Disclaimer: I don't own Jane Austen, Persuasion, or any of the associated characters

Summary: See Previous Chapters

Chapter Seven

There was much dismay at Uppercross when Captain Wentworth sent back word that he would be in Salisbury a few extra days, but Phoebe could not help but observe that Anne appeared to feel some quiet relief at his absence. Such relief might have been attributed to a desire to be out of his presence, but Phoebe thought it rather a case of being thankful that she didn't have to watch him fawn over Louisa.

Another who did not repine the lack of Captain Wentworth was a Mr Charles Heyter, a maternal cousin of the Musgroves, who had, until the arrival of the Crofts and their brother, had a great degree of affection with Henrietta, up to the expectation of an attachment. As a curate, a wife was not quite within his means, though Henrietta's dowery and the allowance from his parents might make up the lack. He had, by what intelligence Phoebe could glean from gossip, been quite disturbed when Henrietta visited her aunt and could talk of little but the Dashing Navy Captain.

With Captain Wentworth safely travelling, and at least for Henrietta, out of sight and out of mind, Charles Heyter threw himself into the business of renewing his attentions, determined to drive all thoughts of the Navy out of Miss Musgrove's head.

As Phoebe observed to Anne, walking through Kellynch as Admiral and Mrs Croft were on one of their daily rides in the gig, "There is nothing quite like the realisation that he is not the only man in the world to spur a young suitor to actual effort."

Neither woman had quite Mrs Croft's tolerance for being overturned, so they elected to remain behind. Anne smiled, leading the way into a rather bare room, the walls lined with fencing sabers. "Was it the same with your Captain?"

A little, and yet not at all. Phoebe made a neutral gesture. "Yes and no. At the time, I was considered rather above him, being the grand-daughter of a Maharaja and the great-grand-daughter of a Duke. Anthony only started courting me when he saw me trying to find excuses not to spend time with a rather distasteful General, reasoning that he was at least a better option than him."

Anne laughed, and instantly covered her mouth to stifle it. When Phoebe encountered whoever had taught this woman to make herself small, there were going to be words. Seeking a change of subject, she looked at the foils arranged into the shape of a starburst. "Does your father fence much? Those look as though they have seen use."

Anne glanced around surreptitiously, "My father does not... but Captain Wentworth showed me a little, and there were fencing manuals in the library when I was regretting my decision, and the footmen would go to surprising lengths to get out of polishing the silver when Father and Elizabeth were on their annual London trip. I did not lack for partners, though I doubt they were any more capable than I of properly assessing my skill."

Either Captain Wentworth had learned a great deal about how to interact with women in the past eight years, or he only became awkward around those for whom he held genuine affection. It was Phoebe's turn to giggle. "My father was given his post after the Velore Mutiny, and even in India there were sometimes... assumptions about mixed-race women. My family did not want me defenseless. Shall we fetch some footmen, or entertain ourselves?"

Anne smoothly drew two foils down from the arrangement. "Let us see how we do on our own, until we can ask permission from the Crofts. They technically employ the staff while they hold the lease, and I would not wish to put the footmen in an awkward position."

Left unsaid was that it was unlikely that the Crofts would mind, but Kellynch was not currently Anne's home, and she did not wish to blur the lines further. Phoebe checked the placement of her feet. "At least we shall not need to fear highwaymen. What is the phrase you English use? En guard!"

They were interrupted a time or two by hopeful-looking footmen, who went away disappointed before the Crofts returned, and cheerfully gave their permission to participate. Admiral Croft was no longer in the bloom of youth, but he had been a Navy Officer for decades, and had plenty of suggestions for both of them to improve upon.

The expression on Captain Wentworth's face, when he walked in and saw Anne, cheeks flushed and eyes bright as she parried, was another promising sign.

Phoebe had no objections to her friend being a permanent guest with her as long as she liked, but Anne was bound to want a home and family of her own at some point, and for all that he was being a stubborn fool at the moment, it was apparent that his feelings had not faded in the slightest.

Anne could not have been more mortified than when Captain Wentworth walked in on her poor attempts at fencing!

Would he think her vulgar, too athletic for a proper gentlewoman? Riding and archery were acceptable sports for a lady, but fencing was very much considered the domain of men. Perhaps he would merely dismiss her as desperate and pitiable, clinging to the memories of what she had so foolishly given up eight years ago. She was certain that she had imagined the gleam of admiration in his eyes, the wishful thinking of times long past.

Phoebe did not think that it was all so very bad. The Admiral and Mrs Croft approved, after all, and Captain Wentworth was clearly very fond of his sister. He could hardly humiliate Anne without also embarrassing the Crofts. There was little use dwelling on it, in any case, Anne would have quite enough to keep her busy in the near future.

Louisa had somehow got it into her head that they should visit the sea, perhaps to better impress Captain Wentworth in his natural habitat, and somehow convinced her parents of the virtues of the idea. Of course, the Miss Musgroves could not travel alone, and Mrs Musgrove did not travel well, nor did her nerves allow Mr Musgrove to travel so far, so Charles it must be. But Charles going further than the bounds of the estate meant that Mary would insist on her share of the adventure, and that meant Louisa and Henrietta insisting that Anne join the party as well.

Anne hardly objected to being included, but she did wish that the Miss Musgroves would cease making it quite so clear that they felt their brother had married the wrong sister. Anne was sure that Mary would not be forever imagining herself ill if it were not the only time anyone paid her attention, and no-one's family consisted entirely of people they chose. Anne knew the Crofts and Wentworths to be delightful people, but she had never met the new Mrs Edward Wentworth, and could not vouch for her character, and Captain Wentworth could not be expected to forego ever visiting his brother because Louisa did not get along with her future sister-in-law.

But however much time Anne spent at Uppercross, she was not part of the family, and therefore bit her tongue and kept those thoughts to herself.

This entire plan was apparently something of a surprise to Captain Wentworth, who knew the trial of logistics that came with arranging such a journey even better than Anne did. However, he agreed to it in the end, and even convinced Louisa to include Phoebe in the plans.

Walking through the gardens with the lady in question, Anne wondered if it would be too much of an imposition to ask, but Phoebe waas very good at reading body language. "It appears that one of my letters finally got through to Anthony after all, and as he had some little acquaintance with Captain Wentworth, he asked him to make inquiries with his fellow Navy officer, not having realized that Admiral Croft was his brother by marriage."

That did make matters somewhat clearer. "The trip to Salisbury? I suppose Lyme is an acceptable meeting place away from whichever relatives chose to interfere."

Phoebe nodded, a slight, hopeful smile gracing her lips. "We need to speak on what has happened, and a busy port where everyone is concerned with their own affairs is better than a drawing room for the purpose."

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A/N: This was meant to be done a lot sooner, but my latest book launch went into (metaphorical) orbit, and triggered a horrible bout of Imposter Syndrome that left me struggling to write anything.

Hopefully I've beaten my Brain Weasels into adequate submission now, but we'll see...

I struggled a bit with the fencing scene, wondering if it really fit with the Regency period I'm trying to portray, but ultimately liked it too much to leave out.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

Thanks

Nat