Sorry for skipping a day; I was writing an outtake for one of my other stories. I decided it was better to wait on this next chapter rather than post a skimpy entry like Chapter 6.
Frederick followed through on leaving first thing in the morning, not because he wanted to be far from Anne, but because he did not want to beg her to change her mind. He wanted to keep his dignity at least. At least that is what he told himself. Really he could not bear the thought of seeing Anne and knowing that she would not be his.
Frederick told Edward very little about why he suddenly needed to leave, but Edward knew it had to do with Miss Anne Elliot. Though Frederick had not shared much about the time he spent with Miss Anne, Edward had noted how Frederick's behavior had changed and that the change was connected with her. Edward had seen how they looked at each other.
Edward recalled that three days earlier Frederick seemed quite pleased with himself, but had only shared that he had good news but a few details still had to be worked out. As far as Edward could tell, whatever was left to be worked out had proven to be insurmountable instead.
Edward knew his brother was brash and overly confident; it was something he admired in his little brother, that he would not be restrained to his proper place. Their sister was like that, too, and for that she was amply rewarded by attracting the attention of Captain Croft who admired her courage and liveliness. Edward loved his brother and sister, but could not really understand this quality about them.
Edward himself had a good sense of his own insignificance. How could he not when he was a mere curate, earning only fifty pounds a year? Edward well knew how fortunate he was to be living with the vicar, but also how precarious his own situation was. When the vicar died, and as an old man in a weakened state it was not inconceivable that he would die from even a relatively trifling illness, the living would go to someone else and Edward would need to find a new position on short notice.
Edward believed he had a more realistic view of how things worked in these environs, having been the curate here for more than a year, and what he and his brother could expect from life among the local residents. While his brother had better prospects for advancing in his chosen career, Frederick had not yet risen to a position that those on land would be impressed with. Too, they were not real gentlemen, at least not to someone like Sir Walter Elliot.
Edward had noticed the attractive and sweet Miss Anne. Miss Anne was not high and mighty like her older sister Miss Elliot. While when Edward first moved to Somersetshire to assume his post he had admired Miss Elliot from afar; it only took one brief exchange after they had been introduced by the vicar to quell any romantic inclination he had toward her as he quickly learned she felt herself insulted that he would dare to even converse with her. Edward had never even tried to speak with Sir Walter whose eyes drifted over him as if he did not even exist, or was or no more importance than livestock.
Edward had spoken with Miss Anne and noted her kindness to those around her but with a father such as she had he knew he could never get anywhere with her. Yes, Edward had a good sense of how Sir Walter Elliot would have reacted to his brother wanting to marry Sir Walter's daughter. Edward would never have been so bold.
So when his brother angrily packed and resolved to leave with the morning post, Edward could only conclude that whatever the inclinations of the daughter, his brother had been rebuffed by her father.
However, after Frederick left when Edward saw Miss Anne, it was clear that the matter was more complicated than Edward had at first believed. Though Anne did not request that he pass any message on to his brother, Edward resolved to at least mention how she had tried to call on Frederick in his next letter to his brother. There would have been no way to recall him regardless of what Edward might have wished. While Edward could write to Frederick in care of navy headquarters, such a letter was unlikely to reach its destination while he still did not know his brother's ship. Therefore, their usual practice when Frederick was to take a new post was to wait until Frederick wrote so that Edward could state in the address his brother's position and to which ship the missive needed to be directed. Additionally, even had he attempted that very day to send a letter to Frederick, and it somehow was properly directed, Frederick would likely be aboard a new ship and it could be months before he received Edward's letter, if ever. There was nothing to it but to wait until Frederick wrote to him.
When Frederick reached his destination and inquired about whether there were any ships then available for him to command, the navy officer in charge of such matters, a grizzly man with a pronounced limp laughingly inquired whether Frederick had lost all his funds to gambling, but seeing Frederick's dark look in response became more serious.
"There is only the Asp, but you will not be wanting her. Any little storm would sink her and she is not worth enough to the Navy for them to bother with repairing her. Two men have already deferred captaining her to await better prospects. Son, you should have saved your money, she could be the death of you."
While Frederick knew the man was referring to the Asp, he could well believe that Anne might as well have been the "she" the officer was referring to. He wished he had saved his money as if that had been the case he might have had something to settle on Anne to secure her future. And yes, when he accepted the Asp based on Anne's actions, it could well be the death of him if she was as bad as the officer had told him.
"I would like to see her," was Frederick's only response.
When he saw the sloop it was clear the officer was not exaggerating, however Frederick only responded, "She will do." He knew that if he could successfully captain her that she would be the making of him. If he could not, he would end up on the bottom of the ocean instead. Either way he would not be retrained from taking command of her. He did not let himself think about whether he would have turned down this command if still engaged to Anne. Everything had shifted since she rejected him and if he had arrived a month hence as expected it was likely that the Asp would no longer have been offered to him as sooner or later someone would have taken it.