I wish to apologize for my delay in posting on this story. I got caught up in finishing Wickham Wins (and writing the prologue to its sequel which will not be posted until I start real work on it which I am trying my best not to do until this story is complete but for all his improvement Wickham is rather selfish in demanding my attention and Anne is most polite in saying she can keep waiting, though of course she shouldn't have to). However this story should now be posted quicker until its conclusion.
With all preparations complete for a departure in the morning, Anne finally had a bit of time to think. It occurred to her then to wonder if a letter might not reach Frederick sooner than she herself could do and, if so, why she had not thought to write him back immediately after reading his letter. Thus, one last time she visited Mrs. Croft and Mrs. Holmes at the inn to ask about the matter and if they thought it prudent to try to write to him, to inquire how to address such a missive.
Mrs. Croft seemed a bit embarrassed when she responded, "I do not rightly know. Certainly a letter on a mail coach will travel faster than we can. We are bound for Portsmouth to await word from my husband as to what our destination should be after that to meet Frederick, but how soon we shall hear is uncertain. If the Admiral was able to find out the information before he departed, we would likely beat any packet boat to my brother, but if my husband has needed to rely on packet boat or another source to get word to us, there could be a sizeable delay. Too, I do not know when the next packet will be winging its way to the Laconia. I think you should go ahead and write to him. It may be you will see him in person before any of your missives arrive, but if that does not happen I am sure that he would appreciate hearing from you. However, as your engagement is of a peculiar nature at this juncture, how think you of enclosing your letter in an envelop I address, for propriety's sake? I should like to write him a note myself."
Anne agreed and it was arranged that their first order of business upon departing in the morning would be to send that first letter winging on its way. Mrs. Holmes contributed, "Miss Elliot, if you wish to write Captain Wentworth more than that single time, you should be sure to number your letters because he might not receive them in the order they were posted and some might go astray." She told Anne about a particular year of writing letters to her husband that had them adopt such a method, as their exchanged letters were in such disorder they each thought the other almost daft for the messages they did not respond to (such as the death of her father, and a serious injury he suffered, until they understood the problem. Dates were not enough as a missed missive would only be discovered if it arrived later.
Anne, in hearing such prudent advice, immediately resolved that she would send multiple letters to Frederick along their journey. Either he would receive them before or after they were reunited. If the former, his suffering would sooner be relieved. If the later, he would have assurance that she never questioned her decision as she made her way to him. And if perchance in some unexpected manner either one or the both of them could be lost, an opportunity for telling him that she loved him and was doing all she could to reach him, might perhaps provide some comfort before such a tragedy struck.
Mrs. Croft said she was familiar with such a problem, but it was a good reminder that she should number her letters to her dear husband as she had gotten out of the habit of doing.
Anne re-read the letter from Frederick so that she could respond to everything that he wrote to her, almost as if they were having a conversation. She found the practice maddening and soothing at the same time, maddening because she longed to hear the words of affection he expressed in his own voice with whatever expressions might accompany them and for him to hear her replies, soothing because she could act and tell him all that she had longed to communicate thus far. A small part of her thought it might be apt if he did not receive this first missive for a long time. After all, she had been waiting so long for him with bare crumbs of hope to live on; should he not experience a bit of her torment? Of course she immediately felt guilty for such a thought. He had already been waiting to hear from her and would have to wait still. She wrote and wrote, yet it was not enough. Nothing would ever be enough until she wore his ring and never had to be parted from him again.
Against the fear that this letter might be lost, she copied it into her journal to share with him later if need be.
Anne's departure the next morning was anticlimactic. She had already said all her goodbyes the night before and neither Elizabeth nor her father bothered to get up early enough to see her off, though she knew Elizabeth was awake because she saw her maid bring her tea from the kitchen. Lady Russell did call on her for a few minutes, unfashionably early, and they had a few minutes together before Mrs. Croft and Mrs. Holmes arrived.
Anne had the sense that Lady Russell knew that something else was going on rather than simply a journey for pleasure with friends, but that Lady Russell was refraining from questioning her further. Anne wondered how that could be as she had seen no sign of any insight by Lady Russell when she had introduced her to her friends.
Anne and Lady Russell talked about nothing in particular, but when the other ladies were announced, in the few minutes before they ventured into the parlor, Lady Russell pulled Anne into a quick embrace and told her, "Today you are the very vision of your mother when she was at her happiest. I pray this trip may prove to be all you desire." Then she was brushing away a quick tear and there was no sign that anything was amiss with Lady Russell when she greeted the other women with her typical good manners and after a few minutes of polite chatter, excused herself.
Anne did not have time to wonder over this as she said a quick goodbye to a maid, the cook and the other household servants that were around. One of the footmen helped place her truck in the storage compartment below the coachman's seat. Once in the coach, Mrs. Croft quickly folded her letter around Anne's own and sealed it. Together with the other letters Mrs. Croft had written (to her other brother and husband), they had their coachman deliver them to the post office and then did not stop for several hours.
The journey was unlike one Anne had ever taken part in. Anne's memories of previous journeys were ones she vaguely remembered from the time before her mother died, traveling to and from school, and those she had taken with Lady Russell. While her father and Elizabeth were frequently to London, they did not take Anne, and it was just as well because their company alone would be insufferable. Those earliest of journeys had been happy ones, but as she was still a young child seemed in her memory to be interminable. The journeys with Lady Russell seemed quicker, but the traveling itself was not all that enjoyable as Lady Russell was easily sickened by the constant motion of the carriage, so Anne typically read and looked out the window, with very little companionship from Lady Russell.
While Anne was prepared with a book, she never had cause to open it. Mrs. Croft was a most lively traveling companion. While both Mrs. Holmes and Anne were much quieter by nature, Mrs. Croft had a way of drawing them in and getting all to participate in the conversation. Before the first day of travel had concluded, they had vowed they were all sisters in feeling and dispensed with all formalities between them. Thus, the lie they had told to secure Anne's companionship became a truth at least when it came to their feelings. Never, besides the time she spent with Frederick and the Robinsons, had Anne felt more accepted and happy with her present company. To be sure there was her constant desire to be with Frederick, but Anne resolved to enjoy the sisterhood she had most suddenly gained and not dwell overly long on the future she anticipated at the expense of not enjoying the time she was to have with these women.
BTW, for those wondering, we will see the content of Anne's letters to Frederick later.