Searching For Captain Wentworth Read Online Free PDF

as
if I had.
    ‘That is a
relief of some kind,’ said Jane. ‘I had begun to think you were really ill. But, at last, the colour is
returning to your countenance …
“your pure and eloquent blood speaks in your cheeks!”’
    I hadn’t a clue
what she was talking about.
    ‘Just like your
namesake,’ added Cassandra. And when I looked at her blankly, she said, ‘Are you acquainted with Mr. Fielding’s novel, Tom Jones? It’s one of Jane’s
favourite books and she is always
quoting out of it.’
    Cassandra looked
at her sister with a mischievous glance and in a stage whisper pronounced loudly, ‘Between us,
I think Miss Jane fancies her
own scarlet cheeks could be compared to those of Tom’s heroine, Miss Sophia Western.’
    ‘Not only of my
cheeks,’ Jane continued, pursing her lips, but of my sweet mouth also.
    “ Her lips were red, and one was
thin,
    Compared to that
was next her chin;
    (Some bee had
stung it newly)” …
    ‘Of course,
strictly speaking, that’s Suckling not Fielding, but nevertheless, I am sure they both had me in mind
when they wrote that
description.’
    We all laughed.
    ‘Well, Miss
Elliot, I am glad to see you better and if we cannot assist you, we can at least keep you company,’ said
Cassandra.
    ‘And very
pleased you will be to have our society when you learn our most exciting news,’ added Jane. ‘Our
dearest little Charles is
coming home. Except, of course, he is not little at all being at least six feet tall and thinks himself a
very grown man, indeed.’
    ‘He is very
nearly three and twenty,’ interrupted Cassandra, ‘but, Miss Elliot, it is impossible to think of him
as anything but our baby brother.’
    ‘As soon as he
is able to get off his ship, he is to come here,’ Jane continued. ‘Such excitement! Not that I ever
really think returning to
Bath is quite like coming home. If we were in Steventon where we used to live, there would have
been a great party with all
our friends and neighbours to celebrate the Peace. But our old home is no longer ours and those days of
youth and comfort are quite gone.’
    ‘I understand
how you might miss your home so much,’ I said. ‘I must admit, I did not want to come to Bath and I
do not know when we might
return.’
    I had spoken
without consciousness; yet, I was sure what I was saying must be true. And the thought emerged
that somehow I’d slipped back
in time to experience the life of my ancestor. I surely couldn’t be addressed as Miss Elliot for
nothing, but the idea that she
had known Jane Austen was such an exciting one that I could hardly take it in. What on earth had happened
to me?
    ‘Oh, Miss
Elliot, then you understand completely,’ said Jane, ‘but, at least we can visit Steventon though it
might as well be inhabited by
strangers for all that I feel at home in it.’
    I saw Cassandra
frown at Jane and a look pass between them that Jane clearly understood.
    ‘My brother
James has the rectory now,’ she continued, ignoring her sister’s expression, which entreated
her to be more reserved on the
subject.
    ‘Jane, I am sure
Miss Elliot does not want to hear our family concerns,’ Cassandra rejoined. ‘Come, if you are
feeling better, perhaps we could
all continue with our walk.’
    I nodded and we
rose together to link arms, once more assuring my companions who were looking at me anxiously that I felt absolutely fine.
    ‘Tell me more
about your brother, Mr Charles,’ I said.
    ‘He is in the
Navy, serving as a second Lieutenant on the frigate, Endymion,’ Jane replied, bright-eyed once
more. ‘Charles has already had
a taste of adventure on the high seas and won a little prize money for his efforts, though he will
never be rich if he always spends it
on his sisters. The topaz crosses that Cassy and I wear in the evening were
bought with his very first rewards. He is such a sweet, generous-hearted brother to think of his sisters above everyone else. How he will manage coming home
to a house populated