The party at the Great House was sometimes increased by other company.The neighbourhood was not large,but the Musgroves were visited by everybody,and had more dinner-parties, and more callers,more visitors by invitation and by chance,than any other family.They were more completely popular.
The girls were wild for dancing; and the evenings ended,occasionally, in an unpremeditated little ball.There was a family of cousins within a walk of Uppercross,in less affluent circumstances,who depended on the Musgroves for all their pleasures:they would come at any time, and help play at anything,or dance anywhere; and Anne,very much preferring the office of musician to a more active post,played country dances to them by the hour together;a kindness which always recommended her musical powers to the notice of Mr and Mrs Musgrove more than anything else, and often drew this compliment;—“Well done, Miss Anne!very well done indeed!Lord bless me!how those little fingers of yours fly about!”
So passed the first three weeks. Michaelmas came;and now Anne’s heart must be in Kellynch again.A beloved home made over to others;all the precious rooms and furniture, groves,and prospects, beginning to own other eyes and other limbs!She could not think of much else on the 29th of September;and she had this sympathetic touch in the evening from Mary,who, on having occasion to note down the day of the month,exclaimed, “Dear me,is not this the day the Crofts were to come to Kellynch?I am glad I did not think of it before.How low it makes me!”
The Crofts took possession with true naval alertness,and were to be visited.Mary deplored the necessity for herself.“Nobody knew how much she should suffer.She should put it off as long as she could;” but was not easy till she had talked Charles into driving her over on an early day, and was in a very animated, comfortable state of imaginary agitation, when she came back. Anne had very sincerely rejoiced in there being no means of her going. She wished, however, to see the Crofts, and was glad to be within when the visit was returned. They came: the master of the house was not at home, but the two sisters were together; and as it chanced that Mrs Croft fell to the share of Anne, while the Admiral sat by Mary, and made himself very agreeable by his good-humoured notice of her little boys, she was well able to watch for a likeness, and if it failed her in the features, to catch it in the voice, or in the turn of sentiment and expression.
Mrs Croft, though neither tall nor fat,had a squareness, uprightness, and vigour of form,which gave importance to her person.She had bright dark eyes, good teeth,and altogether an agreeable face;though her reddened and weather-beaten complexion,the consequence of her having been almost as much at sea as her husband,made her seem to have lived some years longer in the world than her real eight-and-thirty. Her manners were open, easy, and decided, like one who had no distrust of herself, and no doubts of what to do; without any approach to coarseness, however, or any want of good humour. Anne gave her credit, indeed, for feelings of great consideration towards herself, in all that related to Kellynch, and it pleased her: especially, as she had satisfied herself in the very first half minute, in the instant even of introduction, that there was not the smallest symptom of any knowledge or suspicion on Mrs Croft’s side, to give a bias of any sort. She was quite easy on that head, and consequently full of strength and courage, till for a moment electrified by Mrs Croft’s suddenly saying,—
“It was you, and not your sister, I find,that my brother had the pleasure of being acquainted with,when he was in this country.”
Anne hoped she had outlived the age of blushing;but the age of emotion she certainly had not.
“Perhaps you may not have heard that he is married?” added Mrs Croft.
She could now answer as she ought;and was happy to feel,when Mrs Croft’s next words explained it to be Mr Wentworth of whom she spoke,that she had said nothing which might not do for either brother.She immediately felt how reasonable it was,that Mrs Croft should be thinking and speaking of Edward,and not of Frederick;and with shame at her own forgetfulness applied herself to the knowledge of their former neighbour’s present state with proper interest.
The rest was all tranquillity; till,just as they were moving,she heard the Admiral say to Mary—
“We are expecting a brother of Mrs Croft’s here soon;I dare say you know him by name.”
He was cut short by the eager attacks of the little boys,clinging to him like an old friend,and declaring he should not go;and being too much engrossed by proposals of carrying them away in his coat pockets, &c., to have another moment for finishing or recollecting what he had begun, Anne was left to persuade herself, as well as she could, that the same brother must still be in question. She could not, however, reach such a degree of certainty, as not to be anxious to hear whether anything had been said on the subject at the other house, where the Crofts had previously been calling.
The folks of the Great House were to spend the evening of this day at the Cottage; and it being now too late in the year for such visits to be made on foot, the coach was beginning to be listened for, when the youngest Miss Musgrove walked in. That she was coming to apologize, and that they should have to spend the evening by themselves, was the first black idea; and Mary was quite ready to be affronted, when Louisa made all right by saying, that she only came on foot, to leave more room for the harp, which was bringing in the carriage.
“And I will tell you our reason,” she added,“and all about it. I am come on to give you notice,that papa and mamma are out of spirits this evening,especially mamma; she is thinking so much of poor Richard!And we agreed it would be best to have the harp,for it seems to amuse her more than the piano-forte.I will tell you why she is out of spirits.When the Crofts called this morning,(they called here afterwards, did not they?), they happened to say, that her brother,Captain Wentworth, is just returned to England,or paid off, or something,and is coming to see them almost directly;and most unluckily it came into mamma’s head,when they were gone, that Wentworth,or something very like it,was the name of poor Richard’s captain at one time;I do not know when or where,but a great while before he died, poor fellow!And upon looking over his letters and things,she found it was so,and is perfectly sure that this must be the very man,and her head is quite full of it, and of poor Richard!So we must be as merry as we can,that she may not be dwelling upon such gloomy things.”