How sly of him. This would definitely make the page read more logically IMO. I see now that Mr Shepherd could have been setting it up from the outset when he was reading the papers, shepherding Sir Walter to warm up to the idea of renting Kellynch to Naval officers.

Is there a possibility that Mr Shepherd had known that a few Admirals were looking for estates to rent and then he sort of worked his way toward them? After all, we see that the Crofts had been unable to find a place to their liking. Perhaps word got around to Mr Shepherd about these prospective renters, causing him to consider Admirals in the first place? Sort of if I read the chapter backwards from the bottom up?