In ch.14, after hearing her husband describe Captain Benwick's admiration for Anne, Mary exclaimed, "It was very little to [CB's] credit if he did [admire Anne]. Miss Harville only died last June. Such a heart is very little worth having..."

In an earlier thread there was a discussion about the truth coming from the mouths of foolish or unlikeable people, and I must say this is the second time I've agreed with Mary. Yes, his fiancee died in June, but Captain Benwick only found out about it at the beginning of August. He met Anne near the end of November, about three and a half months later, and in early/mid-December various people were expecting him to visit Uppercross to see Anne. Was this the same man who was so heartbroken about his fiancee's death that his friends had to keep a suicide watch? Despite the fact that everyone (including Anne) accepted his behaviour as perfectly natural, I'm not impressed. Off with the old and on with the new! :-(