As she dressed and left her bedroom, Annabelle did her best not to look behind her. She did not want to examine the life that she was leaving behind. She loved her bedroom a lot, it had always been a sense of comfort for her, but she had to go. However emotional she felt about it, this was still the right move.
Keep moving, she told herself firmly. Think of Floyd, think of a new life... think of leaving behind Watson, nothing else.
The positive thoughts rolled through her mind as she tiptoed down the stairs. Annabelle did her best to think about what was going on inside of her rather than the strangeness of the empty home around her. She did not usually get to see things this way, usually the house was really busy, it left Annabelle a little scared. So, did the fear that her father had found out, and he was going to jump out on her at any moment.
Father does not know, she tried to convince herself. If he knew, he would not have let things go this far.
Still, every single time her toes creaked on the wood, she froze stiff and listened intently, trying to hear anything else other than the hammering of her heart.
By the time Annabelle reached the top of the stairs which would take her down into the servant quarters, she could hardly breathe. Her lungs felt tight, despite the looser fitting dress than she was normally allowed to wear, the bag on her shoulder felt like a boulder it was so heavy, her knees knocked together in fear.
I have my mother supporting me, she will make sure I am safe. That is all I need to worry about.
Soon the brass fittings and golden décor was gone, Annabelle quickly left behind the floral wallpaper and the expensive artwork hanging. The entire building transformed in to something wonderful to something very plain and beige. Annabelle had not ever been in this area of the house before and she could hardly believe it was the same place.
She continued moving on her tiptoes, drinking everything in with awe. A long hallway went off in every direction into little rooms. Small bedrooms with plain white, uncomfortable looking beds filled every single one. Some of the staff members even had to share a room with someone else, and still they only had a tiny brown bedside cabinet for storage. Some of the maids had clothing hanging above their heads as they slept.
It was nothing like what Annabelle was used to. She had expected there to be a big divide between the rich and the poor, it would obviously not be the same, but witnessing the difference in such a quick space of time shocked her.
Can I do this? She thought desperately inside her brain. Can I really give up everything to live like this? She knew that she would have to work eventually, even with her mother’s money, which meant soon one of these beds would probably be hers. No, I can. I can do this. For Floyd.
Eventually Annabelle spotted the room with Floyd’s sleeping body inside of it. She paused at the door frame and watched him breathing in and out deeply as dreams came for him. With the innocent sleeping expression on his face, he looked even more appealing to Annabelle. He was definitely the one for her, there was no doubt about it.
With her hand outstretched, Annabelle moved forwards. She did not want to wake up Floyd, but since she had not had time to warn him, she did not have any choice. She would simply have to push this guilt down to shake him.
“Floyd,” she whispered as she rocked his body gently. “Floyd, wake up.”
“Nugh,” he grumbled, only slightly opening his eyes.
“Floyd.” She got a little more frantic. “Floyd, wake up.”
“Huh?” He bolted into a sitting position with ice cold terror racing through his veins. “Annabelle, you are here?” He rubbed his eyes, wondering if this was merely an extension of his dream. “Has something happened?”
“We need to go now,” she insisted quickly. “We have to leave. The carriage is waiting outside for us. My mother has sorted it.” She glanced around his bed, noticing that there was no packed bag there. “Did you still want to come?”
Disappointment crushed her chest. Even without Floyd she still needed to leave for herself, to escape Lord Ashdown, but the prospect was much more terrifying alone.
“You wish to go now?” Floyd whispered in shock, waking up fully now. “Today? Right now? In the middle of the night?”
“It is almost morning time, it has to be now.” Annabelle’s tone grew frantic. Floyd was not moving as rapidly as she needed him to. He was giving her too much time to find doubt within herself. “We need to move before my mother gets discovered for helping us.”
“Oh my goodness.” Floyd banged his feet on the ground as he tried to get out of bed in a hurry. “I did not think it would be so fast.”
“Have you packed?” Annabelle’s heart beat faster as she spotted Floyd reach under his bed to grab out his bag. At least he seemed ready to go. “So, you are ready?”
“I am... are you?” He gave Annabelle a searching look. He just wanted to check that she was not having any second thoughts. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
“I am going even if you do not,” Annabelle replied firmly. “I need to leave before my father makes me marry Lord Ashdown. The carriage is waiting outside and I intend to get on it.”
With her heart thumping in her chest, Annabelle turned on her feet and she walked back towards the stairs. Her eyes slid closed for a second and she prayed for Floyd to follow her, but she would not force him to do so. Luckily it was not long before she heard his feet tapping behind her.
Floyd no longer knew what he was doing, even after all of his deliberation, he had no idea what he wanted to do. Even as he packed his bag he had no clue as to what would happen. He certainly did not expect things to happen so quickly, he had not expected Annabelle to burst into his bedroom in the middle of the night demanding that he leave right away. The sleep was still thick in his eyes, even thought it would not normally be long until he rose to tend to the horses anyway, the shock of waking up in such a rapid way left him dazed and confused.
Maybe he should have expected that, falling in love with a fiery red-headed Lady who only wanted adventure in her life. Floyd had absolutely no idea what would happen when he got on the carriage with Annabelle, he had no clue as to where his life would take him next, but it was going to be very exciting.
Or so he hoped.
As the fresh air hit his face, he grabbed onto Annabelle’s arm just to check one last time. He did not want to upset her, but he needed to be certain.
“This is what you want?” he asked as he stared deeply into her eyes. “You are certain?”
“I have told you, I am certain,” Annabelle replied with utter conviction. “I promise you, this will be the best thing we ever do. This is the start of a new life for us.”
Floyd nodded hopefully. “Right, let us do this.”
Chapter 17
Luckily for Annabelle, the transition had not been too difficult so far. The bed and breakfast in the countryside was so luxurious it was almost like home.
“Where are we again?” she asked Floyd for what felt like the hundredth time since they arrived three days before. They had chosen to stay put for a few days to allow the dust to settle. The fear that the Hathaway family would come looking for the pair was still very real.
“Ashbridge,” Floyd commented anxiously. “We are not far enough from London yet.”
Annabelle rolled her eyes, she did not like Floyd’s negative attitude, it upset her a little bit. This was so exciting to her, it was the wonderful adventure that she had always secretly wanted to go on. Sure, she had been very nervous at first but the more time that passed, the happier she felt to be away. Gone was her father’s oppressive gaze, wedding dresses were nowhere to be seen, all she had was Floyd and the rolling hills that stretched out as far as the eye could see.
“We need to move soon and we shall have to start looking for jobs. Have you had any thought about what you might like to do?”
“Maybe I could be a governess somewhere?” Annabelle shrugged in a noncommittal way. “I do not know, I am not sure. I will figure that out
as we find a home looking for staff. Will you work in the stables again?”
“Yes, I suppose so. I am in no position to open my own stables just yet. I will need to work somewhere until I have the money.”
Annabelle did not worry too much about Floyd’s words, she knew that they would find their place in the world soon enough. With the money that they had left over, they could use that as a starting position. She did not understand his need to panic. In Annabelle’s eyes, they would be fine.
“Where would you like to go?”
“Somewhere further away from here. Maybe into the countryside. Do you think we should have gone further to start with?”
“It does not matter now, does it?” Annabelle asked with a smile. “We are here, it is only worth worrying about where we go next.”
“Yes, you are right.” Floyd wished that he could take on Annabelle’s carefree attitude, he loved the way she saw everything as fun and exciting rather than something to fear, but with his knowledge of the world, he knew how challenging the future could be. “I wish my parents were still alive. We could go and stay with them.”
As Floyd made that quiet comment, Annabelle’s ears pricked up. She suddenly realized that she had not ever asked Floyd about his family or his life. She had fallen for him without even knowing too much about him. At least they had all the time in the world to learn all about one another now.
“What has happened to your parents?” she asked in a caring tone of voice. “I am terribly sorry, I did not know that they were no longer alive.”
Floyd flicked his eyes towards the ground, he did not like talking about this. He only brought it up now because it was only fair for Annabelle to understand just why he was so afraid. “I did not ever get to know my mother,” he started with regret lacing his tone. “She died while giving birth to me. As her first and only baby, I must have destroyed her.”
“You sound guilty about this, as if it was your fault.” Annabelle was stunned, there was not any way in which she could see that as Floyd’s fault. It was clear from his expression that he carried it around with him. “You cannot help that happening, it is one of those unfortunate things.”
“I suppose so.” Floyd did his best to shrug it off. “My father always blamed me and I guess that is why I truly blame myself.” He sighed, despite himself. It was difficult not to talk about this without dredging up some very sad emotions. “There is...” he stammered uncomfortably as he readied to share a part of himself that he had not done for a very long time. He would have preferred to do this in a very different way, much sooner before they ran away, but he never seemed to find the right moment. “There is something that I never told you.”
“There is?” Annabelle felt nervous, she was not sure what to expect. The way Floyd was acting, it seemed to be something very dramatic that was about to come her way.
“I only did not tell you because I never told anyone,” he said, trying his best to reassure her. Maybe himself too. “It is hard for me to think about now.” He breathed deeply, trying to steady himself. Annabelle froze as she readied herself to hear something that she might not like. “I am not... I am not just a stable boy. Not really.”
“Excuse me?” Annabelle whispered. She hated to think that she had given herself over to someone who was not honest with her, but it seemed that was what had happened.
“I am not simply a poor stable boy. I did not grow up in that way. I am... I was an Earl once upon a time.”
Annabelle did not know how to process that, so she remained in silence as she waited for Floyd to continue.
“My father never accepted me because my birth killed my mother. He thought I was the devil, or something equally as awful.” Floyd shook his head as tears filled his eyes. “He threw me out of the house, five years ago, at sixteen years old which is why I have been working with horses ever since.”
Annabelle slid her hand into his as she listened with an open heart. She was stunned, of course. There was no way she could learn this shocking information and not be, but it was him and she still loved him. Floyd was peeling back his layers for her, and she liked to learn everything new about him. There was nothing that he could tell her that would fully put her off him. Annabelle was fully in the throes of love; this was the happiest that she had ever been.
“That is terrible, Floyd.” An idea popped into her brain and she spoke it before she could think properly. “But maybe we should go and see him now. Maybe the time apart will have changed his mind...”
“He died when I was just turned eighteen years of age, before I could make things up with him.”
“Oh, I am sorry.” Annabelle felt terrible. She had spent the last few days trying to escape her family whereas Floyd had no choice. His parents were taken away from him in a cruel way, in the midst of an argument too. Leaving him with no closure at all. “What happened?”
“From what I heard he got sick,” Floyd said simply. “It happened very quickly.” He turned and gave Annabelle a smile, proving that he had not forgotten about her in his moment of self-reflection. “It is fine, I have lived my life just fine without him. Or the money I could have had.”
“You do not think he would have called you crazy for running away with the Lady of the house?” Annabelle replied teasingly. “Even if you did still have your title, I am sure he would have thought you mad. I think you would have been in a whole lot of trouble with him, should I have ever met him.”
“Maybe you are right.” Floyd nodded, acting serious. “Maybe he would have called me crazy. Maybe that is because I am. But I have done this for love.”
“It will all work out, we will be alright,” Annabelle insisted happily. “We can leave today, I know that you will feel better once we are far away from London. We will head out and search for jobs.” She realized now that she needed to be more open minded when it came to considering just what Floyd needed to be happy too. “I do not mind what job I have as long as we can stay together and you can still work with horses. And we will aim towards your riding school too, I really want you to have that. We can do it for your father.” An idea burst into her brain like a sudden bolt of lightning. “If your father has died, then should you not have an inheritance, being the only child...”
“I do not think so,” Floyd interjected coldly before Annabelle could go too crazy with that idea. “He would have rather it gone to the poor than me. “And even so I should not want anything from him.”
Annabelle gulped, accepting Floyd’s decision readily. It was up to him what he wanted to do with his family’s money. She did not have to agree with it, just as he might not have agreed with her. “That is fine, we shall find a way to make it work on our own.”
“Thank you.” Working towards something positive helped Floyd relax, knowing that Annabelle accepted him for the truth of who he really was made him feel even better. He barely told anyone because what had happened with his father had scarred him. He did not even want to remember it anymore, it was as if it had happened in another life entirely. He always needed something to look for in the distance, and in the immediate future a steady income was the most important thing of all. “I think that will be best.”
Annabelle watched as the weight lifted from Floyd’s shoulders, which made her feel much better about herself. She would have been happy to remain hidden out in this nice place for a while longer, she felt comfortable in the bed and breakfast, but maybe Floyd was right. Maybe it was best to take action before the money ran out. The pile was shrinking quicker than she expected it to.
While he sat about packing up his things and undoubtedly thinking about what the couple would do next, Annabelle’s thoughts drifted back to her home. She was trying her hardest not to worry too much about her mother and father, but whenever she let her mind wander that was exactly where she ended up.
She could not stop herself from thinking about her father yelling when he discovered what her mother had done to help her. He would be very angry and hurt, and even though Josephi
ne had told her that she could calm him down, Annabelle was not certain she could. This would be the worst thing that any of them had ever done to him. Of course, if he had listened to her in the first place about Lord Ashdown then none of this would have happened... but it was unlikely that he would see it in that way.
She also imagined her sister’s hurt face when she learned that Annabelle had run without even speaking to her first. Beatrice would be upset that Annabelle had not been honest, even if they were never close. After all, she had told her about the baby first. She pictured Catherine struggling to keep Annabelle’s secret locked away inside of her when everything got crazy around her. Maybe she should not have told her best friend anything, people would assume that she would tell Catherine the truth and there was a chance that the pressure might get too much for her... especially if she told Edith and Harriett. Annabelle’s other friends were even worse at keeping secrets.
Still, there was not much point in worrying about things that she could not control. Annabelle had made her decision now, she simply needed to stick with it.
“We should head further down towards Cornwall,” Floyd told Annabelle, completely oblivious to her inner turmoil. “There are lots of large country estates along the way. Someone is bound to want to hire.”
“Is that really the best way?” Annabelle questioned him doubtfully. “You think we should knock on doors and see? Is there any chance we will get lucky that way?”
“It is the best way for us to also keep our identities hidden,” Floyd confirmed. “We do not want to draw any attention to ourselves. It is a way a lot of people find work. It might not be the most efficient, but it is the easiest for us.”
“Shall we continue with the story that we told the staff here? Do we let people believe that we are a married couple?”
“It is not too far from the truth,” Floyd reassured her, just like he did the first time they were forced to be dishonest. “Well, we will be married one day, it just makes sense for us to be travelling together if that is the case. We will probably need to use some of your mother’s money to buy some more suitable clothes to keep the lie more realistic, but I believe it will work again.”
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