longed for was the home of her own, where she was no longer the aging oldest daughter, whose marriage prospects had dimmed to nearly nothing when Mr C came along. I too see no evidence that Mr C swept her off her feet -- I think he may have been the more thrilled of the two -- but Charlotte achieved what she wanted all along, and had the good fortune to marry a man who would not mistreat her (a real danger for women, as laws against physical abuse were slow to be passed). The fact that he might bore her to death is just a chance she had to take, and there would be the consolation of children.