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Page 32
"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 alternation 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.
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