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Chapter 16(ii)

Anne woke late the next day. It took her a while to remember why her whole body ached, but when she did manage to recall the events from last night, she immediately wished she had not remembered at all. It had been a night of mixed signals, not just from the people around her, but from herself as well.

She had done something completely uncharacteristic of her usual self by encouraging James to pursue Louisa, despite knowing very well that she was supposed to be with Frederick.

"The funny thing is," Anne said to herself, as she sat up in her bed, "I don't feel any guilt for what I did. Shouldn't I be feeling guilty right now? After all, I just started, what might be the beginning of the end of Frederick's relationship with Louisa."

"If there was even a relationship there in the first place," her heart replied.

"They seem to get along."

"You get along with James, does that mean you have a relationship with him?"

Her heart actually had a point, and was arguing logically with her! Anne shook her head to clear her thoughts, but only the memories of her ride in Frederick's car last night surfaced and flickered before her like an excerpt from a film.

Last Night

"The doctor just came out and gave us the latest update on Louisa's condition," Anne said, as she slammed the car door tightly.

"Yeah? Good news or bad news?"

"Good news. She's going to be all right. There's been no lasting harm done. They said that she has a minor concussion from hitting her head on the ice before she fell in, and that she has severe frost- bites in her toes. They've treated her for hypothermia, but are going to keep her in the hospital overnight for observation. You can visit her after you drop me off. I think visiting hours stop at around ten or eleven tonight."

Frederick exhaled deeply, "You don't know how relieved I am to hear you say that. I think Charlie would have had me killed if anything were to happen to his sister."

"Big brothers are generally protective in that way."

"Better big brothers than big sisters, I guess. I could always handle a physical thrashing. It's those the mind games that girls are so good at, that I can't handle."

Anne knew the big sister Frederick was referring to, was not Louisa's sister, because she didn't have one, and it was also not her own sister Elizabeth, because Frederick barely knew her, but Ms. Russell. She looked over to play off the expression on Frederick's face, but saw nothing for it was occluded by the darkness of night.

"Yes, big sisters, or at least women who pose as figments of big sisters, generally hold quite a lot of sway. But you know, with age comes maturity and the realization that those big sisters may not always be right in playing those mind games."

"Would you say then, that you've matured over the past four years?"

"I should hope so."

They then lapsed into silence for the rest of the trip. Anne half hoped for and half feared Frederick's response to her comment. Several times Frederick cleared his throat as if he was going to say something, but he never did. It was not until they pulled up next to McNeill House that he finally spoke again.

"I think we've all changed significantly since the last time we saw each other. Whether or not we've matured is something else. Tonight, I saw one person who had matured, but not changed, and one who thought he had matured, but in fact had only changed to become a more bitter man. You know, I think I've come up with my New Year's Resolution."

"What's that?"

"It's time for me to grow up." He unlocked the car door. "You were really brave tonight. Calm and cool, just like how I remembered you. Anyways, have a good night. Make sure you don't catch a cold because then I would have to feel doubly guilty."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of myself. You have a good night too."

Without a warning, Frederick reached over and squeezed her hand before allowing her to open the car door.

Present Day

It was the ringing of her phone that had brought Anne back to the present. Wondering who would be calling her at that time, she picked up the phone.

"Hello."

"Anne, it's Eliot."

It took a lot of self-restraint for Anne to not utter a grunt of disgust at the sound of Eliot's cheery voice.

"Hi Eliot. How are you?"

"I'm fine. It was really nice meeting up with you and your friends last night."

"Oh yes," Anne tried to sound like she was pleased about it too. "Were you out with friends too?"

"Yes, and no. It's doesn't matter anyway. I was just calling to ask you if you would be interested in going out for some coffee. Are you free this afternoon?"

Anne peeked between her curtains, hoping that there would be a blizzard outside so she could tell Eliot that she didn't want to walk out in the bad weather, but much to her displeasure, it was bright and sunny.

"Um, I'm not sure. I'm thinking of doing some work."

"It won't take long. Just coffee so it'll take about an hour, max."

Anne hesitated, "Okay. How does two o'clock sound?"

"That's fine by me. I'll see you at that café in the JDUC."

"Okay. Bye."

"Why can't you just say no?" Anne asked herself when she hung up the phone. "No one seems to have as much trouble with it as you do. No, Harville, I don't want to be set up with James. No, Eliot, I would rather not go out with you. See? That wasn't so hard was it? You know, I think you need to make a New Year's Resolution too. Learn how to turn people down."

After a quick breakfast, Anne decided to go down to the hospital to visit Louisa. When she got there, she discovered that she was not the only one who thought visiting Louisa that morning would be a good idea. Charlie, James, Harville, and his fiancée Emily were all there. The only person missing was Frederick. They all applauded when Anne walked in with a balloon and some flowers she had bought downstairs in the hospital boutique for Louisa.

"Please," Anne pleaded. "I didn't do anything."

"As always, Anne is too modest," said James. "If it wasn't because of you, three people would have needed to be fished out of the lake instead of one."

Charlie came over and pulled Anne into a tight hug; she had to fight him off after a few minutes because he was cutting off her circulation and making it difficult for her to breath. Once free, Anne went over to Louisa and handed her the flowers and balloon.

"Just to brighten up your room," said Anne, "But I don't think you really need it, do you?"

Louisa looked around her room at the flowers everyone else had brought for her, and laughed, "No, it sure doesn't look like it, but I'll keep yours by my bedside."

"I thought you were going to put mine by your bedside. I'm your brother!" complained Charlie.

"You didn't rescue me."

"Too true," said Charlie. He then moved to stand beside Louisa's bed and engaged her in conversation on where she wanted her flowers to be arranged. Anne took this opportunity to walk over to where Harville and Emily were standing to inquire about Frederick's absence.

"He's actually out of town," said Harville. "Something about a project up north."

"Did he just decide to leave town this morning?" asked Anne. "I didn't hear him say anything yesterday about a project up north that he had to go see."

"I didn't find out about this project until this morning. Frederick got a call last night from the team up at Thunder Bay who were afraid that the unseasonably warm weather would affect the apparatus. Apparently Frederick left right after the call because I got a call from him early this morning telling me that he's already in Thunder Bay and will be staying there until after New Year's. You know Frederick, if he's set on doing something, he'll act on it right away and it'll take masochistic torture for him to change his mind."

"Does Louisa know?"

Emily answered in a lowered voice, "No, that's why we're all here keeping her busy. I don't think she'd really notice it anyway. Her brother and James have been giving her all their attention that she hasn't had an idle moment to count the number of people in her room."

"How was the date last night, Anne?" asked Harville. "Aside from the little mishap at the end, of course."

"It went well," said Anne. She debated whether or not she should tell Harville about her own reservations on going on the date in the first place, and decided against it. Why hurt Harville's feelings?

"So, are you and James now..." began Harville.

Anne shook her head and interrupted him before he could finish, "No. There never was anything between us. We were friends and will always stay friends."

"Is the feeling mutual?" asked Emily.

Anne thought for a moment then said, "Yes. James and I reached a sort of understanding yesterday that we would never be."

"But why?" asked Harville who had on his face, the expression of a child who had been denied a treat.

Unconsciously, Anne looked over at the hospital bed. James was now the only person keeping Louisa company. There was glow of happiness on his face that made Anne break out a small smile. Seeing the expression on Anne's face, Emily turned to see what had made Anne smile. When she saw James standing next to Louisa's bed, entertaining her with animated jokes and stories, the pieces began to fall into place and she grinned conspiratorially.

"Pat, that's rude. I don't think Anne should need to explain to you her reasons for not going out with James," said Emily who, ever since the beginning of the year, had taken a liking to Anne. She had never agreed with Harville when he said that Frederick and Louisa would make the perfect pair. She had observed the two every opportunity she had, watching for signs of attachment between Frederick and Louisa, but so far she had seen none. From what she had been observing over the past few months, Frederick didn't seem to desire Louisa's attentions, and Louisa was becoming impatient for Frederick to make up his mind. Now that she knew James was more interested than Frederick in capturing Louisa's affections she wanted to help. Too much time had elapsed since James had shown interest in any girl other than Phoebe.

"Sorry, Anne. I wasn't trying to be rude," apologized Harville. "You and James just seem to get along so well, that I thought it would only inevitably lead to you two getting together one of these days."

"Don't listen to him Anne," said Emily. "He's been getting liking and loving confused for ages now."

Harville shrugged and muttered, "Girls" before sauntering away to join Charlie who had just returned from the cafeteria with a raspberry Danish.

"Thanks for throwing me that line," said Anne quietly after Harville had gone away.

"You don't need to thank me. I'm just glad you didn't get offended. You know how Pat is, he doesn't know when to leave something alone. He didn't mean any harm by it."

Anne nodded and patted Emily's arm reassuringly. "Don't worry, I know. He's always been this straightforward, and I actually appreciate his direct approach."

Emily gazed lovingly at her fiancé, "That why I love him."

Anne sighed, and wished for the day her life would be as idyllic as Emily's seemed at this moment.

"Have you and Harville set a date yet?" she asked, when she found her mind wandering to images of her gazing at Frederick with the same peaceful expression that was currently on Emily's face.

"We're planning it for the weekend of Reading Break."

"Are you going to have enough time to plan for the wedding then?"

"We booked the reception halls and sent out the invitations just before Christmas, but that's about all we've done so far. Both Pat and I have decided to have a small wedding, so we didn't invite a lot of people. Because it's in the middle of the year, when there aren't that many statutory holidays, not many people from back home will be able to come, so it's just going to be our immediate family, some friends from back home, the professor that Pat and Frederick are working with, my boss, and the small group of friends we share."

"Well, if you need any help, I would be more than happy to offer you my time and service," offered Anne.

"Funny you should mention that," she took Anne's arm and guided her out into the hall. "I want to ask something of you, but before I say anything, I just want to tell you that I'm not going to pressure you into agreeing with what I'm going to ask you to do, and you can take as much time as you need to make your decision."

"What is it?" asked Anne, who was beginning to imagine the worst.

"Well, it about the wedding. I'm an only child so I don't have any sisters to be my maid of honour. Pat's in the same situation too, since he doesn't have any brothers. We both agreed that it is only fair we ask our friends to stand with us and be maid of honour and best man. You are almost like a sister to Pat now, and in a way, you are like a sister to me too. I would really like for you to stand with me on my wedding day and be my maid of honour. It would be like having a family member standing up there with us when we take our vows."

The happiness that began to bubble in Anne when Emily began to make her request overflowed when she stopped talking. With tears of joy streaming down her cheeks Anne embraced Emily.

"Em! What did you do?" exclaimed Harville who had just stepped out of Louisa's room.

"I just asked Anne to be my maid of honour," said Emily, who had also begun to cry.

"I take it from the tears that Anne's said yes?"

Anne drew back and laughed, her tears still glistening on her cheeks, "No, I haven't, but I'll say it now. It would be an honour Emily."

Harville rubbed his hands together enthusiastically, "Excellent! Now we can get down to planning the details. How does the first week of classes sound?"

"Good, I suppose. What's happening on the first week of classes?"

"Em's been waiting to ask you so she can start picking out the dresses, cakes, and other stuff that I would rather not have a say in." He made a face. "We'll be starting with the dresses and the tuxedoes on the first week back, because that's when everyone comes back and the shops all re-open."

"You know, I've never seen you in a tuxedo before. I'm quite looking forward to it."

Harville snorted, "I didn't mean to excite your anticipation. Tuxedoes usually make me look like a waiter. Anyway, I think you two should go back inside. Louisa's been wondering where you went."

Anne and Emily went back into Louisa's room, but as it turned out, Louisa didn't seemed to have missed them, for she was still busy chattering away with James. Anne stayed until Louisa was discharged that evening, enjoying the laughter and comfort that this group of friends usually provided. They all went out to dinner to celebrate Louisa speedy recovery, and this time after the meal, Louisa didn't ask to walk by the lake.. It took Anne until Harville drove her home late that night to recall her meeting with Eliot. As it was already too late to meet him, Anne decided to go to bed-- smiling with that thought the today had been a good day.

Eliot Williams didn't call the next day to ask Anne why she stood him up, instead someone else called to ask her why she did not show up yesterday. She had been reading "A Little Princess", when the phone rang. Anne always read this book during her Christmas breaks, because it was the book Anne's mother had read to her and her sister every Christmas. Even years after her mother's passing, Anne could never bring herself to give up this little ritual; it gave her a sense that her mother was with her for the holidays, even though she was spending it alone.

"I heard you were supposed to go out on a date last night," said Ms. Russell, after the usual telephone civilities had been observed.

Anne's first instinct was to ask Ms. Russell how she knew she had had a date with Eliot; her second question would have been to tell Ms. Russell that it was not a date at all-dates are generally agreed upon by both parties, and as far as Anne could recall, she did not consent willingly to the coffee meeting with Eliot.

"Oh, I actually couldn't go," Anne confessed. "I had a friend who was in the hospital that I had to visit."

"And did you call the boy you were supposed to meet and tell him that you weren't coming?"

"No, but you see--"

Ms. Russell cut her off, "Well, that was very rude of you Anne. You should never leave a boy waiting for you. Especially since you told him that you would be coming."

Anne could contain herself no longer and had to ask, "How come you know all these details? I've never told you about them."

"Eliot called me."

"He-- I'm sorry, Ms. Russell, but did you say that he called you?"

"Eliot is my godson and when you didn't show up last night, he was very hurt and called me to ask me what he should do."

"Eliot is your godson? How come I never knew about this?"

"The subject just never came up. Then, this year when I received my annual letter from him during Thanksgiving, he told me there was this girl named Anne Elliot from his sister floor that he would be interested in getting to know better. I recognized the name, and immediately encouraged him to pursue you."

"But Ms. Russell, have you ever considered whether or not I would like him?"

"Anne you misunderstand me," said Ms. Russell, adopting a tone that was much softer than the one she had used previously. "I am no match-maker, as you well know. I only mean that if Eliot should approach you again in the future, and if you should feel disposed to accept his advances, you could get to know him better and perhaps learn that you two would suit."

"Eliot seems nice enough, but we would never suit," Anne stated sharply.

"Do whatever you wish, but be sure to reason not only with your heart, but also with your brain. Eliot is a very intelligent young man, with powerful connections. He is always the best at everything he attempts, and thus he rarely fails to obtain something that he has set out to get. It is this kind of person who will attain the highest position in the social hierarchy. You wouldn't have to worry about finances and economizing. You would be accepted to the best of social circles. Most people would jump at the chance to have a life like the one you are currently being offered."

Anne laughed, "You make it sound like he has already decided to ask me to marry him! I've known him for less than half a year, and spoken to him fewer than a dozen times. If a man will ask me to marry him after only a very vague acquaintance, then he is clearly not my type. I could never consider marry a man who is so flighty and immature in mind."

Ms. Russell let this pass, and only said in rejoinder, "I own that to be able to see you as the social debutante that you mother was when she was alive, to occupy your dear mother's place, succeeding to all her rights, and all her popularity, as well as to all her virtues would be the highest possible gratification to me. You are just like your mother in countenance and disposition, and it would give me more delight than I could possibly imagine if you rose to take your mother's place. It would be what she wanted for you."

Anne could make no response to what Ms. Russell had just said. For a few moments her imagination and her heart were bewitched. The idea of becoming what her mother had been was a charm that she could not immediately resist. Ms. Russell stayed silent also, believing that Anne's mind could be so easily tempted away from her resolve. Little did she know how wrong she was. The thought of having to share all that her mother had achieved with a person like Eliot was enough to clear Anne's mind and drive all thoughts of marrying well from her head.

At length, Anne spoke, "Ms. Russell, I appreciate that you care about me and my future, but I am happy just being me, and not the trend setter in the Nova Scotian social circles. I want to get my degree and earn my living teaching, like I had originally planned. I wasn't really raised to be the social debutante; that's is something that Elizabeth would enjoy more. Why don't you try to convince Eliot to pursue my sister instead?"

"Oh Anne... When will you stop comparing yourself to your sister? You are a person in your own right, and you ought not be surprised that you would be just as admired as Elizabeth. Carpe Diem! You never know when you'll be given another chance."

Clearly, Ms. Russell saw nothing to excite any distrust in Eliot, so instead of arguing, Anne left her to her convictions, and deftly steered the conversation to a close. Ms. Russell was a wise woman, and allowed Anne to conclude their morning exchange, still adamant in her belief that Anne would make the logical decision in the end- all she would need was a little persuading.

Anne showered, dressed, and left the dormitory has quickly as possible after her conversation with Ms. Russell. She had a hankering suspicion that Eliot would be calling her later, and didn't want to deal with him today or, if she had things her way, everyday for the rest of her life. As soon as she stepped out of doors, the only place she could think of to go was Harville's, so she directed her steps to the little white house, situated fifteen minutes from campus, for asylum.

Emily and Pat Harville were both more than happy to have Anne visit. They invited her in, gave her breakfast, and immediately asked her to stay the night and countdown the New Year with them. Anne eagerly accepted their invitation; she didn't fancy the idea of spending New Year's Eve alone, or worse yet, with Eliot Williams.

Soon after breakfast, Pat left to hunt for a store that would be open and selling marshmallows on the day of New Year's Eve. He had offered that morning to build a fire for them so they could burn all their bad memories from the previous years, thereby clearing the slate for the incoming year. Since they were going to have a fire, he figured, they might as well toast marshmallows too.

After Pat had left the house, Emily took the opportunity to ask Anne what had been bothering her all morning.

"Was I being that obvious?" asked Anne.

"Pat didn't notice, if that's what you're concerned about, but yes, I could tell something was bothering you as soon as I saw you this morning."

Anne stayed silent.

"Last night, when Pat and I dropped you off, you were all smiles, now this morning you look like you're carrying the weight of the whole world on your shoulders. It worries me when I see such a dramatic change in you overnight."

Anne sighed. She wanted to tell Emily. If no one else understood, Emily would. The problem was how much she would divulge.

"Be honest with me Emily, do you think I am too easily persuaded?"

Emily thought for a moment then said, "Honestly, from what I've seen, it's not that you are easily persuaded, but that you are just more willing than others to sacrifice your own needs in order to please others."

"But don't you think that this is a mark of a weak mind?"

"Of course not! It is a mark of a truly noble and generous mind. Not many people would be willing to sacrifice themselves for the will of the public."

Anne silently contemplated what Emily had just said. She had never thought about it from that perspective before. Perhaps this was a strength of hers instead of a weakness!

"Why did you suddenly ask me that Anne?" asked Emily.

"Well, it's just that lately-well, to be more precise today, I got a phone call from a family friend back in Nova Scotia who spent the entire morning trying to persuade me to go out with this guy."

"And did you agree to go out with this guy?"

Anne almost snorted, "No, of course not! I would never go out with this guy. There's something about him that just makes him seem very untrustworthy to me."

"Is he back in Nova Scotia right now?"

"No. If only that were the case then I wouldn't be so worried. He's another Queen's student."

"Then how would the family friend know about him if he's here and the friend is in Nova Scotia?"

"He's the family friend's godson."

"Have you told the guy that you would rather not go out with him?"

"See, that brings me to the question I asked you in the beginning. I seem to have a lot of difficulties saying no to people. Yesterday was a really good example. He called me to invite me to coffee. I tried to tell him that I didn't want to go out with him, but he kept insisting and telling me that it won't take long, so I agreed in the end. It's almost as if word got out that if you insisted on something long enough Anne will always cave in the end!"

"Wait, but if you had a date yesterday why did you spend the entire day with us?"

"That's because I totally forgot about my date with him yesterday. Now I feel like such an awful person for standing him up."

"How upset was he? Has he told you?"

Anne looked down at her hands with guilt burning in her cheeks, "Actually, I haven't heard from him since yesterday morning."

"You're hiding from him by staying here then?"

"Yes. Does it bother you that I am using your place as a refuge?"

Emily laughed, "No. In fact, Frederick does it all the time. He hides out from Louisa here, only Pat doesn't know that."

"Frederick hides from Louisa?" asked Anne, whose thoughts at the moment of hearing Emily utter those words had been wiped clean of its prior concerns.

Emily clapped her hands over her mouth, but immediately removed them. "Well, since you're my maid of honour and a stand-in sister, I guess I should be truthful with you. Frederick doesn't really like Louisa."

"But then why would he go out with her if he didn't like her?"

"I'm not sure, but I think it has something to do with Charlie. He once told me that Charlie would kill him if he ever hurt Louisa in any way. Considering the recent events, I think Frederick, at that point, was referring to breaking Louisa's heart, and not to frost bite and concussions. I've also been watching the two of them together and they just don't seem to have any chemistry."

"Do you think that's why Frederick went away? To hide from Charlie?"

"I don't know. That could be the reason, but could you imagine Charlie hurting Frederick physically in any way? Charlie would probably hurt himself in the process of trying to do some damage to Frederick! I'm more apt to believe that he went away because he wanted Louisa to forget about him."

"Poor Louisa," Anne empathized.

"Poor Louisa? I would much rather say poor Frederick. Louisa is never in shortage of companions. I'm sure you noticed yesterday how James stayed by Louisa the entire time like he had been held there by some kind of gravitational force."

Anne couldn't help, but grin at the simile Emily used.

Emily continued, "Frederick doesn't seem to be attached to anyone in particular. I remember Pat telling me once that Frederick changed sometime during their second year at University of Dalhousie. Frederick was always a hard worker, but he would still leave time for socializing with his friends. However, after their second year of university Frederick seemed to throw himself heart and soul into his studies and barely associated with any of his friends. From the few times Pat spoke with him in their last few years at Dal, he found out that Frederick had made it his life goal to get into a Geography graduate research program and make a distinguished career out of it. In other words, Frederick wanted to become rich and famous. We've never been able to figure out why he suddenly became obsessed with getting rich, and why he would choose Geography as a means to make his fortune. After all, wouldn't it be easier to just go into business or do law? He used to do things for the joy of it, but now he's made it the means of getting himself to the ultimate goal of riches and fame. He has no friends now, aside from the old camp crew. It's rather sad don't you think? That's why I would pity him more than Louisa."

Anne gulped inwardly. Could her actions, or more specifically the actions of Ms. Russell, have rendered such a dramatic and lasting impact on Frederick? She always knew what happened must have hurt him deeply, but to have made him this bitter and angry was something she had not anticipated.

"Anne, are you alright?" asked Emily. "You look sort of pale."

"I think I need a glass of water," Anne said faintly, rising from her seat. Emily offered to help, but Anne refused, "No, please. I'll do it myself."

The glass of water did help, but Anne remained in the kitchen until she felt master enough over her emotions before going back out into the living room. In the time it took for her to regain her composure, Harville had returned with the marshmallows and was already busying himself at the fireplace.

They spent the rest of the day watching old movies, toasting marshmallows, roasting leftover chestnuts, and baking potatoes, in the open fire. Throughout the feasting the three took turns writing little synopses of bad memories onto small pieces of paper. At the strike of midnight, Harville did the honours and dumped the whole lot of bad memories into the fire. Anne watched with satisfaction as the flamed devoured her note on what she did to Frederick five years ago. She would make sure that she would never be so easily persuaded to do something that cruel ever again.

Chapter 17

From: Charles D. Bingley

To: E. F. Bennet; Jane M. Bennet; Christopher Brandon; Will; Elinor Dashwood; M. Dashwood; Robert Martin; Harriet Smith; J. M. Willoughby; Emma K. Woodhouse

Subject: Bad News

never ever let parents plan birthday party. they've created another guest list on top of people caroline and i invitd. be warned there will bee old people there. hopefully theyll leave after dinner. dress code changed to formal. REALLY sorry, but now i know not to let parents plan party. everything else is still the same. hope all had good break1 later, c. b.
p.s. emma please do invite your friend to the party. too many old people, so we'll need some young people to balance the ages out

Lizzy unzipped her suitcase and inhaled deeply. "Ah, the smell of clothes washed at home by mummy. Quick Jane! Take in all the smells because soon, all these clothes will be contaminated with the scent of popcorn and commercial strength disinfectants."

Jane, who had been holding an evening gown made from some sort of gossamer material, bent down and sniffed at Lizzy's luggage. She giggled, "You're right! It does smell like home." She took in a deep breath, "You know, I can almost smell the cookies mom baked last night before we left."

"Which reminds me!" Lizzy rummaged through her luggage and after making a mess, she pulled out a cookie tin. Prying it open she handed the tin to her sister, "Let us feast, my dear Jane, on the last morsel of B.C. Goodness."

"You are aware Lizzy, that the flour used to make these cookies are probably from Alberta, or Saskatchewan, and the chocolate chips were probably made from some factory in Ontario."

Lizzy retracted the extended tin. "Fine. Then you don't get one!"

"Don't get what?" asked Emma, popping her head into Lizzy's door, with Harriet following close behind.

"A home baked cookie," said Lizzy.

"Oh! Can I have one?" asked Harriet.

Lizzy offered the tin to Emma and Harriet, "But before you two take any. Let me solicit your opinion on something. Our mom baked these cookies back in B.C. Now, should these cookies be considered B.C. food?"

"Does it matter?" asked Emma

"To Lizzy it does," said Jane. "She's convinced that since our mother baked these in B.C., they should be considered B.C. food even though the materials were probably from other provinces."

"That true," said Emma. "The only things that are from B.C. would probably be the dairy products."

"Then you don't get a cookie either."

"Don't I get at least half a cookie for pointing out the products that would have come from B.C.?"

"Sorry, I don't give half marks."

"We only just got back and already we're talking about marks?" asked Marianne, who had arrived at Lizzy's door with her sister.

"No, no. Not school marks," said Jane. "We're talking cookie credits."

"Lizzy's refusing to share," tattled Emma.

"Why?" Elinor asked.

"Lizzy's thinks that just because her mom baked the cookies that they should be considered B.C. food," informed Harriet.

"I still don't see the problem," reiterated Elinor.

"I think they shouldn't be considered B.C. food because the flour is probably from the prairies and the chocolate chips were probably shipped to B.C. from Ontario."

"But then I told Lizzy that the dairy products could be considered B.C. products, and still she won't share."

"Couldn't you just call it a Canadian cookie?" suggested Elinor.

"No. It's a B.C. cookie, or else I'm eating the whole lot." Lizzy threatened.

"Fine! Eat the lot, but with every bite you'll know that the cookie is not a true B.C. cookie. It's tainted with bits of Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Ontario."

Lizzy looked down at her cookie tin.

"They don't seem like such treasures any more, do they?" asked Marianne softly.

"Perhaps it would be better if we just ate those abominable cookies for you," Emma offered in a half-whisper. "That way you won't have to look at those impostors any longer."

Still Lizzy continued to stare at her cookies, until finally, she could not contain it any longer and laughed out loud.

"Very good girls! My are we ever talented at social manipulation."

"You've been toying with us?" cried Emma indignantly.

"Where's your sense of humour? I just wanted to see how many people would actually take me seriously." Lizzy offered the cookie tin to Emma. "Here as a truce offering, you get to take the first cookie."

Emma tried to scowl, but failed miserably and grinning reached in to select a cookie.

"So, how was everyone's Christmas break?" asked Lizzy, after the visitors had seated themselves around her cramped room with their cookie.

"What's that?" asked Marianne pointing to the lavender dress Jane was still holding.

"Thank you for answering my question Marianne," Lizzy said sarcastically, taking the dress from Jane and holding it against her for all to see. "This is my high school formal dress. I'm reusing it for Chuck's birthday party. Didn't everyone get the e-mail Chuck sent out last week?"

"I got it, and wow, it was piece of work," said Elinor. "Took me an entire five minutes to figure out what it was exactly he was trying to tell me."

"Yeah," agreed Emma. "It almost reminds me of notes we take in class. You know, we don't bother with spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Everything is written with as few predicates as possible."

"Oh, but surely everyone understood in the end?" asked Jane in a worried voice.

"Don't fret Jane, we got it. His parents have made it into some kind of extravagant gala, and we're supposed to be dressed up for this," assured Elinor. "I think, like Lizzy, we've all brought back our high school prom dresses to wear."

"So, who is this guest Chuck asked you to bring, Emma?" asked Lizzy, as she hung up the dress in her closet.

"It's just George Knightley. My dad has asked him to chaperone me to the party."

"You have to be chaperoned? You're kidding!" exclaimed Marianne.

"Have you ever met my father? He's the most protective parent on earth! Harriet can back me up on this. He's generally not this bad, but because he's going to be away on the weekend of the party, he didn't trust me to go to the party by myself. There was a short period during Christmas Break when he said that I wasn't allowed to go at all. He finally consented when I promised that I wouldn't stay overnight at Chuck's house, and I would have George chaperone me to the party and back home afterwards. Besides, I think most of us have a date for the party."

"I don't," piped up Lizzy.

"And neither do I," said Elinor.

"Lizzy, you could go with Will," suggested Jane.

Silence reigned in the room for a half second before they all broke out laughing.

"Could you imagine if such a thing did happen?" mused Marianne.

"It would probably result in a Canadian Civil War," Emma predicted.

"Or at least some sort of row wherein several of us will get caught in the crossfire," said Elinor.

"You exaggerate too much," protested Lizzy. "It's not all my fault, you know. If Will didn't always strut around like he owned the place, and at least tried to keep his arrogance and conceit under some regulation, I wouldn't fight with him so much."

"Don't you think you might be a bit prejudiced against him?" asked Elinor.

Lizzy shook her head, "No, if only you knew some of the things I know about Will, then you would never say that I was prejudiced against him."

"What sort of things?" pried Emma, who never objected to gossip.

"I'm not sure if I'm at liberty to say," said Lizzy, looking discretely over at Marianne. "It involves another person in our circle, and he made me promise not to tell."

Emma turned to Harriet, "Is Robert in any way connected to Will?"

"Not that I know of," Harriet replied. "Aside from being floor mates, Robert doesn't really know Will that well. He says that Will keeps to his room most of the time, and rarely comes out to socialize."

"Typical rich brat behaviour," Lizzy remarked. "Of course he wouldn't want to come out and mingle with the commoners."

"That was harsh, Lizzy," reprimanded Elinor. "You didn't used to hate him this much. I know you two got into fights now and then, but ever since the week before the Christmas Exams you've been quite nasty towards him. I thought he was very nice to you during Thanksgiving. He bought you a whole outfit that weekend just because you wouldn't have anything to wear for a fancy dinner. To me, that is a sign of his generosity and consideration, not arrogance and conceit. What do you know that makes you hate him so much?"

"These little gestures may say one thing," said Lizzy, still refusing to answer the question, "but there are some reports out there that we don't hear about. And from the few that I've heard, I can assure you that they tell an entirely different story."

"It's getting late," said Jane, who wanted to end the interchange before Will's reputation was tarnished any further. She knew her sister did not have a high opinion of Will. And after learning what Lizzy knew about Will, just as they were leaving for Christmas break, Jane couldn't blame her. However, she couldn't help but feel that there was more to that story than John had cared to tell.

Emma yawned, "I should be getting to bed. We've got Psych at 9:30 tomorrow."

They all agreed to follow Emma's example to go to bed, and slowly Lizzy's room emptied until only the original occupants were left.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you in any way by speaking so poorly of Will," Lizzy said to Jane.

"You're entitled to your own opinion," said Jane as she zipped up the suitcase Lizzy had unpacked while the group had been chatting in the room.

The two girls pushed the suitcase into Lizzy's closet, and after gathering up a few loose knick-knacks off the floor and placing them in the right drawers, Jane helped herself to a cookie and headed for the door.

"I would appreciate, in the future," said Jane when she got to the door, "if you would try not to push your opinion of Will on others. It is only fair that everyone makes up their own minds about him."

"I'm sure my opinion of Will counts for very little amongst our group of friends," dismissed Lizzy.

Jane shook her head, "That's where you're wrong. You're opinions hold a lot of sway amongst our group. You're very smart Lizzy, and I'm sure you have noticed by now that Marianne, Emma, and Harriet will follow wherever you lead. Please don't take this as criticism, but I just want you to try to be careful that you don't abuse this power."

Lizzy didn't look very happy about what her sister was saying, but agreed all the same. Jane rarely ever criticized without good reason.

"Sure, I'll try to cut back on the bad things I say about Will."

"What about bad things you say to Will?" asked Jane.

Lizzy grumbled a little then finally said, "Fine, I'll cut back on that too."

Jane smiled and opened the door.

"Although," said Lizzy before Jane could leave, "If Will provokes me, I hope you won't blame me if I retaliate."

Jane looked as if she wanted to ask her sister what will constitute as a provocations from Will, but decided that it was too late at night to go into such details, so she merely nodded.

"Good night then Lizzy."

"Night Jane."

Lizzy was the last one down for breakfast the next day. Setting down her tray next to Marianne, she gave a little sigh.

"What's wrong?" asked Marianne.

Lizzy sat down and pulled her tray closer to her. "Nothing. It's just great seeing everyone again."

Down the table, Will Darcy turned and looked at Lizzy in surprise. He quickly looked away before he drew attention to himself. Lizzy noticed, and was about qualify her statement and tell him that she was not happy to see him, when she recalled her promise to Jane last night and swallowed her comment.

"It does feel surreal being back," said Emma. "I find it hard to believe that just yesterday I was back home in Toronto having dinner with my dad and the Knightleys."

"But you'll get to go home again this weekend," comforted Chuck.

Emma nodded, "I know, but I still can't help feeling a little homesick."

"Don't worry, as soon as you go to your first class you'll forget all about homesickness," said Elinor.

"Who cares about classes," Lizzy dismissed, with the usual playful glint in her eyes. "Just the thought of this weekend has cured me of my homesickness. I can't wait! What do your parents have planned Chuck?"

Chuck tapped his tray nervously with his spoon and said, "It's still going to be dinner and dancing as planned. I kind of lost it when my parents told me that they were inviting some people from work to join us for dinner and told me to tell my guests to dress formally."

For a moment they all wondered what Chuck looked like when he "lost it", but upon finding such a thought unfathomable, they returned to the conversation at hand.

Chuck continued, "Hopefully, my parents' guests will leave immediately after dinner. If it was only my mother planning this party, we would probably be made to ballroom dance with them, but thankfully, I talked to my father before I left and he promised me that their guests will be leaving the house after dinner and we'll have it to ourselves."

"Chuck you weren't being serious about your parents making us waltz, were you?" asked Robert.

Chuck grinned good-naturedly, "Well, if it was only my mother planning this party, we might have to, but I don't think we're in danger of that anymore. With my parents out of the house we can play whatever music we want. The birthday party would have been an unqualified disaster if we were made to ballroom dance."

"I know I would step on a lot of toes," confessed Harriet.

"And so would I. I'm all left-feet," agreed Robert with a wink at Harriet. "But I guess as long as I don't dance with anyone who actually knows how to ballroom dance, then I can keep this secret to myself."

"We could make up the steps," Harriet suggested, "and if we look convincing enough, I'm sure no one would notice. Besides, how many people now-a-days know how to ballroom dance?"

Down at the other end of the table, where she was sitting with Will, Caroline scoffed, "For some people, who lack the coordination, grace, and intelligence, ballroom dancing might be difficult, but I never found it to be that hard, you know. I've been doing it since I was eight."

Although Robert and Harriet were straight thinking people, they, by no means, lacked the ability to interpret the underlying message of what Caroline had just said. They had only meant to poke fun at themselves for some laughs, but Caroline's comment had suddenly made them self-conscious of their inadequacies.

"Well, good for you!" said Lizzy, jumping to her friends' defence. "Whereas you were learning how to ballroom dance when you were eight, some of us were wasting our time on stuff like spelling and multiplication. Gosh knows, when we'll need to use those skills."

Caroline wanted to say something just as scathing back, but drew a blank. Instead, she resorted to her established schema of insults and said, "People with no class are always making excuses for themselves."

Lizzy checked her watch. "Actually, I've got class in ten more minutes."

Across from Lizzy, Elinor groaned, "That was bad!"

"Not even close to being funny," said Emma.

Lizzy shrugged, "I try."

Seeing that the attention on feud between Lizzy and Caroline had been effectively diverted away, the group quickly finished their breakfast and headed off for their first day of winter term classes.

Caroline was not present when the group gathered for lunch. And although her absence this afternoon was a welcomed surprise, Harriet just had to ask, "Where's Caroline?"

"She's eating with some other people in Ban Righ," answered Chuck.

"I hope it's not because of what I did to her this morning that she left," said Lizzy.

"What this I hear?" asked Marianne, feigning a look of surprise. "Is Lizzy actually feeling bad for what she said to Caroline earlier?"

Lizzy arched her eyebrows, "I feel bad for my victims, you know. It's just for the few that really deserve it that I don't feel any remorse." She turned to Chuck. "I didn't mean to offend you this morning by making that comment to your sister, but she shouldn't have made that indirect attack on Robert and Harriet."

Chuck shrugged and said, "It's alright. My sister gets on my nerves sometimes too. She didn't used to be this bad around people, but ever since we came away from home she's been getting more and more difficult."

As usual, Jane had something kind to say in Caroline's defence, "Maybe she's been frustrated because she doesn't have a group of friends to call her own. After all, the interests of this group are quite different from hers. I'm hoping she'll feel a little more at ease with herself now that she's met up with some new friends."

"Oh, is Caroline eating with those new friends?" asked Harriet, who hoped that this meant Caroline would never be dining with them ever again.

"Yes, she's eating with Phil Elton and his gang," confirmed Chuck.

Sitting next to Chuck, Emma choked on a fry that had gone down the wrong pipe upon hearing Chuck's pronouncement.

"W-what?" she sputtered between hacking coughs.

Will passed Emma a napkin, so she could recover in time to hear Chuck's response.

"Yes, and there's more too, so you might want to swallow first."

Emma washed down her fry with some apple juice and gestured for Chuck to continue.

He made sure until Emma and everyone else had swallowed before speaking again, "Caroline's invited Phil Elton, and his girlfriend Augusta Hawkins to the party."

"You're joking," stated Emma.

"About Phil Elton having a girlfriend or about him being invited to the party?"

"Both."

"No, I'm not joking."

"Seriously, this is a joke," insisted Emma.

"No, it's not." Chuck reasserted. "Phil and Augusta are the two friends that Caroline really have here, so they're invited. You guys all know that she's my twin, so this weekend's party is half hers."

Marianne shuddered, and Lizzy, on seeing her friend's reaction, sniggered appreciatively. Sitting across from them, Elinor clicked her tongue disapprovingly and muttered for the girls to stop. Chuck and Jane didn't notice, or if they had, they didn't let on.

"So how many people will be coming in total?" asked Harriet.

"Not counting my parents' guests, about twenty to thirty people," answered Chuck. "Carol and I have also invited some friends from high school that didn't go away for university."

"And your parents are actually going to let you have thirty people dancing in their house without their supervision?" Robert asked in amazement. He was the oldest of five children and thus, in his family, was considered the most responsible one. Even so, his parents have never allowed him to hold a party in their house without one of them being present.

"There'll be other people around," said Chuck vaguely. He wasn't quite sure how he was going to work around the issue of his family's affluence.

John took care of that quandary for him, "Rob, Chuck is filthy rich. He owns a mansion on a property the size of Richardson Stadium, which has designated ballrooms for their parties. He also has butlers, cooks, maids, and other types of servants walking around all the time. That's what he meant by the other people who'll be around to watch over the party."

Everyone turned to look at Chuck, whose face had lost its usual look of openness and geniality, and was now clouded over with discomfort and concern. No one knew what to do. If John's comment had been meant to make the group feel uncomfortable, it certainly had achieved its purpose. After realizing their stares were making Chuck feel even less at ease, everyone looked away and directed their gaze at their trays.

In a moment of perfect timing, Lizzy looked up and caught the eyes of Will Darcy. An intense look passed between the two.

"Do something!"

"What?"

"Anything! Talk about the party!"

Lizzy knew what to do.

"Excellent! There'll be servants cleaning up for us. And here I was, thinking that we'll have to clean up our mess on Sunday when we're all hung over. You did say that there'll be booze provided right?"

Chuck nodded, a grin beginning to reappear on his face. "But as I recall you're still not of age to drink, and neither is Marianne and Harriet."

"Oh, but its on your property," protested Marianne. "We can do whatever we want on private properties right?"

Elinor snorted, "Good thing we don't have you writing up the laws for this country. You would really screw it up. We would have drug dealers and marijuana growers legitimizing their actions because it is on their property."

The group spent the rest of the lunch hour debating whether or not the three eighteen year-olds would be allowed to drink alcohol at Chuck's party. Lizzy didn't say much, she was only too glad to see an uncomfortable episode effectively sidetracked. It felt good knowing that she was not only capable of instigating arguments, within the group, but also resolving them. Jane was right-- she did hold a lot of sway amongst her group of friends.

After lunch, the boys left to attend their class, while the rest of the girls trouped back to McNeill House either to finish unpacking or to start on lab reports and readings. When they got to the entrance of their dormitory they found someone pacing back and forth in front of the door.

"Hey, isn't that Eliot Williams?" asked Harriet.

"Yes, it is," confirmed Jane. "I wonder what he is doing loitering outside our door. Do you think he's here to see one of the Annes?"

"Probably."

But barely had that word left Lizzy's mouth when Eliot came hurrying up to them. "Hey, girls! I'm so glad to see you. I've been waiting outside for someone to open the door and let me in. You girls wouldn't mind doing that for me will you?"

Eliot's eagerness to get inside McNeill reminded Emma of Phil Elton's enthusiasm just before his disastrous attempt to woo her, but she pushed that thought from her mind and fished out her key.

"Sure no problem!"

"Are you going up to see one of the Annes?" asked Jane when they were all inside the building.

"Yes. I'm here to see Anne with the E."

The girls all smiled at his reference to Anne of Green Gables.

"What for?" Harriet asked, pushing the button to the elevator.

"I've got a date with her." He stated simply.

"YOU DO?" asked the group in unison.

Eliot smiled, "Yes. We made plans way back in December, but it kept getting pushed back. So I'm here to claim her for the rest of the day."

It seemed to Lizzy that perhaps Eliot was here to claim Anne without her knowledge. She was about to ask when the elevator door opened and she was forced to hold her question until they had all squeezed in.

She never got her chance, for when the elevator door shut on them Marianne asked, "Where are you two going?"

"I'm thinking about going to a movie, or maybe just taking her out to a nice café for some coffee and conversation."

Lizzy raised her eyebrows and looked over at her sister.

"Alliteration," she thought to herself. "Clever, but a bit contrived."

Jane caught her sister's meaning from her expression, and shrugged. She wasn't ready to give her opinion of Eliot Williams yet. The elevator door opened on the fourth floor and they all filed out. After calling a quick goodbye and stating the time they would meet for dinner, the group dispersed.

Marianne, Elinor, Harriet and Emma lived on the hall to the left of the elevator, while Lizzy and Jane lived on the other side. Anne's room was also located to the right of the elevator so Jane offered to walk Eliot down to the don's room. After pointing out the right door to Eliot, Jane continued to walk down the hall, towards her room. From beyond a corner a hand reached out, grabbed her and pushed her against a wall.

Jane would have cried out in alarm, but after seeing that it was only her sister she frowned. "What are you doing?"

"I should be asking you that!" Lizzy exclaimed in a fierce whisper.

"Have I done something wrong?"

Lizzy did not speak; she was listening intently for Anne to open her door.

"I showed him Anne's room. What's wrong with that?" asked Jane in bewilderment when her sister did not answer her question.

"Shh!" Lizzy hissed.

The sisters heard the sound of a door opening and waited for the talking to start.

"Surprise!" said Eliot. "Your girls were very nice and they let me in." Around the corner from them, Lizzy groaned. Eliot didn't seem to have heard and continued. "You never answered my phone calls so I figured that I would try surprising you instead of always planning things. This is a big step for me."

"Do you always plan things ahead of time?" asked Anne, looking for some short chitchat so she could get him to leave as soon as possible.

"Of course. Things generally work out better if you plan them ahead of time. Actually, I lied. I really did plan to come and surprise you and I do have a few things in mind that I think we could do together."

Lizzy could almost sense Anne blushing.

"That's very nice of you Eliot, but I've got plans for the rest of today."

There was a brief pause. Eliot was very quick at thinking on his feet.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"One of my friends is getting married in February so I'm going to the wedding boutiques today to pick out and try on the bride's maid dresses."

"So that'll take all day today, which means you'll be free tonight."

"No, we'll be looking at some designs for the cake tonight."

There was another pause.

"I see that you're all dressed and ready to go. I'll walk you downtown to the boutique."

"Oh, you don't need to."

"I want to. Go and get your coat. It's a beautiful day and I like walking."

"No, I still have a few things to get done before I go."

"When are you supposed to meet up with your friends?"

"At 1:30."

"It's already 1:00. That'll give us enough time to stop into a café and grab a coffee to go. It's my treat."

"No, I..." She was beginning to run out of excuses. "Alright, fine. Just wait here while I get a few things."

They heard the door shut and lock.

Lizzy dragged her sister bodily into her room.

"See what you've done!"

"Lizzy, we've just eavesdropped on a conversation we weren't supposed to hear," scolded Jane.

"We've just cornered our don into spending time with a person she obviously would like to avoid, and you're worried about eavesdropping?"

"And how would you know that Anne is avoiding Eliot?"

"Weren't you listening to what they were saying?"

"I tried not to listen because we were eavesdropping."

Lizzy growled in frustration. "Anne never returns Eliot's phone calls. She gave him excuses after excuses, first for not going out with him today and then for not walking downtown with him. Anne rarely ever turns people down, let alone doing it four times in one conversation."

"Oh Lizzy. Must you always be this suspicious about people?"

"I'm not being suspicious. I'm just observant. Besides, do you remember..." her voice trailed off. She held up her hand to keep Jane from talking.

They could hear the sound of a door closing, and keys jingling to lock it. Lizzy waited until the footsteps died away before she swung open her door and dashed into the hall.

"Where are you going?" called Jane who hurried after her sister.

"I can't see them from my window. I'm going to another room that has a view of the front door."

Lizzy stopped at Emma and Harriet's room and knocked frantically to be let in.

"What's going on?" asked Harriet who opened the door.

Lizzy rushed to the window and pointed, "See? Just look at the body language!"

The four girls peer out the window.

"That's Anne and Eliot," exclaimed Emma. "Why are we spying on them?"

"Lizzy thinks that Anne doesn't like Eliot very much, and is here to prove it."

"You know, I think Lizzy's right," said Emma. "Just look at how Anne keeps walking further and further away from him."

Harriet giggled, "Look, she's just had to step off the sidewalk! Gosh, he's persistent."

"Some guys never get the hint," grumbled Lizzy. She turned away from the window to face her sister. "See? Now will you believe me? Anne clearly does not want to be around Eliot."

"I knew he looked suspicious when I saw him skulking outside the building. It reminded me of Phil Elton on my birthday when he..." Emma shuddered. Suddenly, she smacked her forehead. "Oh shoot! And I let that creep into our building. Anne's not going to be happy when she finds out it was us who let him in."

"Too late," said Lizzy. "He's already told Anne that."

Emma plopped resignedly down on her bed. "This year has not started out well at all. First, I find out that Caroline's invited Phil and his girlfriend, and now this. It's only the first day back to class and already we've made a mess of things."

Chapter 17 (ii)

Posted On: Friday, 22 November 2002, at 6:05 p.m.

Anne eyed the door out of the café longingly. Freedom from Eliot's smothering attentions was just a few feet away, but due to social decorum she felt she could not run away from him, just as a stubborn toddler would from the wet kisses of a repulsive great aunt. Redirecting her gaze from the door, Anne looked to see how much longer before Eliot could place their orders for drinks. There were still five other people in front of him, plenty of time for her to make her bid for freedom without being noticed immediately.

A piercingly cold gust of wind swept into the café, bringing with it some snow drifts and a tall person in a thick grey woollen coat. Anne watched the person, as he brushed some snow from his coat and pulled off his gloves before looking up. He saw Anne staring at him, and smiling, came to her table.

"I saw you from the window. How's it going?" he asked.

"I'm well," Anne answered. "How have you been?"

"Not bad. I don't have much to complain about, except for the snow. This is probably the same storm that kept me company all the way from Thunder Bay to just outside of Toronto yesterday. So as you can see I'm well equipped for this blizzard," said Frederick pointing out his winter gear. He looked at the table Anne was occupying and upon seeing that it was empty, he asked, "Did you get something to drink? I'm going up there now to get something hot, I could get you something while I'm at it. It's snowing pretty hard outside, and I figured a hot drink would help against the cold weather."

How Anne longed to say yes, if only she wasn't currently the victim of this cruel trick of fate. She felt her face grow hot from discomfort and she was forced to say, "No thank you. There's already someone up there getting me something."

"Oh," said Frederick. He turned to examine the people standing in line.

Eliot had been watching them with narrowed eyes ever since Frederick had arrived at their table to talk to Anne. His jealous expression made it rather conspicuous that he was the one who was buying Anne a drink.

Frederick had seen Eliot back in December, but whether or not he recognized him, he didn't say, and turning back to Anne, he asked in a passive tone. "Friend or foe?"

"Neither," said Anne.

"Ah, boyfriend then?"

Unconsciously, Anne leaned forward and grabbed Frederick's arm, and shook it desperately.

"No, no. Never!" she cried. When she realized what she was doing, she quickly dropped her hands and muttered, "Sorry. What I meant was that I hardly know this guy, so I can't really consider him as a friend or an enemy."

Frederick looked down at her with some amusement and said, "Didn't your parents ever teach you not to go out with strangers?"

Anne blushed, "No, I didn't mean it like that either. He's the don of my brother floor, so I technically do know him." She looked at her hands. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I can't seem to say anything right whenever I'm around you."

As soon as the last sentence came out of her mouth, Anne regretted it. It wasn't as if she didn't want Frederick to know how she felt about him, but after years of repressing her feelings, remorse had become the habitual reaction every time her feelings overpowered her self-monitoring. The same words however, produced a different effect on the listener. If only Anne had not been so occupied with her own feelings of guilt, she would have been able to catch the fleeting look of happiness that suffused Frederick's face at her slip of the tongue.

What would have happened next would never be known for Eliot chose to return to the table at that moment with the coffees. He greeted Frederick with such coldness that it seemed almost comical. Even Anne had to smirk when Eliot tried to shake Frederick's hand even though he was still holding the drinks-it never occurred to him that he could just set the drinks down on the table. Frederick didn't stay long after Eliot arrived. In fact, he left without getting the hot beverage that he had told Anne he would get.

Shortly after Frederick had gone, Anne and Eliot left the café with their drinks. The storm got progressively worse as they walked to the bridal shop. Anne could barely see the traffic lights as they walked, and was nearly hit by a car at a cross walk. Eliot hadn't noticed because ever since they left the café, he had talked incessantly about Frederick. As expected, Eliot had many rude and spiteful things to say about Frederick, which only further confirmed Anne's poor opinion of the speaker and improved the merits of the object of discussion.

It was with feelings of great relief that Anne left Eliot out in the storm when they arrived at the bridal shop. He had volunteered to stay and walk her back to her dormitory afterwards, but Anne politely refused even before he had finished voicing his offer. He had insisted on doing her this favour, as he did earlier that afternoon, but Anne was adamant that he should go home. In the end, she was forced to lie, and tell him that she would be going out to dinner with the soon-to-be-married couple, before he would leave her. Never, in all of Anne's experiences with people, had she met with such an officious person.

Emily was leafing through a bridal magazine in the parlour at the back of the bridal shop when Anne arrived. Looking up, she gave Anne a brief hug and helped her take off her jacket. "I have a piece of news to relate to you, which I'm sure will interest you greatly."

Anne was about to urge Emily to begin her story, when there came the sound of footsteps thumping on the floor of the bridal shop, and Harville entered the parlour, leaving wet prints of his boots on the carpet as his strode.

"Have you told her yet?" were the first words out of his mouth.

"I was just getting to it when you arrived. Perhaps you would like to do the honours?"

Harville grinned. "With pleasure. I'm sure you know that Frederick and Louisa have been going out for the past few months. Actually, I'm being a little hasty saying that they were going out, because they haven't really been much of a couple. For months and months we've been encouraging the two to take each other more seriously, but they've always held back. Then came that incident during Christmas Break. It was a pity, or perhaps a blessing in disguise, that Frederick had to be called away so suddenly to Thunder Bay after the accident, because it provided an opportunity for someone else to nurse her back to health. That someone turned out to be... Guess who."

Anne was almost positive she knew who it was, but to humour Harville, she asked, "Who?"

"James Benwick!"

Anne forced a look of surprise onto her face. "James! I would never have thought it."

"I hope you're not disappointed," said Harville, looking concerned.

"Not at all," said Anne. In fact, she was feeling the exact opposite of disappointment: hope.

"James is a very nice person," Emily said quickly to prevent Harville from further queries concerning Anne's feelings.

Emily's comment worked effectively, for Harville said, "Oh. Yes, yes, there is not a word to be said against James Benwick. He's got a bright future ahead of him, despite his lack of backbone sometimes."

"I agree with you that James will go far," said Anne, "but I don't think it's fair to say that he needs backbone. He can be quite assertive and determined when needs be, but I think he prefers to let others have their way to avoid conflict. It's really quite noble."

"Well, well, ladies are the best judges; but James is still too soft according to my taste. When compared to Frederick, Emily and I both agree that Frederick's style is better than James's. Of course, I might be a little prejudiced, since he is my best friend."

Anne was caught. She had only meant to oppose the too common idea of spirit and gentleness being incompatible with each other, not at all to represent James's manners as the very best that could possibly be; and after a little hesitation, she was beginning to explain herself, when Harville went on again.

"I talked to Frederick just this morning, and he told me the news himself, so you don't have to doubt the truth of what I am saying. He went to see Louisa last night, and James was there. He said that they didn't need to say much for him to understand the new situation."

"I hope he doesn't think that James betrayed him."

"Yeah, you'd think that he would be pretty ticked off at James for pursuing Louisa during his absence (I know I would be), but funnily enough, not a single angry word was used. You would never think, judging from the way he talked, that he really cared for Louisa. He even told me that he hopes their relationship will work out!" Harville sighed. "Poor Frederick. Now he must begin all over again with someone else. I would prefer if he looked within our group of friends. Anne, do you know of anyone who would suit Frederick and is still available?"

At that moment, the salesperson entered and any conversation on matters other than the wedding came to an end. Harville was immediately banished to the outer room to wait for the best man and try on his tuxedo while the Emily and Anne examined the wedding dress.

Emily had done her research before coming to the boutique and had already decided on an off-shoulder gown with a small train that showed off her tall shapely figure quite well; it only needed to be slightly tailored for reasons of comfort. After the alterations on the bridal gown had been noted, they moved on to the bride's maid dress.

"Don't worry," said Emily when the salesperson went out to pick up the bride's maid dress that Emily had selected, "I haven't picked out something that will make you look like a bottle of pink antacid."

Emily spoke true. She had selected an elegant silver sequined evening gown that had a matching silver jacket. It was perfect for a winter wedding, but Anne wondered whether silver would be her colour-she tried it on anyway. A surprise met her when she came out of the fitting room for Harville had been granted access to the parlour once again and had brought the best man with him.

Anne had suspected who the best man would be, although Harville and Emily never mentioned it, but nothing could prepare her for the shock of seeing Frederick standing in a tuxedo. Her start was perceptible only to herself; but she instantly felt that she was the greatest simpleton in the world. For a few minutes she saw nothing before her; it was all confusion. She was lost, and when she had scolded back her senses, she found that he was looking at her, more obviously struck and confused by the sight of her than she had ever observed before; he looked quite red. Whereas the two of them had been prepared for informal meetings in coffee shops and on the streets, nothing could prepare them for the sight of each other in such flattering formal attire and in such suggestive situations.

He offered her compliments on her dress, sounding very much like a parrot mimicking Harville and Emily. After a short interval, however, he came towards her, and spoke less formally. Harville and Emily tactfully left the parlour so they could converse in private.

Anne had noticed it before when she spoke with him in the coffee shop, but it became more apparent now that time had changed him, or Louisa had changed him. It was not exactly a change for the worst, for he looked very well, not as if he had been suffering in health or spirits, but it was Frederick Wentworth not comfortable, not easy, not able to feign that he was.

With renewed spirit, with a little smile, a little glow, he said, "I never got a chance to ask you, back at the coffee shop, whether or not you were alright the day after the accident. I was afraid that you might have sprained something or caught a chill or at least suffered some sort of shock from what happened that night."

Anne assured him that she had not.

"What happened that night certainly gave me quite a shock," said he. "In fact, I had never been so scared in my life" and he passed his hand across his eyes, as if the remembrance were still too painful, but in a moment, half smiling again, added, "The day was not all bad however, I'm sure Harville and Em have filled you in about Louisa and James. Now there's an odd couple, but I wish them the best."

"Well, they may not have many things in common," said Anne, taking care not to make the same mistake that she made when she was speaking with Harville earlier on the same subject. "But they share the same basic principles and are well tempered people."

The expression on Frederick's face relaxed and he chuckled, "Yes, but there, I think ends the resemblance. I do see what you are saying: opposites attract. They may find common interests as their relationship progresses, and luckily for them, they don't have parents and guardians to contend with, not like--" he stopped. A sudden recollection seemed to occur, and to give him a taste of that emotion which was reddening Anne's cheeks and fixing her eyes on the ground. After clearing his throat, however, he proceeded, "Actually, I change my mind. There's just too big a difference between the two. Louisa's a very nice girl, but James is something more. I don't mean that James is Louisa's superior because he is a scholar and Louisa is not, but I have to wonder what his, or even her, motives are. Is it because he took care of her that she accepted his advances? Or do they genuinely love and care for each other? Somehow, I'm having problems believing the latter. It seems to have been a perfectly spontaneous, untaught feeling on his side, and this surprises me. A man like him, in his situation! You weren't around when Phoebe died, but if you had been, you would have seen how much he loved her. Phoebe was something special, and we all thought, young as we were back then, that their love was something unique that would transcend time. A man does not recover from such a devotion of the heart. He ought not. He does not."

He went no further, and Anne, who, in spite of the agitated voice in which the latter part had been uttered and in spite of the knowledge that any moment now Harville and Emily could be coming in the doors, had distinguished every word, was beginning to breath very quick and feeling a hundred things at once. She didn't feel ready to express to him, what she felt at that moment, but knowing that it was her turn to speak, she felt her mouth open and her throat stretch, and heard her own strained voice say,

"Did you stay long with Louisa that night of the accident?"

"No, visiting hours ended soon after I got back from dropping you off. But it was long enough for me to ascertain that she was stable. Then, as fate would have it, I was called away the next day to go to Thunder Bay. In retrospect, I'm glad I took that drive up north. The drive was beautiful-if you like winter landscapes."

"I do like winter. It's one of my favourite seasons. There's something very tranquil about layers of untouched snow. It marks the end and cleans the year for the new start during the spring."

Frederick looked politely perplexed, "Really? I thought, after what happened this Christmas, you wouldn't like the memories and dangers associated with winter."

"I won't lie to you and say that the episode with Louisa didn't scare me, even though it was terrifying. But one does not love a season less just because of the few bad memories associated with it, not unless the entire season had been plagued with luckless events."

"Do you have a season that you particularly hate?"

"Autumn." Anne said without hesitation.

"Any particular reason why?"

"I was a little quick in saying that. It's the beginning of the autumn that I don't like. A lot of things that I didn't want to end concluded with the advent of fall."

"What ended during the fall?" he asked.

"The summer," was her reply.

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