Chapter 7
"Oh! I shall certainly go; I am sure I ought if I can, quite as much as Charles, for they want me excessively to be acquainted with Captain Wentworth, and I know you do not mind being left alone. An excellent thought of yours, indeed, Anne."
"Captain Wentworth, may I introduce my son, Charles, and his wife," Mr. Musgrove said.
Captain Wentworth bowed. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. and Mrs. Charles." He glanced around the drawing room of the Great House, expecting to see another person. Did not Sophia say that Anne was staying with them at Uppercross Cottage? He reminded himself that he had no desire of meeting Anne again, yet he felt an emotion not unlike disappointment. No, I am not disappointed; I am merely curious as to why she is absent.
"I heard that your eldest boy was injured yesterday. How is he doing?" Captain Wentworth asked politely.
Mary was gratified by his solicitude. "Little Charles is slowly improving. He had a bad fall and dislocated his collar-bone, which Mr. Robinson replaced. We are still waiting to see if any injury has been done to the spine. Little boys are so wild and unmanageable!"
"It sounds rather serious, Mrs. Charles. I hope you are not uncomfortable being away from your child tonight."
"Not at all, Captain Wentworth. I am of no use in the sick-room. If you had only seen me yesterday! I was quite hysterical; I have not the nerves for the sort of thing."
Captain Wentworth studied Mary. So, this is Anne's younger sister. I see some resemblance in their features, but in manners and character, Anne is undoubtedly superior. Where is Anne, anyway?
As if she could hear his thoughts, Mary continued, "My sister Anne is watching the child now, so I feel quite at ease. Anne has not a mother's feelings, you see, and little Charles always minds her at a word."
Of course. There is no one so responsible, so capable as Anne. She would have been a wonderful mother to our children. Captain Wentworth quickly pushed that last thought aside. He had become quite adept at burying his tender feelings for Anne over the past eight years, but they had been resurfacing at an alarming rate ever since he learnt that his sister and the Admiral were taking Kellynch Hall.
He cleared his throat. "Is your sister in good health?"
"Yes, she is in excellent health. She mentioned that you were once slightly acquainted?"
Captain Wentworth felt a sudden pain in his chest. Is that what Anne told her sister? He scolded himself for his reaction. Anne was the last woman in the world whom he could ever be prevailed on to marry. Why should he care if she claimed they had been nothing more than common acquaintances? Eight years, almost eight years had passed since she had given him up. How absurd to be resuming the agitation which such an interval had banished into distance and indistinctness! He would acknowledge such as she had acknowledged.
"Yes, I met her a few times when I stayed with my brother at Monkford many years ago," he replied in the most unaffected tone he could manage.
It was difficult to speak about their past with such indifference and Captain Wentworth was relieved when dinner was announced. As he walked into the dining room, Mrs. Musgrove cordially asked him to sit between Mr. Musgrove and their eldest daughter, Louisa. Captain Wentworth overheard Mary complaining to her husband. "I wish you would tell your mother, Charles, that as a baronet's daughter, it is I who should be seated next to Captain Wentworth. I should much rather talk to him than Henrietta, for she laughs a great deal too much for me."
Captain Wentworth looked over at Charles, who was trying to seem deaf at the moment. Charles Musgrove seems like a civil and agreeable man. Why on earth would he have married Mary when Anne is single? He questioned his new acquaintance's sense and judgement as he sat down, though in his heart he was glad that Anne was unmarried still.
Louisa Musgrove proved to be a charming dinner companion. She eagerly asked questions about the navy, and listened with great attention as Captain Wentworth spoke of his first command, the Asp, and his time in the West Indies and the Mediterranean. It brought to mind his early days with Anne, when she too had listened to his naval stories with rapturous delight.
After dinner, the Miss Musgroves entertained the party with their singing and playing of the pianoforte and harp. Mr. and Mrs. Musgrove praised their daughters' performances, and Louisa and Henrietta blushed when Captain Wentworth added his compliments. He did, however, recall to himself that Anne's playing of the pianoforte was a great deal better than either of the Miss Musgroves. He wondered if Anne still played, and if she still danced. He wondered what she was doing at that very moment. Damn it, I must stop thinking about her! What is it to me if Anne Elliot is less than a half a mile away?
As the evening came to an end, Charles invited Captain Wentworth to go shooting the next morning. Since Sophia and the Admiral were generally out of doors in the mornings, Captain Wentworth readily agreed.
"You must come and breakfast at the Cottage first," said Charles.
Captain Wentworth hesitated, before repeating to himself that he did not want to see Anne. "Thank you, but I would not want to be in Mrs. Charles' way, on account of the child."
Mary smiled at Captain Wentworth's gallantry and said nothing; though he would not be in her way at all, she did not want him to think that she never tended to her own children.
Mr. Musgrove spoke up. "Captain Wentworth, you may breakfast here with Charles instead." Louisa and Henrietta, upon hearing this, enthusiastically added their own entreaties to their father's invitation. Unable to refuse such friendliness and hospitality, Captain Wentworth accepted with joyful alacrity.
As he began the three mile walk back to Kellynch Hall, Captain Wentworth's thoughts turned to the one subject that had been troubling him throughout the evening - Anne. Why had she claimed only a slight acquaintance with him? Why had she stayed with little Charles at the Cottage, when the child's own parents had no scruple in leaving him? Charles mentioned over dinner that Anne had also declined to join them later, when the child might be at rest for the night, and that she had been quite unpersuadable on the matter.
A wave of despair washed over him as he arrived at the only reasonable conclusion. Anne's message rang as loud and clear as eight ship bells signalling the end of the watch. She no longer held any tender affection for him, and had sought an excuse to escape a meeting with him. He told himself that her feelings did not signify; he was perfectly careless of her. It was now his object to marry, and he had a heart for any pleasing young woman who came in his way, excepting Anne Elliot.
I have no desire of meeting her again. Her power with me is gone for ever.
Fighting back the pain and sadness in his heart, he repeated those two sentences to himself until he reached Kellynch Hall, as if by saying them enough, he could will them into reality.