“Because I don’t love him! I barely know him.”
“What’s love when you have financial security?” Robin countered. Holding up her knitting needles, “Do you really think I enjoy living like this? Making things to sell on Etsy just to earn some extra cash?”
“Oh, Robin,” Anne cried, getting up and wrapping her arms around her friend.
After a few moments of crying together, Robin rolled her wheelchair out of Anne’s grasp. “I have a confession to make,” she whispered. “I am so sorry.”
“Why are you sorry?”
“Because I was going to try to get you to change your mind about Will when I know what he is really like. Because I don’t want you to end up heartbroken like me, missing Nathan more and more with each passing day. And yet hating myself as I start forgetting things about him with every hour that ticks by without him. At least with Will, you would not be destroyed if something happened to him.” Drawing in a deep breath, she began to explain. “Will got laid off from the hospital he was working at before the car accident. He had been drinking too much off-duty and it was costing him when he was supposed to be at work. He had been making careless errors that, thankfully, others caught before he made them. He’s been living off of his trust fund that his father gave him access to after he became a doctor.”
Shaking her head, she added, “I don’t even know how Nathan met Will. He might have been shadowing a doctor at the hospital Will worked at, but I never paid that much attention. Will was fun and fun was what we needed as we struggled with our marriage and our coursework and everything else.”
Drawing in a deep breath, Robin closed her eyes as she recalled the painful memories. “I wasn’t paying attention when it happened. I was looking down at my phone trying to pull up my grades when Nathan told me to hold on. We went into a skid then hit a guardrail. The car was crushed. The car in front of us, the car Nathan ended up hitting because it had been abandoned in the middle of the road, had been pushed into our car. He couldn’t avoid it with the semi driving down the other lane heading towards us.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks, but Robin managed to finish the story. “The truck driver stopped and tried to help us. Then Will came out of the bushes that were on the side of the road, where he should have pulled over on the shoulder, and saw what happened.” Shaking her head, she added, “I don’t think Nathan ever saw Will, but I saw him and I recognized his car.”
“But why didn’t you tell me? You were just now encouraging me to marry him!” Anne asked Robin as she paced back and forth through the small apartment.
“Because he’s still your cousin and if you didn’t like what I told you, you might have dropped me! I didn’t know what you’d do if I told you I suspected that Will just wants your money. He doesn’t know about your father’s bankruptcy; I only know because my mother told me. So I said nothing so you wouldn’t leave me.”
“Why would I have done that?” Anne asked. “I have only a few true friends and you are one of them. You were there when I ended things with Derek. You warned me that Charles might be interested in being more than just friends with me and you warned me to keep Mary away from him, even if I failed in that regard. Why wouldn’t I believe you if you warned me about Will?”
“I don’t know,” Robin cried. “It’s not like I’m exactly the same person I was six years ago. Even five years ago,” she gestured towards her useless legs in her wheelchair. “I knew Will was sneaky the way he talked about your family with Nathan.”
“But you also knew he was a piece of crap when he left the scene of the accident that left you paralyzed and Nathan…” Anne trailed off.
“To die. You can say it. Yes. Will left Nathan and me to die in that car accident. I was stuck there, crushed in the passenger seat and unable to reach my husband as he painfully died from his injuries. As his lungs filled with fluid from that stupid rib that punctured his organs.” Robin sat there, numb as she recited what she had thought, remembered, so many times before.
Remembered, but never voiced aloud.
Tears pouring down her face, Robin gave up trying to wipe them away. “I’m sorry,” she cried. “I shouldn’t have. All I was thinking about was the fact that I would finally be able to get that box of things that Will was supposed to be watching for Nathan. I would be able to get that box of knickknacks back. Besides this place, and a few blankets, that box is all that I have left of Nathan, but Will refuses to bring it back. I even offered to pay for shipping, even though we are in the same town,” she sniffed. “I don’t even know if he still has it.”
“Oh, Robin,” Anne cried with her friend. Leaning down, she wrapped her arms around the widow. “I’ll make certain you get that box back. I swear it.”
“I can’t believe this!” Walter Elliot paced in front of his middle daughter. “I can’t believe you would embarrass us like that! Do you know who was in that restaurant?”
Shrugging her shoulders, Anne really didn’t care.
“My great-aunt Dempsey!”
Shaking her head, Anne tried to remember her father ever mentioning an aunt named Dempsey. Even a family member with the last name Dempsey.
“I was this close,” he exclaimed, holding up his index finger and thumb and keeping an inch between them. “This close to getting her to agree to meet with me. And now, after your outburst and accusations, she is never going to want to see me!”
From her usual spot on the sofa, Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Anne. Aunt Dempsey was our chance at changing our fortunes. She is rich and her daughter is ailing.”
Narrowing her eyes, Anne was tempted to ask Elizabeth if she even knew what ‘ailing’ meant. Instead, she held her tongue. After Derek’s confession the night before, nothing could bring her down.
“What do you have to say for yourself?” her father demanded.
“I saw Will and Penelope making out on Broad Street the day she claimed she was going grocery shopping,” Anne calmly answered him, staring at Penelope the entire time. “There have been other odd occurrences of Penelope blushing at random moments and catching the two of them together in the hallways and corners of this house. Who knows what they have been up to when Will was supposed to be at work? Only we never checked to make certain that Will had a job. Or if he lost his job and had to go to rehab because of his drinking problem that cost somebody their life.”
“Will wouldn’t lie to us!”
“And why wouldn’t he? Why is he even spending time with us after years of avoiding us? He doesn’t have a clue how broke Father really is.”
From the doorway, Will chuckled, leaning against the doorframe as if he was helping the wall remain standing. “You are so brilliant,” he gave Anne a slow clap.
“What are you doing here?” Walter asked, turning to look at his audience.
“You did say that I could come in without knocking,” Will replied without breaking eye contact with his cousin. “I know your father is broke, but I want Kellynch.”
“Kellynch Place?” Walter asked, confused. “Why do you want my home?”
“Because it was also my father’s home,” he answered his uncle. “And because Kellynch sits on some very valuable property that can easily be parceled up and sold to the highest bidder.”
“You would sell Kellynch Place?”
“In a heartbeat.”
“And me?” Penelope piped up.
“Oh please,” Will answered with an eye roll. “Do you think Anne was the only one that didn’t notice the attention you paid to your best friend’s father? With two boys of your own, if you could convince Walter to marry you and then give him a son, that son would inherit Kellynch because Walter Elliot places the value of sons over his clever,” and eyed Anne before looking at Elizabeth,” and spoiled daughters.”
“Your father would never approve of your behavior,” Walter scolded his nephew.
“My father disowned me when I lost my medical license and, as dear Anne has discovered, accidentally caused the death of her friend’s
husband.” Turning to her, he added, “Robin Smith must have told you about the box.”
“Yes,” Anne bluntly answered. She saw no reason to deny it after everything he had heard. “She wants it back.”
“I figured,” he sighed, “but I don’t have it. It’s in a safe deposit box at one of the banks.” Shaking his head, Will sighed. “I’ll give you the information so you can pass it on to her.”
“Thank you,” Anne replied, confusion coloring her tone. “Why are you doing this?”
Will stared at her for a long moment. “Ever since I saw you in North Carolina I thought, ‘That is a girl that can help me atone for my sins! Unfortunately, I didn’t run into you again until it was too late.”
From the doorway, where Will had previously been standing, Derek cleared his throat. “Anne always was good about causing people to want to be the best that they possibly can be,” he stated. “With some exceptions,” he nodded towards her sister and father.
“Derek!” she breathed, barely loud enough for him to hear her excitement.
“Are you ready to go?”
“Where are you going?” her father demanded.
“Home,” Anne shortly answered her father. “I have some interviews next week and I want to prepare for them.” Turning to Will, she demanded the information that he promised to give her. She could text it to Robin after she had gotten on the road.
“I didn’t say that you could leave!”
Shaking her head at his stubbornness, Anne thought quickly. “Father, without me around to cause any more scenes, you can work on repairing your relationship with Aunt Dempsey.”
Thinking about it for a moment, he slowly nodded his head. “Okay.” Then, because there was a small crowd of witnesses, “Let me know when you get home.”
“Okay, Father,” Anne softly smiled.
Five minutes later, bags in hand, Anne looked back on the mess that was in the house behind her.
Elizabeth was glowering at her friend. Penelope was pretending to not notice as she sent text message after text message to her father that she needed him to send her a plane ticket so that she could return home. Walter was back in his chair, newspaper in hand, as he plotted his way back into Aunt Dempsey’s good graces – and her bank account. Will was nowhere to be seen, thankfully.
“Are you going to miss them?” Derek asked her as he reached for one of her bags.
“They are my family,” Anne answered carefully, “as dysfunctional as they can be.”
“That doesn’t mean you will miss them.”
“I think they will miss me more than I will miss them,” she finally replied.
Epilogue
Two Years Later
Digging through his dresser, Derek hurriedly looked around for the small little black box he had hidden with his socks. He’d gone back and forth between using the same ring he had proposed with before and buying another ring, but in the end sentimentality won. The classic round cut diamond with a smaller diamond on both sides of the larger gemstone fit Anne perfectly and he knew he would have trouble if he tried to pick a new ring for her.
“I can’t believe you kept that,” Anne said from the other side of the room.
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Derek feigned ignorance.
“I found the ring weeks ago, Derek,” she countered. “I know it’s the same ring.”
Narrowing his gaze, he looked at her. “What were you doing in my sock drawer?”
“We were watching movies on the sofa and my feet were cold. You told me to get some socks…” she carefully reminded him.
“Right,” he sighed. “Well, there’s no point…”
“There are ample reasons for you to continue on with your plans,” she interrupted. “Your sister Sophy, Sarah, my aunt,” she listed off. “Mary would be thrilled to be able to know something before Elizabeth.”
“Fine,” Derek replied with an eye roll. “But we still need to get to the graduation party my sister in insisting on throwing me for getting my Masters and passing my CPA exam. My brother can’t wait for me to sign the paperwork to join him.”
“And I can’t wait to say yes.”
“At least I know this time.”
“I would have said yes last time if you weren’t so stubborn about getting married quickly.”
Derek looked at the painting that Anne had hung over his bed. She had painted it during her first year at the high school where she had replaced the stubborn art teacher that had made her student teaching placement miserable. There was another one hanging in what would soon be their dining room.
“Derek?”
“Anne?”
“There’s really no reason to wait this time,” she told him. “We’ve waited long enough.”
“You, Ms. Elliot,” he smiled, giving her a quick kiss on her nose, “will have to wait just a little while longer.”
“But do we actually need to plan a big wedding?” she whispered. “Can we…”
“Let me ask you first,” Derek sighed, shaking his head.
Waiting impatiently to give Derek a different answer than she had seven years ago, she tapped the toe of her shoe against the floor as Derek made his way around the room greeting his family and friends.
It was fitting, Sophy and Bob – who were still renting Kellynch while her father and older sister stayed in Florida – had insisted on hosting Derek’s graduation party. This time the cars that lined the driveway had been driven by people Derek recognized.
Mary, Charles, and their brood of four children - three boys and one girl named Anne – were one of the first people to arrive. Their children were running around – except for Anne who was being held by her father – on a sugar high thanks to all of the sweets Sophy had baked for the party.
The Musgraves and their bunch – including Isa and James, Etta and Charlie – were the next car to park.
People Derek had tutored over the years. Teachers that loved having Derek as a substitute and hated the fact that he would no longer be on the substitute teacher lists for the next school year.
Ed, Sarah, and their four girls – Sarah saw her step-daughters as her own and treated them as such – were bouncing around the floor, dancing to the music that hadn’t been intended for dancing.
Anne’s fingers twitched to sketch out the scenes in front of her. While there were napkins aplenty, there were no pencils or pens within reach.
Coming up behind her, Derek grabbed her hand and tugged her outside. He had waited for one of the children to make a scene before seizing his opportunity. “Come on,” he whispered in her ear.
Leading her back to a familiar patio, Derek watched her face as she looked at the twinkle lights that had been woven into the bushes and mini trees. A few battery-operated candles flickered on the table.
Getting down on one knee, Derek grinned, “Anne Katrina Elliot, seven years ago I made a complete and utter fool of myself. I should have listened when you told me that we were too young to get married, that we needed to wait. We’ve both grown up, both experienced things that we never would have experienced if things had turned out differently back then. But from now on, I don’t want to live without you. Will you marry me?”
Not even looking at the ring – she knew what it looked like – Anne plopped down on her knees and threw her arms around his neck. “Yes!” she exclaimed. “A thousand times yes!”
Kissing her into silence, mostly to stop the string of ‘yeses’ that kept falling from her lips, Derek grinned.
Pulling away from him, she whispered, “Do we have to wait?”
“I think our families would be disappointed if they don’t get to see us get married.”
“They didn’t have to wait seven years.”
Laughing, Derek stood up, pulling her with him, before spinning around.
Hearing the applause from the doorway, Anne dropped down to her feet, noticing that one of her heels had fallen off of her foot, and buried her face in Derek’s chest.
&n
bsp; “Let’s see the ring!” Sophy called out. Taking a step forward, she reached for Anne’s left hand. “There’s no ring!”
“I haven’t put it on her finger yet,” Derek sighed.
Author’s Note
Modernizing Jane Austen is, surprisingly not at easy feat. In attempting to keep the spirit of the original, I had a lot of reading and rereading to do. Tons of research and trying to figure out how to modernize some of the aspects that won’t work today. Notebooks of notes, potential scenes, questions, and timeline plotting.
I have to thank a captive audience from the gym for their knowing and unknowing help. First, Mackenzie for her help in figuring out how to bring William Walter Elliot into the present; it wouldn’t do to have cousins interested in cousins. Secondly, Corey for some of the ‘stolen’ conversations that helped make the first and second parts. Third and Fourthly, Taylor and Anthony for listening to me ramble about this story for months.
Meri for her writer’s ear before, during, and after the various drafts, revisions, and beta reads. Summer, and Chastity for their excellent Beta reads, comments, and putting up with my questions after their readings.
Without these people’s support, Persuaded would not be the book it is today.
Thank you, all so much.
Also Available by this Author:
Standalones
The Secrets Between Us
The Magic Chronicles
Half-Moon Manor (Olivia and Henry’s Story)
Keeping Secrets
The Hastings Sisters Novels
The Consequences of Being Aiden (Ainsley’s story)
The Trouble with Chasing Aileen
The Problem with Finding Ashlynn
The Enchanted Forest
Into the Enchanted Forest
The Cursed Garden
The Bewitched Tower (Coming Soon)
Ander and the Cocky Dragon Slayer
The Bookworm Next Door Series
Persuaded Page 27