Captain Wentworth's Persuasion (52 page)

For his part, Frederick managed quite well on the land. Although he had spent most of his adult life on the sea, he understood hard work and how to command men without domination. He learned quickly in whom he could place his confidence in dealing with supplies—with materials—with construction. And Frederick judiciously placed men whom he knew he could trust in positions on the estate. He learned much from them. When Edward and Christine decided they would remain in Shropshire, he offered the living to Lieutenant Avendale, who jumped at the chance to be closer to his wife’s home of Bristol. Lieutenant Harwood joined his staff as an apprentice to the estate’s steward, Mr. Lawrence. The steward had informed Frederick the first day they met that he wished to pension out soon, and as Harwood’s father had held a similar position in West Sussex, his former lieutenant had some knowledge of the responsibilities involved.

Two of his former able seamen became cottagers on his estate, and he found a like situation for another on a neighboring property. As news got out of how he had helped those who had served with him previously, Frederick regularly received pleas from men who had returned from military service but found no employment. As often as he could, he located places for shopkeepers, farmers, or tradesmen, especially if they had served valiantly. Dr. Laraby, for example, opened an office in Hurn with Frederick’s financial assistance. Occasionally, a shirker would beseech him for help; in those cases, he politely replied that he knew of nothing available for the man at the time. He would not help those who had shunned their duties aboard ship. He now had more than a dozen men strategically positioned throughout the county whom he implicitly trusted.

With each placement, when his former crewmember professed gratitude and offered Frederick his allegiance, he gave him a speech: “I may be Viscount Orland to everyone else, but to you, I am still
Captain Wentworth
. All I ask is for you to help me become a part of this community. As a titled gentleman, I am responsible for the lives of many people in the area. If you hear of anything out of the ordinary, I ask you to let me know, no matter how insignificant it may seem. If you learn of a tradesman who cheats his customers, I want to know. If you find a group of men up to no good, please send me word. If you do this, you repay me for my kindness.You will make my life on the land as productive as you did with my tenure on the sea.” Each man implicitly trusted his captain and readily agreed—his was a small price to pay for the respectability and the manhood he gave them.

Wallingford called upon them several times and gave Frederick tours of the area, introducing him to people in place to aid the British government’s cause. Frederick listened carefully and made his own evaluations. Since the day Wallingford revealed having known Anne previously, Frederick had held back in believing Marcus Lansing completely, possibly out of jealousy or possibly out of something else he could not explain. Wallingford appeared to
have Frederick’s best interests at heart, but he knew that appearances could be deceiving.

Frederick and Anne volunteered to host the community picnic for the village of Hurn’s annual Midsummer’s Day celebration. At the picnic, they would meet many whom they did not know. People would judge them by how the Wentworths performed on this particular occasion. Frederick held no doubts Anne would excel in every manner—the woman possessed a way about her.Anyone who had ever met
his Anne
fell in love with her gentle nature. He worried more about his own acceptance. At sea, Frederick had understood the natural practice of taking orders from those above and giving orders to those of lower ranks. In local issues, he found those in power were more ruthless than any pirate or mercenary he had ever met.The business of politics required him to be genial and pleasant to people for whom he cared little. Idle banter was dull to him; Frederick considered himself a man of action, not social tedium; the game played by those in power certainly tried his patience.

Since he had agreed to Wallingford’s proposition, Frederick had spent many hours analyzing his own disposition. Essentially, he was a loner; perhaps that was why he had been so successful as a naval officer. He had learned the proper way—the naval way—to handle most situations. But with strangers, he generally held back. It was only with Anne that he had never known a facade—only with Anne had he felt comfortable from the beginning. Self-sufficiency highlighted his life—his haven of strength. When he looked at Edward and Sophia, he saw the same stubbornness of spirit, which made him determined to mold Fate—to cheat it, actually. Making small talk with total strangers was, for Frederick, exquisite torture. He did not look forward to the hours of playing the perfect host.

Anne suddenly appeared before him, clasping the bodice of her dress to her bosom.“Would you lace me?” she asked charmingly.

“Madam, where is your maid?’ As he questioned her, he took up the ribbons and began to slip the ends through the eyelets.

“I married you.Why do I need a maid?” She glanced over her
shoulder at him.

He continued to crisscross the laces, and then he tied the ends of the ribbons.“You are looking well, my Love.”

“I am looking pleasingly plump is what you mean,”Anne corrected.

Frederick smiled wickedly before asserting, “Pregnancy becomes you, Lady Orland.” He pulled her into his embrace.“Your curves have become more—
curvaceous.
”

“You like resting your head on my very ample bosom,” she teased.

Never tiring of her closeness, Frederick bent to kiss her. Holding only inches from her mouth, he continued to nibble on her bottom lip. “I never previously complained about the size of your breasts, my Love. I found them quite enticing, in fact.”

“You are such a cad, Frederick Wentworth!” Anne turned around to kiss him before drawing away from him.“You look very handsome today, my Love.”

Frederick pulled at his shirt’s neckline.“And I thought that full dress uniforms were uncomfortable!”

Anne chuckled.“You look quite dashing in your waistcoat and white cravat.”

“Are you flirting with me, Mrs. Wentworth?” he asked as he reached for his handkerchief and watch fob.

Anne twirled once to let the movement of her dress catch his attention.“I might be, my Lord. Is it working?”

Frederick’s eyes followed her as she made her way to the door. “If you, my Viscountess, wish to know whether your feminine charms still have power over me, let me show you up close and personal.” He strode towards her before coming up short, posing over her, forcing Anne to look up in his eyes. “You, Anne Elliot Wentworth, have only to smile at me or raise your eyes to mine or even walk into a room, and I am yours completely. I lost my heart to you long ago.” His finger traced a line from her temple to her lips.“I will come to you more often than you may want—yet, I can do nothing less for you possess me body and soul.”

“I choose to take my comfort in your arms, my Husband; I never suspected love required such complete surrender, but I gladly
run the white banner up the flag pole of life and turn over my whole self to you. This child and I are blessed to find the love in your heart. My present and future are forever bound to you.”

Frederick forced himself to breathe. It struck him once again how lonely he had been all those years without her. He turned to offer her his elbow.“Let us go meet our neighbors, Lady Orland.”

She lightly placed her hand on his forearm. “Of course, Lord Orland.”

The earlier overcast skies had cleared by noon. People from all walks of life peppered the lawn with their blankets and their games, content to enjoy the lovely weather and to see the new viscount and viscountess. All sorts of foodstuffs covered the linen-lined tables. Although each family had contributed at least one dish to the assortment, the bulk of the offerings came from Hanson Hall: roast beef, cheese, fresh fruit, roasted rabbit and pheasant, dark bread, boiled carrots and potatoes, seed-cakes, berry tarts, and lemonade. Anne had even hired a quartet of fiddlers to provide music throughout the day.

“Lady Orland.” One of the cottagers approached her as Anne made her way down one of the slopes.The woman curtsied, a feat hard to accomplish on an incline. “Me name be Mrs. Miller. Me family it lives past the second hedgerow.”

Anne reached out and touched the woman’s arm. “Mrs. Miller, the Viscount and I are pleased that you are here. I hope you find everything satisfactory. As this is our first Midsummer’s Day celebration, we were unsure as to the traditions.”

Mrs. Miller flushed. “Ma’am, it be one of the best we seen. Me family just wishes to say we be happy you and Lord Orland come to stay. Me be a midwifin’ if you need me for the babe.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Miller.Thank you so much.”Anne started on her way, but the woman had one more thing to say.

“We be hearin’ the new Master, he be a hero.That be true?”

“Lord Orland is a Rear Admiral in the British Navy. George IV awarded him a title because of his actions in the war.”As she spoke, Anne’s eyes automatically searched the crowd for Frederick. “My
husband is an honorable and brave man.” Her gaze found Frederick’s back.

“The Master also be a hero by makin’ a difference to some,” Mrs. Miller continued.“We be judgin’ how he treat us—those who work for him. He deal honestly with me man—first time in many years. We be glad you and he and this babe come so we have a place. None of us be wantin’ to leave the land.We be workin’ hard for him; you tell your man—the Master—that.”

The woman’s words humbled Anne. “I assure you, Mrs. Miller, Lord Orland will be moved by your sentiments; he is a man who accepts responsibility seriously.You tell Mr. Miller and the others that if we make mistakes or if there are things we need to address, they need to speak to Lord Orland or to Mr. Lawrence. He will listen; he may not be able to solve every issue, but my husband will deal with them fairly.”

“Yes, Mistress Orland.” The woman made another awkward curtsy and then moved back to her family.

Frederick walked the grounds for the third time, stopping to speak to as many people as he could: cottagers, shopkeepers, tradesmen, and landed gentry. With each, he tried to learn something about the person—the name, especially; he had learned long ago that being able to call a sailor by his name was the start of establishing a relationship of mutual respect. He watched his wife orchestrate the food and the games. It was time, he decided, to insist that Anne find her own patch of shade. Going on six months of pregnancy, she had no business overtaxing her energies. On his most recent pass through the crowd, he had recruited Mr. Harwood and Mrs.Avendale to take over some of the responsibilities.

“Captain,” Mr. Avendale said to Frederick as his former commanding officer circumnavigated the terrace,“may I speak to you?”

“Certainly.” Frederick walked Mr. Avendale back into the house, where they might talk privately. Once alone, he asked, “What may I do for you, Lieutenant?”

“When you gave me this position, Sir, you asked me to keep my ears open and to let you know if I heard anything unusual.”

Frederick stiffened. “Do you have something for me?” He motioned Avendale to a nearby chair and took a seat himself.

“Day before yesterday, Mrs. Thomason came to see me. Her brother, Jatson Laurie, has fallen in with some men whom Mrs. Thomason believes are unsavory characters. Anyway, she wanted me to intervene with Mr. Laurie. From what I understand, Laurie is involved in some kind of smuggling ring. Many small-time smugglers sold brandy and cigars and such taken from French ships during the war. The local law officials have looked the other way for much of this trade, but Laurie appears to be involved in something bigger. If my limited sources are correct, something big is going down in a warehouse outside Studland this evening. Most people in this part of the county travel from here to Wimborne Minster for the celebratory Midsummer’s Day fireworks.The ports and the warehouses are likely to be deserted.”

“Do we know in what these men are involved?” Frederick steepled his fingers as he tried to come up with a plan.

Avendale hesitated.“Mrs.Thomason seems to think her brother might be involved in something dangerous. He was told to bring a gun. No one would shoot someone over some cigars, no matter how fine they might be. It has to be something more lucrative than that, Captain.”

Frederick paused for several moments, considering whom he should trust. Finally, he spoke. “Avendale, I need for you to do something for me. I cannot be seen contacting our men, so I want you to find Mr. Harwood and tell him what you just told me. I want all our former crew members to meet me at eleven tonight on the north side of the Studland Bay warehouse district. If they need horses, have Harwood make arrangements to use horses from my stable; tell each of them to come prepared to fight.”

“Yes, Sir.” Avendale moved to follow Frederick’s orders.

“Michael,” Frederick called after him, “you are not to come with us. I need someone whom the locals will trust, and I will not ask a curate to pick up a gun.”