A Modern Day Persuasion
Read A Modern Day Persuasion Online
Authors: Kaitlin Saunders
An Adaptation of Jane Austen’s Classic
by
Kaitlin Saunders
Copyright © 2010 Kaitlin Saunders
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 1439261172
ISBN-13: 9781439261170
E-Book ISBN: 978-1-61397-265-6
LCCN: 2009910582
This book is dedicated to
my mother, who always believed in
me and introduced me to my first love,
the works of Jane Austen.
Contents
March 19, 2001
The world was over for seventeen year old Anne Elliot. With tears streaming down her face, she lay crying on her bed, clutching a pillow which was now drenched with tears. Anne’s beautifully appointed bedroom, which normally was a treasured haven, now seemed more like a prison than a place of rest, a place holding her captive from the man she loved. Glancing up, Anne spotted her godmother Carol Russell, her mother’s most trusted friend, looking beseechingly at her. Carol was unsuccessfully trying to make Anne understand that this decision was in her best interest. Usually, time spent with Carol brought a feeling of security and a sense of well being to Anne. When Anne’s mother died, Carol assumed the role of surrogate mother, loving Anne as she would her own daughter. Now reaching out to Anne with empathy, Carol attempted to hug the distraught and weeping girl, but the gesture was quickly rejected. Carol’s comforting embrace this time held no solace for Anne. How could the arms of a friend ever compare to the embrace of one’s soul mate? Still, Carol did her best to placate the heartbroken Anne, despite the rejection.
Anne recognized the hurt in Carol’s eyes. She hated that she was treating Carol this way, knowing full well that her actions were causing pain to the older woman. Even in
Anne’s torturous agony, Anne still had compassion for others, a character trait that her own mother, Emma Elliot, had treasured in her daughter. She used to tell Anne she could have been the ‘poster child’ of every parent’s dreams: effortless to raise, ready to please, and consistently obedient to a fault. But at this moment Anne did not appreciate these qualities in herself. Her eagerness to please now could only be viewed as a curse!
Neither her father nor Carol had approved of Rick, a handsome young man of 20, whom Anne had met the summer before. She remembered the day vividly. Her older sister Elizabeth had cajoled her into a game of tennis at the country club, attended by only the rich and privileged. Afterwards, Anne wanted to celebrate her win with a cooling dip in the pool. Her sister readily agreed but for a different reason. Elizabeth was eager to meet the new lifeguard she had heard so much about. Rumors were circulating that he was quite easy on the eyes. As she watched Elizabeth smother her lips in gloss, Anne could not understand her sister’s fixation with boys. The guys Elizabeth had brought home seemed obnoxious and really stuck on themselves. This lifeguard probably wasn’t any different. After successfully coaxing her sister away from the mirror, Anne headed out to the pool, eager for a refreshing swim. Turning to ask Elizabeth a question, she realized that her flighty sister had already disappeared. Sweeping the area, Anne quickly spied Elizabeth making a beeline for the Lifeguard station. Aggravated, Anne rolled her eyes in frustration, exasperated at all the havoc this one guy was causing.
Gazing up to the lifeguard stand, Anne decided to see what all the hype was about. There, before her, sat a tall, suntanned young man with piercing blue eyes and a magnificently built frame. Although handsome, his features weren’t perfect by any means, having a bit too much of a Roman nose. Still, there was something about his appearance which struck Anne to the core. To her embarrassment,
Anne realized she too was gawking at his sheer manliness. The reversed phrase ‘Me Jane, You Tarzan’ popped into her head. Blinking her eyes to get a grip on reality, she chided herself and began to laugh at her silliness. Determined not to give this guy a bigger head than he must already have, she purposely decided to ignore him. Wrenching her eyes away, she tossed off her flip-flops and sunglasses to quickly execute what she hoped would be a perfect dive into the pool. However, in her hurry to ‘ignore’ the new lifeguard, she inadvertently tripped over a pile of stacked ropes used to divide pool sections. To her horror, she found herself hitting the water with a painful belly flop.
If that had been the worst of it, only her ego and stomach would have been bruised. But unfortunately, Anne discovered that both an ankle and her right arm were entangled in the ropes. Her frantic struggle to free herself only caused further entrapment. Instinctually, she panicked, yelling out for help. Within seconds, Anne found herself being rescued by Rick Wentworth, the new lifeguard, a young man who, at that moment, became her ‘knight-in-shining-armor’. She took one look into his concerned face and knew he had captured her heart. Later, Elizabeth accused her of tripping on purpose, which Anne vehemently denied.
No,
thought Anne pensively, she was certain it could only have been fate.
But now fate was causing Anne to do ‘the right thing’ and please her elders rather than herself. It only took one disapproving glance from either Carol or her father to make her capitulate rather than witness their displeasure. Anne feared that if she did not follow their advice to the letter, it would surely ruin her life…and Anne was never one to take risks.
Now, here was Carol telling the agitated and distressed Anne the right choice had been made. Was it only hours ago that her father had found Anne packing her suitcase? Carol had rushed over when Walter Elliot placed his desperate call for help, telling Carol an ‘emergency’ situation had sprung up. What her father assumed was a silly crush had ended in
a marriage proposal! Her father considered Rick beneath them socially. This alone made the young man entirely unsuitable for an ‘Elliot’. After all, Rick was not fortunate enough to have been born into an affluent family and had no hopes of receiving any kind of inheritance. To Walter, these facts made it clear Rick was a worthless nobody and certainly not an eligible suitor for Anne. Mr. Elliot further assumed that Rick was most likely working at the club with the ambition to get his hands on some heiress’ money. Walter was adamant it would
not
be his daughter who fell victim, and Mrs. Russell was in complete agreement. Carol equally had been sure the summer romance would fizzle out. Although she had noticed Anne’s slight blushes and increased visits to the fitness club, Carol felt the relationship would only be a passing fancy, especially for Rick, considering the many girls who were determined to supplant Anne. Carol was confident the novelty of Anne’s hero worship would soon wear off and one of the more mature beauties at the club would replace the innocent Anne in his affections. Although Carol realized Anne would be crushed, in the end, it would be a good lesson for her. Anne was much too young to get involved and had far too much potential to be saddled to a loser. With all Anne had going for her, Carol knew that if steered in the right direction, she could quickly climb the ladder of success. The idea of Anne settling down with a mere boy who could offer her god-daughter nothing gave Carol nightmares. With Rick, the best Anne could hope for was a house full of children and a good-for-nothing husband barely putting food on the table. Most likely, Anne would have to work outside the home just to make ends meet. The thought caused Carol to shudder. Anne was far too precious to Carol for her to just sit back and allow this to happen. No, what Anne needed now was some good old-fashioned common sense and a healthy dose of reality! Carol felt it was her duty to persuade Anne out of this foolishness. Considering the promise Carol had made to Anne’s mother only a few years earlier, she had no other option than to stop Anne from ruining her life. Of course, heartache would follow, but with time that would pass. Besides, Carol would be there to comfort Anne until a more suitable man came into Anne’s life—a man from a socially upstanding family who could provide Anne with all the things she was accustomed to.
Anne, however, did not share this opinion. She felt more than ready to begin a life with Rick. What was money when they had love? Rick was a hard worker, and with her beside him, Anne felt certain they would conquer the world. But despite all of Anne’s well-rehearsed appeals, neither her father nor Carol would budge. Steadfastly, they held to the conviction that Rick was simply using her to gain access to the Elliot fortune. When they said as much to Rick’s face, he blew up with anger, telling them in forceful terms that he could care less about their disgusting money. He only wanted Anne.
It was then that her father made a proposition. Allow Anne to graduate from college first, and then he would reconsider Rick’s proposal.
“That’s at least four years!” gasped Rick.
With pleading eyes, Rick told Anne to make a choice… either him or college. She hesitated, torn. Surely, she could please
both
her father and Rick? If she chose college, perhaps Rick would be willing to wait? But Rick wasn’t waiting. When he saw Anne’s indecision, Rick turned on his heels, slamming the door behind him. With numbing shock, she watched him exit, feeling as if her very heart had been ripped from her body.
How can accepting the advice of my father and Carol rather than following my heart feel so wrong
?