[I ended up focusing more on the other characters than on Anne and Capt. Wentworth, but I hope this suits?]
The new bride at Anne Wentworth's dinner table was quite exuberant over the prospect of shipboard life.
"But being on a ship must be so lovely!" Mrs. Tilney opined over the first course. "Why, it reminds of novel about pirates or some such thing, does it not you, Mr. Tilney?"
Mr. Tilney smiled but shook his head. "I think Captain Wentworth might not see any compliments in such a comparison."
His wife's eyes widened. "Oh, I'm very sorry. But I only meant the open sea, and the salt air. And a ship, with the deck well-scrubbed and the ropes and the sails. It all sounds so romantic."
Captain Wentworth laughed. "I took no insult from your words, Mrs. Tilney. And as much as I've enjoyed these weeks at our home I would not trade being on a ship for anything. I certainly hope my wife would agree."
Anne nodded. "I certainly do. Though I suppose I must point out that I am not certain such things are depicted with accuracy in novels."
"Oh, nothing ever is," replied Mrs. Tilney as if that were a minor point. "But I enjoy reading them anyway, because the world in a novel can be beautiful and yet frightening. And then when you are finished, you still have the countryside and your life to go back to."
"You sound like you spend a great deal of time reading," said Anne.
"Well, I do like to read novels, when my husband allows me to," she replied.
Captain Wentworth raised his eyebrows. "Mr. Tilney, do you disapprove so highly of novels? I have no objection to a lady passing a bit of time with them now and then."
Mr. Tilney looked at his plate. "Oh, no, certainly not. A bit of light reading is a harmless pursuit."
"It's only that he takes them away before he is finished, so he can read them himself," said Mrs. Tilney as her husband blushed slightly.
Anne couldn't resist laughing at that. "Perhaps you should practice reading out loud," she suggested.
"Oh, we did that just last Thursday, did we not Mr. Tilney? With that lovely novel about the poor lady who catches the eye of a wealthy man? You read his lines for me, do you remember?"
Perhaps only Captain Wentworth saw how much more deeply Henry Tilney blushed at the mention of that evening.
When the evening was finished and they were retiring for the night Mrs. Wentworth and her husband spoke privately.
"Mrs. Tilney is very romantic woman," she said with amusement.
"She is, and I think Mr. Henry Tilney is an extremely lucky man. I feel they may be discussing pirates together even as we speak."
His wife agreed. "I'm sure even a mild-mannered clergyman such as Mr. Tilney might discover a piratical bent in time."
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
Persuasion/Northhanger Abbey, Anne/Capt. Wentworth and Henry/Catherine, K+
Date: 2011-12-19 11:07 pm (UTC)The new bride at Anne Wentworth's dinner table was quite exuberant over the prospect of shipboard life.
"But being on a ship must be so lovely!" Mrs. Tilney opined over the first course. "Why, it reminds of novel about pirates or some such thing, does it not you, Mr. Tilney?"
Mr. Tilney smiled but shook his head. "I think Captain Wentworth might not see any compliments in such a comparison."
His wife's eyes widened. "Oh, I'm very sorry. But I only meant the open sea, and the salt air. And a ship, with the deck well-scrubbed and the ropes and the sails. It all sounds so romantic."
Captain Wentworth laughed. "I took no insult from your words, Mrs. Tilney. And as much as I've enjoyed these weeks at our home I would not trade being on a ship for anything. I certainly hope my wife would agree."
Anne nodded. "I certainly do. Though I suppose I must point out that I am not certain such things are depicted with accuracy in novels."
"Oh, nothing ever is," replied Mrs. Tilney as if that were a minor point. "But I enjoy reading them anyway, because the world in a novel can be beautiful and yet frightening. And then when you are finished, you still have the countryside and your life to go back to."
"You sound like you spend a great deal of time reading," said Anne.
"Well, I do like to read novels, when my husband allows me to," she replied.
Captain Wentworth raised his eyebrows. "Mr. Tilney, do you disapprove so highly of novels? I have no objection to a lady passing a bit of time with them now and then."
Mr. Tilney looked at his plate. "Oh, no, certainly not. A bit of light reading is a harmless pursuit."
"It's only that he takes them away before he is finished, so he can read them himself," said Mrs. Tilney as her husband blushed slightly.
Anne couldn't resist laughing at that. "Perhaps you should practice reading out loud," she suggested.
"Oh, we did that just last Thursday, did we not Mr. Tilney? With that lovely novel about the poor lady who catches the eye of a wealthy man? You read his lines for me, do you remember?"
Perhaps only Captain Wentworth saw how much more deeply Henry Tilney blushed at the mention of that evening.
When the evening was finished and they were retiring for the night Mrs. Wentworth and her husband spoke privately.
"Mrs. Tilney is very romantic woman," she said with amusement.
"She is, and I think Mr. Henry Tilney is an extremely lucky man. I feel they may be discussing pirates together even as we speak."
His wife agreed. "I'm sure even a mild-mannered clergyman such as Mr. Tilney might discover a piratical bent in time."