One side of the first sheet Charlotte scribbled that her parents were still in Denmark and when they would return was unknown. She also briefly relayed the new gossip floating around among the London nobility, and that was the end of the news from the capital: the remaining pages of the letter were filled with the girl's concern for Vivian, whom she said she hadn't seen for a long time, and who was constantly finding excuses not to see her.
"How strange… after all, Vivian and Charlotte were so friendly! Is my cousin so busy that she can't even find a spare hour to visit her lonely friend? And Charlotte is looking to me for answers about Vivian's strange behaviour! It's all very suspicious," the young Cranford frowned.
"You must also be aware of the rumours going around town about her husband. They say that before he married Vivian, he led a very, very dissolute life … I dread to even think of it, but I suppose that perhaps my dear friend's perpetual busyness is due to his behaviour?" – Miss Salton wrote.
"No, here you are mistaken, my dear Charlotte. I am sure: Vivian is still reeling from the conclusion of a marriage so fortunate for her. Or perhaps she is simply expecting a child? – Anthony smiled, confident in his best friend's integrity. – Yes, Jeremy likes to have fun, but even when he's drunk to death, he wouldn't hurt a mouse… But I think it's time for me to go back to London: Kitty's on the mend, and my love for Charlotte is growing daily, and I won't be at peace until she's my lawful wife.
Having made up his mind to return to London, Anthony cautiously announced his intention to his sick niece. To this Kitty only smiled and said that her sister Victoria had shared with her his secret about Miss Salton. But Anthony took no offence at Victoria: in spite of her seriousness, she was a child. And what was he to be ashamed of?
The only person who was strongly against his departure was Lady Cranford: while Richard and Agnes accepted it calmly and understandingly, his mother reproached him with selfishness all evening and repeated again and again that Alexandra, Agnes's younger sister, was to come to Devry the other day.
– That girl is only coming to meet you! – exclaimed Lady Cranford, walking round her son's chamber, where two maids were packing his things for the journey.