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CHAPTER 19
While Admiral Croft was taking this walk with Anne, and expressing his wish of
getting Captain Wentworth to Bath, Captain Wentworth was already on his way thither.
Before Mrs Croft had written, he was arrived, and the very next time Anne walked
out, she saw him. Mr Elliot was attending his two cousins and
Mrs Clay.
They were in Milsom Street.
It began to rain, not much, but enough to make shelter desirable for women, and quite
enough to make it very desirable for Miss Elliot to have the advantage of being
conveyed home in Lady Dalrymple's carriage,
which was seen waiting at a little distance; she, Anne, and Mrs Clay,
therefore, turned into Molland's, while Mr Elliot stepped to Lady Dalrymple, to
request her assistance.
He soon joined them again, successful, of course; Lady Dalrymple would be most happy
to take them home, and would call for them in a few minutes.
Her ladyship's carriage was a barouche, and did not hold more than four with any
comfort.
Miss Carteret was with her mother; consequently it was not reasonable to
expect accommodation for all the three Camden Place ladies.
There could be no doubt as to Miss Elliot.
Whoever suffered inconvenience, she must suffer none, but it occupied a little time
to settle the point of civility between the other two.
The rain was a mere trifle, and Anne was most sincere in preferring a walk with Mr
Elliot.
But the rain was also a mere trifle to Mrs Clay; she would hardly allow it even to
drop at all, and her boots were so thick! much thicker than Miss Anne's; and, in
short, her civility rendered her quite as
anxious to be left to walk with Mr Elliot as Anne could be, and it was discussed
between them with a generosity so polite and so determined, that the others were
obliged to settle it for them; Miss Elliot
maintaining that Mrs Clay had a little cold already, and Mr Elliot deciding on appeal,
that his cousin Anne's boots were rather the thickest.
It was fixed accordingly, that Mrs Clay should be of the party in the carriage; and
they had just reached this point, when Anne, as she sat near the window, descried,
most decidedly and distinctly, Captain Wentworth walking down the street.
Her start was perceptible only to herself; but she instantly felt that she was the
greatest simpleton in the world, the most unaccountable and absurd!
For a few minutes she saw nothing before her; it was all confusion.
She was lost, and when she had scolded back her senses, she found the others still
waiting for the carriage, and Mr Elliot (always obliging) just setting off for
Union Street on a commission of Mrs Clay's.
She now felt a great inclination to go to the outer door; she wanted to see if it
rained. Why was she to suspect herself of another
motive?
Captain Wentworth must be out of sight. She left her seat, she would go; one half
of her should not be always so much wiser than the other half, or always suspecting
the other of being worse than it was.
She would see if it rained.
She was sent back, however, in a moment by the entrance of Captain Wentworth himself,
among a party of gentlemen and ladies, evidently his acquaintance, and whom he
must have joined a little below Milsom Street.
He was more obviously struck and confused by the sight of her than she had ever
observed before; he looked quite red.
For the first time, since their renewed acquaintance, she felt that she was
betraying the least sensibility of the two. She had the advantage of him in the
preparation of the last few moments.
All the overpowering, blinding, bewildering, first effects of strong
surprise were over with her. Still, however, she had enough to feel!
It was agitation, pain, pleasure, a something between delight and misery.
He spoke to her, and then turned away. The character of his manner was
embarrassment.
She could not have called it either cold or friendly, or anything so certainly as
embarrassed. After a short interval, however, he came
towards her, and spoke again.
Mutual enquiries on common subjects passed: neither of them, probably, much the wiser
for what they heard, and Anne continuing fully sensible of his being less at ease
than formerly.
They had by dint of being so very much together, got to speak to each other with a
considerable portion of apparent indifference and calmness; but he could not
do it now.
Time had changed him, or Louisa had changed him.
There was consciousness of some sort or other.
He looked very well, not as if he had been suffering in health or spirits, and he
talked of Uppercross, of the Musgroves, nay, even of Louisa, and had even a
momentary look of his own arch significance
as he named her; but yet it was Captain Wentworth not comfortable, not easy, not
able to feign that he was. It did not surprise, but it grieved Anne to
observe that Elizabeth would not know him.
She saw that he saw Elizabeth, that Elizabeth saw him, that there was complete
internal recognition on each side; she was convinced that he was ready to be
acknowledged as an acquaintance, expecting
it, and she had the pain of seeing her sister turn away with unalterable coldness.
Lady Dalrymple's carriage, for which Miss Elliot was growing very impatient, now drew
up; the servant came in to announce it.
It was beginning to rain again, and altogether there was a delay, and a bustle,
and a talking, which must make all the little crowd in the shop understand that
Lady Dalrymple was calling to convey Miss Elliot.
At last Miss Elliot and her friend, unattended but by the servant, (for there
was no cousin returned), were walking off; and Captain Wentworth, watching them,
turned again to Anne, and by manner, rather
than words, was offering his services to her.
"I am much obliged to you," was her answer, "but I am not going with them.
The carriage would not accommodate so many.
I walk: I prefer walking." "But it rains."
"Oh! very little, Nothing that I regard."
After a moment's pause he said: "Though I came only yesterday, I have equipped myself
properly for Bath already, you see," (pointing to a new umbrella); "I wish you
would make use of it, if you are determined
to walk; though I think it would be more prudent to let me get you a chair."
She was very much obliged to him, but declined it all, repeating her conviction,
that the rain would come to nothing at present, and adding, "I am only waiting for
Mr Elliot.
He will be here in a moment, I am sure." She had hardly spoken the words when Mr
Elliot walked in. Captain Wentworth recollected him
perfectly.
There was no difference between him and the man who had stood on the steps at Lyme,
admiring Anne as she passed, except in the air and look and manner of the privileged
relation and friend.
He came in with eagerness, appeared to see and think only of her, apologised for his
stay, was grieved to have kept her waiting, and anxious to get her away without further
loss of time and before the rain increased;
and in another moment they walked off together, her arm under his, a gentle and
embarrassed glance, and a "Good morning to you!" being all that she had time for, as
she passed away.
As soon as they were out of sight, the ladies of Captain Wentworth's party began
talking of them. "Mr Elliot does not dislike his cousin, I
fancy?"
"Oh! no, that is clear enough. One can guess what will happen there.
He is always with them; half lives in the family, I believe.
What a very good-looking man!"
"Yes, and Miss Atkinson, who dined with him once at the Wallises, says he is the most
agreeable man she ever was in company with."
"She is pretty, I think; Anne Elliot; very pretty, when one comes to look at her.
It is not the fashion to say so, but I confess I admire her more than her sister."
"Oh! so do I."
"And so do I. No comparison.
But the men are all wild after Miss Elliot. Anne is too delicate for them."
Anne would have been particularly obliged to her cousin, if he would have walked by
her side all the way to Camden Place, without saying a word.
She had never found it so difficult to listen to him, though nothing could exceed
his solicitude and care, and though his subjects were principally such as were wont
to be always interesting: praise, warm,
just, and discriminating, of Lady Russell, and insinuations highly rational against
Mrs Clay. But just now she could think only of
Captain Wentworth.
She could not understand his present feelings, whether he were really suffering
much from disappointment or not; and till that point were settled, she could not be
quite herself.
She hoped to be wise and reasonable in time; but alas! alas! she must confess to
herself that she was not wise yet.
Another circumstance very essential for her to know, was how long he meant to be in
Bath; he had not mentioned it, or she could not recollect it.
He might be only passing through.
But it was more probable that he should be come to stay.
In that case, so liable as every body was to meet every body in Bath, Lady Russell
would in all likelihood see him somewhere.
Would she recollect him? How would it all be?
She had already been obliged to tell Lady Russell that Louisa Musgrove was to marry
Captain Benwick.
It had cost her something to encounter Lady Russell's surprise; and now, if she were by
any chance to be thrown into company with Captain Wentworth, her imperfect knowledge
of the matter might add another shade of prejudice against him.
The following morning Anne was out with her friend, and for the first hour, in an
incessant and fearful sort of watch for him in vain; but at last, in returning down
Pulteney Street, she distinguished him on
the right hand pavement at such a distance as to have him in view the greater part of
the street.
There were many other men about him, many groups walking the same way, but there was
no mistaking him.
She looked instinctively at Lady Russell; but not from any mad idea of her
recognising him so soon as she did herself.
No, it was not to be supposed that Lady Russell would perceive him till they were
nearly opposite.
She looked at her however, from time to time, anxiously; and when the moment
approached which must point him out, though not daring to look again (for her own
countenance she knew was unfit to be seen),
she was yet perfectly conscious of Lady Russell's eyes being turned exactly in the
direction for him--of her being, in short, intently observing him.
She could thoroughly comprehend the sort of fascination he must possess over Lady
Russell's mind, the difficulty it must be for her to withdraw her eyes, the
astonishment she must be feeling that eight
or nine years should have passed over him, and in foreign climes and in active service
too, without robbing him of one personal grace!
At last, Lady Russell drew back her head.
"Now, how would she speak of him?"
"You will wonder," said she, "what has been fixing my eye so long; but I was looking
after some window-curtains, which Lady Alicia and Mrs Frankland were telling me of
last night.
They described the drawing-room window- curtains of one of the houses on this side
of the way, and this part of the street, as being the handsomest and best hung of any
in Bath, but could not recollect the exact
number, and I have been trying to find out which it could be; but I confess I can see
no curtains hereabouts that answer their description."
Anne sighed and blushed and smiled, in pity and disdain, either at her friend or
herself.
The part which provoked her most, was that in all this waste of foresight and caution,
she should have lost the right moment for seeing whether he saw them.
A day or two passed without producing anything.
The theatre or the rooms, where he was most likely to be, were not fashionable enough
for the Elliots, whose evening amusements were solely in the elegant stupidity of
private parties, in which they were getting
more and more engaged; and Anne, wearied of such a state of stagnation, sick of knowing
nothing, and fancying herself stronger because her strength was not tried, was
quite impatient for the concert evening.
It was a concert for the benefit of a person patronised by Lady Dalrymple.
Of course they must attend.
It was really expected to be a good one, and Captain Wentworth was very fond of
music.
If she could only have a few minutes conversation with him again, she fancied
she should be satisfied; and as to the power of addressing him, she felt all over
courage if the opportunity occurred.
Elizabeth had turned from him, Lady Russell overlooked him; her nerves were
strengthened by these circumstances; she felt that she owed him attention.
She had once partly promised Mrs Smith to spend the evening with her; but in a short
hurried call she excused herself and put it off, with the more decided promise of a
longer visit on the morrow.
Mrs Smith gave a most good-humoured acquiescence.
"By all means," said she; "only tell me all about it, when you do come.
Who is your party?"
Anne named them all.
Mrs Smith made no reply; but when she was leaving her said, and with an expression
half serious, half arch, "Well, I heartily wish your concert may answer; and do not
fail me to-morrow if you can come; for I
begin to have a foreboding that I may not have many more visits from you."
Anne was startled and confused; but after standing in a moment's suspense, was
obliged, and not sorry to be obliged, to hurry away.