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Anne would normally use any valid excuse she could get to avoid going to dinner where Captain Wentworth also was, for she found it hard to remain dignified and calm while around him. She didn't know whether it was easier to maintain her facade of calm or harder with his acting indifferent to her.
All she knew was that it was uncomfortable, and so she would rather not go at all.
Tonight however, she had a whole other reason for not going, while also partly the same. Anne was not feeling herself. She had felt ill since she had woken up that morning, and had assumed she was coming down something. It had started out only as a nuisance, and so she had still been planning to go to the dinner at the great house.
An hour before they were to leave, however, she felt so dreadful that she doubted her ability to hide her sickness, or even enjoy herself. Plus, she knew that it would be even harder to stay calm with Captain Wentworth there. And he would most likely notice something was wrong eventually.
So there she was, trying to persuade Mary to leave her behind and go to the party with just Charles, but Mary was having none of it.
"Oh, but, Anne, of course you must come. Why, I have promised that we all three should be there, and if you do not come, well then, who shall trust me again?" Here she halted her tirade to stare imploringly at Anne, with the look which Anne could do naught but acquiesce to.
"Oh, but, darling," here Charles spoke up. "If she truly does feel ill, surely she should not expend herself so. I am sure my family at the great house would understand."
His wife looked at him with slight scorn. "Oh, I am sure that she is not truly ill, Charles. Anne always had such a strong constitution, unlike myself, who am always poorly. I am sure whatever she has is slight and will pass. Now we must hurry or we shall be late, and we would not want that." And so saying, Mary put on her hat and waltzed out the door, trusting her husband and sister to follow diligently behind her.
And, with a look of pity and regret from Charles, and a slight smile of acknowledgment from Anne, they did just that, and they all got in the carriage on their way to the great house.
Meanwhile, at the great house, Fredrick Wentworth was already there, chatting comfortably with Louisa and Henrietta, when the younger Mussgrove couple and Anne were announced. As always, Fredrick payed closer attention when Anne's name was mentioned, and so he was watching when she entered the room behind her sister and brother-in-law.
Immediately he knew something was wrong. He may not have been engaged to Anne since eight years prior, but he had never forgotten her; every detail was memorized. Tonight, everything was off.
She looked paler than normal, and her eyes had slight dark circles of exhaustion under them. She also looked tired and ill, and her gait was different than normal. Also, every once in a while, her face would screw up with pain and grow tight with discomfort.
Fredrick took this all in with one glance, and had to force his eyes away from her. If he knew Anne, which he was sure he did still, she would have not bothered about her own health, in favour of the the happiness of another, such as her sister.
Mrs. Mussgrove greeted her last guests as they came in, and Fredrick stood politely, as did Mr. Mussgrove.
"Why, dear Charles and Mary, and Anne too. How lovely you could join us," Mrs. Mussgrove said with her large smile.
"Why of course, Mrs. Mussgrove," Mary replied. "We would not have missed it. And of course we were all in good health, nothing could have stopped us. Why, Anne has such a strong constitution that she never falls poorly, and I am lucky to be healthy as well at the moment, for I am ever so often ill, I don't know how I manage to remain so joyful and amiable."
Fredrick raised an eyebrow at this, for he knew for a fact that most of Mary's illnesses were imagined, and that Anne was indeed, at that moment, ill. He just didn't know how much, for she was incredibly experienced at hiding her afflictions.
Fredrick needed to know how ill she was, his mind wouldn't let him be easy until he had assured himself that she was not terribly ill, or even that he was wrong, and she was not at all ill. So, as the others walked farther into the room, and Anne hung back a little, Fredrick passed close by her while walking to join the others, but paused midstride and, without giving any warning, raised the back of his hand to her cheek, to feel for the heat.
What he felt there made him worried. She was burning up, making it almost uncomfortable to touch her. She stiffened at his touch, but he removed his hand as soon as he had ascertained the extent of her fever.
He walked forward again, having barely paused for ten seconds, so that it was unnoticeable. However, he did glance back and gave her a look that clearly said that he was on to her, and watching her.
She made eye contact with him, but looked down immediately. Fredrick walked to the others, but he had Anne on his mind, and she was going to stay there for the next while.
Anne sat quietly while they waited for dinner to be announced, and only spoke when necessary. Fredrick himself was a bit of an ungracious guest, for he was quite distracted with keeping an eye on Anne to make sure she wasn't about to faint, or something of the like.
Eventually dinner was announced, and they all walked in and took their seats at the table. Luckily for Fredrick, Anne was a couple seats down from him and across the table, so it was not too difficult to glance at her occasionally to check on her health.
Anne kept her head down towards her plate unless someone was speaking to her, which wasn't often considering how everyone overlooked her. Fredrick had noticed it before but had not thought much of it, in fact taking small pleasure to know that she was unhappy and unappreciated even by her family, while he was the center of attention wherever he went. But not anymore. Now he just felt annoyance for her family and friend to treat her this way. He tried to hide his annoyance, for Anne's sake, but it was difficult, especially with him knowing that she was also ill, and her family none the wiser.
During the times when Fredrick chanced a glance at Anne, he noticed that she was only taking small portions of the food, and really just pushing it around her plate. The concern that had been within him grew stronger, although he didn't show it.
By the time that they all removed to an evening sitting room, the men not bothering to split from the woman as customary, due to the small number of people and them all being close friends, Fredrick was having a hard time keeping his concern for Anne to a low level.
She had grown paler throughout the evening, and had been speaking less and less. So, when Louisa Mussgrove suggested some dancing, and begged Anne to play, Fredrick had had enough. Of everything. He had had enough of Anne being too good to let the others know she was ill, of everyone treating Anne like she was there for their benefit, and of himself trying to seem indifferent to Anne, when truly he loved her as much as the day he asked her to be his wife.
Anne rose from her seat slowly, mumbling a response to Louisa's request, and turning to the pianoforte in the room. She was so tired, she would not even bother to try to get out of playing. In fact, she was so tired she didn't really think about what she was doing, or about the fact that she couldn't even have played if she had tried. The room was wobbling in her vision, and she felt unsteady on her feet. Before she knew it, her legs gave way beneath her, and she started to fall towards the floor. Somehow, she couldn't think how, she was caught before she hit the floor, and she nestled into the softness and warmth that had saved her from the impact, not knowing what it was.
Fredrick, as soon as he had seen her stand up to go to the pianoforte, had stood up as well, ready to say that she was ill and couldn't play. However, before he could say anything, and while the eyes were still on him and not on Anne, he saw her sway on her feet, just before her knees buckled. Him being the only one watching Anne, he was the one to cross the short distance between them, and catch Anne before she came to any harm.
As he felt her relaxing into him with a soft sigh, his mind was brought back to the old days when he had been able to hold Anne close, content with the knowledge that she was to be his.
However, he was quickly brought back to the present by the others calling out Anne's name, and rushing towards them, and by the heat radiating from Anne's body because of the fever.
Frederick quickly turned Anne around in his arms, and saw that her eyes were half closed with sleep. She let her head fall into the crook of his elbow as he laid her out more gently on the floor, where he knelt with her in his arms.
He could hear everyone else gathering around him and Anne, asking what was wrong, and, in Mary's case, pretending to feel faint herself. It angered him to know that Anne's sister was worried about herself when her sister was obviously in more need of attention.
Fredrick finally let the others' voices break through his mind, and he tried to register what they were all saying. He decided that he had had enough of their insincerity towards his precious Anne.
"Will you all just be quiet!" He almost shouted, still holding Anne in his arms. "She needs to get to bed, and have a doctor look at her."
"Wentworth," Charles Mussgrove said, and Fredrick listened because he knew that at least Charles cared about Anne, "let me take her. It is improper for you to be holding her. I will take her back to our place and summon a doctor." He knelt down next to the captain and his sister in law, and held out his arms for the woman.
Fredrick was about to hand her over, and started to shift her so it would be easier. The motion made her moan slightly, however, and he tightened his hold again. He knew that he would never be able to give her up. "No," he said. "I will take her in my carriage."
"Oh but surely that is not necessary! And it is highly improper, Captain!" Louisa spoke up.
Fredrick almost snarled slightly at them, annoyed at them caring more for propriety than for Anne. "I don't care!" He said forcefully. "She needs help, and I'm going to get it to her." He started to stand up, careful to support Anne in his arms as he went. She was surprisingly light, but it was still not an easy task. Once he was standing, he merely strode out of the room with her, not even bothering to look back at his shocked audience.
He walked past the entrance and through the front door, seeing his carriage there, where he had left it. He nodded to the driver, who seemed surprised at his master carrying the Eliot girl, and rightly so.
Fredrick climbed into the carriage, not without some struggle, and, laying Anne down on the seat next to him, used one of his now free hands to knock on the roof of the carriage. The driver opened the small sliding door that separated them, and after Fredrick instructed him to go to Charles' and Mary's house, started the carriage moving.
When they arrived at Anne's temporary home, Fredrick gathered Anne in his arms again, and got out of the carriage. She had not woken up on the way over, only letting out a few more soft moans, each of which made Fredrick's heart clench with worry, and with regret for ignoring her for so long.
Fredrick kicked at the door of the house, and it was opened a few minutes later by a servant, who was startled to see someone other than their master or mistress at the door, especially since he was carrying an unconscious Anne.
"Show me to her bedchamber," Fredrick said to the servant, not caring that he did not technically have the right to give orders in this home. The servant did not seem to mind, though, and showed him the way to her chamber, which was upstairs. When the servant stopped at a door, Fredrick, assuming correctly that it was Anne's, told him to open it. The servant did so, still seeming hesitant about the whole situation. Fredrick had pity for him, but pushed it aside in favour of getting Anne taken care of.
"Thank you, now can you please send for a doctor and have him come here as soon as possible?" He asked. The servant hesitated for a second, before nodding his head, and bowing respectfully before leaving to fulfill his duty.
Fredrick, still holding Anne, walked into her room and placed her on the bed, not even bothering to turn the blankets and sheets up. He paused a second after placing her down, still leaning over her still form, to swipe some hair away from her face, and tuck it behind her ear.
She stirred at his touch, and he quickly straitened up, not wishing you alarm her. "Fredrick?" She murmured drowsily, before realizing where and when she was, at which point her eyes slid open, as well as her mouth, before Fredrick shushed her by placing a finger in front of her lips.
"Rest, Anne, you are not well." He tried to keep the worry out of his face and voice, but doubted that he succeeded.
"Fredrick, what are you doing here?" Anne asked, deciding to use his first name, as he had used hers anyway. "Where is everyone else, how did I get here?" Her voice was still weak and quiet, but a bit more forceful than her first sentence since waking up. Fredrick was relieved that she seemed to be slightly better, although he would reserve judgment until after the doctor had examined her.
"I brought you here after you collapsed at the Great House," Fredrick told her, gently sitting down on the edge of her bed, and turning his head so he could still look at her. "Seeing you so ill, and fainting, it-" his voice broke as he struggled to hold back tears. Now that he knew she would be okay, all his worry from the last half hour released itself in the form of tears, and finally he stopped trying to prevent them from rolling slowly down his cheeks. "I love you Anne, I couldn't stand to see you like that." He buried his face in his hands, surprised at how easily those words had slipped out of his mouth. But they were true; he did love her. He always had, even if he had tried to ignore it before.
Anne was silent, and after a few moments, Fredrick glanced her way, trying to gauge her thoughts by her expression. He was startled to see tears in her eyes, and confused at the smile on her face.
"I love you too!" She cried, as the tears of joy fell down her face. Fredrick smiled back at her, reaching out a hand to wipe the tears off her cheeks, before leaning forward and grabbing her in a hug, his own tears finally stopping.
The doctor arrived fifteen minutes later, and after examining her, declared that all Anne needed was some proper care and rest, the first of which Fredrick decided that he would giver her himself.
The Mussgroves arrived while the doctor was examining his patient, during which time Fredrick apologized to them for his harsh words and hasty retreat, as well as his inappropriate actions.
He did not tell them his and Anne's past, not yet. First he would wait for her to recover, and they would take the next steps together. He was content to just be happy with her love.