done, however, but to stifle feelings, and to be quietly polite, and the
Admiral was too much on the alert to leave any troublesome pause. He
repeated again what he had said before about his wife and everybody,
insisted on Anne's sitting down and being perfectly comfortable--was
sorry he must leave her himself, but was sure Mrs. Croft would be down
very soon, and would go upstairs and give her notice directly. Anne
_was_ sitting down, but now she arose, again to entreat him not to
interrupt Mrs. Croft and re-urge the wish of going away and calling
another time. But the Admiral would not hear of it; and if she did not
return to the charge with unconquerable perseverance, or did not with a
more passive determination walk quietly out of the room (as certainly she
might have done), may she not be pardoned? If she _had_ no horror of a
few minutes' tete-a-tete with Captain Wentworth, may she not be pardoned
for not wishing to give him the idea that she had? She reseated herself,
and the Admiral took leave, but on reaching the door, said--

'Frederick, a word with _you_ if you please.'

Captain Wentworth went to him, and instantly, before they were well out
of the room, the Admiral continued--

'As I am going to leave you together, it is but fair I should give you
something to talk of; and so, if you please--'

Here the door was very firmly closed, she could guess by which of the
two--and she lost entirely what immediately followed, but it was
impossible for her not to distinguish parts of the rest, for the Admiral,
on the strength of the door's being shut, was speaking without any
management of voice, though she could hear his companion trying to check
him. She could not doubt their being speaking of her. She heard her own