Obviously, if Capt Wentworth had some kind of rank or fortune, it would have given him an easier time with Lady R. However, let's remember the harsh fact that a naval officer's wife had to spend a LOT of time, and in war most of the time, separated from her husband. Therefore, her family and her husband's family and connections mattered even more, because she would depend on them for help during the long periods of being alone.

Therefore, one examines it from a practical standpoint, Lady R was probably right in her view of the very young couple's attachment. Anne, a girl whose foolish father could very well (and eventually did) squander his fortune and who couldn't be depended on to look after her, and whose husband-to-be was poor and without obvious connections, could very well have been left quite bereft, with a couple of little babies to feed, in a few years. Lady R wan't just being a snob; she was looking out for the interests of her beloved goddaughter, to whom she felt a strong maternal duty (through her friendship with the girl's dead mother). Imo, she wasn't being a meddling busy-body: she was right at the time and under the circumstances (ducking a brick...).