do?' as we pass, however.牋I shall not stop.
`How d'ye do?'牋Brigden stares to see anybody with me but my wife.
She, poor soul, is tied by the leg.牋She has a blister on one of her heels,
as large as a three-shilling piece.牋If you look across the street,
you will see Admiral Brand coming down and his brother.牋Shabby fellows,
both of them!牋I am glad they are not on this side of the way.
Sophy cannot bear them.牋They played me a pitiful trick once:
got away with some of my best men.牋I will tell you the whole story
another time.牋There comes old Sir Archibald Drew and his grandson.
Look, he sees us; he kisses his hand to you; he takes you for my wife.
Ah! the peace has come too soon for that younker.牋Poor old Sir Archibald!
How do you like Bath, Miss Elliot?牋It suits us very well.
We are always meeting with some old friend or other; the streets
full of them every morning; sure to have plenty of chat;
and then we get away from them all, and shut ourselves in our lodgings,
and draw in our chairs, and are snug as if we were at Kellynch,
ay, or as we used to be even at North Yarmouth and Deal.
We do not like our lodgings here the worse, I can tell you,
for putting us in mind of those we first had at North Yarmouth.
The wind blows through one of the cupboards just in the same way."
When they were got a little farther, Anne ventured to press again
for what he had to communicate.牋She hoped when clear of Milsom Street
to have her curiosity gratified; but she was still obliged to wait,
for the Admiral had made up his mind not to begin till they had
gained the greater space and quiet of Belmont; and as she was
not really Mrs Croft, she must let him have his own way.
As soon as they were fairly ascending Belmont, he began--
"Well, now you shall hear something that will surprise you.
But first of all, you must tell me the name of the young lady
I am going to talk about.牋That young lady, you know, that we have
all been so concerned for.牋The Miss Musgrove, that all this has been
happening to.牋Her Christian name:牋I always forget her Christian name."
Anne had been ashamed to appear to comprehend so soon as she really
did; but now she could safely suggest the name of "Louisa."
"Ay, ay, Miss Louisa Musgrove, that is the name.牋I wish young ladies
had not such a number of fine Christian names.牋I should never be out
if they were all Sophys, or something of that sort.牋Well,
this Miss Louisa, we all thought, you know, was to marry Frederick.
He was courting her week after week.牋The only wonder was,
what they could be waiting for, till the business at Lyme came;
then, indeed, it was clear enough that they must wait till her brain
was set to right.牋But even then there was something odd in their
way of going on.牋Instead of staying at Lyme, he went off to Plymouth,
and then he went off to see Edward.牋When we came back from Minehead
he was gone down to Edward's, and there he has been ever since.
We have seen nothing of him since November.牋Even Sophy could
not understand it.牋But now, the matter has take the strangest turn of all;
for this young lady, the same Miss Musgrove, instead of being
to marry Frederick, is to marry James Benwick.牋You know James Benwick."
"A little.牋I am a little acquainted with Captain Benwick."
"Well, she is to marry him.牋Nay, most likely they are married already,
for I do not know what they should wait for."
"I thought Captain Benwick a very pleasing young man," said Anne,
"and I understand that he bears an excellent character."
"Oh! yes, yes, there is not a word to be said against James Benwick.
He is only a commander, it is true, made last summer, and these are
bad times for getting on, but he has not another fault that I know of.
An excellent, good-hearted fellow, I assure you; a very active,
zealous officer too, which is more than you would think for, perhaps,
for that soft sort of manner does not do him justice."
"Indeed you are mistaken there, sir; I should never augur want of spirit
from Captain Benwick's manners.牋I thought them particularly pleasing,
and I will answer for it, they would generally please."
"Well, well, ladies are the best judges; but James Benwick is rather too
piano for me; and though very likely it is all our partiality,
Sophy and I cannot help thinking Frederick's manners better than his.
There is something about Frederick more to our taste."
Anne was caught.牋She had only meant to oppose the too common idea
of spirit and gentleness being incompatible with each other,
not at all to represent Captain Benwick's manners as the very best
that could possibly be; and, after a little hesitation,
she was beginning to say, "I was not entering into any comparison
of the two friends," but the Admiral interrupted her with--
"And the thing is certainly true.牋It is not a mere bit of gossip.
We have it from Frederick himself.牋His sister had a letter
from him yesterday, in which he tells us of it, and he had just had it
in a letter from Harville, written upon the spot, from Uppercross.
I fancy they are all at Uppercross."
This was an opportunity which Anne could not resist; she said, therefore,
"I hope, Admiral, I hope there is nothing in the style of Captain
Wentworth's letter to make you and Mrs Croft particularly uneasy.
It did seem, last autumn, as if there were an attachment between him
and Louisa Musgrove; but I hope it may be understood to have worn out
on each side equally, and without violence.牋I hope his letter
does not breathe the spirit of an ill-used man."
"Not at all, not at all; there is not an oath or a murmur
from beginning to end."
Anne looked down to hide her smile.
"No, no; Frederick is not a man to whine and complain; he has
too much spirit for that.牋If the girl likes another man better,
it is very fit she should have him."
"Certainly.牋But what I mean is, that I hope there is nothing
in Captain Wentworth's manner of writing to make you suppose
he thinks himself ill-used by his friend, which might appear,
you know, without its being absolutely said.牋I should be very sorry
that such a friendship as has subsisted between him and Captain Benwick
should be destroyed, or even wounded, by a circumstance of this sort."
"Yes, yes, I understand you.牋But there is nothing at all of that nature
in the letter.牋He does not give the least fling at Benwick;
does not so much as say, `I wonder at it, I have a reason of my own
for wondering at it.'牋No, you would not guess, from his way of writing,
that he had ever thought of this Miss (what's her name?) for himself.
He very handsomely hopes they will be happy together; and there is
nothing very unforgiving in that, I think."
Anne did not receive the perfect conviction which the Admiral meant
to convey, but it would have been useless to press the enquiry farther.
She therefore satisfied herself with common-place remarks or quiet
attention, and the Admiral had it all his own way.
"Poor Frederick!" said he at last.牋"Now he must begin all over again
with somebody else.牋I think we must get him to Bath.牋Sophy must write,
and beg him to come to Bath.牋Here are pretty girls enough, I am sure.
It would be of no use to go to Uppercross again, for that other
Miss Musgrove, I find, is bespoke by her cousin, the young parson.
Do not you think, Miss Elliot, we had better try to get him to Bath?"