Soul Snatcher (28 page)

“
And why is that?” She asked, this time to distract
herself.

“
We have just been cordially invited to attend the
biggest social event of the season. Dresses, dancing, dinner!” He
proclaimed. He knew she wouldn’t really be excited and her facial
expression confirmed it. “I know you are not one for socialising…”
He started his argument, gaining him an eye roll from her. “But…”
He jumped in before she could refuse. “I think it would be lovely
for us to go out. Enjoy ourselves. Forget about everything that has
happened and just be normal.”

His face was
pleading. She was about to refuse but something stopped her, it was
the word
normal
. She hadn’t
felt like that in so long and she wanted to so much.

“
It sounds…” She paused.

“
Yes…” he said hopefully.

“
Wonderful.” She gave in. He let out a sigh of relief
and embraced her as they had become accustomed to doing. When they
pulled away from each other he kept his hands on her
waist.

“
I am happy you said yes. You have not seemed yourself
lately and I think this may cheer you,” he said sounding concerned.
Annie had thought she was doing a good job of hiding her hurt but
apparently not. She gave her best smile to reassure him.

“
We shall have a marvellous time together,” she said as
enthusiastically as she could.

“
Good! Now I have a very important question for you,”
he said seriously. She felt a little unsure and just looked to him,
waiting for him to finish. He smiled before he continued. “Do you
know how to dance?” He asked.

It was so
contrary to what she thought he was going to ask that she laughed.
She only had a slight idea of how to dance but it looked like she
was going to learn how, whether she liked it or not.

CHAPTER
26

Annie stood
in Eli’s arms in the library, one hand on his shoulder and one hand
holding his other that was not holding her waist. The furniture had
been pushed to the side like it was when they trained but this time
it was
for a vastly different
reason. They were going to dance.

“
What dance are we learning today?” Annie asked feeling
a little excited from the fun of it. They had already gone through
a few dances and she had done extremely well at picking them
up.

“
Well, the socialite who invited us is very
controversial when it comes to her dinner parties,” Eli explained.
“She is known to have a number of dances ranging from folk dances,
to chain dances to strict ballroom dances. She is wild and not one
person knows what to expect, so we in the town who are frequently
invited to her gatherings have learned most dances from many
cultures and eras.” He said it all with a smile on his face. She
could tell he enjoyed the memories he had of other dances he had
been to.

“
How old is this ‘socialite’?” She asked mimicking his
word. If she was extravagant Annie assumed that she must be
young.

“
Miss Darla is in her forties,” he answered, enjoying
the extra time to hold onto Annie.

“
Is she married?” She queried, surprised at his
answer.

“
She was married to a tracker. He…he was killed,” he
responded solemnly. Her mood dropped with his words.

“
I am sorry to hear that,” Annie said earnestly and
paused for a moment. “How do you know her?” Why they were still
holding onto each other whilst discussing this was beyond her but
they remained together none the less. A soft look came across Eli’s
face before he answered.

“
She was a friend to my parents. She has always been
accepting of my life, even when society turns its back.” He spoke
fondly of Miss Darla.

“
What do you mean?” Annie asked concerned. Eli
hesitated before he answered, wishing he hadn’t said anything at
all. He chose his next words carefully.

“
A woman living with a man, when they are not related
or married, is not usually looked upon graciously. Let us begin,”
he said quickly to stop her from commenting. Eli held her tightly
around the waist, pulling her close to him and was about to start
the lesson but was stopped by her protest.

“
Eli, wait,” Annie demanded. He relaxed his body a
little from his dancing stance as he found no use in trying to
avoid the subject. “Have people been saying things?” She asked
feeling terrible about the situation. Micah had mentioned something
about rumours but surely they had stopped.

“
Annie, it does not…” but he didn’t get to
finish.

“
Eli,” she said sternly. He just looked at her for a
moment before he answered.

“
People are not saying anything in regards to your
actions, rather mine,” he said obscurely. He tightened his grip
again to instigate their lesson.

“
What are they saying?” She started to feel even more
awful.

“
They are saying things about my integrity but it does
not matter. They do not know me and I do not need them in my life,”
he tried to assure her. She couldn’t believe it, because of her his
reputation was now in tatters and he had been socially
rejected.

“
So they would be more kind if we were wed?” She asked.
She was beginning to reason within herself that this might be an
option. Baden was gone and would never come back, she did not love
Micah and she did not know where she would go other than here with
Eli.

He just
looked at her in shock as they stood in silence measuring each
other. Many moments passed between them with neither of them
looking away. They were having their own silent conversations in
their minds, too afraid to say anything before they were
ready.

Eli’s
thoughts ran along the lines of; should he ask her to marry him? He
wanted to be with her and he would love her forever but what of his
life? She would be gone and he would be left without her. She could
be hurt for being with him. Would it be best to keep it as it was
so they couldn’t get too close because they would both end up
vulnerable?

Annie’s
thoughts ran along the lines of; should she marry him? Why would it
be so bad? She was attracted to him, he was kind, thoughtful and
caring. He loved her and wasn’t afraid to show his feelings. Though
she didn’t love him now, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t later
on.

When Eli
started to come out of his internal musings he blinked a few times
to get a bearing on his surroundings. He opened his mouth to say
something but nothing came out so he closed it again. After another
moment he opened his mouth and spoke.

“
I think starting with the waltz would be best.” His
voice came out husky and he cleared his throat when he was
finished. She felt a little relieved that they would not have to
confront the situation just yet. She slowly nodded her head in
agreement.

“
Good choice,” she said with a small smile. Her comment
was referring more to the fact he had avoided the intense subject
rather than the choice of dance.

“
Now the waltz has three-four timing. There is no music
so I will count it out as we go,” he offered. “Miss Darla
always
has this one dance,” he explained.

He pulled her
close to him and their faces were practically touching. He
swallowed hard from nerves at her closeness and looked at their
hands clasping so he could concentrate. His brow furrowed slightly
in distraction.

“
It is a dance that requires the partners to remain
close to each other. We will start off slow then quicken the pace
once you progress,” he advised before they began to
dance.

Unbeknown to
them, Garrick had approached the door and stopped when he heard
them speaking. He had overheard their conversation, waiting
anxiously to hear the result of Annie’s insinuation. To his dismay
nothing came of it and he almost kicked the door at Eli’s
foolishness. He left irritated, completely forgetting that he
needed to speak with Eli.

Baden stood
outside, close to the window of the library. He leaned his arm
against the stone wall of the manor and rested his face into his
hand trying to regain his composure. He had ventured forward when
the lesson had started and quickly became panicked by their
conversation. What would he have done if they agreed to be
married?

Before he
could answer himself he realised he was out in the open. He glanced
to check that no one had seen him then went back to the cover of
the trees.

He sat on the
ground, leaning against a tree with his hand on his heart. He
realised that he could not do it, he could not stand by whilst she
fell in love with someone else. The question was, what was he going
to do about it?

CHAPTER
27

The night of
the dance came. Annie and Eli had not spoken to each other about
the issue of being married but continued their own internal debate
of the subject. What she didn’t know was that Eli had purchased a
ring.

Annie had
felt as if she had learned every dance known to man before the
night came and Eli was impressed that she had accomplished every
dance he had shown her.

When it was
time to leave for the event, he waited patiently at the bottom of
the stairs for her in his suit. He hated dressing in the
extravagant attire that was required at social events but he wore
them to perfection. Garrick stood off to the side ready to take
them to the party.

“
Have you forgotten anything, Sir?” Garrick asked. Eli
tugged at his high collar for a bit of relief.

“
No, I have everything,” he answered, distracted by his
discomfort. With a subtle smirk on his face, Garrick presented Eli
with the small, black box that held the ring.

“
Are you
sure
you have
everything, Sir?” Garrick questioned mockingly. Eli stopped what he
was doing but kept his hand around his collar as he looked at the
small box.

“
I am not sure if tonight is the best night.” Eli made
the excuse nervously.

“
It is,” Garrick encouraged a little
sternly.

Before Eli
had a chance to refuse he heard Annie’s
bedroom door open. He grabbed the box in panic and
shoved it into his pocket just before she reached the top of the
staircase. He resumed his previous position and looked up to her.
His eyes opened wide when he saw her standing in one of
Antoinette’s flattering creations.

The bust line
was just the same as all other dresses of the fashion and fit
nicely against Annie’s body. Her sleeves were short to fit just
past her shoulder and very slightly puffed. The colour was ivory
and the dress was made from a lovely, soft silk.

The modest
pattern was stitched in black and sat at the bottom of the skirt.
It curved and swirled into lovely points all the way around. Small
floral designs sporadically sprouted from the lines and made it
look even more feminine. The rest of the material was plain but
that made it even lovelier.

The skirt was
longer at the back and the material fell agreeably against her. Her
black gloves ran along her arms, almost far enough to reach her
sleeves. The whole dress was covered in a light, golden veil and
her black coat fit the length of her sleeves and the length of her
dress. The only detail the coat had was that it was lined with a
small frill at the edges.

The black was
a striking contrast to the colour of the dress but it made it look
even more incredible. Her neck line was plunging and her bust was
perfectly creamy, milk. Her hair was gathered into soft tresses
atop her head with a thin, golden cord wrapped twice around her
head and was tied in a bow at the nape of her neck. She wore no
jewellery, unlike every other woman that would be at the party, and
the dress would have been considered plain amongst the other
overdone gowns but Annie’s beauty shone through and the dress was
nothing compared to her breathtaking face. She was truly
indescribable.

She slowly
made her way down the stairs. Her shoes were simple slippers as she
did not find boots comfortable. She had argued with Antoinette to
wear them and she had only won because the dress covered them
anyway.

Annie stopped
when she was in front of Eli and took in his appearance. He looked
neat, strong and very handsome.

“
I would say something but I do not think I could
produce any words that would be equivalent to how becoming you
are,” Eli said slightly short of breath. She smiled and
straightened his collar for him.

“
You look rather charming yourself,” she complimented,
trying to fend off her nerves.

“
Shall we?” He asked holding out his arm for her to
take. She rested her hand in the nook of his elbow and they made
their way to the carriage.