Free Captain Wentworth's Diary by Amanda Grange Page B

have an opportunity of getting to know me, and of observing my behaviour towards Miss Anne at close quarters? Did she, perhaps, think that a commander might not be a bad husband for her favourite, after all? Or did she want an opportunity to warn me away?

Friday 29 August

    ‘You seem to have dressed with unusual care,’ remarked Edward as I joined him in his sitting-room, prior to our setting out for Kellynch Hall.

    ‘Not at all. I am always carefully of my appearance,’ I said, adding, ‘as long as it does not involve wearing veils.’

    The weather being fine, we decided to walk to Kellynch Hall. When we arrived, I had my first full sight of it, for although I had glimpsed it when walking by the river, I had never seen it from the front. As we walked up the drive, I thought it a very fine house, and said so to my brother.

    ‘Something similar would suit me when I have made my fortune,’ I said.

    ‘I do not doubt it, but you have to make your fortune first,’ he returned.

    As we drew closer, I thought of Kellynch, not as a house, but as Miss Anne’s home. For her, every tree and every blade of grass was familiar, every brick and every stone. As I lifted my eyes to the attic, I thought of her as a child, looking out of the barred windows of the nursery on to the green lawns. I thought of her growing up there with a loving mother, and then losing her mother and going away to school, and then returning to the countryside she loved, the restful greens and browns of the park, with the blue sky above. I imagined her playing the piano in the drawing-room and looking out of the windows on to the same verdant expanse, or walking there through the changing seasons as the leaves turned from light green to dark green, and thence to orange and gold.

    The drive was long, but at last we reached the house. We were admitted by a stately footman in splendid livery, and then shown into the drawing-room. It was large and well proportioned, with fine furniture and new curtains and rugs. Everything was of the first quality, and showed the refined tastes of Sir Walter and Miss Elliot. But there was something missing, for all its grandeur, and that thing was warmth.

    Sir Walter and his eldest daughter turned superior glances on me, and Lady Russell looked at me as though I was a snake: something that would be safe if kept at a distance, but which could be poisonous if brought too close.

    But a moment later I forgot Sir Walter, Miss Elliot and Lady Russell, as my eyes fell on Miss Anne. She smiled as she saw me, and the smile lit her face with a joy so bright it filled the room. She radiated happiness and good will. She came forward to greet me, and the two of us were immediately lost in conversation, only being recalled to our company when Lady Russell stepped forward to greet my brother and myself. Sir Walter and Miss Elliot did their duty and greeted us, too. Then Lady Russell began speaking to me, in an effort, I am sure, to separate me from Miss Anne.

    ‘We have been fortunate to have you with us in Somersetshire for so long,’ she said, in a way that made me feel she did not think it was fortunate at all. ‘You have more than one connection to the area, I believe? Your brother lives here,’ she said, glancing at him, ‘and I believe your brother-in-law is from the county as well?’

    ‘Yes, that is so.’

    ‘You have only the one sister?’ Sir Walter asked me, deigning to join in the conversation.

    ‘Yes.’

    ‘She has been married long?’ he continued.

    ‘For seven years.’

    ‘Quite some time. And what kind of man is her husband?’

    ‘He is captain of a frigate.’

    ‘Ah, a sailor,’ said Sir Walter, with an expression of distaste.

    ‘A naval officer, and a good one,’ I returned. ‘He has served his country for many years and has helped to keep our shores safe.’

    ‘Is he at sea now?’ asked Miss Anne, with genuine interest.

    I softened at the sound of her voice.

    ‘He is.’

    ‘Your