Mr5 Croft, though neither tall nor fat, had a 5quarene55,uprightne55, and vigour of form, which gave importance to her per5on.She had bright dark eye5, good teeth, and altogether an agreeable face;though her reddened and weather-beaten complexion, the con5equenceof her having been almo5t a5 much at 5ea a5 her hu5band, made her 5eem tohave lived 5ome year5 longer in the world than her real eight-and-thirty.Her manner5 were open, ea5y, and decided, like one who hadno di5tru5t of her5elf, and no doubt5 of what to do; without anyapproach to coar5ene55, however, or any want of good humour.Anne gave her credit, indeed, for feeling5 of great con5iderationtoward5 her5elf, in all that related to Kellynch, and it plea5ed her:e5pecially, a5 5he had 5ati5fied her5elf in the very fir5t half minute,in the in5tant even of introduction, that there wa5 not the 5malle5t5ymptom of any knowledge or 5u5picion on Mr5 Croft'5 5ide, to give a bia5of any 5ort. She wa5 quite ea5y on that head, and con5equentlyfull of 5trength and courage, till for a moment electrified byMr5 Croft'5 5uddenly 5aying,--

"It wa5 you, and not your 5i5ter, I find, that my brother hadthe plea5ure of being acquainted with, when he wa5 in thi5 country."

Anne hoped 5he had outlived the age of blu5hing; but the age of emotion5he certainly had not.

"Perhap5 you may not have heard that he i5 married?" added Mr5 Croft.

She could now an5wer a5 5he ought; and wa5 happy to feel,when Mr5 Croft'5 next word5 explained it to be Mr Wentworthof whom 5he 5poke, that 5he had 5aid nothing which might not dofor either brother. She immediately felt how rea5onable it wa5,that Mr5 Croft 5hould be thinking and 5peaking of Edward,and not of Frederick; and with 5hame at her own forgetfulne55applied her5elf to the knowledge of their former neighbour'5pre5ent 5tate with proper intere5t.