The last time we were at home, Harry had become a greater favourite than ever with the captain’s family. Of course the brave way in which he had saved Reginald at Toulon, at the risk of his own life, was well known. Though he himself might not have talked much about it, Reginald had given a full account of all that had happened. With Susan and me, Harry was just the same as he had always been. One thing we discovered, that he had given his heart to Miss Fanny, and it was Susan’s belief that she had given hers in return. We saw no harm in this, though we thought it better not to talk to him about it; but I had a notion that the captain did not suspect the true state of the case. Both Harry and I were anxious to hear from Jerry, but day after day passed by, and no letter came from him; I was expecting to be sent off to sea, and so were the young gentlemen. Harry, I suspect, was in no hurry to go; and Reginald, who generally took things easy, was happy with his family, and was thankful to stop on shore for a spell. Still the accounts which we read in the papers, of the gallant actions fought, made us before long wish to be afloat again. We were reading, I remember, an account of Sir Sidney Smith’s brave defence of Acre against Buonaparte, whom he compelled to raise the siege.
“I wish that I had been there!” exclaimed Harry. “Captain Leslie says we ought to be afloat again, and it’s right, I know, though home is very pleasant. We are sure, if we go, to obtain our promotion before long, and once lieutenants, if we have luck, we shall soon win our next step; till I get that, I feel too sure that I shall have no chance of gaining the object nearest my heart.”
“What is that, Harry?” I asked.
“Perhaps I ought to have told you before, father; but the secret was not mine alone,” was the answer.
Harry then told me what I suspected long ago, that he had set his heart on marrying Miss Fanny Leslie.
“I hope you have not told her so, my boy,” I said; “the captain would not approve of it.”
“Yes, father, I have though,” he answered; “and she has promised to marry me if her parents will allow her.”
“I am very sorry to hear this, for one thing, Harry,” I said; “I fear it will cause you and her much disappointment and sorrow. The captain is very kind; he wishes you well, but he is proud of his family; and he will not allow his daughter to marry a man about whose birth he knows nothing, and who has no fortune. He will also be vexed to find that his daughter has engaged herself without first consulting him and her mother.”
“But we have known each other from childhood, and he always encouraged me to come to the house,” pleaded Harry; “and so Fanny thinks that he will not object to me.”
“It’s my belief he never thought such a thing possible,” I observed; “I daresay he will blame himself when he finds it out, but that won’t make him excuse you. I wish you would tell Miss Fanny what I say. The best thing you can now do is to set each other free; and if she remains unmarried, and you obtain your promotion and discover that you are of a family to which her father would not object, you can then come forward openly and claim her.”