Frederick woke up the next day with high spirits. The visit to Lyme was exceeding his expectations. He was glad Harry and James came to the Inn in the evening. With Harry by his side, the evening was filled with merriment and laughter. Although, not all were in the laughing mood.
He saw that James had sat next to Anne, and spent the whole evening in private conversation with each other. No matter how boisterous the rest of them became, they did not break their tete-a-tete. Frederick could guess what they were talking about. Books. James could find no better audience than Anne. A smile crept upon his face as he remembered Anne's fascination with books. It was the one topic that would make her command their conversations with confidence and ease.
He wasn't surprised that James seemed to get on with Anne the best. She was the most sensible and feeling member of their group. Despite his resentment, he could not deny Anne her ability to be generous to others. She was always the one giving, never thinking about herself.
He could see that Harry was eager to question him about Anne. But a private moment had not yet presented itself. Frederick wished to hear what Harry thought of her.
His head was filled with all these musings as he made his way down from his room.
"Good morning," smiled Louisa.
"Good morning," replied Frederick as he sat down.
"I was hoping we could go to a shop near the Cobb. I would love to buy a small trinket to remember this trip by," said Louisa.
"I can escort you now, before breakfast. We seemed to have risen quite early. If we leave now, we will be able to return in good time."
Louisa beamed. Frederick could see that Louisa was in high spirits. Her confidence had grown since their walk to Winthrop. Each decision she made, no matter how trivial or large, she stubbornly held on to. It made Frederick see that Louisa was still quite young. He truly cared for Louisa, but only as the younger sister of a friend.
As they made their way to the shops, they came across Henrietta and Anne, who also decided to spend their time waiting for breakfast enjoying a walk around the town. After enquiring about each other's destination, they all formed a group to attend Louisa's business. On their way back to the inn, they came across a passing, where a gentleman politely stepped aside to give them way. As Frederick was at the front of the group, he waited for all the ladies to pass the gentleman before continuing walking. But as he looked back, a breeze had swept Anne's face, bringing a tinge of rouge to her cheeks.
Frederick was not the only one to be caught off guard by Anne's pretty face. The passerby was clearly admiring her too. At this, Frederick exchanged a look with Anne. She was no longer timid. She took the silent compliment, and smiled to herself. Her lack of arrogance, only made her look more enchanting. How could this be? thought Frederick. He was confused. He did not feel any of his old anger towards Anne anymore. But he could not recall when that had happened.
They returned to the Inn. During breakfast, they were all distracted by the sound of someone getting ready to leave. As the group were unaware of other lodgers in the Inn, everyone's curiosity was peaked. Walking towards the window, Frederick recognised him as the same man they had passed by in town. He glanced at Anne, to see how she reacted, but she resolutely kept her face blank.
Why do I care?
To see if he could provoke a reaction, Frederick asked the Innkeeper if he knew the gentleman's name.
"Mr Elliot," replied the Innkeeper. The rest of what he said wasn't paid attention to. The name Elliot made the whole group start talking at once. Frederick watched Anne, who was the only person able to exert any control over their reaction.
Mary, who was the most vocal of them all, mentioned the possible ties to their family. This made Frederick uneasy. When the gentleman was thought to be a complete stranger, there seemed no harm in asking who he was. But knowing he was closely linked to the family, made Frederick regret his comment. It did not make him happy at all knowing something more could come from a passing look of admiration.
He could not help himself when he said to Mary, "Putting all these very extraordinary circumstances together, we must consider it to be the arrangement of Providence that you should not be introduced to your cousin." Frederick no longer felt the joy he did when he awoke. Am I jealous? Surely not!