sensations on the discovery made her perfectly speechless she could hot even thank him she could only hang over little charles with most disordered feelings his kindness in stepping forward to her relief the manner the silence in which it had passed the little particulars of the circumstance with the conviction soon forced on her by the noise he was making with the child that he meant to avoid hearing her thanks and rather sought to testify that her conversation was the last of his wants produced such a persuasion confusion of varying but very painful agitation as she could not recover from till enabled by the entrance of mary and the miss to make over her little patient to their cares and leave the room she could not stay it might have been an opportunity of watching the loves and of the four � they were now altogether but she could stay for none of it it was evident that charles was not well inclined towards captain she had a strong impression of his having said in a tone of voice after captain s interference you ought to have minded me walter i told you not to your aunt and could comprehend his that captain should do what he ought to have done himself but neither charles s feelings nor anybody s feelings could interest her till she had a little better arranged her own she was ashamed of herself quite ashamed of being so nervous so overcome by such a trifle but so it was and it required a long application of solitude and reflection to recover her chapter other opportunities of making her observations could not fail to occur anne had soon been in company with all the four together often enough to have an opinion though too wise to acknowledge as much at home where she knew it would have satisfied neither husband nor wife for while she considered to be rather the favourite she could not but think as far as she might dare to judge from memory and experience that captain was not in love with either they were more in love with him y et ere lt wa not l� ve i wn a u e ever persuasion of admiration but it might probably mast end in love with some charles seemed aware of being and yet had sometimes the air of being divided between them anne longed for the power of representing to them all what they were about and of pointing out some of the evils they were exposing themselves to she did not attribute to any it was the highest satisfaction to her to believe captain not in the least aware of the pain he was there was no triumph no pitiful triumph in his manner he had probably never heard and never thought of any claims of charles he was only wrong in accepting the attentions for accepting must be the word of two young women at once after a short struggle however charles seemed to quit the field three days had passed without his coming once to a most decided change he had even refused one regular invitation to dinner and having been found on the occasion by mr with some large books before him mr and mrs were sure all could not be right and talked with grave faces of his studying himself to death it was mary s hope and belief that he had received a positive dismissal from and her husband lived under the constant of seeing him to morrow anne could only feel that charles was wise one morning about this time charles and captain being gone a shooting together as the sisters in the cottage were sitting quietly at work they were visited at the window by the sisters from the mansion house it was a very fine november day and the miss came through the little grounds and stopped for no other purpose than to say that they were going persuasion to take a long walk and therefore concluded mary could not to go with them and when mary immediately replied with some jealousy at not being supposed a good oh yet i should like to join you very much i am very fond of a long walk anne felt persuaded by the looks of the two girls that it was precisely what they did not wish and admired again the sort of necessity which the family habits seemed to produce of everything being to be communicated and everything being to be done together however and inconvenient she tried to mary from going but in vain and that being the case thought it best to accept the miss much more cordial invitation to herself to go likewise as she might be useful in turning back with her sister and the interference in any plan of their own i cannot imagine why they should suppose i should not like a long walk said mary as she went up stairs everybody is always supposing that i am not a good and yet they would not have been pleased if we had refused to join them when people come in this manner on purpose to ask us how can one say no just as they were setting off the gentlemen returned they had taken out a young dog which had spoilt their sport and sent them back early their time and strength and spirits were therefore exactly ready for this walk and they entered into it with pleasure could anne have foreseen such a she would have staid at home but from some feelings of interest and curiosity she fancied now that it was too late to and the whole six set forward together in the direction chosen by the miss who evidently considered the walk as under their guidance anne s object was not to be in the way of anybody where the narrow paths across the fields made many persuasion necessary to keep 