Fred found life at the vicarage far more busy and bustling then he had ever expected. It seemed Edward was a friend and acquaintance of everyone within fifty miles, he had so many visitors during the day, each seeking his advice on some new venture (he was becoming a notoriously good farmer) or needed help deciphering some troubling passages they'd recently discovered in John.
At first Fred had sat in upon theses calls, interested and intrigued by his brothers neighbours; however he soon realised that although they were perfectly pleasant, amiable people, a few minutes conversation was quite enough for one day. They could talk of their farms, their children, the recent small happening in the village, on end, but anything beyond that, literature, music, even event only 100 miles off seemed of no interest or consequence to them. They didn't know, they didn't care and they liked it that way.
So Fred began contriving ways to escape these tedious visits, his favourite being to go out early on a morning and ramble across the countryside near the vicarage, returning for a late luncheon with his brother. Occasionally he would take one of Edwards dogs for company, and it was on one such early morning walk, that Edwards young pup disappeared after Fred had allowed his mind to wander. Inwardly scolding himself for his inattention and trying to remember when he had last seen the disobedient pup, he began calling for her and searching the hedgerows.
"Lucy! Lucy, come here girl! Where are you?" High pitched excited barking replied and Lucy appeared from behind a hedgerow for a brief second. Then she disappeared behind it again and barked more persistently. Groaning Frederick followed her into the lane and to his surprise found a small figure curled up on the ground, trying to shoo the dog away, but plainly terrified of it.
"Lucy! Heel!" Fred commanded quickly as the dog bounded towards the girl. Obediently the dog returned to him but whined and pawed the ground, plainly wanting to investigate the stranger.
Fred walked towards the girl, restraining the dog by the scruff of its neck.
"It's ok," he said gently, "she won't hurt you. She's just a bit boisterous." The girl timidly looked up at him as he spoke and Fred recognised her from church. She was the young Elliot girl.
"Here," he said. "Hold out your hand like this and let her sniff you." He showed her how, then released Lucy. She bounded forwards and the girl pulled back her arm that she had nervously held out.
"Hand forward. Like you just did. She just wants to smell you." The girl slowly reached forward and held out her palm to the dog. Lucy sniffed appreciatively and started licking her hand. The girl giggled slightly and reached out her other hand. Lucy started licking that one too and she started laughing loudly.
"Oh. I like her. She's not like father's dogs at all." She stroked Lucy's glossy head smiling broadly. "They're mean and growl and bark and I don't like them." She nodded her head at she said each word, emphasising their importance and looking up at Fred.
"They're probably hunting dogs, I should guess. This little puppy's just a pet, a friend to my brother and me."
"I like her," she replied smiling down at the dog. There was a silence for a few minutes as the child played contentedly with the dog.
"I'm Miss Mary Elliot you know," the child said with a significant nod, glancing up at Fred. "My father owns much of the land round here and I live in Kellynch Hall," she obviously expected Fred to be extremely impressed. He gave a mock start.
"You live in that grand hall? All by yourself?"
"No silly," she replied shaking her head at him in a very superior fashion, "I live there with my father, Sir Walter Elliot and my two sisters. My fathers a baronet you know." This was said with another superior nod of the head.
"My, my, a baronet. Well then Miss Mary. I'm quite at a loss to see why you are wondering about the lanes so far from home."
"It's all Elizabeth's fault," she replied with an angry scowl and stamp of the foot. "I wanted to play in the East drawing room because its so pretty there and she could have played with me, but she said she needed that room to practise her piano in, and I said she could practise somewhere else for I wanted to play in there, and she said she wouldn't and that I was a spoilt little child who should know not to play around the adults and that I should play elsewhere!" She paused for breath before continuing, "But I didn't want to, so I ran away. She'll be sorry when realises I'm not there because she much prefers me to Anne, she told me so."
"You ran away?" Fred asked.
"Yes, but I didn't mean to run far. I just meant for her to get worried and upset, then I would come home and we would have luncheon together, but then I walked too far and I got lost and I got tired and my feet hurt." She sat down as she concluded and her lips began to tremble.
"I want to go home," she said and burst into tears.
Fred strode over and sat beside her on the hedgerow bank.
"Well perhaps you'd allow me to escort you home, Miss Mary?" He held out his arm for her to take, "For I happen to know the way."
Anne ran back into the house, her hair loose from it's usual ties and her skirts flying. Frantically she had searched the lanes and fields nearby when it became apparent Mary was nowhere in the grounds and now she returned to the house in the hope of gathering a larger and more able search party.
"James! James!" she called as she ran through the house.
"Have you found here? Is she back?" She caught sight of the butler James in the drawing room and accordingly ran toward him. She wrenched open the door saying
"Oh where is she?" But was stopped midway by the sight of a tall man stood in the room. For a few minutes she stood shocked and trying to regain her composure as the handsome Lieutenant looked down at her. The smile that played upon his face clearly showed he was amused by her surprise and probably by her discomposure she realised as she felt her face burn at the thought of her fly away hair and untidy appearance.
"Lieutenant Wentworth," she finally managed to stammer.
"Miss Anne," he replied bowing low. She curtsied clumsily and on glancing around the room saw Mary sat at the table contentedly picking at a bowl of fine sweets.
"Mary!" Anne cried amazed at her sisters sudden reappearance and her apparent lack of distress. "Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you!" Mary started. She had clearly been unaware of Anne's presence.
"Oh Anne!" She cried suddenly a vision of a damsel in distress, "I've been used so terribly ill! Elizabeth ignored me and made me go away, and I was soooo ill, so I thought I'd step outside for a breath of fresh air when I lost my way and I was all alone and it was terrible!" This was all said extremely fast and with the look of utter most reproach and ill usage on Mary's face that Frederick almost laughed. She finished by tragically throwing herself into Anne's arms.
"But Mary how are you back here?" Anne asked, struggling to support her sister.
"Oh," said Mary, suddenly recovered and able to bear her own weight she waved her hand with an air of great disdain at Frederick. "Lieutenant Wentworth found me." She had started to walk back to the sweet bowl but suddenly spun around and cried "And if he had not I would be lying dead somewhere and no-one would care!" She flung an arm dramatically across her head as she fell into a chair.
Anne glanced towards Frederick horribly aware of her sisters embarrassing behaviour and his witness to it all.
"Mary, please we would have cared, but could you…" She glanced at Frederick and was unable to finish her sentence by Mary calling her attention again.
"You wouldn't! You wouldn't care!" Mary cried tragically from her chair. Anne's face now glowed. Oh what must he think of me? She thought. She turned her attention back to her guest.
"Please excuse me Lieutenant. I have not yet thanked you for returning my sister back to us. Thank you so much. I'm not sure what would have happened if it had not been for you."
"I believe you would have found her a whole half hour later Miss Elliot," he replied with a smile. He had the sort of smile that light up his whole face, Anne noted, and showed the lines of his perfect white teeth.
"Well either way Lieutenant we are greatly in your debt. I really can't thank you enough."
"Please do not trouble yourself to thank me. It was a small trifle really."
"Well at least stay for tea. I can have James bring it in almost directly."
Fred glanced at the clock on the mantle. It was four and he knew Edward would probably be expecting him to return any time now. But Edward would not mind if I returned home later then usual, Frederick said to himself.
"I would be delighted Miss Elliot," Fred said a moment later and soon he found himself caught up in the hustle and bustle of preparations for tea. When these had finally finished and Fred was sat down opposite Anne with a dainty china tea cup, he found himself remembering dinners on board.
"The dinners were always warm and hearty, even though one was not always sure exactly what they consisted of." Fred told Anne.
"Oh were they dreadful! You hear such things about life on board but you're never really sure if they're true."
"Now I am intrigued," said Fred, a swift roguish smile playing on his lips, "Come tell me Miss Anne, exactly what have you heard about life on board?"
"Well, there are some things you might suppose to be true. Like rum is always drunk because the water is often salty…"
"Well I can tell you now that is a lie. Rum is a most precious commodity, it is a special treat and the men are always delighted when they get it." Fred replied with a twinkle in his eye, "And some even rank it above all else as the most valuable thing on board any ship."
"Hmm I can believe that," Anne laughed. Frederick found himself stop at the sound of her laugh. It was so beautiful. He cleared this throat forcing himself to concentrate once more on what she was saying.
" And people say you live on board with no knifes or forks, absolutely no cutlery to eat with." It was Fred's turn to burst out laughing now.
"Do you think we are savages Miss Anne? Do you believe all the Captains and Admiral's of this fine country, aye, even Nelson himself, sit and eat their daily dinner with their hands?!" Anne laughed too, her eyes sparkling and showing her enjoyment.
"Of course not! But it is what one hears."
"Have you ever had dinner with a member of the Navy Miss Anne? For I'm sure you must have noted they ate with cutlery then."
"But that's different! Life on shore and at sea are very different."
"Are they really? I myself have always found the most important luxuries of life can be provided on a ship and off."
"Oh really? And these "most important luxuries" would be?"
"Cutlery, obviously," Fred replied with a dashing smile, but turning more serious continued, "And good company." He paused. "The company of clever, well informed, people who have a vast deal of conversation; who all know each other intimately and who all respect and love one another."
"I do not believe that can be found on board a ship," said Anne after a short pause.
"Oh no?" replied Fred suspecting some sneer of the Navy to come.
"No, for I have never found it on land above once or twice. Your idea of good company is too high a standard. You have described the best." She smiled at Fred and an amiable silence settled between them as they turned their attention to tea.
"And where, dear brother of mine, have you been all afternoon?" Edward called from the parlour as Fred strode into the parsonage. "I had to take tea all on my own."
"Oh no! You didn't have to eat all those cakes yourself did you?" Fred cried with mock concern.
"I did indeed to console myself for having a brother who finds me too irksome to spend one whole day with. Not even a day for you left in the morning! I feel used abominably." Edward cried matching Fred's mocking tone. Fred sat down at the tea things which had not been cleared away. He picked up a cake and began absentmindedly too eat it, ripping it up and rolling it in his fingers before putting it in his mouth.
"Are you going to tell me where you've been then?" Edward asked pulling up a chair beside him and giving the fire a poke.
"Oh no-where really. I took Lucy out on walk then I had tea with Miss Elliot."
"You what?" Edward spluttered, choking on his tea.
"Oh yes." Fred said, surprised by Edwards reaction, "I found little Mary Elliot wandering around the lanes near Rosemary Hill and I brought her back to her family. Miss Elliot invited me to stay for tea as a thank you. I must say it was lucky I found her for it appears she's off to school tomorrow."
"Yes I believe her Easter holidays are ending soon," Edward said sidetracked. Fred smirked he'd always been able to do that, interest Edward in something totally mundane to keep him away from the bigger picture.
"Hang on a minute though," Edward cried, reverting back to his astonished state. Perhaps I'm a little rusty afterall, thought Fred as Edward said, "You still had tea with Miss Elliot."
"I never denied it." Fred replied coolly.
"Well how was it? What did you think of her? I still can't believe you were asked for tea by Miss Elliot. I can't believe her pride allowed such a thing. A mere naval officer!"
"Miss Elliot was very kind and charming Edward. Not at all proud or haughty."
"Miss Elliot never! I could not believe it of her. Of Miss Anne perhaps."
"But I was speaking of Miss Anne."
"You said Miss Elliot!"
"Well I meant Miss Anne Elliot. She was very kind. I enjoyed my tea very much."
"What did you think of her father?"
"Oh he wasn't there."
"Well what of the elder Miss Elliot?"
"She wasn't there either."
"You mean to say it was just you and Miss Anne?" Edward's eyebrows had shot up, "There's some scandal I never thought'd I'd hear of an Elliot! Alone with a naval officer!"
"Edward! It wasn't like that! And besides we weren't on our own."
"Oh really? Who else was there?"
"Miss Mary of course!" replied to Fred. It somehow slipped his mind to mention she had fallen asleep on a distant sofa 15 minutes into tea.
He smiled as he remembered his and Anne's conversation. She intrigued him. She was one of the most intelligent women he had ever met, though not always the first to voice her opinions. Her natural shyness and modesty greatly endeared her to Frederick and he found he enjoyed working to overcome her timidity and getting her opinions out of her. This enjoyment was only surpassed by the realisation of how closely her opinions and tastes were to his and how they could converse for hours without any feeling of restraint or unsureness that so often marred the enjoyment of beginning a new acquaintance. Miss Anne Elliot was an intriguing woman and Fred wished to know more of her.
"Well you'll have plenty to talk to her about tomorrow then," remarked Edward, sipping at his tea.
"Tomorrow?" Fred enquired.
"Yes, we've been invited to a party at the Coles. They are the next best thing to Elliot society round here, and I would not be surprised if the great Elliot's did grace us with their company."
Fred smiled. It seemed his wish was to be granted, he would see Miss Anne once more.