Captain Wentworth's Persuasion (55 page)

“Certainly, Captain.” He and Harwood exchanged a glance. “Will you be all right, Sir? I mean getting home.”

“I can still ride a horse, Harwood, but how I will explain my arm to Mrs.Wentworth is not something about which I care to think.”

Harwood grinned. “You could claim she had a nightmare and kicked you out of bed, Sir.”

“Mrs.Wentworth is not that gullible!” Frederick snorted.

“Good luck, Captain,” Shipley called as they moved out.

Although the middle of the night, Frederick first made a call on the Harbor Master’s office, leaving a note giving specific directions to the warehouse and the men locked in the shed. In the note, he told the Harbor Master that Jatson Laurie was the informant and to go easy on him, but make it look as if Laurie was guilty also.That was the most he could do for Mrs.Thomason. He hoped for some sort of mercy for the woman’s sake. However, Laurie had participated in the smuggling gang of his own free will.

Having set the door unlatched when he left, at a quarter after four in the morning, he sneaked back into his house. Frederick knew within an hour the servants would be up and preparing for
the day. Exhausted, and more than a bit sore, he wove his way through the corridors to his chambers. Passing Anne’s door, he hesitated, considering going in to face her. But reflecting that discretion was the better part of valor, Frederick simply touched the door lightly before moving on. He turned the knob to his own door quietly. In the early light of dawn, he could just make out the shapes of the furniture.

Carefully, he unbuttoned his coat with his free hand and tried to shrug out of it without moving his arm. Halfway in and halfway out, he realized he would need to use his forearm and hand or forever be stuck partially clothed. Taking his left hand to move his right, he concentrated completely, so as not to make any sound. So focused on the task at hand, Frederick did not realize Anne had stepped from his dressing room and stood behind him.When her hand touched his shoulder to ease the coat away, he gasped—both out of pain and out of surprise.

“I will not ask why you were out all night, Frederick.” She lowered the coat from his left arm before coming to face him. She walked to the nightstand and lit a candle and then finished removing the coat. “But you will allow me to tend my husband without complaint.” Her voice sounded cold, and tears streamed down her face.

“Anne,” he started, but she shushed him and began to cut the shirt away.

“The shirt is ruined; we should not try to take it over your head. I have my scissors here.” Her voice was barely audible, but Frederick stood and let her minister to him.“I will send to the village for Dr. Laraby.”

Frederick nodded, but he said no more. She filled a basin with water and forced him to sit while she bathed his arms and then his face—his chest and his back. “You have bruises,” she whispered as she sent the soapy rag across his shoulder blades. “Some scratches, too, although they do not look deep. I will wash you; you are dirty and smell of brandy and sweat.”

Frederick simply leaned back against the chair and watched her
carefully.The tears still cascaded down her cheeks, and he took his thumb to wipe them away.

Still not speaking, she brought him a glass of wine. He took a sip before setting it on the table. She stood by the fire, warming her hands.“Thank you,Anne,” he whispered softly.

“Do
not
…” she hissed, and then her voice trailed off.

“Do not
what
?” he demanded.“Do not thank my wife for tending my wounds?” Despite the pain in his arm, he found himself beside her.“Do not tell her she is my world?” With his left hand, he turned her chin, forcing Anne to look at him. He pulled her to him, allowing her to sob into his shoulder. Her tears ran down his arm and chest. “Ask me, Anne—ask me where I was tonight,” he pleaded into her hair.

“It is
none
of my
affair
. I am simply the mistress of your house; I know where a man goes when he no longer desires his pregnant wife.”

Her words stunned him; Frederick expected her to be confused concerning his whereabouts—to be angry, even, because he had not told her—but, stupidly, he never thought she would think him untrue. “Anne, there is no one for me but you, pregnant or not. This was no night of debauchery.”

“Then
what
?” she asked, her eyes blazing. “How did you come by your injury?”

“That is better,” he said softly. “I will tell you everything. Send someone for Laraby, and then come join me in our sitting room.” He kissed her forehead and walked through the door to the room they shared.

A few minutes later, she stood in the doorway. “I brought a blanket for your shoulders,” she said as she entered the room. Her eyes and nose were red from weeping.

Frederick leaned forward to allow her to drape the coverlet around his bare back.“Come sit with me,” he demanded.

Anne seated herself beside him, but she made a point of not touching him.

“Do you wish to talk?” he asked as he pulled the blanket closer.

“I suppose we should; I do not like for us to be at odds.” Anne slid her hand to his knee, bending to her need to touch him. “If you are willing to explain, I will listen.”

“Will you look at me,Anne?” he asked as he took her hand and raised it to his lips. He pressed her hand to his cheek, trying to think of a way to make her understand. In some ways, he almost wished he could keep the lie of a mistress, but he saw the hurt in her eyes and knew she became the Anne created by Sir Walter and her sisters—the one who lacked confidence; Frederick would face her anger from the truth rather than have her become that wall-flower again.“I will tell you the whole story,” he declared,“but you must promise not to interrupt until I finish. Then I will answer your questions.”

“Very well.”

Frederick took a deep breath. He was about to reveal to Anne secrets that Marcus Lansing—Lord Wallingford—had explicitly warned him not to tell her. “You were right when you thought Hanson Hall held a catch. Marcus Lansing, as you know, brought me the details of the Prince’s offer, but he also brought me the terms of my accession to the title.The Central Office recruited me to spearhead the search for smugglers and traitors working out of Cornwall and through the Channel.” He saw her eyes grow wide with dismay, but as promised, she held her tongue.

“However, once I accepted the position, I began to wonder about Wallingford, who is my governmental contact in Dorset. At first, I admit to being a bit jealous of the fact that you two were old friends.” Anne looked stunned, but she remained silent. Embarrassed, Frederick continued,“But now, it is more than that, Anne. I cannot feel good about what he offers.

“So, I set up my own network. I have Avendale and Harwood and Shipley and several others. I asked them to keep their eyes and ears open and to tell me if they took note of anything unusual.Today, during the picnic,Avendale brought me news I could not ignore.

“Harwood and I, along with ten others I trust, stopped a smuggling group at Studland Harbor. Unfortunately, I fought with one
of the men after he struck my arm with a club.That is what you see on my body.”

“Frederick!” she gasped. “Oh, God, was anyone else hurt?”

Anne had forgotten her promise to keep silent, but he would not remind her of it.“No one.”

“Tell me the rest,” she insisted. “I need to know in what you were involved.”

“Wallingford warned me not to speak of our deal with anyone, especially you. I never wanted you to know of the danger, but,Anne, I can make a difference here. My men have a new life where they can keep their honor while providing for their families.You should have seen them this evening. I told each of them he did not need to prove himself, but they stayed, despite the danger.They want to rid England of its traitors. How could they not? We fought for years—only to come home to enemies within our own borders.”

“I see.” Head down, she pondered what he had said for several minutes. Frederick silently watched her. Then she raised her head and said, “Of course, they would. It takes a special type of man to place his life on the line for his country.” She stroked his bare arm as she spoke. “How could I be so stupid to think otherwise? I am mortified by my ignorance. Can you ever forgive me?”

“For being jealous?” he taunted.

Anne blushed and looked away quickly. “Yes—I was jealous—green with envy. I tried to make myself into the kind of woman who accepts her husband’s appetites, but I could not. I was devastated to think you might choose someone else; I just could not fathom why you would leave our bed.”

“You should know I would never leave you unless another person was in danger.”

She suddenly understood what he was saying. He loved her—only her, but sometimes he must answer the call to help others. It was his nature.“God has a new path for you.”

“For us,” he corrected.“I need your support. God returned me to the sea when my men needed me, and then he brought me home to you. Now, he presents me with a whole new challenge.
With this title, I can give honorable men a new start, and I can affect England’s future.Yet, none of it means anything without you. I need for you to continue to do what you did today—develop relationships—reach those whom I cannot reach. I do not possess your natural ease with people.”

“What did you find tonight?”

Anne had not agreed to help—but she had not refused either; she simply accepted what he told her, and for that, Frederick was more than thankful. “Mrs. Thomason told Mr. Avendale that her brother was involved in something dangerous. She was right, but it was not what I expected. We found French brandy, which made sense.We also found some paintings—portraits by François Gérard and Jacques-Louis David.”

“Gérard and David!You trifle with me!”

“No, it is as I speak.Yet, we found something even more bizarre in that Studland warehouse—barrels of coal tar and of sulfur.”

His disclosure baffled her. “Coal tar?” Anne questioned. “Why would anyone want coal tar, or sulfur, for that matter?”

“It is not even that we found such an unusual haul; it is the large quantity of barrels which surprised us. According to Tweed Swift, we could blow up all of Whitehall and maybe even part of St. James with it.”

“Why?” she demanded. “Why would anyone smuggle raw materials when they could simply use an explosive?”

“When I reconnoitered the warehouse before we went in as a group, I overheard some men talking of Sir Thomas, Lord Cochrane. Maybe you remember reading of him in the Navy Lists. However, Harwood says Lord Thomas is in prison. We thought maybe they wanted to blow up his gaol—to release him.” Frederick needed to make some sense of a senseless night; he hoped Anne might see something he did not.

“But I still wonder why they had so much. I cannot imagine they would need more than a small portion to even bring down a wall.You said there were barrels.”

“That there were.”

“Did the captured men confess anything?”

Feeling a prickly uneasiness, Frederick tried to come to some conclusions.“We did not question the men; I left them locked up in the warehouse and sent word to the Harbor Master. He will question them. I left two of the portraits and some of the brandy as evidence, but we moved everything else to the barns in the north pasture. We will find ways to use the sulfur and coal tar. Harwood says we can use the coal tar for roofs and sealing and the sulfur for fertilizer. I gave each man three casks of brandy to sell or drink as he sees fit. I thought it best not to be directly attached to the investigation.”

“Will the thieves not recognize you? Will they not accuse you of having the barrels?”Anne asked worriedly.

“I thought of that. If they would say I have it, I would get Wallingford involved—turn over what we found, if necessary; but I do not believe that will happen.
Someone
planned something large, and these men probably knew little of the complete plan. I just wish I could find out more without involving Marcus Lansing.” Frederick caught her hand and squeezed it gently.

A light tap on the door ended their conversation. Dr. Laraby swept into the room. “Wentworth,” he stated as he rushed through the door.“I hear you had an accident.”

“His horse was temperamental,”Anne insisted for the benefit of the servants standing in the background.

Laraby understood without being told something was amiss. “Let me take a look.”

“Thank you, doctor; my husband tolerates my need to feel he is well.”Anne appeared flustered, even though a moment ago she was perfectly calm. Frederick realized she performed for the staff; that is what she wanted them to think.Why else would she send for the doctor at such an hour?

Laraby moved the arm tentatively. “Rotate your wrist as much as you can.”

Frederick did so through gritted teeth.

“You have a broken wrist and what appears to be a fractured bone in your arm.You must have tried to catch yourself with that
arm.” Laraby knew his captain had not fallen from a horse, but he did not feel a need to inquire further.“I will set it for you; you will heal nicely.”

“Thank you for coming so quickly, Doctor. I wish I could have convinced my husband to see you before such an ungodly hour, but he did not want to disturb everyone’s holiday. Then the pain worsened.” She continued to fuss over Frederick as servants brought in the supplies the doctor needed. “Next time, my Dear, please listen to me.”

“I will, Sweetling.” Frederick smiled at her. “I am still learning to be a proper husband.”Anne instructed a servant to bring Frederick more wine to ease his discomfort.

Laraby went to work immediately, and in a short time Frederick’s hand was in a cast and his arm in a sling.“That should do it for you, Wentworth. I will check on you late tomorrow. I am sure you and Lady Orland would both like some rest now.”

“Come by around three,” Frederick stated, but Laraby knew it to be an order.