I might be in the minority here, but frankly, I rather doubt LR and her motives. I find her pushy. After 8 years, she hadn't changed. Here she was again, trying to influence Anne into marrying Mr Elliot.

In Ch 17, all LR had was that Mr Elliot wanted to "gain Anne." It didn't mean he was worthy :-) What was LR's reasons for Mr Elliot "deserving her?" And then she started "calculating the number of weeks which would free him from... widowhood" :-)

What gets me is that LR had no idea who Mr Elliot's character was. What were her sources that made Mr Elliot such a catch? I say this because if he was such a wonderful man and could stand on his reputation, LR would never have had to resort to using Kellynch, or Anne's deceased Mother, to persuade Anne to consider Mr Elliot as a potential suitor. Shame on LR to revive a painful topic -- that tells me she did not have Anne's best interest at heart.