... necessarily, but even an attentive family could forget these things after several years, especially regarding a deceased part of the family, especially one not highly regarded.

The Musgroves might (or not) have looked forward eagerly to Dick's rare letters; they certainly noticed that those letters were of a different character when he was under Wentworth. They even remembered the name of the captain under whose command the letters changed.

The Navy lists were new in the Musgrove house because the girls were infatuated with Wentworth, and he was a constant part of their lives. Dick was in the Navy to get him out of their lives.