Captain Wentworth's Persuasion by Regina Jeffers

Author:Regina Jeffers [Jeffers, Regina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ulysses Press
Published: 2010-05-06T12:00:00+00:00

Frederick and Anne completed their first circuit of the deck.Today he walked without assistance; although he was a bit slow, he relished finally being on his own.

“Dr. Laraby says we should be in port sometime between late tomorrow afternoon and early the next morning, depending on the weather.” Anne held her husband’s arm more for his sake than for him to give her support. She watched as he took each step, a tentative move followed by a solid planting of his foot. “I will be happy to have you on dry land again.” She squeezed his arm.“Will it not be nice to have some solitary time together?”

“I must admit that I look forward to resting in your arms.” Frederick’s words caressed her ear, just loud enough to bring a flush to Anne’s cheek.

“You, Sir,” she half-heartedly reprimanded, “might be beyond reform.”

“I am definitely beyond reform. And you love me that way,” he whispered softly—a wicked grin spreading across his face.“In fact, you love me very well. I am married to the most beautiful wife that a man could have.”

“Why do you tease me so?You know false platitudes work only with my father and sisters,”Anne argued.

Frederick pulled her hand in closer to his side, holding her tightly to him.“I apologize, my Love. I suppose I am a man hopelessly in love. Come,Anne, let us make another turn around the deck.”

They walked a third of the way on the starboard side before he said anything else, but again Frederick spoke only loud enough for his wife’s ear.“For you, my Dear, to think of yourself as not deserving of praise—of every declared compliment—would be a blasphemy against nature. Some others might think your sister Elizabeth the beauty in the family, for she truly has a handsome face, but one need spend only a minute in her company before one sees that there is nothing there but porcelain skin and striking features.” Frederick paused before finishing; he cupped her hand with his. “However, your face is pure beauty because your loveliness comes from an inner charm—a goodness of spirit. Look at how quickly James Benwick came under your spell. Not to mention your cousin Mr. Elliot, who obviously preferred you to your sister Elizabeth. You caught the man’s attention before he even knew who you were.As much as I despise him for his deceit, I cannot fault his taste in women.”

Anne smiled and again they walked in silence; no words needed to be spoken. Finally,Anne lifted her chin and spoke:“I am surprised, my Love; you actually said something positive about my cousin.”

“Do not expect it to happen very often,” he warned.“From the moment I saw Mr. Elliot look at you in Lyme, I wanted to introduce him to a set of chains in a rat-infested cargo hold.”

Anne looked amused. “I appreciated your display of jealousy at the concert.The gratification was exquisite. My only concern was how to quiet such jealousy and how, in all the peculiar disadvantages of our respective situations, you would ever learn my real sentiments.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.