Soul Snatcher (19 page)

“
What would it matter if he were?” She asked
defensively. She had no idea what game he was playing.

“
I suppose it would not matter.” He looked down at her
hands to check for a ring. “No nuptials are in place?” She couldn’t
believe it, again with this.

“
I think you best go, Antoinette will be back soon.”
She didn’t really want him to go but he was so up and down she was
starting to think she would never figure him out. He was about to
say something then stopped abruptly, he looked off to one side then
back to her.

“
Until next time.” Is all he said before he left. She
could hear Antoinette coming so she regrouped herself before she
came in.

The rest of
the appointment continued with no further interruptions. Garrick
was there to meet her, as he said he would be, and they made it
home just before dusk.

“
Garrick, I am feeling rather tired. I will go without
dinner tonight. I will be in my room if you need me,” Annie said as
she walked up the stairs. She locked herself in her room and
readied for bed, wondering why she felt so down.

Annie had
only just started falling asleep when she heard a noise. The moon
was full and she had left the curtains open, bathing the room in a
sea of moon-blue. She sat up, grabbed the dagger from her bedside
table that she used for her hair and held it tightly in her
hand.

“
Lovely night,” Baden said from the shadows. Annie
closed her eyes in relief. She quickly pulled her hair back with
the dagger and tried to see through the dark. Giving up she laid
back down, facing away from where he stood by the window, to try
and show him that she wasn’t in the mood.

“
Baden, I am tired and need sleep. What is it that you
want?” She felt annoyed. He could appear whenever it pleased him
and she had no say in it. If he came declaring his love, that would
be a different matter but when he visited he just confused her even
more.

He walked
over and laid down in front of her on top of the bed covers,
sliding dangerously close to her. She looked up at him nervously,
unsure of what to do with him so near. He leaned over and gently
tugged the dagger out of her hair, allowing her tresses to fall
down her back and across the pillow

“
I like it when you wear your hair down,” he whispered
as he leaned over and placed the dagger on the bedside table. She
had been irritated by him just a moment ago but now she had lost
herself. How did he do that? “Annie,” he said her name whimsically.
“What am I to do with you?” He looked at her carefully.

“
I am unsure of what you mean,” she said softly. He
slid his hand across the mattress, closing the short distance
between them, and touched hers that was resting beside
her.

“
You make me forget myself,” he admitted. Finally he
took her hand in his and used his other to pull her even closer, so
she was lying right in front of him. They faced each other as they
rested on their sides. He pulled her hand up and inspected it very
closely.

“
Is that something I should appreciate?” She asked
watching him. She liked the soft look on his face. His eyes moved
to her and he thought for a long moment before he slid closer.
Their faces just inches apart on the pillow.

“
At first that terrified me more than any other thing
has in my life,” he said seriously, as if he was admitting to a
crime. “I had just returned to this town and as soon as I saw you I
had decided to leave.” She wasn’t sure where the confession was
headed but it felt like it was building up to something big. “I was
on my way, never to return when I came across you in the graveyard
that night.”

“
Oh,” she said breathlessly.

“
I was running from how you made me feel but when I
found you there it caught up to me. After I carried you back to the
manor, later that night I realised that I loved you.” He said the
words so tenderly that she stopped breathing. “The thing that
frightened me the most was that you might love me back one
day.”

“
Baden, I…” But he cut her off.

“
You should not,” he said before she could tell him how
she felt. She was hurt that he didn’t want her love. “And I should
not want you…” She looked away from him trying not to cry from his
words. “But I do.” She quickly looked back to him and he leaned
even closer. “Your friend said that love is not something that just
falls into your lap. Once I would have said that it is something
that does not exist at all, in any form. I have seen betrayals
between brothers, affairs between marriages and murders for motives
of evil pleasure.”

For reasons
he could not explain his heart started beating fast with nerves. It
may have been that he was fearful to kiss her but he knew he was
going to. He just hoped with everything in him that it would be
enough, that his love would be enough.

“
But I think your friend may be correct in saying it
does not
fall
into your lap.” Annie felt
disappointed that he would agree because even without knowing him
she felt for him something she had never felt, and probably would
never feel, for anyone else. He continued after a pause.
“
It is more
like a gushing torrent that knocks you over and it takes all of
your strength just to move to the surface. But when you take that
first breath you realise that before that moment…you had not been
breathing at all.”

Annie had
read sonnets and plays and even had people tell her about love but
it all meant nothing in comparison to how she felt from Baden’s
words. He leaned in closer so their lips were almost touching and
he lingered there for a moment, deciding whether to kiss her. He
searched her face and then rested his gaze to meet her eyes. It
felt like he would if he didn’t kiss her, if he didn’t show her how
he felt. The thought of hiding it from her any longer was almost
too much for him to bear because he needed her to know. He needed
her to see what was in his soul. And the only thing left within him
was her.

So
k
nowing how he felt and what
he knew of himself, he pressed his lips against hers. When he felt
Annie’s soul do nothing but bathe in ecstasy his relief was
paramount and he pulled her body against his.

Her lips
moved with his and even though this was her first kiss, somehow
they found their way around his lips as if they fit. Like they were
made for his. She thought his taste was something she would never
tire of as she drank him in. Her hands crept up into his hair and
he gripped her back from the thrill of it. He almost lost all
control within him to hold himself back but somehow he managed to
restrain it.
He would do
anything to make her feel safe. So before they could lose
themselves in the moment Baden pulled away just enough to break
their kiss. Annie was left breathless and wanting more, Baden was
left in euphoria. His heart beat fast and for the first time in
years he felt human again.

“
I love you.” He sounded a fool to his own ears, as did
all the others he had heard declare their love, but this time he
understood why they suffered the cynicism.

“
I love you,” she said with a small smile. He pulled
her closer into him and she rested her head against his chest. He
kissed the top of her head and let out a breath of relief. This was
going to change everything about him but somehow he wasn’t afraid
to let it.

This time was
different for Annie. When Micah had told her he loved her it did
nothing but fill her with fear. But loving Baden did nothing except
fill her with a certain peace and joy that can’t be felt unless you
are in love.

And in this
one small moment in both of their lives they had the illusive
instance of unadulterated belief that their love would be enough,
no matter what obstacle foreshadowed them. Time would prove either
them or human nature wrong. The question was which one would it
be?

CHAPTER
16

The next
morning Annie woke to find Baden awake next to her. All of a sudden
she felt vulnerable with him and it felt good. He smiled at her as
the sun shone on his face and lit up his blue eyes. It made her
feel warm

“
How is it that you look rested and made for the day,
where as I am dishevelled and exhausted?” She asked as she rubbed
her face to try and push away the sleepiness. He chuckled at her
cute behaviour whilst he played with a curl of her hair.

“
I think you look quite appealing, Annie,” he said with
a certain look in his eyes. She had seen that look from other men
but this time she realised what it meant. And she felt it
too.

Just as she
was about to return his playfulness with her own, the smile fell
from his face and a scowl replaced it.

“
What is the matter?” She asked anxiously.

“
I believe Eli has just arrived home,” he informed.
Annie had no idea how he would know that. Baden stood up from the
bed and walked over to the window abruptly, swinging them open so
he could leave. He avoided looking at her as her eyes trailed after
him. “I must be going.” His words sounded blunt and she didn’t know
why he had changed all of a sudden. She sat up quickly and jumped
out of bed in panic.

“
Wait, would you like to meet him?” She offered. Losing
some of his irritation at the interruption he turned and sat on the
windowsill. He took a moment to look at her, to let her soul calm
him.

“
Maybe another time,” he said reluctantly. She rushed
over to him and grabbed his hand, stopping him from leaving. He
looked down at their clasped hands and then at her. He allowed the
rest of his anger to fall away and he pulled her close, kissing her
briefly. His soul warmed, feeling the thrill from holding
her.

“
Until next time,” he promised. She couldn’t help but
smile because she knew the reason he would come back was because he
loved her. As he moved to leave she quickly kissed his cheek. He
paused and a smile spread across his face, then he was
gone.

Before she
could spend half the morning day dreaming, an awful clatter sounded
from downstairs, then she heard Eli yell. Falling back to reality
she ripped off her night dress and threw on a simple yellow dress,
pulling her hair back with her dagger. She ran half way down the
staircase, pausing when she saw Garrick clearing the hallway of
luggage that was strewn in Eli’s wake.

“
Garrick, what is going on?” She asked as she ran down
the rest of the way. He looked to her, dismay on his
face.

“
Mr. Brighton’s trip did not happen according to plan,”
he explained. Annie jumped when she heard a loud bang come from the
library. She started walking to the room but Garrick gently held
her arm and stopped her. “I am not sure if that is wise,” he
warned. She hesitated before she decided to continue.

“
I cannot claim to ever have been wise,” she said
defiantly before she went to the library.

The mess she
came upon was shocking. Daggers had been darted across the room and
lodged into the wood of the book shelves. Pillows were scattered
across the floor, furniture pushed out of place and the contents
atop his desk was in shambles. Eli sat hunched at his desk, hands
holding his head. She approached him cautiously and stopped a few
feet away from the desk to keep some distance.

“
Eli…” He already knew she had walked in but he only
looked up to her when she said his name. He rested his chin on his
fists as if he had given up on everything. “What is the matter?”
She asked. He took a breath before he spoke.

“
Nothing,” he said flatly. He stood and started fixing
the mess on his desk. She couldn’t believe he was trying to act as
if nothing was wrong, when clearly there was.

“
Eli, when nothing is wrong you do not attack your own
library,” she reasoned.

“
It is of no importance,” he persisted.

“
Tell me,” she demanded, not giving him an option. He
stopped what he was doing and looked up at her.

“
I was going to meet my brother but he did not come,”
he answered as if that would be enough.

“
I am so sorry, Eli,” she said regretfully, sadness
obvious in her voice. To her surprise he started
laughing.

“
Do not feel too dejected on my part, Annie. It was not
going to be a pleasant reunion.” He spoke as he continued to
clean.

“
Possibly one day it might be,” she said trying to find
hope in the situation. He threw the papers down and gave
up.

“
It will never be. He is dead to me and there is
nothing on earth that will ever change the situation.” She nodded,
stopping herself from saying anymore. She turned to leave to give
him some privacy but before she made it out the door he
spoke.
“
Sorry,” he said.