After the Letter - A Persuasion Variation

Part 19

Frederick had reasoned with himself thus: he had no desire to call on Lady Russell, and certainly no reason to, regardless of the fact that he had just seen Anne enter her house. Whether accompanied by Mr. Elliot or not, Frederick still had no reason to follow her, and ought to just leave, return to Sophia and the Admiral's house, and be content to call on Anne at her father's house some time later in the day. That Anne chose to call on Lady Russell was hardly a surprise, and there would be a sensible explanation for Mr. Elliot's accompanying her, he did not doubt it. He tried not to dwell on the snippet of conversation he had overheard, realising that taking two lines together completely without context was no way to ascertain meaning. He ought to return home, immediately. He would. He would turn around and retrace his steps –

And yet almost in spite of his reasoned intentions, he found himself marching straight up to Lady Russell's door and knocking. Quite before he had time to correct his course, or to conjure up a reason for being there, her housekeeper had opened the door, and greeted him with a subservient, "yes?"

"Ah...I'm here to see Lady Russell -" Frederick stammered. "That is, I hoped to call on –" Before he could clarify further - and quite how he intended to clarify further he hadn't yet worked out - the housekeeper had pulled the door open a little wider and ushered him into the corridor. Lady Russell's rooms seemed different in daylight, and lacking the conviviality of their evening gathering, which did not help Frederick's feeling of apprehension. Put him in charge of a ship at sea, put him under fire from an enemy, and he would thrive. To find himself walking towards another reluctant appointment with Lady Russell, he could scarcely control his breathing.

The housekeeper hesitated at the door of the sitting room, and it did not take Frederick long to ascertain why, as the sound of raised voices reached his ears.

"...I assure you the past eight years have not been to my benefit, nor will my future be if you destroy my happiness again," he heard, and his heart rate increased. That was Anne speaking! Anne sounding so unlike herself that it took all of his focus not to push past the housekeeper to see what was the matter. There was a moment's pause, and the servant glanced back at him, anxiously.

"I am not sure..." he began, but when Anne spoke again Frederick heard nothing but her voice, and the words he had so longed to hear this past few days.

"I do love Frederick, and I always have. I know my own mind and am not so easily swayed - by anyone!"

The door opened suddenly, and Anne swept out, almost colliding with the housekeeper and stopping short when she saw him standing there.

"Frederick?" her agitation was plain in the flash of fire in her eyes, the paleness of her features.

"Are you alright?" he asked, swallowing his own interest in what conversation had led to such an outburst from usually mild-mannered Anne.

"Captain Wentworth?" Lady Russell called, coming to the door after Anne. "Why, I did not hear you arrive." Her words were smooth, but he could tell from the breathless energy that underpinned her movements that she, too, was quite taken aback by her exchange with Anne, and further unsettled by his sudden appearance in her home.

"No, and I fear it is not really a good time for me to call anyway, Lady Russell." He glanced at Anne. "If you'll excuse me, I will escort Anne home -" he hesitated, wondering whether he ought to say more, but, at a loss for words, instead seized on the nearest occupation open to him, and led Anne gently out of the house.

"I didn't hear you come in," Anne said, her breath hitching. "I didn't know you were here- in Bath, I mean. Sophia said - and you never mentioned - and -" They had begun to walk down the street, but it was clear to Frederick that Anne's mind was still scattered after her confrontation with Lady Russell.