Captain Wentworth's Persuasion

by Regina Jeffers

  Next came Sophia and Edward.“Anne, you will do well aboard ship,” Sophia said stoutly.

  “I will learn from all you told me; it will be a great adventure—my first adventure,”Anne affirmed.

  “You sail with the best,” the Admiral confirmed what Anne gleamed from the various conversations she overheard today.“Your Frederick is highly esteemed by those with whom he sails and by the British Navy’s high command.You will be safe with him. I am proud to be called his brother.”

  Frederick looked away, a bit embarrassed by such high praise from the Admiral.“My wife will probably be more in control than I.” He teased to break the tension.“I have seen the ocean play lovingly at her feet as she stood on an outcropping at Lyme.While the others ran from the tide, Anne stood and welcomed it, and the sea responded by kissing her with a delicate spray. I saw that reaction only a few times; Anne is meant to be near the ocean; she loves it so, and it responds in kind.”

  “Your sister is the same. I first saw her when she stood along the shore at North Yarmouth, admiring the splendor of the water. I knew she had to be mine.” Admiral Croft draped his arm around Sophia’s shoulder.

  Sophia patted his hand.“I knew you by character long before.”

  “Well, and I heard of you as a very pretty girl. And what were we to wait for besides? I do not like having such things so long in hand.” Benjamin Croft kissed the tip of his wife’s upturned nose. “Now, Frederick has brought us a gem, Sophie.”

  “I have, Admiral,” Frederick interrupted, trying to get a moment with Edward. “And you, my Brother,” he continued, “how do I give you my gratitude?”

  “You do so, Frederick, by returning to us safely. My child needs his uncle and his new aunt. Our prayers will daily be with you and your men on The Resolve.” Edward embraced him before saying, “Now, the two of you get out of here.You waited long enough to start your life together.”

  “On that we agree.” Frederick’s smile grew by the second.“Are you ready, Mrs.Wentworth?” He turned to take Anne’s hand in his.

  She nodded her agreement. However, before they could escape the room, women, wishing to bid Anne farewell, beset them. Mary Musgrove and Elizabeth Elliot led the crowd.

  Frederick stood patiently to the side and let the women kiss and hug Anne, but when it appeared their exit might never occur, he gallantly stepped into the milieu.“Excuse me, Ladies,” he said,“but I seemed to have misplaced my wife. Ah, there she is!”With those words, he scooped Anne into his arms and, holding her close to his chest, strode from the room. The group of women followed the two of them, giggling and weeping. Frederick placed Anne—who herself was giggling and weeping—into the front seat of their carriage. “Wave goodbye to our families, my Love,” he told her as he sprang to the seat to take up the reins.

  Frederick glanced back to see women waving handkerchiefs and men holding their glasses high in a salute as he maneuvered his team into the coach traffic of Bath Street.Anne swiveled around to look at him after offering their party her own farewells.“Frederick Wentworth, you are incorrigible,” she reprimanded him.

  “That is what you used to say of me years ago, Sweetling.Why would you think I might change?” he teased. “I am of the persuasion that our marriage should not wait any longer for its beginning. Even you could not fault me for that, I think.”

  Anne tried to look stern, but the effort was useless.“It was quite romantic,” she admitted,“to be carried off by the man I love.”

  Frederick lowered his head to kiss her lips.They would travel to an inn outside Bath to spend their wedding night. Frederick had secured the best rooms and ordered a private meal for them. Footmen had delivered their bags that morning to the inn. Anne sat as close to him as propriety allowed, and Frederick dropped one of his hands into her lap.Turning his palm up, he waited for her to place her hand in his.“I love you,” he murmured,“more than life itself.”

  “And I love you,”Anne responded.“I always have—I always will.”

  CHAPTER 20

  Light, so low upon earth,

  You send a flash to the sun.

  Here is the golden close of love,

  All my wooing is done.

  —Alfred Lord Tennyson, “Marriage Morning”

  By the time they reached the inn, it was late afternoon.The sunny day had become overcast and threatened rain. Frederick put up the roof of the landaulette, but a chill set in by the time they reached their destination. Frederick loosened his coat and wrapped Anne in it as well. “I will not have you catch your death of cold on our wedding day,” he insisted. Both lap blankets became tucked around her also.

  “What of you, my Love?” she asked as she snuggled into his chest.

  “First, I am more used to the elements, having spent years in all sorts of weather aboard ship. Second, my coats are much heavier than your muslin and cloak. But, most important, to be able to hold you in my arms and feel you pressed to me, I would suffer the worst winter has to offer.A temperamental spring day means nothing. If you will just kiss me occasionally, I will stay as warm as on a summer day.”

  “You are not what you appear to be,” she noted as she wrapped her arms around his waist. “I would venture to say most people see you as the disciplined sea captain, ever observant—brave to the end.”

  “And you do not see me that way, Sweetling?” He kissed the tip of her upturned nose.

  Her voice was thoughtful.“I see that man; but there is so much more to you. I see a man who loves to tease—who is thoughtful and considerate—who is sensitive—and who is passionate.”

  “I am passionate about you, Sweetling.”They rode in silence for a few minutes.“Anne?”

  “Yes, Love.”

  “I will be tender this evening.”

  She paused before answering.“I know.—I am not afraid.”

  “Promise me,” he began again.“Promise me if you are uncomfortable in any way you will tell me. I will not have you lie there and be only a vessel for my pleasure.That is not what love is.” He kissed the top of her head. “I assume you had no one with whom to speak about physical love?”

  “I did—I did speak to your sister. Truthfully, much of what she said was shocking, but I am glad Sophia was so direct.” She blushed at speaking so openly with him.

  Frederick pulled the carriage to a halt, and he and Anne looked down on a small town. “I suppose we should move farther apart before we enter the village. We would not wish to scandalize the residents with our behavior.” Anne began to shift away from him, but he pulled her to him one more time, kissing her properly. Lips posed above each other, he nearly growled, “Of course, I promise scandalous behavior in the privacy of our own room.”

  She laughed and leaned in for another intimate kiss, taking Frederick by surprise.

  When they separated, he was breathing hard.“You,Anne Wentworth, are a dangerous woman.” Then he laughed. “Let us go, Love. I need to get to know my wife a bit better.” He flicked the reins across the horses’ backs, and the carriage sprang forward.

  They took a light meal as soon as they arrived. Having eaten little at the wedding breakfast, they were both famished; then they took a walk about the village. Anne bought some ribbon to trim one of her day dresses and a couple of men’s handkerchiefs that she planned to monogram with his initials as a present for him. He bought a couple of bars of lavender-scented soap so Anne might have them aboard ship. Having asked Sophia’s opinion, Frederick had already packed a bag of essentials—luxuries on a ship—so Anne would not have to do without her favorite toiletries. He had sent them ahead to Plymouth in preparation for their departure.

  “When do we need to be in Plymouth?” she asked as they strolled along the wooden walkway.

  “Benjamin will send one of the coaches for us on Monday. A groomsman will drive our carriage back to Kellynch for safekeeping while we are away.” Frederick steered her around a sizable mud hole before continuing.“I need to be at the ship by Thursday, but I would prefer to act
ually take possession of it and walk its decks on Wednesday. By leaving early Monday morning, we should arrive by late afternoon, soon enough for me to inform the Central Office of my change in marital status. I thought on Tuesday we might attend the performance at the Theatre Royal II before we set sail.Would you like that?”

  “It would be pleasant to spend an evening on your arm.”

  Frederick spoke with regret. “I am sorry, Anne.You deserve a wedding trip to the Continent, instead of a few nights at a country inn before I drag you off to a crowded ship—and a war.”

  “Oh, Frederick, do you really think I care about those things? I will spend three glorious days and nights in your arms! Then I will visit a bustling seaport for the first time—shipyards and battleships everywhere. I am most eager to see it.”

  After several moments, he said,“I am a lucky man.”

  “And you adore me?” she asked.

  “That I do,” he whispered. “I love you more than you will ever know.”

  After supper, Frederick took her in his arms. “I will join the men downstairs for a drink, but I shall have the maid bring you up a bath first. I return in an hour.That should give you plenty of time to prepare.”

  “I will be ready.”Anne went up on her tiptoes to kiss his mouth again. Knowing what the night would bring, Frederick closed his eyes to push desire away for just a little longer.

  Reluctantly, he let her go. “I will be back soon.” He squeezed her hand and then quickly strode from the room.

  Frederick sipped on a tankard of ale and pretended to listen to the men talk of crops and the weather—but his mind was elsewhere.

  Heart pounding, an hour later, he slipped back into the room, securing the lock behind him.Taking a deep breath, he flexed and relaxed his hands several times to relieve the tension building quickly in his limbs.The room was warm, thanks to the fire burning in the hearth, and he needed a few seconds for his vision to adjust to the dim light.

  “Frederick?” Anne’s soft voice brought his eyes to her. She stood in the middle of the room, hair draped over her shoulders and hanging loosely down her back.The glow from the fire picked up the auburn highlights, giving her curls an inner shine. Barefoot, she stood innocently staring at him; her white dressing gown clung to her delicate, shapely body.

  Frederick struggled to say the words he wanted her to know. “You are exquisite,” he muttered hoarsely. Then he crossed the room in a couple of strides and took her in his arms.

  The feel of her body without corsets or chemise or layers of dress nearly did him in. He forced himself to go slowly, although his body demanded immediate action. He stroked her hair, allowing his fingers to trail down to the ends and then rested them on her slim waist. Beginning with slightly parted lips and then using his tongue to coax her mouth to respond to his, he bent to kiss her. Anne pressed closer to him, twining her hands around his neck. “Ah,Anne, I thought this night would never come.”

  “I am ready, my Darling,” she whispered near his ear.

  It took no other enticement to convince him. Frederick scooped her into his arms and headed toward the bed, already turned down for the night. Carrying her close to him, he asked, “Can you hear my heart? It stopped beating years ago; now it can take up again.” Frederick laid her gently across the bed, and her hair spread out across the pillow completing the picture from his dream.

  Looking down at her, he began to unbutton his jacket. “Your beauty stuns me,” he spoke reverently, enthralled by her appearance.

  Anne stretched her arms out to him, and Frederick leaned over and blew out the single candle—only the glow of the fire showed in the room. Then he slid into bed with her. “I love you, Anne Elliot Wentworth. I have loved no one but you.You are my life.”

  “This is our first night together,” she whispered in his ear.“The first night of thousands to come.” She kissed him then—and after that, no more words were needed. They knew from the first day they met—from the first time they danced—from the first time they kissed.This was where they were meant to be.

  On Saturday, they took the landaulette out for a ride about the countryside, taking in the beautiful vistas. Frederick ordered a picnic lunch packed by the innkeeper’s wife and laid claim to extra blankets for the drive.The sun shone brightly, although the air still held a brisk coolness.

  Choosing a rocky outcropping overlooking a panoramic glade and orchard, he spread the blanket on the flat ledge and then he helped Anne settle there. She sat with her knees pulled up and her arms wrapped about them. Watching her intently, he relished the image of Anne tilting her face up to the sun.“It is such a beautiful day,” she said.

  Frederick leaned over to kiss her upturned lips as he placed the picnic basket beside her.“Perfectly beautiful,” he murmured. He laid the extra blanket to her left in case she needed the additional warmth, and then he stretched out his full length, lying on his back and covering his face with his hat.

  After ten minutes of silence, Anne’s voice broke through. “Did you bring me all the way out here so you might catch up on your sleep?”

  He removed the hat and rolled to his side, propping himself up on one elbow. “I enjoyed the warmth of the sun, and I admit it could easily lull me to sleep. I got little rest last night.”

  “Neither did I,” she asserted.

  Frederick laughed before taking her hand in his. “I recall,” he murmured and flashed a wicked smile. “Would you like a repeat performance?” He moved up to kiss her earlobe.“I would be willing to service your needs, Sweetling.”

  “Why do you not serve the food instead?” Anne suggested, a little scandalized.

  “Ah, Sweetheart, you wound me greatly, but I am here to please you.” Frederick sat up to open the basket. “Now, let us see what Mrs. Francis has created for us.” He removed the contents of the basket and then piled roasted chicken, dark bread, cheese, and fresh fruit on the plates. “What do you think, Love? Is this not a grand meal?” He poured them each a large glass of wine.

  “It is, Frederick.” Anne leaned in to kiss his wine-touched lips. “It is the best meal ever served to me.”

  He wrapped his arms around her. “Do you love being married as much as I do?”

  Anne turned to sit back against him after feeding Frederick a mouthful of cheese and bread. “Married life is very satisfying, Mr. Wentworth.” She wiggled up next to him, and he automatically began to kiss the nape of her neck. The freedom to touch each other became more intoxicating with each new exploration.“Will it always be this way?” she asked.

  “I would hope so,” he spoke next to her ear.“Twenty years from now, it will not be so adventurous, but I guarantee the passion and the desire will still be there.”

  “Can you imagine us twenty years from now?”

  Frederick traced his fingers up and down her arm. “I see us in an estate—near the sea, of course—where we will entertain our neighbors. Our children will be strong as their father and as beautiful as their mother, and they will accept only love matches—the same as their parents.” This was a defining moment; he and Anne actually had a future. Speaking of children and of a home out loud seemed very prophetic—almost mystical.

  “How many children?” she asked.

  He encircled her in his embrace.“Two—maybe three.”

  “Two,” she decided.

  “Two it is, Mrs.Wentworth.”

  The afternoon passed too quickly, but they spent their time together speaking of commitment—to something greater—something beyond them. They planned their life—talked of where to live, how to arrange the house, what qualities to instill in their children, and what role each would play. They learned about each other intimately the night before; they learned how to make the marriage work during that impromptu Saturday afternoon picnic.

  On Sunday, they joined the villagers at the local church to give thanks for their love and to pray for the safety of all the men with whom Frederick would sail.

  When the Admiral’s coach rolled
into the inn yard early Monday morning, the reality of what would change when they reached Plymouth gripped them.“Frederick, I am frightened,” she whispered once they were on their way.

  He took her hand in his. “I would be telling a lie if I told you there is no danger. Of course, in war there is always danger.” Frederick lifted her chin to force Anne to look at him.“There are dangers even when there is not a war. Women die regularly in childbirth. Poverty claims hundreds daily. Men lose their homes and property to gambling and overspending, sending their families into bankruptcy. A gentleman can easily greet death simply by stepping into a busy street and meeting a runaway carriage.We cannot control our fate, Anne; all we can do is exercise caution and reason. I am known for those qualities. I will never put you or the men on my ship at risk simply to win a government prize. I value human life too much.”

  “I know,” she spoke the words softly but with a degree of determination. “Change is frightening, though.”

  “I understand, my Love. It is more of a change for you than it is for me.You are giving up your way of life, all you knew.You must promise, just as you did on our first night together, you will tell me when things are too much—too much change at once. There is nothing you can say to me that will lessen my love for you.”

  “I promise.” Anne brought his hand to her mouth. She kissed his palm and then followed his lifeline with her index finger. “You will have a long life,” she predicted in a voice that was husky with emotion.

  Frederick took the glove from her hand and examined her palm.“And you, too.”Then he aligned their palms, so their lifelines touched each other. “We will have a long life together.” His fingers interlaced with hers. “As our hands are linked together, so is our fate.We belong to each other—you and I.”

  “You and I.” She smiled, more serenely now. “Our fates predetermined.”

  “Yes, our fates have brought us full circle, back to each other.” He wrapped his other hand around their two and squeezed them together.“We are bound together, and nothing will pull us apart. I need you near me,Anne, and then I can do anything.”