Soul Snatcher (6 page)

“
He threw me and I landed against a tombstone,” she
said. “It sounds impossible but I promise it happened.” Eli was
writing something, when he was done he looked back to her with a
ready smile.

“
I believe you,” he assured. “Now tell me of the one
who helped you?” He made certain he didn’t say any specifics so she
would be the one defining the helper’s characteristics.

“
I was unable to see clearly but he fought off the
attacker then helped me.” She kept it as simple as she
could.

“
Where did he come from?” Eli questioned.

“
I am not sure. As I said, it was hard to
see.”

“
And how do you know it was a man?” Eli started writing
again.

“
What woman that you know of could fight off an
attacker so easily?” She asked a question to avoid having to
answer.

“
How did he help you?” This time he looked up to watch
her face as she answered.

“
He carried me back to the manor.” She tried to
pre-empt his next questions so she could think of better
answers.

“
He carried you the whole way, in the dark?” Eli asked
looking a little surprised. Annie simply nodded. “And he said
absolutely nothing to you?”

“
He asked if I was hurt.”

“
So you knew it was a man because of his voice, not
just because he could fend off an attacker?” Eli caught her out in
her omission.

“
I suppose, yes.” Her nerves doubled instantly. What
was she trying to hide anyway? Eli took notes.

“
And what did his voice sound like?” He
asked.

“
It was…a man’s voice.” She tried to avoid answering
but Eli had caught onto her tactic.

“
Was it deep?” He probed, looking up when she didn’t
speak. She thought for a moment and decided that it was so she
nodded. “Husky?” She shook her head. “Clear?”

“
Smooth,” she accidentally said reminiscing Baden’s
voice. Eli wrote.

“
What was his manner like?”

“
He was gentle and caring,” she explained. He paused
before he looked up, brows slightly furrowed in
confusion.

“
Did he say anything else?”

“
He asked my age and suggested I try to sleep,” she
said.

“
What happened when you came upon the manor?” Eli asked
as he continued to write.

“
He said he had to leave and left me at the door. That
is when Rosemary found me.” Annie finished the recount, happy to be
done.

“
Why did he not come in?” Eli asked pointedly. Annie
shrugged her shoulders unable to think of an answer. She honestly
didn’t know why he hadn’t stayed with her but she wished that he
had.

“
Did you see his face at all?” Eli watched her closely.
She just shook her head. “Did he tell you his name?” Annie
hesitated, this would be her first actual lie not just an omission.
Why was she going to lie anyway? She had no answer for herself. So
without knowing the reason, she lied to protect Baden.

“
No,” she said evenly. Eli looked at her as if he could
tell she was lying but he decided to let it drop.

“
May I check something, Annie?” Eli asked looking at
her neck.

“
Yes,” she said nervously. Eli stood and moved over to
her. He placed his notepad and pen on the bed and slowly lifted his
hands. He placed a hand either side of her neck and softly felt
along her skin. He lifted her hair and inspected her
neck.

“What are you
looking for?” Her voice was shaky, she had never had a man touch
her so intimately before. He stepped back and looked at her for a
moment, glancing down at her wrists. He reached down and felt along
the unmarked skin of her inner forearms. When he was done he picked
up his belongings and took a step back.

“
That will be all for now, Annie.” He smiled at her
kindly.

“
Thank you, Mr…” She stopped when he raised his
eyebrows. “Eli,” she corrected herself, remembering their
deal.

“
No, thank you. If you remember anything else please
contact me.” He wrote down his address and handed it to her. “In
fact, feel free to contact me for anything.”

She took the
paper and as she did he winked at her. Micah
chose that moment to burst through the door and
disrupt the interview.

“We are done
for now,” Eli
said to Micah
as if he had expected the interruption. Eli left without another
word and Micah’s eyes trailed after him as he walked
away.

“
How did it go?” Micah asked when they were
alone.

“
As well as expected.” She smiled falsely, hoping that
she hadn’t given Baden away.

CHAPTER
4

A few days
later Annie was feeling much better and she woke up early after a
restful sleep. She had spent most of her time thinking of Baden and
hoping she would get the chance to see him again. She started to
feel a little crazy, thinking of this stranger so often. She
dressed for the day in a simple, black dress and tied her hair up
before she went into the kitchen.

“
Annie, what are you doing?” Rosemary asked, frozen in
complete shock that she was even out of bed.

“
I am feeling better and I want to help,” Annie
answered as she started on the preparation for breakfast. After
Rosemary moved past her initial surprise, she saw Annie’s resolve
and decided not to question her. Even though she was tempted to
drag her back to bed and force her to rest.

“
If you feel you are up to it then there is no problem.
But let me braid your hair so you will not have to wear it atop
your head. It may give you a headache.” Rosemary sat her down on a
chair and gathered her hair to start the braid.

“
What is the schedule for the day?” Annie asked
ignoring the slight pain in her chest. She was inspecting her nails
rather closely to make sure they were clean and neat.

“
Mr. Brighton will be joining Miss Danes for dinner,”
Rosemary said meaningfully.

“
It looks like she may have an admirer.” Annie sounded
unfazed as she concentrated on her nails.

“
I think she is the excuse and you are the reason,”
Rosemary shared her opinion.

“
Well, I am not interested.” Annie placed her hands in
her lap as if to show she wanted the matter dropped.

“
Annie, how can you say that? He could be your way out
of this,” Rosemary said implying the situation of being the
help.

“
What is wrong with what we do? We do not have idle
hands, we have been educated unlike many other people in our
plight,” Annie reasoned looking at the bright side of life.
Rosemary finished the braid then walked around the chair and stood
in front of Annie.

“
We only have had more education because Miss Danes
cannot stand
imprudent
people. You could be the lady of a manor,”
Rosemary tried to convince her.

“
Rosemary,” Annie said as she stood. “You are moving
ahead of yourself, he does not even know me.”

“
But he could,” she persisted.

“I do not have any desire
to be married…” Annie paused for a moment and thought of Baden,
maybe he could be the exception to her rule? Wait…it was ridiculous
to even contemplate that. When she realised she hadn’t finished her
sentence she shook the thought from her mind and continued. “But if
I did, I am certain that
I
would want to marry for love.” She moved around her friend and went
back to making breakfast.

“
Sometimes we do not have the luxury of love.” Rosemary
went and stood next to her and started working.

Annie didn’t
say anything in response, she just wanted the matter to be
dropped.
She was also a
little too distracted by the thought of Baden to answer.

“
Do not tell me it is Micah,” Rosemary kept at
it.

“
No, Rosemary. Please let it go,” Annie almost
pleaded.

“
Let what go?” Micah asked as he came through the door.
Rosemary and Annie looked up and just stared at him. Annie looked
to Rosemary for help.

“
I keep asking if she is fine and she wants me to stop
pestering her,” Rosemary lied.

“If she did
not feel well
she would not
work,” Micah said with a smile. He walked over and grabbed an apple
then headed out. The women shared a relieved look as he walked out
the door to do his chores.

After they
had finished making breakfast Annie took Miss Danes’ food to her
room, she preferred to stay in her room until late in the day.
Annie went in without knocking, as that was what they had been
instructed to do. She froze when she saw a man asleep in Miss
Danes’ oversized bed and she was nowhere to be seen. He looked to
be Miss Danes’ age with a few grey hairs at his temple. The sheets
covered his lower body but from what Annie could see he was
shirtless. The man suddenly woke and looked around, eventually
finding her standing there.

“
Sorry Sir, I just…I was bringing Miss Danes her
breakfast.” Annie looked to the ground, quickly placed the tray
down and turned to leave. She had never been so uncomfortable in
her life.

“
Excuse me,” the man said. Annie stopped and tried to
keep her eyes anywhere but on him. She looked at every piece of
furniture, from the window seat to the shelves and the dressing
table in an attempt to keep her eyes busy.
“
Where am I?” He asked.
Annie was surprised and couldn’t help but look over to
him.

“
You are in Miss Danes’ manor,” Annie informed. He
looked around as if he had no clue where he was. Before he could
ask anything else she left the room, closing the door firmly behind
her.

“
Annie,” Miss Danes said as she approached her room.
Annie jumped from the surprise of her approaching but tried to keep
herself composed. “You are feeling better?” She looked Annie up and
down suspiciously.

“
Yes Miss,” Annie said keeping her eyes on the ground.
“Your breakfast is in the room.”

“
Very good.” Miss Danes walked around her to get to the
door. Annie started to leave then stopped when Miss Danes began
speaking again. “Make certain that dinner is well prepared tonight,
Annie. Mr. Brighton will be joining us.” She said it with meaning
behind it but Annie couldn’t quite pick what it was.

“
Yes, Miss Danes.” With that Annie left. She didn’t
mention what she had seen in the room to anyone, she thought it
would be inappropriate.

In
preparation for the night, the butler had been sent to tell the
help to dress in their best for the serving. Annie wore her lilac
dress, it was simple in design but because of her lovely figure the
dress looked quite exquisite. Miss Danes ensured that all of her
staff was well supplied with presentable attire, she wanted to be
known as the manor with the most. She hated the blandness of the
attire she saw on the help at other manors, which Annie thought was
funny because the colour scheme through the whole manor was
bland.

“
Annie,” Micah said breathlessly as he came into the
kitchen. She had kept her hair in the braid but wrapped it around
her head into a bun.

Annie smiled
at
him and noticed for the
first time a look in his eyes that she hadn’t recognised before.
She looked away from his intense gaze trying to pretend she didn’t
see what she just saw, which was much more than friendship in his
eyes. Rosemary came in and without meaning to, saved Annie from
having to deal with this new insight.

“
Annie, you look darling,” Rosemary complimented as she
gathered the things needed for the first course. Annie gathered
what she would be serving and the two women were on their
way.

To Annie’s
surprise the man from this morning was sitting at the table with
Miss Danes and Eli. They were situated in the dining room at the
end of a long table designed to seat twenty. The crystal
candelabras caught the candle light beautifully and the table cloth
was perfectly white, with the plates and cutlery set out
flawlessly. This room had no paintings on the wall but it did have
cabinets showing off Miss Danes’ most prized vases and
ornaments.

Rosemary and
Annie served the three and stood off in the corner, hands clasped.
Annie did all she could not to look at Eli but it felt like he had
his eyes on her every moment. She began to worry that Miss Danes
would notice and become infuriated that someone was paying her help
more attention than her.