‘And how do you find Uppercross, sir?’ asked Mr Musgrove, when we had all taken a seat.
‘I find it a very pleasant place to be. The air is pure, the countryside varied, and the people’—with a bow to him—‘most agreeable.’
He was pleased with my answer, and laughed and rubbed his hands together, and said he was pleased to find such good neighbours in Sir Walter’s tenants. He did not appear to remember me from eight years ago, and, as I had no desire to awaken old memories, I did not remind him.
‘Ah, yes, Uppercross is a fine place,’ said Mrs Musgrove. ‘My family has always lived in the neighbourhood,’ she went on, speaking to me. ‘My sister is married to a gentleman, Mr Hayter, who lives not far away, at Winthrop. You might have seen it? It lies on the other side of the hill.’
I said I had not yet had that pleasure.
‘Uppercross is all very well, though I wish we could go to London, or Bath,’ said Miss Musgrove.
‘What! Go to London or Bath, and miss all the fun at home?’ said her mother. ‘I will remind you of that, the next time we get up a dance.’ She turned to me. ‘We are very fond of dancing in the Great House, Captain.’
‘You must come to our next ball, Captain Wentworth,’ said Miss Musgrove.
I was delighted with the idea, for I was tempted by her wide smile and her bright eyes.
‘Promise!’ said Miss Musgrove. ‘We must have you dance with us, must we not, Mama?’ she said, turning to her mother.
‘Indeed we must. You will be very welcome, Captain Wentworth, whenever you can spare us the time.’
‘Do say you will come,’ pleaded Miss Louisa. ‘We would so like to have you here.’
‘Please?’ said her sister.
‘How can I refuse?’ I answered with a laugh, for it was a long time since I had been so pleased!
‘Now let the good captain alone,’ said Mr Musgrove, ‘before you worry him half to death. I declare, Captain, it is a troublesome thing to be the father of two such noisy girls,’ but he said it with great affection, and it was obvious he loved them dearly. ‘You will stay to dinner?’ he asked me, as I accepted his invitation to sit down.
It was with real regret that I could not accept his kind invitation, for the atmosphere in the house was a happy one, and everywhere I looked there was good cheer, but I had promised Sophia I would bear her company.
‘Then you will come tomorrow?’ he said.
‘Oh, yes, Captain, do say you will,’ Mrs Musgrove entreated me.
I could hold out against their entreaties no longer and declared myself very happy to accept.
The rest of the visit passed very agreeably, with the two girls asking me about my battles and telling me of the neighbourhood dances, and, in short, flattering me with such attention that I was sorry to leave.
The time for parting came, however, and I returned to Kellynch Hall in excellent spirits.
Sophia and I dined alone, for Benjamin’s business had taken him away from home, and we had so much to say to each other after the years spent apart that it was very late when we went to bed.
Friday 14 October
It was a fine day, the sort of crisp autumn weather that makes exercise an invigorating delight. I set out for an early morning ride, with the mist clearing to reveal a beautiful day. When I returned home for breakfast, I had a hearty appetite.
The day was spent in writing letters and seeing to business in town, then this evening I set out for the Great House. I was conscious of some curiosity and not a little apprehension as I walked up the drive, for I knew that Mr and Mrs Charles Musgrove were to dine with us. How would Anne look? Would she remember me? Or would she have forgotten me? Yes, most probably, I thought, my pride suffusing me. Well, let her. I had forgotten her, carried on with my life, earned my promotion and won my fortune. I was not going to pine for a girl with no resolution, one who married another man just a few years after agreeing to marry me.
I went in, and as I found that Mr and Mrs Charles Musgrove were not there, I felt my spirits lift. I was made much of by the two Miss Musgroves and I was hardly given any less warm a greeting by their parents. It was the sort of welcome to make me feel, once again, immediately at home.
Hardly had I sat down, however, when the mood changed and Mr Musgrove, looking more serious, said, ‘It is lucky you could not dine with us yesterday, after all, Captain, for we would not have been good company. We had a calamity in the family.’
‘Oh, it was awful! We were all in a terrible state,’ said Mrs Musgrove, wafting her fan vigorously in front of her, for the heat from the fire was intense. ‘My heart was in my mouth when I heard the news, for, of course, one always thinks the worst. All sorts of ideas flashed through my mind, each one worse than the last. I do not know how we got through the day.’
‘Let us not keep the captain in suspense,’ said Mr Musgrove. ‘We were very much dismayed because our grandson had a nasty fall.’
‘Ay, very nasty, very nasty indeed,’ said his wife.
‘I am very sorry to hear it. It was not serious, I hope?’ I asked, concerned for the little fellow.
‘We feared so at the time, and called Mr Robinson, the apothecary, straight away.’
‘It was Anne who sent for him,’ said Mrs Musgrove. ‘Anne has always been very sensible and she took charge at once, so that little Charles was given the best attention right away. She sent for him even before she sent word to us.’
‘Very sensible of her,’ said Mr Musgrove.
‘Well, Robinson examined him and said he had a dislocated collar-bone. Robinson replaced it—’
‘Oh, that was nasty, and very painful for him, poor little man,’ said Mrs Musgrove.
‘You may imagine that we were all vastly relieved when he had done, and said that he believed, with plenty of rest, all would be well,’ said Mr Musgrove. ‘It gave us hope, and we were able to come home again.’
‘Though I do not believe I ate a mouthful of dinner for worrying about him,’ Mrs Musgrove said.
‘However, he had a good night and seems to be going on well,’ said Miss Musgrove briskly, as though anxious to be done with little Charles and the talk of his fall.
‘Ay, Mr Robinson does not believe there will be any lasting damage, for which we are all very grateful,’ said Mrs Musgrove. ‘We thought my son and his wife would have to cry off tonight, but they are so pleased with little Charles’s progress that they feel they can leave him for a few hours. Had things been different, they would have had to stay at home, which would have been a grave disappointment to them, for they are very desirous of seeing you,’ she said politely, with a bow in my direction.
At that moment, Mr and Mrs Charles Musgrove were announced. As I heard the names I felt myself tense, despite my belief that I had put the past behind me. I did not immediately look round. Mr Charles Musgrove came into the room with a quick step and I recognized in him the same man I had seen in the year six, the man Anne had described as a family friend. As my eyes ran over him, I was surprised she had married him, for he was nothing out of the ordinary, and was even less well favoured than I remembered him. He was certainly not the catch Lady Russell had wanted for Anne, and it gave some solace to my pride to know that her schemes had come to nothing, after all.
‘Here you are, just in time to meet Captain Wentworth,’ said Mr Musgrove. ‘Captain Wentworth, might I introduce my son, Mr Charles Musgrove—’
I greeted him, and was then forced to turn my head to include his wife in my vision, and to my astonishment I saw that it was not Anne, in fact it was a woman I had never seen before in my life.