The next morning, Anne felt keenly the difference in having Captain Wentworth at the breakfast table. When they dined at the Great House, he was seated almost as far from her as the table could divide them. Today, he sat right beside her, which provided many moments of agitation. Once, their hands brushed as they both reached for the bread basket; another time, they bumped elbows as he buttered his toast and she drank her tea. She was not a great talker on most days, and today she had hardly any courage to speak, though Mary spoke enough for them both.
Mary could not talk of anything but the Miss Musgroves. She spoke at great length about Henrietta's anticipated and imprudent match. How shocking it would be for Henrietta to marry a country curate! What bad connections it would bring upon herself and her children! This drew from Anne the exertion of speaking, which nothing else had so effectually done before. She blushed for her sister and tried to turn the subject, but Mary pressed on.
"And if I had been able," said Mary, "to carry my point in turning around when we reached Winthrop yesterday, poor Louisa would not have been injured, and she and Henrietta would not have been forced to stay at that abominable house. I am sure you observed, Captain Wentworth, how little beauty and dignity the place had, standing so low and hemmed in by the barns and buildings of a farm-yard."
Captain Wentworth made no answer, only giving an artificial smile before quickly finishing his breakfast. Charles fetched the guns and dogs, and the two gentlemen set off.
As Charles and Captain Wentworth walked through Mr. Musgrove's woods, Charles said, "Mary is good-natured enough in many respects, but she does sometimes provoke us all excessively with her nonsense and pride. My sisters often tell me they wish I had married Anne instead. I suppose they have told you about it? They have a habit of telling everyone."
"No, I had not heard." After a moment's pause, Captain Wentworth said, "Do you mean that you proposed to Miss Elliot?"
"Oh! Yes. I wanted to marry Anne, but she refused me. Mamma and papa thought it was Lady Russell's doing-" Captain Wentworth started at the mention of that unwelcome name, while Charles continued, "but I did not believe it. Anne was very gentle in her refusal, but she was quite decided."
Captain Wentworth was surprised. He never doubted that Anne would be loved and sought by others. Charles Musgrove was the eldest son of a man, whose landed property and general importance were second in that country, only to Sir Walter's, and of good character. Surely Lady Russell would have been in favour of the match. Had Anne acted against Lady Russell's advice? Why had she refused Charles?
Captain Wentworth started to feel sensations in his heart that he had buried long ago. Disconcerted, he cleared his mind and turned his attention back to hunting. It was a good day for sport. The weather was favourable, the dogs pointed at the pheasants expertly, the birds were plentiful, and the gentlemen shot their targets with ease. Charles talked with great enthusiasm of his new shotgun, and Captain Wentworth listened attentively as Charles explained the advantages of the lighter weight and longer double-barrels. They caught eight brace between them before deciding to head back to the Cottage.
Mary and Anne were in the garden when the gentlemen returned, and Captain Wentworth felt his heart beat quicker when he looked at Anne. He was struck by her appearance as the soft autumn sunlight shone down on her, making her glow and highlighting her dark eyes and delicate features. How could he have thought her so wretchedly altered before? She noticed his gaze and seemed puzzled by it as a blush overspread her cheeks, rendering her even more beautiful in his eyes.
As he walked back to Kellynch Hall, Captain Wentworth's thoughts kept drifting back to Anne. She had an elegance of mind and sweetness of character, and he had never seen a woman since whom he thought her equal. Why had she refused a man of better pretensions than himself? Why was she unmarried still? He considered every possibility, dismissing the unlikelihood of each in turn, until he was left with one - the one that his heart had been whispering over and over. She must still love him.