I still wasn’t impressed with him. I had stupidly given him credit for taking me to the play I wanted to see. But the fact that it was both Sean’s box and probably all his idea, changed all that. I didn’t speak to him the entire carriage ride to the Pertrew’s and if I had to talk to him throughout the evening, I planned on staying very angry with him.
I hadn’t asked him if he had informed everyone the engagement was on hold, that I hadn’t made a decision as of yet. I doubted he had, which made me even angrier with him.
We made our way through the other guests, some I recognized, some were older and I hadn’t met. They were all smiling and chattering as the music from the small orchestra playing in the corner filled the room warmly. The dining table and chairs were gone now to make room for the many guests who milled around, many of them disappearing into the ballroom.
Dale handed me a glass of champagne as a servant passed us, Sean making his way over after spotting us, his golden suit soaking up all the light in room.
“Ah, Annalee, you look beautiful. I am actually surprised you made it tonight. Though I am sure my parent’s will be pleased.” His eyes burned into me as he gawked at me, ignoring Dale beside me. If it were possible, Dale would have disappeared from the shear will of thought this evening.
“Hello, Sean,” I said, refusing to smile so there was no friendliness in my voice.
Sean laughed annoyingly. “I see we are in a mood tonight.”
I felt my anger bubble in me, my face blushing. “I am not having the best day today. Thank you for the box at the play. I quite enjoyed the seats.”
I gritted my teeth, not giving him the satisfaction of annoying me further, or at least showing he was.
“Ah, yes, well Dale told me while we were playing tennis you had called off the engagement. Oh, I am sorry, put it on hold. I have already seen The Merchant of Venice. I thought you would enjoy the performance. In fact, I have invited you to several other plays and operas, knowing you enjoy them, though you always seem to have other…engagements.” He smiled, keeping his eyes on me as he patted Dale on the shoulder hard.
I pressed my lips together and squeezed the glass in my hand. “Yes well—”
I stopped suddenly, spotting a familiar face and dark hair moving swiftly through the crowd, the tail of a green frock coat whipping by. I stretched my neck, my head bobbing as I tried to see around the other guests to get a better look at him…my dark newcomer!
“Annalee?” Dale’s voice seemed distant as I continued to step about.
“Hmm?” My eyes went wide as my mouth parted, stepping up on my toes to look over the shoulder of a very tall man with an obvious wig.
I had almost forgotten my newcomer was my purpose of coming to the party tonight! I was not surprised he was there, but pleased nonetheless. I somehow knew he would be! It comforted my eyes seeing his profile from across the room, the crowd of guests parting slightly and giving me the perfect angle to really look at him…perhaps even stare.
Sean and Dale looked in the same direction.
“Who is he? Annalee?” Dale’s voice was concerned.
Sean smirked. “Ah, yes, I have got word about him. He has just purchased that ghastly abandoned manor up on the hill just outside of town, down from the Harding estate. From America, I believe. He has romanced quite a few women since arriving.”
I shuddered at the thought.
“Yes, he is the one I told you about at your dinner party. He was under the bridge.” I smiled as I continued to stare. I was pleased I had shown them I wasn’t mad or ranting mindlessly those few nights ago. My eyes were more concerned with admiring his skin and his eyes though, which swept over to me once before they returned to his glass of wine, which was untouched, though I may have imagined the look…
I was still smiling when my eyes met with Sean’s, looking at him beside me.
“It seems he’s caught your eye, Annalee.”
I turned back to look over to my newcomer’s dark, piercing green eyes. He was looking at me. I averted my gaze, biting my lip. “I don’t know what you are talking about, Sean,” I said as I pressed my lips together, feeling the familiar burn of my skin. The sting of the blush was becoming a regular occurrence.
Sean smiled, something I wasn’t sure was genuine or not. “Well, if you will excuse me, I need to welcome the other guests.”
He bowed his head before he dashed off towards a new group of people who entered the lavish room.
Dale and I made our way over to a group of familiar faces, young Deirdre O’Neil and Peter as well as a colleague of my father’s, Professor Albert Porter and his wife.
“Oh, Annalee, you look beautiful tonight!” Mrs. Porter smiled as she stroked the side of my face. “I haven’t seen you in quite a while. You have grown up so fast. I remember when you were just a little one.” She continued to smile, her old but caring face smoothing out as her powdery white curls hung down from a large gathered knot, bouncing against her golden gown.
Deirdre moved towards me. “Yes Annalee, you look wonderful. I love your gown.” She smiled widely, her hand on Peter’s arm.
I looked at them both—the first time my eyes had ripped away from my newcomer—politely smiling and thanking them.
Dale broke into the chatter and began a conversation about architecture, which Peter and Deirdre tried to listen in on. I glanced over to the corner of the room, searching for my newcomer once again. I tried to be discreet, pretending to listen, smiling when appropriate and even laughing when a joke was made, though I didn’t know what the joke was or if it was indeed funny at all.
I sighed in relief as I spotted my newcomer standing with the same, or perhaps a new, glass of wine in his hand, as it was full to the brim. He motioned to a painting on the wall as he spoke to the young women at his sides. The women weren’t at all interested in what he had to say. Their eyes were fixed completely on him, seeming to drink in his appearance.
I had never really thought of his appearance as a whole before, though he was beautiful, more so than most men when you put all his features together. I usually found myself interested in one specific feature, his voice or his eyes, or just the concept of him in general. His aura, his presence drew my thoughts to him.
I tried to examine him, his other features, trying to see what the other women saw, but all I could wonder was what he was saying about the painting, what his thoughts on the artist and technique were.
“No, no word yet,” Professor Porter’s voice rang out, a twinge of concern in it.
I turned back to everyone, as the topic seemed to have taken to the worst. My eyes moved over them curiously. “No word on what? I’m sorry, something caught my attention elsewhere.”
Mrs. Porter tried to keep smiling as she turned to me. “The girls who went missing this week. You should be careful, Annalee. Most men have their sights set on you.”
Fear moved through me. “You really think someone would bother kidnapping me?” I tried to laugh it off, though the thought was frightening.
“Well, better to be safe than sorry. Deirdre has been using escorts when she rides now, besides her usual chaperone. That may be something for you to think about Annalee, I know how you enjoy riding,” Peter’s voice seemed so grown-up.
I nodded and smiled, looking down to the floor again. I scrunched my mouth to the side as I felt a hand at my elbow and my body being pulled away from the group. I was startled until I turned to Sean, who smiled at me sadistically.
“Hello Annalee. We haven’t had a chance to speak yet tonight,” he sneered as he placed his hand around my waist, pulling my body close to him.
I backed away from him, pulling against his grip. “We spoke enough before. Let go of me.” I felt slightly dizzy as the back of my head began to throb. I was in no condition to deal with Sean.
He continued to smile, enjoying himself. “I want to know if you would like to dance with me. Or would you prefer to dance with the American intruder over there you are so fond of look
ing at?”
He seemed to get angrier as he stared at my newcomer. I looked his way seeing his eyes meet mine. A flight of concern flickered in them, though he turned back to the women at his sides as if he didn’t care.
“I don’t know what you are talking about. Now let me go.” I tried to keep my voice down, though I felt a few people turn to stare at me. I almost felt the dark circles grow heavier under my eyes. I was getting far too excitable.
“Keep your voice down, Annalee. We do not want to make a scene. Now inform me, what is it this Yank has that I do not?” He bared his teeth, pulling at my elbow, still in his firm grip. “One would think from the stares you are giving him you would gladly bed him! I am sure if he invited you to the opera or dinner you would accept, wouldn’t you? Need I remind you, Annalee, nothing and no one will stop me from having you? Not a ring on your finger nor even this American you appear so fond of.” His brown eyes burned with rage and confidence, his grip on me tightening.
I finally lost control and pulled away from him abruptly. “Let go of me! You sadistic little snake!” I pushed him with all of my strength, though he didn’t budge very far.
I took notice of everyone staring, my eyes running over all of them, including Sean’s parents, who were no doubt shocked. I felt my skin blush scarlet as I swallowed hard and pressed my lips together, my stomach heaving. I saw my newcomer place his glass down and step forward, as if to walk up to me, the same look of concern in his eyes I was sure I had seen before. I felt tears well up in my eyes as I ran out the room, passed Deirdre and Peter, who reached out for me.
“Annalee!”
Peter’s voice was distant as I ran into the foyer and ripped open the door, forgetting about my effects and running out into the night. Sean had crossed a line. Then again, he always crossed the line. Why was this evening any different? He was constantly threatening me, warning me, telling me I was going to be his no matter what I did. He seemed to almost convince me that, no matter how hard I fought, the end result would be me surrendering to him. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.
I ran out into the street and looked both ways. I felt a frustrated yell building in my throat—not only from Sean, but all of my life—though I suppressed it as I began to shake. I had the urge to sit down in the middle of the street and cry, completely defeated and embarrassed, but I suppressed that feeling as well. My body weighed heavily under the burden of my guilt and sadness.
My little scene would be the talk of the town. No one would forget such an outburst. I still felt the stares, all those eyes cutting into me. My vision blurred as I felt my tears building, dizziness overwhelming me as the throbbing in my head increased.
I turned as I heard a snap, something coming from the darkness under the bridge to my left, the same bridge where I had seen my newcomer a few nights ago. I peered into the darkness, Bess’ words ringing in my head about the missing girl. I remembered the professor’s words and his wife’s concern, the number of missing girls apparently rising.
Fear gripped my spine and I suddenly felt foolish for running out into the night, especially with the stories floating around.
“Annalee!”
I turned to see Dale running out of Sean’s home, my effects in his hands, his hat on his head. I felt a sigh of relief as he walked towards me and quickly made my way to him. I can honestly say I have never been so happy to see Dale before that moment.
I kept my eyes on the darkness under the bridge as he helped me into the carriage. As soon as I made it to the top step of the carriage my dizziness overwhelmed me, needing someone to help support me.
* * * *
When I arrived home, I ran into the house and up to my bedchamber, struggling to take off my gown without the help of Bess. She ran into the room after me.
“What’s going on? What happened?” She walked up to me, grabbing at my hands, trying to get me to stop.
Tears ran rivers down my face as I pushed her hands away from my own. “I hate it! I hate being this person! I hate this life! I hate those people!” I began to cry. Loud, hard sobs filled the room. I felt sick, my stomach retching, my head beginning to boom a deafening roar through my ears. My father ran into the room, nearly breaking down my door in his haste.
“Annalee? What’s wrong? What happened?” He ran up to me, grabbing my shoulders and pulling me into his embrace.
I buried my face into his chest, his strong arms making me feel safe. I let myself stand there for a moment, sobbing until I regained the strength to pull away from him to walk over to my window.
“Nothing! Nothing happened at all!” I was trying to keep my voice calm and quieted though my efforts failed me.
“No, what is going on? Tell me what happened, Annalee!” His voice boomed throughout the room, much like my head. “Did he hurt you? Did someone hurt you?”
I kept my eyes away from his, looking down into the darkness covering our land. “No. No one did anything.”
He walked over to me, pushing my shoulder and turning me towards him. “Do not lie to me, Annalee. Tell me what is going on!”
I looked up at him, the tears continuing down my face. “I would rather not talk about it.” I fought a sob in my throat or possibly vomit, I wasn’t sure.
“To hell with that!” Bess’ voice finally piped up from the center of the room.
I sighed heavily. “I made a scene at the party tonight. I embarrassed myself completely.”
I was not going to tell my father of Sean’s advances or of his threats. If I was to do that, I knew he would find Sean and kill him. I liked the thought of Sean dying horribly, but I didn’t like the thought of my father being the Angel of Death.
“I would really rather like to go to sleep. I want to be alone. Please?” My eyes came to my father’s, which were filled with hurt, mainly because I was hurting.
He nodded lightly once and started out of the room. He stopped at the doorway. “We will…good night…” He turned and left the room.
My head began to throb again even more painfully, more emotional. I turned towards the window and felt the familiar burning and building of tears behind my eyes. I felt Bess’ hand on my shoulder.
“Come on, dearie, I will get you ready for bed.”
She tried to lead me over to the changing screen but I stopped and turned back to the window. “I will do it myself. You don’t always have to—”
“But I want to!” she said. “Let me help you get ready for bed.”
I looked into her eyes, which held the same look as my father’s had, hurt because I was hurting. I nodded lightly and complied, letting her help me get ready for bed, though I did so in silence.
She tried to lead me over to my bed and tuck me in as usual, but I shook my head. “I want to stay by the window.”
Her countenance was draped with concern, but she nodded and kissed me on the cheek.
“Good night, Annalee,” she said as she turned and extinguished the candles, walking out of the room and closing the door tightly behind her. I stared out at the night and began to softly sob, trying to keep myself as quiet and contained as possible, though it was making me feel more like I wanted to vomit.
I shook my head and turned towards my bed, stopping in the middle of the room. Out of the shadows came a dark figure into the small amount of light being cast in from the night sky. He walked towards me as the light revealed his face, my newcomer coming into focus.
I felt my heart nearly stop, his figure directly in front of me, staring into me, his eyes picking up the light, looking so bright in the darkness. He began to walk towards me so I began to walk backwards, backing up against the window. Silently he looked deep into my eyes. The image was so real, nothing like my usual fantasies. My heart sped up and my breath came in pants, his face inches away from mine, his eyes sweeping over me. I closed my eyes and felt tears roll down my cheeks. When I opened them he was gone.
Chapter Six
A Champion
I rode my horse in the nig
ht. The sky was black; there was no moon or stars. Everything was black. Even the trees and grass before me were nothing but blackness. Usually everything has some sort of illumination at night, the sky giving off a little light that tinges everything blue, but I was almost blind…though, I could see everything.
It was as if I was in a painting.
My horse continued on her way though I didn’t know where she was leading me. She continued on galloping throughout a barren field surrounded by a forest. I could hear the tinkling of a stream, some running water nearby though I didn’t know in which direction.
Suddenly she stopped, getting wind of something. She began to shake her head, whinnying loudly, frightened, and her chestnut coat gleaming from a light source, though where it was from, I had no idea. She reared up, kicking her front legs out as if she was trying to kick at something in front of her.
I wanted to cry out but my voice didn’t seem to work. There was no way of comforting the animal. With one last jump, I crashed to the ground and my horse ran off. Surprisingly, the fall didn’t hurt. I felt no pain as I should have. Instead I lay there, looking up at the sky, waiting for…something.
A dark figure walked out of the forest, sitting beside me as I turned my head towards it. A hand came out and made the motion to stroke my cheek lovingly but never touched my skin.
I closed my eyes and felt the wind howl passed me, my skin shivering from the cold. With my eyes still closed, whispering voices began to fill the air. At first they were comforting, but then the voices began to speed up and fill my ears loudly. I couldn’t understand the voices; they were speaking in another language almost, but the blending of the voices together made it almost impossible to decipher. The whispering continued, the dark figure’s eyes beginning to glow a deep red as I let out a piercing scream.
My eyes burst open to see my father and Bess standing at my bed, my father shaking me by the shoulders, vigorously.
“Annalee!”
I looked around finding I was in my own room, still in my bed. My eyes went to the window, the night very apparent. I looked up to my father whose eyes were wide.
Out of My Grave Page 7