Beginning, Section II, Next Section
Posted on Friday, 6 April 2007
"I must go to Lyme, of course," Mary had said on Saturday morning, but then she realised she might have to do too much there and she had paused to think. "But I think Anne should come as well. She might learn something from how you coach and swim, Frederick."
He glanced at Anne, but she suffered such a comment from her younger sister imperturbably. She must be used to it. Frankly, he found himself glad that Anne was forced to come. Mary would drive him up the wall and he doubted that she would let him and Charles go anywhere together. Maybe if she had Anne she would not insist on following them around. Charles was not bad. He rather liked him. Mary was a pain, though. It made him wonder why Anne had not wanted Charles and why Charles had transferred his attentions to her sister instead.
He should really start working soon, he thought. Then James and Sophia could not force him to go on such trips when they had better things to do. He wondered about Anne. How could she go so easily? Since Mary did not look as if she was about to walk away, he could not ask her and he would have to speak to Anne herself. "Can you get the Friday off work?"
She looked surprised to be addressed and reluctant to answer. She had not wanted to be part of this meeting, but they insisting on holding it right where she was standing. "I don't work."
"Why not?"
Anne blushed. The family had made demands on her, voiced and unvoiced, and she had never really got around to looking for a job after she had graduated the year before. It must seem strange and she contemplated saying she had been very busy and that her mother supported her anyway. He would not like to hear about her mother, so she did not say it. It was hardly the sort of life that would impress people who had managed a successful swimming career alongside their studies and she felt embarrassed to reveal it.
"Maybe she has also been trying to get pregnant?" Sophia cut in. He did not yet know about her, but he never would if he listened to only half of what she was saying. By the way he did not even look at her she suspected he had missed the word also, yet he had questioned her a few days ago as to why she had quit her job. He seemed to have forgotten that he had not received a proper answer yet, but he had been too self-absorbed for her to give him one.
"Pregnant?" he asked sharply. He wanted to ask some more, but he did not know what and Anne had turned away. This left him a bit confused. By whom was she trying to get pregnant? Neither Sophia nor Anne looked inclined to enlighten him.
Sophia saw he was still looking mainly at Anne and she shrugged. She had expected the girl to say she was not the one, but none of that had happened. Anne allowed everyone to talk about her within her hearing and she had simply looked away, making Frederick now anxiously clueless. Sophia was surprisingly content with that state of affairs. James might have been right. She left them to it and walked away to pile up the kickboards.
"I'll have to get a babysitter for the boys now that Anne is coming," Mary said. She sounded almost resentful that Anne could not split herself in two, even if she wanted to take Anne along herself.
A babysitter. That would explain part of what had kept Anne busy, Frederick supposed. Perhaps the one trying to get pregnant was Mary. Yes, that would make more sense. And Mary had Anne lined up as her babysitter, which was why she had no job. He had to admit he liked that better than Anne trying to get pregnant by some nobody. It was petty of him, he knew. He could easily have returned to find it was Anne who had two children with Charles.
Anne turned back. "Are you sure we need to be four adults to two swimmers? This sort of thing is what got us into financial trouble in the first place."
"I must go," Mary said immediately. She never wanted any trips to pass her by. "And you don't want to send Frederick there with two girls, do you?"
"We don't live in the nineteenth century anymore," Anne said in a quiet tone. Frederick was not going to be stopped by somebody else's presence if there was anything he wanted to do with the girls. He flirted quite openly with them in the showers. It would make no difference if Mary came along. If anything, he might be driven towards the girls to escape her. He did not like Mary much.
"The boys are coming too," Frederick commented. Why else had he needed to warn the kids?
"They're not talented enough," Mary replied. "Why?"
"It's not the team manager who decides which swimmers are entered for which competition," he told her, feeling annoyed by her comment. She had no eye for talent and she had no authority to decide anything at all. "Your job, I assume, is to book a hotel if we need one."
And not even that, Anne thought. "I did that." She bit her lip. She had acted on Mary's information, which now turned out to be wrong. "But I did not book for more than five people, because Mary said that --"
"So we can't take the boys," Mary said hurriedly to cover up her own negligence. "We didn't book rooms for them."
"Well, if you don't succeed in booking some extra rooms, it seems logical to me that you and Charles can't go," Frederick decided. He could speak with such determination, since Sophia had wandered off, James was swimming and he doubted that she or James were going to disagree with him anyway. Why was he not surprised that Mary had left it to Anne to book? "Since you two aren't swimming and the boys have already been entered."
"But Charles is an official and I -- Anne isn't swimming either." Mary looked towards her sister. In spite of just having said that Anne must come, she felt no qualms about leaving her at home if that suited her better.
"She is," said Frederick.
"I am?" This was news to her. She had silently been listening to their exchange, knowing without a doubt that Frederick was going to come out victorious. "What? Who did that?"
"Anne hasn't swum a race in years," said Mary in contempt.
"Weeks," Anne whispered.
"Yes, but that was probably something for old people, so that doesn't count. This one is --"
"-- for old people," Frederick cut in. He was swimming too.
"Give me the list of swimmers," Anne said in Frederick's direction without looking at him. His support made her feel a little unsteady. She wondered who had put her on the list. "I'll book an extra room."
"Only one?" Mary inquired. "And who will you share with?"
She did not know. She had booked three rooms according to Mary's directions, but that was before she had heard she was going. If she shared with Mary, Charles could share with Frederick. Only one extra room would be needed for the boys, unless there were more than two boys going. She went over the possible candidates in her mind.
Frederick was quicker to answer. "Oh, she can share with me. That won't be a problem. We don't live in the nineteenth century anymore."
Mary stalked off angrily when he laughed at her expression. Anne was not laughing, he noticed. She was frowning. "I'm sorry," he said when he realised he had been a bit hasty, vexing Mary at the expense of Anne. "Are they separate beds?"
"Yes."
"Then it won't be a problem, will it?" He could always share with Charles Musgrove if there was any problem. As long as there were two separate beds in the room, of course.
She did not want to think about that yet. "Who put me on the list?"
"I just did." He had not written it down yet, but he would, if she gave him a pen.
"But…you can't…enter…a swimmer…after the closing date." Anne wondered why she had trouble speaking.
Frederick had no idea about closing dates. He did, however, know the people organising the meet. "But they know me there," he said confidently.
Not having anything to do on a Saturday had put Frederick in a foul mood. He was stretched out on the couch zapping past television channels without stopping long enough to see what was on. It was all rubbish anyway. What he would really like was for James to finish unpacking that box so he could use the phone in peace.
Frederick had contemplated getting James to ring Tom Harville to enter Anne. However, the chance that Tom would make comments about his mythical ex was too large and he had settled for suffering such comments himself. That would be better than having it all leaked out. But first James had to go away and he was showing no signs of doing that. He was not even halfway through the box.
Frederick wished he could zap James away as well. "Why didn't you throw that stuff away before you moved?"
"Because I have more time to sort through it now," James answered.
"Why now? It's not in anybody's way in the spare room." That room was full of things that had not yet found a place elsewhere. As far as Frederick was concerned, the box should remain there, being the most annoying box of all. It was full of small rubbish.
"Not yet. We have plans with that room, though."
"Such as?"
"Nothing definite, but that's why I'm starting with the smallest things. It would tempt fate to start out big."
Frederick looked mystified. "Tempt fate? What spiritual nonsense is that? I don't know what you're talking about."
"I didn't expect you to know. How's the girlfriend hunt going?"
"Girlfriend hunt?" asked Frederick, as if he had never said he was looking for one. "Oh, that. I don't seem to have one yet." He would not be lying here if he did.
"Why don't you go out then to meet girls?" They would certainly not come looking for him here. He hoped not, at any rate.
"I don't like girls who go out."
James raised his head at that peculiar comment. "I'm sorry?"
His brother-in-law was bound to come up with a long list of nice girls who went out, but that was not what he meant. They might indeed be nice for all he cared, but their lifestyles were not compatible. "They're not my type."
"You want a girl who spends her Saturdays watching television," James said provocatively. Frederick had first implied he did not have a type, but now he did. Very interesting.
He felt unbelievably cranky. "Please. I'm just not used to not having anything to do. Nothing to tire me physically."
"Girlfriends don't either. Unless they want babies," James reflected. He waited a few seconds, but Frederick did not bite. "But if you want some good physical exercise you'd better go swimming. Why didn't you go with Sophia?"
"Sophia went with Anne. I didn't want to intrude."
James laughed heartily at that. "Yes, I bet they're talking about you."
As it was, Anne had indeed brought up Frederick, but she had waited until after swimming to do so. She had thought about doing it as she swam her laps, trying out different innocent ways to start a conversation, but it had been difficult. "Did you hear how the thing about Lyme ended this morning?"
"No, I forgot all about it. Tell me. Mary wanted you to come. You'd be of more use than Mary. I wonder why she wanted to go in the first place, but as long as everybody pays their own way it's not going to be such a problem."
"Is that a new rule?" The club had always paid the expenses of the coaches and other staff. She was relieved to hear it had been changed, because she had never agreed with it.
"Yes and Charles is definitely aware of it, though Mary may not be," Sophia said cheerfully. It was one of the first ridiculous things she had changed. "I know they went everywhere for free in the past, but that is over. Has she persuaded you to come?"
"It seems I've been manipulated," Anne said with a grave look. "Not only was I asked to book the hotel rooms, but I didn't know about the new rule and neither did they, so the argument that stemmed from that discussion landed me in a situation that I…" she shrugged.
"Explain."
"Well, I'm now swimming at the competition, though I don't know what, and I have to share my room with…Frederick." She decided she had best treat it humorously. What else could she do? Sharing a room with him was something she could not imagine at the moment.
Posted on Monday, 9 April 2007
"With Frederick?" Sophia asked after she had finished gaping. "After we asked him to lecture the swimmers, he's going to set them a good example by sleeping with a girl himself?"
"I don't think he'll do that," Anne remarked very calmly. She believed he had had spoken in haste, with the sole intention to annoy Mary. He would soon wake up and realise what he had said, after which he would try to get Anne out of his room. Or, if she stayed, he would not speak to her.
"He's ready to burst, you must be experienced at your age and you never say no," Sophia blurted out in her surprise. She turned red when she realised what she had said. "I didn't mean to insult you."
Anne rarely felt insulted. "You didn't. At least two of the things you listed are true. I have my doubts about the third."
Sophia decided that Frederick was definitely ready to burst, Anne could not have doubts about her experience, so only one thing remained. "You do say no?"
Anne giggled at the incredulity. "No, I doubt he's ready to burst. Really. Maybe it's your sisterly concern, inspired by a certain…er…annoyance at his attitude. Now, if he were really ready to burst I'd be in danger -- or in luck, depending on whose point of view we're taking -- because I'm so easy."
That could be said calmly, because it was true. She realised it would take very little effort for Frederick to seduce her. Very little. The only thing that could possibly hold her back was the knowledge he would not be doing it out of love, yet she feared she would be so stupid as to take the risk regardless. She was truly no better than the younger girls.
But eight years ago she had not been in love with him because of his hotness. He had been good-looking then, although he was better-looking now, but it had been other qualities that had attracted her. He had been intelligent, funny and kind, although perhaps more sensitive and immature than she in her own youthful immaturity had been able to see. She was older now. He also ought to know she was older. In some ways she was more mature as wellbut perhaps not when it came to feeling foolish over a handsome young man whose other characteristics she had not forgotten.
Anne's eye roll nearly killed her, but Sophia was not convinced -- not of Anne's easiness, at any rate, though she was of Frederick's. "He practically told me he had only one thing on his mind!"
"Yes, but I can well see him say so to annoy you, just like he did with Mary," Anne reasoned. She really wanted to believe that had been his only motivation. It would save her the humiliation of being used. "And he did annoy you, didn't he?"
"Yes, he did."
"There you have it." She was safe from Frederick.
"Well, whatever you do with Frederick is all fine with me, as long as you don't get pregnant before I do." Perhaps she was the one who had only one thing on her mind.
Anne knew that was a little more serious than it sounded. It would indeed be painful for Sophia if some random encounter of her brother's led to a pregnancy. "I'm in no danger of doing anything with Frederick. How are things?"
"I've booked up a weekend away when you all go to Lyme to thank James for putting up with my procreational urges -- and of course because it's our tenth and fifteenth anniversary. They fall on the same day."
"For putting up with them? Is he getting fed up?" She felt sorry for both of them.
"You could say that. Poor James," Sophia said feelingly. "It's been difficult to go about it with Frederick in the house, so the only possibility was to get up half an hour earlier in the morning when Frederick is at the pool. But every day -- I'm getting sick and tired of it myself. Very tired."
"Have you done a test yet?" She should have studied Sophia in her swimwear, but she had not thought of it. Even if she had, she would not know when things became visible.
"No." Sophia sighed. "I'm afraid I'd jinx it."
"Oh. How could you have two anniversaries on the same day?" Anne asked to change the subject. She did not want to jinx things either.
"Well, we planned our wedding on the fifth anniversary of our first kiss. Because we had a very private wedding and really only because it would be easier to work abroad together if we were married, we picked the date to have something special about it at least. Married or not, it was all the same to me, but it mattered rather a lot where we went."
"Did you both find a job abroad?" Anne would love for life to be so easy. It was difficult enough to find a job at home, but of course it would matter what they had studied. They probably had marketable degrees.
"We always only applied when they were offering several positions at once, so we could go together. We had the same degree."
"Is that how you met?" Anne was interested because they had also been nineteen when they had got together, yet it had worked out differently for them. Of course it was no use hearing how it could have gone differently; there was nothing she could change about the past.
"Sort of. I knew he was with the other swimming club in town and he always sat on the other end of the first row, but he never spoke to me at university. Men," she said affectionately. "He first spoke to me when he came to a large party in my house. He said he had to leave because he had to get up early. I answered that I had to do that too, but that I couldn't sleep because of the party, so he invited me to his house."
"And that was that," Anne concluded.
"No, not yet. I slept on the floor, but he sat next to me at the next lecture instead of at the other end of the row. The professor even made a comment on it. 'Do we have a couple in the making?' Very awful." She remembered how embarrassing it had been, but she could only smile at it now.
Anne laughed. "Why did he never speak to you before?"
"You need to be careful with men who don't speak to you," Sophia instructed. "Especially if there is nothing wrong with you, everyone speaks to you and they speak to everyone."
Frederick did not speak to her, but that was for different reasons. Anne did not think he was secretly in love with her, or whatever James' reason had been for not speaking to Sophia.
"And you?" asked Sophia.
Anne was startled. "And me? There's not much to tell about me."
Sophia noticed an instant retreat. She tried to push on a little. "Do you have a boyfriend outside of swimming?"
Anne blushed. "No, I'd never. They wouldn't get it. But I don't have one at all right now, so you don't have to ask. I don't have much of anything right now, really," she realised, but she smiled to show it did not bother her.
Because James had gone upstairs, Frederick had seized the telephone to ring Tom about the swim meet in Lyme. He kept his voice low.
"Anne Elliot," Tom merely said in a mysterious tone. "I'm sure we have a lane for her. But I thought your sister was my contact. This is not happening without her consent, is it?"
"Tom! Sophia is out."
Tom snickered. "That's what I mean. All right. I'll add Anne Elliot. Which events?"
"Er…" It was not too difficult to remember Anne's favourite events, although he did not know whether she still liked them. She probably did not train as much as she used to. Still, he did not know what else she would like. "All the 200 and 400 metres."
"Why do I feel as if the girl has no idea you're signing her up for all the hard events? Do you have some hard feelings towards this ex or something?"
"I'm leaving the 800 off," said Frederick, as if that made him enormously kind. He wondered about his feelings. Perhaps it was more that he wished they were hard than that they were.
"Entry times?"
He really had no clue about those and he realised he should have prepared himself better before he made the call. "Er…can't you google them?"
"Because you're my friend, I can indeed google her times. And her photo. And her other details."
"Well, do as you like. It's nothing but an ex anyway," Frederick said haughtily. The implication that there was something he was hiding was rather bothersome. He knew Tom would not find much if he googled. There would certainly not be anything in connection to him.
He had to think about his words after he had hung up, however. She was not nothing but an ex; she was the only girl he had ever loved. He should be over her by now, though.
"I adore Anne," Sophia declared when she came home. She found James and Frederick in the kitchen. Surprisingly both were cooking. There might be hope for Frederick yet.
"Are you ditching me for Anne?" James inquired. He wanted to say she could not have Anne's babies, but she was not having his babies either, so he swallowed it.
"No, she's funny once she lightens up. She's changed. It has been very good for her that her family have gone away." There was a considerable difference in Anne's behaviour now that she thought about it. When they had first come here Anne had been very quiet, almost depressed. "She nearly killed me when she said she was so easy."
"I always thought she was. Anyone dressing like that must be easy." He kept half an eye on Frederick.
"How does she dress?" Frederick asked instantly. She was nearly always gone when he came out of the dressing rooms. He had only seen her once and she had been in that white dress then. It was not what he would call easy. It was simply not clever in wet weather, but she might not have known it would rain.
"Men!" Sophia interrupted. "Will you stop talking about how other women dress?"
"Louisa said that Anne was the opposite of easy," Frederick remarked with an air of indifference. "Because Charles Musgrove didn't get anywhere with her." He was rather pleased about that, although he should not be caring.
Sophia slid into her chair. Swimming made one tired and she wanted to sit. "And were you serious about sharing with Anne in Lyme?"
"What?" James turned to look from one to the other.
"I only said that to aggravate Mary," Frederick said calmly and he told himself to remain calm and unaffected.
"What are you going to share with Anne?" James had not yet heard of this plan and he was more than curious.
"A room. Maybe. It's not final."
"Why? Why can't she share with another girl?" James tried to foresee the consequences of this for future away meets, if there were any.
"I was trying to get rid of Mary, but maybe my plan backfired. Look, don't make so much of it. I'm sure Anne doesn't either. We'll sort it out." He was confident of that, even if he did not yet know how.
"She told me she was easy." Sophia angelically studied what he had just laid on the table. She was not so sure that Frederick made nothing of it. He would know not to give everyone two forks otherwise.
"She's easy because she doesn't invent problems where there aren't any."
Posted on Thursday, 12 April 2007
It was more than a week before Lyme and although the other selected swimmers were excited, Anne treated it as something ordinary. She had been to such swim meets before. The only thing that was different this time was Frederick's odd plan. He had not mentioned it again and this made her slightly nervous, though swimming did not.
He had in fact not spoken to her at all since that one conversation, except to say he had made sure she was swimming at that meet. Before she had been able to ask him which events, he had had his arm pulled by Mrs Musgrove and Anne had decided she could live without knowing in advance. She was versatile enough to handle all strokes and distances. It would not matter.
In the changing rooms Louisa and Henrietta fretted over what to pack. Anne listened to it in some bewilderment. It was as if they had never gone anywhere before, which was odd at their age. But maybe, she then thought, they were simply very keen on impressing everyone who was not going.
"Do they sell swimwear there, Anne? What do you think? I'll bring some more money if they do," Henrietta said to her. "I want one of those new long ones. Frederick says he has one."
Anne smiled and thought Frederick was likely to have more than one. The national team got them for free. "Bring some more money just in case. You could always take it back unspent." To some people that was a radical notion and she smiled again.
"I'm sure they'd sell them there. What do you think? If Frederick wants to swim at this meet, it must be a good one, so they must sell good swimsuits."
"It's possible," Anne agreed. She was amused by the notion that Frederick's participation was akin to a royal stamp of approval. Of course his presence would have absolutely nothing to do with swimwear being sold there, but she refrained from pointing that out.
"But Hen," whispered Louisa with a frown. "I thought we were going to save up for the auction?"
"I'd rather have a swimsuit than toss coins with you and lose out on everything including my money," Henrietta said with sisterly kindness.
Anne felt for Louisa, if only because her own sisters might say the very same thing. She could even pity Louisa for thinking there might be an auction and for getting unreasonably excited about it.
"Anne, you always know everything. Is there going to be an auction?" Louisa asked.
She felt her cruelty in saying this. "I don't think so." The only ones who really liked the idea were Mrs Musgrove and her two eldest daughters. Frederick himself luckily seemed to have little enthusiasm for such a plan if she had understood James correctly.
"Oh, why not?" the girl cried. "It would have been such fun."
"I don't think it would look good on his CV. Isn't he applying for jobs?" When it came to Frederick, she was sure she was not the one who knew everything.
"Yes, but -- yes, he's been to three interviews and he says they might want him for all three jobs." Louisa looked impressed.
Anne was not surprised by either his confidence or his popularity. "Then he's going to have to choose."
The talk of swimwear had made Anne self-conscious enough to examine her collection of swimsuits. She was merely mortal and she did not think any of her suits were impressive. At the risk of spending more money than she would on a bargain at a swim meet, she went out to buy a fancy expensive suit.
It cost her half an hour to wriggle herself into it, but then it looked superb and all her fears about being too fat for it were instantly gone. She was glad it was quiet in the shop; people might have wondered what she was doing behind that curtain for such a long time. The boy who worked in the shop kept looking at her when she studied herself in the mirror, so with some regret she shot back behind the curtain to try and wriggle herself out of it again.
This one indulgence did not make her vain or stupid, she hoped. She had really needed a new one, she had money saved from a project she had worked on a few months ago and why could she not buy the type of suit everyone was buying?
She should try it out one afternoon when she swam with Sophia, although she would have to change out of it before the other swimmers appeared.
James and Anne had met up to discuss her ideas for a fundraiser. She had worked out her ideas after he had asked her to do so. "But I can only do this on paper," she warned. "I don't want to be in charge of telling people what to do. They never listen to me."
"I suppose that if I tell you I do listen, you would in fact consider that not listening?" James asked in amusement.
She smiled. "Caught. But it's a fact, not a complaint. If you really want this to happen, you need someone else."
"I wanted someone other than Sophia. She's already doing quite a lot." He glanced at her. Because he was talking to Anne on one of the benches by the poolside, Sophia had taken over their lanes as well and she was running back and forth between the older swimmers and the younger ones. "And she's beginning to be tired, so I think she's doing too much again."
Anne thought the situation was clear. "Are you sure it's that?"
He understood her and his eyes gleamed when he looked at her. "No, I'm not sure, but she doesn't want to be disappointed again." He glanced at the pool. "Ha, Frederick thinks I'm chatting you up. He glares at us."
"If we had to glare every time he chatted somebody up…" she answered with a shrug. It would be such a waste of time.
James laughed. "Quite right. But he'd say he was doing it to aggravate Mary, no doubt."
"Oh, that," Anne said with a blush. "But I'd say that too, because it was really the case."
"How are you going to get out of it?" He did not have the impression that she was very interested in Frederick. She was too cool. He did not think she glared if Frederick chatted anybody up.
"Team-mates are like brothers," she said, thinking of Charles Musgrove. "You can share rooms with them without anything happening. But to get back to the fundraiser, can't you do the commanding?"
"I could, but part of my time after work is spent either here or doing things around the house. I still have a bookcase to put together. Do you recall the package that was in the car when we gave you a lift? It's still unpacked. I've been a little busy as well."
"With Sophia," she guessed.
"Work, mostly, but…she's not very discreet, is she?" James suddenly realised.
"Doesn't matter. I am," Anne assured him.
"And who do you confide in?"
She stared at the water and considered the question. She had confided in Frederick once, but that was something she could not imagine doing at present. "At the moment, no one. But I don't have a lot to share. Look, if you do the ordering, I'll help you, but I won't do the ordering."
"Do you really know yourself?" he wondered.
"Sorry?" Anne looked confused.
"You just ordered me."
Frederick had been suspicious, but he had not asked James what he had been discussing with Anne. He had finally got some rest about the hotel room in Lyme and he was not eager for a return to that subject.
It had been difficult enough to discuss travel arrangements, because he of course had no car and James was taking his own car on his romantic weekend away. He had had to make inquiries and discovered that Charles Musgrove and Charles Hayter would be driving. Two cars should be enough to convey eight people.
Louisa had been in doubt as to whether she preferred the Hayter sports car or her brother's family car, but since she could not be separated from Henrietta, she was forced to follow her elder sister's lead for a change. They would drive with Charles and Michael Hayter and listen to whatever music they liked.
Frederick assumed Anne and he were therefore relegated to the Musgroves' vehicle, but through Sophia he learnt that Anne was driving herself and that if he chose to go with the Musgroves, he would have to fold his long legs up in the backseat because Mary suffered from motion sickness. He was not sure that was an invitation to drive with Anne.
A few days later he realised he had no choice when Charles counted completely on his going with Anne. Anne herself had said nothing about it, or indeed about anything.
On the big day he packed his swimming stuff and some clothes, had lunch and then waited. Sophia had said Anne would pick him up. Anne seemed to be using her as a messenger, something he did not really mind.
James and Sophia were getting ready as well and he observed their interaction. His sister was in a bad mood, it seemed. "I hope you'll be more romantic on your romantic weekend," he said to her when she ran through the living room yet another time blaming James for having mislaid something.
"You seem to be thinking I've booked a pink hotel suite with hearts, roses and candles," she snapped at him.
"For James' sake, I hope not."
James was unfazed by his wife's behaviour. He seemed to think it amusing. "This is our first romantic outing ever. She is very nervous about it."
"Why?" Frederick did not understand. "You're married."
"We haven't actually been on dates. She just moved in with me." He glanced over his shoulder and lowered his voice, though not enough for Sophia not to hear him. "But I told her I'm bringing her some frilly lingerie that I bought in secret."
Frederick shot off the couch. "Is that a car outside?" He would rather drive with Anne than hear about his sister in lingerie.
"You are winding me up and it's very mean," Sophia complained to James when Frederick walked into the hall. "I searched your suitcase and I found nothing."
Frederick closed the door behind him. He hoped Anne had come, although he was not looking forward to the drive. He thought about romantic outings. Perhaps he did understand his sister. He would be a little nervous too. This was far from romantic, but he did not feel easy about it.
Anne arrived a few minutes later. She looked cool and not at all nervous about sharing a car. "I was wondering if you'd like to drive," she said.
He had been prepared for any other opening conversation, but not for that. He had no good answer ready. "Why?"
"I don't like driving."
That, at least, had not changed. He remembered a flash of conversation from years ago in which she had fretted about driving. "Sure," he said. She dropped the key a little gingerly beside his awkwardly-outstretched hand and he had to pick it up from the ground.
"Sorry."
Anne sat looking out of the window and wondered what her mother would think if she ever found out that Frederick Wentworth had driven her car. Would her mother even remember Frederick? Well, she would know his name, but would she remember the rest? Nobody had ever mentioned it again, not even when her mother had gently tried to steer her towards other men years later. She had not quite given up doing that, Anne thought with a sigh.
It had been an audible one, because Frederick turned his head briefly.
She did not explain because he did not ask anything. Surprisingly it was feasible, sitting in a car with him. Rather than the pain she had expected she felt a curious peace and comfort. Of course, were he to say anything cold and unfeeling that would change, but so far she was fine.
Posted on Monday, 16 April 2007
So Anne had eventually passed her driving test, Frederick reflected. It had been a long time since he had driven a car that did not threaten to give up in the middle of the road and he still enjoyed it, despite the fact that he had already borrowed James' car a few times. This was a good car, but he doubted it was Anne's. She did not work and she did not like driving. It must be her mother's. He scowled a little at the thought of her mother. The woman still ruled her daughter's life. If she had been home he doubted that Anne would have been allowed to go on this trip and his presence would have little to do with that.
But as he thought on, he had to admit that he had judged too hastily, especially when he had first arrived here. He had been someone. Or rather, he had been made to think he was someone. But he was no one. He did not have a house of his own, he had nothing to do during the day and he did not even have his own transportation. Out here, in the real world, those things mattered and not how many international finals he had swum. People could have all that and still be bad at swimming.
Even if he got a job he would still not have it all. He did not want only the job, he now knew. And what he had meant by girlfriend was really a more complicated matter than only a girl. Perhaps he wanted what he witnessed daily, although today they had been a little odd.
"Is Sophia pregnant?" he asked after seeing a pregnant woman by the roadside. He had always read they underwent personality changes. Although his sister had not completely changed, she had been a little different.
Anne looked startled at the sudden sound. He had said nothing to her so far. "Er…I don't know. Why?"
"Because she's behaving very strangely. Running through the house being irrational and blind."
"Sounds like my father and he's not pregnant," she said before she could check herself, but at least she could swallow that her mother would say it was normal male behaviour. She was sure Frederick would not behave like that if he could not find something.
Frederick was surprised as well. He needed a few moments to digest that she had criticised her father. That she would do so to him was somehow significant. Or so he hoped. She and her father might then differ on more points.
He continued. "Oh. But…Sophia…and they're clearing the spare room."
She was not surprised to hear that, but rather at Frederick not being in the know. "Didn't you know they were trying?"
"No." He remembered something that made more sense now. "When she said you were also trying, I didn't know she was the other person herself."
Anne gave him a funny stare. "She didn't say I was also trying, because I'm not."
"Oh." Frederick was a little surprised to feel relieved by that confirmation, so he remained practically silent for the remainder of the journey. For whose sake was he relieved? For Anne's, on whom he would apparently not wish a nobody? For his own, because there was evidently no one she considered his superior? He could not decide.
Anne was a little baffled that he had taken the comment seriously. Why would he have done that?
Anne was not sure the girls had missed Frederick during the drive, but they looked incredibly happy to see him when they arrived. They were waved into the restaurant connected to the pool. The two girls and the two boys had just sat down there. Charles and Mary were not there yet, it seemed.
"You drive so slowly, Anne!" cried Henrietta. "We've been here for ages."
"I drove," said Frederick with a grin. He derived some enjoyment from the looks on their faces. It was not Anne's fault. In a car of his own he might drive fast, but not in someone else's car.
"But come and have a drink with us," Louisa invited. "We saw some mad stuff along the way that we need to tell you about. It's half an hour till warm-up anyway. I wish Mary were here so she could get the programme for us. I wonder who we're up against."
"I'll get the programme if you pay me the start fees," Anne spoke up. She might like that better than listening to the mad stuff.
"Can't you advance that money if you insist on doing it now? Because I don't know how much I need to pay." She looked reluctant to calculate it.
"I can tell you how much, because I'm not advancing money for anyone," Anne said in determination. She collected the money and walked into the hall. There was a table where clubs were supposed to pay their fees, but nobody was waiting.
"Kellynch SC," Anne said to the friendly-looking young woman who sat behind the desk.
"Tom? Kellynch!" the woman called to a young man behind her. He instantly came closer.
Anne looked a little curious at the interest her arrival generated. "Is something wrong?"
"No, no," he assured her. "It's just that I know Frederick. Is he here yet?"
"Yes, he's having a cup of coffee with the girls. And the boys." She gestured towards the restaurant. "But I prefer to handle these things as soon as I come in."
"Quite right! Despite our efforts we may have made a mistake we could still fix if you saw it early enough," he said with a pleasant smile. "I thought Frederick was the Kellynch representative."
"It should be my sister, but…" Anne shrugged. The Kellynch way was sometimes odd.
"Your sister?" The man named Tom exchanged a look with the woman. "Are you one of the sisters he's bringing?"
"He's brought two sets of sisters." She was surprised at how much they knew. "Do you know this much about every club swimming today?"
They laughed. "No, but we paid closer attention to Frederick's club because he's my friend. So who are you, if I may be so impertinent to ask?"
She was not sure he needed a last name. "Anne."
"Anne?" The couple exchanged another look.
Anne began to feel a little nervous. Why were they so interested? "Do you know me?"
"You were entered later."
That would explain it. "Yes, I'm sorry. It was not my doing. I hope it didn't cost you any trouble."
"None at all. By the way, I was on the national team for a while together with your sister," said the young man. "And Frederick, of course. I know your dad too."
Anne faked a smile. Had he liked her father and sister? In that case she was bound to disappoint, being so different.
"But Fred and I always stayed at a respectful distance," he continued with a grin. "Long distance upstarts that we were."
Her smile became genuine now. They would indeed not be considered as talented as Elizabeth if they needed so much long distance training. "Well, I'm one of those, so no need to do that with me."
"Yes, you poor thing. Does Frederick hate you or something?"
She froze. Only now did it occur to her that they might be interested in her because they had heard something from Frederick. After another second she thought it unlikely that he talked about her very much, if he had done so at all. "W-W-Why?"
"He signed you up for a pretty heavy programme, though he thinks he's the essence of kindness because of leaving off the 800." Tom raised his eyebrows sarcastically.
"Er…" Anne had no idea what to think or ask. "What am I swimming? I never asked."
"And he never asked you," he concluded.
"No."
"You're swimming all 200s and 400s."
"That's only seven times in three days," Anne remarked. "I don't mind."
"That's either good or crazy. There's a 200 breaststroke in there, too. Anyone doing that gets my sympathies. By the way, Freddy told me to google your times, so Fiona did. Blame her if they're totally off."
From Fiona's reaction to that teasing Anne deduced they belonged together and she thought she would like them. It was a pity that they were Frederick's friends and it was unlikely that the four of them could ever talk together. She looked into the programme, but at first she had trouble remembering what she wanted to look up. "You got the first one right, so I'm sure the rest is too. I swim my own races, regardless of who are next to me. I don't think I know them anyway. They are terribly young."
"Terribly young? This is a competition for thirteen and over," Tom laughed.
"That's half my age! Well, I don't mind. I just don't know them." She had not come along to meet friends, she wanted to say, but she did not say it in case they asked why she had come along instead. That was because Frederick had signed her up and because she could not say no. She really could not, could she? Or simply not to him?
"Your team-mates are pretty old, but I think there are some more oldies here and there."
"By oldies you mean the over eighteens?" Anne asked doubtfully. "Because what we brought here is practically all we have in that category. It can't be much different elsewhere. Or do you mean the over twenty-fives?"
"I wouldn't have asked Frederick if there were none of those. If I wanted to see him, I could just invite him to my home."
"And you wouldn't need to put him through the ordeal of being twice as tall and twice as old as his opponents," she nodded.
"Anne?" Louisa had come into the hall. "Frederick wants the programme."
It was of course easier to send Louisa for it than to come for it himself. Anne gave it to her and watched her run off with it. She did not want to follow and she remembered her new swimwear that would take really long to put on. "Can I go and change already?" she asked Tom and Fiona.
They looked confused. "You don't want to have a drink with them?"
"I'll do that another time. I have a Fastskin to get into."
Posted on Thursday, 19 April 2007
Frederick had considered telling Louisa about his personal space, but he had decided that perhaps she was simply very curious about the programme. She was hanging over his shoulder as if she was not wearing glasses she ought to be wearing, but as long as she did not wrap her arms around his neck he could stand it.
He could even stand her asking him about everyone over twenty whether he knew them, but they were only on page two. He considered telling her that when he had gone abroad, some of these people had been twelve, so of course he did not know them. It was best to say as little as possible, though.
"Freddy!"
Frederick raised his head. "Tom!"
"You come to my pool and you don't even come to see me. You have a female staff to run your errands. What is this?"
He smiled at his friend, even if he was talking utter nonsense. "My errands? What are you talking about?"
"One pays your fees and the other gets the programme for you. Do they pay for your drink too?"
Frederick looked surprised, although he was pleased to feel Louisa move away from him. He handed her the programme and thankfully she took it to Charles and Michael. "I never put them up to that. What?"
"Never mind." Tom took a seat. "Did you hear anything about your job interviews?"
Anne secluded herself in a changing cubicle to pull on her swimwear, avoiding the group changing rooms. She was not yet ready to expose her lack of skill to everyone. Younger girls without curves would be able to pull the suit up over their hips without any problems, but it cost Anne quite some time to get the fabric past this obstacle. The way she had to keep pushing tiny bits of flesh on alternating sides into the suit was humiliating.
Back in the shop she had only been motivated to push on because she knew that fatter girls had managed to get into this thing, although she had wondered how. She only barely managed without tearing the fabric. But now she knew she could do it, although it still took ages.
Around her she eventually began to hear the sounds of other swimmers running into the changing area. She hoped one of the excited teens would not look in on her from above in search of a team-mate, because the suit was still not over her hips. Fortunately they did not. With a red face from the exertion she finally exited her cubicle, her tracksuit covering her suit. She was still a little shy about it. To be wearing it during the warming up was a little exhibitionistic, but she would not have any time to change after it. She was the first to swim.
The familiar green of the Kellynch bags was easy to spot and she placed her own bag on the end of the row. Everyone seemed to be warming up except Frederick. She did not suppose he would. He would not want to dive in among the crowd and it was very crowded today. She would not be able to swim much herself, at least not in the main pool.
Anne grabbed her cap and goggles and walked to the shallow pool, which was hidden by a row of huge fake plants for some reason. It was just deep enough for her to loosen her muscles, but more importantly, there was no one else. She left her tracksuit and pool shoes on the side and jumped in. This was the first time she was in the water with her new suit and it felt marvellous.
Frederick withdrew before his race to concentrate. He would not usually do it at a competition like this, but he needed to set a good example and to get away from the girls' incessant chattering. They had warmed up in the water, though briefly, and they had questioned him as to why he had not. He had tried to explain he would not have been able to do more than a stroke per lane before he swam into the person in front of him, but then they had called him arrogant -- teasingly, but nevertheless.
As he walked past the shallow pool to find a quiet place, he decided to go in there for a minute. It would be better than nothing.
After loosening his muscles he went to the marshalling area, which was located in a quiet space connected to the main pool. Anne was already there. He hesitated for a second, but of course she was swimming in the first event, which he had forgotten. She looked nervous. Maybe she had not swum this distance in a while, but she would not do well if she remained so edgy.
Fredrick pulled her into a hug. She stiffened at first, but then he felt her relax and he began to whisper. "I heard you're easy, Elliot, so go easy on the butterfly. New suit," he noted as he ran his hand over Anne's hip.
She blushed. Was it too obvious that she had never worn it, that she had bought it especially for this meet? He would feel the difference. He would know it was new and he might think it was for him. She wished she had not removed her trousers already, although he would have seen her swimsuit eventually. "Yes."
"I love the feel of the new ones." He moved his other hand to her other hip. "The fabric is still so rough and new."
"Anne?" said the girl handing out the start cards. It was time.
"Have to go," Anne told him unnecessarily. She grabbed the card and skipped around the corner into the pool, leaving Frederick to dwell on what he had just done.
He had comforted Anne. She had felt different, but at the same time also very familiar. Her body might have changed a little, but she had not. The eyes that had looked up at him with such a startled expression were the same. She had looked like that eight years ago the first time he had spoken to her.
Honestly, Anne had tried to go easy on the butterfly, but there had been no stopping her. She feared she was going very fast, because everyone else had disappeared from view. When she got to the breaststroke part of the medley it was first a shock to see how far they were behind, but then it had given her new energy.
She had floated, but when she came out of the water it was time to come back to earth. "Did anyone take my splits?" she asked, too pleased with her swim to be very much out of breath.
"Oh my goodness, you swam already?" Henrietta exclaimed. "We totally missed it."
"But you're taking Frederick's splits," she pointed out. Henrietta had the stopwatch and Louisa wrote them down. "And he's the heat after mine."
"We just didn't recognise you in that thing, I guess," Louisa replied with her eyes on the pool.
Anne was used to being overlooked. She would simply having to wait until the results were hung up. Still, she could not escape feeling a little miffed. Her sister had no task at all. She could easily have been here to keep track of who was swimming. "Where is Mary?"
"Having coffee? Really, I don't know."
It had gone so well. And now nobody had taken her split times. As she walked to the shallow pool she felt in her pocket and she assumed she had picked up Frederick's jacket by accident. He had gone in when she came out, although she had not noticed two jackets in the bucket. In her euphoria she might have missed that there were two.
There was a piece of paper in his pocket -- freshly written split times. A girl's. Her event's. Hers, because the final time was the same as she had seen on the scoreboard. Her jacket, too. He must have put that in after she finished. She had been a little ahead and she had not been able to leave the water instantly. He would have had time to do it.
She put the piece of paper back carefully. Such a token of kindness should be treasured. It had been nice of him to do so completely unprompted, just like the hug. Happily she floated back and forth in the shallow pool.
Frederick had delivered a routine swim. There was a youngster who had been so audacious as to stay close for two hundred metres, but then Frederick had paced up a little to get rid of him. Eventually he finished well ahead. But, he told himself, it was not a popular distance. That was exactly the reason why he had done well in it, he supposed.
"We got your split times!" Louisa said when she met him halfway.
He was not very interested in those and he could certainly have waited to see them until he had reached his seat. However, she waved them under his nose now and he looked at them. "Not bad for a man out of training."
"You improved your time," she congratulated him.
"Darling," he said sarcastically. She was too ignorant. "I entered with a time half a minute above my personal best."
"Oh."
"Didn't you take Anne's split times?" He said, suddenly noticing that the space behind her heat was frighteningly blank.
"No, duh! She asked after she came out, not before."
He could point out that he had not asked either, but she would probably have an excuse. "I'm going to the cool-down pool." Men out of training needed that.
"Good swim," a swimmer congratulated Anne as she climbed out of the cool-down pool. He was stretching next to her pile of clothes. "I enjoyed it. You have such a great technique."
"Thanks," she said with a pleased blush. She had never seen him before, although she guessed he was her age or older.
"My name is William." He held out his hand.
She shook it. "Anne."
"I know. That's in the programme. I haven't looked any further yet. Are you swimming all weekend?"
"Yes, all 200s and 400s," she answered. He seemed a nice person. Perhaps it would nice to talk to him some more this weekend. One did not go to swim meets to talk only to one's own club.
"Wow! I'm impressed."
"Don't be. I can't do much else." And she had not signed herself up for these events, but Frederick had. It was nothing impressive on her behalf.
"If you can do 400 IM, you can do everything." William seemed determined to flatter her.
"If you say so." Anne was not used to such comments, certainly not if they came accompanied by smiles of appreciation.
"I'll see you around then," he said with a glance over her shoulder.
She picked up her clothes and turned to walk away, wondering if he was normal or just a little too much. Frederick was standing on the edge of the cool-down pool. He was looking in their direction, but before she could meet his eyes he looked away and jumped in.
Posted on Tuesday, 24 April 2007
Coming out of the changing rooms Anne had seen William; he had asked which hotel she was staying in. She had had to give him a very brief answer, because Frederick was glaring at them from a distance. It would have been possible to say Frederick and she were staying there together, but she could not bring herself to do it. William was only talking to her. He was not asking her out. Only Frederick's glaring turned it into something more, although Anne was not sure there was any reason for that.
Frederick did not ask anything about William when she joined the rest of the group. In fact, after speaking to her before her race he had not exchanged another word with her at all. "Let's go," were his first words.
The three cars drove to the hotel, where Frederick beat Anne to going to the reception desk. She did not say anything, but she sat down. If he wanted to handle it, fine. He might be afraid everyone would hear where he was to sleep. This might be his way of controlling that and she would not protest. She was not particularly keen on sharing the news herself.
In their excitement about staying in a hotel, Henrietta and Louisa never cared to ask where Frederick would be sleeping. They had run towards their rooms to explore every little drawer and shampoo bottle and they might only later realise they did not yet know his room number, only when they would need to be at the pool for the warming up next morning. Such an arrangement treated them as adults who were free to decide at what time they wanted to get up and eat breakfast, and for that reason they had not asked any questions.
Anne had been sitting on a bench in the lobby until Frederick would tell her their room number. It was even clearer to her now that he did not want to advertise the fact. She wondered about Mary, who had been told, but her sister seemed to have forgotten.
After Frederick had given the girls and the boys their room numbers and keys, and shared a few words with Charles and Mary, he walked towards Anne, looking a little sheepish. She got up for the moment of truth, but it was another truth than what she had been expecting.
"We aren't staying here," he said looking even more sheepish and not meeting her eyes.
A few possibilities darted through Anne's mind, but they were not very plausible. She could not see them drive back home, nor camp outside. "Where are we staying then? Another hotel?" She was not sure she would go along with that. It would look highly suspicious.
"We're staying at Tom's house."
"Why me? He's your friend. I could have stayed here by myself." As she spoke, she understood why he had seemed to treat the other swimmers as responsible adults earlier. That had not been his intention at all; he had wanted to be so vague that they would not know where he went.
"Yes, but we're now staying there." He supposed he could have paid his share of the room and let Anne stay here all by herself, but now that he thought of it, he knew why he had not thought of it before. It would have given off a different message if he had left her here alone, a message he did not want to give.
Anne followed him silently as he walked out to the car. Her car. Her mother's car. But it was his for the weekend.
He had the same thought when she waited for him to unlock the doors. He still had the key and she had not asked it back. Seemingly he was meant to keep it until he dropped himself off home.
Tom and Fiona, she saw, were not at all surprised to see Frederick had brought her. They had known, probably the moment she had said her name was Anne that afternoon. Now she understood why they had exchanged so many looks. "You could have told me," she said without resentment when the men were still discussing where to park the car.
"We figured that if you didn't know what you were swimming, you wouldn't know where you were sleeping," Fiona explained. "And it was his job to tell you."
"Yes, I know." Anne felt faintly embarrassed, standing in the house of strangers with a heavy swimming bag and a past with Frederick that was even heavier. She wondered how much they knew.
"Let me show you your room."
Anne followed her to the attic, to a fairly large but very full room. It contained only one bed and hardly any room for a mattress on the floor. "Am I going to sleep here alone?"
"Well…" Fiona looked surprised. "That was the whole idea behind cancelling the hotel reservation, wasn't it?"
"I have no idea why he did that," Anne had to say, even if it made her look stupidly uninformed. "Because it was his idea to share in the first place."
"Yes, he told us. But now Frederick will sleep downstairs on the couch. He won't be any trouble."
Anne blushed. "I didn't think he was going to be any trouble." She hesitated. "Did you honestly think I would have come all the way to Lyme if I feared there might be trouble? I can say no to stupid plans." She had said she could not, but of course she could. She would not have come here if she somehow had any objections.
"You have a point," Fiona conceded. "Do you need any time to unpack? Feel free to hang your swimsuits in the shower. I'll go pour something to drink downstairs."
Anne was left to contemplate the situation. She would not have to share at all. The many scenarios that she had tried out in her head were now useless because they would not be acted out. They would not talk. They would not do anything worse either. He would also not be tempted to leave the room to seek out others either. She would be able to sleep.
With a sigh she pulled her swimming bag closer and began to unpack it.
"Want to come inside?" Tom asked eventually, cutting short Frederick's musings about the neighbourhood and parking spaces that had nothing to do with anything.
"Yes, of course," he replied, although he had been buying time for some reason he did not fully understand.
"We thought you could sleep on the couch and we put Anne in the attic. Does that meet with your approval?"
"Perfect."
"Jimmy Benwick's coming over for a drink in a bit. He didn't get to talk to you much in the pool. There were a few girls in the way. Notably some blonde one, he said."
Yes, the blonde one. Frederick smiled wryly. She knew how to place herself in the way.
"What would the blonde have said about the hotel room?" Tom wondered.
"We'll never know." And he was thankful for that. He changed the subject. "I look forward to catching up with Jimmy."
"How formal. I thought you saw him a few weeks ago."
"Yes, but that wasn't a good occasion to chat. He'd just been dumped. You can't chat to a man who's just been dumped," he said with a little bit of an edge to his voice.
Tom patted his shoulder. "I know. I know." And the just been dumped state lasted a few years. About that too he needed no further clarification.
Frederick said nothing.
"Want to unpack your bag and hang out your wet stuff? Just find a space for everything in the bathroom."
He pulled his swimwear from his bag and just wanted to go upstairs when Anne descended. The stairs were too narrow for two people to pass each other, so when she held out her hand, he gave her the swimwear and without speaking she returned upstairs.
Tom watched it in amazement.
"What?" Frederick inquired irritably. He realised he was a guest in this house and he adjusted his voice to something more humorous. "Don't you mention my female staff again. You didn't hear me ask or order."
"No, that's the unbelievable thing about it. But, since your stuff is being taken care of, let's sit down."
Anne joined them a few minutes later. She had heard the comment about the female staff -- it was a small house -- but she did not think she was being Frederick's servant by doing the kindest and most sensible thing under the circumstances. She had been halfway up the stairs and she knew where to hang his swimwear. She could have let him do it himself, she supposed, but why? Even his other female staff would not have let him do that, although the difference was that they would very likely draw attention to their helpfulness, whereas she did not.
When she joined them they were speaking about the children. From various objects and clothes lying around she had deduced there were at least two, but they would be in bed by now. She removed a few toys from the couch and sat down.
Fiona poured her some juice and then began questioning her. "Were you happy with your time?"
"Yes, it was really good. For me. I hadn't done it in a long time." She refrained from looking at Frederick, whom she ought to thank for it. If he had not spoken to her before the start, she would not have swum so fast.
"It looked really good."
"Thanks." Sudden bleeping from her jacket reminded her that she still had her cell phone in her pocket. She took it out. A text message from Sophia had just come in. She opened it and blushed at its contents. Tell Frederick no sexy lingerie. She had no idea what she was supposed to make of that. What on earth did Sophia think they were doing? "I'm sorry. I need to reply, because I don't understand what she's talking about."
"She?" Frederick asked.
"Sophia."
He seemed to relax a little. "What is she saying?"
"Do you have a cell phone?" Anne wondered. She did not yet understand why she should have to tell him something.
"No."
"Oh." She looked at the message again and frowned. "I'm supposed to tell you something, but I don't understand why."
He held out his hand and after some hesitation he received the phone in it. He grinned when he saw the message, although he did not know why Sophia thought he cared at all. "I understand it, but I see why you don't. James was annoying Sophia and me by saying he had bought…er…this. For her. May I reply?"
She shrugged. "Yes."
He tapped a quick message and since Anne was no longer looking at him, he looked up who were in her address book. Surprisingly he knew all of them. They were all family or Kellynch SC people. It was a little odd.
Anne picked up the phone when sufficient time had passed after he had laid it on the table. She wanted to know what he had sent and, more importantly, whether he had signed the message with his own name. In dismay she noted that he had sent back Borrow mine?
Before she could do anything about that, the doorbell rang. "That'll be Jimmy," said Fiona and she leant towards Anne to explain something about him in a low voice. "He recently broke up with Tom's sister and he's still very depressed. They were together for eight years."
"Eight years," Anne echoed. It was a significant number.
"She felt she was stuck with Jimmy by default and not by choice, having been so young," Fiona whispered sadly. "But what could we do?"
"As if he was the only one she knew and therefore…?" Anne asked. This could have applied to her, but she now knew there had not been anyone else she had wanted to know. She had had the opportunity, not having had a partner to whom she had to be faithful, but she had never felt the inclination.
"Yes. He never saw it coming." Fiona shook her head and glanced at the door. A second later Tom and Jimmy came in.
Anne had seen him at the pool, but she had not paid attention to him. He had been sitting in a corner all by himself, concentrating, she had assumed. Now she supposed he might have been moping.