by Jane Austen
Chapter 14
Though Charles and Mary had remained at Lyme much longer after Mr andMrs Musgrove's going than Anne conceived they could have been at allwanted, they were yet the first of the family to be at home again; andas soon as possible after their return to Uppercross they drove over tothe Lodge. They had left Louisa beginning to sit up; but her head,though clear, was exceedingly weak, and her nerves susceptible to thehighest extreme of tenderness; and though she might be pronounced to bealtogether doing very well, it was still impossible to say when shemight be able to bear the removal home; and her father and mother, whomust return in time to receive their younger children for the Christmasholidays, had hardly a hope of being allowed to bring her with them.
They had been all in lodgings together. Mrs Musgrove had got MrsHarville's children away as much as she could, every possible supplyfrom Uppercross had been furnished, to lighten the inconvenience to theHarvilles, while the Harvilles had been wanting them to come to dinnerevery day; and in short, it seemed to have been only a struggle on eachside as to which should be most disinterested and hospitable.
Mary had had her evils; but upon the whole, as was evident by herstaying so long, she had found more to enjoy than to suffer. CharlesHayter had been at Lyme oftener than suited her; and when they dinedwith the Harvilles there had been only a maid-servant to wait, and atfirst Mrs Harville had always given Mrs Musgrove precedence; but then,she had received so very handsome an apology from her on finding outwhose daughter she was, and there had been so much going on every day,there had been so many walks between their lodgings and the Harvilles,and she had got books from the library, and changed them so often, thatthe balance had certainly been much in favour of Lyme. She had beentaken to Charmouth too, and she had bathed, and she had gone to church,and there were a great many more people to look at in the church atLyme than at Uppercross; and all this, joined to the sense of being sovery useful, had made really an agreeable fortnight.
Anne enquired after Captain Benwick. Mary's face was clouded directly.Charles laughed.
"Oh! Captain Benwick is very well, I believe, but he is a very oddyoung man. I do not know what he would be at. We asked him to comehome with us for a day or two: Charles undertook to give him someshooting, and he seemed quite delighted, and, for my part, I thought itwas all settled; when behold! on Tuesday night, he made a very awkwardsort of excuse; 'he never shot' and he had 'been quite misunderstood,'and he had promised this and he had promised that, and the end of itwas, I found, that he did not mean to come. I suppose he was afraid offinding it dull; but upon my word I should have thought we were livelyenough at the Cottage for such a heart-broken man as Captain Benwick."
Charles laughed again and said, "Now Mary, you know very well how itreally was. It was all your doing," (turning to Anne.) "He fanciedthat if he went with us, he should find you close by: he fanciedeverybody to be living in Uppercross; and when he discovered that LadyRussell lived three miles off, his heart failed him, and he had notcourage to come. That is the fact, upon my honour. Mary knows it is."
But Mary did not give into it very graciously, whether from notconsidering Captain Benwick entitled by birth and situation to be inlove with an Elliot, or from not wanting to believe Anne a greaterattraction to Uppercross than herself, must be left to be guessed.Anne's good-will, however, was not to be lessened by what she heard.She boldly acknowledged herself flattered, and continued her enquiries.
"Oh! he talks of you," cried Charles, "in such terms--" Maryinterrupted him. "I declare, Charles, I never heard him mention Annetwice all the time I was there. I declare, Anne, he never talks of youat all."
"No," admitted Charles, "I do not know that he ever does, in a generalway; but however, it is a very clear thing that he admires youexceedingly. His head is full of some books that he is reading uponyour recommendation, and he wants to talk to you about them; he hasfound out something or other in one of them which he thinks--oh! Icannot pretend to remember it, but it was something very fine--Ioverheard him telling Henrietta all about it; and then 'Miss Elliot'was spoken of in the highest terms! Now Mary, I declare it was so, Iheard it myself, and you were in the other room. 'Elegance, sweetness,beauty.' Oh! there was no end of Miss Elliot's charms."
"And I am sure," cried Mary, warmly, "it was a very little to hiscredit, if he did. Miss Harville only died last June. Such a heart isvery little worth having; is it, Lady Russell? I am sure you willagree with me."
"I must see Captain Benwick before I decide," said Lady Russell,smiling.
"And that you are very likely to do very soon, I can tell you, ma'am,"said Charles. "Though he had not nerves for coming away with us, andsetting off again afterwards to pay a formal visit here, he will makehis way over to Kellynch one day by himself, you may depend on it. Itold him the distance and the road, and I told him of the church'sbeing so very well worth seeing; for as he has a taste for those sortof things, I thought that would be a good excuse, and he listened withall his understanding and soul; and I am sure from his manner that youwill have him calling here soon. So, I give you notice, Lady Russell."
"Any acquaintance of Anne's will always be welcome to me," was LadyRussell's kind answer.
"Oh! as to being Anne's acquaintance," said Mary, "I think he is rathermy acquaintance, for I have been seeing him every day this lastfortnight."
"Well, as your joint acquaintance, then, I shall be very happy to seeCaptain Benwick."
"You will not find anything very agreeable in him, I assure you, ma'am.He is one of the dullest young men that ever lived. He has walked withme, sometimes, from one end of the sands to the other, without saying aword. He is not at all a well-bred young man. I am sure you will notlike him."
"There we differ, Mary," said Anne. "I think Lady Russell would likehim. I think she would be so much pleased with his mind, that shewould very soon see no deficiency in his manner."
"So do I, Anne," said Charles. "I am sure Lady Russell would like him.He is just Lady Russell's sort. Give him a book, and he will read allday long."
"Yes, that he will!" exclaimed Mary, tauntingly. "He will sit poringover his book, and not know when a person speaks to him, or when onedrops one's scissors, or anything that happens. Do you think LadyRussell would like that?"
Lady Russell could not help laughing. "Upon my word," said she, "Ishould not have supposed that my opinion of any one could have admittedof such difference of conjecture, steady and matter of fact as I maycall myself. I have really a curiosity to see the person who can giveoccasion to such directly opposite notions. I wish he may be inducedto call here. And when he does, Mary, you may depend upon hearing myopinion; but I am determined not to judge him beforehand."
"You will not like him, I will answer for it."
Lady Russell began talking of something else. Mary spoke withanimation of their meeting with, or rather missing, Mr Elliot soextraordinarily.
"He is a man," said Lady Russell, "whom I have no wish to see. Hisdeclining to be on cordial terms with the head of his family, has lefta very strong impression in his disfavour with me."
This decision checked Mary's eagerness, and stopped her short in themidst of the Elliot countenance.
With regard to Captain Wentworth, though Anne hazarded no enquiries,there was voluntary communication sufficient. His spirits had beengreatly recovering lately as might be expected. As Louisa improved, hehad improved, and he was now quite a different creature from what hehad been the first week. He had not seen Louisa; and was so extremelyfearful of any ill consequence to her from an interview, that he didnot press for it at all; and, on the contrary, seemed to have a plan ofgoing away for a week or ten days, till her head was stronger. He hadtalked of going down to Plymouth for a week, and wanted to persuadeCaptain Benwick to go with him; but, as Charles maintained to the last,Captain Benwick seemed much more disposed to ride over to Kellynch.
There can be no doubt that Lady Russell and Anne were both occasionallythinking of Captain
Benwick, from this time. Lady Russell could nothear the door-bell without feeling that it might be his herald; norcould Anne return from any stroll of solitary indulgence in herfather's grounds, or any visit of charity in the village, withoutwondering whether she might see him or hear of him. Captain Benwickcame not, however. He was either less disposed for it than Charles hadimagined, or he was too shy; and after giving him a week's indulgence,Lady Russell determined him to be unworthy of the interest which he hadbeen beginning to excite.
The Musgroves came back to receive their happy boys and girls fromschool, bringing with them Mrs Harville's little children, to improvethe noise of Uppercross, and lessen that of Lyme. Henrietta remainedwith Louisa; but all the rest of the family were again in their usualquarters.
Lady Russell and Anne paid their compliments to them once, when Annecould not but feel that Uppercross was already quite alive again.Though neither Henrietta, nor Louisa, nor Charles Hayter, nor CaptainWentworth were there, the room presented as strong a contrast as couldbe wished to the last state she had seen it in.
Immediately surrounding Mrs Musgrove were the little Harvilles, whomshe was sedulously guarding from the tyranny of the two children fromthe Cottage, expressly arrived to amuse them. On one side was a tableoccupied by some chattering girls, cutting up silk and gold paper; andon the other were tressels and trays, bending under the weight of brawnand cold pies, where riotous boys were holding high revel; the wholecompleted by a roaring Christmas fire, which seemed determined to beheard, in spite of all the noise of the others. Charles and Mary alsocame in, of course, during their visit, and Mr Musgrove made a point ofpaying his respects to Lady Russell, and sat down close to her for tenminutes, talking with a very raised voice, but from the clamour of thechildren on his knees, generally in vain. It was a fine family-piece.
Anne, judging from her own temperament, would have deemed such adomestic hurricane a bad restorative of the nerves, which Louisa'sillness must have so greatly shaken. But Mrs Musgrove, who got Annenear her on purpose to thank her most cordially, again and again, forall her attentions to them, concluded a short recapitulation of whatshe had suffered herself by observing, with a happy glance round theroom, that after all she had gone through, nothing was so likely to doher good as a little quiet cheerfulness at home.
Louisa was now recovering apace. Her mother could even think of herbeing able to join their party at home, before her brothers and sisterswent to school again. The Harvilles had promised to come with her andstay at Uppercross, whenever she returned. Captain Wentworth was gone,for the present, to see his brother in Shropshire.
"I hope I shall remember, in future," said Lady Russell, as soon asthey were reseated in the carriage, "not to call at Uppercross in theChristmas holidays."
Everybody has their taste in noises as well as in other matters; andsounds are quite innoxious, or most distressing, by their sort ratherthan their quantity. When Lady Russell not long afterwards, wasentering Bath on a wet afternoon, and driving through the long courseof streets from the Old Bridge to Camden Place, amidst the dash ofother carriages, the heavy rumble of carts and drays, the bawling ofnewspapermen, muffin-men and milkmen, and the ceaseless clink ofpattens, she made no complaint. No, these were noises which belongedto the winter pleasures; her spirits rose under their influence; andlike Mrs Musgrove, she was feeling, though not saying, that after beinglong in the country, nothing could be so good for her as a little quietcheerfulness.
Anne did not share these feelings. She persisted in a very determined,though very silent disinclination for Bath; caught the first dim viewof the extensive buildings, smoking in rain, without any wish of seeingthem better; felt their progress through the streets to be, howeverdisagreeable, yet too rapid; for who would be glad to see her when shearrived? And looked back, with fond regret, to the bustles ofUppercross and the seclusion of Kellynch.
Elizabeth's last letter had communicated a piece of news of someinterest. Mr Elliot was in Bath. He had called in Camden Place; hadcalled a second time, a third; had been pointedly attentive. IfElizabeth and her father did not deceive themselves, had been takingmuch pains to seek the acquaintance, and proclaim the value of theconnection, as he had formerly taken pains to shew neglect. This wasvery wonderful if it were true; and Lady Russell was in a state of veryagreeable curiosity and perplexity about Mr Elliot, already recantingthe sentiment she had so lately expressed to Mary, of his being "a manwhom she had no wish to see." She had a great wish to see him. If hereally sought to reconcile himself like a dutiful branch, he must beforgiven for having dismembered himself from the paternal tree.
Anne was not animated to an equal pitch by the circumstance, but shefelt that she would rather see Mr Elliot again than not, which was morethan she could say for many other persons in Bath.
She was put down in Camden Place; and Lady Russell then drove to herown lodgings, in Rivers Street.