Persuasion

Chapter 9

Captain Wentworth was come to Kellynch as to a home, to stay as long ashe liked, being as thoroughly the object of the Admiral's fraternalkindness as of his wife's. He had intended, on first arriving, toproceed very soon into Shropshire, and visit the brother settled inthat country, but the attractions of Uppercross induced him to put thisoff. There was so much of friendliness, and of flattery, and ofeverything most bewitching in his reception there; the old were sohospitable, the young so agreeable, that he could not but resolve toremain where he was, and take all the charms and perfections ofEdward's wife upon credit a little longer.

It was soon Uppercross with him almost every day. The Musgroves couldhardly be more ready to invite than he to come, particularly in themorning, when he had no companion at home, for the Admiral and MrsCroft were generally out of doors together, interesting themselves intheir new possessions, their grass, and their sheep, and dawdling aboutin 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 theMusgroves and their dependencies. It was unvarying, warm admirationeverywhere; but this intimate footing was not more than established,when a certain Charles Hayter returned among them, to be a good dealdisturbed 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 aconsiderable appearance of attachment previous to Captain Wentworth'sintroduction. He was in orders; and having a curacy in theneighbourhood, where residence was not required, lived at his father'shouse, only two miles from Uppercross. A short absence from home hadleft 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, buttheir marriages had made a material difference in their degree ofconsequence. Mr Hayter had some property of his own, but it wasinsignificant compared with Mr Musgrove's; and while the Musgroves werein 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 atall, but for their connexion with Uppercross, this eldest son of courseexcepted, who had chosen to be a scholar and a gentleman, and who wasvery superior in cultivation and manners to all the rest.

The two families had always been on excellent terms, there being nopride on one side, and no envy on the other, and only such aconsciousness of superiority in the Miss Musgroves, as made thempleased to improve their cousins. Charles's attentions to Henriettahad 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; butfrom that time Cousin Charles had been very much forgotten.

Which of the two sisters was preferred by Captain Wentworth was as yetquite doubtful, as far as Anne's observation reached. Henrietta wasperhaps the prettiest, Louisa had the higher spirits; and she knew notnow, whether the more gentle or the more lively character were mostlikely to attract him.

Mr and Mrs Musgrove, either from seeing little, or from an entireconfidence in the discretion of both their daughters, and of all theyoung men who came near them, seemed to leave everything to take itschance. There was not the smallest appearance of solicitude or remarkabout them in the Mansion-house; but it was different at the Cottage:the young couple there were more disposed to speculate and wonder; andCaptain Wentworth had not been above four or five times in the MissMusgroves' company, and Charles Hayter had but just reappeared, whenAnne had to listen to the opinions of her brother and sister, as towhich was the one liked best. Charles gave it for Louisa, Mary forHenrietta, but quite agreeing that to have him marry either could beextremely delightful.

Charles ”had never seen a pleasanter man in his life; and from what hehad once heard Captain Wentworth himself say, was very sure that he hadnot made less than twenty thousand pounds by the war. Here was afortune at once; besides which, there would be the chance of what mightbe done in any future war; and he was sure Captain Wentworth was aslikely a man to distinguish himself as any officer in the navy. Oh! itwould be a capital match for either of his sisters.”

”Upon my word it would,” replied Mary. ”Dear me! If he should rise toany very great honours! If he should ever be made a baronet! 'LadyWentworth' sounds very well. That would be a noble thing, indeed, forHenrietta! She would take place of me then, and Henrietta would notdislike that. Sir Frederick and Lady Wentworth! It would be but a newcreation, however, and I never think much of your new creations.”

It suited Mary best to think Henrietta the one preferred on the veryaccount of Charles Hayter, whose pretensions she wished to see put anend to. She looked down very decidedly upon the Hayters, and thoughtit would be quite a misfortune to have the existing connection betweenthe families renewed--very sad for herself and her children.

”You know,” said she, ”I cannot think him at all a fit match forHenrietta; and considering the alliances which the Musgroves have made,she has no right to throw herself away. I do not think any young womanhas a right to make a choice that may be disagreeable and inconvenientto the principal part of her family, and be giving bad connections tothose who have not been used to them. And, pray, who is CharlesHayter? Nothing but a country curate. A most improper match for MissMusgrove of Uppercross.”

Her husband, however, would not agree with her here; for besides havinga regard for his cousin, Charles Hayter was an eldest son, and he sawthings as an eldest son himself.

”Now you are talking nonsense, Mary,” was therefore his answer. ”Itwould not be a great match for Henrietta, but Charles has a very fairchance, through the Spicers, of getting something from the Bishop inthe course of a year or two; and you will please to remember, that heis the eldest son; whenever my uncle dies, he steps into very prettyproperty. The estate at Winthrop is not less than two hundred andfifty acres, besides the farm near Taunton, which is some of the bestland in the country. I grant you, that any of them but Charles wouldbe a very shocking match for Henrietta, and indeed it could not be; heis 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, hewill make a different sort of place of it, and live in a very differentsort of way; and with that property, he will never be a contemptibleman--good, freehold property. No, no; Henrietta might do worse thanmarry Charles Hayter; and if she has him, and Louisa can get CaptainWentworth, I shall be very well satisfied.”

”Charles may say what he pleases,” cried Mary to Anne, as soon as hewas out of the room, ”but it would be shocking to have Henrietta marryCharles Hayter; a very bad thing for her, and still worse for me; andtherefore it is very much to be wished that Captain Wentworth may soonput him quite out of her head, and I have very little doubt that hehas. She took hardly any notice of Charles Hayter yesterday. I wishyou had been there to see her behaviour. And as to Captain Wentworth'sliking Louisa as well as Henrietta, it is nonsense to say so; for hecertainly does like Henrietta a great deal the best. But Charles is sopositive! I wish you had been with us yesterday, for then you mighthave 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 thingsshould have been seen by Anne; but she had staid at home, under themixed plea of a headache of her own, and some return of indispositionin little Charles. She had thought only of avoiding Captain Wentworth;but an escape from being appealed to as umpire was now added to theadvantages of a quiet evening.

As to Captain Wentworth's views, she deemed it of more consequence thathe should know his own mind early enough not to be endangering thehappiness of either sister, or impeaching his own honour, than that heshould prefer Henrietta to Louisa, or Louisa to Henrietta. Either ofthem would, in all probability, make him an affectionate, good-humouredwife. With regard to Charles Hayter, she had delicacy which must bepained by any lightness of conduct in a well-meaning young woman, and aheart to sympathize in any of the sufferings it occasioned; but ifHenrietta found herself mistaken in the nature of her feelings, thealteration could not be understood too soon.

Charles Hayter had met with much to disquiet and mortify him in hiscousin's behaviour. She had too old a regard for him to be so whollyestranged as might in two meetings extinguish every past hope, andleave him nothing to do but to keep away from Uppercross: but therewas such a change as became very alarming, when such a man as CaptainWentworth was to be regarded as the probable cause. He had been absentonly two Sundays, and when they parted, had left her interested, evento the height of his wishes, in his prospect of soon quitting hispresent curacy, and obtaining that of Uppercross instead. It had thenseemed the object nearest her heart, that Dr Shirley, the rector, whofor more than forty years had been zealously discharging all the dutiesof his office, but was now growing too infirm for many of them, shouldbe quite fixed on engaging a curate; should make his curacy quite asgood as he could afford, and should give Charles Hayter the promise ofit. The advantage of his having to come only to Uppercross, instead ofgoing six miles another way; of his having, in every respect, a bettercuracy; of his belonging to their dear Dr Shirley, and of dear, good DrShirley's being relieved from the duty which he could no longer getthrough without most injurious fatigue, had been a great deal, even toLouisa, but had been almost everything to Henrietta. When he cameback, alas! the zeal of the business was gone by. Louisa could notlisten at all to his account of a conversation which he had just heldwith Dr Shirley: she was at a window, looking out for CaptainWentworth; and even Henrietta had at best only a divided attention togive, and seemed to have forgotten all the former doubt and solicitudeof 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, youknow, 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 Annehad not been present, Captain Wentworth walked into the drawing-room atthe 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, deprivedhis manners of their usual composure: he started, and could only say,”I thought the Miss Musgroves had been here: Mrs Musgrove told me Ishould find them here,” before he walked to the window to recollecthimself, and feel how he ought to behave.

”They are up stairs with my sister: they will be down in a fewmoments, I dare say,” had been Anne's reply, in all the confusion thatwas natural; and if the child had not called her to come and dosomething 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, ”Ihope the little boy is better,” was silent.

She was obliged to kneel down by the sofa, and remain there to satisfyher patient; and thus they continued a few minutes, when, to her verygreat satisfaction, she heard some other person crossing the littlevestibule. She hoped, on turning her head, to see the master of thehouse; but it proved to be one much less calculated for making matterseasy--Charles Hayter, probably not at all better pleased by the sightof Captain Wentworth than Captain Wentworth had been by the sight ofAnne.

She only attempted to say, ”How do you do? Will you not sit down? Theothers will be here presently.”

Captain Wentworth, however, came from his window, apparently notill-disposed for conversation; but Charles Hayter soon put an end tohis attempts by seating himself near the table, and taking up thenewspaper; and Captain Wentworth returned to his window.

Another minute brought another addition. The younger boy, a remarkablestout, forward child, of two years old, having got the door opened forhim by some one without, made his determined appearance among them, andwent straight to the sofa to see what was going on, and put in hisclaim to anything good that might be giving away.

There being nothing to eat, he could only have some play; and as hisaunt would not let him tease his sick brother, he began to fastenhimself upon her, as she knelt, in such a way that, busy as she wasabout Charles, she could not shake him off. She spoke to him, ordered,entreated, and insisted in vain. Once she did contrive to push himaway, but the boy had the greater pleasure in getting upon her backagain directly.

”Walter,” said she, ”get down this moment. You are extremelytroublesome. I am very angry with you.”

”Walter,” cried Charles Hayter, ”why do you not do as you are bid? Donot you hear your aunt speak? Come to me, Walter, come to cousinCharles.”

But not a bit did Walter stir.

In another moment, however, she found herself in the state of beingreleased from him; some one was taking him from her, though he had bentdown her head so much, that his little sturdy hands were unfastenedfrom around her neck, and he was resolutely borne away, before she knewthat Captain Wentworth had done it.

Her sensations on the discovery made her perfectly speechless. Shecould not even thank him. She could only hang over little Charles,with most disordered feelings. His kindness in stepping forward to herrelief, the manner, the silence in which it had passed, the littleparticulars of the circumstance, with the conviction soon forced on herby the noise he was studiously making with the child, that he meant toavoid hearing her thanks, and rather sought to testify that herconversation was the last of his wants, produced such a confusion ofvarying, but very painful agitation, as she could not recover from,till enabled by the entrance of Mary and the Miss Musgroves to makeover her little patient to their cares, and leave the room. She couldnot stay. It might have been an opportunity of watching the loves andjealousies of the four--they were now altogether; but she could stayfor none of it. It was evident that Charles Hayter was not wellinclined towards Captain Wentworth. She had a strong impression of hishaving said, in a vext tone of voice, after Captain Wentworth'sinterference, ”You ought to have minded me, Walter; I told you not toteaze your aunt;” and could comprehend his regretting that CaptainWentworth should do what he ought to have done himself. But neitherCharles Hayter's feelings, nor anybody's feelings, could interest her,till she had a little better arranged her own. She was ashamed ofherself, quite ashamed of being so nervous, so overcome by such atrifle; but so it was, and it required a long application of solitudeand reflection to recover her.