He watched as she leapt out off the narrow ledge, following precisely the trajectory his mind predicted. He had shot out towards her the moment his brain had understood that she was indeed going through with it, but even as he raced towards her, he knew it would be too late. Gravity pulled her downwards faster than his legs could propel him forward. His arms were extended and his fingertips inches from her face as he heard the sickening crunch of her head colliding with the ground. She lay unmoving in his arms, her eyes shut. He cradled Louisa's head in his hands and he knew she might very well be dead, but his body could not comprehend what had just happened and think of, let alone convey a suitable response. After a few torturous moments, he looked around him and saw virtually all of their company staring at Louisa's lifeless form in the same manner as he was. All except Anne. She and Benwick had caught Henrietta as she had collapsed with shock at Louisa's state, and Anne was now checking her for a pulse and fanning her forehead with her hand as she called out to her. Frederick felt the weight of Louisa's body make his suddenly weak legs almost buckle. "Is there no-one to help me?" he asked aloud, his chest contracting and his brain only just processing the extent of the damage he had inflicted.

She answered him, to his relief. "Go to him! For heaven's sake, go to him! Here are salts, take them!", she cried, her brow furrowed with the effort of holding Henrietta stable and urging Benwick to leave her and attend to Louisa. He obeyed in an instant, leaving Henrietta with her and helping Frederick to hold Louisa steady. As he held the salts up to Louisa's face, Charles rushed forward too. He looked dazed from the effect of Mary's hysterical shrieks and Louisa's bloodless countenance. Frederick looked at Anne and his eyes implored her for direction. Promptly, she checked Henrietta's balance on her feet and gently sat her down on the steps before rushing to Louisa. Sitting beside her, Anne bent down to feel her pulse and her temperature. "She's breathing", she exclaimed, much to his relief. To Charles, she said, "Rub her hands, rub her temples!" "What shall we do? What shall we do?", cried Frederick, "Oh God, her father and mother", he cried, his guilt overpowering and agitating him. "A surgeon." he heard her voice as though from far away. "Get a surgeon!" Anne bid him, feeling Louisa's breath slow down drastically. Frederick nodded and set off at once, before her shout stopped him in his tracks. "No! Benwick! He'll know where to go." Seeing Benwick run past him, he went back to her and waited as her fingertips felt Louisa's wrist again. She shook her head and turned to him. "Carry her to the inn" she said, trying not to give away how worried she was. The two men obliged instantly, and their sudden motion caused Louisa's head to jerk wildly for a moment. "Gently!", cried Anne as she followed them apace and made sure Henrietta and Mary followed in their wake.

En route to the inn, they encountered the Harvilles again. Having heard the news from Benwick, they were visibly worried and quickly diverted them to their own house. Frederick saw Charles nearly lose his grasp twice and picked up Louisa in his arms, shaking his head at him. "Give her to me, Charles!", he cried, now running to the Harvilles as fast as his legs would allow, without disturbing her injured head. He cradled it in the crook of his neck to lessen the impact of his sprint. Gods, what have I done? She is but a child! he thought as fear coursed through his veins. He recalled Anne's brief look at him the moment Louisa's head struck the ground. He thought he'd seen the same disbelief and reproach there that he felt now. And both richly deserved, he reminded himself contemptuously. He finally reached the house and had just laid down Louisa on the nearest bed, when Benwick arrived with the surgeon in tow. As the doctor proceeded to banish them from the sick-room, Anne picked up Frederick's hand from Louisa's pillow, held it between both of hers and urged him earnestly, but he had trouble trying to hear her voice above the ringing in his ears. "She will recover, Frederick. Please, take them downstairs." she pleaded. I will ensure she does, she left unsaid. The surgeon had already begun to take her pulse and feel her head and limbs for damage. He had numerous questions about her fall, how it happened and how quickly they had administered the salts, but only Anne had the composure to give him any useful answer. At least twice, she'd had to quell Mary's loud wails with her hand on her arm and her gentle reprimanding glare. Mary's third screech of horror shook Frederick out of his reverie and he understood then what Anne was asking of him. He quickly took Mary and Henrietta's arms and led them downstairs.

The wait was agonizing. As his remorse mounted, Frederick almost expected Charles to charge at him with rage. But Charles merely sat near Mary with a stunned look on his face, trying to comfort both his wife and sister, failing even to convince himself. The party looked up with anticipation when they heard the doctor's footsteps descending the wooden staircase. It raised Frederick's spirits a little when he saw his cheerful face and saw him pat Charles on the shoulder genially. The portly little man exclaimed, "There is no harm to the limbs, it is only the skull that was compromised by the fall. She needs a lot of rest, but she will gain consciousness, surely. I have seen worse cases improve, you need not worry. It will be slow, but she'll make a full recovery. She is fortunate that she was attended to so quickly." He gave Anne his particular directions for her care before taking his leave, and she turned to speak to Mr. and Mrs. Harville in a low voice, discussing what should be done. Frederick's head had collapsed in his arms at the doctor's words. His relief was immense."Oh, thank God!", he exclaimed. Not all is lost. She can weather this, he thought, but his mind punished him with images of all the possible impairments the injury would cause. He thought of Harville and how vastly a leg wound had affected his life and family. He stared at the floor, aghast. You were a fool to encourage Louisa in her obstinate manners. She was plainly developing an attachment to you, and you acquiesced, all to spite Anne. Are you so resentful that you'd allow your anger to nearly kill her? His clenched fists struck his thighs with force, and he stood up quickly and left the room in a hurry, trying to bury his outburst and allow them to rejoice in the momentary reprieve.

As he left to sit in the tiny dining room, he could hear Anne speaking softly to Mary. "It is all right, Mary. She will make it through the night and get better very soon. You have nothing to fear, Mrs Harville is more than accomplished to direct her care and I am able enough to be of every assistance." He heard Mary's sobs abate and hear her complain, "But Anne, the sound of her crashing to the ground! I can never forget it! Our poor Louisa!", she whimpered. He heard Charles console his wife then and Benwick take Anne aside and speak in hushed tones to her about something he could not distinguish. A wild thought of them comforting each other took him by surprise and he crushed a piece of paper in his hand and began pacing around the room. He took in the darkening skies instead and worried over Mr and Mrs. Musgrove's worry over the delay. He lingered in the dining room, impatient for Mary to compose herself so he could speak to Charles. After a seemingly endless wait, he walked back to the drawing room and sat in front of him, keen on defeating the guilt that sought to weaken his resolve. "Charles", he said to him, "The women need to be taken home. Someone needs to inform Mr and Mrs. Musgrove. They will be anxious to see we have not returned yet." Charles stared at Louisa's face and held her hand in his, refusing to look elsewhere. "I shall not leave my sister's side", he whispered feebly. Discerning the pain in his voice, Frederick conceded. "You can stay, Charles", he said, "I shall take the ladies home. But if someone is to stay with Louisa, no-one is more suited, more capable than Anne", he avowed. At that moment, Anne entered the room, her eyes looking at him curiously. He spoke to her directly, controlling his urge to grip her shoulders and confess his carelessness in front of all their company. "You will stay, won't you?", he asked of her, taking in her curious face and the color staining her cheeks. "Stay and nurse her." Stay and help me make her whole again, he thought. The things I ask of you, Anne. Anne nodded quickly at him, her heart wrenching at the sight of his ashen face. Frederick braced himself against the injustice of his request. He walked out, eager to prepare for the ride back to Uppercross and to escape her disappointed face. It hurt his insides to acknowledge how much he deserved it.

You are reckless indeed! You ask for her hand in marriage despite being penniless and uprooted from a home of any kind. You curse her memory and despise her for eight years, and what does she do? She gladly agrees to correct your careless mistakes. That was badly done, Frederick! He could almost hear Edward berating him in anger. He walked in haste to the inn and occupied his conscious thoughts with the routine tasks of arranging for their journey. The howling wind and sporadic raindrops splattering his coat did little to calm his own restless mind. He reached the inn and listlessly collected the ladies' luggage, grateful that they'd packed and prepared for the return trip before embarking on the ill-fated walk. As he prepared the horse and Charles' curricle, he recalled Anne's quiet courage and authority even as everyone around her was bewildered with shock. He knew in his gut that this would be her natural response to a crisis. She was gentle, granted, but never with any trace or pretense of fragility. He had realized it then while falling in love with her and he knew it now to be just as true. For all his experience in a war, he had merely added to the chaos. He secured the luggage in the back of the curricle a little too tightly and hoisted himself up in the rider's seat, drawing the reins gently to lead the horse into a trot. As he regarded the foul weather that awaited them, he shook his head in his disbelief. He had never indulged reckless behavior from his subordinates or his peers, much less the women in his company. And yet, simply to inflict hurt, he had repeatedly aided and given in to Louisa's incessant demands on his time and attentions. Indeed, for all her steely determination, Louisa had wreaked havoc on her own life and his. He cringed with remorse at the thought, reminding himself that she was still lying in bed, injured and unconscious. And whose fault is that?, he checked himself, halting and turning to the sound of footfalls from the Harvilles' house.

Charles walked towards him, his head bowed. To Frederick's surprise, he saw Henrietta resting her head on Anne's shoulder as they followed him. He got out of the curricle and hastened towards Charles, gripping his arm. "What is this, Charles? I thought Mrs. Charles was going back home with Henrietta. Why is Anne here?"he asked of him, his harsh voice jarring the other three. Charles looked at him with a wounded expression, mumbling "I know what we discussed, Frederick. But Mary thought she should stay near Louisa and me in her state than go home just now." He looked away. Frederick abandoned his arm and recoiled, comprehending what must have happened. "You would rather leave your sister in Mrs. Harville's care, then. No doubt, she's an excellent nurse, but hardly better than the woman who mended your own son." The last few words rang with accusation, and Frederick stopped himself before he uttered something he could not rescind. "Captain Wentworth", Anne's voice broke the grim silence. She looked at the two men in mild admonishment as she led the sobbing Henrietta to the curricle. "Henrietta must be home. We'd better hasten, the rain could delay us even further." Frederick nodded and quickly offered his arm to Henrietta to lead her into the small space and grasped Anne's hand as she tried to scramble her way up without his assistance. He took her waist nevertheless and almost lifted her up to her seat. He nodded to Charles before getting back to the riders' seat, taking the reins and setting off. It was all done without a word, for the dull ache in his throat would not let him speak.

His hands burned where they'd touched her. He unwittingly recalled how they'd once undone her bodice and felt her bare skin. His calloused palms longed to feel the smooth stretch of her midriff and the swell of her breasts again. Anne's soft sigh as he kissed the curve of her neck rang in his ears and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The sudden sound of Henrietta's sobs and incoherent mumblings brought him back to his surroundings and he glanced back at them, hurriedly dismissing his thoughts. Henrietta was almost asleep on Anne's shoulder. Anne's arms held the sleeping girl securely to herself, but her eyes regarded him with a keenness that made him avert his away. The lump in his throat threatened to overpower him, but he fought it, muttering "If only I had..", he paused to gulp in a breath of air. "If only.." If only I had never encouraged Louisa. If only I had never behaved like I did, he thought to add. "Yes!", she said firmly, startling him for a moment. Frederick glimpsed her kind face and looked back at the road, relieved that she understood him. He tried hard not to blurt out all his thoughts at once, but his tongue wouldn't bend to his will. "Anne, I regret.." he said softly, only to have Henrietta interrupt him with an anguished shout in her sleep and Anne turn away from him abruptly. He watched in defeat as she held Henrietta closer to her and looked away determinedly. I regret not writing to you six years ago, when the sheer memory of you saved my life. Foolish, bitter pride! He cursed her scent as it stung his eyes and jerked the reins harder, willing the animal to race faster. "Damned foolish!", he cried into the wind that whipped around the canopy and wailed around him. "Damned foolish!"