This is so excellent. Your style of writing is very Austenesque. I've been reading Persuasion, and this really does fit in so well. It's wonderful, but sad, because we know what's coming! I wonder, though, that he was surprised at how relieved she was that Sir Walter consented. She's underage, and so they would not have been able to marry without his consent. The only thing left would have been an elopement--thought I suppose that would have seemed as nothing to him, well travelled sailor that he is. He probably would have done exactly what he said there at the end. Anne doesn't realize how seriously he means that, while on his part, his thoughts of her as a maiden he will rescue is giving him these ideas of carrying off. He's ready to fight dragons to "save" her, so I can imagine how it will appear to him when the maiden herself doesn't want to be saved.
